Oxygen...for Life

It is vitally important to have a routine of prayer. 

Prayer is what has sustained the Jewish people for thousands of years. 

"Hear O Israel..." is said everyday. 

Each morning, I don my small prayer shawl, a tallit, or "a little sanctuary" as it is known.

There is beauty in closing yourself away with God. 

Donning the tallit helps me focus on prayer. 

Your routine may be like mine...

Beginning with praise, acknowledging God's power, protection, and redeeming help.

I declare God's holiness and sanctify His name making known His greatness.

I ask God for wisdom then pray for repentance and ask for forgiveness. 

A wise person will always find their way to repentance and forgiveness.

Next, I reveal to God the needs of my family and redemption. 

I grab a bottle of frankincense anointing myself for healing while praying for others also in need of healing. 

Why me first? 

It is like we are taught when the steward instructs us on an airplane. 

They teach that if an emergency happens, the oxygen masks will drop down.

 You are to apply the oxygen mask to yourself before your children because you can't take care of others if you yourself faint for lack of oxygen. 

The next thing I pray for is abundance. 

What kind of abundance? 

It is a prayer that those who have abundance will share with those in need.  

Anointing once again with a blend of orange, frankincense, patchouli, clove, ginger, myrrh, cinnamon bark, and spruce. 

An abundance of oils for an abundance of needs.

I ask God to help those who are oppressed and bring about freedom in their lives.

I pray for righteousness and justice. 

This is a good time to pray for our leaders, "Bestow Your Spirit on the rulers of all lands!"

Photo Courtesy of Art Hodges

I pray against evil and ask God to bless the faithful.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Prayer for deliverance and even pray for prayer as He is a God who hearkens to prayer as it is our prayers that are forever before His throne.

At this point worshipping of the One True God flows naturally which leads to giving Him thanks for all he does in my life and the lives of my family. 

(Much time needs to be spent in this area).

Thanking God for peace and praising Him is the best way to finish your prayer time as you will walk away with praise still upon your lips...

A great way to start the day.

This Weeks Readings

Behar/Bechukotai | בהר/בחקותי | "On the mountain/In my statutes "

Torah: Leviticus 25:1-27:34
Prophets: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14
Gospel: Luke 13:1-33/John 10:22-42/Luke 14:1-15:32
Brit Chadashah: Matt. 21:33-46; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:9-11; 
Eph. 4:8

Thank You Gabrieli for supporting Hebrew Perspectives!

The Mantle of Messiah

Photo Courtesy of Missionary Dennis Moore

The Bible has so many beautiful stories... none more beautiful than the passing of the mantle.

The scene of Moses laying hands on Joshua his disciple where the mantle falls to Joshua...
When God's Spirit fell it must have been fantastic...I can feel the charge in the air!

Then, there is the amazing telling of Elijah dropping his mantle and Elisha picking it up whereby he received the spirit of Elijah...it must have been an awesome moment!

In both instances a mantle was passed.   

The passing of the mantle is the giving of ministry from the teacher to his disciple. 

Some believe that each of these stories the mantle was a tallit or prayer shawl. 

It may have just been a simple piece of cloth or a cloak. Interestingly enough is that when a Jewish person dies his fringes (tzit-tzit) are cut off because he can no longer fulfill God's commandments.

Moses was buried by God and Elijah was taken up.

Now Jesus when He finished His ministry doesn't pass on a mantle, or so it appears....
If He did have a mantle, who got it?

Since Jesus is God robed in flesh, His mantle is too big for any one person to receive, but it was received by many.

He ascended and the Holy Ghost fell on 120. 

On the Day of Pentecost the 120 received the mantle of Messiah, then to others ... it still falls on us today.

When the Holy Ghost fell it was the mantle, it was the ministry that we all have. 

We have a part in His mantle, we have a part in His anointing. 

This is our calling, to have a part in His ministry, through the mantle of the Messiah.

"And the Lord, He it is who doth go before thee. He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee. Fear not, neither be dismayed.” 

Deuteronomy 31:8

Benefits of Doubting

Just the wind upon one weed can fill a field

Earlier in the week I posted something on Facebook that drew much interest ... and even more questions. 

I wrote, "When someone gets an idea about someone else it becomes a virus.  Even when the idea is wrong they can't be swayed...infected by the idea."

Many things came to mind when I posted this, but it mostly has to do with how people perceive others. 

For example ...  

A man in his workplace finds the new guy to be annoying. 

He tells a fellow co-worker about how annoying the new guy is. 

His fellow co-worker does not find the new guy annoying yet the seed has been planted. 

As word spreads, this new guy who was only annoying to one person is now seen as annoying by most of the employees. 

Initially, he may not even have been annoying, it was just how the first person perceived and felt about him. 

Nevertheless the damage has been done, the new guy is now annoying even if he is not.

If we give our fellow man the 'Benefit of the Doubt', God will give us the 'Benefit of the Doubt'!

This thought initially came from a quote I read, 

"One who judges his fellow man favorable will be judged favorably by Heaven."  

~ The Chofetz Chaim 

A field which grew from one weed which shared its seeds

I am walking through the airport and I see a fellow believer of alcohol abstinence standing at the bar. 

My first compulsion is to think that this fellow believer is drinking, yet I have to give him the 'Benefit of Doubt.'

As it turns out, he is ordering a meal to take on his flight which had to be ordered through the bartender. 

If I do not give him the benefit of the doubt then continue on to tell someone else about my doubts, the seed will be planted. 

Should I decide to share my perception with others the seed grows.

In this weeks Torah portion Emor (say or speak) we find, 

"You shall not desecrate My holy name, rather I should be sanctified among the children of Israel." 

Leviticus 22:32

Our behavior sanctifies God's name. 

When we speak badly about our fellow man and we cast a poor shadow upon God's name.

So you see....there is some benefit to doubting.

This Weeks Readings For Hebrew Perspectives

Emor | אמור | "Say "
Torah: Leviticus 21:1-24:23 
Prophets: Ezekiel 44:15-31  
Gospel: Luke 11:1-12:59  
Brit Chadashah: 1 Pet. 2:4-10

This Weeks Readings for Hebrew Perspectives

Acharei Mot/Kedoshim | אחרי מות/קדושים | "After the death/Holy "

Torah: Leviticus 16:1-20:27 

Prophets: Ezekiel 22:1-19  

Gospel: John 7:1-52/John 7:53-10:21  

Brit Chadashah: Heb. 9:11-28;

1 Pet. 1:13-16;

1 Cor. 6:9-20