I’m an ordinary guy walking a path of faith and trying to understand my relationship with God. I’m not a Pastor, teacher, or leader of any kind. All of my opinions are solely my own. I’m just a Christian husband married to a Jewish wife.
Part of this blog has to do with the joys and challenges of being intermarried and part of it has to do with my return to church after a long absence. I also write a great deal about how a Christian can look through a Jewish lens and get a better perspective on life, love, and the God who made us all.
You can use the Contact form below to send me an email, or scroll to the bottom of the page to leave a public comment.
Love your blog thanks for sharing with us blessings and love to you and your family.
Thanks. Don’t be shy. Feel free to leave more detailed comments on individual blog posts.
I have likewise enjoyed stumbling upon your blog. I wanted to use a quote from one of your posts in an article I am writing for a church newsletter. However, I do not know how to reference the quote. I’d like to write more than just “James” or “Author Unknown.” Please let me know how you feel about this.
David, check your Yahoo email account for my response. Thanks.
http://searchingforthelightonthepath.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-is-halachah-for-gentile-disciples.html
For those of us who are “Not Jewish Yet Drawn to Torah”, it might be better if we were not so drawn (and I’m sorry…I’m “drawn” and I don’t know why).
I found this blog through searching google “Can a gentile wear tefillin?” and I was struck by your words. My husband and myself are both gentiles who, ironically, have been keeping the Shabbat (by keeping, I mean resting- not working) and Holy Days for over 10 years though a christian organization whom we seperated from a few years ago, only to drift closer and closer to a more Hebrew faith- through a man we used to know as ‘Jesus’ whose real name was ‘Yeshua’- and now we are at yet another impass- more like a great divide. As gentiles who love the Torah, we have much in common with Conservative- dare I see even Orthodox- Judaism, but we are also kept apart by the very thread which brought us to Torah- the man Yeshua. As being unwilling to forsake the Rabbi who inspired us, but also unwilling to accept the dogma of modern Christianity (and forsake Torah)- we are truly on a very narrow, oftentimes winding and foggy path.
It is nice to know that we are not the only truth seekers out there
Jenn
Hi Jenn,
Glad you found my blog. I hope you find some of my posts of interests and perhaps even inspiring.
We’re all ‘truth seekers” walking along a “very narrow, oftentimes winding and foggy path.” There are those of us who are not Jewish who nevertheless, find ourselves gravitating toward Torah and Talmud, though it doesn’t seem to make sense that we should. In my case and probably yours, this is the path we have been created to walk. Other’s walk a different path. In the end, by His grace, we’ll all end up at the same destination: God.
Blessings.
Shalom! I am a non Jew married to a Jewish husband. We too left the religious system of churchianity, and now worship at a Messianic Jewish Synagogue. Very traditional, with the liturgy, etc. We are slowly learning to obey Torah, and I am finally beginning to understand the Scriptures, by looking at it from an Hebraic view, instead of a Hellenized view. I have “assimilated” into the Torah observant lifestyle quite easily and happily. This is in NO way a smear on Christianity (true Biblical Christianity). Nor do I feel better than “Christians”. I am simply happy where I am with my my husband. As long as Jesus/Yeshua is the LORD of our lives, we are all ONE, in Messiah. Blessings to you- enjoyed your blog.
Hi Robin,
My wife and I originally attended a church in our community when we both first came to faith (prior to that time, we were both secular and non-religious). We also entered into a period where we attended a Messianic congregation together but, long story short, she continued to investigate her Judaism and became affiliated with the Reform, and later, the Chabad synagogues, while I left, re-entered, and then many years later, left the Messianic movement. Currently, I self-identify as a Christian but do not attend any particular house of worship. I do study from a number of Jewish sources as I believe the voice of Jesus is a Jewish voice and that he is speaking to us all. I also maintain a number of contacts, both in my community and on the web, with Jewish and Gentile believers.
As you continue to read my various blog posts, I’m sure you’ll pick up my views on the Torah relative to Jewish and non-Jewish obligation, intermarriage, and the interaction (and sometimes “collision”) between the Jewish and Christian worlds. Please feel free to ask about what I write and to offer your thoughts.
Blessings.
Thanks for being easy on me. I’m not going to post that much. I can’t write. I just like to share videos and links to educate people who know how to write. I posted your blog in several places on facebook for Hanukkah. You have my e-mail address and if you send me yours I can send the links and videos privately, because it takes me awhile to figure out what someone accepts or not. I usually find this out by getting blocked or deleted and I’m learning not to take it personally, but I’m over sensitive.
Kittii, I apologize for any offense I may have given, but sometimes I do find it necessary to edit the responses of some of the folks who come here for the sake of brevity or to limit the dissemination of information I cannot support (though I don’t mind differing viewpoints). I sometimes have difficulty with too many videos being embedded in the comments section but my actions are not personal.
You don’t have to be a good writer to comment here. You can just write what you would say if we were talking face-to-face. Even if you don’t always have anything to say, you can still visit and read. If you really said anything I found too out of line, I’d just shoot you an email. If I disagree with anything you say, again, it’s not personal. That’s part of discussion too and it’s part of learning.
Thank you for your insightful, thoughtful, and humble meditations.
You’re welcome, Eric. Thank you for reading.
How fascinating! …and hard. To be able to look through the scriptures with the lens of Jewish perspective must be eye opening.
You could say that, future. On the other hand, living with a Jewish wife helps a lot.
James,
My name is Lyndsay. I was born and raised in a Christian family and have been surrounded by a Christian environment for most of my life. In 2010 I took a trip to Israel and have never been quite the same. I’ve been learning a lot from a couple that use to got to my church who about a year ago switched to a Messianic Jewish Synagogue. From last September through this past August I’ve been in Texas working with a faith based non-profit doing work in inner city Houston, my friends made the switch to synagogue during that time. Since I’ve been back I’ve attended the synagogue with them until about 3 weeks ago when my friends and the Rabbi got into a fight about something that the Rabbi had said on facebook. They have since been asked to leave (obviously there’s more to the story than that but for sake of brevity I’ll leave it out.) My family and some friends have been wary of me learning further about the Hebraic roots of Christianity and were especially taken a back when I told them I wasn’t quite sure what to think of Christian Holidays.
I have not fully jumped into any different boat just yet though I am extremely excited and fascinated about the movement. I have this bad habit, whenever I am presented with information and evidence from people I perceive have greater knowledge about a subject than me, I seem to always take it on as fact, before trying to refute it. I began doing online research (a horrible idea, I know) about Messianic Judaism and ran into several (what seemed to be) prominent figures in the movement like Michael Rood and Jim Staley. I don’t know if you’ve heard much about either of them but I was intrigued and confused about what they taught. I now see that they seemed to be pretty close to both the One-Law and Two-House theological standpoints. The rabbi at the synagogue I attend/attended is definitely a One-Law Messianic.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m a truth seeker. I went to Israel and experienced God’s love for His people and the land in a way I couldn’t ignore. I desire to be as close to God as I possibly can. I was beginning to believe (and still kind of do?) that following Torah was the way to walk closer to God, though there are many laws that were confusing to me but I figure if God desires (requires?) them of me I want to try and follow them. I kind of was viewing Messianic Judaism as the next step further into closeness with God. This is something that my friends, the couple who use to attend the church I went to, would tell me as well. When trying to look up a book the rabbi recommended to me I stumbled upon the Daily Minyan blog and your blog as well (I actually wrote Gene about a week ago and haven’t heard back, I figure he’s just busy and because we have more in common you might understand me better anyway). I’ve been following your blog and a few other resources recommended on your site (including FFOZ and another synagogue I researched which is located where I hope to be moving in the next couple of years that seems to have similar beliefs as FFOZ, they’re called Beit Messiah in Seattle http://www.shalomseattle.com) for a few weeks now and what you and the other resources are saying makes a lot of sense to me. I really want to make a well informed, non-biased decision/direction about all that I’ve been studying. I guess I just want to ask… what led you to return to Christianity? What was the proverbial nail-in-the-coffin evidence you received in the Word concerning your decision… or was it more of a gradual realization for you? What’s the for/against theology of God fearers? What kind of non-biased Biblical resources would you suggest?
I think at this point I’m just realizing that God asks us to do the best we can with what we have… and to always remember that its His great mercy in Yeshua that saves us and that’s what matters… Sorry if this is super long, don’t feel a rush to reply.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
-Lyndsay
Oh wow, Lyndsay. That’s a lot to respond to, but I’ll do my best.
I’ve been writing about my intentions and struggles with returning to church for months in my “Days” series. I probably first stated it in this blog post. My “Days” series was a countdown to January 1st, 2013 which was my hard limit for either quitting this blog or sticking with it and quitting church or sticking with it.
Long story short, I’ve decided to stick with both the blog and with church.
Certainly Hebrews 10:25 was a major motivation to return to some sort of community and Boaz Michael’s book Tent of David (which I highly recommend, by the way) played a large part.
I’m a Christian husband married to a (non-believing) Jewish wife and that drives a lot of what I write about here. My story is way too long to recount here, but basically, I did attend a One Law congregation up until about a year and a half ago, when I finally concluded that One Law was not a viable expression of a non-Jew’s faith in the Jewish Messiah. Watching my wife explore her own Jewish identity was a major eye-opener for me in this area.
Anyway, I thought that perhaps I could attend synagogue with the missus but that never reached fruition. I think it was too difficult for her to reconcile my former religious affiliation with the local Jewish community. There’s a lot more to this but as I said, I could write a book (if you managed to read all my blog posts here, you’d eventually get the whole story).
Ultimately, I’ve come to the conclusion that even though we non-Jewish disciples of the Jewish Messiah are grafted in to the root of Jesse, that doesn’t make us Jewish in any sense or delete the covenant uniqueness of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. We *are* co-heirs of the Kingdom of God and are equally loved in His sight, but that doesn’t translate into any actual requirement to keep the Torah mitzvot (although voluntary following some of the commandments isn’t objectionable and most Christians already keep the “weightier matters of Torah”).
I’m somewhat hesitant to discuss my opinions of Michael Rood and Jim Staley since I don’t want to “tell tales out of school,” as they say here in Idaho. As you already know, I tend to recommend FFOZ as an excellent information source. You’ve already visited Gene’s blog, and you’ll probably want to visit Derek Leman’s blog as well. We all share pretty much the same understanding and vision for the Messianic movement and for Christianity. Also, as you’ve already determined, anything with the name “Messianic” attached to it potentially is located inside a verbal and conceptual “minefield” of opinion and sometimes “heated discussion,” so be careful out there.
Most or all of the answers to your questions are probably located in the last two months or so of blog posts I’ve written. Since I write a ridiculous amount of “morning meditations” (and “extra meditations”), that’s a lot of material to go through. You could also just follow what I produce from here on in to get an idea of what I’m thinking and feeling about everything you’ve asked. I’m relatively uncensored, so what you read is who I am.
More than anything else though (and I hope I’ve answered at least some of your questions), as a friend of mine recently reminded me, don’t seek Christianity and don’t seek Judaism. Seek God. That’s always a good place to start.
Peace.