B.E.S.T. Shabbat

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2 Last chapter, we spoke about first love. First love is a state of newness in love, a renewal of passion, and a statement of priority. God is love and the most important thing we can do to align with Him and walk free from sin is to walk in His love. God is love and God is reality. There is no reality apart from Him. The deceiver who is known by the name Satan is the author of a web of deceit woven from an abundance of lies that cause the children of God to experience death. Yeshua called this lost state being the children of lies. "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murdere

"'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." Revelation 2:4 Reality is founded on love. We have been indoctrinated into accepting a universe that is held together by dead cosmic forces. Space has been described as cold and dead. God has been relegated to a belief system and is perceived by most as an antiquated tool or crutch of the mentally and emotionally immature who cannot grasp and accept the impersonal nature of a universe that is both uncaring and actually perceived through the lens of climate change as intolerant of both the ignorance and the outright hubris of humanity. The proponents of technology as a legitimate god supplanting the need for a personal God of love have argued that humans are at war with nature and unless we discover a more effective way to co-exist with the natural order, we stand on the brink of overpopulation and the potential for mass extinction. The narrative includes criticisms of ourselves as bigoted, antiquated,

"But as it is written: "EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."" 1 Corinthians 2:9 Shame, as we have spoken about, is a system of cover-ups to avoid exposure. It is rooted in the fear of punishment and death. This condition of the heart is actually a torment to the heart. It is death to our nature to live a life rooted in shame and trying to find a way to avoid being judged and then tormented in that fear of judgment. True joy is sacrificed for the illusion of emotional safety. As we seek to avoid the bullying impact of shame, we change by necessity, how we perceive life and reality. This shift in perception blinds us and deafens us to the kingdom of God and the voice of the Lord. Yeshua calls this the blind leading the blind. "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."" Matthew 15:14

""Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4 (NASB) Perceptions define our reality. The kingdoms of our lives are what exercise authority in what we can think and do. Authority is what we obey. It is the voice that has our ear and our heart. We learn early in life to listen to certain voices and to trust in those voices. Our trust is the gift of our heart. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 (NASB) Solomon realizes this principle and directs those who pursue truth and wisdom to return or to repent in the trust of their heart to the Lord. The contrast or the way of the fool is to lean on our own understanding. Why does Solomon use the metaphor of leaning and not just say also to not trust our own understanding? Leaning implies support outside of one's self. But you might answer he said our own understanding? Yes, it is ours but it wasn’