Behold! Geulah draws nigh!

Miriam was more than perplexed. She was filled with awe and wonder and holy fear. Who was she that she should be given the incredible favor to be visited by a brilliant messenger and hear not only that the promises of the Most High were about to be fulfilled, but that she, a humble righteous one would actually get to participate!

She could share some of what she knew, but most had to be held closely to the vest and wait on the Lord to unfold in His time. What wonder and excitement she must have felt. Then, to gather with Elizabeth who had another piece of the puzzle, another part of the whole, and compare notes? It brought a flood of tears of joy!! Not only was she not crazy and not alone, but the sudden revelation that the Father was working in multiple ways, through multiple people and yet keeping hidden, for a time the plan that was being manifest.

What must that heady cocktail of emotion, Divine Presence and deep conviction have felt like? How joyous to share with a few who knew and understood? How challenging to stand, even move forward, in the face of the myriad doubters and question filled observers?

I woke this morning pondering Ezra, Nehemiah, Miriam (Mary), Joseph, Elizabeth, Moses and many others who ‘happened’ to live at a critical juncture in prophecy and were gifted not only with the eyes to see, but the opportunity to participate! Each had a journey Continue reading “Behold! Geulah draws nigh!”

Dividing and Gathering

20161029_165208 During last week’s Torah Portion, Tommy and Dorothy Wilson, while leading the Shabbat discussion at the Second B’ney Yosef Congress, made a statement that I found very interesting and insightful. Of course, the Portion was Bresheit and their focus was on the creation and fall of Adam and Chava.

As we read the Portion, we noted the dividing and bringing together of light and dark into one day, the dividing of waters below waters and the sky, then the dividing of waters and land, etc, etc. In each case, the dividing revealed something and the bringing together revealed something else in how each relates to the other and how together he parts reveal aspects of the Creator.

This process culminates in the dividing out of Chava from Adam. He was perfect, yet, Abba chose to divide him, taking Chava out of him and then immediately bringing the two back together. We know, quite well, that men and women are different and that each reveals different aspects of the Father. Man and woman started as one, were divided. Fell in rebellion and are in the process of being restored.

All of this we know. Continue reading “Dividing and Gathering”

There shall be signs in the heavens….

20161030_223553 — Al and Char McCarn, Mark and Polly Webb, Pete and Kelly Rambo, David Altman

As we were touring parts of Israel in the days prior to the Second B’ney Yosef National Congress, I found myself, more than a few times, looking forward to talking to BYNA Elder Mark Webb who I knew would be in attendance. As Father’s plan would have it, Kelly and I were seated at the same table with Mark and Pollyanna the very evening we arrived at the Eshel Hashomron.

Mark is a gentle giant that I had the pleasure of meeting last year at the First Congress and have gotten to know better at each step along the way. While speaking with him on a cool March evening outside of a Thai restaurant in St Petersburg before the BYNA Summit, I learned that he and Polly are avid students of astronomy and the signs that appear in the heavens. Knowing that he has really believed for some time that 2017 is a significant time period, my immediate question, once caught up on each other’s lives and families, was to ask what new things he has been seeing and what his current thoughts are regarding eschatology.

Mark did not disappoint. Because there were several other couples seated at the table who may not have been aware of Biblical astronomy and the Hebrew use of the mazeroth, Mark began with some quick background and examples, such as Daniel, for studying the stars. Then, he shared a HUGE piece of information. Continue reading “There shall be signs in the heavens….”

Last day in Jerusalem, a mixed bag….

Tomorrow is Simchat Torah and then we head to Ariel for the Congress, so we made our last trip into Jerusalem today. Not having visited the Kotel yet, we made that our very first priority and, like last time, it was an emotional walk. So many men praying. It was a bit more crowded than last time we went, but nothing like three days ago during the Priestly Blessings when tens of thousands packed into the plaza at the base of the Wall.

It is an interesting thing. In Christendom, Scriptures speaking to the dwelling of God with man in a spiritual sense are emphasized while the Beit Hamikdash, House of Prayer (for all nations, as Solomon prayed for it to be) is de-emphasized. Still, on this trip I have met many, many Jews who are spirit filled, but may not understand the Messiah in the same way I do. The trip to the Kotel, the western Wall, dashes the Christian de-emphasize.

Along with my three younger sons, I carefully slipped through the praying mass toward an empty spot on the Wall where we could Continue reading “Last day in Jerusalem, a mixed bag….”

Urgent: Please pray for Scott Hillman!!

Those who have been with me over the last couple months are familiar with AoG Pastor Scott Hillman and his recent interview by the Tennessee state AoG Board.

Well, I do not have any details, but his wife emailed me to ask for prayer because the Board is having him reappear before them tomorrow, October 17, 2016. It is the first day of Sukkot and a High Sabbath, certainly a significant day for them to have an obedient teacher of God’s Word stand before them. May Abba give Scott grace and wisdom as well as compassionate boldness!

Traveling international with family

I was thinking yesterday how blessed we are to be taking three of our boys with us on this trip to Israel. For them it is their first international trip and for one it is his first commercial flight/airport experience.

Kelly and I have traveled overseas many times. My experience began with a bush pilot father and living in South America, then we share the military experience with overseas deployments and duty stations. Traveling with boys in tow is a first with some new lessons that I will share as we go along, but I thought for the many friends we have who would love to take a similar trip, I would offer some thoughts on how this came about and how we prepared, particularly for the expense.

Last year, Kelly and I traveled to Israel. All through the trip we ooVoo’ed our boys as well as sending texts and pictures. When we arrived home, well after their bedtime, they met us at the door with hugs and immediately expressed that we could not return to the Land without taking them. Easy for them to say!! I saw the cash register start spinning!!

Well, upon the announcement of the Congress late last year and the particular good news that it would be immediately following Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, I knew we had to go! But, how? Continue reading “Traveling international with family”

A most tender display of repentance!!

Following in an amazing letter and response between two incredible and incredibly different men, both of whom I am privileged to call friends and co-laborers in the restoration of long broken relations. I first read Ken Rank’s letter a few days ago, and it drew tears because it expresses the cry of my heart. Imagine my surprise when writer and friend, Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, reached across the fence with the kindest of responses that drew still more tears!!

Abba is doing something that is utterly amazing in our day. May we all not only be given eyes to see it, but may we also walk in this level of humility and repentance as we seek our Father’s face and his restoration of a long broken relationship!

A Yom Kippur Repentance From a Devout Non-Jew and My Jewish Response

I received this letter from Ken Rank last week. Rank founded United 2 Restore in order to bring Jews and Christians, or as he prefers to describe it, Judah and Ephraim closer together, in order to “re-build bridges of communication which have been previously burned”. He sent me this letter as part of his personal teshuvah (repentance) for Yom Kippur. My response to him was sincere, and I intend for it to be a part of my Yom Kippur prayers. Continue reading “A most tender display of repentance!!”

Imploding America and the exploding ‘revival’ (Responding to Joel Rosenberg)

Joel C. Rosenburg of FlashTrafficBlog is normally extremely prescient, almost to the point of being spooky. His political analysis is exceptional feeding great insight into fictional novels that have at times been so accurate that one might think him a time traveler. Still, like the rest of us, he is not omniscient.

Today, in a blog post titled Some thoughts on a presidential campaign going from bad to worse to nightmarish, he revealed a couple weaknesses. His recap of the presidential campaign that is increasingly revealing the dregs we have for candidates is terrific and echoes my very, very deep concerns for this nation. Personally, I have thought the American experiment to be over, but the last three months have not only confirmed but chiseled that opinion into stone. I believe Rosenberg would agree. Please take the time to read his post.

Rosenberg rightly calls for prayer, and I am in full agreement. As I read, though, I realized he has somehow missed two very important points that would radically alter his blog post. I’d like to address those in reverse order. He states, Continue reading “Imploding America and the exploding ‘revival’ (Responding to Joel Rosenberg)”

Absalom, the anti-messiah and the Valley of Elah.

Biblical history IS prophecy. I used to believe that some of Biblical history is prophetic, but the more I read and study ‘historical’ passages, the more I recognize prophetic pictures confirmed by other passages. As examples, we have explored Joseph as a picture of Yeshua, Elijah and the significance in the End Times series, as well as David and Goliath picturing the end times.

This morning while meandering through various passages I was suddenly and sharply drawn to look at Absalom and David. Almost immediately, verses in the story-line began to pop out revealing two interesting pictures from the historical uprising of Absalom against his father’s kingdom. Now, I have not had time to fully tease this picture out, (I’m just too excited to wait.. I want to share…) so, you get to help as you think this through and add notes in the comment section!!

Absalom is a picture of Lucifer.

^{2 Samuel 14:25}Now in all Israel was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no defect in him.

Of Lucifer, Ezekiel says,

“You ^[d]had the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
¹³“You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your Continue reading “Absalom, the anti-messiah and the Valley of Elah.”