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1. Duncan is 2!!!!! Silly boy cut himself last week - I was treating him, but yesterday he didn't eat. :sigh: Took him to the vet (not our usual - they were booked.) - he's fine, just a little sore. The cut looked good - I think he just wanted to go for a car ride. The trip to Dairy Queen on the way home didn't hurt - nor did the Hunger Buster Jr. he got. :lol:

2. Did a little digging...seems that last year, in Texas, 11,000 people died from the flu. This year, in a "pandemic", not quite 4,000 have died from the "super deadly novel coronavirus". Um....yeah. These numbers are from the Texas State Health Department - make your own conclusions. (Because honestly, you can extrapolate. Texas can't be an outlier - not when we're "2nd in the Nation for new cases!" - so you can bet most other states/countries numbers are pretty close to the same.)

3. Sewing! Been hitting it out of the park, lately. I finally got brave and started embroidering some new shirts - I have 2 (pics forthcoming!) that turned out WONDERFULLY well and fit my style. I've always leaned BoHo, but squelched it because it's not easy to find at a price point I can afford. Now? Sky's the limit!

3a. My new favorite top pattern is the Twig + Tale Women's Breeze shirt. Kinda peasant-y, kinda flowy, and a perfect canvas for embroidery. My first one is linen with bluebonnets; the 2nd is a cotton/ramie chambray with hummingbirds and flowers. I'm going thru my files to find more......this is fun!

3b. Although my machine isn't quite with me. The automatic needle-threader decided to die violently on the 2nd motif on the front of shirt #2. Not a huge issue - I can manually thread the needle - just an annoyance. 25 thread changes weren't fun......but do-able. Himself looked at it, but it's FUBAR; I'm not sure if I want to go to the hassle of trying to get it repaired now, or if I just live with it (probably live with it. Again, it's not a big deal.)

4. There is currently a possum in my chicken feed can. I noped right out of there - the kids will handle it. The chickens got goat feed this morning......that's farm life for ya! :lol:

5. There is no 5.

6. Been reading.........did you know that masks are big in the occult? And that symbolically they silence people? And make them into "others" (think cyber-bullying, and how people act differently behind a screen than they do in real life.) Putting that together with the Reality of Duality........folks, I think the Mark of the Beast might not be what the church has taught - it might be symbolic and NOT physical. This guy takes a few hundred words to say it, but it's worth reading.......if you have ears to hear. Yes, it's wordy....but I think there's a lot of Truth to it - and it's sobering. And worth considering. (And Anonymous, I don't care that you don't agree with me. Just.....don't read me. No one is forcing you to, right?? (OR...are they?????:wink:) Just move along......but you might want to check out the link. You might learn something.)

Gotta skitter - got to buy grain, evict a possum, and get a new shirt cut out. And find some linen for shorts/pants......I've just about replaced all my cheap, store-bought blouses (NOT my t-shirts, though. Those I'm keeping. :lol:) with nice, natural-fiber ones. (Ramie.....is a bit problematic. YES, it's "natural", but...only through man-made means. :sigh:) I need pants......so that's next up. I think Cashmerette's Calder pants fit the bill...we'll see.
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Or, Happy Passover! For all you Christians out there, THIS is "Good Friday"; tomorrow begins the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Sunday is the Feast of First Fruits - aka Resurrection Day! (READ your Bibles - it's TRUE! What you celebrated a few weeks ago has nothing to do with reality. And yes, it DOES matter - to God, which is what is important!)

Anyway. Tonight is lamb tacos (we don't do a Seder, as it's "Tradition", not Torah). All the yeast/leavened products are out of the house.....and it's cleaner than it has been in years. Except for the floors - it's been raining, and we have *mud*. :sigh: and :lol:

Have a great one!
fiberaddict: (Firefly: Josh Whedon)
I read all sorts of blogs - yes, even some Christian ones! :gasp!: This one....I don't agree with everything he says, but he hit this one out of the park. Let me give you an excerpt:

You see, God is not done with any of us yet. Each of us is made in the image of God, yet we are all marred by sin. In our current form, we are flawed, but God can reshape us as He will. And He promises He will if we let Him.

When you and I encounter another human soul, we see a slice of a life, a moment in another’s journey. We do not see the departure from the gate, nor the arrival at the final destination.


The link is here if you want to read the whole thing - I HIGHLY recommend it. (I don't often recommend Christian sites, because I usually don't agree with them. This one, though....there's a lot here I do agree with, and a lot that I don't, but God can and will use those that don't agree 100% with Him to get His points across. And this? Has been nagging me ever since I read it. :lol:)

I see this a LOT online...people go off on others because they don't believe the same way they do, or don't do things the way they would do, or a myriad of other reasons. It's...sad. I think it's a way for them to feel superior - for whatever reason, but we all should remember that it's a journey, not a single step, and not everyone is one the exact same path.

Look, I know what *I* believe, and why *I* think it's right. *You* may also believe, but not the exact same way I do.....and is that wrong? I don't think so - I mean, I know that God has led me *here*. I don't know that He *hasn't* led you to where you are, today. Maybe you're further along than I am; maybe I'm further along than you are. It's not - NOT - my place to tear you down just because YOU are still going to a mainstream church - I know that for ME, that's not where I belong. Maybe God has you there for a reason - I don't know. (And maybe He doesn't - again, not MY place to tear you down. *I* don't know what God is doing in YOUR life, just like you don't know what He's doing in mine.) All I can do is live the way I think He wants me to live; in my case, that's as a Torah-Observant, Messianic-believeing Spiritual Jew. I can pull out verses that spell out WHY I believe that, but honestly? It's beside the point - anyone can pull verses out of the Bible to back up their beliefs, even if the beliefs are misguided.

Anyway - Shabbat Shalom! Have a wonderful weekend!
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So. The funeral/memorial service was yesterday. It was well-attended, and it went as well as can be expected. It was at the church I grew up in (I was *11* when we joined, and remained there until Himself was.....1 or so. So....19+ years of active membership for me.) - I saw lots of semi-familar faces. It was also.....interesting, from a Worship viewpoint.

See, I left the Lutheran church because I was seeing doctrine elevated above Scripture. (Nothing's changed, as far as I can tell). So I was a little hesitant over yesterday - but I went, because it's just what you do, right? (Oh - I met my half-brother for the first time. Yes, I have 3 half-siblings; 2 sisters and a brother. That was...well, it went very well. I am a little upset that we didn't meet before now, but....life and stuff. LONG story, and not really worth airing here.) ANYWAY.....

I was shocked at how easily the service came back to me. Which is a problem - Christ told us that "vain repetitions" are NOT what God wants. And the service? Is ALL repetition. You can go to any Lutheran church (well.....within the same denomination. There are 3 major branches of Lutheranism....anyway, moving on. No time for a history lesson here! :wink:) and the service will be almost identical. Every church, EVERY week. The only differences are which Scripture readings and hymns are used...and even those are on a regular cycle. (Oh, and the tune of the liturgy. There are 3 "settings" in the usual hymnbook - the words are identical, only the tune changes. And that has caused more upsets in the church than I care to recount! :lol: The stories I could tell......)

Even the prayers are printed out at the front of the hymnbooks! :sigh: (The church that I left last had some "real" prayers....I don't think the hymnbook had prayers for rain and fertile cows, but that's what got prayed for there. It's funny, but the prayers were *real* in a way that most church prayers aren't. Although I'm not sure that cow fertility really needs to be prayed for in public....:lol:)

Yesterday's memorial was basically a normal Sunday-morning service, with a couple of hymns added (my brother wanted a sing-sing, basically. So...5 hymns, 1 solo, and a choral anthem). Nice? I guess....but empty. I guess I'm just cynical now - this felt like box-checking to me, a little. (Sorry, but.....it did.) I guess it made everyone else happy, so...that's something (but...how did GOD feel about it? That's my question....)

I mean....it was comfortable, y'know? And it's easy to fall back into the routine....but it didn't feel *right*. I don't even know if I'm explaining it correctly.....I'm not upset with the service - it's what Dad knew - but.....I'm not sure it was what God intended when He told us to worship Him. I guess I'm trying to say that no, I won't be running back to church any time soon. I'll keep Worshipping Him on a one-to-One basis, as spontaneous as ever.
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Sukkot/feast of Tabernacles/Feast of Booths/Messiah's birthday begins tonight! We're setting up the tent - and I remembered to pick up an air mattress this year!

Hope you have a happy one! And, Merry Christmas! :wink:
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Tonight Rosh Ha'shanah begins! So, Happy New Year!

We're nearing the end of Deuteronomy, and it's gotten interesting. Deuteronomy is basically Moses's Sermon on the Mount - the parallels are mind-blowing. The main watchword is ,i>if. IF you do this, then God will do That. IF you keep the Torah, then God will Bless You. IF you obey God's Commandments (and..what, exactly, are they? Well.....Torah! :lol:), THEN God will bless you.

It's NOT legalism - it's how we show God our love for Him. Think of it as His Love Language - we Love Him, so we obey His commands. It's that simple - and Jesus Himself spelled that out in Matthew 5:1-20.

So - Happy New Year! May your year be Blessed!
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Ali made an interesting post, saying (basically) that Christianity is screwed up. Not wanting to blog her comments, I'm posting it here. This *might* upset some of you - but please, before going off in a ranty rage, please THINK about what I'm saying, OK? This isn't aimed at ANYONE specifically, it's just me trying to put my thoughts in some sort of order.

OK. Christianity IS screwed up. Basically because Constantine - in the 4th Century - declared all things Jewish forbidden in *his* religion. Which became the core of the Catholic church, which has become - thanks to the Protestant Reformation - the entire Christian church. Problem......JESUS, the Messiah that ALL Christians profess to follow, IS Jewish. (Which....actually explains a lot of what I don't understand in modern churchiantiy. Anyway...)

If you profess to be a Christian, you claim to follow Jesus. A JEWISH man. The JEWISH Messiah. He kept Torah. He followed Tradition. He kept the Biblical Feasts. He was Jewish. Let that sink in for a bit. IF you are Christian, you worship the Jewish Messiah.

Now. Most churches espouse "replacement theology" - even if it's not stated outright, they have the mindset that Christianity has *replaced* Judaism as God's people. I have asked for Biblical support for this idea....and have NEVER gotten it.

Oh, they try to use Paul's words from Acts...but that doesn't work. See, you have to read the ENTIRE thing, not just cherry-pick....and it simply doesn't work. (An aside: this is why I have a problem with those who claim circumcision is gone....um. That's NOT what was said. Yes, Paul said it's of the heart now...but he was talking about circumcision on adult males. It's hard, it's painful. Remember Shechem, where Jacob's sons attacked the men the 3rd day after they were circumcised? Because the prince had raped their sister, then wanted to marry her? Paul was saying, hey - don't put that burden on the adult men, because pretty soon they won't want to join us. Instead, give them a pass - they WILL circumcise their sons, in accordance with the Abrahamic covenant (which has NEVER been overturned, BTW). Anyway....) The original Gentile Christians became Jewish - but ones who believed that Jesus WAS the promised Messiah. They kept Torah. They kept kosher. From the outside, they would have looked JEWISH.

When you removed the Jewish bits from Christianity, you are left with......not much, honestly. Pagan bits creep in (just take a look at Christmas traditions. Seriously. And don't get me started on Easter....) - even though Scripture clearly states to NOT mix the Holy with the profane. But without the foundation that Jewishness gives you, there's nothing there - so things have to be added to make it "work".

And......why is it that so many Christians are anti-Semitic? I mean....Jesus IS Jewish. Why, oh why, do they HATE the Jews? How can they function with that kind of disconnect....I mean - really? How can you claim to follow Jesus, and yet support a 2-state solution? (Seriously, how can anyone claim to follow Jesus, then scream for Israel to GIVE UP land that GOD HIMSELF gave to THEM?????? I just......I can't think that way.)

It's not just Christians, either - the Messianics are also messed up, but in the opposite direction. They want to be TOO Jewish.....:sigh: Yes, Believers are grafted in - adopted, if you will. IF you believe that Jesus IS the Messiah, then, in God's eyes, you ARE one of His chosen...which IS Jewish. Which goes against most of what modern churches teach...but it's all there, in the Bible (in the Torah, even, which makes it more "real". The NT was never intended to be held to the same holiness (for lack of a better word) as the Torah/OT was. The NT was, basically, commentary on HOW to live a Torah-based life for those not raised with it. Gentiles, in other words. The Jews that believed didn't change how they lived - except they shared the news of Jesus with everyone they met. They were *still Jewish*.

:sigh: I have more, but it's hard to catch to put into words. I'm also trying to frantically get a Physics course set up for Himself - we are 1 week (or so) from finishing Chemistry, and he told me Monday that he really, really HATES this author. :eek: So, I have been googling my little eyes out. I found a promising looking, Homeschool-designed Physics course ( donttouchthephotons.wordpress.com ) that he said looked "OK", so I have been scrounging up the money to get the books. :grumble: Thank the Lord for eBay and HPB.com! 4 books ordered, for under $20. 3 to go....but I think we can get started with just these 4. :sigh: Ah, well...

Shabbat Shalom! Please keep the comments civil - I don't block, but would like to be able to have a discussion about this, not screaming fights.
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and I don't know if I can make sense of them. So.....excuse the meandering, OK?

This was sparked from Ali's post, which was sparked from a post by a Jewish blogger. Basically, the Jews hate Believers, thanks to the Christian Evangelists that have NO CLUE about what they are preaching. I blame Constantine - he's the one who "converted" (only, not really) and decided that Believers in the JEWISH Messiah should forget about their Jewish Roots. Um. Yeah - about that....

God is a god of pattern and order. He does things in specific ways to show/teach the JEWS about Him. He also is NOT into unification, or everything goes, as long as you say it's in His name - God elects, separates, and divides. Abraham: God chose him, separated him from his people/family, and divided him to be His. Abraham had 2 sons: Ishmael and Isaac. God chose Isaac, separated him and divided him away from his people. Isaac had 2 sons: Esau and Jacob. God chose Jacob, separated him from everybody he knew, and divided him and his descendants into HIS chosen people: Israel.

God's promises were made to Israel - NOT the whole world. But wait! What about John3:16? READ it - it says "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (Yes, but KEEP going!) that *Whosoever believed in Him* would have everlasting life". It does NOT SAY that everybody would have everlasting life - only those *who believed in Him*.

What does the church say? That God Loves Everybody! Even those who break His laws and commandments! (Which, by the way, have NOT been tossed out. Jesus (which is NOT His name - it's Yeshua - but I'm trying to make this easy)(it's like my Russian friend Mikhail. I can certainly call him Mike, and he might even answer to it, but *it's not his name*. His name is Mikhail. Totally *different*.) specifically addressed this - NOTHING in Torah has passed away, or will, until it has been fulfilled.

Anyway. The Christian church has a lot to answer to - they've decided that *they* are God's chosen (I'm not sure how...because GOD chose Israel. Who did He send the Messiah *to*? It wasn't the Muslims living in Jerusalem. It wasn't to the Goy/Gentile nations. It was TO THE JEWS. Why? Because They are God's Chosen People. Yeshua is a JEWISH Messiah, not a *world* Messiah.

The ONLY way Gentiles/Goy/Ger can partake of ANYTHING God offers is by *joining the Jews*. Sorry, but going to a Christian church every Sunday doesn't mean a hill of beans to God - if you're not part of His chosen people, you're an outsider. Torah lays this out - you MUST join Israel to be part of God's promises - you must fall under the covenants with Israel, or....sorry, but you're nobody.

*I* didn't make this up - read Torah. It's very specific.....and the NT honestly restates this. Paul covers this in Romans (the whole "grafted in" thing - you MUST be adopted into God's people, or the promises don't cover you. The first Believers were Jewish...and the ones Paul "converted"? BECAME Jews who believed that Yeshua was the Messiah, who came as Kinsman Redeemer. The Jews missed this, because they were (and still are!) looking for the Blood Avenger - and that's Who He is coming as when He returns. But we had to be redeemed, first.

The Jews missed out, and because Christians are arrogant we've pissed them off and made it easier for them to be stiff-necked. I wouldn't be surprised if the Adversary didn't have a lot to do with this.....in fact, I'm sure of it. But...the Jews won't accept that they made a mistake as long as the oh-so-arrogant missionaries/Messianics/evangelists keep trying to force *their* mistaken views on them. Believers were/are supposed to be "completed" Jews (I hate that term, but it's better than Messianic. I do use the term Messianic Jew when talking to people about Religion (I try to bow out, but sometimes it's impossible) because it *is* the closest label to how I feel, but the label has been co-opted by Christians who want to be better than the normal run-of-the-mill ones. :sigh:)

I'm not sure where I'm trying to go with this....but this has been swirling around in my head for a bit, now. Figured I'd get it out while dyeing yarn.....
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swirling around in my brain, so....guess I'll dump it here. :lol: It's what it's for, right?

First up, have a photo - SG's very first lathe project.

Peach Darning Egg

I was mistaken; this is made out of peach wood. He's upset because he cut the handle 1/4" too short; me? It fits in my project bag better. He says he'll try again....I keep telling him perfection is over-rated, but hey - more darning eggs for me! :lol:

We just finished Lev. 26 today. HEAVY stuff! It lays out Biblical prosperity - and hey, the church got it wrong Again!

I've heard way too many preachers/lay ministers/chrischuns say that God wants us to have "stuff". Shorthand - prosperity gospel. Where God wants us to have that new car/designer clothes/bling...but that's NOT what Torah promises us.

Torah says that IF we keep the covenants (more on this in a minute!), THEN God will make us prosper. How? By giving us enough food, shelter - everything we need. Key word: NEED. Yes, He'll even give us more than we need to just survive, which will provide many of the *wants* we have, but we are promised everything we *need*. That's....that's a very humbling thought, and very comforting. (And yes, He does keep His end of the bargain, as long as we keep ours.)

Thing is......WE have obligations, too. What are those? (You won't hear this in church!) Well, when you accept Jesus (Yeshua) as your lord, you are adopted into His family. THINK about this, because it is key, and most chrischun churches totally ignore this - they practice replacement theology, which is WRONG. YOU are adopted into Yeshua's family...which is what? The JEWS. Hebrews. God's Chosen People.

Now, when you're adopted, what happens? You are expected to follow the rules of your new family, no? I mean, when you adopt a child - whether it be from overseas or domestic - you raise the child to follow *your* family rules, right? You don't have 1 set of rules for your Chinese son, and another set of rules for your Indian daughter, and yet another set for your biological child, do you? Of course not - you have 1 set of rules that EVERYONE in your family is expected to follow.

So why do we think that Gentile members of Yeshua's family have a different set of rules from the "biological" Jewish members?

We *do not*. When we are adopted into God's family, we come under the covenants God made with ISRAEL. And we are expected to follow them. THAT'S the only way we can partake of the blessings God has promised His chosen - and Lev. 26 lays it ALL out.

Yes, the sacrificial laws have been fulfilled by Yeshua's sacrifice...but there are other laws we are expected to keep as members of God's family. The eating laws, for example. And the clean/unclean laws. And no, Paul did NOT say that we as Gentile members are exempt - in fact, he kept saying over and over and over again that we were NOT. The thing with adult circumcision that everyone trots out to "prove" that we don't have to keep those pesky laws? Was to not put too much of a burden on adult men - think about it! Adult converts were allowed to forgo circumcision, but the expectation was that they would circumcise their sons - thereby fulfilling the everlasting covenant with God. They were expected to follow the Sabbath laws, and the food laws, etc. In fact, they were expected to live *like Jews* - because, guess what? They WERE Jews - Jews who believed in Yeshua the Messiah!

Follow God's laws, and the Blessings will flow. Ignore those laws, and curses will follow....and I'm seeing that. Our Nation.....every time our leaders tell Israel to give away land that God gave to *them*, our nation is hit with divine punishment. And it's only going to get worse....and thing is? Believers will be affected too, because we LIVE here. You thought Katrina was bad? Sandy? The current drought? It's going to get worse unless we as a nation all repent...and I don't see that happening. (Yes, Katrina and Sandy were God-sent. Remember, God uses the natural in SUPERnatural ways......)

Anyway, gotta run. I ran my bills Tuesday, and came up short. :gulp: Tuesday afternoon, I got a phone call with a small job that paid *just enough* to cover the shortness. God IS good! And I need to finish said job and get it back to the employer!
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So. We're working our way thru Leviticus right now - we just "finished" Lev. 21. There were some things in Lev. 19 and 20 that have been percolating in my head, so I figured I'd share. Let *others* have the same fun I am! :wink:

Lev. 19 brought up Paul :wink: 2 Cor 6:14 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"....this isn't new theology. It refers directly to Deut. 22:10 which says you are not to yoke a donkey and an ox together to plow your field. He took it from the physical to the Spiritual; the basis of this is in Lev. 19:19.....in which we are instructed to NOT mix things improperly, because it results in confusion. Thing is, if you don't have a good knowledge of Torah, you'd think Paul was making it up....which leads back to our previous discussion of Paul. :lol: (And...this leads to how the church is all messed up, because they are encouraging improper mixing.....most churches are pro-abortion and pro-gay, for example. Both of which are unclean in God's eyes, which is what the church should be concerned with...NOT with what the world is concerned with. But that's another discussion for another time.)

In Lev. 20, TorahClass says about "image of God" and "in God's name" as meaning that we are to embody God's attributes, His characteristics. It means that we are to come to people in love, mercy, forgiveness, discernment, righteousness, truthfulness and judging right from wrong. It means that when the Bible says Believers are to come to people in the name of Christ, it doesn't mean we have to have a symbol stitched on our shirt pocket (the fish, or the cross), or we have to display a Christian bumper sticker on our car, etc. We are supposed to act in a way that reflects God's characteristics, NOT to behave in a way that reflects something else.

This is a DEEP concept, and it's one I'm still working on. Do I agree? Yes - but that makes it harder for me to deal with all the "fundies" that I live near, because.......:sigh: Sunday-only Christians are NOT good ambassadors, am I right? :sigh:

Lev. 20 also brought up the death penalty....God says that to kill a person who violates God's holiness ordinances is actually to preserve holiness. When we justly execute a murderer in accordance with God's laws, two things have been accomplished: God's justice has been served, and the person who had a propensity to wantonly take life is no longer a threat. Man has decided that the death penalty is inhumane, and we should incarcerate murderers and either keep them for life or hope that they rehabilitate. I'll let the reader decided how well that's working out for us.....

This has been a good study for us, because the kids are learning a LOT, we are having great discussions, and my faith, at least, is growing. I like that it's not JUST Torah; Mr. Bradford goes into just about all of the rest of the Bible, tying it all in. It's deep - and it's hard for someone enmeshed in church doctrine to recognize just what's WRONG with the church today. I'm still finding stuff I need to root out, but it's good.

Anyway, that's where my mind is at the moment. Need to run - my Brambleberry order should be in soon, and I have soap to make!
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that will mean NOTHING to most of you. But I have to get it out...

In a post, you said " In other words, His blood was shed in place of the OT covenant of shedding blood to cut oneself off from sin (aka circumcision). In other words, Abraham was circumcised by his own shedding of blood, and we’re circumcised from sin by Messiah’s blood."

No. No no no no no no NO. Circumcision has NOTHING to do with sin, or the cutting off from. Circumcision is the outward sign of the covenant with Yah. IF it had to do with sin, then a) the Jews wouldn't NEED a Messiah, would they?; b) only men would be covered, so women would be out of luck; and c) why would the Temple run sacrifices all Bloody Day Long? (the pun was TOTALLY not intended, honest!) Also, if His Blood cuts us off from sin, why do we mere humans who believe in Him STILL sin? Even when we try our darndest not to?

Sin is disobedience to God, yes? Sin HAS to be covered BY BLOOD (hence the animal sacrifices) if you (the sinner) wants to be near to God. His Holiness won't allow it any other way. Yeshua's sacrifice REPLACED the animal sacrifices; His Blood washes sin away while animal blood simply covered it.

This is wrong thinking. Circumcision is about obedience, yes - NOT sin. IF it were about sin, then why did Paul say that new believers did NOT need to be circumcised (and yet he himself was)? Yeshua's sacrifice had *nothing* to do with marking one's flesh as a sign of accepting the covenant - it had everything to do with defeating sin and death.

:grumble: Back to your regularly scheduled day now.....
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H, you're right - it's PETER, not Paul. Sorry - my brain is swiss cheese at the moment. :sigh:

However, the main point I was trying to make is still valid: Paul's writings are given too much weight by the modern church. Every church I've ever been to has said that Christians NEED to read Romans, because that IS the church....um, no.

The most important thing a Believer can EVER read is the Torah.

Let me ask you something (you in general, not you individually): Who is God? Does He change?

No. God is, and was, and will be, and He is NEVER-changing. Got that? NEVER. So...why do Christians think that they've replaced the Jews as God's chosen people? (And they DO.) Most of them have even tossed the OT out, because Jesus changed everything.

No, He didn't. IF you're familiar with Torah, you KNOW this. You know exactly what He did, and Why. Without that foundation, you really don't KNOW Yeshua and/or God. Seriously. It's why the Jewish leaders were so against Yeshua's teachings - they knew EXACTLY what he was talking about, and what it would mean to their power.

Let me take you back to basics: Before Yeshua, everybody was on a "purity ladder". See, you have to be ritually pure to have any sort of contact with God - His holiness demands it. That's what the sacrificial system is all about - moving people up the rungs of the purity ladder so that they could maintain that connection with God. Women had it doubly hard - for 1 week out of every 4 they were knocked off the ladder thru no fault of their own. :shrug: Didn't say I like it, but there it is...and it's ALL spelled out in Leviticus. There were more than just sin offerings - some were just because you thought that maybe you'd done something wrong, but weren't sure what, so you'd go to the Priests and do a sacrifice to make sure you were covered. A lot of innocent animals died back then - because to be cut off from God was (and IS) a major problem.

Oh, and the "all sin is equal in the eyes of God" crap the church tosses out? Total BS. If all sin is equal, why were there levels of sacrificial animals? And why did some sin cost 2 doves while other sin cost a bull? Sin is sin, but it's not equal....and if you had the knowledge that Paul assumed you'd have, you'd KNOW this. :sigh:

Another question: What is the significance of the water that poured out of Messiah's side? It's pretty major.......you need both living water AND blood to cover sin.

Look, I'm not a Paul-hater, but I HATE that the emphasis has been moved from Torah, where it belongs, to personal letters that weren't meant to be elevated to Holy.

I'm still thinking on all this, but the bottom line is the same. Tanakh is Scripture. The NT is basically commentary on how to LIVE Torah in the current age. Christ Himself said Torah still stood - and why would anyone argue with Him?
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I do a LOT of thinking while milking. Sometimes it's heavy, sometimes it's fluff....lately, it's been heavy.

It was sparked by something I read - I *think* in TorahClass, but I'm not sure - that said, basically, that the New Testament letters were never meant for publication, let alone being raised to the same level as the Tanakh (Old Testament). I read that, and paused, because...that's a heavy thought.

Then I read something else that said the NT letters were arranged longest to shortest, *just like the Prophets*. Um. No. In the Tanakh, the Prophets - heck the whole thing except for Torah! - is arranged *differently*. I think it's by date - which makes a heck of a lot of sense. The NT was arranged by the Catholic Church.......

So I've been thinking. And.....my thoughts are going to be very controversial to most. Comments WILL be welcomed - I don't delete anything except spam, so feel free! - but please keep it civil, OK? If you wouldn't say it in my physical living room, don't say it in my virtual one, OK?

:Deep breath:

What is Scripture? That's an easy one: Scripture is the Tanakh. It's what Christ meant when he said Scripture, it's what the Disciples meant. It's what is quoted in the NT, it sets up God's laws and explains how humans can meet with and have a relationship with God. It IS Holy.

The NT? The first 4 books are accounts of how Yeshua fulfilled the Scriptures, written by people contemporary with Him, and people who actually KNEW Him. Acts is the history of the early church, and shows that God didn't change between the OT and NT (Sapphira and Ananias, for example.) The rest? Personal letters from the Disciples and Paul to the early churches. Human advice......and I have come to the conclusion that they should NOT be raised to the same level as Scripture. Oh, and Revelation, which is from John, the LAST Disciple who actually walked with Yeshua...it's regulated to the end of the Bible. I kinda get that, as it's the last prophecy to a Disciple, and it's about the End Times....but it's dismissed in the modern church and not taught, while Romans is THE most important part of the NT (or seems to be.)

And Paul.....why is he so revered in the Christian world? He never met Yeshua - in fact he persecuted His followers! - and (and this is where I think most of the "worship" comes from) he was a Pharisee - a renowned Talmud scholar. Talmud is NOT Scripture, even though a lot of Jews hold it on the same level. Talmud is basically commentary (calling it Oral Torah doesn't cut it...Scripture doesn't mention Oral Torah, and what I've read of it (honestly not much)...it's just human commentary.)

I have the feeling that when Paul converted, he was immediately given "rock star" status...because of all his education. He was well versed in every aspect of Jewish law - and he quickly became the leader of the fledgling Christian church (and the Catholic Roman Church claims he was the first Pope (I think - I know they claim he was Christ's heir to the leadership of the church.)

Um. I have a MAJOR problem with this. Paul didn't KNOW Christ, some of what he wrote is in opposition to Torah (his view on circumcision, for example. Circumcision is a perpetual commandment per Torah. Paul says, no....you don't need the physical sign anymore, even though Torah says it's forever. I just....nevermind.)

Also - WHO arranged the Christian Bible? KJV, NIV - all of them are arranged the same way, which is different from the way the Jews have it. Ask yourself.....why? And again - who? (hint: the Catholic Roman Church, again.) Why did they choose THESE letters out of all the ones they had? And why did they cut those that they did? (There's at least 1 more Gospel out there that humans considered Not "Real".) Why is Paul given so much weight, and the Disciples that actually walked WITH Yeshua are given 2nd billing? And how much of what Paul wrote comes from Talmud instead of God?

Paul seems to add to Scripture an awful lot......and his words are taken to be - pardon the phrasing - Gospel Truth. I have a problem with that - and have for years.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this...but this is what I've been ruminating on lately. There's still a lot of stuff floating around...but I *needed* to get this out. Scripture is what we should be going by and studying; the NT is good reading, but I don't think it should be placed above Scripture. And, really - without Torah, you really don't understand the NT. You NEED that foundation before moving on...and most Christians don't have a good foundation. I have to ask myself why that is.....(I have a feeling I know, but......without anything to back it up, I won't mention it.)

Blather...

May. 16th, 2014 09:36 am
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Just a few things (that probably won't mean a thing to most of you!)

1. The middle of the Omer count was LAST WEEK, not THIS WEEK, so....you're a week off on your addition/thoughts.

2. Lechem does, in fact, mean *bread*, not generic food. So, a Bible that translates it as bread is, in fact, correct.


In other news......Shabbat Shalom! I have no other news (or, no news I can talk about...later, though.), so I wish you all a restful Sabbath!
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Because I get confused. :lol: Lev. 23 is the Calendar of Sacred Time - the "master" list of all Feasts Believers are supposed to keep.

V. 5 lays out Passover - the 14th of Nisan - and it makes it VERY plain that Passover is NOT a full day. It's "between sundown and complete darkness". IF you celebrate Passover for a full day (that is, this year you would have celebrated it Monday evening to Tuesday evening), well, you're wrong. This is the ONLY Feast that isn't a full day.

V. 6 is the start of Matzoh/Unleavened Bread - it's a 7 day Feast that begins the 15th of Nisan. the first day is a Shabbat - so, if you took Tuesday off, that's what you were supposed to do...but it was NOT Passover, it was day 1 of Unleavened Bread. (People get confused - me included!)

V. 9 starts the explanation of Firstfruits (Resurrection day!); it's the day after the Shabbat mentioned in the previous bit. So, it's the day AFTER Matzoh begins - or, the 16th of Nisan (this year, that'd be yesterday.)

V. 15 lays out the counting of the Omer, which starts on Firstfruits. 50 days, which lead up to Shavout.

Now. I saw one chart that had Firstfruits 4 days AFTER Matzoh begins....I have no idea where that idea came from, because it's not Biblical. :shrug: Probably a brain-fart.....but it's wrong. The Spring Feasts come *boom*boom*boom* - 3 days in a row. Which equates to the 3 days in the tomb. :wink:

Gotta skitter - school, then we have to go help G'ma with her car. Laters!
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the *actual* day of the Resurrection. He was crucified ON Passover (14th Nisan), in the Tomb the first day of Unleavened Bread/Matza (15th Nisan) and Rose on FirstFruits (16th Nisan)...which is Today!

If you're Christian and looking forward to Easter...well, that's nice, but you've missed the mark by a few days.

(I can't convince anyone of anything, but I can give you the info. What you do with it is up to you.)
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We've been "hit" with freezing rain, again. Was supposed to go into the office, but it was called off due to possible freezing. We'll try again, tomorrow. It'll still be cold....

Yesterday, we had to go house-sit....when the contractors were done, we went to an actual *theatre* and saw "The Lego Movie". WORTH it. So much fun! Both kids had asked, so how could I say no? Because we went on a Monday, there was NO ONE (OK, *8*!) in the room with us. I can highly recommend this - it was fun! :lol:

I'm at the gusset of sock #2. Slow going, because...honestly? I've done it once, I love it, but I'm over it and want to move on. Doesn't help that there's a knit-along I'd like to maybe join on Necker (from Op-Art Socks). I'm trying to talk myself out of the KAL, because....really? I'd prefer to enjoy THIS sock, instead of getting antsy about casting on another one. :sigh: Hard to explain....I do still LOVE my shamrocks, though!

Made a few more project bags, and figured out how to make pyramid bags (for stitch markers and cable needles. I wanted something prettier than plastic tubs. :lol:) I even "mastered" zippers! (sorta. I can at least install them on bags invisibly!)

Our refund is due to hit this week :fingers crossed: If so, it'll be another town day, because I have plans. As do the kids (they get part of it, as well, to do with as they please. Good way to teach budgeting!) I need new cookware.....the Fiesta outlet will enjoy our visit, I think......:lol:

It's gotten interesting in TorahClass lately. We're near the end of Exodus...and.....WoW. I've said all along that we (as Believers) shouldn't participate in things like Halloween/Chrismess/etc, and I've been chastised for it. Folks, it's right there in Exodus 34. We are NOT to mix pagan (NON-God!) practices in with our Torah-observant lives. Dressing up for Halloween? IS mixing. So is setting up a tree for Chrismess....:sigh: Ah, well - I can only do what *I* know is right; I can't make anyone else agree with me. :sigh:

Gotta run - I *really* need to get this sock done!
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This is sparked by a post Cagey made the other day (I...can't comment over there often, due to...well, stuff that Cagey has no control over. So, I'll bring it *here*.) Anyway. Part of her comments delved into free will and predestination.....my kids and I have had this conversation recently.

A lot of people think that it's black and white - God already knows what I'm going to decide, so it doesn't matter WHICH I choose, because it's already been ordained (predestination in a nutshell). Well, it's not quite that simple.

God is omniscient, right? That means that He knows the outcome of our decisions, right? Well...that ALSO means that He knows the outcome of the decisions we DID NOT make. So....yes, He already knows what'll happen with the decisions we've already made - and He also knows what will happen if we make a DIFFERENT decision. He knows not just *the* future, but *ALL* futures. (Think about that a minute...it's kinda hard to grok, at first.)

An example....I have 2 choices for dinner: chicken, or tacos. If I choose chicken, then path A emerges from all possible futures, and that's the one I start out on. If I choose tacos, then path A fades and I step out onto path B. Every time I make a decision, there's a branch in the path - by choosing 1, the other fades out (and all the paths that would occur as a result of that decision also fade away.) The future isn't necessarily *fixed* - it alters with each decision we make. (I'm being a little silly with the dinner idea...but I'm trying to make it easy.)

Now. I can choose tacos, get them, and decide I'd rather have chicken, so I trade with SG. *That* alters the path again......and so on.

Point being, *I* have the choice. God already knows what'll happen with each choice I make, but the decision (and the final outcome) is up to *me*. He might step in if He needs to, but for the whole, it's MY choice. No predestination here - unless you factor in all the different branching paths I could take....but again, it's not necessarily fixed in stone - free will enters in. God might hope I'd order tacos (for example), but it's my choice whether I do, or don't. (Or even if I decide to skip dinner completely - that's another choice that'll cause it's own path.)

Now, maybe it's not so simplistic, but this makes sense to me. We've given the choice to either choose Him, or not - and *that* will lead to the ultimate fate of everlasting life with Him, or being separated from Him for eternity. But! I think we're also given many chances to choose - we can always change our minds, which lets our free will enter back into the equation.

Hope that makes sense........
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'cause I could REALLY use some rest! :lol: Yesterday was fun, but very very very tiring. Still, the kids got to spend time with Granny and Papaw, they got to spend time with the kids, and the kids got to spend the Grands' money. :lol: and :wince: Herself cleaned out the bead store, while Himself was more restrained....good day.

There's a LOT of kerfluffle going on about what the Duck Dynasty dude said. I don't watch DD; we don't have any sort of cable/satellite/dish, so it's local stations and whatever the PBS app has for us, but......I don't get the kerfluffle. From what I understand, the DD guys are all professed chrischuns, so....why the surprise that he actually *believes* what the Bible SAYS?

Here's the deal: YOU profess to be a Christian. Logically, this means that:

1. You profess to follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. Right? Therefore

2. You profess to follow what the Bible SAYS, because 95% of what Jesus is quoted as saying was quoted DIRECTLY from the Torah; therefore

3. The Bible says that homosexuality is a sin.

LOGICALLY, then....you, by professing to be a Christian are saying the EXACT SAME THING. IF you turn around and say, "Wait, um, no - I don't believe that. Jesus said to love everybody!"...um. You're missing the point.

Let's go back to basics here. (This is for "believers" - if you profess to be a NON-believer, then carry on and skip this, OK? Because it does not apply to *you*.) Jesus IS the Word, and the Word IS God. That's pretty basic. God laid out the Torah (that's "Bible" to you Believers - I'll get to the NT in a minute.) to tell Believers HOW to live. Jesus came and QUOTED the Torah - He led a Torah-observant and -obedient life (the only human to actually live a Torah-obidient life, if we're being honest here!). He pointed out sin and moved on, leaving it up to the sinner to either repent or not.

Now....Torah says that homosexuality is abomination. It's a SIN. Right? Jesus Himself said (in Matt. 5:17-20):
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the Torah, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Torah, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.


Got that? He DID NOT abolish the Torah (sometimes translated as "law", which isn't quite correct) - He came to Fulfill it. And so far, the only fulfillment has been to the sacrificial system (His sacrifice was "once and done", so no need to keep sacrificing animals.). Got that?

Therefore...the rest of the Torah is STILL in effect. We STILL are supposed to follow it.

Now, some folks claim that Paul said that no, Torah is gone now. Um.....care to quote that? Because....first off, Paul IS NOT God, and can NOT throw out a God-thing. Paul never even physically met Jesus, and to claim that he said something Jesus didn't is...well, it's crazy. And WRONG. (The animals-on-a-sheet-thing that keeps getting dragged out to "prove" the eating laws are gone....yeah. No. Read the verses AFTER the vision, where Paul himself explains that it wasn't about what's for dinner, it was about *people*. NON-Jews, to be exact - God made them just like He made the Jews, and they needed to hear about Jesus too.)

(And, umm...this applies to the whole chrismess tree debacle, too. Yeah, God made trees....He also made bunnies and eggs. Does this mean I can celebrate the Easter Bunny? No. God made, but man perverted. A question: If having a chrismess tree is really OK per Torah, why is everyone so defensive when it comes to discussing them? Because.....everyone is; I'll read maybe 1 post a year about them then NOTHING, because...I dunno. Maybe because they know, deep down, that it's profane but they don't want to give up a human tradition? We threw our tree out years ago - it was HARD. It's still hard to walk around and see all the pretty trees and lights, but.....they're pagan. Profane. We're not to mix. :sigh:)

Anyway. Back to the point. The DD dude is simply trying to live his life according to his beliefs. Why are folks so upset/pissed/surprised by this? The Bible says homosexuality IS a sin....why is so upsetting that he simply quoted that? (This is rhetorical; I know the answer.)

All the chrischun churches that are embracing homosexuals? Are - to be blunt - in direct conflict with the Book they claim is their foundation document. Bottom line - it IS a sin. No, I don't hate gays - I have my own sins to worry about, and honestly don't have the time nor the energy to bash someone for theirs. The people that are up in arms over the DD dude's statements? IF they really are chrischun, they might want to take another look at their Bible......:sigh:
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Oops. :lol: Been busy - today's our Anniversary, and I baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast. :yum!: Then *I* got the day "off" - been busy. Wrapped all the Hanukkah prezzies, and have done some knitting and some thinking.

First up, let's do pictures! Auntie's hat was finished Friday (after a death march....Thursday afternoon I started to loathe/hate/detest the hat):

curiosity hat finished

It took for-freaking-EVER to do all the decrease rounds...I think that's why I got so sick of it. Anyway, it's done, it's blocked, and it's *wrapped*. I need to order some more red before I can start the matching mitts...that's on the slate for the end of the month.

THIS is what I started today:

Owl mitts begun

It's the Owl Mittens by Spilly Jane designs - LOVELY pattern. Lots of color-changes, but it's fun. And pretty quick-going. These weren't my first color choices; I didn't think I had enough of my brown/tan leftovers so we did a yarn-store run yesterday. The first store....kinda sucked, but I won't hold it against them - they were having a knit-in. The 2nd one had a lot of solid color yarn in the weight I needed...but no browns. Herself and I conferred...I decided that machine-washable was important and she found this lovely Angora/Merino blend...it's YUMMY (AND machine washable!). And I need to go back and get some for *me*, because this is such a pleasure to knit up!

And for the record - I am NOT spending all my time sitting and doing nothing but knitting. I'm not a super-fast knitter, but I don't plug along. This is maybe 2 hours worth of knitting - done in 15 to 30 minute clumps. I can't spend a lot of time AT a time knitting - my wrist won't let me (and it's why I don't knit on Shabbat - I figure my wrists need the rest.). So...just wanted to toss that out there. :lol:

Anyway.

We're studying Exodus 20 right now - the 10 Words (usually translated Commandments). We are having a lot of deep discussions about the lessons - I don't chastise my kids for interrupting me IF the discussion turns out relevant. We were discussing the 2nd - the one about NO symbols - and Herself asked me about chrismess trees. She pointed out, not only are they *pagan*, but....they are symbols, and they are something OF the Earth - which the 2nd word clearly says is a NO-NO. Yup. She's correct (and we had a LONG discussion over that - the whole asherah poles/trees, and the pagan practice of hanging things/offerings on trees, and.....yeah.)...and then Himself asked about the cross - and I liked his question, so I'm going to quote him: "Why do people wear a....murder weapon as a symbol of their religion? Because the cross is....well, it was used to KILL someone. Isn't that....well, kinda sick?" Yup. In fact, the Complete Jewish Bible translates it as "execution stake" - which is actually IS. And....WHY was it chosen as a symbol to represent Messiah (which, again, according to #2, we are NOT to do!!!!!)?

This led us to a discussion about my Shabbat candlesticks - they're the Messianic symbol (menorah on top of a fish, with a Star of David in between.). Um. The fish.....is something from the sea...which is prohibited. But I'm not using them as representations of God.....still, I'm working this one out. I have a feeling that they'll be gone soon and we'll use the silver (plain) ones instead.

After all, we're told that if we love Him, we'll keep His commandments, right? And...this is #2. So.....it's something to think about, right?

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