It’s too bad the Church has lost so much of her Jewish roots, the very roots from which she sprang. I suppose we can blame it on Emperor Constantine for legalizing Christianity with his Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., and setting the stage for Christianity to become the official state religion of the Roman Empire. This in turn caused paganism (Easter eggs, Christmas trees, etc) rather than Judaism to color Church traditions. And this should not be, because in its simplest form, the Old Testament (the basis of Jewish faith) lays out God’s promise, while the New Testament lays out the fulfillment of that promised. And as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, Jesus and all his disciples were Jews. So by not knowing the Jewish roots of our faith, we often rob ourselves of both its richness and depth.

Take for example the menorah, a seven-branch candle stick and one of the sacred objects in Herod’s temple. The fourth or middle branch was called the Servant Lamp from which all the other branches were lit. It is a perfect picture of Jesus, who proclaimed Himself to be the “light of the world” (John 8:12); the very source from which true light comes (John 1:9). In Revelation 1:12-17 the apostle John, on the Isles of Patmos, sees and describes Jesus standing in the midst of “seven golden candlesticks”; in other words, a menorah. Jesus’ position in “the midst” or middle designates Him as the Servant Lamp.  

It’s interesting to note that the Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 43:3 talks about how the “Servant Lamp” stopped burning about 40 years before the destruction of Herod’s Temple by Titus, which occurred in 70 A.D. on the Gregorian Calendar. That would put it around 30 A.D., the time Jesus began his ministry or around His death, depending on when you calculate His birth. It would be easy to make a case that the Servant Lamp didn’t need to burn anymore for the “light of the world” had already come and now continues to burn in all true believers.

In a book by Gary Stearman and the late J.R. Church entitled, The Mystery of the Menorah, they talk about how the Bible is full of word menorahs, and how even some of its chapters form menorahs.  All very interesting, but none blew me away like their discussion about the very first sentence in the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” In the Hebrew, that sentence is made up of only seven words. And what do you suppose is in the center? Would you believe that in the very position of the Servant Lamp are only two letters, the Hebrew aleph and tahv, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet? Translate that into Greek and you have Alpha and Omega. Three times in Revelation Jesus calls Himself the “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last”! (Revelation 1:8; 1:11, 1:17).

Thus in Genesis 1:1, the first sentence of the Bible, we see Jesus, the Servant Lamp, the Alpha and Omega, in the very center of creation! And this substantiates what John says in John 1:3, that all things were created by Jesus and that “without him was not anything made that was made.”  Wow!

Oh, the profound wonder of Scripture! And the profound wonder of our Jewish roots!

Until next time,

Sylvia

I’ve never seen a time when so many people are so burdened. And it’s understandable for men and women are trying to keep a roof over their heads and food on their tables and care for their children while everything around them seems to be falling apart. They are losing their house, their job, their kids to the world and drugs, their marriages. They are in so much debt they can’t make ends meet. And many in governments world-wide seem to be acting unwisely and making decisions based on securing their own futures rather than those of their nation’s. Nothing seems to make sense anymore. All the so called “tired-and-true” methods are no longer working. How does one cope with the enormity of such problems? How can one carry such loads?

It’s simple, really. We turn to Jesus!  Didn’t He say in Matthew 11:29 “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest unto your souls.” And 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.”  Not only is Jesus able to carry our burdens, He wants to.

Like anyone who has lived a respectable number of years I’ve experienced burdens of my own: my husband did lose a job, we had to give up a home and change our lifestyle, there have been deaths in our family and serious illnesses, so I understand about burdens and don’t make light of them. I know expressions like “buck up” or “keep a stiff upper lip” or “time will heal all wounds” aren’t really helpful. Even a friend’s sympathy and hand-holding, while offering a measure of comfort, won’t really do anything to improve the situation.

Burdens are hard and stressful and take more than words and sympathy to handle. But one thing that works; one thing I’ve learned over and over again from experience is that no matter how difficult, no matter how heart wrenching the burden, God’s grace is truly sufficient. If we turn to Jesus He will supply our needs, He will carry that burden.  And when we think we can’t go any further, He’ll even carry us. He is the great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, and everything in between. Which simply means, He is all we could ever want or need. And while He carries our burden, He’ll give us the courage, wisdom and strength to see it through with Him. And that’s not all. He’ll even give us joy and peace in the midst of it. And that’s saying a lot in a world that has so little joy and peace even in the best of times. In the end, He truly makes us an over comer—a far better option that being left to our own devises where, more often than not, we’re prone to sink into confusion, self-pity and depression.

Be assured, Jesus is willing and able to be our burden bearer. The question is, will we let Him?

Until next week,

Sylvia

It’s hard to imagine, but yes, there’s a one-world religion in the works and has been for some time. The UN has promoted “religious pluralism” for years, hoping to bring all faiths under one banner. Working closely with them, the World Council of Churches also tries to “unify all religions” while at the same time constantly attacking “Western imperialism and capitalism” but failing to criticizing even brutal Communist leaders or dictators. Another layer was added by Bill Clinton and Tony Blair in their promotion of “Face to Faith” a study course aimed at 12 to 17 year olds, and is currently offered in 17 different countries. It’s purpose? To promote “religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue.” And now the latest—Chrislam, the effort by so-called Christian churches in 32 US states to hold “unity meetings” and place the writings of the Quran and the Bible on equal footing on the premise that both these writings honor Jesus Christ.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

For starters, the Prophet Jesus of the Quran has no resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible. According to numerous surahs or chapters in the Quran, as well as according to Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Founder and Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, their Jesus will return with the Muslim Messiah, Mahdi, to establish a New World Order, and when this happens Prophet Jesus will confess that he never died on the cross, that it was all a fake. Then he’ll proceed to destroy all crosses and kill every man, woman and child who refuses to convert to Islam. To say that this Prophet Jesus is the same as the Jesus of the Bible is utter blasphemy.

The Church needs to wake up. Alexander Hamilton said, “He who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” But how can we stand if we don’t even know what our Bible says? And how can we tell a teaching is false if we’re not firmly grounded in Scripture? 2 Timothy 2:15 says “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Lies and distortion swirl all around us. More than ever, Christians need to know the “word of truth.”

The church of Laodicea was lukewarm, thinking it was rich and had need of nothing, when in reality it was poor and naked. Laodicea depicts the end-time church, a church Jesus said He would vomit out of his mouth. I don’t want to be part of that church—comfortable and content and not willing to thoroughly learn the tenets of my faith, then stand for them—do you?

I pray that revival falls on us all, and that the fresh fire of the Holy Spirit ignites us, and stirs us from our complacency before we open our eyes and find the New World Order and One World Religion has invaded our own church. It’s already happened to some.

Until next week,

Sylvia    

For eight days and nights our church celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, and what a celebration it was! The blowing of the shofar, dancing, praise and worship, the parade of decorative banners, and messages from various speakers. It was impossible to attend and not be touched by the presence of God. I believe it marked a new beginning for many.

But what exactly is the Feast of Tabernacles? Many Christians are not familiar with it. Their churches don’t celebrate it because they think it’s just one of seven “feasts of the Lord” which God commanded Israel to observe; feasts celebrated during specific times of the year to mark historic events on the Jewish calendar. But these feasts are so much more. They are prophetic, and speak of Jesus the Messiah. The first three feasts, Passover (the death and sacrifice of Jesus as the Lamb of God), Feast of Unleavened Bread (burial of Jesus, and our call to holiness and separation unto God) and First Fruits (Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of ours), have all been fulfilled by Christ’s first coming, and each deserves its own study. The forth feast—the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, marks the church age which will continue until the “catching away” or rapture of the church. But the final three feasts foreshadow Jesus’ second coming. Feast of Trumpets signals the beginning of the tribulation. Day of Atonement speaks of Christ’s return, the destruction of antichrist, and the separating of the goats from the sheep. And the Feast of Tabernacles signals the Messianic Era when Jesus will tabernacle with His people.

Like me, I suspect many Christians mostly think of Jesus as the crucified Savior, the One from Nazareth, the One Who never turned anyone away; the gentle healer of diseases, Who hugged little children, and loved with a love that is hard to comprehend; while at the same time forgetting He is also soon coming King, the One Who will rule with a rod of iron; Who will “smite the nations” with the sword of his mouth (Revelation 19:15; Who will throw both antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire, then judge the nations.  That’s the Jesus I was able to glimpse, albeit “through a glass darkly”, during the Feast of Tabernacles: His wonderful majesty, His splendor, His glory, His power, His awesome beauty, His incredible holiness. And this is the Jesus who will tabernacle with man very soon. What a breathtaking vision!

Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, who was born in 1948, believes hers will be the last generation before Christ’s return, and talks about this in her book Expecting to See Jesus. I agree with her. I, too, believe we will be that generation who will see His coming, and then, along with all believers from past centuries, will tabernacle with Him forever. And we need to be ready!

“Even so come Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)

Until next week,

Sylvia

Millions of people are turning to cosmetic surgery to perfect their image. Eager to change the shape of their nose, their eyes, their mouth; to be tucked here and snipped there, they are willing to undergo painful procedures. But here’s a news flash; in the end, gravity will have its way. If we live long enough, we’re going to age, and no matter what we do, our appearance will reflect it.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not entirely against cosmetic surgery. It’s a true blessing for burn victims, for those with cleft palates, or hair lips, and other similar issues. These types of things should be corrected if possible.  But what I’m concerned about is this excessive attention to outward beauty while placing little value on, or even ignoring, the importance of inner beauty, the beauty that time cannot mar.

The Bible tells us that we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. And oh, how beautiful He is!  He is the fairest among ten thousand; the altogether lovely One. His character is without blemish. His integrity, goodness, kindness, generosity, unconditional love and faithfulness are matchless.  And this is the image we are told we should conform to. But how? It’s too daunting. Answer: the Holy Spirit. It is only His work, His power and our submission to Him that makes it possible. We are His workmanship, and if we let Him, God promises that “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)  So take heart, God is not going to give up on us no matter how long this transformation takes!

Oh, how much we need this type of beauty in a world that admires outer beauty while at the same time has become crueler, ruder, and more self obsessed. We all want to look our best. There’s nothing wrong with that.  But more than that we should want to be our best. And what could be better than being conformed to the image of our beautiful Jesus?

Until next week,

Sylvia

Last week I volunteered in my grandson’s school library.  It was exciting to see how eager the kids were to find books.  Some even tired to check out more than the limit allowed.  It reminded me of how tender and fervent children are, and why Scripture says to “train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Parents have an awesome responsibility. God has given them the mandate to raise up Godly seed for Him.  It’s a hard road, with much against them; rewarding when accomplished, but disastrous when not. Even so, every parent is training up his child whether he knows it or not. And either that child will be for God or for the world.

The Bible tells us “that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more that lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:4) Wow! What a terrible description of the worldly character!

It breaks my heart to see young people today who are a product of a rudderless upbringing, sailing along with no direction or sure course.  They are told, either implicitly or indirectly by what they learn in their home, school, on T.V., in movies, or on the streets, that they have crawled out of the primordial ooze and are nothing special, that there is no God, that self is the only thing that matters. No wonder they are depressed. No wonder their character is warped. No wonder they do drugs or sex to find significance. It must make God weep to see such precious lives destroyed, such precious hearts yearning and yet not finding anything of value in this dark world.

But here’s the great thing about God.  He has a Father’s heart and is the God of second chances. There is a sizable revival going on among the youth today.  Many are world-weary and have tried it all and found nothing but emptiness. But oh, how God loves them! How He desires to fill them with Himself. And how able He is to restore the broken hearted.  But wouldn’t it be better if these children had not lost their way in the first place?

I pray a blessing on all parents (and grandparents, too) that they find the courage, grit, love and strength to stand for Godliness in their homes, and train up their children for the Lord.

Until next week,

Sylvia

When bursitis in one shoulder made me see stars and take several doses of Motrin just to make the pain bearable, I was thanking God I had at least one good arm to use while I healed. That’s when I began thinking about Jesus on the cross. It made me consider the terrible suffering He must have gone through, and how much our salvation cost Him.

I imagine both His shoulders were out of joint from hanging on that cross.  And what of those thorns jammed into his head? The pain must have been excruciating.  And consider the torn flesh on his back that he had to keep scraping against that wooden beam whenever he pushed up to try to catch his breath, as he slowly suffocated. And oh, what the nails must have done, pounded into his hands and feet, ripping flesh, tendons, muscles and bone! And there were flies too.  Swarming and landing on the bloody wounds, irritating and tormenting, and no means of swatting them away. And the salt from His sweat surely had to burn as it seeped into His open sores.

And if that wasn’t terrible enough, what about Jesus’ emotional and mental state? As each one of our sins was laid on Him, the enormity of the grief and guilt and shame and sadness caused by sin was laid on Him too. Oh, the blackness of soul, the utter hopelessness He must have felt! Surely, our sins broke His heart.

But the worst part of all had to be separation from Abba, Daddy. “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” conveys the isolation and despair Jesus must have felt; Jesus Who once declared “I and my Father are one,” (John 10:30) and “the Father is in me and I in him.” (John 10:38) What mind can truly understand the trinity? But since we are also a triune being—spirit, soul (mind and emotions) and body (I Thessalonians 5:23)—perhaps it would be like being separated from one of our parts: foreign, lonely, desperately unsettling. But it was necessary for Jesus to become separated from God so we could become reconciled.

I don’t know if all eternity will be enough for those who love Jesus and have come to know Him to properly thank and honor Him for what He did and for what He saved us from. But considering the enormity of His sacrifice, is it any wonder that Scripture goes on to say, “How shall we escape appropriate retribution if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3 Amplified Bible)

Until next week,

Sylvia

Last week I accompanied my daughter and grandchildren to the pediatrician where the kids each got a shot.  My grandson was fine about it, but my granddaughter, who was fearful, cried.  When it was over she admitted she hadn’t felt a thing, and that it was all a big nothing, certainly not worth fretting about.

I think this speaks volumes to the human condition. We are afraid of so many things, most of which are like that shot, a big nothing. We indulge in “what if this” and “what if that” until we work ourselves into a lather.  But simply saying “there’s nothing to fear” didn’t cut it with my granddaughter, and it doesn’t cut it with us. So how do we stop worrying and being fearful? By replacing our fears with something or someone bigger. And that someone is God.

At least 365 times, in different wording, the Bible tells us not to fear. I think because God knows our weak frame, He gave us something for each day of the year. In its basic sense, fear is simply lack of faith, lack of trust in God, in Who He is and in what He says He can do. If we truly believed, our fears, for the most part, would vanish and be replaced by what the Bible calls the “peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

This world will give us many opportunities to fret and fear, but the more we get to know God, get to know Who He is, the closer and more intimate our relationship becomes, the less we will be plagued by these “big nothings” and even when something sizable comes along, we will be able to face it with peace and confidence in knowing that our God is more than up to the challenge, and He will see us through.

Until next week,

Sylvia

Recently, Major General Eyal Eisenberg, chief of the Israeli army’s Home Front Command said that due to the countless uprisings in neighboring Arab states, that Israel could, in the very near future, face a multi-front war.  It seems that the so-called “Arab Spring” may quickly turn into a fall or winter . . . of war.

Hyperbole? No. All the signs seem to corroborate his fears. The Muslim Brotherhood is becoming more entrenched in Egypt, an organization that has deep Nazi roots, hates Israel and vows to wipe it out. In addition, the Syrian situation is heating up, and by many accounts could go one of three ways: Basar al-Assad can remain in power; he could be ousted in which case the Muslim Brotherhood will take over; or Assad can launch an attack on Israel to turn attention away from his troubles at home. Whatever happens, this much is clear—the noose is tightening around Israel. 

This is extremely troubling because there are two Bible prophesies that have yet to be fulfilled concerning this area which many scholars believe will occur prior to the seven years of tribulation. The first is in Isaiah 17:1 concerning Damascus (a continuously occupied city for over four thousand years) and says it will be turned into a “ruinous heap”; the other concerns Egypt (Ezekiel 29:6-12) and says it will be “utterly waste and desolate” and that “no foot of man shall pass through it or foot for beast” for forty years.  Both are horrendous possibilities and imply some nuclear and possibly biological conflict. If this happens, it will have worldwide consequences, affecting everything from global markets to global political/military alignments.

What can Christians do?  Two things for certain: Stand with Israel. She is losing her allies and needs every friend she can get. And “pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee.” Psalm 122:6

I, for one, take my stand for Israel, and will continue to pray as never before.

Until next week,

Sylvia

Recently I had a minor procedure on one of my legs to prevent blood clots and ulceration. It was another reminder that physically, at least, we are not like fine wines, we don’t improve with age. Rather, with each passing day, we are wearing out. Anyone over thirty knows how fast life is whizzing by. The Bible tells us that our earthly life is but a vapor (James 4:14); that like grass we are here one day and gone the next (Psalm 103:15-16).

Perhaps not a pleasant thought for some, but don’t despair, this is all just the anteroom to eternity. While we need to appreciate each day and live it to the fullest for God, we also need to keep in mind the larger picture, and as Colossians 3:2 says, set our mind on things above, not on earthly things. Oh, how we love to sweat the small stuff! How we major in the minors, and get bogged down in the things that really don’t matter and will have no eternal value! And for those bigger, heavier issues in our lives, we need to remember that God is in control, that nothing happening to us is taking Him by surprise, and that He has a way of escape if we but trust Him.

There is no better way to live life than by knowing, loving and serving the One who gave Himself for us. And He is the very One that according to Jude 24 can and will keep us “from falling” and present us “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”

Oh, how much we have to look forward to!

Until next week,

Sylvia