Rabbi’s Reflections – Monday, September 16, 2019
Shalom *|FNAME|*,
Rabbi Trail: Someone just commented to Google that we are not a synagogue, but that Shomair Yisrael is a church. Here is my response.
“We pray usIng Hebrew liturgy with a cantor. We have an ark and a Torah and we read from the Torah. We read the Haftarah. We have Jewish members. We also have non-Jewish members but that does not make us a church.”
We do lift up the name of Yeshua. Should we apologize for that, or celebrate that? What is normative Jewish anyway? I heard once that the only thing Jewish people agree on is that Yeshua is not the Jewish Messiah. Two points here…
- That’s not true, because I am (and many others are) Jewish and I (we) believe Yeshua is the promised Jewish Messiah.
- How ironic that the one place Jewish people will find what they (we) seek, which is restoration of the kingdom of God to the people of Israel, (all of our liturgical prayers are prayers based on that desire) is the one place Jewish people are forbidden (by rabbinical sages, history and tradition) to look.
One last note on the question I asked a moment ago. What is normative Jewish anyway? My comment is that normative Jewish is not Jewish at all. 80% of Jewish people are marrying outside the faith. The vast majority of Jewish people don’t keep kosher and don’t keep Shabbat. So we Jews in Messianic Judaism are accused of destroying Judaism. That was the intent behind the accusation that we are a church. However; the truth is that Messianic Judaism represents the eventual preservation of Judaism. The Judaism that should and will be preserved; the Judaism that lifts up the name of Yeshua.
Week 38
Memory Verse: Acts 4:31 When they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. And they were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
186 9/16 Monday: Acts 2-3
187 9/17 Tuesday: Acts 4-5
188 9/18 Wednesday: Acts 6
189 9/19 Thursday: Acts 7
190 9/20 Friday: Acts 8-9
Question of the day: What is the manifestation of speaking in tongues? Is there something called “speaking in tongues” that is for today.
Answer: My simple answer is, “Yes.” And you can quote me on that. I can also answer, yes, to the question, “Is there a counterfeit from the devil to God’s authentic reality of speaking in tongues.
Oh, and just so you know that I know, I just touched the third rail of Christianity. Also, this RR answer to the question of the day is intentionally brief on a subject that has already received volumes of attention.
My simple amplified answer is in 3 parts.
Manifestation 1: We have in Acts 2 (the reading for today) one manifestation of speaking in a tongue (language) which the speaker has never known. This has also happened in modern times.
The other two manifestations are detailed in 1 Corinthians 14.
Manifestation 2: There is a personal (private) prayer language (not for the public). When a person does not know how or what to pray, the Holy Spirit will give utterance. Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Ruach helps in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Ruach Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.
Manifestation 3: Finally, there is a public declaration of an unknown tongue that requires an interpretation. It could be a message for an individual or a community, but it must always be interpreted. 1 Corinthians 14:27 If someone speaks in a tongue, let it be by two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the community but speak to himself and to God.
Do you have a prayer language? Do you want one? I’ve seen all kinds of false manipulation (all of which is very destructive) to encourage speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is called a gift of the spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:10(. The Bible tells us how to receive any gift from God. Just ask. Jacob 4:2b You do not have because you do not ask.
It is possible that the laying on of hands is helpful (certainly helpful at some point), but not necessary. If you pray, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit on this (and everything else). And that, my friends, should be considered wisdom.