persecution – 11:3 Restoration

Restoring kol Israel: How we ‘disable’ our children

“What’s the use? I’m gonna die anyway?”

His reply to my question was rather listless.

It started after Shabbat when I asked a young man in our fellowship what he wanted to study for and do when he finished school. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “What’s the use? I’m gonna die anyway?”

I probed him with a couple more questions to diagnose the problem and quickly figured out that he was deeply concerned about the state of the world and the coming Great Tribulation. In his mind, there is nothing much to live for.

Why try?

My immediate response was a vigorous reminder that we have at least 1000 years to go! The Tribulation is not the end. It is a beginning!! A beginning to the millennial reign! Others gathered around, wondering what the hubbub was, and it turned into a wonderful impromptu lesson for all who had lingered.

Modern inquisitions and being burned at the stake…

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs is a volume every believer should read. It is at once sad, amazing and instructive to read the accounts of those who stood in the face of the religious establishment, even going to the flame. Convinced of Scripture over the religious traditions and self appointed authorities of their day, men and women refused to back down from the crush of an all-powerful establishment preferring death to compromise.

Protestantism reveres the many martyrs who paved the way not only for the Reformation, but the spread of the ideas of the Reformation that broke the choke hold a few religious elites had on the Word of God. Ironically, those self-same elites would burn others at the stake who do not agree with their narrow understanding of Scripture, even when clearly shown Scripture that contradicts their assertions. More in a minute.

The Torah awakening that has been and continues to sweep the globe is not without many warriors who have paid a serious price to face off against the establishment. Anyone who has been on this walk for any period of time will receive serious confrontation by religious elites who don’t like their little boats rocked. This movement that began nearly thirty years ago, and now numbers in the millions, has battle hardened – and weary – leaders who have the wounds and scars of persecution from the establishment.

At the BYNA Summit several months ago I had the rare opportunity to enjoy dinner with Continue reading “Modern inquisitions and being burned at the stake…”

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!!”