I’m From the Christian Gentile Branch
Many times, I have wondered why my Heavenly Father led me to a Messianic Convention in Atlanta in 1987 to receive Jesus, the Messiah of God as my savior. I have often thought it was strange because all of my family members are Christians. They are Baptist, Pentecostal, and a few Methodists. I even married a Catholic and attended some masses. I had a personal experience at the age of 5 with Jesus and His Holy Spirit at my maternal Grandfather’s Pentecostal Church. I could have been easily led to Salvation because I loved Jesus. For some strange reason, it was not in The LORD’s plan until 1987.
The Messiah, Yeshua is The Vine
At the Messianic Convention, I learned that the Jesus I loved had a Hebrew name, Yeshua, which means salvation. However, stranger still, I prayed in 1987 about joining Beth Hallel, and The LORD said, “No”. He led me in a different direction. Messianic Jews are a minority of believers in the Hebrew Race who believe that the Messiah has come to bring salvation to the whole world (John 3:16-18). Praise God for our Commonwealth under Yeshua, Jesus as our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as seen in Eph 2:12, so we have Hope in all situations.
The LORD is Teaching
I had been watching my Baptist Church Sermons on YouTube. Jesus led me in February 2024 to start watching the Congregation Beth Hallel services. I have posted some of the links to the YouTube Videos that have helped to answer some of my many questions about Christian Gentiles and Jewish Believers (Messianic Jews).
The Messianic Jew Branch
The Congregation Beth Hallel video on March 29-30, titled One New Man, answered many questions about being a Gentile. I was struggling with false truths, where some people had said that Christians were not as important to Jesus as the Jews were or that The Father had abandoned the Jews. False truths that God favors the Jews over the Christians or that Christians had replaced the Jews and Israel as the chosen people are not Biblically true. I found these comments contradicted the Biblical message and took a verse of Scripture out of context. God is faithful and patient and has always had a plan. The LORD does not have human flaws, and I believe His Scriptures should lead me to the truth as long as I do not take them out of context. I have often wondered, “What is the whole truth?”. How can I know what I believe is the truth that comes through God and not a human misunderstanding?
Two Messianic Jews
On YouTube, there are many Videos by Two Messianic Jews. Their Video, titled Romans Road to Messianic Judaism, helped me understand it is okay to be either a Christian Gentile or a Jew who believes in the Messiah of God. There is no need for jealousy or feeling we are more or less than the other branch of the Messiah. They did an excellent job explaining what it meant for the World that Yeshua (Jesus) came to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles.
I Want to Learn
I started to believe that Jesus was leading me to the Messianic Jewish branch of believers in Him. He is always leading me to get answers to the many questions I still ponder in my heart. I must confess, even though I have an MA in Biblical Counseling from a Seminary in Atlanta, I lack knowledge. I still do not know the Jewish Holidays, Manners, and Customs as I should. I have books on the subject, but they have not taken root; they go in one ear and out the other. I believe knowing and understanding the culture of the Messiah will open a deeper understanding of what He is teaching me about Himself. I know God is all-knowing and does not make mistakes. God created Israel as His Nation and the Jews for His purpose. I believe it is my responsibility as a Christian to support and learn from the community of Messianic Jews, whatever the Lord wants me to learn. After all, God could have just as easily sent the Messiah as a Roman baby instead of a Jewish baby.
Are God’s Laws also Practical?
As a Christian, more than once, I heard Sermons on how Jesus had done away with the Dietary Laws that God had given the Jews. How it was suddenly okay for everyone to eat pork. After hearing Sermons on Mark 7, I had often wondered why Jesus dismissed the Dietary Laws in Mark 7:15-19. Something about these Sermons didn’t seem right because I thought the Scripture was talking about hand washing. I believed the Dietary Laws were a commandment to the Jews to set them apart from Gentiles as God’s people as an act of Sanctification, but also for practical reasons. I was grateful for the YouTube Videos of Two Messianic Jews for answering my questions about their need to follow Biblical Dietary Laws.
The Two Messianic Jews video from the 2023 Messianic Conference dealt with this subject and helped me see that Jesus did not do away with the Dietary Laws. He was talking about ceremonial hand cleaning and the state of someone’s heart. I think Romans 14 makes it clear that the Gentiles do not need to follow Biblical Dietary Laws unless they feel convicted by God. I am a Gentile, and this is good news for me. My Baptist Grandpa taught me to eat scrambled eggs with bacon and a little ketchup. Bacon and eggs make me think of Grandpa.
God Can Do It All
In this modern world, we understand the science of properly cooking pork to avoid disease. It makes logical sense why God would have said not to eat pork in ancient times. I have often thought how unhealthy it is to do all of the things God has made Laws against. I always believed it was really cool that God wanted to Spiritually Set Apart and prosper the Jews. Eating an unclean item does spiritually point to the importance of inner purity for God’s chosen people. In essence, the Laws of God were designed to do both. God cares about all people spiritually and physically. Daniel got permission to test his healthy diet vs the King’s diet in Daniel 1:5-16 and proved that God‘s Laws are designed to bless His people spiritually and physically.
My Prayers for These Branches of The Messiah
Lord God Almighty, You are El Shaddai; you are our Father. You are The All-Sufficient God. You are our Savior. Praise You for sending the Messiah to save us. Thank you for Helping us know you better through your many titles, names, and attributes. You have sanctified us and are continually sanctifying us even now. Please pour out Your many blessings on Your different branches in the Messiah, so they will increase. Please especially bless the Congregation that led me to salvation in Christ Jesus (Yeshua), Beth Hallel, in Roswell, Georgia. I am a witness to what You can do through Your people. I am especially fond of this Synagogue due to my salvation at the event they hosted. I am a Gentile, and I do not understand their customs or mindset fully. Yet, I am a witness to their great love for our Messiah and those You love. I am grateful for their faithfulness to You and how it blessed even me. I am also thankful for the First Baptist Church in Georgia , where You blessed me with faithful Biblical Sunday School Teachers in the Kindred Spirits Classroom. Please arise and Glorify Yourself through Your faithful people. Bless all of Your Synagogues and Churches with Your presence. Amen.
Holy Father of Love, God Most High, El Elyon, my heart is troubled by the hate and bitterness in the world against people of faith in You, especially against this branch of the Messiah, the Messianic Jews. Their numbers are small, and their enemies outnumber them. You remind me that the battle belongs to the Lord. I felt such peace when You gave me Your name as El Elyon in a song by Paul Wilbur. I praise You for our Victory! Increase their numbers with dedicated followers of the Messiah with humble and teachable spirits. Please arise and Glorify Yourself through their victory and our peace in You. Amen.
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, You are not the God of the dead, but of the living. Please teach all of Your branches to walk with the Messiah in love, truth, and Spirit. Give all of us humble and teachable spirits. Teach us to use Your Spiritual Gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues according to Your purpose and Your Will. Teach us how to use these Spiritual Gifts properly through Your Holy Spirit in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to lead and train us properly, we will hurt the people we want to help. Please arise and Glorify Yourself by teaching Your people to use their gifts and talents according to Your will correctly. Amen.
Yeshua, You are the Messiah of God to the Jews and Jesus to us Gentiles. Jesus, I love You! You are the God of all Nations, the whole world. A time will come when we will all stand before You. If we use our Spiritual Gifts in Truth and in Spirit, then we will be rewarded in Heaven at the Judgment Seat. Please arise and Glorify Yourself by teaching all of Your people to walk in step with You in peace and love and to keep our eyes on You. You are our only Hope. Deliver us from the enemy of God. Amen.
The Latest Update
The Lord led me to join Beth Hallel as a Remote Member of this Messianic Synagogue on September 13-14, 2024. I am seeing the Book of Acts in the Bible with new eyes from the perspective of a Christian Gentile who loves Jesus while worshiping alongside the early Messianic Believers who also love Him as Yeshua. It is humbling as I realize that I was brought to the Lord in faith by Jewish believers, by Disciples of the Messiah, just as the early Gentile Christian believers had been. Even though I am 70 years old as I join this Congregation of believers, I am humbled that God does not consider me too old to learn something new about Him.
During private prayer time with my sister, I was led by the Holy Spirit to add my voice in prayer through the Holy Spirit to all of the prayers on the Western Wall in Israel. I felt so honored by God during this prayer. I do not understand exactly what that meant, but it will be another reason to rejoice when I get to heaven. The Lord used the Scripture that Matt, a young Methodist believer, had given me over three decades ago as a confirmation to join the Synagogue. The Lord had used a Catholic priest’s old book on inner healing and spiritual growth to start me on this new spiritual journey at the ripe old age of 70. I have a deep peace in my soul knowing that God is truly the God of all people and through Salvation in Jesus (Yeshua) we are One in God as Jesus has prayed for in John 17. Regardless of the denominational practices we adhere to, we are One with God through Jesus. In God, it does not matter if we are male or female or Jew or Gentile. We are all loved as the unique individuals we are through the Messiah.
As the Messianic Jews went through their High Holidays focusing on our Heavenly Father and the willing sacrifice of God’s Messiah, I know Jesus was with me, helping me experience my first feasts and holidays that He had observed as a practicing Jew. The Rabbi pointed out that the Messiah was the only person who followed everything perfectly as a practicing Jew. It took walking this path for me to comprehend that Jesus was a Jew who followed the Commandments of God over 2,000 years ago. He taught in the Synagogues and sang some of the same old songs and prayers. He is the King of the Jews. Israel is an important part of His Kingdom because He is also the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. God is our Creator. Psalm 24:1-2 reminds us of the teachings in the Book of Genesis 1, in that the world and everything within it belongs to God.
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