Where am I?

 Lately, I've had more than my fill of time spent scrolling on social media.

Being bound 80% of the time to rest in an easy chair can become a trap where endless hours are spent doom scrolling. I've made up my mind to redirect my energy into writing, investigating my family tree, and enriching  my brain. 

As a talkative person, and someone who genuinely enjoys healthy and respectful debate, I often miss the signal that I've had "too much".

I then realize, that I've listened to far too many voices and have allowed a lot of noise and clutter into my mind. 

I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to suspect that because of this crowded brain space, I often mistrust my own intuition and instincts. 

I'm not sure if the solution to this is to fully abandon presence on the internet, but rather perhaps to regulate it to its proper boundaries.

I love boundaries. I like to know exactly where I am , physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

Lately, especially with the debates of Israel and the Church a very hot button issue, the internet space feels chaotic, and full of hostile emotions.

I can understand this. It is natural to want to defend one's position with passion, and I cannot fault anyone for their passion. 

For the sake of people on the fence of this issue, let me share my position. Maybe in sharing my position, you can see passion without panic. Maybe in seeing a person that is passionate about their faith, without panicking about the outcome, you can experience God's peace.

I am a Christian. Meaning, when I was six years old, I knew there was no way I could earn a spot in heaven. When I realized that Jesus died for me, so that I could be forgiven , I accepted that forgiveness. The price Jesus paid on the cross, was applied to my soul, and I became a child of God.

There was no church membership. There was no ritualistic prayer. Yes, I prayed to God, in my own words, from my heart. I'm not a Christian because I'm an American. I'm not a Christian because it's my religion. 

I made a decision to trust God that He was enough when I could never be. That's it. 

So very simple.

I am a woman with Jewish heritage. Meaning, I have grandmothers in my direct parental family line with Jewish DNA. It's not from Judaism. It has nothing to do with religion. I didn't grow up celebrating that heritage, in fact the Ethnically Jewish people in my family tree give no indication of being religious, or celebrating a Jewish culture at all. I don't know what their reasons were for this. I'm not even positive they knew of their own origins. Both of their deaths in the 1980s and 1990s make it almost impossible for me to know how these women felt about anything regarding the Bible, or Israel. 

But, God in His mercy sent me two women, who were spiritual grandmothers to me. They taught me the treasures of being both ethnically Jewish, and belonging to Christ. It is because of the way they stepped in and were like surrogates to me , that I have such boldness in celebrating my faith and heritage.

Personally, I cannot separate my faith and my heritage. My faith is in Christ alone, but how He chose to create me was with Jewish ingredients! So my faith walk here on earth has a Jewish flavor to it. I have confidence that it pleases my Creator and my Redeemer. 

It doesn't matter to me how many people try to convince me that Ashkenazi Jews don't exist. This belief system is used to discount, and dismiss a whole ethnicity that does, in fact exist and cannot be erased. If they exist then they belong in that group of humans that John 3:16 is referring to. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..... He loved (and still loves)  all of humanity regardless of ethnic origin.

To say that we don't exist is to discount us from the saving grace of God. Honestly, it doesn't add up to the character of the One who created us. Therefore, I can easily dismiss it. I find the audacity of any entity, be they church or self proclaimed believer, to exclude a whole group of humanity from the grace of God to be anti-biblical, and quite shocking. Is it possible that the American church has taken its focus off of the Gospel itself and is starting to invent reasons as to why some people cannot ever be "saved"?

I don't get confused on how to navigate Israel or Church traditions, because I'm a whole Bible believer. Meaning, I do not separate God into different categories based on the Testaments. I do not believe in an angry, fickle and harsh Old Testament God. Additionally, I do not believe in a soft spoken, easy-does-it law breaking Jesus, that shields me from his angry father in Heaven. 

Actually, I believe quite strongly that this narrative that I've mentioned , is the most dangerous narrative that much of the American church has accepted as truth , and quite frankly it is a rotten lie from Satan. 

I believe;

The God of Genesis, and Leviticus is the same God that wrapped himself in human flesh and died on the cross for the sins of humanity, and rose again the third day.

Let me say it in a much more pointed and explicit way. There is zero personality or character difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. 

This is why I can so easily rest in God's promises to national Israel. This is why I do not say that "Israel" is the church. This is why I can be an expressive Jewish believer. I refuse to isolate Scripture. All Scripture I study is studied with the testaments side by side. I think of it like salt and pepper. I don't eat bland food, so why would I have a bland faith walk? 

I'll tell you another secret. I pay very little allegiance to "church tradition". I don't hate the church, I love the church. But, my faith is in the Messiah. His Word is the authority in my life. I might study early church practices, and for historical purposes learn about church fathers. However, they have no authority in my life. Even the most devout, and persecuted church father can have an incredible testimony of faith ! He would still be a fallible human that at best is an inspiring example. 

So you see, these are the principles that cement me in my daily walk with God.

It gives me great peace. I might not fit in , in a lot of crowds. I might be too Jewish in flavor for the church, and I might not be Jewish enough for Judaism.

But? I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Standing on the Rock of my salvation, arms wide open, and excited to tell the story of His faithfulness to me.