Name&Purpose

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is very special. It is titled, Sh'mot, which means "Names." The word Sh'mot is also the Hebrew title of the Book of Exodus. The Book of Exodus deals with many amazing events including the deliverance of the Israelites out of the slavery in Egypt, the anointed and miraculous leadership of Moses as the Deliverer appointed by the LORD, the parting of the Red Sea, the receiving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and much more. It tells us something important when such a Book is named for and begins with the concept of "Names." The word Sh'mot, meaning names, is made up of the Hebrew letters shin, mem, vaw and tav. Each of these letters has an individual meaning, and when they are grouped together in this word they could be interpreted to mean: "the mighty consuming rock of water and blood of the nail and the cross/covenant/mark."

     The word Sh'mot, as a title of both the Book and this Sabbath, is taken from the first verse in the Book of Exodus: "Now these are the names (sem/sum - name, renown, fame, reputation, glory, memorial, monument, a mark of honor, authority and character, a mark with which anyone is marked/set, appoint, mark, ordain, establish, determine, transform into, make for a sign, care, preserve, purpose, to set standing in place, to plant, beget, to put garments on oneself, to set on fire) of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob."

     Please note the powerful meaning of the idea of a name as shown in the Hebrew meaning above. It is as if by naming us, the LORD sets marked pillars in place that are monuments of glory, honor, authority and character. At the entrance of the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, called Solomon's Porch," two bronze (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) pillars stood that were (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) named Boaz ("in fleetness and strength") and Jachin ("He [the LORD] will establish"). (see 1 Kings 7:21). This is also where Jesus plainly identified Himself as the Messiah/Christ in Solomon's Porch in the temple of Jerusalem, formally establishing His Kingdom, and also told those who had challenged Him there: "I and My Father are one." (see Jn. 10:22-30). After His resurrection, believers in Christ would meet together in the same Solomon's Porch (see Acts 3:11-16 and Acts 5:12).

     The names of these pillars were no accident but established a prophetic monument of glory honor, authority, and character of the King and Kingdom of God that would be fulfilled by Jesus Messiah/Christ, and also His believers.

     Under the Hebrew meaning for "name", (see sem/sum above), we can see that the name also transforms the person or thing. We have seen in previous Sabbath reading portions how God changed Abram's (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) name to Abraham (Gen. 17:5-7, Neh. 9:7), Sarai's (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) name to Sarah, and Jacob's name to Israel. (see Gen. 32:26-28). As their names were changed, their prophetic purpose was set in place.

     The name Abraham transformed Abram to a father of many nations and kings, and as an establishing point of covenant with God according to the verses noted above. Sarah's name transformed her into a mother of a future son, and a mother of nations and kings. Jacob's new name, Israel, transformed him into a prince who prevails with God and men.

      In another portion from this Sh'mot, "Names", Sabbath reading, Pharaoh's daughter found a baby in the river waters that she named Moses because, as the name means, she drew him out of the waters. (Ex. 2:5-10). The deliverer appointed by God to guide His people out of Egypt, Moses, was taken from the same waters that were claimed by the terrible gods of Egypt who were falsely credited with creative power, including life and death. Using their own place of rulership, the river, to identify His deliverer in this manner, the LORD made fools of those gods before the eyes of the Egyptians who believed and relied upon them. The LORD judged those gods as He judged all of Egypt by the plague of the death of all of the first-born. (see Ex. 12:12).

     Jesus marks our transformation in Him by writing upon us a new name (see sem/sum above): "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar (stylos/histemi - pillar, column, flames rising like a pillar, support/make firm, establish, cause to stand, uphold authority, set in place) in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev. 3:11-13, also see Rev. 2:17).

     Before He was born, Jesus was given His name which reflected His purpose and the monument of authority that He would establish as the angel Gabriel told Mary: "And behold, you will conceive in your womb  and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS (iesous [Greek]/yehoshua [Heb.] - meaning "Jehovah is salvation"). He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Lk. 1:31-33).

     Within the Hebrew meanings above of "name", sem/sum, are included the ideas "to put garments on oneself", and "to set on fire." Believers in Messiah/Christ Jesus particularly are able to find these ideas in scripture. In Galatians 3:26-27, Paul wrote: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on (endyo - out on, clothe with, be clothed) Christ." (see also Rom. 13:12-14 and Eph. 4:20-24). We clothe ourselves in Christ in the same way that we would sink into a garment. After the resurrection, the believers in Jesus Christ were gathered together in the upper room above David's tomb in Jerusalem on the Feast of Pentecost/Weeks, when fire came down from heaven, which was the Holy Spirit, and settled upon the heads of each one. (Acts 2:1-4). To consider the spiritual imagery described here, we could say that each believer became a torch of fire (light) or a living pillar of flame as they received the Holy Spirit in this form. They were transformed in this experience, and the church was established as Peter gave his first sermon regarding faith in Christ and repentance unto salvation to those present who were observing this phenomenon.

     As we can see from all of the above examples from scripture, "What a difference a sem/sum name makes!"

     Going back to our Sabbath reading portion for this week in the Book of Exodus (Sh'mot), the LORD reveals His name to Moses at the burning bush of fire: "Then Moses said to God, 'Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?' And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM (haya/hava - to be, to become, has been, to exist, to come to pass, to be established/to breathe, to be) has sent me to you.' Moreover God said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations." (Ex. 3:13-15). The LORD clothed Himself in fire to reveal His sem/sum name.

     The Hebrew letters yod-hey-vaw-hey that are written for this name, LORD, or "I AM", that was revealed to Moses above, and to all generations to come after him, have the individual meanings when combined that can express this: "Behold, the hand, behold the nail." The name revealed to Moses here means the life, or existing, before, the life now and the life to come (see haya/hava above). He is the breath that forms all life. There is no life without Him as the Existing One. 

     Jesus revealed Himself in the first chapter of the Book of Revelation, saying: "I am the Alpha and the Omega (also Aleph-Tav in Hebrew, see *note at the bottom of the page), the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Rev. 1:4, 8). He also describes Himself as "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen." (v. 18). John 1:4 says: "In Him was life (zoe/zao - absolute fulness of life which belongs to God and to Christ/to live, to breathe, to be alive)...". Clothed in His name, Jesus, we have this same life.

     Each of us is named. According to the choices made, and the Messiah/Christ of salvation either gratefully received or rejected, some of those names are written in the Book of Life, and some are not. The names of life given to us have the power to transform us and establish the Kingdom of God in the earth. The name we have identifies us with the Messiah/Christ Jesus or not: "...that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth...Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (spoken by Peter, the Book of Acts 4:10-12, excerpt). This is the name that has been given to us from heaven for our salvation. Put on, be clothed in that name and live.

     If you would like to know more about the name of the LORD and life, you can pray with me: "Living Father, You have given us Your only begotten Son, Jesus, Yehoshua Salvation, so that I may be transformed from death unto life by that name. You are life forevermore, and You have gifted that same life to me through faith in that name. What power You have placed in Your name for my benefit! Transform me by that name, establish me in that name, and clothe me in that name, "Jesus". I praise and thank You in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Midwives

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled Sh'mot, which means "Names." The title, Sh'mot, is also the Hebrew name for the Book of Exodus. The title comes from Exodus 1:1: "Now these are the names (sem [shem]- name, memorial, monument, conspicuous position, a mark of individuality, by implication honor, authority, character; to mark with a sign, to designate) of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob:" 

     Some who will be named in this reading portion are Moses, who was named by Pharaoh's daughter (Ex. 2:10), the Hebrew midwives, who intervened to spare the lives of Hebrew male babies (Ex. 1:15-20), and the LORD Himself, who revealed His name to Moses as I AM WHO I AM (Ex. 3:13-15), written in Hebrew as YHWH (each Hebrew letter may be interpreted as "Behold the hand, behold the nail").

     The two Hebrew midwives named in Exodus chapter 1 are Shiphrah (sipra/sapar - fair, brightness, beauty, most splendid, related to God's Spirit/pleasing, beautiful, bright, glistening, shine, brilliancy of sound as with a sopar/shofar trumpet) and Puah (splendid, to glitter, brilliancy, mouth). They had been brought before Pharaoh and directly commanded by him that when the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Hebrew women came to them to give birth, the midwives were to kill the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) male Hebrew babies as they were born, but to spare the female babies. How unusual it was for the Pharaoh himself, the most powerful ruler in the world at the time, to have Hebrew midwives come into his royal presence and issue to them his direct command. The two Hebrew midwives ignored Pharaoh's command: "But the midwives (yalad - beget, born, bring forth, midwife, delivered, act as a midwife, help to bring forth, declare one's birth) feared (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) God, and did not do as the king had commanded them, but saved the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) male children (yeled/yalad - child, son, young man/beget, born, bring forth, midwife, delivered, act as a midwife, help to bring forth, declare one's birth) alive (haya, haya - live, alive, save, quicken, revive, life, live forever, restored to life, preserve alive, keep alive)." (v. 17). The Hebrew word for "alive" includes the idea of restored to life and eternal life. As we can see from the Hebrew for "male child", the root word is the word for "midwife". The two are directly connected. There is no live delivery/deliverance without the midwife.

     Because of their actions: "...God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) God, that he provided households (bayit/bana - house, dwelling habitation, family, descendants as an organized body, temple, door/obtain children, build up, establish, made permanent, cause to continue) for them." (v. 20-21). 

     The Jewish Talmud (Sotah 11b), or Rabbinical Judaism, states that Shiphrah and Puah were close ancestors of Moses. It is a fact that directly after the account of the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, in Exodus 1, comes the account of Moses' birth in Exodus 2. From the midwives who delivered children alive, God would bring forth the Deliverer of Israel, Moses.

     One of the interesting thoughts that I came across regarding this Sabbath reading portion and the Book of Exodus in general was that the LORD was birthing something. Because part of the meaning of "Egypt" in Hebrew is "double straits: narrow passage of water, narrow passageway, affording little space, confined in area, shut in, cramped, enclose, shut up, compress, limit, hemming in, fenced," the multiplying of the family of Jacob into the nation of Israel, coming forth from Egypt, is likened to being birthed through a narrow, confined birth passage.  The LORD told Moses regarding His people: "I have come down to deliver (nasal - draw out, pull out) them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land..." (Ex. 3:8).

     We see a similarity as Jesus teaches about the narrowness of the new birth into the kingdom of God and His righteousness: "Enter by the narrow/strait gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow/strait is the gate and difficult/narrow (thlibo - compressed, strait, contracted, narrow, to press hard upon) is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Mt. 7:13-14).

      In this understanding, Moses, the Deliverer, leading the Israelites out of Egypt, can be perceived in the role of a spiritual midwife. Later, as the Israelites constantly complained and cried to Moses with their dissatisfaction and distress, Moses would cry out to God saying: "Why have you afflicted your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that You have laid (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) nursing child', to the land which You swore to their fathers?...For they weep all over me...the burden is too heavy for me." (Num. 11:10-14). Moses was not always happy being a spiritual midwife to the birthing process of a nation.

     In Judaism, God is credited with having the heart and purpose of a midwife, as they cite Psalm 22: "But You are He who took Me (Messiah/Christ) out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother's breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother's womb You have been My God." (v. 9-10).

     In speaking about Jerusalem, the LORD speaks of finding Jerusalem as a cast off birth and who had not been tended by a midwife: "...your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you to do any of these things for you...but you were thrown out into an open field...loathed on the day you were born." (Ezek. 16:4-5). The LORD then said, "And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!'. Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!" (v. 6). The LORD midwifed the newborn Jerusalem, having pity on her. The spirit of the world on the other hand, like Pharaoh, will not assist in spiritual birth but will cast it off as unwanted.

     In Judaism the midwife is called meyalledet, or one who causes or helps with birth.  A Jewish midwife during a birth might traditionally recite prayers known as Tkhines which focus on asking God for a safe and easy delivery, for the well-being of both mother and child, and often include pleas for the baby to be born whole and healthy, with blessings for a good life; key themes of prayer also include invoking the compassion of God, referencing the stories of the midwives Shiphrah and Puah from the Exodus, as we read above, and expressing gratitude for the miracle of new life.           

     What does this have to do with us?

      The entrance into the Kingdom of God requires a new birth: "Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus, a rabbi), 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again (anothen - from above, from the beginning, anew), he cannot see the kingdom of God...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (Jn. 3:3, 5).

     Peter refers to believers as those who have been "begotten again" by God, and "having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God..." (1 Pet. 1:3, 23), and writes about us being "newborn babes" (1 Pet. 2:2).

     As we look at the Hebrew word and meaning for midwife again: yalad - "beget, born, bring forth, midwife, delivered, act as a midwife, help to bring forth, declare one's birth", we can see the importance that the role of the spiritual midwife, both male and female, plays in the kingdom of God. Whether we are able to directly aid in the spiritual rebirth of someone, or whether we serve as spiritual midwives through prayer, the godly and faithful midwife is honored and valued by the Lord, as He honored Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus.

     In these times before the return of Jesus, spiritual midwives, whether male or female, play a special and beautiful role according to the prophet Daniel. Let's remind ourselves of the meaning of the names of the midwives in Exodus, Shiphrah and Puah: "fair, brightness, beauty, most splendid, related to God's Spirit, pleasing, beautiful, bright, glistening, shine, brilliancy of sound as with a sopar (shofar) trumpet, splendid, to glitter, brilliancy, mouth."

     Daniel describes special people of God, particularly associated with the latter days, in the following manner: "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." (Dan. 12:3). There is a special brightness that accompanies those who lead others into the (narrow) way of righteousness. The way is made narrow by the fact that there is only one name under heaven by which we may be saved - Jesus. (Acts 4:10-12).

     Jesus said that He is the light of the world and called us to be the light of the world also, telling us to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (see Mt. 5:14-16). Part of being a shining light is to understand what it means to be a spiritual midwife. In Genesis, a picture is given of a seemingly reborn earth. Before this rebirth of earth, God called forth light. The Holy Spirit lovingly and tenderly moved over the dark and void earth to be in the position to usher the earth and all that would inhabit it into that glorious light. (Gen. 1:1-5). As it was for the rebirth of the earth, it is the same for the rebirth of each soul that comes to the Kingdom of God. There is a guided movement or transition from darkness into light: "...you are...His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called (kaleo - utter in a loud voice, invite, call by name, to bear a name or title, to proclaim 'today') you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10, excerpt).

     To learn more about being a spiritual midwife in the Kingdom of God, you can join me in my prayer: "Father in heaven, You called me to be reborn in Your Son, Jesus, and I ask that I may also pray, teach, and lead others into this spiritual rebirth by Your Holy Spirit. Let me serve as a godly midwife, cleansing, applying salt, and wrapping in the white linen of Your righteousness those who are being reborn into Your Kingdom of light and life. As a shofar trumpet, let me sound or proclaim the day of rebirth in each new spiritual life, and let me speak and pray the blessing of God to keep and nurture that new life. I bless and glorify Your name for the mercy You showed to me and countless others in calling us to Yourself through Your Son, Jesus. AMEN."

     *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

     

Testimony

      "And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev. 19:10).

     The individual who had just prophesied to John in heaven above about the marriage supper of the Lamb was not an angel, nor Jesus, but a fellow believer in Christ. According to the verse above, because this unnamed believer has the testimony of Christ within him, the spirit of prophecy is resident within that testimony. Jesus and the Gospel ARE prophetic, and the prophetic cannot be separated from them nor from those who have Christ. In Christ, our faith is prophetic, our prayers are prophetic, our songs are prophetic, our messages are prophetic, our worship and giving are prophetic. I think that as we begin the Book of Exodus, and the other reading portions of this Sabbath, we will see the significance of this.

     The Book of Exodus is called Sh'mot in Hebrew , meaning "Names". It comes from the first verse of Exodus: We'elleh Shemoth, which means "Now these are the names...".  Sh'mot is also the title of this week's Sabbath reading portion. "The names" refer to Jacob, his eleven sons and their households who came to Egypt, for a total number of seventy individuals. From this seventy, the Israelites in Egypt "increased abundantly, multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them." (Ex. 1:1-7).

     As a new Pharaoh of Egypt came to power, he grew afraid of the millions of Israelites who were living in Egypt. He felt that their loyalty to himself nor Egypt could be counted upon in time of war, and it was feared that the Hebrews would join an enemy and leave the land (v. 8-10). Therefore, Pharaoh insured their service through hard slavery (v. 11-14). He also sought to control the population of male Israelites by having male Hebrew babies killed upon birth (v.15-22). When the Hebrew midwives refused to cooperate with this plan, Pharaoh ordered all of his people to throw every son into the river to drown (v. 22). It seems that the evil of child murder, like all evil, does not remain contained, but its nature and desire is to be pervasive and without limit. The blood-hunger of evil is never satisfied (Prov. 4:14-17, Rev. 17:3-6). Man cannot control evil, not even the most powerful man in the world, Pharaoh, but rather, evil will control man. As the Israelites suffered terribly under the bitter and hard bondage of the Egyptians, it was time for God to send the deliverer of His people, who would be Moses.

     The prophetic promise of a Deliverer came to man as early as the occasion of man's fall in the Book of Genesis, and even earlier (Gen. 1:3-4, Gen. 3:14-15). The promise of the Christ/Messiah Deliverer continued throughout Jewish scripture. The specific prophetic promise to deliver God's people from Egypt came through Abraham (Gen. 15:13-14), and Joseph. Before his death, Joseph prophesied to his brethren: "...I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land (Egypt) to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob...God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here." (Gen. 50:24-25). Amos wrote that God does nothing without telling His prophets first (Amos 3:7), and the prophets tell God's people. We have previously discussed the testimony of Jesus Christ present in the lives of Abraham and Joseph. So we will look at the testimony of Christ, the spirit of prophecy, in this week's Sabbath reading portion.

     As Moses was called by God into the role of deliverer, the LORD spoke to him from the midst of a burning bush. As Moses led his father-in-law, Jethro's (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13) flock (son - shepherd, lamb, sheep, sheepfold, of a multitude, to migrate) into the back of the desert, and came to Horeb (horeb/harab - destroyed, dried up, wasted, decay, smite down, kill, slay), the mountain of God: "...the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush (sene - thorny, bush, to prick). So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed...God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!...I am the God of your father - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God." (Ex. 3:1-6).

      In a place of death, decay and destruction, and in a circumstance that should have led to consuming destruction by fire, there was no destruction and death but a "great sight" (gadol + mare - great, high, greatest, mighty, magnify, praise, powerful, grow, of honor, lift up + vision, favor, countenance, appearance, spectacle, a handsome shape) which Moses turned aside to see (Ex. 3:3). Moses saw a figure and a face in the midst of the fire that should have, but did not, consume. The next time a form is seen within a fiery furnace without harm, the King of the Chaldeans declared "the form...is like the Son of God." (see Dan. 3:19-25).

     The LORD spoke to Moses from the burning bush. The "LORD" is represented by the Hebrew letters yod, hey, vaw, hey, which have an individual meaning of "Behold the hand, behold the nail". This is the testimony of Jesus Christ, the spirit of prophecy, about which we read above: The One whom death cannot consume.

     In another reading portion from this Sabbath, the LORD calls young Jeremiah to be a prophet. The LORD said to him: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." (Jer. 1:5, see also Rom. 8:28-30).

     As the LORD called young Jeremiah, He showed him his first vision: "Moreover the word of the LORD came to me saying, 'Jeremiah, what do you see?' And I said, 'I see a branch/rod of an almond tree." This first vision is very meaningful because it is built around the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy (see above). First there is the branch or rod. This is the Hebrew word maqqel, meaning "rod, staff, a shoot (of germination)". Isaiah also prophesied concerning the Messiah who would judge: "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse (David's father), and a Branch shall grow out of its roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him..." (Isa. 11:1-2). 

     According to the vision which the LORD showed Jeremiah, however, it is a specific branch or rod of an almond tree. This is saqed/saqad in Hebrew, meaning, "almond tree, almond, the first tree to arouse and awake from the sleep of winter/watch, wake, hasten, be on the look out for, sleepless". The almond tree, according to its Hebrew meaning is a symbol of returning life from the sleep of death. There is also a reference to this meaning in Eccl. 12:5. Resurrection from the dead is the testimony of Jesus Christ, the spirit of prophecy. Eccl. 12:5. The root word for almond tree includes the idea of watching and hastening. Those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ also fulfill this role. Peter wrote concerning the believers: "Therefore...what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved...and the elements will melt...? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." (2 Pet. 3:11-13). Those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ walk hand in hand with, and enact, the spirit of prophecy that accompanies that testimony, as we saw with the fellow believer in heaven (see above).

     As Jeremiah reported to the LORD that he had seen the vision of this very important branch of the almond tree, the LORD replied to Jeremiah: "You have seen (ra'a - behold, look, consider, perceive, seer, foresee, have vision) well (yatab - good, pleasing, accepted, be glad, be joyful, to make well, do rightly), for I am ready (or 'I will hasten') (saqad - see above) to perform My word." (Jer. 1:12). The LORD was joyfully glad and pleased that Jeremiah accurately saw the vision of the testimony of Jesus Christ. All of the prophets of God had a revelation of the testimony of Jesus Christ which is the spirit of prophecy.

      From another of this week's Sabbath reading portions, the prophet Isaiah wrote the Word of the LORD concerning the restoration of Israel: "Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom (sus - blossom, shine, sparkle, gleam, flourish, to gaze, make the eyes sparkle, be bright, emit splendor) and bud (parah - bud, sprout, shoot, bloom, break forth, break out, to fly), and fill the face of the world with fruit (tenuba/nub - fruit, produce, increase/germinate, bring forth, make flourish, gushing forth, make cheerful, boiling up, to utter words)." (Isa. 27:16). Before making this prophecy, the LORD gave Isaiah this Word: "Your dead shall live (haya - live, alive, save, revive from death, restore to life); Together with My dead body (nebela/nabel - corpse/to despise, to disgrace, to dishonor, to lightly esteem [see Isa. 53:3]) they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs (ora/or - herbs, light, light of joy and happiness, luminousness/light of life [see Jn. 1:1-4], to become light, shine, glorious), and the earth shall cast out its dead." (Isa. 26:19). This refers to the resurrection of the dead which is the testimony of Jesus Christ which is the spirit of prophecy.

     We who have been privileged to carry the testimony of Jesus Christ, carry the glory of God in Christ, and the prophetic promises of God, including the resurrection of the dead, which was fulfilled and assured by Jesus, Himself. It is also this testimony of Christ that we carry which overcomes Satan: "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of the brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame (nikao - conquer, carry off the victory, of Christ victorious over all His foes, of Christians holding fast to faith in Christ) him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word (logos/lego - speech, Christ as the Word of God, uttered by a living voice, declaration/to say, speak, affirm, teach, call by name) of their testimony (martirya/martys - a testifying, record, report, witness, the office committed to the prophets of testifying concerning future events/witness, martyr, record), and they did not love their lives (psyche/psycho - breath of life, the soul and its feelings, desires and affections/wax cold) to the death." (Rev. 12:10-11). This conquering testimony of Jesus Christ is an essential part of our faith and walk, as it was to all of the previous heroes of faith who served God, like Moses and the prophets. It is of more importance than this world and our desires.

     If you would like to know more about the testimony of Christ in us, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You have revealed to me the Person and testimony of Jesus Christ, which saved me, and brought me into Your Kingdom. This testimony embodies the fulfillment of the prophetic promises of God including the resurrection of the dead. This testimony defeats the enemy of my soul and life.  This testimony looks to and hastens the return of Christ, His reign on earth, and the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, and the new creature in Christ. Let this testimony come alive in me and in my life as a witness by the power of Your Holy Spirit. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Exodus

The sabbath reading for this week begins the Book of Exodus for us. We have finished the Book of Genesis, which is B'reshiet in Hebrew, and "The Beginning" in English, and we discovered several important "beginnings" in it. The word Exodus traces its roots back to Greek and Latin, and means "the road or way out of". As we go through the readings in this second book of the Torah, we will be looking for how the LORD is revealing to us "the road or way out of". This sabbath reading is titled Sh'mot, or "names", and is what the Jewish people call this second Book of the Bible in Hebrew. This week's reading is from Exodus Chapters 1-4, as well as portions from the prophets. As the Book of Exodus opens, the Hebrew people's presence in Egypt had numbered under one hundred, including Jacob/Israel, his sons, and their children. "But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty (like a firebrand that stirs the burning coals to increase a fire); and the land was filled with them." (Ex. 1:7). The new king, or Pharaoh, and his court were "in dread" of the children of Israel, even after imposing hard bondage and bitterness upon them to try and stop their increasing numbers, which did not succeed (v. 8-14). The king feared that if an enemy tried to come against Egypt, the Hebrews would join with the enemy from their location inside Egypt. Pharaoh, the most powerful king on earth at this time, feared man, and the plans of men, and especially feared these foreigners who had never done Egypt harm, but good. Then Pharaoh had another idea since the hard labor imposed upon the Israelites had not reduced their numbers as hoped. He brought the Hebrew midwives before him and commanded them to kill all the male children that were born in their service to the Hebrew women (v. 15). In the Hebrew writing, the boy children of these verses is related to an untranslated "aleph-tav", or "Alpha and Omega" in the Greek, the name of Christ, the Messiah, in Rev. 1:8, 11, 21:6, and 22:13. The Lord had/has placed His Messianic name upon these children of Israel. This is another key to exodus, "the way or rod out of": "...for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:11-12). It is no coincidence that we now see a determined effort to kill children in our era as well. "But the midwives (yalad - beget, born, delivered, to cause or help to bring forth, declare pedigrees, to be created, to declare one's self to be born/pedigree) feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive...Therefore God dealt well with the midwives (that He provided households for them, or gave them families), and the people multiplied and grew very mighty..." (v. 17-21, excerpt). Pharaoh feared what man might do, but these women, who had been called into the presence of the most powerful king in the world, and had been given a direct command from him, feared God rather than man. The names of the midwives were Shiph'rah (supra/sipra/sapar - fair, brightness, beauty, adorn, most splendid, like the heavens that are made to be brightness by the Spirit of God, cleanness, to glisten) and Pu'ah (pua - splendid, to glitter, brilliancy). The names of the midwives are associated with the beauty, brightness and brilliance of the heavens as made by the Spirit of God (see Dan. 12:3). There is an interesting reference in Job: "By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent." (Job 26:13). The meanings of the names of these midwives are very significant, and have particularly special meaning to believers in Christ. Back to our story in Exodus: Pharaoh, not being satisfied with the non-efforts of the midwives on his behalf "...commanded all his people, saying, 'Every son who is born (yillod/yalad-see above) you shall cast into the river (ye'or - almost exclusively used to mean The Nile River in Egypt), and every daughter you shall save alive." (v. 22). The Nile River, referred to only as the River in the Old Testament, is the longest river in the world at over 4,000 miles long. It also played a major role in the ancient Egyptian pagan religion. It was considered to be the river way to be taken from life to death and to the afterlife beyond. God has a different and true "way out of", however. The Nile was also called "the Father of Life" and the "Mother of all men" by the Egyptians. The ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" was used to supposedly guide a soul through death. This is not the exodus or "way or road out of" bondage and death provided by our God, however. Our LORD God is the author of The Book of Life, or Sefer HaChaim, for He is the God of the living, and not the dead (Rev. 3:5, 20:12, Phil. 4:3, Lk. 20:37-38). Our God IS life, and He is living (Deut. 5:26) according to His Name, as we will read later. It is His desire to show us exodus- the true way out of bondage and death, and into life in Him. Roads not only lead out of somewhere, but into somewhere as well. The LORD would later prophesy against the nation of Egypt using their all-important river, the Nile (see Isa. 19:3, 5-15). It is amazing to know that the same river that Pharaoh meant for mass genocide, became, instead, the source from which a "deliverer" of God's people would be drawn, Moses. So far we have learned that "the way or road out of" (exodus) slavery in Egypt begins with the fear of the LORD, rather than the plans of men, even the most powerful of men, even of Godly men (see also Job 40:6-14). In order to save her son, when the mother of baby Moses could no longer hide him, she placed him in an ark of bullrushes sealed with asphalt and pitch and laid the child in the reeds of the Nile River (Ex. 2:1-3). Eventually, the ark was seen in the reeds by the Pharaoh's daughter, who had gone to the river to bathe. When she opened the ark, the baby cried, and she had compassion upon him, and claimed him as her own, and raised him: "So she called his name Moses (mose/masa - draw, to pull out, to save, to preserve) saying, 'Because I drew him out of the water'." (v. 10). Because of Pharaoh's daughter, we can also say that Moses was pulled out of death and into life. This is also a prophetic picture of what God would do for the Israelites, and what He still does for us. It is interesting to learn more about Pharaoh's daughter at this point. Although she is unnamed in this section of Exodus, the historian Josephus recorded that her Egyptian name was Thermouthis, meaning "first mother". She would probably have been named after the half-snake, half-woman goddess, Isis-Thermouthis. The Hebrews credit her with inadvertently being responsible for the redemption of Israel because she saved the baby Moses from the river. She was embraced and "adopted" by the Hebrews and given a new name, Bithia or Bityah, which means "daughter of God (YAH)". She is recorded again as Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, in 1 Chron. 4:17-18, listed as part of the tribe of Judah. Outside of scripture, rabbis in the Midrash include Bithia, the daughter of Pharaoh, in the list of special converts to faith in God who entered Paradise while still alive. Along "the way or road out of", as we saw with the Hebrew midwives who shine like the heavens, God places those who divinely facilitate the way out for others by their obedience to Him. This is the meaning at the root of "Zion" (siyun - waymark, sign, monument, signpost, conspicuous guiding pillar), to be a waymarker or guiding pillar along the route of exodus, and to the City of David. This also should ring awareness "bells" for those who follow Christ. As a man, Moses was forced out of Egypt by death-threats from Pharoah, because Moses had delivered a Hebrew out of the hands of an Egyptian oppressor. While Moses was in exile, he met a man named Jethro, or Reu'el ("friend of God", pasture, shepherd, friend, brother, companion, special friend of God), a priest of the Midians, after having delivered Jethro's seven daughters out of the hands of abusive shepherds (Ex. 2:15-19). Moses was content to dwell with Jethro, and married one of Jethro's daughters, Zipporah (v. 20-21). While Moses was tending to Jethro's (aleph-tav) flocks, he led the (aleph-tav) flocks to the back of the desert, to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God (Ex. 3:1). Again, a name will have special meaning regarding exodus, "the way or road out of". Jethro (yeter/yatar) means "a cord, rope, string, remnant, other part, reserved, preserved, save over, preserve alive, excellence". As we saw previously, Reu'el/Jethro is a special friend or companion of God according to his name. We know that Abraham previously had this same kind of relationship with God (2 Chron. 20:7, Isa. 41:8, James 2:23). There is another group in scripture who were/are called the friends of the Lord. These are the followers of Jesus: "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." (Jn. 15:14-15, see also Gen. 18:17-19). Moses took the (aleph-tav) flocks of Jethro to the backside of the desert. "Backside" is the word ahar, meaning "afterwards, besides, following after, defer, delay". The believers in Christ came after the Israelites in natural time, but Paul taught us that we were foreknown by God and completed (Rom. 8:28-30). As it is written in scripture about David and the prophet Jeremiah, God knows us before we are physically formed and born (Ps. 139:15-16, Jer. 1:5). It is amazing to know this about our "beginnings". We are here now, but we were also there, in spirit, then! Let's finish our story of Moses for this week. Moses took the (aleph-tav) flock of Jethro to Mt. Horeb (a lower summit of Mt. Sinai, meaning desolate, destroyed, destroyer, decayed, slay, smite down, kill). According to the meaning of the word, this place is associated with death, destruction, decay, and hopeless desolation. However, it is about to become a place of a miraculous sign of deliverance and life, and where God will reveal His saving name: "And the Angel of the LORD appeared to (Moses) in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So (Moses) looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed." (Ex. 3:2). When Moses turned to see this great sight, the LORD called to him, "Moses, Moses!" The LORD said: "I am the God of your father - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look upon God (v. 4-6). God said that He had seen the oppression of His people in Egypt, and heard their cries because of their taskmasters (nagas - oppressor, ruler, king, tyrant, exert pressure, harass, driver, tyrannize). The flames and fire that appeared from the middle of the bush were likened in Hebrew to the gleam on the tip of a spear, or a sharply polished blade of a sword. The Hebrew also includes the idea of the fiery wrath of God in this burning flame. This burning was a sign of war from God against the oppressive tyranny over His people. The bush that appeared to be burning was sene in Hebrew - a thorn bush. For Abraham in Genesis, the thorn bush held a ram for sacrifice. Here in Exodus, regarding the oppression of His people, the thorn bush contained the fire of the wrath and sword of God (see also Isa. 27:1). Then God said to Moses: "I have come down (yarad - descended, sink down, to be prostrated, brought down) to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey..." (v. 7-8, see also Eph. 4:8-10)). Not only would the exodus way bring God's people out of Egypt, but it would also bring His people into a good and large land flowing with milk and honey. The fire that burned (ba'ar) was kindled by the "dull-hearted, stupid, brutish, and barbarous", according to the Hebrew meaning of the word. At this time, Moses was commanded by God to return to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, and bring about the delivery of God's people, with the help of, and by the judgments of God. Moses was very reluctant, but God said to him: "I will certainly be with you..". (Ex. 3:12). A sign to Moses that God would do this was the promise from God that after the people have been brought out of Egypt, they will serve God on the very mountain where Moses was now standing, Horeb/Sinai. The message Moses was to give to Pharaoh from God was: "...'Thus says the LORD: Israel is My son, My firstborn...Let My son go..." (Ex. 4:22-23). Moses asked what God's name was in order to tell the Israelites if they asked. "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM' (haya/hava - was, has been, become, to be, exist, abide, continue, to be finished/to be, to breathe, breath). And God said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent (salah - let loose, send, stretch out, shoot forth, be impelled) me to you.' Moreover God said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.' (Ex. 3:13-15). That name of God given here is written with the four Hebrew letters Yod, Hey, Vaw, Hey. These individual pictographic letters carry the meaning, "Behold the hand, Behold the nail". This is the name of the Deliverer of Israel Who "comes down". There is only one exodus, and one Name, that is the "way or road out of' bondage to spiritual tyrants, rulers and death. Jesus said: "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (Jn. 14:6). It is also written: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is His own flesh..." (Heb. 10:19-20). The exodus is not by the power of an earthly ruler, nor by the power of any man, nor pagan religion, but by the Way that the LORD has made for us. As we continue our sabbath readings in the Book of Exodus, we will see more of that Way out of death, and into life. If you would like to know more and walk in the Way of exodus, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, and Great I AM, You have provided Your people with a Way out of bondage and death, and into Your promise of life. I can see the identity of Your Son throughout the Way, and I want to remain faithful to follow and remain on this road that You have made for me through the body of Your Son, Your firstborn Son. You are our Deliverer Who sees our bondage, and hears our cries, and comes down. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I can learn more about the Way that You have made for me. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Exposed

Reading the Sabbath portions for this week really made me stop and consider my faith, and the challenges to it. I think these issues are especially important for the time in which we live, and the days ahead. This Sabbath's portions are titled "Sh'mot", or "Names". I believe that these portions from the Old Testament, or Tanakh, are very relevant to the conditions of today, and the knowledge necessary for the days ahead, as we will see. Three examples from these readings deal with pivotal servants of God, who must contend with their fear, doubt, and unbelief. In Exodus 3, Moses is called by God to be the deliverer of His people who were suffering not only under hard bondage (Ex. 1:12-14), but the threat of murder of their children (v. 15). Moses, in exile from Egypt, heard the voice of God saying tht He has come down to deliver His people from the oppression of Pharaoh (Ex. 3:7-8). Not only will the LORD deliver them from slavery, but will bring them to "a good and large land". The LORD told Moses that He will send Moses to Pharaoh in order to accomplish this deliverance. Moses is taken aback and asks, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" The LORD assured Moses that He will go with Moses. Still unsure how this great deliverance will be pulled off (Moses is very familiar with the house of Pharaoh, and the greatness of his army), Moses asks God His name, and is told: "I AM WHO I AM" (v. 14). This deliverance is not just a work of God, but it is Who God IS. Do we know God in this way? Or do we just know Him by His works? Of His name, the LORD proclaimed, "This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations." Moses was still full of doubts and is shown amazing confirming signs by God: his shepherd's rod became a serpent and then a rod again, his hand became leprous and then was healed, water poured out became blood. In his fear and doubt, Moses told God that he was incapable of the assignment because he was slow of speech and tongue. Even after God assured Moses that He would "be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall say", Moses asked God to send someone else (Ex. 4:10-13). God became angry. The LORD then told Moses that He will also send his brother, Aaron, to be with Moses. Before Moses could even carefully consider all that God had shown and told him, fear, doubt, even unbelief had jumped in to make Moses resist the expressed will of God, and doubt the possibility of a miraculous deliverance of God's people from the hold of Pharaoh. In another Sabbath portion, God calls Jeremiah to be His prophet (Jer. 1). In this calling, the LORD reveals to Jeremiah that He knew, sanctified and ordained Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations before God formed him in the womb (v. 4-5). Jeremiah's immediate response in fear, doubt and avoidance was, "Ah, LORD GOD! Behold I cannot speak for I am a youth." (v. 6). Jeremiah did go on to serve God as a prophet through three kings' reigns. He not only prophesied the beginning and ending of Judah's 70 year exile, but also the basis of the end time's 70 weeks of years later revealed in detail to Daniel. We never plan to be overcome and respond in fear, doubt, and unbelief, but because they are our constant stalkers until they are exposed by God, they often jump in and respond for us automatically. Like Moses and Jeremiah, we often try to rationalize and make excuses for our fear, doubt and unbelief when they show themselves. In the third example from the Sabbath portion, poor tormented Job is given a wakeup call from God regarding the doubt and unbelief that has filled his heart in the face of his many painful trials. Job, a man used mightily by God (see Job 29), started out strong, but his ongoing, unexplained, unrelenting, tragic suffering caused him to give in to those fleshly stalkers: fear, doubt, and unbelief. Perhaps the door to those staalkers had been opened because Job had come to trust more in his own righteousness than in Who God is, and His name. God hinted at this possibility as He said to Job, "Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God?...Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and array yourself with glory and beauty...Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you." (Job 40:6-14, excerpt). The story of Job teaches us that we must have endurance and patience even in the most dire trials, but there was even more accomplished through the trial of Job. God revealed to us knowledge of the Accuser of the Brethren, who accuses us before God day and night, and God made an open show of him through the trial of his servant Job (Job 2, Rev. 12:10-11). These great servants of God, Moses, Jeremiah, and Job, were vulnerable, as we are, to fear, doubt, and unbelief. In dealing with the lack of belief in Who the Person of God really is to us, what His name really indicates to us, Jesus asked, "...when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:8). We think that of course we trust God, of course we rely upon Him, but Jesus then told the parable of the man who thought himself righteous, more so than others, but the man was in truth, found wanting before God (v. 10-14). It is easy to fall into the trap of believing our own righteousness, believing that we are not vulnerable to fear, doubt, and unbelief, until we are tested, and those silent stalkers become quickly exposed. The testing of God exposes these things in our lives, because they are deadly to us. These destructive companions are lying right behind us to challenge us every step of the way. We face many trials and tests by God. Although it may seem that the challenges come from unjust men, trying circumstances, or even spiritual enemies, it is the Lord who is using these hardships for good- to expose our fears, doubts, and unbelief. Why is it important for these things to be revealed, even through great hardship to us? Our lives, our salvation, our purpose depends upon it. Truths are established, judgments are set, and God's name is revealed by and through the testing of His people: "...My people went down at first into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here," says the LORD, "that My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them make them wail," says the LORD, "and My name is blasphemed continually every day. Therefore, My people shall know My name; Therefore, they shall know in that day that I am He that speaks: Behold, it is I." (Isa. 52:4-6). The testing and trials, whether small or extremely great, are not for God's benefit, but ultimately for ours, by the work that God does through them. We are familiar with the verses from James: "My brethren, count it all for joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (enduring, steadfastness, sustaining, cheerful hope and endurance; to remain, abide, not recede or flee)). But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4). How can we take joy in the trials that we face, as James tells us? Trials do not produce joy in the heart. However, the trials produce needed perfection. Considering how closely those three silent companions, fear, doubt, and unbelief, follow us, and how quickly they take every opportunity to overtake us, if trials can expose them, then those trials are indeed to our advantage. The endurance or patience produced by the trials of God is absolutely necessary for our salvation: "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." (Mt. 10:22). "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved." (Mt. 24:12-13). Great tests are coming, and fear, doubt and unbelief that we have not allowed God to reveal will shipwreck us. In the end times especially, endurance or patience rather than fear, doubt and unbelief, is and will be essential in believers for our spiritual survival: "By your patience (endurance) possess your souls." (Lk. 21:19. Even the defeat of Satan and his earthly servants is affected by the endurance of the saints: "He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints." (Rev. 13:10). The judgment of the Beast and those who cooperate with him is affected by the endurance of the saints: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." (Rev. 14:9-12). May the hidden companions, the stalkers of fear, doubt and unbelief be exposed, and may the people of God endure in faith in the days ahead. Our Father exposes those things that will destroy our faith. If you would like to begin your journey with God through the salvation and righteousness of His Son, Jesus, you can pray: "Lord Jesus, I understand that I cannot rely upon my own righteousness to be saved. I believe that You died and rose from the dead to become my righteousness, my faith, and my endurance. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to help me, guide me, and teach me in the way of endurance and truth. Forgive me of my sins, and expose in me fear, doubt and unbelief. In Your holy name, which is a memorial to all generations forever, I pray. Amen."