R[hDl L@hPoR

about presents (plural) we get, but about Gods indescribable gift (singular), namely, Jesus Christ (i.e., 2 Corinthians 9:5). Even though He was not born on December 25 (i.e., more likely the 1st day of the Feast of Tabernacles), it is the day that has been set apart to celebrate His birth. Many people are willing to include Christ in CHRISTmas, as long as He stays a baby in a manger. 3. A Cross Celebration: Again, there is nothing wrong with the manger. A church in Windham has something called the Journey to Bethlehem every year, which my children and I enjoy going to. You pretend that you are part of a family taking a trip to the town where Jesus was born because of the Roman census. You come across Roman soldiers, magi, shepherds, angels, the crowded inn, and finally the manger scene. The problem is when we leave Jesus in the manger and we avoid the questions: Who is He? and Why did He come? We will be looking in detail concerning who He is, but He came to die for the sins of mankind on the cross. As the mass is a remembrance of Christs death, some are willing to go all the way to CHRISTMAS.

PART I - YAHUSHUA INTRODUCTION

Dont you wish you could read the title? Take my word for it - it represents the greatest news ever. Before I get to that, Id like to consider the objects in the picture: a Christmas tree, a manger, and a cross. One thing that they have in common is that they are made of wood (assuming the tree is not artificial). In these three wooden objects, I see three levels of Christmas celebration: 1. A Tree Celebration: About two-thirds of the households in this country put up some type of Christmas tree as part of their holiday decorations. Many of these households are composed of people who do not believe that God exists or that He is very important. For them, Christmas is essentially Xmas. 2. A Manger Celebration: There is nothing wrong with Christmas trees. Every year I enjoy going with my family to get a tree from the local Boy Scout troop and decorating it. The problem is when the celebration ends with the tree and the gifts under it. Christmas is not This brings us to the title of this devotion. The first word is eswhy or Yahushua. This is Jesus real name. In Hebrew, names have much more significance than in English. Often they tell us something about the person or more importantly about God. My name, for instance, means world ruler. Someone once jokingly gave me a coffee cup with my name and the following poem:
There are only two things that you ever demand To be in the lead and always take command You like to give direction and regulate You give orders well and like to delegate From asserting your power you cannot refrain For you are a leader and destined to reign.

I like the name Donald, but if you know me at all you know I am the very antithesis of that poem. But Yahushua tells a lot about the One whose birthday we are celebrating. The name Yahushua is made up of a proper name and a verb: hwhy and evy. The first part (Hebrew is read from right to left), hwhy, is the name of God or Yahweh. It is the name that is substituted for with the LORD in most English Bibles. The problem is the LORD

is a title, not a name. When Moses asked God what His name was, this is what God told him: I am that which I am. Thus you shall say to the children of Yisrael, I am has sent me to you. Thus you are to say to the children of Yisrael, Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Yitshaq (Isaac), and the Elohim of Yaaqob (Jacob), has sent me to you. (Exodus 3:14-15a) I am quoting from a version of the Scriptures that uses the Hebrew transliteration of Gods name and titles and peoples names. The title Elohim or Myhla is the Hebrew word that is most often translated God. I think it is important to understand the meaning of the word in order to understand who Yahushua is. Interestingly, Elohim is a plural word. The singular word is hla or Eloah, which when written in ancient pictographs is . The English word God is a fairly vague term. On the other hand, the Hebrew language is a very concrete language, which can be seen when you look at the ancient pictographs. Ancient Hebrews were an agricultural people raising livestock - the strongest being the ox. The letter is an oxs head and represents the idea of strength. A shepherds staff was a sign of his authority and was used to lead the sheep in the correct direction. The yoke is a staff used to direct the oxen. The letter represents the yoke as well as leadership. When the two letters are combined, the parent root is formed with the meaning of an ox in the yoke. It was common to place two oxen in the yoke when pulling a plow. An older, more experienced ox was matched with a younger inexperienced one so that the younger would learn the task of plowing from the older. This older ox in the yoke is the strong leader of the pair and was the ancient Hebrews concrete understanding of God. God is the older ox who teaches his people, the young ox, how to work. The ancient pictograph of the last letter is , a man with his arms raised up, shouting and pointing at a great sight as if to say, "behold, look at that". Therefore, the resultant meaning of Eloah is mighty One yoked to His people who stand in awe of Him. But why is the plural Elohim used? Even though it is a plural word, it generally takes singular verbs and adjectives, as though it were singular. It represents a group or family of powerful beings

united as one. It is a similar situation as the name of our country, United States of America. We would say, The United States is the worlds only superpower not the United States are the worlds only superpower. We are 50 states who stand together as one in our interactions with the rest of the world. One of the most important statements in the Old Testament is found in Deuteronomy: Hear, O Yisrael: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4) The word translated one is dxa or echad. It is used in another passage that is probably used or at least referred to in most wedding ceremonies: For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) The man and wife do not become one person, but the man and wife, who had lived separate lives up to the point of their marriage, become one unit or family. Likewise, Elohim is a family of divine beings Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Needless to say, there is much more meaning in the Hebrew Elohim than in the English God. This brings us back to Yahweh, the name of Elohim. What does the name mean? The key is found in Exodus 3:14 where Yahweh says to Moses to tell the Israelites that I am that which I am sent him. Elohim is whatever He wants to be; He is totally independent, while all else is dependent on Him. The Palestinian Targum (an early Aramaic translation of the Hebrew) states: And He said, This thou shalt say to the sons of Israel, I AM HE WHO IS, AND WHO WILL BE, hath sent me unto you. This is reminiscent of the words in the last book of the Scriptures: I am the Aleph and the Taw (i.e., the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet), Beginning and End, says Yahweh, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Rev. 1:8) The name of Elohim, Yahweh, tells us that He is before all things, that all things find their source in Him, that all things find their end in Him, that He is totally independent, and that He has always been and always will be. Again, the name Yahweh reveals much more than the title the LORD.

The second part of Yahushua is evy or yasha. The parent root is ev or in ancient pictographs. The first letter is a picture of two front teeth that are sharp for cutting. The second letter is a picture of an eye, which is used for watching. The combined meaning is sharp watching, like a shepherd watching intently over his flock. When a sheep is attacked or falls into trouble, because he has been watching, the shepherd is able to deliver and free it from the enemy or the difficulty. Therefore, Yahushua means Yahweh delivers. From what does He deliver? The angel that told Joseph not to fear to take Mary as his wife, also told him what to name the child: And she shall give birth to a Son, and you shall call His Name Yahushua for He shall save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21) The truth that we have in the name Yahushua is that a member of the Elohim family (Yahweh) came to earth to deliver us from the penalty we deserved because of our sins. How did He do this? We will take a look at that next.

Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we saw His esteem, esteem as of an only brought-forth of a father, complete in favor and truth. (John 1:1, 14) How could He be with Elohim and be Elohim? It is only possible because Elohim is a family of mighty ones. Yahushua Himself is an Eloah and He is with the two other Eloah, the Father and the Holy Spirit. Yahushua is the member of the Elohim family that became a man (i.e., became flesh). Why did He have to become a man? The answer is related to the penalty for sin. According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death. Sin requires the death penalty. If you are wondering if you are a sinner or not, the Apostle Paul has this to say in Romans 3:23, ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of Elohim. Ever since the fall of Adam, no man has been able to keep Elohims law or Torah and therefore all deserve to die. For this reason, Paul writes: For the Torah being powerless, in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim, having His own Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh. (Romans 8:3) So Yahushua became flesh, so that He might perfectly keep the Torah and then be condemned (bear the wrath of God) on our behalf. Paul writes this in another way: For He (the Father) made Him (the Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of Elohim. (2 Corinthians 5:21) On the cross, Yahushua essentially became the embodiment of sin and the Father poured out His wrath upon His Son, so that we might be forgiven. The prophet, whose name means the deliverance of Yahweh, put it this way: Despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and knowing sickness. And as one from whom the face is hidden, being despised, and we did not consider Him. Truly, He has borne OUR sicknesses and carried our pains. Yet we reckoned Him stricken, smitten by Elohim, and afflicted. But He was pierced for OUR transgressions, He was crushed for OUR crookednesses. The chastisement for OUR peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all, like sheep, went astray, each one of us has turned to his own way. And

PART II IMMANU-EL
The second part of the title is

L@hPoR or

Immanu-el. It comes from one of the most well known Christmas prophecies: Therefore Yahweh Himself gives you a sign: Look, the virgin conceives and gives birth to a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) It is interesting that Isaiahs name is really Yeshayahu. It is made from the same two words as Yahushua, but in the opposite order. Therefore, his name means the deliverance of Yahweh. Yeshayahu declares how Yahweh will deliver His people; Yahushua is Yahweh delivering His people. And so, one of His titles is Immanu-el - a combination of a preposition (Me, im) and a shortened form of Elohim (la el). The preposition means with and has suffix added which means us. Therefore, the title means, with us is El (God). Yahushua is not merely a man, but He is a member of Elohim. The Apostle John begins his gospel with these words: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. He was in the beginning with Elohim. And the

Yahweh has laid on Him the crookedness of US all. And as for His generation, who considered that He shall be cut off from the land of the living? For the transgression of My people He was stricken. And He was appointed a grave with the wrong, and with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was deceit in His mouth. But Yahweh was pleased to crush Him. (Isaiah 53:3-6, 8-10a) Yeshayahu (Isaiah) did not leave Yahushua as a baby in a manger (i.e., the Son of the virgin). You cannot miss the emphasis in this passage: OUR sicknesses, OUR pains, OUR transgressions, OUR crookedness, and the crookedness of US all. We deserved to be cut off from Elohim. However, Yahweh, because of His love for fallen man, was willing to punish His own Son in our stead. Yahushua, because of His love for fallen man, was willing to take that punishment in our stead. The Apostle Peter summarized it this way: Messiah (Hebrew for Christ) once suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to Elohim, having been put to death indeed in flesh but made alive in the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18) Christmas IS about a tree, but not an evergreen tree with decorations on it. Again, the Apostle Peter writes: Who Himself bore OUR sins in His body on the timber, so that we, having died to sins, might live unto righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your lives. (1 Peter 2:24-25) If you compare this passage with Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53, you can see that the Apostle is quoting the prophet. Peter refers to the cross as a tree. Christmas is about the tree that the Savior of the world hung upon to pay the sin debt of mankind. The Shepherd delivers the sheep by dying for them.

hidden their faces from Him, and have not considered Him worth the time of day. For many, Yahushuas English name (Jesus) is merely a curse word. Consider the day that Yahushua died. Many probably passed by thinking He was just another criminal who deserved to die. Others passing by blasphemed Him (Matthew 27:39-40). The chief priests mocked Him (Matthew 27:41-43). Of the two men who hung on crosses beside Him, one reproached and spoke evil of Him (Luke 23:39). However, unlike all of these, we read the following concerning the other crucified man: But the other, responding, rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear Elohim, since you are under the same judgment? And we, indeed, rightly so, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this One has done no wrong. And he said to Yahushua, Master, remember me when You come into Your reign. And Yahushua said to him, Truly, I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise. (Luke 23:40-43) The truth is Yahushua died for your sin. Will your response be one of apathy like some who had no idea who He was OR disdain like some who couldnt wait to get rid of Him OR heartfelt repentance, faith and worship like the criminal who received Him? My prayer is that the latter response has already been your response or will be. If anyone would like to talk about anything in this devotion or anything else about Yahushua, it would be my greatest joy to do so. Elohim Bless. O Come Let Us Adore Him! O Come Let Us Adore Him! O Come Let Us Adore Him! Christ the Lord!

Merry Christmas! In Yahushuas Love, Donald

SUMMARY YAHUSHUA IMMANUEL

Yahushua Yahweh delivers!! Immanuel With Us Is El!! Put it together and you have the Greatest News Ever. A member of the Yahweh family became a man to be with us, to die for us, to deliver us. What will be our response? Yeshayahu (Isaiah 53:4) prophesied that most have despised Him,