Good Bye to an Old Friend

For the past two years, I have been a part of the blog commnity called "Phoenix Preacher". The blog existed primarily to hold ministries accountable. I never thought I'd become part of a cyber community but I did! I found it challenging at times, wondering if I should even be there. But in the end it morphed into a place where people of various backgrounds and differing theologies could communicate. Were there problems? Of course, but I learned much there and found the folks there to be true and genuine friends. Yesterday, my dear Christian brother Michael Newnham, author of the Phoenix Preacher, felt it time to end the ministry. There is no wrong doing on his part, but after three years, he no doubt felt he had accomplished his task. Please pray for Michael as he readjusts, refreshes and refocuses on what God may have for him in the future.

For those interested, many from that community have congregated at www.calvarychapelblog.com

Rabbi Reveals Name of the Messiah

I learned about this article in Israel Today from my friend Michael Newnham. I found it interesting and you may too. Here's the link to the article but you can read it here in it's entirety
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=128&view=item&idx=1347

Rabbi Reveals Name of the Messiah
Shortly before he died, one of Israel's most prominent rabbis wrote the name of the Messiah on a small note which he requested would remain sealed until now. When the note was opened, it revealed what many have known for centuries: Yehoshua, or Yeshua (Jesus), is the Messiah.

A few months before he died, one of the nation’s most prominent rabbis, Yitzhak Kaduri, supposedly wrote the name of the Messiah on a small note which he requested would remain sealed until now. When the note was unsealed, it revealed what many have known for centuries: Yehoshua, or Yeshua (Jesus), is the Messiah.

With the biblical name of Jesus, the Rabbi and kabbalist described the Messiah using six words and hinting that the initial letters form the name of the Messiah. The secret note said:

Concerning the letter abbreviation of the Messiah’s name, He will lift the people and prove that his word and law are valid.

Thisis I have signed in the month of mercy,
Yitzhak Kaduri

The Hebrew sentence (translated above in bold) with the hidden name of the Messiah reads: Yarim Ha’Am Veyokhiakh Shedvaro Vetorato Omdim

The initials spell the Hebrew name of Jesus, Yehoshua. Yehoshua and Yeshua are eectively the same name, derived from the same Hebrew root of the word “salvation” as documented in Zechariah 6:11 and Ezra 3:2. The same priest writes in Ezra, “Yeshua son of Yozadak” while writing in Zechariah “Yehoshua son of Yohozadak.” The priest adds the holy abbreviation of God’s name, ho, in the father’s name Yozadak and in the name Yeshua.

With one of Israel’s most prominent rabbis indicating the name of the Messiah is Yeshua, it is understandable why his last wish was to wait one year after his death before revealing what he wrote.

When the name of Yehoshua appeared in Kaduri’s message, ultra-Orthodox Jews from his Nahalat Yitzhak Yeshiva (seminary) in Jerusalem argued that their master did not leave the exact solution for decoding the Messiah’s name.

The revelation received scant coverage in the Israeli media. Only the Hebrew websites News First Class (Nfc) and Kaduri.net mentioned the Messiah note, insisting it was authentic. The Hebrew daily Ma'ariv ran a story on the note but described it as a forgery.

Jewish readers responded on the websites' forums with mixed feelings: “So this means Rabbi Kaduri was a Christian?” and “The Christians are dancing and celebrating,” were among the comments.

Israel Today spoke to two of Kaduri’s followers in Jerusalem who admitted that the note was authentic, but confusing for his followers as well. “We have no idea how the Rabbi got to this name of the Messiah,” one of them said.

Yet others completely deny any possibility that the note is authentic. Kaduri’s son, Rabbi David Kaduri, said that at the time the note was written (September 2005), his father’s physical condition made it impossible for him to write.

KADURI'S PORTRAYAL OF THE MESSIAH

A few months before Kaduri died at the age of 108, he surprised his followers when he told them that he met the Messiah. Kaduri gave a message in his synagogue on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, teaching how to recognize the Messiah. He also mentioned that the Messiah would appear to Israel after Ariel Sharon’s death. (The former prime minister is still in a coma after suffering a massive stroke more than a year ago.)

Other rabbis predict the same, including Rabbi Haim Cohen, kabbalist Nir Ben Artzi and the wife of Rabbi Haim Kneiveskzy.

Kaduri’s grandson, Rabbi Yosef Kaduri, said his grandfather spoke many times during his last days about the coming of the Messiah and redemption through the Messiah.

His spiritual portrayals of the Messiah—reminiscent of New Testament accounts—were published on the websites Kaduri.net and Nfc:

“It is hard for many good people in society to understand the person of the Messiah. The leadership and order of a Messiah of flesh and blood is hard to accept for many in the nation. As leader, the Messiah will not hold any office, but will be among the people and use the media to communicate. His reign will be pure and without personal or political desire. During his dominion, only righteousness and truth will reign.

“Will all believe in the Messiah right away? No, in the beginning some of us will believe in him and some not. It will be easier for non-religious people to follow the Messiah than for Orthodox people.

“The revelation of the Messiah will be fullled in two stages: First, he will actively confirm his position as Messiah without knowing himself that he is the Messiah. Then he will reveal himself to some Jews, not necessarily to wise Torah scholars. It can be even simple people. Only then he will reveal himself to the whole nation. The people will wonder and say: ‘What, that’s the Messiah?’ Many have known his name but have not believed that he is the Messiah.”

FAREWELL TO A 'TSADIK'

Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri was known for his photographic memory and his memorization of the Bible, the Talmud, Rashi and other Jewish writings. He knew Jewish sages and celebrities of the last century and rabbis who lived in the Holy Land and kept the faith alive before the State of Israel was born.

Kaduri was not only highly esteemed because of his age of 108. He was charismatic and wise, and chief rabbis looked up to him as a Tsadik, a righteous man or saint. He would give advice and blessings to everyone who asked. Thousands visited him to ask for counsel or healing. His followers speak of many miracles and his students say that he predicted many disasters.

When he died, more than 200,000 people joined the funeral procession on the streets of Jerusalem to pay their respects as he was taken to hisfinal resting place.

“When he comes, the Messiah will rescue Jerusalem from foreign religions that want to rule the city,” Kaduri once said. “They will not succeed for they will fight against one another.”

THE RABBI'S FOLLOWERS REACT

In an interview with Israel Today, Rabbi David Kaduri, the 80-year-old son of the late Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, denied that his father left a note with the name Yeshua just before he died.

“It’s not his writing,” he said when we showed him a copy of the note.

During a nighttime meeting in the Nahalat Yitzhak Yeshiva in Jerusalem, books with the elder Kaduri’s handwriting from 80 years ago were presented to us in an attempt to prove that the Messiah note was not authentic.

When we told Rabbi Kaduri that his father’s official website (www.kaduri.net) had mentioned the Messiah note, he was shocked. “Oh no! That’s blasphemy. The people could understand that my father pointed to him [the Messiah of the Christians].”

David Kaduri confirmed, however, that in his last year, his father had talked and dreamed almost exclusively about the Messiah and his coming. “My father has met the Messiah in a vision,” he said, “and told us that he would come soon.”

Israel Today was given access to many of the rabbi's manuscripts, written in his own hand for the exclusive use of his students. Most striking were the cross-like symbols painted by Kaduri all over the pages. In the Jewish tradition, one does not use crosses. In fact, even the use of a plus sign is discouraged because it might be mistaken for a cross.

But there they were, scribbled in the rabbi's own hand. When we asked what those symbols meant, Rabbi David Kaduri said they were “signs of the angel." Pressed further about the meaning of the “signs of the angel," he said he had no idea. Rabbi David Kaduri went on to explain that only his father had had a spiritual relationship with God and had met the Messiah in his dreams.

Orthodox Jews around the Nahalat Yitzhak Yeshiva told Israel Today a few weeks later that the story about the secret note of Rabbi Kaduri should never have come out, and that it had damaged the name the revered old sage.

Melinda/American Idol and Christian "Music"

I confess that I am a clandestine fan of American Idol. Well, today, I am coming out of the closet to protest the voting off of Melinda Doolittle. America, you got it wrong! Granted, Blake is very creative and very refreshing in a cookie cutter crooner world and Jordin is very good, albeit a little one dimensional, but Melinda had more talent and class than either of the other two combined,squared and multiplied by 10! But I shouldn't be surprised. America has been conditioned to listen to music with their eyes for two decades now and M-Dawg was not as marketable in the pop world as the other two. She has mature voice, and isn’t as glamorous as either Blake or Jordin

Interesting because from the very beginning of this year’s series, Simon kept saying to contestants who wanted to dance, or add a little flair “This is a singing competition”

While I respect Simon's assessment of talent he is only partially correct, as last week's voting revealed. The music industry is less about virtuosity, and talent , and more about marketability and image. Andre Agassi, the tennis player from a few years ago spoke correctly even prophetically when he said “Image is everything”.

Why this rant about Melinda getting the axes from Idol? Because as the world of secular music has gone, so has the music in the church. As a musician (of sorts) I don’t listen to much Christian music and I certainly don’t buy any CD’s and if they are given to me, they usually end up in the garbage can. Sorry; it just doesn’t scratch my musical itch. Ironically, I am on the board of directors for a local 100,000 FM watt Christian radio station. This morning I was driving to a quarterly meeting and I figured I should probably listen to the “product” over which I am responsible and switched the dial to the right frequency and began listening. On the air was a well known female singer. I was mortified. She is cute, photogenic, but can't sing. I have produced a couple of records in my life and can tell, her voice was weak, devoid of control, training, or soul and her voice was heavily processed to make her sound like she was slide over notes like Whitney Houston used to do. It was as if a computerized digitized voice were singing instead of a human being. And the lyrics...impotent and fruitless .

Not wanting to jump to a quick or hasty judgment, I listened until a little longer and another over processed voice came on singing what sounded to me like bad karaoke. This girl, another Christian Pop-Tart, had as much soul and personality as the back wall of a racquetball court, and she began each phrase with a groan that sounded like an engine starting up on a cold Minnesota morning! It was embarrassing.

As well as being a pastor, I sometimes lead worship in my church. Can I be honest? It is very difficult to find a good worship song. One of the last good worship songs was “Shout to the Lord” or maybe “God of Wonders” . I’ll listen to 25 or 50 songs before I can find one I will put in a worship context. Most songs are directed toward the worshiper and not the Lord. For instance, “Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord is a good song, and I agree we need to have our spiritual eyes opened, but what’s the focus if the song? Me, Us, I. Should I me, us, be the focus of a worship set?

A few years back, Sonic flood made popular a tune whose lyric was, “In the secret in the quiet place…in the quiet hours I wait only for you….” Another good song that speaks of the spiritual discipline of waiting and being quiet before the Lord, but is it worship?

Some (like my friend Laura) might say "yes" but in the book of Revelation, chapters 4-6 the church is seen in heaven and there is a worship service. Listen to the words they sing: “Holy, Holy, Holy; Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come” And as you read through those worship songs, you’ll realize there is one word missing from all the worship choruses” The word, “I”. It’s not there. I believe worship is the only real gift we can bring to the Lord. But when the songs we sing are to motivate me to worship more, or focus on the gift we bring or anything other than the character and awesomeness of God, in my song book, it's not really worship and we miss out on a great opportunity to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.

You may not know it but I am completely bald. I shave every morning. I like the look. But baldness was a characteristic of my father and it is a characteristic of both of his sons. In worship God inhabits the praises of His people. He infuses his spiritual DNA to ours and we take on more and more of his holy characteristics.

So what do we do? First let's begin to demand more from our song writers, musicians, and worship leaders. I believe we should settle for nothing less than skill, and musicianship. That’s not to take away from those who are less talented but, on a grand scale, I have had it with shoddy musicianship and lousy “me" oriented music.

Secondly, let’s begin to seize control again of the Christian music industry. In the 80’s most of the major Christian labels, Word, Myrrh, and others were "absorbed" by secular companies like A&M and EMI. The record companies began to dictate to us what we should and and shouldn’t like.

Thirdly, get Christian music out of concert halls and into churches again. This will mean that church will need to support it’s artist. One of the reasons A&M and EMI were successful at a Christian music take over was the church didn’t pay their artists well. The big labels promised to take care of the Christian musicians financially, where the church failed

Lastly, let's not be dictated to by the labels. Let’s demand more from our Christian music and our worship songs. Let’s stop listening to music with our eyes and start listening with our hearts. Let’s foster environments where God directed worship songs can be composed. Let's draw upon the wisdom and ability of talented song writers and musicians who have gone before us like Bob Bennett, or Roby Duke or Billy Crockett, or Twila Paris. And if we do this, the record labels whose only real interest is money, will get the message, and either quit making merchandise of the church, or wise up, get a clue and start start producing music that is glorifying, edifying and skillful.

Lessons About God from a Hamster

This last Sunday was Mother’s Day and Holly, a member of our church, and a mother spoke a few minutes to the virtues of motherhood. She talked of the struggles and the payback which on this Mother’s Day, was rubbery eggs, and coffee served in a dirty cup. But she loved them both.

One day her young daughter Heather asked, “Mom , how do you know God is real”? Caught a little off guard, she thought a moment and gave what she felt was a good theological treatise and in a manner a 10 year old could understand. But, her answer didn’t quite satisfy her daughter’s curious mind because she asked the same question the other day. Holly prayed, “Lord help me with explain this.

A few days later, the family hamster escaped it’s cage. After an extensive search, the little rat-chipmunk cross was found. Holly announced her find to the family and her daughter asked where he was found. “In the drawer” Holly said.. Heather said “ Wow! I prayed and God told me that the hamster would be in the clothes drawer”

Amazing. I share this because as my friend Roby Duke told me once when I was doubting my abilities as a pastor “There is a Holy Spirit”. I wonder if we have forgotten than. John 17 tells us that it’s the Spirit’s job to convict of sin, judgment and righteousness. Do we really believe that or do we feel it’s our job to perform those duties. It is my firm conviction that when we “be like Christ” to a pagan world, the Holy Spirit uses that as a tool to convict and draw people to Himself. If he is exalted or lifted up, then HE will draw all people to Himself.

I was at an artist conference this last weekend and had the opportunity to listen to and become friends with Ron Dicianni. Ron has done art work for President Bush, Max Lucado, Randy Alcorn and others. He is probably the foremost Christian artist in the country right now.

He told a story of a man by the name of Grover who used to work with him. Grover had two children; a boy Devan, and a girl, Joy. When the kids were just toddlers, Joy, exited the family van on the busy side of the street and was hit and killed by a passing motorist. Needless to say it was devastated the family.

Ron painted a picture of Joy, about 5 years old, holding the hand of Jesus, walking peacefully together through heaven, and gave it to Grover. Like any of us, Ron who is a selfless godly man, expected to hear back from the family, but he didn’t. Not even a thank you note. Ron, as you might imagine, felt a little bothered by this but trusted the Lord non the less. Quite some time passed and he saw Grover and asked if he ever received the paining. “Yes” Grover said. “It’s hanging in Devan’s room”.

Ron confessed that in his flesh, the fact that one of his pieces was hanging in a child’s room was a little disappointing to him. “Well, that’s nice, I guess”, Ron said. But Grover went on to explain “When we got your painting, we opened it with the whole family present. Devan saw the picture grabbed it by both sides and said ‘I want this picture’. You see Joy and Devan had both been taught not to exit a car on the traffic side but Devan and Joy were arguing in the car that day and Devan pushed her out of the car which caused her to be struck and killed by a car. He felt horrible. But the knowledge that Joy is with Jesus helps him”

Folks, let’s do our job and let the Holy Spirit do his job. Let’s be like Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to convict of Sin, judgment and righteousness. And if we do our job, He will do his.