Within each of us are emotions that scale the heights of praise then sink so deep we are beyond the reach of light. In those depths we hold a notion that we cannot lift ourselves out, but there must be a power that can save. «Follow me,» Jesus said. From the first immersion that birthed earth from water, to the Hebrew mikveh that requires baptism in a natural body of water, to the Pentecost immersing believers into the age of the church, water is the signature of God. The ocean is the heartbeat...
The voices of Messianic rabbis and believers have been collected in this volume to share concerns about the gap that remains between Jews and the church. For the past fifteen centuries, the church has been predominantly Gentile. Jews of faith were not considered Jews, but as «converted.» Today, as Messianic congregations multiply and church denominations try to find their way back to the original principles of the early church, the church is challenged to repair this relationship, deepen its...
Keeping the Sabbath is the only commandment God called holy and said to remember. The moment the women light the Sabbath candle, we glimpse the boundless realm of the world to come as all work is put down and we meet with the Lord. The flame reveals our distinctions and makes known our gifts, a flame that spoke from Mount Sinai, led the Israelites through the desert, consumed offerings, and anointed the new church. Jesus said, «Come.» Let anyone who hears this say, «Come.» He opens his kingdom...
The prophet Jeremiah, mourning his people in the city of Zion, spoke of the balm that could heal them. He foresaw the physician and he asked, «Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?» The message of Jesus has been in North America for centuries, yet past history with the first nations of the land has left many native people thinking they have to choose either to be an Indian or to believe in Jesus. Jeremiah said, «The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are...
God's word begins with the tree of life and the tree of knowledge watered by a river nourishing Eden. As it ends with the image of a tree by a river appearing in heaven, the redeemed who have stood as «a tree planted by streams of water, bringing the fruits of the spirit, and birds and animals of every kind find shelter» are healed by its leaves. In the ecology of trees, we find the believer, rooted in living water, lifting to the heavens, sheltering others, and bearing fruit. From...
