The Christian Letter, Volume One: Chapter 1
The Bible. Nothing has been read more, and no book has suffered such a diverse following. It is good that many people are seeking, but many people are being led away from the Word (Bible) by false teachings. Billions of people, of many different faiths, Bible believing or not, are seeking salvation. Even the majority of atheists I have met felt they needed a salvation, they just didn’t believe one could exist. Yet, which of theses many paths is the right one? Or do all paths, pointing in different directions, lead to the same place? I have studied many different faiths, and only one has seemed truthful in every way, but the claimers of this faith walk upon a myriad of different paths; thus, this collection of letters are filled with the eager hopefulness of bringing people back into a Truthful Biblical way of life, and not a denominational clubhouse.
My Bible, called The Scriptures, begins the narration of life by saying, “In the beginning Elohim (Mighty One) created the Heavens and the Earth.” Looking at the complexity of a flower and its needed bee, or the value of the soul behind the eyes of my friends, I am reminded with every scent, touch, and blink, that there is a Creator. This Elohim, this Creator, designed us and made us for a reason. But what could it be? The Creator made the Heavens and the Earth in six days, according to the Bible, and rested on the seventh. If He is this powerful, then what would He need us for? What could He not do? All the Creator had to do was speak, and where once there was no water, now an ocean; where no light, upon His Words now a bright light of glory. What can He not do? … There is something, something very important: The Creator could not make someone love Him, for if He did then the second He did the love would not be genuine. It could not be real. What then, was He to do?
On the sixth day Elohim made His decision a reality, a decision He knew would bring about terrible consequences, and deep rewards. He made mankind out of soil in His image. Being in His likeness, we have what is known as freewill, and are able to love Him … if we choose to.
To love is to follow.
To hate is to walk away.
In the beginning, there was no death. No suffering (a sign of a loving Creator’s desire). Nothing ate flesh, and all was good. The Almighty made for the man, a woman. This, too, was very good. But there was a rule for them. They could not eat of a certain tree. To some, at first, this may seem odd. It might still seem odd. But this tree’s fruit was not an apple or a fig, rather a gift and a curse of the knowledge of both good and evil. Of darkness and light. Of freewill and death.
A servant from above, an angel, who is not to be worshiped, tempted the woman while the man allowed it, who then followed the woman’s temptation. They ate the fruit, and their eyes were opened to a long and great terror with joys scattered here and there. Banished from the garden they lived in, the ground grew thorns for their feet, and by their choice of disobedience the world grew in the taste for blood. Death came because death is the punishment of sin, of disobedience, as Elohim had warned.
What, though, is sin, now that mankind has the knowledge of it, though not always an understanding? To some people simply saying an alleged bad word is sinful, while to others it is leisure or common vocabulary. To some, sin is playing cards, or dancing, or music, while to others these things are not sinful at all. Unlike other mighty ones that mankind admits to making up, this One, Who has professed Himself, and Who is unlike any other, tells us exactly what is sinful and what is not, as well as what is allowed and what is desired, a difference unknown by many even to this day. Yet, the punishment remains. The strictness is firm, and the payment is due. We have sinned. Each of us. And the predetermined price is death of both body and soul.
When the first man and the first woman sinned, the Creator covered their one sin by the death of an animal. Blood for blood. Yet, even so, they died. We must pay the cost once, but what about our very soul’s cost? Who can pay such an immortal toll? For each of us has but one life, and there are not enough innocents in this world to cover even one of our souls.
A standard with hope was needed. Something that would withstand the test of all time. Kingdoms grand have come and fallen to such dust none of us even remembers their name, but one Kingdom has not been lost in the sands of time. The Kingdom of Elohim. The Creator thereof gave a Standard to those of Whom He was a Friend. Many call this, “The Law,” but its proper calling is: Teaching, or Torah. It is a gift to those who long for Truth.
Elohim spoke it and there was light; He gave us the Torah, His Word of morality of which He has never broken, and in this Teaching there was a great prophecy. He foretold that One would come to offer hope to us all. Years passed. Centuries of time waned, but the hope of those who loved Elohim in return did not diminish. Then, in a tale as old as the earth, a Saviour came. The Messiah is that Saviour; Whose Name is Yahoshuah, though often changed to Jesus.
“And as it awaits men to die once, and after this the judgment, so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to those waiting for Him, unto deliverance.” (Hebrews 9:27-28).
Is there anything we can do to merit forgiveness or salvation? Not really, is there? Thus, to receive salvation, it must be a free gift of greater cost than we could afford. This is the Messiah. If you can’t pay the price for your sins, then hand them over to Him.
While on earth, the Saviour claimed many things that no one else has ever claimed; yet, He did not appear to be a madman, and in the telling of His life we see something that shines brightly. We see He never sinned. And though we strive to be like Him, we fail. Yes, everyday we fail. This Messiah, however, would still be with us, wouldn’t He, if the cost of sin was death? He should not have died.
Yet the Saviour did die, as a covering greater than the animal slain in the beginning. His death foretold would be of no great sign, but that it also was foretold how is a great message of truth. And though the people who killed Him may not have known they were fulfilling prophecy, they were, as the Scriptures clearly tell us He would die nailed upon a tree. The Scriptures go so far as to even tell us that His beard would be ripped out … and it was. In a Book within the Bible, Isaiah, written hundreds of years before the Messiah, as confirmed by archeological finds such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, in chapter 52 and 53 alone, there are over fifty characteristics about the Messiah. And that isn’t even the tip of the iceberg concerning Him.
Three days and three nights after His death, all of His followers were still in shock. He was sinless. How could He die? How could He be sinless? These people lost everything by following the Messiah and now He was gone. These three days of agony, I am certain, must have seemed to be three years. However, after three days and three nights in the grave, the Messiah rose from the tomb, since death, you see, has no power over the sinless. “And hearing of the resurrection of the dead, some indeed mocked, while others said, ‘We shall hear you again concerning this.’” (Acts 17:32).
After spending a few days with His followers, instructing them and forgiving them for doubt, the Messiah ascended to Heaven. Nearly two thousand years ago He promised He would not only return for us, but also that He was going to prepare a place for us. If earth took six days, then truly Heaven is beyond our imagination at some six thousand years. People waited for centuries for the Messiah to come the first time, as we have also waited for His final return. Let us number our days as but a speck in time, and, therefore, faint not in doubt.
In the Messiah we have hope. His Spirit has called to all who would love Him, to welcome Him as the hope in their lives, to accept the Messiah as atonement … as payment for the cost of sin, as well as our Friend. And while our body still will die, our soul shall not—if we truly accept Him. Ask Him if He is real, not for signs or miracles or a new car, but if He is real, and listen with your heart. Call out His personal Name and ask, “Yahoweh, are You Saviour?” His Spirit can be in our heart. We have but to ask Him. To follow Him.
But how do we follow Him? Which path is the right one? His? Or what man has said about it? We need hope in the Creator, Who is the One true Way to righteousness and everlasting life for our eternal soul, for judgment is coming, and we each will stand on trial. Again, “And as it awaits men to die once, and after this the judgment, so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to those waiting for Him, unto deliverance.” (Hebrews 9:27-28).
Judgment. What will our soul have to give an account of when we pass on from this life? Did we love Him His way or our way? Did we do good deeds, and if so, for what purpose? Did we have faith, and if so, in whom did we have faith: the Word of Yahoweh or the words of preachers? Did we repent and turn away from sinful behaviour? And did we worship Him enough to act like the Messiah out of love? These, and more, are questions whose meanings are lost if answered, but gained if sought. So seek—if by men, then by the whims of men; if by a standard, then by the Standard’s. “You see, then, that a man is declared right by works, and not by belief alone.” (James 2:24).
“… and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth wake up, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches, everlasting abhorrence. And those who have insight shall shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2-3).
If there is a right path then that means there are wrong paths masquerading as good paths. The day is coming when those who refuse His offer of love will find out where the end of this road takes them. “And if anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15). While the Messiah prepares Heaven for us, the fallen angel who tempted and tempts only has hell to offer. Hell on earth and in the grave. For those who choose wickedness will not be in Heaven, but rather hell, as, after all, it would not be very loving for our Heavenly Father to force those who walk in love to live forever with those who refuse to walk in love, would it? If Heaven is built for those whose heart has the pure love of a child, then hell must be a place for those who did not give their stone heart to the Messiah for a new heart eager to bear His kindness.
“Come to Me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings. For My yoke is gentle and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). We don’t have to carry around the feeling of hopelessness that sin brings us any more. Yet, many claim the opposite, that following Him, keeping His Torah, is bondage, a burden. Is this true?
The only thing that could hamper your freedom is disobedience. Sounds strange? It’s not. We all obey something, ranging from political law, traditions, our emotional whims, and even ideologies we received from our parents, or in spite of them. We obey the necessity of the future we desire, or our carnal desires of now and only now, and, more often than not, we obey a bit of both to the end result of mediocrity. We obey the Bible or the church, the measures of this or that, and in this, our decision should be to be obedient to the kindest and most logical course of action. This is the decree of the loving Elohim of Whom many worship with only their lips, and only, at that, in church. While the church is not wholly wrong, nor has it sought holiness wholeheartedly.
Many people consider unknown mighty ones, or ones who are not mighty, but treated mightily, from Mary to angels, from Santa Clause to fairies; however, I urge you to research with contemplation, and to consider this matter well, for unlike mythology or dreams unknown, history confirms the Bible’s Truth. Many thousands of documents prove the validity of the events within Scripture. From the Moabite Stone to hieroglyphs in Egypt showing the Hebrews building the pyramids, or how pharaoh Tom died in a battle with Elohim in a whirlpool. The Dead Sea Scrolls also prove that the Bible has been preserved very accurately. Archaeological finds can be as fictitious as the color in your fruit drink, but look into them, and you will find many are indeed true nonetheless. The Scriptures are true. Man’s interpretations of them are often false. Elohim is high above us, thus I find it easier to allow Him the pleasure of introducing Himself. Yet, even so, all the proof in the world would not change a person if they will not feel it.
“He has declared to you, O man, what is good. And what does Yahoweh require of you but to do right, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your Elohim?” (Micah 6:8). “In this the children of Elohim and the children of the devil are manifest: Everyone not doing righteousness is not of Elohim, neither the one not loving his brother.” (1 John 3:10). So then, let us learn to practice righteousness by learning what it is, and then living it. For this is the path to a new mindset.
“Repent therefore and turn back, for the blotting out of your sins, in order that times of refreshing might come from the presence of the Master, and that He sends Yahoshuah Messiah, preappointed for you,” (Acts 3:19-20). We must repent and turn away from sin by turning to the Messiah. “And Kepha said to them, “Repent, and let each one of you be immersed in the Name of Yahoshuah Messiah for the forgiveness of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38). (I will write to you soon, dear seeking friend, about baptism / immersion, and many other concerning subjects. Give this time.)
Unlike hell, in Heaven there is no death. A sign of a loving Creator. But would we fit in there? “And see, I am coming speedily, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according to his work. I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Taw’, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city. But outside are the dogs and those who enchant with drugs, and those who whore, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and all who love and do falsehood.” (Revelation 22:12-15). (Dogs: figuratively, see Proverbs 26:11 and 2 Peter 2:22). …. We must give Elohim a chance. To not, is not only to judge perfection, but also to reject Him before knowing Him.
Some may say, “I am so vile you wouldn’t want to even eat with me.” but the Saviour didn’t just eat with sinners, He went out of His way to do so! The whores and thieves were not dead, only sick and in need of the healing Messiah, but many of those who thought themselves great or without need were dead inside. They just didn’t know it, for if they had, they too would have called out the Messiah’s Name, Yahoshuah, in hunger, and they too would have been given eternal food. Yet not all people know to ask.
And so I ask, seekers both new and old, if you will consider, not with an ever-fickle mind if there is a Creator Who loves you, but rather subject your heart and see if His refining fire is true. We can come up with reasons to lie, cheat, and even murder, with our mind, as well as equal reasons to not do so, but with His Spirit we can know the Truth. Try to logically prove, outside of Scripture, that murder is morally wrong, and you will fail. Other than the reality of an Elohim, Who declares murder to be morally wrong, there is no compelling logical reason for us to believe it is wrong. If our lives have no inherent purpose or value, we are only kidding ourselves when we establish an idea of morality, for it is the opinion of one man versus another.
Will your heart be saturated by evil, or will you choose this day to call upon the Saviour for salvation? Will you allow Him to be a guide in your life? For many, their heart calls them to this, but they are governed by selfishness, disillusioned in alleged knowledge, or perhaps are too comfortable in their traditional faith to even see Him. But, I urge you to ask with your heart, “Is this Creator My Father? Should I subject my heart in love to He Who loved me first?”
“We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19).
Unless your answer is yes, take your time before saying no. “For the wages of sin is death, but the favourable gift of Elohim is everlasting life in Messiah Yahoshuah our Master.” (Romans 6:23). Life is before you. Hope is within grasp. Please, consider the mystery graspable by that which is superior to your mind, your very heart. “For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only brought-forth Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but possess everlasting life. For Elohim did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17).
No matter how worthless we feel, the Saviour still longs for us. He made you, after all. While we cannot fathom His love, let us not try to ignore the unfathomable. Rather, allow Him to explain in His own Words without private interpretation. He is longing to introduce Himself to you. Even if you feel like you’re the worst of sinners.
“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says Yahoweh: ‘though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they will be as wool.’” (Isaiah 1:18).
Life in this world is like being overboard in the middle of the ocean. The storm will claim our very lives, and we yearn for salvation. We look up and behold the Messiah throwing us a life preserver from the side of a great and tall ship. Oh, many see that life preserver sitting just inches from them, but never take hold. We must participate in our own rescue. We must accept that lifeline. Yes, it is by His Power that He pulls us up. It is His—all of it … but we must choose to take hold.
Life in this world is like crawling in the heat of a sandstorm, starving and being overcome with thirst. Our lack will claim our very lives, and we yearn for salvation. We look up and behold the Messiah is handing us bread and water. Oh, many look to that simple meal of nourishment, but refuse to partake; they refuse even though they know they will die without what is offered. We must participate in our own rescue. We must accept that Bread of Life and Living Water. Yes, it was He Who came to us. It is His—all of it … but we must choose to accept.
Life in this world is not life at all. Ah, but when we take that life preserver—what then once aboard His ship? Do we ask for drinks and a comfortable bed, or do we get to work by handing the Messiah those life preserves to be thrown, by calling to Him, “Here, My Saviour—here is another one about to drown!” Do we take that Bread and Water and walk away … back into the dessert? Or do we walk with Him in that sandstorm—ever certain that we place our feet into His very footsteps?
How can we be with Him in Heaven, if we refuse to walk with Him here? We must walk with Him, even though the path is wrought with imagined and temporary peril. We must walk in peace and forgiveness to whores and tax collectors, give from our crop to widows, orphans, and foreigners, we must walk with Him to that cross and beyond—not for the reward at the end … but to be with Him every step of the way.
How do we accept Him? There are many steps in the path of Salvation, but all those who truly participate will be rewarded regardless. To start the journey read this prayer, which is simply speaking to your Creator Who wants to hear from us, and then run the race, in wisdom and understanding, in the Peace of His Love. Read this prayer to yourself first, then close your eyes, fold your hands, say your own prayer, and begin life:
“Okay. Creator of the Universe? I believe in You and I know You must have a plan for our salvation because You love us. You love me. Therefore, I accept Your Son as my King and ask for Your Spirit to guide me so I may become a better and better friend of Yours. I am a sinner, and I ask You to forgive me of all that I have done wrong, even the things I wrongfully thought were right. Show me that Your love can still be had even in the darkest times, and help me to not forget You even in the best of times. I am new at this, but please remind me to pray, and help me to understand Your Words so that I can live by Your noble Truth. Lead me to Your path, the path away from evil. Teach me. Please accept me, for I desire to be Your child, as I have heard that if I am your adopted child, then I am a child indeed, and if a child indeed, then an heir to the eternal kingdom of Elohim. I don’t understand all of this yet, and may never fully, but meekly in Your Name, Yahoweh, and the Name of Your Son, Yahoshuah, I ask for the joy of knowing, and being known by, Your Set Apart Spirit. Amen.”
“And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13). “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am El, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:22). “Because the gate is narrow and the way hard pressed which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14). “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Master: walk as children of light. For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” (Ephesians 5:8-9). “And the taught ones were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52).
So are you now saved? Saved are those who are loved first, and so truly love in return. Grow humble faith bold enough for works, dear friends, for: Happy are they that find out how to love. Joyous are those who seek. But for those whose heart tastes love, but then later rejects Him for another … only bitterness remains. Give Him time. Give Him time. “Because the carnal mind is hostile against Yahoweh: for it is not subject to the Torah of Yahoweh, and those who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim.” (Romans 8:7-8).
… The journey has begun. The fire has been lit. I hope this book will help you with an understanding of the traps along the way, but far above this collection of letters, I know for certain that His Word will help you. Give the Creator a chance; give Him time, as He has given you time. Forfeit frustration and accept His peace. And while in this lifetime we will still have troubles and tribulations, the gift of His footsteps leads us to answers and hope. Enjoy some time in the first Book of the Bible, Genesis, in heart, and stay away from the shifting shades of men’s arrogance of self-acclaimed sectioned off superiority. Read His Word as He intended it to be read, ever asking our Friend to guide us in love. I will share more with you very soon, for on the path of truth the deceiver has placed many detours.
Be Blessed and be a Blessing.
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
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Additional Scripture References:
Genesis, Exodus, Psalms 118-119, Proverbs 28:1, John, Roman 3:23, 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 2 Peter 1:10-11, 1 John 5:11, Revelation 21:7; thereafter, please begin reading the other Books of the Bible as the Holy Spirit leads.