Honoring the Life of Simon Peter

In our western society we remember people on their birthdays and the birthdays of particularly important or special people are noted in special ways in our daily lives.  Whether someone’s birthday is a national holiday or a special family day, it is normal for us to celebrate birthdays.  We use these times to reflect on the great things that the individual did in their lives or the great things we hope for in the lives of those we love.

Not all cultures honor special people on the anniversary of their birth.  In Judaism it is the anniversary of the special person’s passing that is traditionally honored.  This isn’t to say that today in the western world that Jews don’t celebrate the birthdays of their loved ones.

Tomorrow evening begins the ninth day of the month of Tevet (the evening of the 25th).  This appears to be the anniversary of the death of Shimon Kefa, or Simon Peter.  Yes, the same Simon Peter that was one of the 12.

The Ninth of Tevet:  Simon Peter’s Yahrzeit is where you can learn more about where and how we have come to understand this as the date of the passing of Kefa and his incredible significance not only to the followers of the Master, but in Judaism as well.  He was quite a man!  To remember and honor his memory is a fitting tribute not only to the man himself but I believe the Master would be pleased as well.

Jewish Customs for Christmas Eve

** This was originally posted on Dec. 20, but I’m re-posting it today.

Aaron at Messianics For Torah wrote a blog entry today that I wanted to share with you, my e-palls.

Chassidic Jewish Customs for Christmas Eve is the title of the entry.  I think Aaron makes some very good and clear points.

I really appreciate that he included the link to “A Renegade and Other Tales” by Martha Wolfenstein.  I would love to find this book in print myself!

BAR on How Dec. 25 Became Christmas

I used to regularly read my dad’s subscription to Biblical Archaeology Review whenever I had the chance.  I enjoyed the magazine but there was always something that seemed odd, different or off.  I could never put my finger on it and it may simply have been my dad’s impression rubbing off on me.  I wonder what I would think of the magazine now if I were to read it regularly again…

At any rate, BAR has published an e-Feature called How December 25 Became Christmas.  This article contains some very interesting points, one big point being that December 25 is one date that was selected long before Constatine and that celebrating the birth of the Master was a tradition that began seemingly quite independent from any pagan festivals.

I am curious as to what my e-palls think.  Take a few minutes to read the article and let’s share what we think about it.  It challenges some of what most of us have been taught – challenges us to look at things from another angle and challenges us to consider whether or not some of what we’ve been taught might have been actually more error.  We’ve examined our “sacred cows” before, are we willing to examine them again?

To read documents from the early church for yourself, visit Early Christian Writings.

First Century House in Nazareth Discovered

Archaeologists have announced that they have determined that the structure that was discovered in Nazareth this summer is a family home dating to the time of Yeshua.  This means that this home was one of the neighborhood family homes in the town our Master grew up in, He probably knew the family that lived in this home and very likely He was even related to them somehow.

I love it when a discovery is made that helps us to better wrap our minds around what life was like for the people we read about in the Bible.  The Christian community is very excited that this announcement is being made now, in this season.  It’s an electric discovery, to be sure!

I want to share two articles about this finding.  The first is a blog entry that describes the cultural context to this finding:  who lived in Nazareth and what the significance of the little town’s name is.

First Century Nazareth House

The second article is the news article that announces and describes the archaeological finding and interviews the archaeologist in charge.  You can hear the excitement in his voice as you read the article.  :)

First Jesus-Era House Found in Nazareth, Israel

And an article from the Israel National News on the find:  1st Time Discovery of 2nd Temple Dwelling in Nazareth

Enjoy!!  And imagine yourself walking around this little town, say 2,000 years ago or so.  :)  It’s easier to imagine now, once you’ve read both of the articles.

There have been claims that the town of Nazareth never really existed because it doesn’t seem to be mentioned outside of the Gospel accounts, but I’m not sure that this claim holds any water in scholarly circles.  This find, of a distinctly Jewish home in a little village where Nazareth is expected to be found, would seem to quiet that particular argument now.

Sabbath Family Activities

Have you ever found yourself thinking, “Boy, Sabbath can get a little boring!”?    So many of us can find ourselves starting to feel a little frustrated, especially when we don’t have other families to fellowship with.

I would like to put together a list of the things our family has enjoyed but I’d like my readers and “e-pals” to share their suggestions too.  What do you do for and after your Sabbath dinner?  What about your Sabbath day, are there special things you’ve done to keep the little ones occupied (or even the grown ups!)?

I’ve written about our Sabbath before but I’ll copy, paste and edit that entry below. Maybe sharing our traditions and suggestions with one another we will be able to help ourselves and others who might stumble upon this entry.

Our family starts Shabbat with the nicest meal of the week with our china and nicest table cloth, place mats and cloth napkins. We’ve put together a little Shabbat Seder With Guests of sorts for when we have guests or when we feel like we need a good reminder. Both DH and I read from it which is why there are two different fonts. After dinner, we often sit around the table together for hours just talking and enjoying each other’s company. Once someone mentions ice cream, the kids are quick to help clear the table and get ice cream out and dished up. Before we know it, it’s late and we’ve been sitting in front of the fire eating our ice cream and soon heading off to bed.

Hanukkah Introduction

Hanukkah is a very significant festival in the lives those who follow after Yeshua the Messiah. Most Christians, however, know very little about this festival that remembers and honors a commitment to G-d even through persecution, and the miracles that G-d worked on the behalf of the faithful. Our Master Yeshua taught at the Temple at Hanukkah and used the Hanukkah as a teaching aid with His disciples, so it is important that we understand it ourselves. He wants us to, and expects us to understand what it is He’s talking about. Tonight we’ll talk a little about the history of Hanukkah and what Yeshua had to say about it.

The word Hanukkah means Dedication, so the Festival of Hanukkah means the Festival of Dedication. The events that happened long ago and bring us this celebration are not found in the Bible because they happened less than 200 years before the birth of our Messiah. The only mention of Hanukkah in the Bible, outside of the prophecies that foretell it, is found in the New Testament.

History of Hanukkah

The Prophet Daniel wrote very clearly about the rise and fall of kingdoms and their relation to Israel. He spoke of men by name, hundreds of years before their birth, before their kingdoms even existed. He also told of the events that bring us the Festival of Hanukkah.

Alexander the Great had conquered a vast territory in the prime of his life. At his passing his empire was divided between his top generals because Alexander did not have an heir. The Selucids of Syria inherited the territory containing the Land of Israel and yet the Ptolemies of Egypt also wanted control of the trade routes that flow through this land, so there was constant political unrest over who would control the vital territory between the two empires – the Land of Israel. In 171 BCE, there rose the leader of the Selucid Empire named Antiochous. We read about this king in several places in the Book of Daniel. He was a despicable man, a man of intrigue, who murdered his brother in order to become the King of Syria. He decided that he was a god and thus named himself Antiochus Epiphanes (meaning “the divine”). His primary goal was to completely hellenize his whole kingdom – making his whole kingdom Greek. He thought the Greek ways were the best and right ways and besides, who would dare to argue with a god who had the power to kill? Antiochous strictly enforced the Greek ways that were originally introduced throughout the known world by Alexander the Great – philosophy, architecture, art, science, sports, leisure, entertainment and religion. Many Jews were tempted to compromise the ways they walked out their faith. These new Greek ways were fun, interesting, and different. What could be wrong with a little change, right? A little compromise here, a little there and soon whole generations would consider the compromises of their parents as “normal” and “conservative” while they continue down the slide of compromise. Many Jews of the day decided it was good to mix their religion and practices with the Greek ways. Antiochous helped the Jews along in their transformation from being Jewish to being Greek. He installed a new High Priest, named Jason, in Jerusalem. Jason was willing to do whatever it took to help transform the Jewish people from a monotheistic people, the People of G-d, to polytheistic Greeks. A little more than three years after Antiochous became king over Syria, and Israel, there began a great persecution that would last just over 3 years. These events took place between 171 BCE and 164 BCE – 7 years in all. One day the king rolled into Jerusalem with an ego bruised by Rome and slaughtered thousands of Jews on the Sabbath. He was so annoyed with these stubborn Jews that simply would not give up their G-d or their ways, so he issued his own commandments for the Jews and among them were these:

• Thou shalt not circumcise your sons
• Thou shalt not study Torah
• Thou shalt not offer sacrifices to any gods but Zeus
• Thou shalt defile Sabbath
• Thou shalt eat unclean meats
• The penalty for defying these commandments is death, no exceptions.

The devoted Jews in Antiochous’ kingdom recognized that Antiochous was throwing his fist in the face of the One True G-d in direct opposition. The people knew they had choices to make, important choices. There were many Hellenized Jews who found no difficulty at all in adjusting their lives to suit the desires of the King of Syria and they were at odds with those who would stubbornly hold fast to ADONAI and His Torah. Those who would not compromise would be tortured and slaughtered, they and their entire families. The holy books were cut into shreds and publicly burned. G-d’s holy Temple was defiled and converted into a pagan temple. The holy implements were stolen, parts of the Temple were destroyed, and an idol of Zeus was put up in the temple. On the 25th of Kislev offerings to Zeus were burnt upon ADONAI’s holy altar. Scholars tell us that this idol of Zeus bore the face of Antiochous himself. This is the abomination that causes desolation that Daniel spoke of.

The Selucid army was sent to every village and town in Judah with orders to erect an idol and altar to Zeus and then to see to it that the people worshiped the image. The first people to be contacted in every place were the local leaders, the priestly families. In a little town called Moidi’in the local priestly family of Mattathias was ordered to lead the people to worship Zeus. Mattathias would have none of it! A man from Moidi’in stepped forward to show his allegiance with Antiochus and eat of the unclean meat that had just been burnt as an offering to the idol. This infuriated old Mattathias who slew both the man and the King’s officials in his righteous indignation. His call to his countrymen was “Whoever is zealous for the L-RD and for His Torah, follow me!” and he headed up to the rugged Judean hills with his grown sons. They were put together a small band of guerrilla warriors to stand against Antiochus Epiphanies and his Syrian army. The goal was to defend their way of life, their call to live righteously before G-d. The Children of ADONAI were in danger of being either assimilated into a pagan culture or completely destroyed. This was a dangerous time to stand strong for the faith indeed.

The banner that these guerilla warriors fought under was MaCaBe, standing for “Mi ChaMocha BaEilim Adonai…” which you might recognize in English as “Who is like unto You, O Lord, among the gods?…” Judah, one of the sons of Mattathias, was nicknamed Judah Maccabe, which can also be translated as Judah the Hammer. Judah led the band of untrained guerrilla freedom fighters and it is said that they hit hard and fast like a hammer and then disappeared into the hills. The little band of warriors fighting so desperately for ADONAI and His ways were called The Maccabees. The Syrian army of Antiochus was large and very powerful yet they eventually fell to the Maccabees.

Judah Maccabee was able, with G-d’s help, to lead the Maccabes to recover the defiled Temple, to clean it up and restore proper worship to Jerusalem once again. After the pagan items were removed from the Temple and the repairs were made it was time to re-dedicate the Temple to the One True God. The Temple was cleansed and dedicated each year at the festival of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. But the Temple was able to be dedicated that year at Sukkot and the priestly family of Mattathias decided that a Sukkot-like festival would be held once the Temple was restored. The joyous Temple dedication celebration began on the anniversary of the very day that the Temple was defiled by Antiochous, the 25th of Kislev. No longer would this day mark the destruction of the Temple, it would mark a day of victory over the enemy of ADONAI! This joyous dedication celebration lasted 8 days, like it did when Solomon dedicated the first Temple and like the 8 day celebration of the Festival of Sukkot. This is why we celebrate Hanukkah for 8 days today.

Hanukkah in the Gospels

We read that Yeshua our Messiah felt that the Festival of Hanukkah was important enough to travel the 3 to 5 day journey from His hometown to celebrate Jerusalem. We read in John 10 that He was teaching the crowds at the Temple during the Festival of Hanukkah. We find Yeshua in Solomon’s Colonnade which is in the vicinity of the Eastern Gate. This is the very gate through which the Prophets say the Messiah will enter the Temple. This is the same area of the Temple that later became the center of worship for the early Messianic Believers. It was here that the leaders of the day asked Him “Are you the Messiah? Tell us plainly.” Yeshua recaps what He had taught in the Temple just a few months prior at Sukkot and follows with “I and the Father are one”. This statement angered some of the leaders who picked up stones with the intent of stoning Yeshua to death for blasphemy. However, we know that there were more than a few Pharisees, Priests and Lawyers in that day who believed Yeshua was indeed the Son of G-d. Yeshua escaped the stoning attempt, which must have frustrated the ones who did not understand Who He was.

Hanukkah and Prophecy

In Matthew 24 we find the Disciples and the Master leaving the Temple and Jerusalem after a festival. The Disciples ask the Master, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Yeshua then begins to speak with Hanukkah symbolism and imagery. He tells them to be careful that they are not led astray, that there will be war and rumor of war, that there will be persecution and so forth. We find an interesting side-note in Matthew 24:15 that says “Let the reader understand the allusion”. The Disciples understood that Yeshua was telling them of future events while pointing back to the past. They knew the stories. The writer of the Book of Matthew wants to ensure that we, the readers, understand too. We are expected to know what the Master is saying, we are expected to understand that before the return of our Master at the end of the age that the prophecies of Daniel will be fully completed. We, the followers of Messiah Yeshua, will be tempted to fall away and to compromise our faith. The Master warns us to be on our guard and not to allow ourselves to fall away, to mix in or to give up, but to keep holding strong to the Word and hold on tight until He comes to deliver us at an hour that we do not expect.

Hanukkah Traditions

You see, Hanukkah is a festival that celebrates the survival of the People of G-d in the midst of great trial and persecution. Against insurmountable odds, the faithful ones defeated the great Syrian army and won back their way of life. This was not done in their own might or power but only through ADONAI. Many traditions have developed over the years that help us tell the story and help us to remember.

There is a story of holy oil that was found to light the lamps on the menorah in the Temple. It says that ADONAI made one days worth of oil burn for all 8 days of the dedication celebration. What a miracle! In the darkest days of the long winter months, great lights were lit in the Temple courts. They shone so brightly that the light lit up all of Jerusalem. A city on a hill cannot be hidden indeed! The great lights and the menorah became very prominent features of the Hanukkah celebrations so much so that The Festival of Dedication is also often called The Festival of Lights.

There is a game with a little spinning top called a dreidel. The dreidel has 4 Hebrew letters: Nun, Gimmel, Hay and Shin. They stand for the Hebrew words meaning “A Great Miracle Happened There”. It is said that when the teachers wanted to study the Torah in the days of the Macabees, they would have to look like they were busy doing something else whenever a Syrian soldier or a Hellenized Jew would come by. They decided to play with a little top as they studied the Torah. It looked like they were gambling Today we often tell stories of the miracles of Hanukkah as we play dreidel with chocolate coins. A great miracle did indeed happen there!

Traditional Hanukkah foods are always oily, reminding us of the oil used to light the many lights of the festival. Latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) are among the traditional treats for Hanukkah.

There are many stories to be told at Hanukkah time. Our faith is about remembering, the telling and retelling of these stories so that we do not forget. Hanukkah is a time to remember and celebrate the miracles that ADONAI brought to His people. Against all odds, the people of G-d survived.

Why Hanukkah? 2009

Hanukkah is a multifaceted holiday that bears much significance for today’s Believers in Messiah. It’s one of those customs that many believers think, “Hanukkah is not part of my heritage, I am not Jewish. Why would I ever consider celebrating Hanukkah?” when in fact it is a part of our heritage as Children of the Most High and followers of our Master Yeshua. Hanukkah is a festival that centers around themes of holiness without compromise, trusting in G-d for protection, miracles, deliverance, and provision.

HaYesod – The Foundation

Starting January 10, 2010 we will be hosting a long awaited and exciting Bible study in our home.  It’s a 10 week long discipleship course that we are really looking forward to!  We will meet together on Sunday evenings at our home and plan to include dinner as part of our Bible study as well as some time for fun after our study is complete.

The study is called HaYesod which means The Foundation. The  HaYesod Discipleship Course is designed to be a study introducing the average Christian to the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith, but it is also a great study for those who are already familiar with the Jewishness of the Gospel of Messiah.  Each lesson is supported by respected Jewish and Christian sources to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of the land, the people and the Scriptures of Israel.  Together we will dive into the historical and cultural context of various aspects of the Bible in a fun and interactive setting.  But the study does not need to be feared or to be intimidating!  It is a gentle introduction and each session will build upon the lessons taught in the previous sessions.  The teachers are very gifted with the ability to take sometimes difficult or confusing subjects and explain them in a beautifully simple way that is easy to comprehend.

The HaYesod Discipleship Course assumes that those participating in the study have a basic level of biblical literacy and are personally invested in their spiritual growth and maturity in God’s Word.  The study will excite and strengthen students’ faith in and devotion to Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah and encourage all believers to live holy and godly lives while together we wait for the return of our Messiah.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

This time of year is one of the highlights of the year for me.  I find myself looking forward with great anticipation and hope, and looking back with much reverence and greater understanding each year.

As soon as “Reformation Day” comes I find myself feeling a sense of excitement and renewed energy.  I shared some of my thoughts connecting the Reformation and Thanksgiving with Sukkot and Hanukkah a few years ago in Reformation, Puritans, Separatists and the Torah and those thoughts have continued to develop.

Here’s an interesting quote from Judaism 101:

Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. This may not be entirely coincidental: I was taught that our American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, borrowed the idea from Sukkot. The pilgrims were deeply religious people. When they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, they looked to the Bible for an appropriate way of celebrating and found Sukkot. This is not the standard story taught in public schools today (that a Thanksgiving holiday is an English custom that the Pilgrims brought over), but the Sukkot explanation of Thanksgiving fits better with the meticulous research of Mayflower historian Caleb Johnson, who believes that the original Thanksgiving was a harvest festival (as is Sukkot), that it was observed in October (as Sukkot usually is), and that Pilgrims would not have celebrated a holiday that was not in the Bible (but Sukkot is in the Bible). Although Mr. Johnson claims that the first Thanksgiving was “not a religious holiday or observance,” he apparently means this in a Christian sense, because he goes on to say that the first Thanksgiving was instead “a harvest festival that included feasts, sporting events, and other activities,” concepts very much in keeping with the Jewish religious observance of Sukkot.

 

 

Here is an article that I read a many years ago that talks about the history of Thanksgiving, the origins of this wonderful holiday.  Turns out, our huguenot/puritan forefathers of America wanted to glorify HaShem in honor of His provision for them and apparently drew heavily on the Biblical and traditional festival of Sukkot.

I also want to share with my friends that Desperate Crossings:  The Untold Story of the Mayflower will be airing again this year on the History channel on Tuesday, November 24 at 8:00 am and 2:00 pm.  Watching this has become an annual family tradition ever since we first watched it several years ago and found so much in common with the pilgrims.

So as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving here in the USA, I find myself deep in thought about the continued refining of the believers in Messiah, the joy of Sukkot, the strength and commitment that gave us Hanukkah and the soon coming of Messiah.  No wonder it’s a season of joy and anticipation, of remembering and finding my identity.

 

May your Thanksgiving celebration be a blessing to the Father

 

 

Show Us The Ancient Paths

For the lyrics,

Reformation Today

In My Thoughts on the Reformation I shared my thoughts about the reforming spirit that was present long before Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis and how the fallacies of many teachings were beginning to erode at a rapid pace at the time of Luther.  Suddenly printed Bibles were available to those who could afford them, though they were illegal, and many people were sharing the Word of G-d with one another, testing their own faith against what the Bible really said.  These were incredibly difficult times and in our zeal we made so many tragic mistakes, as well as much progress in stripping away what is false to find what is genuine.  Next I shared my thoughts in Continued Reformation briefly touching on a few “moves of G-d” and a few moves of man over the past 4,000 years or so.  Then I shared that I thought the reforming spirit of G-d today is bringing about an understanding (and acceptance) that the Holy Bible so many of us base our lives upon was written primarily by Jews and for Jews, with a Jewish mindset and steeped in a Jewish culture.  In incredible numbers we, as believers, are beginning to search out and understand the Hebrew Roots of our Christian faith and it is transforming lives, families and congregations.  In this entry, which seems to be part 3 of a series, I want to share more of my thoughts about today’s reformation.

If you’re expecting me to say that today’s Messianic movement is “the place” where G-d is right now, you might be surprised to find out that this is not my opinion.  I do, however, think that it is a result of what is taking place on a much greater level.

As I said in Continued Reformation, we live 3,000 years and 1,500 miles +/- and a whole culture removed from the authors and original hearers of the words of Scripture.  How do we expect to have ears that understand when we have been so far removed from our foundation?  We need to gain an understanding and appreciation for the people and the culture that heard, actively lived out and produced the words we find in the Holy Scriptures.  There are so many things that are said and done that we simply do not understand, we have no point of reference for understanding them, so many allusions and idioms that we simply cannot understand because we’re not immersed in the ways of the people that the Scriptures are all about.  There are many things we puzzle over and in our attempts to understand the meaning behind these things we have often “made stuff up”.  Some of the theological concepts we’ve put together have been born out of a genuine and earnest desire to honor G-d, and some of these teachings have not been anti-Biblical at all.  However, there are an awful lot of teachings that are not at all about what the words are really saying.  When we go back and learn the cultural and historical context of a particular action, idiom or teaching we learn things that we never knew before and suddenly the entire passage makes much more sense when viewed in this new light.  It’s electrifying!

It has been amazing to observe so many people being drawn to understanding the cultural and historical context of the Bible in recent years and the impact it has had on families and congregations.

Continued Reformation

In my last entry I wrote about the Christian Reformation.  I wondered aloud if the spirit of reformation continues today and if we would fall into the same traps that Luther did.  Today  my mind is consumed with thoughts about a continued reformation, what that same spirit of reformation looks like today.

Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin and others caught the vision of reforming the Christian faith.  Though the “Fathers of the Reformation” did not agree on all things, the Protestant Reformation was based on one major issue:  ”Sola Scriptura“:  going back to the Bible as the sole source of our beliefs and how we live out our faith while testing everything we know against the Scriptures to determine if what we know is true or false.  What we know of as The Reformation took Christians back to the foundation of their faith – the Word of G-d.  But this was only the beginning.  There was much that needed to be stripped away, much that was to be revealed.

As the social and political upheaval that this reformation spread through western civilization, it was an incredibly painful movement.  The winds of reformation brought deep divisions between various groups of people and intense persecution for those that one group or another considered heretics.  We were zealously searching for truth yet each of us were sure that we held on to more truth than “the other guy”.  We cannot study the history of Europe or the birth of America without having an unbiased grasp on the Reformation.  Modern Europe, the USA and other countries today are direct results of The Reformation and it’s outworkings.

In the past 500 years G-d has moved in various groups of people bringing reformation and revival.  Each time there is a “move of G-d” we do what we’ve always done:  we set up a monument and camp out at the base of that monument.  This isn’t anything new for us, we’ve always done this.  We make an idol of a thing that represents something that HaShem has done in the past.  We did this when we made our own golden calf, when we honored the bronze serpent, even with an ephod on more than one occasion, and so on.  It is not wrong to memorialize a move of HaShem but when we can’t see past the thing He did or the thing that reminds us of what He did, that’s idolatry.  We make an idol of a move of G-d or a spiritual revival and we do not move past that one moment.  This has happened in the Christian world over and over in the past 500 years or more.  Sometimes we have our own little trinkets and other times our ‘idol’ is a particular belief or doctrine.  Today there are over 1500 different denominations recognized under the christian umbrella in America alone.  And what is a denomination anyway?  Simply put, a denomination is one named part of a whole.

When the Children of Israel spent their 40 years in the desert, they were being led by HaShem.  When He moved, they moved and when He stopped, they stopped.

My thoughts on The Reformation

On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis on the door of the Wittenberg Church and set in motion what would come to be known as The Reformation.  Already, before Luther’s day, there were waves of reform blowing through the Christian world with movements such as the Waldensians in the 1100’s being one example.  With the invention of his printing press, Gutenberg was able to illegally print Bibles for the masses.  In 1455 complete Bibles were sold at the Frankfurt Book Fair for equal to three years wages for an average clerk.  The truth contained in the Scriptures was just beginning to be unveiled and people desperately wanted the truth.  When people began to learn what was actually contained within the pages of the Holy Scriptures, devoted people began to make radical changes.  Of course, this angered those in power because the common man was now challenging the authority of the established institution of the Catholic Church.  By the mid 1500’s there were various groups of people desperately trying to work out their salvation with fear and trembling as they read the precious words in the Bible and put them into practice.  It seems that the Renaissance had ignited the minds of many great thinkers who reasoned with their hearts.  The “civilized world” was turning back to the past, looking for the intellectual spark that we had somehow lost.  It was time to break out of “the dark ages”.  As we dug into our history looking for glorious gems, many would find the history of our faith and it would bring about shocking changes.

We had drifted so far away from where we needed to be.  There were those who wondered and had a sense that something was amiss, but could we have ever guess just how far off course we had drifted?  We had been taught our theology through superstitious traditions, wonderfully amazing paintings and statues, and a whole lot of guesswork.  Since we were told that G-d was too difficult for us to understand, we accepted the hierarchy that the Catholic Church had put in place to govern our lives.  Most of us simply wanted to be obedient subjects to the King, to the Pope and to the Emperor.  But winds of change were blowing as some of us started to learn what was really contained within the pages of the Holy Scriptures.  And as we started to learn, we learned we had some choices to make.  The spirit of the Reformation was fanned into full flame in the 16th Century.

For many of us, we think of the Reformation as the start of a whole new intensity of persecution of the Jewish community and anyone who may have appeared “too Jewish” or too anything else in the eyes of the Church.  There was much evil done at the hands of sinister and callous men who were in high and powerful positions.  These outworkings of the time in history known as “The Reformation” contain both good and evil.  In our zeal to be right before the L-RD, many of us did some evil things to our brothers and sisters.  Yet in our zeal, we began to see layer upon layer of falsehood fall away.  It is a very painful time in the history of the world.

Today’s Reformation

In light of Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 thesis on October 31, 1517 I was thinking this morning:  What would it look like, what would the outworkings be like, if this reformation continued today?

 

From Martin Luther and the other “Fathers of the Reformation” to the the Puritans and Separatists, what would that continued reformation look like today?  Did the reformation ever really stop?

 

What do you think?

“Why Are You Messianic?” part 2

Recently we’ve been asked the same question from various friends and acquaintances.  It can be phrased in several different ways but the basic general question is “Why are you Messianic?”  Sometimes we have less than a minute to give a satisfactory answer and other times we have the opportunity to give a fuller answer.  In either case, nobody wants to hear a long monolog they just want to know the basics.  ”What is it that makes you line up with something different than I do?”  Then we have the friends and acquaintances who would like to know but don’t feel comfortable actually asking such a question.  In this entry I’ll try to explain the basics while at the same time taking the opportunity to dig a little deeper.  We love conversation and find that when we engage one another in meaningful conversation that we learn a lot.  So please, don’t hesitate to talk with us.  We actually enjoy it!  Earlier I wrote part 1 of this series, this is part 2.

 

We realized we were on a journey after we were already on the path so there isn’t really a definite date that we can put our finger on and say “Our journey started here.”  We simply began to study the Scriptures and test our firmly held theology against the Scriptures.  It was absolutely amazing what was confirmed as well as what we couldn’t find support for.  We started to take seriously our need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, our faith was in our own hands and we understood that we were responsible for our own relationship with the King of the Universe.  We were finding ourselves wrestling with everything we held to be true in order to prove it or cast it away.  While it was tempting to go “pagan hunting” and work to cut out all things of pagan origin, we needed to stay focused on our G-d hunt.  We were in search of the King of the Universe and His Son!  We were wanting to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and let the rest take care of itself.

 

Rather than restate what I wrote earlier, I’m going to try to pick up where I left off.  The title “Messianic” has been freely used by a wide variety of people so that the term does not really indicate anything very specific right now.  Just the same as the “Christian” title is used by those who are culturally Christian to those who teach and do some silly, and some evil, things.  There are those who are in a state of proud rebellion against the church and there are those who adhere to very different teaching than we do, all of whom have taken up the title of being Messianic.

 

We are not of Jewish descent, but our faith is.  Our faith, as it is understood and practiced, is a Jewish faith.  Let me explain what I mean.  

We Won!

FFOZ had a Sukkah Contest this fall and friends urged us to enter photos of our succah.  The winners of each category would receive a Torah Club volume of their choice.  We decided that with a prize like that, why would we not at least try?

And today the Sukkah Contest Winners were announced – we won!  We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Torah Club volume 3 to add to our studies.

Our Amazing Sukkot 5770

We had a wonderful Sukkot.  I hope you did too.  I’d like to share a little about our amazing Feast of Tabernacles.

Some of you know that we were busy painting a mural on our succah.  We keep a basket of activities for children in our succah so when friends come to visit and the adults talk, the children can have something fun to do too.  In this basket are Sukkot coloring pages and puzzles as well as little games that can be played at the table in the succah.  Last Sukkot I was thumbing through a new coloring book and came across a few pictures that we thought would make great Sukkot murals on our succah.  With all of the greatest intentions to paint our succah, we put it off until just before Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah.  It was a bit of a scramble to get the whole mural painted before it was time to set the succah up but we made it.  And we were pleased with the results.

A couple in a succah with visiting shepherds and townsfolk

Joyful worshipers singing on their way into Jerusalem

On the first night of Sukkot, which was also Erev Shabbat, we had a special guest come and spend all of Shabbat with us.  It was truly a fun time.  We had a special festive meal together in the succah, we slept late in the morning, we studied our Bible readings, played games, and ate lunch all in the succah.

Shalom’s Bar Mitzvah

Shalom speaking at his Bar Mitzvah

We celebrated Shalom’s Bar Mitzvah yesterday here at home.  He taught about the festival of Sukkot and shared his testimony with the crowd before his two grandfathers and his dad bestowed blessings upon him.

Blessings of the Fathers

Our friend who teaches at our Bible study group emceed the event for us and sang the Aaronic Blessing over Shalom.  He has a beautiful singing voice, being the son of a cantor he has had very good training.   It’s beautiful to hear him sing the blessing, and he’s a very good teacher .  We appreciate him so much.

Singing the Aaronic Benediction over Shalom

We were blessed to have so many family and friends come to celebrate our youngest son and welcome him into the community of believers as a young adult.

Shalom's Bar Mitzvah guests assembled outside of the succah

It was a great day.  We enjoyed celebrating with friends and family, introducing some of them to the Festival of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.  Shalom did a wonderful job teaching about the festival, our emcee did a great job directing the ceremony and the weather cooperated with us as well.  It was windy and there were times I wondered if the succah might blow away, but HaShem saw fit to see that the wind died down for the Aaronic Benediction and to keep our succah intact.  It was a great day.

Happy New Year 5770!

I wanted to pop in and wish my friends a happy new year, Chag Sameach Teruah!!  Tonight begins the new year of 5770.

As we celebrate a new month and a new year, let’s remember some of the significance of this event.  We are celebrating the day and the hour that no man knows, we are to be watching and waiting.  Before we had calendars to fore-tell the future we would watch the skies.  We would anxiously await the appearing of the first sliver of the new moon to signal the beginning of the new month, and this month would be the beginning of a new civil year.  We would be prepared for the festival and if it didn’t come today, we’d be ready again tomorrow.  That is why it is the day, even the hour, that no man knows.

New Moon over Jerusalem

Rosh HaShanah, or Yom Teruah, is the day of trumpets.  The sound of these trumpets is what accompanies a king as he is coming.  These trumpets are sounded at his coronation, which was always on the day of Rosh HaShanah/Yom Teruah.

The Feast of Trumpets

It is the same as we await the return of our Master, Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.  We are told to be prepared, to have all of our work done before He comes so that when He does return that He will find us ready.  We are to know the seasons.  The sound of the trumpet will accompany His return as Conquering King!  May we all be found prepared and ready when the King of Kings returns to sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

May your holiday celebrations be filled with much joy, anticipation and expectation!  I, personally, have great expectations!!
Chag Sameach Teruah ~
Lisa

The Month of Elul

Next week begins the month of Elul.  Elul is the month of preparation for the Fall Festivals of the L-RD.  It is a time of inspecting our lives, restoring relationships and anticipating the joyous festivals this fall.

I have updated the sidebar with a section of links to previous years’ entries related to the fall festivals.  Please, if you have found some resources or links related to the fall festivals that you’d like to share with my readers, please post them in the comment section.  I just love resources…

I hope to have a new entry soon with new links I’ve discovered since last fall.  For now, our family is in the midst of 4-H fair season and a very busy season with Civil Air Patrol.