What a wonderful year this is turning out to be!!
After a really great summer with all the rain to fill our beautiful Blanco River, then we get invited to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in the heart of the mountains in Colorado with the Bear Trax Fellowship! What an amazing experience this was for us! This was our first time to celebrate this Feast (called Sukkot in Hebrew) biblically!! Last year, we built our very first sukkah in our back yard. If you’re not familiar with that term, it is Hebrew for the “tent”, or “temporary dwelling”, that the Hebrews were commanded to dwell in for eight days (see Leviticus 23) in order to remember how they had lived in the wilderness after being miraculously brought out from the land of Egypt. Take a look at those “Feasts of the Lord” in the book of Leviticus…they are not “Jewish” feasts at all…in Hebrew, the word is mo’edim…meaning ”appointed times”. They are meant to be our ‘appointments’ with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! What a concept!
The barn at Bear Trax Ranch, Colorado.
Karen Hannah Pryor, of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies, states in her weekly newsletter, “In this generation, the question of celebrating the biblical Feasts is being raised more and more frequently and insistently by Christians. And rightly so! Our Father is restoring the Hebraic Heritage that has been lost to so many of His children for centuries, and a significant factor in this restoration is the renewed understanding and incorporation of the Feasts in the lives of those who follow Yeshua, Jesus, as the Messiah of God.” Click here to go there.
Examining a 200-year old Torah Scroll.
After Sukkot, we made our way to Minneapolis, MN, to attend the National Gathering of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) where we presented a PowerPoint presentation in partnership with the Friends of Israel of the Community Church of Joy in Glendale, AZ. This was an exciting opportunity for us to share information about the unscriptural doctrine of Replacement Theology, which, simply put, says that “the Church” has replaced Israel with regard to God’s promises and Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
“See the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah… (Jeremiah 31:31)” The writer of Hebrews quoted that scripture in Chapter 8.
In Genesis 12:3, God promised Abraham and his descendants, “I shall bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
We were encouraged by the support and attendance of our breakout sessions…approximately 8% of the 1,000 to 1,100 attending the conference. It is our hope and prayer that all the congregations in the LCMC will become Friends of Israel and recognize and support Israel’s right to exist as a nation. The prophet Amos says they are never again to be removed from that land (Amos 9:15). And Zacharia says all nations that come against Israel will seriously hurt themselves (Zacharia 12:3). Think about that!
Well, to top off this 3-week trip….like icing on the cake…was a wonderful day at the Wimberley Gospel Music Festival hosted by Cowboys for Jesus Christian Fellowship at Fischer, TX, the very next day after returning to Blanco! Got to see some of our friends in gospel music and minister to others with our music.
Until next time, we love you all, and treasure your friendship.
Shalom and blessings,
Gene and LaVada
