Day One of the Omer

“Today is One Day of the Omer.”

·       Theme of the week: Chesed – Loving kindness

·       Theme of the day: Chesed – Loving kindness

·       Overall Theme: “Yeshua is, and we are to be, totally loving and totally kind.”

·       Psalm 119:1-8

I John 4:7-8 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Gal. 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

In John 17 Yeshua makes clear that He and ADONAI are Echad/One. Yeshua was 100% God to be able to redeem and 100% man to have the right to do so. Yeshua is the perfect model for us to follow after to be conformed and molded into the image of God and His likeness (Rom. 12:1-2). To walk in Yeshua’s footsteps by walking and following in the Torah. The 1^st, foremost and only way we can do such is by doing so in love. Without love it is vain, useless and impure. How do we even begin to do so? First we get to know the Torah. If we don’t know the Torah we truly don’t know or understand the Messiah. Today also commemorates the resurrection day of Yeshua the Messiah. We can do all I mentioned above because the Messiah is alive and well today. You can read about the resurrection in Luke 24:1-49.

The Traditional text to read is Psalm 119:1-8:

1     ¶ ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

God is the same as in David’s day as in ours. God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb.13:8), He changes not (Mal. 3:8). The Torah is not just something you keep to get brownie points with God, or to “earn” your way to Heaven. It is something we walk in like second nature, something we do because we love God so much. We are “Blessed”, or another translation is “Happy” we are when we walk in the Torah undefiled. The Torah makes us happy, it is not sad or a burden to keep as most Christians would have you think.

2     Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

We are happy when we remember the Great things God has done, and to remember that He is Holy, Pure and Righteous. We guard and keep alive the Greatness of God when we retell of His awesome deeds, and when we set our hearts to love and please Him, to trust that “Father knows best.” To love Him and seek His will (Torah) with ones whole heart.

3     They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.

“Iniquity” is the opposite of Torah, it literally means; “Torah-less-ness”, “No Torah” or “Without Torah”. So if we naturally keep the Torah we will not walk in iniquity. And what will God say to those who “work iniquity”? (Matt. 7:23)

4     ¶ Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.

If we love God, and know He loves us and wants what is best for us, we will realize that He is an orderly and specific God. We will be sure to do our best to follow and keep His Torah to the best of our ability. We will not be casual with God and be flippant with, or haphazard in keeping His Instructions, and we will enjoy doing it. Just like when we wrap a present for someone we love, we just don’t wrap it with just any paper; we don’t just hastily crumple paper around the gift and wrap tape around it like a mummy. No, we make sure the present us wrapped just so. The creases of the wrap are sharp and precise, the tape is virtuously invisible, and the bow is curled just right and is balanced atop of the box perfectly. We relish and are giddy about making sure every detail is perfect because we want everything to be just right when we present the gift. For the not only the gift shows our love, but the way it is wrapped shows our care. The way we wrap it is a gift to. And so it is in being scrupulous in keeping the details of the Law.

5     O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!

He is saying, “God make me want to keep Your Commandments even when I don’t want too! I want to want to keep your Laws. Give me the desire to keep your Torah!”

6     Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

I John 3:4 tells us that breaking Torah is sin, and sin brings on shame, personally and publicly when exposed, and this will not come when we take joy in keeping God’s Torah.

7     ¶ I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

“Daddy, when I learn how to keep your Torah the way You want me too, I will make you so proud!”

8     I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

“I am not perfect, and I will fail here and there, but you know my heart to keep Your Torah perfectly. So please forgive me and don’t give up on me when I screw up.”

“Abba ADONAI God, help and enable me to walk in the footsteps of Yeshua Ha Moshiach the risen Messiah, by following and keeping the Torah the way Messiah Himself did. In Yeshua’s Name I pray, Ameyn.”