11:3 Restoration

A special treat for you!! (Updated link)

Bney Yosef North America has a terrific monthly newsletter that Yocheved has begun putting together. Besides some cool articles, announcements (the next Summit…) and graphics, it also has Torah teaching and even recipes! A special surprise for me is that I submitted an article that I am excited about for the BYNA website, but just saw it near the top of the newsletter… Check all of this out!!! (And, subscribe for future free monthly installments!)

Following is the beginning of the newsletter, here is the link for the whole thing! Please give feedback I can forward to Yocheved! (Interesting aside: The pic below was taken on the last evening of the First Congress in Israel. Next week we leave for the Second… 🙂 )

Bird’s Nest or Beehive? Where do you fit?

Pete Rambo, Operations Director, BYNA

One of the little pleasures I enjoy each Spring and Summer on our small farm is discovering a hidden bird’s nest. This year, inside of an eye-level overturned box in our garage, a Carolina wren took up residence and over several weeks built a nest and raised four chicks. Watching her, particularly in the timeframe after the eggs hatched, was exhausting. I know she was tired!

Like all mother birds, from first light until fading ray, this year’s wren was a flurry of activity. Besides guarding the nest from several area predators, she was gathering food for herself and her chicks. Go. Come. Jamb her beak into open mouths and feed. Go. Come. Repeat. Countless times.

In addition to bird nests, I also pay some attention to the several beehives we have on our farm. Bees are amazing creatures that God instilled an incredible team-working ethic in that never ceases to captivate me. There are thousands of bees in a hive yet every single one is hatched with a particular mission (gift?) that benefits the hive and all are busy utilizing their gifts for the good of the hive. Some are guards, others scouts, and many many workers. They bustle about day and night, guided by some unseen collective thought, working together to accomplish the monumental task of storing up a couple hundred pounds of honey for Winter survival, yet most will not even partake of the storehouse before literally working themselves to death. Their consuming focus is building for the next generation.

I built our first hive and included a glass side so we could see into the hive. Many evenings that first Summer, we would take flashlights out to see what the bees did at night and every time we looked, they were [continue reading]

R. C. Sproul, Jr., is only partly right…

Recently, a friend forwarded a short article to me by highly respected Reformed Christian theologian, R. C. Sproul, Jr. Having been raised in a Reformed Presbyterian home and having spent more than ten years as an ordained and seminary trained pastor in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, there was a time when I very much respected Sproul’s voice as a leading thinker and opinion sharer. Today, I am much more careful in holding, particularly, the ‘giants’ against the Word of God before accepting what they say.

Because the article is so short, I will copy it in its entirety before sharing my thoughts on the title and subject. My hope is that we all learn a bit about critical reading/thinking and recognizing error when we see it, no matter the source.

Should We as Christians Celebrate the Jewish Feasts of the Old Testament?

from R.C. Sproul Jr.Jan 11, 2014 Category: Articles

Without question the most vexing challenge faced by the early church was understanding how believing Jews and believing Gentiles ought to relate to one another. The theme gets major play in Galatians, Hebrews, Acts, and is even the root of the issue that led to Paul’s stern and public rebuke of Peter. That so much time and attention was paid to this issue might incline us to believe it was settled. Or it just may prove how deep runs the temptation to botch this up.

Let’s start here—we have peace with God by trusting in the finished work of Christ alone. Add anything to that and you have fallen into a false gospel. You do not have peace with God by trusting in Christ and by being circumcised, or by trusting in Christ and keeping the Feast Continue reading “R. C. Sproul, Jr., is only partly right…”

Being a light, according to Scripture.

Recently, I was pondering the connection between a few verses of Scripture. I have mentioned how much I like YouVersion, so here is an image I recently posted followed by some comments and a music video (if I can find Troy Mitchell’s Light of the World). [If you are a YouVersion user, friend me. Search ‘Pete Rambo’ in Newberry, SC. My icon is a grey circle picture of Hebrew text.]

Scripture must define Scripture. We do not get to assign value or definition to words, rather, we must rely on Scripture to do so. This is extremely important when taking the words of Yeshua and trying to understand His intent where He Himself does not define terms. (Luke 8:11 is a clear example of Yeshua defining terms.)

As the image above cites, the Torah is light. While the quote says, ‘a light,’ the Hebrew has no article. It says, ‘Torah light.’ This is a simple fact that defines the term ‘light’ in order for us to insert the definition elsewhere. Much like those lovely equations we learn about in sixth or seventh grade, we can now define a variable. Continue reading “Being a light, according to Scripture.”

Kelly’s Tallit (Final Pics)

I owe Chana an apology. About eight or nine weeks ago she completed and mailed Kelly’s handwoven tallit. Busyness, health issues and a few other minor complications got in the way of my promised final pictures. Well, yesterday evening, I used my limited camera skills to snap a few in our newly painted living room. After taking the pics, I have to say I really like the location and the way they turned out.

Lighting could have been a little better, but the picture behind adds so much depth and richness to the subject and reason for the tallit.

Made entirely of linen and colors changed very often to assemble the beautiful pattern, this is a one-of-a-kind tallit that will last for decades or more. Truly, a very special and functional piece of wearable art. Thank you, Chana!!

Here are a few more pics of Chana’s beautiful work. May Abba bless her hands as she ministers in this special manner!!

The Star of David

The Star of David, or more appropriately, the Magen David is an unmistakable symbol that is immediately associated with Israel and the Jews, . Recently, the symbol has drawn fire from a prominent unnamed Messianic ministry that I usually appreciate for their many quality Scripture teachings, however, their recent foray into this symbol has irritated me because it tarnishes their credibility.

Two days ago, I received a quality email from dear friends in Israel, Ephraim and Rimona Frank, concerning the subject of the Magen David. I want to share that email followed by a few thoughts.

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

Regretfully over the past several years subtle anti-Semitism has been creeping into, and growing within the Hebrew Roots movement (being a self-defeating oxymoron). One of these expressions, which directly affects the Jewish people and the State of Israel, is the interpretation or meaning given to the Star of David (the “magen David” as it is called in Hebrew, “the Shield of David”). Among the numerous symbols used in the world there are, for example, the symbols of the written languages, that is the letters, but what renders each of them its meaning?

So let’s view the “Shield of David.” It is Continue reading “The Star of David”

The Secret to Walking by the Spirit

What does it mean to ‘walk by the Spirit’ and how does one do it?

^{Gal. 5:16}But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

One of the great questions in Christendom is ‘how does one walk by the Spirit?’ The answer from Scripture is really quite simple, however, millennia of errant understanding and wrong interpretation of Scripture create a convoluted maze that avoids the simple answer from the text. What I will attempt to do for you, dear reader, is to begin to unravel this Gordian knot and provide you with a very sharp knife that will bring clarity on this subject enabling you to know exactly what to do to ‘walk by the Spirit.’

We will return to Galatians 5, a most often misunderstood passage. First, let us consider a parallel Pauline passage from Continue reading “The Secret to Walking by the Spirit”

Time to get a New Calendar!!

A dear friend recently sent me a link for the Galilee Calendar Company, an Israeli based company that has beautiful, well laid out calendars that include all the information we need… weekly Torah portions, High Holy Days, Israeli holidays, Hebrew lunar and Gregorian solar dating, etc!! Add to that a selection of options with beautiful pictures or art from Israel and this is a real winner!

Tishri 1 is just over 20 days away… Time to order next year’s calendar! Besides contacting the Galilee Calendar Company directly, you can order from their Amazon.com store and have it in a couple days!!

Bless this Israeli company and hang useful art in your home to help keep you on track each week with the portions, Holy days and other useful information.

Blessings!

Prophecy unfolding faster and faster!!

I woke this morning to an email from friend, Hanoch Young, announcing a terrific new article in Breaking Israel News by Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler. Guys, you have GOT to go read this article that pulls together some neat pieces and people.

Recently, I posted the Ari Abramowitz radio program about Torah keeping non-Jews and have written before about friends in Jordan, with at least one dear couple from that community as personal close friends. Here, the several pieces come together, but most exciting is that this article portents an increasing speed of recognition and visibility for the global non-Jewish Torah keeping community. Just as we saw in yesterday’s post about Scott Hillman’s denominational leaders being willing to take a closer look, here we have Jews taking a closer look…

Folks, the ‘tectonic shift,’ is underway! The article is from a decidedly Jewish perspective, but Parham makes a solid and true statement that Yeshua is our Messiah and that is non-negotiable!! Check this out!!

Many Christians “Thirsting for Torah”, Striving to Live Bible-Oriented Lives

Israel Inspired: What’s the Story with these Torah Observant Gentiles?

As Jeremy returns from his cross country tour, he and Ari discuss the historically unparalleled phenomenon of Torah studying gentiles who love Israel and the Jewish people. What is at the core of this movement? What is the motivation? Tune in as Ari and Jeremy address both the harmony and the tension that this revolution is bringing to the world.

I just listened to a recent episode of Israel Inspired with Rabbis Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel titled, What’s the Story with these Torah Observant Gentiles? WOW!!! What a great and encouraging listen! Highly, highly recommended. The show made my eyeballs sweat a couple times!

We continue to have evidence, over and over, that Abba is doing something amazing in our day. These two gentlemen not only acknowledge it, but are asking some of the very hard questions that need to be asked? Who are we? Why is this happening? What do they, the Jews, do with us?

This is a MUST listen episode.

Enjoy!

An Abomination in Jerusalem! Rachem!

Scripture promises that it will happen, and we’ve seen the stage being set for at least a generation, but reading that in the next few weeks a one world religion will be revealed in the Old City of Jerusalem is a dash or cold water. Truly, we are living in latter days.

There a has been a marked acceleration in both good and evil as the parallel sides of this great cosmic battle prepare for a major showdown. This next stage in history will herald the coming of the Prince, spoken of by Ezekiel the prophet and foretold in numerous other passages. But, like birth pangs of a woman, the arrival of the Anticipated brings with it much change and pain.

I received an email yesterday alerting me to Mekudeshet, a 19 day event in Jerusalem starting on September 4 that is intentionally designed to blend the world’s three major monotheistic religions. With blended worship services and a series of events titled “Seven Ways to Dissolve Boundaries” as well as numerous musicians and artists performing ‘sacred’ pieces that span global religions, this is surely bound to infuriate a Set Apart Creator. And, it takes place during Elul in a year that is so full of prophetic indicators that I can only consider it another portent of the nearness of the Mashiach.

Here is one video with information that I think valuable, though the title is a bit provocative and I hold some of the conclusions with an open hand.

The event will close with a dedication prayer service in the Valley of Hinnom, the same place that infants were sacrificed to Molech. Is it an invitation for demonic Continue reading “An Abomination in Jerusalem! Rachem!”