joyancejames

Category: faith

  • The Messianic Dayenu

    Dayenu is an ancient Jewish song traditionally sung during the Passover. “Dayenu” in Hebrew means, “it would have been enough”. Although we are far from Passover in the Jewish calendar, Dayenu is a beautiful reminder of what God has done.
    The Dayenu challenges us to re-focus and look up with gratitude rather than whine and wallow in entitlement!

    The traditional Dayenu starts with the remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt and ends with gratitude for the temple in Jerusalem. Here is a Messianic Dayenu to remind us of all that the Father has done for us through Yeshua His son:

    If you had just given us the law and the promise of the Messiah but not fulfilled the promise, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you had fulfilled the promise of the Messiah but not through a birth in poverty, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you were born in poverty but had not opened blind eyes and deaf ears, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you opened blind eyes and deaf ears but not preached the Kingdom of Heaven, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you had preached the Kingdom of Heaven but not been persecuted and rejected by your own, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you had been rejected by your own but not fulfilled the law and prophets, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you had fulfilled the law and prophets but not through a death on the stake to carry our sins and defeated death on the third day, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you had been killed on the stake to carry our sins and defeated death but not attained our healing by your stripes, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you bought our healing but had not called us friends and adopted into your family, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you called us friends and adopted us into your family but had not given us your Holy Spirit, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you had given us the Holy Spirit but not made us co-heirs with Christ, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    If you had made us co-heirs with Christ but not predestined us to be a kingdom of priests with Yeshua, it would have been enough! (Dayenu)

    Dayenu reminds us that He is a faithful Father.
    “ And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
    Philippians 1:6 AMPC
    https://bible.com/bible/8/php.1.6.AMPC

    God bless 😊

  • Yom Kippur: The Scapegoat’s Desert Safari

    The Jewish (civil/administrative) calendar starts with Rosh Hoshana followed by yamin noraim or ten “Days of Awe”. These 10 days are spent on tzedakah (charity), teshuvah (repentance) and tefillah (prayer) and preparation for the Day of Atonement. Unlike all the other spring and fall feasts described in Leviticus 23, this day which is considered the most holy day in the year, there is no feast or jubilation in the trading sense. Instead there is a 25-hour fast and rest from work. Yom Kippur was once-in-a-year access to the most Holy Place for the High Priest.

    On the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the high priest was supposed to select 2 goats, one for an offering unto the Lord and another to be presented live to make an atonement by symbolically carrying the sins away into the desert.
    “He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord.”
    Leviticus 16:8-10 NLT
    https://bible.com/bible/116/lev.16.8-10.NLT

    Carrying the sins away into the desert

    Since, there wasn’t any English word corresponding to the Hebrew word, “Azazel“, William Tyndale (16th Century) coined the term “scapegoat“, which has since been carried forward into the English literature. Since, this was the goat which escaped alive into the desert. The further adventures of the scapegoat are mentioned below;
    “Aharon is to lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the transgressions, crimes and sins of the people of Isra’el; he is to put them on the head of the goat and then send it away into the desert with a man appointed for the purpose. The goat will bear all their transgressions away to some isolated place, and he is to let the goat go in the desert.”
    Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:21-22 CJB
    https://bible.com/bible/1275/lev.16.21-22.CJB

    Yeshua on the cross, became the sin-carrier lamb (Isaiah 53:4-6)

    “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ” John 1:29 NLT

    Unlike the scapegoat, Yeshua didn’t escape into the desert, but as the perfect High Priest, He made one final atonement with His own blood. 

    “So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”

    Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT

    Yeshua the perfect 🐑 of God, became the scapegoat for us so we who had wandered away as sheep 🐏 would come back to the Shepherd.

    The Mishna and the Talmud (Jewish Rabbinical literature) talk about the book of life being opened on the Rosh Hoshana and being sealed on the Yom Kippur. As believers in Yeshua living a victorious life, we hold on to His promise,
    “All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.”
    Revelation 3:5 NLT.


    As believers of Yeshua let us on this day join our Jewish brethren in rest and reflection. Reflection on the work of Christ by which we can access the most Holy Place, not as a once-a-year phenomenon but as an ever open access and rest because He said, “It is finished”.

    God bless!

  • Crow-Evangelist

    Most days when I venture out to my backyard to dump any kitchen waste, I’ll be noticed by some crow perched on the parapet or a high branch, invariably it will start cawing once I exit its field of view. What I’ve realised is that once they’ve found a food source they don’t just keep it to themselves, they immediately call other crows to the feast too.

    Hear! Hear!

    ‘Evangelist’ comes from the Greek word – ‘euangelion’, which means good news or gospel. So, evangelist is someone who proclaims the good news or gospel. For the crow, the good news is the discovery of a food or water source.

    Like the crow, the unnamed Samaritan woman at the well, discovered a well of living water when she found the Messiah, she couldn’t keep it to herself which brought salvation to her village.
    John 6:35 NLT
    Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

    As believers in Yeshua we have access to a bread and water source which can cure hunger and thirst, how much more than the average crow must we caw and call to share our discovery.

    The incessant cawing is annoying to the human ears (to say the least), but for the other crows is the good news!
    1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT
    [18] The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

    2 Corinthians 2:15-16 NLT
    [15] Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. [16] To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

    Let us share the gospel always remembering the applause of heaven >> applause of men.

    God bless!

  • The Vibranium Shield

    Most of the millennials and Gen Zs would be well acquainted with Steve Rogers, not so sure about the subsequent generations. One thing Captian America has taught is that shield need not be just a weapon of defense, in the hands of the Captain it becomes a formidable weapon of offence.

    In the spiritual warfare, which we all are a part of, the shield is an important defense. It protects us from the constant barrage of projectiles from the enemy. Though most Christians today would spend most of their lives oblivious to the warfare, it would be altogether unwise to believe that the faith we inherited due to birth in a Christian family or upbringing will provide immunity in the warfare.

    Hebrews 11:6 NLT
    [6] And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
    https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.11.6.NLT
    F.F. Bruce wrote, “Faith is the organ which enables people to see the invisible order.”

    Ephesians 6:16-17 NIV
    [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
    https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.6.16-17.NIV

    Another important lesson we learn from Captian America is that although the shield is remarkable in hand-to-hand combat but in ‘Avengers Infinity War’ we see that when facing an overwhelming army, he weilded a Mjölnir (never imagined Norse mythology could teach something about faith!)
    In the spiritual warfare armamentarium, the sword of the spirit (Word of God) is the only mentioned weapon of offence, whereas the rest are for defense. In these perilous times we need to unsheath the sword available to us to take on the army. When our Lord Jesus was tested in the wilderness, He countered with the word of God. Jesus frequently quoted the Word when He taught the disciples or when He debated the ‘religious elite’.

    Romans 10:17 NLT
    [17] So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
    https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.10.17.NLT
    This implies that the shield is bound to weaken when not fed and fueled by the Word. As we dig deeper into the mines of the Word of God, fortifying both our defences and offense, may we be able to say like Shimon Kefa (Peter), “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the word of eternal life.”

    God bless!

  • Yom Habikkurim

    Day of First-fruits – Celebration & Thanksgiving for the Barley Harvest.
    Leviticus 23:9-14 Described this spring Jewish festival.
    The first Passover (Pesach) was celebrated in Egypt itself, but the Festival of First-fruits (Sfirat Homer or Yom Habikkurim) was initiated after the first harvest in the land Cannan, 40 years later.
    Yom Habikkurim was a celebration of the barley harvest, whereas Pentecost (Shavuot) was a celebration of the harvest of wheat. The festival of First-fruits also started the 49-day countdown to the wheat harvest and the Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15).

    To read more about the Pesach, check out the link below:

    Pesach פסח to Good Friday
    The First fruits of Barley Harvest

    Yeshua the blameless lamb was sacrificed on the Passover and rose back to life on the First-fruits.
    1 Corinthians (1 Co) 15:20-23 CJB
    [20] But the fact is that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have died. [21] For since death came through a man, also the resurrection of the dead has come through a man. [22] For just as in connection with Adam all die, so in connection with the Messiah all will be made alive. [23] But each in his own order: the Messiah is the firstfruits; then those who belong to the Messiah, at the time of his coming.

    The One who is the ‘Bread of Life’ and who multiplied the 5 Barley loaves, conquered death and grave on time to celebrate the first-fruits of the barley harvest.
    Jesus alluded to this in John 12:23-32.
    Yochanan (John) 12:23-24 CJB
    [23] Yeshua gave them this answer: “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Yes, indeed! I tell you that unless a grain of wheat that falls to the ground dies, it stays just a grain; but if it dies, it produces a big harvest.

    Just as the priest would lift high the sheaves of barley and wave them before Yahweh, so was Yeshua lifted up high.
    John 12:32 NLT
    [32] And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”

    As we celebrate the resurrection of Yeshua, let us remember that the resurrection of Yeshua was the first-fruits and we who believe and belong to Him are part of the harvest to come.

    Have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!!

    Chag Sameach Bikkurim!!

  • Mysteries of the Hebrew Names in Torah

    Far too many Hebrew names lose their meaning and intention when translated into English.
    The names of the books of Torah (First five books of the Bible) in English and their Hebrew equivalents are given below.

    Genesis –  ברשית – Bereshit
    Exodus –  שמות  – Shemot
    Leviticus – ויקרא –  Vayikra
    Numbers – במדבר – Bamidbar
    Deuteronomy – דברים – Davarim

    The meanings of the Hebrew names are very different from the English ones because all the Hebrew names come from the first word of the respective book. 

    1. Genesis 1:1 is, “In the beginning…”; the Hebrew word is ‘Bereshit‘

    2. Exodus 1:1 starts with “names”, hence the word ‘Shemot‘ in Hebrew

    3. Leviticus 1:1 starts with Yahweh calling out Moses, hence , ‘Vayikra‘ which means “He called” in Hebrew. 

    4. Numbers 1:1, starts with, “in the wilderness”, hence the word ‘Bamidbar‘ in Hebrew. 

    5. Deuteronomy 1:1, starts with “words” of Moses, hence the Hebrew name ‘Davarim‘. 

    In the beginning, after creation, God chose Abraham to make His covenant and then many generations later comes Moses. 

    Shemot (Exodus) is essentially important because that’s where God first reveals His name as יהוה (YHWH), most commonly transliterated as YaHWeH. He tells Moses at the burning bush that this will be His name for all generations. 

    This is followed by the ‘call of Moses’ to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. In Vayikra (Leviticus) we see the call (purpose) of God for Israel, particularly the children of Aaron to serve as priests. Following the call is the wilderness wanderings described in Bamidbar (Numbers). Finally, at the edge of the promise land it ends with the speech, words of Moses as he reiterates the law and calls to remembrance the goodness of God, which we see in Davarim (Deuteronomy).

    To see and listen to this, check out this video.

    Although Moses was called to lead Israel into the promised land, he never enters it, but his words in Deuteronomy, become his everlasting legacy in shaping the future nation of Israel. Deuteronomy is the most quoted book of the Torah in the New Testament. Even Jesus quoted Deuteronomy multiple times, for example the three times He was tested by Satan when He fasted. 

    Moses’ legacy was not the promised land but the collective experiences starting from the revelation in the burning bush, through the call and wilderness to culminate in the repetition of the Law (Deuteronomy). 

    God bless! 

  • Rain Stopper

    The sky was overcast, yet the obstinate sun rays managed to sneak through, continuing the delusion that the downpour wasn’t imminent, although I could hear the thunder rumble at a distance. I was about to leave home to pick up my daughter, Faith from her school as I faced a dilemma whether to risk the rain and take my e-scooter or listen to my wiser wife and take the car.
    Finally, I decided to ride to the school and asked God to hold up the rains for 15 minutes till I reached back.

    The rains obeyed their Creator. (Thank you Elijah for giving us a precedent in rain-stopping prayer).

    We started from school and enjoyed the scenic ride back across a small lake and since there wasn’t any rain, we decided to indulge in some shopping too. But what I mis-calculated was my 15-minute-rain-hold time was over, by the time we stepped out of the shop it was pouring! We managed to have an adventurous ride back where I covered Faith with my huge raincoat like a Batman’s cape (picture a hen covering her chicks). Her father’s cape had kept her dry but I was soaking wet!

    Many times we tend to test the limits of divine favour. We lean on our own understanding even when we know better. Father’s favour cannot become an excuse for our foolishness. Favour doesn’t always equate to protection, it includes correction too. 

    On brighter days – without the cape

    King Solomon’s words to the wise – 

    Proverbs 3:5-12 MSG

    [5-12] Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. It’s the child he loves that God corrects; a father’s delight is behind all this.

    May the Father’s favour keep us dry, protected & corrected. 😊

    God bless!

  • Holding the Father’s Hands

    Currently, I’m enjoying the phase of my fatherhood where my daughter, Faith, forces me to always hold her hands when we’re outside home (Not sure if boy-dads/moms are as fortunate). I pray that God may spare me the parental phase when the child out grows the desire to hold hands, to be unhindered and free! When Faith holds my hands, she has a sense of security and I’ve a peace of mind that she is with me.
    When walking down the road, from my vantage point (~ 6 feet off the ground) I can see farther, envision any obstacles or difficulties along the way. While I deliberately reduce my stride to accomodate her distractions with the waywide flowers and child-like wonder, I know when to hold her back because a particularly appealing flower, unbeknown  to her grows on a thorn-bush. The childish ambition cries to run ahead in order to finish the walk but fatherly wisdom knows the long walk can’t afford energy expenditure on a sprint!

    Daddy-daughter walks

    The song writer Asaph recalles that even in the midst of his waywardness, he was still held by the hands that created him.
    Psalms 73:23-24 NLT
    [23] Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. [24] You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.

    https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.73.23-24.NLT

    To continually be held by Him is to acknowledge that “His way” is better.
    When all our peers say, “I want it that way” (courtesy Backstreet Boys); can we like another modern day Asaph (Forrest Frank) say,
    “Oh Lord, I need You now more than ever
    Would You put my heart back together
    I searched the world ’til my head hurt
    Just to find out Your way’s better”

    I want it “His way”!

    Isaiah 41:10, 13 NLT
    [10] Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
    [13] For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
    When we walk side-by-side, it is usually my left hand and my daughter’s right hand or vice-versa.
    But here, a beautiful picture emerges, being held by the right hand of Yahweh, signifies His strength, righteousness and victory. In the subsequent verse Isaiah writes that He holds our right hand, implying when our strength is almost spent and we are at the end of our rope, He comes face to face and invites us to rely on His strength and might.

    May we never outgrow the desire to hold and be held by His hands!
    God bless!

  • What The Thigh Bone Taught Me!

    Femur is latin for thigh and os femoris is thigh bone. In current medical terminology the thigh bone is referred to as femur. It is the largest bone in the human body, as long as 1/4th of the standing height!

    Here I’ll attempt to take you through some unique features of femur and what it teaches us. 

    1. As the largest bone in the body, it is also the strongest. It can take upto 30x the body weight before fracturing. 

    The maximum stress it can tolerate in compression is 205MPa (mega pascals) while a tensile force (in order to stretch/bend) of 135 MPa can be tolerated by the femur. (College of Engineering; University of Wisconsin). 

    2. The thigh bone is not uniform in structure, the ends are spongy bone whereas the middle part is cortical, dense part. The ends of the femur are areas with bone marrow and involved in blood cell formation, more significantly in children. 

    3. Bone is one of the few tissues in human body that heals without scar (fibrosis). A fracture heals with bone tissue and after a few months it remodels to become normal bone again. 

    4. Although the length of femur stops growing in the teenage years but it’s micro-structure is constantly evolving. Bone is involved in metabolism, calcium and phosphorus keep getting deposited and reabsorbed from the bone; the bone mass and density changes according to multiple factors including age.

    Holding a Femur, for size comparision. Specimen courtesy: Anatomist wifey.

    The femur with its intricately marvellous structure and function is an unprecedented engineering marvel! Such strong, life giving (blood forming), self healing and constantly evolving structure can only point towards an intentional and intelligent Creator. 

    Psalms 139:14-15 TPT

    [14] I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord! [15] You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place;  carefully, skillfully you shaped me  from nothing to something.

    https://bible.com/bible/1849/psa.139.14-15.TPT

    At the foot of the cross as St. John stood and watched, he testified in John chapter 19 that the Roman soldiers when they came to Jesus they didn’t practise the ritual crurifragium (breaking of thigh/leg bone to hasten the death).  In his yesteryears St. John saw a vision of the rider on the white horse, whose title was the Word of God, quite fittingly he describes, 

    “On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.”

    Revelation 19:16 NLT

    https://bible.com/bible/116/rev.19.16.NLT

    There it is evident for all to see, for all eternity written on His thigh, His title as the ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’. 

    The femur which means, strength, life and resilience for mankind now brings hope to the ailing humanity in the coming of the ‘King of kings & Lord of lords’.

    God bless you!

  • Hypertrophy

    Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary defines ‘hypertrophy’ as: excessive development of an organ or part
    specifically : increase in bulk (as by thickening of muscle fibers) without multiplication of parts.

    In case of skeletal muscles this (hypertrophy) is what happens in those who undertake strength training. Multiple cycles of repetitions – muscle contractions/ relaxations daily compounded over weeks and months leads to hypertrophied muscle.
    In the initial phase there is a lot of wear and tears (micro trauma) to the muscle causing soreness to un-accustomed muscle group but eventually this persistence leads to bulking up of the particular muscle group.

    Vierck, J et al. “Satellite cell regulation following myotrauma caused by resistance exercise.” Cell biology international vol. 24,5 (2000): 263-72. doi:10.1006/cbir.2000.0499

    Y’hoshua (Joshua) 1:8 CJB
    [8] Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed.
    https://bible.com/bible/1275/jos.1.8.CJB

    The Hebrew word for meditate is hagah (הגה) which literally means to mutter/ to utter or speak. This day and night meditation by means of constant utterance and repetition is commonly found in the book of Psalms.
    Psalm 1:2 AMPC
    [2]  But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts,
    the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.
    https://bible.com/bible/8/psa.1.2.AMPC

    The human brain is not a muscle to be hypertrophied but the constant repetition day after day brings about a change from the inside out. Saturation with God’s truth kills the weeds of doubts and fear. Verbal repetition strengths the neural pathways in the brain responsible for memory, especially long-term memory.

    Just as repetition cause muscles to hypertrophy and bulk up, become more resistant to injury & stress, repetition of God’s word causes our brains to form strong neural pathways to remind us constantly of His truth.
    I believe this form of meditation is what caused David the little boy to bulk up (not physically but spiritually) to the giant Goliath. He could operate from a place of Faith when all his countrymen cowered in fear.

    May God’s word be the object of our meditations as our minds bathe in the knowledge of His truth.

    God bless!