In the body of Messiah (the Body of Christ, or the church), we have many different backgrounds and many lifestyles that vary from family to family and from person to person. I believe God wanted it that way. He loves variety. He does not want us all to be the same. That is why we have different qualities and features given our families and races. And at the same time, I believe He loves it when we come together in unity despite our various backgrounds. I have a friend in the Body of Messiah who grew up Muslim in Pakistan. She became a born again Christian and is now a Messianic follower of Jesus, Yeshua. She is precious to me- she taught me a lot of what it means to be a wife and a mother. I also have friends who are Jewish, friends who are gentiles (non Jews). It is so nice to gather together under the banner of and in the Name of Jesus.
That is not to say that we have agreed on everything or that we argue whenever we get together. In the New Testament the apostle warns against factions and divisions. I believe the apostle was talking here of petty arguements and resentments that have nothing to do with the kingdom of God, nothing to do with loving your neighbor as yourself. That is not to say that we cannot each be different, be the person God has called us to be. I have been accused in the past of causing division. I should disclaim here that it does not matter whether you stand for righteousness' sake or not, someone will inevitably disagree with you and your convictions. And some may even misunderstand my convictions as condemnation toward them. This is simply not true. Many times, people react to the plain unadulterated truth as if they were being ripped apart. I believe this is sometimes due to the nature of God's truth from His Word~ it is meant to divide. But not for the sake of petty factions. But for the conforming of the believer into the image of Christ. The Bible says about itself, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Literally, the Word of God, the scriptures of both Old and New Testaments, divide. That is one of their purposes. I think we need to discern the difference between conviction and diviciveness.
I personally do not condemn anybody for what they do or do not do as unto the Lord. I do share the things the Lord has shown me in His Word, so that others might repent and receive the refreshing that comes from turning from one's own ways toward God's. And I have been called to a very specific path in my walk with the Lord.
But many times my job in the Body of Christ is to poke and prod people toward the truth. I do not apologize for this- it is the way God made me. I need to make sure my conscience and heart are pure before the Lord in doing this. But just because I say something that may sting, convict, or prod, does not mean that I do not speak the truth.
My son is almost 18 months old. He has a specific destiny in the Lord which he was called to before the foundaiton fo the world. My job as a parent is to train him up in the way he should go, as the proverb states, so that when he is old, he will not depart from it. This includes the path of righteousness, living in relationship to God and following His word, but it also includes some specific things the Lord speaks to his father and myself about who our son is. For me, it is important that my son knows his heritage as a son of Israel, a Jew. My lifestyle has been molded and shaped by the Lord Himself to see to it that my son grows up learning to embrace his Jewishness and to identify with his people. This includes learning Torah. No one but my husband and myself will stand accountable for this task. And so I wholly embrace it with passion. I have been preparing for this longer than I prepared my wedding plans. So much so that it is part of who I am. I love God and I love His people. And I want to spark that love in other people as well.
When I relate to God, I relate to Him as a Jew. That is who Jesus is. When I understand who He is, I can better relate to Him and learn the things that please Him most.
I was debating on whether or not to share the following experience in this forum. I will venture to share some of it:
When I was pregnant with my son, I had a dream. This was no ordinary dream. In my dream, I saw Jesus. It was really Him...Himself. He appeared at some functions where my spiritual family had been gathering for fellowship. When we gather together, we often sing songs in Hebrew as well as English, such as the Bracha (blessing) over the bread and wine, sometimes known as communion, or kiddush. In this particular dream, when we started to sing the blessing in Hebrew, Jesus joined in. He did not lead it, He joined in. It is, after all, His native tongue. He seemed full of joy and right at home in the midst of us. In the dream, when we got together for a circle dancing a la Israeli-style, Jesus joined in with us and danced! I watched his every move and noticed he joined hands between two men in the circle, thereby being discreet and modest. Some time went by during the dream and again we assembled. I noticed that Jesus showed up during certain times where we were partaking in certain activities (such as the Hebrew and the dancing) and noticed He did not show up at other times. I will not go into all the details of those "other times", but I will say that even though He was not present bodily at those times, and although I painfully longed for Him to come back, I sensed His joy on the inside of me knowing that His Law, His Commandments, His teachings, the things that please Him, were written on my heart as it says in Deuteronomy 6:6, "These words which I command you this day are to be upon your heart...".
I knew that when we were doing things a certain way, when we were worshipping God a certain way, He showed up because He felt at home. I have not had a dream with Jesus in it since then. O how I long for one! And better yet, I long for Heaven, where my real home is, where we can dance for millenia and not get tired or have to leave or go home or part ways with Him. No experience on earth can compare. No drug measures up. You cannot find a bar or a party or a certain piece of music, or any person on the earth or under the earth that could possibly give you the peace and joy of knowing Him who died to make you free. And I want to make Him feel as comfortable as possible in my life. Do I make mistakes? Yeah. Am I often misunderstood? You betcha. Does it mean living my life counter-culture and often appear as a freak to other people? Oh yes. It sometimes means my decision to go a different way than those who are close to me- my family and loved ones. But what matters more to me than what other people think is the expression I want to see on the Lord's face when I approach the gates of pearl to enter eternity....I want to see a welcoming smile.
Happy Chanukah (Feast of Dedication John 10:22).
**
No comments:
Post a Comment