A HEARTFELT RECONCILIATION WITH ISRAEL

Hello folks, It is with a humble heart that I answered the invitation to speak at a conference in Jerusalem on September 16-18, 2015 entitled "Reconciliation With Israel." An Orthodox rabbi who is also the publisher of Breaking News Israel (with a Jewish and Christian readership of 100,000 daily) will be covering the conference. He has asked for articles from any of the speakers before the event relating to why we are participating.  Below is my article which reveals much of what motivates me altogether and which I felt to share with you, dear readers, as I know many of you share my thoughts and feelings.

The conference will be streamed live and will be available after the conference as well.  Go to: www.reconciliationwithisrael.com to register for watching the conference or to see the line up of speakers.

Here's my article: 

A Heartfelt Reconciliation With Israel

YHVH told Avraham that He would bless the world through his descendents.  And so He has. Much of the world would not be what it is today if it were not for Israel’s technological advancements in science, agriculture, geology, aeronautics, archaeology, communication or medicine.  But the “blessings” came from Jewish people long before Israel was restored to Statehood. To name just one specific instance of medical advancement, in the mid-1800’s  a Jewish doctor by the name of Ignaz Semmelweiss recognized that germs or microbes were the cause of death of both mothers and babies in an obstetric hospital in Vienna.  The number of lives that have since been saved through germ prevention is incalculable beginning with his three words: Wash your hands. Stories like this abound. God has surely advantaged the world through the wisdom and expertise He has given to the descendents of Avraham, Itzaac and Yaacov.

But not every person or every nation in the world, although they may be advantaged by Israel’s discoveries, recognizes the extent to which Jewish people have influenced their lives.  To the contrary, it appears today that Israel stands alone with the exception of very few friends. Among those friends around the world are those Christians who recognize Israel’s place in YHVH’s heart.  A group of those Christians have come to Israel to extend their hands of friendship with the intent of letting Israel know that they are not alone, that they recognize God’s specific call upon the nation and to let Israel know of their love for them as a nation and as a people.

They will be speaking at the up-coming Reconciliation With Israel conference that is taking place on September 16-18^th at the Cinematique in Jerusalem.  Speaking as well will be several Israeli Jews whose life’s work for Israel brings them in contact with literally millions of Christians who are supportive of Israel, not only verbally but financially  – as the expression goes, “putting their money where their mouths speak.” 

The conference speakers, as well as the organizer and inspiration for the conference Kellen Davison, are here in Israel to show Israel that there are believers in Yeshua who are not their enemies as the “church” has too often been in times throughout history, but who recognize that YHVH gave the land to Israel so that they are supportive of Zionism, and that they stand against anti-Semitism that may exist today.  These Christian speakers are people who have largely incorporated the values of Torah in their lives to revere YHVH and to “love others as you love yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).  Most of them observe the Feasts of the Lord which God gave to Israel and who, through their love for Yeshua whom they recognize as the Jewish Messiah, have a deep love and reverence for YHVH in the way that Yeshua Himself did as the Brit Hadashah (the New Testament) reveals.

As early as the 2^nd century, pagan practices and beliefs began to enter the church when the Jewish believers were well outnumbered and basically no longer there to bring correction to the errors.  Ironically, men who are known as “the church fathers” beginning from that time, stripped Yeshua of His Jewishness making Him seem like their gentile God. The 1^st century real fathers of the faith were in fact Jews who lived entirely Torah-consistent lives by faith and the grace of God. The goal of the Christian conference is to help set right what has been wrong for too long. Their hope is that they can put to rest some of the gross misunderstandings of the Jewish people that the church has historically and erroneously believed which have resulted in immeasurable  sufferings and losses to the Jewish people. True Christians are as horrified as any Jewish person at the atrocities that were perpetrated against the Jews through those misunderstandings. 

Notice we use the term true Christian.  The terms “Christian” or “Christianity” did not come about until the second century and were never used by the original Jewish believers in Yeshua.  A true believer in Messiah Yeshua was someone whose faith included living by the unction of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) who would never have led them to distort or misappropriate the teachings of the God-given Torah, nor would the Ruach HaKodesh ever have motivated men to act in such ungodly ways against His people.  It has been quite possible, therefore, for men to call themselves “Christians” but to believe and act in opposition to what God (or Yeshua) would want.  Accordingly, there is a justifiable distinction between the politically motivated “church”  or the distorted ideas of man who thought they were acting for God but clearly were not, and those true believers who were usually a minority and were often persecuted themselves for living as they believed the first Jewish believers in Yeshua would have.

The conference belief is that to misunderstand the place of the Jews in their relationship with God is to misunderstand God Himself.  As the conference will be streamed live around the world and continue to be available online, the messages are largely to set erroneous facts straight on both sides:  To set aright the distrust that Israel and the Jewish people world-wide justifiably have for the church at large, letting them know that there are Christians who genuinely love the Jewish people and who love Israel and are standing with and for her, and to help the true church to understand the place of Israel in YHVH’s plan of tikkun olam (restoration of the world).

 

 

    

One cow out of the herd of many.

Hello from the Heart of Texas.  Life here is not life in Jacksonville, FL, that's for sure.  Aside from the wonderful people I have come to love and the meetings where I spoke (the reason I'm in Texas), the high points for me were being out on the ranch with the cows - lots of cows, including the babies, and later a visit with the goats in the 'backyard'.  A number of calves just born trotted along with their mama's. My host, John, loves his cows - a good size herd. We pulled into the pasture waaaay out on the ranch which I was told would be an 18 mile drive to go around the perimeter of the ranch. This is where John grew up.  He and his brother and father 'worked' the cows on horseback -- we're talkin' genuine no-kidding cowboys. They are still alive and well in Texas. John whooeeey'd for his cows and here they came, over the hill and through the woods in response to his call.  Each cow weighs about 1200 pounds, pushing and shoving one another to get closer. Their loud moos are more like mmmaaah's and a lot of them at once is sure loud.  They have sweet faces though and for all the noise and pushing to get really close by the braver ones they are docile and not scary at all. I loved being out there with them.

         We then went to the hunting lodge on the property where John and Elaine, his wife and my hostess and now dear friend, lived until they built their beautiful house in town.  We sat on the veranda overlooking grassy plains and listened to the quiet and just talked. It made me long for simpler times when life moved along at a different pace than we do in the cities of today.  Despite the relative isolation, Elaine told me how she loved living out there and would welcome it again.  Can you just imagine being where there is not one sound of modern civilization, only nature: bird calls, the breeze rustling the grasses....   I'm thinking that is how it's supposed to be. Makes me yearn for that kind of quiet. 

         I had the chance to visit folks on another ranch for a dinner with John and Elaine who are elders in a local church, with another couple, Joe and Mackye, also church elders at their home (also on a ranch), and the pastor and his wife as well as Elaine Reinhardt Lang, who along with her husband Ray, has brought me to Texas and in whose home I am now as I write.  What a fun group, telling so many stories, all Texan-life style stories, things that don't happen in my hometown of Jacksonville.        For instance. one night Joe heard a critter, some animal outside in the back of the

house. He got up and put on his boots and in his underwear (picture this) out he went holding the rifle in one hand and the flashlight in the other hand. He fired at the what-ever-it-was animal but he somehow missed the animal and hit a Laurel tree which his wife, Mackye, was rather fond of. The shot split the tree in half. What to do?  He wrapped the tree in duck tape to hold it together.  But "the graft didn't take," Joe said and a year or so later the left half fell over dead and the right side followed some time later.  This may not read as funny but there are some folks who are just funny whatever they say. Mackye telling this story and the others telling theirs made for a very laughter-filled evening. If anyone thinks that elders and pastors are stodgy and 'religious' such is not the case here. 

           

The goats are in John and Elaine's backyard (far from the house, ranch style) and were fed the left over watermelon, one goat in particular (pictured) enjoyed it till she flipped it over and couldn't get through the rind to the good stuff. Compared to the cows, they are so quiet. Except for two bucks butting heads in typical goat fashion, they were just sweet. 

             Aside from the temperature which ranged from 96 - 105 degrees with a humidity in the 40%, it has been very pleasant. There is always a breeze, even to a howling wind, I'm told. The ground and the grasses are quite dry however and rain is a constant prayer request and concern lest there be fires.  In my home town of Jacksonville, we are surfeited with rain; here, the projection is for no rain until into September.  Crazy.

              I attended a prayer meeting with about 12 women who pray weekly for America and Israel. I felt so 'one' with them. It seem the Holy Spirit has His Spirit-filled church pretty much on the same page with regard to the importance of Israel and what to pray for our nation. It's a wonderful thing to be so in sync with others in the body of Messiah and feel so united with them in prayer even though in some other ways our life styles are somewhat different.  I was told they aren't aware of any Jews living near by, yet their hearts were for Israel - a work of the Holy Spirit who puts what He loves in the hearts of His people.   

             Aside from being mega allergic to something here in Texas causing my voice to threaten to disappear so that preaching was a challenge to be heard (thank God for microphones), I love Texas. I have one more preaching 'gig' on Sunday morning in a local country church I'm looking forward to. For now, I'm just enjoying just Being in the country. It's a reminder of how pleasant simple life can (or should) be. 

GIVING HONOR WHERE HONER IS DUE

I'm in the Atlanta airport awaiting a flight to Austen, TX which I will tell you about in later posts. I'll be speaking in TX and then on to Israel mid-September so I'll be taking you along on my journeys if you'll be reading these blogs. 

I had quite a meaningful initial start to my journey today.  Seated next to me was a Navy officer in a sparkling white uniform. We said hello and I couldn't help but ask him how he managed to keep his uniform so perfectly clean. He chuckled and said by the time he gets to TX, his destination also, something will happen. It seemed to be a rather constant vigil to keep the whites white! Little did I expect that before we landed I would be the cause of sprinkling my black coffee on his leg and sleeve when the stirrer to my coffee cup flipped out while reaching for the stewardess.  Needless to say I felt horrible.  A napkin and some water lessened the damage but not altogether.  But that's not why it was meaningful.

The first announcement from the pilot was that aboard were two Seaman officers who were escorting the body of a "fallen warrior" back to his family.  He said the names of the officers and I asked my seat mate if he was one of them. "Yes ma'am," he said. He seemed quiet, even sad.  I asked if he knew the man personally. He did. He was one of his men. I asked if he died in action. "No, ma'am," he said, shaking his head slightly. As we talked He shared how this young man died. Men see action in Iraq or somewhere in the Middle East, but then come home and something useless happens. This was one of those times.  This young man of 21 had car trouble. He pulled over to the side of the road and walked around his car and a tractor trailer hit him. Now Seaman Rodney (I don't know his last name) was escorting the body of this young man back to his parents, a task Rodney had never done before but volunteered for as he had evidently been fond of the young man.

As we spoke briefly off and on, I told Rodney that I had written a book about people who had died and had gone to heaven but Jesus sent them back to tell people of what heaven - and He - are really like.  I could see by his response that he knew the Lord, which he confirmed. He also believed that the young man did too (I asked this first or wouldn't have told him the rest). As I shared a little of the unhindered joy in heaven and how there is no sadness there whatsoever, the one in heaven would surely not want those they loved on earth to be in sorrow when they are in such joy, peace and love in the presence of the Lord.  I shared this, I told him, so that perhaps it would help him in his own grief but perhaps he could share some of this with his family. I told him I would probably blog this story and gave him my name. Since you're reading this, please say a prayer for this young man's family, and for Brother Rodney and his co-officers - and for any who have to bring home someone's loved one this way, a task few of us reading this would experience.

Rodney has been in the Navy for 18 years. I asked him if he had noticed any difference in the last few years in the Service.  He shook his head back and forth just slightly enough to let me know things are not what they were.  He told me of how this generation of young men and women do not have the idealism or the discipline of his generation. He seemed somewhat sad about this too.

As we approached the Atlanta terminal the pilot asked everyone to remain seated until the Navy Officers deplaned first in order to escort the body which was unloaded before the luggage. I once saw such an event in the Philadelphia airport and it was quite moving, a flag draped across the casket. I shook Rodney's hand and said a quick prayer that God would be with him in all he was called to do. As he and his fellow officers walked down the aisle toward the front of the plane to exit it, a crescendo of applause began for these men who serve to guard our nation.  Though only I and the officers knew the uselessness of his death, others on the plane likely imagined he died in military action overseas.  But what difference does it make. We are all in this life and death thing together. We all can have sympathy for a family who lost their loved one. We all can have respect for men like Rodney who seemed to me a man who reflected the dignity of the Navy I had known when young men my age then had in the service years ago. 

Now boarding for Austen.  Later. 

Giant Slaying & Angel Trusting

Old nature or new? Which direction?
 

A few weeks ago the Holy Spirit said to me out of the clear blue sky, "Run toward your giants." I knew I had heard Him because it made me come to an abrupt halt. Giants, Lord?  Do I have any giants in my life, I asked.  The only giant I knew of was Goliath, who had totally intimidated the entire Israeli army.  Do I have any giants of intimidation, Lord, I asked, not thinking at that moment that I did.  Oh boy, was I in for a surprise. As I began to think about it, I began to see areas I could call intimidation.  Stop and think for a moment, do you have any places of intimidation? Are any of them giants to you that keep you stuck and unable to move forward, especially forward for the Lord?   

When we're intimidated, it can seem like we're facing a giant who is definitely not on our side.  Running toward them would mean moving forward to accomplish the very thing that  had you, or someone else, paralyzed (a relative term, of course), the way David ran toward Goliath and got Israel's army unstuck. He did so with complete confidence that God would enable him to take down this "uncircumcised Philistine who taunted the armies of God."  Sometimes it takes one person who refused the intimidation to get others unstuck. David's actions resulted in the whole army pursuing the Philistines and overtaking them. Yay!!   

By definition, intimidation means to make someone afraid or fearful, or shy;  to intentionally cause someone to be 'cowed' by wealth, power, authority, intelligence, ability, etc.; that which make a person feel inferior, or causes them to do what they don't want to do, to which I would add, or to cause them to NOT do what they would or should do if they weren't intimidated. I would also add bullying to that list also. Goliath was definitely a bully. 

The definition implies that there is some nasty person intent on doing this to someone else and the intimidated one is buying into it.  In our case, the 'other' is surely the devil who is also the accuser, the liar and our enemy.  So why do we agree with him? Well, for one thing, we aren't always aware that he's the motivating force behind our fears, trepidations or intimidations.  But no more. He's been exposed, and now we are aware that the Lord of the universe who is also known as The Almighty is entirely on our side. Or more importantly, we're on His side. Just how mighty is all-mighty?  How inclusive is "all"?  Selah.

If we are truly going to be the "end time" people of God - or even if we're not - we should be the people, according to the prophet Daniel, who "know their God and do exploits" in His name. To "know" Him as He truly is, is to be as Yeshua was, to have no fear of the devil, but to have God's authority that intimidates the devil instead.

I read an 'angel report' this week from a pastor whose been seeing and interacting with angels for many years. I have come to fully trust this pastor. The usual angel who visits him is about his same height, dressed in white. Recently a particular angel whom he had met years before came to visit him. This angel is 60 feet tall and clothed with blazing colors. His name in Angel David. He was the angel God sent to help King David when the fledgling nation needed help, perhaps against the Philistines. Angel David had a friend with him of similar height. His name is Angel Sampson.  Evidently Angels are often named in accordance with those for whom they have been much help.  Apparently the Holy Spirit has sent these two angelic beings to America with a message from the Holy Spirit: "If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and heal their land."  (2 Chron 7:14). I doubt they are just messengers. They're warrior angels, it would appear. Their presence says there is hope. We are in a spiritual war; you already knew that. It is a war of faith and hope and prophetic belief in the word of God.

If  God has sent these two warrior angels to America, there is the power and anointing to believe God for revival in America. And if He has sent in these huge angels, I must believe they have come with angelic forces that will be of assistance to each of us as we take our stand for our nation and for Israel.  I am also assuming that they will help us with our individual personal issues, those that will keep us fit for staying strong in faith, quick to forgive, and generous to give as the need arises.  There are lots of Scriptures to back up those as priorities.  

Keep in mind that our fears and intimidations are coming from our "old" nature, the one that is like Adam and there is no resurrection power in Adam. He needs to bow to our "new" nature that is like Yeshua (Jesus) and His is the resurrection power of God on our behalf. Don't try not to be afraid. Trying is what we do instead of doing it. Don't try with the energy of your old nature to act like you think a believer should act. We've all had years of that kind of frustration. Adam is doomed to fail. The best thing we can do is surrender our lives to God so we can get in touch with the Holy Spirit of God.  In doing so, He will enter into our lives and our very beings and we will find we have a new nature as things begin to take on different importance's by God's spirit. Then we can begin to act out of His power.  Find places in the bible He leads you to that speak to your own heart and situations and allow them to become real to you till your faith assures you it will come to pass.  If this is new to you and it sounds hokey, give the Lord a chance for a few weeks. I mean really, not skeptically.

So when it comes to giants of intimidation, they are small stuff compared to God's angels. Though not all angels are 60 feet tall, their very presence here indicates that there are a host of God's ministering angels that are operating on behalf of His people.  So when you find yourself being intimidated about anything, especially something you think the Lord is asking you to do, put your trust in God and declare to the Spirit world that the only effective giant in your life that you are allowing is acting on your behalf  to help you do God's will.  To this last sentence I want to add...."exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can think of or ask for."  Amen.   

BEING LOVED THE WAY GOD LOVES

I recently began a new Bible study group. When I asked the Lord what He wanted to teach the group, it seemed He wanted me to teach on the Hebrew meanings for three Hebrew words for love, one at each of the first 3 meetings. The goal was not just to know about love, but to know about HIS love for each of us. I began with Ahava - the love God has for His chosen ones.
 
Our English translation of, for instance, "lovingkindness" has about the depth of saying "God is nice." That is just not enough to wrap itself around your heart and make you feel all lovey and secure in God, is it?  Beginning with the first meeting, just learning of what Ahava means in Hebrew, and specifically God's Ahavah, turned out to be (no kidding) nothing short of life changing for some. 

I was amazed at its impact as it proved to be more effective than just interesting but changed a few people's relationships with the Lord. It brought to my mind Paul's words that when the Jewish people come to the Lord it would be "life from the dead" (Romans 11:15). I believe it largely has to do with the resurrection of the Hebrew language so that we can more fully understand the Scriptures, and therefore know God more clearly, as a part of that "life."  I saw it happen in my living room while teaching these few words.

If we're talking about love in a Hebrew context, of course, we're first and foremost talking about God's love, the way God loves, and the way "God IS love" (1 John 4:8). His love can be seen in the beauty of creation, even in the affection of animals. No one is too high or too lofty to be without the need to love or be loved. Maybe God made giraffes to remind us. The way God loves is wholly demonstrated in His love for Israel. That may not have been the prevailing thought throughout history, including church history, but Israel's survival as the Jewish people alone, is evidence of His watchful eye upon them to keep His promises to them. 

And may I add, for His name's sake, to prove His Ahava, that we may know Him as He truly is "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). God's love has been greatly misunderstood due to misunderstanding His enduring love for Israel and the Jewish people. As this is being corrected so also, as we are seeing, is a more correct understanding of His love in its many aspects.

Let's take a look at the meaning of the first word (the others will follow in subsequent blogs) and maybe there might be some life changes among some of you reading this - or those you might share these meanings with.  It's all free for the taking. Pass it along. 
 
Ahavah is God’s choosing love, His election love.  He chose Israel to be His own people. We are all aware that the Jewish people are known as "the chosen people."  And anyone who comes to Israel's God is likewise chosen. He chooses everyone who comes to know Him personally. No one sneaks in the back door of the Kingdom without Him knowing it. There are no mistaken entrances to being His. 

Whether you came to Him easily or with great internal struggle, He has been at work in your life all along to bring you to the security of opening your heart to Him. The reason you have survived some of what life has wrought from you is because He's been there all along on your behalf, despite some of the choices we've made in the license of our free will.  He knows that we've all been victimized by sin - that's where His rachamim, His mercy comes in. 

But God's Ahavah, His loving choice of you has been actually eternal "for He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world...." (Ephesians 1:4).  God does dwell outside of time so that can make sense. Now if He is all knowing (omniscient), could there possibly be anything about you He didn't know about that might disqualify you from His love or acceptance? Is there any chance He would look down on you and say to Himself, "Oh dear, I wasn't aware of that!" 

There are people who have been His for years, all their lives even, and yet have not come into the security of His love, because there always seemed to be something that they should be doing or not doing, or should not have done, to be really okay with God.  But we are His because of His doing, not because of ours. All we can really do is respond to His reaching out to us in our lives, whether as a child or as a sinner later on. 

  “No one comes to the Lord unless the Father draws them.”  (Deut 10:15; 23:5;   Jeremiah 31:3).  It's His doing. But even so, His love always allows for our free will. He never violates our freedom.

You can choose NOT to be chosen, or you can deliberately choose to walk away from Him also.  There is no compulsion in God. Love always freely loves and allows the loved one to freely love them back or choose not to love them. That also means God takes the risk of having us not love Him in return. We see that with Israel over and over as they strayed from Him. But He keeps on loving them with determination to be their Lover.

There is also an exclusiveness to being the recipient of God’s love.   Israel is clearly the chosen people of God.  They were set apart from among all the people of the earth for God’s specific attention to them.  To anyone who has also come to Israel’s God, they receive the same attention from God.  Followers of Yeshua are not like the world, are we?  This is all God’s doing; He works within us to bring us to the freedom in Him that He wanted for all humankind when He created the first persons. That does not mean being without challenges in this life, but it does mean that whatever we go through, God is there with us, and He can bring us His kind of peace in the midst of any trial.

What better sense of security than having the Almighty as your bff (best friend forever - literally). We who live our lives in relationship with the one true God are becoming more and more loving, wiser, freer, less affected by the ways the world goes and more influenced by the Spirit of God who is holy.

What does holy mean?  Holiness is largely about love. Holiness,  absolute purity, is harmless to those who love, but dangerous to those who defy love in favor of Self. It takes a great deal of sinning to set off God's wrath. A read through the Old Testament history will show you that. But when it does occur, it is always because of accumulated violation of love in extreme, against other people, or against God. No one who hates is blessed, to put it simply.  The Good News, thought, is that tsYeshua came to set us free from what is unloving, in what we have done and what has been done to us. Our sins, our unloving acts and attitudes, can be fully forgiven when we accept His atoning love for us personally.  It's part of the mystery of God, but it's as real as life itself.

If you recall, in the beginning, “God created humankind in His own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27 CJB).  When their sin interrupted the perfection in which they were created, it didn’t change God’s intention or His love.  I once had a mini-vision in which I saw God’s sheer delight in Adam and how much God loved him. Then I saw as God was sending him out of the garden (Eve was not in the vision) after Adam had sinned. But God's love for Adam was in no way diminished. Even when God disciplines us it is out of His love for us, to make us better people, even more conformed to His loving likeness.

He continues with us what He began - He is RE-CONFORMING US TO HIS LIKENESS.  An image is like what we see in a mirror but in this case, it’s spiritual, not physical.  He is sovereignly reforming those who are His to be, to live, to think, and to love as He does.  He is doing it through His chosen ones as we live out our lives with Him and HIs goodness. What a privilege.

Chosenness, that is to say, election, is not the same as exclusivity or elitism so that you look down on anyone who isn’t like you.  That is about Self, not about God’s unSELFish love.  (Wasn't the cross of Yeshua that single most unselfish act of any  person ever? ) God’s love always seeks for the good of others, and to include others.  Israel was always to receive, to welcome strangers, sojourners, or aliens and to care for others as they cared for themselves.  As you are reading through the OT, be aware of how often God tells Israel to be just and fair to those who are different, or have less than themselves.   There is always room in God’s heart, and so was it to be so in God’s people’s hearts, for even the lowest – the orphans and the widows, who in ancient Israel would have been the destitute, or at least the marginalized.

Just as one of the many places where we are somewhat familiar with this word for love, we see in Zephaniah 3:17 the word Ahava, the love for those He chooses, those whom He saves.  “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in His Ahavah. He will rejoice over thee with singing. “ Now there's a picture of God don't usually have, but He gave that to Zephaniah as a revelation of Himself. He wants to be known by His people, and He wants us to know how much He delights in us in His love. So what do we see in Ahavah.  We see the full intention of God to raise up those whom He brings to Himself to the highest expression of love and humanity as He intended us to be – LIKE HIM!!  Free to love and be loved.  SELF not only keeps us in self-protectiveness, it isolates us and puts up a barrier between us and others.   Love, God’s kind of love, takes the barriers down to be able to enjoy others as He enjoys us all.

Yeshua took down the middle wall of partition that Self would exalt and separate.  In Yeshua there is no more separation or alienation based on:  color, race, nationality, ethnicity, finances, intelligence, education, social status, physical abilities or perfection.  Diseases nor deformities do not keep one outside of God’s ahava. Once Yeshua had paid the price to break down the separation between God and mankind, the barriers between humans were now obsolete because now we all could relate to one another through God’s love which is all inclusive. There are no “others” in the Kingdom of God.  All are loved equally. That includes each of us. You too.

There is no greater privilege in all of creation than to be among those whom God has chosen.  And though we may be one of millions, God is not limited by time or space or numbers.  He is exquisitely intimately involved with each one of us in His love for each of us.  He is committed to bringing us to the fullness of the Freedom of His  Being.  All of our human desire to be loved, that we are emotional and social beings who need as much to love as to be loved, is all a part of being created in God’s image. He is like that. We are all that people innately are, because we are like God. We desire to be known and loved because God is letting us know that He desires to be known and loved. Not out of any kind of neediness on God's part, but in the sense of entire wholeness. We like to be thanked or appreciated, so does God.  Want to have a good time today? Tell God all you are thankful for and thank Him for it. You'll find it unlocks a good bit of joy in your heart. That's His way of loving you back. 

Tune in next week for Part II of God's love.

THE CENTER OF THE WORLD IS......?

Needless to say, we are most likely living in what may be the most critical times in world history. I was inclined to say since the Flood, but that may admittedly be overstating it.  What is not an overstatement is that all that's going on will ultimately revolve around Israel. It's God who has made Israel central.  Did you know that ancient maps were drawn somewhat differently than ours because we see the world as round but waaaay back when flat maps only were drawn, guess what seemed to be the center of the world?  You guessed it, the area where little Israel is.  Even maps drawn even earlier than the Renaissance period were greatly distorted in their perception of the world, but Israel was often portrayed as being the center of the known world.

I bought a small globe recently after seeing it in a decorator kind of store. It just seemed to want to come home with me.  I did check it out first to make sure Israel was on there.  Be careful when you buy maps or globes, should any of you plan to do so, because with Islamic influences here and there, where Israel should be it may say Palestine. Most of you know that Rome gave the Jews the name Palestine based on the name of the Phoenicians to ridicule them, but it wasn't until Arafat got the idea to co-opt the name that they began a campaign to convince the world that Palestine was Arab. They've done a pretty good job. Most of the world thinks its legitimate.  It's not.

As the saleslady handed me my little globe in a bag, I felt the unction to take it out of the bag and show to her.  Not knowing if she is a believer or would even be remotely interested, I showed her how Australia and Indonesia could move right up into the ocean space of India and China.  And how South America could snuggle right up to the west coast of Africa with the western most part of Africa looking like it could tuck right into where Mexico is. And North America could just move right on over and wrap itself around the where Spain and England are.  This is, of course, not an exact fit but time has eroded some surfaces, and remember that there are tectonic plates under each land mass that extend out beyond what we see on the surface.  When an earthquake happens, it's the tectonic plates that are moving and what happens on the surface is the result. 

So what am I saying here?  If you look at the map or the globe this way, you can see what could very well have been one huge land mass with everything connected at one point. Speaking of the flood, however, it would seem that the Flood would be the cause of sufficient upheaval to thrust huge land masses to be displaced by the force of enormous quantities of water.  We cannot really fathom (pun intended) the depth of the waters or what force would be released as "the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth.... and the waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth.... and the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth and the high hills that were under the whole heaven... and the mountains were covered" (Genesis 7:11, 12, 19, 20).

Can we even imagine the force of the rushing water as those that covered the mountains raced upon the face of the earth as "the deep" caused great upheavals and then caverns opened up, resulting in great depths of water to surge across the surface of the earth. It is quite possible that what God had once created as one giant land mass was then separated into the continents that we know today. If we look for it, we can see the way the land masses may have all can fit together.  And if  you are able to see that, making some allowanced for the tectonic plates so it may appear that the land masses aren't exact, if you take your fingers to two outside edges and bring them to the middle, guess where you will be? Yes, you got it, Israel. 

I shared an abbreviated version of all this with the saleslady who was going to share it with her Sunday School class.  You just never know where God will give you an open door to share something of interest related to Him with someone.

So considering the "place" God gave to Israel as the center of the world in this sense, assuming I have my geography right, and considering the "place" God gave to Israel in His book, the Bible, and His whole plan of redemption for the world, doesn't it seem that we can assume that Israel, being the one "place" that He declared to be His own, and Israel's people through whom He said He would prove to the world that He is the one and only God.... shouldn't we expect that God will vindicate Himself and His word?

The verses which speak of what God will do to those who come against His people Israel would be terrifying to any who would read it and take it seriously.  Evidently millions of Muslims have turned to the Lord and His goodness and away from the evil intent to destroy Israel.  I spoke with a man who has a ministry to Iran and is seeing thousands saved almost monthly through what they broadcast into Iran via satellite. He told me that when these Muslim people turn to God and are filled with the Holy Spirit, they immediately drop their hatred for Israel and God replaces it with a love for Israel and a burden to pray for her safety and salvation. Now that has to be a work of the Holy Spirit!!  And it's not something you're likely to hear on CNN. 

If you have any interest in reading incredible stories of Muslims who have come to the Lord, from a 7 year old boy whom Arafat made his own example of what a terrorist youth should be, to a man who came to America to infiltrate it culturally, to a scholar who examined the Koran against the Bible and fell in love with Jesus and then had to deal with the consequences....and many more incredible stories. get a copy of Ten Amazing Muslims Touched by God by Faisal Malick.  The most fascinating part of the book is the way Yeshua/Jesus shows up in these people's lives in such incredibly supernatural ways, often in powerful and holy manifestations as He reveals Himself as Lord.  I mean really as LORD!  The Jesus part of the book is worth the read.

Anyway, I really didn't start out to write a blog tonight. I wanted to apologize for any confusion about the Israel entry. And while I was here, I just followed what I hope is the Holy Spirit's lead and shared what is so on my heart, for people to realize that Israel is not ultimately about us, or about the Jewish people though to separate them is erroneous, it's really about God. God's Word, God's plan, God's land, God's people, God's integrity to keep His promises, God's sovereignty to fulfill His intention in the earth, and it's about God's lordship.....  on and on. There is so much false information out there being put forth as truth, but much of it, when it's against Israel in some way as what is going on right now, motivates me to try and let people be aware that Israel is the center of God's whole redemptive plan for the world. Even many Muslims are realizing it and aligning themselves with the Lord and His people. I pray Americans will also know the truth in this if/when Islamic influence increases (selah).  This is surely not the best article I've ever written, but if somehow the information in it, or just the motive in it, will inspire you to share the truth of God revealing Himself through Israel and how she is central to much of what God is doing in the earth today, you may pull some from the fires of the consequences of being politically correct with men, but in opposition to God. 

WHAT ABOUT THE ASHES?

Given God’s dislike for idolatry and false beliefs among His people, I would imagine that you would agree that before Yeshua comes, the Holy Spirit is working to prepare His bride according to Revelation 19, where she is still bearing some “wrinkles” of distorted concepts of holiness that need to be ‘ironed out’, or where there may be “spots” of worldly ungodliness – maybe a better word would be ungod-like-ness – that we must be cleansed of. A good many of these are not our fault.  We have inherited a system of beliefs that are centuries old, not all of which are what God intended.  In fact, some of them get in the way of living in the fullness of what Yeshua provided for us.  

As an example, I happened upon a group of Christians this past week who were discussing the upcoming event of Ash Wednesday which they apparently were inclined to participate in.  It is evidently the kick-off event for Lent, neither of which I am familiar with. After listening for a while I ventured to ask, “Could you please tell me the origin and meaning of Ash Wednesday.” This was a group of maybe 15 or so who had been Christians I would think all their lives and some of them were a bit up in years. I expected they would know. They didn’t. One of the younger women, say in her 40’s, said, “I think it had something to do with Passover and the Jewish people putting ashes on their foreheads.”  I respectfully assured them, that as a Jewish believer myself, there is nothing in the Passover that would include ashes and it certainly isn’t in the Old Testament. 

Another person said, “I think it goes all the way back to the early church, with the Catholics and the Episcopalians that are like the Catholics. I just love when things go back close to when Jesus and his disciples made up the church.”  I did manage to hold my tongue and said nothing but I sure wanted to.  Neither  Yeshua nor His disciples ever had any knowledge at all, let alone had anything to do with, many of the practices of the early Catholic Church which had more to do with Rome than Israel. They wouldn’t have even understood the word “church.’ Another said, “I believe it has to do with the Jews burning the palm leaves they waved when Jesus came into Jerusalem, and they saved them and burned them the next year to put the ashes on their heads.”  Stunning, I thought, how earnestly we can hold to some religious rite and have no real idea what it’s supposed to represent or where it came from. 

This is not to belittle the genuine repentance that such an occasion might bring to sincere believers in earnest of being right with God. None of us can relate to God beyond what we know of Him. So if my comments seem a bit, well, unkind, it is certainly not toward the Jesus-seeking people, but rather comes not only from a longing for all who love the Lord to have all that He died to give us, but for Him to have all of us in the way He made available to us.   

I really hadn’t planned to go back to this group I had just met but the leader, a man wearing a wonderful colorful broad tie that said WWJD on it in various ways, asked if I would find out and come back the following week and teach them what the ashes represent and where it began. They knew nothing about me. Why did they even think I could do that?  Well, I could hardly resist an opportunity to do some ironing and spot leaning, could I?  So I began to check it out.

The brief story is that it is connected with Lent (that’s another story) and with repentance and being aware of one’s sins and feeling badly about them and presumably turning from them.  It is based on the Scripture verses in which certain Old Testament persons in deep grief or remorse for their sin threw dust and ashes upon their heads, often tearing their clothes at the same time. The ashes then represent sorrow for one’s sins. Ash Wednesday is supposed to accomplish that same effect, from what I read.  But when this took place among the Bible people, it is more that these spontaneous ash dousing actions were in the throes of great angst and emotional pain, likely with grasping a handful of 'dust' from the ground and dumping it on their heads, having nothing to do with a religious rite in which they went to some designated priest or bishop who drew a cross on their foreheads with ashes to make them feel better.  Or for that matter, as the ashes are supposedly to bring one in touch with their own sin, to make them feel even worse than they already did.

And one thing you can be sure about. If it would have happened, it sure wouldn’t have been a cross as a symbol of righteousness.  The cross was a symbol of great shame to the Hebrews. It wasn’t until several hundred years later under Constantine's influence that the cross became a symbol of adoration (another blog for another time perhaps).  The only thought that came to my mind was of the high priest burning incense on the altar (as in the picture above) but certainly there was no veneration of the ashes though they disposed of them in a specific manner.  

I did a fair amount of reading on Ash Wednesday and I found it significant that not once was the name of Jesus mentioned.  It was all about rules and rites and traditions and who is approved to do what to whom.  A good bit of it was about “blessing the ashes” which, as it turns out, were about keeping the palm leaves from one year's ceremony and then burned and those ashes used for the next year's ceremony. Those ashes were sort of sprinkled on the penitent’s head but later, especially in America, the practice of putting a cross on one’s forehead is preferred. It is neater, I’ll give you that. 

I do have a question about “blessing” the ashes, though. What does that mean? What does that do? How does that affect the persons’ life who receives the ashes? I thought we bless people, not things. Often the Jews bless God as a way of gratefully honoring Him. In the Old Testament objects were purified with blood or water, but not (and I could be wrong), blessed.  I’m not even sure what it means to bless ashes.  It’s a dead element, it has no life. It can’t do anything for anyone.  What’s to bless?

I suggest to you that it is left over from pagan practices that were to appease the gods of the Romans as one of those things that “the church” took on through Constantine’s edicts to unite the Christians with the others in the empire so peace would reign and the persecution would stop.  I know, I know, there’s much more to the story.  But the thing about those gods was that if you made them happy, the people would be happy and “blessed.” If they displeased the gods, well, you just didn’t want to do that because all bad things happened because you didn’t give them enough…. attention, worship, money, flowers, or whatever.  Worship of those pagan gods was about what you did to earn their favor so all would go well with you.

Not so with the God of the Hebrews. He was a Father and like every father, there were rules in the house but your obedience didn’t determine whether or not you remained the child of the Father.  No, this loving father was obeyed by his children because they loved him. It’s what children do. So also was the relationship between Israel and their God. He was as a Father to them and they obeyed Him because they were His children, not to get Him to accept them. He chose them!  He made them His own.  They knew that.  There is nowhere in the Old Testament that indicates that keeping the rules is what ‘buys’ you acceptance from God.  Rather, they were already fully accepted. They didn’t and still don’t keep the commandments in order to become or stay Jews, they already were and always would be. Witness the fact that there remains Jews of all flavors and types in the world today –but they all remain Jews, because it’s not about earning their way to God through some designated behaviors. They’re already His. 

The same thing applies to every true believer in Israel’s Messiah when they accept that He has already made the way for them to come into the family of Israel’s God. He becomes their Father just as He is Israel’s Father. And the same assurance of sonship can belong to anyone who truly turns away from their sin and accepts the forgiveness offered through Yeshua’s death on the cross on their behalf. The reason we stay caught up on repenting of anything we know God doesn't approve of is because we're already forgiven. Kind of like once you're clean, you want to stay that way. 

So where would ashes come into this?  King Solomon told us that “The reproofs for discipline are the way of life.”  In other words, repentance is an ongoing all-the-time thing when one is in relationship with Father God.  Anyone who is the Lord’s knows that part of our lives in God is being aware of when our thoughts or our deeds are not in keeping with the holiness of God and so we quickly, even immediately, turn to the Lord and thank Him for forgiving us and we are immediately cleansed of that transgression. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  That’s a verse we should all memorize. It comes in handy on a regular basis.

So if repentance is a way of life, like taking a bath or brushing your teeth in order to remain clean is a way of life, then what purpose would there be for a specific time once a year on a Wednesday to remember your sins by having someone put ashes on your forehead. If you need the ashes to get in contact with your sinful nature, then I suggest you need to turn your life over to God and be born again. You need to have His indwelling Spirit with you on a continual all-the-time basis.  He will welcome you in to the family so that you are no longer a rule keeping bystander, but a beloved child of God, if you simply begin to speak with God asking Him for His forgiveness for your life of sin and independence from Him.  

I will go back and meet with these dear folks again this weekend. I will attempt to gently tell them of this. Who knows what God will do with a little truth?  It does set us free.  Maybe it will “bless” someone enough to exchange the once a year ashes for the everyday sweetness of the Lord's purifying presence and love.