Hello Old Friend, part 3.

 next in a series of [somewhat edited] letters sent to a friend, giving him an update on how life with the Hazys has changed 

I trust that you’re doing well, brother.  I know that you mentioned you’ve always got one thing or another going on…it’s the same on my end.  With a crew this size, we’re always planning something, doing one thing or another, or recovering (and maybe cleaning up, lol) from something we’ve done.

It’s the same at work: there’s always more to do than there is time to get it done, and the list keeps growing - sometimes every day.  My boss likes to call it “job security”.  lol, again.

When I consider all that I’m responsible for, and all the people depending on me, and all the expectations, it can get…a little overwhelming.  maybe a lot.  We’ve talked about this, and I know you can relate to where I’m coming from.

When I feel the pressure rising, there are several truths that help me to manage the stress, take a breath, and tap into that hard-to-explain shalom that Paul wrote to the family at Philippi about.  Here are two examples:

• I’m adopted.  That means quite a few things, but I’ll just highlight one: learning the house rules.  There’s no instinct or genetic default in me that just [understands] God’s way automatically.  I’m not missing something that should’ve come naturally, something I should have known right from the start.  Thankfully, I have a loving father who teaches me, and an (adopted) big brother who is the perfect example - and, by the way, a professional teacher/trainer himself.  (Don’t forget, his followers knew him as “rabbi”).  ***Disclaimer: just because I, you, and everyone else all the way back to Abraham were adopted and have to learn it all doesn’t mean we get a pass on what we’ve already been taught and trained on.  end disclaimer***
• Next, I’ve got the company card.  As part of my 9-5 (so to speak) job working for this oil/gas company, I have a company-issued credit card.  As long as I get permission, and it’s for company business, I can use that card to get what I need.  And I don’t have to pay it back.  And my company’s pockets are a lot deeper than mine.  Why am I telling you this? You already know why.

When I’m on “God’s time”, doing things his way, taking care of his business…he’ll pay my way.  He’ll provide what I need.  But, just like my employer, God does it according to his business plan, in keeping with his policies, according to his “employee handbook”.  Just because I get into a certain situation or rack up a certain kind of debt behind my own “bright ideas” doesn’t mean the Most High will pick up the check or bail me out.  He can do that, and if he does, that’s a grace/mercy kind of thing.  But he doesn’t have to fix my mess.  (I suppose that last part was another disclaimer)

Coming back to my point: When the pressure of life comes on, it’s a peace-building comfort to know that our God has the resources and ability to fix situations that are hopeless without him.

You know what?  That’s not even what I planned to write you about; I guess it falls more under “here’s what God is reminding me about lately.”

Family matters.

…and speaking of not what I planned to write, I also wanted to share something else related to your growing friendship with this people you know from “another” faith.  This same thought is also related to the Hazys' former church

• Not all families are the same family  First John comes to mind a lot as I think about the “other faith” situation.  He paints a pretty clear picture of who has eternal life (and, by implication, who doesn’t).  Chapter 5:11-12 are pretty explicit, and the rest of the letter also describes correct theology regarding who Yeshua is, how he came, what he did, what that accomplished, and how all that that affects his people and how we live.

    It’s the same with these “other” folks as it is with you, me, and everyone else.  What do we do with Yeshua?  Do we believe he is who he says he is, that he did what he says he did?  Either we believe in the God of the Bible or we don’t.  A person can believe in a completely different - or even similar god and call him “Jesus”, but that doesn’t get them eternal life.  Only a right relationship with the God of the Bible on his terms will get us there as members of his family.

• Sometimes, families have…issues.  Even though my crew no longer attends that church we were a part of for over a decade, we’re still family,  At least the Hazys still consider us all family.  During and since the parting, there have been several conversations, a few social media interactions, and occasional text messages.  I even emailed one friend back and forth a bit.  Most of those interactions have been polite (a few, less so), but all have highlighted the disagreement over how to believe and live according to Scripture.  For reasons I mentioned above when writing about 1st John, we still consider them family.  We get the impression they might not all feel the same way.

    Not long after “the parting”, I had breakfast with an old friend from there.  I think we both saw it as a way to say “I love you, man; I’ll see ya around…” I told him there’s a reason Presbyterians don’t attend Baptist Church, and why Catholics don’t go to Methodist, etc., etc.. What folks believe and how they live out that faith, well, it matters to them, and…sometimes it’s just easier to catch up with family at events like weddings, birthdays, reunions, etc., instead of sharing day-to-day life.

    I’ll just leave the metaphor there, with an appreciation for concepts given in Romans 12 and Matthew 7.  We’re family, I love them, and we mostly get along with just about all of them, though we do it from a certain distance now.

The other thing I wanted to circle back around to is this concept: I have discovered over the past few years that the God of the Bible - the Most High, the One True God as revealed in Scripture - he’s not quite the same as I once thought he was.

My family has discovered a different, more peaceful, more consistent living out of our faith, (some people might call this orthopraxy) and it came about like I have mentioned before: as we read the Bible, we do it with an intention to obey what we’re hearing God say through Scripture.

שָׁמַע

That intention to obey is the beginning of the “first commandment” Yeshua quoted in the Gospels.  Every practicing Jew who heard him would automatically think of the passage he was quoting from (which is Deuteronomy 6:4-6), and didn’t need the complete wording - kind of like if I was talking about that verse describing how “…God created the heavens and the earth.” - most folks familiar with their Bible know the first phrase of Genesis 1:1 without me saying it, and their mind automatically “fills in” that wording and the meaning connected to it.

Anyway, somewhere along the way, folks stopped following the latter part of that command from Deuteronomy 6 (“…teach your children…all the time, in every context, all that I’ve instructed you..”)  I can’t say for sure why this happened, but I can tell you this much: it’s a rare person who comes to the Bible these days with the attitude of “Okay, Lord, I have decided to make any adjustments necessary to live right with you: I will stop doing what I need to stop, and start doing what I ought to do.  Just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”  That’s the concept, the meaning of Sh’ma (שָׁמַע), the Hebrew word translated “Hear” at the beginning of verse four.  In the following verses, we’re given the prescribed way to make disciples and pass along the faith, and to give ourselves reminders of that faith.

People don’t do that anymore - not all of it.  Most folks skip the agreement before the beginning - the yes, I’ll do whatever you want, tell me what that is attitude.  Many people who read Jesus talking about the great command may not even know he’s quoting from Deuteronomy - let alone know the “hear-to-obey” prerequisite - because they don’t read that part of the Bible.  Maybe because they’ve been taught (incorrectly) that that’s not for us, or maybe they’ve made that choice on their own.

“Me-” vs. “God-” Centered Faith.

In my first “from there to here” letter, I wrote to you about how Shannon and I bend our religious thought, beliefs, and activity to Scripture, and not the other way around.  In the last letter, I wrote about how our faith should be focused on God and others, not our own development and self-realization.  Both of those represent a shifting in us from a Greek (or western) mindset back to a Hebrew mindset.  I’ve included a graphic describing these different approaches in some detail. [click here if you'd like to see it] I got this thing from the same ministry (website) where we got our Bible reading plan.  (That plan, as I told you before, is basically read it from Genesis to maps.)  Hoo boy, if you want to get the leadership at my old church fired up, just mention that ministry.

Anyway, this comparison highlights the difference between a “me focused” starting point where everything (including the Gospel) is added to the individual if they accept it…and a “God focused” starting point where I sh’ma - I agree to do things his way, then find out what that is and how to do it.

Immutability.

One last related thought that I’ll introduce to you now and elaborate more on next time:  The God of the front of the book is the same God in the back of the book.  He’s One God, and the Bible is telling us One Story.  Same God, same story.

A website that [my old pastor] does endorse is gotquestions.org.  It defines this concept (theologians would call it the immutability of God) as His quality of not changing.  In Malachi 3, the Most High declares…”I do not change.”  And the writer of Hebrews says the same thing about Yeshua the Messiah, telling us he’s “…the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

In the next letter I’ll highlight some disconnects between what I used to say I believed (as a modern, western, evangelical, theologically reformed Christian) and how I disobeyed and explained away parts of the Bible…and how things began to change when I applied “One God, one story; same God, same story” to the Bible, and then approached it with a “hear-to-obey” mindset.

…and I’ll also write to you about the “set apart” times, and how we observe them...

Hello Old Friend, part 2.

next in a series of [somewhat edited] letters sent to a friend, giving him an update on how life with the Hazys has changed 

Hey brother!  I hope this letter finds you doing well.  We just got back from a long family walk - something that (thanks to our 6yr old) we might make a regular part of our Sabbath thing.

,,,Which brings a “follow up” thought to mind regarding Sabbath - a thought that will bridge a gap between “the beginning of our new journey” and a foundational principle for how we do this thing.

One of my main concerns as I considered how life would change with Sabbath-keeping was, “How am I going to get it all done?”  I would mow the lawn and do home repairs and make Wal-Mart runs and meet friends for coffee and go on dates with Shannon and pay bills and gas up the vehicles and…and… there’s no end to the things that I would/could not do if I just…what? sat around and prayed and read my Bible?  

Come to think of it, what am I supposed to do on Sabbath, and when do I do all that other stuff? The answers for these questions:

• don’t work.  That is, don’t produce.  Don’t draw a check, don’t work on my car, don’t mow the grass or till the garden or bathe the dog, etc. [well, I think there can be some discussion over that last one for sure]  Don’t do things that increase my bottom line or build up my brand. “Cease from your labor.”

• don’t cause others to work.  Don’t hire a lawn service or get a babysitter for date night or shop at Wal-Mart or go out to eat, etc.

• rest.  Yep, rest.  Rest my body - sleep in!  Take naps!  Slow my pace.  De-stress.  Rest my mind - don’t create lists or make plans to finally be productive when Sabbath ends.  Do mental tasks that renew or refresh or encourage me.  Rest my heart - do fun things, comforting things, inspiring things.

• rest in Him.  I’ve been listening to some really good teaching on Matthew 22 recently that sheds some light on this.  We all know that the “first command” Jesus summarizes Torah with is, essentially, “love God first & most.”  He then said the second command is like it, which is almost always translated “love your neighbor as yourself.”  Only the term neighbor probably isn’t the best translation of the Hebrew concept being taught.  It would seem the better word to use is friend.  This brings more clarity to Luke’s telling of the story, where we read the follow-up question: “and who is my…”

There’s a specific Hebrew word used for “person who dwells beside me.”  Certainly that guy didn’t need help understanding who that was.  But if Yeshua told him, “the second command is meant to echo the first, and it informs us on how to love our friend” then it makes a certain kind of sense for him to ask, “Which kind of friends do you have in mind?” …and Jesus’ response is the story of the Good Samaritan, which he concludes with the implied summary: “Everyone is your friend.”

…coming back to Yeshua giving that second command: It’s better represented by love “to” your friend, indicating a directed action, not just an emotional connection. Yeshua is instructing us to act out love to our friends, and this is to be an echo of being single-minded in our devotion and commitment and service to the Most High.  Yeshua then tells us those two commands sum up the whole Torah, the whole Scriptures, which in turn is an expansion and outworking of these two concepts.

OK, but how does this related to resting in Him on the Sabbath?

My Sabbath resting is not supposed to be “me” focused.  Sleeping in, taking the day off from work - these are technical parts of the thing, but the heart of Sabbath is to “cease from my labor” and thus follow the Most High’s example from Genesis 2, but to also direct my rest Godward (Sabbath rest hangs on the 1^st command) and also direct my rest friendward. (Sabbath rest hangs on the 2^nd command) I’m oriented to Elohim and to others as I’m resting: I’m building them up, blessing them, supporting and strengthening those relationships in a restful setting.

This concept is familiar to Americans, because this is the thing we aim for on our vacations and holidays. Fun fact: did you realize that holidays are “holy” days - that is, special, set-apart days? Wanna guess where that concept came from?  The appointed/designated times (moedim) were around a long time before Easter, Thanksgiving, and the rest, and the Sabbath was the first one established - that one came about on day seven in the history of the world. It has been “in effect” ever since, even though most of the world - including billions who profess to follow the God of the Bible - choose not to follow His instructions on this one.

The other big concern is how do I get it all done?  The simple, not-really-what-I-wanted-to-hear answer (at least on the front end) was: “you don’t.”  Time for a few qualifiers:

    First, let’s not move too quickly away from the concept that Yeshua was teaching when he answered that sheilah/tricky question about what’s most important.  The rabbi was giving instruction on how to hear & obey the instructions that God provided for everyone who wants to follow him and live life His way.  The first thing is to re-orient what’s a priority in my life, and then to use my resources (like my time, my money, my mental and emotional and relational and physical investments) accordingly.

    Next, I can accept and live out the thought that when God wanted to call out folks from “the world” and create a special people for himself, He didn’t give a select group of men a blueprint for a republic with democratic features, complete with a bill of rights for individual freedoms so that all of his people could chase after life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  No, when the Most High created a people for himself, they were to live a different kind of life a different kind of way…and where the rubber met the road for me on Saturdays meant putting down the TV remote or power tools and picking up a board game or going for a walk with the people that God put in my life for me to love and invest in.

    Finally, I embrace (and level up to) the fact that Elohim did not give his kingdom to individuals, but to a group.  The whole nation was there at Mount Horeb to receive the Torah, not just their founding fathers.  And when the Messiah came to show us the way, to “fill up” the instructions (Matt.5), what role did he take on?  A Jewish rabbi - a teacher of the Torah.  THE teacher of Torah.  And how do rabbis (especially this one) instruct their students?  “Follow me.” (Mark 8)  And what does he want us to do with this training? “As you go, make talmidim (students/disciples)… teaching them to obey what I have commanded you…” (Matt.28)

…which sounds an awful lot like the Sh’ma: “Hear Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one…love him…love others…put my words in your heart…teach your children…all the time.” (Deut.6)

So I’m supposed to invest my Sabbaths in my God and my friends, and focus on taking care of people/relationships instead of yard work or side jobs or even things like getting lost in a book or caught up in watching episodes/movies/videos.

In my “Sabbath transition” I gave up things that were important - like catching up on “household business” after working during the week.  This creates a bit of a dilemma: who is going to do that work that used to get done on Saturday?  Do I keep longer hours during the week to make up for it - cutting grass after work, shopping during the week, staying up late to pay the bills?  Those are all adjustments that we’ve made along the way, and you know what?  It’s more work during the week. and more weird on the Sabbath than pretty much anyone we live around.  But it’s not worse than before, or harder on me.  I actually easier, and here’s why:

• because I love the One Who told me to rest.  I’ve told you this before, but to recap: I don’t follow his instructions out of some sullen or bitter sense of duty to get a good grade at the end of all things.  Neither do I do it to avoid getting punished: I don’t see any proof that the Most High is sitting on a cloud with some supernatural sniper rifle, ready to rain down justice on disobedience.  No, I follow him because I love him, and I want to show him that I love him by living in ways that please and honor him.

• because I love the rabbi who told me to rest.  I mentioned this earlier, but I don’t think “it just happened that way” that when God walked among us he did it as a Jewish rabbi.  When a person comes “to Christ,” they come to a man who expects his people to follow him, to do what he does, say what he says, think what he thinks, be like he is.  Some might say that’s impossible, that we can’t be superhuman like Jesus was.  Well, in point of fact, his followers can, because the set-apart spirit of God (the ruach hakodesh) lives in us and supercharges us to do supernatural stuff, things that are above and beyond what we could accomplish without him.  Things like being witnesses for him among the nations (Acts 1:8) and making disciples, teaching them to do life the way he told us to - observing his commands. (Matthew 28:20)

So “Sabbath life” is easier in much the same way that all of being born-again is easier: being purposeful and successful in this world (and the next one) is defined in simpler terms.  It’s usually harder, usually more lonely - “narrow gate”, “hard road”, “few find it” (Matt.7:14) - but it’s simpler.

I have found, along the way, that I don’t miss how I used to spend my Saturdays.  Some things are still important, and I’ve learned to fit them in at other times.  Other things were given up, or delayed until the Most High provides a way to make ‘em happen.

…and I get vacation time/a holiday every week, and I do it with and for my God who is happy that I’m choosing to do things his way.

That doesn’t sound so bad, does it?

Hello Old Friend, part 1.

first in a series of [somewhat edited] letters sent to a friend, giving them an update on how life with the Hazys has changed 

Hey Buddy,

I told you I’d begin to write a series of letters to give an idea of who I am and how I got “here”, specifically focused on the big transition that happened during the last five years.  I don’t think my journey is complete, but I do know this: I’m a much different guy than I was then, and I feel more purposeful, more at peace, more connected to my God, my family, my friends, my community - more complete as a man.

These letters may also help the ongoing conversations we have about knowing God and walking that out in real life, with real people. Feel free to ask me anything, and I’ll do what I can to give you honest answers and good advice.

You already know a lot of my info: married for near 20 years to an awesome little lady, father of ten (8 at home, two adopted, two didn’t make it), warehouse/logistics guy at a very successful oil & gas company, a closet carpenter, and wannabe farmer.  I used to really like sports and movies, but that interest fades more and more each year, probably replaced by my growing affection for chocolate, coffee, funny stories, etc. 

  I guess I have settled on a simpler life, focusing on what’s important, not trying to remake the world into what I think it ought to be, but rather enjoying the good, living with the other as best I can, and trusting God with all of it.

OK, as Nacho Libre says, “Let’s get down to the nitty gritty…”

Shannon and I have always been of the opinion that we should live by what the Bible says, and serve the One True God who has revealed himself and his ways to us through Scripture.  In recent years, we have begun to feel a certain disconnect from some of the widely held Christian beliefs  we once embraced. We realized that our default way to answer some (not all) questions was to start with “well, we know that such and such is what we Christians believe, and let’s take a Bible verse here and another one there and we can connect our way of doing things to the Bible, so…. we’re all good.”  

Trouble is, that approach starts with what I’ve been taught in my religious tradition and then bends the Bible to support it.  We decided - not long after we met you - to just read the Bible, do what it says, and bend our religious thinking and living to Scripture, not the other way around.

I would describe myself as a believer in and follower of Jesus the Messiah, doing the best I can to think, talk, believe, and act according to his word(s) and his ways.  I try to follow him in a Jewish way - because he was/is a Jew.  I try to follow him because he was a Jewish rabbi, and students followed their rabbis around, learning their teachings and imitating their lives.  (still do, actually)

This lines up a little more closely with Messianic Judaism than modern Christianity…. You see, when God decided to create “his” people, he called them to be set apart from the other nations, and taught them the “house rules” for actually *being* the set apart children of God.  That offer has always been not just for Abraham’s descendants, but for anyone who hears God calling them to be his people.

Going back a few years (Spring 2020), we began to consistently observe the Sabbath in a pretty low-key, Messianic, Biblical kind of way.  Basically, [on Saturdays] we don’t work (or cause others to work) or spend money unless there’s an emergency.  Now from time to time there may be exceptions, but we try not to tell others how to live by our convictions, while we do our best to honor the Lord by living according to his (Sabbath) instructions. Sometimes our Sabbath looks different than this… and when that happens, we do the best we can, and we know that’s what grace is for.

OK, Spring 2020.  I knew that, as one of elders/pastors of our church, my family’s observing Sabbath was out-of-step with what the church believed. I wanted to engage the other church leaders appropriately and with integrity, so I re-read the church’s Constitution & By-Laws and proceeded according to our governing documents and leadership practices.

In those documents, that church communicates their beliefs and practice are according to the Bible, which is the first and final authority on these matters.  That church also leans heavily on historic confessions of their denominational faith, which they say do not supersede the BIble’s authority, but rather give clarity to its application.  

I knew that observing a Biblical Sabbath put me at odds with what has long been taught as a “Christian Sabbath” (Sunday), so I studied these historical denominational statements of faith.  I looked up every scripture they referenced, studied those passages, and wrote a paper expressing my dissenting opinion, which I submitted to the other elders for consideration.  The teaching pastor gave us a book to read representing the denomination’s position, and set a meeting to discuss.

I disagree with that book, and the way the author interprets and applies Scripture to present his conclusions.  I also disagree with the way he builds a case for a practice that the Bible never establishes (Sunday sabbath), while throwing out a practice that the the Bible specifically instructs over and over (seventh day Sabbath).

During that elders meeting, I was told that, because I have no formal training in Biblical languages & theology, my paper was invalid.  I was given a chance to give up my dissent and come back into line with the denominational statements and the church practice and theology regarding the Sabbath.  When I declined, I was removed as an elder.  I was told my family could still be a part of the church, provided we didn’t try to talk other folks into these divergent practices we maintained.

…but other issues had already come up, and as time went on, change was…inevitable.

The What.

this is part of a series that explains the blog, answering the question: what is this blog about?

There are a few goals for this blog, in no particular order of importance or focus:

• I hope to document our journey, kind of like flipping though old photo albums and then sharing (or hearing about) the memories behind the pictures.
• I want to tell our story - for those who want to hear it.  This may look like journaling about lessons learned, in the hope that it will benefit others.
• There may also be something along the lines of reporting - as in, “writing a report”, like when students demonstrate proficiency in a subject before moving to the next level. I also regularly prepare reports as part of my job, to give an account of what I’ve been doing with my time, and where I’m at with the projects assigned to me. So you'll find similar "reporting" here on the blog as well.
• Finally, we plan to include a “Q&A” element every now and then.

I don’t know how much of each category there will be, or how often they’ll appear (our life, like yours, is pretty crazy and sometimes demanding), but now you have an idea of what to expect in this little corner of the world.