Tag: Truth

eHow to pray for the (errant) Messianic

Do you have an errant Messianic or Hebrew roots person in your life that you pray for?  Well, here is exactly how you can pray for them!!  I think I can promise you, with full assurance, that God will answer this prayer!!prayer_requests2

First, a little background.

I am one of those who Christendom perceives to be errant, so, feel free to pray this very prayer for me as well…  I try to the best of my abilities and by the leading of the Spirit to be obedient to God’s ways as expressed in the Torah.  I also firmly hold to my faith in Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.  By traditional Christendom I am at best, confused and at worst, LOST!  So, if you pray this for me, I will not be offended!  In fact, I will thank you!

Here is the deal.  A couple weeks ago, someone wrote me asking for help with a passage from 2 Corinthians 3 about the veil of Moses and the hardening of hearts and minds.  Continue reading “eHow to pray for the (errant) Messianic”

What is truth?

I have always loved eschatology, the study of end times prophecies.  While doing so about 15 years ago, I read an excellent book, worthy of your time, that had a fantastic quote in the introductory chapter.  The principle explained has been a guiding principle in all of my Bible study ever since.  Here is the extended quote followed by some thoughts…

Scripture Never Contradicts Scripture

Our responsibility as students of the Word is to make every attempt to understand what is written in its most natural, dogmanormal, customary sense, being careful to first look at all other passages that deal with whatever particular issue we are studying.  Remember-and this is critical-we have not found truth until we find the single common denominator that makes all of the passages fit together.  Psalm 119:160 teaches us that “the sum of Thy word is truth.”  In other words, you don’t have truth until you have processed all the passages dealing with a particular subject and found the single solution that accommodates them all without contradiction!

I often explain it this way.  Assume you have six passages dealing with a particular topic.  Using the face-value hermeneutic, passages 1, 3, and 5 say one thing, while passages 2, 4, and 6 appear, on the surface, to be saying something quite different.  Those who prefer what 1, 3, and 5 have to say conclude that the common denominator that pulls these three passages together is 15, and on 15 they will stand and give their life, if necessary, sweeping passages 2, 4, and 6 under the rug, so to speak.  On the other hand, those who prefer what passages 2, 4, and 6 have to say come to the common denominator of 12, and they, like their counterparts, are willing to die for their position, irrespective of what the three other passages might have to say on the issue at hand.

Which answer is right?  12 or 15?  Actually, neither is right!  If you want truth, you cannot ignore any of the passage that deal with the same issue, no matter how contradictory they may seem.  However, if you refuse to be sidetracked by the contradiction and keep looking for the resolution, you will eventually find that all passages fit perfectly into one common denominator: 60.  Now you have correlation without contradiction.  Now you have truth!

Until the common denominator is found, you don’t have anything except confusion.  Plain and simple.  Until then, you must simply admit  you don’t know.  That’s the best answer to give when you’re not sure!  Then you keep looking for that single solution that makes all the passages come together perfectly, without contradiction.

The Rapture Question Answered, Plain and Simple, by Robert Van Kampen, Pgs. 24-25

Continue reading “What is truth?”

Whose Calendar are We Celebrating?

Does Scripture have to say anything about the Creator’s thoughts on time and seasons? When does HE think the year begins?

We could spend a good bit of time digging out the details, but a simple reading of Scripture would demonstrate that tonight is NOT HIS plan…

14 Then God said, “Let there be [a]lights in the [b]expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for [c]lights in the [d]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.  Genesis 1:14-15

Later, our Father tells us exactly how to ‘read’/understand what season and what month are the beginning of a year… Continue reading “Whose Calendar are We Celebrating?”

Pictorial Evidence of Scriptural Truth!!

snow in JerusalemThey say a picture is worth a thousand words…

Well, an acquaintance sent me a picture from Jerusalem, and it tells about a thousand words…

It may be hard to get the message just from this pic, so, here is another of the beautiful snow a couple days ago in Jerusalem.

snow3Here are a couple more interesting and glorious pictures that illustrate the same story, and of course…  the story. Continue reading “Pictorial Evidence of Scriptural Truth!!”

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’ PureHoneyBearfrom 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”

Christian Pastor: Why you should celebrate Halloween.

75 seconds that will blow your mind!  Paganism defined, justified, embraced.

From the pulpit.

Wow!

Original post with comments.

Excellent passage defending Messianic Torah observance!!

Here is an interesting passage that I already knew was a solid defense for Torah observance by the believer in Yeshua (Jesus), but, while referring to it in today’s Shabbat message, I noticed a couple words that have been there all along!  Funny how we can read verses and not SEE what is actually there.

Before we look at it, I want you to notice, this is a ‘last days’ passage.  Verse two gets quoted with the coming of Yeshua, but most never notice the context is decidedly eschatological…  End times!  Last days!  Has ‘not yet happened!!’

“[a]For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, Continue reading “Excellent passage defending Messianic Torah observance!!”

I Should Have Seen It Coming….

I have recently written several posts highlighting glaring translator error or bias.  Predictably, I have received multiple requests about Bible translation recommendations, or thoughts on a particular version…  I should have seen that coming!  So, here is a short post with a few thoughts..

While I am no expert on translations, I think there a few assertions I can safely make: