Church of God's Children

Church of God's Children And grant to one another the gift of ultimate
forgiveness.

Christian Ministry focused on spreading the true and accurate word of God in every area to all of Gods Children,
and encouraging all to preach and to teach with kindness.

09/05/2026

Biblical Year 5787 Year Overview:
5787 at a glance

5787 begins with the seventh month, Tishrei, in the traditional numbering of the Hebrew year, while Torah identifies Aviv/Nisan as the first month.

The year is a cycle of:
Remember → Return → Dwell → Plant → Work → Count → Rejoice → Prepare

🍂 TISHREI — Month 7
September–October 2026

1 Tishrei — Yom Teru'ah
A sacred assembly and day of rest. The day of teru'ah/blasts.

10 Tishrei — Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement. Affliction/self-denial, cessation from ordinary work, and holy assembly.

15–21 Tishrei — Sukkot
Seven days of dwelling in booths and rejoicing before YHWH.

22 Tishrei — Eighth-Day Assembly

Theme:
Awaken → Repent → Dwell with YHWH → Rejoice

🌧️ CHESHVAN — Month 8
October–November

No appointed feast is commanded for this month.

This becomes a natural period for:

settling into the agricultural year

planting and cultivation

household order

stewardship

continuing the work begun after the appointed times

Theme:
Build

🕎 KISLEV — Month 9
November–December

The Torah does not designate a moed for Kislev.

Hanukkah occurs during Kislev/Tevet and is recorded in the later historical writings, including John 10:22.

Theme:
Dedication

❄️ TEVET — Month 10

December–January

A quieter month in the biblical appointed-time cycle.

Theme:
Endurance

🌱 SHEVAT — Month 11
January–February

The Torah does not establish a commanded feast for Shevat.

This is a useful agricultural period for considering:

trees

fruit

cultivation

future harvest

stewardship of creation

Theme:
Roots

🌸 ADAR — Month 12
February–March

5787 is a leap year, so there are two Adars:

Adar I
Adar II

This creates additional time before Nisan.

Purim occurs in Adar II in the traditional calendar, based upon the events recorded in Esther.

Theme:
Preservation

🌾 NISAN — Month 1
March–April 2027

This is extremely important.

Exodus 12:2 establishes Aviv/Nisan as the first month of the months.

Therefore, if we are speaking strictly from Torah:

Nisan is Month 1.

14 Nisan — Passover

Passover begins at the appointed time.

15–21 Nisan — Feast of Unleavened Bread

Seven days.

This is the great spring beginning of the biblical cycle.

Theme:
Deliverance → Separation → New Beginning

🌿 IYAR — Month 2
April–May

A month between Passover and Shavuot.

This is part of the counting period leading toward the next major appointed time.

Theme:
Counting & Preparation

🌾 SIVAN — Month 3
May–June

Shavuot

The Torah commands the counting of seven complete weeks and then the appointed gathering.

This is connected with:

firstfruits

harvest

giving

rejoicing

assembly

Theme:
Harvest → Firstfruits → Giving → Rejoicing

☀️ TAMMUZ — Month 4
June–July

No annual moed is commanded in Torah during this month.

Theme:
Watchfulness

🔥 AV — Month 5
July–August

No Torah-appointed feast occurs in this month.

Theme:
Remember

🌾 ELUL — Month 6
August–September 2027

The final month before Tishrei.

This is the preparation month.

It brings the year back toward:

Tishrei → Yom Teru'ah → Yom Kippur → Sukkot

Theme:
Preparation

🔄 Then the cycle returns

At the end of Elul:

1 Tishrei 5788

The seventh month begins again.

So the broad rhythm is:

TISHREI
Awaken
↓

CHESHVAN–ADAR
Work, build, preserve
↓

NISAN
Remember deliverance
↓

IYAR
Count
↓

SIVAN
Harvest and give
↓

TAMMUZ–AV
Continue and remember
↓

ELUL
Prepare
↓

TISHREI
And the cycle begins again.

🌳 Where 5787 sits in the Shmita cycle
This is especially important.
If following the established seven year cycle:
Hebrew Year Agricultural cycle

5783 Year 1
5784 Year 2
5785 Year 3
5786 Year 4
5787 Year 5
5788 Year 6
5789 Shmita — Year 7

So:
5787 = Fifth Year

It is not itself the Shmita year.

That makes 5787 a particularly useful year for preparation.

You still work the land, but you can begin intentionally preparing for the seventh-year rest coming in 5789.

📖 The Biblical Year in One Picture
TISHREI
Teru'ah → Kippur → Sukkot

CHESHVAN
Work

KISLEV
Dedication

TEVET
Endurance

SHEVAT
Roots

ADAR I & II
Preservation

NISAN
Passover → Unleavened Bread

IYAR
Counting

SIVAN
Shavuot → Firstfruits

TAMMUZ
Watch

AV
Remember

ELUL
Prepare

TISHREI 5788
Begin again

The central message of 5787
5787 is a year of working faithfully while preparing for rest.

It is not the Shmita year.
It is Year 5 of the seven-year agricultural cycle.

So the practical emphasis can be:
Work what YHWH has placed in your hands.
Steward what He has entrusted to you.
Give from your increase.
Honor His Sabbaths.
Observe His appointed times.
Prepare your household.
Prepare your land.
Prepare your resources.
Prepare your heart.

And remember:
“The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine.”
Leviticus 25:23

That is really the overarching principle behind the entire seven year cycle: we are stewards, not absolute owners.

Church of God's Children
Shepherd, Apostle Ina Draper

09/02/2026

THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF MARRIAGE: ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, ONE FLESH

Marriage was not designed by man. Marriage was designed by YHWH. Therefore, we do not get to redefine marriage according to culture, tradition, personal preference, or teachings that cannot be established from Scripture. We must go back to the beginning and allow YHWH's Word to establish the pattern.
Before the man and the woman existed as two separate persons, they existed together as one created human. Genesis 1:27 says that YHWH created humanity in His image, male and female. Genesis 5:2 says, “Male and female He created them, blessed them, and named them Adam when they were created.” Genesis 2 then describes the separation, when YHWH took from the man's tsela, his side or side portion and fashioned the woman. The Hebrew word tsela means “side,” and this gives us the picture of one original humanity being separated into man and woman. Therefore, their existence began together. The man did not exist for years before the woman was created. The woman did not enter creation years after the man. They originated together in the one created human.
There was no age difference between them at their beginning. Whatever age they were when YHWH created and separated them, they were that same age. They had one beginning because they had one origin. This is important when we talk about the original marriage bond. The original man and woman were not created as an older husband and a younger wife.
They were not created as two people separated by decades. They were one created humanity, male and female, separated into two persons and then brought together as one covenant flesh. Genesis 2:24 establishes the marriage pattern: a man leaves his father and mother, is joined to his wife in holy covenant and the two become one flesh. Notice the language: the two.
Marriage is not presented as one man with multiple wives or one woman with multiple husbands. The foundational pattern is one man and one woman becoming one flesh. When Yeshua spoke about marriage, He went back to this beginning. He pointed people back to the Creator's design: male and female, and the two becoming one. Therefore, multiple husbands or multiple wives cannot be presented as the original creation pattern.
Scripture records men who had multiple wives, but a recorded practice is a commandment, nor was it God's plan. This distinction is absolutely necessary. Something being recorded in the Bible does not mean YHWH commanded it.
The Bible records human actions, human failures, human choices, historical circumstances, and marriages that occurred under circumstances that are not the Fathers design.
David had multiple wives. Jacob had multiple wives. Solomon had many wives and concubines. Their existence in the biblical record does not transform polygamy into YHWH's original marriage command.
Likewise, the fact that a marriage is recorded in Scripture does not mean every circumstance surrounding that marriage is a divine requirement. This applies directly to the teaching of age gaps in churches. The teaching that men are supposed to marry women substantially younger than themselves is not established by the creation account.
It is not a commandment or recommendation from YHWH. It is not stated as the required pattern for marriage. And it should not be preached as though Scripture established it.

In fact, Scripture gives us remarkably few explicit husband wife age differences.
Only one, Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, giving them an explicit ten year age difference.

Scripture does not say, “This is the age difference husbands and wives should have.” It simply records their ages.

Ruth 3:10 describes Ruth as not going after younger men, she stayed with her own age group.

Notice the words it actually says. She did not go after a younger man, that means younger than her. She stayed within her age.

Boaz and Ruth cannot be used honestly to establish a doctrine that older men are supposed to marry substantially younger women.

There is only one clearly stated numerical husband wife age gap in the biblical record that we can identify with certainty: Abraham and Sarah, ten years.

Even that is a record, not a command. This is where teachers must be careful.

Narrative is not instruction. Record is not command. Example is not law. Permission is not purpose.

Tradition is not truth.

And something being found in Scripture does not mean YHWH is telling everyone to reproduce it.

If YHWH commanded it, obey it. If Scripture records it, understand it.

But do not take something merely recorded and turn it into a commandment YHWH never gave. The question is not, “Can I find somebody in the Bible who did this?” The question is, “Did YHWH command this?” If the answer is no, then we must stop calling it a command from God.

This applies to multiple wives. It applies to multiple husbands. It applies to large age gaps. It applies to every human tradition that has been placed on people as though YHWH Himself established it.

Marriage belongs to YHWH because YHWH designed it. His original pattern begins with one created humanity, male and female, one origin, one beginning, no age difference between them at creation, separated into man and woman, and then brought together as two becoming one holy covenant flesh.

That is the foundation we can actually see in Genesis.
We cannot take something recorded and make it a command.
We cannot take somebody's personal preference and give it the authority of YHWH.
We cannot take a cultural teaching from the church and call it biblical simply because someone found a record of one age gap in the Bible. Many grave sins and transgressions are recorded in the Bible

Go back to Genesis. Go back to the beginning. Go back to what YHWH actually said. Let every word mean what it says.

Church of God's Children
Shepherd, Apostle Ina Draper

08/22/2026

TEACHING LETTER TO THE BELOVED
Let Every Word Mean What It Says

To the Beloved:
You are supposed to preach and teach the Word.
That is the calling.
That is the assignment.
That is the responsibility.

And if we are going to preach and teach the Word, then we must actually use the Word.

We cannot take Scripture and make it say what we want it to say.

We cannot take a word and give it a meaning that the word does not have.

We cannot take one Scripture and use it to erase another.

Let every word mean what it says.
The Scripture is true.
We must honor it enough to leave it alone.

THE WORD SAYS GIVE
The Word tells us to give.
We are instructed to bring our tithes.
We are instructed to give offerings.
We are instructed to give generously.
And we are instructed to give from our hearts.

Paul says:
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7

Giving is biblical.
Tithing is biblical.
Offerings are biblical.
Generosity is biblical.

We should not teach people that giving is wrong.
But we must also teach them how Scripture says giving is to take place.

FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE

Yeshua said:
“Freely you have received, freely give.”
Matthew 10:8

That is not a complicated statement.
Freely received.
Freely give.
The Word was not purchased.
The Gospel was not purchased.
Salvation was not purchased.

The servant did not buy the revelation from the Father.

Therefore, the servant cannot put a price upon delivering what he freely received.

Paul even said:
“That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge.”
1 Corinthians 9:18

Without charge.
Let the words mean what they say.
We cannot turn without charge into with a required charge.
We cannot turn freely give into pay me before I give it.
That is changing Scripture.

BUT WHAT ABOUT DOUBLE HONOR?
Now we must address another Scripture honestly.

Paul wrote:
“Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.”
1 Timothy 5:17

This Scripture is real.
We cannot ignore it because it does not fit our argument.
We must use it.
But we must also allow the word honor to mean what it says.

Honor is honor.
It does not mean wage.
It does not mean salary.
It does not mean payment for preaching.

The verse says:
double honor.
It does not say:
double wages.
It does not say:
salary.
It does not say:
charge the congregation for preaching.
It says:
honor.

And we must let the word remain the word.

HONOR AND WAGES ARE NOT THE SAME WORD

This is where we have to stop mixing words together.

Scripture uses the word honor.
Scripture also uses the word wages.
They are not the same word.

Yeshua said:
“The worker is worthy of his wages.”
Luke 10:7

There is the word:
wages.
Paul says:
“Let the elders ... be counted worthy of double honor.”
1 Timothy 5:17

There is the word:
honor.
If Scripture meant to say wages, it would say wages.
If Scripture says honor, then let us say honor.

We should not replace one word with another because we want to reach a particular conclusion.

Honor means honor.
Wages mean wages.
An offering is an offering.
A tithe is a tithe.
A gift is a gift.

Let every word remain what it is.

HONOR CAN INCLUDE MATERIAL HONOR

THE WORKER IS A WORKER

Yeshua said:
“The worker is worthy of his wages.”
Luke 10:7

A worker is a worker.
A wage is a wage.
If you have a trade, you can work your trade.
If you are a carpenter, you can be paid for carpentry.
If you are a plumber, you can be paid for plumbing.
If you are a farmer, you can receive the fruit of your labor.
If you have a legitimate occupation, there is nothing wrong with receiving wages for that labor.

But we cannot take:
“The worker is worthy of his wages”
and automatically rewrite it as:
“Every pastor must receive a salary for preaching.”

The Scripture did not say that.
Let the Scripture speak for itself.

THE PASTOR IS NOT AN OX

Paul also wrote:
“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.”
1 Corinthians 9:9

An ox is an ox.
We do not need to change it.
We do not need to say that the word ox literally means pastor.
It does not.
An ox is an ox.

Paul used the actual law concerning an ox in his argument.
We must be careful not to take the verse and manufacture a definition that Scripture itself does not give.
Let an ox be an ox.

THE SHEPHERD IS THE SHEPHERD

The shepherd is called to shepherd.
Peter says:
“Shepherd God’s flock among you.”
1 Peter 5:2

The shepherd is a leader.
The shepherd is not an employee hired by the sheep to perform religious services, a leared is over the flock, not employed by them.

The shepherd has been entrusted with the flock.
The shepherd is responsible to the Father.
The shepherd must live according to the Word.
The shepherd must be an example.
The shepherd must feed the sheep.
The shepherd must lead the sheep.
The shepherd must protect the sheep.

Peter specifically says:
“Not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.”
1 Peter 5:2

That is the heart of the shepherd.
To serve God.
Not to serve money.

MANY MINISTERS MINISTER WITHOUT RECEIVING OFFERINGS

There are ministers who continue to preach, teach, shepherd, disciple, pray, and serve even when they are not receiving offerings from the people they minister to.

Why?
Because they were called.
They are not preaching because there is money attached to the assignment, there is not.
They are preaching because the Father called them to deliver His Word.
The calling does not disappear because an offering does not come.

The Word still needs to be taught.
The sheep still need to be fed.
The Gospel still needs to be preached.

The minister who truly understands the calling knows:
This is about the Father.
This is about the Word.
This is about the sheep.
This is not about money.

SHEPHERDS MUST ALSO BE WILLING TO WORK WITH THEIR OWN HANDS

There is another principle we must not overlook.
Paul said:
“You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my own needs and for those who were with me.”
Acts 20:34

Paul worked with his own hands.
He did not consider manual labor beneath him.
He did not believe that being called to minister excused him from work.

He demonstrated that a servant of God can work with his own hands and provide for his own needs.

And Paul said:
“We worked hard and long with our own hands.”
1 Corinthians 4:12

This is part of the example.
The shepherd does not become less spiritual because he works.
The shepherd does not become less called because he has a trade.
The shepherd does not become less of a minister because he earns his bread through honest labor.
There is dignity in honest work.

THE SHEPHERD CAN WORK AND STILL SHEPHERD

We have created a false idea that says:
“If you are truly called, the church must pay you.”

But that is not Scripture.
Paul worked.
Others worked.
Many ministers today work.
And they still preach,
For clarity, all shepherds minister full time.
They still teach.
They still shepherd.
They still serve.

Because the calling is not dependent upon a paycheck.
If the Father called you to preach, you preach.
If He called you to teach, you teach.
If He called you to shepherd, you shepherd.

Whether someone gives you an offering or not, the Word remains the Word.

THE FATHER IS THE PROVIDER

The Father is everyone's Provider.
He can provide through a congregation.
He can provide through a job.
He can provide through a trade.
He can provide through farming.
He can provide through family.
He can provide through another person.
He can provide through resources.
He can provide without money ever entering the equation.

Therefore, the servant does not have to put financial pressure upon the sheep.

The Father is capable of providing.

LET THE SHEEP GIVE FROM THE HEART

And the sheep should give.
Give your tithe.
Give your offering.
Give generously.
Give cheerfully.

Give because the Father has placed it upon your heart.

But do not allow anyone to convince you that you must purchase the Word.

Do not allow anyone to make you feel that you have to pay to receive what the Father commanded His servant to give freely.
The Word is free.

Your giving is between you and the Father.

IF THE CHURCH WANTS TO HONOR ITS LEADER

If the church decides that it desires to support its shepherd, let them.

There is nothing wrong with the people choosing to support their leader.

There is nothing wrong with a shepherd receiving what people freely give.

There is nothing wrong with material support when it is genuinely given.

But the distinction must remain:
They chose to give.
It was not demanded.
They chose to honor.
It was not extracted.
They chose to support.

It was not made the price of ministry.
That distinction matters.

IF THE LEADER DEMANDS IT
(Leave that place immediately)

When the shepherd makes money a requirement for delivering the Word, we have crossed a line.

When the shepherd says:
“Pay me and I will preach.”
When the shepherd says:
“Give this amount before I minister to you.”
When the shepherd continually pressures the sheep for money.
When the shepherd makes financial giving the condition for receiving the Word.
We are no longer simply talking about people freely honoring or supporting their leader.

We are talking about the servant placing a price upon what he was commanded to give freely.
And that is exactly what we must not do.

This applies to all ministers not just leaders

LET US USE EVERY WORD AS IT ACTUALLY IS

Beloved, this is the teaching.
We must stop twisting Scripture.
We must stop changing definitions.
We must stop taking one word and making it another word.

Honor is honor.
Wages are wages.
Giving is giving.
Receiving is receiving.
A tithe is a tithe.
An offering is an offering.
A gift is a gift.
An ox is an ox.
A worker is a worker.
Support is support
A shepherd is a shepherd.
Choice is choice
And the Word is the Word.
Freely is freely

We are supposed to preach it.
We are supposed to teach it.
We are supposed to live it.
We are supposed to honor it.

And when Scripture says:
“Freely you have received, freely give,”

we should not explain that away.
When Scripture says:
“Bring the whole tithe,”
we should not explain that away.
When Scripture says:
“Give ... not under compulsion,”
we should not explain that away.

When Scripture says:
“Double honor,”
we should not turn honor into wages.
When Scripture says:
“The worker is worthy of his wages,”

we should not turn any shepherd into an employee, they are leaders over, not employed under.

When Scripture says:
“You shall not muzzle an ox,”
we should not turn an ox into something it is not.
Let every word mean what it says.
Let every Scripture remain in its place.
Let the shepherd live holy.

Let the shepherd work with his own hands when necessary.

Let the sheep give from their hearts.
Let the church honor its leaders.
Let the Gospel remain without charge.
And let the Father remain the Provider.

We do not bend the Word to fit our lives.
We bring our lives into alignment with the Word.
That is what it means to honor Scripture.
In the name of Yeshua.

Church of God's Children
Shepherd, Apostle Ina Draper

08/17/2026

A TEACHING LETTER TO THE BELOVED

The Shemitah,
The Fall of Empires, and the Great American Eclipse

Beloved,
I want you to consider something that is both sobering and worthy of careful attention.

Every evil empire has fallen in a Shemitah year.
And before its fall, there was an eclipse marking the season.
This is not something I want you to look at casually.
The Shemitah is the seventh year, the year of release and rest. It is not simply a year in which the land happens to rest.

The Shemitah itself is an offering to the Father.
For six years, the land could be cultivated. But in the seventh year, it was to rest.
“But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to YHWH.”
Leviticus 25:4
The land was being offered back to the One to whom it already belonged.
The people were required to stop their normal cycle of production and trust the Father.
The Shemitah was therefore an act of obedience, surrender, trust, and acknowledgment:
“Father, this belongs to You.”
And when we look at the rise and fall of earthly empires, we should remember that no empire is eternal.

Every evil empire eventually falls.
Every system that exalts itself eventually comes down.
Every kingdom of man eventually discovers that it is not sovereign.
And this is where the pattern becomes something we should examine carefully.
Every evil empire has fallen in a Shemitah year.
And the falls have been marked by celestial signs, particularly eclipses, before the fall.

Now, I want you to remember something that happened in our own generation.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE?
On August 21, 2017, America experienced the Great American Eclipse.
The nation watched as the moon passed between the earth and the sun.
The heavens went dark in the middle of the day.
People across America stopped what they were doing and looked upward.
Then, seven years later, on April 8, 2024, another great total solar eclipse crossed the United States.
Two extraordinary eclipses.
Seven years apart.
And now look at where we are.
5787.

5787 is a Shemitah year.
It begins at sunset on September 11, 2026.
We are approaching another seventh year cycle.
And this is why I want you to remember the eclipse.
I want you to remember the seven-year pattern.
I want you to remember the Shemitah.
And I want you to understand that the Shemitah is not merely about the land.
It is an offering to the Father.

It is the acknowledgment that He owns the land.
He owns the increase.
He owns the time.
He owns the seasons.
And ultimately, He is the One who determines the rise and fall of kingdoms.

The question before us is not simply, “Will America fall?”
The greater question is:
What is the Father showing us about the temporary nature of earthly kingdoms?
And what are we offering Him?
Because if the Shemitah is an offering, then we must understand that the Father is not merely looking at a calendar.
He is looking at obedience.
He is looking at trust.
He is looking at whether His people understand that what we possess is not ultimately ours.

The Shemitah says:
Release it.
Rest it.
Return it.
Trust ME.
And when we see the patterns of history, we should not respond with fear.

We should respond with reverence.
We should watch.
We should remember.
We should examine.
We should prepare.
The eclipse does not have power over us.
The calendar does not have power over us.
An empire does not have power over us.

YHWH is sovereign.
The heavens belong to Him.
The earth belongs to Him.
The nations belong to Him.
And every earthly empire is temporary.

So as we approach 5787, I want you to remember what the Shemitah represents.
It is the seventh year.
It is a year of rest.
It is a year of release.
It is a year of surrender.
And it is an offering to the Father.

So remember the Great American Eclipse.
Remember what happened in 2017.
Remember what happened again in 2024.
Remember the seven year pattern.
Remember that 5787 is a Shemitah year.

And remember the pattern of earthly empires:
They rise.
They become powerful.
They exalt themselves.
And they fall.

But the Kingdom of YHWH does not fall.
Therefore, beloved, do not look at 5787 with fear.
Look at it with reverence.
Look at it with discernment.
Look at it understanding that the Father has established times and seasons.

And above all, remember this:
The Shemitah is an offering.
The question is not only what may happen to an empire.

The question is:
What will you offer the Father?
What will you surrender?
What will you release?
What will you allow to rest?
What will you place back into His hands?

Because the Shemitah teaches us something that every empire eventually learns:
Nothing belongs to us forever.
But everything belongs to Him.
And when we understand that, we can enter 5787 not in fear of what may fall,
but in reverence for the One who remains.

YHWH alone is King.

Church of God's Children
Shepherd, Apostle Ina Draper

08/14/2026

TEACHING LETTER TO THE BELOVED

ELUL
THE MONTH OF RETURN

Come Near. Be Examined. Be Restored. Become One.
Beloved,
There are seasons when the Father calls us to do.
And there are seasons when He calls us to stop.
To become still.
To listen.
To examine.
To return.
Elul is such a season.

It is a precious threshold standing before the appointed times of Tishri. It invites us to slow down and prepare our hearts, not merely by learning about the month, but by living differently because we have entered it.

Elul is traditionally associated with teshuvah, the turning and returning of the heart to YHWH. The traditions surrounding this month include practices of confession, seeking forgiveness, increased prayer, examination, charity, reconciliation, and the sounding of the shofar.

These traditions do not replace Scripture, but are built upon it.
When practiced with understanding, they can become holy disciplines that train the heart to return.
Elul is not about becoming religious.
It is about becoming available to the Father again.

BELOVED, COME BACK
Perhaps you have been walking with the Father for years.
Perhaps you have served.
Perhaps you have taught.
Perhaps you have prayed for others.
Perhaps you have carried responsibilities that few people know about.
But Elul asks you a question that reaches beneath your public life:
How is your heart?
Not your ministry.
Not your reputation.
Not your appearance.
Not what other people think of you.
Your heart.

Psalm 139 gives us the prayer:
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

This is an Elul prayer.
Do not be afraid to pray it.
Because the Father cannot heal what we refuse to let Him reveal.

LET HIM SEARCH YOU
Beloved, there are things we will never see about ourselves until we are willing to become still.
There are attitudes that hide beneath good behavior.
There are wounds that disguise themselves as wisdom.
There are fears that disguise themselves as discernment.
There are prideful places that disguise themselves as strength.
There are offenses that disguise themselves as boundaries.
There are habits we call “personality” that the Father may be asking us to surrender.
This is why Elul requires holy honesty.

Ask:
Father, what have I become accustomed to that You never asked me to accept?
Where have I compromised?
Where have I become hard?
Where have I stopped listening?
Where have I allowed offense to remain?
Where have I been obedient publicly but disobedient privately?
What have I refused to surrender?

Then wait.
Do not immediately defend yourself.
Do not explain.
Do not justify.
Listen.

TESHUVAH, TURNING HOMEWARD
Teshuvah is more than feeling sorry.
It is returning.
If you have walked away, return.
If you have compromised, return.
If you have become distracted, return.
If you have become cold, return.
If you have neglected prayer, return.
If you have neglected the Word, return.
If you have allowed the cares of life to become louder than the Father's voice, return.
The Father is not calling you to perform your way back to Him.
He is calling you to turn your heart toward Him.

Joel 2:12 says:
“Even now, this is YHWH's declaration, turn to Me with all your heart…”

Notice:
all your heart.
Not part.
Not Sunday's heart.
Not ministry's heart.
Not the portion you are willing to surrender.
All.

THE KING IS IN THE FIELD
There is a beautiful later Jewish tradition associated with Elul known as:
“The King is in the field.”
It pictures a king leaving his palace and coming into the field where his people are working, making himself accessible to them.
This is tradition, not a biblical statement about Elul.
But the picture gives us something precious to contemplate:
Do not imagine the Father as unreachable.
Meet Him in your ordinary life.
Meet Him while you work.
Meet Him while you walk.
Meet Him while you prepare food.
Meet Him while you serve your family.
Meet Him while you care for the land.
Meet Him in the quiet moments when nobody else is watching.
The Father is not confined to an assembly.
He is not merely encountered during a formal service.
He desires your whole life.
So go outside.
Walk slowly.
Look at what He created.
Pay attention.
Be quiet.
And say:
“Father, I am here. Help me become aware of You.”
Then listen.

SEEK HIS FACE
Psalm 27 contains one of the most beautiful invitations for this season:
“My heart says this about You: ‘Seek His face.’ YHWH, I will seek Your face.”

Beloved, there is a difference between seeking the Father's hand and seeking His face.
His hand represents what He gives.
His face represents Himself.
Many people seek Him because they want an answer.
They want provision.
They want healing.
They want direction.
They want restoration.
But Elul calls us deeper:
What if you sought Him simply because He is worthy of being sought?
What if your prayer became:
“Father, I don't want merely what You can give me. I want to know You.”
That is intimacy.

THE SHOFAR, WAKE UP
The traditional sounding of the shofar during Elul gives us another powerful picture.
The shofar is a wake-up call.
It is a summons.
A warning.
An announcement.
So when you hear the shofar, let it ask you:
Are you awake?
Awake to your calling?
Awake to your condition?
Awake to your relationships?
Awake to your compromises?
Awake to the season?
Awake to the Father's voice?
Do not let the shofar become background noise.
Let it interrupt you.
Let it make you stop.
Let it make you remember:
I am accountable to the One who gave me life.

THE WALL MUST BE FINISHED
One of the most remarkable biblical connections to Elul is found in Nehemiah.
The wall of Jerusalem was completed on the 25th day of Elul.
The work was opposed.
Nehemiah was pressured.
He was threatened.
He was distracted.
He was invited to come down from the work.
His response was:
“I am doing a great work and cannot come down.”

Beloved, hear this:
Finish what the Father actually assigned you.
Elul asks:
What have you left unfinished?
What obedience have you postponed?
What conversation needs to happen?
What responsibility have you neglected?
What boundary needs to be restored?
What work needs to be completed?
What has the Father already told you to do?
Stop waiting for a new instruction while ignoring the last one.
Finish the wall.

GUARD YOUR GATES
A wall without guarded gates is not protection.
So examine your gates.
What are you allowing into your:
eyes?
ears?
mouth?
mind?
home?
relationships?
calendar?
finances?
spirit?
Beloved, not everything deserves access to you.
Not every voice deserves your attention.
Not every relationship deserves unrestricted access.
Not every conversation deserves your participation.
Not every opportunity is an assignment.
Sometimes holiness looks like separation.
Sometimes obedience sounds like no.
Sometimes wisdom requires you to close a gate.
Elul is a beautiful time to rebuild the walls.

REPAIR WHAT YOU CAN
Do not enter a new season carrying offenses you could have released.
Ask:
Who do I need to forgive?
And then ask the harder question:
Who do I need to ask forgiveness from?
Those are not the same thing.
If you have wronged someone, humility may require you to acknowledge it.
Not explain it away.
Not blame someone else.
Not say, “I'm sorry you felt that way.”
But:
“I was wrong.”
And when restitution is appropriate, make restitution.
When reconciliation is possible, pursue peace.
When reconciliation is not safe or wise, forgiveness can still happen without reopening the door to harmful access.
Forgiveness does not abolish discernment.
It releases vengeance.

GIVE IN SECRET
Elul is also an opportunity to practice generosity.
Give.
Bless.
Serve.
Help.
But do something especially powerful:
Bless someone who cannot give you anything in return.
Do something nobody knows about.
Give quietly.
Serve without recognition.
Let the Father alone know.
This breaks the hunger for applause.
And slowly teaches the heart:
His approval is enough.

BECOMING ONE
Beloved, this is where Elul becomes deeper than repentance.
Yeshua prayed:
“May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.”
John 17:21
This is the direction we are moving toward.
Not becoming the Father.
Not losing our identity as His creation.
But becoming increasingly one with Him in love, obedience, purpose, and character.
His ways becoming our ways.
His Word becoming our standard.
His heart shaping our heart.
His holiness confronting our compromise.
His love teaching us how to love.
His truth correcting us when we are wrong.
His presence becoming more valuable than distraction.
That is what it means to walk deeply with Him.

BELOVED, DO NOT RUSH ELUL
Don't rush through this month checking boxes.
Don't turn it into another religious program.
Don't collect traditions without allowing them to transform your character.
Slow down.
Let the month teach you.
Let the silence teach you.
Let Scripture teach you.
Let the shofar wake you.
Let repentance humble you.
Let forgiveness free you.
Let generosity loosen your grip.
Let boundaries protect what is holy.
Let the Father's presence become precious again.

A DAILY ELUL PRACTICE
Beginning at sunset, close the biblical day intentionally.
Ask:
What am I thankful for?
What did I learn?
Where did I obey?
Where did I fail?
Who did I hurt?
Who do I need to forgive?
What do I need to repair?
What did the Father reveal about me today?

Then pray:
Search me, Father.
Expose what does not belong in me.
Give me courage to repent.
Give me humility to make things right.
Give me wisdom to guard the gates.
Give me strength to finish the work.
And teach me to seek Your face above everything else.
Then become quiet.

BELOVED, RETURN
Perhaps this is the greatest word of Elul:
Return.
Return to prayer.
Return to Scripture.
Return to obedience.
Return to humility.
Return to love.
Return to reverence.
Return to truth.
Return to the secret place.
Return to the Father.
You don't have to pretend you never wandered.
You don't have to hide.
You don't have to construct a religious appearance.
Turn around.
Come home.

The Father is calling you deeper.
And as you approach the appointed times, may you not merely arrive with clean hands and religious practices.
May you arrive with a searched heart.
A repentant heart.
A reconciled heart.
A humble heart.
A reverent heart.
A heart that can say:
“I am Yours.”
And then live as though it is true, because it is.

ELUL DECLARATION OF THE BELOVED
I will not allow this precious month to pass without returning.
I will seek the face of YHWH.
I will allow Him to search me.
I will not hide what He reveals.
I will repent where I have wandered.
I will forgive where I have held offense.
I will ask forgiveness where I have caused harm.
I will repair what I can repair.
I will guard the gates of my life.
I will finish the work assigned to me.
I will not come down from the wall because of distraction.
I will practice His presence in the ordinary places.
I will give without seeking applause.
I will listen before I speak.
I will seek His will before my own.
I will honor His Word.
I will walk in reverence.
I will enter the appointed times prepared.

And I will pursue becoming increasingly one with the Father in love, truth, holiness, obedience, character, and purpose.
This is my return.
This is my preparation.
This is my consecration.
This is my Elul.
In the name of Yeshua.

Church of God's Children
Shepherd, Apostle Ina Draper

Address

La Follette, TN

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 12pm
Wednesday 8am - 12pm
Friday 8am - 12pm
Sunday 8am - 12pm

Telephone

+18507808859

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