Many times I have shown direct Scriptural texts to people in discussions, and I often get this response: "But you see, what about when this happened to me?" The argument is one that comes from an experience a person had in their life where they felt close and connected to Yahweh.
Although it is difficult to swallow, any experience we have (or emotion) that is not in line with the inspired Scriptures is not from Yahweh. The Holy Spirit that people claim to have encountered is the Spirit that inspired the Scriptures. The Scriptures are our sole authority for what to believe and not to believe. We must come to a point in our life where we are resolved to "lose" any experience we may have had that was not in harmony with Yah's word. In John 4:24 Yeshua informs us that "Elohim is Spirit," and that those who worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth. This short blog is not meant to be an exposition on this verse, but in short let's focus in on the word "truth." We cannot separate our worship of Yahweh from the truth. We cannot say that it does not matter what the Scripture says because we know that we felt the presence of Yah worshiping this way. No, our experiences need to be sacrificed on the altar of sacred Scripture. We then repent of doing things our own way and only go by what the Scriptures teach in every area of our life. Matthew Janzen
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I am convinced that one of the tests of true Christian faith in a person is by how they interact with those who treat them wrongly. Our "human intuition" is to wrong those or shun those that do us wrong. What should be our response to others who speak evil of us, or treat us unfairly, or just plain and simply do not like us? It should be to love them, treat them kindly, do good to them, pray for them, and not seek to "get back" at them. I see this teaching very, very strongly in the words of our elder brother Yeshua the Messiah. His teachings are recorded in Matthew 5:38-48, and yes, they are extremely radical. That being said, a heart that has been changed by the supernatural power of an omnipotent Yahweh, has the ability to humiliate themselves before others and seek for the spiritual well being of even those who may be called their enemies. Yahweh help us to follow the example of your Son.
Matthew Janzen The answer to the above question is simple. I am a follower of Yahweh, God of Scripture. I want to love God and bring Him glory in my entire life. He gives me commandments to meet with other believers on specified days (Lev. 23) and I am told not to forsake to assemble myself with the brethren as the manner of some is (Heb. 10:25). I obey God, not out of a rigid "have to" but out of a desire or want to do so. I enjoy being obedient to the Father's word because He has given me a new heart and mind that has the propensity to do what is righteous.
Yeshua attended synagogue service on the Sabbath, and it was his customary practice (Lk. 4:16). If we are followers of him (following his example) we should do the same. Matthew Janzen I've been studying lately about the commands given in Ex. 13:9, 16 and Deut. 6:8 and 11:18. The instructions found therein involve binding the Torah as a sign on your hand and letting the Torah be a symbol on your forehead. I have actually known about these verses for quite some years now, but over the last 3 months or so there has been an increased interest in this command in my mind and heart.
Interestingly enough there are archaeological findings of small leather pouches found in the same location as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These pouches reveal that there were those shortly before or during the 1st century A.D. that took the command literally, writing out texts in the Torah that dealt with the Shema or the Commandments and placing them in these leather pouches and then binding them upon the forehead and/or hand. Seeing that these particular pouches were found in the Qumran area they are most likely those worn by the ancient Essenes. Yeshua makes note of these "pouches" in Matthew 23:5 where he chides the scribes and Pharisees for enlarging their phylacteries and lengthening their tassels. Yeshua is not rebuking these groups for wearing either item, he is merely rebuking the intent behind why they were wearing them as well as the size of each item being extremely big. Yeshua himself wore tassels as is evidenced by doing a word study on the "hem" of his garment. It stands to reason (logically) that he also wore phylacteries, a Greek word meaning a "safe-guard" or "preservative" in which text of Scripture were placed for safe-keeping. I will soon be placing an article on this subject on my website for reading. While I have read authors who believe the command to be only metaphorical, the evidence suggest to me that there is a metaphorical understanding and a literal understanding. I will give much more information in the near future. Matthew Janzen |
AuthorBlog by Matthew Janzen. Lover of Yahweh, Yeshua, my wife and 5 children. All else is commentary. Archives
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