Tag: life
Faith without Works
Faith without work cannot be called faith. Faith that works is dead” (James 2:26), and a dead faith is worse than no faith at all. Faith must work; it must produce; it must be visible. Verbal faith is not enough; mental faith is insufficient. Faith must be there, but it must be more. It must inspire action. Throughout his epistle to Jewish believers, James integrates true faith and every day practical experience by stressing that true faith must manifest itself in works of faith.
Faith endurance trials. Trials come and go, but a strong faith will face them head on and develop endurance. Faith understands temptations. It will not allow us to consent to our list and slide into sin. Faith obeys the word. It will not merely hear and not do. Faith produces doers. Faith harbors no prejudice. For James, faith and favoritism cannot coexist. Faith displays itself and works. Faith is more than words; it is more than knowledge; it is demonstrated by obedience; and it overtly responds to the promises of God. Faith controls the tongue. This small, but immensely powerful part of the body must be held in check. Faith can do that. Faith acts wisely. It gives us the ability to choose wisdom that is heavenly and to shun wisdom that is earthly. Faith produces separation from the world and submission to God. It provides us with the ability to resist the devil and humbly draw near to God. Finally, faith waits patiently for the coming of the Lord. Through trouble and trial it stifles complaining.
Let us strive for the faith that James describes in his short book. James is the blue jeans theology of the Bible. Put your jeans on to strive for Godly faith.
Renew the Inner Man Pt. 1
Pentecost: One Of The Most Incredible Examples Of God’s Prophetic Foreshadowing
Amir Tsarfati is a fmr Deputy Governor of Jericho, an Israeli tour guide, author, the Founder and President of Behold Israel, and a Contributor to Harbinger’s Daily.
Below is an article written by Amir Tsarfati, a Messianic Jew, a born against spirit filled Christian. Please take note of this article as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Rh
God planted a 2,000-year-old prophecy about the church in the most unlikely place: A bread recipe.
Many people look at the biblical feasts and presume these are simply Jewish traditions. However, these aren’t just random celebrations; they are divine prophecies planted throughout history. Pentecost is one of the most incredible examples of God’s perfect planning, also known as Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks.
Let’s start with what Pentecost actually is. In Leviticus 23:15-16, God instructed Israel, “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.”
This feast celebrates two things for the Jewish people: the wheat harvest and the giving of the law—the Torah—at Mount Sinai.
On this day nearly 2,000 years ago, Acts 2:1-4 tells us, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Do you see the incredible connection? On the very same day that Israel celebrated receiving the law written on tablets of stone, God sent His Spirit to write His law on human hearts. This wasn’t a coincidence but a divine appointment set thousands of years in advance.
If God were a filmmaker, He would win every award for foreshadowing. The shadow appears in the Old Testament, but the substance, the reality, is found in Christ. As Paul writes in Colossians 2:16-17, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
There is another powerful aspect of Pentecost. At Mount Sinai, on the day that the law was given, Exodus 32:28 tells us that approximately 3,000 people died because of sin. Fast forward to the day of Pentecost: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:41). The exact same number! Where the law brought death, the Spirit brought life. That’s not a coincidence. That’s God showing His amazing plan.
Let’s dig even deeper. In Leviticus 23:17, God gave specific instructions for Pentecost that seemed strange at first glance: “You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord” (emphasis added).
These loaves contain leaven. That’s extraordinary because, throughout Scripture, leaven typically symbolizes sin. During Passover, all leaven had to be removed from homes. Other grain offerings in Leviticus also had to be made without leaven. Here, God specifically commands leaven to be included. Why would God want an offering with leaven? These two loaves perfectly picture the body of Christ. One loaf representing the Jews, one representing the Gentiles, both containing leaven. We all have sin in our lives, yet despite our imperfections, God accepts us as His.
Also, notice that there are two loaves. This isn’t random. This is a picture of Jews and Gentiles being brought together as one in the Messiah, yet maintaining their distinct identities. God wasn’t surprised when Gentiles came to faith because He planned it from the very beginning. When did the Holy Spirit create this united body of Jews and Gentile believers? On Pentecost, the very day these two leaven loaves were to be presented.
The miracle of Shavuot isn’t just a historical event; it is a living reality for us today. Just as God took two separate loaves with leaven and presented them together before Him, He is doing the same with us. Jews and Gentiles are both imperfect, yet both are accepted in His sight through the Messiah.
Pentecost shows us something profound about God’s heart. He doesn’t demand perfection before accepting us. He takes us with our leaven and our imperfections and transforms us by His Spirit. The same Spirit that came down with power on that Shavuot morning nearly 2,000 years ago lives in you and me.
At Mount Sinai, the people said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). They failed because they tried in their own strengths. What they couldn’t do under the law, God does through His Spirit. This is why Shavuot matters so much. It’s the day when God’s presence moved from dwelling in a temple made with hands to dwelling in human hearts. It’s the day when the harvest of souls began, a harvest that continues to this very moment as more people come to faith in Yeshua, our Messiah.
When we understand Shavuot, we understand God’s perfect timing, His perfect plan, and His incredible love for both Jew and Gentile. As we celebrate this feast, let us remember: we are those two loaves presented together before the Lord, united by His Spirit into one body while maintaining our unique identities.
What an incredible picture of God’s wisdom and love.
Fearful & Forgetful
An Open Heaven
At times the Lord seems to give me an open heaven. Not that I see anything or dream any dreams, but His Word just comes alive and is so real to me. Revelation knowledge is flowing like a summer thunderstorm drenching me with insight and an ability to see and apply God’s Word. Things hidden and just not seen become as plain as the noonday sun. I may write or make outlines on various sermon and Bible studies. It just comes so easy. It just flows. The Holy Spirit is so real and I don’t even have to try to get into the flow, it’s like I’m in the midst of a Holy Spirit river, moving at not my will or pace, but at His pace. I love and cherish those times. They are the “times of refreshing.” I feel like a warrior, ten feet tall with bulging spiritual muscles.
Unfortunately they often come after an intense time of spiritual battle. Times of failure or having disappointments that allowed that depressive spirit to attack me. Most of those times it was my failure that caused the attack. I opened the door. At times like that I feel lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut, but God is so gracious to break that spirit and because of His love, allows a fresh anointing to come and spark revelation and a sense of closeness that’s brings forth an inner depth of vitality in the Holy Spirit.
An open heavenly is seemingly a download from the throne room of God. Oh how I love that time of study and insight that is given by the Spirit. I believe it is the Spirit’s way of saying, you made it through and victory is yours. Fresh wine quenches the spiritual thirst, and fresh manna fills the spiritual belly.
Oh that I could live in that place of an open heaven. Maybe that is what heaven will be like. Rh
Passover: Jesus Is The Substance Behind Every Prophetic Shadow
This is a fairly long article. Please read until the end. It will bless you on this Resurrection weekend. Amir is a Christian writer and speaker, who loves our Lord Jesus Christ. Rh
Did you know that God’s calendar actually begins with Passover? In Exodus 12:2, God tells Moses, “This month shall be your beginning of months.” God’s calendar could have started with the creation, the flood, Adam, or Abraham, but instead, He chose to start it with the Exodus from Egypt.
So much of Passover points to Yeshua—the lamb, the blood, the unleavened bread—it would be simpler to tell you what doesn’t point to Him! Today, I want to show you how these ancient symbols reveal our Messiah.
First, let me explain what the Passover Seder is. The word “Seder” in Hebrew means “order.” It’s the traditional meal and ceremony that Jewish families have observed for thousands of years to commemorate our deliverance from Egypt. While the Passover itself is commanded in scripture, the specific seder rituals and traditions developed over time in Jewish practice. During this special evening, we eat specific symbolic foods, drink four cups of wine, and tell the story of the Exodus to our children.
Did Jesus celebrate the Passover Seder? Absolutely! In Luke 22:15, Jesus says to His disciples, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…” Jesus not only celebrated it, He was eager to do so because He knew this ancient celebration was always about Him. This wasn’t just another religious ritual for Jesus; it was the moment He would reveal Himself as the fulfillment of everything the Passover represented.
Colossians 2:16-17 tells us that the festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths are “a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ.”
I want to show you how the Messiah is revealed in every symbol on the Passover plate and why this feast perfectly covers the timing of His death and resurrection—distinguishing him from any false prophet, false teacher, or false messiah.
Let’s go over the traditional seder plate the Jews have on their tables to this day. I promise you you won’t be left spiritually hungry today! Each element has incredible significance that points directly to our Messiah, Yeshua.
Blood Of The Passover Lamb
Let’s start with something fascinating about the Passover lamb and the blood that caused God’s judgment to pass over.
When God instituted Passover, He didn’t say, “The angel will pass over the houses of the Jews.” No, the instruction in Exodus 12:23 was clear: “And when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.” It wasn’t about ethnic identity; it was about the blood.
What if an Egyptian family had overheard Moses’s instructions and put lamb’s blood on their doorposts? I have news for you: their firstborn would have been spared! We are not saved by our ancestry or ethnicity. It’s not about the blood that runs within your veins; it’s about the blood you sprinkle on the doorpost of your heart.
Bones Of The Passover Lamb
The shankbone is a symbol of the Passover lamb. For generations, Jewish families sacrificed an innocent, unblemished male lamb. Paul, once a persecutor of the church, wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:7, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” When the scales fell from his eyes, he could see who the true Passover was.
According to Exodus 12:46, not one bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken, and when they came to Jesus on the cross, John 19:33 tells us, “But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break His legs.” He fulfilled the requirements perfectly.
Matzah Bread
On matzah bread, you notice stripes and piercings marked into it. Isaiah 53:5says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed.” Zechariah 12:10 speaks of the One whom they pierced. This unleavened bread symbolizes the sinless life of Jesus.
Pay close attention to this: in every Passover seder, we have three matzahas placed together. The Jewish rabbis say they represent the priests, Levites, and the people (the Israelites), but why then do we take the middle one, break it, and hide half of it, this hidden piece we call the “Afikoman,” and later redeem it for a reward? If this isn’t about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—with the Son being broken for us and hidden for a time—what is it?
The word “Afikoman” actually comes from Greek; it means “what comes after” or “that which comes later.” Jesus is still hidden from His own people, but the day will come when all Israel will recognize Him and be saved.
When rabbis are asked why they break the middle matzah, they simply say, “That’s our tradition!” But traditions always have origins and meanings. This tradition perfectly pictures our Messiah who was broken for us, hidden, buried, and then returned resurrected.
Bitter Herbs
The bitter herbs remind us of the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt, but they also remind us of the bitter cup Jesus drank in Gethsemane when He said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38). Be willingly took that bitter cup for us.
Four Cups Of Wine
The four cups of wine each represent a promise from Exodus 6:6-7. God would bring Israel out, rescue them, redeem them, and take them as His people. The cups represent sanctification, judgment, redemption, and praise.
During the last supper, something incredible happened. Jesus took the first cup as normal, but then he did something unexpected. He skipped the second cup—the cup of judgment. Why? Because He was about to go to Gethsemane to drink that cup alone for us. Instead, after supper, He took the third cup—the cup of redemption—saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). What grace! He took the judgment so we could have redemption.
When you take communion, you’re not participating in some man-made ritual; you’re connecting to this ancient celebration of God’s redemptive plan. The cup and bread that Jesus used to institute communion were part of this Passover meal.
Here’s a thought that will blow your mind: when Jesus shed blood for the first time, it wasn’t on the cross; it was in the garden of Gethsemane, where Luke 22:44 tells us, “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” The first Adam sinned in a garden, bringing death. The last Adam suffered in a garden, bringing life!
An Empty Seat For Elijah
Jewish people set an empty seat for Elijah, waiting for him to announce the Messiah. But Jesus tells us in Matthew 17 that Elijah already came through John the Baptist. The messenger has come, and so has the Messiah.
He fulfilled his role as suffering servant and will return as conquering King.
Singing ‘Dayenu’
During the seder, we sing Dayenu, meaning “It Would Have Been Enough.” Each line of the song declares, “It would have been enough,” but God gave more! As believers, we can say, “If you had only forgiven our sins, Dayenu, but He also made us children of God and co-airs with Christ.”
Even facing crucifixion, Jesus still sang the Passover hymns in His darkest hour. Our Messiah praised God. Psalm 116:13 says, “I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” This is what Jesus did for you and me. He took that cup of salvation, drank the cup of judgment, and now offers us eternal life.
The Substance Behind Every Prophetic Shadow
What makes Jesus fundamentally different from any false messiah? He died as our Passover lamb, precisely on Passover day, at the exact time the temple lambs were being slaughtered. He was buried during the feast of unleavened bread, symbolizing his sinless body. He rose on the feast of first fruits. No human could orchestrate this divine timing. Only the true Messiah, who established these feasts with Moses 1,500 years earlier, could fulfill them with such precision.
Friends, the mystery of the Messiah, hidden for ages, is now revealed. He is the substance behind every prophetic shadow. These feasts were prophecies in action that only the true Messiah could fulfill to the letter.
God is not after the rituals, He wants hearts that recognize His Son. I pray that you will see through the beauty of Passover how God planned your salvation from the very beginning and how only through Him can we “Passover” from death to life.
Christian Conservative Coalition 