Something Sad
by Rebekah Josepha Coover
satan (That lowercase "s" is on purpose) is constantly at work. I guess
this is kind of a downhearted way to start the article, but since it is
about "something sad", we'll get to the point. He's constantly trying to
tear down the followers of Yahshua and Yahweh. And far too many times,
he succeeds in doing just as he pleases.
Have you ever read the account of Yahshua's temptation in the wilderness.
It took a lot of strength to stand against the devil I'm sure, but what
helped Yahshua was that he hated the devil. When you hate something, it's
easier to fight it than if you like it and want to hang on to it. That's
just our problem. Many times, satan tells us that bad habits are fun. Certainly
our Elohim doesn't want us to have no fun, does he? Of course he wants
us to make the most of our lives, but doing the world's pleasures is not
making the best of our lives. On the contrary, it is wasting them. There's
a song called, "Have You Counted The Cost?", and it makes a very good point.
If you can find it in a hymn book, look its words over.
Now sometimes I do things I shouldn't, but when I actually think about
it, what is it about sin that is so alluring? Sin is ugly and BLACK. Why
would we be drawn to that? It's our carnal nature. Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)
says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah
Yahshua, because through Messiah Yahshua the Torah of the Spirit of Life
set me free from the torah of sin and death." We see here two Torahs: "the
Torah of the Spirit of Life" and "the torah of sin and death". No, "the
Torah of sin and death" is not what Yahweh gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.
On the contrary, that Torah is full of wonderful guidelines for today.
The problem with that Torah is not the Torah itself, but the people's hearts.
See Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NIV). " 'The time is coming,' declares Yahweh, 'when
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah.' " Notice that it is still with Israel, and those grafted into
Israel too, but not something new. " 'It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them
out of Egypt, because they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to
them,' declares Yahweh." You see, Yahweh was being faithful, but His people
broke His covenant. The fault was with the people, not the Torah. Let's
read on. " 'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel at
that time,' declares Yahweh. 'I will put My law in their minds and write
it on their hearts. I will be their Elohim, and they will be My people.'
" You see, the "new covenant" is that the people will have hearts to keep...
YAHWEH'S LAW. " 'No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his
brother, saying, Know Yahweh, because they will all know Me, from the least
of them to the greatest,' declares Yahweh. 'For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.' " What a beautiful promise! However,
we must remember that it is by no means annulling the Torah: it is rather
reinstituting it. Read Jeremiah 31:35-36 (NIV). "This is what Yahweh says,
He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - Yahweh
Almighty is His Name: 'Only if these decrees vanish from My sight,' declares
Yahweh, 'will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before
Me.' " Do you see? It is when Yahweh's Torah is forsaken that the nation
will crumble. And isn't that what we see all around us? Look at Jeremiah
32:18 (KJV). "Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest
the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them:..."
Ah, we see: because of the wicked way that the the earth's human inhabitants
are rearing their children, iniquity is in the hearts of the children,
and remains in the hearts of the children. They have hearts to do evil.
That's what is everywhere around us: sin. Why? The cause of this dates
back to Adam and Eve, when Eve took of the fruit on the forbidden tree.
And then Adam did so also. There was trouble when Eve listened to satan.
There was trouble when Adam listened to his "sweetheart" instead of Yahweh.
And so it is with us today: when we listen to satan, no matter who he chooses
to present himself as, there is trouble. And what kind of sweetheart are
we being to Yahweh? What kind of an assembly? I ask you, brethren, I ask
you, sisters, what kind of assembly are we? What kind of living sacrifice
are you for Yahweh?
Look around you. Look at the people who dwell around you: your neighbors,
the thrift store clerk, the grocery store stockman, etc. What do you see
in these people? Yahweh? Or do you see the world, satan, sin, etc. in them.
Now, evaluate yourself. What are you like? What do people see in you? Yahweh?
Or do they see the world, satan, sin, etc. in you? I'm not pointing
any fingers at you. I have my faults that I need to work on myself, but
I'm reminding you too.
Before I close this article, I'd like to say, "Be a light. Cause
something glad to happen. This world is desperately in need of such a work."
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto Yahshua. For
the husband is the head of the wife, even as Messiah is the Head of the
assembly: and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore as the assembly is
subject unto Messiah, so the wives to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Messiah loves the assembly, and gave
Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing
of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious assembly,
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be set
apart and without blemish." Ephesians 5:22-27
Are we living up to this verse's doctrine?
I thought the following poem from "Stepping Stones" went well with my article.
The Question
We say we believe that the [scriptures are] true,
From Genesis one to the last verse clear through;
All thought of a cosmic explosion we spurn,
Away from the man-monkey fable we turn,
Believing that man in the image of [Yah]
Was perfectly formed from the dust of the sod.
The image of [Yah] who is holy and true,
Kind, loving, forgiving, compassionate, too;
And then, though man fell, a Redeemer was sent,
That we might fulfill our Creator's intent.
Now this is the question: Can any one see
The image of [Yah] when they're looking at me?
- Author Unknown