From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 1997 11:23 PM To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup Subject: Re: Guidance about Hebraic Roots
From: "Suzanne Lancaster" To: <heb_roots_chr@geocities.com> Subject: Re: Guidance about Hebraic Roots Dear Gary and also Eddie, I loved reading this posting, as I enjoy all of them -- but this one especially speaks to my heart. I feel that already wonderful gems of wisdom from a lot of Eddie's Rooters have come forth for you, Gary. And I found myself wanting to add an idea or two myself, because of the wonders I too have been learning about the Jewish people, and finding such a bonding developing with a group of them in my community. As a non-Jewish believer, I had been carrying around a lot of baggage, namely a lot of pre-conceived notions about Jewish people. I had spent the last 20 years trying to "knock off" all the gentilized preconceptions, because to me, they were vestiges of anti-Semitism The more obvious preconceptions, of course, were "knocked off" first "Jews are Christ-killers" was the first, because I knew the lie of that even before I started wanting to knock off the untruths that abounded even among Christians who sympathized with Jewish people, and who, like my Daddy, loved Israel. My first vivid memory as a child was him picking up my little Mama and whirling her around the room in sheer joy, deliriously exclaiming, "Israel is a nation! Israel is a nation!" I didn't know it then, but know now that happened in May of 1948, when Israel was born in a day! But we didn't know it was also a "Christian" misconception that Jews are hard to reach for the Gospel, and that is "because they were a stubborn lot"!! Hardheaded...unreasoning...won't listen.... I didn't learn until years later that the whole reason for that callous view of Jews was based on the fact that we Christians had tried to reach them with a very gentilized, blonde, blue-eyed, soft-handed man we lovingly called Jesus, the "second Person of the Godhead", never once trying to understand their hesitancy that was based, not on stubbornness, but on centuries of having been FORCED to "convert" -- "convert or die", they were told. GIVE UP THEIR OWN GOD and accept OURS. Odd, considering theirs too is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whom we claimed as our own. And "convert" is the thing that they have rightly seen as a death-knell. To accept our gentile-corrupted "three Gods" WAS to disavow their Echad, their ONE True God, as in the Sh'ma, their "prime directive", "Sh'ma Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Echad", "Hear, O Israel, the L-rd thy G-d, the L-rd is ONE." But even if a Jew converted with the RIGHT understanding, not giving up his G-d but realizing that somehow he was still worshipping Him even though he accepted Jesus as his Messiah. He still "converted", and became, in so doing, a traitor to his people, kicked out of his synagogue, and having to go join a church in order to serve his L-rd. And what did well-meaning Christians do to him there? Told him that he had to worship on Sundays now, and forget the Sabbath (or else he was told that Sunday was the Sabbath). Celebrate Christmas now, and Easter, because THEY were the days Jesus was born and rose from the grave. And because he was "no longer under the law" he was pretty much disintegrated from his own traditions, his own G-d given Festivals. And how long, pray tell, would it take to gentilize him to the point that he would give up all his heritage, and raise his children as Christians now, and LOSE his Jewish identity? Try maybe one generation! Ask my precious friend Trevor, whose parents converted as young people in the camps during World War II. They took up Gentile names to get to come to this country, and didn't even raise their children to know their traditions...after all, they were "no longer under the law". And they are precious, and they love Jesus with all their hearts. It was because Trevor, too, learned to love Jesus, that he got curious because somehow he found out Jesus was Jewish, and loving Him so, he wanted to find out what He did as a Jew in a Jewish land... and he found out HE was Jewish too, and has now spent the last ten years finding out his heritage. What a joy he has, now, because that heritage he has discovered, even among non-Messianic Jews, in an orthodox synagogue he found, is FULL TO THE BRIM with Y'shua even though they would go ballistic at being lumped in with a gentile church. How, you wonder, could a group that doesn't even recognize the name Jesus find their HaMaschiach??? They are rigorously Torah-observant, that's how! And Y'SHUA IS THE L-RD OF THE TORAH! They are looking with all kinds of excitement for His FIRST appearance, and they believe it to be very soon. They are aware that (strange to them as it might seem) there are TWO Messianic figures: Meschiach Ben Joseph and Meschiach Ben David. They are now looking for Meschiach Ben David (Meschiach the King), and aren't yet completely clear on who was Meschiach Ben Joseph (Meschiach the Suffering Servant). But as Trevor lives his joy-filled life as a believer in Y'shua right there in their midst, it is but a tiny step for them to realize that Y'shua is the Suffering Servant also, and Trevor has enough sensitivity to them that he will NOT try to "convert" them, but rather introduce Him to them right there in their synagogue -- in all His Jewishness! I am discovering the same thing right here where I live. There is a not-so-orthodox Jewish community, rather Reform, in fact, but actually consisting of all three Jewish movements who worship together and stand together and work together as Jews. And among these folks I too have been absolutely astonished to realize that every single one of them manifests to some degree what I can only call a living out of lives that are FULL of the very grace and love and wisdom that Y'shua Himself has. I see Y'shua in them! Oh so much more than I see Him in MOST Christians! The reverence they so lovingly show to the presentation at every gathering of their Torah -- while it is carried around, people touch it with their prayer shawls' fringes and then touch the fringes to their lips in very real devotion. I can't help compare that with the way I myself am very cavalier about my Bible. Whereas I have laid it down, even on the floor sometimes, THEY never do that to their Tenach. They would NEVER even allow something to be stacked on top of it, like papers or books, the way I have done. They would not even fold up a piece of paper and use it as a bookmark WITHIN their scriptures! When they pick it up and open it up, they reverence it by every careful act: They kiss its cover the same as they do the beautiful scrolls that are lovingly carried around during worship services. This is just one tiny little thing, but it, along with all the other tiny little things that are so obviously not mere forms and habitual rituals, I can say that I wish we Christians had such a way of showing honor to God. But what do we do? We enter into the church, and we talk, and we chew gum, and we save seats, and we "praise and worship" all right but often like we are spectators at a sports event. We put our kids in children's church so they won't be noisy while sitting with us. The Jewish kids sit respectfully still and in awe in their house of worship. Children as young as two! And babies? One peep and the mama tiptoes out with him, not to spank him, but just to prevent his normal baby-sounds from interrupting the service. Well, I didn't mean to rattle on so, but rather I wanted to try to describe the thing that makes me twice as curious and desirous to learn my Jewish heritage, maybe as Ruth did because she saw enough special in her Jewish husband and mother-in-law that she preferred to go back to Naomi's land with her, after they were widowed, and learn their ways by watching what her mother-in-law did, and she learned well! Well enough to become worthy to become the wife of a righteous Jewish man, and be blessed enough to be in the geneological line of the great King David, AND of David's greater Son! I have learned to love these people, seeing Y'shua in them in every way. I don't see them as having to "convert" at all. That means forsaking their G-d, their traditions, their rich heritage. Rather, I am excited about them having a light turn on as they realize their Meschiach has already come as Meschiach Ben Joseph. Their JEWISH Meschiach! No need to join a church somewhere because He will be recognized for who He is, THEIR Meschiach! I've never seen an instant evangelist like a Jewish evangelist. I truly believe this is why we are supposed to GO TO THE JEW FIRST. Our L-rd is quite capable of bringing not only Jewish congregations to Himself, but also plenty of non-Jewish people. They are already here, in all the world, where Y'shua told them to go. He never wanted them to become like the gentiles; He wanted US to learn to be like His people! Not become Jewish, but learn to love Him the way they do. If we love Him, we will learn to keep His commandments... the Torah! You bet I'm excited that your heart is to love your Jewish heritage! If you can't learn as much as you want to in a gentile-slanted Church, just keep on soaking up what Eddie writes, learn the real Jewish way Y'shua did things, find a synagogue somewhere to go increase your knowledge and wisdom -- they will be very, very welcoming of you if you just let 'em know you aren't out to make Baptists or Methodists or whatever out of them, you just want to get acquainted with them. And when you do, your love for them will absolutely begin to flow toward them, you won't be able to help it. They've gotten precious little of that from church folks over the centuries. And by your just showing love for them, HaShem will begin to make them jealous...and in the midst of all that, you'll learn so much about Hebraic Heritage you'll REALLY get an idea, for the first time to this depth, I'm convinced, of what HaShem said to Abraham: "Those who bless you, I will bless." Blessings have overwhelmed us far beyond my ability to describe, though all of what I've tried to describe to you in this letter has been Blessing as we have NEVER before known! I hope this wasn't too long. Words are such tiny containers sometimes, like a thimble one dips water out of the ocean with. At best, a bucket! But how long would it take to lower the water level of the Atlantic Ocean even with a bucket? Eddie, this is me trying to convey a tiny bit of what you have been teaching as it reaches into us two Rooters' lives here in the Panhandle of Texas. It's not really adequate, I know, because what you teach gets my fingerprints on it, but hopefully it does describe something that is true to Kenneth and me without being distorted from what you teach. Obviously what you send forth has blessed and taught and reached Gary Martin and a whole lot of others, to G-d's glory and may He be praised and thanked! HaShem's blessings on all you do, and your treasures are blessing folks worldwide now. Shalom in Him, Suzanne (Shoshannah) *********************************************************************** From: Ken Jeffries To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com Subject: Praise Report from Brazil -Reply Father We thank You for people like Pastor Nayra, we ask You to bless her ministry and the people of Brazil, I ask You L-ord to also bless every nation on this earth that You alone created to make them understand that their true roots are based in Your Jewish people and not some religious concoction of ideas and notions. L-ord continue to anoint us with Your love, let Rauch HaKodesh guide us, let us continue on this link that we have L-ord to pass on Your word that You give to groups or individuals. Father, bless Eddie give him strength, courage and most of all L-rd wisdom. he is, through Your works L-ord an inspiration to us all. I pray Father that this work grows from strength to strength not through our works L-ord but Yours. We on this Hebraic Roots praise and worship You, we offer up ourselves as living sacrifices on Your alter. You L-rd are the Rock that will not roll, You are the stability in our lives. We ask you O L-ord to bring our relatives gentile and Jew into your Kingdom. draw them L-ord as a magnet draws metal, pull them in L-rd like a net, let them know Your fragrance, a fragrance that cannot be matched by any other. L-rd, You are the Living Water from the well that will never, never run dry, let those that are thirsty come and drink from that well. L-ord I thank You that You are our Salvation, our Y'shua, our Rock, our Shield, our Everlasting Song. L-ord I weep for those people who are lost and do not know You, Father let us be instruments for You, let us not be empty vessels L-ord but filled with Your Oil of Love, I do believe L-ord that this will be the Year Of Your Salvation for many lost and confused people. Instead L-rd of the lost searching for answers in mythology, tarot cards, and other such rubbish may they find answers from You in us. L-ord we praise you, we worship you, use us for Your works. L-ord you are so wondeful, who can compare to You, You are the widest, the deepest, the longest, the brightest light ever, we know that there is none like You. We may somtimes forget You in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives but You never, never lose sight of us. Father draw us as well as the lost closer to Your bosom. L-rd I love you for Your kindness and Your love for me, I know that You are working beneath the surface in my life to bring my wife, and family into Your Kingdom. Thank You Father, thank You. I love You Your servant and instrument. Ken *******************************************************************