Prison Weekly for Sabbath Tevet 7, 5769

SHALOM

The Hebrew month is Kislev these Parashahs are for Sabbath Tevet 7, 5769

Last weeks Parashahs were : Miketz"At the end of " Genesis 41:1-44:17                        Haftarah 1Kings 3:15-4:1, 1Kings 7:40-50  & The Brit Hadasha 1Corinthians 2:1-5.

This Weeks VaYigash " and he drew near " Genesis 44:18-47:27 Haftarah Ezekiel 37:15-28 & Brit Hadasha  Luke 6:9-16

Next weeks Parashahs are  VaYechi "and He lived"Genesis 47:28-50:28         Haftarah  1 Kings 2:1-12 Brit Hadasha is 1 Peter 1:3-9

Torah Parashah HaShavuah Sabbath Kislev 30‏,5769

Mikeitz "at the end of" Genesis 41:1 through 44:17 brings the finale to the story of Joseph and of his salvation of his family from the famine in Israel.  Pharaoh has a dream and no one can interpret it.  His cupbearer and his baker had their dreams interpreted in prison by Joseph so that tell Pharaoh about him.  Joseph is brought before the king and not only interprets the dream, but first reveals what the dream was and then gives the meaning of it.  The king of all Egypt and its possessions sees the anointing of G-d upon Joseph and enlists him to oversee the entire kingdom during the tough times predicted in the dream.  Joseph, once again, does far and above what anyone could have imagined and he is made the Viceroy or Prime Minister of the empire, second only to Pharaoh. The famine in Canaan forces Jacob to send his remaining sons to Egypt to find food.  There, they run into; you guessed it, Joseph.  Of course, they haven't seen him in years and he now looks Egyptian, so they do not recognize him, but he knows exactly who they are.  Then, in Genesis 42:6, Joseph's dreams come true.  His brothers bow to the ground before him.

Then, Joseph devises a plan to force his family to be reunited.  The remaining chapters detail the plan that will not be fulfilled until next week.  This week's lesson is short but sweet.  Be aware of those who come to you in your business, and of those to whom you go.  Perhaps the connection is for a purpose beyond what either you or they have in mind.  Who knows the plans of G-d? Have a happy and blessed Chanukah as you dedicate yourselves again to the G-d of Israel and to His Messiah, Y'shua. Keep praying. Rabbi Marty

Torah Parashah HaShavuah Sabbath Tevet 7, 5769

Vayigash "and he drew near" (Genesis 44:18-47:27)
Shame On Nobody

We may get mad and want to give whoever made us mad a piece of our mind, but before we let it fly, we should think about this week's Torah Portion and how careful we must be not to shame anyone in front of others. The powerful Joseph is about to reveal his true identity to his brothers who had sold him as a slave, but first he makes sure that everyone else leaves the room, so his brothers won't feel any more embarrassment than necessary (45:1). We can learn from him the Torah value of not shaming others.
In our story, a kid has to choose whether to let it fly - or let it ride

SAVING FACE

Sharon felt steam coming out of her ears as she glared at the tried-on clothes strewn all over the floor, the desk cluttered with not-put-away makeup bottles and tissues. It was bad enough that she had to share a room with her sister, Mindy, but what right in the world did the kid have to leave it looking like the aftermath of an earthquake, just because she was in a rush? No way was she going to get away with this! Gathering up a few choice pieces of evidence, Sharon flew down the stairs, hoping to still catch Mindy before she left and make her clean up her mess. She got to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Mindy opening the front door. Good, I caught her in time! As she stomped across the big living room, Sharon peered through the large window and recognized the group of three girls standing at the entranceway. They were some of the most popular kids in Mindy's grade. It was nice to see that her sister was moving up in the social world, but that still didn't allow her to trash their room in its wake.

"Oh, hi guys!" she heard her sister's voice ring out in that overly friendly tone she used when she was nervous. "I'll just grab my coat and we'll get going." Not before you clean up your disgusting mess, Sharon thought, rehearsing the indignant line she was going to yell out when she got to the door.

She was picking up speed and about to pounce on the group when a different thought slipped into Sharon's head. Whoa, what am I doing? Mindy must really want to impress these new friends of hers - that's why she rushed out and why she's so nervous. If I barge in, literally waving her dirty laundry in her face in front of them, she's going to be mortified. Still mad, but fighting hard to stop herself like a truck trying to brake on a downhill slope, Sharon slowed down, tossed her sister's things she'd been holding behind the recliner, and by the time she was standing at the front hall closet next to Mindy and her friends, Sharon had actually managed to paste a calm smile on her face. As her sister walked over to get her coat, Sharon softly said, "I know you're on your way out, but could I just speak to you for a second ... in the other room?" Mindy flashed Sharon a searching look and seeing the searing eyes behind her sister's smile, nodded. "I'll be right with you, guys," she waved and followed her into the kitchen.

Though Sharon had to put up with a messy room until her sister, who'd promised to clean it as she got home, returned, she was happy that she'd held herself back from making even a bigger mess by embarrassing her sister in public. Taken from Aish.com

Mission updates:

 Greetings, Mom went to the food bank today and I am sure she made a payment on our total. We generally pay what we owe then what we pick up is charged. We have most all the bills paid around 90% I think so we are really doing pretty good. What we will need this month is gas money and money to pay the food bank off. I have $30.01 in pay pal..Also I need to pay another months radio ASAP....Well I have to go, unsure what I will do about radio this week as I more than likely will have a hard time getting a guest...so it is up for prayer...

First yes all should keep their eyes on what is going on in Israel, much could happen before Bush leaves office as many has said including Bush and Israel. Second as the world's new year comes double back and check on all the people who proclaimed to be prophets that made predictions for 2008 that did not come true trust this word,

 

Deuteronomy 18:20 ²⁰But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. ²¹And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? ²²When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

We are almost overwhelmed as the poor in the neighborhood as well as the homeless and near homeless are pouring in for food boxes. Only the Father could provide this as I am a very poor man…..an by the way the preachers should be the brokest man on the block I am pretty sure 90% of the bills got paid a real praise report for December! What needs paid is radio, Jan, is almost here and I paid nothing in December. Sorry about the rerun as guest are hard to find on these days, I do not know if I can find someone for this Thursday. I can prerecord now so I am praying. I would much like to do a program about what is going on in Israel.Many boxes have came by mail etc. Some of the things we have received are toiletries, you know soap, tooth paste etc, gloves, socks, clothing, etc,Today we got three boxes, picture, of heavy winter gloves and 17 or 18 brand new winter coats! I am a bad counter….yuk yuk..We feel so blessed.We need donations for food, radio, gas, and other odds and ends, like I  help most everyday with co-pays and sometimes full prescriptions, shoes most days at least one pair coast $11 plus tax Wal-Mart. Right now I need to get a special show for a fellow with one arm, he is a size 14, he is wearing the same shoe that was bought two years ago at Holiday gifts, he was going to replace this year but no program as the people did not do it this year…..Lift us in prayer and please help if you can, Be Blessed, Pastor Dan 

Shalom In Yeshua our Messiah, sorry for not getting you your portion last week I was so busy with Chanukah and running the mission I just didn't find time for computer. We had a very nice Chanukah celebration for our Sabbath service Friday and a packed house at that, Our daughter, Bootzi's best friend and her family joined us for the first time filling one side of the room with teens, Praise Yahweh! We  read the Chanukah Story, played a game for the Kelts, and enjoyed the brightness from all the Chanukah candels. It was fun!

As we come into 2009 we were able to pay all of last years bills. I managed to pay most all the January bills that are in and I have the funding for the newsletter. However this will be a December / January issue due to us not having the funding in time to do a December issue last month. If everything goes as planned it will go out this Friday Jan 2^nd. Radio still needs paid for January and I'll need to pay the food bank for today's order. We gave out 203 food boxes in December not counting what I will be giving out today. I will update the total in my next update. It is hard to see so many without food , we had three infants last week needing food and diapers. I had to go get one litte baby formula on Christmas day…. Thank Yahweh for Wal-greens everything else but Quick Trip and a few fast food places were closed. Pray about supporting these works the NEEDS are growing daily. Thank you to all who have helped you don't know the Blessings your support supply. I'm tired and it's rather late / early so I better go get a few hours of rest. I'll write more next time stay warm and in his will Shalom sisterlinda

Chanukah Eyes

 How can our homemade menorahs compete with all the dazzling lights of Christmas? The fourth night of Chanukah, my husband is late for the candle lighting. My children's unlit clay menorahs are positioned precariously on the radiator. My second daughter, Elana, stares across the street at the neighbor's lawn. The Healys have draped their cedar tree with electric blue lights. Next door, a deer stands poised with one hoof lifted prettily, as if about to break into a prance. Nearby, a bloated, inflated snowman sways drunkenly in the night air. My six-year-old daughter chews on the end of her plastic dreidel. A wistful look crosses her face. "Why can't we have decorations like that?" she asks. I remind her how we go all out on Sukkot. We have fancy lights, murals painted on the walls, and assorted fruit and tchotchkes hanging from the rafters of our Sukkah. But on Chanukah, I tell her, the menorah is all we've got. "Can't we have something big?" she begs. "Something pretty, maybe a lamb or a sheep?" Oh great, I think: a paschal lamb on our porch. But that's the wrong holiday. I gaze down at our rickety display of homemade menorahs. I know they can't compete with Mrs. Healy's Christmas tree, the dazzling strings of light and the candy canes and wreaths dangling from telephone poles, not to mention jolly Ole Santa and all the treats in his mysterious fat bag. I guess my daughter wants a swankier holiday. Across the street, I see a family at the window putting a match to their oil menorah. I look at my watch. Its time to light, but my husband won't be home for a good half hour. "Come on, kids," I suddenly decide. "Let's go on a menorah hunt." The kids are game. We pack into our minivan. "Fifty menorahs," I say. "After we find 50 lit menorahs, we go home to light our own." There. That'll pass the time. They press their faces to the window. "There's one," my daughter Elana points. My son easily spots another two. "I see it, I see it," my youngest one crows, waving her fist. The numbers quickly add up. No surprise there. We live in a Jewish neighborhood in New Jersey. My son hits the jackpot with five menorah houses, back to back, belly to belly. "This is too easy," he scoffs.

I think he's right, and I make a left and a right, and go on a long stretch that turns into a different, more ritzy -- dare I say WASPy -- neighborhood. Here, electric lights blaze forth from every house. Multicolored reindeers poke their hooves into well-tended zoysia grass. There are elves or maybe fawns lurking near Holly bushes, and Santas and sleighs clumped around rhododendrons. There are unusual shadow and light displays; some are actually artistic. My kids grow silent at all the holiday splendor. "Where are all the menorahs?" my son wonders out loud. "So many Santas," Elana observes. I wonder when it was she stopped calling Santa the big red Zeide. "Keep looking," I say tersely. I turn left, then right. Aren't I setting up the kids for disappointment? Christmas is everywhere. They're at the age when they're starting to realize how few of us we are. And in fact, my older daughter says, "How come there's so little of us?" "Yes, we're little," I agree. "So what? Chanukah celebrates the victory of the few over the many. The few are also strong." But my daughter, steeped in a Jewish education, counters, "God said we'd be many. 'You shall be as numerous as the stars of the heaven,'" she quotes. Suddenly Elana shouts, "I see a menorah!" Our heads turn. "Where, where?" and she points proudly. There indeed it is, sitting in the window of what looks to be someone's kitchen. On either side of the house is a fantastic network of lights and sleighs and an illuminated nativity scene. And in between sits a dignified little menorah on a Jewish window sill. Feeling like the Maccabees who found that one last vial of oil to light the menorah, we all whoop and cheer. As we make our way back home, we spot another two menorahs, each one a victory. In our own neighborhood, we easily pick up six houses here, seven houses there, surpassing the number of 50 by the time we arrive home. When we come inside, my husband is pouring olive oil into glass cups. The breakable colored candles have been twisted into the kids' clay menorahs. We make the blessings, sing a little, dance a little and then the kids disperse. I linger in front of our homemade display and then I remember a custom.

The old Hasidic masters used to sit and gaze at the lit candles for a full half hour, even more. They say that staring at the candles expands a person's vision; how the eyes see the world, what they regard as beautiful. I sit now on the couch and try to keep my gaze on the lights. It's amazing to me how dreidels and sufganiot and potato latkes can keep my kids happily occupied. It feels restful here, watching. While the candles burn, women aren't supposed to be working anyway, to honor the extra role women had in the miracle of Chanukah. I let my eyes take their fill while my husband fries more latkes. Elana wanders over to the radiator and looks across the street at the neighbor's fancy holiday decorations. I say to her in a quiet voice, "Look at our candles, look closely and tell me what you see." She stares for a long time, her big brown eyes grave and finally tells me. "The flames are shaped like arrows, they point upward, there's a dark blue in the center, the flames keep moving here and there but are held in place by the wick, they're tiny and they're beautiful to look at." Then she adds, "The flames are arrows pointing to heaven." The image delights me, and she seems pleased, too, but then I see her eyes return to the window, to the pretty lights across the street. I want to tell my daughter how the world tries to grab you with its fancy big lights. They are powerful, and they'll dazzle you for sure. But the light of the menorah is subtle, it gradually envelops you, and the more you look at it, its inner loveliness will sneak up and take your soul by surprise. That's what I want to say, but why say anything? She's only six. She'll find out. "The fact is, Christmas lights are pretty," I say out loud. She nods, taking in my words, relieved, it seems, that I agree with her. My husband likes to say about fireworks that no matter how spectacular, you can't look at the show for more than an hour. At a certain point the fireworks seem gaudy, a little much for the eyes. But you never get tired of gazing at the stars. My daughter yawns and I pat the space on the couch beside me. I realize I have let my eyes drift away from the candles. "Come back, let's look at the menorah," I say. She curves in next to me, her eyes tired and a little dreamy, while my own eyes blink and strain to see what she saw, little arrows of light pointing to the sky.
This article originally appeared in World Jewish Digest 2007.

Love people, Use Things

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat, and Mom in a housedress, lawn mower in one hand, and a dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.  But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't anymore.  Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it...it's best we love it... And care for it.... And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.  This is true... For marriage.... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards..... Dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents.... And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.... And so, we keep them close! Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there. 
 People are made to be Loved and Things are made to be Used! There is so much confusion in this World because People are being Used and things are being Loved.
Love your neighbor as yourself!

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? .What do you see?
What are you thinking.....when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, ...not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .......with far away eyes?

Who dribbles his food.......and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice.....'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice the things that you do.
And forever is losing, A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not...........lets you do as you will,
With bathing an d feeding.....The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?......Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse......you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am,.........As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, ...as I eat at your will
I'm a small child of Ten.......with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .........who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen.......with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now.......a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty,.......my heart gives a leap
Remembering, the vows......that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now .........I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide ...And a secu re happy home.
A man of Thirty, ...........My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other .......With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me.......to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, Babies play around my knee,
Again, we know children .......My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me. My wife is now dead.
I look at the future .............I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing......young of their own.
And I think of the years....... And the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man.........and nature is cruel.
'Tis jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles..........grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone........where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass ..A young guy still dwells,
And now and again .......my battered heart swells
I remember the joys........... I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living.............life over again.

I think of the years all too few......gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact........that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people ......open and see..
Not a crabby old man. Look closer....see........ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might
brush aside without looking at the young soul within.....we will all, one
day, be there, too!
This one made me cry... it's so true ....PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM
The best and most beautiful things of this world can' t be seen or
touched.  They must be felt by the heart.

 

 
Shalom B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach

    Peace in the Name of Yeshua, the Messiah

&Mark 9:23,10:27

" THE Truth will set you FREE"  Y

 

by Ruchama King Feuerman

How can our homemade menorahs compete with all the dazzling lights of Christmas?

The fourth night of Chanukah, my husband is late for the candle lighting. My children's unlit clay menorahs are positioned precariously on the radiator. My second daughter, Elana, stares across the street at the neighbor's lawn. The Healys have draped their cedar tree with electric blue lights.
Next door, a deer stands poised with one hoof lifted prettily, as if about to break into a prance. Nearby, a bloated, inflated snowman sways drunkenly in the night air. My six-year-old daughter chews on the end of her plastic dreidel. A wistful look crosses her face. "Why can't we have decorations like that?" she asks.
I remind her how we go all out on Sukkot. We have fancy lights, murals painted on the walls, and assorted fruit and tchotchkes hanging from the rafters of our Sukkah. But on Chanukah, I tell her, the menorah is all we've got.
"Can't we have something big?" she begs. "Something pretty, maybe a lamb or a sheep?"
Oh great, I think: a paschal lamb on our porch. But that's the wrong holiday. I gaze down at our rickety display of homemade menorahs. I know they can't compete with Mrs. Healy's Christmas tree, the dazzling strings of light and the candy canes and wreaths dangling from telephone poles, not to mention jolly Ole Santa and all the treats in his mysterious fat bag. I guess my daughter wants a swankier holiday.
Across the street, I see a family at the window putting a match to their oil menorah. I look at my watch. Its time to light, but my husband won't be home for a good half hour.
"Come on, kids," I suddenly decide. "Let's go on a menorah hunt."
The kids are game. We pack into our minivan. "Fifty menorahs," I say. "After we find 50 lit menorahs, we go home to light our own." There. That'll pass the time.
They press their faces to the window. "There's one," my daughter Elana points. My son easily spots another two. "I see it, I see it," my youngest one crows, waving her fist. The numbers quickly add up. No surprise there. We live in a Jewish neighborhood in New Jersey. My son hits the jackpot with five menorah houses, back to back, belly to belly.
"This is too easy," he scoffs. I think he's right, and I make a left and a right, and go on a long stretch that turns into a different, more ritzy -- dare I say WASPy -- neighborhood. Here, electric lights blaze forth from every house. Multicolored reindeers poke their hooves into well-tended zoysia grass. There are elves or maybe fawns lurking near Holly bushes, and Santas and sleighs clumped around rhododendrons. There are unusual shadow and light displays; some are actually artistic. My kids grow silent at all the holiday splendor.
"Where are all the menorahs?" my son wonders out loud.
"So many Santas," Elana observes. I wonder when it was she stopped calling Santa the big red Zeide.
"Keep looking," I say tersely. I turn left, then right.
Aren't I setting up the kids for disappointment? Christmas is everywhere. They're at the age when they're starting to realize how few of us we are. And in fact, my older daughter says, "How come there's so little of us?"
"Yes, we're little," I agree. "So what? Chanukah celebrates the victory of the few over the many. The few are also strong."
But my daughter, steeped in a Jewish education, counters, "God said we'd be many. 'You shall be as numerous as the stars of the heaven,'" she quotes.
Suddenly Elana shouts, "I see a menorah!" Our heads turn. "Where, where?" and she points proudly. There indeed it is, sitting in the window of what looks to be someone's kitchen. On either side of the house is a fantastic network of lights and sleighs and an illuminated nativity scene. And in between sits a dignified little menorah on a Jewish window sill. Feeling like the Maccabees who found that one last vial of oil to light the menorah, we all whoop and cheer.
As we make our way back home, we spot another two menorahs, each one a victory. In our own neighborhood, we easily pick up six houses here, seven houses there, surpassing the number of 50 by the time we arrive home.
When we come inside, my husband is pouring olive oil into glass cups. The breakable colored candles have been twisted into the kids' clay menorahs. We make the blessings, sing a little, dance a little and then the kids disperse. I linger in front of our homemade display and then I remember a custom. The old Hasidic masters used to sit and gaze at the lit candles for a full half hour, even more. They say that staring at the candles expands a person's vision; how the eyes see the world, what they regard as beautiful.
I sit now on the couch and try to keep my gaze on the lights. It's amazing to me how dreidels and sufganiot and potato latkes can keep my kids happily occupied. It feels restful here, watching. While the candles burn, women aren't supposed to be working anyway, to honor the extra role women had in the miracle of Chanukah. I let my eyes take their fill while my husband fries more latkes.
Elana wanders over to the radiator and looks across the street at the neighbor's fancy holiday decorations.
I say to her in a quiet voice, "Look at our candles, look closely and tell me what you see."
She stares for a long time, her big brown eyes grave and finally tells me. "The flames are shaped like arrows, they point upward, there's a dark blue in the center, the flames keep moving here and there but are held in place by the wick, they're tiny and they're beautiful to look at." Then she adds, "The flames are arrows pointing to heaven."
The image delights me, and she seems pleased, too, but then I see her eyes return to the window, to the pretty lights across the street.
I want to tell my daughter how the world tries to grab you with its fancy big lights. They are powerful, and they'll dazzle you for sure. But the light of the menorah is subtle, it gradually envelops you, and the more you look at it, its inner loveliness will sneak up and take your soul by surprise. That's what I want to say, but why say anything? She's only six.
She'll find out. "The fact is, Christmas lights are pretty," I say out loud.
She nods, taking in my words, relieved, it seems, that I agree with her.
My husband likes to say about fireworks that no matter how spectacular, you can't look at the show for more than an hour. At a certain point the fireworks seem gaudy, a little much for the eyes. But you never get tired of gazing at the stars.
My daughter yawns and I pat the space on the couch beside me. I realize I have let my eyes drift away from the candles. "Come back, let's look at the menorah," I say. She curves in next to me, her eyes tired and a little dreamy, while my own eyes blink and strain to see what she saw, little arrows of light pointing to the sky.
This article originally appeared in World Jewish Digest 2007.

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach

    Peace in the Name of Yeshua, the Messiah

&Mark 9:23,10:27

" THE Truth will set you FREE"  Y

 

Chanukah Blesings & Candle lighting

http://www.aish.com/chanukahguide/chanukahguidedefault/Animated_Menorah.asp

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach

    Peace in the Name of Yeshua, the Messiah

&Mark 9:23,10:27

" THE Truth will set you FREE"  Y

 

Who was Hayim Solomon?

 

This is an extremely interesting history.  Even if you are

Familiar with all of these facts, it might be good to review.

MAXIMIZE YOUR SCREEN.

 

 

 

  Who was Hayim Solomon?

 

 

 On the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles.  Together, they comprise the Great Seal of the United States.  
  
The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal.  It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved.  
   
If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid.  

Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark.  This country was just beginning.  We had not begun to explore the west or decided what we could do for Western Civilization.  The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished.  Inside the capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity.  It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything.  
   
'IN GOD WE TRUST' is on this currency.  

 

The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, 'God has favored our undertaking.'  
The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, 'a new order has begun.'    
At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776.  (MDCCLXXVI)  
   
If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery, and is the centerpiece of most hero's monuments.  Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States, and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean.  

The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons:  First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it.  Secondly, he wears no material crown We had just broken from the King of England.  Also, notice the shield is unsupported.  This country can now stand on its own.  At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor.  We were coming together as one nation.  In the Eagle's beak you will read, 'E PLURIBUS UNUM' meaning, 'one from many.'  
   
Above the Eagle, you have thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away.    
Again, we were coming together as one.  
   
Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons.  He holds an olive branch and arrows.  This country wants peace, but we will never be  afraid to fight to preserve peace.  The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.  
   
They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number.     
This is almost a worldwide belief.  You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor.  But  think about this:  
  
13  original colonies,  
13  signers of the Declaration of Independence,  
13  stripes on our flag,  
13  steps on the Pyramid,  
13  letters in, 'Annuit Coeptis,'  
13  letters in 'E PluribusUnum,'  
13  stars above the Eagle,  
13  bars on that shield,  
13  leaves on the olive branch,  
13  fruits,  
And  if you look closely,  
13  arrows.  
  
And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David.  This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked  Hayim Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as  a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army,  Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people.  The Star of David was the result.  Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions but died a pauper.  
   
I always ask people, 'Why don't you know this?'  Your children don't know this, and their history teachers don't know this.  Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care.  Too many veterans never came home at all.  
   
Share this page with everyone, so they can learn what is on the back of the UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL,  
And what it stands for!

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach

    Peace in the Name of Yeshua, the Messiah

&Mark 9:23,10:27

" THE Truth will set you FREE"  Y

 

Prison Weekly Shabbath Kislev 23, 5769

SHALOM

The Hebrew month is Kislev these Parashahs are for Shabbath Kislev 23, 5769

Parashahs HaShavuah: Torah Vayeshev "and he settled" Genesis 37:1-40:23                Haftarah Amos 2:6-3:8 & The Brit Hadasha Acts 7:9-16

                Next weeks Parashahs are : Miketz"At the end of "Genesis 41:1-44:17                             Haftarah –Zechariah 2:14-4:7,Isaiah 66:1-24  & The Brit Hadasha 1Corinthians 2:1-5.

WHAT IS CHANUKKAH AND HOW DO WE CELEBRATE IT?

Chanukkah is coming soon - the first night is Yom Reeshone the first day, {Sunday, December 21st.} It's a wonderful family holiday. After we light the candles, we sing Maoz Tzur, eat jelly donuts, tell stories, have quizzes about Hanukah - all in the light of the Hanukah candles. Memories are made up of a collection of precious moments. Hanukah can provide you with many wonderful memories! There are two ways which our enemies have historically sought to destroy us. The first is by physical annihilation; the most recent attempt being the Holocaust. The second is through cultural assimilation. Purim is the annual celebration of our physical survival. Hanukah is the annual celebration of our spiritual survival over the many who would have liked to destroy us through cultural assimilation. In 167 BCE the Syrian-Greek emperor, Antiochus, set out to destroy Judaism by imposing a ban on three mitzvot: The Shabbat, The Sanctifying of the New Month (establishing the first day of the month by testimony of witnesses who saw the new moon) and Brit Mila (entering the Covenant of Abraham through Torah-ordained circumcision). The Shabbat signifies that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and that His Torah is the blueprint of creation, meaning and values. Sanctifying the New Month determines the day of the Jewish holidays. Without it there would be chaos. For example, if Succot is the 15th of Tishrei, the day it occurs depends upon which day is declared the first of Tishrei. Brit Mila is a sign of our special covenant with the Almighty. All three maintain our cultural integrity and were thus threats to the Greek culture.

Matityahu and his 5 sons, known as the Maccabees, started a revolt and three years later succeeded in evicting the oppressors. The victory was a miracle - on the scale of Israel defeating the combined super-powers of today. Having regained control of the Temple in Jerusalem, they wanted to immediately rededicate it. They needed ritually pure olive oil to re-light the Menorah in the Temple. Only a single cruse of oil was found; enough to burn for just one day. However, they needed oil for eight days until new ritually pure olive oil could be produced. A miracle occurred and the oil burned for eight days. Therefore, we light Hanukah candles (or better yet, lamps with olive oil) for eight days. One the first day, two the second and so forth. The first candle is placed to the far right of the menorah with each additional night's candle being placed to the immediate left. One says three blessings the first night (two blessings each subsequent night) and then lights the candles, starting with the furthermost candle to the left. The menorah should have all candles in a straight line and at the same height. Ashkenazi tradition has each person of the household lighting his own menorah. Sefardi tradition has just one menorah lit per family. The blessings can be found on the back of the Hanukah candle box or in a Siddur, prayer book. The candles may be lit inside the home. It is preferable to light where passersby in the street can see them - to publicize the miracle of Hanukah. In Israel, people light outside in special glass boxes built for a menorah or little glasses with olive oil and wicks. The tradition to eat latkes, potato pancakes, is in memory of the miracle of the oil (latkes are fried in oil). In Israel, the tradition is to eat sufganiot, deep-fried jelly donuts. The traditional game of Hanukah uses a dreidel, a four-sided top with the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimmel, Hey, Shin (the first letters of "Nes Gadol Haya Sham - A Great Miracle Happened There." In Israel, the last letter is a Pay - for "Poh", "here.") In times of persecution when learning Torah was forbidden, Jews would learn anyway. When the soldiers would investigate, they would pull out the dreidel and pretend that they were gambling. The rules for playing dreidel: Nun -no one wins; Gimmel - spinner takes the pot; Hey - spinner get half the pot; Shin/Pay - spinner matches the pot!

Here's a question to think about: If enough oil was found to burn in the Temple menorah for one day and the oil lasted for eight days, then the miracle was really only for the seven additional days of lighting. Why then do we celebrate Chanukah for eight days and not seven?

Answer: The Baalei Mussar answer that in fact 7 days commemorates the miraculous miracle of oil burning longer than it was supposed to, but the extra day commemorates the miracle of nature – that oil burns at all! That itself is miraculous. We are typically amazed at miracles of the first kind, however there are miracles present in our every day lives. It behooves us to appreciate those miracles as well.

Parashah HaShavuah
Vayeshev Genesis 37:1-40:23

This week's portion includes four stories: (1) The selling of Yosef (Joseph) as a slave by his brothers - which eventually positioned Yosef to be second in command in Egypt and enabled him to save the known world from famine. (2) The ndiscretion of Yehuda (Judah) with Tamar (Tamar)... (3) The attempted seduction of Yosef by Potifar's wife, which ends with her framing Yosef and having him imprisoned. (4) Yosef interprets the dreams of his fellow prisoners, the wine steward (who was reinstated and forgot to put in a good word for Yosef) and the baker (who was hanged).

Dvar Torah
based on Growth Through Torah by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

After the brothers threw Joseph into a pit and were deciding what to do with him, the Torah states:"And they sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Yishme'alim came from Gilad with their camels carrying aromatic gum, balm, and ladanum, going to carry it down to Egypt" (Genesis 37:25). Why did the Torah deem it necessary for us to know what the camels were carrying? Rashi teaches us that the Torah is extolling the reward for the righteous. This was the caravan to which they would sell Joseph and which would transport him to Egypt. Usually caravans to Egypt carried kerosene and resin used for fuel - which had unpleasant odors. However, this caravan which carried Joseph to Egypt had pleasant smelling spices; because of his righteousness, he was not subjected to the unpleasant odors on his journey to Egypt (which was part of the divine plan to save the Jewish people from the upcoming famine). This seems to be little consolation for Joseph. He was being sold as a slave by his brothers. How would something as minor as pleasant smelling merchandise on the caravan taking him to Egypt make a difference? The answer is that this was a subtle hint from the Almighty to Joseph. It was a message to Joseph that all was not lost - that he should appreciate the hand of the Almighty that is guiding his life and supplies him with minor pleasures to enhance his life. This is a sign that all the Almighty does is for his - and your - ultimate benefit. This is an important lesson for anyone undergoing a difficult life situation. Upon facing painful experiences one is apt to become lost in self-pity and despair. It is easy to focus solely on what is going wrong with one's life. However, one needs to keep his eyes open! Be aware of any positive aspects. Don't ignore anything that you can possibly appreciate. These minor pleasures are messengers from the Almighty. Appreciate them for themselves; and what is more important, allow them to change your evaluation of your entire situation. Learn to see every situation as a means to help you reach your ultimate potential in this world!

Chanukkah Trivia {answers next week}

1. What does the word "Chanukah" mean?
2. The best place to light the Menorah is?

3. Who is the Greek-Syrian leader that took harsh steps to destroy Judaism?

4. On Friday afternoon, the menorah should stay lit for at least

5. What is the name of the courageous Jewish woman who defied the Greeks and killed one of their generals?

6. According to Jewish law, how many gifts must be given during the holiday of Chanukah?

7. The preferred arrangement of a menorah is where the candles are ?

8. Jews who assimilated into Greek culture were called?

9. How many branches did the Menorah in the Holy Temple have?

10. What do the four Hebrew letters on the dreidel (nun, gimmel, hey, shin) stand for?

11. Who is allowed to say a blessing on the lights of Chanukah?

 

Mission Updates:

Greetings Saints in His Perfect Peace,   As I told you last week someone bought us a vehicle, then my sister got a donation of a sign in Wichita, you know a big lighted sign that changes messages, you can see it From Kellogg head west about at the street Hydraulic. One way or another the Father has provided the ministry with the Second vehicle we need.And yes people are still crying for gloves among other things... 

We had a new family move in the neighbor hood, they came in mom saw them first and gave the diapers and some other things, they had some very cute little girls...they got some paltes to go and came back for a food box.....A wonderful family in another state has been sending  many coats and warm clothing, you see they advertised in a local paper and got results Amen.But donations are the worst I have seen them in some time really, donation by mail and the internet have almost stopped, really I think because of the season but also because people are losing jobs and are going broke.It will get worse before it get's better I think, anyway we are seeing increases in need everyday we are open, so December is being a real test for us. On one hand I could become a 501 3c and get free food as the government gives I found out, or I can trust that he will provide as he always has over the years..Our 9^th year we are in now…. We have not had the $380 to do Dec. mail out newsletter so that hurts also,….Mom told me we have over $2,700 in bills, which includes the newsletter; please lift us up in prayer ……….

The LORD  bless thee and keep thee; The LORD make His face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee; The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee shalom. (peace) Bemidbar (Numbers)  6:24-26

In Yeshua's Name, Bro. Dan, Pastor of Messiah's Branch

 

Philippians 3:13,14 & Psalms 18:30
  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of Yahweh in Yeshua Messiah. As for Yahweh, His way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him.

Shalom In Yeshua our Messiah

The snow is coming down and the freezing weather is upon us the wood is a burning and I sit here  with my toes wrapped in a blanket and footy socks on yet still aching from the cold. I can't help but wonder who is out there in the below freezing temp with nowhere to go............. We really need you all to pray for us now, there are many bills that remain unpaid and the newsletter has yet to go out this month. January bills have already started coming in because the December ones couldn't get paid and they have began to double. I couldn't order any more food from the food bank because the last order has yet to be paid. In the four days we have opened this month we have made a total of 101 food boxes and there are still six more days we open this month. Many new faces are showing up including families with tiny babies and toddlers still in diapers. My heart BREAKS !! Yahwehs will be done will you be a part............Have a very blessed week shalom sisterlinda  

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach  /  Peace in the Name of Yeshua, the Messiah

&Mark 9:23,10:27

" THE Truth will set you FREE"  Y

 

 

 

 

Prison Weekly for Shabbath Kislev 16, 5769

SHALOM

The Hebrew month is Kislev these Parashahs are for Shabbath Kislev 16, 5769

Parashahs HaShavuah: Torah Vayetze "and he went" Genesis 28:10-32:3    Haftarah Hosea 12:13-14:10 & Brit Hadasha John 1:43-51

Next weeks Parashahs are Torah VaYishlach " And He sent " Genesis 32:4-36:43 Haftarah Obadiah 1:1-21 & Hosea 11:7-12:12 The Brit Hadasha Matthew 26:36-46

 
Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran. He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And the Lord was standing beside him and He said, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac: the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring. Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it!" Shaken, he said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven." Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He named that site Bethel; but previously the name of the city had been Luz. Jacob then made a vow, saying, "If God remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safe to my father's house--the Lord shall be my God. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God's abode; and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You." Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the Easterners. There before his eyes was a well in the open. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for the flocks were watered from that well. The stone on the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled from the mouth of the well and the sheep watered; then the stone would be put back in its place on the mouth of the well.

Jacob said to them, "My friends, where are you from?" And they said, "We are from Haran." He said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said, "Yes, we do." He continued, "Is he well?" They answered, "Yes, he is; and there is his daughter Rachel, coming with the flock." He said, "It is still broad daylight, too early to round up the animals; water the flock and take them to pasture." But they said, "We cannot, until all the flocks are rounded up; then the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well and we water the sheep." While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's flock; for she was a shepherdess. And when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, and the flock of his uncle Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and broke into tears. Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, that he was Rebekah's son; and she ran and told her father. On hearing the news of his sister's son Jacob, Laban ran to greet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and took him into his house. He told Laban all that had happened, and Laban said to him, "You are truly my bone and flesh." When he had stayed with him a month's time, Laban said to Jacob, "Just because you are a kinsman, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes; Rachel was shapely and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he answered, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "Better that I give her to you than that I should give her to an outsider. Stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my time is fulfilled, that I may cohabit with her." And Laban gathered all the people of the place and made a feast. When evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and he cohabited with her. Laban had given his maidservant Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid. When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I was in your service for Rachel! Why did you deceive me?" Laban said, "It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the older. Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven years." Jacob did so; he waited out the bridal week of the one, and then he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife. Laban had given his maidservant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid. And Jacob cohabited with Rachel also; indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served him another seven years.

The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. Leah conceived and bore a son, and named him Reuben; for she declared, "It means: 'The Lord has seen my affliction'; it also means: 'Now my husband will love me."' She conceived again and bore a son, and declared, "This is because the Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me this one also"; so she named him Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son and declared, "This time my husband will become attached to me, for I have borne him three sons." Therefore he was named Levi. She conceived again and bore a son, and declared, "This time I will praise the Lord." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing. When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die." Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, "Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?" She said, "Here is my maid Bilhah. Consort with her, that she may bear on my knees and that through her I too may have children." So she gave him her maid Bilhah as concubine, and Jacob cohabited with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. And Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; indeed, He has heeded my plea and given me a son." Therefore she named him Dan. Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, "A fateful contest I waged with my sister; yes, and I have prevailed." So she named him Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as concubine. And when Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son, Leah said, "What luck!" So she named him Gad. When Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, Leah declared, "What fortune!" meaning, "Women will deem me fortunate." So she named him Asher. Once, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben came upon some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her, "Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son's mandrakes?" Rachel replied, "I promise, he shall lie with you tonight, in return for your son's mandrakes." When Jacob came home from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night. God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore him a fifth son. And Leah said, "God has given me my reward for having given my maid to my husband." So she named him Issachar. When Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son, Leah said, "God has given me a choice gift; this time my husband will exalt me, for I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. Last, she bore him a daughter, and named her Dinah. Now God remembered Rachel; God heeded her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." So she named him Joseph, which is to say, "May the Lord add another son for me."

After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Give me leave to go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, that I may go; for well you know what services I have rendered you." But Laban said to him, "If you will indulge me, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me on your account." And he continued, "Name the wages due from me, and I will pay you." But he said, "You know well how I have served you and how your livestock has fared with me. For the little you had before I came has grown to much, since the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. And now, when shall I make provision for my own household?" He said, "What shall I pay you?" And Jacob said, "Pay me nothing! If you will do this thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flocks: let me pass through your whole flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted animal--every dark-colored sheep and every spotted and speckled goat. Such shall be my wages. In the future when you go over my wages, let my honesty toward you testify for me: if there are among my goats any that are not speckled or spotted or any sheep that are not dark-colored, they got there by theft." And Laban said, "Very well, let it be as you say." But that same day he removed the streaked and spotted he-goats and all the speckled and spotted she-goats--every one that had white on it--and all the dark-colored sheep, and left them in the charge of his sons. And he put a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban's flock.
Jacob then got fresh shoots of poplar, and of almond and plane, and peeled white stripes in them, laying bare the white of the shoots. The rods that he had peeled he set up in front of the goats in the troughs, the water receptacles, that the goats came to drink from. Their mating occurred when they came to drink, and since the goats mated by the rods, the goats brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted young. But Jacob dealt separately with the sheep; he made these animals face the streaked or wholly dark-colored animals in Laban's flock. And so he produced special flocks for himself, which he did not put with Laban's flocks. Moreover, when the sturdier animals were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they mated by the rods; but with the feebler animals he would not place them there. Thus the feeble ones went to Laban and the sturdy to Jacob. So the man grew exceedingly prosperous, and came to own large flocks, maidservants and menservants, camels and asses.

Now he heard the things that Laban's sons were saying: "Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from that which was our father's he has built up all this wealth." Jacob also saw that Laban's manner toward him was not as it had been in the past. Then the Lord said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers where you were born, and I will be with you." Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field, where his flock was, and said to them, "I see that your father's manner toward me is not as it has been in the past. But the God of my father has been with me. As you know, I have served your father with all my might; but your father has cheated me, changing my wages time and again. God, however, would not let him do me harm. If he said thus, 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flocks would drop speckled young; and if he said thus, 'The streaked shall be your wages,' then all the flocks would drop streaked young. God has taken away your father's livestock and given it to me. "Once, at the mating time of the flocks, I had a dream in which I saw that the he-goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and mottled. And in the dream an angel of God said to me, 'Jacob!' 'Here,' I answered. And he said, 'Note well that all the he-goats which are mating with the flock are streaked, speckled, and mottled; for I have noted all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Beth-el, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now, arise and leave this land and return to your native land. ' Then Rachel and Leah answered him, saying, "Have we still a share in the inheritance of our father's house? Surely, he regards us as outsiders, now that he has sold us and has used up our purchase price. Truly, all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, do just as God has told you." Thereupon Jacob put his children and wives on camels; and he drove off all his livestock and all the wealth that he had amassed, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

Meanwhile Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household idols. Jacob kept Laban the Aramean in the dark, not telling him that he was fleeing, and fled with all that he had. Soon he was across the Euphrates and heading toward the hill country of Gilead. On the third day, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. So he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days, catching up with him in the hill country of Gilead. But God appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, "Beware of attempting anything with Jacob, good or bad." Laban overtook Jacob. Jacob had pitched his tent on the Height, and Laban with his kinsmen encamped in the hill country of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, "What did you mean by keeping me in the dark and carrying off my daughters like captives of the sword? Why did you flee in secrecy and mislead me and not tell me? I would have sent you off with festive music, with timbrel and lyre. You did not even let me kiss my sons and daughters good-by! It was a foolish thing for you to do. I have it in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father said to me last night, 'Beware of attempting anything with Jacob, good or bad.' Very well, you had to leave because you were longing for your father's house; but why did you steal my gods? Jacob answered Laban, saying, "I was afraid because I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not remain alive! In the presence of our kinsmen, point out what I have of yours and take it." Jacob, of course, did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

So Laban went into Jacob's tent and Leah's tent and the tents of the two maidservants; but he did not find them. Leaving Leah's tent, he entered Rachel's tent. Rachel, meanwhile, had taken the idols and placed them in the camel cushion and sat on them; and Laban rummaged through the tent without finding them. For she said to her father, "Let not my lord take it amiss that I cannot rise before you, for the period of women is upon me." Thus he searched, but could not find the household idols. Now Jacob became incensed and took up his grievance with Laban. Jacob spoke up and said to Laban, "What is my crime, what is my guilt that you should pursue me? You rummaged through all my things; what have you found of all your household objects? Set it here, before my kinsmen and yours, and let them decide between us two. "These twenty years I have spent in your service, your ewes and she-goats never miscarried, nor did I feast on rams from your flock. That which was torn by beasts I never brought to you; I myself made good the loss; you exacted it of me, whether snatched by day or snatched by night. Often, scorching heat ravaged me by day and frost by night; and sleep fled from my eyes. Of the twenty years that I spent in your household, I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flocks; and you changed my wages time and again. Had not the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God took notice of my plight and the toil of my hands, and He gave judgment last night." Then Laban spoke up and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks; all that you see is mine. Yet what can I do now about my daughters or the children they have borne? Come, then, let us make a pact, you and I, that there may be a witness between you and me." Thereupon Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." So they took stones and made a mound; and they partook of a meal there by the mound. Laban named it Yegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Gal-ed. And Laban declared, "This mound is a witness between you and me this day." That is why it was named Gal-ed; And [it was called] Mizpah, because he said, "May the Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of sight of each other. If you ill-treat my daughters or take other wives besides my daughters--though no one else be about, remember, God Himself will be witness between you and me."

And Laban said to Jacob, "Here is this mound and here the pillar which I have set up between you and me: this mound shall be witness and this pillar shall be witness that I am not to cross to you past this mound, and that you are not to cross to me past this mound and this pillar, with hostile intent. May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor"--their ancestral deities--"judge between us." And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. Jacob then offered up a sacrifice on the Height, and invited his kinsmen to partake of the meal. After the meal, they spent the night on the Height. Early in the morning, Laban kissed his sons and daughters and bade them good-by; then Laban left on his journey homeward. Jacob went on his way, and angels of God encountered him. When he saw them, Jacob said, "This is God's camp." So he named that place Mahanaim. Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,

From Parshat VaYetze. From THE TANAKH: The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission.

From First Fruits of Zion, Thought for the Week

The Wrong Place: Jacob felt like he was in the wrong place and his years were being wasted. People often find themselves in jobs, careers, homes and even family arrangements that make them feel as if they are far outside of God's plan. The story of Jacob teaches us that God might place us in such situations specifically to bless us and work out His purposes. Jacob teaches us to be faithful wherever we find ourselves and to keep committing ourselves to the care of God. Jacob's term of service in Laban's household resulted in the birth of the nation of Israel.

MISSION UPDATES:

Greetings Saints in His Perfect Peace,   Friday it was a day of mixed feelings, while I we put many coats in the clothing closet along with other clothing and warm things that came in, I was asked to the point of people almost crying for gloves and winter medications. This is such a hard ministry because the people need so much. Let alone her I am 60 miles away trying to provide the needs of people both homeless and poor in a city that at least 800 churches or more. Many mega churches that could very easily provide these needs. Instead like the church down the block a mega church with bowling allies, a pool, etc inside just ignores the problem. It bugs me so bad I am going to write a personal letter to them asking for things for the poor and see what we get….We generally do a holiday gift program or at least have for 5 years or more with a local bank providing the funds. For whatever reason they are doing it no more. You see people would sign a list for their most needed item and it would be given as a gift to them. Most got work shoes, winters shoes, or a coat….with some it was the only time they were able to get thee things. Cost I was told to do it would be between $2000 and $2500. Way out of our range, I mean I have less than $50 in pay pal. If that is going to happen someone will come forward.Right now I am praying about transportation as I have only the bus for that, you might remember we bought mom a covair some time back but it needs some carburetor work as when you get over 40 miles an hour it runs out of gas. It is not good that we are driving the bus back and forth putting 300 to 400 miles or more on it a week. It will wear out fast and now after using this kind of vehicle, I really do not see how we did it with just a van. What we really need is a min-van and the covair fixed or two vehicles cheap on gas. Yes that is where we are. December being the slowest month for donation and it is also the greatest need month for the people. Mom is giving out more and more food boxes everyday as the poor in the neighborhood are finding there way to us. Wichita is have a work slow down with Boeing and others laying off. So all over it is going to get worse. Lift us in prayer and help if you can!

The LORD  bless thee and keep thee;The LORD make His face shine upon thee,
and be gracious unto thee;The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee shalom. (peace)Bemidbar (Numbers)  6:24-26

In Yeshua's Name,Bro. Dan, Pastor of Messiah's Branch

Greetings, As I told you yesterday we were in a bad way with having to use the Mission bus. Today someone sent us enough money to buy and get the tags right for a car....... 
We also prayed about gettinga second vehicle as one would still leave us driving the bus back and forth half the week due to the fact my children have to come over on Fridays. 
We are preying mom's 63 ccovair get's fixed or we get $600 for a Chevy 6 cylinder van we also found today....anyway just wanted to keep you up to date..
In His Perfect Peace, Pastor Dan Messiah's Branch

1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Shalom In Yeshua Our Messiah

Yesterday we went to the bakery and stocked up the walk in with fresh bread. Today I am praying that we recieve the needed funding to buy that chevy van we looked at yesterday. It started right up sounded good and is only a six cylinder(i think). It's nothing pretty but I think it would be dependable and the bus could then rest at the mission. The only thing it needed to be driven was a belt. It looked like the tires were a little worn but I think the tires we recently bought for the dodge caravan would fit right on there. My brother has it as a project he wanted to put another transmision in it so we let him. Last time it took him a little over two years to complete so we'll see.......

I paid a few more bills but we still need pay the rest of Decembers,

get the newsletter out, pay the new food bank bill and stock a few supplies at the mission. I did get a deal on some Alka Seltzer PM cold meds at the food bank which will be on the order picked up today. I also should have a few things to make food boxes but could use rice, mac-n-cheese, fruits-n-vegtables and peanut butter.

Thanks to all who are supporting if you haven't done so Please Pray about supporting .......

till next week Shalom

We love you sisterlinda

 

A dog had followed his owner to school. His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school. However, when the bell rang, the dog slided inside the building
and made it all the way to the child's classroom before a teacher noticed and shoo'ed him outside, closing the door behind him. The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors. Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said,

"Don't feel bad fella'.... they won't let ME in either."

 

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach

    Peace in the Name of Yeshua, the Messiah

&Mark 9:23,10:27

" THE Truth will set you FREE"  Y