My First Step

I had visited Messianic congregations in the New York area in the past.  Not that many though. Those I visited seemed very familiar. They were similar to the charismatic, spirit filled, church I was attending .  Even the Friday night Shabbat services I attended, at a then nearby Messianic congregation in upstate New York, were basically no different than the Friday night service at my local church.  Foolishly, at that point, I decided there was no real difference between the two and I stopped searching for the more--something deeper in my walk with my the L-rd that my heart was asking for.

Although I was very drawn to the "Messianic,"  I didn't understand what that meant.  I knew I had a love for the Jewish people.  I knew my L-rd and Savior was Jewish.  What was I searching for?

I didn't know that it would take me 20 years to begin to learn the truth about the Hebraic roots of my faith.  You can say that I am just starting my Messianic walk.  It started a quick 6 months ago.  I say quick because I have learned so much in such a short amount of time.

Tony Robinson (restoration of torah.org) says that many Christians coming into the Messianic movement believe they were deceived by the Church, and they won't trust any teaching unless they see it first in the Torah.  I agree with Tony Robinson.  I am one of those believers. 

When I came face to face with the truth of Torah, I realized that I had been living my life accepting a partial truth.  Because of my ignorance, I was picking and choosing what commandments I would follow.  I thought that certain commandments were abolished and not for today.  This, however, is contrary to the Word of G-d. 

I have found the truth of Torah, but why was the Torah kept from me in the first place?  Why was I not taught Torah as I started my walk with the Savior?  Why wasn't Torah preached from the pulpit? 

I looked back at my Christian walk over the past 20 years and I see the mercy of G-d.  I see how His love for us transcends all our inadequacies and failures.  He sees our hearts.  If we seek Him with all our hearts, He will lead us to the complete truth of His Word. 

In his wisdom, Tony Robinson also says that many good things have come out of the church, more good than bad.  When coming into the Messianic, I was one of those who felt deceived by the church.  But if it hadn't been for the Church I would not have heard the message of salvation.  My heart would not have been stirred to take Yeshua into my heart and become his child. 

I stepped into Sar Shalom, a Messianic congregation, in July of 2011.  That was a life changing step.