Bney Yosef – Page 2 – 11:3 Restoration

A Flaming Arrow?

A little while ago, a friend left this comment on the **Update** SC National Shabbat Details!! post:

Interesting… Immediately, my mind went back to a verse I read yesterday in Zechariah:

^{Zechariah 9:13}For I will bend Judah as My bow,
I will fill the bow with Ephraim.
And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece;
And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.

The larger context of that passage is Judah and Ephraim coming together to fight their enemies and the Lord defending them and fighting for them as they destroy Greece/Edom…

Thoughts?

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”

“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)”

Thy Kingdom come…

Early this morning I was greeted by this email from Ephraim and Rimona Frank, of Israel. Parts of it really resonated with me and I immediately wanted to share it, but I had to head to work.

Ephraim makes (or echoes) three very important points that we all need to take to heart:

A divided Kingdom cannot stand
A uniting Kingdom will be intentional to that end
Justice, mercy and compassion must be central in our efforts

I would be so direct with my readers to ask, ‘what specific steps are you taking to build community and foster unity within the Body of Messiah and with our brother Judah?’

Make today count!

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

Last night when we met at Kibbutz Merchavia in the Jezreel Valley with Craig and Jan O’dell and others from the Gates to Zion congregation to celebrate the coming 9th month. Craig shared with us a scripture from Zechariah that was actually uttered on the 9th month. We all really felt the impact of the Spirit telling us that it is a word for today’s redeemed body of Yeshua, especially as we move toward the restoration of our national identity. “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:24-25). I might add a nation divided against itself also will not stand.

“Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of YHVH of the Armies came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev… “Thus says YHVH of the Armies: ‘Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother’” (Zechariah 7:1; 9-10).

Tragically our ancestors refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. “Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the Torah and the words which YHVH of the Armies had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath/anger came from YHVH of the Armies” (Zechariah 7:11-12). We know that this behavior displayed by our ancestry can and does get passed along in the generations, unless there is some serious repentance and heeding in obedience to these words from the prophets. Continue reading “Thy Kingdom come…”

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

Nationality, Citizenship and The Kingdom

Lately, I have been pondering anew my 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”

Jerusalem Post: “Yosef is Alive!!”

This morning, friend and Israeli who lives in the Land, Ephraim Frank emailed an amazing advertisement from the Jerusalem Post. Below is an image of a FULL PAGE ad they ran on the eve of Sukkot, the Feast of Ingathering!! See the following two images, then read on, there is more!!

Continue reading “Jerusalem Post: “Yosef is Alive!!””

“Ask About Me” tees…. Get one!

A couple of weeks ago we saw a really neat t-shirt campaign on TeeSpring that we wanted. So, all six family members ordered a t-shirt in various colors like the one on the right. The front says, ‘Ask about me…‘

We wore them to the National Shabbat in north Georgia and received multiple requests concerning where we got them, but the campaign was closed.

Well, local Messianic friend, Julian couldn’t stand it and did the research. With an order of just 10 shirts, the campaign will re-open.

So, if you want one, here is the link!! Go get one!

Shema Video from Adat Shalom, Summerville, SC

Here is our first Shema video (other than our family) posted on YouTube by Dorthy of Adat Shalom Fellowship in Summerville, SC. Please pardon the soft audio, I have attended this fellowship a couple times and it is a fantastic place of worship. Non-Jews who love YHVH and are learning to walk in His ways!! This is Ray Gardner’s fellowship and, ironically, I was adding Torah Portion notes that he sent a couple days ago to his page… Go check out that awesome resource as well!

And, thanks, Dorothy and Tommy for this video! May it bless and encourage others!