"Then YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'I am YHWH your God. According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am YHWH your God. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am YHWH." Leviticus 18:1-5
"And you shall be holy to Me, for I YHWH am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." Leviticus 20:26
I think the question that each of us needs to ask is ... "why am I doing what I am doing?" This can apply in numerous situations, from something "important" like a major life-changing decision, to something "small" like a choice of clothing or entertainment. Are we taking our cues from those around us, or from the judgments and ordinances that YHWH has given us?
I am reminded of Jeremiah 10:2, which says, "Thus saith YHWH, Learn not the way of the heathen ..." Are we being influenced by the traditions and standards of the heathen culture that surrounds us, or are we patterning our lives on His instructions and commandments?
I know this is a short post, but I want to challenge each of you to ask yourself that question. In the end, it is His standards that are going to matter and that is what we are going to be judged by. Most (if not all) of us have access to His Word and we can learn how He wants us to live our lives, even though that may look so different from the rest of the world sometimes! I pray that He gives us each the strength and boldness to walk in His commandments that we may live ...
"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love YHWH your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which YHWH swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Deuteronomy 30:19-20
I am very convicted one should preach to Jews. I will follow your blog! Do come over
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and following this blog!
DeleteAs for preaching to Jews ... that is a very delicate subject :) For 2,000 years, many Jews have been persecuted in the name of Christianity. In the eyes of many Jews, Hitler was a Christian and it is a historical fact that Nazis who were tried at Nuremberg used Martin Luther's writings to justify their heinous actions.
When we were in Israel as a family and people questioned us about our faith, we would explain that it is through our belief in the Messiah that we have a love for Israel and its people. We would also explain that many Christians have lied about who the Messiah is through their words and actions, but many Jewish rabbis have lied about Him as well. We would encourage people to search the Scriptures for themselves.
Many Jewish people are extremely opposed to evangelism (what they call proselytizing) and given their experience with the church in general, I can't blame them. Something that we would do is to ask forgiveness on behalf of those who called themselves Christians and yet did not follow in the steps of the Jewish Messiah that they called Lord. Many Israelis were amazed that we, as non-Jews, wanted to go and bless them and support them, especially as the majority of the world hates them.
Anyway, there is a long reply to a short sentence :)