ISSUE: #68

MEM

(Messianic Email Message)
Psalms 119:97 - 104
Seeking The Truth
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For His Glory!

Message

Real Christianity

What is a Real Christian? One cannot just look around and compare oneself with the average Christian. Unfortunately, many self-proclaiming Christians do just that. In so doing, Godly morals are compromised by saying "Everybody else is doing it, why can’t I?" (Thus the Godly standard is lowered and worldly people can easily see the hypocrisy of their ways).

Too many times it is heard that Christians are hypocrites, but what is a hypocrite?

This is taken from a new article on seekingthetruth.com web site. (Click Here for the full article.) We encourage you to fully read this article to learn how you can be empowered by the grace of God to be a real disciple of Yeshua. Understanding what a hypocrite is will help us determine if our everyday attitude is hypocritical.

Yeshua is the head of the church, the body or the congregation of the saints of God. As we seek the truth we need to pay special attention to His instruction found in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Yeshua often addressed the religious leaders of the Jews as hypocrites; giving instruction on how to be a "Real Christian". These hypocritical leaders looked to outward appearances as a form of righteousness – Not so says our Redeemer.

What we are not to do:

Matthew 6:2 "So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Matthew 6:5 "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Matthew 6:16 "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

To have their full reward is the praise they receive from men for their "righteous deeds".

In Matthew 23 we see what happens when hypocrisy is in the Christian community.

Matthew 23:13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people…

Matthew 23:14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers…

Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

In our "religious" pursuits do we forget the principle behind every instruction given in Torah (the Law)?

Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

What is on the inside? Have we been washed, cleansed, and have the Spirit of Yeshua abiding in us? Do we have a circumcised heart with the Law of God engraved thereon (the new covenant Jeremiah 31)?

Matthew 24:51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Not a bright future for the hypocrite.

Luke 13:15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?

Are we putting a religious instruction above mercy? Be guided by the Spirit of Yeshua.

Luke 6:42 "Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

We can sum up the hypocritical attitude by this verse. May we evaluate our own actions in accordance with the instruction and the Spirit of Messiah. The key to overcoming hypocrisy is the humility of Yeshua. Check out what it means to be a "Real Christian".

Blessed be the name of YHVH.


Proverbs

Proverbs 25: 6-7 Do not claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men; For it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen.

The vanity and pride of man desires to have the praise of others. James tells us 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 4:6 …"GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."


Saying (s)

"The tendency is often to think in dichotomies: strong or weak, win or lose, hardball or softball. But that thinking is fundamentally flawed. It’s based upon power and position rather than upon principle. People who think in terms of dichotomies tend to define winning as defeating someone. " Stephen R. Covey

Our principles must come from the Word of God. In our theme we see the hypocritical are into out performing others, to be the most righteous, and this is accomplished by the outward display of their so called "righteous deeds". All of this has nothing to do with the purity of heart only available by the grace of YHVH; which is the Spirit of Yeshua.


Bible Quiz
  1. What did Yeshua call the rich man who wanted to build more barns?
  2. Who wrote Ecclesiastes?
  3. Where did YHVH tell Cyrus to build a temple for Him?
  4. On what was the foundation of the house built that could not be shaken when the flood came?
  5. How long was David king?
  6. Who prepared a sacrifice and then ordered twelve large jars of water poured on it?
  7. Who said, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"?

Humility

In our pursuit of humility:

"The authority of command and example (John13:14), every thought, either of obedience or conformity, make humility the first and most essential element of discipleship." Andrew Murray

When we become a disciple of the Master we are obliged to obey His commands. Yeshua not only tells us how we should behave He set the example for us. Because these commands are opposed to our human nature it takes humility to put down our (hypocritical) nature and allow the grace of Yeshua to guide us in the path of righteousness.


Did you know:

Subject: Can you pass this eighth grade exam??

 

Remember when our grandparents, great-grandparents, and such stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out.

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, KS, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS -1895

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Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no Modifications.

3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.

4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of lie, play and run.

5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.

6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.

7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

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Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

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U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

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Orthography (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.'

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

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Geography (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

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Also notice that the exam took six hours to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?


Lighter Side

An Amish boy and his father were visiting a nearby mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny silver walls that moved apart and back together again by themselves. The lad asked, "What is this, father?" The father (having never seen an elevator) responded, "I have no idea what it is." While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed, an old lady in a wheelchair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button.

The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched as small circles lit up above the walls. The walls opened up again and a beautiful twenty-four-year-old woman stepped out. The father looked at his son anxiously and said, "Go get your mother."


A Little Light

What is the deal with Lightning bugs?

I mean, here is this rather ordinary looking flying insect,

but wait ... it has a glow-in-the-dark rear end!

What was God thinking?

I'm sure science has all kinds of explanations

about how this fluorescent fanny is useful for mating

and other stuff, but why did God
choose to make the lightning bug glow?

I wonder if when God was creating all the animals

and everything around us,

He came up with the idea of the Lightning bug and said,

"The kids are gonna love this."

We know that God loves us enough to create all the things we need to survive, but does God loves us so much He created some things just to make us smile?

Just seeing Lightning bugs takes me back to those warm summer nights of my youth. I'd be running around the back yard with my empty Mason jar, racing toward the flashing lights all around me. I can still feel the joy and hear the laughter echoing through my memories. Lighting bugs were as much a part of summer as fireworks, fresh tomatoes, and big ice-cold slabs of juicy watermelon. God created so much diversity in this world, much more than is needed for mere survival. He made all of this for us, and He wants us to enjoy it. We can get so busy surrounding ourselves with man-made goods that we don't notice the living tapestry God has laid out all around us.


  


I guess Lightning bugs do have a purpose after all. They are a reminder of a creative God who loves us so much,

He'd even paint the rear end of a bug ...
just to see us smile....


Cause for Thought

Black and white - An ode to times long gone, For older folks only -

(Under 40, you won't understand)

You could hardly see for all the snow,

Spread the rabbit ears far as they go.

Pull a chair up to the TV set,

"Good night, David; Good night, Chet".

Depending on the channel you tuned

You got Rob and Laura - or Ward and June.

It felt so good, felt so right.

Life looked better in black and white.

I Love Lucy, The Real McCoys

Dennis the Menace, the Cleaver boys

Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train

Superman, Jimmy & Lois Lane.

Father Knows Best, Patty Duke

Rin Tin Tin and Lassie too,

Donna Reed on Thursday night--

Life looked better in black and white.

I wanna go back to black and white.

Everything always turned out right.

Simple people, simple lives

Good guys always won the fight.

Now nothing is the way it seems

In living color on the TV screen.

Too many murders, too much fight,

I wanna go back to black and white.

In God they trusted, in bed they slept.

A promise made was a promise kept.

They never cussed or broke their vows.

They'd never make the network now.

But if I could, I'd rather be alive

In a TV town in '55.

It felt so good, felt so right

Life looked better in black and white.

I'd trade all the channels on the satellite If I could just turn back the clock tonight To when everybody knew wrong from right Life was better in black and white


Quiz Answers

1. A fool - Luke 12:16-20

2. King Solomon - Ecclesiastes 1:1

3. Jerusalem - Ezra 1:1-3

4. On rock - Luke 6:48

5. Forty years - 1 Kings 2:10-11

6. Elijah - 1 Kings 18:31-35

7. Stephen - Acts 7:59-60



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