Tag: Yahweh

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,

24 You 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. 25 If 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”

Which ordinance of God is “unrighteous?”

I carry my Bible practically everywhere I go.  (ALWAYS ready to make a defense for the Truth of our Messiah and His Torah…)  In my Bible case, I keep a little yellow note pad to jot ideas or thoughts to pursue, or comment on, or write about.  Maybe a book, a thought, a verse, etc…  Some days, like today, are particularly fertile and I wind up adding four or five new ideas or thoughts to develop for this blog or for personal study.

Recently, I posted one of the most popular posts I’ve written.  It was short, to the point and something I thought I was the only one who had overlooked…  But, something connected.  Well, this goes very well with that post…

We enjoyed the day in the company of some Messianic friends and, as I love to do, I cruised a few of the books they had laying around.  I found a little gem Continue reading “Which ordinance of God is “unrighteous?””

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?”

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…”

Blessed is the man…

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the Torah of the Lord,
And in His Torah he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.  Psalm 1:1-3

Marinate.

 

 

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?”

Puttin’ lipstick on a pig! A lil’ dab’ll do ya!

Lipstickpig

My, the lengths we go to to justify behaving like the world.  Do we understand the damage it does to us and to our children?

Here is an invitation we received…  followed by some thoughts.

____________________________
October 31, 2013 from 5:30 – 8:00 pm please join us at (redacted:  A conservative church I once served in)  for Reformation Celebration.
  5:30-6:15 –  Medieval Feast ( food for the family)
   6:15-7:25 –   Games: hayride, burning the bull, musical chairs, throwing ink wells @ Satan,   fishers of men, thunderstorm
   7:30-8:00 – Sanctuary:  Nice (sic) Creed, Reformation Skit, singing, and Benediction

Thus says Yahweh, …

Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you what is best for you,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
“If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

Isaiah 48:17-18

Why do people spend so much time doing theological gymnastics in order to find reasons why His commandments aren’t really for them?  In the next three weeks, modern Christendom will miss the most blessed days of the year because of willful disobedience!

If you will not pay attention to His commandments, you will not find peace and righteousness….  Ouch!!

Ready for the Fall Feasts?  The ones He hasn’t fulfilled yet?  The ones that tell of His coming and judgment?

Sharing my journey… Some of the pain…

A few days ago I was reviewing the ‘About’ page trying to ‘see’ what others ‘see.’  You know, a sort of self assessment.

I noticed on the page that I had written that my goal for this blog is to ‘share the journey’ and ‘explain what I am learning.’  Well, it is pretty clear that I love sharing the fire in my soul that burns daily with new ways to challenge the reader to action and growth, but I realized that I have missed widely on the other ‘goal’ for the blog.  Sharing my journey.

While I don’t have  a particular story or encounter to share, I thought I’d take a post to give some general thoughts and experiences over the last two years as this transformation in my understanding of Scripture has happened.  Certainly, my post on Antisemitism was heart wrenching, and the early RT series more personal as I related the early parts of this ‘walk’ but I have missed that area a bit lately. Continue reading “Sharing my journey… Some of the pain…”