Month: March 2009

This is an excerpt from messiahfellowshiponline.com that describes their perspective which is one i progressively seem to be moving towards and seems to give a clear response to the misunderstandings and accusations that naturally arise in response to a growing enthusiasm for understanding Hebrew perspectives. These responses have occured in my own thoughts as i’ve wrestled with the revelation of the number of holes there appear to be in our western evangelical understanding of Bible history and a God-inspired worldview. I appreciate seeing  groups of people coming to the same conclusions and trying to walk in a place of balance that seeks to embrace the truth  about Torah observance and yet avoid legalistic adoption of regulations:

Who we are AND who we are Not!

Though it’s been stated (mostly by those who do not know us), but also by those who think that they know us, that we “have become Jewish” or “Messianic” or “legalistic” etc… the truth is we have not become any of those things!

Have we become Jewish?

The facts are that JESUS / YESHUA (HIS Hebrew Name) was born into the Jewish tribe of Judah. HE came to fulfill prophesy given through over 4000 years concerning HIS Life, HIS Ministry and HIS commitment to the Covenant people of YHWH, who ended up being referred to as the JEWISH people! Contrary to popular belief today, JESUS walked in PERFECT harmony to The Law given by YHWH (GOD ALMIGHTY), though HE did break their traditions and man made laws on several occasions! Even though we do not believe that we have been grafted into ISRAEL (thus becoming Jewish), we do believe that we have been grafted into “the Vine”, MESSIAH, by faith in HIM and what HE did and is doing in/through HIS People (all who place their trust in HIS Atoning work on the cross). So really, as we experience being “in HIM”, it stands to reason that we will take on HIS characteristics, virtues and values more and more as we obey HIS Word and “walk just as HE walked.” (1 John 2:6)

Have we become Messianic?

Some have also mistakenly labeled us “Messianic.” This must be because we have distanced ourselves from the unbiblical practices of “Sunday Sabbath keeping” as well as the traditional holidays of “traditional Christianity” and have begun to observe the biblical Sabbath and the biblical Feasts of YHWH. Most Christians make the mistake of calling HIS Feasts “Jewish Feasts” because for almost 1700 years that is what has been taught, thinking that “all of those people for all of those years couldn’t be wrong!?” Or could they? Speaking absolutely biblically, for 1700 years MANY, if not most were wrong! But not all! Nowhere in the Scriptures do we see a mandate from GOD, HIS SON nor the HOLY SPIRIT to change HIS Sabbath or HIS Feast Days, or to relegate them to ONLY be observed by Jewish people! (See Leviticus 23 / Isaiah 56 / Mat 5:17) So, because we began to take HIS Word literally and to observe HIS Feast Days (including the 7^th Day Sabbath), many folks have come to the conclusion that “if they haven’t become Jewish, then surely they must be Messianic!” We chuckle about this, but seriously we are no more interested in the extra and/or unbiblical, traditional practices of Messianic Judaism than we are interested in the extra and/or unbiblical, man-made traditions of professing Christendom! This error seems to come from a general misunderstanding of biblical obedience consists of altogether, which leads us to discuss a third accusation; that we “have become Legalistic.”

…there is more on the main homepage of this site http://messiahfellowshiponline.com/

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The other day Tallie said to Kendra, “mommie, why do you always not laugh when I try to make you laugh and you do laugh when i’m not trying to be funny.” I’ve seen this frustrate/dishearten her on other occasions when she was working hard to do something funny and it was just too much striving until the kernel of humor was killed beyond the point of reviving. the most hilarious things come out of her when she’s just being herself and funny observations or behaviors come out of her. In the same way the most heartwarming things that affect our heart as parents are when we see spontaneous love that the kids express to each other or the moments when they stop to take genuine delight in their little sisters (Karina or Caitlyn). They are just enjoying themselves and noticing the delightful qualities of the little ones before them and yet our hearts fill up with joy and pride in who they are. Nothing contrived…they are not looking over their shoulders to make sure someone is watching their good deeds.

I caught a glimpse in this exchange of the way God must take delight in us. I think it is simply in the act of being who we were made to be, natural and unencumbered, that God finds great delight in us. When we begin to strive to please him or labor after righteousness or think for a moment that we can add anything to the gift of righteousness he has given us, we begin to obscure the image of who he made us to be. We reach too hard after something that was always there inherent in our design…the ability to bring great delight to His heart. Much like sin (which in Hebrew translates to something similar to “missing the mark”) we begin to muddy the water of our interchange with God, feel it difficult to find his approval, wonder what it would take to really please him, say things like, “what does he want from me?”

The moment we cast off our striving, rest in what he has done for us, and begin to live freely and naturally in the knowledge that his delight is in us, we begin to hear his laughter reverberate in our ears as we clumsily express our love to each other, do things that appear silly to the minds of grownups as we express our devotion to Him…and a thousand other things every day that endear us to his heart. the lesson to me here is not to overthink this life, especially those natural reactions to God’s love and kindness made known to me.

We got hit with 2 very difficult hurdles since we returned to BC from Auntie Marion’s funeral in Oregon. The first was that we picked up the flu on our visit to Oregon and my wife and 3 of my kids all have had fevers and sleepless nights since then (5 days)…that alone makes it seem as though the sky is caving in sometimes. Then we heard from our realtor that the financing for the buyer of our house fell through and he couldn’t get the banks to lend him the money (apparently they found something on his record about negligence with child support payments). With all the efforts involved with house showings it is a discouraging blow. I feel God has made us aware again of the spiritual battle that surrounds many of our activities and we feel that this move is a significant step of faith for us…especially me. I feel like God has assured me that he is in control and his help his coming but our faith is being tested…with his grace it may also be strengthened. The one encouraging factor that I hold on to is that for this much resistance to our steps of faith to occur, there must be something significant on the other side waiting for us and we will continue to persevere.

edit: I can see from previous posts that i’m repeating myself here a bit…a sign of the mental state of delirium i’m in with sleep loss. Ah, time to have a bit of a laugh at ourselves.

God has a plan and we must not lose hope or give in to despair even though, as Kendra said, “this has been the hardest year of my life.” In many ways I feel that this seems to parallel the birthing process and we are in the throes of birth pains where uncertainties tend to creep into the mind, i.e. “will it ever come, will things really change?” But God is faithful, has always been faithful, and we will not give way to doubt.

My Utmost for His Highest – March 19

…Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason—a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.

…Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith—a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. “Abraham believed God. . .” (Romans 4:3).

An appropriate reminder in our current circumstance…where it seems God is moving us to prepare for change and yet obstacles seem to test us and circumstances tempt us to believe that we will be stuck here indefinitely under burdens too heavy to carry. Kendra is so depleted that she got sick when we went down to the funeral and has had the worst flu of her life…then we find out the house sale is not going through. Karina and I have colds and raw throats, the baby still has congestion at night, Kendra has the report from the dentist of an $11,000 bill to fix her teeth. The Lord seems to be reminding me of the spiritual battle around us. I have the thought (slow in coming) that the Lord is calling us towards the dreams he’s given us – to glorify him with our creative gifts – and that the enemy of our souls feels an urgency to thwart these plans and bring us to discouragement. I feel ironically encouraged by this thought…that the future must be bright for the enemy to push so hard. In the moment i long for the cloud to lift but i want to be faithful to the hope God has planted in us and live a life of consistent faith.

Fill us Lord with you faithfulness, hope and courage for the road you have chosen for us.

written for Father’s day, June 2007

Papa went to foreign lands
to walk a mile
in foreign sands
he tried to teach men
right from wrong
but found his cry
for God in song
He opened his heart
to dream a great dream
and his dream did
swallow him whole
so it seemed

Some men sit in places
where shadows grow long
and wonder inside
about what could have been
but papa moves heaven
as he carries his song
and looks on in wonder
at all he has seen

Never did he ask
what the cost might be
or consider more than once
what loss he might see
for his life was indeed
not his own

I am the son of a dreamer
and a product of change
with a new road to follow
as i look for my name
I’ve tried out these limbs
on the road he has travelled
and have found our stride
not the same

I have watched from afar
as he shoulders his load
and looks for a right arm to hold
and i grieve a great sorrow
that i’m not within reach
and my strength is not
his to borrow

Some days I feel
I have lost a great friend
yet somehow i am proud of this pain
and yet it still is so hard
and yet is still is my joy
how do i laugh and cry
like I did as a boy?

I hope it is strength to his frame
as he walks sunset trails
to know that his son
has been blessed by his hand
and will ever be proud
to carry his name

a good and appropriate word from Oswald Chambers (one of my favorite writers)

March 6 entry:

When you have no vision from God, no enthusiasm left in your life, and no one watching and encouraging you, it requires the grace of Almighty God to take the next step in your devotion to Him, in the reading and studying of His Word, in your family life, or in your duty to Him. It takes much more of the grace of God, and a much greater awareness of drawing upon Him, to take that next step, than it does to preach the gospel.

Every Christian must experience the essence of the incarnation by bringing the next step down into flesh-and-blood reality and by working it out with his hands. We lose interest and give up when we have no vision, no encouragement, and no improvement, but only experience our everyday life with its trivial tasks. The thing that really testifies for God and for the people of God in the long run is steady perseverance, even when the work cannot be seen by others. And the only way to live an undefeated life is to live looking to God. Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to discourage you. Never allow yourself to think that some tasks are beneath your dignity or too insignificant for you to do, and remind yourself of the example of Christ inJohn 13:1-17 .