Archive for Hebraic Heritage
{365:10-11} Savannah & Sabbath
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{365:10} Savannah Abigail, my "Rehoboth" (I hope to post more about that later, which is a matter of my getting around to copying from my personal journal to my blog here.) and her "Father's joy", our miracle baby.
{365:11} Isaiah 58.13, The Complete Jewish Bible
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
~ Exodus 20.8-11
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Hanukkah in our Home
Posted by: | CommentsAt that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. John 10:22-23
Today my kiddos have been happily stringing lights all through our home, excitedly preparing for Hanukkah, which begins on a Sabbath this year, this Friday at sundown. Yes, we do love to celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Light, and this will be our tenth year sharing this eight day celebration together as a family, as well as with friends! You may click here to see posts from some of our Hanukkahs past.
Our kids count it as their "favorite" holiday, as do I, appreciating the way it comes so softly every year, gently lighting the cold dark of winter with its myriad truths. It really does have so much intrinsic meaning for us as followers of Yeshua (Jesus). It's been such a spectacular yearly reminder of our heritage, full of spiritual object lessons and soul-stirring accounts of true heroism, self-sacrifice and dedication to personal purity, love for Adonai, and the cost of zeal for His Torah (the Word of God), the high-price that God's people have paid for freedom to worship in ages past, to protect their own rich heritage as heirs of Abraham, as well as our own by preserving from annihilation the very lineage that our Jewish Messiah would be born through almost two hundred years later!
There's also the character building lessons regarding when righteous indignation and rebellion against ruling authorities is necessary, and the powerful reminder to not underestimate the worth of our own lives in making a difference, how one person standing up for what is right and true can inspire others and to not give up (the battle was fought for years!), even in the face of the most horrible of persecutions, that we can make a difference if we stand for truth, and with God's help, even an entire race and nation can be saved by the courage of a few to begin to speak up and take action- definitely an evangelistic message (click here to read the story!)! There's also lots of new recipes for yummy food to eat, and games to play, all also with symbolic significance!
The same courageous spirit of the Maccabees who remained faithful to God during intense persecution was passed on to Jesus' disciples who would all face severe trails because of their faithfulness to Christ. And like the miracle of God's presence expressed through the eternal flame of God burning for the Maccabees, Jesus became the incarnate, physical expression of God's presence, the Light of the World, who came to dwell among us and give us the eternal light of God's life.
I cannot hardly even begin to enumerate the many details and worthy aspects of investigation of such a richly multi-faceted holiday in this one post. Therefore, I will share but a few points, along with quite a few links to recommended resources, just to sort of commemorate this decade of our being on this journey of learning together as a family, in hopes that your own walk will be encouraged, and to offer some direction if you are maybe even interested in learning more about Hanukkah and celebrating it yourself!
One of my favorite aspects of Chanukah is that it was likely the time of our Savior's very conception.
Was Jesus Conceived on Hanukkah?
Many believe that our Messiah, the “light of the world,” was conceived on the festival of lights—Hanukkah. The Bible does not specifically say the date of Jesus’ birth. It was not during the winter months because the sheep were in the pasture (Luke 2:8). A study of the time of the conception of John the Baptist reveals he was conceived about Sivan 30, the eleventh week (Luke 1:8-13, 24). Adding forty weeks, for a normal pregnancy reveals that John the Baptist was born on or about Passover (Nisan 14). Six months after John’s conception, Mary conceived Jesus (Luke 1:26-33); therefore Jesus would have been conceived six months after Sivan 30 in the month of Kislev—Hanukkah. Was the “light of the world,” conceived on the festival of lights? Starting at Hanukah, which begins on Kislev 25 and continues for eight days, and counting through the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, one arrives at the approximate time of the birth of Jesus at the Festival of Tabernacles.
Setting the Scene
Each year we set the scene by reading the Hanukkah story, remembering the epic battle for freedom that those vastly outnumbered Jews took up arms to fight, guerilla-warfare style, against trained Syrian-Greek soldiers, and the miraculous story of their victory, a testament to Yah's faithfulness to His people and promises made to their (our) forefathers. As we read about the purifying and rededication of the desecrated altar within the Holy Temple of YHWH long ago, after the battle was won, we are reminded of our own personal, spiritual needs, the many ensuing battles against cultural assimilation that Believers face today. It is a time both solemn and celebratory, set aside for the conscientious rededication of our own hearts and lives to our Lord and Messiah every day.
Due to our recent move, most of our holiday books that we've been collecting over the years are still in storage, three hours away, and so this year, we are relying on internet resources and our local library. Chris came home yesterday with this gem, Understanding Jewish Holidays and Customs: Historical and Contemporary, from which I quote,
...to know just what Chanukah means to every Jew and indeed to every free person, no matter what his race, religion, or creed, it is important to set the scene for this stirring episode of history. And to do that, you have to turn the time machine back well over two thousand years.
This concept of religious and spiritual freedom (which we have in our Messiah), as well as the importance of our mindful rededication of our heart/life to Adonai, is beautifully put to words and music in my favorite Chanukah song by Marty Goetz, found on his Festivals of Light album.
Chanukah Music and Lyrics by Marty Goetz ©1997 Singin’ in the Reign Music/ASCAP Make my life Your temple L-rd at this season start To pull down every idol I have raised up in my heart Chorus: On this Chanukah On this Feast of Dedication I dedicate myself to You Take my defiled altar Come and cleanse and come repair So every time I falter I can run to meet you there Chorus Bridge: And with every candle on the menorah That illuminates the night Comes a prayer You’d kindle In me Y’shua A desire for Your fire, for Your light Make of my mortal body A house worthy of Your name Rid me of what’s ungodly and every hidden thing of shame Chorus to Bridge Take my supply of oil Not enough to burn long I fear But, oh how I pray I may one day say “A great miracle happened here!” Chorus
Hanukkah also provides a very accessible means by which to teach about relevant end times concepts that we as Believers are facing even today.
End Times
The story of Hanukkah can be compared with end-time happenings described in the books of Revelation and Daniel. Antiochus is a type of the antichrist. Just as happened under the rule of Antiochus, Daniel prophesied in Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The same powers promoted by Antiochus are in the world today. Worldwide immorality, and idolatry are the norm. We must come out and be separate. And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. The deceiver stands waiting to devour in this present culture (2 Cor. 6:16-17).
Years ago, before I'd collected many Hanukkah resources, we began by simply reading the story of Hanukkah, which I printed out from here at torahtots.com. We also traditionally read the story of Chanah and here seven sons, which you can also find at torahtots.com (click here). Here's a short excerpt regarding Hanukkah from the aforementioned site;
Chanukah is a wonderful holiday of renewed dedication, faith, hope and spiritual light. It's a holiday that says: "Never lose hope."
Chanukah commemorates the victory, thru the miracles of Hashem, of a small band of Maccabees over the pagan Syrian-Greeks who ruled over Eretz Yisroel (Israel).
Chanukah has two meanings. First, and foremost, it means “dedication” because it was on Chanukah that the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) was purified and rededicated to the service of Hashem, in 165 BCE, after many years of pagan defilement. For more about Chanukah and "dedications" click here.
The other meaning gives us an easy way to remember the Hebrew date of the holiday: “Chanu” means “they rested”, and “Kah” (composed of the Hebrew letters for 25 - “Chof and Hay”) means “on the twenty fifth” (day of Kislev).
Chanukah is also called "The Festival of Lights" referring to the flames kindled on each night. It is also called "The Festival of Light" as Chanukah is the victory of the forces of "light" - which include faith and loyalty to Hashem and the Jewish tradition and the will to fight for these beliefs - over the forces of "darkness," represented by the hedonistic lifestyle of the ancient Syrian-Greeks.
We've also referred to the Hanukkah Readings for Eight Nights from one of my favorite resources, this Biblical Holidays book. Robin has made these eight devotional readings on light available here on her site (click here).
Hanukkah Favorites @ our Home!
Hanukkah Fun!
Besides decorating with lots of lights and candles, kindling lights of the hanukkiahs (special 9-branched Hanukkah menorrahs), learning and singing the Hanukkah blessings, exchanging gifts each night and enjoying story-reading/telling and quiet devotions over the years, we have also done lots of crafts (many found in various library books), artwork, gingerbread and sugar cookie baking and decorating, sufganiyot and potato latke-frying, dreidel-playing and just had tons of fun celebrating and making blessed memories, as we've been learning together more of our immense heritage as Believers in Yeshua, as we remember the importance of our Hebrew roots!
Let everyone who is zealous for the Torah and who stands by the covenant follow after me!
~ 1 Maccabees 2.27-28
Hanukkah Online Resources:
- The Festival of Chanukah @ hebrew4christians.com Wonderful helps, including the rules for playing the dreidel game (which we use m&m's for), along with a listing of Chanukah Torah readings, and candle lighting procedures.
- Hanukkah Color Pages
- Hanukkah Worksheets
- Hanukkah recipes
- Light In The Darkness, Hanukkah and the Disciples of Yeshua
- Light in the Darkness: Hanukkah and the Disciples of Yeshua *FREE* eBook gift!
- Why Hanukkah? 2009 from Following the Ancient Paths (Be sure and check out Lisa's links at the end of the post.)
- Why are Christians Celebrating Chanukah? from Robin Sampson of HeartofWisdom.com
- Concern Over Hebrew Ways? also rom Robin Sampson of HeartofWisdom.com
- Robin also recently wrote a great article on her blog here; 12 Things I Like and Don't Like About Christmas
- Chanukah 2009 @ aish.com Lots to read and explore there, including a handy-dandy Chanukah family guide!
- A great site for kids: Chanukah @ TorahTots.com
- Chanukah Kids Zone @ chabad.org
- Hanukkah: The Light is Messiah This entire book is available here to read for *FREE* from haydid.org
- Hanukkah, the Season of Miracles
- Finally, from my own archives; among my favorite Hanukkah memories, Our Own Hanukkah Miracle and Hanukkah~ a Festival of Light; our testimony and traditions
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus; a book review
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I was recently offered the opportunity to read and review this newly released book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith, co-written by two Christian women who are both wonderfully inspiring teachers themselves, Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. I am thankful to Ms. Tverberg for this privilege, as it has been a joy to read of her own journey towards God, and to share in some of the priceless discoveries she and Ann have made along the way as they've (obviously) been sitting at the feet of Jesus. I'm honored to now have this opportunity to share a bit about it with others.
Where to start? I found myself unable to sit down with this book without a pencil to make notes or underline with! It’s one of those rare books where it seemed like I just had to highlight just about every other line I read- seriously! And as I read, it crossed my mind more than a few times how enjoyable this book was to simply relax with. With all of its otherwise interesting content aside, these ladies are just great writers, which makes a big difference as to whether or not I actually finish a book! Also, I love the way that the book is laid out- transitions from one venue of thought to another are very organized and cohesive. It just flows well, which is important when an author is covering so much ground! Also, even though a lot of historical/contextual territory is covered, this book is SO NOT dry, nor choppy with its presentation. I never felt overwhelmed or bogged down with information.
With an ongoing interest of the last ten years in studying and learning about the Hebraic roots of my own Christian faith, the title intrigued me immediately. Consequently, when I found out from Ms. Tverberg that the book was co-edited by Dr. Marvin Wilson, author of Our Father Abraham, I knew that this book was going to be not only doctrinally sound, but well-researched, historically accurate, and just plain-out good! Then when I also realized that Ms. Tverberg is a co-founder of the En-Gedi Resource Center, I was doubly pleased. I’ve read quite a few articles from that site and have been so blessed by them over the years. Some of you may also be familiar with some of the many other books that Mrs. Spangler has written.
However, even with all of my anticipation as I eagerly awaited its arrival in the mail, I was still taken by surprise as I read it. These ladies make a great writing team!! Before I continue on with my lengthy review, I’d like to mention that at the bottom of this post are directions as to how you can win your own FREE copy of this book by commenting on my review over at the HSBA Post. Now, on with this review, in which I’m certain that I will not do this book justice, which is why you’ll just have to read it for yourself!
I found myself wondering over new discoveries and beautifully glimmering nuggets of insight I found, even within the first few pages… and then continuing throughout every. single. chapter! For the record, I’ve read quite a bit of literature in this field of study over the years, but I am so excited to see another credible/balanced book that expounds on this most important topic- the Jewishness of Jesus and why it matters - enter the mainstream Christian market. Sharing these fascinating truths is a cause which has grown consistently more near and dear to my heart, since learning about this stuff has had such a grounding impact on Chris and I’s faith over the last decade.
Learning more about the 1st Century Judaic world in which Jesus taught and the Hebraic mindset/cultural context of those to whom He spoke and interacted with will undoubtedly add wonderful new dimensions to your own understanding of His Word as you walk with the Rabbi Jesus. I’ve been amazed at all of the nuances of teachings my Westernized mind totally missed when I first read certain Scriptures, and how so many teachings in the Bible have now literally come alive with deeper meanings once I’ve learned more about the scene, all of the unspokens that the people that were there living in this culture, with a deep knowledge of God’s Torah just already knew and understood. Truly, I have been humbled and stirred to cry out to the Spirit for His wisdom and guidance, as I’ve been re-reminded of how very little of His Word I know. I’ve had lots of “A-ha!”, “Wow.” moments with this book…
As Christians we can never forget that the Bible - from Genesis through Revelation - is essentially a Jewish document. Once we begin to read it from a Jewish perspective, our experience of it will be transformed, as though we have just swapped an old black-and-white TV with its scratchy image for the latest flat screen, high-definition set. Suddenly the Bible takes on new depth and color as we read the familiar stories once again, but this time from the perspective of its original audience. ~ excerpted from “Why Focus on Jesus’ Jewishness?”, a subsection of Ch. 1, Joining Mary at the Feet of Jesus.
Having seen how enriched my own family’s spiritual journey has been as we’ve pursued God in this manner, I am so very thankful to have now found this wonderful resource to recommend to friends as a sort of Hebraic roots primer. In the last few years I’ve been on the look-out for a good one, and have recommended other books covering similar topics, ALL of which are WONDERFULLY written, great, scholarly books that I do/will still highly recommend… However, now, this shall be my first recommendation to those who ask for a place to start or from which to continue their own studies or are maybe looking for a way to add depth to their devotional time with the Lord Jesus, in an approachable, easily “digestible” manner.
Sometimes his references were obvious and sometimes subtle - only a word or two. In fact, there are times when knowing what Jesus doesn’t say becomes as important as knowing what he does say. In other words, the passages from which Jesus quoted provide background for understanding his meaning more fully. If we miss his reference, we may miss his point. ~ excerpted from “‘Hinting’ to the Scriptures”, a subsection of Ch. 3, Stringing Pearls. (Loved this chapter!!)
This ancient rabbinic concept of “stringing pearls”, which was employed by Jesus Himself as a teaching method, is explained in detail and I found it absolutely fascinating, as it offers such beautiful imagery and insights that one would otherwise most definitely miss as they read and meditate upon the Word. A few examples are given of how this particular approach rabbis often use(d) to teach (and rebuke) their talmidim (Hebrew for disciples/students) applied to a few instances in the Gospels that totally blew my spiritual socks off!
Yes, this book is truly that good, so manageable in the way it’s organized, thorough in its scope of topical introductions and uplifting in its approach, taking one’s hand like a gentle teacher bent on showing you an easily missed, though well worn path toward an unforgettable garden of ideas. And yet, as I can testify, this is no watered down version of scholarship either. I do believe that both Ann and Lois are truly gifted authors, who have managed to balance the technical aspects of so much tedious research with their casual, narrative storytelling-like manner of writing. I was truly captivated from the first page, as I walked along the road, behind the Rabbi, headed towards the home of Mary and Martha.
Female Students in the First Century Women were encouraged to sit in on the advanced discussions at the synagogue if they were able. A few even acquired the high level education required to contribute to rabbinic debates, and their words are still on record. Some restrictions on women, like separating men and women during worship, actually arose several centuries later. (A margin note from Ch. 1, Joining Mary at the Feet of Jesus, Footnotes included for reference in back of book.)
This is a gem of a book!! Numerous times as I read I was moved deeply, had to stop to ponder, pray, re-read to my husband, discuss and delightedly thank the Lord for using this book to re-ignite my (lately) tired mind and waning spirit. I am thankful to these two beautiful ladies for helping to fan into flame my own faithfulness, the gift of God within me…
It is a genuinely easy to read book, written on a subject of study that - albeit intriguing- is one that is often quite overwhelming and easy to bog down in (especially when you first begin to dig so deeply- ask me how I know?). As one begins to research, read and pursue the Scriptures within their historical context, one is faced early on with an almost (seemingly) insurmountable amount of new information to sort through and synthesize… Yet somehow Ann and Lois have managed to serve a wonderfully proportioned size of soul nourishing insights in an immensely engaging manner, approachable by the average reader/Believer curious to know more of where their spiritual heritage lies and what ramifications it may hold for their own daily lives. However, this book remains as academically sound and spiritually challenging as any of the other “harder” books I’ve read on this subject.
The book has 14 chapters, with each chapter having 3-5 subheadings. Also discussion questions and even project/activity ideas for further study/interaction are provided at the end of each chapter in a section appropriately subtitled "At the Feet of the Rabbi". Chris and I are looking forward to re-reading this book again next year with our 13yo son and 10yo daughter as well, as a devotional reading in our homeschool, and then I'll be sure and take the time to make the most of these thoughtfully offered suggestions with them.
Introduction
- Joining Mary at the Feet of Jesus
- Why a Jewish Rabbi?
- Stringing Pearls
- Following the Rabbi
- Get Yourself Some Haverim
- Rabbi, Teach Us to Pray
- For Everything a Blessing
- A Passover Discovery
- Discovering Jesus in the Jewish Feasts
- At Table with the Rabbi
- Touching the Rabbi’s Fringe
- Jesus and the Torah
- The Mysterious Kingdom of God
- Becoming True Disciples of Our Jewish Lord
Appendices
A Prayers Jesus Prayed 211
B The Feasts 218
C Recommended Resources 222
D Glossary 226
Notes 234
Scripture Index 253
General Index 257
Sprinkled within the margins of this book are little shaded boxes full of interesting contextual tidbits, definitions and explanations which are very helpful. This was a really nice touch, glad they thought of it! It was nice to have these comprehension helps so accessible as I read (or reviewed!).
With today being the Eve of Passover, I thought that it would be fitting to share some from the eighth chapter, A Passover Discovery, with you all.
The Garden of Gethsemane by John Miller Watt
Have you ever wondered over how the disciples could have fallen asleep on that fateful night in the garden of Gethsemane, even after their Rabbi had twice asked them to keep vigil with him on the most challenging night of his life? Or maybe, like me, you’ve wondered over the fickleness of the Jewish crowd in Jerusalem who adored Jesus one week, praising Him with the waving of palm branches as he entered the city, and yet seemingly hated him the next, shouting “Crucify him!”?! Louis Tverberg has made an excerpt, Under the Passover Moon, which is a sort of introduction to the rest of Ch. 8, entitled A Passover Discovery, available here on her blog. In it she touches on those ideas…
There is so very much more in the next three sections of this particular chapter as well, concerning the significance of this ancient Feast, “laden with messianic expectations and filled with prophetic significance”, which as recorded in the Gospel accounts, our Lord was so careful as to have His closest disciples make special preparations for, that He might share it with them one last time while here on earth… As Lois and Ann write later in the Passover chapter,
Knowing how the events of Jesus’ last week fit into the celebration of Passover shows us the tremendous significance of his death and resurrection.
The next four sections of this particular chapter are subtitled, Jesus’ Last Passover, The Bread of Passover, The Feast of Firstfruits, and Remembering Our Redemption. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of profoundly soul-stirring, faith-grounding insights here in this one chapter alone! Let me just share a taste with you, and then I’m going to have to make myself stop and wrap up this review, lest I write a book about it myself!
... Redemption did arrive on the very day they were looking for it, but it took a surprising shape. For God had engineered a far greater liberation than they had imagined - freedom not just for one people but for all people. And it was to be liberation not from the earthly power of a political enemy but from the sinister power of sin and death.
During the Passover in Egypt, the Israelites had been instructed to mark their doorframes with the blood of a lamb so that the Lord would pass over them when judgment came. Interestingly, the rabbis marveleed at how the blood of a mere sheep could protect people from God's judment. They commented that God must have seen the "blood of Isaac" o the doorposts- meaning that God remembered Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. Remembering it, he spared his people. How close they were! What they did not realize was that when God saw Abraham's son Isaac, he saw his own Son, Jesus, who would one day sacrifice himself out of loving obedience to his Father.
On the first Passover, God freed his people by taking the life of the firstborn sons of Egypt. Many centuries later, God made salvation possible for all who would accept it by giving the life of his firstborn Son. ~ excerpted from Jesus' Last Passover, a subsection of Ch. 8.
The Passover Lamb by Frederick T. Heath
... Jewish scholar David Daube has pointed out that another significant meaning was given to the bread Jesus broke. He says that Jesus held up a piece of matzah and broke off a special piece called the afikomen, which was then hidden away. At the end of the meal the afikomen was brought out and then broken and eaten by all the participants. Still today this is done, but the explanations vary as to why- ...
... But Daube asserts that in Jesus' time, the afikomen referred to "the coming one", meaning the longed-for Messiah. The tradition was that the whole piece of matzah represented all of Israel, and that the Messiah was "broken off" from the people and hidden away. The appearance of the piece a the end was symbolic of the coming of the Messiah, fervently expected at the time of Jesus. When Jesus held up that particular piece of bread and said, "this is my body", he was making a shocking claim to be the Messiah, the Christ. Daube believes that rabbies later downplayed the messianic nature of this ritual because of the poor relationship that developed between Christians and Jews. ~ excerpted from The Bread of Passover, a subsection of Ch. 8
Get the book! I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy asap (Be sure and enter the give-away!), move it to the top of your reading list, and read it! Then get yourself some haverim (Hebrew for friend, but so much more too- read the book!) and share what the Lord reveals to you as you continue to walk with Him. I'd love to hear your thoughts as you read it too, so please share them! I hope that you are refreshed and renewed in your own pursuit of the Rabbi, our Messiah Jesus... I know that I've spent more time sitting at His feet for having read it these last couple of weeks... But don't simply take my word for it, check out the endorsements of these well-known and highly respected authors and scholars of the Bible and Judeo-Christian studies found here.
Ann Spangler has also made a PDF of Chapter 1 from Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus available on her website, along with the book's Table of Contents and the Introduction, all available for free download and reading by clicking here.
To WIN A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK, SIGNED BY Ms. TVERBERG, for yourself, you have to hop over to my review (same as this one) posted over at the HSBA Post (click here) and follow the directions as they're posted at the bottom of the review.
You have a week! I'll announce the winner on Thursday, April 17th over at the HSBA Post.
One random winner will be chosen per Random.org by comment number. Entries must be received by Wed., April 15th- midnight, Eastern standard time. You must provide your address to me as well so that I can let Lois know where to send the book!
Thanks for reading this long review, and entering our give-away. There's still so much more I'd like to share and discuss from this book, and will probably still continue writing more about my own grapplings as I continue to interact with it here on my blog. I pray that the LORD will multiply the efforts of these authors and their readers, for the fruit from this book in the lives of those who read it shall surly be good and plentiful.
Honestly, though curious, I did not expect to be this impressed, renewed and refreshed upon my reading of this (new favorite) book of mine! OH! what a surprise I was in for... I sincerely do hope that you will take the time to read this book for yourself, since as you can see, my review here is also a hearty recommendation!
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith
By: Ann Spangler, Lois Tverberg
Publisher: Zondervan Publishing
Copyright: 2009
Synopsis from Zondervan:
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus takes readers on a fascinating journey, helping them discover how learning about the Jewish world of Jesus can enrich their own faith. By exploring the land, culture, customs, prayers, and feasts, Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg help readers to perceive Jesus through the eyes and ears of first-century Jews. Click for product description and details
ISBN: 0310284228, ISBN-13: 9780310284222
Pages: 208 plus several appendixes and index, 272 altogether
Embracing the adventure,
timing
Posted by: | CommentsThis is something that I wrote early last August... a finished thought that, for some reason?, I just didn't hit *publish* on and let sit in my draft folder instead. Ironically, it's titled "timing", so maybe this is the right timing for it to be published anyways, after all?
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My heart has been heavy these past few days, haven't even been altogether sure why. The local homeschool yahoo group has had some controversial postings and ensuing discussion concerning Israel, the war in/U.S. occupation of Iraq, etc., etc. (there were lots of peripheral issues intermingled and left unaddressed). I reminded myself that I do not have the time, nor the energy to spare, to enter into that discussion right now... and yet it pained me to read and contemplate some of what I perceive to be as misconceptions and even some parroted misinformation.
I turned to the Lord, and prayed for guidance, and answers to some of the questions that were brought up within my own mind, fully realizing that I certainly do not have the answers to the complex issues being discussed... Maybe that is a piece of the root of my perplexion. Anyhow, I do believe that the Lord has given me a few insightful truths, but He did not give me the liberty to share them at this time, in that venue.
Yesterday I found a strong, quiet comfort in simply turning to Him with my angst and turmoil over the questions spinning in my head. My heart was hushed as He gently reminded me that this place in time- my reaching out to Him, and communing with His heart- was better than airing my half-baked opinions for the locals to read right now anyways. I want only to share His truth, and that in love. The discussion has been very kind and respectful, a real testament to the faith of those having it... but I feel some important aspects haven't even been addressed... and I'm frustrated, but that's okay.
I'm letting it go, because no matter what I would say anyways, people will have their opinions. I am reminded that the Lord alone can truly reveal deception and change hearts when needed, and that He doesn't even need my help to do it! 
Unless the Lord would have me speak, and my words therefore be spoken under the guidance and love of His Spirit, then I'd rather just not speak at all. I do not want to err with idle words, or be fruitless in my conversation (especially time consuming debates). And so, I am relieved to refrain, refreshed to simply read along and trust in the Lord as I bring my reflections and disputing to His ear alone.
Therefore, this discussion has served an interesting purpose that I sure didn't anticipate when I first started reading it... it's been fodder for my own pursuit of God this weekend, and a timely one at that. As I alluded to, it's churned up some unanswered questions that I've had, shined the light on some half-formed thoughts that I'd shoved to the dark corners of my considerations and forgotten about. I know that I'm probably sounding vague here, and for that I apologize, I'm just trying to work it out. It's sorta hard for me to explain... imagine that.
You see, as I prayed and considered, I've seen that it's not even so much about the immediate political and religious issues being discussed (important as they are), but rather some of their underlying premises and ramifications of how they're perceived. I noticed some of the "ends justifying the means" type of faulty thinking being heralded in the name of Christendom, a dangerously slippery slope that I don't think the Lord condones. I guess the easiest way to sum it up would be to say that it all has just gotten me wrestling over some matters again, and asking the Lord for some immediate comfort, needing His assurance urgently... not even the answers per se, just assurance of His directing me. *smiles* I love being in that place, where only He can lead me. I certainly cannot contrive it, but rather realize it and embrace my neediness for Him.
I've found a solace in embracing my questions and bringing them to Him, and laying them down in His presence, that I could not have had, had I known all of the answers (hah!) to these difficult questions being raised and debated. Had I even been able to eloquently set a few matters straight with grand renderings of the truth as I see it, I would not have known the fullness of joy that I received last night as I thrilled (once again) over realizing that He is leading me and guiding me... slow though I may be, ever forward; revealing my ignorance, allowing my questions, even drawing me by them. He gave me a Rhema Word, with such precise timing.
It's too much for me to try and tell right now, in one post, if I even could put it into words. But it's now Tish B'Av, and I'd forgotten until last night that it was already this time, the 9th of Av, a reminder to me of God's amazing timing, His watchfulness over His people, His many mysteries. We went to our monthly Hebraic fellowship last night, and Brent taught a bit about this historical day, which I'd posted about a couple of years ago, here. Once we were home, and after I'd gotten the kids to bed, I read up on the historical background of Jeremiah- a little refresher course, and began reading from the book of Jeremiah, the Prophet.
I was astonished at how immediately (and unexpectedly) some of my questions and frustrations (which I am still not even able to coherently verbalize) regarding current events and some of the spiritual issues and ramifications at their heart, were answered much more deeply and interestingly than I would have even thought to expect! I find that with God, the answers often come as more of a framing and fleshing out of my questions, crystallization of my own perceptions that I may even know what to ask... lest I miss the answers to what really matters the most anyways.
Tomorrow I will read Lamentations... the book traditionally read on this somber day of fasting, which I have also decided to do. On Friday morning, my heart was heavily burdened and my spirit cried out to the Lord on behalf of His people, and for Israel... afterwards I was reminded by His minister of what day was beginning on the evening of the next day (today)... a day already set aside to mourn and seek Adonai for His people, for our unbelief... no other day could be more appropriately set aside to fast for what is heavy in my heart this evening. Timing... it is everything... apparently amazingly relevant to our Creator, and precisely laid out by Him, even in my own meager existence, if I will but listen and tune in to His melody... His timing.
meaningful music
Posted by: | CommentsToday we visited a little folk festival being held at a local State park just down the road from our house. It was fun, T made a beautiful corn husk doll that I'll forever treasure. N won second place in the greased watermelon race, and Chris learned how to make rope from poplar bark. We all chased baby S around. I especially enjoyed watching her dance and visit with all the people sitting in the open-air chapel, as we listened to the Gospel Bluegrass band playing their mountain melodies.
It has been a good weekend... a restful Sabbath. I'm finally starting to get used to Chris's being home on Fridays. It's a lovely arrangement, makes the whole weekend feel longer. Lately he's been working 10 hr. days (some days more), getting his 40 hrs. in Mon.-Thurs., which gives us longer weekends, and has been nice.
Last night we had a big Shabbat dinner, basked in the warmth of our special time together, with our Lord, by the calm glow of the candles and our blessings one for another. N remarked upon how much he loves the Sabbath traditions. T asked how we came to know about it. We talked, we laughed, and I thanked our Lord inwardly for the binding of our hearts together that I was feeling as my heartstrings were being tugged upon.
Thursday morning, the kids and I spent at the lake with friends, and then I was pleasantly surprised by Chris's early return home from work. Then on Thursday evening we were blessed by the music of Ted Pearce, live! I've been a fan of this singer/songwriter/guitarist for some time, so when I received an email from a friend (thanks Crystal!) letting me know that he and his sons (who are traveling and rocking with him, the "bearded band" as they call themselves) would be playing at a local coffee shop last Thursday evening, I was a wee bit excited. Chris and I took the kids along and went to the "Manna Bagel Shop", where we were warmly welcomed by a host of new faces.
We all had a wonderful time of worship with these fellow Believers, many of whom were members of a local Messianic congregation other than the one that we've fellowshipped with, all of whom we met for the first time there. Baby S, who loves to dance at the sound of music, did just that and at one point a gentleman handed her a tambourine, which she knew exactly what to do with! It was all that I could do to keep her corralled and out of the circle of dancers on the floor, lest she trip them up. It was a night of Hebraic dance, singing, clapping, testimony and heart-felt praise as we worshiped the God of Israel in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
I love the way that Ted explained the meaning of our Lord Jesus's name in Hebrew, which you may view here: Yeshua (wish I could figure out how to embed youtube on my blog here!) Many (most?) of his songs are taken straight from the Scriptures... as he said wryly, "Everyone please open your hymnals to the Book of Isaiah!" LOL
We bought his album, Hallelu et Adonai (Hebrew for Praise the Lord), which I've wanted for some time and absolutely LOVE! I think that I like it even better than his other one we have, Zealous Over Zion, which is also wonderful.
We'd almost taken the kids to a friend's house, but I'm actually glad that it didn't work out that way and they came along with us instead. Yesterday N told me that he was inspired by Ted Pearce, to diligently pursue his own guitar practice. That's good. T says that she'd like to learn to play "those drums", the bongoes, now. Hmmmm... we'll have to stick with the violin for starters, for now. We were all inspired by Ted's wonderful testimony of how he went from Atheist to Messianic Gentile Believer in Jesus/Yeshua, as well as that of a ministry close to his heart: March of Life.
My heart was encouraged. This has been timely nourishment to my spirit, filling our home and our children's hearts with enthusiastic praise and worship of our beloved King as we sing and dance together. The Lord has really richly blessed us through His ministers lately, over here in NE TN, both local and from abroad.
I haven't even gotten around to blogging about how blessed Chris and I were to be able to go listen to and meet esteemed Biblical scholar, Dr. John Garr, at a little church in Jasper, VA. Many of his articles and books are available to read right online for free. I cannot recommend his well-researched and inspired teachings highly enough! How wonderful it was to meet he and his wife, and to personally thank them for the invaluable contributions his work has made not only in my own spiritual walk, but to the whole Body of Messiah. I'm eagerly anticipating the publication of the books that he mentioned he's working on.
Tomorrow I shall begin my week out right, with digging in the dirt as T and I tend to the garden (we've some squares to re-plant) and hanging laundry out on the line. Yes, this weekend has been music to my soul so far...
some study thoughts
Posted by: | CommentsStudying like a Berean takes time... and one thing that I've learned over the years is not to rush through articles or books when I'm studying any aspect of the Word. Inevitably when I take on a new study, once I begin digging, I'll usually end up with more questions first, as my thoughts are stirred up, and then as I search out and ponder the answers, I'll find myself surrounded with numerous books, articles and Bibles as well as invaluable input from other like-minded Berean-type Believer friends whom I've consulted with questions concerning any given topic/issue...
And so it has gone for me in this last week as I've ventured into this particular study as well, which Julie is hosting here. Thus I'm still gathering my thoughts on the first three portions of the study, all of which I've now read, but am still holding up for analysis. So far, I've really appreciated the fact that doing this study has gotten me digging deeper, praying more specifically about some things and formulating more concretely what I believe. That is always good... and I just love when the Lord prompts me in a direction and I sense His gentle guidance as I go along.
I was glad when Julie announced that she'd slow down the pace a wee bit, as I would be pretty behind at this point if she hadn't, since when endeavoring to "study" an issue, I usually end up doing more than a simple read-through of any given materials... and right now I have a lot on my plate already. What can I say? I'm a slow eater in the physical realm as well... but I hear that's good for digestion anyways, and so I've resigned myself to the fact. And as much as I love my scholar's hat, there are quite a few others I must dawn every day as well, and so, I must allot my time wisely, which means putting away my books (which I could easily while away my days in) to get out the kids' books and study with them, or joining Chris when he says, "Let's watch a movie" or "Let's take the kids to the park", and then there's every Mom's never-ending nemesis... house cleaning and laundry, of course... in my case lately, piles of laundry, which I can tolerate covering the couch for a couple of days, but when the pile starts to encompass the floor around the couch, and I'm having to dig through it to find clean bibs for the spit-up queen, I must determine to set aside my reading- yet again (which have I mentioned, I much prefer?)... to take up the mundane. But like I said, I'm a slow one I guess anyways, and I digress. Okay, back to this here study...
First off, I'd like to throw out a disclaimer to anyone who may have jumped on board (or may be considering) this study per my invitation. I am not very familiar with the writers of this particular study, and therefore cannot stand by their teaching wholeheartedly at this point. Upon initially looking over the material purported to be covered in this study, my inclinations were that it would surly follow along the lines of what I've learned over the years concerning Hebraic roots studies, and would make an easy sort of introductory study for others, as well as review for myself, providing guidance for digging deeper into covenant theology and the Hebraic roots of our faith. So far, I'm thinking that maybe The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread, one of the books that I began with years ago, may be a better way to go for anyone interested in that focused goal for study. Mike and Sue do, however, recommend this other article, The Gospel of the Covenant is the Pilgrimage to Salvation, which I also just read this morning, to supplement this study.
As I'm reading the studies, I'm finding myself needing to look up Scriptures and then even reading some commentaries and referring to some other reference books I have here on hand for clarification here and there to truly approach this study as a Berean...
First of all, Mike and Sue, the authors of this study start off by telling us the purpose of their ministry, Restoration Ministries International, namely to provide awareness to the Church of "the Hebraic foundations of understanding and practice upon which the early Church was founded", by equipping God's people through the provision of "practical resources for God's people to live out His restorative truths to fulfill His purposes."
These are commendable goals, which I do share with the Dowgiewiczes. I also agree with their beginning premise that "Through these truths our Father is revealing the trust-based obedient lifestyle of our father Abraham."
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
Concerning our father Abraham, I would like to add something here that was not mentioned in this study, but which deeply moved me when I learned it years ago. The first mention of a "Hebrew" in the Bible is in Genesis 14.13, in reference to Abraham. It comes from the Hebrew root word abar, which means "to cross over", thus a Hebrew is one who has crossed over. And just as Abraham responded to God's calling him out, as he crossed over the river into the land which God was giving him, and then trusted and obediently responded to God's requirement that he lay his promised inheritance upon the altar, so too we as Believers in Yeshua/Jesus as our Messiah do respond in faith as we cross over spiritually from this world, into His Covenant (as did the Israelites as well, cross over the Jordan into their Promised Land), and then even physically as we learn to appreciate the many physical symbolisms of walking and living out obedience to His teachings (Torah).
Hebrew:
Derivation.
(1.) The name is derived, according to some, from Eber (Genesis 10:24), the ancestor of Abraham. The Hebrews are "sons of Eber" (10:21).
(2.) Others trace the name of a Hebrew root-word signifying "to pass over," and hence regard it as meaning "the man who passed over," viz., the Euphrates; or to the Hebrew word meaning "the region" or "country beyond," viz., the land of Chaldea. This latter view is preferred. It is the more probable origin of the designation given to Abraham coming among the Canaanites as a man from beyond the Euphrates (Genesis 14:13).
(3.) A third derivation of the word has been suggested, viz., that it is from the Hebrew word 'abhar, "to pass over," whence 'ebher, in the sense of a "sojourner" or "passer through" as distinct from a "settler" in the land, and thus applies to the condition of Abraham (Hebrews 11:13).
So, you see, in the truest sense of the word, we as Believers grafted into the true vine, we are Hebrews... I don't know about you, but that was a "wow" revelation for me.
As I've explained above, I am in total agreement with the premises and message of this first lesson, pretty basic stuff. I must say a big "Amen" to the statement made in Lesson #1, here on page 3,
It is vital that you embrace the Covenant relationship which Jesus has made possible. So many false, man-centered gospels have been developed in the past few centuries. Many today are embracing them to their eternal destruction. (see Matthew 7.21-23)
I did, however, notice something concerning this lesson that I would like to bring into question, and to make others doing this study aware of... Really, I am a bit surprised that no one else has yet seen nor brought it up. As I read under "Priority #1", there on p. 3 of the pdf document, where the Scripture John 7.38,39 is quoted and then used as proof text for the following paragraph/statement in paragraph 3, I noticed that it seemed a bit off, as if the Scripture were being taken out of context, as I understand it.
The problem though isn't in the point trying to be made, as I have learned through my own studies over the years how truly, as this study says, the "foundation for our salvation is found in the Older Testament, and made clear in the Newer Testament as a continuum." That's definitely true, like I said, no problem with the *message* being taught here, BUT what doesn't settle with me is the use of that particular Scripture from John to say so, as I don't think that's what it's saying at all... this is a Messianic Scripture, where as you may or may not know, Jesus is proclaiming that He is the Messiah during the Feast of Tabernacles, particularly during the water pouring ceremony.
John 7.37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
As Jamieson writes in his commentary concerning this Scripture:
37-39. the last day, that great day of the feast—the eighth (Le 23:39). It was a sabbath, the last feast day of the year, and distinguished by very remarkable ceremonies. "The generally joyous character of this feast broke out on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth, in golden vessels, water from the stream of Siloah, which flowed under the temple-mountain, and solemnly poured it upon the altar. Then the words of Isa 12:3 were sung, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation, and thus the symbolical reference of this act, intimated in Joh 7:39, was expressed" [Olshausen]. So ecstatic was the joy with which this ceremony was performed—accompanied with sound of trumpets—that it used to be said, "Whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all" [Lightfoot].
Jesus stood—On this high occasion, then, He who had already drawn all eyes upon Him by His supernatural power and unrivalled teaching—"Jesus stood," probably in some elevated position.
and cried—as if making proclamation in the audience of all the people.
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink!—What an offer! The deepest cravings of the human spirit are here, as in the Old Testament, expressed by the figure of "thirst," and the eternal satisfaction of them by "drinking." To the woman of Samaria He had said almost the same thing, and in the same terms (Joh 4:13, 14). But what to her was simply affirmed to her as a fact, is here turned into a world-wide proclamation; and whereas there, the gift by Him of the living water is the most prominent idea—in contrast with her hesitation to give Him the perishable water of Jacob's well—here, the prominence is given to Himself as the Well spring of all satisfaction. He had in Galilee invited all the WEARY AND HEAVY-LADEN of the human family to come under His wing and they should find REST (Mt 11:28), which is just the same deep want, and the same profound relief of it, under another and equally grateful figure. He had in the synagogue of Capernaum (Joh 6:36) announced Himself, in every variety of form, as "the Bread of Life," and as both able and authorized to appease the "HUNGER," and quench the "THIRST," of all that apply to Him. There is, and there can be, nothing beyond that here. But what was on all those occasions uttered in private, or addressed to a provincial audience, is here sounded forth in the streets of the great religious metropolis, and in language of surpassing majesty, simplicity, and grace. It is just Jehovah's ancient proclamation now sounding forth through human flesh, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no Money!" &c. (Isa 55:1). In this light we have but two alternatives; either to say with Caiaphas of Him that uttered such words, "He is guilty of death," or falling down before Him to exclaim with Thomas, " My Lord AND MY God!"
John 7.38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
38. as the scripture hath said—These words belong to what follows (emphasis mine), "Out of his belly, as the scripture hath said, shall flow," &c. referring not to any particular passage, but to such as Isa 58:11; Joe 3:18; Zec 14:8; Eze 47:1-12; in most of which the idea is that of waters issuing from beneath the temple, to which our Lord compares Himself and those who believe in Him.
out of his belly—that is, his inner man, his soul, as in Pr 20:27.
rivers of living water—(See on [1801]Joh 4:13). It refers primarily to the copiousness, but indirectly also to the diffusiveness, of this living water to the good of others.
But in this lesson, they've left the comma out of the Scripture -after me, before "as the Scripture said", and that comma is there in every version of this Scripture that I've checked, and it's important, as its absence completely changes the meaning, naturally. See here. From lesson #1, p.3: "Jesus makes clear how you can enter into this Covenant: "Whoever trust in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him..."
But what the Scripture actually says is:
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Notice the COMMA, because it changes the meaning completely. I'm not sure why they would do this (omit the comma), except to use the Scripture to prove their point, but that's just wrong imho- obviously- and even unneccessary since there's plenty of other proof texts for that premise anyways. And I don't want to be petty, and wouldn't bring it up except that I feel obligated to do so since I have already committed myself to this study, and after consulting two trusted people have been told that I should throw my misgivings out here into the blogosphere for others to consider as well. So, why am I the only one who's even seeing it and am I missing something?
Those words, by the omission of that comma, are made to belong to "Whoever trusts in me"... they have it written in the study as "Whoever trusts in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." And then they go on about how only Scripture in existence then was the Old Testament -granted, of course, but I don't think Jesus was specifying as to "how" to believe on or trust in Him here, His point was that for "whoever trusts in Him", then *comma*, "AS SCRIPTURE HAS SAID, streams of living water will flow" versus believing on HIM as Scripture has said... am I making sense here?
Then they go so far as to say (on the same page), that based on that (their) interpretation of this Scripture (which I didn't find in any other commentary I checked, and I checked a few) that "You can recognize deceptive gospels because they omit the covenant stipulations Jesus speaks of in John 7:38,39" What?! What covenant stipulations? But they're making reference to the previous inference they drew that we should "trust as the Scripture has said" (without the comma, which- did I mention- is there in my Bible). I'm not seeing that He's laid any covenental stipulations per say out there... but they're saying that the covenant stipulations are to "trust in Me as the Scripture has said"... I don't see any, besides the trusting part. And as far as I can tell, they've put the emphasis in the wrong place and therefore have interpreted that very important Scripture all out of whack, which is SO ironic since this very Scripture points SO vividly to Jesus's Jewishness and recognition of the Hebraic temple ceremonies of the day as He proclaimed Himself to be the Jewish Messiah, through reference to the Hebraic customs and writings of the day. And besides, in my humble opinion, that seems to be a bit simplistic of a statement to be made anyways, concerning how to recognize deceptive gospels. So, what gives?
Then again, as far as I can tell, reference is again made to this faulty interpretation of this particular Scripture (John 7.38-39) on page 15, paragraph 8, of the article they refer readers to, The Gospel of the Covenant is the Pilgrimage to Salvation. It says, "To be 'born again' was to trust in Jesus 'as the Scripture has said' - as Abraham trusted." To read a wonderfully insightful little Hebraic commentary piece on Jesus's conversation with Nicodemus (Nakdimon in Hebrew) concerning being "born again", click here.
As I said, I have now read the study up through Lesson three, and have quite a few more thoughts that I'd like to share, but I'm finding myself short of time, so please bear with me as I trail behind everyone else. Now that I got that awkward bit of discrepancy out of the way and off my chest, I feel like I can move on. There's also a lot of good stuff here, and I hate to come out all contrary to begin with, but I must share honestly here with what I perceived, the good and the bad.
Another quote that I would like to "Amen":
So much of Christendom today "outsources" wives and children for others to teach. This was never God's intent, and violates so much of His Word pertaining to the relational intimacy of the home and parental influence in spiritual growth.
And then, from page 4, also of Lesson 1:
Nor should other people or programs compensate for your shortcomings in this responsiblity.
And, that's all for now, since I must attend to other things around here, and have already spent quite a few hours on this today alone. I do have so much more to share though, as my thoughts have been running every which way and many intriguing points brought up that I would like to expound upon, but it will be as I find time... and I am determined to fold that laundry and cook meals for the family first.
Blessings and Shalom to you all~
Discussing How to Restore the Early Church
Posted by: | CommentsI would like to extend an invitation to all of my friends and readers here to join me and some other ladies (gents?) in a study we started yesterday. We'll be reading through and discussing a study put together by Mike and Sue Dowgiewicz of Restoration Ministries Int. that can be found here, entitled Discussing How to Restore the Early Church. Our study is being hosted by Julie of Seeking the Old Paths and so far she's posted the first two parts, here and here, which I have printed out for easier reading.
It's a lot to read each day, especially since I'm looking up all of the Scriptures as I go, so I may not keep up with Julie's pace, but I will be posting each portion of the study as I go, along with my own thoughts, which will inevitably set my posts back behind hers a ways. Please do join me if you're interested, and let me know. It would be great if you would post your own thoughts on your blog or in the comments section over at Julie's blog, if you do decide to study with us. I promise that you will find it interesting, to say the least... I'm challenged already.
I don't know about you, but this has been a topic of great fascination to me, from the time that I began to think about, question and realize (about 10-11 years ago) how very different the concept of discipleship within the Church is today from what it was in the first century, and how very relevant and important an understanding of the Hebraic culture and mindset of yesteryears (context of the Bible) still is to my Faith walk today... and how it colors my understanding of the Word of Adonai (or lack thereof), and its translation into my daily walk with Him.
I still consider myself such a fledgling in understanding the things of God, and do so look forward to growing closer to Him as I seek to hear His Voice daily. I hope to post some of my thoughts on as I go through this study. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to write about something though, and just get so overwhelmed with where to begin and how to proceed that I just end up writing nothing at all. That's the sort of writer's block that I usually suffer from... so many ideas jumbled together and bottlenecking that very few end up coming out. Hopefully I will overcome that particular hindrance.
I'm somewhat familiar with Restoration Ministries, since I'd read a few articles from their website a few years back when I was researching home churching. I found the "I Hate Nicolaitanism" article particularly encouraging, validating and thought-provoking. I remember sharing excitedly of all that I'd read with Chris. I haven't gone through this particular study though, and am very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us as we read and share this message together. When Julie asked me join her in this study, I knew right away that it would be very timely for Chris and I as we're seeking Him for direction right now in quite a few areas. I also thought that it might provide a good opportunity for some of you to delve deeper into the Word with me, and to learn more of our great heritage as well. It should also be a good catalyst for me to write/share some more about our journey down this path on my blog, as well as some of our recent struggles as we've been in this time of transition during the last couple of years... intimidating topics that I've been considering and wanting to write more about for some time now.
For a long time -since we'd first begun learning of our Faith's Hebraic roots, about ten years ago- we'd remained within the mainstream Church, but definitely felt like outsiders in many regards, wondered why these Truths weren't being taught (besides by our Sunday School teacher that introduced us to this during an in-depth walk/study through the Book of Genesis), and just kept pretty much under the radar, as we began to celebrate the Biblical Holidays. We've also rejected all notions of replacement theology, as we've learned to recognize it for what it is. During this time, we've been able to share with a few friends we've met from various congregations (as we've had a few interstate moves during that time) of the wonderful treasures that we were finding in our studies along these lines, and have hopefully inspired a few to pursue these studies on their own.
In the last year we've been blessed to worship and study with our local Messianic congregation, though we've still not been settled within our spirits as to what direction the Lord would have us go... as far as regular fellowship and coorperate worship goes. We're still attending our weekly Bible/book study with our friends from the Messianic congregation, and still enjoy the comradery and loving fellowship of friends we've made from a local non-denominational church that we'd been attending the first couple of years that we've lived here. But Chris and I are going to start having a more formal study time together each week during the Sabbath, home-church starting with just us if you will, as we seek our Lord for what direction He would have us to go from here... We'll be going through this study together as we do. I think that it's a good place to start, again...
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
~ Ecclesiastes 3.11
Celebrating the Feast of Ingathering
Posted by: | CommentsWe had a wonderful time camping out last weekend, as we celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles/Ingathering, aka. Sukkoth, with friends new and old. We also helped our local congregation to build a little sukkah the weekend before in front of the church building where we meet at. They said that they build it there every year and leave it up for a couple of weeks to serve as a testimony for all who see it.
You may go here to read more about why we, as New Covenant Gentile believers in Jesus as our Messiah, Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Also, my dear friends Carla and Jenny have recently written lovely posts about this holy day as well, also known as Messiah's Feast, here and here.
A time for worshiping our King under the sukkah... this little guy was gettin' his boogey on!
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
...and for remembering Who is our shelter...
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
And we're just practicing, because according to the prophet Zechariah, someday soon...
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to WORSHIP THE KING, the LORD of hosts and to KEEP THE FEAST OF TABERNCLES"
Dedication & Blessings
Posted by: | CommentsOn Sept. 15, during the Days of Awe, we dedicated and blessed our baby S during our Messianic fellowship's Shabbat service, under the chuppah, which is actually a tallit (prayer shawl) right after we all sang the Sabbath Prayer of blessings over our children (the same one sang in The Fiddler on the Roof, beautiful!).
Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:13-14
[MOTHERS AND FATHERS]
May the Lord protect and defend you.
May He always shield you from shame.
May you come to be
In Israel a shining name.
May you be like Ruth and like David.
May you be deserving of praise.
Strengthen us, Oh Lord,
And keep us in Messiah's ways.
May God bless you and grant you long lives.
(May the Lord fulfill our Sabbath prayer for you.)
May God make you good husbands and wives.
May the Lord protect and defend you.
May the Lord preserve you from pain.
Favor them, Oh Lord, with happiness and peace.
Oh, hear our Sabbath prayer. Amen.
Thank you Father for our children, and for this new blessing in all our lives. Guide and direct us Lord, that we may be the parents you've called us to be. Draw our childrens' hearts to Yourself. May they follow hard after You alone. May Your hand of protection be upon this precious little life, which we offer back to You.
Click here to read more about the Sabbath blessings for children, customarily given by the parents on Friday evening.
I’m ba-ack!
Posted by: | CommentsDid you miss me, maybe a little?
Well, my blog was temporarily out of order, due to web-hosting issues for homeschooljournal.net, as Andrea explains here. But all is back in order now, and I'd like to publicly say "thank-you!" to both Ron and Andrea, who in the midst of moving their entire household (what timing, huh?), still managed to find time to straighten out the issues so that our blogs would be back up and running asap. Ya'll are just TOO good... hope that you get settled soon.
So... time to update, though it may take me a few days. Yesterday we spent all day outside, gardening, mowing, etc. We had a lovely time though, it was a gorgeous day for playing outside- in the dirt and hose. Today I'm in the midst of deep-cleaning my bedroom, something it's needed for some time... dusting, getting all the laundry off the floor, folded and put away, going through the stacks of books on the dressers and floor, and putting them away (even getting rid of some- clothes and books, and doing some mending that's been put off too long too), etc. I'm also simultaneously directing the kids in cleaning their own bedrooms. So far, they've filled three large trash bags with clothes from their drawers and closets that they've outgrown... just since the last time we did this only a few months ago! Now they've moved on to thinning out their toys, getting rid of stuff they're not playing with. I'm going to have lots to post on free-cycle here shortly!
Later on this evening we'll be attending a Pentecost/Shavu'ot celebration service with our local Messianic congregation, after which we'll all go out to eat together (the kids can hardly wait, they're having so much fun with the suspense of not knowing *where* we'll be eating, trying to guess), so I may not get to typing much until tomorrow. Last Saturday I went to a day-long teaching conference held by this same congregation, along with Gary Huff, about "Pentecost; Before and After"... it was absolutely fascinating (always love to learn new stuff about the Bible and history that I just haven't seen or heard before- the parallels between the Torah being given on Mt. Sinai and the disciples Pentecost experience in Acts 2 are wonderful and so amazing!), inspiring (what awesome times of worship we had too, and the dancers did their Hebraic folk dancing to some of my favorite songs- I'm gonna have to join that dance group asap) and kinda nice just to go somewhere by myself for the entire day too (though I would have loved to have Chris along).
Well, I've rambled on long enough and I'd better get back to work, so I can get finished up here before we leave, and Chris needs me to cut his hair too. I'll type ya later!
this and that: in which I finally update my blog!
Posted by: | CommentsI'm not really feeling very talkative lately (maybe you've noticed?), but wanted to blog a bit of what's been going on around here lately anyways. Afterall, I did promise an update, didn't I? So, what have we been up to?
Remembering, Celebrating & Worshiping
This last Sunday night Chris, N, T and I enjoyed a wonderful Passover Seder dinner with our local Messianic congregation, Beth Shalom.
It was beautiful, and the kids' favorite part was the dancing (well, besides the eating!). We've been reading together about the first Passover from the book of Exodus, and some childrens' picture books, and also of Jesus's sharing this meal with His disciples before His deah, and then His resurrection. N and T watched one of N's favorite movies yesterday, Cecil B. De Mille's "The 10 Commandments". It has been a refreshing time of encouragement, remembrance and worship for me, and for all of us I think.
Also, Jenny has a lovely post here about Passover, and the Cup of Redemption, which is ceremonially taken after dinner, and which Jesus Himself shared with His disciples.
The third cup of wine is taken after the meal. It is the cup of redemption, which reminds us of the shed blood of the innocent Lamb which brought our redemption from Egypt. We see that Jesus took the third cup in Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.'" This was not just any cup, it was the cup of redemption from slavery into freedom. This is our communion cup.
To see more pics from our Seder, click here.
To read more about the Passover from a Christian/Messianic perspective, you may see my post from a couple of years ago here, and there's a good article here and another here.
Riding
N and T started their horse riding lessons again last month. Their instructor takes a break during the winter every year. So, they're beginning their third year now of formal English riding instruction, and are becoming pretty good little riders, if I do say so myself. I think that T is becoming more and more horse-crazy, if that's possible. She spent this morning, making home-made molasses and bran horse treats for the pony she's riding, Baldrick, whom she "misses so much"... She had the idea and did a search for good "horse treat recipes" on her latest favorite site, a kid-friendly search engine. Then, she wrote it down and followed the recipe herself, turned out some great tasting (yes, we tried them), chewy horse treats for her pony. Well, it had been a whole day and a half since she saw him last! *sheesh* LOL
On Saturday T had her first horse show of this year, and she was so excited that she barely slept the night before. I know because she kept waking me up every hour with, "I'm so excited, I just can't sleep..." We had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get her ready and to the barn to help load the ponies into the trailer. It was a really long day for her, well week really, since she spent most of Wed., Thurs., and Friday over at her riding instructor's house/barn with her lesson and then preparations for the show (shaving and bathing the pony, cleaning and conditioning tack, etc.). She's looking forward to her first year of showing, once a month, with cute little "King Baldrick".
Chris and I have just been so blessed to see how the Lord's provided a way for her to participate more actively in this sport which she loves so much, but would normally be out of our range financially. J, her instructor, asked me if she could show this year, because the academy that hosts these particular shows is giving her free classes/slots for one student and pony to show in each month (normally each class costs a certain amount which can range from $20+ per show, depending upon how many classes the student shows in, the average being at least three), since she already has so many students signed up to show. And she wants T to fill that complimentary spot. "Of course!", says I, what an unexpected blessing!! I think her teacher, J, is just as excited about it as we are too, which makes it so fun.
To see the rest of of the pics from her show, click here.
Demolition, Planning & Building
The past couple of weekends, Chris and N have been working hard salvaging oak wooden planks from a huge antique barn before it's to be destroyed by a developer that Chris knows, who gave him permission to take whatever he wants. Though it's a messy job and alot of work, this is has been a huge blessing and answer to prayer, since Chris has been specifically looking and asking around for salvageable barn wood to use for the various building projects he's been planning out... our new and improved (larger) chicken coop (which he's now working on, pics forthcoming), a big harvest-style dining room table, a headboard for our bed, and a bunk bed set for T (she's been wanting "rustic, horse-style" instead of the girlie white wicker trundle bed she has now (which I love btw, oh well, 'tis her room). He plans to plane the wood for some of the furniture pieces. It's amazing to me how finished and beautiful looking his handiwork is once he's finished. He has such an eye for detail, a true craftsman. I'm sure that N will learn a lot from Chris, who has had N working alongside him like a little man lately.
Playing, Resting, more Planning, Learning & Cleaning
So, Spring has sprung around here, and we're all absolutely loving it!! Once again, we have daylight until 8p.m., the windows are open and we don't need to heat nor cool the air at all, which is so nice, and the landscape is turning all green again too! The kids have proclaimed the weather as suitable for playing in the hose-water on the trampoline and running barefoot outside. They've been spending a lot more time down at the creek too, which Samson loves (nothing like a romp in the mud and water to make a dog's day). N has been bringing armloads of bionicles and GI Joe figures outside to play, building them little forts, etc. and T has been playing horses outside a lot, both alone, with me and with her kindred spirit friend, M. I've been playing at taking lots of pics of Spring blooms, but have yet to upload any of my pics.
Last month was a welcome reprieve from the months prior, since I had one less baby I was watching. It had been getting pretty stressful for me there for awhile, so the month long break was very timely. I'd been sleeping in until 8-8:30 most mornings, glorious, I tell ya! The mother had temporarily moved out of state with her daughter (the older of the two babies I've been watching for the last year), but has just recently returned again, and asked me to babysit for her again. I accepted, so my mornings are earlier again as well.
Now I have two crawling babies here, a 10 month old and a 14 month old, chasing each other, and me, around... crawling up my legs, reaching to be held and constantly getting into everything. It can be a bit much at times (I'm finding myself praying more), but the extra income is so nice, allowing us to spend some $$ on (hopefully) finishing the renovations on our old house here, without going into debt, and we're going to buy a new mattress for Chris and I (yay!!) -so it's well worth the extra work and inconvenience to me and our kids. And it's only for a few more months... We'd spent most of our tax return on paying off all of our credit card debt, and so now the only debt we have is our mortgage, and I'd like to keep it that way! 
This is little E, the three yr. old we're keeping, brother to the 10 month old baby I just mentioned. He's a sweetie, and I feel badly that he and his little baby sister will probably be stuck in daycare soon. Their single Mom has recently put herself on a list for income-based daycare. So, I may lose them anytime, really. I plan to keep the other baby through the month of July, and then will take a couple of months off from baby-sitting to have our own little bean that's due in mid-August. After that, I'm going to just play it by ear as to whether or not I'll babysit anymore.
The kids and I went to a local homeschool co-op's visitors' day a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. I plan on enrolling both N and T in the weekly classes for each of their age groups next year, and they ARE. SO. EXCITED. This will be our first time to join a homeschool co-op. We've also been drawing out plans for our garden this summer, some of which we'll be planting pretty soon. It will be a simple garden this year, with N and T each having their own "little bit of earth" to garden and care for. T is growing herbs and helping me with a few of the veggies. N has some flowers and veggies picked out to grow. I'll share our gardening plans in greater detail a little later.
Schoolish type stuff has been happening around here lately too, though minimally. But we're happy with it. Reading (both independently and aloud to me), writing (daily copywork, and some written narrations here and there) and arithmetic of some sort are getting done most days, and I read aloud to them at least an hour almost every day, but not nearly as much as I'd hoped to before we'd started baby-sitting. So, much of what we'd planned to do this year will be pushed over to next year I'm afraid, but so goes it. And you know what? I am SO okay with that... we've had a wonderful year, full of challenges and life lessons that we never could have planned for, nor anticipated. We've lived and learned together, exactly what we were supposed to for this season.
I've been quite pleased with how well both N and T have progressed with their writing this year. T has written some stories, and writes in her journal almost daily, this of her own volition. She and N both are slowly working through the Writing Strands 3 book together (originally it was just for N, but then T insisted that she could and would do it with him), and lately have enjoyed writing letters to friends and family (their idea even). Their spelling has improved greatly, I think as a cumulative result of all their reading, copywork, spontaneous oral spelling quizzes that I give them (per their request, from the lists in their McGuffey readers-they love it!) and our sporadic work in our AVKO Sequential Spelling book (something else we really like and will continue with).
N and T have each recently completed a Developmental Mathematics book at their own levels, but have both decided that they very much prefer their Singapore math books to the Dev. Math books, so we've happily gone back to Singapore (with renewed vigor and appreciation on their part), and will continue on with that program, at our own pace. This week we're taking our Spring break, and so I'm not requiring anything academic from them, and yet today and yesterday they both wanted to play their Singapore math cd-rom, Vroot and Vroom, "just for the fun of it", and there they sat hurriedly scrawling out equations so they could find the answers and get through the mazes! So, math happens anyways. As does reading...
I walked in the dining room the other morning, to find N busily munching left-over pizza for breakfast, thoroughly engrossed in a library book... gotta love it! Also, below are some pics of their recently accomplished copywork. I recently invested in a couple of books of quotes and verses, compiled by Sandy Queen, for copywork, "The Thematic Copywork Lessons for Girls" and "The Thematic Copywork Lessons for Boys" books. They may also be used for dictation lessons, and are designed for children in grades 4-12, but has been working fine for T too, since she's a pretty advanced writer for her age. Though it seemed a bit pricey at first, this has turned out to be just the thing for us. Now that kids know exactly what they're to copy to each day, independently, it's actually happening every day, consistently... no scrambling for a worthy excerpt, or squabbling over its length being "tooooo long!" Each days work is already laid out, lessons numbered, nice and simple. N even exclaimed to me that he really likes his new copywork book (he really likes to know what's next, and this way can easily see what he has to accomplish). So, it's working for them (and me), and they're enjoying it, wonderful! After they complete these books, I plan to maybe compile my own copywork book for each of them, for a year at a time, since this system works so well. Or maybe they could just copy from one text for a term, year, whatever, with pre-determined portions already marked out/decided upon?
The copywork books are typed in a manuscript print, and N and T transpose each of their lessons into cursive (which they were already becoming proficient at when we started these books). N had asked if he could write his in print, rather than cursive, one day, "to take a break from cursive writing for awhile". So, I let him, and it was so funny that as he began, he was surprised to find that he was having a hard time keeping from writing words in cursive (he's gotten so used to it), and even commented on how much slower-going it seemed, to write in print. So, he ended up choosing to start over and write that lesson in cursive afterall!
Here's some of N's recent copywork:
And some of T's copywork:
With all of this lovely weather, and plans for a very busy summer ahead for us, I've been feeling the need to do some serious Spring cleaning. So, I decreed this week Spring break for the kids, and for the rest of this week, that is what I shall be about- cleaning! This will also allow me to get used to having both of the babies again, see what sort of routine we all work out together, before trying to do too much more with N and T seperately. I did recently buy the Beautiful Feet Geography Through Literature guide and maps to go along with our Holling C. Holling books (we already had), hoping to get the most out of these beautiful and informative books. I'd really like to get started on that soon, but am wondering now if it's even feasible, or will have to wait until after our baby girl's born (and thus we're not baby-sitting the other three anymore)?
My brother and sister-in-law will be visiting us next week with their four kids (which they unschool). Michael has an interview for a teaching position at a college campus about an hour and a half away from us, and so may even be moving here this summer, if he decides to take this job. He's graduating in May with his PhD in Physics, just has to complete his thesis. I'm so proud of him and Sharon (he's been in school in a long time, and Sharon's done alot to help him make it work!), and so looking forward to seeing them - it's been a couple of years!
So, I think that this should bring you pretty much up to date with us, and I'm starting to get a stiff neck from sitting here for so long, so I'm signing off for now! Happy Spring to ya~
Light of the World
Posted by: | CommentsWhen Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
~John 8.12
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
~John 1.3-5
Read more here: God’s Lamp, Man’s Light - Mysteries of the Menorah
