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PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:09 pm 
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Greetings and peace to you, all!

I am sure you recall how I've often shared as to our dear Lord clarification that Father's sovereignty has NEVER been in question (in exact opposition to the false teaching of the WTBTS' position), but that it is us, mankind, who have been accused, whose integrity, loyalty, and even courage is at issue. And, if so, you will recall that he gave me the account of the man Job, the accusations made against him by the Adversary... and how those same accusations apply to the rest of us and particularly those who belong to our dear Lord, as revealed in the cheers of those from among the sons of Israel AND the great crowd in Revelation 12:10.

Today, my dear Lord gave me yet another witness to this truth, that it was NOT just Job who was involved. He pointed me to Luke 22:31, which we have all read before, I'm sure, but today was given to me with NEW meaning. There, the Master is recorded to say to Simon Peter:

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat."

You might think "sifting" is the same as separating wheat from chaff. It is not. That process, separating wheat (the usable, edible grain) from the chaff (the unusable, inedible husk/grass/stalk). is called "winnowing." You might recall hearing about when the wheat is thrown into the air and the light, grassy pieces blow away, or something along that line. That is winnowing. "Sifting"... or "threshing" wheat... is removing the wheat grain from the stalk/chaff... BEFORE the chaff is removed.

In ancient times, sifting/threshing wheat was not a gentle process. It was done either by beating bundles of wheat stalks against a hard surface, like a wall or floor... OR... ;laying the wheat out on a hard surface and then having animals (donkeys, oxen, etc.) trample on it. Ever had a donkey or cow step on your foot? I haven't but given how much weight such beasts can carry, I don't doubt that the psi would have one seeing stars if not falling straight out... if not having bones broken. My point? It was not a GENTLE process, either way.

And the Adversary has asked... or demanded, depending on which Bible version you read... to "sift" ALL of US as wheat.

Well, if we look at his sifting/threshing of the man Job, we can KNOW with a certainty that he isn't a gentle sifter/thresher. Isn't one to go easy on a bundle of wheat. Oh no, he's one who will beat that bundle of wheat until EVERY tiny grain has been loosed... or the remains are in complete tatters. And TREAD... over and over and over... on that bundle... until EVERY grain has been separated from the stalk. Why? NOT to ensure that all of the WHEAT is loosed, NO. He does it in his attempt to RUIN the wheat.

If you beat a bundle of wheat SO hard, won't the grains fly all over the place? Be scattered about, lost in the dirt, stepped on, crushed? And if you overtread it, won't it also be cracked, crushed, even smashed? THAT IS HIS GOAL - to show that we ARE fragile, breakable, RUIN-able!

BUT... we're not. Not really. Both Job and our dear Lord proved that. One almost to complete ruination but allowed to live... and the other all the way to death.

We can, too, I think. But, praise JaH, if we CAN'T... we have a helper: our dear, dear Lord, JaH'eShua, the Holy One of Israel and Holy Spirit. He who gave his life for US... and who asked the Father to protect us (John 17:15). MY life has been PROOF of that protection. Maybe yours has, too.

May the undeserved kindness and mercy of our dear, dear Father, JaH Who Breathes (VeH)... and the love and peace of His dear, dear Son, our dear Lord, JaH'eShua... be upon you ALL and upon your DEAR households to time indefinite!

Let EVERY BREATHING THING PRAISE JAH and KISS HIS SON!

Your servant, sister, and a slave of Christ, the Son -

Shel


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:31 am 
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Peace to you, my sister, and yes, Praise JAH! Let every living thing Praise JAH and Kiss the Son!


I love learning the original meaning of something like sifting here; or yoke, cornerstone, in other places that you have shared. Understanding sifting does make the process - and how Satan tries to ruin us - more clear. Even just the reminder that Satan has asked to sift all of us as wheat, we can be reminded to be alert, to strengthen "our girds" (which saying came to mind, though I could not remember what 'gird' meant, so I looked it up to see that it can mean to fasten something - like clothing or a sword securely to oneself. And of course a sword is truth, as our dear Lord gives us, and of course our dear Lord is Himself the Truth protecting us.)

Reminds me also of the armor of God at Ephesians 6:10-18 (though in those verses, "Word", as the Word of God, should be capitalized, because Christ Jaheshua is that Word.)


Quote:
We can, too, I think. But, praise JaH, if we CAN'T... we have a helper: our dear, dear Lord, JaH'eShua, the Holy One of Israel and Holy Spirit. He who gave his life for US... and who asked the Father to protect us (John 17:15). MY life has been PROOF of that protection. Maybe yours has, too.


Praise JAH, absolutely! Even if we can't (or think we can't), we have our dear Lord Jaheshua to help us. I have certainly received help and protection many times over!



Peace and love to you, and to you all, and to your dear households,
your sister and servant and fellow slave of Christ,
tammy


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:09 pm 
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May Jah, the Most Holy One of Israel, be praised. Yes! Praise Jah one and all.

I find this thread most interesting and very powerful in our understanding of the spiritual warfare that we are in. In reading this thread, I was reminded of what Paul wrote at First Corinthians 10:13. It reads:

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

But the words “temptation” and “tempted” bothered me a little bit because of today’s modern understanding of the words and not their actual definitions as in the biblical text. I thought being “tempted” was different than “suffering,” or being put “on trial,” or “tested,” etc. So . . . I looked it up in the Blue Letter Bible, wherein I found the following explanation of the terms “temptation” and “tempted.” It read as follows:

Peirasmos (Temptation):

1. an experiment, attempt, trial, proving
1. trial, proving: the trial made of you by my bodily condition, since condition served as to test the love of the Galatians toward Paul (Gal. 4:14)
2. the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy
1. an enticement to sin, temptation, whether arising from the desires or from the outward circumstances
2. an internal temptation to sin
1. of the temptation by which the devil sought to divert Jesus the Messiah from his divine errand
3. of the condition of things, or a mental state, by which we are enticed to sin, or to a lapse from the faith and holiness
4. adversity, affliction, trouble: sent by God and serving to test or prove one's character, faith, holiness

3. temptation (i.e. trial) of God by men
1. rebellion against God, by which his power and justice are, as it were, put to the proof and challenged to show themselves

Peirazo (Tempted):

1. to try whether a thing can be done
1. to attempt, endeavour
2. to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of ascertaining his quality, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself
1. in a good sense
2. in a bad sense, to test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings or judgments
3. to try or test one's faith, virtue, character, by enticement to sin
1. to solicit to sin, to tempt
1. of the temptations of the devil

4. after the OT usage
1. of God: to inflict evils upon one in order to prove his character and the steadfastness of his faith
2. men are said to tempt God by exhibitions of distrust, as though they wished to try whether he is not justly distrusted
3. by impious or wicked conduct to test God's justice and patience, and to challenge him, as it were to give proof of his perfections.

And then in 1 Corinthians 10:9, where it says of Christ:

“Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.”

Note the Greek word there is “ekparazo,” which is defined as:

1. to prove, test, thoroughly
2. to put to proof God's character and power


ekpeirázō, ek-pi-rad'-zo; from G1537 and G3985; to test thoroughly:—tempt.

Thus being “tempted” as to our modern definition:

temp·ta·tion
/tem(p)ˈtāSH(ə)n/

noun
1. the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.
"he resisted the temptation to call Celia at the office"

Similar: desire urge itch impulse inclination
a thing or course of action that attracts or tempts someone.

Is a lot different from the biblical definition.

Again, may JAH be praised!


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