BTW...what happened with the Rabbi? I wrote a post a couple days ago saying that I'd listened to this amazing rabbi for about 2 hours, talking about how the Old Testament is not nearly as legalistic as people think. Well, he brought up many many AWESOME points, only to say, in about the last ten minutes of the message, the he "really doesn't believe that Yeshua is the Messiah."
My heart dropped. All of the sudden, it seemed as though all the progress I thought I was making was sorta "Cancelled out.". I thought this man was making all these in depth points about the commands of the Old Covenent and who Jesus was, because he KNEW Jesus as his savior... Not because he did not. Anyway, his name is Nehemiah Gordon, and I believe I will continue to listen to his wisdom, and just keep praying that soon, he would be convicted himself that he needs to bow the knee himself. He's an incredibly smart person, and sometimes, head knowledge can get in the way of the simple things, right?
So, I made my first "tent" on the last Shabbat! Now, this is an idea I got from Rabbi Mark Biltz at El Shaddai Church up in WA state. He spoke once about the Israelites living in tents in the wilderness, and building and taking down the tabernacle, with specific instructions from the Lord. I know not whether anything is said in the Old Covenant about us making any tents today, but pastor Biltz said that doing so, could be an interesting way of knowing intimacy with God and doing something that is set aside for Him alone. Thanks to Aleph Beta emails, I'm learning that this is what "Shabbat" is: it's "making a space that is for God alone, and setting aside specific things that we do only for Him...and then we "save" what is only fo Him until we enter into that intimacy again. Gee, this is a far cry from what I've believed about God: Everything belongs to Him , so it doesn't matter whether we keep Sabbath or not AND, anyway, I'm not Jewish, so it doesn't apply to ME, right?
Going to church on Sunday? Well, this is wonderful, but (ready?): It's not enough and it sorta misses the mark.
(GASP!!!). Wait a minute!! We don't have to ' hit the mark," that's why Jesus DIED in the first place, right?? Yes. But here's the thing: Sunday church has become a social club and a status symbol for me. Yep, it has. It's a chance for me to wear my Niners jacket during football season and stand around and act like I actually know about football. It's coffee and doughnuts. It's staring at empty sign up sheets and WISHING I could do more to help. It's feeling like a big dope because I've been working on the same scarf for 4 months while the KIDS are trying to show me how to do 20 other things. It's looking for people to socialize with afterwards and wanting to hurry out of there so we can go to lunch! It's bringing a potato salad to a potluck and taking most of it home because it barely got eaten. It's trying DESPERATELY to remember that my "focus" here, needs to be on the LORD, and NOT on the lanky, blue eye'd guy I've been nuts about for years, who wants nothing to do with me. It's pretending I don't wanna just cry my eyes out when someone looks me right in the eye, and calls me by the name of a friend I miss very much who moved away. It's acting like I did NOT just hear the whispered conversation about "getting to know" another girl because the people that had it didn't have enough sensitivity to at least GO OUTSIDE first!! Time out.
WHERE IS MY SAVIOR IN ALL OF THAT??
Didn't I just hear it in another sermon: It's all about having a relationship with HIM?? Well then, Lord, PLEASE FORGIVE ME because I ran off and just left you behind! (But hey, as long as I'm not left behind when He suddenly "raptures" us outta here, right? I've got my "seat" on that bus because, my "ticket" has been paid for with His blood...and hey, EVERY day should belong to Him anyway, right?? So, just WHO am I getting to "know" here?? Isn't that the "yard stick" we're supposed to be measuring everything with? Well, I am a LAZY Christian you guys, because I keep counting everything that does NOT matter, and saying "oh Goody!! Less work for me!". All my spiritual discipline has gone down the drain, and I feel like I ought to be ashamed of myself.
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