Halachah means to walk or "the path that one walks."
The word is derived from the Hebrew root
Hei-Lamed-Kaf, meaning to go, to walk or to travel.
Hei-Lamed-Kaf, meaning to go, to walk or to travel.
Everyone’s walk or halachah with God will look different. Sometimes we as believers will be in the same place and
understand, believe and conduct our lives the same. Other times we might be in
a different place but IF we are all truly seeking to walk in Truth, we will all
end this journey on earth with the same result, in His presence for eternity.
Does our path matter?
There will not be refreshing water or safe foods to eat if you do not follow behind our Shepherd who will always protect His sheep. The journey without our Shepherd will be filled with sorrow and frustration.
The “deceiver” satan will do his best to make “many” believe
they have their “faith” right and many will be lead astray. Do not let yourself be one of them.
Our shepherd always knows the right path. Imagine Him carrying a "machete" that can clear
cut the path of the wild brush for us but we must follow close behind Him. WALK IN HIS PATH. He will point out to us the Water from which
to drink and the “food” that is fit to sustain us. But we must stick close to Him, so we can
hear His loving voice and instruction.
So you can see that YES our path matters. The path we want to take will provide
closeness to the One that will make the journey safe and enjoyable. Taking the correct path will enhance the joy
of the journey, bring us peace and harmony.
We are not expected to “complete” the journey but ARE EXPECTED to be
found on THE RIGHTEOUS PATH, for many will be deceived and be “following” satan on the wrong path to destruction!
What is our "path"?
GRACE, FAITH AND ACTION:
Our path is our faith that we develop because we accept His
Grace. It is the actions we take to purify our lives from sin, paganism
and worldly (satan’s) lies. This will
mean putting away the old and seeking, finding and putting on the NEW! You can not be “new in Christ” and “look
the same”!!
Our path is the decisions we make that others see and how we conduct
our lives that cause others to want to do the same. Our path is the
conversations and seeds that we plant and cultivate that bring the Good News to
others. It is faith and grace that
mature in us, cultivated by Truth and His spirit that inspire us to DO
MORE than just "have faith" and motivates us to be lead to the correct path.
We must not let this
world, that is controlled by satan LEAD US.
We must question our faith to see if it will be “found ACCEPTABLE”. If our reasoning before our Judge is anything less than, “I followed Him closely, as closely as I could” we will be found guilty of being unworthy. Only the GREAT I AM will know how worthy we must be to have eternal life. Only He will know if we truly “followed closely”.
He will be wanting to know if we let fear keep us in our old flesh or did we break free??? Or were we lead astray- to follow the world’s path- to be “luke warm” so we could continue to be comfortable in our old lives?? Did we open our eyes to seek Him with clean hands and pure hearts??? Did you follow the crowd thinking there was "safety" in numbers?? Or did you purify your life so you can be found with the "few" who have his TRUE faith?? He sees into our hearts and knows the reasons for which we make EVERY decision.
The bible was written so everyone can follow Him closely. Lets look at scripture. Luke 18:9-14 says:
(The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector)
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Confident of their own righteousness!!! Notice Jesus told this story TO "some who were confident of their righteousness". Not "about" but "to".
We must question our faith to see if it will be “found ACCEPTABLE”. If our reasoning before our Judge is anything less than, “I followed Him closely, as closely as I could” we will be found guilty of being unworthy. Only the GREAT I AM will know how worthy we must be to have eternal life. Only He will know if we truly “followed closely”.
He will be wanting to know if we let fear keep us in our old flesh or did we break free??? Or were we lead astray- to follow the world’s path- to be “luke warm” so we could continue to be comfortable in our old lives?? Did we open our eyes to seek Him with clean hands and pure hearts??? Did you follow the crowd thinking there was "safety" in numbers?? Or did you purify your life so you can be found with the "few" who have his TRUE faith?? He sees into our hearts and knows the reasons for which we make EVERY decision.
The bible was written so everyone can follow Him closely. Lets look at scripture. Luke 18:9-14 says:
(The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector)
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Confident of their own righteousness!!! Notice Jesus told this story TO "some who were confident of their righteousness". Not "about" but "to".
He was not telling the story to the Pharisee or even the sinner but TO THOSE WHO WERE CONFIDENT in their OWN righteousness, warning us (as the listeners of this story) that many will think they are justified by actions and "law": that they are "not sinners" but their hearts will testify otherwise.
The Pharisee acted "righteous" according to law (giving a tenth, fasting) without love and compassion and with conceit and judgement. It is obvious this is not a true halachah with God. The tax collector lived the path of humility and desire to repent. He was not deceived by the appearance of the leaders conduct. The tax collector (sinner repenting) knew that the Pharisee was being lead by the deceiver. Note: the collector "went home justified BEFORE GOD". We must be following the path THAT WILL BE JUSTIFIED BEFORE GOD, and not the Pharisee's of the world!! Being justified by God matters! Our path matters! We could be judged by Him if our "path"(what we believe- which dictates our actions) will lead others to be deceived causing others to be lead away from the Shepherd. So what we believe, causes us to react which can be used by Him to be "judged or justified".
To find and follow that path that matters, we must read, study and UNDERSTAND His personal
letter to us, the Holy Scriptures. We (as a bible study group looking for the truth) do not claim to have the answers
but we do want more from our faith than the world has to offer. So we
will do what the Hebrews, Jews and Jesus did in His time. We will read and discuss what we read. We will use resources about biblical times to
know the language and culture behind each story and in its time. We will not depend on doctrine or "Pharasees" to teach us
but the scriptures and the Spirit of God , which will lead us where He wants us to go.
About the picture above: Noticed I picked picture with two paths: a path that seemed to be "less traveled" and lead to the "light" and a path that seems to be more traveled but obviously leading in a different direction. This photo seemed to be a good way to show how our paths will matter.
read more about halachah at:
http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm
tk
If you are seeking to find a justified path lead by our Shepherd, then join us at one of our bible studies or here on our blog. Ask questions, leave kind comments. Lets grow together.
About the picture above: Noticed I picked picture with two paths: a path that seemed to be "less traveled" and lead to the "light" and a path that seems to be more traveled but obviously leading in a different direction. This photo seemed to be a good way to show how our paths will matter.
read more about halachah at:
http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm
tk
