Dear family and friends,
I owe you an apology.
More than four years ago, I took a sharp sudden turn in faith and practice. I was a respected seminary trained pastor occupying a pulpit in your community. As such, I was a trusted shepherd. I began asking some hard questions of Scripture and of the church fathers. Our Father, by His Holy Spirit, began to answer and His answers were exciting and scary all at the same time.
As I learned, I began to share with great zeal those things I was seeing in Scripture, truths that ran contrary to things I had learned in church and in seminary. My tone was often shrill and unloving. Certainly, I did not exhibit the compassion I should have. I am sorry.
At times I was quite angry at the rejection I received by those who I thought should know better, not considering that they only responded as I would have if I had been blindsided by a respected leader taking a sharp turn on the faith journey. Please forgive me.
Just as I felt rejected, I rejected and pushed away many who love me, even if they did not/do not understand that which I was learning. I am sorry. Please forgive me.
I was wrong to assume you wanted to know what I was learning, and wrong to gripe publicly about your rejection. Please forgive me.
To be clear, I have not changed or recanted anything I have learned. On the contrary, I am more convinced today than ever of the veracity and immediate applicability of the whole council of God’s Word. What I am learning is that I cannot expect the Holy Spirit to perform the same work at the same speed in all hearts. Further, this is His work and while I may be a tool in His hands, I am not free to run ahead of Him.
Please accept my apology if I have offended you in any way. I am sorry. It was not my intent.
Where you have hurt me and my family, I forgive you. As with us, there was no ill will or intentional offense behind your actions. We harbor no ill will toward anyone and only wish to share our excitement about what Scripture says and how we are called to live.
If there are specific grievances I need to address, please contact me via email or phone. If you would like to have a non-confrontational conversation about what and why I believe as I do, I am happy to, but it will be at your invitation.
I bless you and pray our Father lead us all into HIS fullness of truth,
Pete, Kelly and the boys.
natsab 
Wow Pete thanks for sharing your heart once again! This is a journey of repentance & restoration…may Abba move in the hearts of those you love to hear your heart which is connected to the heartbeat of the Father…for such a time as this!
Richest blessings always,
Mary Ellen
🌺😊🌺
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From Uganda, Pete! Thanks for the courage to admit some errors of the past – we are all the same – as was Abraham, David, Jonah, … The wonderful thing is that when the repentance is from the heart, the Father forgives and continues on leading and opening opportunities for us. The hardest part is to get in sync with His timing in so many ways. Be encouraged Brother! Blessings and shalom!
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First of all…. PRAISE YOU FATHER…. for giving us this example in Pete and his family.
What a wonderful, precious example of walking out the month of Elul. What a beautiful
picture of what real humility is. Thank you so much for your family being willing to do this.
May I walk in this as well. Blessings and Shalom!
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Pete,
Every believer who comes to suddenly understands the Hebrew foundation of our faith should read your words above. The path we tread is one of exile. We all want to belong, we all want to be loved, we all want to fit in, yet when we embrace Abraham’s call we simply can not expect to be other than what he was …a stranger and exile here..The pain is real but so is the joy and it is truly impossible to go back to the way we where in previous times. However we must always remember that it is “the meek who will inherit the earth.”
Thank you for this open, humble letter, i join you in its sentiments,
Barry Miller
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Thank you, Barry.
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Shalom, Pete Rambo,
you don´t know me and I don´t know you, I just stumbled over your blog the first time. I want to let you know, that this apology is a great encouragement for me after I felt a bit hurt myself. It gives me hope that in all these heated debates about theology the love of Yeshua our Messiah still triumphs!
Grace and peace to you.
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Shalom and welcome, Angie!
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Pete,
Thank you for your humility in writing this post! It’s inspiring and I truly believe should be the heart of every believer that our God opens their eyes and ears to His Truth! I have truly reflected back to my beginnings and have tried to be more humble and patient with those that don’t see what many are seeing in this movement. Unfortunately we are all guilty of coming off sometimes prideful and self righteous in our zeal to share the truth but we need to allow the Holy Spirit to take the veil off those we share with. Thanks again Pete for your ministry! Blessings to you and your family!
Luis Garcia
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This is beautiful, Pete! May we all follow your footsteps!
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Not getting ahead of the Father is also a struggle that I am having. It’s heart wrenching to know that our loved ones are missing out on a more peaceful walk with the Father that comes from following His instructions more fully.
I hope and pray that those to whom you addressed this letter will read it and be willing to reach out to you in love.
Shalom.
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From a mother whose son, daughter-in-law and 5 children (our grandchildren):
Our family has been broken and each of us, parents, siblings and extended family, including you, have experienced a great loss. We accept that some, feel called to observe the Torah with the dietary, festival and Sabbath observances. And though it hurts to not come together for birthdays, holidays (Thanksgiving) we still would like to “be family” enjoying each other and the love we share. And though you feel called, we don’t and we can no more leave this new covenant of Jesus, one of Grace, Mercy and Love, thank you can leave your Torah Observance.
I know the verses you quote and you know the verses we quote… now God’s word has become a wall separating us.
How sad that your “new faith” would cause so much pain.
You have taken a stand against us ~ you have told us that you have been warned by Yaweh through scripture, to keep a distance from us.
But can a mother forget her child?
We will continue to love our Savior, worship the Father through the Holy Spirit and pray and keep an eye on the horizon, like the Prodigal’s Father, for the day you will come visit us again.
Jesus, our Sabbath Rest, will continue to reign in our hearts and minds as Lord!
We love you,
Mom & Dad
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“Mom,”
Shalom and welcome. Thank you for being willing to share your feelings and raw thoughts. I can hear the hurt and frustration that you feel.
If I may, please allow me to share a few thoughts.
First, I would ask that you not judge the message by the messenger. While I am sure you love your son and family very much, you are very familiar with all of his foibles and errors. You watched him grow up. You taught him, yet now he sees a different picture in Scripture. Add to this the very challenging factor that, like myself, as Abba was revealing things to him, he may not have been very good at expressing something, nor was he prepared for any backlash from those he excitedly shared Scripture with. Together, these factors can lead to a lot of intense, heated discussions that the devil can quickly use to divide.
I would venture to guess that your son loves you very much and desires that you see and experience the deep wonders of Scripture and relationship with God/Jesus that come through obeying His instructions. He has to recognize, though, that he must walk his path and allow you to walk yours. Our Father has a grand plan.
You son, while maybe not doing so perfectly, is to be commended for taking a stand even though it is a very hard one. I salute him, but would encourage him to cultivate compassion, love, patience, etc.
I am sorry for the pain this has caused you, but I do know that joy comes in the morning. As you have discussions with your son, be willing to wrestle with hard Scriptures. Read parts of the Bible that you haven’t read or studied before. Worry less about your son and genuinely ask the Father to reveal to you anything in your belief system that doesn’t jive with Scripture. Seek truth at all costs.
He loves you and I love you. I bless you in this most challenging time of your life. I will remember you and yours in prayer.
If I can answer specific questions for you, please do not hesitate to contact me privately through the contact link at the top of the blog. I am happy to gently explain what I see in Scripture and why.
Blessings in Yeshua,
Pete
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I hope this doesn’t offend you but I think it needs to be said, but your apology was very patronizing. Basically you said that you’re sorry for being offensive because you didn’t realize that trying to teach someone truth would be so offensive. Just because you believe what you’ve learned is truth doesn’t mean that it is. I’m a Sabbath and Feast keeper of over fifty years, so I probably agree with most of what you came to understand. But I also know it’s patronizing to explain to people, “God revealed this TRUTH to me, not to you” even if it’s true. That’s not how one humbly apologizes, especially not to family.
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