LeFors Tribe

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A Gentile Christian: An Oxymoron. It is a contradiction word. What does oxymoron mean? An oxymoron is when two words with different meanings are put together in a sentence. For example: PRETTY and UGLY: “The meeting was pretty ugly.” FOUND and MISSING: “The little girl was found missing.” GENTILE and CHRISTIAN: “I am a Gentile Christian.”

The word GENTILE means: a heathen, wicked, or a pagan. The word CHRISTIAN means: a follower of Christ, believes in Christ, belongs to Christ. “I am a Gentile Christian” That’s an oxymoron. Another way to put it: “I am a heathen, wicked pagan believer who follows and belong to Christ.”

Over time we have been told that we are Gentiles. We have adopted that idenity for ourselves. It also means that we do not belong to a Jewish nation. The dictionary also says that a Gentile means, “not from a Jewish nation”, but that is NOT at all how God sees the word “Gentile”. God has one meaning for the word “Gentile” and that is, “heathen”, ”wicked”, “a pagan”–separated from God. Remember, there is no culture with God. It is either, “come home with Me” or “You chose not to come home to Me.”

Yahushua (Jesus) shared a parable: “The Prodigal Son”. Luke 15:1-30. This simply explains us. The father has two sons. One of his son left home and did all he wanted to do, spent all of his money, partied hard and when he hit rock bottom, he became poor, hungry, and filthy. He missed home and wanted to go back. When he came back home, the father saw him and gladly recieved him. The other son who never left home did not like the idea that his father had a party in honor for the lost brother that came home.

The father is God. He has two sons. “Judah and Israel.” In the beginning Israel was one country.

“Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you.” -Deuteronomy 6:3

But due to pagan worshipping, the country split into two.

“When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin–a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men–to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.” -1 Kings 12:21

Judah and Israel. Judah has two tribes: Judah and Benjamin and the house of Israel has 10 tribes.

“Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes.” -1 Kings 11:31

As time went on, other countries invaded Israel and the 10 tribes fled, moved elsewhere, got married, and so on.

“Then Micah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”- 1 Kings 22:17

The 10 tribes became the LOST tribes.

“But He (Yahushua) answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”-Matthew 15:24

The house of Judah remained for the sake of bringing the Messiah into the world.

“So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ “-Matthew 2:5-6

Those who know their bloodline are called Jews, but even so there are people who are Jews and have no bloodline to the Jews. It is because they have converted. They meet with the rabbi and complete certain guidelines and become a Jew. There are black Jews. Asian Jews. Hispanic Jews. It is only because of conversion.

God does not see it that way. He wrote in the Law that if any foreigners want to become an Israeli citizen, they only have to circumcise and partake the passover.

“And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.” -Exodus 12:48

Those who have no knowledge of their bloodline are told that they are gentiles. While that is true, we don’t know our bloodline. The 10 tribes are lost tribes.  But when we recognize the Messiah and accept Him as our Savior, Yahushua (Jesus) says we are back home.

“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” -Galatians 3:29

Unfortunately, there is an issue of “superior” and “inferior. One Jew says to a person who calls himself a Jew, “He’s not really a Jew. He isn’t related to a Jewish person.” They feel superior because they are the chosen one- they have a bloodline. We also even have Gentiles who say to a person who calls himself a Jew, “Je’s not really a Jew. He isn’t related to a Jewish person”. They feel inferior– that a Gentile has become “the chosen” and the gentile wants the person to “step down”. But this is not how God sees this. He sees everyone as brothers and sisters. Israel: “That’s my son, my firstborn. Come home.”

“They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.” -Jeremiah 31:9

Paul shared another parable called “The Olive Tree”. This can be read in Romans 11.  

“But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree, some of the Jews, have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, were grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in God’s rich nourishment of his special olive tree. But you must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. Remember, you are just a branch, not the root. ”Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” Yes, but remember – those branches, the Jews, were broken off because they didn’t believe God, and you are there because you do believe. Don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the branches he put there in the first place, he won’t spare you either.” -Romans 11:17-21

This passage tells me that God sees that anyone who accepts Him must see each other as “brothers and sisters”. We are children of God. God does not want religions. He’s not fond of them. He wants relationship. He’s the Father and I’m the “lost son”. I’m coming back home and God has recieved me with open arms. His servant is preparing a party.  

I used to identify myself as a Messanic Jewish but after I learned the real meaning of the name “Jewish” I changed the identity to “Israelite”. Abraham was not called a Jew. He was a Hebrew and so were the 12 tribes. They were all called Hebrews. Their language was Hebrew. When the country split into two, Judah began to call themselves Jewish. Their religion was Judiasm.  The Israelites became scattered–long gone– and many of them left their tribes and married pagan worshippers. They left God–moved away. They are called Gentiles. God preserved the bloodline of Judah, which King David belonged to. This was because of the Messiah to come. Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, therefore he was called a Jew. Paul, who wrote 2/3 of the New Testament, came from the tribe of Benjamin therefore he was called a Jew. The remaining 10 tribes were lost– a “bye bye” They left God and left His Commandments. God saw that they were wicked, a heathen. Gentiles. SEPARATED from God. Now for me, I do recognize God, I do recognize His Son, the Messiah. How do I know what tribe I come from? I won’t know. I really won’t know unless I spend hundreds of dollars to figure out my family tree. I am not going to do that I will walk in faith. I’m back home. Back to Daddy. We can read in Ephesians 2:11-22, but take close look at verse 19.

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” -Ephesians 2:19

And the Scriptures tell us not to copy the ways of the Gentiles:

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” -Matthew 6:7-8

Also in 1 Peter, God tells us how to live among the Gentiles:

“Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” -1 Peter 2:12

 There is also a quote; ” O house of Israel and house of Judah…The Father has called your name. He will bring you back, each one of you to your own inheritance and each one to your own land. Yes, that’s His promise to you.” -Jeremiah 11:10, 16-17; 12:15;

“The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL and with the HOUSE OF JUDAH.” -Hebrews 8:8 

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Shalom! Happy Hanukkah! I made a vlog last year about Hanukkah but I wanted to elaborate some more this time. I personally think every Believer should observe Hanukkah. If you want to see the other vlogs I did on Hanukkah, you can check out under November or December 2007 link and find “Happy Hanukkah”. Last year, the commenters had a big discussion and I created, “Bits of Christmas”. You can check that out if you want.

 Hanukkah is also known as “Feast of Dedication” and “Festival of Lights” It is mentioned in the Bible. John 10:22.

“Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was walking in the area of Solomon’s Porch.” -John 10:22-23.

Let us go back in time and imagine Jesus walking in Solomon’s porch. It was winter time. The temple is very beautiful and it has a lot of details and it was destroyed when the Babylions took over. The book of Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, and Nehemiah talks about the destruction of the Temple.

The Macabee’s were a group of soliders who wanted to take back the temple and they fought against the Syrian-Greeks. This was before Jesus was born. This is just a historical event, proven to be true by other documents. The concept of this war reminds me of Boston Tea Party. A small group of people stirred up a war against a large group of soliders. Daniel 8 is a prophecy of this event, the Macabee’s war against the Syrian-Greek. In that chapter, there are a lot of symbols. Goats and rams, small and big horns, the small horns represent the Macabees and the large horn represents the Syrian-Greek armies. An interesting fact here: Kislev 25 is the beginning day of Hanukkah according to the Jewish calendar. This is the same date as the foundation of God’s temple that was laid by Solomon.

“From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the fuondation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought…: -Haggai 2:18 (Kislev is the ninth month.)

WHen the temple was won, it was very messy, destroyed, and out of order. only one jar of oil was found. This oil is to light the temple’s menorah. The jar they found was only good for one day but because of a miracle, the oil stayed lit for 8 days so that more oil could be prepared and that the temple could be rededicated.

Now, let’s go back to Jesus’ time, John 10:22. It was the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) and it was winter. Jesus was walking in Solomon’s porch. The Jews asked Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” (John 10:22-30) This is the very time, day, and moment that the Jews wanted to know if Jesus is really the Messiah. It was also the very time that Jesus annoucned to the world that he is, indeed, the Messiah. Jesus uses the miracle of the holiday to His life. “Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me.” -John 10:25

The Jews believed God had given them a miracle and that is allowing the oil to stay lit for 8 days so that they could rededicate the Temple and worship God. Jesus tells them that the miracles He does in the Father’s name speak outloud that He is THE Messiah. He is also THE light of the world. The Festival of Lights.

“Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”-John 8:12

We can live in victory and be glad– the Messiah has arrived. Let’s celebrate the Festival of Lights! When we believe that Yahushua is the Messiah, we rededicate our lives to God. It is a joyful time–this is a Feast of Dedication. It’s a good time to rededicate your mind, body and soul to God.

There are 8 nights and this is how I do it with my family. I do not think there is a right or wrong on how Hanukkah is celebrated but I like enriching my children with history, bible stories, truth, and applying to their lives.

The first and second night, we talk about the history of the Macabees. Pure History. We read from children books and we cover the miracle of the oil being lit for 8 days. HANUKKAH.

On the third, fourth, and fifth night we talk about the oil being a miracle and the greatest miracle EVER–the birth of Yahushua– the Messiah. We talk about how the Messiah is the light of the world and we also cover the story about John the Baptist and how he paved the way for people to reconnect to God. Jesus has completed the task and made way for us to reconnect and have a relationship with God. We read from Luke chapter 1 and 2. We also use children books that talk about the birth of the Messiah.  THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

On the sixth, seventh, and eighth night we talk about our relationship with God and how our bodies are the Temple of God and how we can keep it holy. You can read that in 1 Corinthains 3:16-17 and Ephesians 2:21. FEAST OF DEDICATION

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” -1 Corinthians 3:16-17

We also decorate our house with lights of different colors and we place icicle lights on the rooftop–for wintertime. White lights for purity, blue lights for the color of Israel and also we decorate with the Star of David and many menorahs. The tallest on the menorah represents the Messiah, the LIGHT of the world and it lights the others.  hanukkah parties to share the stories we learn and we cook different food and desserts that are commonly used during this season. Every night our children get one gift. They start off small and get bigger and bigger as the nights go. Let’s say, for example, one child will be getting an IPOD. The first night they get the headphones. The second night, they get the cover for the ipod. The third night they get the actual IPOD. For other children, they can get a neat and cool pen the first night, then the second night a headband, and so on.

Hanukkah is a beautiful holiday when we see how the Messiah is parelleled in it. I enjoy this holiday a lot.

Have a blessed Hanukkah!

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 Hello. Simplicity 101. There are times when we face a situation, a problem, or an issue, or like for me, technology problems. When I have a problem on my computer, I struggle by searcing around the computer to get to the problem. My mind begins to work very hard trying to get the problem to be solved. I look hard into the computer system searching around to find out what the problem could be. And at some points I do ask myself if I should call a computer tech and have him/her help me fix the computer. When I get to that point of wanting to call a computer tech, I am on the brink of solving the problem. When I finally solve the problem, the problem is usually very simple. Ugh, that sucks when I have put so much time and effort only to find that the solution was very simple.

This concept can be parellelled with God. Sometimes God likes to keep things very simple. There is a passage in the 1 Corinthians that I really like. It says that God has used a simple and foolish things in this world to shame those who claim they are wise. Also God has used the weakest thing in the world to shame the things that claim it is the strongest. Also God has said, “Have I not made the foolish of wise in this world?”

“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the thing which are strong.” -1 Corinthians 1:27

“Did not God make foolish the wisdom of this world?” -1 Corinthians 1:20

Oftentimes when we see something different, we say that it does not make sense or we say that it is “too simple” and that is because we like grand and magnificent ways. Sophistication. Fancy. Big. For the simple ways, we say, “nah, that’s impossible.”

There are examples like this in the Scriptures that we can find. In 2 Kings, chapter 5, there was a man named Naaman. He was a commander of the army of the King Aman. He was a great man and well respected. He was liked very much by the King. He was a valiant solider but he had leprosy. Leprosy is a bacterial disease on the skin and cannot be cured. Naaman did not know what to do and he was very distraught. One of his maids who served his wife said that there was a prophet of God in another country that can heal leprosy. The maid encouraged Naaman to see the prophet of God. Naaman thought what he heard was good and said that he would like to see the prophet of God in Israel. He had a group of people go with him in chariots and he brought with him a lot of money, gold, and clothes.

They arrived to the prophet’s house and the prophet’s name is Elisha. Elisha knew that Naaman would be coming so he sent his messenger to give a message to Naaman. Elisha did not go himself, he sent a messenger. The messenger met with Naaman and said that if he wanted to be healed, all he had to do was go to the Jordan River and wash himself in the river 7 times. Naaman’s leprosy would be cured if he did that.

Naaman, a well respected commander of the country did not like that suggestion. He became very angry and said that the suggestion was nothing. Naaman was expecting the prophet to call on the name of the Lord and wave his hand on the spot and cure him of his leprosy. He was expecting a big miracle. He thought bathing himself in the Jordan River was no good and it didn’t help that the river was Jordan. It was the filthiest river there. He said that the rivers in his country was a lot cleaner and he could have taken a bath there in his country instead of travelling to Israel to take a bath in a filthy river like Jordan River. Naaman was very angry and left without washing himself.

One of Naaman’s servants went up to him and said to him that if the prophet had told him to do a great thing, would he do it, now how simple is to just wash yourself and be healed? Naaman took that in and decided he would wash himself 7 times in the Jordan River. After the 7th time, Naaman had been cured of leprosy. His skin was new and so soft.

Naaman, a noble commander had to swallow his pride and do something so simple, like take a dip in a very dirty river. Really, all he had to do was obey, do it, and get what he wanted–cure of leprosy.

There are other issues of this world that can be viewed with simplicity but the noble and wise feel it cannot be that way. People often like to see what scientists and scholars have to say about certain issues. They have spent time, mind, and energy discussing certain issues. Like for example, how the world came to its existence. How did life begin on earth? With all the discussions, ideas, and such, we now have Big Bang Theory. Evolution.

The reality is really simple.

God spoke the Word and there came light. The sun came to existence. God spoke the Word and the animals were created. God spoke. God spoke. God spoke. Simple.

“Then God said, “Let there be light” and there was light. ” -Genesis 1:3 repeated in verses 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26.

Another wisdom of this world says that in order for us to become intelligent, we must study, study, and study. Get a Master’s and Ph D., study and discuss with scholars reading their books.  But God says in order to get wisdom, it is simple. All you have to do is ask Him. We can obtain wisdom if we ask God and form a relationship with Him. That’s awesome. Simple.

“But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all generously, and it will be given to him.” -James 1:5

Another wisdom of this world says that in order for us to get rich, we have to invest wisely into stocks, creating a portfolio ensuring that there is a diversity in investment and also to have insurance on it. Yadda and yadda. But God says in order to money, it is simple. You have to give it. Give money, you’ll get money. Give and get. Give and get. The principality is like farming. If I want to grow crops, I have to start with a seed. If I want corns, I have to plant a seed of corn. I cannot plant a seed of squash and expect to get corns. I have to plant a seed of the same thing. Plant a seed of corn and you get corns. There’s more than one when you plant. I plant one seed of corn– one, un, uno–and when that one seed of corn grows,  I don’t get one ear of corn. I get many ears of corn. This is God’s principality. God tells us, you give money, you will receive money. The world sees it differently. They say to keep the money, cherish it, and be wise how you invest it for yourself. Keep for me. Keep for me. Me. Me. Me.

“Give, and it will be given to you.” -Luke 6:38

“Whoever sows a few will also reap a few, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously and with blessings.” -2 Corinthians 9:6

Another wisdom of the world says in order to get to heaven, you have to be a good person. You have to respect others, be nice. Don’t steal, kill or lie. Be kind.  But God says in order to get to heaven all we have to do is confess that Jesus (Yahushua) is our Lord and have Him in our lives. That’s the way to heaven.

“Everyone who confesses Me (Jesus) before men, I (Jesus) will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”- Matt 10:32

“if you confess with your words Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…”-Romans 10:9

In Acts chapter 2, Peter gave a good sermon about the salvation of God through the Messiah to many people and as the people listened, they were deeply touched. They all agreed and said to Peter, “Yes! What must we do?” It is most likely, a possibility, that these people thought they had to do a ritual or something great in order to become saved. They were deeply touched. Peter simply answered, “Repent. Change your ways and be baptized in the name of Jesus (Yahushua), the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins and you will recieve the gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and ye shall receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” -Acts 2:38

If you have not done this or if you want to check into this wanting to know what’s God’s way of having us enter His home, and how we can have a good life here on earth, feel free to contact us for help, guidance, or whatever. I will be glad to help and give all I know with you.

I encourage you to remember that sometimes solutions in this life are really simple, such as asking God for help, or asking brothers and sisters in Christ what we can do.

You will be surprised that sometimes the solution is really simple.