Recently, the Lord put on my heart the issue of personal behavior and how we either emulate, or do not reflect God in our daily lives. Currently I volunteer at a ministry called C.H.E.C., (Christian Homeschool Education Center).  It’s a place where parents can bring their children to get help with homeschooling in a Godly environment.  Each morning is opened with motivational praise and worship, followed by discussion on God’s purpose for us and our lives. But no sooner are we done and are heading to the classroom, the children will start behaving badly and even call each other names. This led me to write a lesson from them on how we are to behave with one another in a Godly fashion, while setting some examples. As I was writing this lesson, it occurred to me that there are many believers in the Body of Messiah who behave the same way. They spend their time in Shabbat services, praising God  and reciting the prayers on how we are to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” but no sooner are we done with the service, they will start gossiping, or fighting with one another. This is what our children all see and hear!

Set a guard, Adonai, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Don’t let my heart turn to anything evil or allow me to act wickedly with men who are evildoers; keep me from eating their delicacies. - Psalm 141:3-4   CJB
These words from King David are what we should all live by. If we’re going to raise our children in the way they should go, then we need to be mindful of how we act and to be aware of what comes out of our mouths when they are with us. Our children love to emulate us; they will copy everything we do.  Even if it’s bad behavior, our children will see this behavior as “okay,” and will believe that other families behave that way as well. If they go and spread those bad seeds, they’ll find out the hard way that it’s not okay.  What’s worse is your child will be punished for something he/she may have in fact learned from us. This I say from experience, both from a child and a parental point of view.  

Below is my C.H.E.C. lesson modified for the adult:

“So, when you have your time with God in the morning with worship and Bible study, what goes through your mind? Do you see this as just routine and focusing more on the dancing and singing, or do you really listen to the lyrics of the song? Do you soak in the Bible verses? When Yeshua talks about a person’s character, and how to behave, do you think He means in the moment, or throughout the day everyday? Did you know that God sees everything, and hears everything we say or do? Not just when you pray to Him, or when you’re in your congregations, but all the time. Did you know that it saddens Him when He hears the negative words you use toward each other?  Even if something is true, there is a way to speak without hurting someone else’s feelings. Every word that comes out of your mouth can either edify someone or break them down. How you relate to God affects how you relate to other people, and how you relate to other people is reflective of what you think of God.  Does your relationship with God need improvement?”    

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says Adonai. “As high as the sky is above the earth are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return there, but water the earth, causing it to bud and produce, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so is my word that goes out from my mouth —it will not return to me unfulfilled; but it will accomplish what I intend, and cause to succeed what I sent it to do. - Isaiah 55:8-11 CJB

What kind of seeds are you planting when you speak to others? Are they seeds that will blossom into beautiful trees and flowers that will pollinate and spread good seeds to others, or are they weeds that will only choke out the good seeds before they grow?  If you desire God to use you, then you need to show Him that He can. There are many of us that like joking around; not everyone does. Know your audience. If you think someone is going to be offended by something you say, then don’t say it. On the other hand, if there is a conversation you need to have with someone, use discernment. Let the Lord lead that conversation. By letting the Lord lead, there is understanding, and no hurt feelings will transpire.

Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These words, which I am commanding you today, are to be on your heart.  You are to teach them diligently to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up.  Bind them as a sign on your hand, they are to be as frontlets between your eyes,  and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. - Deuteronomy 6:4-9 TLV

This isn’t just a prayer we recite on Shabbat; but instead is an instruction of how we are to be everyday.  We are to emulate God everyday, in every moment, and we are to pass that on to our children. They see and hear everything we do and say, and so does He. If we slip up, and we will, our children need to see how that is handled in a Godly way.  When you ask your child,  “What would Yeshua do?,” don’t just say it and walk away. Instead, teach and show them what He would do. Children will have a better understanding when you use real life scenarios.

Train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. - Proverbs 22:6 TLV

Does this mean when they get older they’re not going to stray a bit?  Of course they will. There will come a time when they will need to find themselves. But, they will remember the values they were taught by you. The seeds you plant will affect future generations. The good seeds that you planted in your children to help them blossom, and they will pass on, and those others will also pass it on to others as well.  

You’ve just left a legacy!

~ Rebbitzen Kat
   March 2024

 "Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up — just as you are doing.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Complete Jewish Bible 

This nation has gone through a lot of suffering the last few years.  Not that we haven’t had our share of problems, but lately it seems that as we’re getting through one, we see that either the problem is still there or there’s another one right behind it.  

It’s very discouraging, but we can’t let discouragement stop us from being who we are in Messiah.  We can’t allow ourselves to become bitter and forget that there are others suffering as well.  He is our living Hope; He will never fail us.  Gods Word shows many account’s where He has pulled people through their suffering.  Let us as believers, be encouraged by this, and pass this encouragement onto others.  Let’s not find ourselves shying away from one another, but instead, supporting one another.  Let’s not let the enemy get a foothold.  Instead, let’s see each other through the hard times in the way that God has commanded us to do. 

Let’s love our neighbors as ourselves.  

Be a Blessing and Be Blessed!
Morning Inspirational 
By Rebbitzen Kathleen Rantz
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4th of Kislev, 5783 | November 28, 2022

“For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before Adonai from all your sins. It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves.'This is a permanent regulation'.”
- Leviticus 16:30, CJB


Tonight Yom Kippur begins; the Day of Atonement; the most holiest day of the year and the Jewish Calendar. This is a Moedim, an appointed time. A day of complete rest. Many of us all over the world will be attending services, observing this day with fasting and deep retrospection. As Messianic believers  in Yeshua, we are thankful to Adonai for washing us clean and freeing us from our sins. Going into this evening, and through tomorrow, may we feel and see the weight of his glory on us.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord…” - 2 Corinthians 3:17, CJB

May you have a meaningful fast.

Be a Blessing and Be Blessed!

Morning Inspirational
By Rebbitzen Kathleen Rantz
October 4, 2022 } 9th of Tishri, 5783

“You, therefore, pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven! May your Name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come; your will be done on earth as in heaven. Forgive us what we have done wrong, as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us. Give us the food we need today. And do not lead us into hard testing but keep us safe from the Evil One. For kingship, power and glory are yours forever. Amen.’” ~ Matt. 6:9-13, CJB

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We have now come into the “Ten Days of Awe”, also known as the “Ten Days of Repentance,” These are the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, where we reflect on things we may have said or done that were wrong to others; also, if we’ve committed Lashon Hara (gossip). This is a time where, if we haven’t done it already, we go to those we’ve wronged and apologize and ask forgiveness. No excuses, no justification! How they react is between them and God, it is no longer our burden to carry. In that, we also need to forgive those who have wronged us. For those who we no longer have contact with, we ask the Lord to forgive our trespasses against them, and to deliver us from evil and temptation. Yeshua is our redeemer, our healer, and our deliverer. Through him we are made clean. 
 
May this High Holy Day season find you well, and may you be written in the Lambs Book of Life.

Be a Blessing and be blessed!

Morning Inspirational
By Rebbitzen Kathleen Rantz
September 27, 2022 | 2nd of Tishrei, 5783

​“Fathers, don’t irritate your children and make them resentful; instead, raise them with the Lord’s kind of discipline and guidance.” - Ephesians 6:4, CJB

We can never really know the outcome after raising our children what their lives will be like. We have hopes and dreams for them, but God alone directs their paths and their futures.

That being said, I want to address the subject of mental illness. It’s very easy to love a child who’s well behaved but challenging to love a child who isn’t. Raising a mentally Ill child can be very taxing at times and can cause stress in the family. I know this very well; there’s constant chaos in the household. As taxing as it could be, they are still capable of learning the Bible, and we can still raise them in the way they should go. Just as we keep Yeshua in the center of our marriages, we need to also keep him in the center of the family. God saw fit for us to have all our children, so they should all be loved unconditionally, just the way he loves us. We are all children of the Lord, and we should all be raised as such.

Be a Blessing and Be Blessed!

Morning Inspirational
By Rebbitzen Kathleen Rantz
May 26th, 2022 | 25th of Iyyar, 5782

​“For everything there is a season, a right time for every intention under heaven — a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4, CJB

There are many dynamics to family life, just as there are those within congregational life. The way one grows up, reflects who they are as adults. Those that grow up within congregational life (depending on the traditions of those communities) are told to always be serious, and to act accordingly; that there is no crying or laughter allowed. If they misbehave, they are punished. There’s no singing, dancing, or even playing of instruments in some congregations, because it may be a distraction from God’s word. Interestingly however, throughout God’s word you see weeping and rejoicing. You see singing, dancing, and even the playing of musical instruments. God is to be worshipped and praised!

God is a God of love; he shows us how to love one another. He gave us his son Yeshua, who laid down his life so that we may live a life of joy. He gave us times and seasons. He gave us feelings and emotions. He’s given us discernment to know when, where and how to use these emotions. He has shown us how to act accordingly. He’s given us gifts to use for his will. So, praise him in the storms; delight in his Shabbat’s, walk in his ways, and love the life he’s given you. Be sad, be angry, be joyful, be glad, sing and dance. Do all the things he instructs you to do, cause it’s okay to do these things.

Be a Blessing and Be Blessed!

Morning Inspirational
By Rebbitzen Kathleen Rantz
May 12, 2022 | 11th of Iyyar, 5782

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” – Ya’akov/James 1:12, ESV

We all go through various trials in our lives. Some trials are worse then others; some will take you to a breaking point. We can’t let ourselves get lost in the breaking. Breaking takes our focus off God and onto the circumstances. Breaking causes us to make decisions that can cause severe consequences. What if we focus on the making, not the breaking? What new thing is God doing within us? Life is a test, and just like in school, when we pass the test, we go to the next level. For every trial we go through, when we press into God, we come out better, stronger, and wiser. He’s done it in us before and he will do it again. Our focus may sway, but we need to bring it back to him. Our trust should always be in him; he is where our help comes from. So let us stay steadfast through the trials and see God’s blessings through them. Ask him what new thing is he doing in you?

Be a Blessing and Be Blessed!

Morning Inspirational
By Rebbitzen Kathleen Rantz
May 4th, 2022 | Third of Iyyar, 5782
18th Day of the Counting of the Omer