11:3 Restoration

No Running!!!

As a child, I LOVED visiting the pool. Maybe a neighbor’s pool or summer camp, etc. Hot and humid South Carolina weather made the cool clear waters a wonderful respite.

Most pools we visited had some form of posted rules.

No running!
No diving!
No rough-housing, etc…

Often, breaking these rules led to the dreaded ‘time-out.’ All my friends playing and me sitting by mom or the life-guard watching… mournfully.

Had I been a more rebellious sort, I might have found that continued rule-breaking would lead to greater and greater penalties. Possibly, even, not being invited back.

In my immaturity, my view of the rules, or ‘law of the pool,’ was that it was restrictive. It seemed to needlessly curtail all the ‘fun!’ Pushing someone into the pool or chasing someone with a ‘rat-tail’ towel was a game!

As I grew older Continue reading “No Running!!!”

“Which is the attitude of maturity?”

I have recently been involved in another “HRM” ‘drive-by shooting.’ But, it is not the first “love” Messianics have received from that blog.

So, pondering some of the comments and wondering about the general lack of desire to really dig in and understand why Messianic/Hebraic studies are growing by leaps and bounds, and what that reveals about lacking elements in Christendom, I continued reading J. K. McKee’s terrific scholarly work, The New Testament Validates Torah: Does the New Testament Really Do Away with the Law?

In an extended quote, McKee so eloquently defines exactly what the crux of the differences are between Christian and Judaic perspectives on the Torah: (pgs 65-66) Continue reading ““Which is the attitude of maturity?””

A Great Irony in Christian Theology…

So, let me get this straight…

Israel was free when they were obedient to God’s Torah, but sent into bondage when they repeatedly disobeyed it, but Christendom is ‘free’ when they ignore God’s Torah and ‘in bondage’ if they rightly choose obedience?

Say wha…?

Here is the TRUTH:

The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law (Torah). Proverbs 4:2

Got Torah?

Pictorial Evidence of Scriptural Truth!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words…

Well, an acquaintance sent me a picture from Jerusalem, and it tells about a thousand words…

It may be hard to get the message just from this pic, so, here is another of the beautiful snow a couple days ago in Jerusalem.

snow3 Here are a couple more interesting and glorious pictures that illustrate the same story, and of course… the story. Continue reading “Pictorial Evidence of Scriptural Truth!!”

The Apostle Paul was NOT a Christian!

Paul never converted to anything.

Christian mythos teaches that Saul, a rabbi, converted to Christianity. In fact, that is utter fallacy to support false doctrine/theology.

Here is what my New American Standard Bible says,

“Acts 9:1-3 (NASB)

The Conversion of Saul

9 Now ^[a]Saul, still breathing ^[b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ²and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;… ”

First, that big ‘The Conversion of Saul,’ is inserted by the editors. It is not inspired Scripture, and the only thing it does is set the reader up with a FALSE premise! Continue reading “The Apostle Paul was NOT a Christian!”

Aspartame vs. Honey

A number of months ago, I began using honey in my morning coffee instead of refined sugar. In fact, because we have bees, my wife began substituting honey in a number of places in our family’s diet.

Well, late last week I was refilling the ‘honey bear’ from a Mason jar full of my bees’ honey and had a convenient ‘spill.’ Of course, I licked it up… Hmmm.

Then it hit me, ‘this used to be the sweetest stuff on the planet!’ In fact, for thousands of years honey was the sweetest readily available ‘sugar’ on the planet. Only in the last century has man begun to use the laboratory and myriad chemicals to develop alternative sweeteners, aspartame being just one, as well as a plethora of intense flavors derived from all manner of bizarre stuff.

Not long ago I saw a ‘hell’evision program detailing the constant quest in the food industry for new and intense flavors to make whatever food substitute item more desirable, thus selling more product. And, ruining consumer’s health in the process.

My brain, taking those diverse pieces of information, as I licked up the spilled honey, suddenly made some interesting connections. Continue reading “Aspartame vs. Honey”

Thank you, Judah!!

I wrote, in a very recent post , “Are there some things very special about Judah that we need to acknowledge? Absolutely!! ”

Even as I wrote it, I was thinking of a few things I am very thankful to my brother Judah, or the Jews, for. Only later did I think, “I’m not sure I’ve ever said ‘thank you’ publicly!”

Indeed, all mankind has much to thank the Jews for as a cursory look at Nobel Winners will reveal a wildly disproportionate number of winners that are of Judaic decent. Countless inventions, scientific findings, technologies, etc are directly attributable to those of Jewish descent.

But this is more personal. As a believer Continue reading “Thank you, Judah!!”

A Christian Teacher Has Questions About Messianic Judaism

A Christian Teacher Has Questions About Messianic Judaism.

Reposted from a thread on our fellowship’s site. Good overview email and a link to another blog I enjoy.

Bilateral Ecclesiology. Antisemitism…. In Reverse?

A book I read recently hit a nerve. Frankly, I didn’t realize it was such a sore spot until that moment.

More than a few times in the last couple months, I have run into a theological debate/discussion about ecclesiology. Specifically, Bilateral Ecclesiology. Now, before you run for the exit, let me explain what the words mean and why it is important to understand.

In theological terms, the study of the ‘church,’ is called ‘ecclesiology, from the Greek word ‘ekklesia.’ ‘Bilateral,’ of course, means ‘two parts, two sides, two parties…’ So, Bilateral Ecclesiology is the coined term for those who believe the ‘ekklesia,’ in this use meaning the ‘Bride/Body of Messiah,’ has two parts.

The place this has really sprung to the forefront is in Messianic circles Continue reading “Bilateral Ecclesiology. Antisemitism…. In Reverse?”