Martin Luther – 11:3 Restoration

The Lion of the Tribe of Jew.. D’uh!!

What is not to get? I just don’t understand.

Professing believers in Jesus and even whole denominations having vitriolic antipathy or even hate toward the Jews and Israel is a mystery to me. Do they not know, do they not understand that even now, at this instant, the Holy One of Israel is still a Jew? He will always be a Jew!

It would seem that their Semitic denying Messiah is a figment of their imagination. Jesus. False Messiah. Cast in the image of Chrysostom and Martin Luther among others.

The everlasting, unchanging Word of God attests over and over that Salvation (Yeshua), the Son of David, will sit on the throne forever! And, He will Continue reading “The Lion of the Tribe of Jew.. D’uh!!”

“I’m a good Christian and so am I” -Daniel Botkin

While preparing for next week’s conference, I was planning which speakers and topics I want to attend. Daniel Botkin is a name I’ve heard a number of times, but am not really familiar with, so I thought I’d do a little research. Turns out, besides being a gifted teacher and long-time Messianic Jew, he is also an artist. In cruising some of his work, I found this little gem that harkens back so some of our posts about Mr. “Golden Mouth.”

Botkin brilliantly captures the absurdities that came from the mouth of this ‘hero’ among the ‘church fathers.’ Following is the desription of this painting in Botkin’s own words explaining the text on the scrolls as well as the Hebrew around the perimeter: Continue reading ““I’m a good Christian and so am I” -Daniel Botkin”

Blindness Test

Good friend and fellow pilgrim, Travis Hughey, recently wrote and sent this to me. So poignant considering I have been thinking of doing a series called ‘The (Not So) Quotable Church Fathers.’

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BLINDNESS TEST

Following quote from Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians (page 108)

Can you see the contradiction (one of many)?

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VERSES 8, 9.

Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

This concludes Paul’s discourse on justification. From now to the end of the Epistle the Apostle writes mostly of Christian conduct. But before he follows up his doctrinal discourse with practical precepts he once more reproves the Galatians. He is deeply displeased with them for relinquishing their divine doctrine. He tells them: Continue reading “Blindness Test”

R U N the 1%?

If Jesus came into your church, would you recognize Him? While my guess is completely subjective, I would guess that fewer than 1% would recognize the Messiah, King of Israel, if He walked into your church building.

No, He likely won’t come dressed as a homeless guy, though we should receive the homeless with love and concern.

He won’t be in a long robe and probably won’t have longish hair. He will have a beard.

In fact, 99% of the images and ideas we have of Him are wrong based on simple reading of Scripture.

You won’t know based on a ‘gut feeling.’ Your emotions will fail you EVERY time.

You MUST be able to tell based on facts that are verifiable. Scars? May or may not work…

How then will you KNOW without a shadow of a doubt who He is and that He is the REAL deal?

Scripture tells us exactly Continue reading “R U N the 1%?”

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…”

No Running!!!

As a child, I LOVED visiting the pool. Maybe a neighbor’s pool or summer camp, etc. Hot and humid South Carolina weather made the cool clear waters a wonderful respite.

Most pools we visited had some form of posted rules.

No running!
No diving!
No rough-housing, etc…

Often, breaking these rules led to the dreaded ‘time-out.’ All my friends playing and me sitting by mom or the life-guard watching… mournfully.

Had I been a more rebellious sort, I might have found that continued rule-breaking would lead to greater and greater penalties. Possibly, even, not being invited back.

In my immaturity, my view of the rules, or ‘law of the pool,’ was that it was restrictive. It seemed to needlessly curtail all the ‘fun!’ Pushing someone into the pool or chasing someone with a ‘rat-tail’ towel was a game!

As I grew older Continue reading “No Running!!!”

“Which is the attitude of maturity?”

I have recently been involved in another “HRM” ‘drive-by shooting.’ But, it is not the first “love” Messianics have received from that blog.

So, pondering some of the comments and wondering about the general lack of desire to really dig in and understand why Messianic/Hebraic studies are growing by leaps and bounds, and what that reveals about lacking elements in Christendom, I continued reading J. K. McKee’s terrific scholarly work, The New Testament Validates Torah: Does the New Testament Really Do Away with the Law?

In an extended quote, McKee so eloquently defines exactly what the crux of the differences are between Christian and Judaic perspectives on the Torah: (pgs 65-66) Continue reading ““Which is the attitude of maturity?””

A Great Irony in Christian Theology…

So, let me get this straight…

Israel was free when they were obedient to God’s Torah, but sent into bondage when they repeatedly disobeyed it, but Christendom is ‘free’ when they ignore God’s Torah and ‘in bondage’ if they rightly choose obedience?

Say wha…?

Here is the TRUTH:

The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law (Torah). Proverbs 4:2

Got Torah?

Aspartame vs. Honey

A number of months ago, I began using honey in my morning coffee instead of refined sugar. In fact, because we have bees, my wife began substituting honey in a number of places in our family’s diet.

Well, late last week I was refilling the ‘honey bear’ from a Mason jar full of my bees’ honey and had a convenient ‘spill.’ Of course, I licked it up… Hmmm.

Then it hit me, ‘this used to be the sweetest stuff on the planet!’ In fact, for thousands of years honey was the sweetest readily available ‘sugar’ on the planet. Only in the last century has man begun to use the laboratory and myriad chemicals to develop alternative sweeteners, aspartame being just one, as well as a plethora of intense flavors derived from all manner of bizarre stuff.

Not long ago I saw a ‘hell’evision program detailing the constant quest in the food industry for new and intense flavors to make whatever food substitute item more desirable, thus selling more product. And, ruining consumer’s health in the process.

My brain, taking those diverse pieces of information, as I licked up the spilled honey, suddenly made some interesting connections. Continue reading “Aspartame vs. Honey”