Category: Blog

 

Teshuvah is the appointed time and the season of our repentance. A season and an appointment for my heart check.

On Tuesday I talked about The LORD showing me that repentance is a sign in maturity. I say ‘in’ maturity not ‘of’ maturity because they are actually two completely  different seasons.  We can live and become another year older. Just because we get another year of life does not necessarily mean we learned the lessons required to take us beyond where we are in our spiritual life.

A Season in Time

A time of reflection

A time to assess,

What is working well?

What is causing duress?

A time of reflection

Take time to inspect,

Is my life bearing fruit?

The kind He expects?

 

I’m not to compare

Or look at another,

Not to be jealous

Nor envy a brother.

I am only measured

By His perfect design,

So I must access this heart

Never allow for decline.

Oh my soul, listen

Align with His word,

Become a doer

Of what ears have heard.

A season in time

Set aside for reflection,

This is my heart check up,

And I have no objection?

 

Poem written by laurette laster © 2018 August.

 

I’ve heard that you can have twenty years experience, or you may have one years experience twenty times. When we as Christians hear about repentance we may ask the following question. Well I’m in Christ do I still need to repent? The answer is yes. Yes we repent for many reasons. In all actuality we should be growing in grace and truth as we continue our walk with The Lord. Holy Spirit is helping us. In Romans we read that we may not even know how to pray. “And, in like manner also, the Spirit doth help our weaknesses; for, what we may pray for, as it behoveth us, we have not known, but the Spirit himself doth make intercession for us with groanings unutterable,” (Romans 8:26 YLT). We can intercede for others and repent on their behalf. In intercessory prayers we are asking for The Lord to grant them the grace to repent and change. We discussed the verse, “For it is the grace of God, God’s overwhelming goodness that leads a person to repentance.”  Only after seeing and experiencing the amazing goodness of God and His attribute of beauty and love, do we experience Godly sorrow that leads to repentance never to be repented of again. There are actions, sins, overt and covert, that we will never commit again. However as long as we are growing up, speaking the truth in love, into The Head which is Christ Jesus, we must have a repentant life style. This is not to say we have a woe is me lifestyle. No this doesn’t even compare to actual repentance. Repentance is life being lived and knowing and acknowledging there is a higher way to handle situations and conversations with God. The heart of repentance is maintaining a teachable spirit.

“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning,” (Proverbs 9:9 ESV).

 

According to the Talmud, God created repentance before He created the physical universe, making it among the first things created. (Nedarim 39b).[1]

A few years ago The Lord gave me an illumination of His creation. He put a thought or an idea in my head for me to meditate and think on. Ever since this revelation came to my mind, I have wondered about this. Is this why God began with evening as His recorded time when speaking of day? Could this be why God listed night first? He called the evening the start of the day.

 

In the beginning, Genesis 1 it says; the evening and the morning were the first day and the evening and the morning were the second day, and so on.

If God were going to require something of us we can be assured that He makes the way visible and plain. We are responsible for discovering what He requires and then we must choose by having a teachable spirit to do what He requires. If this is so, wouldn’t it make sense that God would make a way for us to wash off the day’s dirt or wrongs before retiring? Of course it would. Why? Because we know and believe God is our Perfect Creator and The God of perfect order.

The Bible tells us our heart is awake while our body sleeps. We want to be clean from any offenses so we can hear clearly what The LORD wants to tell us. Remember in Exodus the children of Israel were told to wash their clothes before coming to meet The Father. Repentance is washing our minds and our souls so we can come before our Father in the morning.

Let us pray

Dear Heavenly Father. I come before you today asking that You show me and teach me Your ways. I desire to know Your ways not simply Your acts. Lord Jesus You said repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Usher me into all truth by Your Holy Spirit. My heart’s desire is to know You in a deeper more intimate way. Show me Your beauty and goodness, that others may see and desire You. Amen

Don’t miss the wonderful season of The LORDS drawing. He requires we return with our whole heart.

Shuv, turn or Teshuvah, return

Teshuvah is truly my favorite time of year.

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette

 

Rosh Hashanah is almost here. It is my favorite time of the year.

I love when our Lord sends confirmation. It isn’t that I doubt, because I do not doubt the importance of this season. I do however wonder if I am able to communicate the woven pattern and importance of these seasons to others. This season of Teshuvah and leading into Rosh Hashanah and The Day of Atonement are very important to our Heavenly Father.

In 2008 an employee and a friend of mine ask me, “What is Rosh Hashanah?” She said, “I know you will know.” I felt like I should know but I didn’t. In fact I had never heard of Rosh Hashanah that I could recall. I had no idea what Rosh Hashanah was. So I had to use my life line and phone a friend. The friend I called was my mom. I explained to my mom that I needed some information about Rosh Hashanah. My mom said she would get to work on this and get back to me soon. About two hours later my mom called and said she had sent me several emails on Rosh Hashanah. Mom said, “Oh Laurette, you are going to want to search this out.” And was she ever right. Thus began the journey and the search for more of Him. I am hungering more and more for more of our Lord.

Embrace

Come away from noise and hurried bustle,

Unsettled times, life’s constant rustle.

When apart with You, my heart feels calm,

Your Spirit, Your Voice, silence all alarm

While inwardly my heart is groaning,

Lord, eyes and ears You are honing.

My safe refuge my hiding place,

I come away to seek Your Face.

And hear You calmly speak a Word,

My soul finds rest, safely assured.

In quietness and rest, loves solitary place,

Your words in my heart, intimate embrace.

That I may know, feel safe and secure,

Quiet and still, full trust, so sure.

Silence the chatter and thoughts that drown

This simple truth; You have never let me down!

Or reneged nor forgotten nor even blinked,

Each one sealed and delivered, signed in red ink.

Shall I continue to go and still believe?

Awaken my heart, embrace and receive.

For every Word out of Your Mouth is true

My rock, my refuge, certain trust, Yes I do!

laurette laster © 2017

Psalm 119:114,119 MSG Bible

You’re my quiet place of retreat; I wait for Your Word to renew me…..

Therefore I lovingly embrace everything you say.

I believe in 2008, Rosh Hashanah was the last days of September and the first day of the month of October. I told Greg, whom I barely knew at the time that we needed to teach on this subject at our bible study. He agreed and the study began. On Monday the day of our bible study I was reading and searching and studying my notes, emails, and bible frantically. I had been studying already and now the day had arrived to begin the teaching. I had so many things to get done this day which was my day off. I had decided I would have to set my notes aside and get onto housework and mowing my lawn.

It was almost 5:30 when I was finishing up the mowing. Did I mention I was frantic? I was hurrying and praying and asking The Lord, “please help me; I need to be in the shower now.” About that time I hit a patch of leaves and scattered them all over the yard. Looking back it wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but at the time it was to me. I finished the mowing and went to my shop to get a rake to rake up the mess I had made. By this time I am extremely frantic and I was praying fervently. “Lord help me, I am teaching on Rosh Hashanah and I don’t even have my notes in order and the people will be here soon and I don’t have enough knowledge to teach this. Help Me Father I need Your help.” At that very moment I heard the audible Voice of our Heavenly Father. He said to me, “LAURETTE, THE TREE IS IN ROSH HASHANAH!”  Needless to say I have never been the same. I still to this day think about this with such awe. My Heavenly Father spoke these words to me. Out of His Voice I heard His Words. Heaven opened over a frantic young woman as she was raking leaves. As I was studying and desperate to learn more about Him, my Heavenly Father, and my Lord, and understand Holy Spirit and His seasons, He spoke audibly to me concerning them. I always think back to this time when I am teaching this. If it was important enough for heaven to come down and open over me, a frantic young woman mowing her lawn, and for God Almighty, Himself, to speak to me about it, He must want us to understand. Did He give me a mandate to teach this? Is that why He spoke to me audibly? I like to think He did give me this mandate.

I stopped dead in my tracks. With my rake still in my hands, I stood up straight and I turned and looked toward my 65 foot tall tree, and I got it, I understood, and I got it. (Today I like to think, I might have looked like Moses leaning on his staff as in the movie, The Ten Commandments, as I leaned on my rake, not really but maybe this was good for a laugh). As I looked at my tree I got it. All my hours of reading and studying were nothing compared to His words. I’ve since heard, what you cannot explain simply you do not understand fully. That is a right on statement. Wow isn’t this a perfect picture of our Lord explaining Rosh Hashanah and repentance to me, with 7 simple words? I didn’t realize until writing this that it was seven words. There is a teaching in that. Simple! A simple explanation yet so deep it has opened up years of study for me. And I have only scratched the surface.

My one hundred plus year old tree was shedding its leaves or repenting of its leaves. The leaves represent a growing season. A season of growing, learning, and lessons learned over the past year. It also represents a season of letting go. I must let go of the old to prepare for the new. I take the invaluable lessons learned into my core (roots) to give me nourishment. I repent of the dead works, the things and ways that cannot go with me into the upcoming season.  As Christians we are like trees. We go through seasons year after year. This is how we grow and become strong and become mature or old enough to bear fruit. Repentance is a sure sign of maturity and maturing. Wow now you know why, Teshuvah and the season of our repentance is my favorite time of the year. I heard His voice and I hear now, just like this happened yesterday.

Isaiah 55:6 Call upon The Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.

This scripture in Isaiah is recited often during the Hebrew month of Elul and during Teshuvah. This scripture is pointing out the truth of the King is in the fields. This scripture also points to the meaning, there are set times and appointed times that are in God’s hands.

As I meditate on this scripture there are nuggets of deep truth that we would do well to know and understand. This verse expressly speaks of appointments and appointed times or seasons. I will not search for something if I do not know it is lost. I cannot find something if I am not looking for it. How will I know to look? I will not look if I haven’t seen or heard there is something missing for which I am to search for.

Also, I cannot speak to someone who is out of my range of communication. Neither can I speak to someone who isn’t interested in what is important to me.

Our Heavenly Father, The God who knows how many hairs are on our head wants us to yearn to know more about Him.

Appointed times are for our benefit and learning. If I am going to reap I must sow first. It would be foolish of me to await a harvest if I didn’t plant anything. I would not knowingly plant out of season. And it is certain I cannot harvest if I didn’t plant any seed. We must be able to rightly divide and understand God’s appointed times. Then we decide to go after, to return (Teshuvah) to the heart of our Lord with our whole hearts. He wants our whole hearts.

The word integrity comes from the root work integer. The definition of integer is any whole number. Meaning it is not a fraction or a decimal. It is a whole number. It isn’t a fragment or a percentage. It is a whole number. The LORD wants our whole heart not a part of percentage. Our soul may be fractured or in pieces yet we know we have promises for healing. In Psalm 23 David tells us The Lord is our Shepherd, and He restores our soul. To enable The LORD to heal our soul we must come and return to Him. We bring Him all the pieces of our mind, our will, and our emotions, the deepest part of us, our entire heart. He has restored my soul and He longs to restore your soul. I am certain of it.

Think about the game we played as kids of hide and go seek. Wouldn’t it have been sad if you were playing this game with friends, and you went away and hid and no one came to search for you? In scripture our Lord Jesus tells us that blessed are those who hunger and thirst, for they shall be filled. That is a picture of searching for the fulfillment of our soul starvation. We know Jesus is The Bread of Life (hunger) and we also know He is Living Water (thirst).

Remember His Mo’eds are times and seasons of rehearsals. What if when He comes He doesn’t find you? This is the season of Teshuvah and is not a game and Our Lord is not hiding from us. He is signaling to us. The Lord is wooing us into action, to seek Him. Each time and each season we seek, we grow into a deeper more mature relationship with Him. As we continue to become closer and closer, He leads us into truth and away from harm.

If we wander off, He permits us to go. He doesn’t want us to wander off yet He allows us to go away. Then we begin to hunger and thirst realizing we are in a desperate drought. Then we do what we are known for, we send out our SOS signal, and call out to Him. Jesus said in the beatitudes; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous for they shall be filled. The plan is that we use our minds and understanding and grow up. When we become mature we stop future wandering. Because just like that tree we are now rooted and grounded.

Then shall we know if we follow on to know The LORD, His going forth is prepared as the morning. He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and the former rain unto the earth.

Teshuvah my favorite time of the year,

Don’t miss this.

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette

I pray this is a turn around year and better than any we have had.

Yom Teruah is one week away. May we be inscribed for a good and sweet year. “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem – May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.”

Hosea 6:1-3

Let us know; let us press on to know The LORD; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us like the rain, like the autumn and spring rains come on the earth.

The Latter and Former Rain

There is way that seems right to man

But in the end destruction

For when we seek to go our way

Ends in ideology and destruction

 

There is a way that is proven

To be right and even desirous

This is The Way our Lord advised

To advance His kingdom, Jesus required us

 

For when we seek to go our own

We thwart God’s power and toss

Having no one to blame we’re deceived

And become an enemy of the Cross

 

But if we continue on to know

Pursue knowledge, let us come and grow

We have so many securities

So many proofs He longs to show

 

For as the evening and the morning

The darkness turns into light

The Former and the latter

Becomes a continuous passage right

 

Let us pursue the knowledge

Of The Lord as we continue on to know

His going forth is established

As the morning, He has spoken and He shows

 

He will come to us and heal us

Where we are torn He longs to heal

When we pursue with all our heart

Continue on to know His will

 

Harvest rains in spring and autumn

Our Lord sends rain in season

Lord water our hearts and show

Your going forth and reason

 

Come and let us return to The Lord

our wounds He hath bound

Call upon His Name

While He is near and can be found.

Poem written by laurette laster © 2018

This is a precious season of Teshuvah, an appointed time set by our Heavenly Father. How do we Teshuvah and then Return with our whole heart? We must set our renewed minds to do the will of God.

In the New Testament Mark 12:30 we hear our Lord Jesus Christ as He quotes from the book of Deuteronomy, 6:5. Read these two passages and you will find that our Lord Jesus inserts the word “mind” in the text in the book of Mark. This is the key to fighting the spiritual battle and winning. If we are fighting yet never winning something is wrong. We know that our soul is mind, will, and emotions, right? So why did our Lord make specific mention of the word mind and set it apart by itself?  It is because we will have to have the renewed mind of Christ in searching and determining the will of God for our lives. To him who knows what is right but doesn’t do it, it is sin. “If, however, a man (mankind) knows what it is right to do and yet does not do it, he commits a sin” (James 4:17 Weymouth). Have you committed any sins?

 

“I will give them a heart to know Me, [understanding fully] that I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.” (JEREMIAH 24:7 Amplified). This is to say we return with our entire renewed spiritual mind.

 

“I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away. (Hosea 14:4).

Teshuvah is not a season but a life style for born again Christians. We cannot walk a perfect walk nor do we get a complete change of mind at our conversion. We receive a born again spirit and the unction to begin again. However the decision remains our own to complete and walk out. We must do the work of renewing our mind. Read Romans 12:1-3

The Greek word metanoia is also translated as the word Teshuvah, meaning to change your course and return. The Greek word for mind is dianoia, where we get the word diagnoses or understand. Metanoia is to change your mind. Metanoia: change of mind, repentance. Dianoia is to understand the need for repentance.

METANOIA Strong’s Concordance 3341 Original Word: μετάνοια, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: metanoia
Phonetic Spelling: (met-an’-oy-ah)
Short Definition: repentance, a change of mind
Definition: repentance, a change of mind, change in the inner man.

DIANOIA Strong’s Concordance 1271 dianoia: the mind, disposition, thought

Original Word: διάνοια, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine

Transliteration: dianoia
Phonetic Spelling: (dee-an’-oy-ah)
Short Definition: understanding, intellect, mind
Definition: understanding, intellect, mind, insight.

 

diánoia (from 1223 /diá, “thoroughly, from side-to-side,” which intensifies 3539 /noiéō, “to use the mind,” from 3563 /noús, “mind”) – properly, movement from one side (of an issue) to the other to reach balanced-conclusions; full-orbed reasoning (= critical thinking), i.e. dialectical thinking that literally reaches “across to the other side” (of a matter).

Once we are born again we have spiritual eyes and ears that see and perceive and hear and understand a new language.  We must learn and grow spiritually just as we did physically.
“As we are growing up” into The Head which is Christ, expect some blunders along the way. I assure you, you will mess up. Do you always speak the truth in love? Have you walked away from correcting someone that you know The Lord wants to instruct? Have you missed the opportunity to impart wisdom for fear of not fitting in? Have you maybe thought they won’t receive my instruction? I challenge you and me, that we are to speak the truth in love, and our Lord Jesus will then cause the increase. How can there be harvest without seed sown.

 “There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, “slid forward.” They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders–those who have been born of the incorruptible …

Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It.”

 

What does it mean to be wholeheartedly committed?

The example, The Lord gave was when He was in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus said, “Never the less not my will, but Thy will be done.”

And we know Jesus was talking about going to the Cross. He became completely committed to the will of God and the plan of God for His life. We read in Isaiah that He set His face like flint.

Now We Must Set Our Faces Like Flint

Isaiah 50:4-7 (NKJV)

4 “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to hear as the learned.

5 The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away.

6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

7 “For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.”

A true revelation of The Cross of Christ is how God changes our hearts. This is how He made a way for our return. The Cross of Christ is the beginning of turn. There is so much more. He rose again that we may have life and life more abundantly.

Let us pray

Dear Heavenly Father I come to You today in complete turning. I turn my mind, my will, my emotions, and my heart, completely over to the correction of Your word. Oh forgive me for holding back and thinking it was ok. Forgive me for thinking I couldn’t do what You have ask me to do, thinking only of my lack of strength while denying Your grace. Your grace is sufficient and more than enough for all I need. I do not want to live a half hearted Christian life. Lord Jesus You gave all for me, help me give all for You. God, You gave me life and I want to live my life for You.  I dedicate all of me, to all of You, this year. I want this year and this season to be a turn around year in my life. Turning, not only for me Lord, but for the many others I may reach for You. I long to walk in Your favor and blessings and also to be a part of the ministry of reconciliation for my family and for Your family. Jesus I pray this prayer in Your name. Amen

 

Don’t miss the wonderful season of The LORDS drawing. He has torn but He will heal.

Shuv, turn or Teshuvah, return

Teshuvah this is my favorite time of year.

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette

 

The Season of Repentance, the Season of Returning.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 GNB
“I know that everything God does will last for ever. You can’t add anything to it or take anything away from it. And one thing God does is to make us stand in awe of him.”

This is a supernatural time to prepare, a time to return, a time to continue on with The LORD in covenant. This is the season of the wedding rehearsal.

Every season
Indeed is for purpose,
Help us see the times
You’ve set for service.

We are Your body
Your feet and hands,
May we never be found,
Afraid to take a stand.

Help us hold fast Your truths
never water down,
Remember the word of God
first a verb and not only a noun.

Called to be doers
and walk in alignment,
With Your set purposes,
discover our assignment.

To everything there is a season
A time for every purpose under heaven.
Pour out our hearts willingly
Purified of all leaven.

Commit all our ways
Earnestly to You Lord,
Hold fast to Your truths
Obedient to Your word.

Taking delight
In Your Holy plans,
order our steps
by Your commands.

The season has come
And the time is at hand
Show us Oh Lord
how to take our stand.   (excerpt from poem © laurette laster – Signs and Seasons)

A time to become one with the Almighty

This morning as I was meditating and thinking about the verses in the bible that use the words and the phrases,  “return to Me says The Lord, and I will return to you.” A truth occurred to me. One I already know and when I explain this, most of you will realize you have known this too. However this morning it was a light bulb moment. These verses and phrases are a uniting or a joining together. The verses are pointing to future events as well as right now circumstances. Then now and future events, that join together,  first and last, old and new, types and shadows being fulfilled and thus illuminated at the appointed times.

The majority of the verses that instruct us to turn, shuv or return, Teshuvah are found in the first Testament or The Old Covenant. Or as some say the Old Testament. That wasn’t new to me, but the ‘why’ is what hit my spirit this morning. When we have broken covenant there must be reconciliation and a restoration period. There is a time to repent, acknowledge the wrong or transgression and then a time of making restitution for the wrong committed. This is the proper way to Teshuvah. This is how to continue on with the relationship. God doesn’t play the denial game or cover up sin. He atones for sin until the appointed time of our Messiah. Each of these verses and scriptures is pointing to our Messiah.

While listening to preaching and teaching today, often repentance is down played or overlooked all together and not taken seriously. Failure to truly, thoroughly repent affects our ability to have faith or act on faith, toward God. Our faith is a direct result of our work of repentance.

God is basically saying and calling out to the upcoming generations; hey you……Come over here and look at what I am going to do. Come away with Me, Look what I am planning, Return to me I have a huge blessing to share with you. I am going to be unwrapping mysteries and giving gifts soon (The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed), and you do not want to miss out on this. Repentance is the invitation into all that God has planned for us, the church. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9.

We know that The New Testament or the Renewed Covenant is necessary because the old was to show us how far we missed the mark. The First Covenant is a type and shadow of what was to come. Mankind continued to transgress against the law. The law was there to show us that we couldn’t obtain righteousness on our own and by works and that we needed a Savior, a Redeemer and a Restorer of the breach between God and man. Jesus is the Bridegroom and the church is the Bride of Christ.

Sin is missing the mark, or transgression of the law. What law? We miss the mark and transgress the law of love. The law was perfect and we know Jesus said “I have come to fulfill the law, not do away with it.”

Jesus when teaching would say; you have heard it said, but I say……………………….. Then He would show the way to fulfillment of the law.

Do you recall Jesus first message? From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, (Matthew 4:17 KJV).

Do you know what Jesus disciples taught when our Lord sent them out? So the disciples went out, telling everyone they should repent of their sins and turn to God. (Mark 6:12 NLT).

We should look at Jesus departing message to His disciples after His resurrection? And said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47 KJV).

The message does not change. So why would we attempt to change it? User friendly is counterproductive to the power of God we need to have a transformed life.

God is still wooing us today. Just as it was with Moses it still is a time of preparing our hearts to accept His covenant of marriage. When God was dealing with the children of Israel and the sin of the golden calf, He had already prepared in advance how to eradicate the stain of sin out of His midst. He was ushering us into eternity and preparing to send His only begotten Son, Jesus, at the appointed time. In sending Jesus, who is The Way, The Truth and The Life, God was making a way for us to return, to Teshuvah, and unite with Him. Now we are told to repent in order to prepare the way for Him.

Think about a marriage proposal. When the man proposes to the woman, she will become one with him in covenant, Holy Matrimony, and then be a co owner of all he has.

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say to the people, ‘this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Return (Teshuvah) to Me, and I will return, (Teshuvah) to you, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Meditate on that for a moment. I picture a first dance between the Bridegroom and His Bride. Can you see and imagine this?

It is our engagement invitation. To return is a proposal to restore right relationship. I have had religion but I delight in relationship with our Lord. I pray we return with our whole heart. We do not want to miss the Wedding Supper of The Lamb. You have a name place card with your name is engraved on the palm of The Father’s hand.  Will your seat be empty? Not if I have anything to do with it. Who are you concerned about making it?

Recently we celebrated a grandson’s birthday at our house. As the family was leaving, Greg said, “Let’s take hands and pray before you leave.” Our youngest grandson jumped in the SUV saying I am not praying. He was saying I am not going to pray. Greg said “Lord help _ _ _ _ _ be a good boy and be obedient.” We each encouraged _ _ _ _ _ to join us but he declined the invitation. Then we all grabbed hands and began to pray. Seeing that we were going to continue without him and that we had ask but weren’t not going to make him participate, _ _ _ _ _ said,” wait, don’t pray without me, and don’t do it without me”. I said ok come on then. He jumped out of the SUV and got in the circle and we prayed and blessed them before they left. He was all full of smiles and glad he wasn’t left out.

The scenario I just described made me think about the season we are in. This special time and a season of being ask to participate and join hands with family (other believers) and pray. We do not want to be on the outside looking in when The Marriage Supper of The Lamb is taking place. Nor do we want our loved ones to not be there. There won’t be time to say wait don’t continue without me. No the time to make that decision is now.

Pray this prayer

Dear Heavenly Father. During this special Mo’edim and appointed time of Your grace, I ask You for special favor for ____________. Father I am asking You to offer _____________ an invitation to repent. Lord Your word tells me that it is the grace of God, Your grace and unmerited favor that leads a person to repentance. I’ve been telling ___________ to change but I now realize __________ needs a revelation of Your goodness and love. Lord I am asking with my whole heart that _______________repent and return back into right relationship with You. Lord I ask that _______________ be obedient to Your call. I ask that ______________ be changed and have a new heart and another mind and leave the old behind. Lord Jesus I pray ______________will ask You into their heart and that You will be Lord of their life forever. Amen

Hebrew 12:25 See to it that you do not refuse Him

Don’t miss this season of Teshuvah

My favorite time of the year

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette

Teshuvah is a time to reflect and return. It’s never too late.

The Sharpening

 

Painful as it may seem

But necessary it is.

A ripping may be felt

uncovering what is His.

 

 

So if we feel a shredding

Don’t fear or be dismayed,

It’s only the sharpening process

He wants to work in us today.

 

He is going to peel back that hard cover,

to reveal a special message.

In the sharpener we will see,

The shredding revealed the lesson.

 

So take some time to write it down

For in the process of time;

looking back we’ll understand

This sharpening is His perfect design.

 

For we are His own workmanship

Written upon His heart

Don’t give up or worry

He is faithful to complete what He did start.

 

Poem written by laurette laster © 2018

1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV

The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

 

Isaiah 53:6 says

We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and The Lord had laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

The Jubilee bible says we have become lost.

YLT says all of us like sheep have wandered, each to his own way.  We have turned.

 

And simply put, that is why we are ushered into a special time to Teshuvah.

 

I thought about some ideas that I’ve had in the past. They were not particularly bad ideas but they were not ‘God’ ideas. In my broken and damaged emotions I was able to convince myself, “this must be God.” Without the word of God, good pastors and teachers, and godly leaders, we can easily go astray. Feelings are not good leaders.

A good idea that isn’t leading us (have gone astray) toward the will of God is still a wrong turn. If we are traveling and make a wrong turn we do not convince ourselves that we will reach our destinations just the same. This is why it is very dangerous to listen to messages that tell us any old road, and any old turn will safely take you to your desired location. No, that would be foolish.

We may learn some valuable lessons along the way. I know I sure did. Lessons that taught me to pray: Dear God help me, I never want to do that again. Please forgive me and give me ears to hear Your voice. Teach me to love Your word and Your directions.

Missing the mark is missing the mark. Whether we miss it by 1/16 of an inch or by 1600 miles we still missed it. Think about that. To be so close that it is as if we can taste it, then to allow the deception and the lies of the enemy take us off tract and rob us from Gods best.

Jesus has laid a foundation and we can Shuv, turn, Teshuvah, return. He is the Rock of our salvation.

He is the Great Shepherd. He says my sheep know my voice and another they will not follow.

This season I pray we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Jesus said let him has ears hear. He goes on to say consider or pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

How does He does He measure our hearing?

It’s by our obedience. There is hearing and there is HEARING.

Just like a diagnostic test, it is by the ability to follow the verbal command. Pretty simple huh?

 

When we blow it we can Teshuvah. We admit we have gone astray and missed it. We tell The Lord we are turning back to His heart. And we return, Teshuvah with our whole heart.

Excerpt from Dr Rick Flanders

1. SINNERS MUST REPENT IN ORDER TO BE SAVED

There is no doubt that sinners are called to repent, and that their repentance is required for their salvation. Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

 

The words of Jesus remove any doubt about the requirement of repentance for salvation, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,” (Luke 13:3). “All men everywhere,” according to God’s requirement (Acts 17:30), are commanded “to repent.”

Christian churches are the ones addressed in Revelation 2 and 3—seven congregations to be exact. They are given direct messages suited to their situations from our risen Christ, and five of the seven are called upon to repent (the Ephesians’ church in 2:5, the church in Pergamos in 2:16, some in the church of Thyatira in 2:21, the church in Sardis in 3:3, and the church of the Laodicea in 3:19).

 

Don’t miss this season of Teshuvah it is my favorite time of year.

 

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. laurette

God’s  face is toward us. It is the time of His favor. God has initiated this meeting and He covered ALL THE COST. Why were there two tablets?

Zechariah 1:3 But now I say to you, Return to Me, and I will return to you.

James 4:8 Come near to God, and He will come near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

You Said If I Return

You said if I return
You will to take me In
That I shall not fear judgment
Nor taste death because of sin

You said if I return
The rejoicing would be grand
For in the day of redemption
Snatched out, by Your right hand

You said if I return
I would meet You face to face
I would not be turned away
Nor sentenced to disgrace

You said in Your promises
And Yes I have read
Summon me now oh Lord
Spirit teach me to be led.

Give me the strength to obey
In this season of return
That I may dwell forever in Your house
O Lord how my heart doth yearn

Repentance opened the way
inside my knees did crumble
Tears to water my face
I bow before You, humble

Thank you Father, oh Thank You
Yes I desire to obey
The season of return
Is opened to all today!

 Poem written by laurette laster © 2018 August

It is said at the beginning of Teshuvah we are back to back, with God due to un-confessed sin. The bible clearly makes numerous references to God’s face being toward His people in times of His favor, or turned away from His people when they have become rebellious. If His face is shining upon us, we are in right relationship with Him. Like we read yesterday, we like Noah, have found favor or grace in the eyes of God, and we are pleasing to Him.

Teshuvah is during the month of Elul and is the forty days when Moses ascended back up Mount Sinai. Moses was called to meet with God again for a face to face meeting. Moses told the Lord that if He was going to blot the names of the children of Israel out of His book of life, that He could blot out his name also.

(There is a saying of “L’shanah tovah tikatevi v’taihatemi” which is to say, may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year. This is the season of our Joy and the time of year when Jewish tradition says that God is looking over the books and writing about the blessings He is going to pour out. Now we are sealed with His precious Holy Spirit until the Day of redemption. So we do not fear losing our salvation. The perfect sinless blood of Savior Jesus Christ has been accepted once and for all; however the seeds we have sown determine what we grow. I know I have to pray for a crop failure when I let my mouth get the best of me.)

When we have an encounter with the living God we are forever changed. After a face to face encounter our relationship and our intercession for others will be eternally changed. It will unravel us down to our core. A deep change in our hearts and minds will occur that will be the undoing of our filthy carnal nature. What we used to think was important; will no longer be so important that we insist on having our own way.

The way we understand or see, undergoes an immediate transformation. Our eyes are opened and our ears hear. We view eternity and the destinies of others through the heart of God. When this change occurs you will not desire that your worst enemy or enemies go to hell.

At this meeting Moses was required to carve out the two tablets himself. God required Moses, to carve the tablets and appear before The Lord God. God told Moses He would write His word on the tablets. “Now the LORD said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered.” (Exodus 34:1)

The first stone, table or tablet lists four commandments of how we are show honor to God. Is it a coinencedencce that the fifth commandment is how to treat our mothers and fathers and is included on the same stone of how to honor God? The fifth command is “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thou days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

Is the first stone our heart and therefore needed to change our hearts? Our hearts must be free from offence to God or with God. The second stone, is this our hardened way of thinking and believing? How we treat others is very important to our Father. This is the changing of our minds.

Have you ever felt like your heart has been shattered? Have you experienced some things in your life that have tried to shatter your mind, affecting the way you feel about our Lord? Or maybe you believe you have shattered the words or the commandments The Lord has given you, just like Moses did. Do you feel distant from The Lord because of others behavior? Have you maybe reacted to what someone has done, and now think, well I blew that? Or have you ever blamed God and said, “God why did You let this happen?” Or maybe you have said, “God why did You do this?” All of these thoughts require a time of repentance and a time of reflection. We need a time to assess the thoughts in our hearts and our minds. We must align our thoughts with what the word of God says.

The good news is God knows. In His knowing He still wants an appointment and a time together with each of us to set it right. Only at this meeting we must do the work of carving the two tablets or two stone tables (KJV). If we have allowed our hearts to become hardened it affects our minds more than we may realize. A stony heart creates a rigid mind. Is this why there are two tablets? Is each a picture? Is one for the heart and the other for the mind? Did God know we would have other gods, idols, images, and various other images before we turned completely to Him? In turning to God we purpose in our hearts and in our minds, to love Him and His word as commanded by our Lord Jesus. Read Mark 12:29-31.

I believe our Lord did indeed know! He is the creator of mankind and He knows us! We cannot fool God. He knew we had the ability to act out of self; He created us with the ability to choose. God in His perfect love gave us free will. God knew that once sin entered the heart and mind of mankind we would need a new strategy to follow and work out to find ‘The Way’ and understand His salvation.

We shattered the first set of plans, so to say, in the Garden of Eden. Mankind fell and we all are shaped in iniquity according to Psalm 51:5. Read Psalm 51

I believe the Lord has revealed to me and is allowing me to see deeper into the two tablets. I believe this is the revelation given to me this year. These two stones or tables are representative of our heart and our mind after sin. The tablets or the tables are pictures of our heart and mind after long term affects of sin. I believe this is a picture of how sin hardens our hearts and minds and changes or ability to believe. We now must understand the parable of the Sower, which Jesus taught His disciples. We have some hard work to do allowing the word of God to change us. We return and repent and come back to the meeting. We are welcomed back into right relationship with God and Jesus becomes the propitiation for our sin. Seedtime and harvest are seasonal and necessary. We must agree to the work and the changes and bring our heart and our mind on board. One tablet is about how we relate to God and the other how we treat our brothers and sisters. When we love, truly love God and His word we cannot help but see the fallen condition of His creation. Loving God will change how we see and understand Him and how we see others. We will see them through a heart of love and then setting our minds on things above we are given the ministry of reconciliation.

Pray this prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, help me remove the hardened selfish images of this world from out of my heart and out of my mind. I am accepting Your invitation to return to You, and I am returning with my whole heart and my entire mind. Oh Lord I desire to be pleasing to You. I want to know what You had in mind when You created me. Lord, make me, take my life and do something worthwhile with it. My life is not my own. I have been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus you emptied Yourself of Your divinity and humbled Yourself to become a man that I may become a child of God. Oh Jesus teach me the how to be good ground. I want to be a laborer in Your field and bring forth a harvest for You of choice fruits. Create in me a clean heart; restore to me the joy of thy salvation. Amen

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette

A Season in Time

 

A time of reflection

A time to assess,

What is working well?

What is causing duress?

 

A time of reflection

Take time to inspect,

Is my life bearing fruit?

The kind He expects?

 

I’m not to compare

Or look at another,

Not to be jealous

Nor envy a brother.

 

I am only measured

By His perfect design,

So I must assess this heart

Never allow for decline.

 

Oh my soul, listen,

Align with His word,

Become a doer

Of what ears have heard.

 

A season in time

Set aside for reflection,

This is my heart check up,

And I have no objection?

 

Poem written by laurette laster © 2018 August.

 

Day 12 of 40 Days of Teshuvah

Setting aside a time for reflection after the sin, and ‘returning’ for a time to make plans for continuing on forward together. Teshuvah is about right relationship with our Father God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit, it is not about religion or keeping a law. God had already purposed in His mind that His relationship with mankind would continue. Even after mankind grieved him in his heart, God didn’t completely give up on us. We see that Christ was slain from the foundation of the earth.  From the beginning God had a plan and He still does.  He has a plan for your life and for my life. Thank You Father that you never give up on us. If we have a stirring in our heart, it is from Him.

I pray we don’t miss our appointment. I heard a preacher that I like, make this comment the other day. He stated that these festivals and seasons are not necessary any longer. He said that it was no longer necessary to look at or to study and delve into our Jewish roots. I am pretty open minded about issues surrounding the feast but I am set with His words concerning these seasons and His Holy Convocations. (I will tell you more about that later). But I know my Savior is definitely Jewish. Our Jewish brothers and sisters have been our time keepers by protecting the law. For this alone we should thank our Father God everyday. Each of us has measures of time keeping. You probably know what time of the day it is right now. We each have gauges and markers. In our vehicles we have fuel gauges that measure how much fuel is in the tank. With technology increasing rapidly newer vehicles tell us how many miles we can travel on the amount of fuel in our tank. Doesn’t all of creation show us His ways? So could it be that we also have gauges in our spirits and in our souls to tell us what time it is. Doesn’t Ecclesiastes tell us, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

I prayed and sought the Lord concerning this pastors thought and his opinions. I never want to be off or too mislead others. The Lord reminded me that even though an apple tree is an apple tree, it still must go through seasons. As long as the tree is alive the seasonal cycles will continue year after year. The seasons set by our Lord are seasons that are set. Once determined who we belong too, growth by seasons and cycles will still be necessary. This is how we grow and mature and are able to bear much fruit. If a tree doesn’t continue to grow the branches cannot become stronger, thus being able to bear much fruit. Read John chapter 15.

We read in Genesis chapter 6 that there was a time God Himself had to repent. Thank goodness Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. ⁶ The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:6-8).

We can see and understand when we read the word of God that sin isn’t what will stop the plan of God. We see and understand that God will allow a time of repentance before bringing judgment on His people. One of his attributes, God shows Moses is that He, God, is long suffering. Then we read four thousand years later as Peter expounds on God and His graciousness toward mankind.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9-10).

A season in time, a time to come away; so simple yet poetic? These phrases consisting of four/five simple words just rolls off the tongue. Isn’t it awesome how words have the ability to stir our feelings and emotions? How is it that words have this power? It is because God spoke the entire universe and everything we see with our natural eyes into existence with His spoken word. God breathed words bring forth life.

Words indeed have the power to go into the recesses of our minds and speak to us at our very core, and to address the issues affecting our soul?  Scripture tells us, good words are like medicine and sweeter than the honeycomb, while explaining that cruel and hurtful words are rottenness to the bones. Yet the phrase, a season in time is deep and romantic, intimate and intriguing all at the same time.  Don’t you agree that these words have the rhythm of an entry into a love letter or a love song?

And I say to you, it is both a love song and a love letter. Because of our Lords great love for us, He set a season to meet with us, to talk things over that we may gain a deeper understanding of Him and His deep love toward us. Teshuvah is a time to read His word and to a time for reflection of our lives, while searching our soul. Teshuvah falls during the month of Elul and is a set time of introspection and soul searching.

It is like going away for some alone time to discuss a pressing issue, one that has to be addressed. It can be seen as a set apart time between covenant partners, such as a husband and a wife. It is making an appointment for a time to talk face to face about the dangers threatening to ruin the covenant between one another.

Just as God had to be looking for Noah in order for His eyes to see Noah and for Noah to find grace in God’s eyes, we too are being sought after. God is looking! For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. 2Chronichles (16:9)

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to place a guard over my heart and over my mind. Lord I ask You to forgive me for any actions that have hurt You and grieved Your Holy Spirit. I want my heart to be fully committed to You alone. When Your eyes are searching, I want you to see that my heart is fully committed to You. I need Your help. Father I want a clean heart that trusts in You and I want to understand You more. I long for a deeper more intimate relationship with You Father God.  Jesus I know You have the words of life and I desire to have them also. Jesus when Your words became deep many other disciples left You. You in turn ask Your disciples if they were leaving also. Peter knew You had the words of eternal words of life and there was nowhere else to go. (John 6:65-69)  Jesus I believe You are the son of the living God. Lord draw into a deeper relationship with You through Your Holy Spirit. Amen

A season in time

Set aside for reflection,

This is my heart check up,

And I have no objection?

 

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette