But, just occasionally, things don't go as expected.
I'm seeing many positive things at a certain local church. A brief back story: my wife grew up in a Messianic synagogue and I was nurtured in pro-Jewish Roots environment and then I started visiting the Messianic synagogue where I met my wife. Long story short, there was a falling out with the leadership there. So then G-d had us start visiting a certain Baptist Church. All I knew was that they were pro-Israel (they had a prominently displayed Israeli flag in the lobby, etc). But I really wasn't sure why I was there.
- And then the church started hosting Friday night Shabbat gatherings.
- And then I heard rumors that the pastoral team had had some sort of "experience" whilst visiting in Israel.
- And then the church started hosting a Messianic group on Saturdays.
- And then I met with the pastor and, throwing caution to the wind, laid out all of my views on Torah. And, not only did he not get upset, but, to my utter puzzlement, he said he agreed with everything I had said!
The pastor actually encouraged me to visit with the Messianic group and I didn't really want to go because some of them were from the congregation that I'd had a falling out with. But this past weekend I finally visited and it was very pleasant. And the pastor is glad that I finally decided to visit with them.
I guess maybe because I've been hurt by certain groups before that I became pessimistic and overly guarded and missed out on some opportunities. But maybe it's time to let my guard down a bit. This seems to be a safe environment.
I was also encouraged by the pastor's latest sermon which was broadcast on television. He made such a wonderful defense of the Torah. It reminded me of the post I wrote a while back about how some well-known Christian scholars are coming out in favor of the Torah of Moses (LINK). He said "I'm not trying to be heretical..." and then make this argument that since all of Scripture is G-d-breathed by the Spirit and since the Spirit is Yeshua's Spirit that "The commands of Christ are as much in the Old Testament as in the New Testament." He said something to the effect of, "Do we just observe everything in the red-lettered edition of the Bible?" (note: the red-lettered edition is the one that highlights Yeshua's words in red). And then he offered, "Honestly, it's more than the red letters."
The chutzpah on this guy! To say such things to a large Baptist congregation! (Not to mention those watching on television).
G-d is surely doing something in our time!
Shalom and Blessings in Yeshua,
Peter
