RESTORATION Issue 8 Vol 3 WINTER 2019

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Inside this Issue 4 Editor’s Corner: Learning to Receive Love

5 Hanukkah in the New Testament: John 10:22-39 6 Why I’m Walking Away from Christmas

by Kristina Holiday 8 The Fine Art of Healing by Tiquah Baht Tziyon 9 This is War by Kelly Vonner RESTORATION MAGAZINE is published for FREE distribution in the public interest.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission. All Rights Reserved. RESTORATION MAGAZINE is published by Restoring the Branches Ministry.

Editor & Graphics Designer: Kelly Vonner Contributions: Kristina Holiday, Brittany Woody & Kelly Vonner Cover Image: Freestock Photos Email: restoringthebranches@gmail.com 3

Editor’s Corner Learning to Receive Love

By Kelly Vonner

One morning I was writing in my gratitude journal reflecting on how grateful I am for the love of my sons. I didn’t grow up in a super affectionate home, but my husband and sons love to love on me and it fills my heart immensely. Learning to receive love will help us understand how to give love. When we study the Hebraic roots of love, we uncover that it’s based on giving. God is love (1 John 4:8; 16), and we must consider what He’s graciously given us in order to fully receive His love.

Through His love, God has given us instruction and wisdom.

Through His love, God has given us salvation and reconciliation.

Through His love, God has given us mercy and truth.

We must set our hearts to receive all that He has given in love so we can understand how to love Him and others completely.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is born of God, and knows God. He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

And we have known and believed the love that God has to us.

God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:7-10;16).

Abba, give us the wisdom to grow in understanding that we may receive your love and in the truth and fullness in which it was given. Expose our selfishness and bring us to a place of repentance so we can be reunited with you and your word. Thank you for your love. Thank you for giving us life. May we not waste this gift called life. In the name and character of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Kelly Vonner is the creator and founder of RESTORATION magazine, a publication of Restoring the Branches Ministry. She is a wife, mother, daughter of YAH, servant of Yahshua. She is also the author of A Boldness for Him: Honoring God by Our Obedience.

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Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

"My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of My Father's hand. "I and [My] Father are one." Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods" '? "If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), "do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

"If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; "but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father [is] in Me, and I in Him." Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand. And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true." And many believed in Him there.

John 10:22-39

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Why I’m Walking Away from Christmas

by Kristina Holiday “The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie-deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.

Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought”.

-John F. Kennedy For the first twenty-seven years of my life, I was an avid celebrator of Christmas. This “holiday” was something very special to not only my family, but myself as well. I enjoyed the presents, the decorations, the trees, the parties, the food, and most importantly the family time. I absolutely loved Christmas, but I certainly did not know the true meaning behind any of it. The question arose from within, why do we celebrate Christmas? Do we celebrate it because it is

traditionally passed down from generation to generation, or even because others expect us to? If we are truly remembering the birth of Jesus Christ on “Christmas Day”, then shouldn’t we be worshiping him, singing songs to him, and bringing gifts and offerings to him?

Instead, we are competing for the brightest Christmas tree, the most expensive gifts, or even the biggest parties. I began questioning my beliefs, what I had been taught, and everything I had ever learned in my life growing up. I turned to prayer for understanding and the bible for knowledge. I realized that there was not one single piece of evidence shown for such a holiday called “Christmas”. Not one apostle, disciple, or first true believer mentioned anything about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ through Christmas on December 25. Before the birth of the Messiah, Romans celebrated a pagan feast known as “Saturnalia”. This was observed early winter towards the end of the month that we now know as December. History tells us that when the sun began to go further away from the earth and the days grew shorter in the winter, the sun-worshipping Gentiles were "dismayed", and feared that the sun would not return. So, they held certain festivals just after the time of the Winter Solstice when it did begin to return. This return of the sun is why December 25th is the birthday of so many solar deities/

gods. This result led to Roman Catholicism connecting church with the state around 313 AD and then the secular and religious issues became one. The feast of Sol Invictus (open unconquered Sun) on December 25th was celebrated with great joy, and eventually, this date was taken over by the Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Christ. The first recorded celebration was December 25, 336.

“Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus, saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good” (Jer. 10:1-5, King James Version). I began wondering, why do we try to imitate the world to bring the world to the Messiah? We can’t win the world by imitating it, we win the world by imitating Yah. “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth 6

good is of God; but he that doeth evil hath not seen God” (3 John 1:11). Did you know that when you break down the word Christmas, it has nothing to do with celebrating much less the birth of Christ?

Christ derived from the Greek word “Χριστός”. This is translated to Hebrew as “Māšîaḥ”, which in English is “Messiah”. Mas is short for “mass” which is derived from the Latin word “missa” which is translated in English to “dismissal”. Therefore, we have the dismissal of Christ. “When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations” (Deut. 18:9).

reference Bible. Nashville.

Kristina Holiday is a native of Crockett Co. She is married with three beautiful daughters. She is a member of Restoring the Branches and will be graduating with an associates in Foreign Language in the Spring of 2020.

I knew within my heart that the Lord was speaking directly to me, just because it is popular does not mean it is right. I then realized that as a child of God I am more than willing to put aside all those idols such as, the trees, Rudolph, Santa, paganistic holidays and traditions. When I decided it was time for my household to walk away from Christmas, I knew it was going to be difficult. My family was not happy. They became very defensive when I finally put my foot down and said, “We are Quitting Christmas”. It was not easy, especially for my children. Change for kids is not only hard and tough, but it is disappointing for all ages. We have adapted and gained an attachment, not so much to the tradition, but to the memories we had created as a family over the years. My family was very confused and offended but I want them to know that change does not impact the love I have for them. I made the decision not only for myself but for my children and spouse to no longer be blinded by cultural lies. It is better for us to learn how to walk in the way of the Lord and to reject the worldly things rooted in idolatry than to conform to a world when it is wrong. “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of the devils” (1 Cor. 10:21). We can not mix lies with the truth, we must choose which table we want to sit at, Yah’s or the Devil’s. When people ask me “Why are you walking away from everything you have ever known”, I simply say that I am fully convicted of pleasing my Maker, not mankind. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever Amen” (2 Pet. 3:18).

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2017, July 20). Saturnalia. Retrieved from https:// www.britannica.com/topic/Saturnalia-Romanfestival.

Thomas Nelson Bibles. (1972). The King James compact reference Bible. The King James compact 7

the fine art of

HEALING

By Brittany Tiquah Woody Yahuah Rapha, The Lord Who Heals.

Yahuah Ahava The Lord of Love.

Both equally significant, but one and the same.

The only difference is the name game.

I hear Him knocking.

He's welcome at any time.

My heart is open to Him. For His love is Divine.

Although sometimes, I can be stubborn, and quick to run and hide...

He's always there with me. For He is my guide.

Without Him, I am lost, depressed and depraved.

Without His love, I'm hopeless, in pain, and afraid.

What can I do without Him? Whither and die.

So I get on my knees, and with a loud voice, I cry....

HAVE MERCY ON ME From my folly, I shall repent.

For without Your Love, My life shall surely be spent.

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This is War

By Kelly D. Vonner

War. When I hear this word, I think of violence, loss of life, and destruction. The dictionary defines war as a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states and nations; a state of hostility, conflict or antagonism.

In this life and in this walk, we must know our enemy, but knowing the adversary is pointless if we’re not equipped to fight. We must be adequately prepared to battle against him. We must not fight as one beating the air. Our blows must be specific and intentional and our defense must be impeccable.

As the Father told Abraham in Genesis 15:1, “I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward”.

YAH is our defense. If we put down our shield, we abandon our reward.

Know Our enemy Adversary: one that contends with, opposes or resists; an enemy or opponent.

Our adversary is full of deceit and all fraud. He is an enemy of all righteousness, and consistently perverts the way of YAH (Acts 13:6). He encourages friendship with the world and seeks to destroy us (James 4:4). Our enemy is a murderer and has been a liar from the beginning.

You are of [your] father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [resources], for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44).

Our enemy knows that lies believed will break our love and trust in and with YAH. Lies believed will cause us to choose to act outside of YAH’s character.

The devil is not our friend and his lies are NOT for our well being. Our enemy does not love us and will not speak the truth to us. Why do we keep listening? He will give us nothing to benefit our souls. Why do we keep reaching out to him? Our enemy is gracious only in giving us what satisfies our flesh.

Part of growth is the awareness and acknowledgment that some of our enemy’s ways are in us; if we

don’t know our enemy, we will be walking around acting like him thinking we saved. It’s more powerful when we can call out the mess in ourselves. We must address the iniquity. Yahshua is destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:7-8). If we want to win, we must practice truth and use our weapons wisely.

Know Your Weapons (so you can use them) Consider the character of the Victorious One! A weapon is something used to injure, defeat or destroy. What is the source of the adversary’s kingdom? LIES! So in order to destroy His Kingdom, we must speak live and preach TRUTH and LIFE! Spiritual warfare is the engagement of the spiritual nature (reason, conscience, worship) to battle unhealthy feelies, lies, misrepresentations, passion, and lusts that try to take control of the will and dethrone the reason. It is the process of using God’s methods to overcome the influence of our genetic weaknesses, heal our emotional wounds, and restore balance to our damaged minds (Jennings, 98).

For though we walk in the flesh, 9

we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Fruit is a product of growth; to completely be like Christ is a long-term goal and lifelong expectation. We are always striving to be better than the day before.

We must breakdown our goals into chunks. Our success is found in our daily routine. It will be impossible to love YAH and love our neighbor if we do not seek Him daily. We must be committed to 365 days of intentional care. We must be intentional in our pursuit of YAH and intentional in expressing love for one another.

The Father is constantly pushing us to think. We can’t do it effectively if we aren’t safe and loved. It is a tactic of the enemy to keep us consumed in our emotions. Why? Because they are always changing.

Prayers, thanksgiving and time in the word are three of our greatest weapons against the tactics of the adversary. We must remember that time alone in prayer fills up with the power to pour out into the lives of others. Our thankfulness is directly connected to our praise, confession, and profession of who YAH is in our lives.

It’s us being used as instruments of righteousness intentionally that will benefit someone else as His Word benefits us. If we are looking at the big picture, we are weapons in the Father’s hand/storehouse. If we are not equipped, He won’t use us. And if He doesn’t use us, it’s because we can’t be trusted to protect and honor His word.

Know your enemy. Know how to war against him, and know, trust, and believe in Him who is on your side as you walk faithfully with Him. Exodus 23:22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

Be encouraged that He will fight for you just as He fought for them in 2 Chronicles 20 and the Maccabees. We must choose to be on the team of the one who will put all enemies under His feet. Keep warring saints in the mighty name and character of Yahshua. HalleluYAH! Kelly Vonner is the creator and founder of RESTORATION magazine, a publication of Restoring the Branches Ministry. She is a wife, mother, daughter of YAH, servant of Yahshua. She is also the author of A Boldness for Him: Honoring God by Our Obedience.

Our weapons are from the source; that’s why they are mighty. We must remember that this is not a solo mission. It is impossible to do this walk alone. The Father has one law for all and high expectations for all. Christ met them and whether we do it or will be completely on us. If we are to reign with Him... if we are called to be like our teacher, then we must fight how He fought.

I am convinced that nothing said in the flesh will speak life to anyone’s soul. It’s His Word (John 6:63).

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