B’Ney Yosef Congress – 11:3 Restoration

Jerusalem for Passover, two pilgrims’ adventures….

One of the great joys of going up to Jerusalem for the feasts is to gather on the weekly Shabbats at Independence Park. Some time back, it sort of became an unwritten date on every ephramite’s calendar: 2pm at Independence Park. Everybody will be there in a huge group talking excitedly, meeting new friends, making contacts and trading stories! Dozens of nations are represented and multiple languages heard, though English is the primary.

Well, I had a special encounter with Dave McKnew and Rafael Trevino and heard part of their story. This morning I received a lengthy email detailing their respective trips to Jerusalem, how they met and how the Father knit them together. Enjoy!!

Going to Jerusalem for Passover

David McKnew and Rafael Trevino

Jeremiah 3:17
17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of YHVH (LORD), and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of YHVH, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

I really had no idea why I felt a desire to go to Jerusalem for Passover but after my pilgrimage to the Holy Land it would be crystal clear. The first time I felt a slight desire to go to Israel was in June of 2017 while laying in my hammock in a very remote area of Kauai called the Kalalau Beach along the Napali coast. I had a thought “why have I not visited Israel, I can take time out to come to a beautiful beach like this to enjoy God’s creation but I have not taken the time to visit God’s holy land the only area on earth He
has said to have placed His name forever”. I did not think about it again until some unusual events had taken place just a few months after I had that thought.

August 21st 2017 just a couple months after that thought on the beach, we had an amazing eclipse sweep across the United States from the West Coast to the East Coast. I noticed some very interesting signs which were pointing to Jerusalem when the eclipse shadow
had passed over 7 Salem’s.

Continue reading and see their many beautiful pics: Going to Jerusalem for Passover

Come!! Let us go up!!

All across Christendom there is an amazing, Spirit-directed, Torah awakening going on. The goal of Yehovah, according to Scripture, is the restoration of the Kingdom!

The house of Israel’s rebellion was not against the house of Judah, but against the house of David. See 1 Kings 12:19. In coming to Yeshua Ben David, we begin to heal this divide, but there is a next and greater step of allegiance:

If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1 Kings 12:27 KJV

Do you really want to take steps toward restoring the Kingdom? Do you really, really want to see Messiah on the throne?

Then, here is the answer: make personal sacrifice and begin going to Jerusalem for the feasts… even if just once every year or two!! Help others get to the feasts. Send fellowship/congregational representatives!!

GO UP!!!

On that note, stay tuned for an opportunity to go up for Pesach and the 3rd B’ney Yosef Congress. Details in the next day or two…

Davening in the rear galley of a 777

There are still so many stories bubbling up from our recent trip to Israel. It was such an incredible trip that I am still processing the many events. Even our flight home was ‘off the chain…’

During our 21 days in the Land, we were blessed to have many close and personal encounters with Brother Judah. It is what we had prayed for, but the Father’s answers far exceeded our expectations. I prayed for more on the flight home knowing there would be many Orthodox on the plane.

With five of us traveling and the 777 having three seats across the center section, Kelly and I chose to sit in the center section and leave the boys in the three seats that were on the window side of the aisle. I selected the aisle seat for a little more leg room and put Kelly in the center. Initially a lady was trying to get situated in the seat to Kelly’s left. I helped her put away luggage, etc… Then, just before we pushed back from the concourse in Tel Aviv, an Orthodox gentleman in black hat and coat stepped up and through very broken English asked if Kelly and I could change places. At first, I was confused by his sudden appearance, then, understanding that he was related to the woman and did not want to rub elbows with Kelly, I quickly made the switch. I wanted to protect him.

Quietly, I thanked Abba for putting him next to me.

We settled in for a 12 hour flight and I Continue reading “Davening in the rear galley of a 777”

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”

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”

On the radio twice this week…

I’m humbled to have been asked to be on the radio twice this week, both shows are on Hebrew Nation Radio.

A little while ago we finished a couple hours of recording for the Remnant Road show that will air on Monday, January 25, 2016 at 8 a.m. Pacific (11 a.m. EST). Host Daniel Holdings interviewed Al McCarn (sometimes host, sometimes guest on the Remnant Road) and me about last week’s B’ney Yosef Plenary Session in Chapel Hill, TN. Our discussion played off of a number of clips from interviews of committee chairs that were recorded at the Plenary Session. The recorded interviewees were Tzefanyah Pappas, David Altman and Tommy and Dorothy Wilson. All told, it was a fun two hour discussion about prophecy, Scripture and the coming together of the dry bones! Tune in tomorrow to catch the show when it plays, or, as soon as it is put into the archives (maybe a week or two) I will post a link so you can download and listen at your leisure.

The second interview, Continue reading “On the radio twice this week…”

More on the Bney Yosef Plenary Session

In my last post I promised more about the recent B’ney Yosef Plenary Session in central TN. Honestly, I am still processing and incredibly busy with some of the work that came out of it in planning the upcoming B’ney Yosey North America Summit, info to be released as soon as I have it!!

Mike Clayton has just sent out his weekly newsletter that has his Torah Life teaching. The first 20 minutes, or so, he talks about his thoughts on the Plenary Session and what he sees going forward. Here is the video:

The Way : A Documentary

The Kickstarter Campaign has already been all over the internet and the trailer is a ‘must-see!’ I have had communication with the Producer and the Director for The Way and I feel VERY good about where this documentary is going and the story it is going to tell.

The campaign reached its goal in 36 hours, but now, having exceeded its goal, it is reaching for additional funding that will further improve the final product. If you are curious about a hard look into this movement, or want to see THE Story told, here is an opportunity to help out with a pledge. And, pledges have benefits…

I would ask this of my readers: Would you be willing to forego your personal name and picture being on the poster and instead, have the name ‘B’ney Yosef’ put in to draw attention to the BIG picture? The Two Stick Prophecy and the fact that an organization exists that is actively seeking to gather the Sheep of the House of Joseph is part of this story! We can draw attention to this fact by having the name appear in the credit…

We and several here have made gifts to that end. Our goal would be a dozen or so gifts that create a ‘pool’ resulting in an Executive Producer label for the B’ney Yosef Congress. When the email comes requesting a name and picture for the poster, we will simply answer that we desire that ‘B’ney Yosef’ be listed.

Please join me!

“If you do your part…” (part 2)

Or, ‘What is a pushkan?’

Yesterday, I gave a little background from a discussion over the weekend at the North Georgia National Shabbat gathering. Tzefanyah led off the discussion with the statement, “If you do your part, God does His…”

Nearing the end of the discussion, Tzefanyah asked that a box on a chair off to the side be passed forward. Once he received it, he began relating a little of the history of the ‘pushkan,’ a Yiddish word meaning ‘box or can.’

While the history of a collection box for specific purposes can be traced all the way back into the repairs made on the first Temple, the charitable acts the idea is based on goes back even further to our father, Abraham. It was from this long history of collection for various charities in every synagogue that the idea developed for a ‘pushkan‘ in every home before the founding of modern Israel to help fund the effort.

And, that is where Tzefanyah was going. Continue reading ““If you do your part…” (part 2)”

Shema Challenge… Post up!

Yesterday, I posted a few thoughts concerning a recently heralded event in Israel that Jews are paying attention to. Prophetically, it is fascinating that in the last 20 years many, many non-Jews have begun to walk the ancient paths of our Father. This trend is accelerating!!

Here is a video of us singing the Shema, just as we have done for over four years now, and pronouncing to Israel that they are to ‘hear and do,’ Shema!! Judah is beginning to see and watch this global phenomenon with quiet excitement as it portents the coming of Messiah ben David! Encourage them and help get the message out by making your own video and linking it to the Shema Challenge YouTube channel and/or the Shema Challenge G+ page. Share on Facebook, etc… Also, we’ll mirror videos onto this blog as a demonstration of the size of this growing community if you will email us a link! Just use the ‘Contact Us‘ page.