The following are the projected 2025 Feast dates.
Last Great Day: October 15
*Very remote chance the date will fall a day earlier
There are plenty of things you can seek
And down every path, there is something to find
There is only one path that leads to life, everlasting
To hunger and thirst for righteousness
That’s the call
To give YHWH your all
A posture of surrendering your stance
Bowing only to One, who did not choose you by chance
You were hand-picked and handmade
By the Creator of everything
He created the sun, the moon, and the stars
And He created you
Every detail, curated to perfection
He spent time creating you
Will you allow Him to complete His work?
Will you surrender to the process?
Let Him mould and shape you
Like clay, the only way for it to be shaped is when it yields and softens to the Potter’s hands
He is shaping and moulding you into a unique creation
Created to bring Him glory
Masterpieces take time
They’re detailed and precise
Daily surrender is the price
The Kingdom we seek daily
No other path will suffice
Our souls are wanting and empty
Water won’t do
Our souls need living water to hydrate our parched land
No other name
No other way
But one
To walk:
In Truth
In Surrender
In Belief
Nothing better, nothing greater
Then to lay your life down for your Creator
In death is the only way to find life
A death to one’s self
Is the path to the truth
Start on that path in your youth
Walk in His ways, He’ll never forsake you
He’ll keep you, He’ll mould you
But first, He will break you
He’ll show you who you are
All your muck and your scars
The death of His son cleanses our souls
His death and resurrection makes us whole
A sacrifice was needed
Blood had to be shed
To cover the sins of men, otherwise, we would remain dead
Believe in the son
He will set you free
Because who the son sets free is free indeed
What lies do you need to no longer believe?
The enemy will give his all to keep your eyes
From the truth and distract you in your youth
If he can get you to take your eyes off of Yahshua and focus on yourself
Your situation, your circumstances, the impossibilities you seem to be facing
He’ll have you in this world chasing
Sins and pleasures, complaining and gossiping
And before you know it, your daily time with the Most High will become time wasted
With something else on the altar
Possessions, money, fitness
It’s all the same – when it comes before YHWH
Doesn’t matter what it is
If it’s before Him it’s on the altar of your heart
And now you’re bowing to an idol created by the hands of man
And not to the Creator Himself
We are to love Him with our everything
He is to have our hearts
What does that look like?
What do you think on?
What do you talk about?
How often do you pray?
Always, all throughout your day?
Or is prayer something you’ve forgotten about
Like a book left on the shelf
Taken out at a meal, because we still bless our food
But everything else is in the rearview
We’ve given YHWH His categories of our life, He can touch
May I submit to you that He should have all of you
Including that thing you forgot about too
We’re to give Him all our hurts, pains, and shames
And the good stuff too – the job, the house
Do you have stuff, or does your stuff have you?
Is peace your portion or chaos your master?
We can serve but one
Our Master the Creator
Or Satan the traitor
The choice is yours
You’ve got nothing to prove
Because you, as you are, have everything to lose
If you choose the Creator, you choose life
If you choose you, you choose death
There’s only one way forward
Do you know who puts the breath in your lungs, who gave you another day?
Do you know your Creator?
There is only but one we can serve
You’re fooling yourself if you say you serve no one
That means you’ve chosen yourself
That’s the road that leads to destruction
There is a way out
A path to freedom and peace can be found
Through our Saviour Yahshua, the Prince of Peace
Who took our sins on himself and made them as far as the West is from the East
Never to meet again
May you take time to reflect
And consider the path you are on
The path to death
Or the path to life
Many will listen, few will hear
For those whose armours were pierced
The Father waits for you to draw near
His desire is for all to enter the Kingdom
The days of darkness are near
Don’t trust in yourself, it will lead you astray
Choose the Maker of your life, the One and only true way
Through Yahshua our Messiah
The son of the Most High
He reveals the Father to you
Will you walk in the path of old?
The only path to life is one where you lay it down
The kingdom of darkness will welcome you with open arms
Your destination on that path is despair
The Kingdom of light, a fight for your life
With a destination that leads to life
It’s not about how you start but how you finish
Will you finish the race?
Will you wear a victors’ crown?
Train hard, be diligent, lean not on yourself
Be encouraged by the brethren
You’re not on your own
We are an army of soldiers for the Kingdom
We may be small in number, but we’re strong in the spirit
For we fight not against flesh and blood
Our weapons are not carnal
Our victory, not in ourselves
But we belong to our Creator
He fights our battles
We surrender and pray
That we make it to that day
Where we hear
“Well done, My good and faithful servant”
May you be faithful til the end
And receive the prize of everlasting life
Submitted by Maya Oppermann
HalleluYah! Praise Yahweh for the inspiration to write for Him.
This poem came to me a few weeks ago. Some trials and challenges came up one day,
and I realized I needed to do some work to get my heart right with Yahweh, especially
as I prepare to come before Him at the Feast. Then Yahweh helped me realize how I
can do better. And so, I felt compelled to share.
Are our hearts right with Yahweh?
Do we give praise and thank Him every day?
Do we seek first the Kingdom and His Righteousness,
Or do we get into the busy-ness of our day?
Have we spent time in Yahweh’s Word today,
Or is the to-do list getting in the way?
How else do we expect to get to know Him and His ways
If the Bible sits on the table or on the shelf day to day?
How else would we get to learn from examples like Job,
Who said “Yahweh gives and Yahweh takes away, blessed be the name of Yahweh”
after losing it all?
Or read and learn how Solomon, in all his wisdom and wealth, said both,
“The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge” (in Proverbs)
and that “all is vanity” (in Ecclesiastes) despite seemingly having it all?
How can we learn to walk as Messiah did if we don’t keep His words in our hearts and
minds, Who sought His Father in all things, fasted and prayed,
And taught us to love and obey Yahweh, and to seek and we shall find?
Some days we get so busy,
We say, “I’ll just do this one thing then I’ll sit to read.”
Or, “I’ll just spend five minutes on social media.”
But then we get lost in the feed.
Or we get so angry about what just happened, and say,
“No, I can’t come before Yahweh in this state.”
One thing leads to another, …
The clock ticks, and then it’s late.
Then we realize we must stay the course,
And realize, “I must put keep putting Yahweh first no matter what.”
Yes, He must come first, In our lives, in our hearts and in our thoughts.
Yahshua taught us to seek first
The Kingdom and His righteousness, then all these things will be added unto you,
These things being what shall we eat, drink, or be clothed.
And He taught us not to omit the weightier matters of the law-judgment, mercy, and faith-
And His servant Paul listed the Fruits of the Spirit, and the necessity of love.
Yahshua taught that all who endure to the end shall be saved,
And in Revelation told us that we must overcome;
We can only do it if we put on the mind of Messiah
And put our spiritual armor on.
Yahweh shows us that our relationship with Him
Is not dependent on our station in life nor things we may “own.”
It’s what in the heart that matters
And our hearts need to be right no matter what is going on.
Yahweh first!
We need to read and study His Word every day;
His Word says, He will bless and prosper us
IF we love Him and obey.
~submitted by Judy Stern
The New Moon of the 7th month as been spotted by a few dozen brethren in Holts Summit MO!
In this issue of the Restoration Times, we discuss:
• Feast and Foremost
• Taste of the Kingdom
• What is Yahweh Like?
• Did You Know
• Building Expansion Progress
• Feedback
It is understood that the name Joshua in the Old Testament is properly “Yehoshua.” This “yeh” pronunciation is based on the vocal shewa under the yod יְה The pronunciation of this shewa is usually taught in Biblical Hebrew that it has the sound of “eh”. We asked Steven Fassberg, one of the world’s foremost Hebrew Scholars at the Hebrew Language Department of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, the following question:
I was taught that the vocal shewa (shewa marked under an initial letter is classified shewa naʼ or mobil) makes a short “eh” sound. But I stumbled on a Tiberian Hebrew lesson that said that in Tiberian Hebrew, the vocal shewa makes an “ah” sound while modern Hebrew uses an “eh.” Can you please clarify? I understand that hateph vowels take on the sound of the vowel next to them but what about when these vowels appear alone in the initial syllable?
“The Modern Hebrew pronunciation ‘e’ of the shewa mobile is based on the medial Sephardic pronunciation of Hebrew. The Tiberian Masoretes pronounced shewa mobile as a short a (like a hataf patah). We know this from: 1) the fact that sometimes a hataf patah replaces a shewa mobile when the consonant is not a guttural; 2) Tiberian Masoretic compositions; 3) the traditional Yemenite Hebrew pronunciation of Hebrew, which agrees in many points with Tiberian Masoretic compositions.” (Note: The Hateph Pathach has the sound of “a” as in amuse)
–Steven Fassberg, PhD
– Member, The Academy of the Hebrew Language, Jerusalem
– Associate Editor, The Historical Dictionary of the Hebrew Language project, The Academy of the Hebrew
Language
– Associate Editor, Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Leiden: Brill, 2013.
– Acting Provost, The School for Overseas Students, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Spring semester 1998
– Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, 2004-2005
– Chair, Department of Hebrew Language 1998-2001, 2006-2009
– Director, Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, 2006-2009
– Academic Head, Revivim Honors Program for the Training of Jewish Studies Teachers, 2014-
Full list of credentials:
https://pluto.huji.ac.il/~fassberg/
In this Issue of the Restoration Times, we discuss:
• You and the Spirit World
• Crossroads of Faith
• Grace Invokes Obedience
• Q&A
• Building Expansion Progress
• Feedback
In this issue of the Restoration Times, we discuss:
• From Passover to Pentecost
• Billions Are Deceived About Salvation
• Traversing a Continental Divide
• Q & A
• Building Expansion
• Eldertorial: You Can’t Afford NOT to Attend the Feasts
What wonderful things cannot be said of You?
Heavenly Father, Yahweh of Hosts,
As You and as Yahshua rightly taught,
Whom we should love in our lives the most.
If we feel alone, You are Omnipresent
So You are with us, right there.
If we feel unloved, Your Word says,
“Yahweh is love” and that for us He cares.
If we are in need of food or raiment,
Yahshua teaches, don’t worry what you’ll eat, drink or wear.
If we’re in trouble, Yahweh, You say
You are with us, have no fear.
When in my life I thought I would lose it all,
I felt that into despair I’d fall,
Not knowing what else to do, I looked up,
Cried to You, Yahweh, and You definitely heard my call.
You have blessed me in more ways than I can count,
You healed me of my trauma, eased my pain.
Yahweh, You saw it all, and wiped away tears
That used to fall down my face like rain.
Sometimes we may wonder, “What have I done to deserve this?”
Both in good and in challenging times.
And of course, in each case, Yahweh,
You are Omniscient, so You have the answer every time.
Your Word says You refine us as iron in the fire and You give us grace;
The good times in life are blessings, promised to those who love you and obey.
Praise You Yahweh, You are so patient,
As on this walk I’ve made many mistakes.
My righteousness is as filthy rags,
Yet you don’t cast me away because of Your love, mercy and grace.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to find the right words
To express how glorious You are,
Bigger and more grand than anything I can think of,
Larger than life! You are:
Faithful, Wise, Good, Just,
Our Refuge, All Powerful,
Righteous King, Creator,
Abba Yahweh, You are wonderful!
Thank you, Yahweh, for Your Word
That you share with us and wrote in our hearts.
Thank you for loving us and for Your Son Yahshua,
And for the blessings You impart.
Thank you for hearing our prayers,
Thank you for Your Kingdom Come,
And for pouring out Your Holy Spirit.
You are so wonderful! Thank you for all You have done!
To You, Almighty Yahweh,
To You our praises and worship we bring.
To You, Yahweh, all honor and glory,
Avinu Malkeinu, our Father, our King!
HalleluYah!
~Submitted by Judy Stern, inspired by Yahweh
Are you ready for the garden? Here in the Midwest, it may be too early to actually plant anything, but the cold months of winter are the perfect time to plan the garden. Consider what you will plant, when it will be planted and where each herb, vegetable and flower will be located. Make out a map of the garden before heading out to dig in the dirt and keep three important gardening techniques in mind: rotation, companion and successive planting.
Rotation means simply to rotate your crops – do not plant the same thing in the same spot as last year. This discourages insect infestations. Little critters may be just waiting for more of the same delicacies that were served up last year in the same area. While some plants will rob the soil of certain nutrients, other plants will add those, and other, nutrients back into the soil. So, by rotating crops you will also be helping to keep the soil in good condition.
Companion planting is another method used to help prevent insect damage by planting mutually beneficial plants near each other. Likewise, some plants should never be placed in close proximity to one another. More specific information on neighborly plants is easily obtained on the Internet. By mixing herbs, vegetables and flowers together as companions you can make an interesting, beautiful and organically functional garden.
Successive planting is the method whereby a second crop is planted in the same soil after a first crop has been harvested. This second crop may be a repeat of the first crop, or an entirely different one altogether. Cool weather crops, such as carrots, chard, lettuce, onions, potatoes and spinach, are planted early in the spring, mature early in the summer and may be planted again, some even multiple times, during the growing season. Some vegetables, such as kale, green beans or turnips, do better when planted in the middle of the summer, maturing in the cool of the autumn. With this in mind, I will plant turnips in the same spot formerly occupied by my harvested beets or green beans in the area where the squash had thrived. By planting crops in succession, you can produce more in less garden space, almost doubling your harvest.
Following is a rough schedule of when to plant here in Mid- Missouri, or Climate Zone 5. This list is by no means exhaustive or definitive and you can customize it to fit your own personal choices and timetable.
Very early (mid-March to early-April) – chard, lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach
Early (April) – beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, onions
Mid (May) – corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, okra, parsnips, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, flowers
Late (mid-July) – beans, cabbage, carrots, chard, lettuce, onions, potatoes, radishes, spinach, turnips
Keep in mind that not everything in the garden will do well every year. Some growing seasons can be downright heartbreaking, while the abundance of others can be almost overwhelming. Despite good soil, special techniques and constant vigilance to weed and insect problems, the weather is always the determining factor in production. So, whether the garden thrives this year or not, enjoy the outdoors, the exercise and the visual and culinary delights that Yahweh provides.
by: Debbie Reed
