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A Shabbat Letter from the Mikveh By Bishop Dr. Dominiquae Bierman “The integrity of the upright shall guide them” Proverbs 11:3a Shabbat shalom dearly beloved: Last Shabbat I wrote that this is a time of cleansing for the Bride of Y’shua; a time to pass through the Mikveh. A Mikveh is a ritual bath for purification. A bride needs to dip into the rain waters seven times. Prior to the dipping she has to go through a thorough cleansing she needs to be inspected by the women in charge to make sure that there are no traces of impurities, (not even under the finger nails!) In Israel there are no recognized weddings without a certificate of purity from the Mikveh. Y’shua is a Jewish Bridegroom and He will not be able to marry His Bride unless she goes through the cleansing “Mikveh” in the Waters of His Word. “That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:26-27 Today we will address the issue of INTEGRITY and let the Word wash us clean. Integrity according to the Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary is:
In Psalms 15 we can see another description of INTEGRITY as a requirement to “dwell in the Holy Hill of Yahveh”- SPEAKING TRUTH IN THE HEART!! “Yahveh, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart;” Psalms 15:1-2 Those that have a heart filled with TRUTH and they speak truth to themselves, they will be able to stay in Abba’s Presence. Those that “lie to themselves” they will not be able to dwell in His Presence. Inner lies will keep people from entering into and from remaining in the Presence of Yahveh. In other words “self deceived” people and liars will be in outer darkness away from His Love and Light. This can be a temporary condition until a person repents and turns; or it could be a permanent condition of banishment from His Presence, if a person persists in loving his/her lies more than God. When we lie to ourselves, we actually love darkness rather than Light. People that lie to themselves are hiding like Adam did in the Garden of Eden. The outcome of his sin + his hiding, (lying to himself about his responsibility,) got him thrown out of the magnificent and luscious Garden of Eden! (Genesis 3)
People of integrity are FIRST HONEST
WITH THEMSELVES and that is the rule of thumb! Integrity is not only about an
“external air of honesty” or looking good on the outside by doing all “the right
things religiously”; rather it is by being what I would call “brutally honest
with myself”. Only then the external actions will be pleasing unto YAH (God). “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” Matthew 23:25-26 Y’shua rebuked the religious hypocrites that pretended to be clean, honest and moral but where full of self deception and filth inside. They did not “speak truth in their hearts” and could not dwell in Yah’s Presence. Y’shua called them BLIND. That is what self deception or speaking lies to ourselves does; it makes us BLIND. A person that has been blinded by inner lies and self deception will normally plead IGNORANCE when rebuked or confronted with their sin or their lack of integrity. They will normally say: “I can’t see it”. A counselor may ask “Do you see what I mean?” and they will plead ignorant and blind. When we can’t see our own sin, though others can; that means that we are suffering from lack of integrity, inner lies and self deception.
A person in that condition will be self defensive any time he/she is corrected and will provide a myriad of “stories” and “excuses” to justify their sinful condition rather than simply acknowledging their sin and repenting. A person like that cannot be trusted to lead or guide anyone in The Way; because they are blind. Blind people do not make good guides as they can make you fall into a ditch. When the Pharisees where concerned about Y’shua’s disciples eating with unwashed hands, Y’shua told them, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Matthew 15:11 And then they got offended and felt rebuked because he spoke truth to them. Self deceived, religious people will always get offended when TRUTH is spoken. You know why? Because truth is LIGHT. When the lights get turned onto a person that is accustomed to darkness and inner lies, it is very bothersome; so the reaction is to reject the light (the truth). The best way to do it is by getting offended and by justifying one’s own immoral condition. Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” Matthew 15:12-14 People that insist in rejecting the light, being offended when corrected and making excuses for their inner and outer lies, will be eventually uprooted from His grace and Presence. They are just like weeds are to be uprooted from a good garden. Weeds are never planted by The Father but Trees of Righteousness are. Those are people that are honest with themselves and follow Y’shua’s lifestyle of faith and obedience. True Trees of Righteousness HATE lies and they are constantly concerned about pleasing and giving Glory to the Father ALONE. They are INCORRUPTIBLE! Those are people of integrity. Yah can trust them, and you can trust them, because they do not trust themselves but God ALONE! These are not religious people that “do everything right”, but rather truly spiritual people that are constantly seeking Him. They maintain their hearts clean from the WEEDS of self deception, inner lies, compromises with sin, evil, and EXCUSES for their condition. “That they may be called trees of righteousness the planting of Yahveh that He may be glorified” Isaiah 61:3b The difference between “weeds” and “Trees of Righteousness” is that one is planted by The Father and one is not. One will remain in His Presence and one will not, but rather be uprooted and burnt like all weeds should. If not they will choke the trees and spoil the garden. Maybe you have been functioning as a “weed” though you are a “Tree of Righteousness”? Maybe you have allowed self deception, inner lies, excuses and denials to blind you to the truth of your condition. Maybe you get offended and self defensive when corrected? Maybe you are blind already and the weeds are affecting your vision. I have good news for you! Get into the Mikveh, wash away your sin, your self deception, inner lies, and CHOOSE TRUTH! Choose to be honest with yourself FIRST and then with others. Remove the weeds from your soul and adopt INTEGRITY. INTEGRITY is the lifestyle of the True Trees of Righteousness. INTEGRITY OF THE HEART is when you care about nothing more than pleasing the Almighty ALONE and giving Him Glory. Therefore your behavior towards others is in accordance to God’s moral ethics and in harmony with Y’shua’s righteous character!
A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, And the ransomed of Yahveh shall return, and come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:8-10
People of Integrity leave an inheritance of blessing to their children : “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.” Proverbs 20:7 As we finish this letter let us pray the following prayer with King David: “Vindicate me, O Yahveh, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Yahveh; shall not slip. Examine me, O Yahveh, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O Yahveh, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your wondrous works. Yahveh, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells. Do not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men, In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless Yahveh.” Psalms 26 In Y’shua’s Love From the Mikveh Your friends in Israel Rabbi Baruch and Bishop Dominiquae Bierman
© Bishop Dr Dominiquae Bierman 2006 - Permission is granted (and we encourage you) to distribute these writings. You may reprint in hard copy form, send to your e-mail lists and post them on your website. You must not alter any writings and you must keep all the author information on the writings, including the following: Kad-Esh MAP Ministries, www.kad-esh.org. This copyright notice must also remain. For all other permissions and enquires including publishing, please contact karenmap@netvision.net.il Web Hosting by Messianic Web Hosting, Israel |
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