In the past year, I feel as if my wife and I have learned so much. This blog has helped us clarify our thoughts and beliefs, as well as encouraged us to be more bold when approached about our lifestyle. We have made it a practice to look back on the last year of our lives and talk about how we have improved and changed from the previous year. I guess I picked this up from my adult leadership growing up!
In my youth group years, I remember learning about sanctification. It is a Christian’s never-ending process of being made holy and separating oneself from sin. This is one area of my Christian life that I don’t take lightly. My family and I will always review our lives to ensure that we are constantly in this process. You don’t get to old or grow out of your need to be discipled and grow in the Word of Yahweh.
I feel as if the last year of my family’s life is overflowing with growth and understanding. We have, without a doubt, progressed in our personal relationships with Yahweh, and our marriage is stronger than ever. Our relationships with Yahweh have improved both in our personal lives, as well as our life as a couple. My primary area of growth is my prayer life, and my wife’s is her yearning to read and understand more and more verses of Scripture. I pray this is something that we never regress in!
We are excited to see how this next year unfolds! It is so encouraging to see how our lives are constantly changing, it helps us persevere! Wonder what area(s) of our lives Yahweh is planning to mold over the next 12 months!
We have all heard or used the phrase: “A picture is worth a thousand words”. How true that is! While I was talking with my wife the other day, we made a parallel with this statement and how it makes so much sense when applied to the Biblical Festivals. More often than not, when we are trying to explain something to a friend, we realize that words alone are not enough. I believe that Yahweh placed the Festivals in our lives to give us a picture of His divine plan, rather than simply having us try to interpret the Scriptures through reading the text alone. It is for this same reason, that, we too, often take snapshots of important people and special events during our own lives! A picture is a visual prop, to help remind us, or show us the fine details of a thought. While the picture itself is not the real thing, that doesn’t mean the picture is any less important or mean that we should throw the picture out. For example, when my wife leaves the house, my daughter and I love looking around the house and pointing out all of the pictures of her. But when she returns I don’t go around and take all the photos down and throw them away! The pictures all have meaning to us and show us where we have been and what we have done. The same is true with our relationship with Yeshua. We will never forget what He has done for us by going and dying a horrible death on a cross. And to remember this event we keep His Passover followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread to remind us of His sinless body as an example for us to live by. Likewise, we believe that Pentecost points us to the time when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Yahweh’s people and that we too can have this supernatural power in our lives as well. While these Spring Festivals have already been fulfilled, we still keep them as a reminder.
There are also things that are still yet to happen. Everyone who is a follower of Yeshua knows that there will come a day when He will return. This is an important event to remember and look forward to, so you would think that Yahweh would have pictures/Festivals that look forward to this event…and He does! We are currently entering into the Fall Festivals, which represent what will happen when Yeshua returns! Today is the Feast of Trumpets and it represents the day in which Yeshua will return. In Leviticus 23:23-25 it says about this day: “The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of Sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the LORD.” It is interesting because Yahweh does not really say why we are to keep this day, but that we are to blow trumpets. However when we come to the New Testament we see that the blowing of trumpets is tied together with Yeshua's returning! You may also remember Yeshua telling us that the day and the hour of his return are not known to us. It says this in Matthew 24:36, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” What he says here is interesting because in Yeshua's day, the Feast of Trumpets became known as the day in which the day and hour were not known because it was the only biblical festival that fell on the first day of the month and was determined by the new moon and when it was seen. Therefore it was not a day that they could plan and know exactly on which day it would fall.
Another fall festival is the Day of Atonement. This day is considered by many to be the holiest day of the year. On this day we are to afflict our soul and fast and pray. It is a time to take a good look at who we are and who we need to be. Yeshua died to atone for our sins and He is also our High Priest in Heaven pleading our case to the Father. To sum it all up, the Day of Atonement is not only about the forgiveness of sin, but it is a picture of the removal of the primary cause of sin, Satan.
The last festival of the year is the week long Feast of Tabernacles ended with The Last Great Day. This is a time when we set up temporary dwellings that we eat, do devotions, and our daily activities in. This temporary dwelling is to remind us of our own body (physical dwelling place on earth) and that we should not get too comfortable here on earth, because we will receive glorified bodies after Yeshua returns. Concluding this festival, we are reminded that, in spite of our material possessions, we are still mortals in need of a literal transformation so we may possess eternal life. At the end of this festival is the final period of Judgment.
Yahweh knows that we as humans need many reminders such as pictures to show us what He is like. But as I stated before, He also wanted to give us a picture of what His divine plan in this world is; the blueprint of salvation. We believe this is exactly why Yahweh gave His people several festivals/Holy days to observe. These Holy days are spread out through the whole year, and each one has it’s own unique purpose for being celebrated and that purpose revolves around and is found in our Lord and Messiah Yeshua!
Reminders are used by everyone in the world today. Everything from sticky notes to alerts on phones are used day in and day out to help us remember what we need to remember and to do what we need to do. As believers in Yeshua, we constantly need reminders so that we can remember and do what Yahweh has called us to do. Yahweh knew that as humans we would forget things and make mistakes, so He has given us outward actions in His word so that we can be empowered to remember to do what He asks.An example of this that is done by every church today would be partaking of the bread and cup. Christians eat unleavened bread to represent Yeshua’s sinless body and drink the fruit of the vine to represent the blood that He poured out for our sins.This is simply not some ritual act that we do to gain Yahweh’s favor, but we do it so that we can remember what our Lord and Savior has done for us!Another reminder in Yahweh’s word, for me, is tassels.Maybe you’ve seen me wearing them and have wondered what they were. So let’s begin to dive into what tassels are and why I wear them.
Tassels are chain like or braided strings with loose threads tied to the four corners of a garment. The Hebrew word is Tzitzit and means, “fringe, tassel, lock.” Scripture tells us that there are to be four tassels, each with a single cord of blue, attatched to the bottom corners of our garments (Deuteromony 22:12). They are seen most often within orthodox Jewish communities, yet there are many Messianics and Hebrew Roots believers who wear them as well.
You may be asking, “If this is a “Jewish” thing, then why in the world would you choose to wear them?”This is a really good question that deserves a good answer, because if tassels truly are only for the Jews, then I really shouldn’t be wearing them.But they are not just for the Jewish community, but are for ALL of Yahweh's people to “look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD...” (Num. 15:39; NASB)This can be seen in Exodus 12:49 which says, “There is one Torah for the native-born and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Yahweh does not have two different standards for different people groups. Yeshua himself said, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be ONE flock with ONE shepherd.” (John 10:16)This same concept is all throughout scripture, but it would be an entire blog post if I mentioned every single one.However, here is a list of verses to check out! {Lev 18:26; Lev 24:22; Num 15:29-30; Ezek 47:22; Rom 2:11-13}
The command to wear tassels on our garments is found in Numbers 15:37-41, “The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. I am the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the LORD your God.’”
It’s interesting because right before the command to wear tassels was given, Numbers 15:32-36 deals with a man breaking Sabbath because he was picking up sticks.The Sabbath commandment was clear and the man chose to rebel against Yahweh.Now I don’t think it’s a coincidence that tassels are commanded immediately after this incident took place.Yahweh, being the gracious and loving God that He is, knew that it would be beneficial for His people to have something to look upon and remember His commands.This concept of having something to look at to remind oneself is actually very popular.The WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets were very popular when I was a kid and I still see many who wear them today.Also there are many who wear cross necklaces to do the same.While I think it’s a good idea to have a reminder, I believe that replacing what God has given us with something of our own choosing is clearly condemned in scripture (Deut 12:32; Mk 7:9-13).Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things people use to help remind them to be the person Yahweh has called them to be, and that is perfectly fine.But when we think that our ways are better than Yahweh's and decide to throw out a specific command in favor of something of our own choosing, then that is sin.
In this verse Yahweh is very clear as to why he gave the command to wear tassels; “...so as to do them (the commands) and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot...”As human beings we are inclined toward sin.We tend to be prideful, selfish, and autonomous.But these are all things that Yahweh wants to rid us of, so that we can be humble, selfless, and dependant on Him! Yeshua condemned the Pharisees because “they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they...lengthen the tassels of their garments.” (Matt 23:5)Many like to point out this verse and say that Yeshua was against tassels, but that is simply not true; for Yeshua Himself wore tassels! Yeshua was actually against the way that the Pharisees used them as a symbol of authority and social status.These Pharisees were showing their status by having extra long elaborate tassels (some dragging on the ground) to show that they were more spiritual than others.The problem here is that they were misusing this command, because that is NOT why tassels were given!Tassels should make people more humble because they realize that they are wearing them because they need a reminder, NOT to show off.
So far we’ve looked at what tassels are, who they are for, and why they are worn; but you still may be wondering why I have chosen to wear them.While all the reasons listed so far are good reasons, the biggest and most important reason is because...our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ wore them.Matthew 9:20-22 says, “And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, ‘If I only touch His garment, I will get well.’ But Jesus turning and seeing her said, ‘Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.’ At once the woman was made well.”This verse tells us that the woman touched the “fringe” of his cloak.The Greek word is Kraspedon and has the meaning, “a fringe or tassel:--border, hem”.
The Friberg Greek Lexicon has:
“kraspedon ou to(1) as the outer limit of someth.; of a garment hem, border, edge; (2) in Jewish usage, the tassel or fringe on the four corners of the outer garment, worn as a reminder to observe the commandments (cf. NU 15.38ff; DT 22.12).”
This shows us that Yeshua wore tassels and even brought about healing through them.But this is no coincidence, for it was prophesied that the Messiah would rise with “healing in his wings” (Mal 4:2).From these verses we know that our Messiah wore tassels, and that as believers we are called to “walk as He walked” (1 John 2:6), so I have come to the conclusion that I too should wear tassels.I realize that this may be new and kind of odd to most people (it sure was for me at first!), but I hope that you consider these things before Yahweh and come to your own conclusion like the Bereans who examined “the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
Putting on the Veil: A Personal Testimony of How I Came to Wear the Head Covering
My purpose in writing this blog post is simple...to allow my Christian family and friends “access” to this particular belief if/when they are feeling too shy to ask me in person. If you are one of the many who have inwardly wondered “WHAT is THAT on your head?” or “WHY do you ALWAYS wear that?” then this one is for you!
I think we can all agree that religious head coverings are much more uncommon (in America) than they used to be. Sure, we still see them worn by Amish, Mennonite, and some other women today, but why (for the most part) have they been abandoned by the vast majority of Christians? It didn’t take a large amount of research to determine that head coverings didn’t start getting abandoned until the Woman’s Liberation Movement starting in the year of 1968 and continuing into the 1970’s.
About 2 years ago, after quite a lot of research and discussion with my (now) husband, I was convicted to start wearing a head covering. I admit that it took me a while to warm up to the idea of always having a piece of cloth on my head. My wonderful husband was so supportive of me through the whole process. He grew up in a church where the women wore coverings, so he was a big encouragement to me. Looking back on this period in our lives, even though I am sure Jeremy would have loved to have seen me in a covering from the start, he never said a word about it and I respect that he was so patient with me. It was his gentle and loving heart that helped guide me through the following passages that led me to the life changing conviction that I now have, to wear a head covering.
1 Corinthians 11:2 says: “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.”My first thought when reading this is probably similar to the first thought of many of you. The word ‘traditions’ tends to have a negative connotation and usually makes me think of something that is not actually commanded but is just “added on” or “in addition to” God’s word. However, that is not necessarily the case in this passage! After seeing how the same word “tradition” is used in other places in the Bible, I realized that the negative stigma this word carries isn’t always the way it is. A different passage where “tradition” is used positively is 2 Thessalonians 2:15 and it says: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”Now both of these verses use the same Greek word for “traditions” and we found that it can also mean “ordinance”. Both of these passages are written by Paul and both use the phrase “hold to the traditions that were taught/passed on to you” as if to “ordain” that this should be done.
Once I started researching God’s Word regarding the head covering, it was evident that a major reason behind women wearing the head covering is to signify God’s divine order. 1 Corinthians 11:3 says: “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.” Now, let me start off by stating that, while I am married, I do not think that a woman needs to be married in order to wear a covering. This passage says the man is the head of a woman, IT DOES NOT SAY the husband is the head of a woman! Therefore, it makes sense to say that this is not only referring to married women, but to single, courting, engaged, and widowed women too! For me, this conviction arose during a time in my life when I was already reaffirming my beliefs because I was engaged to be married and wanted to “start out right”. I knew that in order to show submission to God and to all other men (especially to my husband) that I needed to follow this faithfully. To continue with divine order, 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 says: “Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.” The “head” refers either to the heads on our neck, or to our heads in reference to divine order depending on the placement. To clarify my point, Verse 4 would read like this: Every man who has something his head (the head on his neck) while praying or prophesying disgraces his head (divine order: man’s head is Christ).
The history in the Bible teaches us that women are to keep their hair long (without actually giving us a clear length) and that it is shameful to have it cut off or shaved because our hair is our god-given glory as well as natural covering for us. 1 Corinthians 11:6 says: “For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.” At first glance, this verse can be taken two different ways. I have heard many people say that a woman’s covering is her hair and only her hair; therefore women do not need to wear an additional cloth covering. But in my opinion, this belief is very flawed. This line of thinking comes from a verse later on in this passage (1 Corinthians 11:15) which I will get into later. But with this thought (that the only covering is our hair), let’s read through the verse again: “For if a woman does not cover her head [with her hair], let her also have her hair cut off...” The word ALSO is key here! Under the thinking that the hair is the only covering discussed, this passage does NOT make sense! Think about it like this: if a woman does not cover her head [with her hair], then that would mean she is bald! So if we keep reading forward, HOW could she then “let her hair be cut off” if she is already bald?
Now we will RE-read this verse with the belief that an additional separate veil/piece of cloth is our covering. “For if a woman does not cover her head [with a separate piece of cloth as a covering], let her also have her hair cut off...” The passage DOES make sense under this line of thinking! Now, this passage is saying that if a woman refuses to wear an additional cloth covering (over her natural hair covering), then that woman should cut off her natural hair covering because it is such a shameful decision she is making to choose not to follow this command!
1 Corinthians 11:7 says: “For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. After reading this verse, I couldn’t help but to think: “why do men still take off their hats for prayer, but women don’t cover their heads”? I have heard many arguments against head coverings, but if coverings are done away with or are only a cultural thing, than why do we even bother with having the men uncover their heads? This is an inconsistency that many Christians (including myself) fell, and continue to fall prey to.
1 Corinthians 11:8-12 says:“For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.” What stood out to me in this passage is the statement “Because of the angels”. For the longest time, I did not fully understand what this meant, however, now this simple statement is a huge encouragement to me in my choice to wear a covering. Angels are not omniscient (all-knowing) as God is. The angels do not necessarily just know who is or isn’t submitted to God’s authority. I believe God has left it up to the woman herself to show the angels that she is under the authority of God and man by means of wearing a head covering! Let’s remember that there are fallen angels (like Satan and other demonic spirits) and also un-fallen angels (God’s messengers). I believe the head covering is a sign to BOTH spiritual realms. When the un-fallen angels see a woman’s head covering, they see that this woman knows her place and is committed to God. They are like our guardian angels – sent to minister to and protect women who testify by wearing a covering. When fallen angels, on the other hand, see a woman wearing a covering, they will be more apt to leave her alone because they realize that this woman is divinely protected. Fallen angels are less likely to try to deceive a woman wearing a covering because they know that she is under the power and authority of God so she will not be easily deceived by them. They will instead seek out a woman who is acting independently and not in submission to God’s divine order – just as Eve was so easily deceived in the garden when she acted out (alone/independently) by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
1 Corinthians 11:13-15 says: “Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.”
Up until this point, when talking about the covering, Paul has used the Greek word katakalupto. When breaking down this word we find the prefix kata meaning “down”and then kalupto meaning “cover”; and when combined together this translates as “to come down and cover”. This clearly represents what a cloth head covering does. However, in this verse, Paul uses a different Greek word peribolaion which uses the prefix peri meaning “around”. Rather than a cloth covering, this word better describes a woman’s hair (or natural covering) as our hair is like a mantle framing the perimeter of our face. The question is: WHY did Paul introduce a new word (peribolaion) which is completely unrelated to the first (katakalupto)? It is clear that he wanted this new word to stand out, and that he didn’t want to confuse the peribolaion natural covering (long hair) with the katakalupto cloth covering (piece of tangible cloth). Paul differentiates between the two so his readers see that both the hair covering AND the cloth covering are being discussed here. This teaches us that the hair as a covering is not the same as a cloth as a covering because if it was (and if hair was the only covering we needed) than he would have just used the same word, and not made it a point to show the differentiation!
Also in these last three verses, Paul asks the Corinthians to “Judge for yourselves”, which he intended rhetorically. He believed his audience would understand that a woman should wear a covering when praying to God. He then concludes his teaching with the reminder that there is no other option than wearing a head covering among the churches of God (believers), so there is no grounds for a controversy to arise.
I also want to mention that throughout his entire teaching here, Paul is trying to motivate women! Now, if hair was our only covering, how can we motivate it to grow? How could women be expected to DO something that we have little control over? I mean, being that we are indeed supposed to DO something (perform an action which Paul is motivating us to do), it makes a lot more sense to say that putting on a cloth covering would be that action! It shows an effort on our part, just as following any scripture takes some kind of effort.
Lastly, I found it interesting that at the end of this very same Corinthians 11 chapter, Paul brings up the Lord’s Supper. This leads his audience to wonder why we (the believers) hold on to such practices as communion and even baptism, but we steer away from the wearing of the head covering. It seems inconsistent that we would hold on to (and in many cases insist on) keeping those practices mentioned by Paul, but yet refuse the practice of wearing a head covering. I had to remind myself not to pick and choose which practices to keep, and to try my hardest to just keep them all!
I have decided to cover my head pretty much all the time instead of just while praying or prophesying. This decision is based on three things. Firstly, to be an example and represent God’s divine order to other christians. Secondly, because by me wearing a covering, it shows the angels that I am one they can minister to. And thirdly, out of convenience; In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 the Bible commands all christians to “Pray continually, without ceasing” or at least to be ready to pray with just a moment’s notice! Since, I don’t want to be scrambling around for my head covering (many times a day) when I want to pray or prophesy (which is interpreted to mean reading, studying, having thoughts on, or talking about anything of God), it is simply more convenient for me to just always have my covering on! Wearing a head covering is a very humbling experience – reminding me of my God given role as a woman. It is also my daily reminder to follow scripture and act in accordance to God’s will for me. Through wearing a covering, my personal walk with God has been and continues to be strengthened greatly!
When I was younger I remember a time when I began wondering why there were so many rules. I just did not get it! I mean it seemed like there was a rule against anything and everything that was fun. One such rule for my siblings and me growing up was that only two people could jump on the trampoline at a time. The problem with this was that there were three of us kids! Someone did not get to jump, while the other two did. Sure, we came up with games where all three of us could get involved, but I still did not understand why my parents would not let more than two jump at a time. I always had to explain to my friends that only two at a time could be on the tramp...even though I didn’t quite get why. I even remember my great grandma Eva Shively, who was the nicest woman you would ever meet, having rules. One of her rules was that if we were going to get a pop sickle out of her freezer then we had to find someone else to split it with (since they came in packs of two). Why couldn’t we just eat both if we wanted to? Why did there have to be rules against all of these harmless things? Don’t touch the stove...look both ways before crossing the street...etc. I may not have known why my parents said to do certain things, but I did know that they loved me and so I wanted to obey because I loved them. Today I now know why there had to be so many “rules” for me to follow...and it all comes down to a four letter word called love.
You see, when I was younger I didn’t have a clue why my parents said to do or not do certain things. But now that I am older I know that it is because they loved me. They told my siblings and me not to jump with more than two on the trampoline at a time because there was a higher chance of someone falling off and/or getting hurt in different ways. My great grandma Shively didn’t let us have more than one pop sickle because she knew that it was too much sugar for us kids to have at once. These rules ended up being for my own health and safety, even though I didn’t understand why I had to obey them. I now think about Yahweh...the creator of Heaven and Earth...the one who cares about us more than any other person ever could...does His love for us mean that He wants what is best for us...does it mean that He cares about our daily lives...does it mean that He also has rules for us as believers to follow? The answer shouldn’t surprise you, but YES!
Yahweh’s love for us surpasses any kind of love that humans can offer because HE is love. This divine love also comes with divine instruction. How do we then show love in return? By obedience! But don’t simply take what I have to say, but look to the scriptures. In John 14:15 Yeshua says, “If you love me, obey my commandments”. Then again in 1 John 5:3 it says, “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.” There are several verses which say this same thing over and over....and that is loving Yahweh means we will do what he says. There are several things that Leslie and I do that make some people’s eyebrows raise. They wonder why we don’t eat certain foods...why we don’t work on Saturday...why we keep Passover and other Biblical festivals. The answer is: Just like our parents, God is our Heavenly Father who knows what is best for us.
We have decided that we are going to be posting several of our beliefs in a series. We are not doing this to condemn others, but because there are some who have no clue what we believe and really don't feel comfortable coming to us to ask, while there are others who believe that we are trying to be Jewish and/or Legalistic! But nothing could be further from the truth! And so now we ask you brothers and sisters, that you would "...test the spirits, whether they are of God..." (1 John 4:1)
Jeremy and I celebrated Pentecost/Shavuot today with our fellowship, The Gathering Place by congregating together for a few hours and trekking out on a 6-mile walking trail through a scenic wooded area, through the downtown of Winona Lake Village, and around Grace College. The comment was made by one that ‘today actually felt like a sabbath, because the streets and buildings were quiet as it was a Sunday and no one was working’. It is true that we are not used to that luxury since we celebrate the weekly sabbath on Saturdays trying to avoid the hustle and bustle of the town. It was very refreshing for all of us, I believe! We were incredibly blessed to have beautiful weather the entire time, and to have such fulfilling conversations with everyone in the group!
Our first topic was a quite predictable one involving speaking in tongues when filled with the Holy Spirit or having the gift of tongues/interpretation. This topic intrigues me so I said a silent prayer that Yahweh would open my ears and clear my mind in order to be ready for this discipling discussion. We talked about how on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out among the people, they spoke in tongues as a sign that the spirit was now dwelling in them. And since this type of tongue is only a sign, there does not need to be an interpretation like there does for the public tongue. It was interesting to relate that to modern day in dwellings of the Holy Spirit and how the sign could be speaking in tongues but that doesn’t mean that all who have the Holy Spirit in them would go on to have the gift of tongues (for a public setting) which would require an interpreter. Interesting stuff!
Bible Verses on my heart:
"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend" Proverbs 27:17
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tonguesas the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:4
A number of years ago, my sister and I went on a mission trip to Mexico with our church youth group. On the last day of our trip we went shopping to buy any souvenirs that we wanted to help us remember this trip. But before we took off into the streets of Mexico, our translators told us that we should never ever pay full price for anything. They said that we need to bargain with the person and get the item for as cheap as possible. As I was walking around to different shops with my sister I couldn’t get this foreign idea of bargaining with people out of my head. Usually I would just go to my local Wal-Mart, look at the price, and then buy the item for what it was marked at. It felt awkward, but I wanted to give bargaining a try. So I walked up to the lady with a firm look and offered her half the price of what the item said. She looked at me and came down in her price a little. But I was determined to get the item for as cheap as I could, so I stuck to my original price. A little frustrated, the lady came down a little more, but I just looked at her and said the price again. She finally just told me no. I was a little bit overwhelmed that she had turned me down, but I heard that if you start to walk away then they will call you back and give it to you for that price. So I gave it a try, but to my disappointment the lady never called me back. As I walked over toward my sister I saw she also was getting ready to buy something. The man gave her a price and I was expecting her to try to bargain with the man, but it must have slipped her mind because she told him that she would be right back after she got the money. As she started to walk away, the man yelled out an even lower price. Excitedly she said yes, but she would have to go and get the money. He must not have understood her because he once again yelled an even lower price to her. She came back to the man and paid him because he had brought it down so low that she had just enough money for it. I couldn’t believe what had just happened! Bargaining was a rich cultural experience, yet it obviously wasn’t my thing. My sister on the other hand thought it was great; she was excited for the next time she would get to do it again. So it all depends on your perspective. As the day went on I looked around at the culture I was in and at how everything was so different from my own. My worldview had changed and is something that continues to change even today.
A worldview is the way in which you see the world and understand the way in which it works. It shapes and guides our lives and helps us to explain the world in which we live. The worldview that we have has been shaped by assumptions that we have made which are generally sub-conscious. With this in mind, our worldviews are going to affect the behavior we have and the way we act towards this world. With all of the differing worldviews today which one should we pick? Can there be more than one worldview that is correct? Like we mentioned in our story earlier, our worldview is constantly changing when we learn new things. It is our belief that the model of the perfect worldview is to have the mind of Yeshua. This essentially means that one would think like Yeshua; love like Yeshua; act like Yeshua; and walk like Yeshua. And on top of this, have the humility, patience, longsuffering and all of the other fruits of the Spirit. Christ would not only be the model but the individual’s worldview would be an exact copy. That is the final target of any Christian Disciple's process of becoming more holy.
Now you may be wondering why I chose this story to talk about all of this and why it really matters. It matters because our God is the Father of TRUTH and Satan is the father of lies as it says in John 8:44,
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
We need to rid ourselves of the lies of the world that Satan has gotten his hands on and turn to truth. We need to change our worldview to look more and more like Christ's worldview.
These last couple of weeks we, as a couple, have been talking a lot about judgment. Whether someone else was judging us, or we were judging them, the topic was surfacing far too often for comfort! Needless to say, we want to eliminate the latter of these two for sure, so we found a sermon on this topic to listen to! Afterwards, we thought we would write out and share some of our thoughts...
DISCERNMENT says... “It is probably not a good idea to wear that outfit in public”
JUDGEMENT goes further... “That girl is dressed like a slut; I bet she is having sexual relations with that boy she is walking with”
So, when is it appropriate to discern?
First off, in order to Biblically discern we must have a real relationship with the person. The context for discernment is in a small, close nit group. UNLIKE IN BIBLICAL TIMES, today we as Christians simply DON’T have this kind of relationship with most other people! HEREIN LAYS THE PROBLEM: since we lack the close nit relationship, we WRONLY CONCLUDE that discernment applies to everyone! If we were to make discernment on a stranger, and go to them with our opinion, they would likely just take offense, and think we have NO place informing them of our opinion. They might think “who made you God?” (and on that note, God might think “why do you cast your pearls before swine?”)
If we DO have that close nit relationship and we discern something, we should be sure to ACT ON IT (for their benefit and out of love). What is the purpose of just holding our opinion in our mind, and NOT helping them? When we hold it in our mind, and dwell on it and don’t let it go, we are purposefully trying to distinguish ourselves, and feed off of it to make ourselves seem better...at this point our opinion TURNS INTO A JUDGEMENT! If at any time, we find our thoughts/opinions separating ourselves from another person, we are committing what is probably the 2nd most mentioned sin in the New Testament: Judging! This is not to say that separating thing from thing or right from wrong is wrong.
Lastly, we need to be very careful not to hold another person to a standard we don’t hold ourselves, OR equally bad, to a standard that is not clearly written in the Bible. Do not try to morally police others! If you believe a standard is Biblical but cannot point that out in scripture, either from lack of knowledge, or simply because it is not actually written, then there is NO JUSTICE in discerning that issue!
To close out: We need this kind of close nit relationship with others in order to disciple and receive discipleship! The church as a whole is top on the list, having a reputation for being judgmental. We, as the church, are at our worst, when we should be at our best!
“It is ALWAYS appropriate to LOVE, it is NEVER appropriate to judge, and it is SOMETIMES appropriate to express discernment.” –Greg Boyd
Judgment
1. "You are..."
2. Destructive
3. Bad outcome
4. Creates hate
5. Separates people
6. What we can’t know (heart)
7. Not compatible with love
Discernment
1. "This feels like..."
2. Construction
3. Good outcome
4. Creates compassion
5. Separate things
6. What we can know (impact)
7. Compatible with love
Here is a compiled list of Bible verses for you to look into this for yourself:
Tonight, as we celebrated the Passover meal withThe Gathering Place, I was prompted to remember how matzah bread symbolizes our Messiah Yeshua . It was a nice reminder, and I would like to share it...
The piercings in the matzah = Yeshua was pierced for our transgressions 5 times while on the cross. 1 time for each limb and then lastly with a spear to make sure He had died.
The rows (stripes) on the matzah = by His stripes we are healed. These stripes are from when the roman soldiers dug into His flesh using whips to beat Him.
The brown braised bumps on the matzah = He was bruised for our sin. Yeshua was beaten so badly that His blood pooled underneath the skin, leaving the outward brownish colored bruise marks.
The Unleavened feature = His body has no sin. During the Passover Feast, leaven represents sin in our lives. Just as a little yeast will leaven the whole lump, a little sin will get bigger and bigger until you can no longer control it.
Check out my wife's recipe for matzah bread, if you like!
Bible verse on my heart: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NASB)
"Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as your are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice or wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
Jeremy and I have really been anticipating Passover this year! Mostly because this is our first year involved with our congregation "The Gathering Place". This will be our 3rd Passover meal as a couple. As we prepare for this biblical holy day, we try to “make things right” in our life. For Jeremy, he looks forward to this meal with a body of believers who acknowledge that this is the meal Yeshua ate with his disciples just before he was crucified. This is important to him because he grew up in a church that adamantly opposed this idea. Every year, the pastor would stand up and say ‘the meal we eat is NOT Passover’.
Passover is also a day to prepare for the Feast of Unleavened Bread; a time that we will search each nook and cranny of our home for any crumb of bread, or leaven, and throw it out. This is an edifying time, as the leaven represents sin, and how sin can hide so deeply in our lives, that we forget it is there. Just like yeast, a sin will expand into a bigger and bigger sin until you rid of it completely! We search and search our pantry, checking each label carefully for a leavening agent so that we can clean it out, just as we are to clean out the sin from our lives.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread:
The 7 day long Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6, Exodus 12:15-17) is a time in which no leaven can be eaten, as it symbolizes sin. We do this in an effort to separate ourselves from sin and become a holy, set-apart people. We like to call this feast our internal spring cleaning!
The first and last day of this feast is a high sabbath (an extra sabbath besides the weekly sabbath). No work can be done on these days with the exception of preparing food (Exodus 12:16). We bake and eat matzah bread, which in many ways resembles Jesus' sinless body.
This feast was declared a memorial to be kept forever. “And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread… therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever” Exodus 12:17.
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We also want to share with you, some gluten-free Passover recipes we have found, that we plan to make this year! We are anxious to try these out, as this is our first year celebrating with these dietary restrictions.
Gluten-Free Matzah Bread:
Ingredients: 1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup almond meal
1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal 1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
3 Tbsp. warm water
1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
Preheat oven to 450 F. In a medium bowl, combine potato starch, almond meal, flaxseed meal, and salt. Next, mix coconut oil into the dry ingredients using your hands. Add water in small amounts until the dough makes a ball and isn't too sticky. Knead dough well enough to be sure there are no chunks of coconut oil. If the dough is sticky, add a bit more potato starch. Take golf ball sized pieces of dough and flatten until thin on a foil-covered baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes into the dough. Bake for about 10 minutes, but watch closely to make sure they don't get overdone. Be careful not to overbake! Remove from oven as soon as the edges become slightly brown - The top should still be white. Makes 4 servings.
Gluten-Free Dumplings (Matzoballs):
Ingredients: 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup (plus 1 Tbsp.) potato starch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, minced
Cut potatoes into large chunks and boil in water until soft. Drain and allow to cool. Once cool, mash with oil, eggs, salt, pepper and dill. Stir in potato starch until thoroughly combined, and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour. Bring soup or a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Use your hands to gently form rough ball shapes from one tablespoon of batter at a time, and submerge dumplings in the soup or water. If you prefer, you may use a soup spoon or ice cream scoop to move free-form spoonfuls of batter into the pot. Boil for approximately 5-6 minutes - The dumplings will float up to the surface quickly but will need several additional minutes to cook all the way through. Serve in soup, or as a side dish with butter or margarine.
Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes:
Ingredients: 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 - 1/3 cup potato starch
salt (to taste)
2 Tbsp. coconut oil for frying
Cut potatoes into large chunks and boil in water until soft. Drain and allow to cool. Once cool, mash with 2 Tbsp. of oil, both eggs, and salt. Stir in potato starch until thoroughly combined, and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour. Heat oil in a heavy non-stick pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place 1/4 cup of batter at a time into the hot oil, using the back of a spatula to press flat until each pancake is no more than 1/4 to 1/3" thick. Cook until golden-brown on each side (2-3 minutes per side), flipping once. Place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve while hot.
Gluten-Free Potato Latkes:
Ingredients:
4 pounds Russet potatoes
1 large onion, peeled
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1/3 c. white rice flour
1/3 c. brown rice flour
1/4 c. potato starch
1/8 c. tapioca starch
3 eggs, beaten
Olive oil for frying
Preheat oven to 200 degrees or "warm" setting. Peel potatoes and submerge in cold water. Grate the onion into a large bowl. Grate the potatoes and squeeze handfuls of grated potatoes at a time over kitchen sink to remove all liquid. Add the dry potatoes to the onions and mix as you go. This step should be done as quickly as possible to prevent oxidation of the potatoes.
Heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet, over medium-high heat. Add remaining ingredients to the batter, and stir until fully combined. Place a small handful of batter (approximately 1/4 cup) in the hot oil at a time, gently pressing each latke with the back of the spatula so that it is no more than 1/3" thick. Do not press too hard, as the latkes will be more crispy if the batter is not densely packed (leave space in between the pieces of potato). Fry until completely golden-brown on the bottom and crispy around the outside corners. Flip and brown on the second side. Transfer latkes to a plate lined with paper towels. Allow paper to absorb excess oil. Makes 6-8 servings.
About 2 months ago, Jeremy and I had a pretty substantial scare with our daughter. As we drove the 30 minutes to the Lutheran Children's Hospital, we each wracked our brains as to why our innocent baby started having seizures! They just came out of nowhere and we were trying to think of anything out of the ordinary that could have any merit in causing them. When we arrived at the hospital, we quickly realized how far away from our comfy cozy home we were. We could no longer live under our rules, we had to live under the doctors rules. Don’t get me wrong, doctors have a lot of knowledge and we respect their opinions, however most of them don’t believe natural treatments are a legitimate course of action. Simply put, it is not what they were taught in school, so it can't possibly hold any merit in the medical community. Since Jeremy and I have been married, we have always tried natural treatment FIRST. Yahweh, our God out plants on this earth for more reasons than we have discovered, but treating ailments with herbs definitely goes back to bible times. Its not that we avoid medicine at all cost, we just don't go their first. This said, the very thought of having to give our Makenna anti-epileptic medicine several times a day for many years to come, was enough to put us to tears! Now of course, we more than anyone wanted to see these come to an end, we just didn’t think medicine would do the trick. We both had that instinct, you know the one that only a parent can have for their child, that this was something different! Well, after over a week in the hospital, her grand-maul seizures were more frequent (30+/day), lasting longer (2-2.5 minutes), and getting harder and harder! It was clear the medicine (that we obviously agreed to give her, at least until they were under control) seemed to be making matters worse.
Finally Jeremy and I decided to throw in some of our own ideas. We wondered about a possible food allergy causing the seizures. Gluten was the first to come to mind, with dairy not far behind. So we had a major decision on our hands “should we put Makenna on a GFDF formula to see if they improve” at least until these elements were completely rid of my system!? We had NEVER though anything would pull her away from only getting “mommy’s milk” as quickly as this did, but we felt it was worth a try! We also found out that a possible subluxation in her neck could cause non-stop seizures until fixed. My brother convinced us to try a chiropractor, so after a short (and very subtle) adjustment, we were feeling less anxious, being proactive really helped. Lastly, we caught word of a couple from Columbia City, a pastor and his wife, that had experienced several miraculous events from intense prayer and the laying on of hands. We felt that Yahweh’s gift of healing could definitely apply to our situation. While the couple was visiting, the most amazing thing happened, Makenna started to go into a seizure 2 separate times, both while being held by the pastors wife, but they NEVER PROGRESSED into seizures, instead her little muscles just relaxed in her arms! It was so encouraging, we knew Yahweh was with us! Finally, over the next 24 hrs we saw huge improvement! She went from having 30+ per day to only 8, then the next day just 1! At this point, we were sure our alternative ideas made the difference! We were finally going back to our comfy cozy home after 10 days in the hospital!
Life at home was much more comfortable! We were still giving her the medicine, and agreed to make monthly appointments to the chiropractor. On top of this, we went on a gluten free dairy free diet so I could start nursing Makenna again! Through this whole experience we discovered that Yahweh has a way of leading us to the answers we seek.
UPDATE: It has been almost a year since Makenna started having seizures and was put on anti-epileptic medicine to stop them. After we got out of the hospital, things were clear for a while. On top of a GFDF diet and some digestive enzymes to break down the lactose naturally occuring in "my milk", we were also giving her medicine every 8 hours, medicine that even the doctors said should not be given to anyone under 2 years old. After a couple months, Makenna had some seizures again, and they continued to happen after that about once every week or two. After much prayer, we decided to take a leap of faith and ween her very carefully off of the medicine. No doctor would back us, so we went to a naturopath for instruction. It was June 10th, my husbands birthday and we were in Fort Wayne for dinner; we had begun the weening process that morning by lowering her dose...when suddenly she went into a seizure :( we were so crushed, and confused! Still, we continued the weening process, believing that it was right for her. THAT was her last seizure! Over 6 months ago! We had decided that if we truly believed that her seizures were caused by a food allergy, that they were only a side effect and not a disease in themselves. She didn't have epilepsy so it wasn't good for her to be on an anti-epileptic drug. We believe now, that her original seizures were from the dairy, and that the seizures she had after months of being out of the hospital were a build up of the medicine she was on. We had learned that an anti-epileptic drug can actually cause seizures to happen when the person is not rightly diagnosed as having had epilepsy. That is our story! Still praying daily that we make the right choices for our daughter and that she remains a healthy little girl!
Bible verse on our hearts: Philippians 4:6
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (NLT)
