Some of you have been wondering what led us into Messianic Judaism. Well, about a year ago, Tom told me that he wanted to start celebrating the Biblical feasts and special times appointed by God. I can't speak for Tom, but for myself, I have always taken the Bible very literally, so I was all for this! I can remember being a teenager and reading the Old Testament (or Tanakh) portions about dietary law. I immediately started eating accordingly. In fact, it is only since moving to Georgia that I began "cheating" because the fresh shrimp right off the boat is amazing...especially deep fried. I feel very guilty when I cheat on my diet, but that's off-subject. :)
As we talked, we realized that God was leading our family to follow the scriptures more closely out of our love for God. We knew that we would not find a church in our area that celebrated all of the Biblical holidays, so we decided that we needed to find a group of Jewish believers in the Messiah (Yeshua). We looked online in early spring and there was nothing near us, so we decided to learn more about the holidays on our own and left it at that. I traveled with the kids to Pennsylvania for most of the summer to catch up with family and friends, and so our boys could attend camp with their former youth group.
When I came back in August, Tom and I began talking again about Biblical holidays and how we felt God was leading our family. This prompted me to do one more search on google. Lo and behold, there was a Messianic Synagogue in the town next us, and they taught educational classes on God's holidays! (Our Rabbi and his family moved from Florida--they felt called to start a Messianic Jewish Synagogue in the Savannah area. Their first service was in June.) We were so excited to visit! I remember feeling so afraid that we wouldn't be accepted because we were "Gentiles," but I was so wrong. We were welcomed and loved from that first Saturday, and we have not looked back. We found exactly the home and family we were looking for!
I love to read, so I have been doing a lot of reading and studying on my own. I love how deep God's word is. When you study God's word from a Hebrew roots perspective, you realize it just keeps going deeper and deeper. The Bible is a book about Jewish people, written by Jewish people. Yeshua was born and raised as an observant Jew. The more I learn about Judaism and continue to study my Bible with Hebrew eyes, the more blown away I am! I will leave you with some links and books I am currently reading.
First Fruits of Zion - (Messianic Bible Study Materials) If nothing else, sign up for their weekly edrash and edisciple; they are very short devotionals from a Hebrew roots perspective. www.ffoz.com
Torah Class - This teaching will change your life. You can listen via the website or they have a podcast you can download for free on your phone, tablet, or iPod. The teacher is not Jewish; he teaches verse by verse through the Bible from a Hebrew roots perspective. Tom listens in his truck every day while he's driving to appointments, and the kids I listen to one podcast every day while we eat lunch. Work it in to your day! I would suggest starting in Genesis, since that is the beginning, but you could pick any book of the Bible you want and start there! www.torahclass.com
I am currently reading God's Appointed Times, which is an overview of Biblical holidays from a Messianic standpoint. Each chapter covers a holiday and they are very brief and easy to read. Each chapter includes recipes, crafts, and songs.
The other book I am reading is Our Father Abraham. It covers the history of the church and Judaism, again, from a Messianic perspective. It is very deep and interesting, so instead of going into a lot of detail, you can look it up on Amazon and view the table of contents. It is excellent and informative; very thought-provoking!
I have several other books on my shelf to read next that came highly recommended by some friends:
God's Appointed Customs: A Messianic Jewish Guide to the Biblical Lifecycle and Lifestyle by, Barney Kasdan
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by, Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg
Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life by, Lois Tverberg and Ray Vander Laan
I picked up a video that we have only started watching, but it is very educational and informative:
As we talked, we realized that God was leading our family to follow the scriptures more closely out of our love for God. We knew that we would not find a church in our area that celebrated all of the Biblical holidays, so we decided that we needed to find a group of Jewish believers in the Messiah (Yeshua). We looked online in early spring and there was nothing near us, so we decided to learn more about the holidays on our own and left it at that. I traveled with the kids to Pennsylvania for most of the summer to catch up with family and friends, and so our boys could attend camp with their former youth group.
When I came back in August, Tom and I began talking again about Biblical holidays and how we felt God was leading our family. This prompted me to do one more search on google. Lo and behold, there was a Messianic Synagogue in the town next us, and they taught educational classes on God's holidays! (Our Rabbi and his family moved from Florida--they felt called to start a Messianic Jewish Synagogue in the Savannah area. Their first service was in June.) We were so excited to visit! I remember feeling so afraid that we wouldn't be accepted because we were "Gentiles," but I was so wrong. We were welcomed and loved from that first Saturday, and we have not looked back. We found exactly the home and family we were looking for!
I love to read, so I have been doing a lot of reading and studying on my own. I love how deep God's word is. When you study God's word from a Hebrew roots perspective, you realize it just keeps going deeper and deeper. The Bible is a book about Jewish people, written by Jewish people. Yeshua was born and raised as an observant Jew. The more I learn about Judaism and continue to study my Bible with Hebrew eyes, the more blown away I am! I will leave you with some links and books I am currently reading.
First Fruits of Zion - (Messianic Bible Study Materials) If nothing else, sign up for their weekly edrash and edisciple; they are very short devotionals from a Hebrew roots perspective. www.ffoz.com
Torah Class - This teaching will change your life. You can listen via the website or they have a podcast you can download for free on your phone, tablet, or iPod. The teacher is not Jewish; he teaches verse by verse through the Bible from a Hebrew roots perspective. Tom listens in his truck every day while he's driving to appointments, and the kids I listen to one podcast every day while we eat lunch. Work it in to your day! I would suggest starting in Genesis, since that is the beginning, but you could pick any book of the Bible you want and start there! www.torahclass.com
I am currently reading God's Appointed Times, which is an overview of Biblical holidays from a Messianic standpoint. Each chapter covers a holiday and they are very brief and easy to read. Each chapter includes recipes, crafts, and songs.
The other book I am reading is Our Father Abraham. It covers the history of the church and Judaism, again, from a Messianic perspective. It is very deep and interesting, so instead of going into a lot of detail, you can look it up on Amazon and view the table of contents. It is excellent and informative; very thought-provoking!
I have several other books on my shelf to read next that came highly recommended by some friends:
God's Appointed Customs: A Messianic Jewish Guide to the Biblical Lifecycle and Lifestyle by, Barney Kasdan
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by, Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg
Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life by, Lois Tverberg and Ray Vander Laan
I picked up a video that we have only started watching, but it is very educational and informative:
Any of these resources can be found on www.amazon.com or www.christianbook.com
You can try your library, but I have not had any luck here. :)
Shalom!
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