The Question of Violence

I've been teaching and preaching at IHOP-Atlanta, and building Vigilant Gate.  We also had our third child in January!  I've been posting a lot, but not here.  Very sorry guys.  Join the beginning of a blog series at VGWA's website:
The Question of Violence


And for some of my recent messages, you'll find them at IHOP-Atlanta's media page.

Meet the Real Jesus, part 4

The Torah Keeper

Before you begin, I have a question:  Do you want to know the real Yeshua, or are you content with the image of a culturally conceived 'Jesus'?  If your answer is the latter, then you don't want to read on.

Yeshua (Jesus) was a Jew among Jews, born of the tribe of Judah, in the line of King David (Mat 1:1-17), circumcised on the eighth day (Lu 2:21), dedicated at the Temple in Jerusalem (Lu 2:22-40).  He grew in the knowledge of Torah, observed Torah throughout his life faithfully, and his greatest sermon (Mat 5-7) was an exposition on all of Torah.
{The knowledgeable Jewish reader will find that Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount has the feel of a wise perush in the tradition of Hillel.}

Atop a mount as a typical Rabbi in his day, Yeshua sat and taught his Jewish disciples, his Talmidim, saying, "You are the salt of the earth.  But if salt looses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people."

This is a profound statement, often unknown to Jews, and misunderstood by Christians.  It alludes to a Levitical practice thousands of years old:

Meet the Real Jesus, part 3

The Birth of Yeshua

Yeshua and December 25th have nothing in common.  The date of Christmas has confused Jews as to the validity of Yeshua's jewishness (since it's also the day of celebrating Baal, Ra, Mithra, Saturn, and various false Sun deities).  Yeshua was really born around September / October of 3BC, during the hebrew month of Tishrei.  The truth of Yeshua's birth is gloriously layered with meaning and depth as only the All Wise Creator can plan and accomplish -->

Meet the Real Jesus, part 2

"Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel” (Matthew 1:20-23, ESV translation)

Let’s simply restore the hebrew names, and read it again:

‘“Yawsef, son of Dawid, do not fear to take Miryam as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from Ruach HaKodesh.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel” (Matthew 1:20-23)

Suddenly, this became a very Jewish story, didn’t it?  Let’s read those names now as a hebrew would, understanding their meaning.  I’ll replace the hebrew names with their meaning in english (indicating with capitol letters).  Read the Scriptures again as this passage comes alive:

The Real 'Jesus" part 1

If Jesus or one of his first disciples opened a congregation down the street in any town, USA, I doubt most Christians would ever attend.  The expression of faith found there would be altogether strange to the stream of Western Christianity.  The comforts and familiarity of modern churches would keep most Christians flocking to their contemporary brands of ‘faith’, so much so that many supposed followers of Christ would mark Yeshua off as a weird cult leader!


Now why would I say such a thing?  Because Jesus’ real name is Yeshua.  He was a Jewish carpenter become Rabbi in the last days of the Temple.  All of his disciples were Jewish.  They attended synagogue.  When in Jerusalem, they gathered at the Temple courts often.  They never celebrated Easter or Christmas, but attended the biblically appointed times of Passover, Firstfruits, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles, and others.  Sunday 11am was not a sacred hour, but sundown Friday marked  the beginning of Sabbath, which they honored with solemnity.  They didn’t ring bells, but they blew the shofar.  They didn’t read the Authorized King James Bible, they had the Tanakh (Old Testament), in Hebrew, as Holy Scripture.  They would teach from those texts day after day.  They never recited the ‘Apostles Creed’, but they they would have recited ‘Hear oh Israel, the Lord Your God, the Lord is One...”  Are you interested in meeting the real Yeshua?  Or are you too comfortable in a centuries old lie to be a lover of truth?

Georgia

Over the past month I've been poking around the colonization of Georgia, my home state. I've become more and more aware over the years of how history really is His Story, and returning to the history books to look behind the apparent occurrences of happenstance and see the hand of Sovereign God.

From the House of Prayer, where many gatekeepers gather to contend for the Kingdom come, our attentions are often drawn to things "212." There were 212 gatekeepers in the original Tabernacle that David build for 24/7 worship and prayer. Several prophetic events have occurred at 2:12 on the clock. The boiling point of water is 212 °F. IHOP-Atlanta went 24/7 on Feb. 12 2006(2/12/...). So when my wife came across a booklet of things to do around Savannah and saw that Georgia was founded on 2/12/1733, I knew that was a divine appointment. So I started digging, and here's a few of the powerful things I discovered.

James Oglethorpe and his group sailed across the Atlantic ocean for 88 days on a ship called the 'Anne." This of course reminds me of the intercessor, 'Anna' (Lk 2:36-38)

They arrived at the sight to be Savannah on 2/12/1733.

John Wesley was the first minister of Georgia.

Georgia's charter was unique among the first colonies: to afford an opportunity to the unfortunate poor to begin life over again (specifically it was a new start for those released from debtors' prison by an edict made a year prior), to offer a refuge to persecuted Protestants of Europe, and to erect a military barrier between the Carolinas and Spanish Florida. Said more simply, Georgia was meant to be a place of hope for the poor, freedom for the persecuted, and the south gate (militarily) of the colonies.

The original charter outlawed slavery.

The third oldest jewish synagogue in the America's (Mickve Israel) was established by Spanish and Portuguese jews who had fled the Spanish Inquisition via London and found welcome in Savannah July 11th 1733 (just 5 months into the new settlement.) Among these jews are many who proved vital to the community, such as Dr. Samuel Nunez who curbed an epidemic and was credited by Oglethorpe as saving the colony.  From it's beginning, Georgia was a place of refuge for Jews.

There was also positive interaction and fellowship between the early settlements and the Native Americans.  Chief Tomochichi of the Yamacraw was a good friend of Oglethorpe.  And Wesley learned all of the native dialects, and was well known among them.

The original seal of our state bears out the purpose of Georgia with the phrase "not for ourselves, but for others" (in latin).

After those founding leaders and a great start, the colony took a bad turn into allowing slavery, increasing landholdings, shady treatment of the first peoples, and more.  But the beginning... that's my state's heritage.  That's what we're getting back to.  That's what makes Georgia a significant sphere of influence in the spiritual realms.  That's why I'm honored to be a Georgian.