Posts Tagged Yeshua
The Journey
Posted by James in Uncategorized on July 7th, 2010
You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting much here on the Congregation Shema Yisrael blog lately. This isn’t to say that I haven’t been blogging on matters of faith, but something has changed.
Some of you may have been following the conversation in the comments section of one of my recent blogs called Does God Love Gentiles, Too? as well as the parallel conversation about the article on Judah Gabriel’s blog. As a result of these debates, I determined to re-examine the assumptions of my own faith.
This isn’t as dramatic or dire as it seems. I’ve been following the “Messianic” path for roughly ten years and believe I have been growing in my knowledge and my faith, but some of the awe and wonder I first had when I became a believer has been diluted. In my efforts at learning and teaching, I find I’ve become so surrounded by information and details, that it’s become difficult to see the “forest for the trees”, so to speak.
To that end, I’ve “gone back to basics” in my personal studies. I felt I didn’t have the right to publish the chronicle of my journey under the umbrella of Congregation Shema Yisrael, particularly as a teacher or leader, since the examination I’m undertaking is completely from my own perspective and can be applied only to me. That said, it’s not like anything I’m currently experiencing won’t influence how I teach or write for the congregation. Since this also involves my investigation of Gentiles in relation to the larger Messianic and One Law/Torah movements, I thought I owed everyone a word of explanation and at least the opportunity to share the journey with me. For that reason, I invite you to read the saga of the road I am currently walking. I call it Searching for the Light on the Path.
I just want to remind you before you click that link and start reading, that what I have said there is a reflection of my own personal experiences and cannot be attributed to any other person or group, including Shema Yisrael.
What may be more interesting than what I’ve written are the comments other people are making in response to some of my articles. The tone of some of the statements isn’t always considerate or kind, but I believe it does communicate the current state of the larger Messianic and One Law communities in the nation (as far as I know, no one is commenting from a faith community outside the U.S.).
If you choose to read this blog (you don’t have to, obviously), start with the first article at the bottom, called Fractured Fellowship and work your way up. As of this writing, my most recent article on my personal blog is Would I Die for You? which hopefully represents the most basic of Yeshua’s teachings for anyone who follows him.
I may not blog here again for a bit until I’ve sorted some things for myself. I am not doubting God and I am not doubting Yeshua but, since I frequently call upon others to question their own assumptions about faith and theology, it’s only right that I take the journey myself.
They Shall Even Sing
Posted by James in Uncategorized on January 13th, 2010
The meadows don sheep and the valleys cloak themselves with fodder, they shout joyfully, they even sing!
Psalm 65:14
Tanach, Stone Edition
As for me, I am poor and destitute, O God, hasten to me! You are my assistance and my deliverance; Hashem, do not delay!
Psalm 70:6
Tanach, Stone Edition
I will sing to Hashem while I live, I will sing praises to my God while I endure. May my words be sweet to Him – I will rejoice in Hashem.
Psalm 140:33-34
Tanach, Stone Edition
This isn’t about how well you sing when praising God (though, from a human perspective, some people sing better than others), but about how our worship is received by others and by God. When we worship God in our congregations, it is only right that our minds and hearts be turned only to Him in His Highest Heavens. Nevertheless, the people around us can hear our worship and sometimes, form opinions about what they think it means about us.
I’ve been in Bible studies where everyone was encouraged to offer a prayer to God aloud, going around in a circle from one student to the next. I remember being conscious of what I was going to say and feeling distracted from God by how my choice of words in my prayer would be received by the others. I’m also not the best of singers (I sing like a frog), so it’s taken me a very long time to allow myself to sing and be fully audible to the rest of the congregation on Shabbat, focusing on praising God and not on the sound of my voice.
But this isn’t the main point of the article. I’m not talking about someone who doesn’t sing well or who is slightly, socially awkward. What about the really “odd” person among us who we can hardly tolerate and do not accept?
The Target
Posted by James in Uncategorized on January 11th, 2010
This is not our first foray into the battle for faith. In 2007, First Fruits of Zion offered a conference dedicated to answering anti-missionary arguments. The conference was a response to an alarming trend we observed among many Messianic Gentile believers who were falling in love with Judaism and abandoning faith in Messiah. Without exception, such apostates warmly (and gullibly) accepted the arguments of anti-missionaries without question, while at the same time they treated the New Testament and anything they perceived as Christian with cold suspicion and cynical criticism.
From vineofdavid.org
Answering Anti-Missionaries
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” -John 6:66-69
Vine of David is the publishing subsidiary of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ). I read their article about Anti-Missionaries and it reminded me of a couple of things. One has to do with the Jewish people and the other has to do with Gentiles in the Messianic movement…at least some Gentiles.
I don’t want to belabor the point regarding anti-missionaries in Judaism, but to understand this article, you have to understand something about anti-missionaries:
Obligated or Encouraged?
Posted by James in Uncategorized on October 1st, 2009
Update: Tim Hegg has published a detailed response to FFOZ’s theological shift on his site, torahresource.com. Look for the article “An Assessment of the “Divine Invitation” Teaching.” It’s available for download in PDF format.
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. -Acts 15:28-29
Traditionally, the Messianic or “One Law” movement has stated in rather strong terms, that except for certain minor portions of Torah, the Law of Moses and the Grace of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), are not mutually exclusive concepts in the lives of both Jewish and Gentile believers. The net result of such a theology, is a collection of Messianic congregations where both Jews and Gentiles wear a tallit in prayer, read from the Torah, keep the Leviticus 11 kosher laws (what would be considered “kosher-style” by Rabbinic Judaism), and celebrate (to the best of our ability without the Temple in Jerusalem) the Biblical festivals.
We tend to butt heads, both with Rabbinic Judaism, and with the traditional Christian church regarding our practices. Christianity states that the Law was almost completely replaced by Grace, and that in Jesus, all believers are free from Torah obligations, Jew (converted to Christianity) and Gentile alike. Judaism states that not only are Gentiles not obligated to conform to the Torah requirements, but in certain cases, they (we) are actually forbidden to observe the Law.
Goy she-shavat hayav mita” – “a gentile who rests [on the Sabbath] incurs the death penalty. -Sanhedrin 58b
I recently posted two articles regarding Gentile observance of the Torah on this blog, Reading the Jerusalem Letter and Galatia, both loosely referencing the book The Mystery of the Gospel, written by First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ) author D. Thomas Lancaster. Imagine my surprise at discovering FFOZ has reversed course, now stating that only Jews (including Jewish believers in Yeshua) are obligated to keep the Torah commandments; not Gentiles!
The Shepherd’s Supervision
Posted by James in Uncategorized on September 26th, 2009
You are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), for all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. If you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:26-29
As believers in Yeshua, we attach ourselves to him and to the Father; the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. We have “faith” in the Father through the Son, but what is faith? Sometime ago, I wrote an article for this blog called What is Bitachon?. Bitachon is a Hebrew word that describes in amazing detail, all of the components that make up having true faith and trust in God. When we use the word “faith” in English, we tend to miss the full meaning of what God is asking of us.
Emunah is a component of Bitachon, defined as an “awareness of Hashem (The Lord; Hebrew: “The Name”) as all-powerful and in absolute control.” According to Dr. Menachem Kellner in his article for My Jewish Learning, “In the Torah, faith in God means trust, not belief in particular propositions”. I’ve already included the link to Dr. Kellner’s article, so you can read it in full. However, in short, Dr. Kellner gives Abraham as an example of emunah, when Abraham, at the Word of God, uprooted his entire family, and travelled to the Land he did not know (see Genesis 12:1-6).
The world is full of hardships and difficulties. No doubt, each of you reading this blog has crises, grief, worry, or lament in your lives. I know there are many of those experiences in my life and my heart as well. There are times when I can’t sleep. There are times when I weep, and pour out my very spirit at the feet of God, begging him for mercy and compassion. There are many, many things in my life; and in all our lives that we have no direct control over, yet those things seem to land on us like an avalanche of granite. Where is our hope?
What is God Supposed to Remember on Rosh Hashanah?
Posted by James in Uncategorized on September 13th, 2009
This article is part of a newsletter written and distributed by Restorers of Zion for Rosh Hashanah 2007. Restorers of Zion is an Israel-based ministry dedicated to serving the Body of Yeshua the Messiah in Israel. As we approach a new year in our walk with God, let us contemplate the words in this article, with our hearts and our spirits.
As Rosh HaShana quickly approaches, I’m thinking a lot about the way Jewish tradition deals with this Biblical feast. It is regarded as one kind of “New Year” (there are 4 in the Jewish calendar), and the holiday has acquired many symbols over time that reflect this aspect (like eating apples dipped in honey, “for a sweet year”). But the Jewish people never lost sight of the original symbol of the holiday according to the Torah: the shofar. In modern Israel, the holiday is still known by the name “Yom Ha-Tru’ah”, literally the “Day of the Blowing” (from Num.10:10). We read that this is a Day of Rest, Remembrance and Blowing (“Shabbaton Zicharon Tru’ah”, Lev.23:24). What was to be remembered we are not told here, but Num.10:10 hints that this ceremonial blowing is not a reminder for us, but for G-d: “…and they [the trumpet blasts] shall be a reminder of you before the L-rd your God; I am the L-rd your God.”
Am I a Christian or a Messianic?
Posted by James in Uncategorized on April 15th, 2009
Am I a Christian or a Messianic…or does it matter? Someone at my congregation was recently remarking on the things she’s learned while worshiping with us. One of the things she said was, “I’m having a hard time calling myself a Christian anymore”. What could she have meant by that? After all, we Messianics at our core, believe many of the same things as our Evangelical Christian brothers and sisters. We believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Son of God, born of a virgin, sacrificed for many, who rose on the third day after burial, and sits on the right hand of God the Father. That certainly sounds Christian to me. Then why do we even call ourselves “Messianics” at all? What’s the difference?
The issue can be rather hotly debated in both Messianic and traditionally Christian circles. Despite what I just said, many Messianics refuse to call themselves Christians and become deeply insulted if you don’t draw the distinction. Others see the term Messianic as either completely interchangeable with the term Christian or merely describing a subset of Christianity that holds to certain additional beliefs (such as keeping the Kosher laws and a Saturday Sabbath).
To understand the situation, it’s necessary to conduct a brief history and language lesson. As most people in the church realize, what is called the “New Testament” was originally written in Koine Greek. This is also known as “common Greek” or the form of the Greek language employed in the 1st Century of the Common Era (CE), and that was used by the “common man”. It was the lingua franca of the world of Paul and the rest of the Apostles, much in the same way we think of English today. Even if Greek wasn’t your native language (and it wasn’t for the Israeli disciples of Yeshua), the use of Koine Greek would allow you to communicate with the widest possible audience in the then civilized world. This is why the Apostolic scriptures were written in that language (and not because it had some spiritual meaning of its own…the choice was purely a pragmatic one).