Do You Hear What I Hear?

Tonight at sundown a new year begins in Israel.  It is the year 5776, the year of salvation.  It is Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, and the shofar will be blown 100 times.  It is the anniversary of the creation of the first man and woman, the anniversary of the first sin, the anniversary of the binding of Isaac, and judgement day for the whole earth. 

The sound of the shofar is a call to repentance and the proclamation of G-d as King of the Universe.  The language of the shofar is the only language the Satan can not understand.

On the evening of September 22 the Holiest Day of the year will begin, Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement.  It is on this day that our destiny, as to whether we live or die in the coming year, will have been determined and G-d will seal the books. 

Now is the time of repentance.  Awake, awake and repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  Today is the day of salvation. 

"See, I speak a deep secret to you: we will not all sleep (the sleep of the dead), but we will all be transformed.  In a moment's notice at the sound of the final shofar.  For the shofar will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and those who are alive (mortal) will be transformed (to immortality)."  I Corinthians 15:51-52 (Hannah Rachel translation - HRT)

Do not wait, turn to G-d.........and listen to His voice.

"Then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven, and all families of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven (the Shechinah or glory of God) in power and great glory.  He will send forth His angels with the sound of a great shofar; they will gather His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."  Matthew 24:30-31 (HRT)

This will be the sound of the shofar tomorrow, listen for it......wait for it......keep your eyes set upon Messiah's return! 

http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/977030/jewish/Shofar-Blasts.htm

Shalom!

10 Things The Church Should Be Doing

A friend of mine who has battled cancer more than once decided God was not done with her yet.  She realized there was a tremendous need in her community and started this great ministry literally from nothing.  I have been absolutely amazed (not sure why, because I know He can!) at the way God answered her prayers.

 
Recently I have viewed several articles on things the Church should stop doing or saying.  I have read them and for the most part I agree.  We live in a rather negative world and so I wondered, what is the positive spin on those articles?

 I have read study after study about the church of today and found something disturbing; the church is waning rather than waxing.  What does this statement infer?  The church is losing membership and, most importantly, the church is not changing the world.  It appears we have become so self-centered and egotistical that we are extinguishing the light of the Gospel rather than carrying that Light to the nations.  (I will, throughout this article use the church and The Church to denote those who say they are Christians and those who actually are.)

I know many of you will say, "Well that is exactly what the Bible predicts!  The Bible says that in the last days we, (the church), will be persecuted.  Just read Romans 1!"  I agree that Romans 1 paints a very dismal picture of the world around us, but we so often stick with our modern day dissection of scripture.  When written by Paul, Romans wasn't broken down by chapter and verse.  It is essential that we read the entire book as one letter.  If we stop with Romans 1:32 and do not continue on to 2:1-16:27 we are getting only a small fragment of the letter.  In essence we are taking a few verses out of the context of the entire document.  (Gee, sounds like a political ad!)  I urge you to read the entire book of Romans, putting aside any preconceived notions.  Go ahead, give it a try before reading further in this post. 

Now taking all this into consideration, I want to take you on a journey of the very words of Yeshua (Jesus).  After all, He is our example and our Savior and He was The Word made flesh.  If we follow any words or directions, let it be from Him first.  All the matters I am addressing come straight from His mouth.   I will start with the sermon on the mount beginning in Matthew 5, but let me give you a hint about Yeshua's words in this passage; nowhere in this discourse does He tell anyone what to believe, but instead He tells us what to do.  Please keep that in mind as we look at what The Church should be doing.

The Church should:

1.  Become poor in spirit.  We need to rely less on ourselves and more on God, putting the outside world's needs above our own.  We are so busy gratifying our spiritual obesity while the world is dying of spiritual malnutrition.

2.  Mourn: Yearn for God and His kingdom rather than the things of the world. Mourn any and all separation, of ourselves and the creation, from God.

3. Become meek: Psalm 37:11 - Humble ourselves, as we live in subjugation and are trodden down by a government that does not seek God and His ways.  Think about the Jews of Yeshua's day.  They were living under Roman rule.  As Christians in the USA, we are subjugated to our own version of Rome, the United Sates of America's rule and government.  God has allowed that government for a reason. 

4.  Hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God:  The Messiah.  We hunger and thirst for Him by deeply submerging ourselves in His Word as we yearn for the reversal of social and moral injustices.  

5.  Be compassionate:  Measure for measure - Hebrew idiom meaning that God will judge us based on the way we judge others so ALWAYS judge favorably.  (Matthew 7:2)  In the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46) Yeshua said His followers will:
          Feed the hungry
          Give water to the thirsty
          Welcome strangers and see to their needs
          Clothe those who are naked or have only rags
          Visit the sick and imprisoned
All of these have a literal and figurative meaning.  We cannot tell people about our God if they have physical needs which are not being addressed.  A starving person does not have the strength to listen until they receive food and water.  Figuratively they imply sharing the Gospel of Yeshua with: those who are searching (hungry or thirsty) for Him, those who have never heard of Him (the stranger), those who are vulnerable to or have been ravaged by the world (naked and sick), and those who are reaping the consequences of life without Him (imprisoned).         

6.  Pure in heart (mind): Psalm 24:3-4 people of integrity.  People who do not harbor deceit, unforgiveness, malice or immorality.  Meditates on God's Word, continuously!  Loving and forgiving those who treat us badly, including family and former friends who have wronged us.

7.  Seekers of Peace: Psalm 34:14 People who not only pursue peace with their enemies, but also pursue peace between others.

8.  Anticipate persecution:  which will come for those who seek to be all of the above as well as for our attachment to the Messiah.  We are persecuted for living a life that brings light into a dark world, yet we are to NEVER persecute those who are in darkness.

9.  Salt: The balance to all the evil, wrong and wicked of the world.  We are to be involved in the repairing of the world.  Salt cannot lose it's saltiness unless it is mixed with other substances and becomes less concentrated.  We must follow the teachings of God, responding to the world with grace.

10.  Light:  We should be conspicuously obvious to the world by our deeds [good works - Hebrew idiom for fulfilling the commands (connections) of the Torah].  Saying we have faith (a relationship with God) yet never connecting with the Torah is useless, which is hiding our lamp under a bowl.

The Sermon on the Mount discourse continues through chapter 7.  Often we stop at 5:16, but again I remind you that there were no chapter and verse divisions until a few hundred years ago.  This discourse contains a tremendous amount of scripture which is quoted often by Christians and non-Christians, although many times out of context.  Further in chapter 5, Yeshua elaborates on the words of Moses.  Verses 38-48 truly define in greater detail what appears later in the sheep and goats parable.

     "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor (Lev 19:18) and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those insulting you and persecuting you, so that you become sons of your Father in the heavens.  Because He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  For if you love those loving you, what reward have you?  Are the tax collectors not doing the same too?  And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others?  Are the tax collectors not doing so too?  Therefore, be striving for perfection in order to be like your Father in the heavens is perfect."

He continues on to say in Chapter 7:21-27:

     "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Master, Master,' shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.  Many shall say to Me in that day, 'Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?'  And then I shall declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who are Torahless.  (Psalm 6:8 Most English translations will say lawlessness, but in Hebrew the word is literally not obeying the Torah or living without the Torah)  
     "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, AND DOES THEM, shall be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  
     "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, AND DOES NOT DO THEM, shall be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall."

James, the brother of Yeshua says this in his book Chapter 1:22-27:

     "And become doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  Because if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like.  
     "But he that looked into the perfect Torah, that of freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the Torah.  If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is worthless.  Clean and undefiled religion before the Elohim and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

     There are those in The Church who are carrying out these instructions, but what about all those who say they are a part of The Church and aren't?  Their words are speaking so loudly, the world hears the noise and is covering their ears while shutting their eyes to avoid them.  Paul himself said in I Corinthians 13:

     "If I speak with the tongues of men and of messengers (angels), but do not have love (compassion, mercy, kindness and forgiveness), I have become as a sounding brass or a clanging gong."

Imagine a child who is beating on pots and pans with a spoon.  We can only take that noise for so long and then we "go off the deep end."  Is this what the church has become, a clanging gong and a miserable noise?

I watch the social media feeds where people I know are passing around, for lack of a better term, propaganda.  They are anti-immigrants, anti-government handouts, anti-government, and anti- lots of things.  My thought is, then what are you doing about those situations?  I found a cartoon that adequately depicts the sad state of the church these days.  I will quote from it:

     "America should get back to Biblical Christian principles!"
     "So we should feed and shelter the poor?"
     "NO! I'm not paying for a lazy person!"
     "So, we should visit and comfort prisoners?"
     "No, they don't deserve that."
     "So we should pay our taxes without complaining?"
     "No, that's MY money and I want it."
     "So, we should show love and mercy freely?"
     "No, that has to be earned."
     "So, we should avoid violence?"
     "No, we have to take out the 'bad guys.' "
     "So, we should be gracious to foreigners?"
     "No, they shouldn't be here."
     "So, we should seek to end social injustice throughout the world?"
     "No, that's not our problem."
     "Then what principles are you talking about?"
   

What could and would happen in the USA if Christians began to do what Yeshua asked of them?  What if we were the ones feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty both literally and figuratively?  What if we were the ones giving strangers (foreigners) a home among us?  What if we were the ones providing clothes and a sanctuary for those who have been ravaged by the world?  What if we took the Light in a loving, merciful manner to those who were reaping the consequences of their own actions?

We complain about welfare recipients, being ripped off by corporations, and fearing for our safety.  Are these things happening, because the church hasn't fulfilled its obligations?  When those who are called by God's Name fail to do what He commands, the world suffers.

Let us, the True Church, begin to do more and speak less.  Let's stop judging and remember that we were once deep in sin as well.  Let's remind ourselves that we do not know the other person's entire story.  Let's stop complaining about the state of affairs and begin reaching out with a hand to those in need.  If we will do the things God asks of us we could possibly see the return of the Messiah very, very soon.

Shalom.

Learning to Become United

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C.  The picture above was taken at the WWII Memorial and shows 5 of the 56 pillars surrounding the memorial.  While in D.C. we also visited the Holocaust Museum.  The two are connected in what I believe to be the darkest part of our world history.  This horrible war, with it's many atrocities, actually began on November 1, 1936 as Germany's Adolf Hitler and Italy's Benito Mussolini joined forces to establish their domination of the world.  Twenty-four days later Imperial Japan joined them.  Three governments united for what appeared to be a common cause. 

For nine years war raged throughout all of Europe as Hitler and his partners invaded one country after another and millions died.  Yet during those years something else extraordinary happened.  Three other countries came together in unity as well, despite barriers of language, religion and life to overthrow an evil dictator.  During those years they would be joined by other countries along the way.  
When a common goal exists, mankind will overcome any and all obstacles to attain that goal.  Last week I talked about what might happen if all Jews AND Christians were to get on the same page.  Let me take that one step further.   

We may jump on board with a calendar of events, but what about language?  Could the number one reason we differ so much in theology be due to a language barrier?  Christians and Jews disagree greatly on interpretation of Scripture, but so do most Christians.  Don't think so?  Why are there so many different denominations and even so many different interpretations within even one denomination?  Have you ever given it a thought?  Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodist, Baptist (heaven knows how many different types of Baptist there are), Church of Christ, Christian (Disciples of Christ), Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Non-Denominational, Apostolic.  I could go on and on.  Two different Baptist Churches can't even agree on many details, let alone all these different flavors of Christianity.

Why is there such a barrier?  Christians DO NOT fully understand the language of the Bible.  We are very smug and claim to understand, why we understand it better than the Jews!  They didn't get it right in Jesus Day so we know they don't understand it now!  Those Jews just missed the boat!  How did they not understand that Jesus was the Messiah?  We see it, clear as day AND we know exactly how to interpret all those 66 books as well, correct?

That's funny.  Ask ten people within your own denomination this question, "What happens to the soul when we die?"  Oh that's an easy one.  We go to heaven or hell!  Well, I asked that question in a Sunday School class one day and received about five different answers.  Here they are: 1. Heaven or hell; 2. Soul sleep; 3. Purgatory; 4. Paradise or darkness; 5. Either Heaven (for a believer) or just cease to exist (for an unbeliever).  Hmmm, all that in a Southern Baptist Church.  To beat it all there were only about 8 people in the class and all of them age 30 and above.  

As Christians we should strive to seek the truth of the Scripture, even when that truth defies the very doctrine we have been taught in the Church.  One point in understanding Hebrew that is so often overlooked is a simple thing known as an idiom.  I have written on this point before, but let me take you down that road for a moment.

An idiom is a commonly used expression that is never to be taken literally.  In the USA we use idioms such as: Come hell or high water; She has a bun in the oven; It's raining cats and dogs.  Judaism does the same.  Some prime examples are: 
     Loved and hated - to love one more than the other (never literally taken as hated); 
     Abolish - to teach the Torah incorrectly;
     Fulfill - to teach the Torah correctly;  
     Evil eye  - stingy;
     Good eye - generous; 
     The third day - used to denote something miraculous; 
     On that day - the future or the world to come; 
     Little one - unschooled inexperienced disciple; 
     Drinking wine - studying Torah; 
     Favorable year of the Lord - year of Jubilee; 
     Go up - elevate oneself spiritually; 
     Thorn - small pointed stroke that is part of a Hebrew letter or something that might be considered insignificant; 
     Twinkling of an eye - the haste with which the Hebrews left Egypt; 
     Under the Law - a Gentile who had gone through the conversion process to become a Jew (this included circumcision for males and also a ritual bath known as a mikvah or baptism);
     In one's tent - deep study of Torah.  (When speaking of Jacob it is said that he stayed in the tent.  Christians have typically taught that Jacob was a Momma's boy, but this is far from the truth.  He spent his time seeking God.)

Did you think you knew what these terms meant only to see that you may have been a little off base?  As I researched this subject I looked at common English language idioms and their meanings.  I came across a webpage that named over 600, only to find that a few of them were not defined the same way I use them.  I wondered if this were pertinent to perhaps another area of the country from where I live.  I fully understand the difference in areas with things such as a soft drink.  In the south everything is a coke, while in other areas they are called pop or soda.  So what if you were to ask Jews from various areas and they understood those idioms differently?  How do we know the true meaning of them?  In those instances we MUST go to the 1st century A.D. to find how the Jews in Jesus' day defined them. 

If we could all get on the same page with idioms and their definitions, scripture might take on an entirely new meaning.  Could it possibly be that denominational names would drop and we could all become The Church as we were meant to be?  

Now that I have given you several to start, take these idioms and plug the definition into the scripture which uses them.  I certainly hope you have a new perspective on that scripture afterwards.  Until next week, Shalom!     

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Today is August 22, 2015 and a new year is almost upon us.  What?  A new year?  But we are four months away from New Year's Day and we still have Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to go through! 

As we take a look around the world, the term New Year has various meanings.  In the United States a new school year typically begins in August or September.  For many corporate entities a new fiscal year begins a 52 week period that could correspond to any date on the calendar.  The next Chinese New Year begins on February 8, 2016, the Islamic New Year on October 15, 2015, and the Jewish New Year on September 14, 2015 of the Gregorian calendar.   Wow, did you have any idea there were that many calendars in use at all times?  According to a website known as webexhibits.org/calendars, there are currently 40 calendars in use around the world.     

Why so many calendars?  Well, some are lunar calendars and others solar.  A new school year calendar has been shaped and reshaped over the years and varies between states.  Fiscal years for corporations and governments are based on a 52 week period that best suits their needs, usually corresponding to seasonal operations.  Retailers for instance begin their fiscal year on February 1 and close out on January 31st due to the holidays, while the company I work for has a fiscal year of July 1 - June 30.

Just throwing out a thought here, but what would happen if everyone in the world used the same calendar?  hmmmm....  Let me take this one step further and ask what calendar would it be?  What if God had a calendar which He set up before the foundations of the world were created?  Would that be the calendar to get your vote?  If so, what if it were vastly different than the calendar you currently use?

The fact is, God DID create a calendar and He has given it to us in His Word!  The picture at the top of this post is an example of God's calendar for this month, August 2015.  If you focus in on it you will see there are dates you have probably never thought or known about before now.  It also contains Bible readings which are the same year after year after year and have been for thousands of years.

Now, let's take this another step further.  What if all Jews AND Christians were to begin observing, (strictly observing), this calendar and ALSO reading the same scripture on the same day every year?  What would and could happen in this world?  Could we possibly usher in the return of the Messiah?

God DOES have a day planner and today, August 22, 2015 is day 8 of a 40 day period of repentance.  Day 31 of that period falls on September 14, 2015 which is the 1st day of the Jewish month Tishrei - New Years Day!  It is known as Rosh Hashanah which also begins the Feast of Trumpets.  According to Jewish tradition it is the day Abraham bound Isaac for a sacrifice as well as the beginning of "The Days of Awe."

The 30 Days of Repentence leading up to New Year's Day is a time of introspection, because a super holy event is coming very soon.  These 30 days are to be spent searching out every nook and cranny of our life to find everything unholy and rid it from us.  God's court session will begin on Rosh Hashanah and those who have not "settled out of court" during the previous 30 days will now stand before Him to plead their case for nine days.  At the close of the 9th day, all testimonies will conclude and court is adjourned.  God then deliberates on the testimonies and on the 10th day, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), He will close the Book of Life.  If your name is written therein you will live for another year.  If not......

Oh, did you think the Book of Life had something to do with eternity???  Well, in a sense it does.  We are all eternal beings.  Eternity does not begin with death, it begins with life.  The moment you are conceived eternity begins for you.  The question remains though as to what kind of eternity you will experience both while on earth and thereafter.   

"But what about salvation?  I thought that ensured eternal life!"  Well, do you remember my closing question from the previous post?  I asked what the Kingdom of Heaven meant.  The Kingdom of Heaven is a term for the reign of God.  "Well, doesn't God reign in Heaven?"  God reigns wherever He chooses to reign, but He desires to reign in His people.  God cannot dwell where there is unholiness.  Although the Book of Life most likely has a dual meaning, one for this life and one for the life to come, it is essential for those of us who have accepted Christ to turn inward during those 30 days.  We MUST find any unholiness which has crept into us and purge it.  We cannot be a reflection of His light from within if our window is dirty.

The understanding of time in Hebraic thought is that time is cyclical rather than linear.  It repeats itself over and over and over, each time becoming clearer and clearer and clearer with greater depth.  In this respect we, as Christians, should be living in the times.  We should understand fully the meaning of God's calendar.

The Gospel of Matthew can help give us a better understanding of this concept.  I am going to quote from a Hebrew to English translation.  Matthew 3:1-2, "And in those days Yohanan the Immerser came proclaiming in the wilderness of Yehuda, and saying, 'Repent, for the reign of the heavens has come near!'"

So what exactly was John the Baptist proclaiming?  Most translations will say, the Kingdom of Heaven.  He was not only proclaiming the 1st appearance of the Messiah, but also ushering in the 40 days of repentance.  If you continue to Matthew 3:13 - 4:3 you will find that Yeshua, (Jesus), comes to be immersed as he begins his ministry - bringing a way for God to dwell in His people individually.  

  Taking the verses I have given you from Matthew we can "know" the dates of this story.  What does the scripture say?  Matthew 4:1-2, "Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tried by the devil.  And after having fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry and the trier (Satan) came to Him."

Jesus went into the wilderness to go through 40 days of introspection, 40 days and nights, the days of repentance.  Satan did his absolute best to cause Him to stumble, but to no avail.  Those days of repentance are not only to throw out the things that make us unholy, but also in order to bring us closer to God.  Jesus knew his mission was to be grueling and beyond anything a human had ever experienced; therefore it was absolutely necessary for him to be in total connection to God.

That last day in the wilderness was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Holiest day of the year.  His fate was sealed.  The book was closed and nothing could change that decision. 

Now is YOUR time of introspection.  Now is the time to seal your name in the book.  For the next 32 days, every day, read Psalm 39, 40, 51 and 27 in that order.  Prior to reading these ask God to reveal any and all sin within your life that is creating a disconnect between you and Him.

So back to my question.  If ALL of God's people would get on the same page (calendar), what could happen?  If ALL of God's people would take the next 32 days to purge the unholiness from our lives and become "one" with God, then on the last day to fast from both food and water and any physical pleasure......could we see the Messiah's return with the final, single blast of the shofar (trumpet) at sunset on Yom Kippur, - the Day of Atonement (At-onement) as we all shout, "Next year in Jerusalem!"? (Leviticus 16:30)

May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year my friend, Shalom!

Gearing Up for a New Year With God

 The soul of one of God's children is likened to a beautiful rose among the thorns of materialism. 

From the Zohar

I am going to do my best to start over with lessons from the weekly Bible reading again.  I desire to teach others the wondrous gems I have been taught for the last four years.  If you deeply desire to know more and more about God, perhaps this is for you.

If you are like me, I am terribly tired of cliches and the latest catch phrases for Christianity.  I long for God's word and to allow IT to change me.  There are far too many people writing books, Bible Studies and developing DVD's and programs with catchy phrases designed to entice us and draw us in, some with a personal agenda.

Please let me say that I do not disagree with many of these people.  They are teaching truth, but why do we feel the need to come up with a memorable phrase when God has done all of that for us in His Word?  I can tell you that learning The Word for the last four years has made THE biggest difference in my life. 

If I am going to try this again and hopefully write so that all can understand, I must begin with some basic concepts and I will try to put out one or two of those basics every day or two.  Please feel free to share these posts with anyone who you know deeply desires to go deeper with our God and His word. 

I would definitely love to tell you how I am not going to say, "God revealed this to me."  What I will tell you is that I have learned these things from my teacher, who learned them from his teacher, who learned them from his teacher.  I will do my best to not give information unless it can be backed up by several sources, no matter how much I might truly wish to.  Accountability is soooo very important and I desire accountability from my teacher and you, my readers. 

The new weekly reading schedule begins in about 9 weeks so I should have ample time to lay down the foundation for those readings.  Please feel free to comment or send me an email if you have questions.  I always encourage questions or comments.  I want this blog to be a safe place for those who have questioned things within the church for years, but were made to feel like an infidel if they asked.  If you have found condemnation other places, I want you to find love here.  Remember there are no stupid questions.  I may not have an immediate answer for you, but I will find one if it exists. 

My goal is to bring you along with me as I approach the throne of God, one step at a time.  I desire that you grow closer to the Creator as you journey with me. 

I will leave you with one tidbit for today:

               What is the kingdom of heaven?  Where is it and when does it start??? 

Shalom, my friend, Shalom!
                       

Unity???

  

 My husband and I stand in front of the unity candle at our marriage ceremony.

     I have been an active member of a mainline, protestant, evangelical denomination all my life.  Growing up in that atmosphere, I had never understood those denominations whose services were full of liturgy.  I thought they were stuffy and boring and missing the point.  Of course my actual knowledge of those churches, or any other denomination for that matter, was limited to rumors and innuendos from people in my own denomination.

     One thing I did have knowledge of, other than my own kind of church, was a mom and dad after God's own heart.  They taught me one basic thing;  to always read the entire Bible for myself and ask God to impart His understanding of that scripture to me.  They even reinforced the matter by telling me I should never take any one preacher or teacher's explanation of scripture as absolute gospel, but to search out the matter for myself.  I have been on that search about the deep truths of God's Word for most of my life.

     A few years ago a friend invited me to a class on 1st Century Judaism, taught by a Lutheran minister who is also a Jew by birth.  I was a little skeptical at first, but the mere mention of the name of the class surged through me with great excitement.  The class is known as Torah Tuesday.  In the midst of attending this class I have visited this church several times and I have realized a great misconception on my part.  Let me revert back in my life for a moment to help you understand my point of view as well as give you a little something to think about.

     My denomination, while conservative in it's teachings, encourages a certain level of freedom of expression during worship.  If you want to sit during the worship it is okay.  If you want to stand and raise your hands while saying hallelujah, that is okay as well.  We don't judge those who "feel the Spirit" during their time with God.  We do, however, tend to think differently about those who worship in liturgical congregations and I must admit that I was one of the worst in doing so.  I was so judgmental that I wrote a book several years ago along that line.  I gave the book to several people in my denomination whose opinion I trusted wholeheartedly.  Each of them gave me back the draft with words such as, "It was nice," or "It would make a great instructional manual."  (Just their way of saying kindly, "Oh dear, how can we tell her this book is awful!")

     I was brokenhearted at the comments.  There was no enthusiasm for my words. (Ahh perhaps that was the problem, they were my words...a realization that just hit me.)  Rather than stew over it, I vowed that I would put it away until God revealed otherwise.  If all of those trusted people said the same thing, well.....

    Now fast forward five years.  I have been in this class regularly for four of those years and worshiped with that particular congregation about 10 times.  I have also, through this class, studied the beginnings of Christianity from an entirely new perspective.  Where I once saw liturgy as rote and mindless tradition, I now understand it as unity.

     In my last post I mentioned that the United States appears more divided now than at anytime since the Civil War.  I still believe that to be true.  According to a survey by The Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB), there are over 300,000 Christian based congregations who worship each week.  Of those, approximately 100,000 are either fully or in part liturgical and 200,000 are not.  I would wager a guess here to say that on any given weekend only about 57,000 of those congregations are on the same page.  Although that is a great many, on the other hand there are about 243,000 congregations who are each doing their own thing.  Although they probably all teach from the Bible, they greatly differ on the scripture reference and interpretations and that is not unity.  About the only time those 200,000+ are unified is; Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day. (If you are part of an evangelical congregation, how many times have you attended on Mother's Day and made that face, because you knew you were going to hear Proverbs 31 preached again!) 

     If all 300,000+ congregations believe in the same God and in the same Savior, why aren't they unified?   Have they misinterpreted God's Word in some way?  Think along with me on this, the apostle Paul said that God is a God of order.  If this is so, why are His people so disorderly?

     My study of 1st Century Judaism has brought about a thought process.  What would and could happen if ALL God's people got on the same page?  How wonderful is it when many people from various walks of life come together with a unified agenda, putting aside their differences on things which aren't applicable to the cause?  What accomplishments can be achieved with unity?

     Let me take this one step further.  What if every church in the world read the same scripture this coming weekend?  All churches, no matter the denomination, lifting up their voices as one in unity?  Would the gates of hell crumble?  Would this one simple act be THE ACTION which would herald in the return of the Messiah?

     I want to give you a couple of examples of what unity can do..    

Joshua 6:20,  "So the people (Israelites) shouted, and [the priests] blew with the shofar (horns). And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the shofar, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city."

Nehemiah 8:1-9,  "When the month of Tishri arrived, the children of Israel gathered together as one at the plaza before the Water Gate and they asked Ezra the scholar to bring the scroll of the Torah of Moses, which HASHEM (the Lord God) had commanded to Israel.  So Ezra the Kohen (Priest) brought the Torah before the congregation - men and women, and all those who could listen with understanding - on the first day of Tishri (Rosh Hashanah - a holy day which begins 10 days of awe and ends with Yom Kippur, the day of atonement).  He read from it before the plaza that is before the Water Gate, from the first light until midday, in front of the common men and women and those who understood; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Torah scroll.  Ezra the scholar stood on a wooden tower that they made for the purpose......(the portion omitted here lists 13 men, 6 of whom stood on Ezra's right and 7 who stood on his left)........Ezra opened the scroll before the eyes of all the people, for he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people stood silent.  Ezra blessed HASHEM, the great God, and all the people answered 'Amen! Amen!' with their hands upraised; then they bowed and prostrated themselves before HASHEM, faces to the ground......(Again men named who helped the people understand the words they were hearing. I could teach an entire lesson on just the names of all these men, but alas that is for another time.).......They read in the scroll, in God's Torah, clearly, with the application of wisdom, and they helped the people understand the reading.  Then Nehemiah, who is the Tirshatha (Persian official) as well as Ezra the Kohen, the scholar, and the Levites who were helping the people understand, said to all the people, 'Today is sacred to HASHEM your God; do not mourn and do not weep.'  For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Torah."

     I know the last passage was lengthy, but I wanted to capture the context.  The first temple had been destroyed and the people of Israel had been in captivity in Babylon for 70 years.  Under great men such as Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah and their influence over the Babylonian Kings, the people were allowed to return to their land.  Through the generosity and kindness of King Cyrus the second temple was built.

     As the Torah was being read the people began, as one, to weep as they realized they had been neglecting the Torah's laws.  Every time I read that passage from Nehemiah I am so deeply reminded of what took place at the dedication of the first Temple:
       
          "There was unison among the trumpeters and singers, sounding out in one voice to praise and give thanksgiving to HASHEM, and when the sound of the shofars and cymbals and other musical instruments sounded out, with praise of HASHEM 'for He is good, for His kindness is forever,' and the Shechinah filled the house - the Temple of HASHEM - and the Kohanim (Priests) could not stand and minister because of the cloud, for the Shechinah glory of HASHEM filled the Temple of God."  II Chronicles 5:13-14.

     WOW! What a day that must have been!  Something I long to see in Christianity.

     Although it is not exactly the same as our Gregorian calendar which is solar, the Jewish calendar is lunar and has a specified scripture for each week.  It is the same EVERY year.  You could say their calendar is God's calendar or better yet, God's day planner for He is the one who gave it to them.  In every Synagogue around the world the scripture is the same.  The Jewish nation scattered all around the world is unified on each and every Sabbath as well as every festival and Holy Day. (Judaic unity goes much deeper than this, but that is also for a different post!  If you would like to purchase one of these calendars you may find it here:  http://ffoz.com/eretz-yisrael-wall-calendar.html  It is well worth the money and contains BEAUTIFUL pictures of the land of Israel.)

     What would and could happen if all of Christianity, within our congregations, began to follow the same scripture reading schedule as all of Israel?  What a day it could be if ALL GOD'S CHILDREN stood on the Sabbath and at the completion of that reading, shouted in one voice, "For He is good, for His kindness is forever!"  Could we usher in or shout in the return of THE MESSIAH?

     

   SHALOM!
     

What will you do with what you see?

One event changed millions of lives forever.  Not only did that event change the lives of that generation, but would change the lives of future generations forever as well.  If you are a Christian you probably think I am talking about the birth of Jesus, but I am not.  I am referring to a world event that is so horrendous, many of us refuse to think about it.  We have heard about it throughout our lives, but most will probably not seek out anything more than their high school history class provided.

Only a few days ago my husband and I traveled to Washington, DC.  There were a number of sights I wanted to see, but one was at the top of my list and I was not leaving DC until I had visited it.  The first day we visited Arlington National Cemetery.  The sight of the graves and the changing of the guard was overwhelming, but that was not my top priority.

The second day we visited most of the memorials, but that was not my highest priority either.  Finally on the third day I received the reward of my patience, The Holocaust Museum of Washington, DC.  That one museum was the reason we chose DC to begin with.  I have researched the Holocaust and watched videos of survivors telling their story for the past few months.  Why is the Holocaust so important to me seeing that I have no relatives, that I know of, who were affected by that event?  Prior to my trip I had no clear answer, but now I do.  The museum brought all the research together for me in a tremendously poignant way. 

For almost a year now our country has been in turmoil.  First a young unarmed black man was shot and killed by a white police officer.  Next a young black teen was shot and killed by a white police officer, because the officer thought the boy was pulling a gun on him.  The gun turned out to be a toy gun.  Thirdly a black man was arrested, placed in the back of a police van and died hours later from an injury he apparently received while in the back of that van.  A black man was wrestled to the ground by several police officers and one white officer put him in a choke hold.  The black man died from that hold. 

Three weeks ago a young white man walked into a historic predominantly black church and spent an hour with the members in a prayer meeting before standing up, shouting racial slurs and gunning down nine people.  As a result the nation has been in a total uproar over a flag, a piece of cloth.  While the nation was drawing lines in the sand over this piece of material, the Supreme Court made a thunderous decision, a civil rights decision that gave Gays and Lesbians the right to marry and for that marriage to be recognized as a legal marriage in all 50 states.

"Hands up don't shoot,"  "Black lives matter," "Police lives matter,"  "All lives matter,"  "I can't breathe," and "That flag is our heritage," "Marriage is between one man and one woman," have all become slogans across this great and mighty nation.  The United States of America, by the looks of my social media feed, is anything but united.  Gays and Lesbians are celebrating their rights, while Christians feel as though their rights are being violated.  Lines are DEFINITELY being drawn in the sand and I have been concerned over where this might lead.  Will there be another Civil War?

In the midst of this, just a few days before the celebration of our country's birth, my husband and I visit Washington, DC.  That first day as we entered the gates of Arlington National Cemetery, I turned to my husband and said, "I think we are the only people here who speak English."  Standing in that entrance I could distinctly pick out at least six different languages spoken within earshot and that scenario continued day after day.  As an English speaking caucasion woman, I certainly sensed that I was in the minority.

Then on day three, The Holocaust Museum.  I walked through the museum, watched the videos, heard the stories of survivors, saw the pictures and cried.  The first video instructed us about how Hitler and his army came to power.  The second video was even more unsettling.  It was about antisemitism throughout history.  The video touched on the fact that Christians have been responsible for a tremendous amount of this antisemitism throughout the past 2000 years.  I do believe we have made great progress in that area, but the past is what it is.  I cannot change it.

Today I have tried to form the words in my mind I wanted to say to you.  I have researched even more and I have to say putting this together has been heart wrenching for me.  I have been told all my life that ignorance is bliss, but it absolutely is not.  Ignorance is the very factor that allowed Hitler to commit horrible genocide.  Ignorance allows people to blindly follow a charismatic leader. 

I am speaking predominantly to my fellow Christians in this post.  I am not trying to be condescending here, because I am so very guilty myself.  This lesson has been as much for me as anyone else.  Part of this research has been watching a video containing thoughts by several people including a Jewish Rabbi.  This Rebbe states, "I could be a Nazi."  He goes on to explain that, "Whenever I think of someone as less than human or think of them as not deserving to live, I am a Nazi." 

I paused the video and contemplated his words.  Am I a Nazi?  Do I think of others as less than human? Do I ever think someone doesn't deserve to live?  Do I make that statement even if it's only in my head?  As a Christian I have been programmed to think that anyone who commits certain sins doesn't deserve to go to heaven.  Isn't that the same thing as thinking they don't deserve to live?

There is a verse in the Bible that says when you know the truth, the truth will set you free.  I know I am taking this verse out of context, but this statement can be used in every area of life.  Whenever we know the truth of a situation, that truth will set us free.  Free from judgement, free from blindly following a leader down the wrong path, free to love.

The truth we need to see in the decisions being made in our country is that ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL.  If we, as Christians, begin to condemn all those who believe differently than us we have become Nazis.  If we say all men must believe in our God, how then are we different from Hitler?  Hitler played on the "knowledge" of his predecessors, that Jews killed Jesus and therefore they needed to die.  Those Jews were worthless pieces of meat, deserving of death.  Those Jews were inferior creatures.

Hitler's way of thinking didn't just stop with Jews, as horrible as is that fact.  He dreamed of a pure race of people; therefore he not only sought out Jews, but any person who had an imperfection either mentally or physically.  He also rounded up Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses and homosexuals.  Hitler published a list of characteristics that made up his perfect Aryan race.  Any person who did not fit that list was fodder for the camps.

Hitler arrested almost 500,00 homosexuals and interred approximately 15,000 of those in concentration camps.  He also exterminated approximately 200,000 disabled, approximately 220,000 Roma Gypsies and 1,500 Jehovah's Witnesses, (although close to 10,000 were interred in camps).  Can you see a pattern here?  Hitler had a list of characteristics and ideals that he believed were perfect.  Anyone who did not fit that list were subject to death, people who were subhuman.

We, as Christians, cannot afford to think in these abstracts.  God created people and he created them in His image.  All people are sacred; the disabled, the people who believe in a different god or in no god, people of other races.  All men are created equal.  If we, as Christians, begin to think of any other human being as unequal to us, we become Nazis.

I have said this before and I will say it again, our job in the kingdom of God is not to judge, but rather to love.  Jesus was asked, "Rabbi, what is the greatest commandment?"  Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength and there is another just like it.  Love your neighbor as yourself, for this is the entire Torah."

Guess how one truly defines those words?  Love the people who agree with you.  Love the people who disagree with you.  Love the people who do not believe in your God.  Love the people who commit atrocities.  Love ALL PEOPLE!  Love covers a multitude of sins.  Christians should be leading the world in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned.  We should be the poster child for love! 

We, as Christians in America are NOT being persecuted.  There is no state church in America and no state religion.  We may have the truth, but we do not have the right to force people to believe that truth.  We are not a perfect "race" of people.

As we were leaving The Holocaust Museum I turned to see the window.  This is what it said,"The next time you witness hatred, the next time you see injustice, the next time you hear about genocide, Think about what you saw."

Genocide did not stop with the death of Hitler.  It has happened again in Rwanda and at the hands of ISIL.  Take a very long look at Charleston, SC and, if we are going to pattern our lives after any current day humans, let it be after those men and women.  Love and forgive.  I am asking that you take an hour and watch the video I have linked here.  Watch as the daughter of a survivor, the granddaughter of a Nazi soldier, a Jewish Rabbi, a Catholic Priest and people from all walks of life and beliefs come together for healing and restoration.  You will find that within this video, the verse about a father's sins being visited on the 3rd and 4th generation tend to jump out at you.  This video is difficult to watch, so I do not advise it for children.  Until next time....Shalom!


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4CKq3ywXL8