Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Awaiting the Blessed Arrival

We are scheduled to have our C-section on Tues. I sit here, uncomfortably swollen and fat, waiting for the birth of our baby. It's only 6 more days and with God's grace I think I can handle that.

A friend of mine laughed when I threw a Hanukkah party a few days ago. I was sore and tired, but it was worth it. My last hurrah with only 1 child. I cannot wait for my son to meet his new sibling. He walks around the house carrying a baby blanket with a "baby" in it and offers for me to hold it. Today, he was talking to the imaginary baby in the already-installed car seat. I'd say he's ready.

I will go into all the detail of our decision to have this baby in a later post. It is quite the interesting story no matter what your religious beliefs or worldview is!

Doc says heartbeat is good and my blood pressure is normal. I am already planning the stages I will go through to get off the 50 plus pounds I have gained with this pregnancy (I only gained 20 with my son). The doctor doesn't know, nor does he care that at the time of conception, I was in great shape, working out twice-three times a week, and taught a dance class until the middle of my second trimester.

Other than swollen ankles, hands, back and hip pain at night like you could never imagine (making it almost impossible to get out of bed for say, the many nighttime trips to the restroom), I am extremely blissful and anxious to hold the little one in my arms. A gift from God. So I try to focus on that. I keep telling myself, Don't be a weany...women have been doing this for centuries and the pioneer women had it the worst with all that was expected of them (hello...farming and washing clothes the snail way all day) and nery an indoor restroom for them to relieve themselves before the emergency floodgate opened! So there.

My husband is now off work, first for the holiday this week, then for paternity leave starting next week. We are hopeful he will get 1 week at the tail end to work from home to help with the transition.

Having my son 2 1/2 years ago was very difficult. He was premature, and we lived in a town away from family and not too many friends, and my husband had to go back to work shortly after. My son was VERY high needs and colicky. I was exhausted. I remember one day not having slept for 24 hours. I actually started to hallucinate. I consulted with a breastfeeding consultant or 2 (a life saver) and went to a semi-weekly new moms support group. Those foggy days of mommy amnesia seem so long ago. And yet, I know, to a certain extent, they are right around the corner.

Only this time, my husband will be home longer. Grandma lives closer, and I have wonderful friends I can call on if I need help, to like say, take a 45 minute nap.

And I am praying the temperament of this child will be milder than my son's. Not that I don't love my son to pieces, I am just glad that God gave me my son first. So I could focus on his needs and not have to divide my attention between 2 children, the youngest being the most needy, without a support system. I consider this His grace.

And I know His grace will be there for me with this child as well. He will not give us more than we can handle. We may not always have a choice in our circumstances, but we always have a choice in our outlook and our attitude. And those of us who believe and follow the Messiah Yeshua, we have the greatest gift of all.

We have His constant presence and abiding peace.

**

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Some Thoughts on Hanukkah

An old college professor of mine used to make us take the first 10 minutes of class doing a freewriting exercise. We could not proofread or edit this entry into our notebooks. Whatever came to our minds, even if it didn't make much sense, we had to write it down. Looking back, I can see the value of this exercise and I think I will write today's entry in that style. So bear with me. 8 and a half months pregnant with serious mommy memory lapse and a freewriting exercise on my thoughts about Hanukkah. Whew! Such a desired attempt must be due to the wonderful afterglow of our Hanuukah party last night. Even so, its message urges me onward...

Hanukkah. Hanukkah. If I am not careful enough, I will get that 8 minute Adam Sandler song stuck in my head!

Hanukkah is special to me. It was one of the key holidays I started to celebrate in my paradigm shift from gentile Chirstianity to the Hebrew root of my faith (the other was Passover). Hanukkah has very special significance to me for another reason.

The Maccabees revolted against a tyrannical culture and religion which sought to impose persecution of the children of Israel because of their belief in the One True God. Through Antiochus IV Epiphanes, (evil Syrian ruler and the shady character in Israel's history who has foreshadowed the ultimate lawless one, the coming anti-messiah of the end times; see Daniel chapter 8), the spread of the Greek/Hellenistic culture and polytheistic religion was unstoppable. He went so far as to set up an altar to Zeus in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (the place, where my good friend so succinctly put it, was where the very presence of God dwelt). This insult, to the Jewish people of the time, combined with the fact they were forbidden by God to bow down to any idol, was the last straw. Many of the people had succumbed to this directive, to bow down to Zeus in the temple of the Almighty. After all, the Hellenistic culture, complete with its language, arts, literature, and humanistic/philosophical ways of thinking had been introduced to the Israelites prior to this command. They were used to it. Assimilated. Like a chicken slowly boiling in water doesn't realize his demise.

Bow down.

Many did. But one family (led by their partiarch Mattathias) in particular, refused. Not only did they refuse, but legend has it that Mattathias followed the command of the Lord his God by striking dead the first Israelite to approach the altar of Zeus in order to bow, AS WELL AS THE PRESIDING HIGH PRIEST, the priesthood of which was already corrupted by the Syrian rulers.

Consequently, Mattathias' sons, who later came to be known as the Maccabees, retreated to the hills and returned a small army which defeated the much larger Syrian army. Thus, Israel as a nation and the people of God, was freed from her opressors. Freed, yet once again, as they had been from Pharaoh, to worship their God in the way He had prescribed. Thus the Temple was cleansed and restored. This was the miracle. This rededication of the temple is what the Jews (including Jesus as recorded in John 10:22-23) commemorated every year during the winter.

As my husband pointed out, the majority of Israelites had not repented. Mattathias and his sons did. A small remnant. They stood in the gap between obedience and lawlessness for the sake of their fellow man. True intercessors. And saved a nation. It all started by their refusal to break the Lord's command to not have any other idol in His presence. Who knows?- the nation of Israel was saved through them, paving the way for Messiah to come to Israel. Many other stories from scripture reflect the same theme. Idols were purged, high places destroyed, Israel blessed. Obedience.....blessing and affirmation. Promise fulfilled.

What of this concept today? When we Americans think of idols, we tend to think of small statues from faraway lands from long ago. We don't think these concepts apply to our way of life today. Here. Oh, there are some I know in the Body of Messiah who know the evil associated with idols coming from other religions and such. And many have even removed them from their lives once discerned in order to please God and to regain His favor.

However, what about the familial and cultural idols in our lives? There are many. And they are more vast than one would initially think. The idols I got rid of during my discovery of Hanukkah and the true meaning of Hanukkah were simple. I battled a food and sweet addiction. This is an ongoing struggle in my life, but I had made some headway. And I, like many other red blooded Americans, celebrated Christmas. Complete with all of the traditions which are steeped in pagan idolatry and have nothing to do with the Savior. This started to change when I started understanding, from a Hebrew perspective, how God feels about it. For more info, please see the previous post.

As I went through this salmon-swimming-upstream-transition in my life, I felt much lonliness and opposition, and even sometimes boredom. Sometimes critical looks and blank stares. I am grateful the Lord gave me a very good friend to go through this process of repentance with. And another friend, whom I consider one of my biggest cheerleaders and closest friend, like a sister, who supported my transformation, although she did not always agree or understand. He has since increased the good company I am in. I am blessed beyond words.

When I read (or sing) about the Maccabees each year during this season, I cannot help but identify with their single solitary audacity to do what they felt in their consciences was right, despite all of the opposition, criticism, and ousting they faced. Can you imagine the attitudes they would have encountered?- "Why are you rocking the boat? Don't we have good lives? Hasn't the economy been good since the Syrians took over? THINK OF YOUR FAMILY! YOU WILL BE ALIENATING THE ONES YOU LOVE!!" "YOU'RE CREATING DIVISION!" (And I am sure, even some misapplication of the 'Love your neighbor' command trying to out-trump the more significant command to "Love the Lord your God" replete with the how's- have no other gods before Him). And then there are what I imagine were the taunts to abandon their God; "What has HE done for us lately? He abandoned us when we needed Him the most". "Those religious zealots who still emphasize the Lord's cammandments have gotten ahold of you". "Those have been done away with. After all, so has the sacrifices in the Temple. Don't you see? Our God does not want us, man!" Or even those attitudes which were steeped in religious deception, such as, "It doesn't offend God nowadays because...(insert twisted religious or apostate reason.) Ouch.

Yet I have also been recipient of these kinds of attitudes. Both from family members as well as well-meaning brothers and sisters in the Body of Messiah. And still, I have this fire burning in the marrow of my bones that will not go away. It started out as indignation. But now it is pure holy fire. Holy jealousy for my God and His ways. Now I simply am uncapable of going back. Of putting on the blinders again. After all, even if we deny, as Peter denied Yeshua while in his weakest state, how can we no longer NOT know? If my Lord, who gave me His all, loves me unconditionally more than any other human being ever will or can, hates or loves a thing, will I not hate it or love it too? Or at least start to WANT to love it or hate it? May my resolve be strengthened rather than diminished with time and with onslaught of opposition.

This has been the case in my life with many things...not just Christmas or for that matter, not just lying or gossip or adultery. It has been repentance and deliverance. And repentance and deliverance. And yet more repentance and more deliverance. Of course victory follows deliverance. We love that part, right? Victory!! But we often want to skip the repentance part. And so we don't gain true lasting victory. Such is the flesh. It is at enmity with God. 24/7. It is the crux of the choice we have to make. It's what makes choosing so difficult. Our only hope is to get into agreement with God's Word (ALL OF IT. IT, LIKE HE, CHANGES NOT.) And that takes listening to the Spirit of God, which ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS says the same thing as His Torah, His teaching. I am glad that in such a struggle and the tossing of the waves, at least SOMETHING stays constant!

Those Macabees knew something about this. And I can't help but to think that even before they gained the victory over the Temple, that they had some victory (preceded by the necessary cleansing) of THEIR OWN TEMPLES. Through repentance. Through simply going back to God's commands. Through stubborn audacity and the refusal to bow down, first to public and popular opinion, and familial and neighborly opposition (today there would be an opinion poll on what the average citizen thinks of the progressive actions of the newly instituted Syrian Administration) as well as to the sword when it came down to making a final choice. They must have forseen the cost of taking the stand which they took. They had a choice.

In the movie The Family Man, ironically centered around the events of one type of "Christmas Miracle" not that much unlike It's A Wonderful Life, the character played by Tea Leoni tells her disgusted with-his-alternate-reality-life husband, Nicholas Cage, that she too, often wonders what life would have been like had she(or he) made different choices. But her tagline is this......"I choose US".

Even despite the "worse" part of "for better or for worse"...I choose US.

Can we be able to say that to our Redeemer and Savior who lives forever? After all, we are in a covenant relationship with Him, which is not unlike a marriage. Can we look to Him, who has sacrificed everything for our sakes, and say..."I choose US" ?? In everything? In every circumstance? After all, it is He that even gives us the ability to do so.

This Hanukkah, I pray that I have the fortitude and chutzpah, and especially His grace and enablement...like the Maccabees did, to say...

"I choose US".


**

Sunday, October 25, 2009

BACK TO THE ROOT- BEWARE OF THE LEAVEN

Oftentimes in scripture, leaven is used symbolically to mean sin. We see this in the First Covenant, when God instituted the Feast of Unleavened Bread at the Passover. Additionally, Yeshua used leaven in many of His parables to symbolize sin.




Let us take a look at Matthew 16:6 in which Jesus says:




Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.



We know that the Pharisees and Sadducees of the day were largely influential in the way that people worshipped God. The issue Jesus often had with them is that they often held up their man-made traditions as equal to the Torah, equal to scripture when in fact, many times, their teachings contradicted scripture. This put God's people in a precarious position at best. The people suffered in their relationship with God because they were having the Torah interpreted for them in a way that was twisting what God had said and taking them away from His original intent and desire for them. By Jesus coming as "the Word made flesh" (John 1:14), a large part of his ministry was to correctly interpret the Torah (God's Word) and by exemplifying this by not only upholding the Torah, but also be being the living Torah, the narrow Gate, AND the Narrow Path, the Way for us all.





BEWARE THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES





Yeshua warned us to "beware the leaven of the pharisees". Many modern preachers teach that this means beware of the sin of religious pride. I would agree with this and I would also say that the warning goes much deeper than this. The Pharisees were responsible for taking people away from Torah under the pretense that they were bringing people into the ways of God. How did they do this? By holding their man-made traditions above scripture.





Jesus said in Mark 7:8, (NASB), "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men".




And the next verse, Mark 7:9 says, "You are experts at setting aside the commandments of God in order to keep your tradition.".




Notice that Jesus said COMMANDMENT of GOD. He upheld the commandments God gave also in Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." We have talked before that He upheld God's Torah, in the same way that a lawyer advocates for one in a court of law. He fulfilled in the way that means "to fill to the full". He did not say anything about doing what one thinks is right. He mentioned nothing about feelings. He was holding in the highest esteem, God's teaching, His Torah (torah in Hebrew means teaching).




In Mark chapter 7, Yeshua was addressing the accusation heralded by the pharisees against His disciples regarding one of the ceremonial traditions of handwashing before meals. He called this the "tradition of the elders". The pharisees were clinging to this tradition over observing with their hearts the things which God had commanded. The pharisees often clung to the traditions at the price of breaking God's commandments. They upheld finer points of the Torah and neglected the major things (such as love, justice, mercy), see also Matthew 23:23. Much of Jesus' ministry was to help prioritize God's Ways and to bring the people back to the correct interpretation of Torah.



In the previous verse in Mark, Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:3 which says:




Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned {by rote,}"(NASB).








TRADITION LEARNED BY ROTE





Don't we do this today in the church? Many of our traditions consist of a way our spiritual forefathers did things and we follow suit without question. We do things by rote. We do not ask ourselves, "What does God think about this?" After all, wouldn't we want to please God with our lips as well as our actions, even if it meant letting go of some traditions that contradict what is revealed in His will? Pleasing God with our actions is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. God could care less if we give Him praise from our lips if our hearts are corrupted with the love of the things of this world and its ways. Indeed to "work out" our own salvation with fear and trembling must consist of unplugging from the world system, often referred to in the scriptures as Babylon. When we do this, it is pleasing to God. For James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of {our} God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, {and} to keep oneself unstained by the world." (NASB).




I started to think of the traditions in the church world today in terms of things we automatically assume Christians do. We should diligently search out these matters and hold them up to the true light: the whole counsel of the Word of God, of which the foundation is the Torah, God's teachings, His commadments.




I have already addressed in previous posts the problem with seeing legalism in every comment made about God's Commandments. I hope you will go back and read about it. Of course when I mention the commandments of God and His Torah, I am not pushing a legalistic observance of a set of rules by which we observe by rote (that would negate my point), but rather I am talking about the pure unadulterated Word of God which Jesus Himself came to rightly interpret, turning many back to God. Let us see the Torah through the lens of what it really is: what it was meant to be by the Giver. As I have said previously, The Lawgiver and His intent is good and holy and just, therefore the Law (Torah) He gave is good, and holy, and just. I am not talking about man's twisted perverted legalistic interpretation of it. It is precisely from this burdensome yoke I am trying to free those in the Body of Messiah!!








THOU SHALT NOT HAVE.....





Of course, we know the rest of this commandment to read, "any other gods before me. I am the Lord your God". Notice the beginning of this commandment is not a commandment for doing (or not doing) at all, but the basis of which is relationship. "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery". This is the whole basis for the commandments! Relationship with the Most High God. And this, the history of what God had done for the children of Israel, is the whole basis for this covenant He is entering into with them. Sound familiar? Jesus deserves for us to keep His Word, to keep His commandments, based upon #1: Who He is. and #2 What He has done for us. Interestingly enough, notice that the very resting place of God in the tabernacle and subsequently in the Temple in Jerusalem corresponds to the first and second commandment. Over the ark of the covenant, the place where God's glory dwelt in the tabernacle, stood the two cherubim. What was in the midst of them? An image? No. Nothing. God Himself dwelt there. He was their God. No one else was there. Therefore the Israelites were commanded to make "no graven image". They were to partake in the worship of no idols. He was to be their all in all.




If there was any sin which God gravely chastised the children of Israel for, it was for the sin of idolatry. After all, both captivities happened as God's response to this particular sin, even after He warned them. This tells me this is a grave offense to God indeed.


This very important commandment of God to worship no idols was given preeminance by God in the way He ordered the comandments. You would think that would be pretty important to Him, no? Then, my friend, please tell me why idolatry is taught and encouraged in most churches today?- along with other forms of lawlessness. Christians are expected to partake in man-made traditions and holidays which have nothing to do with God and in fact, could be argued that He is against, even disgusted with. More on this later. Right now I want to deal with two "sacred cows" in the church: Christmas and Easter. Namely, the first, Christmas, since the holiday shopping season is upon us and every commercial and radio station is beckoning us to join in the merriment. But what does our Lord think of it? His Word tells us exactly what He thinks of it, regardless of WHO you do it in the name of:







THE LEAVEN OF THE BABYLONIANS





In Genesis chapter 11, we see the men of the earth rebelling against the specific instructions God gave Adam and Eve to "fill the earth and subdue it". In chapter 11, they settled in the plain of Shinar. They said "Come let us build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth". Notice their intent was diametrically opposed to what God wanted. Therein was the seed of rebellion manifest corporately. We see the fruit of this seed today in every false relogious system and ungodly political system in the world. This tower they built became known as the Tower of Babel and the city became known as Babylon. Babylon became the prototype for the city of satan which was to be the counterfeit of the city of God, which is Jerusalem (and more specifically, the New Jerusalem).



It is here, in Babylon, that every conceivable evil was thought up and practiced. And it was here that God allowed the chastisement of his people, Israel, in the form of the Babylonian captivity. The Israelites engaged in idolatry which God expressly forbade, therefore, He allowed them to become captives in a land not their own, the land that was the capital of idolatry. The contrast, to the Israelite captives, must have been very stark indeed!

When Jesus came to Israel, it was after the Israelites retruned from their captivity in Babylon. Indeed, many of the teachings of His day came straight from Babylonian thinking (after all, one major part of the Talmud is called the Babylonian Talmud). Not only that, but the Israelites changed their calendar to reflect names of the Babylonian gods (i.e. the month of Tammuz). Therefore, I cannot help but to think that much of what Jesus was trying to flesh out in his teaching against the "leaven of the pharisees" was indeed, leaven that came straight out of Babylon. Tradition...in this case....idolatry....learned. By rote.


The Babylonians were known for their many gods they worshipped and for holding the "mysteries" of the universe. They prided themselves on knowledge of every kind, including astronomy, mathematics, and the Chaldean language. The Babylonian mystery religious system gave birth to many beliefs, myths, and false religious practices. The founder of the city, Nimrod,
and specifically his wife Semiramis, gave birth to one of the "mysteries" that is still practiced today, yes, in our Western culture. Allegedly, Semiramis wife of Nimrod, had a miraculous conception and the product of which was Tammuz. This was the counterfeit fulfillment fo the promise given to the seed of the woman, through whom the Messiah would come. According to the account, Tammuz was killed by a wild animal and was resurrected, again, a counterfeit to God's real Messiah. In a culture where stargazing was held in high esteem, this Tammuz became known as the sun god. The mystery perpetuated itself in later civilizations, as Babylon was taken over by several subsequent peoples. The seed of rebellion remained. Sun god worship was spread over the face of the earth, at the same time knowledge of the One True God of the children of Israel was also spread. The true seed and the counterfeit. The wheat and the tares. In Roman culture, they celebrated the feast of Saturnalias, on the same day as the winter solstice, ironically the very day of the birthday of the Babylonian sun god Tammuz...yep...December 25th. The names had been changed to protect the guilty.

Most Bible scholars agree that although we do not have the exact date of Jesus' birth, they do know when He was NOT born. He was not born on December 25th (which corresponds to the Hebrew month of Kislev). For one thing, the shepherds would not be out in the fields of Israel tending the sheep there in the middle of winter. Many think Jesus was actually born during the Feast fo Tabernacles. I could go into the vast array fo evidence for this, however, for brevity's sake, lets just say that in John chapter 1 verse 14 where is says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us" (clarification mine), would make a whole lot more sense during this feast of the Lord, rather than a pagan festival.

From history, we DO know that December 25th is the recognized birthday of the sun god.




Subsequent cultures have taken up the custom of celebrating the birthday of the sun god. Some of the customs to commemorate his birth are: cutting down a tree (an evergreen symbolizes the eternal nature of this sun god) and adorning it with silver and gold, feasting, drinking, and the giving of gifts. And a fertility custom known by description to us as kissing (a vestige of the orgy) under a leafy bough.




It is a well known custom of pagan idolaters to commemorate the day of the birth of their gods. We know that these gods are not gods at all, but demons, for the Bible says so. (Deuteronomy 32:17).





But what does God think of this revelry? Specifically, how does He treat the veneration of the sun god Tammuz in His Word? Ezekiel 8:14 tells us that there were women weeping for Tammuz in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The next verse shows what this "man of fire" thought of the practice. He used the word "disgusting". Let's look at verse 16b:



"...there, at the entrance to the temple of Adonai, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of Adonai and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east". (Stern's Complete Jewish Bible).





Again in verse 17, He calls such practices "disgusting" and says such practices fill the land with violence.





Moreover, the description of cutting down a tree and adorning it with silver and gold as an idolatrous practice is explicitly addressed in Jeremiah chapter 10. Let's take a glance at it.

"Don't learn the way of the Goyim, don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them; for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe; they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move." (CJB). [Note: goyim means gentiles, the surrounding nations].

Sound familiar?

In Jeremiah 16:19, it says, "The nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, saying, 'Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies, futile idols, completely useless'". (CJB).

Well, you may say, that was the Old Testament and we serve a God of grace and mercy now. He doesn't mind if we celebrate Jesus' birthday on the same day as the pagans do their thing. After all, we are doing it in the Name of the Lord and for His glory (the take-over arguement).





Then I would say to you: please remember how the Israelites treated the worship of the golden calf after coming out of Egypt; after all, they declared a Feast unto the Lord while they worshipped the golden calf. God was not pleased. I believe He went lightly on them, considering they had just left the land where they learned idolatrous ways and were just getting re-aquainted with this Lord who delivered them. However, the longer they knew Him and saw of His great mercy and awesome power, the more they were held accountable. It is the same with us today. To whom much is given, much is required.

Also, God commanded the Israelites to destroy the high places of idolatry in the land of Israel...AND TO NOT WORSHIP HIM ON THOSE HIGH PLACES. (Lev. 26:30; Num 33:52; Deu. 12:2, Jer. 10).



Additionally, we have strong indication from the New Testament that Jesus Himself warns His followers to "come out of" Babylon in Revelation 18:4 which reads:



I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her (Babylon), my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; (clarification mine). (CJB).



Notice that God will pronounce judgement on this world system called Babylon. Those that "partake of her sins" will undoubtedly be recipients of that judgement. It's a sowing and reaping effect. For the wages of sin is death. Sin brings its own reward.





Just what are the sins of Babylon? Revelation dscribes this world religious system as a woman of adultery, wherby the kings of the earth have committed fornication. Committed fornication against whom? Against God. We also have the rich description of Babylon in the Book of Daniel; their customs, mindsets, their practices. The seed of which was organized rebellion against God. King Belshazzar offered up the holy vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem to his gods during a drunken orgy. How did God respond? He took the kingdom from him that night and the king lost his life. The king had prostituted the things of the one true God to the gods of Babylon. Moreover, the description of Babylon the harlot in Revelation 17:5 says:





and on her forehead a name {was} written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (NASB)





Notice that what was written above her head was a mystery. Ironic, since the Babylonian mystery religions are always beckoning man to come and taste and see, to know some sort of secret, in effect, drawing them away from the Lord of Glory. Every lie and counterfeit comes out of Babylon where it became institutionalized. Every ungodly lie and ideology which the devil makes look good: paganism, humanism, every kind of ism. These ideologies, which, by the way, have made their inroads to every aspect of our society: politics, public school system, and pop culture. Remember that in the last days, men will call good evil and evil good. We live in a Babylonian system indeed!







BABY STEPS OUT OF BABYLON






It is here that I would like to share some of my own personal testimony and exhortations to the reader to begin to make his or her own way out of the customs, practices and thinking of Babylon. For that is what I consider the modern Christmas traditions which continue (officially) in the church today. I like how the Messianic movement treats it corporately. They say we do not tell families what and what not to practice in their own homes. However, as a community of believers, we do not corporately acknowledge the customs associated with the celebration of Christmas. I think the institutionalized church would do well to adopt this same principle.





And so from a personal standpoint, I also do not believe in going around pointing the finger at believers who celebrate Christmas calling them "idolaters". I don't think Yeshua would be caught doing that. However, that does not mean He would not be speaking out in general and encouraging His followers to repent from their own ways and turn to God regarding the matter. If my conclusions are correct, as a son of Israel and the Living Torah, the Living Word of God, Yeshua would recognize the practices modern Christians today celebrate under the guise of "Christmas" as pagan. Therefore, I won't be silently afraid to address the issue, either.





Since about 9 or 10 years ago, I have not celebrated Christmas. I have been invited to many a Christmas party and heard many church Christmas programs announced. However, I have to decline such offers because of the nature of the customs. I want to please my Lord and want to be found faithful to Him on the Day He comes for me. Regardless of what the surrounding culture, if that even has to include the surrounding church culture, does.




My journey has not always been so strident. I grew up loving Christmas as my favorite holiday, with the tree, the lights, the food, and oh, especially all the baking. Like you, probably, I was surrounded with music and family and warm family memories of traditions of opening gifts around the tree and leaving out cookies for "Santa". However, once I started walking with the Lord and seeking to make Him the Master of my life, I started having a slight and ever so faint uncomfortableness with the traditions of Christmas. I remember one year in particular being sour over a game my family played where you open a gift from a common pot of wrapped gifts and the person who opens one after you, if they are disatisfied with thier gift, can make you trade yours for theirs. I found the game so miserly and mean. It was in this sour state that I began to stew and take a really hard look at all the "fruit" of the Christmas season: the debt, the greed, the drunken revelry. I knew from the words of Jesus that if you have a rotten tree, you have rotten fruit. Such practices, as it says in Ezekiel 8, fill the land with violence and provoke (the Lord). I started to ask myself "Is this what I want to be a part of every year?" I found the prospect depressing.





Oh, I tried for awhile to "put Christ back in Christmas" after all, He was the "reason for the season"....right? But I soon found out the truth from scripture about how my wonderful Jesus felt about it. And I could no longer pretend and could no longer stomach the massive singing Christmas tree in our church's sanctuary every December.





It was around the same time that God started bringing me back to the Hebrew root of my faith. He started showing me the Holy Days He had ordained and what a blessing they were to observe. Even the man-made extra biblical feasts which fall under the "Jewish" heading, inasmuch as they did not contradict the Word of God, became a joy to celebrate. Hanukkah, or the Feast of Dedication, which Jesus Himself celebrated (John 10:22) became a welcome substitution; and more recently, a more authentic version of the celebration, involving a 7-branched menorah like the one in the Temple which was re-dedicated, rather than the Hannukah-Bush ridden western- Christmas-makeover version.





Do I still struggle with the pull of the marketplace around Dec 25th? You betcha. Do I still long to do those customs which I grew up with as a child sometimes, like bake cookies and want to hear Christmas music? Sure (I love the praise songs about Jesus, such as 'O Night Divine' at any time of the year. It is unfortunate that they are usually coiled up with songs about pagan fertility rites and sun god worship on the radio and tv). You see, the enemy of our souls is crafty and cunning. He makes these customs indelible in our minds as children so we form warm attachments to them and want to perpetuate them throughout our generations. He did the same thing to the children of Israel. The difference is now, I can recognize them and submit them to the Lord, taking every thought captive to the obedience of the Messiah.





Looking back, I think that God is pleased with my journey. It has taken years and baby steps to come out of Babylon. However, with each step, the Lord gives me from His Word and confirmation through the Holy Spirit that I am on the right track. First, the action changed, then my beliefs came more into sync with His Word and will for my life. I have been living TORAH!! How freeing! As I have been on this road of teshuvah (repentance), the fruit stemming from the intimacy with Him has increased ten fold in my life. And most importantly, I believe, like Ruth, who left her Moabite pagan religion for the people of Israel and their God, ('your people will be my people and your God will be my God'), I have an eternal blessing that will never and can never be taken away from me.





May the Lord Yeshua HaMaschiach bless your obedience and your journey into holiness and conformity to His image in a similarly abundant way!! Isn't He worth it?!





**

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Back to the Root- Cleansing of Anti-semitism and Error

In this installment of the series "Back to the Root", I'd like to delve more into the consequences for the modern western church of being severed from the root of our faith, which is the root of Israel, the Word of God. Just seeing that the consequences are so far-reaching and so detrimental to the health of the Body can stir a hunger for righteousness. It is then that I would like to take a look at what being re-connected to that root might look like. This is inspiring for a number of reasons mainly of which is a purification process the Lord might choose to take us through.


REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY


As I have touched on in previous posts, one of the ways we can see how the church has been disconnected from her Hebrew roots is through an error in doctrine known as replacement theology. Replacement theology is built upon the notion that the church has replaced Israel as God's chosen people and therefore have superceded Israel in the promises God has made to His people including the promise of land. It can be as blatant as outright anti-semitism and persecution of the Jews, and can be as subtle as minimizing Israel's importance or significance in any number of ways.

During the reign of Constantine (306 A.D.), there was a growing segment of the population, the Christians, whom Constantine saw as a catalyst for solidifying his power and homogenizing the Empire. According to reports, Constantine had a "conversion" experience during which he saw an illumined vision of a cross. There is much dispute about whether or not Constantine became a convert to Christianity or not. The fact of the matter is that he said he did, although those who look with discernment at this experience may come to a different conclusion. (I happen to believe the latter). It worked to Constantine's favor politcally. Nonethless, he became very influential in church affairs and doctrine. Around that same time, the followers of the Messiah were increasingly gentile (non-Jewish) in their background. The number of Jews who followed The Way (of Yeshua, as it was called), was diminishing. Adding to that fact that Jews who were followers were also being burdened with a heavy tax and pressured to look more and more gentile in their identity and style of worhsip, and we can see how the Jewish influence in the Body at that time was in danger of becoming extinct. In effect, such Jewish traditions (which most were biblical traditions and in fact, mandates of the Word of God, such as the celebrations of the Feasts in Leviticus 23) were becoming less observed and instead, a slew of pagan celebrations were taking their place by the time the Roman Catholic church was well established.

Constantine, an obvious anti-semite, replaced the Sabbath of the seventh day (Saturday) with the day which was named for honoring the sun god, Sunday officially. He also replaced the Passover with his more preferrable "holy day" of Easter, named after his fertility goddess Ishtar, or Ashteroth. The name of this goddess has changed throughout the centuries and across cultures, but historians generally agree that it is one and the same goddess, the one, in fact, the Lord told the Israelites to demolish her strongholds in the Land of Israel and to destroy her poles (the Ashterah poles, of which we get our verions today of the striper pole, believe it or not). These are things, mind you, that Constantine had no authority from the Word of God to do.


Constantine's reasons for doing away with the Passover of our Lord in place of the fertility goddess' holiday, complete with the dipping of eggs in blood and conducting "sunrise services" is documented in the Nicean Council's report which is available on the internet. He did it to distance himself and his subjects from the practices of "those detestable Jews" (his words, not mine).

Other early church fathers followed suit in their prejudices against the Jews and they officialized them in the form of church doctrine. Among them were Justin Martyr, John Chrysostom, Turtullian, and Martin Luther. Most of these men preached of deicide (the killing of God) and charged the Jews with the murder of the Lord. They taught that the Jews should suffer, amongst other things, wandering the earth, for the crucifixion of Jesus. Martin Luther was the most explicit of them all, for when he tried to convert the Jews and was unsuccessful, he ordered that people "set Jewish synagogues on fire for the honor of God". It was indeed, Adolph Hiltler who got many of his ideas for persectuting Jews from the writings of Martin Luther.

As the church progressed into pagan and political oppression, these sentiments were perpetuated in the writings. We have to remember that only nobility and clergy were educated at the time and the masses were at the mercy of anit-semitic men who were bound and determined to rid the church of any Jewish influence. "Legalism" and Judaism became synonomous in the minds of the church fathers, and both were thrown out equally. Thus the gentile church suffered for not being instructed in the ways of God through the Old Testament which was the foundation for Judaism and in actuality, is the foundation for Christianity. Consequently, a pagan culture filled the void, including the worship of other gods, pagan church practices and the like. Oppression and deception ensued, followed by many superstitious beliefs. And little teaching came out of scripture to condemn these detestable practices. The church was then plunged into her darkest hour to date....that even secular historians agree on the term to describe it....The Dark Ages.

Since those days, the church has experienced a rebirth by way of the Reformation (including the 99 Theses Martin Luther pinned to the door of the Catholic Church stating that salvation is by grace through faith alone, not by works as was taught in his day). But little, until now, had been done to cleanse the root system of the church from the effects of Replacement theology. The church remained for centuries homogenized as gentile, with some pagan practices thrown in here and there, even though there has always been a small believing remnant of Jews down through the centuries.


BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MODERN MESSIANIC MOVEMENT



During the late 1800's and early 1900's, something began to change. Gentile Christians began feeling a deep sense of love and responsibility toward the Jews that coincided with Jewish persecution in Russia and Europe with the first and second World Wars. This led to missionary activity in the metropolitan areas where Jewish people settled. Little by little, more Jewish people were coming to believe that Jesus was indeed their Jewish Messiah, and although they were severely persecuted in their own families and communities and cut off, they persisted in their faith. Many of these Jews who were now followers of Yeshua, wanted to retain their Jewish identity while following the Messiah. This culminated in a mass Jewish revival in the 1960's and 70's which ran congruently with the sexual revolution, the hippies, and the Jesus Movement. Jews flocked to Bible studies on campuses at major universities such as UC Berkeley and Columbia University. Messianic synagogues began popping up all over America. These Jews knew they were Jewish and they wanted to stay that way. As Jew and gentile began worshipping together and following the leading of the Holy Spirit to restore some of their cultural moorings such as the Israeli Davidic dance and Torah services, a cross-pollination of sorts began. Gentiles ALSO began flocking to the Messianic Congregations to learn more about their Jewish Messiah. Another movement was in the works, one of restoration of the gentiles to the Hebrew roots of their faith. This stream of the movement can be called the Olive Branch, or Olive Tree Movement. Churches began organizing prayer groups to pray for Israel and allowing Messianic congregations to meet in their church buildings.

Although the movement started small and increased in size as it snowballed through the late decades of the 20th century, it is an ever- increasing vaiable part of the Body of Messiah today. Because of this movement, which was founded upon prayer and evangelism to the Jew, millions of Jewish people worldwide have come to faith in the Messiah and many gentiles in the Body are coming to an ever-increasing maturity as they re-discover the Word of God as seen through Hebrew lenses.

Much of this information is documented in a biographical book by Yohanna Chernoff entitled "Born a Jew, Die a Jew". It is about her late husband, Martin Chernoff, a pioneer in the messianic movement. It is a fascinating true adventure which at one time oh, about 9 years ago, transformed this blogger's life. I highly recommend it. It sits on my living room bookshelf next to my Bible and it does not get out of my sight for long.



RESTORING THE ROOT (REALLY)



As the messianic movement has done much to bring awareness to the Jewishness of the gospel and our Savior and to draw attention to the importance of the Old Testament as the foundation for our faith, much is still needed in the way of restoring the whole Body of Messiah to the whole Word of God. It is this writer's opinion that this is indeed part of the last day's plan to purify the church of pagan and wordly influences, and to bring restoration to the people of Israel. ("...for all Israel shall be saved..." Romans 11:26). When the church is restored to her root, the commonwealth of Israel, which comes from God and is good, then she can be reviatalized and rise to be the glorious Bride "without spot or wrinkle" (Ephesians 5:27).

This is imperative for the Bride to make herself ready for the Bridegroom's coming, who is Messiah, our Lord. It is also imperative in order to cleanse the church of deception in these last days and to protect her from the coming world system which is demonic in nature and whose leader, the anti-messiah, will persecute unrelentingly.

So it is of paramount importance that these errors in our theological belief systems (those such as replacement theology) be rooted out of our churches and Bible studies. I have listened to many great teachers in the Body of Messiah, many of whom I love and respect and could only aspire to their lives of godliness and dedication to our Lord, who, knowingly, or unknowingly, perpetuate streams of these kinds of errors in their teachings. They make statements such as "we are under grace, not under the Law". As I have explained in previous articles, this comes from a misunderstanding. The operative word LAW, in the Hebrew is torah, it means teaching. And so I would ask, "are you saying we are not under God's teaching?" Even though this misunderstanding exists, it is unfortunately being perpetuated. This is why we all in the Body of Messiah need one another. We individually and collectively have blind spots which only another person or segment in the Body can see and relieve us of. No one has the whole of truth. No one is perfected (yet) in grace. This is why we must not only humbly accept when another part of the Body restores us to the truth, but also be willing to look at those things in our blind spots, such as pride and idolatry, (more on that later) that have kept us out of the entirety of God's blessings and abundance.

Join me next time when we will delve even deeper into the very important subject of the Hebrew Root and specifically, purging out the influences which keep us from the full radiance that is Christ-likeness. It is a journey for me as well, one in which I would love if you take with me. The cost might be high, but the rewards are extraordinary!!

Shalom (peace)

**

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Back to the Root Part 3a

In this series I have been covering just a few topics of interest for those who are seeking the Hebrew root of their faith in Christ. The subject is so widespread and so deep that I am unable to cover everything.

One thing I would like to say is that I am not the authority on this issue. The scriptures are. I encourage the reader to show himself or herself approved and to search these out for him or herself, the same way that the Bereans searched the scriptures daily to see if those things which Paul the apostle taught them were true. I am learning in my journey that viewing history from a biblical worldview, rather than a secular one, is very helpful in seeing some of these issues come to light.

I have highlighted the importance of understanding that to know our Messiah, our Savior is a Hebrew from the tribe of Judah is of utmost importance to understanding the context of scripture. We know Him better when we truly understand who He is...how He thinks...what is important to Him. I cannot stress enough the fact that to understand Israel and God's plan through their Jewish Messiah is key to understanding what is expected of those of us who have been "grafted in" to the root of faith, that is, the root of Israel. (Romans 11).

In many ways, the modern American Christian church has been severed from the vine, or is in danger of being so. This comes, as we see in the text from a "boasting against the branches". (anti-semitism and the subsequent replacement theology which pervades the church today: the idea that God has transferred His plan, His promises to the gentile church and away from Israel is error.) While it is true that once we are born again we become part of that mystical reality of being the Body of Messiah and at the same time spiritual descendants of Abraham, we do not replace or become more important or significant than the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. In fact, when we do boast against those branches, the natural olive branches put there by God, we endanger ourselves (both collectively and individually) of being cut off ourselves.

What is the evidence of this "being cut off"?

Well, for starters, it becomes evident that we no longer receive of the nourishing sap of the root. This is not just a "nice accessory" to our faith, a blessing if you have it, a loss if you do not. It is IMPERATIVE for us to have the nourishing sap that comes from the root of Israel, which is the Word of God. If we are cut off and do not have it, what are the indications?

Seen an unhealthy church lately? One where sin abounds (but grace does not much more abound), full of dead men practicing dead or legalistic religion? Seen many preachers fall into grave moral failure lately? I have. It happens very frequently. Seen churchgoers (or been one?) who walk out of the church injured, hurt, or deceived, or all of the above, because people (usually in church leadership) murder them with their words, causing them spiritual and emotional damage that can only take a miracle to heal? I sure have.

What are all of these symptoms of? They are symptoms of a powerless, anemic form of faith, a "form of godliness" which denies the power thereof. (2 Timothy 3:5). And it stems from replacing God's model with a pagan one.

Have you ever felt like the God of the Bible, even though you may know Him and trust Him as your Savior, seems to change personalities when you cross over from Malachai to Matthew? That He seems somehow disjointed or contradictory? The One who is full of grace and mercy is painted as a wrathful, vengeful God in the Old Testament? My friend, as with myself, if you have felt this way, you have succumbed to replacement theology and the entrapments of seeing God from a pagan, Hellenized viewpoint which is not in the least supported in scripture.

I want to let you in on a little secret from my personal testimony. (Even though some may criticize me and say I am a legalist and trying to put people 'back unde the Law'). I have never been more FREE in my entire life: free of of the bondage of condemnation, free from fear, free from the fear of criticism from man, free from the bondage of moral and emotional sin. (wrong thoughts about myself which plague the mind). And I can tell you all this happened once I started knowing God for who He really is and walking by faith in that knowledge. Once I started seeing Him as One God (not God of the Old Testament and God of the New, after all, that distinction was not put there by Christ, the separation of the nature and character of God and subsequently the separation of OT. and N.T. was put there by man's tradition, not by God), I was no longer confused. I was free from a religious spirit which plagues the Western gentile church to this day. My life became so much more meaningful and purposeful (and I have never taken a Rick Warren class). My life became more supernaturally evident; my witness became stronger. My life became more orderly. My actions and attitudes toward my family members and loved ones became more pure. My fruit became sweeter. And my intimacy with God became deeper.

So if you are hungering and thirsting for the Living Water that is Messiah, read on; but with a word of caution....some of the facts and viewpoints I share in this blog may come to a head-on collision with what you have been taught by man and the institutions of man. Are you willing to concede? Are you willing to lay down your beloved man-made notions and traditions which contradict the Word of God? These things are "high imaginations" which scripture says need to be cast down. I endeavor to do that daily. But it has come at a cost. Oh, it has cost me things which will not matter in light of eternity: things like money, status, prestige, the good opinion of man, the luxury of being understood and respected by my peers, lauded in the church world, invited to speak at or teach at conferences or classes (which was a small part of my past). But I have gained so much more and I know I would rather have that crown of righteousness waiting for me in Heaven than all that this Babylonian world system has to offer.






Becoming A Talmid, a Disciple




Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). The word disciple in the Hebrew is talmid (talmidim is the plural form). The concept of talmid in the Hebrew mind is wrapped up in the relationship of a rabbi and his followers, those who follow the rabbi as a lifestyle. Talmidim seek to not only learn everything the rabbi knows about God and living life as a tzaddik, a righteous person, but they also seek to become what the rabbi is. It is more than being a student, which the Greek word from which we get the word disciple conjures. The idea is that the followers of the rabbi stick so close to their beloved teacher that even the dust from the rabbi's feet gets on them. This is a desired place to be learning, studying, following. The talmid learns as he does, as in fact his rabbi does, rather than merely learning by what the rabbi says.



The Modern American church, to a large extent, is built upon the Greek model of learning by hearing, rather than learning by doing. It is the model the universities are built upon. The teacher stands at the front of the class, emphasizing the space between themselves and the students as one of separation and therefore one of status. The students learn by listening and asking questions. This was not the way Jesus conducted ministry with His disciples. Jesus said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them." (Mark 10:42). He told His disciples not to conduct themselves this way. He taught His disciples to follow His example of seeing, perceiving, and doing. Jesus taught them that He does what He sees the Father doing. He taught them the way He Himself would have learned as a child growing up in the Israelite culture. What did Jesus see the Father doing? Doing His Word! Doing Torah. (teaching).



Becoming a talmid, a follower of Christ entails more than just listening to an occasional sermon. Think about it. If Yeshua required His talmidim to leave their ordinary lives and follow Him, which included turning from their own ways of doing things and instead turning back to Torah, wouldn't He require the same of us today? Indeed He does. For in this idea of "believing" in the Hebrew connotation of the word is the concept of doing, not merely mental or emotional ascent or a creed one ascribes to. In the Hebrew concept, emphasis is placed on deed. In the Greek, it is placed on creed. And creed is powerless if you don't have the actions to back it up.



"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you and your household, and you shall be saved" (Acts 16:31).




In the New Testament time period, to believe in Yeshua meant to first know Him for who He is. To recognize Him. Then it required a response. Such a response was given by Jesus' disciples. In fact, they followed Him so closely that they followed Him to his death. Most of the disciples died horribly torturous deaths in order to keep following their Messiah. Is any less expected of us today? Now, we may or may not be called upon to die in a like manner, however, I think the arguement can be made for the fact that to become a talmid, a disciple, is to give up your life and closely follow the Rabbi.




So what of the church system that our modern day Christianity is based upon? Many people are following a leader and many leaders are leading the sheep astray so that "both fall into a ditch" (of sin, lawlessness, which is Torahlessness). This system is not based upon the Hebrew model, but the Greek. Once the Greek, or gentile influence became more predominant after the first century, the moorings of Greek pilosophy infiltrated the church, even down to the separation of clergy and laity. This divide has been responsible for much of the complacency and apathy we witness in the church today. I know of many pastors who wish their congregants would be more active in ministry with them. My question, then, is how is the model upon which the church is built contributing to the perpetuation of this separation and lack of involvement? Aren't even our seminaries geared toward keeping people in the pews and the man of God behind the Bible doing the seeking? If so, if we perpetuate this model in the American Christian church, emphasizing its form and denying the power that could be tapped into, are we fulfilling the true potential of being Talmidim? I don't think so.




I am so glad our Rabbi, our Lord is not this way with us. No, He requires us to be His talmidim.
He wants us where He is: out with the poor and the broken, ministering to the lost and the sick. Doing Torah. (For an explanation of a non-legalized version of Torah, which Jesus advocated, see the previous parts of this series.).


It is true Jesus ministered in the Temple of His day. However, most of His effective work was done out in the villages, amongst the people, going house to house. In fact, He told His talmidim to go to the villages and stay with those who would take them in. That is where they were to do their work: getting to know the people, working alongside them for the Kingdom of God. Don't we see a semblance of this today? Whilst church houses are full of people not doing much or walking in much power, we see home groups and house fellowships where many are coming to know the Lord and maturing quickly because of a neighbor, friend or relative. Most documented miracles oversees happen in the house church movement. Many in the Western church are unaware that this is even going on. And what's more concenring is they don't even know what they are missing out on.




Am I saying scratch the whole institutionalized church? No. I am not saying that at all. I am not qualified to say that. I am not an apostle in the five-fold sense of the word. And if that were to happen, perhaps it would take a move of God. (Mind you, I am not saying it WON'T happen in the future). What I AM saying, is, let's return to that model outlined for us in the gospels-that model so well loved and so well tested by the Hebrews. First on a personal level and then see what happens. Let's become true talmidim and follow our Rabbi Yeshua and allow Him to lead and guide our lives and ministries. I think we will find a deeper maturity in the Body and perhaps become that Bride "without spot or wrinkle". Let us not give up meeting with one another in homes through cell groups, home-based Bible studies, and prayer groups. Let us not forsake the "assembling of ourselves together" in lieu of merely gathering in a building. Let us become a true community and family of faith, mingling our lives together, counting on one another and involving ourselves in eachother's celebrations of joy, eachother's hurts, fears, failures and triumphs, encouraging one another on toward love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24). Once we start doing so, the gospel will spread like wildfire, like the organic "weed" it was meant to be and then little will be able to stop it.








Join me next time as we discuss "Beware of the leaven of the pharisees and the leaven of the Babylonians". Is the church guilty of harboring leaven (sin) which comes from the pagan world? What are the roots of some of our most beloved traditions? The answer may surprise you.....

**








Thursday, September 3, 2009

In the Fire

It has been a really ROUGH week. I am taking a break from my series on the Hebrew root of the Christian faith just so I can get my bearings and perhaps process all the stresses that have hit me this week.



My doctor told me I have placenta previa. Which, the condition is not serious in itself (the placenta moves on it's own away from the cervix in most cases before the due date) but I am sure that stress does not help this process. If I should start bleeding, it's bedrest for me and who can do bedrest with a two year old active toddler running around?



My family is having to make major financial decisions that will affect us for years to come. I do not want to dwell on this. I have always trusted in the Lord to provide for me and He always has. It just adds fuel to the fire.



A family member I care for very much has a substance abuse problem. This is being enabled by a "professional" who is not acting so professionally. This affects my whole family.



My two year old has taken to challenging almost everything I say. Which is normal for a two year old, I understand. But when hormones are the order of the day, it just makes you want to lock him outside (which I would never do) or eat 1/2 of a can of frosting (which I did), despite the fact I am trying to get over a systemic infection that has lasted well over a month and sugar only exacerbates..



The icing on the cake is my weight has now broken the 200lb. mark (I am 5'2 if you can imagine). I have never been this heavy before in my entire life, even as an overweight young adult, which I worked so hard to change my lifestyle and get it off. (about 60-70 lbs weight loss).

There is economic disaster looming on the horizon for our nation of which would make the Great Depression look like an economic recovery. This will cause food shortages, and the oh-so- desired civil unrest which follows. Last night I heard a report that the central valley of California (where I live) which produces the majority of the agricultural commerce for the state of Calif and upwards o 13% of agriculture for the nation, is having a drought. However, this drought cannot be blamed on global warming (as if!), but rather on an environmental control that says get your own water, we are trying to save the fishes. (I am not joking). Is this the focus of my rant? Of course not, but it does nothing to relieve the stress I already had.

There is strife between some very good friends of mine in the Body of Messiah. This is mostly due to a personality difference and a misunderstanding, however, because of the component of ministry, the spiritual warfare factor is intense. Moreover, the person who needs to resolve it is not one for confrontation. All future plans for ministry as well as recreational fellowship hinge on getting over this impasse.



Thank God I am getting a decent night's sleep these days, or you may see them hauling me off in a goofy wagon wearing a stylish white jacket with innovative arm pockets. (Sleep deprivation is not my idea of a ride at the fair).



Tonight in my Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Daniel, we will be going over the passage of the three Hebrews in the fire. I so need to hear, read, and breathe that Fourth Man in the fire. Because it gives me hope that He is in the fire with me. He is my hope and the only reason I have to hope. I can be kicked out of my house tomorrow and have to pray food on the table, but I know that God loves me, He will always take care of me. And this is not all about me. It is about His plans which are sometimes far and above what we could imagine or see. They are about His glory. And so I pull myself up in the Spirit of the Lord the way David did, I take great comfort in the fact I am not forsaken, not abandoned, and that this too shall pass. For goodness sake, for all I know, God could be preparing me for bigger and hotter fires! And I pray I will not have the slightest smell of smoke on me after all is said and done.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Back to the Root Part 2

In this series of blogs, I will address some of the issues that confront the American Christian concerning the Hebrew perspective of God's Word. Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, my hope is that you will glean something from the Word of God that will help you grow in your relationship with Him and to have more of an understanding of the scriptures, if not a hunger to go deeper into study and pursuit of the One who died for you!




There are many issues that arise for many believers when they begin to hear about the Hebrew perspective of God's Word or of the Messianic Jewish Movement. It is indeed a movement that was initiated by God in order to restore the Church (Body of Messiah) to her original call and destiny...to know the Messiah and to make Him known. Everything I have gleaned on this journey so far is to that end. As the Apostle Paul puts it, (paraphrasing here) right now we see through a glass darkly, but then we will see Him face to face. As we near the end of the age when Jesus Christ will be revealed in Glory, it is as though He is coming closer into focus for those that are looking for Him. The "glass" the apostle Paul talks about is, of course, the scripture.





I have had people ask me things like, "Don't the Jews have a veil of unbelief over them?" and "Didn't Jesus fulfill the Law?" (By this they mean, according to their understanding, 'Didn't Jesus do away with the Law?') Many of these questions arise out of a sincere desire to understand God's perspective of Law and Grace. The errors in doctrines taught by men throughout the centuries have lent to much misunderstanding and confusion amongst believers about basic questions about salvation. I myself was confused at first. I did not have any other interpretation of the Bible other than the one given to me by the pastor or leader in the American institutionalized church. Until the lenses on my glasses changed....





God gave me a deep love for the people of Israel. This was a supernatural working in my heart. It was not something I aspired to nor mustered up. This was the start of a journey where I have come to know the depths of God's grace and His mercy. He started answering my questions and clarified things for me that were confusing or which seemed contradictory. I am not done! I am still walking on this path He set me on lo those 12 years ago. And everyday I am learning more and more of Him. May it never end!!







JEW AND GENTILE, ONE IN MESSIAH



Before Yeshua came to the earth, it is important to understand that salvation was through Israel. Theirs was the Word of God, the prophets, the knowledge of God. This is why they were the chosen people. The knowledge that there was only One true God was passed through them (Both Abraham and Noah knew this and had faith in God even before the Law). The knowledge of sin came through those who would become known as the Hebrews. Note: the first time the term Hebrew is used in regard to a person is with Abraham, Genesis chapter 14 vv. 13. The knowledge of sin has always been around from the beginning, but God's Torah made man acutely aware of sin. Not only did the Jews bring the knowledge of God and the knowledge of sin to the entire world, but they had the remedy for restoring one's relationship with God, after sin had its ugly consequence (for the wages of sin is death). That remedy was the sacrificial system, first instituted by God Himself in the Garden of Eden then with Abraham and restored to the Israelites during the Passover in Egypt, and consequently codified in the Torah.



The Jews not only brought the knowledge of God to the world, they brought God Himself to the world! Genesis 12:3 says "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (a reference to the Messiah). The Word of God became flesh and "dwelt among us". He was born of an Israelite virgin. He was the Son of God.



Jesus Himself said in John 4:22 "...we worship that which we do know, for salvation is of the Jews".



There was rare occassion when a gentile would come to faith in the Messiah. We find these examples in the gospels. However, during the time before Jesus' own sacrifice, if you were a gentile, you would either have to convert to Judaism or you could become on of the "God-fearers". Priscilla was a God-fearing gentile before she became a follower of Jesus. Such God-fearers would flock to the Temple and/or the synagogues. Although they loved God, they would be considered second-class or at best an accessory to Judaism. They were rarely used by God in order to speak about God and they were required to sit in separate sections in the Temple (the court of the gentiles) and in the synagogues, separated from the Jews by a wall or a curtain. If you were a gentile and wanted to be in covenant with God, you had to enter into the covenant of circumcision along with Israel. Otherwise, you were just considered to be learning about God second hand.



When Yeshua came, He changed all of that. He so loved the world. So that whosoever. Who so ever. Anyone. If you believed in Him (note that the concept of believing from a Greek point of view and a Hebrew point of view are two entirely different things. Because of a heresy called gnosticism which entered the early church and rears its ugly head toay, much of the Greek interpretation in the Western world of believing has to do with creed, while the Hebrew concept also includes deed, as in evidence of your faith, or repentance) If you repented and followed Him, you would not perish but have eternal life. When Jesus came, EVERY person on the face of the earth was allowed to eneter into one and only one way: through Jesus. He was the final sacrifice and the only one acceptable to God. He is the narrow gate and the only path to salvation. If you were Jewish, you must go throught the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. If you were gentile, you had to go through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Salvation became a level playing field and all were accountable to the same standard: that standard being Jesus.



This is why Paul said in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." And also in Ephesians 2:14, "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility...". What was the dividing wall Paul was talking about? The wall that separated the gentiles from the Jews keeping them from the fullness, the richness of God which comes from being a child of God. This was symbolized by that wall of separation in the Temple. Paul wanted the Galatians and the Ephesians to know that they now too had complete access to the Kingdom of God through Jesus the Messiah. They no longer had to be separated. When it comes to having right standing before God, it no longer mattered if you were a Jew or a gentile. That was no longer a determining factor for salvation.



Modern theologians have twisted these verses to mean that now neither Jew nor gentile even exist! This is preposterous. That is not what the verses state at all. Moreover, why would the nation of Israel continue to exist and that fulfillig prophecy by its very existence if Jews were to be no longer? Why would there be scriptures like Revelation chapter 7 which talks of 144,000 sealed from the tribes of Israel- if God wanted there to not be any Jewish identity for the people of Israel after Jesus?



Paul also, even after following the Messiah, continued to live and serve God as a Jew. And not just to win Jews. For if that were the case, he would forego making deliberate journeys (sometimes such a journey would take a month or longer) to Jerusalem for the Feasts of the Lord as celebrated by the Israelites. He would not be circumcising Timothy, who was a Jew, if he had abandoned the Abrahamic covenant or if he thought it was null and void. He would not continue to "....keep the Feast" as he exhorted the Corinthians to do with him in 1 Corinthians 5:8. (speaking of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Passover).



Yes, Paul had a specific calling to the gentiles to tell those who had not heard about the Messiah. He also had a pain in his heart for his own people (Romans 9: 3,4), as he says, "
For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel". If Paul thought being Jewish was suddenly obsolete once the Messiah had come, he would not have referred to them in such a way.


Moreover, the Jewish believers of the first century continued to live and serve God as Jews. The continued to meet in the Temple and in homes, they celebrated the Feasts of the Lord as outlined in Leviticus 23, and many of them were the ones who knew Jesus and walked with Him. They were the ones who saw Him glorified after HIs resurrection. Remember the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus? The "stranger" was Jesus and He caused their hearts to burn within them when He opened their eyes concerning the scriptures and the Messiah. Which scriptures? The Torah and the prophets which spoke of and foretold about Him! The very scriptures which gave them their national identity! Not once did Jesus tell them that they were no longer Jews.



The being "one in Messiah" (Gal 3:28) refers to our standing before God. Yes, we are One Body, with many parts, united in Spirit with the Lord and with eachother. But our unity does not come out of our uniformity. We are not to be cookie cutters. We are to be who we were created to be. Unity does not happen beacause of our sameness. It happens in spite of our differences!! For as Yeshua Himself prayed in the garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion "...that they may be one as we are one:
I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:22). He is not advocating uniformity or absence of identity or heritage here, but He is advocating for unity, the type of unity that Jesus has with the Father. They are uniquely distinct, yet in perfect unity. THIS is what will bring glory to the Body of Messiah and the knowledge of Jesus to the entire world. THIS is what Jesus desires us to have! And we have not tasted it yet. But oh boy when we do....!





WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?



From a practical standpoint, this is very comforting to know for both Jews and gentiles. God does not put a yoke on us which we cannot bear. You can be who you were created to be! If you are Jewish, you don't have to forsake your identity or even the promises God has made to you concerning the Land of Israel and the ensuing physical and spiritual blessings therein!! I would think my husband, son and my Jewish extended family would find that a relief and a blessing. And if you are a gentile, you do not have to become circumcised and do as many people think you have to do which is follow the traditions of the Orthodox rabbis (Their man-made traditions have skewed much truth from the Word of God, by the way). Rather, we can look together into God's magnificent Word and see for ourselves how to align our lives with His will and His teaching.



When I was going through this transformation in my single years, my roommate and best friend was so understanding and patient with me. The issues of our faith never became divisive. She opened up our home with me to allow us to celebrate and learn about the feasts of the Lord and a love for Israel with our friends. We both loved Jesus and He was the topic of our conversation every day. By doing so, she exhibited to me love and understanding and the "preferring" of your neighbor which the sciptures teach, even though she did not understand it all or maybe even agree with everything. And I will always love her for that. That to me was a beautiful picture of how we are to co-exist, both Jewish and gentile followers of the Messiah, in love and unity, not in strife, not in pridefulness of attitude, but in untity based upon the truth, despite our different gifts and backgrounds. Despite the various callings God has placed on our lives. Just as the apostle Paul explains the Body of Messiah is supposed to function. Through this, we exemplify God's complete love for us. And thus we show the world that we truly belong to Him.



More on the Hebrew roots of our faith later. Keep checking in. There is more to come!



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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Back to the Root Part 1

Over the last 12 or so years I have been on the most adventurous, most thrilling journey of my entire life.



I have been delving into the Hebrew perspective of God and His Word. This persepctive can be termed the Hebrew Root (after the olive tree analogy of Romans 11). This has been a process of discovery, repentance, and refreshment unlike any other I have experienced. In essence, Romans 11:18 says that the gentile church does not support Israel (the root) but that the root supports the church; therefore do not boast against the branches. The roots, as the analogy would have it, go very very deep. I have found that they go deep into God's very nature. And as I plummet the depths of the Word of God, which is God, I realize I am looking into His wonderful face and experiencing a glorious renewal in my walk with the Lord. Once I began this journey, I was never to be the same person again.





And I have not been alone on this journey. The Lord has blessed me with compatriots and close friends, covenant friends, who have been on this same journey alongside me and who can attest with me to the wonderful richness that is in our Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), the Living Torah, the Living Word of God.



The messianic Jewish movement of the last 2 or so decades has been the brunt of much criticism and accusations; mostly accusations of false doctrine. Some of it is deserved. However, some of it is not. The messianic movement in America is so wide in scope and diversity of expression, that if one wanted to, one could find any number of heresies taught within. One could also say the same of the American Evangelical and Protestant Church. Digressing here...



Within the messianic movement, I have been priviledged to become acquainted with, through personal involvement as well as reliable reports and biographies, a remnant of followers of the Messiah, both Jews and Gentiles, who cling to the Word of God, rightly dividing the word of truth, and live their lives with integrity and purity. Such people are not "legalistic" or "exclusionists" as some of the critics of the messianic movement claim. Rather, they have a passion for God and a desire to dive into His Word and live their very lives according to that Word.


If you would like to know my testimony of how I came to such a path in my walk, I encourage you to read my previous post entitled, "My Story" from October 26, 2008.




The Apostles and a Savior





The first followers of Jesus were all (with minor exceptions) Jewish. They were raised to know the Torah (the Five books of Moses) and the Tanakh (which includes the prophets and writings, together comprising the Hebrew scriptures). Many of them learned the scriptures from the time they could walk and talk. They read in the prophets about sin, about God's holiness, and about how they had been called out of the nations to be a holy people unto Him. They ate things that were kosher (see Deut. 14), things that were meant to be food. They did not eat things that were not kosher, things not meant for food. They observed the holy days which God had authored. They worshipped God in the manner He prescribed, rather than the manner in which the heathen nations worshipped their gods. They learned how God is a God of separateness, how He separated the light from the darkness, the day from the night, the clean from the unclean, etc.


All of the apostles were Jewish. There has been modern speculation that Luke was a gentile, however, there is in fact compelling scholarly evidence that he was indeed Jewish (for a paper regarding this, please go to the ministry website of Zola Levitt). And the Messiah Himself, the Savior of all mankind is Jewish.

To not acknowledge this truth about Jesus is to leave out a very important aspect of His identity, one which we would be well-served to know and understand.


Many modern Bible preachers, because of a heresy known as "replacement theology", paint the picture that Jesus was anti-everything that is Jewish. Nothing could be further from the truth! They back up their argument with snipets from scripture of how Jesus railed against the pharisees and saducees, the Jewish teachers and leaders of their day, when in fact, in every instance Jesus rebuked them it was because of their man-made traditions (these traditions have been termed 'Fences around Torah', which are still tenets upheld today by many in Orthodox Jewry). These fences were based upon the Oral Torah, rather than the written word of God. The Jewish rabbis and sages prior to Jesus' day wanted to ensure that the Israelites were careful to follow all of God's teachings. So they created a safety net of making sure the people would do this. They in essence created "fences" to ensure the people would obey the Torah. However, in doing so, Jesus accused them of putting a stumbling block in the way of the people so that they could not follow Torah or obey God. They were adding to the Torah, which is expressly forbidden.




Torah= Teaching





The Hebrew word Torah means "teaching". It is God's instructions given to the Israelites through Moses, which includes the Ten Commandments and the Book of Ordinances. Most Christians know that the Ten Commandments is God's moral law given to man. However, the subject of the 10 Commandments in modern times is one frought with confusion and misunderstanding. But what did Jesus Himself say regarding the Torah?


He said, "Think not that I came to abolish the Torah but to fulfill it." (Matthew 5:17). The word "fulfill" means the same as to advocate for, as a lawyer advocates for his client in a court of law. Literally it means to "fill to the full", or fullfill. That is what Jesus did- He advocated for the Torah (the non-twisted version of it) to the Jews. And He came to fill to the full the Word of God. What's more, He is the word of God. After all, it is written in John chapter 1 that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And in verse 14, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us". Which word is the apostle John talking about? The Torah! After all, the New Testament had not yet been written. And who became flesh? Yeshua! (Jesus). Yeshua is the living word of God. Therefore, when we consider the words of Jesus, the living word of God cannot be in anywise bad or be abolished. Everything He did and said confirmed God's Torah, God's teaching and fulfilled it.


Paul even says the Torah is not bad, but good. He would have not known sin if it were not for the Torah.


Even when the Jews tried to keep Torah in thier own might, they stumbled and were required to make atonement (prior to Jesus' crucifixion) with the blood of sacrificed animals. When they were not trusting in God and keeping His commandments, they were in sin. For to keep Torah the way it was intended is to trust in God.




Abraham trusted God and it was credited to him as righteousness. God gave the Torah to Abraham's descendants at Mt. Sinai and they said they would do the Torah. Albeit, many of them perished in the desert, a remnant of the Israelites did continue to keep Torah, thus continuing on in the way of Abraham of living by faith. Abraham listened to the word of the Lord and trusted. The children of Israel did the same. The word of God and His teaching as given to the Israelites are one in the same and they are both good.


A good friend of the family and diligent scholar of the Torah puts it this way, "When you consider the Law (Torah), you must consider the intent of the Lawgiver". That says it all right there! God is perfect and just. His intent is perfect and just. Therefore, the law or teaching which He gave, is also perfect and just.


So where does much of the confusion surrounding the Law stem from?


Some of the confusion stems from anti-semitism repackaged and sold in the gentile church. The Roman emperor Constantine did his part by legislating that pagan customs and festivals be observed in the place of the feasts of the Lord, for he said he wanted nothing to do with those "detestable Jews". And he actually made it illegal to be Jewish and be a follower of Jesus. Others followed suit. More on that later. Thus the richness that is the Word of God which has been stewarded by the Jewish people was lost to the newly gentile church. And most interpretation of scripture from that point on has been tainted with error and prideful "boasting against the branches" (Romans 11:18).


Many have incorrectly assumed that since Jesus did away with God's requirement for a blood sacrifice, that He did away with the entire Old Testament. That is patently false! It has been rebutted by Jesus' own words. Moreover, Jesus Himself even said that whosoever teaches these commandments will be called great in the Kingdom of God, and whoseover teaches men to break these commandments will be called the least. Therefore, when a doctrinal concept contradicts the very words of the Lord, one must be willing to question the theological concept and his understanding of it, rather than the truth being plainly stated. It is precisely here that many Christians, rather than searching the scriptures for themselves, have received the inherited religious pride and ensuing error in doctrine passed down by our spiritual forefathers. (David Stern calls such errors 'heresies'. (Jewish New Testament Commentary.)


There are also some technical aspects of the translation of scripture that has lent to this confusion:


In the New Testament, the same concept of Torah has been translated into the Greek for "Law" (nomos). It is a broad term used to include any standard or set code. It is also used in the New Testament to include God's moral teachings, as well as.....man's legalistic perversion of that teaching. In the Greek, the language does not allow for dileneation of the various shades of meaning of the term. Also, there may have been certain biases the translators had. Although it is the inspired Word of God, the attitudes of the earthen vessels it came through may have gotten in the way somehow, much as a prophet brings the Word of God through his or her own personal nuances. Additionally, an anti-semitic interpretation of the verses has perpetuated the misunderstanding of Paul's writings about the Torah.


Paul, the author of 2/3 of the New Testament, uses a very Jewish form of emphasis..that of paralellism, where the same truth is repeated. On the surface, it would seem that Paul is contradicting the points I have outlined here. However, he is not. The more I read the writings of Paul, the more I am convinced that he was not abolishing or even minimalizing God's Torah. But rather, he was dealing with a set of eccumnical issues which crept into the groups of early believers which emanated from a certain group of Jews who were pushing for a legalistic form of observing the Torah. Scripture calls these Jews "Juadaizers". They actually worked against the Torah, not in favor of it, since theirs was an observance by works, not by faith.




History is Key to Understanding




In the first century, the believers heard the good news of the Messiah coming to be the propitiation for their sins. The believed God, repented of their sins, and followed Him, thus perfectly keeping Torah, the way it was meant when God said He would write His law on their hearts (Jeremiah 31). However, a problem arose for these believers and for the apostles in Jerusalem as well, when the Judaizers were coming into their midst saying that the gentile believers must first convert to Judaism, undergoing circumcision, in order to follow the Messiah and in order to be saved. This was contrary to the apostles' teaching. Therefore, the Council of Jerusalem ensued during which the elders addressed the issue and highlighted the things that were important in order to keep following the Messiah. These things included: staying away from blood, fornication, things sacrificed to idols, and strangled animals. They even said that it "seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us..." that the believers not be burdened with any except the aforementioned requirements (Acts 15:28).



This was the climate in which Paul, who, along with Barnabas, disagreed sharply with those Jews trying to put such a yoke on the gentile believers, and the climate in which he wrote his epistles to the fledgling church. He instructed them (see Romans, see also Galatians) to continue on in their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, just as in fact they were doing. There is an idea in Jewish thought that while one is doing teshuvah (repenting from one's own sinful ways and turning to God's ways), that there not be put a stumbling block in that person's way. Paul knew this and he exhorted the followers to continue in their growth in the Messiah, not taking on a legalistic approach to the ways of God, or trying to attain eternal life or even a higher spiritual status through their own vain efforts, after they had already received the good news of what the Savior had done for them with gladness and trust.




Legalism Vs. Holiness




An invaluable tool for me in my journey into the Hebrew root has been "The Jewish New Testament Commentary" by David H. Stern. For more info, go to: http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-New-Testament-Commentary-Companion/dp/9653590111



Leglalism is not the same as trusting in God and His Word. Oftentimes whenever I just bring up the subject of the Torah or the Ten Commandments, I am accused (by modern American Christians) of being legalistic. Just because I have a love for God and His teachings! Was Jesus legalistic? He quoted from Deuteronomy more than any other book. He had a passion for the Holy Scriptures and correctly interpreted those scriptures for the Jews of his day. I would like to think of myself as being on a quest to do the same: to have a passion for God's inspired word, and to help others have a passion for His word also!



When one is legalistic, he is picking and choosing which parts of God's Word to single out and attempt to add to it as a work of the flesh. This is perveritng the original intent of the scriptures. Oftentimes this person is not exhorting others to follow God's teaching at all, but rather is making others feel condemned that they do not do as he does. In effect he exalts the flesh which is religious pride and sin. One who is "circumcised of the heart", with God's instructions in his heart (which includes worship of God alone and there is no room for idolatry, which includes religious pride), will live by faith in the Son of God, will repent when he sins, thus applying the ongoing atoning work of the cross. He will continue on in producing fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8 ). Such a person is not being legalistic, but rather living a holy life by faith in God's Torah. (A good example of this is King David.) His works, the outward manifestation of his faith and the fruit of righteousness are the tell-tale signs of his conversion and renewal. ('For faith without works is dead' see James 2:20; James 2:26). In doing so, he is actually establishing Torah, not abolishing it or in any way diminshing its significance.


Please join me for the next few installments of this topic where we will explore answers to such questions as:


* Isn't there no difference between Jew and Gentile, aren't we all "one in Messiah"?
* Should Christians celebrate the Feasts outlined in the Old Testament? What about Christmas and Easter?
* How important is the Old Testament to God anyway?
*Can Jews be saved by any other way than through the Way, that is Yeshua the Messiah?
*Are there any benefits to studying God's Torah for the gentile Christian and the Body of Christ?
* What does having a "heart for Israel" look like and how can we practically bless God's chosen people?


Stay tuned.
Shalom!


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