B.E.S.T. Shabbat

"And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one;” Mat 13:37-38 (NASB) To listen to the audio-only version click below  Seed determines identity. Today with DNA testing, we have the capability to determine paternity or fatherhood of a child. This is because the child contains the same seed in their identity that they received from their biological father. In the spiritual life, seed is called the word of God. “The sower sows the word." Mar 4:14 (NASB) In the parable of the sower Yeshua tells us about 4 conditions of the soil. These reflect different scenarios of receptivity to the voice of the Lord. We spoke last week about the first condition, which is in many ways a front-line condition called the side of the road. "as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up." Mar 4:4 (NAS

"… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Eph 6:17 (NASB) To listen to the audio-only version click below  Meditations of the heart are where we wage the true warfare of the spirit. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might." Eph 6:10 (NASB) How do we “be strong in the Lord”? We do that by aligning the faith in our heart with the truth of His Word. "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called , and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1Ti 6:12 (NASB) The “fight” of faith is an internal war. Paul tells Timothy that he needs to take hold of the eternal life to which he was called. Can you hear the effort suggested? Think of things you take hold of that have power in your life. If you ride horses, you take hold of the reins. If you ride motorcycles, you take hold of the handlebars. Taking hold of something of power means a conscious effort

And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph 6:17 NASB) To listen to the audio-only version click below  We have been pressing in for the power of an untroubled heart’ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid . (Joh 14:27 NIV) There is a dual warning here. The first part is allowing our hearts to be troubled. The second part is statement of being called being afraid. The first is a choice, allowing our hearts to become troubled. The second is more of a consequence, being afraid. When our heart is troubled, it leads to us being out of His peace. Being out of His peace is the place of fear. A troubled heart is an agitated heart. The Greek word translated as troubled in this verse is the word “tarasso”. It means to stir something. In Hebrew the word is Hamoor, which is the picture of a darkness that is in the deepest parts that becomes v