Bridge Between Judaism and Christianity

Bridge Between Judaism and Christianity

by | May 23, 2023 | Apologetics, Messianic Jews

Bridge Between Judaism and Christianity

Guest Blog by Lynwood Johnson

Many Messianic see our movement as a bridge between Judaism and Christianity.

To the Jews, we’re advocates of their own ‘favorite son,’ (though only a small minority of Jews now recognize that) who now reigns as their – and our – great High Priest who Himself was their – and our – Perfect Sacrifice who removes the sins of all who trust Him w their lives and eternity.

On the other shore we’re a place for many believers who have a (Spirit induced?) disquiet that has led them out on a search in the belief there is much more to their Christian faith than what they are hearing where they’ve been attending.

They say when they find our place, they are Amazed!  They start seeing a deeper texture in the Jewish heritage that’s so foundational to almost every NT event.

They learn from Messianic Jew (the apostle Paul) in Romans 11, that the future of Jews and Christians is inextricably bound together.

They learn that “the  Church is the New Israel, and God’s promises no longer apply to the nation of Israel any more, but to the Church”  is not only not supported Biblically,  but in fact heresy.

(Look up Supersessionism to learn more)

In short, it’s the heresy that the Church has superseded Israel.  Also known as ‘replacement theology.’

 

Bridge Between Judaism and Christianity

Video of John Tarr and Lynwood Johnson talk about his blog.

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Not Another Fish In the Sea

Not Another Fish In the Sea

by | May 4, 2023 | Apologetics, Christian Thought, Free Will, Justin Tarr

Not Another Fish In The Sea

I have had an ongoing fish tank for the better part of 3 years.

It has been a very interesting journey of stewardship as this fish tank has gone through ups and downs in its history, generations of fish coming and going.

Recently, however, the switch that controls the power source of my fish tank accidentally disconnected.

This meant that the filters, the light, and the automatic filter all ceased to function.

What this caused was a massive near-extinction event of the population in my tank as nearly all my fish died.

This left only a handful of guppies left, my proverbial Adams and Eves, by which to restart my tank after giving it some TLC.

Nothing to restart my tank but 2 young pairs of guppies in a glass bowl on my table until I restored the tank to livable conditions.

I am in charge of their world.

Bring them food.

I defined the times they have light.

Laid the soil that brings nutrients to their plants.

I provide for them.

By removing my provision for the tank, most perished as the tank decayed.

Our world likewise is having the majority perishing, however the removal of provision from this world is not by the accidental flipping of a switch like in the case of my tank.

In our world, it is judicial as mankind dives further into his sin, making it evermore like the days of Noah.

This period of time is heavily documented, more than the time that Jesus walked the shores of Galilee.

Those who are saved will not go through this period of time; instead they will be like the survivors of my fish tank, resting safely away from the tank as it is sifted clean.

This sifting, the Day of the Lord, the Time of Jacob’s trouble, this Great Tribulation is not a mere warning or threat.

We are going into darker times, and our world is experiencing changes and technologies that will change everything about life (more than even the last 100 years).

“And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22, KJV)

But why would it be that the elect should care if those days not be shortened?

For the same reason that the days of my fish tank were shortened when, nearing certain death, those who were still alive were taken up and out.

God is intervening.

However, God didn’t set up a clockwork universe that is slowing losing its momentum.

No, God set up a paradise and then, unlike me who accidentally doomed a fish tank, cursed mankind’s world when Adam sinned.

God then intervened to save some from the certain death of his world through the patriarchs down to Moses, then Moses to Christ who died on the cross for our sins.

There was the first Adam and the second Adam.

While the first brought death to the entire world, the second brought life.

It is Jesus Christ, preeminent in all things, who brings salvation and judgement to the world.

To Him all will bow and confess, whether they like it or not. Unlike my fish, we are not some frustratingly replicable pet.

God knows each and every one of us by name, and he calls his own to him.

And he asks the very simple question:

Do you want to be in the decaying tank or in the bowl outside?

 

Not Another Fish In the Sea

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Crucial Relationship of Life

Crucial Relationship of Life

by | May 2, 2023 | Alan Tai, Apologetics, Science

Crucial Relationship of Life

Guest Writer Alan Tai

Your most important relationships in life should be to whom you were from and to whom you will be with.

When you extend your life’s time span to your beginning on earth, and assume the biological consideration of the relationships to whom you were from, they were your parents!

Life is more than just biological aspect, there are also psychological and spiritual aspects.

Based on the revelation of the Scripture, I use a “Roadmap of Life’s Relationships” to share the four crucial relationships that not only can affect your life on earth but also the future life after your human life end on earth.

On the other dimension, beside the physical dimensions, there are spiritual considerations of the relationships with God, from whom your origin came.

Using a computer as an analogy to the biological and physical body of a human being, the body appears to be the hardware part only.

The body needs the software or the soul to function and behave as a human being.

The soul needs a lot of nourishment, education, learning, experiencing, and interacting with others to build even more relationships.

However, the source of the origin of your relationship is more than only the biological consideration.

Your spiritual relationship began with God, from whom you were created in the image of God (Genesis 1: 27 -28).

As described in the Scripture, God breath the breath (Spirit) of Life into Human (Genesis 2: 7), the best in His creation!

Roadmap of Life’s Relationships

Any serious relations can experience up and down. The most crucial relationship are with the Creator! We will have peace and joy when Christ became the center of our life relationships.

1) Creation: Beginning Relation

Relationship with God: Human Life was created in the image of God. God breath the breath (Spirit) of Life into Human, resulted in the best of His creation!

2) Fall: Judgement Relation

Broken Relationship: Law center Life under Judgement of God for sin in disobeying God’s Word.

Sin is like a spiritual virus that deceives and corrupt human life.

3) Redemption: Love Relation

Recovery Relationship: God’s Love in Christ to Sacrifice His Life in the Cross so that Christ gives His resurrected new Life to whoever receives Him.

Christ is like the spiritual vaccine/antibody that gives immunity to the power of sin.

4) New Creation: Forever Relation

Glorify Relationship: Kingdom of God with Christ center Life.

Christ’s Spirit and Word guild us to the Way, Truth and Life according to God’s purpose of creating Human in His image!

 1  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name (Jesus Christ), he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1: 12 – 14)

 

** Video Interview With John Tarr and Alan Tai “About Crucial Relationship of Life” **

Crucial Relationship of Life

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A Life Story Greg Reinert

A Life Story Greg Reinert

by | Apr 28, 2023 | Dealing with Death, Life Stories, Tribute

A Life Story Greg Reinert 

I just got off the phone with my cousin and I am a bit dazed, to be honest.

Greg is dying and in hospice in Minnesota.

I talked with his mom, my Aunt Joan the day before, and she said Greg would like to hear from me so I called him right away that night.

I had not talked with Greg in a long time so I was a bit hesitant at first.

What do you talk about with someone that has only a short time to live?

Since I am a decent writer and write articles for a Christian Apologetic website and do interviews for a podcasting organization, I decided I would do a written interview with him, if he felt up to it, on his life story.

I set up a time with him for me to call him the next day when he had more energy.

He became very animated and thought it would be a great idea.

Who doesn’t like to talk about themselves, their history, and their family?

This journey would be interesting to unpack for him and me both because our lives intersected so many times in our younger years.

I am a Born Again Christian now but I was a very nasty atheist until I was 30 years old.

I understand what it is like to have a burning hatred toward God and want nothing to do with Him.

I did not believe in an Intelligent Designer behind the creation of the universe but at 30 years old I could not argue with science.

The Big Bang says the universe was created 13.8 billion years old, so if that is true, who pulled the trigger?

Who set time and space into motion at one point in time in the cosmos?

The universe could not just pop into being from nothing.

I started our interview by asking Greg when he was born?

July 22, 1958, was his answer, Evanston Hospital was the location, in the town of Evanston, Illinois. 

I asked him, what was your earliest recollection as a child?

He said he remembers riding his bike and falling off and hurting himself on a Cul-de-sac where they lived on Huron Ct. in Arlington Heights in Illinois.

He also remembers putting on ice skates after an ice storm and skating up and down his street.

Grandma Detzner holding Greg as a baby.

Greg 3 years old

Greg at grandma Detzner’ house – 1 1/2 years old

Grandma and Grandpa Reinert, Uncle Jack (Tony’s brother) and Mom and Greg 4 1/2.

Mom and Greg. Greg’s about 4.

Greg, Grandma Reinert holding Nancy. My and mom. Grandpa Reinert. 1970?

Mom, Nancy, Greg, Linda and dad. 1970?

Greg 2nd grade

Greg 4 and Mom 

Greg, 4th grade 

His father, Tony, was a dentist and he remembers going to his dad’s office and his dad showing him what he did for people when it came to having their teeth fixed.

Tony did all own lab work as well as working on dentures.

Greg said he was fascinated by that and thought that at the time he would like to do that work also and maybe he and his dad could work together someday.

He remembers his dad taking him to lunch from time to time.

When Greg told me this story, I remember going to see my uncle, Tony, when I needed work done on my teeth as a teenager and young adult.

In my junior and senior year of high school, I worked for a photography studio and the studio needed help photographing a wedding, so I remember asking my uncle Tony, who I knew was interested in photography, if he would like to photograph a wedding.

Tony took Greg with him on a couple of these weddings and Greg told me he remembers doing that very clearly and that he liked it so much he started a photography club in Junior High and High School.

I had no idea!

Greg 13 years old

Mom, Dad, Greg, Linda and Nancy. Greg 14 years old

Greg said he went to school his freshman year at Hershey high school in Arlington Heights and then his last three years at Buffalo Grove.

He said he remembers graduating from High School and how proud he was and how proud his parents were of him.

He said he entered a junior college soon after graduation but did not graduate from that school.

Greg said he was a bit aimless at that point and a friend invited him to meet with an Army recruiter, which he did.

He members thinking, “What do I have to lose”.

He liked the visit and learned much about the military.

The recruiter asked him what he like to do and he told them, working with computers, was a fairly young field at the time.

The Amy recruiter had him take a few tests to find out his strengths and interests.

They said the Army would be a good fit for him and would train him in computers as well as electronics.

He decided to join and went through basic training.

Greg said that basic training was quite an experience all by itself.

He said he was not too surprised at how hard the drill sergeant was on all the recruits because he had watched some movies before he went in.

The Army taught him mainframe, and computer repair and made him responsible for maintaining two generators to power the computers, in a semi-van.

He remembers going back to see his mom when on leave and she would take him to church in his uniform.

She was so proud of him he said.

US Army Bases in Germany

He was stationed at different locations in the world but his favorite was in Germany where he was for 3+ years.

He said he lived on base with other German Nationals.

Greg said he made some close friends.

“I miss many of my German friends to this day” 

He remembers getting a Euro Travel Pack for the train and he would travel all over Germany for next to nothing.

He enjoyed the people and the lifestyle in German very much.

“It was more laid back than the US and more friendly” he said.

When he would sometime travel near the DMZ, the border between Germany and Russia, and the tension was always very high.

When ever there was an alert between Germany and Russia, all the US personnel were required to drop what they were doing and pare up with the German military and be ready for action.

One regret was he never got to meet any Russians.

One day, his Master Sergeant asked him if he would like to take over procuring Christmas trees for the different American bases all over Germany.

To see if he liked it, he went with his Sargent to see what it was all about.

It was so much fun that he took on that responsibility right away.

Greg said Germany goes all out celebrating Christmas.

This job took him all over Germany for a couple of years.

He met many great people in the process.

Boy Scouts in Germany would come in and decorate the trees on the bases.

Greg said he really loved this job.

Greg got the chance to drive a A1 Abrams tank

Greg got the chance to train with all kinds of automatic weapons including Grenade Launchers

Greg said he learned German right way and the language was not foreign to him because he remembers hearing his grandmother and mother speak it all the time while he was growing up.

This was something I remember also as a child and teenager. Whenever our families got together the older generation would speak German with each other.

While in the Army in Germany, the military on both sides would make sure you were proficient on many different weapons so they would pare him with different German Nationals for training and then receive a certificate.

He would learn both American and German weapons such as different automatic guns and grenade launchers.

Some machine guns would only fire off a three-round burst every time you pulled the trigger.

He said that was a hoot learning those weapons.

Greg also told me about the time they taught him how to drive an A1 Abrams tank.

He said “Not many people got a chance to do that”

He also said, the funny thing was that they would teach one side of the tread and someone else would run the other side unless they put it in automatic mode.

“The power and complexity behind that machine was amazing” he said.

He was separated from his daughter, Amanda, at this time in Germany and he tried to talk her into coming to live with him, but she did not want to go live there.

She ended up living in a foster home for a while so Greg asked for a transfer back to the United States so he could be closer to her.

Greg said “I was very sad to leave the many friends I had made and leaving Germany”

The military stationed him at Fort Campbell at the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

He retired from the Army at this location after spending 8 years in the military.

While he was stationed at Fort Campbell, Greg said he and his wife Anne bought a house and lived there for a while together with his daughter Amanda.

Greg said the US Army was very good to him.

Before he left the military, he applied for jobs in the private sector and landed a very good one doing computer repair, replacing motherboards, circuit boards, and keypunching as well as computer diagnostics. 

Greg and Matthew 2007 

Greg and Linda’s oldest son Steve. Last time we saw him in 2011. 

He said his relationship was not good with his daughter, Amanda, for many years but it improved before got sick.

I was able to gather this information on my first two interviews with Greg up to this point.

We had a third one scheduled but Greg went downhill at the hospice care very quickly.

The last conversation I had with him, he was in a lot of pain but he said he still wanted to talk because he still had information to give me.

I did not want to push it because of his frail condition.

I wish I had pushed it for his sake.

I did share my belief in Jesus Christ and what it meant to be born again from Jesus’s perspective and enter the kingdom of God.

I told him of my journey of finding God one spring and summer of 1982 and traveling up the coast of California and Oregon to a small community and church in the Little Applegate outside of Medford, Oregon.

This was a story of how I went from a nasty atheist to a believer in an Intelligent Designer and Jesus.

Greg liked my story and wanted to know more.

God had other plans for the end of this story.

I sure hope my cousin and I can finish it up together at some point.

Maybe, having lunch together on one of the moons of Jupiter.

I would like to invite my grandparents and parents to that meeting.

As I end this writing, I feel honored and blessed that my cousin Greg and I were able to connect and that he was in a place to share his life story, and that he could look back with fondness over his past.

What a journey each and every one of us are on!!

 

A Life Story Greg Reinert

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What Are the Messianics?


What Are the Messianics?


by | Apr 26, 2023 | Apologetics, Christian Thought, Messianic Jews

What Are the Messianics?

Guest Blog by Lynwood Johnson

The Messianic movement or Messianism is as old as the days in which Jesus lived in Israel and identified Himself as Israel’s promised Messiah. It is also a contemporary and growing presence throughout Israel, the United States, and other nations.

Many Christians are surprised to learn that all the New Testament writers were Messianic Jews, with the possible exception of Luke.  None of them ceased being Jews active in their synagogue communities, but rather they continued living as practicing Jews who understood Jesus’ words and attesting miracles supporting His claim of being Israel’s Messiah anticipated by numerous prophets.  We read in Acts 6:7, “And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”  Guess what?  These priests and the other ‘disciples’ were Messianic Jews.  Remember too, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were followers, and members of Judea’s highest religious authority, the Sanhedrin.

To summarize a lot of Messianic history, across the centuries there was a ‘faithful remnant’ of Jewish men (yes, men; for historic cultural reasons) who read the Hebrew Torah (the first five O.T. books) and the Tanakh (the balance of the OT) and quietly concluded that Yeshua (“Jesus”) was Israel’s promised Messiah.  To hold these views publicly meant heavy persecution and ostracism from their community. That outcome often meant loss of livelihood.

The modern Messianic movement began to take shape in the 1960s and 1970s, almost parallel with the “Jesus Movement” here in the US. A number of organizations and leaders emerged who sought to build a bridge between Judaism and Christianity with messaging appropriate to each.  To the Jewish, the message is that the concept of the Messiah was a hope and future that was alluded to in numerous places in the Jewish scriptures, and in the person of Yeshua HaNazret (Jesus of Nazareth) is the complete fulfillment of messianic prophecy.  Jewish people have only to read their scriptures for themselves to notice the connections.  Once they do, they start asking questions their rabbis would rather not answer.

To the Christian community the message is that the cradle of Christianity is Judaism. Where do we get the notion that God is One, there is no other; He has given His word and His word is authoritative?  Where do we learn our God has given His people numerous promises and He has not failed in the fulfillment of any?  The Jewish scriptures, of course.

I like to picture the Jewish/Christian differences in theology to an epic movie with an intermission.  The first part of the movie is a digest of Jewish history which tells a huge story of God calling out a man, a family, a nation a race – to be His chosen people. These chosen people reject Him repeatedly; and He in His grace rushes to forgive them, repeatedly.  We learn tons about God and His love in this first part of the movie. And we learn that the Jews are not the only ones who reject God, over and over.  We do it, too.  The Jewish story is ours, as well. 

However, come the movie’s intermission, the Jewish folks walk out.  They want nothing to do with this ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Most Jews reject the blossom, the flower (‘Lily of the Valley’) the culmination of the Father of Israel’s intention: “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29), our great Cohen HaGadol (Great High Priest) who entered the heavenly most holy place only once to remove the sins of all mankind. (Hebrews 9: 22-28)

But that’s not all.  While the Jewish people are leaving the theater at intermission, they’re passing another group coming in – the Christians!  For them, three fourths of their Bibles are somewhat interesting material, but the real juice begins at Matthew, Chapter One.

To put it succinctly, Jewish people and Christians could both strongly benefit from deeper study of both.  The ‘New Testament’ is an elaboration and fulfillment of the Old.  When one reads the Old Testament though a lens of pattern recognition it is amazing what God has implicitly put into His great story. 

A quick example:  Passover and the death angel passing over.  Fathers of Hebrew households were given specific instructions through Moses on what to do. (Genesis 12) The instructions included slaughtering the lamb, draining its blood into a basin, and daubing the lamb’s blood with hyssop on the doorposts and lentil of their doors (lentil is the horizontal part of the door frame.

Of course, some blood would drop to the ground beneath the two doorposts, as well as from the lentil.  3 puddles of blood.  Think: a crown of thorns and spiked ankles. Spiked wrists. Hyssop. Sour wine.

The death angel “passes over” every one who has put their faith, trust, life – in this Man.

For Messianics, Passover is our “Easter.”  The killing of the lambs foreshadows Calvary.  The “Lamb of God” took our place there, for us. Once. For all. By our faith in Him and trust in what He has done in our behalf, we find the complete freedom He promises.

As said, the above is just one of many examples.

So, what are Messianic Congregations like? Well, like 90% of Christian churches, they’re small – 30 – 150 people or so; with a few rather large assemblies.  There are an estimated 300 Messianic congregations or synagogues in the U.S.  Thirty years ago there where hardly any Messianic gatherings in Israel.  Now, there are about 200.  It is amazing what God is doing in these last of the latter days!

Messianic congregations are unified in the mission of seeing Jewish people come to embrace Yeshua as their Savior, Lord, and God.  God’s chosen people are our favorite people! 

The worship service itself is very similar to synagogue order of service. 

This is very comfortable for Jewish people checking us out. Christian visitors remark regarding the strongly Biblical message they are familiar with, and almost stunned by the added depth of the “Old Testament” foundations and parallels.  A remark often heard: “How come I never heard such depth of teaching in our church?”

 

Who would a Messianic congregation be a great fit for? 

For couples in which one is Jewish and the other is Christian. Both are comfortable in this space.  Also for Jewish people who have an awakened ‘itch’ that there is something more to their faith than what they’ve been hearing from their rabbis.

 And, similarly for Christian believers who have a restlessness wherein they sense the Spirit has something more. 

And, truly He does. 

Lynwood Johnson holds the Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has pastored churches in Illinois, Michigan, and Phoenix.  He is a Messianic Teacher at Tree of Life Congregation, Scottsdale, Arizona.  In his spare time he cleans his garage.

**You Can Watch The Podcast Here.**

What Are the Messianics?

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