Becoming Jew "ish"

Wow! So much has happened in my walk with G-d in the last few years. Reading back through some of my old posts and drafts I realize how much G-d has done in my life. The last year in particular has been A-MAZING!!!!  I have always had a yearning for the G-d of the Tanakh (Old Testament). My love for the Torah (the law or instructions of G-d) have always had my heart even before I really understood them, and even when my fellow believers were telling me they didn't matter that that was only for the Jews. And then... it happened. Promises that G-d had spoken to me finally made sense when I learned there were a lot of people like me. A whole movement (several in fact) of Torah pursuant believers in our Messiah. They vary from Hebrew Roots, Messianic Judaism, to Ani Judaism (Messianic Orthodox Judaism) in their different observances.

At almost one year of being Torah pursuant, where am I?  In love with the Word of G-d, His right judgments, degrees, and commands. My goal is to be like Daniel. I believe we are in Babylon, while we are here, Daniel is my mentor. Daniel heard the decrees of the land and even in the middle of a godless society he was still able to not only pursue our Elohim, but to know Him.

What's the difference between me now and me a year ago?

We keep (guard and protect) the Sabbath (Shabbat).  I make traditional Challah bread every week which is one of my favorite things to do. Shabbat is the day my whole week is purposed toward. The planning and preparations direct our family all week.
We read and learn Torah in the weekly Torah portions. (We use this as our family Bible Study.)
We eat Biblically Kosher. If the Bible says it's unclean, we don't eat it. (Mistakes have been made, thank goodness G-d judges our hearts and is a G-d of forgiveness.)
We gave up Easter and Christmas and instead observe Passover and Hanukkah.
We do a lot of things following traditional Jewish tradition. Some people are very against this, but I have found a lot of peace and understanding following traditional Orthodox traditions. We must remember that traditions themselves are not bad. Traditions are only bad when and if they violate other parts of G-d's Torah.

There is definitely more, I've just listed the most common topics people have questions about.

Revelations

     These last few weeks have been a serious journey in my physical, mental, and spiritual body. I have a sense of peace today, which I have not had in many days. I have been fighting the enemy every day, At times it seemed like every minute of the day I was under attack.

     I have been just trying to drown myself in the Word, in books, sermons, Bible classes, trying to get every single piece of insight I can for my life. I have been fasting and praying, until I'd wake up on my sofa, having fallen asleep listening to Dr. Charles Stanley, who I completely love for what I have learned listening to his sermons on YouTube, and I'm not even Baptist. :)

     So, what have I learned? Read Colossians. Just read the whole book, there's not sense is not reading the whole thing because if you don't, God is just going to send people in one way or another to have a word for you from the Lord from Colossians. ;)

This is a really great prayer for you or anyone you know. It pretty much covers everything from Salvation to knowing the will of God. I love this one. I can only hope that people pray this for me.

 Colossions 1:9-14

We have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,[c]12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,14 who purchased our freedom[d] and forgave our sins.

I have my own version of this prayer, written as Prayer for Derek, if you want to take a look at it. 

Prayer for Derek

      God, fill Derek with the knowledge of your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Let Derek lead a life worthy of you Lord and that he will please you in every way:  bearing fruit in every good work, growing in your knowledge. Lord, I ask that Derek would be strengthened with all power according to your glorious might so that he may have great endurance and patience and joyfully give thanks to you. Lord, rescue him from the darkness and bring him into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.  Redeem him and his destiny from the bondage of sin.

          Encourage Derek; unite him with you in love so that he may understand you. Set his heart on things above, helping him put to death whatever belongs to his earthly nature. Lord, help him to be devoted to you in prayer. Fix his thoughts on you Lord, on your son Jesus, by whose blood all sin is washed clean.

          Help Derek to lead a life of complete obedience to you Lord so that he may take part in the blessing of life abundant and not the curse of death. Let him be filled with your Holy Spirit that he may walk a powerful spirit filled life. 

          Send godly counsel his way Lord and close off all other counsel. Let loose any enemy stronghold on his heart and mind Lord so that he can receive the Word of Life (John 1:1) into himself. Block any path of sin Lord, mark his heart for you. Remind him that there is no peace that does not come from you. There is no peace in the world or things of the world. There is no peace in loving the world, because there is no love in the world. True, unfailing Love comes from Jesus Christ. (I Peter 1)

          Help me Father to love him. Help me to pray for him. Help me to forgive him and release me from the bitterness and anxiety I have felt because of my own shortcomings in you Lord. Give me the strength to hold strong to you and the wisdom to be patient and wait for you Lord (Isaiah 40:41). 

A Big Amazing God

God is a big amazing God. Let’s get that out there. I am a die hard God fan-girl. I’m also a geek. Perhaps I shall add a geek glossary from some of you. :) And… I love emoticons. So, you know those things about me, you can leave now if any of that is too much for you. ;)

                When I say God is a big amazing God, I mean that from personal experience. I have known God a long time, as long as I can remember, actually. I was raised in a Christian home, my grandpa preached, my dad preaches, and even my mom, my crazy, crazy mom is a pastor. When I say crazy I mean crazy, I could tell you stories, and I probably will, later, much later, when I have moved and she no longer has my address, I will tell you everything. But for now, you should know that I have loved her, hated her, loved her again and wished she would just vanish at times. It’s been a journey with her. And me, being perfect cannot fathom how jealous she must have been of my stellar personality and wise choices. Wisdom beyond my years. This is sarcasm. A lot of it.

My mom is crazy, but crazy in the best way. She is strong, very strong. One day, I hope I am more like her. She has helped me more than I can even begin to express and I appreciate her and understand her now that I am older. As time has gone on and on and on (insert age joke) I have come to consider her a friend. Someone I can depend and rely on . Maybe not to hel p me move, since she lives half-way across the states from me, but someone who will pray for me without ceasing. And THAT my friends, is not something everyone has. But, I do. And I am blessed for that mother who loves me so much that she stands in the gap between the world and me, holding God’s hand saying, “No, you can’t have her, she belongs to us.” It is many of those prayers that have saved me, time and time again. There is no Mother’s Day card big enough to say, “Thank You” for something like that.

Being raised in a Christian home will not make one a christian, but it does help. And the Word (Bible) is very clear. Proverbs 22:6 says that if you “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” (NLT) I can safely say that it has worked quite nicely for my siblings and me.  My parents weren’t perfect, but… one,  there is no mistake so big that God can’t fix it. And, two, They loved God with all their hearts.

When I was younger, five to be exact, so MUCH younger, I can remember my very first experience with God. I remember going to a small church in Lamar, OK where my grandpa would preach from time to time. It was such a tiny church and old, so old, you could feel the draft coming up from the old wood plank floors. I always wondered as a kid if one day we would just fall through. On the drive home one night, my grandpa and grandma were praying and praising God. My grandma was crying, my sister and I wanted to be like our grandparents so, we would put spit (yes, spit) under our eyes to make it look like we were crying too. This time, however, God surprised me, He touched my heart so that I actually did begin to cry. Not pretend to cry, but really felt His presence. I have never forgotten that moment. I often say that I serve God because it’s like He is part of my DNA, embedded so deeply that I don’t have choice. There is no way for me to remove Him and still be me. I am my happiest when I am walking the path that He has set aside for me. If you ever see me unhappy/angry probably a good assumption that I am NOT going the way God wanted me to go. Sometimes this is categorically untrue, but for me and my rebelliousness, it’s a pretty fair bet. So, if you’re in debt and need a good pay out, that one is pretty safe.  ;)

I hope you can tell from what you’ve read so far, that this writing is honest. It’s real and it will probably not be the best piece of literature you have ever read in your life, but it will be real and it will probably even be a little funny here and there.

That said, enjoy!

Welcome!

Welcome!

                This is me, Nophica; and this is my journey to the Altar and after, and sometimes to the altar again. You will quickly see, I am far from perfect. Unless being a moth makes one perfect. Then, I am the epitome of perfection. My life is mine. My journey is mine. My hope and prayer is that in a piece of my journey you may see yourself; and my journey may help you in some small way. Even if it only brings a smile to your lips or gives a good reason to cry.

                

“On the altar, I lay my burdens down, release my pain, forget my shame, walk on Holy Ground and become whole. “   ------ Nophica