Chanukah for Life

This year, Chanukah has meant a lot more to me than it has in past years.  Don't get me wrong, I knew what it was all about, and that it was about more than just oil.  I've always known that it is about miracles dedication to God, but for some reason, it really hit me this year more than it has in years past.

This year, I did not focus on the legend.  It was not about a would-be miracle where oil lasted way longer than it should've, and it wasn't even really about the Maccabees.  I know, the way the holiday started was because the Maccabees defeated the Greeks, took back the Temple, and rededicated it to God, and yes, that is a very big miracle.  Especially when you consider the size of their army vs. how many Greeks they were up against.  But I think the biggest miracle of the story of Hanukkah lies in the mountains, where a family was brought up to fear God and be more willing to die than to forsake Him.  That's right, Judah Maccabee and his brother were brought up by a loving father in just this way, in secrecy, despite the threat of death held over their heads by the Greeks.  The Maccabees proved that it takes only one small light to vanquish any amount of darkness, regardless of the amount and how long it has ruled.

This is what Chanukah means to me this year.  It means just that; Chanukah.  Dedication.

Each night we light our candles, and each night the glow grows stronger.  And we bless our God for commanding us to light the light of Chanukah -- dedication.  But are we truly lighting that light?  Every night we tend to our flames, watching them light up the darkness, not just in our own homes, but out our windows into the streets, and all over the world (via Facebook and other social media sites where we undoubtedly post pictures).  This should be an 8 day representation of how we light the light of dedication in our own hearts and among our own families.  Do we take the time each day to dedicate ourselves to our Maker, our King, our Master?  Do we fan the flames and make sure they're shining bright, vanquishing the darkness in our own lives and and shining our our windows into the lives of others?

The eyes are the lamps of the body.  Are yours shining bright and warm, or have you let them get dark and cold?

Chanukah is the Feast of Dedication, but it should not be confined to just 8 days of the year.  Dedication is a daily battle.  Are we willing to fight that battle?  It is so important to bring Light into this Darkness in which we live.  And even if we feel alone, which many of us so often do, we have to remember that we are not.  The most important thing is that God is with us (so who can be against us, right?) and He has us right where He wants us.  Each one of our lights, no matter how small, is so important, and causes darkness to flee.  We Children of the Light may feel alone where we are right now, but rest assured that there are others out there, and they are shining their lights, too.  In fact, there are lights shining all over the world, banishing darkness from all corners.  Slowly but surely, we are lighting up the night, which is good because we were born to flush out darkness.  Not just on Chanukah with our menorahs, but all year round with the way we live our lives.

We are fighting the battle of Light vs. Darkness, Life vs. Death, just like the Maccabees.  Will you join us?  Will you kindle and sustain the light of dedication in your life?  I hope that you do.  Because if not us, then who?

Oops, I Did it Again!

Right now, we are in the month of Elul (that is, if you go by the Hebrew calendar instead of the more mainstream Gregorian).  You may be asking yourself, what does this mean to me?  Well, maybe nothing, but there's so much it could (or maybe I should say should) mean.

The name for the month "Elul" originates from the Akkadian word that means "harvest," which is appropriate because this month (which is usually around late August-September on the Gregorian calendar) is usually around harvest time.  The word elul, though, is also similar to the root of the verb "search" in Aramaic.

This is interesting, and very appropriate because the month of Elul is known throughout Judaism and others who observe the Torah as a month of searching one's heart and draw near to God in preparation for the coming Judgement Day (Yom Teruah) and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), also known as the Fall Feasts.

To me, this means a lot more than it may mean to many other people.  Today in mainstream Christianity, we are always told to "repent" which, in case we don't know, is to admit that we are sinners and Jesus will forgive us and we can continue on our merry way.  Well, at least that's what I  get from most of what I'm hearing these days.  But in reality there is so much more to repentance that that.

Most dictionaries will define the act of repentance as "to regret or feel remorse for what you have done," and maybe that's one of our English language's many faults, because if what we have to do is just feel like we're sorry, then what's the point??  Honestly, that isn't helping anyone do anything.

Well, since the repentance and asking for forgiveness of our sins is a Biblical concept, and the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, let me show you this idea from a Hebrew perspective.  The word in Hebrew used to describe repentance is "teshuvah," which literally means "return."  Teshuvah is the fact that we can turn back to God and let Him heal us in our brokenness.  Teshuvah is admitting that we were wrong, apologizing and begging forgiveness that we do not deserve, and turning our backs completely on the sin so that we can return to God and walk in His ways instead of our own.

What is the use of confessing our sins if we're only going to do them again?  I once read that you can never make the same mistake twice, because once you have made it once, to do it again is no longer a mistake, but a choice.

Now, I ask you, is that the point of confessing our sins to God; so that we can just have a clean slate to scribble all over again, knowing that He will just wipe it again later if we ask Him to?  That's ridiculous.

Psalm 51 is often called the "Perek Teshuvah," or, The Great Chapter of Repentance.  In this chapter, we see what it means to repent, and what our followup should be; we see what we should really be doing, not only during the month of Elul, but all year round.


Psalm 51 ESV

"Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar."

The Restlessness of War

For the past few weeks I have been feeling a little restless in my faith.  I'm not talking about a bad kind of restless, like when-is-this-going-to-be-over kind of restless.  No, what I'm talking about is more along the lines of how-can-you-just-be-sitting-there kind of restless.

At first I thought I was a little odd to feel so restless, because the majority of believers I see around me seem very calm and collected and not too concerned about much in the way of spiritual warfare.  But then I got to thinking that maybe I'm not strange because there is, in fact, a battle raging around me all the time!

Why are more people not restless over this??  True, our battle is not with flesh and blood.  It is much more real than that.  Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are battling with "rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness" and we are fighting against "the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm."  To me, the fact that we can't see our enemies is all the more reason to feel restless over it.  And what I don't think a lot of people understand is that this battle is raging literally all the time, and we are  a part of it whether we want to be or not.  We can either fight, or we can give in and let the enemy have the victory.

This is why I cringe to see believers who just want to blend in with the society around them...a society that is to profane and vulgar!  We are supposed to be set-apart!  That means that when people so much as see us, they should know who we are.  When they hear us speak they should know without a doubt who we serve and what we're all about.  They should be struck down by the purity, the modesty of both outer and inner appearance, and the very way that we conduct ourselves.  This should hit them so hard that it is beyond evident to them that no one but the God of the Universe, the Almighty who was and is and still will be, could possibly be responsible for how we are.  How are we supposed to fight in this battle if we're having such an identity crisis?

There is a line in the sand.  I know, cliche, but level with me here.  Which side are you on?  Are you on the side where people try to fit in?  The side where people are bowing to the traditions of man, whether or not they realize it?  Or are you on God's side; the side where the only standard is His Word?  

Do people know who you are, or do you hide it?  Don't be ashamed of your Creator, because He is bigger than everything else in your life put together.  If not for Him, you wouldn't even be here.  As the world goes more and more downhill, it is the time for us to stand up.  We need to get ourselves together, get down on our knees before our Maker, and stand in the face of the Enemy.

It's time for us to stand up and determine who will win.   

Anxiety for the Future or Plans for Peace?

Some people wonder how I have little to no anxiety over what my life will be like in the future.  I mean, so many people have their lives planned out to the nth degree, and I just don’t.  Okay, I know that I have a job for this summer, but once mid-August gets here, I don’t know where I’m going to be or what I’m going to be doing.  And why doesn’t this bother me?

Let me tell you, it used to.  I used to be the type of person who didn’t take anything lightly.  I worried about my actions and how they would impact my future (which I’m not knocking by the way, what we do right now absolutely does impact what our future will look like and I am in no way advocating living recklessly).  I would always worry about what I was going to do, where it was going to get me in life, and when it would get me there. 

Toward the end of high school, I subscribed to the theory that once I graduated I would have to make decisions for myself, and if I didn’t plan for my future, then I would go nowhere in life.  This included college, because if you don’t go to college you will ultimately fail at life.  Right?

Well, two years ago I did make that decision to go to college, and that was fine, and I have no doubt that it was where I needed to be, but I think there was a little more to it than I realized at the time.  However, in the past one and a half years (give or take) I have only made one decision for myself; I decided to let God lead me and let Him make all my decisions.

This may surprise many people who tend to think that I’m a pretty impulsive person (which is not true at all, there is a lot of time and prayer in my decision making process), but soon after I left home, I came to the conclusion that, as a human fully equipped with human nature, I was in no position to be making life decisions for myself, so I simply handed it over to God.

Now, I say “simply,” but I’m pretty sure it was the least simple thing I’ve ever done.  It has consisted of a lot of waiting and praying and trusting, none of which come naturally to me.  However, it’s a huge burden that has been lifted off of my shoulders.

You see, God created us.  He knew all our days before we were even conceived.  Since He already knows what He has planned for us (and by the way, it’s better for us than anything we could come up with on our own) then why would we not let Him take the lead?  It can be hard to follow what He wants and not what I want, and it’s hard to know exactly what He wants me to do sometimes too.  One of my most constant prayers is probably “God, please correct me if I’m wrong..”

Sometimes, though, it’s painfully obvious what He wants, and it’s not at all what I want.  Shortly after I made this decision to let God make my decisions, He made one.  Around the beginning of my 2^nd semester at NYU, I could feel God telling me that my time there was almost up.  This was unfortunate, because I really liked it there.  I assumed this meant I would be taking my studies elsewhere, but still in or around the field of chemical and biological engineering. 

Nope.  It became evident that this was no longer to be my field of study.  So I’m sitting here like “Okay God… now what?  You just want me to stand by?  Really?”  And I’ll admit that I may have gotten a little sarcastic with God.  This new development didn’t make any sense to me, and I didn’t like it at all. 

So, I dropped out and moved back in with my parents.  Yes, I’m technically a college dropout.  And I had no idea what to do.  I spent last summer (wow, that was only a year ago!) praying and searching for what my next step would be.  Everything in society told me that I was a failure, and I was just at the beginning of my college dropout failure of life and I didn’t know what to do. 

Well, God led me, with the help of those around me, to be a substitute teacher.  No, not as a career (I don’t think anyway) but as a job.  And you know what?  I could not have picked a better job for myself.  And I wouldn’t have picked this for a job either.  It’s so far away from what I wanted for myself and what I thought myself capable of, which just goes to show you that God really does laugh at our plans!

Meanwhile, I felt that I would be continuing school, but I just didn’t know in what.  As it would happen, I only ended up taking about 6 months off from school.  Again, I had to let God lead me and make my decision, and again, He had different plans than I did.  I wanted to study theology, but God turned me away from that more than once.  To this day I think it would be awesome to study.  But as much as I prayed, I thought I was hearing no answer.  Turns out that that was my answer; wait.  I waited.  Then one day, I stumbled upon the idea of traditional naturopathy, and I knew immediately that it was what I was going to be studying.  I knew before I even fully knew what it was. 

So I applied within a week of finding out about it, and again I will say that I could not have picked better.  I would have never thought about traditional naturopathy had God not placed it across my path, but I would not have enjoyed anything else more.

To answer the question of how I feel little to no anxiety about my future; I feel that I am in very capable hands.  For instance, as I briefly mentioned earlier, right now I know that in a few weeks I start a job at a summer camp that ends in mid-August, and I don’t know what I’ll do after that, but I’m not worried.  God knows where I’ll be, and the fact that I don’t know yet means that I don’t need to.  He will let me know in time, whether that’s five minutes before it happens, or months in advance.  All I have to do is trust, listen, and follow.

I read a passage in the Bible recently that pretty much sums it all up:

“Thus says the Lord:
‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man
    and makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord.
 He is like a shrub in the desert,
    and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.’”

--Jeremiah 17:5-8

  

Fear, What is it Good For?

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.”

--Psalm 23:1-4

This verse has been in my head for quite some time now, and I’m always pondering it trying to figure out what it should mean to me.  I’m never literally walking through the valley of the shadow of death (or any valley here in Delaware…it’s pretty flat). 

This brings to mind something that I went through earlier this year.  In October or November I became a substitute teacher in the school district that my family lives near, which happens to be the school district from which I graduated high school.  I went through the motions to get hired.  Background check, TB test, etc.  Up until this point, I was really not nervous about being a substitute teacher, although subbing is really nothing like anything I had ever done before up until that point.  Then it came time to go in and get set up so they would call me and I can go online and see what jobs are open and take one….and then I set up my first job…and I started getting terrified.

What if the kids don’t listen to me?  What if the other teachers don’t take me seriously because I’m young?  What if the kids don’t take me seriously because I’m young?  What if I can’t control the class…what if one of them bites me or something?

Some fears were a little more reasonable than others, and I had plenty.  With a dad who had worked in the public school system for more years than I have been alive, and having heard many horror stories about how subs are treated these days, I could feel myself walking through a valley, and I could sense that shadow of death looming over me as I was cowering in fear.

I know this may seem like a small feat to overcome, but for me it was a really big issue, since I’ve never been really outgoing and am always super anxious about new situations..and a little paranoid.

Anyway, I was really starting to be filled with dread over this first job, although it was only a half day in a 2^nd grade class followed by a half day in a 1^st grade class.  When I thought about it I would feel sick to my stomach. 

Then one night when I was lying awake in my bed thinking about all that could go wrong on this first day and how I could possibly be able to deal with it, this verse flowed through my head.  Lying there clutching a pillow, I felt my mind gradually begin to relax.

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

I started to realize that it really doesn’t matter how bad the situation gets, things are going to happen the way that they are supposed to happen, because in reality, I will never actually be in control; God will.  He will give me the solutions to any dilemma and the strength and wisdom to carry them out.  

“For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”

God is always with me, anywhere I go, and so long as I let Him, He will guide me through the valley, and even if the shadow of death is there, whether it be in the form of some kind of physical danger, or just the fear of something new, I do not need to fear it.  God is my constant companion, and I don’t need to fear things because I know that if it is His Will, He will protect me.

My God is with me, I shall not fear.

Stand Together

There are so many of us out there; so many of us believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the One true Son of the living God.  But you wouldn’t know it based on how we live our lives. 

We try way too hard to blend in with everyone else, even though we are commanded to be in the world but not of it.  We want to find all the loopholes and try to be as close as we can without really being “of the world” or “worldly.”  Some of us don’t even bother trying to be different than the rest of humanity, with the excuse that God knows our hearts. 

Yes, God does know your heart, and he can see that your heart is trying to choose fitting in over honoring Him.

We are told over and over in the Bible by God to be holy because He is holy.  What does this mean?  The word “holy” is a roughly translated word from the Hebrew word best transliterated as “kadosh.”  This is a word that means set apart, or sanctified.  God commands us to be set apart as He is set apart.  Apart from the world, apart from people who glorify other things like their jobs, TV, the internet, and their relationships with others, over God.  Set apart from the rest of humanity.

How do we do this?  We obey Him.

The Jewish people say a prayer multiple times a day called the Shema, which comes from Deuteronomy chapter 6, the beginning of which is as follows:

“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad.”

This is translated in most English Bibles as “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One.” The word “shema” is the one translated as “hear,” which is really a very poor translation.  A more accurate one would be listen and obey as in listen and obey Israel, for the Lord your God is the One and only true God.  Well, we know from Romans 11:17 that we, as believers in Messiah, are grafted into God’s people, Israel.  Therefore, God commands us to listen to Him and obey Him, and He tells us to be set apart.  Shema.

Another thing we can do is acknowledge this “people” that we are a part of.  It is true that our relationship with God is a personal thing…but there is another part of our relationship with Him that should be much more corporate.  We are part of the Body of Messiah, and we are supposed to be united.  However, there is so much division between us that it’s crazy!

In mainstream Christianity, there are so many different denominations, and while there are some who are welcoming to all, there are far too many that there is much dispute between.  We are divided into different things based on our “doctrine,” which should be all the same anyway (or at least along the same lines) since we are all supposed to be testing everything and letting the Holy Spirit guide us..and then you have the Torah observant of us who are also divided into mainly Messianic Jewish and Hebrew Roots, which are, in most cases, completely separate from each other, not to mention separated from mainstream Christianity by a lot although  both have a lot of the same core beliefs. 

Where, I ask you, is the unity?  We all serve the same God, and we all know the same Messiah and the same Truth.  Are we not commanded to love one another?  We seem to be doing a poor job.

There is going to come a time when we are going to need to stand together or not at all, and how are we preparing ourselves for that?  We are told in the Bible that many will hate and persecute us, and I for one do not believe that that’s over yet.  In fact, I feel that it is coming upon us more than ever, and if we want to overcome it, there are a few things we need to do.

We need to listen to and obey our Creator; we need to shema.

We need to be set apart.  If we’re not, how will anyone know who we are?

We need to put our differences aside and stand together.  Jesus Himself said “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not survive.”  We are the kingdom of God Almighty; let us stand together.   

Self-Forgiveness and Moving On

I walk with my Protector

By day and by night

But sometimes a horrid girl

Steps into my sight

She’s a self absorbed wanderer

She gets what she wants

She wants the worst things

And when night comes, she hunts

She looks for more trouble

She lacks any guilt

This lying, cheating, putrid girl

Loves what she’s built

This girl, she grabs onto me

And fight though I may

She pulls me down, down to her

She whispers, “You’ll pay,”

I look to my Protector

He'll keep me from harm

Only to see I've let go

Of His strong outstretched arm

I grab to His hand

Crying “Father, forgive me!”

I do not deserve the grace

And mercy He gives me

The girl looks at me

Her claws slash and cut deep

My soul begs my Creator

I don’t eat or sleep

I beg Him “Please save me!”

Pull me up to Your height!

I can’t do this on my own,

I can’t fight this fight!”

He looks at me graciously

Down into my eyes

And He speaks to me gently

While I sit there and cry

He tells me “That girl in the corner

Can’t be held off by switches

And she can’t be sent off

By your mere mortal wishes;

You have to stand up to her,

Stand straight and tall!

And remember my child,

It was she who answered My call.”

So I look down on this person

She’s who I used to be

And though I find her horrendous,

Without her, there’s no me.

With tears pouring down

From my eyes without care

Forgiveness washes over me

Cleansing her evil stare

God’s forgiveness is essential

Without it, I have no hope

But if I do not forgive myself

I will never be able to cope

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another? -- The Need for an Attitude Adjustment

When I was in high school, I was in the NJROTC.  For those of you who don’t know, this stands for Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, and is essentially a military based program that allows high school students to experience a taste of what military life would be like.  You can learn how to do military drills, shooting with pellet rifles, and you learn important things like discipline and leadership and working to achieve something.  It’s a great program for any kid, in my opinion, and there’s no obligation for military after high school (as I am obviously not in the military). 

Anyway, one thing that you learn in JROTC is the concept of some sort of punishment when you do something wrong or disrespectful.  The most common form of this is push-ups or other forms of PT (physical training).  If a cadet says something out of turn or says something disrespectful, they might get told to do 5 or 10 push-ups.  This makes the cadet physically stronger, as well as mentally stronger (with the knowledge of how to do what’s right and not what’s wrong) and they can prove that they can endure the punishment.

A common response from a cadet (who isn’t terrified of their commander) is “Thank you sir, may I have another?”  In saying this, the cadet is proving that they can handle the push-ups or whatever they had to do, and even if they didn’t deserve it, they are willing to endure it again if that’s what the commander wants of them.

In my opinion, this should be kind of like what our relationship with God should be like.

Too many people think that once they start a relationship with God, they are never going to have to worry about any kind of trouble or hardships ever again because “God will provide”.  This is untrue.  God absolutely will provide for you, but how He does it may or may not be to your liking at the time.  The difference between believers and non-believers is not that one group faces trials and the other doesn’t; the difference is (or should be) how we deal with those trials.  In many cases, it may be that believers actually get more trials, because God knows we can handle them or that we need them to make us stronger.

When we get trials thrown at us, God is allowing us to go through them because He knows what’s best for us, and he is refining us to make us stronger and more trusting in His protection so that we can rest assured that whatever happens, God’s Will will be done and we needn’t worry about it.

Even those who are spiritual leaders or others that we may consider to be the best among us will be tested with trials.  The Bible says it like this:

“Even gold is tested for genuineness by fire. The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuineness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy of praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Yeshua the Messiah.” –1 Peter 1:7

Therefore, we should see the trials that we go through as a great joy.  I know we always hear this in various places like church, but I am of the belief that we actually should.  And I mean not just being fake and telling people that you trust God that He will bring you through it, then complaining about it to every other person who will listen whenever you hit a rough spot.  I mean truly getting down on your knees to thank your Maker for giving you the opportunity to prove your trust and love for Him. 

“Regard it all as joy, my brothers, when you face various kinds of temptations; for you know that the testing of your trust produces perseverance. But let perseverance do its complete work; so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.” –James1:2-4

We should take up that same attitude of those cadets in JROTC, and when something is thrown in our path or things don’t go the way we planned, we should stand up straight, look it in the eye, take it head on, and say with sincerity; “Thank you Sir, may I have another?”

I Do Not Have a Religion

I love God.  There is no question about that at all.  It is true that I try to serve Him with my whole life in every way that I can.  It is also true that I have no religion.

Upon meeting someone new or reacquainting with someone I've known for quite some time, for whatever reason the topic of God comes up.  Well as a matter of fact, I have quite a bit to say on the subject.  Sooner or later in these types of conversations (usually sooner) the question is asked “what church do you go to?”

“I don’t actually go to a church..”

HEATHEN!!

The fact is that I stopped going to mainstream Christian church about 7 or 8 years ago when my family and I decided to look into the origins of a lot of common Christian practices and holidays and didn’t like what we saw.  We couldn't find a church that we agreed with, so we didn’t go to one. 

As a result of lots of research that I've done on Christianity and the Bible and many different doctrines, I find it hard to call myself a “Christian” anymore, although I do agree on some very staple beliefs of the common Christian.

-Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah who died so that we might be saved

-Jesus is the Son of God, and is One with God and the Holy Spirit

- God is the creator of the universe and we all belong to Him

-The Bible is the Word of God

There are others, but these are the most basic ones that generally categorize someone as a Christian.

It’s been a long and difficult journey over the past 7 or 8 years, and the struggle has been real.  I (and my family too, I’m sure) am still learning every single day.  I observe the Sabbath on Saturdays (well, to be more accurate, it’s from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown), I celebrate what many consider to be the “Jewish holidays” but what I call the Biblical Holidays, I do not celebrate Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, etc., I keep Torah, I eat kosher (Biblical, not rabbinical), and (as a recent addition to things that make people think I’m weird) I wear tzitzit. 

When people learn this they ask me if I’m Jewish.

No, I’m not.

“Then why..”

“If you’re not..”

“But you should just..”

This is why I will say I have no religion.  What I will call myself is a Messianic Believer.  This is because it is not about religion.  Religion implies that I follow a set of rules because my religion is *insert religion here* 

I follow Torah because God told me to, along with everyone else who is a part of Israel, whether born in or grafted in.  (I tried to pick a verse reference to put here but there are so many…anywhere in the Torah – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy – that it says “throughout all your generations”…well, you get the picture)  

I do not follow man-made religious rules because God told me not to add to or take away from His Torah.  If He wanted it in there, He would’ve put it in there.  (Deuteronomy 4:2, 13:1, Ecclesiastes 3:14)

I still follow the Torah even after Yeshua (Jesus) died on the cross for my sins because He came not to do away with or destroy it but to fulfill and confirm it.  (Matthew 5:17)

I don’t celebrate “holidays” or traditions with pagan origins because God told me not to worship Him in the way that others worship(ed) their gods.  He told us how He wants to be worshiped from the beginning.  (Deuteronomy 12:30-31)

I guess what I am trying to say is this:  I do not have a religion, but I do have a God.  He is the One true God, and He knows how He wants to be worshiped by me and everyone else.  He has a plan for my life, He has a plan for Your life, and the answers to all of life’s questions and “how to”s can be found in His Word (the Bible).  Living that out is not a religion to me; it is life.