11:3 Restoration

Church as we know it is over…

“Church as we know it is over. And, maybe for the best…. “

In a recent post, I wrote the above quote as part of my thoughts concerning the recent Supreme Court ruling. I have been pondering a number of aspects and this weekend, one of them came into sharp focus.

We had the good pleasure of hosting a couple from the lower part of the state who came to fellowship and spend Shabbat with us. Our prayer at the beginning of the weekend was that Abba would lead us and give us some direction as we considered options before us. The Balak portion was interesting and provided good fodder for conversation considering some of the discussion on the table, but it was not until a late Shabbat afternoon conversation under the pecan trees that I felt a sense of clear direction.

Besides considering personal and family options and the very real possibility of becoming an expat, I have wrestled quite a bit with how to reach and help those being called out of the Church and into a closer walk with Messiah. Continue reading “Church as we know it is over…”

Two Types of Watchmen…

Currently, I am reading Christians & Jews, The Two Faces of Israel, by Stephen J. Spykerman. A broader review of this book will be forthcoming, however, I wanted to share a little nugget from pages 25-28.

Spykerman points out that there are two types of ‘watchmen.’ Now, like me, you are probably familiar with the watchman who stands upon the walls of Jerusalem and watches, prays, etc. We would look to Isaiah 62:6-7,

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; ⁷And give Him no rest until He establishes, And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

And, indeed, today there are continual prayer vigils and vocal watchmen concerning Israel and more specifically, Jerusalem. Interestingly, Spykerman points out another type of watchman that paints a fascinating picture in our time! Continue reading “Two Types of Watchmen…”

Let me tell you how AWESOME my King is!!!…

About four weeks ago, on a fine Friday morning, I pulled out of my drive while listening to James Block’s Restoration (Psalm 80) and singing at the top of my lungs. Not paying attention and for no particular reason, I crested a hill less than a mile from home doing about 71 in a 55 and I got busted! Immediately, I raised my hand and thanked the Father saying, “I don’t know what You are up to, but thank you.” And, I stopped as quickly and safely as possible, was totally compliant and utterly disappointed in the $185 – 4 point ticket I was blessed with.

It could not possibly have happened at a worse time! Seriously! The day before, my job had submitted paperwork for me to go to school in late July with the SC DMV to be certified as a third party CDL tester. Four points does more than jeopardize me as a CDL trainer/tester. It ends my job!! I asked for prayer, informed my supervisor and dreaded my day in court.

This morning was the day and I went prepared to plead guilty, ask for the points to be dropped and offer to pay the full fine.

Let me tell you what happened… Continue reading “Let me tell you how AWESOME my King is!!!…”

…the land thou abhorrest shall be forsaken…

Yesterday’s Shabbat service and Torah study at Issachar Oasis in Irmo, SC was good. That fellowship is studying through Isaiah as well as the weekly Torah portion and yesterday we covered Isaiah 7:14-16. (Like the last prophet they studied, we’ll be in Isaiah for years…!)

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

The focus of the leader and the group was the great hope we have in Messiah and the promise that Isaiah makes to Ahaz. Glorious… but my eyes could not/would not leave the phrase “the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken…” and I was pondering the recent happenings in American jurisprudence. For much of the world, and especially the United States, one has to have been under a rock not to know that two days ago the US Supreme Court issued a ruling legalizing gay marriage. Frankly, I was not surprised. What surprised me was that there were actually four dissenters! Never-the-less, the ruling is done and we have one more nail in the coffin of this once great nation. But, why “the land thou abhorrest…” you ask? Continue reading “…the land thou abhorrest shall be forsaken…”

There shall be signs in the heavens….

Once in a while I listen to Rick Wiles’ TruNews radio show. Today’s show had a particularly interesting subject as his guests were discussing a celestial event that will happen Tuesday evening, June 30, 2015. Venus and Jupiter will come into conjunction for about 10 hours in the constellation Leo. This is the very conjunction both guests, Jim Dodge and Dr. Dale Sides believe heralded the first coming of the Messiah. (The last year and the the next are chock FULL of celestial events. Many, never before seen!!)

Jim Dodge, the guest in the first half hour referred to it as the Bethlehem star and I was furiously taking notes because his speculation sounded off and I wanted to dig deeper in the timing and location. His site does have a couple papers I want to study further, but even a quick perusal of two yields glaring errors. The next guest, Dr. Dale Sides of Liberating Ministries, got my attention almost immediately when he began referring to “Tishri 1,” “Messiah,” etc… Further, his understanding of and interest in celestial events as Scripture points to them, moedim/signs and seasons, has led him to developing Christological Astronomy. His portion of the show was riveting and left me wanting more.

A little digging lead me to Dr. Dale’s Blog and several interesting articles, not the least of which is Deciphering the Meaning of the Tetrad Eclipses. In it he explains several amazing phenomenon connected with the Blood Moon tetrad we have been keeping an eye on. I highly recommend Dale’s blog for several more related and interesting articles!!

So, Tuesday evening we plan to eat dinner outside, watch the sun set and witness the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter into the very brightest light in the heavens next to the moon or sun!!

Shalom!

Isaiah 62… Just beautiful!

The day we visited the Western Wall on my recent trip to Israel, we first went into the tunnels along the Wall that have been excavated deeply to the street level at the time of Yeshua. While there, women, young and old were walking in and out with prayer books. Once we got to the deepest part where we passed closest to the assumed placement of the Holy of Holies, we moved in hushed silence past a group of these ladies, seated and standing in prayer and davening as they cried out on behalf of Israel to the King of the universe. My heart was touched and I KNOW His heart is!

Here is a beautiful rendition of Isaiah 62 in Hebrew by a young lady that invokes memories of the emotions I felt in that passageway.

Indeed! For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent!

Update on the Messianic Ministries of Uganda!!

Messianic Uganda — Distribution of Messianic Congregations in Uganda

Recall that several months ago I posted an opportunity to help fledgling Messianic congregations in Uganda through the ministry of Dr. David Sloss and Baraka International Ministries. Well, there is still much opportunity to help, so I wanted to share two update newsletters I just received from David after his recent teaching trip to Uganda.

I was excited to read of some of the help we were able to send and pray that you can help this ministry as it establishes a firm Torah-pursuant, Yeshua-loving foothold in the heart of Africa!!

Following are links to the newsletters, but first, David’s address should Yehovah lead you to partner in this terrific work!! Please pray and consider this ministry!

BARAKA INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

c/o Dr. David Sloss, PhD.

057898 12th Line,

RR #1,

MEAFORD, ON N4L 1W5

Here are the newsletters:

AMLC Report – 2015

Uganda Update June 2015

Homogeneity v. Variety

We have dairy goats and one of the wonderful benefits, besides them regarding us as

family and their very best friends…, is fresh milk and cheese. Certainly, the milk is better than anything from the grocery store, but the special joy is cracking open a jug for my coffee and scooping the cream off the top. Mmmmm.

The reason the cream can rise to the top is because the milk has not been ‘homogenized.’ Homogenization is the process of ‘beating the milk (into submission)’ so that all fat globules are sufficiently broken up to be scattered throughout the milk (if not previously scooped off the top and used for butter or sold as whipping cream). The result is that the milk is the same identical flavor and consistency from the top of the jug to the bottom…. a disappointment if you like the real variety within milk as it occurs naturally.

The key point of the illustration, as I was pondering it upon waking yesterday morning, is the effort and force necessary to homogenize the milk. It is not done easily or naturally. The way Yehovah made it, it is milk – with variety, built in.

Recently, I have been pondering how much Yehovah loves variety within the bounds He has created…

Consider: Continue reading “Homogeneity v. Variety”

Maggie sez…

Shooting Ourselves in the Foot….

Perhaps the very warmest memory I have of our recent trip to Israel was the incredible peace and unity at the First B’ney Yosef Congress. I really do not remember a single theological debate or discussion. Surely, between 135 people, Jew and non-Jew, representing 12 different nations from all over the planet, there had to have been some theological differences, but I saw zero manifestation of disagreement. Our focus was how to be used of Abba to begin taking steps to bring the Kingdom back together.

Since being back, I have had the joyous task of visiting several congregations and fellowships to report on what we did, discussed, and plan going forward. One such report to a Sunday school class I have been guest teaching for the last five months was recorded and posted on this blog as part of the ongoing series. Then, this week in that same class I posted the video of us beginning to tackle some of Paul’s seeming ‘hard verses’ concerning obedience to the instructions of our Father. As part of the introduction to the next couple lessons, I shared several resources for the new Messianic to consider. More than the lesson itself, it was the resources I mentioned that generated discussion, primarily because neither of the authors (Tim Hegg and JK McKee) agree with the so called ‘Two House movement/theology’ in exactly the same way most attendees of the First B’ney Yosef Congress see Scripture.

***Now, I am NOT calling out anybody or pointing any fingers!***

What I do want to do is make a few observations that will be of value to the larger Messianic Movement, and especially of value for any who are seeking peace and unity for the sake of the Kingdom. Continue reading “Shooting Ourselves in the Foot….”