We remember.
Tag: antisemitism
How to: Building Bridges with the House of Judah
Lately, I have had multiple interesting articles/emails come across my desk regarding the building of bridges between Jews and non-Jews. The sources have been both Jew and non- with perspectives that have been varied, but a largely unified message:
Sensitivity in language and culture when speaking to or about Jews concerning things of Scripture.
Like most of you, I came out of Christendom and have a considerable amount of ‘Christianese’ in my vocabulary that means one thing to me and something altogether different to those of Judah. We may be well meaning, but our terminology, lingo and expectations can be heard as decidedly antisemitic. Friend and fellow blogger, Peter Vest, recently published a post titled, Unintentional Antisemitism: Why Christian Institutions and Ideologies are Antisemitic Despite the Philosemitism of Individual Christians. It is a short but instructive read about underlying expectations of Christendom upon Jews that have negative consequences.
Another recent source is a forwarded email I received from OvadYah Avrahami of Kol Hator titled We need to delete the word ‘conversion’ from our vocabulory. He writes, Continue reading “How to: Building Bridges with the House of Judah”
Beulah Land, Some Thoughts
The song keeps running through my head and is a beautiful lilting melody.
I’m kind of homesick for a country
To which I’ve never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken
for time won’t matter anymore.(Chorus)
Beulah Land, I’m longing for you
and some day on thee I’ll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land — Sweet Beulah LandI’m looking now across the river
where my faith will end in sight.
There’s just a few more days to labor.
Then I will take my heavenly flight.
The lyrics need some mild adjustment, though. Isaiah tells us exactly where Beulah Land is, and a rapturous flight is not necessary unless El Al is really that good.
Acts 1:6-7 – Yeshua on the Kingdom of Israel…
I still remember distinctly the last conversation I had with my father. It was nearly 16 years ago and, though neither of us knew it would be the last time we spoke in this life, his words have proved prophetic.
While the content of that conversation is not the point, had he known it was to be our last conversation, I am confident he would have been even more pointed in his wisdom as we parted company.
Yeshua had 40 final days with His disciples and I am confident that the conversations were deeply instructive revelations from the Scripture. (Recall, the only Scripture they had was the Tanak, misnamed, the “Old Testament!”) He knew that He was leaving and would be gone for a while.
We are not told the content of those conversations, however, we can take a few hints from the ‘Road to Emmaus’ conversation, and several other passages. One such passage is the very final conversation Yeshua had with His disciples. Let’s read and consider,
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, Continue reading “Acts 1:6-7 – Yeshua on the Kingdom of Israel…”
Chewing gum for the brain…
As I have mentioned before, I am reading/enjoying/re-reading J. K. McKee’s The New Testament Validates Torah. Frankly, this is the single best systematic addressing of Torah for the Messianic. I believe more and broader scholarly works will emerge as time passes, but it will be hard to top this 400+ page work! EVERY Messianic believer needs this on their shelf, and any pastor wanting to understand or get a comprehensive look needs to read this book.
Advertisement aside, there are so many terrific quotes on every page. I want to share three from pages 91-93. The first two are cites of other authors and the last is his.
Take the time to read and ponder each! I’ll list the original sources from McKee’s footnotes.
What would we think of a presidential candidate who assured his voters that he would only UPHOLD the requirements and FULFILL the goals of the Constitution and never ABOLISH our country’s customs and laws, yet two years after his election, plunged the country into complete anarchy? Would this be FULFILLMENT of the Constitution of ABOLITION of the Constitution? Continue reading “Chewing gum for the brain…”
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?”
Sharing my journey… Some of the pain…
A few days ago I was reviewing the ‘About’ page trying to ‘see’ what others ‘see.’ You know, a sort of self assessment.
I noticed on the page that I had written that my goal for this blog is to ‘share the journey’ and ‘explain what I am learning.’ Well, it is pretty clear that I love sharing the fire in my soul that burns daily with new ways to challenge the reader to action and growth, but I realized that I have missed widely on the other ‘goal’ for the blog. Sharing my journey.
While I don’t have a particular story or encounter to share, I thought I’d take a post to give some general thoughts and experiences over the last two years as this transformation in my understanding of Scripture has happened. Certainly, my post on Antisemitism was heart wrenching, and the early RT series more personal as I related the early parts of this ‘walk’ but I have missed that area a bit lately. Continue reading “Sharing my journey… Some of the pain…”
Jesus. False Messiah.
Have you ever stopped and pondered the fact that the ‘Jesus’ presented by christendom is really a false Messiah?
This will hopefully be a short post to simply point out some major inconsistencies in order to encourage the reader to deeper study on their own, apart from spoon fed fallacies from some pulpit. Further, at the end, I will explain why this has monumental significance in YOUR life right now! Today!
The first and most glaring identifier of a false Messiah is as simple as the name ‘Jesus.’ Some think this is not a ‘big deal,’ but we need to stop and remember we are talking about the King of the Universe. He is the Lord of all creation and we can’t get His name right?
Let’s get this straight: There is no letter ‘J’ in the Hebrew language…. Nope, not in Greek either. Not even in Latin!!! The letter ‘J’ doesn’t show up until the 1500s or so. Continue reading “Jesus. False Messiah.”
11:3 Restoration 