Let No Man Deceive You

The following is a post that I was asked to write about my experience in the Messianic movement.  I'm afraid that it never was used as it wasn't as vitriolic as the requestor was undoubtedly hoping for.  I always try to bring correction with love and grace.  With that in mind, I do feel that in these days this message is one that needs to be expressed.

Let No Man Deceive You

I was raised in a conservative Jewish home. Growing up, we would attend synagogue most weeks as well as celebrate the Jewish holidays. During those years God was busy with me, planting His Word in my heart – His Word that I heard during the weekly services. As I grew and became a little more familiar with Scripture I began asking questions, like when did God stop requiring us to make sacrifices. All my questions seemed to do was make people uncomfortable, but I kept searching for answers.

When I was 17 years old I accepted Messiah and the atonement He made, once for all, on the cross. I was certain that I was the only Jew to ever have done so. Not too long after that I went to church with a friend of mine. Unfortunately there were a few things that I just couldn't get past. One was that it seemed like the sermons were focused not on Scripture, but on the founders of that particular denomination or how we can live better, happier lives. The other was the fact that the people there kept trying to convince me that I was no longer Jewish and that I didn't need to hold on to my Jewishness, my traditions, etc. Needless to say I did not feel comfortable there, so I stopped going. I did, however continue to read the Bible and learn about God.

Fast forward 10 years or so. I was now married and while I had shared everything with my husband, there was one little detail I had managed to keep secret – my faith in Christ. My husband had been raised in the Lutheran church, but had not yet come to salvation. One day, amidst some very troubling circumstances, I shared my faith with him and he agreed to go to church with me. When I looked in the phone book I saw that there was a Messianic congregation in town, so we decided to go there as I thought I would feel more comfortable.

When we first started attending I did indeed feel more comfortable. I was very happy to see that Jewish believers were worshiping in a Jewish way, much like an Hispanic or Aftican-American church would worship within the context of their culture. It was also nice to see non-Jewish believers there as well. But the longer we were there, some things started getting us concerned. There was a trend among the leadership in the congregation to try to impose Mosaic Law on believers in Christ. They supported keeping kosher and other legalistic duties – duties that I never kept before coming to Christ. I couldn't understand how they could justify requiring people to keep these laws now that they were in Christ and free from the law of sin and death. They also held the view that non-Jewish believers were “less than,” and would not allow them to hold certain positions simply because they had not been born a Jew. This view was also held by many who were pillars of the Messianic movement. Added to all of this was a general disdain for anything “church.” While I completely understand that many, many Jews are repelled by the church because of historical violence that the church has committed against Jews, I couldn't understand how those who had come to Christ could justify the positions they were taking. When I started asking about this and pointing out that Scripture teaches that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile but we are all new creatures in Christ, or that God made all food acceptable to eat I was met with condescension. They tried to convince me that I obviously didn't know what I was talking about. It wasn't too long before we left that congregation.

We have been part of several churches since that time. The sad thing is that whenever there has been a question over a teaching, policy or doctrine, I've been met with the same attitude of condescension. The even sadder thing is how God's Word has come to take a back seat over people's agenda. Sometimes the Word has been moved from the back seat to the trunk and isn't taken seriously at all.

Over the years I have tried to keep things simple, relying not on man's word, but on God's. It doesn't matter if a person is a pastor or a layman. If what they are teaching doesn't agree with Scripture, don't believe it. In Scripture we are told, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11 NIV) If people were checking Paul's teachings against Scripture to make sure that he was correct, how much more diligent should we be! As time goes on there will be more and more false teachings, more and more wolves in sheep's clothing trying to deceive believers and lead them astray. There will be more and more deception within the church as well as without, all designed to keep us from God's truth. Be diligent in studying the Scriptures daily so that you know God's Truth.

I am very happy to announce the release of our first unit study - Green Eggs and Ham, a Springboard Unit Study for the Very Young.

Green Eggs and Ham, a Springboard Unit Study for the Very Young, is a unit study designed to nurture a love of learning in young children.

Following the story in Green Eggs and Ham, your child will learn about poetry, mammals, the water cycle, and much more.  Any parent can follow this easy to use unit study to help their children have fun while learning.

The Green Eggs and Ham unit study is now available on both Nook and Kindle.  Click here to get it on Nook, and here to get it on Kindle.

Find out more about Springboard Unit Studies here!

The Power of the Tongue

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

- Ephesians 4:29

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!  I don't know about you, but when I read verses like this one, well, it just plain hurts me.  No, I don't have severe potty mouth disease, nor do I go around cussing all day long.  It's just that I'm human and sometimes my mouth seems to have a mind of its own.  Oh, I want to keep unwholesome talk from coming out of my mouth, but sometimes...

I do take comfort in the fact that the Scriptures talk a lot about the mouth and the apparent trouble people have been having with theirs since Adam and Eve got booted from the Garden.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” - Psalm 39:1

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. - Proverbs 15:4

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” - Isaiah 6:5

Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. - James 3:4-6

Yikes!  The tongue is set on fire by hell?  Well, doesn't that make you feel better?  James goes on to say that no man can tame the tongue, which does, in an odd sort of way bring me some encouragement.  The passage from Isaiah is also encouraging for me in that even though Isaiah was a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips God used him in a mighty way.  And further in this passage, after Isaiah confesses that he is unclean (sinful) God cleanses him just as He will cleanse us through the Messiah if we confess our sin to Him.

I must say that I've come a very long way with my speaking habits over the years, but I still have a long way to go.  God's Word not only convicts us of our improper, sinful behavior, but it also brings us encouragement so that we can move forward.  In that way our words can indeed bring benefit to others and be a tree of life rather than crush someone's spirit.  What an awesome God we serve!

Living in the Rearview Mirror

"Stop dwelling on past events
and brooding over times gone by;
I am doing something new;
it's springing up - can't you see it?
I am making a road in the desert,
rivers in the wasteland."

- Isaiah 43:18-19

Do you know someone who seems to be stuck in the past?  I'm sure you know someone who's there.  Perhaps their high school years were the best of their lives and they are constantly reliving them.  Maybe there was a long-lost love who just won't leave their memory.  Maybe there was a traumatic event that happened that now has them trapped in the trauma and the past or maybe someone wronged them with the same results.  So, do you know someone who fits this description?  Could it even be you?

I've seen it happen to too many people - events of the past (most often very painful events) have taken over their way of thinking which then takes over and effects every area of their lives.  They seem to dwell, or live, in those past events.  This incessant focus on the past then seems to nurture it as they brood over the events as a mother hen would brood over, care for, and nurture her chicks.  It's not a healthy way to live for anyone involved.  As I said, I've seen it happen to many people, including myself.

Over the past five years I have been recovering from a serious stress disorder.  It had gone on for most of my life without being recognized for what it was.  Because of the length that it ran it caused some physical problems including neurological damage.  One aspect of my disorder was that I was stuck in trauma.  My thoughts often rehashed events that happened decades ago.  This focus, this dwelling and brooding, fed the cycle in which I seemed to be trapped. Then I came across these verses and they got me thinking.

I knew that in Romans 12:2 Paul says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  My mind sure did need some renewing!  Coupled with these verses in Isaiah I felt that I had a big piece of the puzzle that I needed to continue in my healing process.  God was doing a new thing for me.  He was bringing order and direction (making a road in the desert) and bringing life (rivers in the wasteland).  But in order for me to continue in this healing and see these new things that God was doing I needed to stop dwelling in the past.  It's sort of like this...

How far do you suppose you'd get if you tried driving a car forward but you were looking only in the rearview mirror.  If you were on a straight road with no pedestrians or other cars you might make it a little way.  But what if you were on a busy, winding road with countless distraction and hazards.  I think most of us would slam on the brakes and just sit there for fear of what might happen.  We would be unable to make any progress or move forward at all because we would only be able to see what had happened and not what was in front of us.  That's no way to drive.  That's no way to live.

God's Word gives us hope and direction.  Let Him help you stop living in the rearview mirror and start living in the freedom of the here and now.

Getting Stuck

Oh, it happened again... Life! I had been doing pretty well in keeping up with writing to the blog every day, but then, well, life happens. During the past eightteen or twenty months the Lord has been teaching me what His priorities are for my life and I've been trying to listen. One thing that I know I can't allow to happen is to let busyness interfere with my "real" life. But I also know that God has given me a gift and that I need to share it, so here I am! At this point all I know is that I'll be posting to the blog as often as I can without getting obsessive or burning myself out over it.

So, over these past months I've been getting stuck on a couple of Bible passages. Try as I might to get past them, I just can't, and that's not such a bad thing. At first I simply continued reading and studying, but the Lord kept bringing me back. Even I could figure out that He was wanting to show me something. I must admit that I'm very glad to have gotten stuck as it feels like tiny windows of understanding are opening up for me. I know that I'm getting about as much understanding as an ant might, but it's a start and it sure it fun!

I hope that you won't let your drive to accomplish a certain amount of Bible reading or studying get in the way of the Lord unwrapping one of His treasures for you. Don't rush yourself. Take your time and let the Lord show you the way He would have you go. I know that you'll be very glad you did!

Back to UnderTheShadowOfHisWing

James 1:27

The religious observance that God the Father considers pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being contaminated by the world.

- James 1:27

Here's another verse that tells us that part of what our obligation is as a believer in the Messiah Yeshua is to keep ourselves from being contaminated from the world. Some days this is easier than others. During the last week of October it can sometimes get difficult - especially with a little one in the house.

Our son has never been trick or treating. We've explained to him from an early age that we don't want to do anything that would make God sad and that participating in Halloween would do just that. For the past three years he has gotten quite a thrill by handing out bags of candy to trick or treaters that come to our door. Why? Because the first thing that he puts in each bag of candy is a tract telling the children how they can have a personal, real relationship with God through Christ. That gets our son really excited!

Another thing that this time of year always seems to highlight is the apparent compromise and error that has found its way into the church at large. There are many, many Christians who don't see any problem with fully participating in Halloween. There are those who think that it's okay to do what non-Christians are doing, but to call it something else. If we look at the verse from James again, I think we can get a good idea what God's position is on the matter. We are not to allow ourselves to be contaminated by the world. That means that we are also not to take something of the world and try to relabel it to make it non-pagan or to make it Christian. We are not to allow ourselves to be contaminated. Period.

Many say that not participating in things like Halloween isn't fair to the kids. After all, it's just harmless fun. Well, no, it's not harmless fun. The devil will use any opening he can get to destroy someone's life, whether we think it's fun or not. And if you want fun for the kids - and the whole family - all we need to do is look to God's Word!

In the Old Testament God has appointed seven feasts. Each of these feasts points to the Messiah in some way and each can and should be celebrated by Christians today. No, we can't and shouldn't keep them as though we were under the Law because we aren't. We have been set free from the Law and are now under the Law of Christ. But I do believe that we can celebrate these feasts with joy in our hearts for the wonderful things the Lord has done for us through His Son, Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

It has been a joyous blessing for us to be able to celebrate and share with our son the feasts that the Lord has given us. They are a great way to learn more about our Messiah, as well as wonderful ways to fill our hearts with joy. So rather than look to the world for our fun and celebration, let's look to the Word and join our Father in celebrating the life He has given us!

Back to Under The Shadow of His Wing

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore, get your minds ready for work, keep yourselves under control, and fix your hopes fully on the gift you will receive when Yeshua the Messiah is revealed. As people who obey God, do not let yourselves be shaped by the evil desires you used to have when you were still ignorant. On the contrary, following the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in your entire way of life; since the Scripture says, "You are to be holy because I am holy."

-- 1 Peter 1:13-16

First I just wanted to say how good it feels to be back. My computer was in the shop for a couple of weeks, but it's home now! Now, on to our verse for today!

Over the years I have found that God quite often repeats Himself. It's not for His benefit. It's for you and me. We humans tend to be stubborn and rather thick headed at times - well, at least I know I am! In this verse from 1 Peter, Peter is telling believers that we need to actively disallow evil in our lives and desires. We are to actively become holy in our entire way of life! Why? Because God said that we are to be holy because He is holy. That scares me. It sounds very intimidating. I know myself well enough to know that I'm not holy or perfect in any way. I rather feel defeated before I even start!

But last night something dawned on me. It had to be God, because the thought was comforting and made me feel much better about these sorts of verses. To be holy doesn't mean to be perfect, or to live a life that is super-spiritual. To be holy means to be set apart for God. If we are to become holy, we are to continually be set apart in every area of our lives for God. He will guide us and show us the things that we need to let go - the evil desires and practices that we still cling to even though we are now His children. Oh, and "evil" doesn't mean that you're doing something heinous. It simply means that you're doing something that's displeasing to God.

Time and again God calls us to be holy. Time and again God calls us to cleanse ourselves from the desires and trappings of the world. Why? Because He loves us and He knows what's good for us - even if we think we know what's best for ourselves. He knows what will hurt us. He knows what will cause us pain and suffering. He sent His Son, Jesus, to set us free from these things, and only with His help can we do that. Ask Him and He will indeed help you become holy. He's the only one who can, because He is holy.

Back to Under The Shadow Of His Wing