“And He gave SOME, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;” Ephesians 4:11 (emphasis added) 

God has given the Body of Christ the 5 fold ministry but not all are called to the 5 fold ministry.  

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-14.

God has warned His Children of false apostles and deceitful workers who transform themselves into the apostles of Christ. He has given us His Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us into all Truth. It is up to us to study the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into all Truths.  

Sadly, many are forever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth (2 Timothy 3:7) because they follow an experience centered gospel instead of a Jesus centered gospel and they are accursed (Galatians 1:8).  
“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the Truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

Allow me to be clear, if we do not want the Truth according to the Word of God, God will see to it that we are sent a strong delusion. We, each and every Believer (myself included), must decide today, while it is today, in Whom we are going to believe. There is a lost and dying world out there who need to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Who He is and what He did on Calvary’s Cross for whosoever will believe. STOP waisting precious time with the gold dust and angel feathers (angels don’t have feathers anyway) and start declaring the the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost. 
-Donna Clark Warren

“For by Grace are you Saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:8-10.

For BY GRACE through faith are we Saved,  not of works.  The Grace of God which Saves whosoever will believe is the same power of God which creates us unto good works in Christ Jesus.  These good works are the result of Salvation and never the cause.  God has ordained these good works unto each and every person through Christ Jesus.  Whether we accept them or not is up to us.  Questionnaires to determine our place in the Body of Christ will not reveal the good works God has ordained for us.  God is perfectly capable of revealing to us our particular good work and He will mold us into the new creature He has ordained us to be in Christ Jesus.  He will even use a donkey if necessary (Numbers 22:28-31).

It is only by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ, Who He is what He has done on Calvary’s Cross to free mankind from the power of sin and death, that we find what God has ordained for us that we should walk in them.  We are HIS workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.  Proper faith will always produce proper works.  Fight the good fight of faith…faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  Walk in His Grace according to His Will…not man’s will.

-Donna Clark Warren

“⁶ Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

⁷ For he that is dead is freed from sin.

⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over him.

¹⁰ For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He lives, He lives unto God.

¹¹ Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:6-11

As a born again Believer, we now know and understand the reality of the depth of our lost state before we came to Christ.  We know that we know that we are now alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Our old man is indeed crucified with Him and freed from sin.

However, it is here that the rubber meets the road.  Even though we now understand the reality of how lost we once were, in the present tense we fail to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.  We fail to understand just how saved we are through our belief in Jesus Christ and what He did on Calvary’s Cross.  Throughout most of our lives, we have grown to understand just how faithful the devil is to kill, steal and destroy but do we now know and understand just how faithful our Lord Jesus is to bring us life and life more abundantly?

Too often when trials and tribulations come,  we attempt to resist the devil instead of first submitting to God and then resisting the devil.  If we could just “resist the devil”, the Cross of Christ was in vain.  Allow me to be clear, the devil will not flee unless we are submitted to God through Jesus Christ.

If we do not reckon ourselves to be dead to sin through the finished work of Christ Jesus on Calvary’s Cross, the only alternative is to fight the battle to overthrow our sin nature ourselves which simply cannot be done…period.  This is a reality not an opinion or presumption.  It took the Cross of Christ to give us dominion over our sin nature (Romans 6:14).  Whether we believe (reckon) this to be true in our own hearts and on our own accord, determines whether or not we are free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).  40 days of purpose, 21 days of fasting, feasts, festivals, ceremonies, traditions or psychology cannot give us dominion over our sin nature; if they could the Cross of Christ was in vain.  God forbid, no.

“And He (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

Fight the good fight of faith daily.  Reckon your old man to be dead with Christ and live unto God through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Follow Him into Heavenly places. Faithful is He Who has called you to this glorious Salvation.  Stand still and you will see.

-Donna Clark Warren

“And you has He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

² Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:

³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,

⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, (by Grace you are saved;)

⁶ And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

⁷ That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His Grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:1-7.

Before we are born again, we are not alive unto God through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross but dead, spiritually dead, in trespasses and sins.  We walked according to the course of this world…according to the devil himself.  Sin was our teacher.  Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind are the goals of the unbeliever. Make no mistake, the desires of the flesh and mind do not always appear as evil.  However, they are indeed evil because they remain according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air.

Humanistic psychology is the course of this world to overcome sin.  We cannot mix the course of the world with the statutes of God and expect victory over the world, the flesh and the devil.  God will not share His glory with the world.  He does not need the world’s help to deliver His Children from bondage.  What He does need is His Children to believe His prescribed order of victory is the ONLY Way, the ONLY Truth and the ONLY Life.  Any other way is spiritual adultery.

What is God’s prescribed order of victory for the Believer?  Faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who takes away the sin of the world.  There is nothing else or no one else who can add to Jesus’ finished work for dominion over sin.  Jesus is the Source and Calvary’s Cross is the means by which the Child of God was and is delivered from the penalty of sin (death) and the dominion of sin.

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the Law, but under Grace.”  Romans 6:14.

Sadly, there are many who are being swept to and fro by every wind of doctrine in an attempt to gain victory.  They are fighting a fight that has already been won.  This should not be so!

The Lord is raising up a people who will bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified BACK to the church.  People are hungry for a move of God but they are committing spiritual adultery with the world to overthrow the sin which so easily besets us.  The leaders look to the numbers  and the numbers look to the leaders.  All the while, Jesus Christ stands at the door knocking.

“For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”  Romans 8:2

What I want you to know is the Holy Spirit is not commissioned to free the Child of God from the law of sin and death when they are looking to the course of this world to maintain victory.  This victory, which is freely given to whosoever will believe in the atoning work of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, did not stop working the day we were born again.  This victory works daily in the hearts and lives of the Believer to give them dominion over their sin nature when their faith remains placed solely and exclusively in the Cross of Christ.  There is simply no other way for the Spirit of God to free us from the law of sin and death unless we are looking to the One and the Way in which we are free…NOT the ways of the world for victory.

By faith through Grace we are raised up together to sit in heavenly places IN Christ Jesus. God wants to show His Children the exceeding riches of His Grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  Let me say that again, “in His kindness toward us THROUGH Christ Jesus.”   The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus makes us free from sin’s dominion through our faith in Christ Jesus…not psychology.

“Jesus said unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me.”  John 14:6

-Donna Clark Warren

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

² Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:1-2

Simple question; who is the author of your faith?  Have you ever considered who is actually authoring your faith?  Often we will find “we” are the author of our faith through our zealous self efforts.  We are fighting a fight that has already been won by Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross.  Instead of becoming a new creature in Christ through faith, we continue to try and improve the old creature through humanistic psychology wrapped in a religious package.

Run with patience the race that is set before you.  Fight the good fight of faith…faith in Jesus Christ, Who He is and what He has done on Calvary’s Cross for whosoever will believe.  Look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.

-Donna Clark Warren

“¹⁶ Now to Abraham and His Seed were the Promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your Seed, which is Christ.

¹⁷ And this I say, that the Covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the Law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the Promise of none effect.

¹⁸ For if the inheritance be of the Law, it is no more of Promise: but God gave it to Abraham by Promise.

¹⁹ Wherefore then serve the Law? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the Promise was made; and it was ordained by Angels in the hand of a mediator.

²⁰ Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.”  Galatians 3:16-20

The Promises of God are given to Believer’s through the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ.  If our inheritance be of the Law, it is no more of Promise.  The Law was added because of transgressions and could not bring life.

We cannot receive the Promises of God through the Law, 40 days of purpose, methods from the vanity of man’s mind (humanistic psychology), feasts, festivals or ceremonies. God gave the Promises to faithful Abraham and he believed God.

“⁶ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

⁷ Know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In you shall all nations be blessed.

⁹ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”  Galatians 3:6-9

Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith.  Many seek the Promises of God but have been led astray by religious works.  If our inheritance be of these various religious works, methods, feasts, etc. – they are no longer of Promise.

Fight the good fight of faith…faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning work on Calvary’s Cross.  The Lamb of God Who took away the sin of the world sits at the Right Hand of God searching the earth to and fro to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him (2 Chronicles 16:9).  Be blessed with faithful Abraham.

-Donna Clark Warren

“¹² When you come to appear before Me, who has required this at your hand, to tread My courts?

¹³ Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

¹⁴ Your new moons and your APPOINTED FEASTS My soul hates: they are a trouble unto Me; I am weary to bear them.

¹⁵ And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

¹⁶ Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

¹⁷ Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:12-17 (emphasis added).

The 4th Commandment was the only Commandment that was not a moral law but a ceremonious law and was never mentioned by our Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament.  They were types and shadows of our coming Messiah.  Why would a born again Christian follow the shadow of Jesus when they can have Jesus?  While many in the modern church are performing and teaching the shadow, Jesus is standing at the door knocking.

The Israelites had taken the feasts, which were in fact genuine and God given, and turned them into a mere of form of religion.  They began to look to the ceremony instead of what the ceremony represented…Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  With their mouths they worshipped God but their hearts were far from Him.  God called them an abomination to Him.

“This people draws near unto Me with their mouth, and honors Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”  John 4:23-24.

Make no mistake, the call of the Hebraics roots movement to perform the Jewish feasts are commandments of men, not God.  We are under Grace, not law.  One way for the Child of God to be cursed is to continue in the Law and not continue in all things which are written in the book of the Law.  Which leads me to the question of where they will perform their sacrifices?

“⁹ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”  Galatians 3:9-10.

The observance of the Jewish feasts by Believers in Jesus Christ are a mere form of religious activity and are in fact an insult to the Orthodox Jew.  The very Jews of Israel, in which we as Christians claim to support, are insulted by Gentiles partaking in their holy ceremonies.  Please keep in mind, the Orthodox Jew does not believe Jesus Christ to be their Messiah and these feasts and festivals remain to them a symbol of their coming Messiah.  What is holy to them, we are debasing.

“²³ But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him.

²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”  John 4:23-24.

If we do not want the Truth, according to the rightly divided Word of God, not opinions of man and search the Scriptures and study to show ourselves approved, the Lord will see to it we receive a strong delusion.  We can and should study the Jewish feasts ordained of God and what they represent.  However, that does not mean we have to partake in the feasts which had become an abomination to God and an insult to Israel.

*Personal note – my husband and I know a lady who started out in this Hebraics movement and now claims she is a Hebrew and Jesus Christ is not the Messiah. Somebody said “I would NEVER do that”….which is probably true. However, that does not mean that babe in Christ sitting next to you won’t be swept away by this seducing doctrine full of ancient Jewish mysticm…and if they do – their blood is on your hands.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, He did not abolish the Law.  Our Passover is a person, Jesus Christ – not a religious ceremony.  Seek Him, He is standing at the door knocking.

-Donna Clark Warren

“And Judah spoke unto him (Jacob), saying, The man (Joseph) did solemnly protest unto us, saying, You shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.” Genesis 43:3

To trust someone is to place confidence in them or to be able to rely on their ability. Forgiveness is to no longer resent another person or feel anger toward them.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  Matthew 6:14-16

If we do not forgive men our trespasses, neither will our Heavenly Father forgive us our trespasses.  However, we must recognize the difference between forgiveness and trust.  Joseph did not immediately trust his brothers when they came to Egypt.  He did not welcome them with open arms.  Joseph tested them.

There are evil people in this world today who want to kill, steal and destroy…they are satan’s pawns.  Both the Old and New Testaments are full of those who are enemies of God.  Ironically enough, the ones who were against God in the New Testament were in fact of the religious sect.

Allow me to be perfectly clear.  The Word of God says we are to FORGIVE those who trespass against us.  Nowhere have I found in the Word of God where we are commanded to place our trust in those who trespass against us.

There is a difference in forgiveness and trust.  Many in the modern church world have blurred the lines and have trusted the enemy.  Make no mistake, the enemy of our souls is faithful.  He can indeed be trusted to forever be our enemy.

Forgive those who trespass against you; not for their sake but for yours.  Declaring forgiveness does not constitute forgiveness.  Lack of resentment or anger toward them constitutes forgiveness.  Anger is a sin and there is but One Way that anger can be removed from our heart…Jesus Christ.  The fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much.  Instead of denying the resentment remains, even after the confession of forgiveness, ask the Lord to remove that anger from your heart and to help your unforgiveness.  God is searching to and fro to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him (2 Chronicles 16:9).   He is able to do exceeding and abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.

“¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named,

¹⁶ That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man;

¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

²¹ Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”  Ephesians 3:14-21.

…and Amen.

-Donna Clark Warren

“¹⁹ For I through the Law am dead to the Law, that I might live unto God.

²⁰ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

²¹ I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain.”  Galatians 2:19-21

Born again Believers are dead to the Mosaic Law “through the Law”.  The Mosaic Law is the porter (the Doorkeeper) which opened the door to “the Shepherd of the Sheep” Who calls His own and leads them out.

“ Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that enters not by the Door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

² But He that enters in by the Door is the Shepherd of the Sheep.

³ To Him the porter opens; and the Sheep hear His Voice: and He calls His own Sheep by name, and leads them out.” John 10:1-3.

Through faith placed in Jesus’ finished work on Calvary’s Cross, we are dead to the Law “through the Law” because Jesus Christ perfectly kept the Law.  We are in Him and He in us so that we may live unto God.

When we make laws to overthrow sinful behaviors (humanistic psychology) and obtain righteousness other than faith OF the Son of God, we are climbing up another way…we are as a thief and a robber.  The faith OF Jesus was by His perfect keeping of the Law and Sacrifice on the Cross, that whosoever believed in Him would be redeemed to God through His finished work on the Cross.  Jesus’ Resurrection is proof that every sin, not some sin, but EVERY sin was atoned for completely on Calvary’s Cross.   Knowing this, Who Jesus is and what He has done, there is no doubt as to His Resurrection.

We live by faith OF the Son of God, Who loves us and gave Himself for us.  We are alive unto God through our faith in Jesus Christ.  We are not alive unto God by understanding the mind of man, feasts, festivals, ceremonies and traditions but by simple faith in Jesus Christ, Who He is and what He has done on Calvary’s Cross for whosoever will believe.  Do not frustrate the Grace of God.  Righteousness does not come by the Law.  Live unto God by faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified…the faith of the Son of God and the power of God for those of us which are saved (1 Corinthians 1:18).

-Donna Clark Warren

“So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them.” Galatians 3:9-10.

As many modern churches partake in the Passover Feast, please consider what the Apostle Paul said to the Galatians.  One of the ways a Child of God can be cursed is by partaking in the works of the Law and not continuing in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them.  Which leads me to the question…where will the Sacrifices required by the law be performed by those partaking in the Jewish feasts?

The yamakas, prayer shawls and other Jewish traditions are an insult to the Orthodox Jews of Israel.  The Orthodox Jews deem us as unclean according to their Holy Scripture.  Which we would be if not washed by the Blood of Jesus Christ.  However,  the Orthodox Jews don’t believe Jesus to be their Messiah, therefore we are “unclean”.  The Hebraic Roots movement has taken what is holy to the Israelites (because they do not believe the New Testament to be of God) and seduced Believer’s (the unclean) to partake in their feasts, wear their prayers shawls, etc., etc.  This is insulting to them.

It is one thing to study and learn of these feasts.  They are all types and shadows of our Lord Jesus Christ.  However, it is all together different to partake in the feasts. Prayerfully consider.

 -Donna Clark Warren