RESTORATION MAGAZINE VOL 4 ISS 12 Winter 2020

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

R ealigning: G et t ing B ack in O r d er "In those days ther e appear ed in Isr ael tr ansgr essor s of the law w ho seduced m any, saying: ?Let us go and m ake a covenant w ith the Gentiles all ar ound us; since w e separ ated fr om them , m any evils have com e upon us?. They disguised their cir cum cision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied them selves w ith the Gentiles and sold them selves to w r ongdoing" (1 M accabees 1:11,15).

After Antiochus established his kingship in Egypt, he w ent up against Isr ael and Jer usalem . He desecr ated the sanctuar y of the M ost High and r em oved the holy things.

"He insolently enter ed the sanctuar y and took aw ay the golden altar , the lam pstand for the light w ith all its utensils, the offer ing table, the cups and bow ls, the golden censer s, and the cur tain. The

cor nices and the golden or nam ent on the facade of the tem ple--he str ipped it all off. And he took aw ay the silver and gold and the pr ecious vessels; he also took all the hidden tr easur es he could find.

Taking all this, he w ent back to his ow n countr y.

He shed m uch blood and spoke w ith gr eat ar r ogance. And ther e w as gr eat m our ning thr oughout all Isr ael, and the r uler s and the elder s gr oaned. Young w om en and m en languished, and the beauty of the w om en faded" (1 M accabees 1:20-26).

Pr ide com es befor e the fall, and all disobedience leads to destr uction. In our for efather s?desir e to be like the w or ld, they suffer gr eat loss and sham e ever y tim e. Even today, m any in Isr ael, out of ignor ance, fear or selfishness, have abandoned the instr uction of YAH to follow a king?s com m and, and because of this, w e ar e out of or der and in desper ate need to r ealign w ith the tr ue King.

Consider all that w as r em oved fr om the tem ple by the adver sar y along w ith all that w e gave aw ay desir ing to be one w ith the

w or ld. YAH w ants to r ighteously r estor e all of it, ever y piece and ever y utensil, but that r equir es that w e r ededicate our selves to tr uth, to Yahshua. His sheep hear His voice, know Him and follow Him (John 10:27-28). It is tim e for us to align w ith the Father and the Son for they ar e one (John 10:30).

Realigning m eans that w e ar e w illing to hear , obey, and r espond w ith intelligence. We m ust allow His Wor d to be our light, the Father ?s W ill to be our daily br ead, and the sw or d of the Spir it our w eapon of choice. The sam e Gr eat Physician that heals us is also the m ighty High Pr iest that exam ines our offer ings of pr aise and our daily lives as living sacr ifices to the M ost High.

YAH w ill r estor e w hat the adver sar y has taken, but w e m ust be r eal about w hat w e gave aw ay in the pr ocess. If YAH is our life and the length of our days, our hope r esides in Him , and our peace is dependent upon our ability to get back in or der w ith tr uth.

As they pr ayed long ago in 2 M accabees 1:2-5, ?M ay God be good to you and

keep the covenant he m ade w ith Abr aham , Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful ser vants. M ay he fill each of you w ith the desir e to w or ship him and to do his w ill eager ly w ith all your hear t and soul.

M ay he enable you to under stand his Law and his com m ands. M ay he give you peace, answ er your pr ayer s, for give your sins, and never abandon you in tim es of tr ouble?.

Shalom .

Kelly Vonner is the wife of M oreh 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 M agazine in 2017.

Pr epar at ion in Time of Dar kness

by Shauder i c Av ad As w e ar e heading into this w inter season, w e m ust be pr epar ed to have an abundance of fr uit stor ed up. Now , w hen I say fr uit I am not talking about physical fr uit, but I am talking about spir itual fr uit (Galatians 5:22). Spir itual fr uit is needed to be able to sur vive thr ough the dar kness. As the w inter appr oaches, this is a tim e w her e a lot of plant life dies, ther e is not m uch fr uit pr oduction, and it is dar k m uch longer than it is light. It is im por tant to w or kout our spir it m an even har der because in the dar kness it is ver y har d to gr ow , and if you ar e not car eful, and if you lack spir itual for titude in this tim e your fr uit w ill w ither and you w ill be destr oyed. Im agine planting a fig tr ee

and not taking the necessar y pr ecautions to take car e of it. Im agine not w ater ing it r egular ly, pr uning it, or r em oving diseased br anches fr om the tr ee. Would that tr ee bear fr uit? The obvious answ er to the question is no, so how can w e bear fr uit if w e ar e not actively tr ying to be w ater ed w ith Yah?s teaching (Deut 32:2), if w e?r e not w illing to be pr uned by Yah (John 15:1-2), and if w e ar e not w illing to get r id of the things that ar e holding us back fr om gr ow ing spir itually? The answ er to that is that w e cannot bear fr uit if w e ar e not being consistent in our spir itual w alk . Rededication of our spir itual tem ples is im por tant because m any tim es w e fall shor t in our spir itual

w alk, som etim es w e get off tr ack and w e begin to go aw ay fr om the Father. W hat better tim e to tur n and get our selves together like Chanukah (Hanukah)!

Chanukah is a festival that com m em or ates the r ededication of the second tem ple after the M accabees w er e able to over com e the Gr eeks and the Syr ians. The Gr eeks defiled the holy tem ple and the Jew s, led by M attthias, w er e able to r ededicate it back to Yah and r estor e all things. As w e enter into dar kness w e m ust r ededicate our selves back to Yah. If w e do not r ededicate our selves, the dar kness w ill expose how m uch fr uit w e lack . The dor m ant season is com ing, so it is vital to w or k extr a har d befor e enter ing into dar k tim es. Jer em iah 13:15-17 says, ?Listen and pay attention; don?t be pr oud! For Adonai has spoken.

Give glor y to Adonai your God befor e the dar kness falls, befor e your feet stum ble on the m ountains in the tw ilight, and, w hile you ar e seeking light, he tur ns it into deathlike shadow s and m akes it com pletely dar k . But if you w ill not hear this w ar ning, I w ill w eep secr etly because of your pr ide; my eyes w ill w eep bitter ly, str eam ing w ith tear s, because Adonai?s flock is car r ied aw ay captive.? Seeking the Father , tr usting his w or d, being w illing to

gr ow and constantly r ededicating your tem ple is essential to bear ing fr uit as dar kness enter s to consum e the souls of m any. The last thing w e w ant to happen is to get caught w ith no fr uit in the sight of the M ost High. Do not be like Adam and Eve in the gar den w ho got caught fr uitless w ith nothing but fig leaves to show because of their deceitful acts (Genesis 3:7-8). Let?s r espond to w ickedness w ith a w illingness to open up to Yah. Yahshua w ill com e like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2), so let?s not let the dar kness w in. We m ust out w or k dar kness w ith the w or ks of light if w e w ant victor y.

Shalom .

SHEEP WHO SH'MA M r s. B ever ly Holid ay

For sheep to shem a (Deut 6:4), (listen, hear , obey and act w ith intelligence), they usually have to see w hat life is like w ithout listening fir st. The stiff-necked, har d-headed, stubbor n, r ebellious, str ong, tendency to str ay, besides not being the br ightest bulb in the box, have need for the Gr eat Shepher d. They m ay not even figur e this out until it is too late and find them selves all alone and w ithout dir ection.

In my year s of dr iving exper ience, I am aw ar e how quickly and innocently, you can be distr acted and r un off the side of the r oad. Ther e ar e m any scenar ios that can play out.

You jum p and ar e star tled. The br ush sounding under your car , hands w hite knuckled to the w heel, sound of r ocks and

a r ough r ide, then you slow dow n tur n the w heel ever so slightly and ease back on to the sm ooth sur face. You look ar ound to see if anyone saw , str aighten your self in your seat, take a deep br eath and continue on your jour ney deter m ined to r em ain m or e focused, pr etty m uch unscathed and w ithout consequence.

m ind. At the r ealization of these gr eat and ter r ible losses, a new found r estor ation of the m ind, a new cr eatur e being bor n, the cor r ect ancient path chosen, this sheep now finds his w ay to the Gr eat Shepher d, by follow ing His exam ple, listening to His voice and enter ing the only Door --John 10 tells this stor y.

You ar e off the r oad, hit a lar ge r oot, tir e com es off the r im and ther e you sit, until r epair s can be m ade.W hat if you over cor r ect? You could jum p back on the r oad, cr oss the lane and str ike a car. Our decisions and actions have now involved other s?lives and pr oper ty. Accor ding to the ter r ain ar ound you, one little w obble on the side of a m ountain and you ar e at the bottom of a r avine never to be seen again!

Our last scenar io is ver y gr im , but one of gr eatest hope. Consider Jonah. He r an aw ay and exper ienced death in the belly of the fish. Out of death to our flesh, r ealizing how m uch the Gr eat Shepher d tr uly w ants to save us fr om our selves, how He desir es our ser vice, how He designed us to w or ship Him , how He knew us befor e He for m ed us in our M other s?w om b, how m uch love He has for us, how He cr eated us for and on pur pose, and how He w ants us to be a par t of His fam ily. This is pr obably the m ost devoted sheep of all, taking hold of the plow and never looking back (Luke 9:62), enter ing into His eter nal Kingdom .

Luke 7:47-48, also tells us m uch for given m uch r equir ed.

In our fir st scenar io, Pr over bs 24:16 tells us a r ighteous m an m ay fall seven tim es and r ise again. Ther e ar e sheep that hear the fir st tim e, r ealize it is for their ow n good and never leave the Gr eat Shepher d's safety and pr ovision.

Our next tw o scenar ios play out in var ious w ays of non-pr oductivity, not fulfilling one?s pur pose, choosing one?s ow n w ay, becom ing stagnant, salt losing its savor , unable to m ove for w ar d, actually r olling backw ar ds, loss of tim e and expense and so on. I am sur e this br ings som eone or a tim e in your life to

Please note ever y Scr iptur e you can find that have these dear w or ds ?so that it m ay go w ell w ith you?. The list is long and again show s the hear t of the Gr eat Shepher d as He r elentlessly and tir elessly pleads, knocks, pr icks, calls, dr aw s at the hear ts of sheep that w ould shem a for their ow n sake.

Light.

W hat is light? A natur al agent that stim ulates sight and m akes things visible.

A var iation of this w or d is illum inate.

W hat is illum inate? To m ake (som ething) visible or br ight by shining light on it; light up.

Also m eaning to help clar ify.

W hat is clar ity? The quality of being coher ent and intelligible.

Also m eaning the quality of tr anspar ency or pur ity.

W hat is pur ity? Fr eedom fr om contam ination or im m or ality.

W h at i s descr i bed as l i gh t i n t h e Scr i pt u r es?

Elohiym said, ?Let ther e be light,? and ther e w as light. (Gen. 1:3) Li gh t w as spok en i n t o ex i st en ce.

For the m itzvah is a lam p, Tor ah is light, and r epr oofs that discipline ar e the w ay to life. (Pr o. 6:23) The Tor ah is descr ibed as light.

Be L ig h t B r it t any M ichelle W oody

W hat is the Tor ah? Law or instr uction.

W hat is instr uction? Detailed infor m ation telling how som ething should be done, oper ated, or assem bled.

Qu est i on ? .

I f t h e Tor ah i s l i gh t , i n st r u ct i on , an d a w ay of l i f e, w hy do peopl e r ej ect i t ?

And this is the condem nation, that the light has com e into the w or ld, and m en loved dar kness r ather than light, because their deeds w er e evil. (John 3:19) Yah u sh a (Jesu s) i s descr i bed as l i gh t an d as t h e l i v i n g Tor ah .

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ?I am the light of the w or ld. He w ho follow s M e shall not w alk in dar kness, but have the light of life.? (John 8:12)

In the beginning w as the Wor d, and the Wor d w as w ith YHW H, and the Wor d w as YHW H. (John 1:1) And the Wor d w as m ade flesh, and dw elt am ong us, (and w e beheld his glor y, the glor y as of the only begotten of the Father ,) full of favour and tr uth. (John 1:14) I f Yah u sh a (Jesu s) i s t h e Tor ah m ade f l esh , w hy do peopl e t h i n k t h at t h e Tor ah i s don e aw ay w i t h ?

Yah u sh a (Jesu s) cl ai m s t h at He di d NOT com e t o dest r oy t h e Tor ah .

Think not that I am com e to destr oy the law , or the pr ophets: I am not com e to destr oy, but to fulfil. For ver ily I say unto you, Till heaven and ear th pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no w ise pass fr om the law , till all be fulfilled. W hosoever ther efor e shall br eak one of these least com m andm ents, and shall teach m en so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but w hosoever shall do and teach them , the sam e shall be called gr eat in the kingdom of heaven. (M att.

5:17-19) Yah u sh a cal l s u s (h i s f ol l ow er s) l i gh t an d ch ar ges u s t o sh i n e t h e l i gh t i n f r on t of ot h er s. ?You ar e the light of the

w or ld. A tow n built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lam p and put it under a bow l. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to ever yone in the house. In the sam e w ay, let your light shine befor e other s, that they m ay see your good deeds and glor ify your Father in heaven. (M att.

5:14-16) W h at i s ou r m i ssi on as f ol l ow er s of t h e M essi ah ?

And Yahushua cam e and spake unto them , saying, All pow er is given unto m e in heaven and in ear th. Go ye ther efor e, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the nam e of the Father , and of the Son, and of the Set-apar t Spir it: Teaching them to obser ve all things w hatsoever I have com m anded you: and, lo, I am w ith you alw ays, even unto the end of the age.

(M att. 28:18-20) We ar e called to be light in the m idst of dar kness. We ar e called to think, speak, and live accor ding to Tor ah.

We ar e spir it and light. We ar e follow er s of the M essiah, w ho is the Tor ah m ade flesh and the light to our dar k and depr essing w or ld. It is our sw or n duty to shine this light and br ing clar ity and pur ity to the nations.

Walki ng

by

Ex amp le

Kristina Holiday Apar t fr om Yah, you can do nothing. To be only 7 sm all w or ds, it has huge m eaning behind it. W her e w e have com e fr om in life does not define us today, it defines our past. W hen you think of leading by exam ple, w hat does that even m ean? Technically it m eans, to act in a w ay that show s other s how to act; but w ho defines exactly how you should be leading? 1 Tim othy 4:12 says ?Let no m an despise thy youth; but be thou an exam ple of the believer s, in w or d, in conver sation, in char ity, in spir it, in faith, in pur ity? (KJV).

Sin is r ooted in unbelief, so to lead by the exam ple stated above, w e m ust fir st be a believer. In Ephesians 1:19, Paul pr ays for believer s to com pr ehend God?s pow er that is at w or k w ithin them . Just as Paul pr ayed for each believer ?s

com pr ehension, w e m ust pr ay for other s ar ound us as w ell as our selves daily. We m ay have fallen shor t, w e m ay lean to the left or the r ight, but w e m ust r em em ber to do the best w e can to stay on that str aight and nar r ow path. We can not live our lives thinking ?oh I can r epent for anything?, w e m ust live life AND FEAR HIM daily. We do not alw ays give Yah the tim e of day, but he w ill alw ays be listening to us w hen w e pr ay. We as a nation ar e enter ing into a ver y dar k season and w e have no r oom to be pleasing our flesh. ?Don?t set your hear t upon unr ighteous gains, for you w ill pr ofit nothing in the day of calam ity. Don?t w innow w ith ever y w ind. Don?t w alk in ever y path. This is w hat the sinner w ho has a double tongue does? (Sir ach 5:8-9). We m ust r em em ber that the Father is pounding

on our fr ont door har d.

Can w e hear Him ? The devil tr ies to knock and shout har der at the back, but w e m ust m ake a decision. Ar e w e cleaning up for the Father to enter in and dw ell for ever , or ar e w e sneaking the devil in the back to disr egar d our m ess and sleep on our couch long enough to tur n your life upside dow n and then leave?

We have a guest that is w illing to dw ell in our tem ple for ever and all he asks is for som ething so sim ple. ?If anyone loves m e, he w ill keep my w or d; and M y Father w ill love him , and We w ill com e to him and m ake Our hom e w ith him ? (John 14:23). Ar e w e leading by the exam ple of the adver sar y, or ar e w e w alking by an exam ple so tr ue that our loved ones, our neighbor s, and especially our childr en can be bor n again?

United in Mind & Purpose T h er esy Yah 'el William s

Ther e has been a lot of talk lately about how divided this countr y is. W her e ther e is division ther e is no str ength. Division is the best w ay for an opponent to infiltr ate and destr oy w hat w e think w e ar e building. Haiti?s m otto, w hich is also on our flag, is "Unity m akes str ong". It's self-explanator y: if w e?r e united, w e ar e str ong. This is w hat com es to m ind w hen I think about how the apostles w er e united in m ind and in pur pose in Acts 2:46 and Acts 5:12-16 w hich both indicate that the believer s w er e ?Continuing faithfully?, had ?singleness of pur pose to m eet in the Tem ple cour ts? and, m any souls w er e br ought to the w ay of salvation. Their unity and faithfulness in ser ving the M ost High em pow er ed them to heal the sick

and afflicted (Acts 5:16).

Ther e is som ething pow er ful about w or king together tow ar d one pur pose.

The apostles and ear ly follow er s of Yeshua under stood this. This under standing allow ed them to cr eate an envir onm ent w her e all m em ber s of the com m unity w er e valued, full of joy, and shar ing the good new s of salvation w ith other s. How do w e do this in our day?

W hat is our singular focus? And ar e w e being faithful in that endeavor ? If w e ar e to be light to the w or ld, w hat is our united str ategy to ensur e that w e actually shine and br ing light w her e ther e is dar kness?

In these dar k days, being faithful and having singleness of pur pose is cr ucial on sever al levels! Fir st, w e m ust ensur e that

no one w ithin our gates is lacking m ater ially and spir itually. Let us lear n to enjoy the blessing in m eeting together in the ?Tem ple? as m uch as w e can. W hile w e don?t see each other daily, w e m ust m ake an effor t to be w ith one another as often as possible. Let us also com e together in one accor d to fight against the oppr essive pr incipalities of this w or ld and br ing healing to the sick and hur ting. Once w e do, w e can m ake a tr ue differ ence, w e can expect to see Yah incr ease the num ber s of those am ong us w ho ar e being saved (Acts 2:47b).

Shalom .

w w w.jacobsseedpodcast .com

Br ot h er Sh au der ic Avad Shauderic Avad is from Little Rock, Arkansas. He is currently pursuing a Master ?s degree in Instruction and Curriculum Leadership working towards one day fulfilling the role of principal of a school where he can help impact and mold future generations. He is 24 years of age and is dedicated to serving Yah, his wife, his family, and his community.

Shauderic believes that growing in selflessness is the key to an impactful and prosperous life.

Pr oph et ess Bever ly Holiday Beverly Thomas 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 and home health care. She has been married to her husband, James, for over twenty years. Together, they have two sons and five grandchildren.

Yah'el William s Yah'el Williams is the wife of "Jacob's Seed Podcast" host Yirmeyahu Dawid, 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.

M r s. Kr ist in a Holiday 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.

M s. Br it t an y Woody Brittany Woody is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. She is a self-proclaimed artist and poet. She loves to sing and fellowship with the family of YAH. She enjoys various genres of music and seeks to strengthen her relationship with the Father through Yahshua.

www.restoringthebranches.org