Hello

Hello! My name is Eva Silva. I am an artist, writer, and blogger. I guess you could call me a whole-Bible-believer or Torah pursuant, and if you're not familiar with these terms, that's okay, because neither was I until only the past couple years even though I've had my convictions for 6+ years.

Around seven years ago I started to question why the church teaches Christians things that aren't anywhere in the Bible (such as the Sabbath being on Sunday) and why they don't teach important things such as the laws besides the Ten Commandments. I began to explore the verses on these subjects and church history, and I was shocked by my discoveries. I hadn't realized I had been basically practicing watered down Catholicsm all my life! Well, I asked God to change me after that, and He did. He pulled me out of all the man-made traditions and legalism and taught me all His beautiful Biblical traditions instead. After that, I never wanted to go back to my old lifestyle, even if it meant facing rejection from those who are still in it.

I'm not Seventh-Day-Adventist. I'm not Mormon. I'm not Messianic, and I'm not Jehovah's Witness. I learned that they call people like me whole-Bible-believers or Hebrew Roots or lump me in groups that I am uncomfortable associating with because of the unscriptural teachings they have, so really, I just consider myself a follower of the Messiah! You can see my statement of faith below.

My Story

I grew up in Beautiful British Columbia, Canada. My family lived on

an acreage in central BC, and I was very accustomed to the rugged

lifestyle. With winters getting to -40C and summers being up to 40C,

I learned how to cope with many extremes. We had lots of pets and

livestock growing up, and one of my favorite outdoor hobbies was

gardening and building stuff. Art, however, would always be a fasci-

nation of mine. I couldn't hold back my creativity in whatever I did.

After I left home, I kind of felt like art was something impractical in the

world of survival, but a good friend of mine saw the talent I had and

encouraged me to pursue my art. So I did! I soon felt that Yah was call-

ing me to use it to glorify Him and encourage others. I had been through

a lot, and by then I saw just how incredibly gracious He had been to me

through it all, so I decided to call my art business "Hananeel". Hananeel

was a tower in Jerusalem, and since Yah is my fortress, my tower, I saw it fitting. The word "hananel" is Hebrew and means "El (God) is gracious." This will continue to inspire me to trust in His protection and grace in my life and business endeavors.

After meeting my Brazilian husband, we got married, and I moved to Brazil with him where I continue to explore new ways of using the skills Yah has given me. The changes have been difficult, to say the least, but it has also stretched and grown me in ways I never imagined, and I am so thankful for what Yah has been doing in our lives. My dream is to move back to the countryside and return to the more self-sufficient lifestyle that I grew up with and continue writing and painting.

I struggled a lot with depression growing up, going through things I can't even share here, and I would have extremely dark thoughts. I often poured the broken state of my heart into my drawings, and for a long time, my art was very morbid or sad. When Yah finally broke through and rescued me from this darkness, I suddenly had a desire to portray light in every painting I did. I believe Yah gifted me in that area, because it started to overtake my whole style without me even getting training on how to paint it. No more did I desire to portray pain and darkness. Because light brings out color, almost every painting of mine that you see will be bursting with colors. I cannot hold it back! I hope to inspire others to forsake darkness and look upwards with hope. My trademark "forging inspiration" depicts this desire of mine perfectly. So now when you see all the bright colors in my paintings, you know the story behind it!

My Statement of Faith

I believe in the One true Elohim, YHWH (Deuteronomy 4:35).

I believe in His Son, Yeshua, who is Elohim in the flesh (Isaiah 9:6, John 1:1-18).

I believe that the whole Law (Torah) of Elohim still stands even if it isn’t possible to apply it all to our lives at this point (Matthew 5:17-20).

I believe that I am saved by grace through faith in Yeshua and that none of my works could save me (Ephesians 2:8-10).

I believe that I have been given the Holy Spirit according to the promise of Elohim to those who believe in Him (John 14:26)

I believe that because I love Yeshua I will obey His commandments which is made possible by the Holy Spirit. I will not obey with doubt and fear but rather with faith and joy (John 14:15,16, 1 John 4:18,19).

I believe that ALL the Ten Commandments can and should be kept by ALL of Yeshua’s followers. I believe the Ten were specially given to show how to keep the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:36-40).

I believe that all the rest of the laws that can be kept should be kept (Matthew 5:19).

I believe that because of the new covenant we have been given a new heart that will DESIRE to keep all the applicable laws (Ezekiel 11:19,20).

I believe just because we cannot keep every single law or be sinless doesn’t mean that we have no responsibility to try (1 John 3:7-10, Philippians 2:12,13, James 2:26).

I believe that through continued repentance, faith, and obedience, we are made perfect by Yeshua’s sacrifice in the sight of Elohim (Matthew 3:8, Matthew 7:19, Matthew 5:48, Hebrews 10:12-18).

I believe that we will be judged by our works and this is why we should strive to do our best through Yeshua’s strength (Romans 2:6-11).

I believe that when we (Gentiles) accept Yeshua as the Messiah, we are grafted into the family of Israel and share in many of her promises, becoming one body with her. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Romans 11:11-24).

I believe we are no longer to be considered Gentiles but rather Israelites, but I also see that the believing Jews are still special members of the body of Israel. (Isaiah 56:3, Galatians 3:28,29, Romans 11:1,2,28, 1 Corinthians 12:14-27).

I believe that the physical Israel of yesterday, today, and the future is a special nation chosen by YHWH. Whoever blesses it will be blessed and whoever curses it will be cursed (Genesis 12:2,3).

I believe that Israel today has fallen into idolatry again, which is adultery against Elohim and will be judged, so I cannot stand with her government’s actions, but this does not mean I don’t love her people. I plead for Israel to repent instead of continuing to rebel against Him, serving other gods and acting without His authority. (Hosea 8:3,4, 2 Chronicles 7:14).

May YHWH in reveal to me if I am wrong about any of these convictions.

Contact

I'm always looking for new opportunities and to connect with other creators! Let's chat!

hananeel@fastmail.com