Swirling Thoughts

I am feeling anticipatory. Not sure why. A feeling of foreboding. I am grieved about some things....latest being another Deity denial, apostasy, and conversion to Judaism....someone whose articles I used to read. I am also feeling intimidated from speaking out about important issues. So for now....I am silenced. For how long, I don't know. I identify with the prophet as I read through the Book of Jeremiah. He could not hold in the words the LORD gave him, though he tried to. Yet speaking out only got him in more trouble. I can relate.

I am grieved about the political situation in this country also. I am grieved about the Southern Decadence festival planned for this weekend, with the threat of Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf coast. This nation is ripe for Judgement, yet we party on rather than repent. The Days of Awe are coming....yet Judaism fails to fix its calendar so few will keep them at the proper season. May there be fasting and prayer. Enough said for now...before I get myself in more trouble.

Ziggurat: Dubai Pyramid Will House 1 Million

Excerpt:

It's actually called “Ziggurat”! Just like the ancient Tower of Babel. Its hard to describe how big this thing is. Ginormous is barely appropriate. The measurements translate over to around 1.5 square miles at the base and over a half mile high. Nearly twice as high as the Sears Tower in Chicago.

....: The Mayans and Egyptians constructed incredible feats of architecture able to weather the test of time, but they had no idea their pyramids would inspire the shape of the latest carbon-neutral super-structure to hit Dubai. Dubai-based environmental design firm Timelinks recently released some eye-catching renderings of the gigantic eco pyramid - aptly named Ziggurat - with plans for its official unveiling scheduled for the Cityscape Dubai event which runs October 6-9 of this year.

The ginormous pyramid will cover 2.3 square kilometers and will be able to sustain a “community” of up to 1 million. Timelinks claims that their Ziggurat will be capable of running completely off the grid by utilizing steam, wind, and other natural resources. The tightly knit city will also feature a super efficient public transportation system that runs both horizontally and vertically, and plans are being drawn up to utilize both public and private green spaces for agricultural opportunities.....

More with pictures and commentary at joelstrumpet.com

The End of August/Teslin

The End of August/Teslin
Lyrics by Renah; Music by Yanni (In My Time)
(See Featured Links at Sidebar for Youtube rendition of this song by another pianist. Does not include violin ending coinciding with final lyrics but otherwise matches.)

These song lyrics came to mind in August/September 1998 in my wilderness journey through North Dakota, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Alaska. Some of them came as I pondered and edited a bit on a cemetery hilltop in Bedford, Pennsylvania, less than 30 miles from Shanksville oddly enough (911 Flight 93 crash three years later)............

[Commentary in brackets]

It’s the end of the summer
The prairie’s in bloom
I wonder how long till
This world meets its doom

[Late August driving from Indiana to Alaska. North Dakota sunflowers, black-eyed susans. For behold, the LORD cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. Isaiah 26:21]

Suddenly, without a warning
The darkness
Will come upon man
Oh please understand
The time draws near
But do not fear
The LORD is with thee
He’ll keep you in safety
He’ll lead you
He’ll guide you

[Destruction is cried suddenly. Jeremiah 4:20. The day of the LORD so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. 1 Thess. 5:2-3. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh. Proverbs 3:25. For I am with thee to deliver thee. Jeremiah 1:8; 1:19. Thou art my hiding place. Psalm 32:7. Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. Jeremiah 21:8. I will guide thee. Psalm 32:8]

When the Autumn arrives
With blustery skies
Know that it’s near
But be of good cheer
I’ll come again
To rescue you
So stand your ground
Don’t frown
I will comfort you

[The sky is overcast; the wind picks up near Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory. It is well into Autumn here. Ominous? Prophetic? Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid. Matthew 14:27. I will come again. John 14:3. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Proverbs 24:10. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:18]

It’s the end of the summer
The leaves turn to gold
Wilderness wonders
A sight to behold

[The harvest is past, the summer is ended. Jeremiah 8:20. Peak foliage, trembling Aspen, near Teslin, Yukon. Massive moose, other wildlife, awesome scenic beauty. All His wondrous works. Jeremiah 21:2]

Suddenly, all this will fade like a flower
The night will descend
But you’ve got a Friend
[YESHUA] will be your every, every thing
He loves you
He’ll send clouds from above you
To lead you, to guide you

[The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever. Isaiah 40:8. See Jeremiah 4:23-28; 13:16. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24. The LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome one; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they shall not prevail. Jeremiah 20:11. “Clouds”.....literally? figuratively? In the daytime He led them with a cloud. Psalm 78:14. I will also command the clouds. Isaiah 5:6. See also Luke 9:34-35; Psalm 99:7]

When the Autumn arrives
With blustery skies
Know that it’s near
But...don’t fear
I’ll come again
To rescue you
So stand your ground
Don’t frown
I will comfort you.

[So likewise, ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Matthew 24:33. Fear not, for I am with thee; I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee. Isaiah 41:10. He that endureth to the end shall be saved. Matthew 10:22. Blessed is the man that endureth. James 1:12]

It’s the end of the summer
The snowcaps I see
Soon there’ll be no one
In this land that’s free

[Near Tok, Alaska. There is snow on the mountain peaks. So shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. Jeremiah 5:19.]

Suddenly, destruction will come from the North
The old world will end
A new order begin
[YESHUA] must be your every, every thing
He loves you
He’ll send signs from above you
To lead you, to guide you

[Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. Jeremiah 1:14; 4:6; 6:1; 10:22. The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. Jeremiah 4:27. See also Revelation 13:7. Let us watch and be sober. 1 Thess. 5:6. And again I say, “Watch.” See Mark 13. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6. And the LORD shall guide thee continually. Isaiah 58:11]

Why, why won’t you understand
What I say to you
Why won’t you get away
From other voices
Clamoring to you
I’ll come again
To rescue you
So stand your ground
Don’t frown
I will comfort you.

Amen

[Follow violin here.... Who is the wise man that may understand this? Jeremiah 9:12. My people have forgotten Me days without number. Jeremiah 2:32. Get alone, away from the clamor that muffles the voice of the LORD. The piano distinctly says, Amen.]


Epilogue:

911 happened three years later. The planes came from the North. I stood in front of my television set that morning in shock. I remember thinking, “This is the end of the world as we know it.” Yet, mercifully, the LORD allowed America to partially recover from that tragedy. Life went on after this “wake-up call” with no national repentance.

This coming September 11 will mark seven years since the watershed event. This September 11 also happens to be the correct date of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), yet multitudes will ignore this date in conformity with Judaism’s October 9 reckoning.

September 11, 3 BCE was the date of the Feast of Trumpets when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem. This seems all very significant. Will disregard for a high holy day trigger a response from on High? When God’s people choose tradition over truth, chastisement often results. At least, that is the pattern in Scripture.

Perilous Times Will Come

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come (2 Tim. 3:1)

Moss Patch Newsletter, Volume 9, No. 1
September, 1998

As I gaze upon a peaceful, pastoral scene from my upstairs window, I wonder how long until this peace is broken and “all hell breaks loose.” Actually I’ve been expecting “all hell to break loose” for several years now, as have others of you. And some have become discouraged and disillusioned with the “gloom and doom” preaching and taken a step or two back into the mainstream world of apathetic indifference to Bible prophecy. Although the LORD’s patience with a wicked society seems infinite, we must remember that He would much prefer repentance to the perishing of souls (see 2 Peter 3:9). It seems we are to live our lives in a constant tension between living responsibly, peacefully, and joyfully in this present world and “expecting the other shoe to drop” at any moment. We should hope for the best and prepare for the worst, treasuring the calm before the storm. It is just a good thing that none of us is God. We would have lost our patience a long time ago and unleashed outrage. Although Almighty God would be justified to strike at any time, the cup of His indignation and wrath is apparently not quite full, and in His mercy we have a little more time to prepare for the storm and get things right in our relationships, become more intimate with Him, and enjoy the blessings of the peace and prosperity of the present moment.

Pat and I recently delivered a couple of RV’s to Anchorage, Alaska. What an amazing trip, traveling through Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon, and finally Alaska – 3800 miles from home. The journey inspired a prophetic (?) song as I listened to some beautiful music on cassette. The piano and violin seemed to speak words in my head, which I wrote down. Curiously, the name of the instrumental is “The End of August” (Yanni) and the lyrics came at the end of August as we journeyed through the unbelievable beauty of the Yukon on the Alaskan Highway. Some highway—mostly dirt and gravel. I re-named the song, “Teslin” after Teslin, Yukon where the song began to come together. Towns are few and far between in an area where bear, moose, and caribou outnumber humans. It is God’s country—a wilderness of unspoiled forests, mountains, lakes, streams, and waterfalls—the last frontier.

We started out from Indiana through North Dakota, where I was impressed with the vast fields of sunflowers and roadside black-eyed susans in bloom, on through the provinces of Canada, where the people are not happy about their sagging dollar and economy. It felt a bit strange being in a foreign land of kilometers, liters, and washboard roads. The people we spoke with seemed depressed and gloomy about their country’s politics and economy. Somehow, with all our scandals and problems I was very glad to get back on American soil. It just felt too strange in Canada. I can imagine the culture shock visitors from another country would experience here in the USA. It would pale in comparison.

When I wrote down the song lyrics, I did not fully appreciate or understand the significance of the words and how closely they tie in with Bible prophecy. When I got home, continuing in my daily Bible reading, I got to Jeremiah where the song was written many centuries ago. As far as the time being near “when the Autumn arrives with blustery skies” only time will tell. This line was inspired as we traveled near Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory. The trees were in peak foliage, like our October, and a blustery wind had picked up in the gathering dusk causing strong waves on the lake. It seemed ominous, prophetic. When we crossed over the border to Alaska, the thought came to me, “Soon there’ll be no one in this land that’s free. Suddenly destruction will come from the North.” Why did I think, “North?” Just because I was closer to the North Pole than I had ever been before? America has more enemies in the world that are in a more southerly latitude than “North.” When I got home I looked on a globe and discovered that the only potential enemy we have that would come from the North would be Russia. But Russia is friendly towards us, right? Time will tell. With political scandals, a weakened Presidency, global financial crisis, etc., anything could happen. We are very vulnerable right now. When the Spirit of the LORD restrains no longer, “destruction” will come, suddenly. It is time to get away from the clamoring voices of entertainment, friends, family, etc. and get alone with God for an hour a day and listen to what He is saying to His people. Get ready, in whatever way He leads you, especially emotionally and spiritually, so you can “stand your ground.” Jesus/Yeshua must be your “every, every thing,” for soon He will be, for we will have nothing else to hold on to.


Song lyrics in next installment.

From the Moss Patch.....

The Moss Patch Newsletter was a publication my husband and I put out in the 1990’s in which we attempted to “earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.” This was before we had ever heard the term, “Messianic Judaism,” although I enjoyed the music of Marty Goetz and Paul Wilbur (Israel’s Hope) in those days. I thought they were the only “Messianic Jews” on the planet. With the advent of the Internet, the world became a smaller place and I became aware of the Messianic movement....but missed the entire heyday and the best music, like early Kol Simcha, Cohen and Rose, Helen Shapiro....I had to find this music in the bargain bins in cassette version only.

Anyway...although our Newsletter used Christian terminology, we were somewhat Hebraic in thought. We actually believed the commandments of God were for today, that they were not done away with....and this led to our being ostracized in the churches. We stopped attending church altogether in 1991 and became lone rangers.

One advantage of this, however, was an increasingly intimate relationship with the LORD. He became virtually my only real Friend., a Friend that stuck closer than a brother. I met Him each day in His Word as I read through the Bible chapter by chapter each year. Sometimes He would inspire thoughts that led to Scripture-based articles for the Newsletter. The little home-made Newsletter had a circulation of about 100 and ended up in the hands of strangers far and wide. Some of them wrote to us with appreciation. It was a satisfying endeavor. MOSS PATCH was an acronym for MO and PAT in Service to the Saints with CHrist at the helm. It also referred to the moss patch clearing in the woods that I used to frequent as a prayer closet to commune with the LORD.

I have been wanting to post some of the articles from those days....maybe update them, so I am in “Moss Patch mode” as I bring the past up to date with this present blog. The first article I want to post is actually the last one we wrote....in 1998...wow, that is a full ten years ago! Its message is especially relevant for today.

To be continued.....

A New World Order?

Days after Russia scored a stunning geopolitical victory in the Caucasus, President Abdullah Gül of Turkey said he saw a new multipolar world emerging from the wreckage of war.

The conflict in Georgia, Gül asserted, showed that the United States could no longer shape global politics on its own, and should begin sharing power with other countries.

"I don't think you can control all the world from one centre," Gül told the Guardian. "There are big nations. There are huge populations. There is unbelievable economic development in some parts of the world. So what we have to do is, instead of unilateral actions, act all together, make common decisions and have consultations with the world. A new world order, if I can say it, should emerge."...........

Is GeOrGia Gog? Are we at the brink of Gog and Magog?

Excerpted from The Guardian (click on title of post for link....or at sidebar)

Discussion/opinion on this topic at Joel's Trumpet (see sidebar)

The Inspiration and Inerrancy of Scripture

[Here is an excerpt of an essay by a European Messianic believer. Sometimes I think there is a greater spiritual awakening in foreign lands than in Apostate America these days. The entire article is well worth the read.]

Divine revelation has many aspects, and doesn’t only consist in the Bible. It consists of actions of G’d in the history of mankind, in the calling of the Patriarchs, in the constitution of the nation of Israel, in all the institutions and laws of the Torah, including the very important institution of the Sanctuary and everything belonging to it. Finally and ultimately this revelation centers in the person of Messiah, the perfect Man and the complete embodiment of the Torah and the prophets, the one and only Mediator with G’d. All this belongs to the divine revelation. This revelation thus includes much more than only Scripture.

Why then is Scripture so important that many of us would adhere to the formula of the Reformation: Scriptura sola? It may be asked: Is it really of fundamental importance if there are so many ways G’d by which has revealed himself to mankind?

I think Scripture is of fundamental importance, and that is necessary for us even to confess its full inspiration, and — as a consequence — to affirm its inerrancy. I think it also possible to understand and affirm the rallying cry of the Reformation “Scriptura sola ” in a way that is relevant and applicable to our situation today as Messianics.

The necessity to confess the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture stems from the fact that it is only by Scripture that the other means of divine revelation just mentioned were guarded and kept secure and intact in the course of salvation history. All these relevatory facts, instructions, institutions and doctrines are known to us nowadays by no other means than Scripture. Scripture alone is the safe ark that leads us through the storms of time to the coast-land of eternity.....

More at http://messianic613.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/the-inspiration-and-inerrancy-of-scripture/ or click at title of article. Messianic613 blog is also listed on my sidebar.

Today's Bible Pathway (Excerpt)

Read Jeremiah 1 -- 3

Highlights In Today's Reading:

Jeremiah lived about 100 years after Isaiah. Notice the problem: a faithful Lord vs an unfaithful people (2:1-3:5). The Lord holds them accountable for two evils (2:13). The popular majority react to God like rebellious children. In contrast is a minority of spiritually-minded believers who were obedient to the Word of God like Jeremiah and Isaiah. The Kingdom of Judah disregards the judgment of God on Israel's apostasy. As a result the Lord calls Judah treacherous and backsliders (3:11,14).

God is the Source of all that nourishes, enriches, and satisfies our dependent nature — the Fountain of Living Waters (2:13). Real satisfactions physically, emotionally, and spiritually are only available from God. This is life eternal, that they might know Thee (John 17:3).

In the desert climate of Palestine, water was the first necessity for human existence. No one would exchange an artesian well with abundant water for a man-made, broken cistern that could hold no water.

But the nation of Judah was even more foolish: My people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this. . . . For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the Fountain of Living Waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:11-13).

The two evils are the same thing. There is the self-willed departure from God and the self-sufficient life. They have forsaken Me. All sin is a forsaking of God. The dream of a self-sufficient life leads to disappointment and death. Yet, they callously deserted Him for their man-made, lifeless gods which cannot sustain life. What a shocking example of ingratitude! This illustrates the self-sufficient human nature of mankind who refuse to be loyal to God.

The people of Judah were symbolic of those who reject the Bible as the Fountain of Living Water. Many have turned to the popular books by men. But compared to the Word of God, they are no more than cisterns, that can hold no water. Many writings of men may be helpful, but they are not equal to or to be a substitute for the Bible as the source of all truth.

Around the Web

Eventually I will post my own thoughts once again, but I am finding so much good stuff to read as I surf the Web that I thought I would share some of it. It is encouraging to find somewhat like-minded believers all over the world, some even fairly close to home as in this case. We are, to coin a phrase by Bill B, "walking alone together."

This is from the Mangdiddles blog:

Little Green Foot in the Mouth

As you all know (all four of you), I am a big supporter of Charles Johnson at the Little Green Footballs. I think that there is no better place to find a balanced view of Islamic terrorism and the lack of coverage of it by Main Stream Media.

However, I believe he has "thrown me under the bus" so to speak when it comes to my adherence to the Word of God.

Charles has taken an almost militant stance on the subject of Intelligent Design, and those of us who believe that we were created by a loving God, and not evolved form nothing like Darwinism's proponents would like us to think.

Though I highly admire Charles' ability to find and blog important stories, I am a bit disappointed with where his anti-Creationist stance is taking his site. I go there 3 or 4 times a day... or at least used to, to see what the 'Big Three' refuse to report. I do not need to be attacked for my beliefs each time I want to see the news, so I have chosen to delete the link from my Firefox toolbar. Of course it is his blog, and his right to blog as he seems fit. It was a hard decision to make, but in the end my patronage is not worth it.

I don't know about all of the people that support Creationism - I had no idea that Muslims were Creationists, yet I have been lumped in with the likes of terrorists and freaks because I believe the words of the bible.

When I think about it, it makes sense that Islamic people would be Creationists, because they claim to believe the Torah; that is beside the point though. As a Messianic believer, I believe what the bible says - God created everything in 6 days, and rested on the 7th. That is the heart of the issue; I believe it, and Charles does not. For one reason or another, he has chosen to slam each of us who take the Word of God at face value, and I refuse to apologize for it.

Muslims do not believe in abortion... but that shouldn't condemn all Pro Life people.

Here are some points on the issue from my perspective:

1. The God of Israel (LGF supports Israel, just as I do) claims in His Word to be the one that created mankind in the form of a man and a woman. They were formed from the dust of the earth (Adam) and given the breath of life from God Himself.

2. The fact that Muslims believe and even support Creationism does not make the concept evil any more than Hitler's like for chocolate makes Hershey's bars evil.

3. Despite the media's attempts to make it fact, evolution is still a theory, and should be taught as one. It is represented as fact; from science text books to math books, "millions of years" is the mantra.

4. Scientific evidence for the transmutation of species is a myth... unless you count things like the donkey, which can not reproduce. You will never see an ant evolve into a bumble bee, or a mole, or a flower, or a monkey.

4. Scientific laws, if that is what evolutionists are basing their argument on, condemn the theory of evolution and the Big Bang. Entropy and the second law of thermodynamics in particular deny the plausability of such occurrences.

5. The laws of mathematics and information still say that nothing times nothing equal nothing. All information has to have an informer. If you see a neatly kept garden in the middle of the forest, logic and science tell you that it had to be planted and tended to.

6. The fear of admitting that there is a God is ordinarily the #1 roadblock to admitting these truths, because with that admission comes a responsibility to put God in His proper place in our lives - at the top.

7. I will err on the side of God's Word any day of the week - even if it means getting rid of my link to a favorite news source. In the end, I do not have to defend God - He is fully capable of taking care of that Himself, which coincidently is the very reason that there is a state of Israel today in the first place -

His Word is True.

http://mangdiddles.blogspot.com/

Loving God With All Your Mind

I have been hearing a lot about logic lately. There are those who refuse to accept the Bible as the Word of God or YESHUA as Messiah for "logical" reasons. The Creation account in Genesis is deemed "illogical" and too close to pagan mythology for comfort. So I thought I would post an excerpt from an article that I found convincing concerning logic and faith. Comments welcome.

Loving God With All Your Mind: Logic and Creation
by Jonathan D. Sarfati

Logic and reason are far from being incompatible with biblical Christianity. Rather, they are essential. Without them it is impossible to deduce anything from the true propositions of the 66 books of Scripture, the Christian’s final authority. This applies to Creation, one the of foundational doctrines of Christianity. Examples of valid and fallacious reasoning are discussed, with emphasis on showing how logical reasoning can support the truth of biblical creation, and demonstrate the fallacies in many evolutionist’s arguments.

Logic is the science of the relations between propositions. Logic can tell us what can be inferred from a given proposition, but it cannot tell us whether the given proposition is true in the first place. All philosophical systems rely on logical deductions from starting assumptions—axioms—which, by definition, cannot be proven from prior assumption. For our axioms, it is rational to accept the propositions revealed by the infallible God in the 66 books of the Bible.

Scriptural Considerations

Martin Luther correctly distinguished between the magisterial and ministerial use of reason.

The magisterial use of reason occurs when reason stands over Scripture like a magistrate and judges it. Such ‘reasoning’ is bound to be flawed, because it starts with axioms invented by fallible humans and not revealed by the infallible God. But this is the chief characteristic of liberal ‘Christianity’. It is refuted by Scriptural passages such as Isaiah 55:8–9

8 ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.
9 ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’

Note that this does not say ‘My logic is higher than your logic’. If so, then if we believed 2+2=4, God could believe 2+2=5. What it does mean is that God knows every true proposition, while we know only a part. Another passage is Romans 9:19–21

19 One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?’
20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’
21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

The ministerial use of reason occurs when reason submits to Scripture. This means that all things necessary for our faith and life are either expressly set down in Scripture or may be deduced by good and necessary consequence from Scripture.2
Many Scriptural passages show that Christians are not supposed to check in their brains at the church door, but to use their God-given minds in subjection to God’s Word, e.g. Isaiah 1:18

18 ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’

Matthew 22:36–38

36 ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’
37 Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.’

Romans 12:2

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

1 Corinthians 2:16

16 ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.

Note—mind of Christ, not feelings or emotions of Christ.

Much confusion arises when some people disparage ‘head knowledge’. For example, Geoff Smith, who was Pastor of the large Auckland Bible Church (New Zealand), has pointed out that in some churches, anything that has to do with rational thinking is suspect and strongly discouraged.3 Rational thinking is branded as something coming from the flesh. People of the Spirit won’t try to understand what’s happening—they will simply accept the ‘blessing’. The catch words are unmistakable: ‘Don’t try to understand this’, ‘Don’t try to analyse this’, ‘Don’t try to figure this out with your mind’, etc.

In such thinking there is no real understanding that faith is always built on knowledge. The prophet Isaiah asks repeatedly ‘Do you not know, have you not heard?’ (Isaiah 40:21,28).

Jesus repeatedly asks: ‘Have you not read …?’ and tells the Sadducees that they are in error because they ‘do not know the Scriptures or the power of God’ (Matt. 22:29).

In his letters Paul constantly shows that true, functional faith is always built on knowledge. Conversely, deficient faith is traced back to its unmistakable cause—deficient knowledge. Paul repeatedly asks the question ‘Don’t you know …?’ (Rom. 6:3, 16; 11:2; 1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Cor. 5:6; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 16, 19; 1 Cor. 9:13, 27). Notice also the same question being asked by James (James 4:4). Philip asked the Ethiopian eunuch: ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ (Acts 8:30).

Part of the confusion lies in the misunderstanding of the word ‘heart’ in the Bible. Some people make a false contrast between ‘head-knowledge’ and ‘heart-trust’. When interpreting Scripture, it is important to work out what the authors meant by the term. In this case, one should work out what ‘heart’ meant to ancient Semites, not what it means in Hollywood pop-psychology. In the Bible, the word ‘heart’ is used 75% of the time to mean the mind or intellect. However, the Bible frequently contrasts the heart and the lips—sincerity vs. hypocrisy, for example:

Genesis 6:5:

5 The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Psalm 14:1:

1 The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

The New Testament concept of faith is compatible with reason. The Greek word for ‘faith’ is pistis which is related to the verb pisteuo meaning ‘believe’. It never has the connotation of ‘believing six impossible things before breakfast’, but ‘is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ (Heb. 11:1). Many non-Christians have a misconception of biblical faith, and unfortunately some Christians have accepted this........

.......The basis for logic

A final question is, why should logic work at all? Not only can unbelievers not make a sound case against Christianity, but an atheistic world-view attacks the very basis of reasoning itself. This was realised by the famous Communist evolutionist biologist, J.B.S. Haldane:

‘If my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose my beliefs are true … and hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.’

In a debate between the Christian, William Lane Craig and the atheist, Frank Zindler, Zindler claimed that our logical processes evolved for survival value. Craig pointed out that this provides no reason for us to trust their validity, only their value in survival.

Even Darwin wrote in an early private notebook, ‘Why is thought, being a secretion of brain, more wonderful than gravity as a property of matter?’ But this argument is self-defeating. For it applies to that thought of Darwin’s too, and to every thought about evolution, hence we have no reason to trust them.

The famous Marxist paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould claimed that the mind was an illusion produced by the brain. So why should we trust anything Gould says, if his thoughts are illusions?

This only shows that many atheistic theories actually refute themselves. Thus there is no need for independent empirical tests for them. Conversely, the Christian doctrine that we are created in the image of a logical God is an excellent explanation for our logical faculties....

much more at link, with footnotes.....

http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v12/i2/logic.asp

Haaretz Interview with Son of Hamas Sheik

The son of a Hamas leader has found Yeshua and is now living in California. Sounds like a genuine conversion to me. I wonder if the outreach of Messianics could be involved. May his testimony impact other Muslims. And may his Bible reading lead him to a Torah-based lifestyle.

Excerpt:

........How were you exposed to Christianity?

"It began about eight years ago. I was in Jerusalem and I received an invitation to come and hear about Christianity. Out of curiosity I went. I was very enthusiastic about what I heard. I began to read the Bible every day and I continued with religion lessons. I did it in secret, of course. I used to travel to the Ramallah hills, to places like the Al Tira neighborhood, and to sit there quietly with the amazing landscape and read the Bible. A verse like "Love thine enemy" had a great influence on me. At this stage I was still a Muslim and I thought that I would remain one. But every day I saw the terrible things done in the name of religion by those who considered themselves 'great believers.' I studied Islam more thoroughly and found no answers there. I reexamined the Koran and the principals of the faith and found how it is mistaken and misleading. The Muslims borrowed rituals and traditions from all the surrounding religions."

But they all did that.

He doesn't respond to this comment directly. "I feel that Christianity has several aspects. It's not only a religion but a faith. I now see God through Jesus and can tell about him for days on end, whereas the Muslims won't be able to say anything about God. I consider Islam a big lie. The people who supposedly represent the religion admired Mohammed more than God, killed innocent people in the name of Islam, beat their wives and don't have any idea what God is. I have no doubt that they'll go to Hell. I have a message for them: There is only one way to Paradise - the way of Jesus who sacrificed himself on the cross for all of us." ...........

You miss Israel?

"I respect Israel and admire it as a country. I'm opposed to a policy of killing civilians, or using them as a means to an end, and I understand that Israel has a right to defend itself. The Palestinians, if they don't have an enemy to fight, will fight each other. In about 20 years from now you'll remember what I'm telling you, the conflict will be among various groups within Hamas. They're already beginning to quarrel over control of the money."

He does not conceal his abhorrence of everything representing the human surroundings in which he grew up: the nation, the religion, the organization.

"You Jews should be aware: You will never, but never have peace with Hamas. Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews. They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death. They have to take revenge against anyone who did not agree to accept the Prophet Mohammed, like the Jews who are seen in the Koran as monkeys and the sons of pigs. They speak in terms of historical rights that were taken from them. In the view of Hamas, peace with Israel contradicts sharia and the Koran, and the Jews have no right to remain in Palestine." .......

Cloudy future

In spite of his financial distress, the severance from his family and the loneliness, during the entire interview he sounded determined and sure of himself. "I hope that I'll succeed one day in becoming a writer, in order to write about my personal story and about the Middle East conflict. But at the moment, at least, my ambitions are only to find work, a place to live. I have no money, I have no apartment. I was about to become one of those homeless people, but people from the church are helping me. I'm dependent on them."

Why did you leave? After all, there are other Christians in Ramallah.

"I left behind a great deal of property in Ramallah in order to achieve true freedom. I wanted to get to quiet surroundings that would help me to open the eyes of the Muslims and reveal the truth to them about their religion and about Christianity, to take them out of the darkness and the prison of Islam. In that way they'll have an opportunity to correct their mistakes, to become better people and to bring a chance for peace in the Middle East. I don't give Islam a chance to survive for more than 25 years. In the past they scared people and in that way they prevented anti-religious publicity, but today, in the modern age, they won't be able to hide the truth any longer."

At the moment he doesn't have a partner, but he is relying on help from above on this matter, too. "I hope that someday God will give the opportunity to meet the right one. She will have to be a believing Christian, and if she's a Jew who converted, even better."

There are things that Masab-Joseph is still afraid to talk about. In the middle of the meeting he wanted us to go outside the restaurant in order to make sure that I wasn't carrying listening or recording devices.

"Many people will hate me for this interview, but I'm telling them that I love all of them, even those who hate me. I invite all the people, including the terrorists among them, to open their hearts and believe. Now I'm trying to establish an international organization for young people that will teach about Christianity, love and peace in the territories, too. I would like to teach the young people how to love and forgive, because that's the only way the two nations can overcome the mistakes of the past and live in peace."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1007462.html

Good Riddance to the Strays?

Believers in growing numbers today have become restless with questions they feel they can no longer ignore, but must answer in order to continue in the faith. Often these involve what are euphemistically called "difficulties": Scriptures that appear to be contradictions; New Testament quotes from the Tanach (Old Testament) that seem irrelevant or mistaken; unsettling events in Scripture that no one seems able to reconcile with the G-d they have been taught to love. These are not difficult to find (see our article "Knowing the Word of G-d" for just a few examples). And yet the Lord's people are commonly expected to ignore them, or to be satisfied with assurances that in spite of the "difficulties", the Scriptures are "inerrant in their original autographs" (which does us no practical good, since we no longer have the "original autographs").

Believers who are uncompromising lovers of truth can become desperate enough to hunt for answers outside the bounds of the Christian or Messianic community. If such a questioning believer runs into anti-missionaries (Jewish antagonists dedicated to "rescuing the deceived" with "refutations" of the Gospel), and he fails to find coherent responses to their challenge in his own community, he can decide that he was simply mistaken about the reliability of the New Testament and relocate to the Jewish community, which seems to have a more honest approach. He shocks us all by announcing one day that he has come to the only right conclusion: Yeshua is not, could not be, the Messiah. How do the rest of us respond to these "traitors"?

...The scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost.... (Ezekiel 34:4)

Yeshua gave us a parable about the one sheep that wanders away from the flock of a hundred. He spoke of the shepherd's readiness to go out and find that lost sheep as if the response was self-evident. No one but a "hireling" would question a shepherd's responsibility to put forth every effort to retrieve the stray, and no one celebrates unless he is successful in returning with that one bedraggled creature. In the spiritual parallel, our Lord explicitly says that Heaven centers its joy on the repentant, returned sheep ("repentance" and "return" are the same noun in Hebrew) rather than the faithful who were in no danger.

By our own actions, we create a different parable altogether. The 100th sheep proved by wandering off that it was never really part of the flock, and is in fact no better than a wolf. Yeshua's shepherd was well-meaning, but his zeal to recover the stray was unnecessary. We have concluded in our greater wisdom that once a sheep "abandons" the flock of the Lord, its shepherd is released from all obligation to it. His role is to stay put and guard the 99 faithful sheep, in case the wanderer returns to (heaven forbid) lead others away. If this shepherd calls for his friends to rejoice, it's because he still has 99 and only lost one in the ordeal. And good riddance to that "rebellious" one. The unanswerable questions were beginning to disturb flock and shepherds alike... who knows what group crisis would have broken out if the doubting one had stayed around?

Excerpted from Restoring Lost Believers at restorersofzion.org
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