Yeshua (or Yahshua) is the Hebrew name of the Jewish Messiah. Jesus is the Greek translation of His Name. The differences go beyond the languages of the Name. Because of a few private comments made to me by some readers who questioned a comment I had made, I thought I'd take a minute to explain. Feel free to add your comments!!

The Jesus of modern Christianity is a "I died so you would always have a friend" kind of guy, He's your best buddy. He sits up in Heaven with "the big guy upstairs". He is "free love" and "forgiving all sins, no matter what the cost". He loves that the Christians have "reclaimed" the pagan traditions and that they now use them to worship Him because He's tolerant of everything. The music that goes along with this kind of person is "Jesus is my boyfriend" type of music. He is a law breaker (Torah breaker) in that it is taught that He violated the ancient laws handed down by Moses (Moshe) and established a new covenant because the old one was useless and evil. He said all meat was now clean to eat and He hated the religious leaders of His day because they were all evil. Even Christianity in the early centuries was extremely anti-semetic, persecuting any Jew who didn't bend to the church's demands. The Crusades, Progroms, and the Hollocaust all stemmed from this anti-semetic mindset that the Church has bred - it was the children of the Christians who did these terrible things (not only to the Jews remember, though they were a major target of the persecution). The Jews were the Christ-killers after all, weren't they? Jesus of course approved of the treatment of these people for some reason. This is the mentality of many in the church, many church doctrines. Granted, this is not the case with every Christian and I do not believe that those who participate in this kind of mindset are true Christians at all. But this is what the church taught, and to a degree, still teaches today. I remember being taught all of that! The bottom line is that Jesus is very Greek in how He is portrayed in churches today. Once He became the Gentlie Christ (and there were many Christs - it is another indiscriminate title like god or lord), the Gentiles applied all their traditions, beliefs, and pick-n-choose Scripture to Him. Jesus is a Christian - He is NOT a Jew. He is very much not the representation of the Hebrew Messiah that He really is/was.

Yeshua the Messiah was an observant Jew, born to observant Jewish parents (through a virgin birth, mind you!), and raised in a very observant Jewish community. His students (disciples) were all observant Jews, as was the entire populace of the early church before Cornelius was saved. Tens of thousands of Believers followed "The Way" in the first *roughly* 15 years before any Gentiles were saved. Of these were Torah teachers, Pharisees, Sadusees, members of the Sahnedrin, etc. If Yeshua were truly a Torah breaker (law breaker), would any of these people have given Him a second thought? No. He did not break any of the Torah (law) and He did not change any of it. He taught us how to properly live a Torah observant life and to differentiate between traditions of men and the Word of G-d. He is holy and righteous, He is echad - One with G-d. He now ministers as our High Priest in the heavenly Tabernacle and offers gifts on the alter on our behalf. He gave Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins and that sounds so hollow until you can really wrap your brain around what that means. To the average Christian - that makes no sense at all. What does that mean? I challenge you to study it out for yourself - it's terribly exciting!! G-d is holy, righteous, just, perfect, judge, etc. It is a fearful thing!! Yeshua is Hebrew, He is the Hebrew Messiah who came to save us from sin. There is just one Messiah. He offered salvation first to the Jew and then to the Gentile. Even today, first to the Jew then to the Gentile. He is sovereign. He will return again in judgment.

Now, this is roughly what I was getting at when I said earlier that Jesus and Yeshua are not the same. Jesus is Greek and He is a Christian. Have you ever noticed the Sunday School kids pages that say things like "Jesus was a good Christian boy who went to church every Sunday"? This Jesus has evolved over the ages, as can be clearly seen throughout church history. A world renowned New Testament scholar at an internationally recognized university remarked to his students, "The first thing you must do to be a good Christian is to kill the Jew inside you." Jesus started out as the Greek name of Yeshua, but the similarities seem to have stopped shortly after the earliest Gentile converts. Yeshua is the Hebrew Messiah who fulfills ALL that is told about Him in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. He is holy, just, righteous, and to be feared. He is love, that is true. But that is but one trait of Who He is. As you learn how to view Him through Hebrew eyes, you will realize that "G-d is not a man that He would lie or change His mind." Learning to see Jesus through Hebrew eyes really changes the picture of Who He is. One day you wake up and say, "Jesus really isn't Yeshua - they are totally different!"

Psalm 93

YHVH is King, robed in majesty; YHVH is robed, girded with strength; The world is well established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; You have existed forever. YHVH, the deep is raising up, the deep is raising up its voice, the deep is raising its crashing waves. More than the sound of rushing waters or the mighty breakers of the sea, YHVH on high is mighty. Your instructions are very sure; holiness befits Your house, YHVH, for all time to come.

This was my morning Psalm. Starting with praising Him and glorifying Him - I got lost in that for a while. :) What a precious way to start the day.

Then back to my reading, I am reminded that His Torah is sure and that holiness is befitting for His house - nothing short of holiness. I strive to be holy and righteous. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given unto you as well, Matthew 6:33.

So I move on to Psalm 94, even though it's not Wednesday. LOL "G*d of vengeance, YHVH! G*d of vengeance, appear! Assert Yourself as judge of the earth! Pay back the proud as they deserve!" Wait a minute, am I so bold that I wouldn't count myself as part of the proud? YHVH, humble me. Who are the proud? Is it easier to ask, "Who isn't proud?" *sigh* "How happy the man whom You correct, Yah, whom You teach from your Torah, giving him respite from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked! For YHVH will not desert His people, He will not abandon His heritage." Wait a minute!! Who are His people and what is His heritage? Yes, the Hebrews are His people, but so are those who have been grafted into that vine through faith in the Messiah Yeshua. But there's more - "He will not abandon His heritage". Could it be that His heritage are those who cling to His Torah? If that is the case then could it be that those who are proud of their position in Messiah yet do not cling to His Torah - are they His heritage? (here is where my heart begins to break all over again) My heart grieves for those who don't know, for those who don't want to know, for those who know but don't care or are too afraid to simply obey. Why is it so hard to simply submit to Him? Perfect love casts out all fear - what's the problem? I just don't understand. There has always been a remnant, and it's sad that He's always only had a remnant.

So I decide to continue reading a Shabbat psalm. This is one of my favorites, I have it memorized.

Psalm 95

O Come, let us sing to YHVH! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms! For YHVH is the Great G*d, the Great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth, the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our G*d and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand.

Oh how great He is! But wait there's more.

If only today you would listen to His voice: "Don't harden your hearts, as you did at M'rivah, as you did on that day at Massah in the desert, when your fathers put Me to the test; they challenged Me, even though they saw My work. For forty years I loathed that generation; I said, 'This is a people whose hearts go astray, they don't understand how to do things.' Therefore I swore in my anger that they would not enter my rest."

If only today you would hear my voice. Hearing is idiomatic for obedience. Shema - hear and obey! If only today you would obey Me... is what He is saying. We have His Word, we read it. How is it that so many don't understand His simple plea? "Hear and obey, do what I said. It's no great mystery. I AM holy and righteous. Unrighteousness cannot stand in my presence. Be holy. Strive for righteousness, seek after it hard and fast. Seek these things first and I will add to it everything else you need and more."

They say, "Well, that's not for me" or "I don't feel convicted of that..." I simply don't understand. At what point did He change? Where did He say, "I want this for them and that for you"? I recall reading that there is ONE LAW. Numbers 15:15 "For this community there will be the same law for you as for the foreigner living with you; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations; the foreigner is to be treated the same way before YHVH as yourselves. The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you." But who is the foreigner? If we are grafted into the heritage of Avraham through our faith in Messiah Yeshua, we are fellow heirs. We are no longer foreigners. But even if those who are believers can't bring themselves under the Hebraic heritage, then at least they will consider themselves foreigners living with those who are fellow heirs. So who does the Torah not apply to? Who does He view differently? Why is it so hard to submit to Torah when we know that HaShem is good and what He does is good? I simply don't understand. My heart aches and I feel like the prophets who said things like "my heart aches to the point of death" sometimes. Okay, maybe not quite to the point of death, but if this keeps up it might be!

So, who are the proud that He opposes? Who are the ones that will cry out "But didn't we prophesy and cast out demons and do miracles in Your Name?" He will reply to them, "I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness!" *sigh* Oh, who is in that company? Sure it's easy to say "That's the televangalists" or something. But do you realize just how righteous and holy He is? He told us to beware of false prophets, that we need to test the spirits, that anyone who comes preaching ant-Torah (lawlessness) is NOT from Him. What do you do with false prophets? Don't you stone them? At the very least you remove yourself from their presence and their teachings immediately.

Never allow what is good to be called evil. Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Yeshua than to trust and obey. Right? Just do it! Why harden your hearts when He is speaking to you? Do you understand what that does? That develops callouses on your heart, it stops up your ears, it puts a veil over your eyes. What does Romans 7 say? "For I am speaking to those who understand Torah.." If you don't understand Torah, you have no foundation to be reading the entire book of Romans, let alone the rest of Paul's writings. No wonder so many get bogged down and confused, they have no foundation. Paul writes in Romans 7, "Torah is holy; that is, the commandment is holy, just and good." How can believers say otherwise? I just don't understand.

I share this simply because I have to "get it off my chest". This burden is so heavy that at times I feel I can't even stand. And I cannot remove it! Why, oh why do people who claim to love Him reject His Word? Why do they allow what is good to be called evil? WHY do they break His heart? Why are they so proud in themselves that they cannot even see it? Strip off that veil! Unstop your ears! Open your eyes! Rip those callouses off your heart and your spirit. It's hard. It can hurt. But growth is always a painful process (growing pains, anyone?) but it is more rewarding and fulfilling than we could ever imagine! There's a song that goes something like this: "I'm goin in, I'm going deep. In over my head I want to be... Caught in the rush, caught in the flow. In over my head I want to go..." Do you? Will you?

I have had several conversations recently with various people and my response has been, each time, “Just do it! What’s the problem with that?” There seems to be a theme...

First, the conversation with a friend at our (soon to be former) Sunday church. She had a conversation with one of the pastors regarding some concerns she had and his response was that “in the fall” they will be implementing some changes that will help families grow together. My question was, why wait? I told her that I thought all that was needed was a leader, a classroom, and a Bible - someone can stand up front and say, "How does G*d tell us to raise our children - what are the practical things He gave us in here?" There are a ton of specifics - object lessons (or you could call them unit studies). First of all - read the Word together as a family and discuss it! That's not too hard, is it? Of course I rambled on for a bit but the idea was the same - just do it. Why wait for some curriculum or workbooks or some specific time. Isn't now a good time? Goodness - have a sermon on the topic and announce that someone will be in room whatever at whatever time to discuss these things further. See where it goes. Is G*d so small that He couldn't lead a group without curriculum and a budget?

Then I've had conversations with friends, Torah observant and not, who say, "Scripture says... but ..." So to paraphrase what I'm hearing would be this: "I know what G*d says and that He wants this thing, but I'm just not willing to do that just right now" or "I'm not feeling a leading" or "I'm not hearing Him tell me directly". What? Are you serious? I've had friends say to me, "I don't feel the L*RD is wanting me to do that right now" to which my question is, "Well, when does He want you to do it? Why would He want you to wait? How does He get any glory out of your delay?" I've also heard, even this Shabbat, "I don't feel the L*RD speaking that to me right now" and of course, my big mouth replies with "What? He spoke it in His Word and it's in your hand. Look it up for yourself and tell me what it says. Did He say, 'This is for everyone but (insert name)' or 'This is forever, except for (time frame)'?

I guess what has me bothered so much is that there are people who KNOW the truth and have a level of conviction in their spirits concerning what Scripture says - yet they're unwilling to move ahead. There is no question as to what He wants us to do - He wants us to discover His Word and do it - not wait. Delayed obedience is still disobedience. And I'm certainly NOT the queen of obedience! In fact, I'm the queen of disobedience!!! Goodness, my shame in that is tremendous. But I have had moments of obedience and have been so immensely blessed by them! Those moments propel me on to more moments.

I think that if I could say anything clearly to anyone who cares (LOL) it would be this: Don't wait! Just Do It!! Just do what you know is true, what Scripture says. He doesn't reveal Himself to those who don't obey. Acts 2 says that the Spirit is given to them that obey Him. So - if you're waiting for a sign from heaven or a mighty miracle - obey first. I wouldn't suggest that while you wait for a sign from heaven that you hold your breath... It's nothing new to understand that He reveals Himself to those who believe and obey - but we must believe and obey FIRST.

Why do I write this? I dunno. My heart is so grieved for these people that I cannot think of anything else at the moment and writing about it helps me "deal with it". Who knows, maybe someone out there will read this and "just do it". :) My heart also grieves for the L*RD in that His children would love Him yet draw a line in their obedience to Him and say "I just don't think that this is for me right now." *sigh* It's like saying, "Yes Father, I love you. But I'm not going to obey right now because I like it this way. You'll understand, right? If I'm wrong, You'll forgive me, right? Besides, You know I'm not perfect." *sigh*

Oh my aching heart!

There seems to be a common theme that is weaving itself into my understanding of several things, things I never thought to connect before all seem to have this thread through it. I'll try to ramble through this as clearly as I can, but know that it's not all perfectly clear in my mind just yet either. :) Sometimes writing it down helps me see through the cobwebs in my head. LOL

There are a few themes here I want to be sure to touch on so I'll tell you what they are and if I don't adequately pull them together, feel free to let me know. There is the finding of the Torah in the days of King Josiah, the parable that we call "The Prodigal Son", and ancient discoveries such as the Baghdad battery and the well known marvels of plumbing in the ancient cultures (Romans and such). It all fits together with the scripture "But when the fulness of the time was come, G*d sent forth his Son... " Galatians 4:4.

So let's start with the Baghdad battery. We were watching a program on ancient discoveries, or better - amazing discoveries of what the ancients knew, when we saw something that struck us. The Baghdad battery is an amazing thing. This is a quote from the link: "The little jar in Baghdad suggests that Volta didn't invent the battery, but reinvented it." This little jar is about 2,000 years old! Batteries were not invented in 1800 but reinvented then. This knowledge had already been discovered. What they did with this little battery remains a mystery but it goes to show that ancient people were not any less intelligent than modern man - in fact, they were likely smarter out of pure necessity. Even with things like running water and the aquaducts running throughout Rome, Roman roads, ancient computers the harnessing of electricity in Crete (one of the forerunners to Greece) long before this is found in the vast empire of Egypt. People knew before Yeshua came that the earth was round and the circumfrence of the earth had even been calculated by a Greek mathmatician. It is simply amazing to think that humanity suffered through the dark ages and lost everything. When we realize what kind of things the ancient people knew, we wonder why on earth the American pioneers, even the Pilgrims, had to do without these things that we consider part of our every day lives. Something we once knew was lost and for millennia, we didn't even know we had lost it because we didn't know what it was. It wasn't until time had passed that these discoveries and advances were made - again. To quote Shlomo (Solomon), "There is nothing new under the sun".

In the days of King Josiah, 2 Kings 22-23, the Torah had been lost. The temple was in disrepair, there had been a succession of evil kings who not only participated in but encouraged the spiritual adultery of Judah. The people were a mess. Then we find this verse that says: "And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the L*RD". Do you understand what had happened? In the walls of the temple being repaired was discovered a copy of the Torah! It seems as if there weren't any other surviving copies of the Torah to be found anywhere, and the interesting fact that the Priest gives the scroll to the scribe to read seems to suggest that he couldn't even read himself (or maybe he didn't want to read it or maybe he wanted the king to be the first to hear it???). Judah was in a sad state indeed!

Now - pause for a minute. How did Judah and Israel get to where they were? They were still His chosen people, the apple of His eye. What had happened? I think that slowly, very slowly, and through generations of compromise, the people had replaced their love of and obedience to HaShem with pagan practices and pagan gods. I don't think that there was any one point where the nation of Israel or the people of Judah and Israel decided, "I think it's time we openly defy the G*d of our fathers and pick someone else to worship". No, I think that it happened slowly and after years of compromise that never honors or brings glory to the G*d of Avraham, Yitz'chak, and Ya'akov (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Some of these priests and elders who, I think, figured they were serving HaShem were indeed NOT serving Him at all. When did this start? Well, it started in Egypt of course - maybe even before. But even Shlomo (Solomon) in all his glory allowed and encouraged pagan worship in Israel. All of this was taking place long before Josiah, which takes us back to Josiah.

The Torah is found and read to Josiah. What is his response? "And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law [Torah], that he rent his clothes." The light shone in the darkness and Josiah recognized it, he recognized the evil of their ways for what it was. He then has the Torah read to all the people, great and small - from beginning to end. Their response was to rededicate themselves to G*d and accept the covenant He had made with Avraham, Yitz'chak, and Ya'akov. The Torah was found in his 18th year and in that same year there is yet another interesting verse in chapter 23: "And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the L*RD your G*d, as [it is] written in the book of this covenant. Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, [wherein] this passover was holden to the L*RD in Jerusalem." What is interesting is that somehow even Pesach had been lost - a little at a time. And in the 18th year of Josiah, it was found again and celebrated with such devotion and zeal that it can be said that it could not even compare to Pesach in the days of the judges or of King David. The people had found what they were missing! When the Torah was rediscovered it not only pricked the hearts of the king and the people, but it downright ripped the callouses off of their hearts. They got rid of the spiritual harlotry and drew near to HaShem. In the fullness of time the Torah was rediscovered.

It seems that it's not an uncommon thread that things are found then lost, found then lost. This seems to me a very human thing to do. :~) I know I lose things then find them, only to lose them again. I can relate to losing something significant - like my wallet or my keys.

So what does this have to do with the Prodigal Son? Nothing, until the very end. Time to put all of the above on hold for a minute and we'll come back to it, I promise. I have been reading The Mystery of the Gospel by D. Thomas Lancaster and recently read a portion on Luke 15. Also, on the radio I caught a portion of a teaching about this very parable. It is interesting how something so familiar, like the prodigal son parable, can be so new! You see, Yeshua tells this parable along with the parables of the women and the lost coin and the shepherd and his one lost lamb. These parables, a very common way for a teacher to teach in those days, were in response to a criticism in Luke 15:2 where they say: "And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." It is beyond them how He could associate with sinners and therefore He must be a sinner as well. Guilt by association. But in Luke 5 He addresses the same accusation by saying: "And Yeshua answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He held the righteous/religious to a higher standard than He did the common man. This is why He was often so harsh with them, even calling some of them (the unbelieving and proud ones who weren't really righteous) sons of Satan at one point. You see, the righteous did not need to be called to repentance the same as the sinners. The righteous were expected to be righteous - fully and wholly. The sinners were simply sinners. We often lump all Torah teachers and Pharisees and the entire Sanhedrian together with the unbelieving ones when in reality, many of these very people believed. But that's another topic again. Yeshua considered the religious/righteous of His day healthy. He had come to the sick and therefore would teach them like the shepherd who lost the one lamb, the father whose dead son returned to him, the widow who found her lost coin.

Now, the prodigal son parable context being established - what does that have to do with the accusation of hanging out with sinners? The good son represents the righteous and the prodigal (which isn't a word in the story, btw) is representative of the sinners. But I want to throw something out there, something more maybe. This is what has been working itself out in my mind concerning this parable. What if the good son represented the faithful who accepted Him, the ones who turned from their sins and believed that Yeshua was (and still is) the Messiah, the very Torah made flesh? These ones had and understood Torah and the Living Word - they understood the connection. Who, then, is the prodigal son? Well, what happens with the prodigal? He goes away from his father and looses everything. He is less than a servant in the world, he is a keeper of swine (swine is the embodiment of hypocricy in Judaism). Then one day he wakes up and recognizes where he is and how far he has fallen from his original state. He resolves to return to his father in humility and would gladly accept being even a servant in his father's household. He had lost something and then found it again. When he found it again, it changed his life forever. He understood the significance of a life without what he had lost and I imagine that he would zealously honor and obey his father, and serve him, for the rest of his life. Who has lost something that is to be brought to light in the fullness of time? WE CHRISTIANS HAVE!!

We, for generations, for millennia, have lost the fullness of G*d's Word. We have been taught lies, we have accepted doctrines such as replacement theology and believed that somehow G*d changed between the Old and New Testaments. We forgot that Peter and Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were all observant Jews who had a firm grasp and understanding of Torah and taught with the expectation that those hearing had the same foundation and understanding. We Christians lost the Torah and we didn't even realize it. But the Torah is being rediscovered among Believers everywhere and the reaction in the lives of these believers is similar to the reaction that Josiah had when he first heard the Torah read to him. Mourning and a resolve to get back to where HaShem wanted us to be in the first place. Just like the people of Judah when Josiah had the Torah read to them - they humbly accepted the covenant and zealously obeyed Him. And just like the thought of us living without plumbing or power or even computers, the thought of living without Torah is incomprehensible to those of us who have rediscovered it.

You see, things get lost. And when the time is right, they are found again. Whether it be the knowledge of plumbing or electricity or computers or Torah - when time is ripe they return. Just like it took the spread of Hellenism around the known world to prepare the way for the Gospel to be spread, everything is used for His purpose in His time. Just like there had to be a fullness of time before the Master was sent the first time, there has to be a fullness of time before He returns. The time is now and we are seeing a tremendous awakening. Are you?

The Omer Count - Today is day 27. This evening begins day 28. We are more than half way through the Counting of the Omer!!

The kids being gone for 5 days, you'd think I'd have free time to read and get caught up. *sigh* Not the case. I even got 3 books on an inter-library loan this week (I wasn't expecting them) and I doubt I will even get a chance to open them. Oh well... I spent day one driving them to the airport, waiting with them, then driving home. The second day I spent trying to get the bookkeeping caught up for the business, the farm, and our personal bookkeeping. I didn't fully finish. *blush* Then yesterday I spent with DH at work. He's got to get this job finished quickly so I thought that my time would be best spent with him at work, helping wherever I could. I hate caulking siding... Today is the errand day, the day that I try to get done all the errands I've put off for way too long. Then tomorrow is a travel day again - driving to the airport, waiting, driving home. LOL Somehow I thought that I could get the lawns mowed, the laundry folded, some books read, some writing done. LOL I guess those are things for another day, another time.

A few weeks ago I was talking with one of our tenants and he said to me, "If I had known grandkids were so much fun, I'd have had them first." I've heard that before and I don't really have a response other than "Oh." LOL But it got me thinking. Then at the airport while I waited for their plane to take off (I couldn't leave until the plane was in the air - regulations. I'm okay with that), I was talking with the gate agent who is a grandmother. She was talking about her grandson and how much fun he is and the time they spend together. I told her about my interest in the statement our tenant made and she agreed that it was true. My response to her was, "I can't imagine having more fun with grandkids than I do with my kids! I just can't think it's possible. I love spending time with my kids, we have a great time together, I enjoy them so much. How on earth could it be better?!?!" She gave me a blank stare. I figured she didn't understand what I was saying. Her only response was to mumble something about not being responsible for them as much and not having to be the one to teach them everything or discipline them and getting to spoil them, wind them up and send them home. To me, that is the saddest thing I've ever heard! Grandparents are just as called to the raising of their children as parents, to teach them, reach them, lead them, and even discipline them. So what I heard in the conversations I've had concerning that statement is more along the lines of "I get to have fun with them, do all the things that I never did with my kids, and when I'm tired or things get 'not so fun' I can send them away." What a way to rob the children. *sigh* Then again, maybe I'll have a different perspective when I'm a grandmother. I can't say for sure, but right now I find it sad. It isn't any different than the mothers who can't wait for the big yellow bus to come take their children away from them for the day and celebrate when school starts again in the fall. I just don't understand it one bit. Okay, I'll step off that soapbox for now...

With the kids getting ready to go, I was nervous. What mom wouldn't be? The kids were nervous but excited. But me being who I am, I have a mind that needs to prepare for the worst - think of what the worst possible scenarios could be and plan for them. I've decided that my mind works this way so that in the event the worst does happen, I know what to do and can react properly. So what was the worst scenario that I was preparing for at one point? The loss of my children. I had to come to the understanding, again, that these are not my children but His. I am the steward right now, teaching and raising them as He would have me to do. But they belong to Him and if it is their time, there isn't anything I could ever do to change that. And if it was their time that it would be good, because He is good. I wouldn't have to be pleased with it, but I would have to accept it and know that it is best in His eyes. There is a huge difference between knowing the words and applying them to your heart and owning them. I had to come to the place where I could let go of them and know that they are in His hands - as always - and out of my control completely. They are His to do with as He pleases - just as I am. Now I know that He loves them and that life is very valuable to Him. But I cannot claim to know the mind of HaShem! Should I find myself in the place that Job was in, I would have to take on his same attitude - should I receive the good from Him and not the bad? Should I praise Him in the good times and not in the bad? I would need to have a heart like my Master and know that He is in control of all things and works all of them for His glory and purpose. So - knowing what I would do in the event something horrible happened to my kids, I found peace. It was only then that I was able to sleep peacefully and be excited for the kids over their adventure - alone in a different corner of the country without their Mama. :-) I just hope that I'll never have to call on that "worst case scenario plan".

This past Shabbat we focused on the difference between holiness and righteousness. Our Torah reading portion included Leviticus 19 which is considered the chapter of the commandments of holiness. I was utterly amazed that the kids were able to answer my question, "What is the difference between holiness and righteousness?" Why amazed? Because I had never thought about it before and when I came to this understanding that week it was a new light bulb that turned on. Somehow the kids already knew this. :~) That is totally exciting to me! Anyway, when I look up holy in the dictionary I get a different definition than when I look into the word k'dosh. I find k'dosh means to be set apart, to be different, to be other than. When I look up holy I find that it means being associated with a divine power, having high religious morals and values, regarded as worthy, etc. These two definitions don't fit together in my mind. Holy is defined by what k'dosh does. But knowing that k'dosh is the word that is translated as holy, it is easier to understand what the Scriptures are saying to us. When HaShem tells us to be holy because He is holy, He is telling us to be set apart because He is set apart, He has set us apart. He is telling us to be like Him, to imitate Him, to obey Him. Leviticus 19 tells us how to be set apart, it is one of the primary chapters of holiness. Interestingly, k'dosh is closely associated with and linked to the Creator's Name in which gives it added meaning. Okay, on to righteousness. Righteousness is defined in the dictionary as being without sin or guilt. This is exactly what Scripture alludes to and seems to be properly translated. So what am I getting at here? :-) We often think of being holy as being without sin. But we are incorrect. Holy is separate, different, set apart (by Him and for Him). When someone calls you "holier than thou" it is a compliment, though not intended to be taken as one. We are to be a strange people, in the world and not of it, different from the rest. Why? So that our light might shine in the dark world and the Father be glorified, that all may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. That is holiness. We are all called to holiness. Righteousness is sinlessness. We are called to pursue righteousness, though none is righteous but Yeshua. It is by our being covered by His blood and His Name that we are considered righteous. This moves me into our topic for this Shabbat.

This Shabbat our topic will be on His reputation. He is jealous of His reputation. It is a serious matter indeed!! And we, bearing His Name, affect His reputation. When we are holy, we are displaying Him properly. When we are holy according to His standards, we are accurately reflecting Who He Is. When we are unholy, we are dragging His reputation through the mud. We give an inaccurate impression of Who He Is and He is not pleased at all, it brings Him no glory whatsoever. His reputation is to be one of righteousness and holiness. Knowing that we could never be righteous on our own, He sent His Son - the Righteous Son. We have known all along that the blood of bulls and goats never brought righteousness and a full cleansing of sin. Why? Because we sin again and need cleansing again, it is a cycle. We are sinful beings. But the shedding of His blood covers us and ushers us into His presence. Do we understand His reputation and His righteousness and His holiness? This is the focus of our Shabbat together this week. I am so looking forward to it!!

I've rambled enough. I have a ton of things to get done today and my sitting here isn't getting them accomplished. LOL I hope everyone reading has a wonderful day today and a great weekend. I know we will!!

Proverbsch22v6Homeschool wrote in a comment: "I have a question, Where or rather How do you view baptism as a Torah observent believer?" I'll do my best to answer that question. Remember, I'm no expert!!!

Baptism is not something that is new with the advent of Christianity. Remember, John the Baptist was baptizing people before he baptized Yeshua. Baptism is also something that was very common among the group of people who kept and wrote what we call the Dead Sea Scrolls. Baptisms took place long before the days of the Messiah. The word is Mikvah, our English Bibles call it baptism. It was very symbolic of the death of the old and the leaving it behind to be new and fresh. One of the primary rituals of cleansing is mikvah/baptism/bathing/washing.

From this link we read this: "Mikvah" - (f., pl. "Mikvaot"); a ritual pool of water, used for the purpose of attaining ritual purity. Immersion in a Mikvah is performed for the following main purposes:

It is used in connection with Repentance, to remove the impurity of sin.

It is also used in connection with Conversion, because the convert has taken upon himself or herself to adopt the lifestyle of the Jew, that is based on the recognition of G-d as King of the Universe and on the obligation to perform the commandments of the Torah.

It is the ritual act that divides two periods of time - the period of separation when marital relations are forbidden, because the wife is in the state of "niddah," and the period of union when such relations are not only permissible but regarded as essential to a healthy marriage.

So we see that the mikvah is a common Jewish/Hebrew practice dating back long before the days of the Messiah. The crossing of the Sea of Suf (Red Sea) at the Exodus is a type of mikvah - passing through the water, recognition of two separate periods of time, when Israel began to follow YHVH in a more intimate manner and He revealed Himself to them shortly after. The whole idea and history of the mikvah isn't something today's Christians understand. We seem to think that the first baptisms were directly related to John and that Yeshua and His disciples were quick to follow. That's not the case. When you know what the word is and how it's used, you see that way back at Mt. Sinai with Moshe G*d sets out the mikvah as a form of cleansing.

Personally, what is my belief concerning repentance and baptism and salvation? I believe that baptism is an outward symbol of an inward change. That is a fairly typical response. But what does that mean? It means that I have died to the old man and am agreeing to follow G*d as my Master, to submit my whole being to Him. It is a cleansing symbol. I think that's a fairly generic Christian understanding of baptism today. But what I think is different is that when we begin to understand the history and original meaning of baptism/mikvah, the meaning is so much fuller. Something clicks and we say, "YES! That's it!" even though we don't have any new words to explain what it is. At least, that's how it has been for me.

As far as infant baptism or forced baptism, I do not agree with either of those practices. I don't think they do anyone any harm other than in two ways: 1) The one being baptized has no inward change. Baptism isn't a magic formula that makes things happen, it's a response and a cleansing that is willfully done. 2) Mikvah was set out by G*d as a form of cleansing and separation and acknowledging that He is G*d. To make light of the process does His reputation no good and does not bring Him glory or honor.

:~) I'm glad my ramblings are interesting and maybe even helpful. I'm loving the comments too.

edited to include: I was recently referred to a site that looks like it's a great resource! And at this site is a PDF on mikvah - I'll post the link to the PDF here . This is the link to the home page of the whole site.

There is an interesting phenomena that seems to to take place among Believers when they begin to realize the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith. What often has happened, as I've seen and experienced it, is a fascination with all things Jewish. It is exciting to learn about traditions and habits that come from Scripture that predate Christianity. It's exciting and fun. It has been described to me as "The round peg that goes in the round hole I've been trying to cram a square peg into all these years - it fits!" My concern is that I've seen a lot of people get enamored with all things Jewish and in the end lose the Messiah, even denying Him. *gasp* Really. Let me explain.

Why Jewish? Well, who are the people that G*d chose to reveal Himself to? Who are the people He chose to give His Word to? Who are the people He chose to live among, to take as His own treasured possession, to discipline and to bless? It is the Jewish people. Who has taken His Word and applied it to their everyday lives with traditions and habits? Who has protected His Word for several millennia and incorporated it into almost every fabric of their collective lives? The Jewish people. It is exciting for a Believer to begin to understand the entirety of Scripture and realize that, "Hey, these people have been doing it like this for thousands of years! I can learn from them!" This is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a wonderful thing to long to incorporate G*d's ways into our lives, even in the smallest part of it. I personally believe that often this is the moving of the Spirit within the Believer to take the Word seriously and apply it - to not just read it but do it, to put it into practice and not be just hearers but doers of the Word. I also believe that sometimes it's not the Spirit moving the Believer as much as it's the fascination with "all things Jewish" and the heart is in a different place. Sometimes I've seen people make these choices and changes with a "Hey, look at me!" attitude rather than an attitude of love and service to the Most High G*d. In fact, sometimes I've been guilty of that myself.

I have known several people who, in their learning and discovering, begin to simply accept all things Jewish simply because it's Jewish and therefore it must be right. I've also known people who will fight and argue the validity of certain traditions and rituals based on the Jewish tradition rather than Scripture, based on the interpretation of a Rabbi over the clear words of Scripture. That is evidence of a line crossed - the line between desiring to be Jewish and desiring to be Biblical.

Keep in mind that the Jewish traditions have been subject to the very same enemy of our souls as have the Christian traditions. Neither have been exempt from the infiltration of evil. The difference is that the Jewish traditions and culture began at Mt. Sinai with the giving of the Torah. Yes, it took time for the people to make changes and learn His ways. But the majority of the traditions and rituals and ways of life are all based on Scripture. Often the traditions are fences around the command to ensure that the command will be kept, many of them are very good and many of them Yeshua kept Himself. The Christian traditions are sometimes based on Scripture but are also often based on Christian tradition - something that didn't exist in the days of the Messiah or even in the first few hundred years after His ministry on earth. This explains the fascination of Believers with all things Jewish.

For example: Unleavened Bread is the festival that lasts for one week and is often referred to as Passover because Passover is the beginning of this festival. During this week G*d's people are not to eat any leavened bread. Jewish tradition says that during this week one may only eat of unleavened bread that has been blessed or approved by a Rabbi. We have never been concerned with bread that is blessed or approved by a Rabbi. I don't recall that being a Scriptural command. I do understand and appreciate the desire of the people to make sure that what they are consuming is indeed kosher and approved as fit for consumption, so I appreciate and understand the tradition of eating only what has been approved by a Rabbi. I have no qualms about my food being approved by a Rabbi at all! I just don't think that it is necessary to fulfill the requirement. If I made the bread myself, I know it is unleavened and that I have fulfilled the command. Eating bread that is not blessed is not a sin.

It is certainly better to do and obey without thinking about it than to disobey without thinking about it. That is not the issue. The issue here is the fascination with the tradition at the expense of the command. There are traditions that are Scripturally unnecessary. These are what the Master referred to in Matthew 15 and in Mark 7 when He was speaking about some of the people of His day keeping the traditions and considering them more holy than the commands. Paul said the same in Colossians 2 when he speaks of not being corrupted by the traditions of man that are not in accordance with the Master and the Word. Remember, Torah is never the tradition of man. It is the Word of the Most High G*d. It is the traditions built around the Torah that were spoken against here because some of these traditions violated the heart of the Torah and sometimes the traditions were considered more important than Torah itself. Later on in 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul commands the believers to remove themselves from those who do not keep the traditions that were handed down by Paul, who remember was a Pharisee of Pharisees and studied at the feet of one of the most respected Jewish Rabbi's of all time. He was zealous for Torah, he said so and his writings show that to be true. I am quite sure that some of the traditions he handed down to the believers were Jewish Biblical traditions. I am certain that these traditions that Paul handed down were the same traditions that the Master kept during His earthly ministry and that the Disciples and Apostles also kept.

So traditions are not bad. In fact, they can be very good. They are teaching tools, they are tools of remembering, they are outward symbols of what is on the inside. But the issue is not the traditions themselves. The issue is the heart and where the value is placed. What I have seen in some people is the fascination with these traditions eclipses the G*d whom these traditions are aiming to serve. This is what the Master spoke against. I have seen people become so zealous for tradition that they begin to do what Judaism does and attend Orthodox Synogagues and sit under non-believing Rabbi's who teach them that Yeshua was not the Messiah and that to say He was is a sin. Can you believe that some people who begin as believers and seek "all things Jewish" would ever deny the Messiah? It is sad, but I have seen it happen at least once and possibly several more times. What causes a believer to be so zealous and then fall away? It is not the tradition. It is the faith of the believer in the tradition rather than in the Living Word.

There was a time in the early church history when the Jewish leaders were so fed up with the believers that they added to their traditions things that are very anti-Yeshua the Messiah. For one to be a "true Jew" one had to deny that Yeshua was the Messiah. It is sad. I can only imagine being a Believing Jew, as the majority of the early church was even when the Gentiles were beginning to be brought to faith in the Messiah. There was a time in early church history, after the Believing Gentile population outnumbered the Believing Jewish population, when the church came up with equally divisive creeds and traditions, that any Jew is a "Christ killer" and that the church had replaced Israel as the apple of G*d's eye. To me that sounds like one son being a little irked with another son and the pair squabbling as to who Daddy loves more. We see this kind of behavior with little children, "He's MY Daddy." "No, He's MY Daddy" I remember my brother and cousin fighting over whose Grandpa our Grandpa was. LOL They were maybe 4 or 5 when they had this fight. I wonder how G*d sees this squabble - neither side honor Him in the least with this squabble and yet both sides feel they are honoring Him the most. *sigh* Oh to find the middle ground!!!

So in our home, we strive to keep our traditions Biblically based and not based on Judaism. Often our traditions will be very Jewish in nature, which is to be expected. After all, who was it that was given the Word and preserved it for all time? Who is it that has molded their society after the Word over the past several millennia? Who is it that is associated with keeping these practices and living in this way? So for us today to begin to pattern our lives after Scripture and make lifestyle changes, we too will look Jewish. There are many Jewish customs and traditions that are so rich in meaning and so very good for the family and the life of the Believer, it is a shame that many people overlook them and say "Oh, that's Jewish. I'm not Jewish." Well, to celebrate the coming of age of our children and to express to them the importance of their own responsibility before G*d is a GOOD THING! It is better to celebrate this new stage of life rather than grieve the trauma of teen years. Can you see the very different messages in these two ways of handling the teen years? The Bar/Bat Mitzvah is a good tradition that is very Jewish. They have touched on something very important to society as a whole.

I have rambled a lot without meaning to do so. I suppose to sum up what is on my heart concerning this is that when we begin to understand the Hebrew roots of our faith in a Jewish Messiah, there is a temptation to want to become Jewish. This is natural. It is natural to begin to keep His holy appointments and to make lifestyle changes that reflect our commitment to His whole Word. This is not Jewish, it is Biblical. It is natural to investigate Jewish traditions and sometimes be fascinated with them and even adopt these traditions and practices into our lives. It is not a bad thing at all. But remember that the zealousness must be for the Master and not for traditions of men - either Jewish or Christian. Traditions of man are not looked upon favorably by the L*RD as we saw in the Matthew and Mark verses mentioned above, it is the traditions taught to us by our ABBA that are looked upon with favor when they are done with a right heart. If you are a believer in Yeshua the Messiah as the Righteous Son of the Most High G*d, then you are adopted into the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are grafted into that vine as a wild olive branch that will be cultivated. There is no need to become Jewish, because you already are of spiritual Hebrew descent.

Psalm 119 says these things, and they are my prayer: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word... I will run in the way of your mitzvot (teachings), for you have broadened my understanding... Therefore I love your mitzvot more than gold, more than fine gold. Thus I direct my steps by [Your] precepts; every false way I hate...

There is an article, it is a 4 part PDF file, that addresses the issue of tradition. I must confess I have not read it in full just yet. But I am going to post a link to that article for anyone who may want to read it. Tradition Some Thoughts on the Place of Tradition in Torah Communities written by Tim Hegg

In recent weeks in my Bible study I have come to a few incidents that I have been given a new perspective on. In the midst of this I have been involved in several conversations with friends concerning similar issues. So - because I feel like there is something that the L*RD is teaching me, I am going to write about it. It may be helpful to be familiar with my previous posts concerning the Counting of the Omer and the Betrothal because it all ties together. I’ve had a few friends ask me to post about this so they can read it for themselves. So here it is! :~)

I’ll post links regarding some of these topics at the end of the message for anyone who is interested in reading further.

Exodus 19-32

In Exodus 32 when Moshe is up on Mt. Sinai receiving the teachings from G*d, Ahron is left in charge of the people in the camp. After Moshe had been away for some time the people became restless and demanded that Ahron make them a golden calf so they could worship G*d. Has this ever struck you as the weirdest thing? What on earth were they thinking? Here they had a considerable amount of time (some say a year) to go through the plagues that were brought upon Pharaoh and Egypt. They saw with their own eyes, they lived through them, the Passover and their deliverance from captivity. Not only that, there was the crossing of the Sea of Suf (the Red Sea) and the Pillar of Cloud by day and Pillar of Fire by night. What about the water from the rock, the manna, the very fact that G*d spoke to them from Mt. Sinai! How could an entire nation of people, both Hebrew and non-Hebrew (remember, they were a mixed multitude), experience such incredible evidences of G*d and His love for them, accept His proposal of marriage, and then turn to worship a golden calf and false gods?! I submit to you that this is not what they were doing.

The people were without their leader, Moshe. They longed to worship G*d and bring Him honor. But they simply didn’t understand His ways. They wanted so badly to worship Him, it is a need within each of us, it is how we were created. So they did what they knew. They worshiped Him with what they knew, what they brought with them from their old lives in Egypt. They had always seen, maybe participated in as well, the worship of the bull as the significant god’s representative. In their minds, the bull symbolized the great god. So, it stood to reason that they worship YHVH in the same fashion.

Now, they had been told by G*d earlier how to worship Him and how to live their lives. He specifically said not to have any graven images or to worship with the practices of the pagans. He had told them. But still, they did what they knew. They obviously didn’t take Him too seriously or maybe they didn’t want to remember exactly what He had said just weeks before as He stood before them at Mt. Sinai and entered into the betrothal (as mentioned in a previous message) as mentioned in Exodus 19:16 to 23. Maybe they figured that He’d accept something less than what He said or that He’d be pleased with just any form of worship because, after all, it is Him they were worshiping. (as if our worship is so great and He needs it. He is YHVH, we are not. It is HE that deserves so much more than our praise, it is not our praise that is so great)

So, with their hearts to worship with impure actions, was He pleased? Not on your life! 3,000 people lost their lives because of the calf and the celebration. He was angry enough to wipe them out completely and start fresh with Moshe. They dedicated this celebration to the L*RD, not to the calf or to the pagan gods. They did it for Him, but it was simply unacceptable. His anger waxed hot - that’s not a warm fuzzy feeling, that’s righteous anger.

Now, hold that thought as I move on to Ahron’s sons and the strange fire in Leviticus 10.

Ahron and his sons have just spent the past week being consecrated for service to G*d in the Tabernacle. They were to be cleansed and holy in order to begin their services in the temple and then the L*RD would reveal Himself to the people to dwell among them and accept their sacrifices (which in Hebrew means “things brought near” - the sacrifices are things brought near to Him in our stead - with our identity placed upon them - so we can come into His presence and be near Him). Before YHVH's coming, Ahron and his sons needed to be pure and they needed to purify the people. What happens when sinful man stands in the presence of the Most Holy G*d? They die.

At any rate, Nadab and Abihu decided to do something other than what G*d had said to do. They offered strange fire. What was that? What does that mean? Some say they were drunk, though I don’t find that too likely given the circumstances. Others say that they offered a different mix of incense than what was prescribed. Still others say that it was the fire that was the problem - remember, G*d had ignited the fire on the alter Himself as He accepted the sacrifices of the people. This was the fire that was never to go out. Did Nadab and Abihu get their fire from somewhere else? Really, I don’t think it matters so much what they did exactly but the important phrase is this: “which He had not commanded them to do”. They did something other than what was commanded, they did their own thing. The consequences were severe - they were struck dead right before the sanctuary and while they were wearing their brand new white linen garments and ministering in His presence.

So what am I getting at here? Early on in the betrothal period, He made it clear that His Word is important and keeping it is equally important. How many other times in Scripture can you think of examples where a person or people didn’t keep His commands and they suffered terribly or simply died? I can think of quite a lot! He is a holy G*d and He has called us to be holy because He is holy. How do we do that? By obedience to His commands, His Word. Yes, it is that important. We must not miss the messages He has recorded for us in both the Tanakh (Torah, Prophets, and Writings) and in the Apostolic Scriptures - the whole Bible. We must not read through these times and these lessons and say “Oh gee, that was weird”. We must put thought into these things and then action.

If our worship of Him is important enough to Him that we do it in the prescribed way, what does that mean for us today? We have no Temple. As Christians, we have been taught that so many things don’t apply to us because “they’re for the Jews” or “we’re under the new covenant now”. Those are topics for another conversation, but I’ll simply leave those thoughts with these questions. Did G*d change? Can He change? Does what He want ever change? If He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow - how is change possible? And if He did change, even a little bit, can He change again? If He once accepted a people and has now rejected them, what says He won’t reject us? The answer is that He cannot change, nothing has changed. We have tried to change what Scripture means and how we apply it. It is we who have changed because of our lack of understanding the foundations. We need to get back to the basics of Scripture where YHVH revealed His will and His heart for His people and gave them commands to live by. Yeshua, the Word made flesh, lived by these very principles - He embodied them. We are to walk as He walked and do what He did. We are to follow in His footsteps as His students and imitate His every move. We cannot do that if we are not keeping His commands, and how can we keep them if we don’t know them or think they apply to us?

It is common knowledge today that the traditional Christian holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Lent, etc all stem from pagan origins. For some, this is new and distrubing information. It was upsetting for us when we learned this. Without getting into the origins and the Scripture references that refute this kind of worship of our Creator, I’ll simply say that at the end of this I’ll include a few links for those who are interested in looking into this topic and coming to their own conclusions. My concern is less about the pagan origins of traditional Christian worship and more about worshiping Him as He commanded. There is a significant difference between the two. I posted a while ago about Pagan Hunting and I think this may address my thoughts on the matter well.

What matters is not what we want so much as what we do. Some say “He knows your heart” and while that has truth to it, it is not license to do whatever we want and expect that He’ll accept it. He has not left us to wonder or guess what He wants from us. He has gone to great lengths to reveal Himself through Moshe, through the prophets and judges, through kings, through apostles, and the Greatest One - His Son, the Son of Righteousness - the Word made flesh. The job is in our hands, to read the Word, to study and do it, to test EVERYTHING against Scripture and to remove what is lacking as one cuts away dead flesh.

When we worship, our foucs is not to be on ourselves and how we feel about it. It matters very little if we feel good or if we get something from our worship or if it’s fun. That is worship of self. Our worship needs to be focused on G*d and it needs to be found acceptable in His sight. What’s more is that Believers are the ones to help hold other Believers accountable in their walks. We are not held accountable by the non-beleivers. G*d is foolishness to them. So it shouldn’t matter even a little bit if the non-believers don’t understand or don’t agree with our worship of our Savior. It is the body of Believers who are to hold eachother up, hold eachother accountable, bear one another’s burdens, and function as each one was created.

Let us not be found compromising our worship of the One True G*d, the Creator of the Universe, the Author and Perfector of our faith. Let us not be weighed on the scales and found wanting. We all want to worship Him in such a way that He is glorified and honored and pleased. I highly doubt that there is anyone out there who is more concerned with their worship for their own purposes than for His glory. But the trouble is that we have inherited lies and we don’t even know it. Jeremiah 16:19 That’s the trouble with lies - we don’t know they’re lies until the light exposes the darkness. The Word gives light and understanding, study it. Study primarily the Word, not someone else's understanding of the Word. Don't accept anything that does not pass the test of Scripture.

Psalm 19 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O L*RD, my strength, and my redeemer

As we inspect our lives in the time of the Counting of the Omer, let's look into how we worship Him. We were created to worship Him. There is much mentioned about what true worship is in Scripture and you may notice that a lot of it has to do with doing and the purity of heart. Let's make sure that we are doing what He has asked, not more and not less, and that we do it with a pure and grateful heart. This is something I often need reminding of, which is partly why these new revelations are so dear to me.

Everyone is born with certain gifts and talents. In Proverbs 22:6 where it says to train up a child in the way he should go, it is referring to their natural bent, their gifts and talents. As parents we are to help our children discover their G*d given talents and abilities and then to help them develop them. To me, this is tremendously exciting! I love watching my children grow in the areas they have been gifted.

When one becomes a believer, we are to take these in-born gifts and talents and use them for His glory. But more than that, often times we are given additional gifts from G*d once we accept Him as our Master. These are gifts indeed!

I have for years struggled with what my gifts and talents are. About 4 years ago I took a survey in a class at church. The results didn't bring me any comfort. LOL It showed that I was a teacher and that made me quite frustrated because I wasn't teaching. We had just recently begun to home school and that didn't seem to be filling my "teaching need". LOL It also said that I was gifted with administrative skills and leadership skills. I laughed. I didn't put much thought into that survey after that.

Recently we did another Spiritual Gift Analysis online. We had all the kids 12 and over take it too. It was quite interesting for all of us. Then today my mom sent me a link and asked me to take a Gifts Survey online. I would encourage you to take some time to do one or both of these tests as they are not only fun ;-) but interesting.

I'll post my results here for you all to see, if you're interested. The test results from a few years ago are almost identical to the ones we took about 6 weeks ago. To me, that was the most interesting of all!

I scored:

So according to these results, my primary gifts are Teaching, Exhortation, and Pastor/Shepherd with Administration in number four.

The second test that I took this morning placed me like this:
The Perceiver: 85%
The Server: 75%
The Teacher: 100%
The Encourager: 60%
The Giver: 60%
The Ruler: 80%
Showing Mercy: 20%

LOL I guess I'm not full of mercy in either test! *blush*

I want to encourage anyone reading to consider taking one of these quizzes, even if you have already done so before. After your quiz, go to your husband or a close friend and ask them what they think your gifts are without telling them what your scores were. You may be quite surprised at how they will answer! Then tell them what your results are and see if they agree. I thought that comparing the test from years ago with the test recently would show great differences between the two - but it did just the opposite! Then the test today with the one several weeks ago are quite similar as well.

So what now? Take these gifts and develop them for His glory. That is, after all, why He gave them to you. We can't all be feet or mouths or hands or ears. We are all part of one body and every part is necessary. When one part doesn't function properly or fully, the whole body suffers. Not one part is unimportant! Often times an ear wishes it could be a hand or a foot wishes it could be a mouth. But that isn't the way He created us. It is good to admire those with other gifts, but do not covet them. Develop what He has given you. There is much joy in that.

But what is more, as parents we need to help our children discover their gifts and talents and then help them develop what G*d has given each of them. It is our duty, our responsibility. I remember reading The Power of a Praying Wife or maybe it was in The Power of a Praying Parent where Stormie Omartain talks about the difference in children who had parents who prayed over their gifts/profession/spouses/etc compared to children whose parents did not. That impacted me. More than just prayer, we need to be active in helping our children grow into the young men and women they were created to be - for His glory.

My answer to the above questions is: "When asked these questions I generally am at a loss for words (rare, I know). "What" we are doesn't seem to have a denominational tag. We are Christians who believe in Jesus (whom we try to call by His Hebrew name, Yeshua). We believe that we have been grafted into the vine of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by our faith in the Messiah (Yeshua/Jesus) Who is the Root of that vine. We believe that the great divorce between Biblical Judaism and modern Christianity is incorrect and unfortunate. We believe that G*d has not changed - He cannot change - and what He laid out at Mt. Sinai for His children is applicable today. He still wants what He has always wanted from us and He told us specifically what that is. He even sent His Son to teach and demonstrate to us exactly what He expects from His children. That Son died for all who would believe and now is our High Priest at the Father's side."

Some put us in the category of Messianic Gentiles and while that is probably the closest description to what we believe, there are movements within those circles that are far from what we believe as well. So we're a little of this, a little of that, a lot of one and a lot of the other.

There are a few articles that do a fine job of explaining, roughly, what we believe. Restoring That Which Was Lost! is a great article to touch briefly on what we believe. The author is a joy to read and learn from, we highly respect his writings. His book Restoration is one we highly recommend to anyone and everyone. There are other articles at the website where both the above links will take you and all of them are of great value. There is another site that has a multitude of great information, for those who are interested, here. There are links on my sidebar as well to other sites that we learn a lot from.

But when we are answering a quick question about what it is we believe, we can't always give websites and books. We need to be able to give a quick and adequate answer to the question asked. If I could answer, "Yes, we're Baptist" most people would understand that. If I could answer, "No, I'm Hindu" most people would understand that too. But for us to answer, "Yes, we're Torah observant Believers" that seems to lead to more confusion than clarification. I think we're closer to an adequate answer today than before. Knowing how to give an answer for your faith and in Whom you believe is critical, being able to communicate that clearly so the hearer understands is critical. This is why I'm excited that I think I may have come up with at least a decent response.

I came across a site the other day that advertised some books with the theme of the modern church being entirely polluted by pagan practices. From the looks of the site, it seemed that these books were a call out of the modern traditional church and into - something else. The site was very vague about what the doctrine or beliefs of the creator actually is/was.

This isn't a new idea to me. In fact, I've spent the past few years hearing "pagan" this and "pagan" that over a wide variety of subjects. I agree that a lot of todays common practices do stem from pagan worship, but I think the main focus has been misapplied. G*d was very clear in Scripture that He doesn't want His children picking up the ways of the pagans and He didn't want His children worshiping Him with their ways. In fact, He set out specific holy days and festivals for His children to have community together, to teach the next generation, and to worship Him as He has prescribed - weekly, monthly, and seasonally. Beyond setting up specific holy days, He set out specific ways to worship. Because He has not changed, cannot change, I believe that these forms of worship and holy days are still the days He wants His children to keep.

So you'd think that my opinion of the site I mentioned first would be, "Yeah, right on!" right? Wrong. What I've seen so often over the years is how easy it is to focus on "pagan this" and "pagan that" and work on weeding these things out of our lives with such a passion that G*d is forgotten. I think it's good that when you learn of something that is other than what He prescribed to decide to cut it out of your life, I don't think that should be a driving force. But when the driving force is to remove something bad, is that the final goal? Is that honoring of the Holy One? Some decide not to worship at all. Some decide not to keep things worth celebrating, things we're instructed by Him to celebrate, because people find themselves with a paralyzing fear or concern that they will do something wrong so they opt not to do anything. What I've seen is that the focus on the "pagan hunt" rarely includes a "God hunt".

What I have seen in so many people I know is that the hunt for paganism becomes the overwhelming drive and the focus on G*d is lost. What I personally believe is best is to study His word and do what He said - period. As we learn and grow and discover what is pagan-centered worship, evaluate it and pray over it then do whatever you feel led to do about it. But don't let that become the focus of your life. The primary goal should not be rooting out all paganism. The primary goal should be learning and applying HIS WORD.

What benefit does a person have by studying paganism? Rather than study what isn't acceptable, study what is acceptable and apply that. Take the knowledge you have now and direct the passion into finding out what He wants, rather than what He doesn't want. Why study what other teachers and commentaries say about Scripture and what G*d wants? Why not study Scripture itself and find out for yourself? After all, Whose Word is eternal? Shouldn't that be the Word you study most?

Remember the children's song "Goin on a lion hunt.... I'm not afraid...."? Whenever I encounter someone who his on a pagan hunt, I sing this song to myself. Why not go on a G*d hunt? Why let the enemy of our souls sidetrack us on some silly tangent? Anything to take our focus away from the Holy One is good with him, and shouldn't be with us.

I think it was in Holy Cow! or maybe it was in Restoration (both books are referenced in my sidebar) I read something that has stuck with me concerning the Biblical diet. If I can put the idea into my own words, keeping to the Biblical dietary laws is like keeping sin out of your life. Now, before someone thinks I'm calling ham or prawns sin, hear me out. LOL

When we investigate what we are eating and inspect what goes into our bodies so we don't consume things that weren't created or intended for human consumption, we are reminding ourselves of how we need to keep a close eye on our lives so we don't let sin in. When we read labels for things like gelatin and other 'off limit' products, we are reminding ourselves that we need to look deep into the things we say, things we do, places we go, and thoughts we think for areas of sin. When we turn down the opportunity to consume these foods, we are reminding ourselves that we CAN turn down sinful opportunities as well. This is something our family often reminds one another about, espically since there are those in our family who LOVED ham, prawns, clam chowder, marshmallows, jello, etc. :~) Some have even said these very words to me: "It's harder to give up marshmallows than Christmas!" LOL

What occurred to me tonight at dinner was this: When we mourn the loss of these 'forbidden foods' we are in a sense mourning the loss of sin. Is that worth mourning over? How foolish is that?! Yes, we did eat these things in the past and there are times when we're somewhere that something we shouldn't have is on the menu. And there are times when some of us look longingly at it and make a comment that "sure would be nice..." But when we realize what we're saying and how it works into the thought I mentioned above, it becomes a horrible realization! We talked about mourning the loss of our sin and how silly and foolish that would be.

When we made a decision to follow His instructions in Torah, we realized that it would require some serious lifestyle changes - permanent ones. We were thrilled to be privileged enough to be called His children though faith and were more than willing to obey. Why on earth would we then mourn the loss of the things of the flesh? Of course we wouldn't. So, the question was asked, why mourn the 'loss' of certain foods? :~)

Our Cover to Cover "For Thought and Contemplation" at the end of the study included this nugget of truth: "No work of G*d is ever established without opposition. Perhaps you are finding this to be true in your own life at this very moment. Be encouraged; opposition may seem to work against you - but it really works for you. It makes you less dependent on yourself and more dependent on G*d."

We have been studying the prophets for a while now and we're loving it. We're loving how HaShem is bringing into our lives all sorts of things to compliment our studies - from TV shows to magazines to conversations with others. It's great!! It is so refreshing to see how He works things together to encourage us in our walk, our search of Him. It is so encouraging because we do often feel so alone and so opposed.

I had a former pastor once tell me that he believed I was a prophet. I laughed at him. But since then I've wondered often what it was he meant. Do I consider myself anything like a prophet? Not a chance. :) LOL Recently I was involved in a conversation about what a prophet is exactly and are there truly prophets today like there were in ancient days. So many people today expect a prophet to be like a fortune teller, someone who can tell them the future or give them good luck. Prophets never worked that way!! How dishonorable to HaShem!! Prophets ALWAYS called the people back to Torah, back to YHVH. They always called people out of their sin and back to His ways. Sometimes Ha Shem would give them a glimpse of what was to come, but that's His choice. The signs of a true prophet are outlined in Scripture and they are simply that he speak the Word of G*d, to call people to a right standing with Him, and to never give up. If they ever teach against Torah and live lives less than honorable to Him, they are to be stoned. This is something to keep in mind when reading about the Messiah, Yeshua. He NEVER taught or lived against Torah. If He had, not only would He never have been considered a threat but He would have never been noticed. But that's another topic.

The prophets were often stoned to death by the leaders of the day, very few were ever taken seriously. It seems that always after the events they prophesied about came to pass that the people seemed to take note of what was said. That's not too different than we are today, in fact, that's exactly how we are today. The prophets were ignored and treated horribly in their day yet revered and honored in later times. They took a strong stand against what was normal of their day, one man said they were social advocates of sorts. Their lives were used as living examples, living parables, to teach the people. That takes devotion and courage, courage which must have come from Him. These are men to pattern our lives after - men who did not compromise, no matter the cost. These are men who were fully devoted, no matter the occasion. These are heroes.

What was encouraging about this to me last night was that I often feel like I'm swimming up-stream. We attend a non-denom. church, a rather large one at that. But when people get to know us a little more and find that we take the entire Bible seriously and don't very often fall into the traditional interpretation of many Scriptures, the opposition begins and sometimes it's hard. It's also hard when we don't know many others in our area who are of the same mind, and those we do know have left the traditional church. We don't feel that leading, we feel a need to stay where we are and teach when the opportunities come. I want to be dependent on Him more than myself. Sometimes the process of developing that is painful...

"The first time I had to present my defense, no one stood by me; everyone deserted me - may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth." 2 Timothy 4:16-17

We are certainly not the first, nor will we be the last, to find ourselves in this position. Praise Him!!

Shabbat Shalom! That is a Sabbath greeting, akin to wishing you a peaceful Sabbath. :)

We are finishing up our preparations for Shabbat (Sabbath) and with today's events, I am afraid that we're not nearly as prepared as we could be. *sigh* But that's okay, we're all really looking forward to this Shabbat. Last Shabbat I was in the hospital, so we weren't prepared at all last week! LOL This week is better. I'm really looking forward to our family study this week - nobody but ME knows what the topic is this week. :) As soon as I get this week's Torah portion commentary printed, I'll be off-line till Sunday evening. We have a family get-together on Sunday and they've asked me to make several loves of Challah bread. I'm not sure if that's an open door or not... Praying that we'll take whatever opportunities we're given and use them for HIS glory! I'm actually excited about Sunday.