Quick n dirty 6′ x 16′ sukkah for about $125!! (Pics)

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Getting ready for Sukkot and in the midst of other preps, since we will have 60+ staying here, I’ve had little time to think about our sukkah this year…  then I had a bright idea.  Or, as my boys say, in their best Gru impression, ‘light bulb.’

We tore out part of the barn as a meeting area and it freed up multiple cattle panels and a few t-posts.  If you are not familiar with the very useful farming item available at most feed/seed stores, a cattle panel is 50” tall by 16′ long, made of heavy 3/16″ welded rod, and somewhat flexible…

So, six 8′ t-posts ($5.90 each), one 2x4x 10 (actually used a 16’er just because that is what I had…) and four cattle panels ($25 each) make a very nice rough sukkah.  All that is left is to decorate.

We did throw an old tarp over the top and hung solar lawn lights for evening ambiance, but the general structure took shape in about 30 minutes, mostly me griping at the boys to ‘hold something still’ while I tried wiring it into place.

Here are some pics Continue reading →

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Ezra. GREAT according to the Messiah!

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Pete Rambo

I have been preparing a study for our Sukkot group from the Book of Ezra.  When I felt the Father leading in this direction, I thought, ‘What?  Ezra?  There isn’t much in that book, is there??!’

Well, I am a believer!!  I feel I have only scratched the surface and have about 40 pages of typed notes.  I’m finding one gem after another!!

Continue reading →

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What are the ‘sacred writings…?’

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Lately, I have been feverishly working to finish an extended study of the Book of Ezra.  Part of my study today brought a familiar verse to mind, so I took a quick look.  You know this one.  Rav Shaul (Paul), writing instructions to his protege, Timothy, says,

6 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Certainly, I’ve noticed many times that it says, ‘ALL Scripture’ and indeed, at the time of his writing, the ‘new’ Testament had not been canonized, or much of it even written or collected.  We know that when Shaul says, ‘ALL Scripture,’ he means the Tanak, the writings from which he gives a defense every week in the synagogues…  Just read the Book of Acts.

I noticed something new today that had not previously hit me. Continue reading →

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Know Your Bible? 10 Question Pop Quiz. (Subject: General)

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Pete Rambo

I’m going to put up 10 questions and then the answers at the very end.  DO NOT scroll to the bottom unless you want the answers.  Try to answer first, then scroll.  Leave a comment on how you did and what surprised you…

1.  If Gentile converts don’t need the Torah, why were they instructed to learn it in Acts 15:21?

2. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, specifically instructs believers to ‘come out from their midst and be separate’ as well as ‘touch not the unclean thing.’  He says to ‘cleanse ourselves from defilement of flesh AND spirit.’  What specifically is he talking about?

3.  What is the definition for how to love God?

4. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people perish for lack of knowledge…”  What exactly is the knowledge they are lacking? Continue reading →

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Will the REAL Calendar Please Stand Up?

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Wow!! Great post!! SO agree. Drives me a little crazy when peeps get hung up on the minutia instead of learning the basics and letting others grow at their own pace.

Good message that needs a broad audience!

via Will the REAL Calendar Please Stand Up?.

The comments below may be of interest to the reader.

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Interesting article re: Yom Teruah v. Rosh Hashanah…

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Someone in my congregation sent me an article by Nehemiah Gordon about the origins of the name ‘Rosh Hashanah’ for the Feast of Yahweh referred to in Scripture as ‘Yom Teruah’ or ‘day of shouting/blowing.’

This is worth reading and further research….  Certainly, Nehemiah, as a Karaite Jew, misses the significance of the Feasts he lists as a picture of Messiah, but he makes some interesting points about Babylonian paganism’s effect on Judaism and practice.  If we seek truth, we must be aware of error in BOTH the Judaic Camp and the Christian Theologian Camp.

Hold this with an open hand and do further research, but it certainly merits strong consideration.

_______________

Yom Teruah

 

How the Day of Shouting Became Rosh Hashanah

 

by Nehemia Gordon

 

On the 1st day of the Seventh month (Tishrei) the Torah commands us to observe the holy day of Yom Teruah which means “Day of Shouting” (Lev 23:23-25; Nu 29:1-6). Yom Teruah is a day of rest on which work is forbidden. One of the unique things about Yom Teruah is that the Torah does not say what the purpose of this holy day is. The Torah gives at least one reason for all the other holy days and two reasons for some. The Feast of Matzot (Unleavened Bread) commemorates the Exodus from Egypt but it is also a celebration of the beginning of the barley harvest (Exodus 23:15; Lev 23:4–14). The Feast of Shavuot (Weeks) is a celebration of the wheat harvest (Ex 23:16; 34:22). Yom Ha-Kippurim is a national day of atonement as described in great detail in Leviticus 16. Finally the Feast of Sukkot (Booths) commemorates the wandering of the Israelites in the desert but it is also a celebration of the ingathering of agricultural produce (Ex 23:16). In contrast to all these Torah festivals, Yom Teruah has no clear purpose other than that we are commended to rest on this day.

 

The name of Yom Teruah may provide a clue as to its purpose. Teruah literally means to make a loud noise. This word can describe the noise made by a trumpet but it also describes the noise made by a large gathering of people shouting in unison (Nu 10:5–6). For example, Continue reading →

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Translators & ‘the lying pen of the scribes…’ Pt.4

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Clear and willful mistranslation of the text does not make Scripture ‘more readable’ nor does it bring clearer understanding.  Rather, when found out, it undermines the reader’s faith in the text, and sometimes in the God of the Scriptures.  It is a sad reality, however, truth must be pursued.

In defending one of the pagan holidays, someone once told me, “well, it must be okay, because ‘Easter’ appears in Scripture!”

Taken aback, I asked, “Where?”

“Acts 12:4,” was the quick response.

Hmmm…  So, I had to go look. Continue reading →

Posted in Deeper Study | 2 Comments

THE sign of His coming…. Can we know?

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Can we know when the Messiah will return?  Did He leave us with a huge question mark and some mumbo-jumbo, or was He very specific in what we are to watch for and when we can expect Him? Signs in the heavens?  Particular season?  Even a day?

Frankly, Scripture tells us a great deal.  This will not be exhaustive, but I hope it will help you to have an idea why some things Christendom has set aside are in fact VERY important!

First and foremost, we need to understand that Yahweh has a very precise plan and timing!!  In fact, if He did not control every single atom, there would be no fulfilled prophecy and no universe in which to fulfill it.  We live inside of a precise ‘clock’ (universe) governed by precise physical laws.  Additionally, He has given us precise Continue reading →

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Thus says Yahweh, …

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Pete Rambo
Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you what is best for you,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
“If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

Isaiah 48:17-18

Why do people spend so much time doing theological gymnastics in order to find reasons why His commandments aren’t really for them?  In the next three weeks, modern Christendom will miss the most blessed days of the year because of willful disobedience!

If you will not pay attention to His commandments, you will not find peace and righteousness….  Ouch!!

Ready for the Fall Feasts?  The ones He hasn’t fulfilled yet?  The ones that tell of His coming and judgment?

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Christian Pastor: Why you should celebrate Halloween.

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Pete Rambo

75 seconds that will blow your mind!  Paganism defined, justified, embraced.

From the pulpit.

Wow!

Original post with comments.

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Sharing my journey… Some of the pain…

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Pete Rambo

A few days ago I was reviewing the ‘About’ page trying to ‘see’ what others ‘see.’  You know, a sort of self assessment.

I noticed on the page that I had written that my goal for this blog is to ‘share the journey’ and ‘explain what I am learning.’  Well, it is pretty clear that I love sharing the fire in my soul that burns daily with new ways to challenge the reader to action and growth, but I realized that I have missed widely on the other ‘goal’ for the blog.  Sharing my journey.

While I don’t have  a particular story or encounter to share, I thought I’d take a post to give some general thoughts and experiences over the last two years as this transformation in my understanding of Scripture has happened.  Certainly, my post on Antisemitism was heart wrenching, and the early RT series more personal as I related the early parts of this ‘walk’ but I have missed that area a bit lately. Continue reading →

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Yahshua, Yahushua, Yeshua or…Jesus?

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Yahshua, Yahushua, Yeshua or…Jesus?.

Excellent article on a topic we were recently discussing in our fellowship…  Good scholarship with sound exegesis!!

To go straight to a pdf of the paper presented, go here.

 

Shalom!

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Excellent passage defending Messianic Torah observance!!

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Pete Rambo

Here is an interesting passage that I already knew was a solid defense for Torah observance by the believer in Yeshua (Jesus), but, while referring to it in today’s Shabbat message, I noticed a couple words that have been there all along!  Funny how we can read verses and not SEE what is actually there.

Before we look at it, I want you to notice, this is a ‘last days’ passage.  Verse two gets quoted with the coming of Yeshua, but most never notice the context is decidedly eschatological…  End times!  Last days!  Has ‘not yet happened!!’

“[a]For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, Continue reading →

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Hoshiana!! A Lament for the Nations…

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Pete Rambo

I just love this song!!

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I Should Have Seen It Coming….

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Pete Rambo

I have recently written several posts highlighting glaring translator error or bias.  Predictably, I have received multiple requests about Bible translation recommendations, or thoughts on a particular version…  I should have seen that coming!  So, here is a short post with a few thoughts..

While I am no expert on translations, I think there a few assertions I can safely make:

  • NO translation is perfect!
  • There are a number of decent or even good translations out there.
  • There are several really BAD translations out there.
  • Learning to use several simple tools Continue reading →
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