Alright stop....Torah time!

Recently, I have been laying awake at night and rising up early in the morning with a few thoughts on my mind.  These thoughts have been gripping me for about 4 months now, and I'd like to get them on paper at the very least.  If I even publish this post, then welcome to my crazy mind and pray for my wife :)

The issue is, the role of God's Instructions (Torah) in our lives today.

Let me start with the foundation of where this all comes from.  I have always been raised in Evangelical churches to believe the that Old Testament Law is dead and we have a new law in Jesus.  This new law is less concerned with our actions, and more concerned with our heart.  Things like diet, clothing, Sabbath, feasts, festivals, etc were only for the Jews and not necessary for us.  As a matter of fact, to obey them meant you were engaging in legalism (which is the WORSHIP of Law and not obedience to Law), and if you told others to, you were a no good dirty Jewish Pharisee.  This is essentially dispensationalism and replacement theology and makes God out to be either a divorcee (he left his first wife for a second) or a polygamist (The Father is married to Israel and the Son is married to Christians). Of course no one would say this, but that was the necessary conclusion I had to come to at the end of the day.

All of this has changed now that I have read the Word of God cover to cover. And if you care to know, it was the ESV in case you think I embarked on this journey to prove something and read a Jewish bent translation. I just wanted to read His word. 8 chapters a day.

What really stuck me is when I got through the OT and into Matthew and John.  There are a few verses that really stood out to me, "If you love me, obey my commands", "I have not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it", "To teach others to disobey the Law makes you least in the Kingdom of Heaven (rendering the curse of the Law dead because you can still go to heaven, not taste death, and engage in disobedience on some level), "Make disciples of all nations....and teach them to obey all I have commanded you."  Mind you, I had just gotten done reading about how great this Law is from David, Solomon, and the Prophets, so my head was confused why it is such a burden and curse now.  Jesus says his yoke (which was a common phrase for what a Rabbi taught) is light and burden easy and that was the way the prophets spoke of the Messiah and the Torah.  So...how did Jesus (or Yeshua as is his name) live his life, and what did he teach his disciples to obey?  Could it have been obedience to this beautiful Law that the prophets spoke about?  Surely not based upon my upbringing!

So then I moved onto answering a very deep question that I am still in the middle of...who is Jesus?  The answers to this question would surely point me towards answering what he taught his disciples to obey. So I kept going into the gospels and realized that Jesus did in fact live his entire life in perfect observance of these laws.  All of them. He fulfilled the entire law. Everything he did fit within the parameters of loving God and loving people. This was not new to me.  What was new to me is the Jewishness of Yeshua. He was a full on Sabbath keeping, feast observing, Torah loving, Tassel wearing Jewish Rabbi. He looked like a Jew, ate like a Jew, worshipped like a Jew, and lived like a Jew.  Yeshua was a Jew.  And this Jewish Rabbi told his disciples to make more disciples of Him.

Which led to my next question, what did it mean to be a disciple of a Jewish Rabbi?  What did He teach his disciples to do and what did they teach others to do?  If you're familiar with the Nooma DVD Dust, you may remember the term, "Being covered in the dust of your Rabbi."  These Jewish followers of a Jewish Rabbi did EVERYTHING he did and told other people to do the same! Paul, Peter, John, all were pointing others to follow Yeshua as closely as they did.

This theme kept true throughout all of Acts, through all the letters of Paul, through all the letters of Peter, and through all the letters of John. Imploring people to reject the man made law of the day (Pharisees law, gnostic law, talmudic law, pagan law) and follow the Torah of Yeshua! They were being judged according the world's standards (you can't eat certain things the God declared good, you have to worship in this way on this day, you have to follow the feasts and festivals the exact same way we do), and not the way of Yeshua.

So, how on earth did I get to the present day message that they way Jesus lived, the things Jesus taught, the Law he obeyed, is no longer necessary and is a curse and burden to us? Without going into to much detail, the answer is not the Bible. It was a combination of Nero, Rome, Constantine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Justin Martyr, and other early catholic and protestant fathers. While I don't know the eternal state of any of these men or the intentions of many of them, the damage has been done. The goal of the Gospel is to create Disciples of Yeshua. It was not to create disciples of a specific theology or emperor. The goal of God's Word is to cause repentance in people and to reorient their lives and live their lives according to Yeshua.

Why then, does my life look NOTHING like a Jewish Rabbi?  I think I have done a good job with principles of His, but I'm nowhere near covered in His dust. I don't care about following all of the rules he followed and taught others to do, I don't really care about eating like him, living like him, loving like him, learning like him, teaching like him, or celebrating like him.  Most of this is because I'm afraid of what happens when I start to try to imitate him and follow him more closely.  I'm afraid of losing friends, I'm afraid of losing status in the Christian church. I'm afraid of loneliness and being outcast like Yeshua was.

Now that I have finished reading the word, I can only come to a few conclusions about this topic referenced above...the Law. There is a blessing to obedience to it that guided Yeshua's life. He lived it, taught it, loved it, fulfilled it, and is our example for Godly living. So must I. I'm to follow as closely as possible after him. This includes HUGE things like loving my neighbors better and reaching out to the least of humanity. It also includes the small and easy things, like eating like him and celebrating like him.  He said that until heaven and earth pass away (which it hasn't), the biggest and smallest things of God's Torah (singular, meaning unified law, not divided) will not pass away. To quote the rapper Lecrae, "I want to be like you in every way." Every way. This includes submitting to the blessing of his instructions in obedience and teaching others to do the same.

I've heard points like, "Well, the Law was divided into separate parts and we only have to follow the moral Law (which is the 10 Commandments)." I agree that these are HUGE and significant portions of the Torah and all of the Law can be summed up in them, I disagree that the Laws were divided. To call something a "Moral Law" implies that the other laws weren't moral at all, which is false. How is disobedience to the dietary law still moral and good? Why did Isaiah write that those who eat the flesh of pigs are provoking God towards anger? Was God only upset because they weren't eating healthy or is there something to be said for obedience? Why did God attribute the dietary laws to holiness? If it was only about the sanitary nature of pork, then why doesn't that apply to sex?  It's much safer now to have sex outside of marriage, yet we consider that a sin. Was sex only considered a health law to them?  Or do we, rightly, categorize this under adultery? What about beastiality, incest, and rape?  Those aren't explicitly covered in the NT and were a part of "civil laws"? Are we alright with them?  The answer is a resounding NO!  Also, who made this distinction? Surely it was Yeshua or Paul or Peter...nope.

The other point is that there are about 5 verses which would contradict this theory.  These can be found in Colossians 2, 1 Tim. 4, Romans 14, Acts 10, and Galatians 3. I would challenge anyone to do what I did and read these in light of the rest of the Bible (which means you need to read the whole thing). Here are some conclusions I have come to with these verses as well:

All food is good and clean - this is absolutely true!  Anything God calls food is clean and is to be enjoyed with thanksgiving. Does this mean I can eat a diet consisting of tree bark, poison ivy, and Acetone?  Nope, because those things aren't food and they will kill me. What if I eat them with joy and thanksgiving? Still death, unless God miraculously intervenes.

So what are they talking about then? God gave us a list of what isn't food in Leviticus 11. So if it's not food, don't eat it. Jesus didn't. So we don't. Let's be covered in his dust, remember. What Paul is rightly arguing against is people who distorted the Torah into further categories of what could and couldn't be eaten. These were man made laws designed for control and not Godliness leading to holiness. The Pharisees and non Messiah following Jews were so threatened by the message of Yeshua that they attempted to make his ways (like food) not enough so the Jewish converts would defect and come back. It was for religious and societal control.  Not to mention the Pagans who had their own sets of rules regarding temple worship, food, and law. The new believers from the Gentiles were being swayed by them, and Paul wanted to ensure they would stay faithful to the calling of Yeshua.

The Law is dead - Again, this is true also...sort of. The Torah had 2 components to it (unlike the modern day man made ceremonial, civil, and moral), the blessing of Torah (When you do these things, you will be blessed) and the curse of Torah (sin leads to death).  The curse of the Law (death), was nailed to the cross through the atoning blood of Yeshua. The wages of our sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. No longer do we have to experience death due to our sin, we have grace now!  Did he kill the blessing off to? Absolutely not!  Paul calls the Law holy and spiritual. Jesus lived his life according to it. David, a man after God's own heart, loved it so much. It is a sheer blessing to be loved enough by God that he cares enough to give us his laws.

If you're a parent, think about your own kids. Do you give them laws to abide by in your house (family traditions, chores, foods they can eat, how often they can eat them, etc)? Does it delight you when they obey them with joy?  It does me! Do they understand them and why they are there? Not all the time, but you ask them to do it because you love them and care about them.  A house without laws is one without love. Lawlessness is the sign of the devil, not God.  God creates a fence around his children (Grace in Hebrew means "Fence") so that we can live and have abundant life inside of that fence.  Outside, there are no guarantees.

Also, (since we are adopted sons/daughters into the nation of Israel) if you had kids and were guiding them by one set of rules and adopted a child, would the expectation be that they live by the same standards eventually?  Would you treat them differently?  Wouldn't you expect them to become one with your family?  Are we not to become one with God's Chosen Family, Israel?  Remember, we are grafted in as a wild branch to this family. It isn't the other way around.

Another thing to be clear on (and Paul rightly puts this to bed in Galatians), the law cannot save you. Following the Torah does not lead to salvation without faith in Yeshua/Jesus. Legalism said that you had to do a whole bunch of stuff IN ORDER to be saved. The good news of Yeshua says you have been saved, SO NOW you can experience the joy of obedience to Torah. Remember, it isn't a curse, it isn't a burden, it's a blessing.

Lastly on the law, I have heard that the law was only a shadow of things and it pointed to Jesus. YES! That's why it's such a beautiful thing to observe and follow! It shows us Christ! Do you want to know why we Christians fight and fight and fight about how Christmas/Easter isn't about the right things? BECAUSE IT NEVER WAS! The Word has all of these great feast and festivals already that point right to Jesus.  Why on earth don't we delight in them? Christmas and Easter are fun holidays that me and my family celebrate, but they aren't Biblical. They are western. Wearing tzitzi to remind you of who God is and what he has done is a more Biblical representation and reminder than wearing a WWJD bracelet or cross. The other things can point you to Christ, one is a Biblical call to point you towards him.

My points are many, but the main one is this. The more I get to know about Yeshua/Jesus, the more I want to be like him. He demands all of my life. From my diet, to my heart. I'm tired of living a lukewarm, one foot in one foot out life. I'm all in. If that means people will call me a Jew loving Pharisee, then they can go ahead. I'm a follower of a Jewish Rabbi who died for me. The more people who live like him and love like him, the better our world will be. I believe this with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And, one day, I hope to get to heaven and have look me in my renewed eyes and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

The case for Andre Miller

I get ridiculed quite a bit for my love of Andre Miller as a basketball player. I understand why fans of today's NBA don't really get it, but when he's on the court there's a sense of calmness about the team. I have to agree with Coach Karl that he seems to be one of the smartest basketball players in the NBA today. He certainly has a career in coaching after this (especially for a team with an intelligent PG with no discernible game outside of 12 feet).

 The guy is 36 years old and has developed into one of the most valuable players on a very young and talented Nuggets team. He is our best back to the basket player on the team, and at the end of the game, I personally want him or Gallo to have the rock (mostly because they seem to be the only guys knocking down FT's consistently). This may sound crazy, but I think he has a punchers chance of going into the Hall of Fame. He is currently 10th all time in assists and his win-share (go here for a description) is comparable to Bob Cousy, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, and Earl Monroe. Basically, he has been as valuable to any team as this list of guys, which is pretty good company.

Yet, nobody really talks about him in this light. My opinion, because his game lacks explosiveness and highlights (other than lobs to Javale and Faried). He plays the game like an old soul only concerned with doing his part to win. He's a coach on the court knowing time and place in the game. He seems to know when he needs to make an impact and when to defer to the hot hand. Along with Alex English, Mutumbo, Dan Issel, David Thompson, and Carmelo, I think Dre will go down as one of the best Nuggets of all time. Kiki had a decent run, but it was short in the 80's. The 90's other than the 1994 playoffs and one of the 12 losses of the 70 win Bulls were forgettable, and Carmelo really dominated the 2000's thus far with the WCF run in 2009.

 So here's the old school, gym rat, 24" vertical, old man game of Andre Miller. Keep grinding and let's shock the NBA this playoff run!

First Follower

My boss wore a Sweater Vest today.  I think I'm taking this video very seriously


That's all.  Carry on.

Post election dilemma

I was thinking about this during my travel week after the election results came in.  No, not the hilarity of Evangelicals quickly playing the God is in control card after the Obama victory.

I'm talking about the legalization of MJ in Colorado.

The questions began to run through my mind:

How do we disciple people through this issue?

What stance will our church take on it?

Will we treat it like alcohol and tobacco (usage is fine within reason and control and not addiction)?

What are other pastors going to do with it?

You see, there's really no clear Biblical mandate against MJ.  The biggest answer has always been, "Don't do it, it's against the law and we shouldn't break the law."  I have no idea what the health ramifications are against this issue, but I would imagine it's similar to McDonalds.  Are we prepared to outlaw McD's and fast food along with MJ in the name of health?

Now, I'm not going to go out and get high with guys on the weekends while we watch football with our families.  I'm not even proposing usage at all!  I'm just curious how the church will address this issue in Colorado.  The easy answer is that it is still against federal law, so just don't do it.  But is that enough?

Color me confused and hopeful we will come to a conclusion

I want to be God

The way of Cain, the error of Balaam, the rebellion of Korah

I want the way it’s been, witches of Salem, ignoring the Torah

Living in sin, with no Selah, even though im cared for like Flora

I need to win, swallow this clam, and retire to Bora Bora

I wanna be God

There I said it.

I want to be God

I’m barely qualified to be mayor, or even a CEO

Or the guitarist for Slayer, or the leader of my local PTO

Yet my actions always say that I want more

More money, more problems

more of me, less of G to the D

And if I’m not careful, He will give me what I want

Me as God and He with me not

So I go to his Word to prove MY points, like I’m the writer

I want His ways to be my Ways, the horse leading the rider

That’s why I always read with my highlighter

Ignoring the verses I don’t like, like having to obey my Father

­­­­

I wanna be God

I’ll keep saying it

I want to be God

I’m barely qualified to be president or the leader of the house

Or a country club resident or playing Mickey Mouse

Yet my actions always say that I want more

More money, more problems

more of me, less of G to the D

And if I’m not careful, He will give me what I want

Me as God and He with me not

Did you hear about so and so, we really need to pray for them

Prayer group gossip, so I can feel better about my sin

Winning people to my way, not to Yahwah, so I win

Keep your enemies closer, rise through the ranks, then tear it down in rebellion

I wanna be God

I’ll finish saying

I want to be God

I’m barely qualified to be a doctor or lawyer

Or a test proctor or to write a book about Tom Sawyer

Yet my actions always say that I want more

More money, more problems

more of me, less of G to the D

And if I’m not careful, He will give me what I want

Me as God and He with me not

In memory of Maj. W. David Gray

This world, the community of Colorado Springs, the Air Force and Army, Alethia Church, and friends and family lost a great man this past week to a coward who chose a death sentence for his crime.

A suicide bomber in Afghanistan took the life of Maj. W. David Gray on August 8th while he was going to a meeting.  4 others were killed in the attack.

I'm sure he was known to others in different contexts. To me, he was the smiling dad of 3 sweet kids who renewed his wedding vows on our property a year ago yesterday with his wife, Heather. He was the "only Asian hick" who would make us laugh on Wednesday mornings at man morning. He was the guy who made me never want to work out again because of how ripped he was...I knew I'd never get there. His friendship to me and other men at Alethia will be forever remembered.  Though his death was tragic, his life was joyful.

Today, we remembered him at our church. We are a young church, but we are resolved.  We are resolved to not let Satanic evil destroy the Agape and Chesed love that our Heavenly Father and Messiah have for this world.  We are resolved to wrap this family up in our arms and care for the widows as we are called to do. The gospel message of Jesus will be proclaimed. We are resolved to do the hard thing and that is pray for this suicide bomber's family because we are called to be better. We are called and resolved to pray for those who wish, no, have caused us harm.  Death where is your victory? Grave where is your sting? Our brother is in heaven experiencing endless joy where there is no more sorrow.  How do you like them apples?!  We will be even more resolved!  The gauntlet has been thrown and we already know the end result.  Satan, you lose.

During this past week, I have had the same song going through my head over and over.  It's a beautiful eulogy.  Which is perfect, because that's both the song title and the name of the group.  The whole song lyrics are here. You can download the album for free here. Here is the chorus however:

When it is my time to go
Go ahead and take me home
I know I'll be with you, I know I'll be with you
When it is my time to go
Go ahead and take me home
Nowhere that I'd rather go
I wanna be with you

So I thank David for the life he lived, the legacy he left, and service he gave. His physical death points me back to Christ and the hope that is found in Him. We weren't made to deal with this. We are eternal creatures created to live for eternity. When that is interrupted we can question, but, dear Christian, take solace in the fact that Jesus conquered death. We are no longer slaves to the law of sin and death.  We have hope in a world and home that will be ours. This world is not our home.  David is home now. Truly, he his home. I can't type R.I.P, because David isn't resting. He is worshiping.

May the peace that passes all understanding guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

David, we'll miss you brother. But this isn't the end of the story for us. Man morning in heaven. Can't wait to see you there!

It's bigger than hip hop

Hip Hop! - Any Dead Prez fans come to SVW?

Anyways, I get asked often to send people a list of hip hop artists I respect and admire. I decided to compile a quick but not necessarily exhaustive list of artists to look up if you're into hip hop music. As a note, I have decided to arbitrarily categorize into a couple of sub headings. The reason being is that I run into a lot of Christian folks who are looking for whatever "Christian Hip Hop" is. I think this means basically that they talk about Jesus and don't use cuss words. This is really the only form of art that we attribute this adjective to. Maybe movies, but it's such a new medium to the Christian scene, that most people don't only watch "Christian movies."  So, Christian Hip Hop means listen to this if you don't want to hear cuss words. However, that doesn't mean the "Secular" Hip Hop doesn't contain elements of Christianity and can't be redeemed. I am listing them because of deep respect for how well the artists/groups craft their trade in a most excellent way.  I mean, Paul quoted and knew "secular" poets in scripture, so I think we're all good.  Cool?

Christian Hip Hop
Deepspace 5 (a collective, listed below, also have killer albums together)
Mars Ill - also check out Manchild's solo stuff
Phonetic Composition - Playdough and Freddie Bruno have solo stuff also
Sivion
Listener
Sev Statik
Sintax the Terrific - peep his socio political rap blog ipoet.com
Beat Rabbi
DJ Manwell
Sean P
Ohmega Watts
Sean Little
Lecrae
The BREAX
LA Symphony
Flynn Adam
Heath McNease
Move Merchants
The Procussions
Humblebeast.com (a collective, listed below in blue...all the records here are by donation and can be free. Please support them!)
Beautiful Eulogy
Braille
Theory Hazit
Odd Thomas
Propoganda
DJ Efechto
Lee Green
Foreknown
Alert
Courtland Urbano (formerly Xperiment)
Citizen Aim
Bridge B
Ali Rozet
Raging Moses
Luke Atencio

Secular Hip Hop
Lupe Fiasco
Murs
9th Wonder
LMNO
The Roots
A Tribe Called Quest
Common
Blame One
Blackalicious
Mr. J Medeiros (also in the Procussions from above...doesn't like to be labeled in the "Christian" scene)
Pigeon John
Black Star
Talib Kweli
Common Market - for all the Baha'i hip hop heads
Glue
Qwel and Maker
Apathy
Fort Minor
Lyrics Born
Jean Grae
Lauryn Hill
KRS One
Eric B and Rakim
Sage Francis
Atmosphere
Sweatshop Union

This list is NOT exhaustive nor in any type of order. Again, if you can't listen to anything with "bad words" in it, then don't listen the second list. However, if this doesn't cause you to stumble in your faith (or if you don't hold the Bible up as your authority), I would recommend these artists for their commitment to the art of hip hop.  If you don't call yourself a Christian, but like quality hip hop, check out some of the artists on the Christian list.  It's OK, every song isn't a sermon. It's actually good, quality art. Give it a try!

Peace, love, and hip hop on a SWEATer Vest Wednesday in the summer