Iran's Provocation

Keep your eyes on the Middle East, specifically Israel.

Iran has sent two warships to the Mediterranean supposedly to have military drills with Syria, another enemy determined to see Israel's demise. The ships completed their transit through the Suez Canal Tuesday, and are now in Mediterranean waters.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/22/iranian-warships-complete-suez-canal-transit/?test=latestnews

Iran has not had a presence in the area since 1973, during the Islamic Revolution.  Why do they suddenly feel the need to be there now?  Perhaps they think the uprising in the Mid East will be beneficial to them in their desire to attack Israel.

Keep Israel in your prayers and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Shalom,  Dawn

Jesus or Yeshua?

What's in a name? Evidently everything.

Hebrew is a very interesting language.  Every name has it's own meaning, as does every letter and number.  Letters also have a numerical value ....  No wonder I'm struggling to learn it all.

The Hebrew name "Yeshua" means "salvation" or "he saves."  It's a variant of "Yehoshua" where we get the name "Joshua."  The name "Jesus" is an English transliteration of the Greek transliteration, "Iesous," of the Hebrew name, "Yeshua."  Confused yet? There's more.

The title of "Christ" is an English transliteration of the Greek word, "Chrioo" (to smear with oil), of the Hebrew word "Mashiakh," which means "Anointed One" or "Messiah."  Regardless of which name you choose to call Him, He answers to both.

The purpose of translating the Scriptures was to enable more people to read them, which was very important. Without that occurring, we ourselves would not have access to them.  Unfortunately, it has also stripped the Hebrew roots, and removes the reader further away from the Jewish reality of the Scriptures with each translation.  However, God's Word remains unchanged.

The Jewish roots of the Word of God are extremely rich with meaning.  It is my humble opinion that Jesus/Yeshua never intended for His church to be separated from Judaism, but no one asked me. However, He is bringing the two back together as "One New Man," which gave birth to the Messianic Jewish movement. (see Ephesians 2:11-22 and Romans 11:11-24)

I would like to suggest the book "Copernicus and the Jews" by Daniel Gruber, (which helped me write this post correctly) also a copy of the "Jewish New Testament."  These will help to begin the path back to our spiritual roots.

Shalom,
Dawn

2011 Calendar of Jewish Holidays

Mark your calendars for this year's celebrations of the Lord's Feasts and His faithfulness to His people.  (Remember, all Jewish holidays begin at sundown the evening before.)


Purim                                  March 20          
Celebration of the triumph of the Jews over Haman, who plotted their destruction.

Pesach
(Passover)                            April 19-26       
Celebration of God's deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt.

Shavuot
(Pentecost)                           June 8               
Day Jehovah gave Moses the Law on Mt. Sinai 3,300 years ago
Day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 2,000 years ago.

Rosh HaShanah
(Feast of Trumpets)              September 29    
The Regathering and Time of Repentance.

Yom Kippur
(Day of Atonement)              October 8         
Day the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people.

Sukkot
(Feast of Tabernacles)          October 13-20  
Remembrance of the Hebrews who lived in tents for 40 years in the wilderness.

Hanukkah
(Festival of Lights)                December 21-29  
Celebration to remember the miracle of the oil in the Temple lasting eight days.


I will will post detailed insights into each of the feasts in the near future. 

Shalom,
Dawn (Shachar)

Bye Bye Mubarak

As the world breathes a collective sigh of relief as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak steps down from office, the citizens of Egypt rejoice in the streets over their new-found freedom.  Once the celebrations end, then what?  What will the next administration bring?  Freedom? Oppression? Sharia? 

One thing I've learned in life is "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it, ... and more."

Amid all of the changes in the region, Israel is still the "90 lb gorilla in the room."  Anything that happens will impact the Jewish nation in some form or another.  Could the success of the uprising in Egypt embolden people in other Mid-East nations to rise up against their own governments?  The whole region could end up with governments similar to that of Iran, or worse - and that would be a disaster for Israel.

Stay tuned!
Dawn

Day of Rage - Day of Blood

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Thursday night that he has declined to leave office, dashing the hopes of the thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square.  There is widespread speculation that Friday's Day of Rage has a very high probability of becoming a Day of Blood.

These are very trying times for the nation of Egypt and for the nation of Israel, who seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, and surrounded by chaos.  Keep a close eye on the events in the Middle East because they will have a very large impact on the United States.

Shalom to Yisrael
Dawn

Middle East Meltdown

The world is witnessing history as the nations of the Middle East are seemingly coming apart at the seams.  Within the past month, the governments of Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, and now Egypt, have been virtually overthrown.  All while Israel watches the events unfolding, wondering what will be the outcome for them, for the only allies they have in the Middle East, Egypt and Jordan, are also caught up in the madness. Should the Muslim Brotherhood, an extreamist arm of Islam, come into power in Egypt, they have sworn to end the peace agreement Egypt has with Israel. 

The Word of God speaks of a day of crisis in Egypt, and of the day of their redemption.  In Isaiah 19, the Lord speaks of an uprising in Egypt, brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor (vs. 2), as a result, Egypt will be given over to "the power of a cruel master, and fierce king." (vs. 4)  They will then cry out to the Lord because of their oppression under this new government and He will send them a Deliverer, Yeshua, and He will make Himself known to them. (vs. 20-21)  In that day, the Lord will say "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance." (vs. 25)

Also, check out this timely update from Perry Stone, Voice of Evangelism Ministries, http://www.voe.org/Prophecy-Update/the-unexpected-shaking-of-egypt.html

Please continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and that the Jewish people will be strong and courageous.

Shalom, Dawn  

Snow-mageddon

I live in the south, in Tennessee, but lately is seems like I'm living in the frozen Arctic tundra.  We have had more snow in two months than we normally receive in a decade!  So much for global warming.  I really feel emphatic for people up north.  It really makes me long for the spring and warm weather.

Speaking of spring, the Jewish spring holidays are right around the corner.  Purim begins at sundown on March 19.  (Jewish holidays always begin at sundown, Genesis 1:5)  Purim is the celebration of Esther's courage to stand up and expose the evil Haman who wanted to exterminate the Jews living in Susa (Babylon), as found in the book of Esther in the Tanakh (Old Testament).

Purim is usually celebrated with a party where the children dress up as their favorite character from the story.  At some point during the festivities, the book of Esther is read aloud by an adult. Every time Esther's or Mordecai's names are mentioned, the crowd cheers in excitement; but every time the name of the evil Haman is mentioned, the crowd makes loud noises trying to drown out the sound of his name.  The kids can get pretty rambunctious, but its all in good fun.

If you prefer to celebrate with something a little more low key, rent the movie "One Night With the King," an excellent portrayal of the story of Esther.

All fun aside, the spirit of Haman (which desires to destroy the Jewish people) is still around. We saw it during World War II in Hitler and the Shoah (the Holocaust), and we can see it today in Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his plans to 'wipe Israel off the map.' (Psalm 83)  But like Haman and Hitler, Ahmadinejad will also fail because Jehovah Himself takes care of Israel.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem   Psalm 122:6
Shalom, Dawn

Introduction

Shalom Y'all!

I wanted to start a blog to share my interest in learning more about the hebraic roots of my faith in Yeshua/Jesus.   It's my desire to learn from others and to share the insight I've been given. 

I have been a supporter of Israel and the Jewish people for many years, and always will be.  Several years ago, I had the privilege of visiting Israel and I cannot wait to go back.  I am involved in the Messianic community here in Nashville, Tenn., and am trying to learn Hebrew - but struggling! 

I look forward to meeting and chatting with other like-minded, like-hearted people out there in bloggerville!

Site under construction, please check back.