This is something I’ve been dwelling on for quite a while, and figured I should toss it out and see what others think.

I was reading a book review a while back, and this statement by the review’s author stood out to me:

In the Bible, the “heart” is the seat of the mind, rationality, imagination, conviction, and determined faith in God. It is not the organ of emotion, sentimentality or intuitiveness. Christianity is off the biblical track about this word.

Well, I was reading the Jewish Publication Society’s commentary on Deuteronomy, specifically Deuteronomy 6:5, and got this:

with all your heart and with all your soul In Hebrew, “heart” (lev or levav) usually refers to the interior of the body, conceived as the seat of thought, intention, and feeling, and “soul” (nefesh) refers to the seat of emotions, passions, and desires. [this comes from page 77. Published by the Jewish Publication Society, 1996.]

Basically, “heart” in Hebrew thought has the same meaning as “mind” in western symbolism.

Keeping that in mind, what does that do to the following verses?

Deuteronomy 6:5 – And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 8:2 – And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 10:16 - Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.

1 Samuel 16:7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart

Psalm 24:4 – He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully.

Psalm 77:6 – I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart; And my spirit ponders.

Proverbs 4:21 – Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart.

Proverbs 6:25 – Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her catch you with her eyelids.

Jeremiah 29:13 - And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 - But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (adds an interesting spin to the whole Christian interpretation of the New Covenant, huh?)

Psalm 119:2 – How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart.

And, just to ponder a little, I wonder if the concept holds for the following “New Testament” verses?

Matthew 5:8 – Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Mark 6:52 - for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

Mark 8:17 - And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart?

Luke 8:15 - But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

Romans 5:5 – and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

And so on…

So, is it possible that the Church has over “emotionalized” stuff based on a faulty understanding of a Hebrew concept?

So, I was looking around for congregations to visit once I get back to Jerusalem (I haven’t been accepted yet, but have absolute faith that the day is coming soon). Most of the volunteers attend King of Kings. I have no beef with K of K, but I don’t want to attend a congregation with a rapid turnover, which I suspect they have.

As a fan of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research, I’m more drawn to the congregation that operates as their home base in the Holy Land. I’ll definitely visit this one.

However, it is not my goal to refuse assimilation into the culture; playing the “ugly American” has never accomplished anything good. So, I’ve been looking at Messianic Jewish congregations (a MJ congregation in the Holy City, can there be anything sweeter? ). This brings me to my topic.

I was checking out the website for the Roeh Israel Congregation, and came across the June newsletter sent out by the congregational leader (Joseph Shulam, who I have a lot of respect for). In particular, this part stood out to me:

It is good to be alive! I can identify with the words of the Psalmist:

Psa. 35:4 Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me. Psa. 38:12 Those who seek my life lay snares for me; and those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction, and they devise treachery all day long. Psa. 40:14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together who seek my life to destroy it; let those be turned back and dishonored who delight in my hurt.

It is not the first time that hate was turned into action against me because I believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and that Jews should reclaim and crown Him as King of their lives as the most important Jew who lived on the face of this Earth, Yeshua Son of David Son of Abraham. As you see from the texts above the writer of these Psalms seems to have had people who were seeking his life and his response is to ask God to take action. In one case the writer asks that his assailants “turn back,” to turn back is to repent. He also asks that those who devise evil against him be humbled.

It ought to be known to you that these actions are totally repudiated by the majority of the Jewish people and even by many Rabbis. Jewish people are not a violent people, generally speaking, and they donÕt naturally turn to do harm to a fellow Jew, but when it comes to issues that to them seem to compromise their “faith,” there are always some hot-heads who are driven by radical elements that do seek violent solutions to their “problems.” I have absolute respect and honor for the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel and for their leadership, and I know that even if they wanted to control these wild violent fringe of the Orthodox Jewish faith they could not do so, any more than the authorities in the first century could control the zealots.

So here is what really happened.

Marcia heard someone changing a tire on Thursday morning. She didn’t think much of it, but she did go down to see what is happening. On Thursday I didn’t use my car because we had a wedding to perform and we needed a bigger car. We used Marcia’s car on Thursday and on Friday. On Shabbat I drove my car to Maale Edumim and I felt that something was wrong with the front wheels. On Sunday I drove it very slow and carefully and said to myself that on Monday morning I would take it to the garage for a checkup. On Monday early in the morning on the way to the garage – my whole wheel came off. I was on the bridge of Mevasseret when it happened and I was driving only about 10 kilometers per hour. So I was able to stop immediately and no one was behind me to run into me. If I had been going down hill at about 65 MPH – I would have flipped and people would have ran into me from behind and may be I would have even fallen down the side deep into the ravine. Praise the Lord that He has protected me. I have a letter from the garage that says that there is no way that such a thing could have happened without a malicious tampering with the safety bolt and the pin that holds it. The owner of the garage said that this is the first such a case in over 50 years of working with Volvo cars. So, this is the third time that someone has attempted to take my life – and the funny thing is that I feel happy and satisfied to know that the Lord Himself is giving me life and protecting me with His providence.

I often wonder if I’m strong enough to stand for my faith even if my life is on the line. Looks like I might get that chance. Can I face the trials, or will I be back in Colorado ASAP with my tail between my legs? I hope for the former, but there’s really only one way to find out. . .

I copied this, verbatim, from the blog of my younger cousin. She has quite the “potty mouth,” so I’ll apologize in advance for the f-bomb:

Life is like a lava lamp…

At first, you like your lava lamp because its pretty and lava-y.

So you watch it for a while.

But then one day, you forget to turn it on.

Or your bulb burns out.

Or its tipped over on its side.

If its tipped, you turn it upright.

If the bulb is out, you replace it.

And if you forget to turn it on, then when you do turn it back on, you will have a fucked up lava lamp, and so you get a new one….

Needless to say, I have commentary on this. However, I throw it out to the public first: what’s your opinion on it?

http://english.thekotel.org/cameras.asp

I watch this camera, and I ache to return to the Holy Land! For a real treat, check it out at the end of Shabbat (after sunset Saturday night). There’s singing, dancing, and plenty of other stuff going on to make you wonder why you’re wasting time in front of your computer.

I don’t normally copy and paste stuff from my friend Erin’s blog, but I found this post of hers very moving:

http://culturecrazy.blogspot.com/2006/05/smile-to-remember.html

A smile to remember

Not every story is pleasant to hear, but I feel obligated to share the beautiful along with the ugly so that you may get a true sense of the culture and the new surroundings I have adapted to in the past year, which actually aren’t so new to me anymore.
I suppose I could sigh a sigh of relief to have been allowed to get as far as I already have in this culture in such a short period of time. But regardless of what has become routine for me now, there are still moments that freeze in my mind and truly make me realize what home now is for me.
I was on the bus this morning as usual. I always sit in the back so I can see all that goes on because I love to observe the people. I saw an Ethiopian gentleman get on the bus. He had his kippah on (he was Jewish) and wore secondhand clothing like most of the Ethiopians do here because the majority live in poverty. He was wearing a giant smile that was glued to his face as though all he ever did was smile! I watched as he sat two rows in front of me. For some reason I couldn’t stop watching him, probably because I was waiting for his smile to disappear. You see, here in Israel, people don’t usually smile and if they do it’s a short-lived memory. However, this man never stopped smiling. He kept staring out the window like he was seeing it all for the first time… and that smile! Oh that smile never disappeared for a second! So white against his dark skin, reminding me of my time in Africa that was full of white smiles on dark faces.
And then, as I was watching I noticed small spots on his shirt and shortly after that realized the spots were moving. They were actually fleas. He was not covered with them but there were quite a few. But even though this man was extremely poor, owned very little and even looked extremely malnourished and had fleas crawling all over him, he smiled a smile that I have rarely seen in my lifetime.
It was beautiful.
It was humbling.
And it gave me a picture that I will never forget because this man was beautiful, fleas and all.
More than that, it gave me a picture of what God does when he sees us. Sometimes we are covered in dirt, looking like a mess and maybe even oblivious to our own state, yet He smiles upon us and sees beyond the filth and into what is underneath it all.
This is the mind we need to have toward others.
It made this well-groomed girl feel quite humble.
His was a smile to remember.

Have you ever given up something you enjoyed because you realized it was distracting you from bigger things? I recently did. My reason? It was interrupting my relationship with God. It isn’t easy, and I’ve been fighting off the urge to return (isn’t that a sign of addiction? ), but I know it’ll ultimately be for the best.

Anyway, moving on…

The Gospel of Luke is one of my two favorite books of the Bible (tied with Deuteronomy). My favorite part of that book comes near the end, in chapter 24. My NASB gives this section the title “The Road to Emmaus:”

13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.

15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them.

16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.

17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.

18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,

20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.

21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.

22 “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning,

23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.

24 “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther.

29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.

30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.

31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,

34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”

35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

Later, it goes on to say:

44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,

47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

I would note that verse 47 above does say, “and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations,” not just “forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed…” but that isn’t the point I’m trying to make (tonight, anyway).

I bolded all the stuff that stood out to me. While we’ll not have the opportunity to learn at the feet of the Master anytime too soon, I still think we can all have an experience similar to those mentioned above.

The writings of Luke, both the above quoted Gospel and The Acts of the Apostles, use to really bug me. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it seems any time someone is explaining from scripture how Jesus is Messiah, LUKE SKIMS OVER IT! Why doesn’t he tell us what Jesus said, starting with Moses, on the road to Emmaus? He does something similar involving Paul in Acts. Why?

While I don’t have a good answer, I suspect it’s because God doesn’t want lazy followers. There’s no faith or commitment if the answers come easy. Truth be known, all of the answers to how Jesus is Messiah are in the Bible. The Apostles had no “New Testament” to reference, yet this didn’t seem to be a problem. Seems to me we have it easier than they did.

I heard a lecture by the dude from http://www.followtherabbi.com/ that said one cannot claim to be a follower of Jesus if you aren’t studying the Gospels at least once a week. I agree with this statement. Your own personal “road to Emmaus” is there, you just need to start walking.

Well, I just heard back from Christian Friends of Israel, and while my initial contact with them sounded very promising, “we have not gotten a clear sense that the Lord is opening the door for us to invite you.”

So, now what? Beats me. Bridges for Peace would take me, but the Church wouldn’t fund me as BFP does a lousy job of getting receipts to people for tax write-offs. That would leave me to raise all of my funds on my own, and most people I’ve talked with don’t seem very receptive to supporting me. I’m working on a resume for the ICEJ, but their current openings don’t look to fit me at all.

I’m probably going to have to accept that this is God telling me, “not yet.” However, watching the light at the end of the tunnel vanish isn’t an easy thing to do.

Anyway, I could use a little prayer as to what the next step is, and that this won’t cause me to give up (my natural inclination). I still feel called to Israel, I just don’t know when or where.

My buddy Jonathan mentioned me in a sermon last week: http://pulpitrock.com/weekly/audio.shtml (right column, titled “Thou Shalt be Satisfied.” It’ll only be up for two more weeks.)

In case you’re wondering, the article I sent him came from here: http://www.egrc.net/articles/Rock/Assorted_Topics/Dayeinu.html