RESTORATION MAGAZINE WINTER 2021

RESCHEDULED

Tab l e of Cont ent s 6 Editor's Note Kelly Vonner 8 The Art of Bravery Kelly Vonner 10 Cleanse Our Lenses Beverly Holiday 12 The Awesome Hanukkah Grace E. Yosef 14 Embracing YAH's Freedom Theresy Yosef

Restor ing the Br anches M inistr y is an assem bly of believer s w ho ar e par t of the body of Yahshuah HaM ashiach, Jesus Chr ist. We acknow ledge that w e have been r edeem ed to ser ve our Elohim , and w e exist to take YAH's healing, tr uth and light to the nations. We ar e disciples of Yahshuah (Jesus) w ho ar e str iving to w or ship YAH in spir it and tr uth and ser ve Him in w holehear ted obedience. We acknow ledge that YAH's instr uctions ar e sum m ar ized by loving Him w ith ever ything and loving our neighbor as w e love our selves.

S halom

The Law of Worship Accor ding to the law of w or ship, ?by beholding w e becom e changed?, but w hat does it m ean to behold som ething.? The dictionar y defines beholding or to behold as ?to per ceive thr ough sight or appr ehension: see, to gaze upon, obser ve?. Sim ilar ly, it can be likened to being able to appr eciate, appr ehend, assim ilate, cognize, com pr ehend, conceive, decipher , decode, dig, discer n, gr asp, and under stand. Tennessee Psychiatr ist, Dr. Tim othy Jennings, aligns the law of w or ship w ith the design law know n as m odeling. M odeling is any conscious or nonconscious im itation of the behavior of another per son. Do w e

m odel Chr ist w ell?

Im itate m e, just as I also im itate Chr ist.

1 Cor inthians 11:1 NKJV And w e desir e that each one of you show the sam e diligence to the full assur ance of hope until the end, that you do not becom e sluggish, but im itate those w ho thr ough faith and patience inher it the pr om ises.

Hebr ew s 6:11-12 NKJV Beloved, do not im itate w hat is evil, but w hat is good. He w ho does good is of God, but he w ho does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11 NKJV

We m ust under stand that anything on ear th that w e choose to w or ship w ill only degr ade or dim inish us. We only advance by w or shipping the Infinite One. Yahshua?s m essage, doctr ine, teaching and pur pose w er e aligned flaw lessly w ith the Father , and w e m ust im itate His behavior if w e pr ofess to follow Him . To be tr ansfor m ed by the r enew ing of our m inds r equir es that w e acquir e a new w ay of thinking and being; w e m ust acquir e the m ind of Chr ist (Philippians 2:5). This is achieved by beholding the w ays, thoughts, deeds, and w or ds of Yahshua M essiah, the gr eat Rabbi; for if by beholding w e becom e changed, w e m ust behold Him unveiled and unblinded w ith clean hands and a pur e hear t.

Ther efor e, since w e have such hope, w e use gr eat boldness of speech? unlike M oses, w ho put a veil over his face so that the childr en of Isr ael could not look steadily at the end of w hat w as passing aw ay. But their m inds w er e blinded. For until this day the sam e veil r em ains unlifted in the r eading of the Old Testam ent, because the

veil is taken aw ay in Chr ist. But even to this day, w hen M oses is r ead, a veil lies on their hear t. Never theless w hen one tur ns to the Lor d, the veil is taken aw ay. Now the Lor d is the Spir it; and w her e the Spir it of the Lor d is, ther e is liber ty. But w e all, w ith unveiled faces, beholding as in a m ir r or the glor y of the Lor d, ar e being tr ansfor m ed into the sam e im age fr om glor y to glor y, just as by the Spir it of the Lor d.

2 Cor inthians 3:12-18 NKJV And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those w ho ar e per ishing. In their case the god of this w or ld has blinded the m inds of the unbeliever s, to keep them fr om seeing the light of the gospel of the glor y of Chr ist, w ho is the im age of God. 2 Cor inthians 4:3-4 NKJV I pr ay the veil is r em oved in M essiah today, and that our hear ts ar e cir cum cised to r eceive the Wor d of God, the Wor d m ade flesh, in its fullness, gr ace, tr uth, and glor y.

Shalom ,

The Ar t of Br a v er y

Celebrating Hanukkah in Your Home ?Lor d God, Cr eator of all things, you ar e aw esom e and str ong, yet m er ciful and just. You alone ar e king. No one but you is kind; no one but you is gr acious and just. You ar e alm ighty and eter nal, for ever r eady to r escue Isr ael fr om tr ouble. You chose our ancestor s to be your ow n special people. Accept this sacr ifice w hich w e offer on behalf of all Isr ael; pr otect your chosen people and m ake us holy. Fr ee those w ho ar e slaves in for eign lands and gather together our scatter ed people. Have m er cy on our people, w ho ar e m istr eated and despised, so that all other nations w ill know that you ar e our God. Punish the br utal and ar r ogant people w ho have oppr essed us, and then establish your people in your holy land, as M oses said you w ould.? 2 M accabees 1:24-29 (Good New s Tr anslation) The eight nights of Hanukkah ar e filled w ith m em or able and joyful fam ily tim e in the Lor d. We look for w ar d to r etelling the stor y of the M accabees, dr eidel gam es, lighting our handcr afted m enor ahs, and standing out as God?s peculiar people, His tr easur ed possession. Hanukkah is our fam ily?s ?Ar t of Br aver y? season. Dur ing this season, w e take the tim e to em br ace the light, im itate the br aver y, and pr aise God for the m ir acles that happened dur ing Hanukkah.

Em br ace the Light: W hile the m ajor ity of the w or ld is placing r eefs and Chr istm as tr ees up in their hom es, our fam ily w ill be cr eating and decor ating our hom e w ith ?Happy Hanukkah? signs and m enor ahs. Last year , w e cr eated a 3D snow flake and over laid it w ith a m enor ah. The year befor e, w e constr ucted m enor ahs fr om our childr en?s hand silhouettes. We?ve also cr eated m enor ahs fr om Popsicle sticks and Styr ofoam balls. In addition, w e use the Light M y Fir e Hanukkah App to digitally light m enor ahs and shar e on social m edia.

Our ?Happy Hanukkah? signs ar e cover ed in Bible ver ses that r efer ence light. As w e pr ogr ess thr ough each night of Hanukkah, w e tr y to add m or e ver ses about light, str ength, and br aver y. We em br ace Jesus as the Light of the Wor ld, the Light in our hom e, and the Light of our life. ?Oh, send out your light and your tr uth. Let them lead m e. Let them br ing m e to your holy hill, To your tents.? (Psalm 43:3) Im itate the Br aver y: Hanukkah br ings to m em or y a song I sang as a little gir l: ?Stand up for r ight. Join in the fight. Be a soldier for Jesus? (O?landa Dr aper & Associates).

We ar e r equir ed to im itate the past br aver y of r ighteous ones w ho w alked w ith the Lor d, and Hanukkah is the per fect tim e.

As a fam ily, w e r ead fr om the books of 1 and 2 M accabees. We have sever al childr en?s books in our libr ar y as w ell: ?Like a M accabee? by Raym ond Zw er in & Audr ey M ar cus, ?The M accabee on the M antle? by Abr a Gar r ett, ?Elm o?s Little Dr eidel? by Sesam e Str eet, ?Biscuit?s Hanukkah? by Alyssa Capucilli and Latke, ?The Lucky Dog? by Ellen Fischer. Our sons use this season to im itate the br aver y of the M accabees by shar ing their Hanukkah books w ith their teacher s and classm ates. One year my nephew took dr eidels to school and taught his classm ates

how to play. I gener ally set a m enor ah on my desk; students im m ediately ask questions and w ant to know m or e about w hat I believe. ?The LORD is my light and my salvation.

W hom shall I fear ? The LORD is my str ength of my life. Of w hom shall I be afr aid?? (Psalm 27:1) Pr aise God for the M ir acle: We pr aise God for the light He has placed in us and for calling us to be that city on a hill. God opened our eyes to the tr uth and r escued us fr om the pit. This is a m ir acle w e should pr aise Him for daily. The season of Hanukkah affor ds us the oppor tunity to put things back into per spective. Our Hungr y Hear ts fam ily com es together for an intense w eekend of w or ship, w or d, and fellow ship. Dur ing this special season, w e com e hum bly befor e God to r ededicate our lives to His Kingdom w or k . We com e seeking His face. We com e to have our tem ple pieces cleaned. We com e pr aising God for the m ir acle and year ning for an oppor tunity to be one w ith our Savior. W ill you join us? ?Blessed ar e the people w ho lear n to acclaim you. They w alk in the light of your pr esence, LORD.? (Psalm 89:15)

Abundant Shalom & Happy Hanukkah,

Cl eans e Our Lens es M r s. B ever ly Holid ay A photogr apher is skilled in the use of lenses and filter s, to have objects appear m or e or less enhanced, m or e or less distor ted, m or e or less flaw ed.

Could this also be a tactic of the adver sar y? Is this the w ay w e hoose to appear to other s? It is a psychological fact; ever y exper ience is br ought thr ough the filter s of our per sonal past.

Ar e our per sonal per spectives distor ted by hur t, pain, abuse (ver bal, physical, em otional and spir itual), gr udges, unfor giveness, insecur ity, false infor m ation fed to us, r esentm ent, pr ide, abandonm ent and/or fear ? M any dysfunctional behavior s ar e displayed, w hen these issues ar e not acknow ledged, accepted for w hat they r eally ar e and desir ed to be r em oved fr om the depths of our beings.

Outw ar dly w e m ay see per fectionism , over achievem ent, im pulsiveness, never good enough, w ithdr aw n, quiet, class clow n and/or im m atur ity to nam e a few. But

inw ar dly fear of failur e, being over -contr olled, sham e, r ejection, loneliness, tr ouble expr essing feelings, hiding pain w ith hum or , scar ed and/or feelings of inadequacy ar e the dr iving for ces behind the behavior s. Again, this is not an exhaustive list. W ithout addr essing these issues, you m ay see w or kaholics and people w ho ar e contr olling, pr ideful, over pow er ing, addictive, pr om iscuous, feelings of w or thlessness, unopinionated, intr over ts, and continued im m atur ity.

By acknow ledging the need for help and putting in the w or k consistently, these feelings and behavior s can be tr ained to be used in a functional (tov) m anner. These char acter istics w ould look like; achievem ent, success, lear ning to say no, actually feeling good, appr opr iate r isks, cr eative, good listener s, shar er s of w isdom , feelings of being needed and connected, appr opr iate use of hum or , lear ning to lead and/or r esponsibility.

W her e does our help com e fr om and ?W ho? do w e look to for it? The ?W ho? w e

look to has a set of lenses of His ow n. Let?s tr y to see our selves thr ough His eyes so that w e m ay fulfill His pur pose individually and as a w hole. We need to r ever se the lies w e have been told w ith the Wor d and com e to believe the Tr uth of our Cr eator. We need to boldly appr oach the thr one to r eceive the r edem ption, r estor ation, deliver ance and w holeness (tomyim ) that only He can pr ovide.

Par aphr asing a few Scr iptur es to identify the view thr ough the lenses of Yeshua: II Cor inthians 5:17 In Yeshua, old is passed aw ay and new has com e.

I Peter 2:9 A chosen r ace, r oyal pr iesthood, holy nation pr oclaim ing His excellence, that br ought us out of dar kness into His m ar velous light.

John 1:12 Receiving and believing in Him , the r ight to becom e childr en of Yah. John 15:15 We ar e no longer ser vants; He calls us fr iends and pr ivy to the know ledge of Yah. II Tim othy 1:7 Yah did not give us fear , but pow er , love, self-contr ol and a sound m ind.

Rom ans 8:37 We ar e m or e than conquer or s, thr ough Him w ho loved us fir st.

Rom ans 8:1 No condem nation to those in Yeshua.

II Cor inthians 2:14 Yeshua leads us in tr ium ph, as w e spr ead the know ledge of Him ever yw her e.

Philippians 1:6 A good w or k began in you w ill be br ought to com pletion thr ough Yeshua.

Ephesians 2:10 We ar e His w or km anship, in Yeshua to w alk in good w or ks.

Rom ans 12:2 Let?s not be confor m ed to this ugly w or ld ar ound us, but be tr ansfor m ed and clothed in our r ight m ind and follow the per fect w ill of Yah!

The A w esome Hanukkah

By Mi ss Gr ace E. Yosef

Once t her e wer e t hr ee k ids El iz ab et h, Car t er , and Ami. I t was t he day b ef or e Hanuk k ah. They wer e set t ing up t he house f or t he b ig par t y t he next day. They had st r eamer s, piñat as, and f un games incl uding dr eidl e. They had f inal l y f inished put t ing t he l ast decor at ions up when Ami said, "t his is going t o b e t he b est par t y ever !"

They went t o b ed wit h ant icipat ion and dr eamed of how t he par t y woul d b e. The next mor ning when t hey wok e up t hey l ook ed out t he window. They saw car s par k ed out side, b ut t he house was so quiet . The k ids came out of t hose r ooms and El iz ab et h said, "wher e is ever yone?" Car t er said, " I t 's so quiet ." Then al l of a sudden t hey hear d: "Sur pr ise!!!" Ever yone t hey l oved was t her e. The k ids mom said, "We al l want ed t o sur pr ise you guys!" They got t o t he t ab l e and st ar t ed eat ing al l k inds of good f ood. They had gr il l ed hot dogs, mat z ah, gr il l ed cheese, and f r uit .

Then t hey al l went out side t o pl ay t oss t he b eanb ag, pin t he hel met on t he Macab ee, and went inside t o pl ay dr eidel . The winner got t o hit t he piñat a f ir st , and got most of t he candy. So t hat was t heir Hanuk k ah.

Embr acing YAH's Fr eedom Mrs. Theresy Yosef It seem s like ever yone is pur suing fr eedom these days.

W hen I think of fr eedom , I pictur e bir ds flying in blue skies, gr een open spaces and tw ir ling in the w ind w ithout a car e in the w or ld. I also im agine that fr eedom w ould be like w alking in a stor e and gr abbing w hatever I need at no cost and not being questioned about it. How ever , that?s just my per sonal idea and expectation of fr eedom . Som e people believe fr eedom is being fluid in your gender identity or sexual or ientation.

I?m sur e you have your ow n ideas of

fr eedom as w ell. How ever , since w e ar e seeking to be fr ee in Yeshua, do w e know w hat His idea of fr eedom is? We know w e ar e to be echad (or one) w ith our M essiah ther efor e, shouldn?t our idea of fr eedom coincide w ith his?

W hen w e m ake the decision to w alk w ith Yeshua, w e hold on to the pr om ise that he sets us fr ee.He said it him self ?I cam e to pr oclaim liber ty to the captives? (Luke 4:18) W hat ar e w e being fr eed fr om ? Do w e know w her e this fr eedom is taking us?

If w e?ve never exper ienced Yah?s fr eedom ,

how do w e know w hat w e ar e looking for , or w hat it should look and feel like? The only tim e som eone w as tr uly fr ee w as w hen Adam and Chuah (Eve) w er e in the Gar den taking daily str olls w ith the Eter nal One. That?s fr eedom beyond w hat w e can im agine! We know that they w er e able to m aintain the pr ivilege of fr eedom as long as they r em ained obedient to the w or d they r eceived. Things have long changed since those days.

W hen the Alm ighty br ought the childr en of Isr ael out of Egypt, I w onder if they had any expectations and hopes of w hat their fr eedom w ould look like w hen they left.

Sur ely, they m ust have thought that anything other than being oppr essed by the Egyptians w ould do. Little did they know that the fr eedom they w er e being offer ed by the Alm ighty did not line up w ith their expectations. This fr eedom cam e at a cost: their car nal desir es. He gave them his holy instr uctions for dw elling w ith Him . Sounds like the Eter nal one w anted to institute a pr ocess thr ough w hich He could r estor e som e of w hat He had w ith Adam . The people had to m ake quick adjustm ents to the lala land they had im agined.

The jour ney is the sam e for us today.

Yeshua cam e to show us the w ay back to fr eedom w hich is found in Yah?s holy spoken w or ds, His Tor ah (M atthew 5:17).

The Tor ah is and has alw ays been spir itual (Rom 7:14) and its goal is to pur ify us so w e can be pr esented befor e the Fat h er as accept abl e com pan i on s (or as l i v i n g sacr i f i ces). Our fr eedom and unity w ith

M essiah com es at the cost of our car nal desir es (Galatians 5:24). For too long w e?ve allow ed our flesh to keep us under the delusion that the instr uctions of the Alm ighty One ar e bondage. We w er e, and som etim es ar e still, oppr essed by our flesh and w e?ve gr ow n accustom ed to giving in to its ever y com m and. Let us no longer believe the lie. The challenge now is to let go of that old m aster and subm it the One w ho r eally w ants us to be fr ee. We need to r eadjust our under standing of fr eedom so w e can w alk in it as our M essiah did and consequently becom e one w ith the Father.

W hen Yah gave M oshe the Tor ah, it w as the bluepr int to w alking in fr eedom . This bluepr int lays out the pr otocols w e ar e to follow in or der for Him to dw ell w ith us.

Our car nal per ception of fr eedom is shor t lived, w hile His is eter nal. Ear thly fr eedom leads to death w hile Yah's fr eedom gives life. We know that Yah?s w isdom is higher than our s, ther efor e let us tr ust His r efining pr ocess of killing the old/car nal m an so that w e can em br ace and exper ience the fr eedom of our spir it m an.

Adam and Chuah exper ienced the fr eedom that Yah w ants to give us today. They w alked side by side w ith the Father , liter ally! His goal is to take us back to that edenic state, to com m une w ith us in the sam e w ay. But it?s going to r equir e a lot of shedding off the flesh and aligning our selves w ith his holy Tor ah. Let us keep str iving to be fr ee in M essiah. A note fr om the Ar am aic New Testam ent pr ovides a deeper look at the m eaning of ?the tr uth w ill set you fr ee? (John 8:31): ?W hen Y?shua teaches ?truth will set you free?he is

referring to applied truth such as found in Deuteronomy 32:46-47 which states ?command your children to observe and do all the works of this Torah. It is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life??. Let us find life (and life m or e abundantly) in Yah?s Tor ah. Let us r ealign our finite idea of fr eedom to that w hich is gr eater. Shalom .

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Con t r ibu t or s Bever ly Holiday is a wife, mom, ?meme?, sister, aunt, friend and mentor to many that she comes in contact with. She writes from experience and has overcome so much in her life. Currently, she lives in West Tennessee and specializes in womb care and home health care. She has been married to her husband, James, for over twenty years. Together, they have two sons and five grandchildren.

Gr ace E. Yosef is the youngest writer to Restoration Magazine. She is a young author and artist who is passionate about her walk with YAH. Grace is the oldest daughter of Yirmeyahu and Theresy Yosef and enjoys spending time with her family.

Th er esy Yosef is the wife of "Jacob's Seed Podcast" host

Yirmeyahu

Yosef,

and

mother

to

three

daughters. She is passionate about the holistic (mental, emotional, and spiritual) well-being of Israelite women. She enjoys quiet time and a good cup of coffee.

Lead Edit or & Gr aph ics Design er Kelly Von n er is the wife of Moreh Jeremy Vonner and mom to three YAH-given sons--Jeremiah, Joshua, and Josiah. She is the author of A Boldness for Him and is a lover of the Word, graphics design, and all things

righteous.

Kelly

started

RESTORATION

Magazine in 2017. * * Special thanks to Theresy Yosef for editing the Winter 2021 Edition of Restoration Magazine* *

To request a copy, please email r t br est or at ion m agazin e@gm ail.com Cash App: $RTBMinistry