no problem, I didn't realize it would take so long for you to respond to it haha

hahaha that sounds like a plan, hopefully we'll be able to find some middle ground lol

Politics have always turned me off. I just cannot stand how ugly they make people, my cousin is fresh out of Vassar and she's a classic bleeding heart liberal. I really haven't even taken much of an interest in the election because my friends and family love to bring it up to antagonize me about my stance on abortions and the war. gah! I don't know how you had the patience to deal with childish adults like that. Blackmailing someone using their wife? How much lower can you go on the scum scale? yikes.

Ahh good old Pennsylvania! That is a nice inbetweener because the winters are mild compared to NY, but the summers are nice. College searching is stressing me out. I have a good chunk of money set aside so that's not a problem per se, but I bet I'll be going to a SUNY school. I have no idea what major I would be going for either. My calc teacher always reminds me how she wasted her undergrad doing accounting and she had to go back for teaching. I'm too young to be planning for a career! haha

Hmm I don't know if I agree with Solzhenitsyn then. Socialism is not always bad and communism in its true form is almost a good idea lol I think our politics allow for materialism, you cannot expect people not to succomb to greed when that's the American dream. to have the best of everything. However, I believe the best government would be under Jesus

Now I really was going to reply to this tomorrow, since I have a giantttt calculous test tomorrow, however, I needed to address the verses you sent! lol I agree 100% that one must submit to Jesus to gain salvation, but the heritage of the bible is what separates the moral values of Christianity FROM islam, judaism, buddhism, hinduism, etc. You may not be able to tell that I am a christian and my friend katie is a buddhist by how I live my life (if i live like a normal christian) because the moral laws are universal. That does not sound hard like the bible proclaims...my Dad used to say he believed in Jesus, but he sacrificed nothing for his "faith". So I believe merely proclaiming Jesus' divinity gets you nowhere. You need the whole package, that does not mean I believe you need to follow every law to get to heaven, but you must acknowledge the plan God set out for us. It wasn't created to simply be ignored after Christ walked the earth. His plan is not OVER yet, thus his laws are still in effect for all of Israel.

Woah woah woah! lol I do not view Romans 2:25 that way at all. I do not see how it brings down the law. I interpret it as encouraging against people for keeping these laws if they mean nothing spiritually. My friend is an ethnic Jew, but he doesn't believe in god, yet he keeps the commands. This is I think what this scripture warns against. If your intentions are worthless, so is the act, why bother?

New Christians may have met on Sundays, but I am positive they kept the sabbath as well. all communities did. When the word was being sent to the gentiles, only a few laws were imposed because it was assumed the converts would study the rest at Shabbat services. That was the spiritual enrichment of the week back then; you learned from the best, as a congregation, with the blessings of God on his sabbath. And even if that was the case, Paul's actions do not overpower God's original commands. Paul kept these laws, he even affirmed this in Acts 24:14. In Colassians 2:16, if you read this from lets say Jesus' perspective, (The jewish heritage) you see that being a Jew/Torah keeper was hard. You're in the middle of a pagan world and you have tons of laws and holy days the others scoff at. They didn't understand the discipline of the Jews, it was flat out weird. Think of how terrifying it would be to be a convert in that time. Your family wouldn't understand, so I see this as an encouragement for being the separate ones of society. Don't give up or be hurt by the riddicule of others who don't believe in keeping the Sabbath holy, who abstain from pork and shellfish, who celebrate Sukkot,etc. Because if you look at it from your p.o.v, I could be celebrating Samhein and you couldn't be able to judge me. I would be straight up sinning! It cannot work from that perspective.

The vision of animals is symbolic. The passage isn't speaking of meats, it's speaking of people. Pagans were as taboo as pork, the jews separated themselves from the public. That's what I've come to the conclusion of, I don't think God would erradicate the dietary laws in that manner...why would he kill two birds with one stone when he could flat out tell us 'Interact with strangers, spread my word' and then 'Eat a ham on christmas'. I think it's stretching it a bit to think he'd just slip it in a dream and hope Peter saw both meanings.

I'm a little tired and this took a while to think out, so if I didn't touch on something, just bring it up again. I look foreward to your response muhahaha jk lmao

you worked in politics? that's quite amazing for someone so young! Oh wow you're moving to Virginia? That's so weird, last June I was trying to make myself a 5 year plan (lol) and I had mapped out a nice small VA town near my friend which conviniently was near some MJ churches ha but then I found out Virginia has brown recluse spiders and after researching them I almost decided I needed to move to Siberia. I would love to leave the Northeast...but the farther down you go, the more reptiles/insects/snakes you find it seems! gah! the price one must pay for beautiful weather haha I do like the falls here in NY though. Apple picking and the leaves, I guess I need a happy medium between the cold and warm climates lol

oh boy that's a mouthful! I'll need to wikepedia that later, what were the points that you were surprised you agreed with? I'm not familiar with this commencement address at all lol but it must be good if it made someone like you question your angle.

I am very by the book as well, so your opinion could really help me. However, I don't understand the idea that because certain parts of the law were fulfilled, they're gone. Rom. 3:31 supports that entirely. Jesus came to fulfill, not abolish, and I know people will say that the fulfillment frees them, but I just see a lack of concern and even joy that they don't have to even know the old laws. That to me, shows me the law has been abolished.

Matthew 7:23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'   

Matthew 5:18 because I tell you with certainty that until heaven and earth
disappear, not one letter or one stroke of a letter will disappear from
the Law until everything has been accomplished.

How can we know sin without the law? And as far as I am concerned, everything has not been accomplished. The Christian way is supposed to be a difficult path. The straight and narrow is narrow for a reason lol Muslims and Jews follow the same moral laws we do, but some would say that they will not see the kingdom of God. God had a heritage in the beginning. Jesus lived the perfect life, the life we are supposed to emulate, but he never spoke of getting rid of the laws. He did say to love God & that we have to give up everything to gain what God has to offer.

The sabbath is mentioned in the 10 commandments and it was always a given as to which day it was. God rested on the 7th day and he sanctified it for us, not Sunday, despite the change. Even if you feel that law is not engrained within us, neither are household chores, but we follow them because we love our parents and we want to please them. The laws are mostly obedience, do you fully give up every convinience in your life to obey what God has commanded? Let me tell you, it is very hard to pass up lobster, christmas ham, marshmallows, etc, but God commanded abstinence from such foods. What makes moral laws natural to keep and 'lifestyle' laws so alien?

I believe all the laws are applicable lol though I must admit, I have not yet fine tuned my wardrobe with the whole fiber thing. However, it has been done. lmao I believe it's just linen and wool that cannot be mixed? I have a lot to tackle in the future, but I'm relatively new to the faith considering many people I know have been raised in either an Orthodox household, an MJ one, or a mix of Christian and Jewish practices. So it's kind of a sad and lonely journey, but it is entirely worth it I feel.

and the MJs are quite pro-Jews lol They are actually more forgiving towards them than they are to their Christian counterparts because Jews are maintaining YHVH's laws. They believe they have a purpose in God's plan, without the doubt of the Jews, Jesus could not have died the way he did, for his people. Maybe the Jews will be the first to have their eyes opened when God returns? I really do not know. They were chosen for a reason, and they have survived thus far in history...they did regain Israel and are holding strong while in the midst of an angry Islamic Ummah lol

Sorry for not responding, I had a busy weekend

Yeah my Paris expirience sadly proved the American stigma is alive and well lol but I've never been to NYC before which is weird cause I don't live too far away...haha. Hmmm...haven't been to Buffalo either, come to think of it. I don't travel around NY much sadly, I actually don't like the state much. High taxes, Regents tests, and horrid winters lol

I've heard about Gulag Archipelaego before, from a world history teacher I believe lol She couldn't even get through it all. But it does seem interesting.

I'm curious as to how you view "keeping his commands" though. Like how do you decipher what still applies to your life as a Christian? I know that Christ's death saves us from the law, but how do you know for sure that certain parts have been done away with? This is merely for my own study, I'm not questioning your faith lol

And no you don't have to be ethnically jewish to be a member of an mj church. The bible says gentiles who accept christ are grafted into Israel and those who follow this way of life believe this is the Church God was talking about. It was never about bloodlines because Christ came for the world.

Haha don't feel bad, I tried speaking french in Paris last year and somehow they caught on I wasn't French....lmao but oh well live and learn.

I became interested in Judaism after I had finished the Diary of Anne Frank when I was young, but I never realized that the faith had anything to do with Christianity. Catholic school taught me everything backwards x_x haha. I think what really made me realize was looking back at history and noticing how this originally small minority survived hundreds of years of persecution with their faith in tact. They must be doing something right, they're obviously a vital part of God's plan.

I always struggled with the command to 'be separate' from the world, I thought I'd have to become Amish or something, but when you look at it from the MJ standpoint it's like a missing piece of the puzzle has been found, it makes perfect sense. The original Christians kept the laws (but I agree the animal sacrifice is done away with lol) and the 10 commandments flat out say keep the sabbath holy, yet somehow the day has switched. I struggle with these discrepancies because I don't want them to rule my faith, but I worry about them because I simply want to please God. So if abstaining from pork, keeping the Saturday sabbath, celebrating Sukkot & his feasts pleases him, I'll do it.

I use Yeshua in prayer or in discussion with my MJ community, but it seems to make Christians I meet on here or my family (lol) uncomfortable. And yea kind of, mostly the married mj men I've met have a beard, some of the devout singles do too. Its from Lev. 19:27 I believe...but not everyone does it. People follow what they feel comfortable following. Some christian women cover their heads, some don't. kind of like that...lolI hope that makes sense. But if you look at other faiths, jews, muslims, and anabaptists follow it.

I get tons of angry responses from almost everyone. People say I'm legalistic or something, or just weird. I think its sad that the Lord's heritage is now so alien to his people...Jesus lived this way, he was the PERFECT example of how God wants us to live...how can we not strive for that? I try to eat kosher too, I do my best. But if you don't feel convicted to do it, then don't worry about it. The sacrifice should come from the heart but you're interest may be a hint!

ahh I just wrote a novel! haha. you're very fun to talk to though!

Oh I know! I was going to buy Rosetta Stone, not realizing how expensive the program was lol I might as well buy myself a plane ticket to Germany and force myself to learn There's always college though. I'll take you up on that offer when I can ;)

Ahh what a coincidence! Well the main differences are obviously the observances of the laws and holy days, but I've also noticed the attitudes towards obediance. 'Mainstream' Christians constantly try to fight observance and play it down like it never mattered, whereas MJ's do it to show their love for God, to obey him the way Jesus obeyed, and to separate themselves from the world and sacrifice a "normal" life. I've been trying this lifestyle for a while now and it's not for the weak of faith; its truly a challenge. I think that's why Christians try and crush it...I can't find scripture to support that a section of the law is gone while some parts are still solid.

what first interested you in messianic judaism?

haha thanks for the guestbook comment! I made this account a while ago, and I just started usingggg it. My german is pretty bad as well, since I am actually learning it from a German teacher at my school on the side. (I take french...and wish I could take both)

Nice to meet you though! My name's Nikki

Thank you so much!!!  :)  I'll see what I can do!

Hello Steve.

Thank you for the recent comments.  In regards to your comment about my Eschatology and Israel, I do not hold to the view that the little Jewish state is "regathered Israel" that so many televangelists seem to say.  And I don't think much of 1948...  I won't leave a big long message here but will point to my "true Israel" video on Godtube.com.  I have a 9 minute video that speaks on this very issue.  On Godtube.com I am DrSteveZ.  (on my page I have a link to my Godtube account). To make a long story short Christiandom is Israel under the New Covenant! And the blood of Jesus has replaced the Blood of sheep...

Thank you

Pastor SZ

agree on the dislike of gas prices