[open]Where did/do I begin....[open/]

I really belong in a Jewish synagogue, but they dont believe Yeshua is messiah and dont want to know that I do so here is Flopsy Rabbit where she can freely speak His name.

I began to want to learn the torah because I would always ask questions as to why the church did not follow (insert practice) in the scriptures, and got the response "because we don't have to" and I would always ask "even though we don't have to, isn't the correct thing to do is to follow the commands?" and got less than pleasant responses...also I grew tired of hypocricy in the many churches I attended, therefore was forced to question my beliefs...Finally since joining a messianic congregation I understand what 'living word of G-d' means as it is renewed to me and no longer a 'dead' or 'old testament'

Tishri1 said:

Where did/do I begin?
This is a thread to tell where you began to discover your Hebrew Roots...what were your first steps in the Messianic Movement...and why do you think your here?

Click to expand...

I like your thread idea...how much time ya got? Ok, I will try to make it brief.

First I will say, I have been a Christian since I was a small child. When I was a teen I remember talking to my mom about the holidays we observed (christmas etc) and how they seemed to be really lacking something, like a strong foundation, tradition, something I could not really put my finger on. Time passed...I got married, had kids. My first is a boy...oh the controversies are high in our country, is it mutilation to circ your son? What do I do?? I turn to my bible, pray and see what God says about it, 8th day, ok. Go to my doc, can you do this for us on the 8th day instead of in the hospital? Sure he says no problem, I have no clue what this really meant, other than it "felt right". My son grows and really loves the story of Saul...we read it every night. I start praying, Father, if I have scales on my eyes, would you please remove them? I pray this regularly. Then a friend of mine had a bumper sticker (she liked to ruffle feathers) it was while the WWJD was really big and hers said What DID Jesus do?!?! Meaning, what didHe do for you, but it got me thinking, what was His life like. And if I am to grow to be more like Him, well, was He eating ham for easter? NO! And the more I thought about it the more it bugged me. Then I started questioning, why does God say He never changes, yet it seems like He is TOTALLY different in the NT than the OT. Why does forever only mean until Jesus comes? When he wrote "forever" did He forget He was going to send us our Messiah and change His mind? I think not! All His statutes say FOREVER yet we say, well that's done away with. Hmmmm....My heart starts changing, I have desires, strong desires, I want to observe a festival. (I don't even know what Messianic is at this point) My hubby thinks I am bonkers and so do I. I had no idea what was wrong with me, the desires of my heart were changing, and quickly. It was scary sometimes and confusing...and the most exciting time! We leave our non denom church due to a move, I go to a friend there and confide in her all my feelings I have been storing away in secret, even from my hubby (member he thinks me bonkers ) She is going through what I am going through!! WOW!! Oh Abba! You have not left me alone during a difficult time! Well, there is the birth of my new life. And it is amazing for me to see it written out like this. This was my true rebirth...this it the moment I really gave my life to Him..thank you for starting this thread. I never really saw it as clearly as I do now that I have written this out. He is truly my King! Well, as for hubby, he came with me to a Messianic congregation...a little time and a lot of prayer and he turns to me one day and says "finally, THIS makes sense". He has always been turned off by traditional church, too hypocritical in his eyes. Hallelu YAH!
Shalom all....I hope more of you share, it is inspirational. What about you Tishri???

PS Why? I don't know yet...although I am always at His service.. for now I think it is for my children. I pray I am leaving a legacy of following Yeshua and His ways, Torah. I also pray He may use me for restoration of His children, the believing hurt ones in the Messianic movement. There are so many....

What a great idea for a thread Tishri

I've read so much here in the last day or two. What a rich forum this is. I'm also just realising how much and for how long G_d has been preparing my heart for this. In 1998 I started a band called Gher (pronounced Ger). It was just a silly name that meant nothing... or so I thought. I've been looking over all the old lyrics I wrote and realising just how Messianic the themes are. The songs are called things like "Oh Come Messiah", "More Like You" and "In Your Rest". Long before I had any idea of Messianics, He was planting the seeds and preparing my heart. How wonderful He is!

*couldn't help BUT reply to this when I should be doing school work*

This is a fab thread Tishri

I'm just humbled to be led in this direction. I say 'led' because the feeling I had when I first believed that there was a G-d (11 years ago - prior to this I was an atheist) is the same feeling now in terms of getting answers to questions which couldn't be answered in church. In these 11 years I've been drawn to reading the Bible, to walking into a church, to contacting a preacher and asking who this "Jesus fellow" was, to surrending my heart to the L-rd and getting baptised. So, now in the last 3 years I've been praying for the L-rd to show me His truth and guess what? For the last 3 years I have been drawn here.

There is still so much to learn and take in but in terms of feeling at peace it is when I take the time to study this. I was thinking the other day about how overwhelmed I'd felt 11 years ago at sitting in a church and not knowing how to pray, not knowing the songs/hymns sung, not knowing about communion at the time and not even knowing where to find any verses within the Bible. I smiled when I consider now having the same feelings about learning these new festivals. But at least now, I know of a Teacher who is working at my pace and who is slowly but surely changing me from within.

He sure wasn't kidding me when in 2001, He led me to Josh, 1:9 and keeps reminding me of it even now.

Shalom

LP

It has been a long journey for me. It started out with a desire to end my life if that is all there is. God said to my heart that there is more. I challeneged God, that if He existed, then we need to meet. HeTold me to prepare to meet Him. I was then instructed to search the Bible to prepare on what others experienced when they meet Him, to understand what I needed to do to be ready to meet Him. What to look for, what to expect. It took six months of study with the Lord's guidance.

Then one morning, God said it was time to repent for today I would meet Him. I started to repent, but soon ran out of things I could think of. Then the Lord started going through my book of life and revealing the real truth about sin and opened my eyes to how sinful I was. It was like a ticker tape list of sins on the stock exchange, with no end in sight. I was overwhelmed with my sinfulness. I was blown away at the depth, width and breath of sin. I never understood sin and its tenacious effects upon myself, and all those around me. I can not say how long I was taken through my life and the sins written in my book of life, but it got to the point where I cried unto the Lord "Is there no end?"

Then the was silence, that was the first time I experience a peace that passes all understanding. Then the Lord came, and I saw Him in His clearness. It was the first time I was in the presence of Holiness. I was like snot dripping off of a pole, I was so unworthy. I felt like Isaiah saying "woe is me for I am unclean" even though I had just be forgiven and cleansed of all my sins from my book of life. I was overwhelmed with unworthiness until He picked me up and we talked.

Everything I asked was scripturally answered, even the yah or nah. If it could nto be answered with scripture, it was answered with visions. I lost any sense of time. What I learned that day has carried my through many studies and still does.

I wandered through the churches looking for the people of God. I have met many wonderful believers at each step and in every church. Each working with the light they have been given, but it wasn't enough for me. I wanted what I tasted that day. I want to be bathed in His Holy presence again. I want to meet with Him face to face again. I want to have the book of my life cleaned by His forgivness and blotted out with His blood. I desire to serve Him who is the one true God.

I knew that all the Word of God is true, and we are to be a people of the Word of God. I am truly thankful to find such a gathering. We have so much further to go and this is not the end of the light upon His Word. The mystry of God is not finished. We need to cleansed of unscriptural doctrine in order to prepare for the reality. God does not want His children to be walking in darkness but in the light.

May God continue to shed His light upon us, and may we be blessed to see the light and walk in it.

I accepted Jesus in the usual way. Led thru the sinners prayer. I was told that the Bible was His word. So I figured if I read that I would know who He was....and the journey began I started at the beginning of the book because that is where one usually begins reading a book. These two verses had a profound impact on me:

Luke 24:27
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Click to expand...

Acts 28:23
23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

Click to expand...

Thus began my quest of study

The cong. I am in was started in 1990 as a sub-group of the non-denom charismatic church I was attending, by two Jewish believers who became inspired by their first trip to Israel.

Later, it became a separate entity from my church, and to be honest, I had no interest in going with them--at all--at the time.

However, I started attending when the cong. became involved for a season with the Toronto Airport renewal. About the only thing that was discernibly Jewish about the cong., though, was the candlelighting on Fri. night and a few songs in the minor keys. ;-)

However, the rabbi & his wife ultimately made aliyah, and our new leader(s) had a real burden to see our cong. become a more Jewish expression. One of them encouraged us to begin visiting different area synagogues to see what Jewish even was--most of us didn't come from that background, and I know for myself that I had no clue. He also read from Abraham Joshua Heschel, who as you know is a great Jewish writer, and I never heard anything like what he was reading; it amazed me. (I think the book was Moral Grandeur, maybe.)

When I started meeting real Jewish people & taking part in some of their events & occasions in the community, that's when I started realizing what a precious people this is.

It all started when I was arguing with two of my SDA friends about the sabbath...

Wavy said:

It all started when I was arguing with two of my SDA friends about the sabbath...

Click to expand...

Obviously they got you to see the shabbath and the Holy Spirit got you to see more.