Monday, 5 Iyar 5784 / May 13, 2024
Day 499 Readings
Torah: Parshat Emor, 2nd Portion Vayikra (Leviticus) 21:16-22:16
Leviticus 21
EasyEnglish Bible
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 ‘Talk to Aaron. Say, “A priest who does not have a perfect body must not sacrifice the burnt offerings to God.” This rule is for now and for all time. 18 A priest who cannot see must not sacrifice the food to God. A priest who cannot walk must not sacrifice food to God. A priest with a body that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. 19 A priest with a hand that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. A priest with a foot that is the wrong shape must not offer food to God. 20 A priest with a back that is not straight must not offer food to God. Neither must a priest who is very small offer a food gift. A priest who has an eye disease or a skin disease must not offer food to God. Neither must a priest offer food if his testicles are spoiled. 21 If a priest's son has something wrong with his body, he must not come near to the altar. He must not give the food offering to the Lord. 22 He can eat God's holy food and God's most holy food. 23 But none of Aaron's family who is not perfect can go near the holy curtain or the altar. He would make the holy places unclean. I am the Lord. I make them holy.’
24 Moses told all these rules to Aaron, to his sons and to all Israel's people.
Leviticus 22
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Israel's people give gifts to God. Those gifts are holy. Tell Aaron and his sons that those things are holy. Tell them that they must remember that. They must give honour to my name. I am the Lord.
3 One of your sons may not be clean. That son must not come near the Lord's holy offerings. But perhaps he may not obey my rule. He might go near to the holy gifts. The priests who are clean must punish him. They must send him away. He must go from God's house. I am the Lord. This rule is for now and for all time. 4 If a son of Aaron has a skin disease, he must not eat the holy gifts. If pus is coming from his body, he is not clean. He must not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. He might touch something that has touched a dead body. Or if he touches an unclean man, he will become unclean. The man may be unclean because semen is coming from his body. 5 Aaron's son might touch an animal that moves on its stomach. Or he might touch a person who is not clean. If he does, Aaron's son will be unclean. 6 The son of Aaron who touches any of these things will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy gifts until he washes his body. 7 When the sun goes down, he will be clean. He can eat the holy gifts. They are his food. 8 He might find something that is dead. He must not eat it. He must not eat anything that an animal has torn. It will make him unclean. I am the Lord.
9 Aaron's sons must obey God's rules. If they do not obey them, it is a sin. They will die. I am the Lord who makes people holy. 10 Only a person who is from the priest's family can eat the holy gifts. Another person who is living in the priest's house must not eat the holy gifts. If a person is being paid to work for the priest, he must not eat the holy gifts. 11 A slave can eat the holy gifts if he was born in the priest's house. Or he can eat the holy gifts if the priest bought him. 12 A priest's daughter might marry a man who is not a priest. If she has done that, she must not eat the holy food. 13 A priest's daughter's husband might send her away. Or her husband might die. She might not have any children. She may go back to live in her father's house. Then she can eat her father's food.
14 A person might make a mistake and eat a holy gift. He must give back to the priest the same food. He must also give one fifth more. 15 The priest must not give the Lord's holy gifts to people who are not from Aaron's family. The gifts would become unclean. 16 If the people eat them they are sinning. They will have to pay for their sin. I am the Lord and I make them holy.’
May 13, 2024 Writings
FRIDAY Gestalt Tutorials
I was wearing green today rubber shoes and cap. There was our Trainor who was also wearing a green shirt, who had helped facilitate my healing on February 2023 his name is Dominic, Filipino, tall, handsome and manly like my Dad, he also is in a family business and my friends Toni and Liz, thought I would be a good mate to him. But I just shrugged it off. Could he be the bird of prey from the east? I have to open my heart to this possibility. He facilitated my hung ups with my mom that night and on Saturday I was able to talk to my Mom and heal our relationship and I was able to ask myself why I liked Stephen in the first place. Healing.... more healing on my part and a sense of letting go of what GOD "wanted" for me. I don't want to hold on to something that is not mine or won't be wine. I want to let go. It hurts me that GOD would tell me things just to hurt me again and again. I don't want to live that life anymore. For the past 14 years that has been like a curse for me, from 2010 to 2024, when will this end FATHER? Please no more no more! It has taught me one thing: To love letting go, To have yet not to cling to for GOD is the ONLY ONE we ought to cling to. Nothing in this world will last forever but the WORDs and the faithfulness of the Almighty. I want to cling only to HIM and never have to be moved if HE removes anything. I don't feel anything for Dominic but I open myself to the idea of being with him and to anyone else who could would love me deeply just as the husband of Nanay Massues loved her like crazy. I pray she will stop living in remorse for the past boyfriend she used to have that prioritized his career over her. I pray she will let that past go and live for the here and now. I pray that Stephen will let go of Alexis and live in the here and now and open his heart to the possibilities of loving another female who cared for him and his family, someone like me but I also pray for me to open my heart to other men so that they will be brought by GOD to my life to have either as friends or or business connections or to love for a lifetime.
In the Name of YESHUA Amen!
BIBLE Study Together
2 Chronicles 29
EasyEnglish Bible
Hezekiah rules Judah as king
1 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled Judah as king in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother's name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah.[a] 2 Hezekiah did things that the Lord said were good, as his ancestor King David had done.
The Levites make the temple a holy place again
3 In the first month of the year that Hezekiah became king, he opened the doors of the Lord's temple. He repaired the doors. 4 He brought together the priests and the Levites in the yard at the east side of the temple. 5 He said to them, ‘Listen to me, you Levites. Make yourselves clean to serve the Lord. Then you can make the temple a holy place again. It is the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Take out of that holy place anything that is unclean.
6 Our ancestors did not serve the Lord faithfully. They did things that the Lord our God saw were evil. They turned away from him. They stopped worshipping him in his temple, where he lives. They completely turned against him. 7 They shut the doors at the entrance of the temple. They stopped burning oil in the lamps. They did not offer to Israel's God any incense or burnt offerings in his holy place. 8 So the Lord became angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He made them disgusting places which other people insult. You can see this with your own eyes. 9 You know that cruel enemies killed our fathers. They took away our sons, our daughters and our wives as their prisoners. That was God's punishment. 10 Now I want to make a covenant with the Lord, Israel's God. Then he will stop being angry with us.
11 My sons, the Lord has chosen you to serve him in his temple and to offer sacrifices. So do your work well.’
12 Then these Levites started to work in the temple:
From Kohath's clan: Amasai's son Mahath and Azariah's son Joel.
From Merari's clan: Abdi's son Kish and Jehallelel's son Azariah.
From Gershon's clan: Zimmah's son Joah and Joah's son Eden.
13 From Elizaphan's clan: Shimri and Jeiel.
From Asaph's clan: Zechariah and Mattaniah.
14 From Heman's clan: Jehiel and Shimei.
From Jeduthun's clan: Shemaiah and Uzziel.
15 Those men brought all the Levites together. They all made themselves clean to serve the Lord. Then they went into the temple to make it a holy place again, as the king had commanded them. They obeyed the Lord's command. 16 Then the priests went into the inside room of the Lord's temple to make it holy. They found some things in the temple that were unclean. They carried all those things out to the temple yard. Then the Levites took the unclean things out of the city to the Kidron Valley.
17 They began this work on the first day of the first month. On the 8th day of the month they reached the entrance room of the temple. They worked to make the temple a holy place for eight more days. On the 16th day of the first month they had finished the work.
18 Then they went to King Hezekiah and they said, ‘We have made the whole temple clean and holy. That includes the altar for burnt offerings and all its tools. It also includes the table for the special bread and all its tools. 19 When Ahaz was king, he removed many things from the temple when he turned away from the Lord. We have made all those things clean again. We have put them in front of the Lord's altar so that the priests can use them again.’
People worship God again in his temple
20 King Hezekiah got up early the next morning. He brought the city's officers together. They all went up to the Lord's temple. 21 They took with them seven bulls, seven male sheep, seven lambs and seven male goats. They offered these animals as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the holy place and for the people of Judah. The king told the priests, Aaron's descendants, to offer sacrifices on the Lord's altar. 22 So they killed the bulls. The priests took the blood and they splashed it on the altar. Then they killed the male sheep. The priests splashed their blood on the altar too. Then they killed the lambs. The priests also splashed their blood on the altar. 23 Finally, the priests brought the male goats in front of King Hezekiah and the people who were there. The king and the people put their hands on the goats. 24 Then the priests killed the goats as a sin offering. They offered their blood on the altar as a sacrifice. Then all the people of Israel would no longer be guilty for their sins. This was because the king had said that the burnt offerings and the sin offerings would be for all Israel.
25 The king told the Levites to stand in the Lord's temple with their cymbals, harps and lyres to make music. They stood at the places where King David, David's prophet Gad and the prophet Nathan had told the Levites to stand. This was the Lord's command that he had given to his prophets.[b] 26 The Levites held the musical instruments that King David had provided. The priests held their trumpets.
27 Then Hezekiah told the priests to offer the burnt offering on the altar. When they began to offer the sacrifice, the singers started to sing to praise the Lord. The trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel also started to make music. 28 All the people there were worshipping the Lord. At the same time the singers were singing and the priests were making music with their trumpets. They all continued to do that until the priests finished making the burnt offering.
29 When the priests finished offering the sacrifices, the king and everyone with him bent down low to worship God. 30 King Hezekiah and his officers told the Levites to sing songs to praise the Lord. They told them to sing the songs that King David and the prophet Asaph had written. So the Levites praised God in that way. They were very happy and they bent down low to worship God.
31 Then Hezekiah said, ‘Now you have made yourselves clean to serve the Lord. So come to the Lord's temple and bring sacrifices and offerings to thank the Lord.’ So all the people brought their sacrifices and their offerings to thank the Lord. Everyone who wanted to offer burnt offerings brought animals for that too.
32 For their burnt offerings, the people brought 70 bulls, 100 male sheep and 200 lambs to offer to the Lord. 33 They also brought 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep to offer to the Lord. 34 But there were not enough priests to prepare all the animals for the sacrifices. So their relatives, the Levites, helped them until they had finished the work. By that time more priests had made themselves clean to serve the Lord. (The Levites had been more careful than the priests to make themselves clean for the Lord.) 35 The people brought a lot of animals for burnt offerings. There was also the fat from the friendship offerings. And there were drink offerings too. The priests offered all those with the burnt offerings.
That is how they started to worship the Lord again in his temple. 36 Hezekiah and all the people were happy because God had helped them. They had been able to do the work on the temple very quickly.
Dear AVI,
Baruk Ata Adonai GREAT and HOLY GOD, YOU are the KING of the Universe, YESHUA Adonai Tzeva'ot! Toda Raba for YOUR graces and YOUR mercies and favor upon me. Naluoy najud ka nako LORD because YOU are taking away my feelings for Stephen at the same time making me willing to consider other men in my life like Dominic and the other men that has come into my life that has contributed greatly to me and to my family. I know Dominic has contributed to my well being because of his service to the community and he had been serving now in my church through his skills in Psychology and I was healed many times over by his gifts and time. Thank YOU for opening my heart and mind about this. I just want to be free from feeling like I am not good enough to be someone's wife just because I do not fit into his world. I want to be free from trying to fit into a mold that I am not part of. I always feel I had to be something for Stephen, but with Dominic, I was free to be me and to let out all the bad side of my emotions because he was there to genuinely help me without any expectations. Thank YOU AVI that today YOU have set my heart free and yesterday I was riding on Dad's Honda ADV!!! I loved it! I'm going to do everything I have listed this year to do before I settle down to the ONE YOU want me to marry. I will always let YOU choose O GOD My GOD. I love YOU GOD thank YOU for healing me. I have so much to tell Pipoy tonight, may YOU bless him and his family O GOD! And Yes the reason why I write this prayer after 2Chronicles 29 is because I believe it is time for me to serve YOU in YOUR house once again!!! Hallelujah! Not my will but YOURS be done forever and ever. Toda Raba! Amen!
In YESHUA I pray AMen!
ESV Readings
Scripture
Psalm 132
EasyEnglish Bible
A song to sing as we climb.
The house of God
1 Lord, remember King David and all the troubles that he suffered.
2 He made a special promise to the Lord. He promised you, the Mighty One of Jacob.[a]
3 He said, ‘I will not go into my house or get into my bed;
4 I will not sleep even for a moment,
5 until I find a house for the Lord. Yes, the Mighty One of Jacob needs a proper home.’[b]
6 Listen! We heard the news at Ephrathah.[c]We found God's Covenant Box in the fields of Jaar.[d]7 We will go to the Lord's home! We will worship him on his throne!
8 Lord, come now and stay here, in your home! Come with the Covenant Box that shows your great power.[e]9 May your priests serve you in a good way. Cause your faithful people to shout with joy!
10 Remember your servant, King David. Do not turn away from your chosen king.[f]
11 The Lord made a strong promise to David. He will not change what he has promised to do. The Lord said, ‘I will put one of your sons on your throne to rule as king.
12 If your sons obey my covenant and my rules, their descendants will rule for ever.’
13 The Lord has chosen Zion to be his home.
14 He said, ‘This is where I will live forever. This is where I want my home to be.
15 I will give Zion's people everything that they need. Zion's poor people will have plenty of food to eat.
16 I will keep Zion's priests safe. The people who serve God faithfully will shout loudly, because they are so happy.
17 In Zion I will give strength to King David's family. My chosen king will continue to rule well, like a light that shines brightly.
18 I will cause his enemies to be ashamed. But his own kingdom will be great!’
Numbers 12
Isaiah 51
English Standard Version
The Lord's Comfort for Zion
1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. 3 For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 “Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law[a] will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples. 5 My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;[b]but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings. 8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool, but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.”
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?11 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor?14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking.15 I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name.16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing[c] the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
17 Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.18 There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne; there is none to take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up.19 These two things have happened to you— who will console you?—devastation and destruction, famine and sword; who will comfort you?[d]20 Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of the Lord, the rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine:22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”
Isaiah 52
English Standard Version
The Lord's Coming Salvation
52 Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion;put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city;for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem;loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.[a] 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”8 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy;for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem,for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations,and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing;go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.12 For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight,for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;[b] he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.14 As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—15 so shall he sprinkle[c] many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
Colossians 3:18-25
EasyEnglish Bible
Do what is right, at home and at work
18 Wives, obey your husbands. That is the right thing to do, because you belong to the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives. Do not bring trouble to them.
20 Children, always obey your parents. That pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not cause your children to be upset. If you do, they might think that they never do anything that is good.
22 Slaves, always obey your human masters. Do not do good work only when they can see you. Some people only work to make other people like them. Instead, serve your masters well because you want to. That will show that you respect the Lord as your master. 23 Whatever things you are doing, do them well. Remember that you are serving the Lord. You are not only serving people. 24 You know that you will receive the good things that the Lord has promised to his people. He will give you what is right for you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the master that you serve. 25 Remember that God will punish anyone who does wrong things. He always judges people correctly, whoever they are.
Colossians 4
English Standard Version
1 Masters, treat your bondservants[a] justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant[b] in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers[c] at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.