Introduction
     It is said that the source of our affections lies within our hearts. But this is humanity’s central problem: The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:4. (New American Standard Bible, 1995, used throughout.)
    Therein lies the problem, and figuratively speaking, what’s required is a heart transplant.
    At the beginning, because Adam and Eve yielded to the subtlety of Satan, what had been a paradise was cursed as a thorny and thistly world. And from that time until now, man has not trusted Yahweh but has instead forsaken the instructions of his Creator and looked to himself, declining to sensual desire with sin, and the destruction of much good, become the outcome.

Prioritizing Our Affections
     Some years ago, we conducted a Bible study on the topic of “Affections” using a resource called The New Topical Textbook (TNTT), which considered both the most important place upon which to set our affections and the worst possible place (Col. 3:1-2).
    Our inquiry begins with Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verses 3-6:
    O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do [it] (i.e., commandments, statutes, judgments), vss. 1-2, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers, has promised you, [in] a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our Elohim, Yahweh is one! You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
    Listening and being mindful of Yahweh’s commands helps us understand what it truly means to love Yahweh, our Elohim, with all our hearts, souls (better rendered as “beings’), and might. We are living beings, not beings with immortal souls. (Read or order our Mini-Study, Do You Have an Immortal Soul?)
    The second Scripture passage supporting the aforementioned from the TNTT is Mark 12:28-30:
    One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them (the Sadducees, verse 18) well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Yahshua answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! YAHWEH OUR ELOHIM IS ONE ELOHIM; AND YOU SHALL LOVE YAHWEH YOUR ELOHIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.
Essentially, what Yahshua said was that in the coming Kingdom, as well as in this present time, these two commandments were supreme above all – even paramount above offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33).
    Again, to reiterate, loving Yahweh with all of our heart is giving attendance to the commandments, statutes, and judgments He gives (Deut. 6:1-3). Yahweh further states that these are not beyond our reach today and will extend for a thousand generations, or in other words, forever (Deut. 7:9; 1 Chron. 16:14-17).

The Commandments (Not Just Ten)
     The TNTT rightly affirms our affections should be set upon the commandments, statutes, and judgments (not just the 10 Commandments) of Yahweh, and offers the following proof texts:
    The precepts of Yahweh are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Yahweh is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward, Psalm 19:8-11.
    My soul is crushed with longing after Your ordinances at all times. … O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. … How sweet are Your words to my taste! [Yes, sweeter] than honey to my mouth! … My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly, Psalm 119:20, 97, 103, 167.
    These verses were expressly chosen in the TNTT to highlight that keeping Yahweh’s laws, testimonies, and ordinances was at the forefront of the author’s affections, as it should be for us. These had a heart after Yahweh, and so should our beings … if also, we want to be Yahweh’s servants.
    Therefore, there is a great reward for keeping the commandments. Yahshua said there is eternal life for those keeping the commandments of Yahweh (Matt. 19:17).

    As a review, let us look at the specific renderings of the words highlighted in the afore-mentioned Scripture verses:
   • Precepts (H6490 piqqud /pik-kood): regulatory instructions for behavior.
   • Commands (H4687 mitsvah/mits-vaw; past tense, commanded, H6680 tsavah / tsaw-vaw): authoritative instructions.
   • Ordinances/Judgments (H4941 mishpat/ mish-pawt): authoritative orders from Yahweh, the latter as an assessment of a matter in a legal way.
   • Laws (H8451 torah/to-raw): instructions.
   • Words (H565) emrah/em-raw: commandment, speech, word
   • Statutes (H2708 chuqqah/khook-kaw; the singular is H2706 choq /khoke): instructive and basic regulative decrees.
   • Testimonies (H5713 edah/ay-daw; the singular is H5715 eduwth/ay-dooth) equated to witnesses of important things that are affirmed to be true.

    All Scripture is inspired by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of Elohim may be adequate, equipped for every good work, 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
    Obedience to all These is what Yahweh requires. In the Kingdom, Yahweh’s expectation is that all should learn These (Isa. 2).
Thus, considering that “all Scripture is inspired by Elohim” (1 Tim. 3:16), and recognizing that when the Apostle Paul wrote these words, the only texts available were the Hebrew Tanach, which comprises the Torah (the Law), the Nevi’im (the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (the Writings).
    Much later, the Evangels, the Acts, the various letters to the Assemblies, and the Revelation of Yahshua Messiah collectively formed the Brit Hadashah (the New Testament), which was later included in the canon of Scripture. What we find, however, in the New Testament literature are many citations of Its authors, including Yahshua, from the Tanach as a second witness to Yahweh’s Truth. Today, we have both the Tanakh and the Brit Hadasha (the New Covenant, in a very real sense, “renewed”).

House(s) of Worship
     Anciently, when the temple was standing, it was called the House of Sacrifice and Prayer (2 Chron. 7:12; Isa. 56:7), and where Yahweh had placed His Name (1 Chron. 22:19, 29:16).
    Today, individually and corporately, we are being built as the temple of Yahweh (Eph. 2:20-22). To this end, the Pastoral Epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus supply us, as members of the Assembly, with guidance on how to behave ourselves in the House of Yahweh (1 Tim. 3:15), Whose House we are (Heb. 3:6). Yahweh’s praise, therefore, should be continually in our mouths (Psa. 34:1).
    Nevertheless, there are corporate worship and prayer places where the presbytery engages with members and arrange for the sites of holy convocations every Sabbath and during the three sojourning feasts. (Read or order the free In-Depth study, entitled Biblical Holy Days).
    And because Yahshua promises to be in our midst (Matt. 18:20) – whether we are few or many, or even alone – when at all possible, we should be in attendance with brethren at an Assembly of Yahweh (Heb. 10:24-25). (Visit our International Assemblies online to find a location near you.)

    Indeed, our affections should be directed toward gathering in the place where He has established His Name:
    • Yahweh, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells, Psalm 26:8.
    • One thing I have asked from Yahweh, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of Yahweh and to meditate in His temple, Psalm 27:4.
    • How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Yahweh of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of Yahweh; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living Elohim, Psalm 84:1-2.

    And, as well, provide for the continuing maintenance of a central place for worship and prayer, Moreover, in my delight in the house of my Elohim, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my Elohim, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple, 1 Chronicles 29:3. (Our in-depth Temple Tenth booklet explains how Yahweh continues to build His spiritual temple today, specifically among and within His people.)

The People
     The Apostle Peter observed that Yahweh accepts all nations if they are willing to do His will (Acts 10:34-35). By coming into a knowledge of the Truth, the nations can become saints unto Yahweh. And though their numbers may represent a small number today, they can, and should grow – “the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, caus[ing] the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love … the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Master … Messiah Yahshua Himself being the corner stone” (Eph. 4:16, 2:21, 20).
Those who are with us should be for us, and we for them – being devoted to one another in brotherly love; giving preference to one another in honor (Rom. 12:10).
    The Scriptures supplies us with examples of this devotion:
    For this reason we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be [the] truth. His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you, 2 Corinthians 7:13-16.
    But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing [mother] tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the evangel of Elohim but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us, 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8.
    Let no one seek his own [good], but that of his neighbor, 1 Corinthians 10:24. Giving preference to one another means that we don’t seek what adds to our profit but rather, what accrues to the profit and interests of others (1 Cor. 10:33; Phil. 2:4). By doing so, we build rather than tear down.
    Let it never be said that we played a part in tearing down Yahweh’s temple; instead, let it be known that we contributed toward building it up.

Heavenly Things
     The New Topical Textbook is not remiss in telling us to set our affections on heavenly things.
    Therefore if you have been raised up with Messiah, keep seeking the things above, where Messiah is, seated at the right hand of Elohim. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth, Colossians 3:1-2.
    Truly, if we are fulfilling the requirements of the Law, we will not be walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
    For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward Elohim; for it does not subject itself to the Law of Elohim, for it is not even able [to do so]; and those that are in the flesh cannot please Elohim, Romans 8:5-8.
    The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other, as it is written:
    For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please, Galatians 5:17.
    Though we seek eternal life, it is only granted to those who overcome this world and the evil one. Yahshua declared He had done so (John 16:33) and encouraged us likewise to do so.

Becoming Zealously Engaged
     For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me, Psalm 69:9.
    Righteous are You, O Yahweh, and upright are Your judgments. You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness and exceeding faithfulness. My zeal has consumed me, because my adversaries have forgotten Your words. Your word is very pure, therefore Your servant loves it. I am small and despised, [yet] I do not forget Your precepts. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. Trouble and anguish have come upon me, [yet] Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live, Psalm 119:137-144. (emphasis, ours)
    Today, many disregard Yahweh’s Words. Nevertheless, Yahshua reminds us that MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF ELOHIM, Matthew 4:4, (Deut. 8:3). Hence, we have a zeal to share and to promote His Word, encouraging people to stop sinning and return to Yahweh, as Yahshua Who was zealously engaged, taught the people of His time, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).

Yahshua Gives Access to The Father
     Because Yahshua is the Mediator between the Father and us – Yahshua said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me, John 14:6 – our affection is necessarily set on Yahshua. For this reason, therefore, we regard His saying,
    • If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate [i.e., loves less than] his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple, Luke 14:26.
    • He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me, Matthew 10:37.
    He, Whose blood cleanses and washes us of our past sins, and Who is the essence and personification of Yahweh, has provided us access to His Father and our Father.
    If we genuinely love Him, we are given not just a path to the Father, but also promises of blessings:
    Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him [securely] on high, because he has known My Name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My Salvation, Psalm 91:14-16.
    Consequently, salvation is discovered in and through Messiah Yahshua, who embodies the Father’s Name. (Read or request your free In-Depth booklet called The Mistaken J.)

Don’t Let Affection Grow Cold
     Concerning the Exodus account of Israel’s miraculous deliverance from the pursuing Egyptian army at the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds), this observation is given in Psalm 106:12-13,
    Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel.
    It’s a sad example of the human condition: to be provided Yahweh’s mercies and graces, only to forget and return to the vomit and mire of one’s fleshly ways (2 Pet. 2:20-22). Unfortunately, this has an adverse and cumulative effect on those who backslide.
    Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold, Matthew 24:12.
    Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, expressed that their return to pagan practices was adversely affecting him.
    But now that you have come to know Elohim, or rather to be known by Elohim, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. I beg of you, brethren, become as I [am], for I also [have become] as you [are]. You have done me no wrong; but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the evangel to you the first time; and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of Elohim, as Messiah Yahshua [Himself]. Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? Galatians 4:9-16.
    Yahshua, too, had to address the lackluster affection in Revelation 2:4 among the brethren of Ephesus, saying, But I have [this] against you, that you have left your first love.
    Affection and love are equivalent terms, and without which, we are left with little of nothing.
    If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have [the gift of] prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed [the poor], and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. (emphasis, ours)
    And yet, there is an affection set against Yahweh.

Warning Against Wicked, Carnal Affections
     As we proceed through the TNTT, the affections turn dark and negative.
    Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins, Isaiah 58:1.
    They come to you as people come, and sit before you [as] My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, [and] their heart goes after their gain. Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them, Ezekiel 33:31-32.
    Perhaps a parallel may be drawn between ancient Israel and a particular, rocky soil upon which the Seed of the Word had been sown. Those on the rocky [soil are] those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no [firm] root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away, Luke 8:13.
    Israel had become backsliders. Their experience is become also, a warning to us lest we, too, should make provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Rom. 13:14) … hence, Now those who belong to Messiah Yahshua have impaled the flesh with its passions and desires, Galatians 5:24; considered themselves to be dead to sin (Rom. 6:11) and, therefore, will neither let sin to reign in their mortal bodies, nor obey fleshly lusts (Rom. 6:12).
    The warning, therefore, grows urgent … urging us to embrace the right course of action from the heart rather than turning away from Yahweh.
    For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are sons of Elohim, Romans 8:13-14.
    The Apostle Paul rightly remained vigilant, restrained from getting caught up in matters unworthy of his affections. But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified, 1 Corinthians 9:27.
    For he was aware of the flesh and how it often leads away from Yahweh, rather than toward Him; hence, the warning is to flee carnal desires and affections.
    • Knowing this, that our old self was impaled with [Him], in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin, Romans 6:6.
    • Now those who belong to Messiah Yahshua have impaled the flesh with its passions and desires, Galatians 5:24.
    • Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of Elohim will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them, Colossians 3:5-7.
    • For this is the will of Elohim, your sanctification; [that is], that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know Elohim, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5.

False Teachers Seek to Captivate
     False teachers who have large egos – like Simon Magus who bewitched the people of Samaria, giving himself out as some great one (Acts 8:9-11) – seeking the praise of men, do Satan’s bidding in bringing people into captivity to unrighteous affections … sin, by any other name. But Yahshua, the Master Teacher Who did always those things which pleased His Father (John 8:29) and the Apostle Paul, too, strove to stay away from, and teach against, such things.
    For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of Elohim? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Messiah, Galatians 1:10.
    Concerning false teachers, Paul, in addressing the elders of the Assembly of Ephesus, exhorted them to take the oversight of the flock of Yahweh, and forewarned them, saying,
    I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them, Acts 20:29-30.
    He further wrote:
    • They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them, Galatians 4:17.
    • For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so [these] men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith, 2 Timothy 3:6-8.
    • But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in [their] greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep, 2 Peter 2:1-3.
    • These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant [words] of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, 2 Peter 2:17-18.
    False teachers can creep in and corrupt the brethren with false doctrines, damnable heresies, and lies in hypocrisy which appeal to them who have itching ears and who will not give attendance to the sound doctrine of wholesome word but instead, are ready to give their affections to fair speeches and great swelling words of vanity … all of which, Yahweh and Yahshua hate.
The Apostle John, moreover, records Yahshua as saying to the assembly of Pergamum,
    But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit [acts of] immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth, … But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality, Revelation 2:14-16, 20–21.

Unnatural and Perverted Affections
     Finally, we come to the end of The New Topical Textbook’s discourse on our subject of affections with this warning to those who had known the Truth, but then will reject it:
    For even though they knew Elohim, they did not honor Him as Elohim, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools … Therefore Elohim gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of Elohim for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason Elohim gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge Elohim any longer, Elohim gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper … and, although they know the ordinance of Elohim, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them contrary to the commandments of Yahweh. We see in our day, just as in Paul’s day, they give hearty approval to those who follow their ways., Romans 1:21-22, 24-28, 32.
    The world, particularly in America, has catered to false teachers promoting deviant lifestyles that are

Conclusion
     Dangerous times are upon us, and conditions are likely to worsen. Both the Apostles Paul and Peter addressed this time in the which lawlessness abounds, and “evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13).
    But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Elohim, holding to a form of righteousness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these, 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
    And especially those who indulge the flesh in [its] corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before Yahweh. But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction toftthose creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children, 2 Peter 2:10-14.
    These words bring us to the inevitable conclusion that society in general is in need of a change of heart, a heart transplant. The transformation from a sick heart to a healed heart allows for a proper affection toward the Father. It is granted through Yahshua the Messiah, with a portion of the Spirit of Yahweh given to transform the stony hearts of people into malleable ones that can be shaped and conformed by the Great Potter into an image that is both good and acceptable.
    We are being recreated to become shining lights with our affections set upon Yahweh, bright and beautiful, easily observed in a darkened world. We are living stones, collectively formed into a temple for Yahweh, with the Messiah serving as the Cornerstone. We represent the Father and the Son in a living way that leads to eternal life.
    Now Yahweh is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of Yahweh is, [there] is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of Yahweh, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from Yahweh, the Spirit, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18.
    This, likely a reference to Moses whose countenance radiated with the shekinah glory after having communed with Father Yahweh atop Mount Sinai, speaks of us “transformed into the same image” of that glory which emanates from Yahweh. “The glory of Messiah Who is in the image of Yahweh” (2 Cor. 4:4b) is with us.
    We will fulfill our part if we humbly submit with hearts well-disposed and affectionate toward Yahweh and His Dear Son, Yahshua. Yes, it is good to be reminded of who we are and Who is with us!
    What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Yahshua Messiah. These things we write, so that our [and your] joy may be made complete, 1 John 1:3-4. (See also John 14:23.)
    May our affections from the heart, first and foremost, be upon Yahweh through His Messiah.