Prison weekly Tevet 29, 5770

Shalom

The Hebrew month is Tevet these Parashahs are for Sabbath Tevet 29, 5770
Parashahs are : Torah Readings are Va'era ( "And I appeared" ) Exodus 6:2- 9:35 Haftarah Ezekiel 28:25-29:21 and Brit Hadasha Romans 9:14-24

Next weeks Parashahs are Torah Bo "Come" Exodus 10:1-13:16    Haftarah Jeremiah 46:13-28 & Brit Hadasha Mark 4-5

Vayeira

The Parashah this week is called Vayeira which means "And He appeared" which refers to the appearance of HaShem to Abraham while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.  Actually, three men appeared to him, but the Rabbis insist that they were angels in the form of mere men.  Abraham immediately instructed his servants to prepare a feast of a roasted calf for his guests while he entertained them and gave them cheese to eat.  This in itself counters the traditional Rabbinic injunction not to eat dairy and meat together; after all, if Abraham could serve this combination to angels, certainly it is okay for mere mortals!  Oh well, that's another lesson not for today.

One of these messengers told Abraham that his wife Sarah would have a child within the year.  Sarah, listening at the tent, laughed!  But the birth of a promised son was not the actual reason for their coming.  it was to warn Abraham of the soon destruction of Sodom, the city wherein dwelt his nephew, Lot.  Abraham negotiated with them until it was agreed that for the sake of only ten men, the city would be spared.  Alas, even these were not to be found.  But the really important verse in the parashah is one that is easily overlooked.  Genesis 18:33 declares, "As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham HaShem departed, and Abraham returned to his place."  While living in Israel, I was often confronted by Orthodox Jews who had a really hard time with the issue of the divinity of Y'shua.  Yes, they admitted He could be the Messiah, but that He was in no way divine.  They postured that to believe so was to create another G-d.  This one verse from Vayeira was part of my answer.

If HaShem could appear to Abraham as a man; if He could wrestle with Jacob in a dream as a man, why then, I ask, could He not appear to an entire generation as the Man, Y'shua?  None had an answer, but none were convinced yet either.  Please keep praying!

After the birth of Isaac, life in the camp was not all it should have been.  Abraham's two sons  were always fighting each other; this was a sign of generations to come, still at war to this very day.  But, Sarah had enough and insisted that Hagar and Ishmael be cast out of the camp.  And so they left.  But HaShem found them in the desert and the Angel of the L-rd saved them from death and promised to make of him a great nation.

But, later in the text, we read of another greater test.  In chapter 22, HaShem tested Abraham once again.  "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."  You see, Abraham, once again had to trust G-d to lead him in the way he should go.   And, once again, our hero passed the test.  Notice too that G-d tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, his only son.  But, you say, Abraham had two sons.  Yes, but G-d only deals with what is of Him, not what we do on our own.  He had given Abraham Isaac and it was what G-d had given that He required be returned to Himself.  In verse 8 Abraham prophesied of the coming Messiah.  He declared that G-d will prepare for Himself a lamb.  In the thicket, they found not a lamb, but a ram; the lamb was yet to come in over a thousand years as the One who would remove our sin forever.

Keep praying. Marty

Mission Update: Greetings,  As I ma trying to get ready for radio I have to make this very short. Tuesday the people were in better spirits because we got a break from the below 32% temps that even huddled below zero. Many of course were fed and we gave out hats and gloves as well as pain and cold medications. (And of course prayers) These two Hispanic guys that could barely speak English brought the small dancing man, picture at top, so we all got a great laugh. Yes it dances when you wind it up....The Bus was finally warm as we have been having to cut heater hoses off and redo them (not replace with new), but it seems all the leaks were stopped so we had a warm bus to haul everyone around. Someone may be sending a computer soon and maybe a copier of some kind as we do high volume copying and our Xerox is in need of a trip to the shop or another donated. Pray for mom last night as she held our grandson the chair broke, she fell backwards and hit her head on the iron wood stove, she is now on the way to the emergency room in Wichita to get maybe a cat scan they said. Please pray for my wife….oh yes my daughter is taking her. She was going to do a mission update but cannot please forgive her? 

So I have to tell you the current problem we are having and she does most of the worrying over. Because of the extreme cold the mission bills were ran up very, very, high. She had let them lay for a few days then opened them today. Okay we said we got caught up in December and so we were okay. Jan came and hardly any mail in donations came, really normal for Jan as we do not pull up out of our slump until March  which is the best month of the year for donations, I think to income tax returns. Anyway Feb, bill already came with shut off because we have not paid Jan which generally you pay in December. She handles the bills so bear with me. What I can say we have shut-offs all due by 1/20/2010, a total of $1,457.09 and she says total I need to raise $2,500. Uggg….I really hated to say this but we will shut down unless a miracle happens by the 1/20/2010. Money is just trickling in by mail, so please lift this to prayer, if the could had not shot our bills way up it would be different….Please lift this to prayer and help if you can in anyway possible,The people need our/your help!   

In His Perfect Peace, Pastor Dan Catlin

 

 

Proverbs 16:3  

  Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

 

Shalom in Yeshua our Messiah

 

WOW I made it to my computer finally,

It has been quit some time since I've written you an update and I am truly sorry. Every time I head for my computer to work someone needs me to do something for them. I have been trying to get to my computer for weeks with no avail. As you all know I had a fall the other night and hit my head on the wood stove. I woke up the following day with pain shooting from the spot where my head hit all the way down my spine so I called my doc and explained what happened then  she told me to go to the emergency room and get a cat scan. They did a scan and will be mailing me the results in the next few day. I still have pain in my neck and my tail bone but i'm doing better and an have faith that everything will come out just fine.
 
I stocked the mission last Tuesday with everything except meat. The freezers are empty and we need meat. I paid all the December bills and some of the January but the electric bills doubled and because of the temptures last month the electric bills due for Feb. are more than trippled. I need right at 1500.00 just to pay the electric. I have shut offs for the 16th and the 20th. to finish up paying these bills and do the Feb. newsletter i need 2500.00.
Please pray about supporting us every little bit helps!
Yahweh will provide will you be a vessel He uses.
 I have to close for now it's time to go feed keep us in Prayer . we love you have a blessed sabbath love 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