Sunday, June 17, 2012

REPOSTING "THINK"

I am re-posting  a post from 2010 as I prepare new ones. I have always liked to use this quote  as a disclaimer to any who have heard or read any of my previous postings or thoughts.

Before we continue on our journey of The Word I would like to interject some thoughts from a wise man. One may not agree with all of Rev. Finney's thoughts but I believe that he was on the mark with the following.

From The Rev. CHARLES G. FINNEY ,SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY 1851

"You were made to think. It will do you good to think; to develop your powers by study. God designed that religion should require thought, intense thought, and should thoroughly develop our powers of thought. (2)

If my brother is inquiring after truth, I will, by the grace of God, “hear with both ears, and then judge.” But I will not promise to attend to all that cavilers may say, nor to notice what those impertinent talkers and writers may say or write who must have controversy. But to all honest inquirers after truth I would say, Hail, my brother! Let us be thorough. Truth shall do us good. (3)

I have not yet been able to stereotype my theological views, and have ceased to expect ever to do so. The idea is preposterous. None but an omniscient mind can continue to maintain a precise identity of views and opinions. Finite minds, unless they are asleep or stultified by prejudice, must advance in knowledge.… True Christian consistency does not consist in stereotyping our opinions and views, and in refusing to make any improvement lest we should be guilty of change, but it consists in holding our minds open to receive the rays of truth from every quarter and in changing our views and language and practice as often and as fast as we can obtain further information. I call this Christian consistency, because this course alone accords with a Christian profession. A Christian profession implies the profession of candor and of a disposition to know and obey all truth. It must follow that Christian consistency implies continued investigation and change of views and practice in conformity with increasing knowledge. No Christian, therefore, and no theologian should be afraid to change his views, his language, or his practices in conformity with increasing light."


In the true spirit of the previous thoughts, I reserve the right to change my position on any previous postings as study and facts lead. Remember, we were made to think.

Sholom

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

MY BLOG LIST

Check out My Blog List and get into some great teaching from some of my favorite blogs!!!!

Monday, June 4, 2012

MESSIANIC GENTILES ?

Messianic Gentile, what a curious term.  I am sure that most have heard the term Messianic Jew, defining a Jewish believer who has accepted Yeshua HaMashiach (Yeshua the Messiah) as the Messiah. And there are many books, teachers, synagogues, and web sites defining Messianic Judaism along with how to live and worship in this realm. Some encourage Jewish and Christian(Gentile) believers study and worship together but many are directed towards the Jewish believers who try to incorporate the Gentiles. Other groups are started by  Gentiles who want some traditions of Judaism but not obedience to Tora.  
Messianic Gentiles ( anyone who is not Jewish by birth or conversion) are those who have accepted Yeshua HaMashiach (Yeshua the Messiah) and want to be obedient to Him and the Tora. This group was originally defined and led by the Apostle Paul as the Apostle to the Gentiles.
And the dichotomy about the separation of Gentiles(including Christians) and Jews has been around since the beginning. So how does the Messianic Gentile fit in with the roots of Yeshua HaMashiach and Israel ? What is required of the Messianic Gentile to be grafted into the tree of Israel ? How does the Messianic Gentile worship in Messianic Judaism form without feeling that they have to become a Jew?   The Epistle to the Galatians is a good place, yet difficult place, to start. Here Paul did his best to answer the question. Yet we will have to listen to Paul in early church Hebrew and Judaism and not current Western English. Take a moment to get your mind around the fact that Paul was Jewish and wrote in Eastern Jewish thinking and not Western Greek thinking. This is the foundation to understanding Paul's writings. Remember, even Peter stated in 2 Peter 3:16 that these matters were hard to understand.
 2Peter 3:11-16
11 Since everything is going to be destroyed like this, what kind of people should you be? You should lead holy and godly lives, 12 as you wait for the Day of God and work to hasten its coming. That Day will bring on the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt from the heat; 13 but we, following along with his promise, wait for new heavens and a new earth,[b] in which righteousness will be at home. 14 Therefore, dear friends, as you look for these things, do everything you can to be found by him without spot or defect and at peace. 15 And think of our Lord’s patience as deliverance, just as our dear brother Sha’ul also wrote you, following the wisdom God gave him. 16 Indeed, he speaks about these things in all his letters. They contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort, to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.


Until next time, Shalom.



































































Saturday, June 2, 2012

RETURNING

Welcome.  I am now returning after a long absence. I would like to continue with this blog in the hopes of helping others to bridge the gap of understanding the roots of Christianity. I am reposting one of my earlier posts to get things started.  Shabbat Shalom.
 
I saw the following video on a training disk for group leaders from the First Fruits of Zion. I thought it was a wonderfully simple explanation of why we need to understand our Hebraic roots. Enjoy and ponder.