Category: A Thought…

The Holy Spirit and Lawlessness

Photo-chopped signpost in a park.

Does the Holy Spirit lead us into lawlessness?  Indeed, can He?

This morning, while reading Ray Gardner’s Study Notes on Genesis 24, I came across the following quote. The last paragraph struck me.  My notes follow.

Eliezer = El is my help (s#0461 אליעזר )
Eliezer (type of Holy Spirit) was sent to take a bride (The Bride of Yeshua) a chaste virgin, who would leave her family and all that she possessed to marry a man she had never seen. Isaac (type of Yeshua) was born through a miracle of יהוה. She would come to him by faith, believing all she had been told about him. She fell in love with him by hearing about him from Eliezer (type of Holy Spirit). She would make a difficult journey on a caravan of 10 camels (10 commandments) and she would marry Isaac (Yeshua) the day she first saw him. All that his father (type of יהוה) possessed has been given to Isaac (Yeshua). (Yeshua said the Father has given all things unto my hand John 3:35) The land that Isaac (Yeshua) lives on is given to him by יהוה. The father has said he can not take a wife of those who worship idols and live sinful lives. The decision is in the hands of the bride not Eliezer. By her own words she committed to become his bride.

Continue reading “The Holy Spirit and Lawlessness”

Let the children (NOT!!) come unto me….

I received an email that touched a bit of a nerve.  Commenting on the pictures of our recent Shabbat gathering, my emailer lamented that the fellowship/group she gathers with has few children which are not much appreciated.  Among other things on the blog that struck her, she enjoyed seeing so many happy little faces, and we have a bunch of them.

Mazie Grace
Mazie Grace at our recent Shabbat under the pecans…

While I do not know her situation, I suspect it is much like a story I’ve heard multiple times from other fellowships:  ‘Children don’t like to study, they are a distraction, too much noise, short attention spans, etc…’  In their haste to belly up to the table of Truth, they have forgotten the most important task they have: training the next generation.

How sad.

I don’t really want to get on a soapbox, but I would remind all readers that the building block of a nation is family, and family includes children.  Our Messiah said, ‘Let the little children come and forbid them not…’  We should go to great lengths to make our fellowships very family friendly.  [The idea of ‘Sunday School’ and separating the children into a little groups is entirely contrary to Scripture and the Hebrew culture.  Sunday School is a modern invention that dumbs down our little ones and fosters cliques and isolation….  but, that is yet another soapbox.] Continue reading “Let the children (NOT!!) come unto me….”

Announcing National Shabbat in SC!!

South Carolina will have its inaugural National Shabbat in December.  Currently we are trying to secure live music and a place in the Columbia area.  Our goal is the first or second Shabbat in December.  Stay tuned for details, and begin putting the word out to all Messianic and Hebrew roots believers in the SC, NC and Georgia areas!!  All are invited.

Our goal is a day of worship, bridge-building and fellowship between those from this region with a hope to begin fostering a sense of community and cohesiveness among the many fellowships and congregations across South Carolina and the surrounding areas.

More info will be released as soon as we have a venue secured.  Pray Abba provides exactly what we need for fellowship, worship, dancing, children and food prep….

If you have access or ideas, etc, please drop me a note.

B’ney Yosef Region 35 Conference

Central US and I-35 corridor, this is a message for you:

Here is the information many of you have been waiting to hear:

What:  B’Ney Yosef Region 35 Conference, with emphasis on nation-building, particularly on reconciliation within the entire Body of Messiah

When:  Friday, December 4 to Sunday, December 6, 2015.

Where:  Tally Retreat Center, Camp Copass, 8200 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76208.  Information on the facility is available at:

http://campcopass.com/facilities/accomodations/tally-retreat-center/.

Who:  The invitation extends to everyone in the Body of Messiah who has a love for Israel and desires to see the restoration of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).  This includes not only Hebrew Roots believers, but also Christian and Messianic Jewish brothers and sisters, primarily from the I-35 Corridor (states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota).

Capacity:  300 people, including overnight guests and participants for the day only.

More details at http://bneyosef35.com/2015conference/

Pray for this conference and if you are in this region/corridor, strongly consider attending this very important event.

Shalom

More on the Jerusalem Post ‘Bney Yosef Advert’

Two recent blog posts have generated some good discussion and a fair amount of traffic.

Yesterday’s Nationality, Citizenship and The Kingdom, as well as last month’s Jerusalem Post: “Yosef is Alive!!”  JPost ad 1

This evening, friend and fellow blogger, Dorothy Wilson, forwarded an email from Kol Hator explaining a bit on their position concerning the return and what flack they are taking for stepping forward with a bold declaration that the ten lost tribes are non-Jewish and coming out of JPost ad 2Christendom.  I am NOT endorsing the website or their position, I am offering this for further discussion and as a clear statement revealing the things we need to be praying for as we see Abba working this restoration from both sides, Jew and Non.

Our Succot Full Page Advert ‘Yosef Lives’ may not have unleashed a storm, but it certainly raised eyebrows. Like with all solid promotion,  it is the change of set ideas which make a lasting difference. And this is seldom reported back to source.  Feed-back and comments received all point to such a healthy reception.  We have also had the advert printed as hand-out brochures and several people assisted in distributing these on the day of the March of the Nations during Succot through the streets of Jerusalem.

Of course, there were concerns raised: Why this, why that? Why the NT Book promotion in the advert.?

Continue reading “More on the Jerusalem Post ‘Bney Yosef Advert’”

Nationality, Citizenship and The Kingdom

Lately, I have been pondering anew BYNC2015my nationality, citizenship and Kingdom affiliation.  Most would consider me an American citizen, of American descent, however, I do not.  Yes, I was born here, to American citizens who come from families that arrived on this shore in the 1640s and 1740s, but I no longer consider this my home, or my nation.

In the very late 1980’s and early 1990’s I served in the US Army and was deployed both to Korea and Saudi Arabia/Iraq.  I had previously lived for six years on the missionfield in Colombia, South America with my bush pilot father and midwife mother.  The combination of the two experiences gave me a very different picture of the United States than the average nationalist.  I saw things from an external vantage point that caused the patriotic patina to begin wearing off.

While I still appreciate this country and the blessings it affords, I have come to the very real conclusion that this is not my home.  Christendom teaches rightly that we are citizens of a higher Kingdom and for years I sought to understand this, being forced to wait for something on the other side of the veil of death.  Once I began to search the Scriptures from an Hebraic perspective, I learned several very important things:

  • The Kingdom, to which Yeshua referred, is not some other-worldly, post Judgment/resurrection, ethereal heavenlies entity, though its fullness will be manifest after the final Judgment.  Rather, The Kingdom is the much prophesied restoration of the tent of David with Him, the Son of David, seated on the throne, and that prior to Judgment Day.
  • Being ‘grafted in,’ does not make me part of something other than Israel (the Church?), rather, it makes me part of Israel.  (The Church hasn’t replaced Israel, rather, when Scripture is rightly understood, those coming to faith in Messiah are grafted into Israel.)
  • Israel is composed of two distinct parts that are ‘echad,’ unified:  The House of Israel and the House of Judah, the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, respectively, each with its own destiny/path toward the final restored Tent of David.

Continue reading “Nationality, Citizenship and The Kingdom”

Open question, re: Noach

Reading this portion, Genesis 6:9-11:32, reminded me of a question I have not found a good answer to….yet.   Maybe some of you have thoughts you are willing to share.

The Noach portion has clear lessons for those living in the last days, and I think some explicit details are meant to be unlocked and understood.  So, the recurring question:  What is the significance of the VERY specific dates in the text regarding the day it began and the day it ended?  Lengths of phases, I.e. rain for 40 days, dry for 40, etc are important, but the specificity of dates is a bold highlight in the text.  What is the relevance?

Thoughts?

Noach, some useful stuff…

I learned today from Ray Gardner that this Portion, Noach, is his favorite Torah Parasha because of all the end times themes. I have posted his Study Notes on the Torah Portion Page. While my favorites are the Joseph portions, I have to say that Noach ranks very high on my list.  So much so that one of the most useful insights I have gleaned from Noach, I have made into several different teachings.  You may really enjoy these as a means of sharing the Truth with others.

First, an image from YouVersion friend, Steve King:

Noach by Steve King

This portion offers an amazing defense of the seventh day Sabbath.  Here are several version of the teaching Continue reading “Noach, some useful stuff…”