The annual Revive conference is next weekend. This will be the first I have been able to attend… Can’t wait!!
If any of my friends on here are planning to attend, please hunt me down. Would love to meet and talk!! My wife and I will be staying in the host hotel!!
If you haven’t made plans, there is still time! Here is the schedule for the weekend and other details!!
Great article and comments, especially by John Reiler:
And, the article OMJ is addressing is:
Those who would seek to build/rebuild the dividing wall between Gentiles and Jews would be wise to consider that they fight against a work that God is doing in the world. The diving wall was torn down by Messiah and the Apostles, but reconstruction began late in the first century with complete division between Jew and Gentile completed by about 400 A.D. Few, for the next 1700 years passed through/across that wall.
In the last 35 years the Ruach haKodesh/Holy Spirit has again been moving to destroy that wall and Gentile believers all over the planet are coming to a place of Torah observance while maintaining faith in Yeshua. At the same amazing time Jews by the DROVES are coming to faith in Messiah Yeshua!! Continue reading
Yesterday’s Torah Portion included Numbers 15:37-41 concerning tzitzits, a subject we have discussed before.
As I finalized my preparations for Shabbat and a lesson titled ‘Faith and Focus‘, I turned my attention to re-reading the parsha and considering the other various parts when several thoughts on tzitziot hit me. Often discussed/debated is the question whether to wear them in or out and who are they supposed to remind. Consider this:
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the [a]nations will [b]grasp the [c]garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”Zechariah 8:23
20 And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the [a]fringe of His [b]cloak; 21 for she was saying [c]to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will [d]get well.” Matthew 9:20-21
35 And when the men of that place [a]recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; 36 and they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were cured. Matthew 14:35-36
If the fringe, the tzitzitot, are hidden, how are the nations to grasp it, or how did the sick reach out and touch Yeshua’s? Simply, it was worn outwardly. Isn’t that implied when Yeshua said,
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a [a]hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a [b]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
Discuss.
Jacob was in a bind!! He was returning to the land and his brother, an enemy that desired his inheritance and blessing, was waiting for him. What to do?
Jacob decided to divide all he had -the people, the flocks and the herds and the camels- into two companies. He reasoned, if Esau attacks one company, perhaps the other will escape.
But even in this division, the family had never really been a united family. Rachel and Leah were at odds from well before this division. Now, in separate companies, they crossed the river, Leah ahead of Rachel, where they would face their fate as one company, with him at the lead.
After dealing with Esau, Jacob took his entire family and all he owned and journeyed to Succoth and built for himself a house.
While the actual story told in Genesis 32 and 33 has many more details, I can’t help but wonder if, in its basic points, it is prophetic of the last 2500 years.
A couple of days ago we began a series looking at a common error in Christianity and Judaism wherein the terms ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ are regarded as synonymous in spite of the many Scriptures pointing to differences and divergent paths for each with their coming together in the latter days. Looking at our initial story, we know the history of Leah and Rachel and how their animosity played out with their sons, Judah and Joseph. Continue reading
A challenge to most any set of ears…
2 Kings 17:7-41 speaks to our day like few passages in the whole Bible! Particularly verses 32-41!!
Why Israel Fell
7 Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had [a]feared other gods 8 and walked in the [b]customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had [c]introduced. 9 The sons of Israel [d]did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set for themselves sacred pillars and [e]Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 11 and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Lord. 12 They served idols, concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” 13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” Continue reading
So, a couple days ago while reading/researching the beginning of the series we started yesterday, A Common Error in Christianity and Judaism, I came across a couple verses I do not recall having ever seen. Because I was researching examples of ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ in juxtaposition, this was one of the passages that I happened upon…
7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man. 8 He [a]numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. 9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10 Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good [b]to you.” 11 The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
Immediately, another verse came to mind, Continue reading
Christianity, Judaism and many Messianics suffer from a common error that effects pretty significantly how they understand large parts of Scripture, and particularly current events, both geopolitical and eschatological.
While this error may seem very simple on the surface, it creates a plethora of challenges in its wake. So, what is it? It is the part to whole fallacy that commonly equates Israel and Judah.
What I intend to demonstrate through this and several ensuing posts is that while scripture occasionally uses the terms ‘Judah’ and ‘Israel’ in parallel or even as synonyms, more often than not, the context, particularly in the prophets, indicates the message is to two very different groups of people.
Simply stated, Judah is not Israel, rather, they are part of Israel and for a period of time had/have a very different destiny in order to fulfill God’s plan and purpose. Most of us have been inculcated with a paradigm that uses the words ‘Judah’ and ‘Israel,’ or some derivative like ‘Jew’ or ‘Jewish’ interchangeably, when scripture does not seem to do this.
I know for many, this opens a difficult and sensitive topic, but I ask you to take a deep breath and let’s explore Scripture to understand the history and prophetic importance of this difference. In doing so I hope that we will not reduce the significance of anyone’s identity, nor will we elevate unfairly anyone’s identity. Rather, our goal is to understand the plan and heart of God. Continue reading
A couple days ago, sis loammi sent me an email with a link for a series of videos titled Missing Messiah Report. The series is written, filmed and edited by Chad Gleaves, a former minister of media at a large Southern Baptist Church. Well, I finally had time to watch the series yesterday and immediately contacted Chad to see if he would provide a link for us to watch and promote these videos!!
I highly recommend this very balanced and well done video series that explores some of the questions every Christian should be asking about Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. After you have watched this series, I ask that you share it on Google+, Facebook, etc… Further, if you like Chad’s delivery and ability, consider making a donation to support his ministry.
It’s time for Ephraim to stand up, time to begin acting as part of the Nation of Israel. And here’s an amazing Connecting to Israel Tour designed just for them!
& Samaria – the Biblical Heartland
Ephraim, becoming reacquainted with the Land of Israel
I like this pity blurb! There are only two possible answers, neither of which the ‘church’ wants to deal with.
Marinate!
I was familiar with several of the events/players and ‘alignment’ of these parts as potentially significant markers in the end times time-line, but to have an asteroid named ‘the Beast’ doing a ‘fly-by’ at the same time?? Interesting!!
Please share your thoughts!!
Yesterday I was privileged to lead a Shavuot celebration/feast/gathering for a couple fellowships at Lake Greenwood, SC. What a wonderful day of worship, sharing, meeting new brothers and sisters, and eating.
As I prepared a short message for our service, I really felt our Father leading me to consider ‘evangelism’ and ‘the nations.’ While Shavuot celebrations typically center around the giving of the Torah and/or the receiving, in greater measure, of the Spirit, the root that both events point to is evangelism! Interestingly, others had this same point of focus this year!
The stage is set in Acts 1,
1 The first account I [a]composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had [b]by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To [c]these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 [d]Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for [e]what the Father had promised Continue reading
While reading a post over at OMJ a couple days ago, a paragraph jumped out at me with its particular focus on the phrase “all flesh,” taken from Isaiah 66:23.
The paragraph that grabbed my attention:
Christians teach that the Jewish Shabbat has
been abolished. But a Messianic understands that this is a lie, that Shabbat is meant for “all flesh” and is the time that you can “know” G-d. And, as a communal day, the only way we communal beings can really “delight” in Shabbat is by breaking off from the Christian sphere of influence and joining a community that worships on Shabbat.
And, that comes from Isaiah 66:23,
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
Recently, we have had a spirited discussion concerning the place of Jews and Gentiles in relation to Torah and each other. Here is a related timely article that addresses a paper we previously mentioned. I absolutely encourage every reader to take the time to read and process this article!!
One Law, One God, One Body
A Critical Look at Why There is a Hebrew Roots Movement
Several years ago, the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) published a pamphlet entitled Defining Messianic
Judaism. It was an attempt to define and justify the actions of certain Messianic Jewish leaders as they separated themselves from “Gentile believers.” They explained themselves by saying that Messianic Jews have a “unique” calling in the LORD that Gentile believers are not part of. It was a racist document that offended many believers in the Messianic movement (both Jew and non-Jew).
That document has been followed this year by the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA) and the International Alliance of Messianic Jewish Congregations and Synagogues (IAMCS) publishing a document entitled One Law, Two Sticks: a Critical Look at the Hebrew Roots Movement. It has very little to say about the titled subject of teaching the Torah to all people or the prophetic restoration of the Two Houses of Israel. Instead, the bulk of the document is an effort to find fault with independent Messianic teachers. It presents a “rogue’s gallery” of those they take issue with. The actual authors of this document are listed merely as being the “Steering Committee” of the IAMCS. It is strange that they weren’t proud enough to mention their own names, so allow me to supply them Continue reading
Following is an open letter by Ken Rank concerning a challenging matter recently faced by Hanoch Young and United2Restore. We appreciate Hanoch’s integrity and principles!! Thank you Hanoch!
An open letter to my fellow Ephraimites:
Our lives are about choice. God gave the commandments and stated, “I have set before you blessing and cursing, life and death, therefore choose life.” Not all of our choices are so grandiose, but sometimes even seemingly our smallest decisions can have an impact on others. Recently Hanoch Young was offered an opportunity to be a tour guide for a group that will remain nameless. He accepted, and why not, guiding tours is how he pays his rent! However, one of the tour leaders has denied Yeshua and is also actively trying to persuade others to follow. Moreover, he is close to a very influential man who is considered to be an anti-missionary.
I want you to understand, Hanoch needs the money he would get from this or ANY tour. However, he also recognizes that if his face was used on the promotion literature, which was their plan, that he would be associated with at least two people who are considered to be anti-missionaries. The stated goal of United 2 Restore is that those who are Ephraim should remain Ephraim and those who are Judah should remain Judah (Because that is who God determined us to be!), and a day will come, we believe, when God will correct whoever might be wrong. Because this tour that he was asked to guide includes some folks who stand in complete opposition to what United 2 Restore is about, Hanoch has pulled away from that group because he recognizes that ultimately it could damage both United 2 Restore and himself.
I know this wasn’t easy for him, like I said, I know he could use the money. In fact, his last trip here to the States to speak to Ephraimites costed him a great deal of money. I am sharing this to make sure you all know what I have known, that Hanoch is not a man with a hidden agenda to secretly try to pull followers of Yeshua away from Yeshua. That is not what he is about and actions like this, that hurt him financially, prove that. It is time to stand behind a guy like this, support the efforts in any way possible, and then together let’s all change the world!
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natsab 