MY LIFE: #41 No Religions for Me My journey was not easy, but it was necessary. I learned that the struggle between law and grace was not about choosing one over the other but about understanding the purpose of both. FEB 18

 

	View in browser It is an honor to have you as a member of our subscription service! Share today. Share The End Times Chronicles MY LIFE: #41 No Religions for Me My journey was not easy, but it was necessary. I learned that the struggle between law and grace was not about choosing one over the other but about understanding the purpose of both. FEB 18   READ IN APP   THE GOSPEL IS NOT A RELIGION Religion and all its "works" and programs have been exposed as frauds by the "finished work" of Christ. Consequently, they are quick to belittle and persecute those who teach and live by the grace work of God in Christ. Religions replicate the original, the Gospel of Christ. Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. (Galatians 6:12) COMPELLED TO CHANGE MY LIFE has been a journey from living by the LAW to walking in Grace. For much of my life, living by the law has been a constant struggle for me. Every day, I find myself bound by rules and regulations, striving to meet every letter of God’s Law, yet often falling short. The burden is heavy, the path steep. While my mind understands the Grace life, my flesh seems to love living in the law. Overall, I have learned to live the Grace life - a life where mistakes, sins, and failures are not the end but opportunities for growth, where love and resting in Jesus overshadow judgment. The reality of Grace has always intrigued me; it promises freedom from the shackles of legalism. But can I let go of the law, the only life I’ve known, to embrace the indwelling Grace Life? This is my conquest of my journey. Preaching Through the Law Early on, I was known for my strict adherence to the laws of God, living a life of discipline and piety. My sermons were filled with rules and regulations, and I was respected for my unwavering commitment to the laws contained within the Word of God while I wrestled with inner peace. However, as time passed, I began to feel a growing unease. I found myself struggling to keep up with the stringent laws I preached. The burden of perfection weighed heavily on me, and I felt trapped in a cycle of guilt, condemnation, and repentance. Years ago, my mentor spoke of God’s Grace, a concept that was foreign to me. Dr. Solomon explained that grace was not about following rules to earn God’s love, but about accepting God’s love despite our imperfections, which made no sense to me. I was intrigued. I spent many nights wrestling with this new perspective. I questioned his beliefs, his teachings, and his way of life - “feeling” his beliefs excused the sins of humanity. The struggle was intense and filled me with doubt and fear. For a while, I became a lost puppy without a master. Eventually, I came to understand the beauty of the Grace Life. I realized that living by the law had made me lose sight of God’s UNCONDITIONAL love. I understood that grace did not negate the law but fulfilled it. It was not about disregarding the law but about recognizing that in the flesh, we are all imperfect beings who are loved by God despite our poor decisions. My writings, media, and sermons began to change. They became less about rules and more about Christ’s love, forgiveness, and grace from the inside out. My congregation noticed the change. They saw a man who was once bound by the law now freed by the Life of Jesus, who is Grace. My journey was not easy, but it was necessary. I learned that the struggle between law and grace was not about choosing one over the other, but about understanding the purpose of both - that Jesus fulfilled the Law, and our job is to release His Life from within to respect the Laws of God. And in that understanding, I found rest and peace in Christ. BOASTING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST Paul explains that the religious "try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ" (Gal. 6:12). Paul was appealing to the Galatians to NOT want to be persecuted and mocked by other religious people for preaching the grace of God in the activity of Jesus Christ alone. Paul then declares, "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal. 6:14). Paul never wants to boast about what he has done by self-effort or performance, only in what Christ has done and continues to do in him via the "finished work” of Christ. Christ's "finished work" reconciles both Jew and Gentile into one new creation, new humanity, new body, "through the cross" (Eph. 2:16). The corrective action of Christ's death and the restorative action of Christ's life is for all men universally who respond to His election and is the means whereby they are restored to functional humanity, society, and community, by the functional life of God, through Christ, in man. Likewise, "all things" are reconciled to God by His "having made peace through the blood of His (Christ’s) cross" (Col. 1:20). The hostility of the whole creation was due to sin, the consequence of sin was death, and death has been taken on by Jesus Christ. Reconciliation, peace, the restoration of all things, the restoration of the elected man has been affected by the "finished work" of Jesus. Paul decries that there are many who "are enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18). Who are these enemies of the Cross? Those who do not understand and live on the basis of the "finished work" of Christ. They do not accept that Christ has done all that needs doing and continues to be the dynamic of grace for the expression of His life and character in the Indwelt Christian. These "enemies of the cross" still advocate legalistic "works" of self-effort, perfectionistic performance, and religiousness. The theological significance of the cross must be understood within the context of the "finished work" of God in Christ. Though the cross itself was the death instrument, it was there that Jesus victoriously proclaimed, "It is finished!" The creative action of replacing death for the restorative Life and actions of God's life in the Indwelt Christian. Christ took on death to give us His life to others and took the consequences of our unrighteousness to give us His righteousness. The "finished work" of Jesus Christ is inclusive of redemption, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. BE CAREFUL WITH THE TERM CO-CRUCIFIXION The Greek word, sustauroõ, which means "to crucify together with." This has often been referred to as the Christian's "co-crucifixion" with Jesus. While being crucified with Christ is a reality, it is NOT to be interpreted as a literal crucifixion. It is best to be careful with such terminology, as the English prefix "co-" can mean "jointly" or "together with." But it also can mean "equally," "in the same degree," or "as a complement to." In reality, the sinful nature of humanity is what was crucified with Christ, which houses the “old self” (flesh) of humanity. We would not want to imply that our subjective crucifixion experience is of equal significance or in the same degree as the crucifixion of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Nor would we want to imply that our experience of being crucified is a complement to Christ's crucifixion, in order to complete it. Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:31) completed, thus, the shared experience for us is applied upon the moment of indwelling salvation! If an individual wants the shared victory of this reality, they must receive the indwelling Life to obtain the results of Christ’s crucifixion. To experience the truth of being "crucified together with" Jesus, we must understand it in terms of spiritual solidarity. When Jesus died on the cross, He died there FOR me, but He also died as a replacement for me. When He died, I died, that is my old nature. After receiving Christ, I am privileged to say, “I died in Him." Thus, when He died, my Adamic Nature died. The entire human race was represented by Jesus when He took the death consequences for sin upon Himself, but that spiritual solidarity becomes personal only when an individual receives Jesus Christ by faith. The verb is an aorist tense indicating that "to have been crucified with Him" was a definite occurrence historically enacted when Jesus died on the cross, which becomes experientially effective at the definite occasion of our spiritual conversion. Paul writes that our "old man" has been crucified together with Christ. The designation "old man" signifies our spiritual identity when we were a "man of old"- referencing our condition under the old nature and its identity. Our pre-indwelt identity was that of a "natural man" (1 Cor. 2:14), a "child of wrath" (Eph. 2:3), or the "old man." The identity of the "old man" was "laid aside" upon salvation (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9), when we became indwelt by Christ and received HIM as the "new man,“ with HIS identity (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). The old spiritual identity of the unregenerate self is forever dead, having died with Jesus. I now have a new spiritual identity as a "new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17) in Christ, a "child of God" (John 1:12), a Bridal member of Jesus, a "spiritual man” (1 Cor. 2:15; Gal. 6:1), an “Indwelt Christian." This was made effective for me, in me, spiritually - when I received Jesus Christ by faith at conversion and regeneration. The "old man" is not synonymous with the "flesh" nor "indwelling sin" that remains residually in the soul of the indwelt Christian, nor is it to be equated with the unbiblical phrases such as "old nature," "sin nature," "Adam nature," "self," "sin principle," etc. – for the indwelt believer, these are memories, residual affects the Adamic nature left behind in our flesh. It is not the Old Nature. In this, I found the profound difference between religion and LIFE. Share Coming up next is #42, “Taking Up the Cross.” The End Times Chronicles is the host to MY LIFE, a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribed Thanks for subscribing to The End Times Chronicles. Your paid subscription helps us advance our non-profit’s mission. Dr. Stephen R. Phinney is dedicated to providing quality media and publications that advance the Life of Christ. Paid subscribers receive free eBooks, media content, and other free stuff. Hey, fellow writers/readers, would you be open to buying me a cup of coffee? Check out this fun way of supporting my writing: https://bmc.link/drphinney   LIKE COMMENT RESTACK   © 2024 Dr. Stephen Phinney P.O. Box 71, Sterling, KS 67579

A Good Word (02.18.24) The Proof of Wisdom JIMMY EVANS FEB 18 ∙ PREVIEW

 

	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more You are missing amazing content! For a limited time, subscribe to the full version of Tipping Point Prophecy Update using this link, and receive 15% off your annual subscription. A Good Word (02.18.24) The Proof of Wisdom JIMMY EVANS FEB 18 ∙ PREVIEW   READ IN APP   With the new year upon us, I have decided to start releasing the Good Word on Sundays. My aim is straightforward: to reacquaint you with God's truths—about His nature and our identity in Christ. I hope these videos serve as a positive start to your week. We all need a touch of encouragement from time to time, especially given the state of our world today. It's not just about understanding what the Bible predicts for the future, but also about embracing the hope it proclaims in Jesus. This week, I want to continue my conversation about Wisdom. I will be discussing the proof of Wisdom, how we know we are receiving wisdom from the Lord, and the difference between the world's wisdom and God’s wisdom... Watch with a 7-day free trial Subscribe to Tipping Point Prophecy Update to watch this video and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. Start trial A subscription gets you: Subscriber-only posts and full archive Subscriber-only episodes in your podcast app Post comments and join the community   LIKE COMMENT RESTACK   © 2024 Jimmy Evans The Tipping Point, PO Box 92624, Southlake, TX 76092

Tetzaveh, Exodus 27:20 - 30:10 The Torah continues this week with the command to make for use in the Mishkan – the Portable Sanctuary – oil for the Menorah and clothes for the Cohanim – the Priests.

 

Printable Version Terumah (Exodus 27 - 30) GOOD MORNING! Last week a reader wrote to me asking for help understanding the events of October 7th and the horrors of the Holocaust. He asked, why, for millennia, the Almighty seems to have been in a constant fit of rage toward the Jewish people? He went on to quote some verses in the Bible and passages from the Talmud that describe the Almighty’s fury toward His people when they don’t follow the Torah. He wanted to understand how this justifies all the horrors that the Jewish people have experienced. Not exactly a softball of a question. Still, I thought that this question, which seems to be on the minds of many, needs to be addressed. I want to begin by mentioning that we have a general principle that is oft repeated in the Talmud that the “Torah speaks in the language of man.” This means that the Torah is written in such a manner as to be accessible to mankind. Thus, when the Torah speaks of the “hand of God” or “God’s fury,” it is merely meant to be an anthropomorphic illustration – an ascription of human qualities to a deity. The reason for this can be understood as Maimonides states in the first section of his famous philosophical work known as the Guide to the Perplexed. Maimonides explains that the Torah must be relatable to all of mankind, and many, or perhaps even most, people are unable to conceive of some of the more esoteric elements to understand the philosophical complexities relating to the essence of God. This can be likened to a child who vaguely becomes aware of the existence of God, and then inevitably asks, “Where is God?” Because a child would have an exceedingly difficult time understanding the true answer (i.e. that God exists outside of time and space, and He is therefore everywhere – and nowhere – at the same time), the answer generally given is that the Almighty resides in heaven. This is, of course, not technically true. As my granddaughter pointed out to my wife when my wife told her that her own grandmother was in heaven: “No Bubby, she’s not. I looked into the sky, and I didn’t see her.” Because God is both immanent and incorporeal, He cannot “be” anywhere without being everywhere. Of course, God is not a “he” either, but our language is limited to certain constructs with which we can effectively communicate. In a similar vein, God is absolutely immutable – He therefore cannot get angry or sad – as the great medieval philosopher Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (known by his acronym Ramchal) points out in his epic work on Jewish philosophy, The Way of God: The Almighty is a single unchanging entity, there is no possible compartmentalization of emotion like getting angry or sad. Ramchal goes on to explain that the intention of all of creation is for the Almighty to develop a system by which to bestow the ultimate “good” on mankind. That “good” is only realized through a deep bond and connection to the Almighty. Thus, what the Almighty desires for mankind is a relationship with Him. It is the quintessential good because it is this relationship that ultimately allows man to achieve a sense of immortality. Because of the inherent difficulty – one might even say the impossibility – of comprehending the essence of the Almighty, our interactions with the Almighty are communicated within the context of a relationship. Thus, emotions like love, anger, and even jealousy, are used to describe the effects that our actions have on our relationship with the Almighty. God is also described as using an “outstretched arm” to rescue His nation from the clutches of the Egyptians; not because He has an arm, but rather it’s a term used to describe what’s taking place within the context of His love relationship with His people. Perhaps a better way to wrap our minds around this concept is to consider the following question: What is worse, deeply disappointing a parent or making a parent really angry? While one would hope that both situations would be considered unacceptable, I think that, to a considerate child, disappointing a parent is much more unsettling. Anger, according to the Talmud, is akin to idolatry. Why? Because anger, like idolatry, is almost always about “me” – as in a parent thinking, “How could they do this to me?” By contrast, if I disappoint a parent, it’s a reflection of the parent’s deep unhappiness with my life decisions. But it’s generally not about the parent – they are not sad for themselves, rather they are sad for me. In healthy parenting situations, a parent has to communicate that it’s not about their personal hurt, it’s the pain that comes from watching a child harm himself. This is why in parenting it is extremely important to clarify for a child that the negative actions resulting from their misbehavior isn’t punitive, but rather it’s an unavoidable consequence of their misbehavior. My wife, who is a whole lot smarter than me, innately understood this from the start. When our children were young and they would do something wrong, the resulting unpleasant consequence was always accompanied with the following mantra from her, “I am so sorry that you did that to yourself.” She was communicating that the punishment wasn’t coming from her hurt feelings or insult that she wasn’t obeyed; rather it was just a consequence of their misbehavior. But toddlers have a very limited capacity for understanding some of the more esoteric emotions like disappointment. I remember the time when my 1½ year-old son ran giggling into the street and while I lunged to grab him, he playfully tried to avoid my grasp. He didn't yet possess the intellectual capability for me to have a reasonable conversation about the dangers of running into the street, and his giddiness prevented him from even hearing what I was trying to tell him. Instead, I displayed anger, and smacked his hand. Obviously, I wasn’t intending to hurt him – I just wanted to get his attention to the dangers of running into the street and the seriousness of his actions. In that situation I felt that I did the right thing; the resulting shock dissipated his giddiness and brought our conversation into sharp focus in his mind. I then hugged him and apologized, and we both learned our lesson – he wasn’t to go running into the street, and I had to pay closer attention to what he was doing. In a similar vein, misfortunes that befall the Jewish people as a whole are generally brought upon us by our own misbehavior, and they are merely the consequences of our actions. To some it is seen as God being angry with them, and that is how God gets their attention to change their behavior. Others are able to draw a direct line between their misbehaviors and the resulting punishment that comes as a consequence of their actions. Perhaps this is best understood through the joke about the person who jumped off the Empire State Building. As he passed the observation deck on the 86th floor, a man yelled at him, “Hey! How’s it going?” He replied, “So far, so good!” Utilizing this perspective one might say that it’s not the jumping off the building that killed him, but rather it was the sudden stop. But that is an awfully superficial way to look at it. In reality, we know it’s not the street below that killed him; he was killed by his decision to jump. In this week’s Torah portion we have reference to a similar idea. At the very end of this week’s Torah reading, we find God commanding the Jewish people to create a gold altar. This altar was used almost exclusively for the daily incense offering known as ketores. According to the Talmud (Arachin 16a) the incense was to atone for the sin of loshon hora – gossip. On the surface this is hard to understand, the ketores had some sublime aspects to it; the only time the High Priest was permitted in the Holy of Holies was on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement; the holiest day on the Jewish calendar) when he brought the special incense offering into it. Why was the ketores connected to the sin of loshon hora? Amazingly, gossip is considered among the most severe of sins. The very same passage in the Talmud on the previous page (Arachin 15b) states that loshon hora is as severe as the three cardinal sins of Judasim 1) murder 2) idolatry 3) illicit sexual relations – put together! Why? While it’s true that man’s first sin was disobeying God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, the first instance of gossip precedes even that! In Genesis (3:1-6) we find that the snake lures Chava (“Eve”) to eat from the Tree of Knowledge by telling her that the reason God prohibited man from eating from the Tree is because God knew that if man ate from it, then man would become God-like. Thus, the first instance of gossip is from the snake in the Garden of Eden and was the first evil act in the world. Gossip had a casual effect on separating man from the Almighty and served to begin to sever man’s connection to the Almighty. Maimonides adds (Yad Deos 7:3) that a person who engages in gossip kills three people: 1) the one who speaks it 2) the one who accepts it 3) the person who is spoken about (interestingly enough – Maimonides rules that the one who accepted the gossip is worse than the one who spoke it). Similar to the punishment that came from eating from the Tree of Knowledge (that man became mortal and would eventually die) gossip too severs the connection of these three individuals to the Almighty and inexorably leads to their “deaths” – a total disconnect from the Divine. That is why the ketores – the incense offering – is the perfect antidote. According to Jewish tradition the sense of smell was the only one of the senses unaffected by the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge – thus the sense of smell transcends the physical plane and can be used to restore the soul to its proper place. This is why it is called ketores – in Aramaic the word means to tie together. In other words, the ketores serves to “re-tie” our connection to the Almighty. Now Available for Kindle! Click Here to Order Today! Tetzaveh, Exodus 27:20 - 30:10 The Torah continues this week with the command to make for use in the Mishkan – the Portable Sanctuary – oil for the Menorah and clothes for the Cohanim – the Priests. It then gives instruction for the consecration of the Cohanim and the Outer Altar. The portion concludes with instructions for constructing the Incense Altar. Shabbat Lighting (or go to https://go.talmudicu.edu/e/983191/sh-c-/jpvq7/708105951/h/Wn5vpao_bYT4Ilr2oy30EA_jhZ70k7KXYUU9BxgmNO0) Jerusalem 4:55 Miami 6:00 - Cape Town 7:12 - Guatemala 5:50 Hong Kong 6:06 - Honolulu 6:15 - Johannesburg 6:26 Los Angeles 5:25 - London 5:01 - Melbourne 7:51 Mexico 6:21 - Moscow 5:31 - New York 5:21 Singapore 7:02 - Toronto 5:39 Gossip is when you hear something you like about someone you don’t. —  Earl Wilson (famed gossip columnist) Dedicated with Deep Appreciation to Ricky Turetsky Honor A Special Occasion! Dedicate an edition of the Shabbat Shalom Fax of Life. (IRS# 65-0389241) Click to Donate Golden Partner $1,000 Dedication $360 Patron $252 Supporter $118 Friend $54 Other ___ ! You may give with a credit card via secure server: click here. If you prefer, you may fax your credit card number, expiration date, amount of gift and name on the card to: 815-301-1928. or send to: Shabbat Shalom Weekly P.O. Box 402666 Miami Beach, FL 33140 USA You can email Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig at rabbizweig@shabbatshalom.org Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig Support Shabbat Shalom

Have You Heard About The Border Climbing Drug Smugglers?;80% Of Americans Test Positive For Insecticide Found In Cheerios;Russian Grocery Store Tour ‘Radicalizes’ Tucker Carlson

 

Have You Heard About The Border Climbing Drug Smugglers? Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin shared a video this week on X, formerly Twitter, showing suspected drug smugglers climbing... Read More HGH, Now Legal (Sponsored) DAILY NEWS -  FEBRUARY 18, 2024 80% Of Americans Test Positive For Insecticide Found In Cheerios A new study shows that four out of five Americans are being exposed... Read More Russian Grocery Store Tour ‘Radicalizes’ Tucker Carlson Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson drew criticism from the left and right... Read More House Republicans Impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is facing a Senate trial... Read More Project Patriot 1925 Grand Ave Ste 129 PMB 49440 Billings, Montana 59102-2776 US