Entering a New Era---Being the Sound

This weekend I spoke at the N.H. Aglow Retreat.  Part of what I shared had to do with a Breakthrough Sound.  We talked about restoring the sound of joy and victory in our tent and releasing that so we will be a people He can come and agree with.  We will then be the agents on earth to make manifest the Kingdom of God. 

Here is what I think is the most significant “sign” that has happened in recent days.  Do any of you remember Felix Baumgartner jumping from a hot air balloon at the edge of space last fall?  I believe, with the Felix Baumgartner jump on October 14, 2012, we entered a new era.  He was the first man who broke the sound barrier with his own body and it has gone virtually unnoticed by the prophetic community.  Until now, the only way the sound barrier could be broken was with, or in, a vehicle.  In other words, Felix Baumgartner was the first man to reach supersonic speed in his own body, as he fell from 24 miles above the earth.

Here is the condensed version of my research turned into a short synopsis of what I see:

Firstly, October 13^th (the day before the jump) was the first day that the yearly Torah readings in the Jewish calendar returned to Genesis 1:1.  As we know, the first chapters in Genesis are all about the Garden of Eden.  These Genesis readings, if we are going by the Jewish calendar, began the day before the jump. Felix, in Hebrew, means “happy, fortunate” and Baumgartner means “nurseryman”-- one who owned or worked in an orchard.  His mother’s name is Ava, a derivative of Eve. 

I believe we as the church, are returning to the revelation of God’s intentional design to happily care for the original garden (Israel) and in a larger context, the earth and take dominion so that God can reign.  It is time for these scriptures to be fulfilled:

For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. Is. 51:3.

Jer. 31:12, Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Ez. 36:35, And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities [are become] fenced, [and] are inhabited.

Isaiah 51:11, Therefore, the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy [shall be] upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; [and] sorrow and mourning shall flee away.  

The song of victory is powerful enough to bring restoration of God’s original intention.

Baumgartner jumped from an altitude 24 miles above the earth.  The number twenty-four, being a multiple of twelve, is the number associated with the heavenly government and worship, of which the earthly form in Israel (David’s Tabernacle) was only a copy.  So, this restoration is about the kingdom of God being firmly established on earth as it is in heaven.

24= two Hebrew letters kaph-deleth which was signified by an open palm in the act of opening the door of priesthood and the sanctuary of God. 

You know, even Jesus could only enter the outer court of the Temple when He was on the earth.  He was the High Priest in the spiritual sense, but He never stepped beyond the veil.  We are given the opportunity to understand the greater things that are now available to us; full privilege as priests to live in that dimension.

To give Baumgartner’s jump more significance; it came into an alignment with two other events on the same day, both having to do with breaking the sound barrier.  Because of inclement weather delays, Felix’s first attempt had to be aborted and consequently rescheduled.  This caused his jump to align with the exact date on which Chuck Yeager had broken the sound barrier in an airplane in 1947.

Also, the space shuttle Endeavor breaks the sound barrier multiple times as it descends in a controlled fall.  It came to its final resting place in Los Angeles on that same date, also due to unforeseen delays.  The alignment of these three events has caused me to be curious about what God might be saying. 

I have also noted that the day after this jump, was the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles on the Jewish calendar.  This has so many implications for us today.  I wish I could concentrate more on it, but, in a nutshell, the Feast of Tabernacles, in Jewish circles is considered THE feast.  It symbolizes God coming and dwelling in the midst.  It symbolizes God being married to His people.  It symbolizes the ingathering of the nations in response to Israel being a teacher nation who lives out the commandments of God to be a light to the nations.  There is no other festival or feast that has as its commandment a sound of JOY being released.  It is the culmination feast, celebrating all God is and has intended for His people. 

My take on Felix’s jump is, we are being given an opportunity to understand that the time of human “endeavor” to bring a sound of heaven into the earth realm has come to its final resting place.  We no longer have to have a vehicle through which to bring the sound of heaven to earth.  We have now entered a new era where it is possible to BE the sound; not just BRING the sound.  The door is open for us in a new way to operate in the high priestly calling.  We are being given the ability to become one with the eternal sound as we access the sanctuary of God inside us, and release the sound from the place where God tabernacles within us.  We instinctively know and can recognize the sound, because it is part of our DNA. One of the sounds that we need to understand and incorporate into our own unique calling for today, is that Israel and the Jewish people have been given the commission to be a light to the nations.  What do you think it means when God says that salvation is from the Jews?  Is there maybe a piece that is missing in their understanding before they can fulfill that commission more fully?  How are they going to get that piece back?  How can we release a sound that will restore that revelation?

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Felix’s goal was to reach the edge of space and break the speed of sound.  He had a dream. He had a goal bigger than life that drove him, and one for which he was willing to die trying to achieve.  Do you have a goal like that?  When I received the understanding of Israel in the plan of God, one of the thoughts I had was, “This is something worth living for and something worth dying for.” 

As citizens of heaven, one of our goals is to be that breaker company, with the adventuring and pioneering spirit, which will release a sound to awaken and restore the prophetic purpose Israel has been given.  This will cause them to once again, BE the sound to the Nations that God originally intended. It will pave the way for Him to come back and tabernacle with us here.  While that is the ultimate goal, we also have the additional commission to BE the sound in whatever sphere of influence we have been given.  Our personal call; our personal sound, and God’s ultimate intention are intricately woven together.

Some people, after hearing the story of Felix have asked, “Why would he do such a dangerous thing?  He would have to be crazy?”  It seems foolish to those people.  We are going to be asked step out in the understanding we have, and put ourselves in situations that will fail miserably if God does not show up.  We are going to have to make the decision to be “all in.”  Esther...if I perish, I perish.  Ruth...I don’t know what the future holds, but where you go, I will go…Peter…where would I go…You have the words of eternal life…

I like to say that today’s crazy is tomorrow’s cutting edge, and next week’s normal.  I want to hang with the pioneers and the “birthers” who are willing to look crazy so that something new can happen: something God has had on His heart for a very long time.  I believe the next thing we need to turn our attention to, is helping creation (which encompasses Israel, the nations, individual people as well as the nature) get her sound back; get their identity back.  When we ARE the sound of joy and gladness, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody, Creation can take its rightful place and we can all return to the Eden of the heart of God. 

Heartbeat of Heaven

How long, O Lord ‘til you come to Jerusalem?  This is the heartbeat of heaven! This is the cry of the nations! We hear the Spirit and we are the Bride saying, "Come, Lord Jesus!

I heard these lyrics today as I listened to Jaye Thomas leading worship at IHOP.  They followed this song:

Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

I was touched that Jaye Thomas had this as the culmination of progression of songs in a worship set for One Thing.  It struck me that this is the revelation and the call to all of us as believers.  We all need to have an understanding that it all began and it all ends in Jerusalem.  What if, every time we worshipped, we had this in the back of our minds; a larger picture than just connecting with God for an intimate experience for ourselves? Yes, it is important to fall in love with Jesus and have that love ever growing, but for what purpose?  He has something on His heart as the Jewish Prince of Heaven.  He has a part of the story yet to fulfill and we are each intimately connected with it thru our faith in Him.  
 
What is the purpose of faith?  Is it a commodity we have just to use for the things we want and need here and now, or is it made richer and fuller when we connect to the original and eternal purpose and keep it always in the forefront of everything we do?  The fuller things of the Kingdom seem to be accessible only through self sacrifice.  We trade our own interests for those of His heart and we are taken on a journey that is far greater than we could have believed for on our own. 
The God who sits on the throne chose to step down off that place and take on the garments of humility.  People didn’t recognize him then, and they don’t recognize us when we choose a similar path where another’s desire is our first love.  We are invisible because it is the cause that drives us, not the need to be validated.  

There is an accepted but myopic way of worship that is, if I am honest, deceptively mostly about me.  It may feel like it is about Him, but it is about having a close encounter so that I feel connected and God can speak to me.   What if we looked at Jerusalem as the hinge on which the door of eternity swings?  Would we then incorporate an urgency into our worship to see Jerusalem come into all she is destined to be?  When will you return to Jerusalem, Lord?  We want you to come home.

We want Him to come and sit on the throne of His father David and we want Him to make Jerusalem a praise in the earth, so she will cry out, “Come home, Jesus!”  Just as we have made a place for Him in our hearts, and He has come to be at home there, so Jerusalem will be made a place where He will come to rest.  

Is this the cry of the nations?  Is it the cry of Jerusalem?  Does the church hear the cry of His heart and do we catch the heartbeat of Heaven?  How powerful that sound will be when the church takes up the lament and enables Jerusalem and the Jewish people to release the cry that will invite Him to come home.  Are the nations groaning yet?  Are we groaning yet, “When will you return?”  Is there a cry in us saying, “When will you come back and take up the throne of David your father and rule and reign from Jerusalem?”  

We all know what it means to be homesick.  We all know what it means to miss someone we love who is living far away.  Jesus, because He lives within us, is able to share His feelings about Jerusalem with us.  Can we put aside our own selfish need to connect to have an experience with Him, and turn our worship times into times when we actually ask Him what is on His heart?  

I know there are many issues “on the heart of God”.  We are only able to carry them when we are connected with Him in an intimate way so that He shares them with us.  There are so many needs that seem better accepted and understood than the issue of Jerusalem, and yet it is of primary importance in scripture and the final piece to be put in place that will ultimately bring Him back to earth. 

It is time to ask for understanding of how praying for the Peace of Jerusalem, the City of the Living God, is not just a command, but also part of our inheritance.  It is time to ask for revelation of how we are to impact the heart of God, and join the cry of the nations for Jerusalem to be made a praise in the earth.  We are crucial to God’s plan being fulfilled and tremendously privileged to be trusted with the longings of His heart for an End Time fulfillment of His word to Abraham and the Jewish people. 

Can we make a place for Him in our worship where He can tabernacle with us and share His feelings, His longings and the ultimate intentions of His heart?  What if our hearts embraced a house of prayer model similar to Isaiah 56:6, “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant-- these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”  

This is a house of prayer inclusive of all selfless peoples who join themselves to the heart of God to love what He loves.  We are the foreigners who are joining with Him and finding the joy of knowing our sacrifices are acknowledged and accepted by Him even as He is bringing us to His holy mountain.

Jerusalem: City of Gold

The first time I traveled to Israel, I landed in the afternoon, which is the best plan, in my opinion.  It allows your biological clock to set itself for the new time zone because, if you are like me, sleeping on the plane is fitful at best.  Therefore, when you land and travel to the hotel, it is time for dinner and then an early retirement.  This has always set me up for being refreshed and ready to go the next morning with no jet lag.

On that first trip, we were approaching Jerusalem at sunset.  We climbed the road leading up to the city and as we neared, there were places we could catch glimpses of it. It was the most amazing sight, and a very overwhelming experience to see the City dressed in her gold raiment peeking in and out of the trees and sides of the mountain as we got closer and closer; until finally, she appeared in all her glory.

The city is made up of buildings constructed of pale limestone, so when the sun sets, the stones become a radiant gold color.  I was overwhelmed to observe the City of Gold that the Bible speaks of.  I don’t know what I envisioned in my mind as I read those words in the Bible.  I guess I thought it was a figure of speech: but, not at all.  It is a very real phenomenon, and a very moving one for anyone with a love for what God loves.  He often portrays in the natural what is true in the spiritual.

Jerusalem is called the great and holy City, the bride of the Lamb in Revelation 21:9 and the city was of pure gold in Rev. 21:18.  Catching a glimpse of that City; that Bride in her beauty, and feeling the passion of God for that place, was a very new experience for me.  I couldn’t stop the tears that were cascading down my face.  There was a flood of emotion as I realized that God had paid my way because He wanted me to experience what He loves and share it with me.

In my five trips to Israel, that was the only time so far, that I have arrived in Israel at that hour of day, and proceeded to Jerusalem.  The other times I have gone to a different city first, so have not had the same experience again.  I sometimes feel sorry for those who travel up to Jerusalem in the morning or afternoon instead of early evening.  I actually thought the tour company we traveled with, planned the first trip to give each of us that experience, but I guess it was just a special thing that God sometimes schedules and shares with a few people for whatever sovereign reasons He has for those things.

I will always remember and cherish that first experience.  There is nothing like seeing Jerusalem for the first time, with the fire of God on it, and the Bridal beauty displayed for all to enjoy.  I am very grateful He decided to share that with me.

Memorials to the Old Man

When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we become a new creation. When we are baptized into Christ, our old man is cut off, and we enter in to the resurrection life of Christ.  The old man is dead and we can now live in newness of life.  It is a completely different way of being than we have experienced before.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to remain in the place of new life.

Giving credit to my husband for this illustration, I want to paint a picture of why we need to renew our minds about the reality of our new position in Christ.  When Jesus died, He died AS us not FOR us.  We are now dead.  The life we live is no longer our own, but it is Christ who lives life in us.

So, the question is, why do we still sin?

We fall into old ways of being and thinking, because there are memories of the old nature that are still alive and drawing us into a false relationship with the old man.

Here is the illustration:

A woman had a child she loved very much.  The child died in a tragic accident.  The woman keeps the child’s bedroom exactly as it was when the child was alive.  All the trophies are still on the bureau.  All the pictures are still on the wall, the clothes are still in the closet, the stuffed animals still on the bed.  The bedroom has become a memorial to the dead child.  She is trying to keep the dead child alive in her mind.  Every time the woman passes the room, she looks in and remembers the child she loved.  The memories take her back, if only for a moment, to the time the child was alive.

We also have memorials (memories) keeping the old man alive in our minds.  When we experience something that reminds us of your old nature, it is like the woman viewing a trophy of the dead child.  It is just activating a memory of the child; it is not bringing the child back to life.  When those temptations or memories surface, we have to remind ourselves they are just shadows of what has already died. 

Temptation appeals to the dead man.  However, it is just a memory of a habit.  It is a false pleasure or a perversion of the life of God.  For instance, the smell of smoke sometimes appeals to the appetites of a former smoker.  It has the potential to activate the nature of the old man, but even if he indulges in the habit of the old man, that is not his true identity.  The fact remains; he is still dead.

The woman can go into the room of the dead child and she can laugh over good memoires.  She can cry over things she wished could be different and re-live experiences in her mind.  That doesn’t change the fact that the child is still dead.  So, when temptation comes, it is just a memory of the old man.  When we recognize that we are participating in a habit, we can remind ourselves that it is just a place of memorial, and the authority it had over our lives has been removed. 

The new creation man has the power to choose new life in Christ.  We never stop being a new creation.  We never stop being IN the new man. 

When we sin, it is like taking a picture of the old man and gazing at it.  We get confused that it is still our picture.  We activate a memory that wants that old man to be alive, just like the woman would like the child to be alive.   Our habits are like that much loved child which the woman cannot let go of.  Continual renewal of the mind will enable us to live on THIS side of the cross; in the resurrection.  The old man is dead.  The new man is seated with Christ.  His life is our life.  Our life is His life.  We need to let go of the old man to fully step into our future.   

The New Man is our identity.  Our new identity is not in what we do, even if we do new things.  Our identity is that we are a new creation and we now have full access to all the resurrection power that Jesus purchased when He was raised from the dead.  When He was raised, we were raised in Him.

When we find ourselves in sin, all we need to do is apologize to God for forgetting who we are, and fall back into our identity as a much loved son; a new creation in Him.  It is as easy as just starting over again to walk in newness of life.

Psalm 84 and My Latest Visit to Israel

Psalm 84 and My Visit to Israel

This trip to Israel was different than the previous three times I have visited.  There were no deep experiences, no profound revelations and no visitations.  The pace was slower and we spent more time in Jerusalem.  However, an understanding began to form inside me.

I found myself becoming familiar with where things were in relation to each other.  I knew how to get to the Cardo from the Jaffa Gate, and walked there by myself.  I only became disconcerted for a moment when trying to confirm my plan with a woman who had been to Israel at least ten times.  She didn’t know how to get to the Cardo from where we were.  She assured me that I was headed in the general direction, however.  I decided to go with my gut and ventured off.

I also knew where a bathroom was located when someone needed one, and where to find an ATM machine.  When traveling on the bus, my friend asked if we were passing a place we had visited last year.  I assured her it was the same place and that next door was the place we were planning to visit that evening. 

To those of you who enjoy reading maps or are naturally good at directions, this may not seem particularly significant.  I have never included myself in either one of those categories, often calling myself “geographically challenged.”  I am happy to put myself in the care of those who know where they are going.  So, it was a delightful experience to find that I knew my way around somewhat.  I was beginning to feel like I was on home turf.

In the weeks before the trip, I kept hearing the phrase of scripture from Ps. 122, “My feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem”.  Since I have returned home, I could change that to, “My heart is longing for your gates, O Jerusalem”.  There is not an hour that goes by that my thoughts have not turned to that place.  This time, I think I left my heart in God’s neighborhood.  I think I left my heart in God’s backyard.

David had the same sentiment in Psalm 84.  He said:

            How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!

            My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord;

            My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

            Even the sparrow has found a nest for her young—a place near your altar,

            O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

            Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

            They are ever praising you.

It is amazing that you can have two homes.  I have a natural home here in Massachusetts, but I have a spiritual connection that is becoming more and more real in Jerusalem.  It really feels like home.  I think that is because when I go there I am taking Him home, too.  He comes home in me and the feelings I have are His for that place.

Earthquake at the Crucifixion

In the beginning, out of the personality of His  great love, God created the heavens and the earth.  Out of the passion of His heart, God made a place where He wanted to come and dwell.  First, He created Adam out of the dust of this earth.  He took some of the very substance of the place of His dwelling (earth, adam in Hebrew) to create a being who was of the place, named after the place, and could have relationship with Him.  He gave that place to mankind. (The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth He has given to man.)

We know that the first Adam had one assignment with two parts; take care of the place, while taking dominion: conquering for God.  Adam’s assignment was to rule in such a way that God could indeed dwell with him on the earth.  Before that could happen, Adam needed to take dominion over anything on earth that was in opposition.  He needed to establish the authority God had given him over the earth.  The task had already been accomplished in the Spirit, since Jesus was crucified before the foundations of the earth, but God wanted a visible manifestation of that fact, through one made of the substance. 

The place from which one originates, always gives one authority in that place.

Because Adam abdicated his authority and gave it to the devil, there was a need for a Second Adam to come in time, and be born into the place, and of the place.   His assignment was to do what had never been done before; to manifest on earth, what had already been accomplished in His heart. 

Immanuel came to the earth, and took on the same quality of being.  He was made of the dust of the earth.  He turned Himself inside out and became the creation.  He knew what we are now learning, “if you can see it; you can have it”.  He saw Himself as having already accomplished the intention of His heart, and He wanted to walk it out in demonstration, to manifest the victory.

At the crucifixion, there was an earthquake and the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  In Jewish culture, when the father hears of the death of his son, he tears his garment in a visible demonstration of the grief of his heart.  Kriah is a Hebrew word meaning "tearing." It refers to the act of tearing one's clothes. This rending is a striking expression of grief and anger at the loss of a loved one.

Kriah is an ancient tradition. When Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead, he tore his garments (Genesis 37:34). Likewise, in II Samuel 1:11 we are told that King David and all the men with him, took hold of their clothes and rent them upon hearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan. Job too, in grieving for his children, stood up and rent his clothes (Job 1:20).  Even today, a cut is made on the left side of the clothing for parents--over the heart.  As the tear or cut is made, the family recites the following blessing:

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam dayan ha'emet.
Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, the True Judge.

The Father’s heart for His Son is revealed to us in this picture.  The veil in the temple, shielding the Holy of Holies, was torn open to reveal how the Father felt at the moment of Jesus’ death.  There was no longer a covering over the precious place Jesus held.  The grief of having to turn away from looking at His son when Jesus voluntarily took on the sin of earth, was demonstrated for those who had eyes to see.

The earth itself responded to the death of Jesus with a tearing apart that was recorded in the Bible.  At the point of death, all hope for earth to be the dwelling place of God with man was lost. The earth shook and the rocks were split. The place of God’s dwelling was rent asunder in much the same way as the veil in the temple was torn.  Creation-- the earth--which is of Jesus, for Jesus and thru Jesus, and is held together in Him, (Col.1:16), was rent in two, travailing in grief.

Jesus descended into the dwelling place of the author of death, the apparent victor.  He confronted him with victory, and rightfully took possession of the keys to the earth; an earth man, taking ownership once again.  When he arose, Jesus gave the keys back again to those of Adam’s descendants, to go forth with the same commission He gave the first Adam.  Just as Jesus had authority to conquer, so we have the same authority to kick the opposition in the teeth, and get rid of him.

The earth is still groaning today for those who can picture the victory that has been imparted to them in their DNA.  The earth is still travailing for the ones made of the stuff of the earth and of His heart, who can legislate the victory.  They are of the earth and have authority there because they have been handed the keys.  When they see it, they can have it.

It is interesting to note that before the earthquake, at the time of the crucifixion, the Sanhedrin, who were the legislative body of the Jews, met in a chamber called the Chamber of Hewn Stones located near the Holy Place.  One of their functions was to judge capital offenses.  However, at the time of Jesus, they also tried to make the case of treason against Rome. Therefore, when they wanted to get rid of Jesus, they had to appeal to Pilate, a Roman governor. Members of the Sanhedrin also went behind the scenes and stirred up the crowds to ask for the release of Barabbas when Pilate gave them a choice of whom to let go.

After the crucifixion, the Sanhedrin was forced to leave the Chamber of Hewn Stones, located near the Holy Place in the Temple.  They moved to a location called The Trading Station on the Temple Mount.  The Trading Station was outside the Temple; a much less favorable spot.  Many sources note the Sanhedrin would not have done this voluntarily, nor would Herod have dared to require it.

Sources also indicate the move may have been necessitated by damage to the Chamber, from the earthquake, rendering it unsafe structurally.  There are also sources remarking that the lintel in the Temple was broken, splintered and fell.  This stone was some 30 feet long and may have weighed 30 tons.

In any case, it appears that the last time the Sanhedrin was able to seek the death penalty was for the crucifixion.  After that, the power to judge capital offenses was taken from them, with the Romans retaining sole right of capital punishment. 

Apparently, the earthquake also rendered judgment on those who were opposed to the plan of God. 

Communion

When talking about intimacy with God and having God’s heart for Israel; communion is a natural outflow of that.  It is an easy transition to make when we join hearts with Jesus because joining heart to heart means loving what He loves.  Israel is what he loves.  Jerusalem is where He will establish His throne and the Jewish people carry his DNA.  

I was at the skate park, waiting in the car, meditating and praying while my son and his friend enjoyed their scooters and skateboards.  I was sitting under a maple tree and noticed it had two trunks that shared a common root system.  It was hard to tell whether they were two separate trees that grew tightly together and became joined, or were, indeed one tree that had separated into two.

However, about two feet from the ground, the trunks separated and became two distinct trunks with a space of a couple of inches between them.  They grew parallel for about 6 or 7 feet, and then began to grow toward one another.  Not only that, they began to twist together.  At the point of their joining, it appeared that they were embracing; kissing, even—sharing life.

         

This began to remind me of the Jew and Gentile—the One New Man.  We share a common root.  Christianity was birthed from Judaism.  You can have Judaism without having Christianity, but you cannot have Christianity without Jewish roots.  The root of Judaism supports the trunk of Christianity.

Together, we share the same prophets, priests, kings and Jewish history. The entire Church was Jewish until Peter, a Jew, got the revelation that Gentiles could receive salvation and Paul, also a Jew, took the message of the Gospel throughout Asia and Europe.

Just as that tree near the skate park had one trunk, so we have one and the same heritage!  Jesus came to fulfill every jot and tittle of the law to make it fuller, not do away with it, and not do away with Judaism.  When the Gentiles received the gospel, they were grafted into everything the Jews had—the prophets, the promises, the covenants.

Only during the Middle ages did the tree begin to separate and the Jews go one way and the Church, another.  For years there has been ignorance and even arrogance on the part of the church; lording it over the Jewish people for their temporary rejection and blindness to the Gospel.  Instead there should be deep appreciation of the heritage and the heart and dedication that has kept God at the center of life for centuries.  There would be no hope of the promises of God ever being fulfilled, if the Jews had not kept faith in God’s Word to them as a people.         

God has dealt severely with the Jewish people throughout history—loving them—leading them—correcting them—always with a future in view—an ultimate time when He would gather them to Him as His own and they would recognize Him. 

As this present age draws to a close, Jew and Gentile are being drawn together, coming closer and closer to being united in direction, vision, and purpose.  Each is recognizing the need for the other.  Just as the church cannot exist without her Jewish heritage, so now, the Jew cannot go forward without the help, support and prayer of the church.

As we begin to embrace our Jewish heritage and the calling to the One New Man, our purposes will join.  We will breathe new life into each other.  The lines of demarcation between territories will become blurred.  It will be just like that tree I was sitting under.  As looked further up, the branches were intertwined.  The leaves were all mixed together.  It created a wonderful canopy of shade.

So it is, when we join our hearts with what Jesus loves.  We will have a common goal, a common passion and a common cry.  We will create a common canopy of love and protection and shade where unbelievers in the nations can come and find refuge and revelation of what makes this unity and cooperation possible.  That is my dream.