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The Countenance of Laban (2)

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  This is an updated version of the previous one written many years ago but posted in 2024. It is updated in a ... reversed manner. You'll hopefully see what i mean as you read it.    ✝️ ✝️ ✝️ ✝️ ✝️ Life has a way of bringing people across our path, and not all of them come with clean hands or a clean heart. Some people… they are a blessing just by being there, and you feel it without needing to explain it. There is a steadiness about them, something honest, something that lets your spirit rest. And then there are others who do not look harmful at first, not even close, but somewhere along the way something shifts. They leave marks… not the kind you see right away, but the kind you feel later, when something just will not settle right inside you. And you sit there trying to put your finger on it, trying to make sense of it, because nothing on the outside looked wrong. And yet… something was. And then there are people like Laban. He is not just a figure that stayed bac...

Joy in the Midst of a “Yucky” Day

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Some days, I swear, everything is just working against you. You burn the toast, the cat decides your lap is the perfect trampoline, the coffee mug tips over at just the wrong moment, and somehow your hair decides it’s auditioning for a horror movie. You look in the mirror and think, Lord, You made me, but You’re going to have to walk me through this one. And then it hits me, the kind of thing you feel deep in your chest, God is right there in the mess, probably smiling at the whole ridiculous scene like, Yep, I see you, and I love you anyway. Psalm 126:2 says, “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’” See that? Laughter first. Not the polite, saved-for-later kind. Not after everything’s “right.” No, laughter first . That’s holy medicine for your nephesh , your soul , the part of you that feels, that breathes, that lives deep inside you. That’s what helps you notice God ...

Authority That Whispers, Not Shouts

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 Authority in the Kingdom of God is unlike the authority the world admires. The world sees loudness, force, coercion, and intimidation as signs of power. In contrast, the authority that comes from Heaven is quiet, patient, and inexhaustible. It flows like a hidden spring beneath the surface—imperceptible until it nourishes life abundantly. True authority whispers because it rests in emunah ( אֱמוּנָה , faith, trust in God), and it honors the nephesh ( נֶפֶשׁ , soul, life-force) of others, drawing them gently rather than pushing. Yeshua exemplified this perfectly. When He calmed the storm, the winds and the waves obeyed, not because He shouted, but because He spoke with exousia (ἐξουσία, authority, right and power) rooted in union with the Father. As the Gospel records, Mark 4:39 says, כּוֹמֵהּ וּתְקָל־רְחִים וּלְיָמָא דִּכְתָא ( Komeh ut’qal-rechim u-leyama dikta, And rising, He rebuked the wind and the sea ) . His voice was measured, deliberate, intimate with creation, and even...

The Burden Of Being Misunderstood

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is not a small burden; it goes straight to the heart of the soul.   The nephesh , the part of us that feels, that longs, that thinks , notices every time someone misreads our words, our intentions, or our actions.  We want to be understood.  We want others to see the truth of our hearts.  That is natural.  Yet God’s call is often different.  He calls us to live faithfully, to stay true to Him, even when no human eye can really see or understand us.  The Hebrew word emunah, faithfulness, is at the center of this walk.   Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The righteous shall live by his faithfulness.”   Faithfulness is not something passive. It is a choice we make every day, a decision to hold our soul steady in God’s truth, even when every human perspective fails. Look at Yeshua, Jesus .  The Greek word pareisthēmi means to be set beside wrongly, to be misrepresented, and that describes His life exactly.  His own disciples did not always un...

“I Just Received Yeshua… Now What?”

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I was 12 when Yeshua first told me (in my mind), "I am with you". No really… what do I do now? Because most people stop here, and nobody ever really explains this part. You hear ‘give your life to God’… and then it happens… and you’re left sitting there wondering… Am I supposed to feel different? Do I change everything overnight? Do I start going to synagogue or church immediately? What church do I go to? Do I have to follow a long list of rules? Am I supposed to become Jewish ? Or wait for a dramatic feeling like lightning striking me? And maybe the biggest question echoing in your mind is: What if none of this is real… what if I just imagined it? First of all, before you do anything, breathe. You did not imagine it. Something real did happen. Something eternal . You didn’t just agree with an idea, you responded to a real Person. And when you did, something inside you came alive. You might not feel fireworks, some people don’t . But the absence of feelings doesn’...

Spiritual Fatigue vs. Spiritual Attack

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 There are moments in the believer’s life when the heart feels heavy, when the spirit seems to stretch beyond its capacity. Even each step can feel like it carries the weight of unseen burdens, pressing quietly until every movement demands intention. Sometimes the weight comes from within, an exhaustion that is the natural consequence of life poured out in devotion, service, and obedience. Other times, the weight comes from the outside, a force that resists, opposes, or distracts, seeking to divert you from the path God has set just for you. These experiences, though they may feel similar, are profoundly different, and God’s Word offers language to help us discern one from the other. In the Torah, the experience of weariness is captured in the Hebrew verb יָגַע ( yaga‘ ). Yaga‘ means to grow weary, to become physically or spiritually exhausted from labor or effort. It is not sin. It is not failure. It is simply the natural outcome of a life given freely without pause, without re...

Freedom Through Self-Forgiveness

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  Silencing the Accuser and Embracing God’s Mercy There comes a moment in every heart when the weight we carry is not only the offenses others have committed against us, but also the silent burdens we impose upon ourselves. Even after forgiving those who have wronged us, releasing years of bitterness, resentment, or anger, a quieter, insidious voice may remain. This is the voice of the accuser, the adversary, whom Scripture calls ha-satan ( הַשָּׂטָן , meaning the adversary, opposer, accuser) and diabolos (διάβολος, Greek, meaning slanderer, accuser, adversary) . He seeks to replay failures, magnify shame, and convince the nephesh ( נֶפֶשׁ , living soul, inner being) that we are unworthy of mercy. Revelation 12:10 warns: “The accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. ” Yet victory over him is already won; he has no authority where God’s mercy reigns. To forgive yourself is to step into that victory. It is to reco...