Another great day!!

Shabbat with 600 of my newest close friends!!

How cool to walk the hall between sessions and run into friends that I didn’t know were coming (the Lindseys and the Mercks) or to see a name flash by and my mental Rolodex spins and I turn and holler, “Ray Gardener!”  He turns and looks with a huge question mark over his head and I say as I stick out my hand, “Pete Rambo.  We’ve never met, but we’ve spoken a few times on the phone.  Thank you for your binders full of Torah portion teachings!!  What a huge help!”  And, we are fast friends!

Also, so much fun is being able to meet and just be near so many of the teachers that help me on a regular basis through their internet sites, etc…

Yesterday was such a full day, that it was a challenge to drag out of bed this morning, ut coffee has been plentiful!  Hyatt does have good coffee in the rooms!  (Plus I brought honey and cream for mine…  LOL!)

Rico Cortes, teaching Intro to the Sects of the First Century, was first on the plate this morning.  As with most of these sessions, the time is shorter than the material.  Rico is a fun teacher, even moreso in person than on line, who brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding.  But if I could use one word to classify him, it would be ‘humble.’  Truly, Abba has specially selected him for this time and role!!  His topic was very interesting, but time limits forced some shallowness.  He readily pointed to sources, so I can pursue some of the study on my own by chasing his sources!!

Yesterday’s session with Tony Robinson was so good, I opted to pursue the rest of the series he is doing.  So, for the second session, I sat in on The Garden’s Pattern for Israel.  A number of intriguing thoughts that I had never seen!!  Adam and Eve are a picture of Israel!!  (More on that in a future post…)   So clear now that I wonder how I ever missed it!!  We’ll write more on this later as I was seeing connections even beyond what he had time to share!!

Mid-day, today, we had a Torah service that was just awesome!!  Rico led with a full liturgy that was on the big screen so we could all follow and join in!!  I learned a lot through the participation and even had some parts of the Leonardo Goncalves album I have practically memorized pay off…

The Torah walk was moving in its reverence and in its representation of the time in the near future when the Living Word again walks among His people!  In Rico’s words, “We must learn the protocol for the reverence to the King!!  Never turn your back to Him!”

Speakers also included Dr. Diana Dye and Tony Robinson.  Dr. Dye’s focus on the portion had to do with ‘not getting stuck in Kadesh Barnea’ but rather making the right choice and pressing forward toward the land!  Tony covered the haftorah from Isaiah 66 and its relevance to the exiles.  He ended with a special emphasis on Isaiah 66:2b,

“For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Are we a people who are humble and contrite of spirit…  a people who tremble at His Word?  We should be.  That is a major characteristic of those returning with the exiles.

Lenny and Varda closed the service with more worship music.  (Had a terrific conversation this evening with him.  Hope to have him in SC in the not too distant future.)

For the afternoon session I attended the Scott Aaron teaching titled Efraim’s Jealousy and Judah’s Harassment.  Scott had some excellent points about how our walk needs to submit to the authority of Judah in a number of matters.  While he was careful to state that we stand firm on matters of salvation, but there is much in which we can learn to walk in unity with Judah.  Parts of his talk I will have to process and wrestle with, but in general, I agree.  Judah has the scepter and has guarded the torah for 3500 years+/-.  They are to be honored and thanked as well as learned from.  Much of the division will be healed when Efraim makes the first step!!  The division is, after all, of our making…

The evening general session was again excellent, though I could tell the crowd was getting tired.  Fewer dancers, more sitting during worship,  but the Ruach was definitely present.  Brad Scott led the teaching followed by Tony Robinson.  (Just occurred to me, he must be really tired this evening!!  Abba bless him!)  Tony’s teaching was an in depth study of the root of sin and its consequences as seen in Genesis 3.  Very good analysis and depth, particularly in pursuit of knowledge as Eve and Adam did.  He finished with the right relationship of ‘knowledge’ in the believer’s life:  It is to attain to the image of Yeshua, specifically as spelled out in Ephesians 4:1-3,

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, ³ being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

An obvious theme that runs through every single speaker is learning to walk in unity and humility.  Abba clearly is speaking a similar message to many of His ambassadors!

Near the end of this evening’s program we were treated to the following video of Andrew Hodkinson, of South Africa.  He is in attendance and will lead in worship tomorrow.  After this video treat, I can’t wait to hear more from this artist’s heart!!  (This piece was played right before tony came to the stage and when he came on he was so moved that he couldn’t talk.  It took a long time to collect himself and share his heart’s desire to sing the songs of Zion in Jerusalem!)

Blessings,

More later.