God is especially displeased with idolatry; He is the one true God, and we should be careful not to give credit to any other god or power. Right after the sin of golden calf, God has Moshe tell them to keep Shabbat. That is the day that God rested after He created everything. Honoring Shabbat says that we believe that God is the creator. The commandment about keeping the 7th day is associated with God resting on the 7th day. Those that keep the day of rest on the pagan day of the sun god think they are honoring God. Deuteronomy 18:9,12 "You shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations." Verse 12 says, "For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD." I am just quoting what the Bible says. Read your Bible. 

There is another important issue to consider. Exodus 31:14 NKJV says about Shabbat, "Whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people." This could be the reason that people were to be put to death for not keeping the Sabbath, or since being put to death is already mentioned, this scripture could refer to being "cut off" for eternity. Genesis 35:29 NKJV says, "So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people." A dead person cannot be gathered to their people if they are dead. So, this must be an idiom for joining those who would live again in God's eternal kingdom. Moshe, Aaron, Jacob, Ishmael, Isaac, and Abraham were gathered to their people when they died. So, they will be in the future eternal kingdom along with all true and faithful believers from all of time. 

Those who are "cut off" from their people then would suggest that these people will not have eternal life in God's future kingdom. In the case of the person who works on Shabbat, they will not be in God's future kingdom. While God is an all-knowing and just God, this scripture should be a serious warning to consider. If this is the right way to interpret this scripture, those who are keeping the day of rest on the day of the pagan sun god will not be in God's future kingdom. I am committed to doing all that God commands us to do and this is not an issue for me because I keep God's weekly 7th day of rest, but it is an issue for the many people who continue to keep Sunday as a day of rest, the day of the pagan god Mithras. If you are being hard hearted towards which day is God's day of rest which commemorates creation, I hope you will reconsider and be more open to following what God says to do and to His commandments.

We live in a world with walls and barriers to truth. So, we need direction in this world for life.

Perhaps we wonder why it is so difficult to find truth. Life seems to be a maze of truths and part truths and in the case of God, outright lies that hide the truth. There is a whole system of lies that contradicts even the existence of God that hides the truth from our eyes. The devil is real and works behind the scenes but actually has no power to deceive us if we do not let him. We can resist the devil and even command him to leave. Stay in God’s good truths for life and do not allow the world to form you or the devil to deceive you. God is not some unnecessary frill that is added to life. God has given us His good truths for life that have spanned the ages of human history and help us in life. God sends out His abundant blessings and goodness to mankind. It is there for us if we will choose to accept His good truths for life. 

There is a misunderstanding in many circles of Christianity concerning 1 Corinthians 11 where it is actually referring to men not wearing a veil on their heads. 1 Corinthians 11:4 NKJV says, "Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head." 

The head covering and Greek words in that verse refers to a veil which is an article of woman’s clothing. Shaul is merely telling them to keep the Torah which says that we are not to wear clothing that is solely for the opposite sex. Deuteronomy 22:5 NKJV says, “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God." Also, it should be understood that since we are to love others (see Leviticus 19:18-19), men should be especially kind and loving toward his own family. Being loving does not mean we are to be permissive towards sin. 

Shaul later says he is referring to customs and not God's commandments, but it always stands that if anything is explicitly an article of clothing for the opposite sex, it is forbidden. 1 Corinthians 11:16 NKJV says, "But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God." What is the contention? It is not about the Torah; it is about custom it says except where he is talking about obeying the Torah. They would have understood what he was talking about because most early believers were Jewish. 

Always remember that the word church is the Greek word for assembly and doesn't refer to a denomination or building. Acts 20:20 NKJV says, "I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house." Why house to house? Because for the most part, people met in the home. 1 Corinthians 16:19-20 NKJV says, "The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house." People who meet in buildings would have you believe that Shaul was teaching leadership from house to house. Their man-made theology aims to make people believe that they are legitimate because they have a building or denomination. Many denominations are still passing on the religion of the pagan Greco-Roman Empire. For example, Easter is the pagan goddess of fertility. Yeshua rose on resurrection weekend, and it is a disgrace to refer to His resurrection as a pagan god. Think about it. 

Remember, we are still in a time of testing, and we need to resist temptation. There is a devil the Bible says, and we need to resist the temptations of the evil spiritual powers of this world.

Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV says, 
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Israel had made it out of Egypt and God provided food and water for them and was with them in the desert. There was fire over the Tabernacle in the desert at night and a cloud over it by day for some 39 years! They may have thought that they had it made and were okay with God. Just like Israel was in a time of testing, we are still in a time of testing. Will we follow God and keep His commandments and succeed spiritually or fail.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NKJV says,
And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

There is so much more than what meets the eye regarding the drive of accomplishment. Science will say that it is something that is in us because mankind developed this ourselves and it became part of what humans need to survive. So, why aren't we more like the animals? The animals seem to do well enough with their limited abilities.

People even have the ability to get involved with things in life that do not seem to have a function. Playing soccer for the most part isn't something that provides the necessities of life, yet people will have great zeal to be accomplished at things that do not seem to have much value. Let's take this a step further. Why does it seem that people will be drawn to develop unseen values or come to understand that there is a spiritual side to life? People can often come to the conclusion that the physical side of life is not all there is to life and consider what we call the spiritual side of life as an important part of our development as a person. 

Is what we do a function of our willpower? If that was so, why is it so important for us to develop ourselves in life and our drive in life? It is not just a matter of ancient hard wiring (namely how nature developed us) so to speak because people can get off track and make decisions that are counterproductive to having a good life and do things that can end in tragedy. People need a set of values for life, and these must be developed, they do not just happen.

Those who do not believe in a God often think that everything is just by chance and those who succeed do that because they are more intelligent, advanced, or the fittest to succeed. Often, those who are successful in life have not only developed their abilities, but good values. Many of the best and most satisfying values for life have come from the Bible. Atheists will say they do not need to believe in God to have these values, but without the Bible, they would be aimlessly searching to find a best way to live. It is obvious that all of mankind needs the values the Bible teaches.

From the very beginning, God gave mankind direction in life, but mankind went after evil. Genesis 3:22 NKJV says, "Man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil." We know there is good and evil. Some will argue that everything depends on who wins in the end, but no one will survive if evil prevails because there won't be anyone around to win. When a society becomes a society of evil, no one wins. In the Genesis narrative, evil had taken such control of mankind that the thoughts of mankind had become evil continually. Genesis 6:5 NKJV says, "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." That included the children. We saw this happening in 20th century Religious Communism where the children informed on their parents for the sake of their Atheist Communist Religion and their parents were then murdered.

Forgiveness.

I want to digress to the subject of forgiveness because God will forgive us our sins if we repent, are sorry for our sin, stop sinning, and confess that sin to God. Often, people do not understand what is means to repent of their sin. Also, the Bible says that we need to make a sacrifice for the things we did in ignorance at the Temple. So, how do we do that in this special Messianic age before the coming of the final Messianic kingdom? What are some of the details we need to understand? Historically, we know the Sanhedrin took over the Temple and threw Ya'akov (also known as James, the ½ brother of Yeshua) off the Temple and killed him. It was at this time that it is believed that the Messianic believers were prevented from making sacrifices for their sins done in ignorance. They were also prevented from giving thank offerings. We know that the Temple still wasn't destroyed yet when this all happened because the book of Hebrews was written before the Temple was destroyed. Sin done in ignorance is still sin and it required a sacrifice at the Temple before this present temporary Messianic age. 

Leviticus 5:17-19 NKJV says, If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the LORD. 

There was always a sacrificial system in place. We see Job making sacrifices for his children before the Temple was built. It is thought that the book of Job predated the Torah. As we have talked about many times, the ancient believers passed down God's commandments verbally. For example, Abraham kept all of God's commandments. They were written down for the first time at Mount Sinai. Both Christianity and Judaism hides this fact with their made-up theology. Genesis 26:5 NKJV says, "Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." The word laws is the word Torah which stands for all of God's commandments. We see this verse emphatically tells us that Abraham kept the Torah. The theology that Abraham did not keep the Torah is wrong.

Sins done in ignorance are still sins, so when we realize we have broken any of God's commandments we must repent, be sorry for our sin, stop sinning, and confess that sin to God and we will be forgiven through the Messiah Yeshua. I should note that confessing to another person is not confessing your sin to God. God made a way for us through the Messiah to be forgiven. The book of Hebrews was written and then translated into Greek by Luke to help the Messianic believers understand that Yeshua gave Himself for our sins done in ignorance. Because the Temple still stood, God prepared a way prophetically for us to be forgiven through the Messiah Yeshua. Hebrews 10:9-10 NKJV says, "He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." 

God created the world in such a way as to provide for us. Psalms 145:16 NKJV says, "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." God has also provided His good commandments. And, in this present Messianic age, God has provided the Holy Spirit to help us in life. The end will come, and things can change fast, but do not be fooled by those who preach dooms day doctrines. Use good sense, do not jump to conclusions quickly, and most of all, stay faithful to God and His good commandments.

it is important to understand that the New Testament writers of the Bible including Yeshua said that the Old Testament law was not done away with. 

Shaul (Paul) said in Romans 3:31 NKJV, "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."

Yochanan (John) said, in 1 John 3:4 NKJV says, "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And in 1 John 3:8 NKJV it says, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning." 

Ya'akov (James) says in James 2:23-24 NKJV, "And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." 

Yeshua (Jesus) said in Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' 

Shaul said that the Old Testament law was not done away with and that it was established, immutable and unvarying. Yochanan said the those who do not follow the law are sinning and that those who do not follow the law are doing the works of the devil. Remember, there was no New Testament portion when he wrote what he wrote so he must be referring to the Old Testament scriptures. Therefore, when Kefa (Peter) refers to the holy scriptures he is referring to the Old Testament scriptures. knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 2 Peter 1:20-21 NKJV says, "For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

Ya'akov said that we must not only have faith to be justified, but the works that go with faith. Yeshua seemingly is talking about the New Testament era when he talks about those who prophesy and do wonders in His name. He tells them that he will tell them to go away from him, those who do not keep the law. Yeshua says in Matthew 7:13 NKJV, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." Those who are teaching that God knows my heart, just love, just follow the Holy Spirit, or they are saved by faith will have a difficult awakening when they have to stand before God and He turns them away for not following the law.

More can be said about God's 10 Commandments, and they need to be taught and explained and not just memorized. Start by memorizing them and then learn how to apply them. If the world just followed the 10 Commandments, the world would be a better place. We also need God's other commandments as well. The made-up commandments can make following God difficult. God's Old Testament portion commandments are not difficult the Bible says. Again, Deuteronomy 30:10-11 NIV says, "Obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." May God enrich your life and keep you, and help you in your endeavors to follow Him. 

Think on the portions of the weekly Torah portions so we can consider what it is teaching us. People have used the scriptures to help them have direction, purpose, success, enjoyment, satisfaction, good relationships, and so much more. Also, have the humility and desire to apply the Torah to real life. Do not let worldly desires or bad attitudes keep us from following God properly. Keep God's good commandments. Do what is sensible and do not make up commandments that do not apply. Just like most things in life require we properly prepare, use good sense in all we do. Do not make up commandments with all kinds of man-made ideals, concepts, or extra poorly thought-out commands. Instead, follow the commandments that God gave us through Moshe.

God gives us blessings in life through His commandments, the Holy Spirit through the Messiah Yeshua, and as the world's provider. We are a blessed people. Psalm 112:1 NKJV says, "Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments." We have good judgment and knowledge through God. Psalms 119:66 NKJV says, "Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments." What God has given us is wonderful and God gives us understanding for life. Psalms 119:129-130 says, "Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." The creator God is our provider. Psalms 104:10-13 NKJV says, "He sends the springs into the valleys; they flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. By them the birds of the heavens have their home;

they sing among the branches. He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works." God brings blessings to the world, and we should want to be a people who are a blessing to others and bring blessings by how we live.

God's commandments teach us how to be good. Leviticus 19:18-19 NKJV says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. You shall keep My statutes." As we learn and keep God's commandments, we learn to love others as ourselves. Psalms 107:9 NKJV "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Most people long for goodness to triumph. That is why people are attracted to movies that have a hero in them. In a way, God is our hero who helps us to do what is right and good. So, as believers, we want other people to also have personal and spiritual success. God wants us to succeed. Isaiah 48:18 NKJV says, "Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea." There are probably thousands of scriptures that demonstrate the goodness of God. We should be willing to learn how to be a people who follow God and emulate the goodness of God.