out with the old, out with the new

Using the term "Old Testament" for the Hebrew Scriptures seems like a big mistake. The word "old" makes that 2/3 of the Bible sound obsolete, replaced by the NEW Testament. It also makes it much easier for Christians to misuse the 2nd half of I Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (NASB).

They forget what Yeshua says in Mathew 5:18 - "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (NASB).

Doesn't that verse make the point clear that God's Word does not change? And remember the Law that Jesus speaks of is the Torah, as that was the only body of Scriptures that was available at the time.

Could it be that even the naming of the Hebrew Scriptures "old" was part of the plan to divide Jews & Christians, anti-Judaic, could we even say anti-semitic in nature? Could it also be that when Christians believe and live as if the Torah is passed away, that they are missing a crucial piece of what God has for them in terms of revelation of His Word, instructions for their lives, and blessings for themselves and their children?

Think about it: when you read Genesis and Exodus do you read them as history, stories that are there for examples for us, but that hold little bearing on our lives? Or do you read them carefully, personally, because those books contain truths (small and large) by which we should live?

Do you sense the same God-breathed Word in the "Old" Testament books as you do in the Gospels and Paul's letters? Does Hebrews 4:12 hold true for the "Old" Testament: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (NASB). The Gospel of John and Leviticus should be equally alive, active in our lives, sharp, piercing us, judging our thoughts and intentions.

B'rit Chadashah is the Hebrew term for the New Testament, which literally means New Covenant. Maybe a better way to refer to these two parts of the Bible is to leave the old and new out of it and simply use the terms Hebrew Scriptures and the Apostolic Writings. And read both parts as ONE testament to ONE God who is unchanging and desires that EVERY person on earth spend eternity with Him.

Chayei Sarah - the life of Sarah

This week's Torah portion with New Testament (let's call it Apostolic Writings or B'rit Chadashah) reading:

for Nov 3, 2007 / Cheshvan 22, 5768
Chayei Sarah
Gen 23:1-25:18
1 Kings 1:1-31
Matt 1:1-17; 1 Cor 15:50-57

Readings courtesy of Hebrew4Christians.com.

Image from chabad.org

Fearfully and wonderfully made?

I was listening to a podcast of a call-in radio show this morning about abortion and wanted to pass on some facts*:

Suction Aspiration
The method of abortion most commonly used in first trimester abortions. A powerful vacuum suction tube is put into the dilated uterus. The suction tears the soft baby apart and removes it from the uterus.

Dilation and Curettage (D&C)
The dilation of the cervix which permits the insertion of a sharp surgical instrument will be used to dismember the baby's developing body.

Dilatation and Evacuation (D&E)
Used after 12 weeks, this method is identical to the D&C method except that forceps are used to twist and tear away the body that now has calcified bones.

Salt Poisoning (Saline Injection)
Used after 16 weeks. A long needle is inserted into the mothers abdomen into the baby's sac. The baby breathes in swallowing the deadly toxin and is poisoned. The mother delivers a dead or dying baby.

(The corrosive effect of the salt solution often burns and strips away the outer layer of the baby's skin. This exposes the raw, red, glazed-looking subcutaneous layer of tissue. The baby's head sometimes looks like a candy apple. Some have also likened this method to the effect of napalm on innocent war victims. This technique was originally developed in the concentration camps in Nazi Germany. (source: Abortion and Social Justice, NY: Sheed & Ward, 1972) Read about Gianna Jessen, who survived a salt poisoning abortion. - from http://www.abortiontv.com/Methods/themanyways.htm )

Prostaglandin
Hormones, developed by the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Co., are injected into the amniotic sac to induce contractions. In an article about this method, one of the complications listed was 'live birth'.

Hysterectomy
Similar to a Cesarean Section, this method employed by abortionists almost always results in a live birth. The baby is left to die by neglect or direct art.

Dilatation and Extraction (D&X) - Partial Birth Abortion
By pulling on the baby's legs with forceps, the legs arc delivered, followed by the torso, arms and shoulders. The baby's head 'usually' remains inside the uterus. Using blunt-tipped surgical scissors, the baby's skull is pierced where a suction catheter is inserted to extract the 'skull contents.' Fetal brains and organs are used for fetal 'tissue' experimentation.

Listen here: http://www.apologetics.com/audio/09_29_07.mp3
or listen on your ipod: type in apologetics.com in itunes and look for the 09/29/07 show








more information on abortion
NOTE: Some of these sites contain graphic, but very real, images
The Silent Scream
Who is Roe: CNN story about the plaintiff who won the landmark pro-choice decision, Roe v. Wade, 1973
Abortion Methods
Different Types of Abortions

*information from: abortionfacts.com

breaking the silence

The album For Zion's Sake and the March of Life (previous post) is about breaking the silence of the holocaust. In relation to this, our Rabbi spoke of this generation's silence: abortion. About 6 million Jews were killed in the holocaust-horrific. But how does abortion compare?

Worldwide abortions from 1920-2006: 804,000,000 reported abortions, estimated 929,000,000 total abortions. We are nearing 100 MILLION abortions! Estimated current global monthly average: 1,202,000 abortions. Statistics from: Johnston's Archive.

Interesting to note countries with the most abortions:
China- 303,466,603 abortions
Russia- 292,513,720 abortions
Japan- 67,116,644 abortions
United States- 47,241,423 abortions

Is this not a tragedy? Could it be the great silence of our generation? And a silence that should be broken? Who will God hold accountable if we don't break the silence on abortion?

More information:
Human Life Issues
Pro Life America

for Zion's sake I will not be silent

Ted Pearce visited our congregation last Shabbat. He is an anointed musician and servant of God. He spoke about a church led by TOS Ministries in Tubingen Germany. Here are some facts from the site Galilee of the Nations who worked with Ted Pearce and many other artists to create the album: "For Zion’s Sake, I will not be Silent."

1) 70% of the Church’s members had parents or grandparents that were Nazis in World War II.

2) TOS Church members frequently visit the Holy Land and partner with many Israeli Ministries to show their unwavering love and support for Israel.

3) Pastor Jobst Bittner literally built the TOS Church building over the train tracks that took the Jews to the Dachau death camp in World War II. You have to visibly and physically cross the tracks before you enter the front door of the Church, challenging all people before they enter to remember what happened in the Holocaust to the Jews at the hand of the Nazis.

Ted told us about "March of Life" last April in Germany. From his site: "We covered 180 miles and visited the sites of 9 concentration camps ending at Dachau as Holocaust Remembrance Day began. That night we held the "Concert of Life" at a church in Munich Germany and officially released the music video "The Forgotten People"

Here is the video "For Zion's Sake I Will Not Be Silent" with captioned photos taken along the walk.

I could say much but I will let the videos above do the speaking.

If you are in Dallas next week (I wish I was) you can see for yourself what this is all about: TOS Ministries from Tubingen, Germany and Ted Pearce Ministries 3 Evenings of Strategic reconciliation October 31—November 2, 2007 at Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue.

Ted Pearce on myspace

the earth baptized

Still thinking about Noah . . . did you ever notice that during the flood the earth was baptized? Maybe that seems obvious but it never occurred to me, not the way it did recently.

Genesis 7: 17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. (NIV)

Notice that more than 20 feet of water COVERED the mountains--the highest points on earth. The entire earth was baptized, rebirthed, like a baby in a womb, surrounded by water, and then released to come into the world. And even more amazing, the waters "lifted the ark high above the earth" and in so doing the people and animals in the ark were saved. And Yeshua was later "lifted" on the cross (another ark) so that He could lift believers from sin and death.

Before He began His ministry, Yeshua, Himself was baptized ~ John 1:29-34. And in Matthew 1 John the Baptist says: 11"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (NASB)

Baptism is a spiritual cleansing, a rebirth. I first heard the Hebrew term for baptism a few months ago: mikvah. Throughout the Bible, God commands that people be cleansed for various spiritual reasons. Here's a thought-provoking and maybe even controversial discussion of mikvah from Chabad.org.

Baptism or mikvah has a place in our lives today. Find a lake, the ocean, some body of water (the Sea of Galilee in the picture above) and immerse yourself in the healing waters. Repent and be cleansed by water; be cleansed by His Word; be cleansed by His mercy and grace.

what's your ark made of?

I've been thinking a lot about Noah since rereading that Torah portion. Read the building of the ark and flood story. God told Noah to build an ark and through that ark He brought salvation to 7 people and He destroyed the earth, of which He reasoned: "Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth" (Genesis 6:11-12). Does this sound like the earth we are living in?

The ark carried those 7 people and many animals to life. Centuries later there was another ark and that is the cross of Yeshua: the vehicle also made of wood but more importantly that "ark" was an act of complete submission to God and in a sense to creation, the sacrifice that is able to lead ALL to salvation. Noah's ark carried the seed of Yeshua (Yeshua is in the lineage of Noah's son Shem); and that "seed" carried the cross (the ultimate ark) for us. And so like Noah we enter an ark--Christ--and even more amazing, He enters us and lives in us--in our ark, temple, tabernacle, body--we are of His seed.

If Yeshua is not your ark, then you are probably building one. We all build something to live for, rely on, enjoy: whether it's a philosophy, a hobby, an object, a relationship. So what's your ark made of and will it withstand not only the waters that come into our lives but the fire that will come someday?

On a lighter note: for more about Noah and for some laughs, watch the movie Evan Almighty.

Noah's Ark ready for floods in Holland