Pain and Suffering

I'm sure you have heard it asked or even said it yourself:

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Hebrews 3:13 - But look deeply into yourselves all the days, during the day which is called today and let none of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have part with the Anointed One, if we endure in this firm confidence, from the beginning to the end, as it is said, Today if you will hear his voice, and do not harden your hearts, to anger Him.

There is a lot we do not know about those good people who are suffering from one thing or another but we do know what our Creator has told us, more than once, and it is about obedience.

​Exodus 15:26 - If you will diligently listen to the voice of ​YHWH your Elohim, and do that which is right in ​H​is eyes, and give ear to ​H​is commandments and keep all ​H​is statutes, He will put none of the diseases on you that He put on the Egyptians (for I am ​Yahweh​ your healer)

If we do not pay attention to our Creator and continue to make excuses for why we cannot keep His Commandments, living life the way we see fit with no regard for His Instructions, we will experience afflictions of one sort or another.  Others may see us as good people but have no idea why bad things should happen to us. We won't even know why unless we read Scriptures and search out the Word of Yahweh which answers all of our questions; then it is up to us to change.  By loving Yahweh first and foremost we come to realize how we are to show our love for Him = obey His Instructions. In obedience we tune into His plan as peace and harmony begin to take over our lives, and this happens when His Set Apart Spirit finally gets a foothold within and we learn to listen and take heed.

Thank You Yahweh for Your Son Yahshua who made this possible for me as he gave us Your Spirit just as You had given it to him. I am beginning to understand that we are to worship You in Spirit and in Truth.

John 4:23 ~ But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, indeed. Yahweh seeks worshippers as these.  For Yah is Spirit, and those who worship must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

John 14:16 ~  And I will ask of my Father and He will give you another Redeemer who will be with your forever. The Spirit of Truth, he who the world is not able to receive because it has not seen Him nor knows Him. But you know Him for He dwells with you and He is in you.

John 15:26 ~ But when the Redeemer comes, he whom I will send to you from the presence of my Father, the Spirit of Truth, He who proceeds from the presence of my Father will witness concerning me.

In John 16:12 Yahshua said he has much to say to his Apostles but knew they couldn't quite grasp it yet. Verse 13 ~ But when the Spirit of Truth comes He will guide you in all truth. for He will not speak from Himself but He will speak everything that He hears. (Everything from the Ruach haKodesh comes directly from YHWH)

I have lightly paraphrased First John Chapter 4 from the Aramaic English New Testament (Andrew G. Roth et al) so please read it from your copy of Scriptures when you have time.

Do not believe all spirits but learn to recognize the difference among them, whether they are from Yahweh or not, for many false teachers have gone out into the world. This is how you know if one is of the Spirit of Yahweh: every spirit that confesses that Yahshua the Anointed One has come in the flesh is of Yahweh. Those that don't are not of Yahweh but are of the false messiah of whom you have heard will come and now is already in the world.  Those who are of the world speak worldly things and the world hears them. But we truly Set Apart believers are of Yahweh. Those who hear us are also Set Apart; those who refuse to listen are not of Yahweh and by this we know and see the difference between the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error.
Let us love one another because love is from Master Yahweh and that is how we come to know Him. He showed us His love when He sent His only begotten Son into the world that we, by him, might live. This is love and it's not because we loved Yah but that He loved us and sent His Son as atonement for our sins. If our Creator has so loved us, we should also love one another. No one has ever seen Him but if we love one another, He abides in us and His love is perfected in us.  By this we know that we abide in Him and the He abides in us, because He has given of His Spirit to us.
We have seen and do testify that the Father has sent His Son, a Redeemer for the world. Whoever confesses Y'shua to be the Son of Yahweh, Yahweh abides in him and he abides in Him. And we have believed and know the love which He has towards us for Yah is love and whoever abides in love abides in Him. And that is how His love is perfected with us, that we may not hide our faces in the day of judgment because just as Y'shua was in the world, so also are we in the world. In love there is no fear but perfect love casts out fear because fear exists in peril and he that fears is not perfected in love. Let us therefore love our Creator because He loved us first. We cannot say we love Yah if we hate our brother which makes us liars. If we cannot love our brother whom we see how can we love Yahweh whom we cannot see?  Whoever loves Yahweh must also love his brother.

There are many reasons why bad things happen to good people. Most of us recognize the obvious reasons, but there many subtle ones woven into daily life. It's up to us to change as we learn His ways, and align with the Creator's Instructions so that we may endure. 

Deuteronomy 11:26- See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

Deuteronomy 30:15- See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity. For I command you this day to love Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that He may bless you... But if your heart turns away and you give no heed, and are lured into the worship and service of other gods, I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish... I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Chose life by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure...

We good people may think we are living our lives according to His Instructions yet still suffer from one thing or another, whether its medical, mental, financial or spiritual; or whether it's something major or several minor annoyances, so lets take a closer look.

Even though we Love YHWH with our entire being, and love our neighbor as our self, we are not keeping all His Commandments or properly applying His rules to our lives in today's world. His promise depends on our obedience.  Take this into consideration:

We call the months and days by names of which some are the names of pagan gods. Not only are we "not to make for yourself a sculptured image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them," we aren't even suppose to utter the names of no-gods: Exodus 23:13 "Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth."

We may have chosen the Blessing but we forgot the conditions of that choice. Then Satan, who is so subtle, slips in the names of those gods and they end up on the modern day Gregorian calendar, on tennis shoes and automobiles, constellations named after Roman gods, songs, movies etc....  When we become aware of this truth its time to change and we find it's not an easy thing to do when the rest of the world is scheduled by these names. (sigh) It is no wonder there are good people struggling with rough times and many folks suffering much worse. We can change. It's not always easy to come out of Mystery Babylon but if we truly love YHWH our Elohim, and we do not wish to partake of her plagues, we will make every effort to obey our Father in heaven, now and in this lifetime.

Me and mine are still deprogramming.

What Does 'being saved' Mean

Have we been misled by the doctrine of 'eternal security'?

Have we been mesmerized by the chanting of 'once saved always saved'?

It has been taught that  "... eternal security is that work of God in which He guarantees that the gift of salvation once received is possessed forever and cannot be lost."

If we take the time to read Scriptures for ourselves we learn that this is not the case.  We cannot continue to 'sin' and expect that our salvation won't be affected. We continue to have personal responsibility in our relationship with YHWH as per coming into covenant with Him.

Hebrews 3:13 - But look deeply into yourselves all the days, during the day which is called today and let none of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have part with the Mashiyach, if we endure in this firm confidence, from the beginning to the end, as it is said, Today if you will hear his voice, and do not harden your hearts, to anger him.

Jude 1:5 - Let me remind you that Elohim, after once rescuing (saving) the people from Egypt, again destroyed them who did not believe.

Guess that kind of flies in the face of 'once saved always saved', don't it?

So what is salvation and what are we saved from?

Acts 2:38 tells us in order to be saved (from the curse of eternal death) that we are to repent (return to Yah, turning away from our old sin nature) and be immersed (ritually cleansed) so that we may receive the Ruach haKodesh (The Set Apart Spirit of YHWH). 

This goes all the way back to Exodus and Deuteronomy in regards to choosing between the Blessing and the Curse:

​Exodus 15:26 - If you will diligently listen to the voice of ​YHWH your Elohim, and do that which is right in ​H​is eyes, and give ear to ​H​is commandments and keep all ​H​is statutes, He will put none of the diseases on you that He put on the Egyptians, (for I am ​Yahweh​, your healer).

Deuteronomy 11:26 - See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of YHWH your Elohim, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of YHWH your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

Deuteronomy 30:15 - See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity. For I command you this day to love Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that He may bless you... But if your heart turns away and you give no heed, and are lured into the worship and service of other gods, I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish... I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Chose life by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure...

Deuteronomy 30:19- I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life if you and your offspring would live by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and long endure.

In these verses we are being told we have a choice to make between the blessing and the curse = eternal life in His Kingdom or eternal death spent in Fire Lake. If we choose life we place our Creator first and foremost in our lives and teach our children well.  Because of our love for our heavenly Father we obey His Instructions and in return we receive the blessing.  That sounds like 'salvation' to me and we achieve it by Faith - committing ourselves to our Creator.

We are not automatically 'filled with the spirit' nor 'baptized in the spirit' but are made ready to receive it. We prepare for the indwelling of Yah's Set Apart Spirit by spending every day in the Word of Elohim, reading and studying and learning Scriptures. Even the apostles who were taught by Y'shua face to face for three years were not filled with the Spirit until 50 days after the death of Y'shua - specifically ten days after the resurrected Son of Elohim was taken up and placed at the Right hand of the Father (Shavuot). Being baptized by a preacher in any church does not make one 'saved' but does show an outward appearance of one's desire to accept Y'shua and walk the Path of Righteousness from then on forward.  If we fall for temptations afterwards, we will loose our footing and salvation becomes a mute point. Being tested by difficult times is for the sake of our refinement.  

Deuteronomy 8: You shall faithfully observe all the Instruction that I enjoin upon you today, that you may thrive and increase and be able to posses the land that YHWH Elohim promised on oath to your fathers. Remember the long way that YHWH your Elohim has made you travel in the wilderness these past forty years, that He might test you by hardships to learn what was in your hearts: whether you would keep His commandments or not.... Romans 2:5 - But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when Yah's righteous judgment will be revealed.

If we turn away from our old sinful ways and return to the Creator, learn His Teachings and be immersed symbolizing our intentions, then we are ready to receive the gift of His Set Apart Spirit. If we make the first move then Yah will follow up, giving us His unmerited love and favor. It is a process, not an end-all. We never stop learning until the day He restores all things! His Spirit continues to reveal and comfort us with His Truth providing we continue on His Path of Righteousness. He is our salvation through the testimony of His Son. 

Today means today for anyone in any day who reads this and chooses Life, and begins to obey the Instructions given by our Creator. The blessing or the curse is the result of our choice in this lifetime. People ask why there is so much pain and suffering in the world and why bad things seem to happen to good people. Read those above quoted Scripture verses again. We made the choice to obey the one who spoke creation into existence and we are expected to follow through, abiding by the terms of the covenant.

Hebrews 13:13- Look deeply into yourselves all the days, during the day which is called today; and let none of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Discipline = Obedience

Obedience = Love

I am not perfect but this does not stop me from following in Messiah's footsteps which lead us into that perfection which completes us.

I have come out of the Mystery Babylon mindset but still have some habits to break. I know right from wrong but fall short from time to time.

I am at that point on His Path of Righteousness that when I look back at the way I use to be I shake my head in shame and cannot believe I was that person. 

Praise YHWH and His steadfast love and His everlasting covenant!

It is by reading His Instructions that I have learned right from wrong; good from evil. These lessons prompt me to be obedient to the One who created me. It is by following His Instructions in Righteousness that I am becoming disciplined. I choose to do so by faith.

​Exodus 15:26 - If you will diligently listen to the voice of ​YHWH your Elohim, and do that which is right in ​H​is eyes, and give ear to ​H​is commandments and keep all ​H​is statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am ​YHWH​, your healer.

Deuteronomy 11:26- See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

Deuteronomy 30:15- See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity. For I command you this day to love Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that He may bless you... But if your heart turns away and you give no heed, and are lured into the worship and service of other gods, I declare to you this day that you shall certainly perish... I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Chose life by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure.

Deuteronomy 30:19- I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life if you and your offspring would live by loving Yahweh Elohim, heeding His commands, and holding fast to Him. For thereby you shall have life and long endure.

John 14:15 - Y'shua said if you love me keep my commands. 14:21- He who has and keeps my commandments is he who loves me and will be loved by my Father. 15:10 - If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept the commandments of my Father (Torah) and I abide in His love. 

Revelation 22:14 - Blessed are those who do His commandments for they shall be given the right to the Tree of Life and will be allowed to enter into the city (New Jerusalem).

The Ten Commandments Summarized

Obedience is Discipline

His Governing System

Obedience is Discipline

Obeying the Creator

By observing Torah, which is obeying the laws God gave all mankind, we demonstrate our love for Him. Most Christians are following Torah without knowing it! They keep about 1/3 of the commands simply by living moral, upright lives. We have the testimony of Messiah AND the choice to follow God's commands. If we've got Messiah and follow him and we allow the Holy Spirit to work inside us, YHWH will reveal Truth every step of the way.

If you continue to study Scripture then Knowledge and Understanding will increase, baggage falls away, the narrow gate opens and the straight path is revealed. Halleluyah! and praise Elohim for His steadfast love that all would have the chance and choose to turn from sin and return to Him - the One who created us! 

This is the path we journey along towards our real home. We come across many stepping stones as well as stumbling blocks, but our Faith keeps us steady. Satan's goal is to knock us off that path of righteousness. Our goal is the Heavenly Kingdom YHWH told us about through His servants, the prophets of old.  Messiah confirmed all that God had commanded as it is written in the renewed covenant.  The message has been preserved and handed down through the ages. We are the lost sheep of Israel and those other sheep that have heard our Shepherd's Voice. That doesn't mean we stop learning and become content where we are, but we let the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter Y'shua gave us after he died, continue to guide us, teach us and reveal the Word of God to us. That is why he calls it A Path - we move along his path so as not to stagnate in a perceived comfort zone.

Torah reveals right from wrong. It is a set of instructions necessary for the behavior of mankind, not a tool to use to find favor with God (that's what hypocrites are guilty of). It is just as much a part of our lives today as it was in the days of Moses, and Abraham and Noah.

There is evil in the world today just as there was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah and surrounding towns. The world we live in today is much as it was in the days of Noah. And it's going to get worse. Our heavenly Father's laws reveal sin and keep us from evil as we walk through that shadowy valley of Death. We recognize right from wrong because we have the definition of both good and evil described in the 1st five books of Scriptures.

Y'shua Messiah was killed and his blood of atonement 'justifies', or absolves us of the guilt of sin. This act 'sanctifies' or sets us apart unto Elohim. We trust and obey God and this will be credited to us as 'righteousness'. (Galatians 3:6)

Y'shua Messiah did not put an end to what our Creator began.

The Spirit is continually teaching us and God is testing to see what is in our hearts. That was the purpose of the 40 years in the wilderness after Moses led that mixed multitude out of Egypt - YHWH knew what was in their hearts yet tested them to see if they would obey Him like they said they would. Well, as you know, only 2 of the original generation made it to the promise land of Canaan - Joshua and Caleb.

Keeping Torah in today's World

Torah is not a religion but God's perfect governing system for all mankind. Of the 613 commandments, 221 apply only to the temple, priesthood and their duties, sacrifices and ritual purity. Since the the physical temple and all associated with it does not exist today these laws do not apply and no law is 'broken' if some thing doesn't exist.  That leaves 392 'laws', which are divided among the rest of us, according to our station in life.

For example: Over 50 laws apply to you if you are a farmer or running a business. Over 60 laws apply to  judges or those  involved in the judicial system. There are 45 laws that apply to us in regard to social behaviors, community and family affairs, and some of those are for just men, and some just for women.  
 

The laws of God YHWH are not a burden and they are able to be kept.  He would not give us anything that we could not bear.  His rules and regulations bring order to the affairs of man and teach us how to handle our own daily affairs. You and I don't lie, cheat, steal or murder but there are many who do. Yahweh protects us, gives us a legal leg to stand on, if these wrongdoings befall us.  He takes into consideration laws regarding 'Involuntary Manslaughter' as well as 'Premeditated Murder'.

Torah is not complicated and is provided for everyone. It represents the character of YHWH our Elohim and His values according to His will - it elevates human life by establishing justice and equality for everyone.

John 14:15 - Y'shua said if you love me keep my commands. 14:21- He who has and keeps my commandments is he who loves me and will be loved by my Father. 15:10 - If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept the commandments of my Father (Torah) and I abide in His love.

Revelation 22:14 - Blessed are those who do His commandments for they shall be given the right to the Tree of Life and will be allowed to enter into the city (New Jerusalem).

The Law is the Word of YHWH our Elohim, and His commandments are found in the first five books of Scripture. His Son confirms this by obeying the will of his Father. Throughout Scripture we are told to show we love Him by keeping His commandments then He will be our Elohim and we will be His people. God would not tell us to do something if we weren't able to do so.

Definitions from Webster's

Justification = the condition necessary for salvation; of being absolved of the guilt of sin.
Sanctification = set apart, consecrated, made free from (bondage to) sin, purified, dedicated.
Righteousness = acting in a just, upright manner, doing what is morally right.

Torah is the Hebrew word for Instruction; instructions for discerning what is morally right, and teaches us how to live in a just manner, advising us on how to be justified and become sanctified - it is the instructions which point us to the Promised Land.  God Himself chose His people to be Set Apart as He is Set Apart... this happens by obeying Him, everything He commands.

New Covenant, Old Covenant, is Torah a covenant?

Right off the get-go we are being gently led astray by a bad translation, the word 'New'. The original Hebrew word 'chadash' means to re-new or to make new or repair. It was never a New covenant but a Renewed covenant. Theologians have long used this term to steer the 'church' away from the rules and commands by God written in Genesis through Deuteronomy, aka Torah.

In the research of Andrew Gabriel Roth, he found that " post-apostlic church founder, Marcion (110-160 AD), who was considered a heretic by the early church, coined the terms 'Old Testament' and 'New Testament' suggesting that the old was done away with, replaced with the new.  His false anti-torah theology is still believed by most Christians today."

A covenant is a contract, a promise, a firm agreement, a pact, made in faith by which the parties involved are trusted to uphold their end of said contract. In every contract there is an exchange of value. In the Renewed contract/covenant Y'shua Messiah offers redemption for our lives but we must reciprocate (hold up our end of the contract) by being obedient.

Torah contains the Terms and Conditions of Yahweh's covenant between Himself and mankind. Torah demands the element of Faith to bring mutual benefits between the parties involved.
  
John 15:10 - IF you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept the commandments of my Father Elohim and I abide in His love.

In reality, the new covenant (NT) is a renewal of the older covenant God had formerly made between Himself and His people. Y'shua Messiah and his apostles obeyed the Father, they were Torah observant. It is not a burden and it is not impossible to live by God's Commands.