Israel – Page 3 – 11:3 Restoration

A Matter of the Heart!!

Lately, I have been marking instances of ‘heart’ in the Tanakh, or ‘old’ Testament. My specific reason is that on so many occasions, in conversations with others regarding the importance of Torah in our day, I am told that it is written on our hearts by the New Covenant, therefore, we do not have to worry about or try to keep it.

The very root of that thought is contrary to the New Covenant, so we need to demonstrate briefly that the New Covenant is not yet fulfilled before addressing the ‘heart’ of the matter. The New Covenant says,

³¹“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
³²It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband to^[a] them,^[b]”
declares the Lord.
³³“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law (Torah) in their minds
    and write it on their hearts. Continue reading “A Matter of the Heart!!”

How to Divide a Family… A Thought.

Recently, I happened across a Bethany Christian Services magazine and was reading a couple articles about adoption, and no, that is not something we are considering at this time. But, a point in one of the articles prompted some thought about family unity and division.

A short conversation this morning in the comments section of another blog connected the thoughts to the One Law v. Two Law debates/discussions I have had before!

A much debated subject in the Messianic movement is whether the Torah is just for the Jews, or is it the revelation of righteousness for all mankind. We’ve looked at this topic multiple times from various angles, a list of links below, but here is another thought: ‘How to Divide a Family…’ Simple, have different standards and rewards for the adopted children as you have for the natural born.

Seriously, think about it! If you had a child and then you adopted another child, would it not cause bitterness, anger, jealousy, resentment and myriad other sins if you treated the two radically differently in terms of rules and expectations? Continue reading “How to Divide a Family… A Thought.”

One Law = Erasing Jewish Distinctives? Baloney!

While skimming a friend’s Google+ page, a post caught my eye and I had an electric thought!!

This is what I saw:

Tia Tita

Shared publicly – Feb 7, 2014

“One hope to heal our land”
2Ch 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

I Am America – Krista Branch

Before I even saw the video (which I liked, but is not really relevant) I had an awesome thought!! ‘Melting pot!!’ Continue reading “One Law = Erasing Jewish Distinctives? Baloney!”

WARNING!! Kaduri, Sharon and Prophecy! Updated!

**Updated with links** Also, some excellent comments below.

A quick post addressing the recent death of PM Ariel Sharon and the prophecies of R. Itzhak Kaduri… More later.

In the coming days you will hear a great deal about the Kaduri prophecy of the soon return of Messiah after the passing of Ariel Sharon. Continue reading “WARNING!! Kaduri, Sharon and Prophecy! **Updated!**”

What does it mean to be ‘stiffnecked?’

Sometimes, I think the Father places thoughts in my head leading me on particular studies. I will suddenly think of a term, word or concept and the Spirit will compel me to study it out.

One such thought that had the other day was, ‘what does it mean to be ‘stiff-necked?’ I immediately thought I had a pretty good idea, but the intent of the Spirit/Ruach was to read and confirm or alter my understanding.

Indeed, the study actually opened several neat doors that I will cover in the coming days. All of it is intensely relevant for those who profess belief today!

Multiple passages confirmed what I thought I knew, but did so in a much clearer and precise way than I expected. Continue reading “What does it mean to be ‘stiffnecked?’”

Brick v Stone as a Building Material

A couple of days ago, I was delivering some metalwork to a customer in the upstate of South Carolina. While in the area, I called a good friend and brother, Jeff, to see if we could meet-up for lunch. What a blessed time of fellowship, open Bibles in the restaurant and animated discussion of the Word!

During our conversation he began talking about the difference in building with bricks and stones as an illustration in the context of Exodus 20:24-25. Let’s read,

²⁴You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

I could immediately identify with his illustration as I had written a related article almost a year ago. His angle was slightly different, but the points are inextricably connected. Continue reading “Brick v Stone as a Building Material”

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?”