About a year ago the Lord started opening my wife's and my eyes to the fact that Yahveh is displeased with all of the traditions of men and religious nonsense that we tend to follow instead of our Lord.
Sometime in December of last year we came to the realization that most of what "Christmas" was about had nothing to do with Jesus and much to do with money and man made traditions many of which have their roots in things that have nothing to do with Christ. One thing that really opened our eyes was to look up "Christmas" in an encyclopedia. The explanation you get there is down right scary.
We started to realize that much of what we had been taught growing up in "church families" was not Biblical at all. From this point we started trying to go back to the Bible for our guide as to what we should be doing.
The Sabbath was an obvious thing to follow up. The reasons that most people use to justify Sunday are from a few obscure references to Paul and others getting together on the first day of the week. It does not say that they did this every week and no place does it say that they quit observing the Sabbath. I see how people have used these statements to justify what they are doing, but I see no evidence or clear instruction from the Bible that Sunday was ever intended to replace the Sabbath as a time to rest and enjoy the Lord of the Sabbath.
Creation itself is a vivid picture of what the Sabbath rest is all about and the history of our world as written by our Lord also points clearly to the Sabbath. It has become pretty clear to me that after six thousand years of mankind running amuck on this planet that we will have a one thousand year Sabbath rest with our Lord ruling and reigning on this earth.
The next thing we were exposed to was the Torah and the concept that we could show our love and respect for the one who came to this earth and died to save us by observing His Laws. This was not presented as a means to salvation in any respect but as a way to honor the one who saved us.
The problem that we had at this point was that it was much to easy to just start operating under the Law instead of looking to our Lord. As we walked this path my wife felt a definite barrier between her and God and I too was at somewhat of a loss as to where we were going.
At this point I started researching the scriptures such as Galatians and Hebrews and Colosians which appear to argue against trying to live under the Law. But at the same time there are scriptures that make it clear that if we Love Him we will keep His Commandments.
Many have argued that we are under the "New Covenant". But the thing that most people leave out when they are making this argument is that under this new covenant the same Laws that were written in scrolls and on stone are now to be written in our hearts.
At this point the Lord brought me back to something He taught me over twenty five years ago. When I applied these lessons to what I was going through now, it gave me and my family a clear path to follow. One where we could walk in the presence of God without condemnation and without shame.
To explain this I need to define two words. The first is Religion. The best definition I have ever heard for this word is: "man made culture about God". Please note that this definition does not say culture that God brought down and gave to man. This is strictly stuff that man has made up or invented to explain God or what our actions about God should be.
Some of it may even have been designed with good intentions but just as with the extra rules and regulations that the Pharisee's were pushing during the time of Christ these things tend to push us away from God instead of bringing us closer. We start following the religious practice instead of asking the Lord to lead us. In Jesus's day most of the religious people missed what God was doing. Revelation makes it clear that in the last days the religious people will again miss what He is doing.
The other word I need to define is Sin. What the Lord showed me over twenty five years ago is that Sin is best defined as not walking with God. Walking with God produces no sin. Attempting to walk without God produces sin.
It is simple, but at the same time very very deep. I can live a good life. I can follow all the Laws that are written in the Old Testament. I can help the poor and needy. I can do all kinds of good deeds. But if the Lord wanted me somewhere else doing something else then I am sinning. Jonah is a good example of this principle. He wasn't trying to go out and lead a sinful life, he just had other idea's as to how he could best serve the Lord.
On the other hand if I am following the Lord and He asks me to go somewhere where I know there is evil, as long as I follow Him and keep my eyes on Him and what He wants me to do, I will not sin.
So how does all this apply to keeping the Law. What I am doing today that is different than what I was trying to do a few months ago is this; If I walk into a restaurant that I used to love to go to because it has an excellent shrimp basket, I don't go down the menu checking off all of the things I can't eat because of the Law. Instead I can look at the entire menu and open myself to the Lord and ask Him what I should eat.
There is no need for me to follow a set of Laws. All I need to do is follow Yeshua. For every decision I need to turn to Him. For every decision I make on my own I need to repent and ask for His forgiveness.
This does not mean that I can throw away my Bible. It is all the more reason that I need to read and study both the Old and New Testaments. By doing this I have a better understanding of His nature as well as daily opening myself to this type of communion with the Lord.
In attempting to start my day by reading the word it sets my mind on the things of God and helps me to to follow Him. As time goes on each day the Lord changes more of my heart and mind. The more I am able to follow this coarse the more the Lord is able to work in my life.
There is another part of this that we tend to forget. If you are walking down a sidewalk and come upon a rock laying on the sidewalk you have several choices.
One would be that you could kick the rock causing it to go out into the street. But later on what if someone were crossing the street and tripped on the rock and fell in front of an oncoming car?
Another would be that you lift your foot past the rock, leaving it lay where it was. But later on what if someone were to trip on the rock on the sidewalk and fall into the street in front of an oncoming car?
Yet a third possibility could be that you kicked the rock off into the grass on the other side of the sidewalk. But later on what if someone who would have tripped on that rock if you had left it alone and fallen down on the sidewalk, was not tripped because the rock was not there so they continued another three steps down the sidewalk and got hit by a car that had blown a tire and can flying up onto the sidewalk?
As you can see there are hundreds of scenarios that you could come up with for just this one rock on the sidewalk. You can even reverse these so that the person is helped instead of being harmed by what you have done with the rock.
The point is that we have no idea what kind of impact our actions may be having on other people. Some actions may have immediate consequences while others may effect things years down the road.
If you or I can not see the future well enough to know what impact we will have on others over such a small thing as this, how can we hope to make the right decisions about things that are of a bigger nature.
Another good example would be looking into a new job. It is easy to see how changes in pay, or the hours you work, or the pressure you are under can have a direct effect on the people who are around you and those that depend on you. But how can we tell if changing our job will cause us to be there for someone else 6 months our a year down the road so that can learn about our Lord and be saved.
The only answer to all of these situations is to go to the Lord and ask for His guidance in every decision we make. If we do this, He can control all of our actions and the effects that they have on others. If we choose to decide on our own, there is no way to tell what kind of impact we are creating for others as well as for ourselves.
It is also important not to neglect gathering together and fellowship with others. I have also found it very helpful to find out more about the festivals that were appointed by God. In doing this I have found that many people have gotten hung up in following allot of traditions that are no more Biblical than Christmas or Easter.
In examining Yahveh's festivals I have found a rich heritage explaining Christ's birth (in September) His death and resurrection and His second coming. I have also found all of the elements of Communion or the Lords Supper in the Sabbath practices. These are the things the Lord wanted us to remember and celebrate and they have nothing to do with the largest money making season of the year that some people try to single out one or two minutes to think about Jesus in between shopping, eating and opening presents.
Shalom, David P. LaSelle
