Blog
10/31/22 - Facilitating An Environment Where The Spirit Can Thrive
After the joyful festivities of Sukkot that we experienced when I believe the Spirit is with us in a special way, giving us extra joy typical of this season, I realized that just as Sukkot is an ENVIRONMENT where the Spirit thrives because we are celebrating Abba Kadosh and His feast, we can also make our homes a place where the Spirit can thrive. I would like to examine how we can do this, point by point, so we can avoid an environment that facilitates characteristics of the Flesh such as lack of patience and outbursts of anger. So let's dive right in!
Below are some ways I have brainstormed how we can establish standards in our homes that allow the Spirit to thrive and proper in our hearts.
Create fun traditions
Kissing mezuzah to remember his command to love each other and saying "Shalom" when entering the house!
Put worship background music on in the house
Pray pray pray - talk to God - to behold the beauty, glory and grace of the Father spiritually, and thus have attitude changed to one of His love as we are impacted by who He is and thus desire to please Him and extend His love to others as well
Have set time to read the Bible together with your family, and discuss it
Use your power of choice to:
--Focus on others and how you can serve them - deny yourself
--Forgive others as Christ has forgiven us of our sin
--Apologize and ask forgiveness of the person that you treated bad when your conscience convicts you of something you did wrong
--Be slow to anger, and rich in love - sometimes righteous anger is called for a little, but under control and mixed with sincerity, explaining to the other how they hurt you or what they did wrong that you are sincerely asking they fix.
Sing worship songs together as a family and have fun dancing to worship music as a family too, if you want!
Beware of technology - it can make us feel entitled and want everything quick and easy, our way, instead of consdi what others want - just allow the Spirit to maintain control of your spirit when using technology, with its self control, and thus you can remain in control and patient when using technology. And don't be doing personal things on phone unless absolutely necessary when it's time to eat dinner or fellowship as a family.
May these things bless you all.
What are your ideas? Feel free to comment below!
Shalom,
-Greg
12/24/20 - Christmas?
What are you all's thoughts about Christmas? Have you heard the talk of December 25th originally being a pagan day of celebration, later mixed with Jesus by the Catholic church, yet keeping certain pagan customs, such as Christmas trees?
To me, at Christmastime, people try to enter into this euphoric Christmas world, expecting everything to be perfect, and then are let down when it's not or when it's over, instead of just being filled with Elohim's (God's) joy the whole year round, unto eternal life with Him.
And of course, when we lie to our kids about Santa Claus, they will be prone to think Jesus and God was just a lie too. We should love our kids sincerely and with truth, not just repeating empty, false traditions.
Sincerely,
Greg
10/18/18 - What God Do You Serve?
So recently in the last few DAYS from different unrelated people I have heard similar things being said - everyone worships the same God, just in different ways... The gospel is interpreted in different ways in the world - like in Japan Jesus is apparently presented like the sun, and so they embrace sun/Jesus worship? I am here to say YOD HEY VAV HEY - the spelling for God's name - is a Distinct God with certain ways to be worshipped and ways NOT to be worshipped! In the Torah, many times He puts His signature on His ways and ordinances and commands by saying "I AM THE LORD (YHWH)" right after He gives a command!!! He has given a Torah (Instruction) of truth in the Law of Moses, and false gods are NOT to be worshipped. Only Him, the One creator Elohim (God). A second problem is redefining who YHWH is. Christianity I feel is guilty of this - making Him into a wrathless God that does not hate sinners, as the Word says He does.
And there is also talk of unifying. BE VERY CAREFUL as to just what you will unify under - a generic God of love where anything goes and anyone can worship Him in any way they please, or YOD HEY VAV HEY, who will not have pagan ways, who instructs us from His Torah, and who gave His Mashiach (Messiah) to teach Torah and be an ultimate sacrifice for sin, who preached REPENT for the Kingdom of God is near. You choose what you will unify under. As for me ... and.. I don't have a house yet, but as for me, I will serve YHWH to the best of my ability.
-Greg