choir loft

It's not just Iran....it's everywhere. NOBODY wants peace. EVERYBODY wants war....EVERYBODY. No talk is heard promoting peace. The attitude everywhere is that war is permissible if its kept on simmer level. There is nothing good about a crock-pot war. No nation that continues in everlasting war can long survive - that include the United States. We are all of us headed toward a massive global debacle at top speed. It is time to REPENT and seek peace with God while time allows. A great many of us may soon be standing in front of Him. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

Demonic infestation can have several causes, but for the Christian its primarily due to SIN in one's life that hasn't been removed. REPENT of the wickedness and closet SIN in your life. The purpose of demons is rather like vultures dining on roadkill. The birds provide a useful natural purpose albeit one that's rather disgusting. So too do demons. They torture and torment even the Christian...ESPECIALLY the Christian who entertains closet SIN and wickedness. REPENT OF THE WICKEDNESS AND CLOSET SIN IN YOUR LIFE. Pray for the spirit of repentance. Jesus will handle the demons. You don't need to pay an exorcist or spiritualist or deliverance minister. All of these are con artists that prey upon the fears and torment of others. Deliverance ministries thrive on the hypocrisy of closet SIN in the lives of Christians. TURN YOUR BACK UPON SIN. If you have to resort to extreme measures, then fast. Fasting means no food. You may drink water, but nothing else. If your dietary requirements cannot sustain a period of time without some sort of nourishment, then you should consult a physician before beginning a fast. The idea is to severely deny the flesh. When do you stop fasting? You stop when the Lord honors your petition for repentance and your extreme desire to deny SIN in all its forms in your life. ALL OF IT. Leave nothing untouched. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

There is far too much being attributed to demons and the actions of satan. Most of it is trash talk. The passage Luke 8:26-40 is the story of Jesus liberating a man from demonic oppression. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING suggesting implying or written concerning Enoch, the antiChrist, or giant spirits. It is a story of liberty granted to a man by the Son of Man. What does scripture say about the one who promotes a false gospel? "I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse! (Galatians 1:6-9) that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

I AGREE that demonic influences can and do inhibit and inhabit believers. Deliverance ministries make a lot of money on this basis. Traditional church leaders like to tell their gullible flocks it can't happen to them, while at the same time refusing to preach REPENTANCE. Christians are not immune to demonic infestation. Deliverance ministries make a lot of money on the basis of spiritual possession of the saints. Christians are told that Christ can give us the victory over any and all of life's problems including bad habits, bad choices and spiritual dysfunction. Deliverance ministries make a lot of money on the basis of spiritual possession of the saints. The problem is that most don't care. They prefer to go about their business...to live their own lives ... that were once upon a time given to Christ. What happens then? According to the Bible, refusal to surrender to the will of God can result in PUNISHMENT of the aforementioned wandering Christian. If surrender continues to be refused Our Lord may go so far as to call that person home early...so as to save the spirit of that person rather than the flesh. We do not live lives part from Christ if we've surrendered to Him. REPENTANCE is the only solution. These are the days of judgment. It is time and past time to seek peace with God. Let us remember that God took on human form. Why did He do that? Have we forgotten in the mad rush to devote ourselves to rumors of demonic aberrations? REPENT NOW. This is especially important for those who know Christ....or who once knew Him, but have turned aside to wander in the desert of carnal desire. that's me, hollering from the choir loft.... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

Typical SPIN about Florida from someone who doesn't know the state at all. The "Villages" isn't one place....or even one 'village'. It's a real estate development franchise that spans tens of thousands of acres of central Florida as well as a number of incorporated Cities and towns. It's most definitely NOT AFFORDABLE. What IS affordable in the Villages are the STD testing clinics. Homeowner's insurance in Florida is almost unaffordable by anyone. They are driving people out of the state in record numbers. Property taxes are going up, with the proceeds now being diverted from public education to public works (to assist the developers of real estate 'villages'.) Did I write there were no churches? Village people worship God on the fairway...Golf Courses instead of church. Read the adverts. Tee time on Sunday morning is more important than worship time. "I can worship God in the great outdoors," they say. (Hebrews 10:25) It's known all across America what goes on in the Villages. People that live there deny it. Why wouldn't they? Is it something to be proud of? The incidence of STDs in the Villages is the highest of any group of communities in America. Churches seem to have NO effect upon sexual dysfunction and SIN in Central Florida. I've been to a few congregations in the area. Their Vegas style production numbers on Sunday morning are designed to entertain rather than to inspire worship. Sometimes people ask why I'm angry. Come down and waste a few years in these halls of pretentious prayer and you'll understand why...you'll SEE the hypocrisy for yourself. REPENTANCE is long overdue, but nobody wants to promote THAT attitude....it would potentially decrease paying customers in church. (A Methodist minister told me their church preaches the 'soft gospel' ... meaning no repentance is needed and no atonement is required....only membership in the church.) Do Florida churches now issue Get-Out-of-Hell free cards? Apparently they do...what a concept! Finally, I inform the reader that I personally know of healthcare professionals that work in the Villages near Leesburg. Some of the incidents cannot be posted here, even if polite editing was applied to the stories. Florida is littered with churches, very few of which serve the God of the Bible. Most of them serve corrupt inept pastors who have led their congregations into enormous debt (an average of 3 million per church according to national surveys) on a journey to whatever hellish fate awaits them. C'mon down and see for yourself. Bring lots of cash when you do. Church folks are few and far between, mostly the older generation, btw. (Does that give you a clue?) You will not see many working age folks in Florida churches. Church groups are too busy bickering with one another or gossiping with one another to be of use to the Kingdom of God...to actually DO ANYTHING AT ALL. They will smile and shake your hand in church, but later stab you in the back. (I know because its been done to me several times. There is no Koinonia love in these houses of pretentious prayer.) Snowbirds come and go (adding to dysfunctional assumptions that the church as a whole is growing when it isn't (*)). Tourists generally are too busy with the Parks to bother with cheap religious hypocrisy hereabouts. Florida in general and central Florida in particular is a spiritual desert...a wasteland of lost inspiration and bankrupt ideology. And well meaning folks who prefer to wear rose colored glasses will tell you all is right with America...when it's circling the toilet drain of history. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10) (*) NO CHURCH ever actually deletes members from its mailing list. These databases are normally administered by hired organizations outside the church and rarely delete members who've died or moved to another church. (I personally had to threaten a mega church in my city with litigation when they refused to remove my name from their mailing list when I changed my affiliation.) Typical of church members here are 'Snowbirds' who live in northern states during summer, but who move to Florida during the winter. Snowbirds typically 'join' churches in both communities - effectively doubling the number of members nationwide when the actual figure is half or less than half due to death, chronic disease or changes in religious affiliation. The same is true for western and southwestern states. The over all number of members in our churches is less than half of what we are being told.

In the suburbs of Orlando, Florida.....the home of Disney, Universal Studios and all manner of cheesy entertainment....there is a community of spiritualists. You can feel the eerie vibes from that place when you drive past the entrance at 65mph. You can also drive over to the area between Leesburg and Gainsville to a zone called THE VILLAGES. Google it. It's a series of retirement developments that has the highest level of STDs in the nation (maybe the world too). OH yea, Florida has got it all - including the largest collection of dead churches in America (outside Las Vegas, San Fran and LA). All the good church types envy the situation because they wish they had something like it to $ell to the community. They don't. People in Orlando are more interested in sports tournaments and music concerts and milking MONEY from suckers who come here from all over the country ... to worry about OuiJa board worshippers, or whatever they are. Nobody hereabouts pays the least bit of attention to churches and their particular form of cheesy entertainment. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

I wrote about the distinction earlier. Please reread those posts if you wish to understand my intent. I don't need to continually repeat myself for those who only want to argue. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

(1) Agreed. (2) Disagree, provisionally. Ceremonial laws were NOT abolished by the death of Messiah. They were fulfilled, which does not carry the same connotation. Additionally, the book of Hebrews writes the first covenant was "obsolete" and that the first covenant 'will soon disappear'. (NIV) This particular passage was written while Herod's temple still stood. As you remember it was torn down by the Romans in 70 AD. Thus many ceremonial requirement of the LAW, including animal sacrifice, were rendered impossible by the fact that the temple no longer existed. Animal sacrifices were TEMPORARY because animals, however pure they may have been, were mortal. This is why animal sacrifices had to be performed continually. When God died on the cross He did so to sacrifice an immortal life. Thus His was a PERMANENT sacrifice for all people for all time. Jesus' death fulfilled the requirement of the LAW. It did not abolish the LAW. His death does not need to be repeated because of the immortal nature of God's life. The PROBLEM with all this, according to the LAW, is that one is required by the LAW to accept God's mandated sacrifice (Jesus) in order to approach God. If one does not accept the sacrifice of God's own life then one cannot be accepted by God...one cannot be granted immortal life in exchange. In other words, the nature of man, which is to die, will not be altered if one does not accept God's sacrifice AS THE LAW REQUIRES. Those that argue against the LAW fail to realize that when their local pastor makes an alter call, he is doing so in accord with the LAW which requires all men to surrender to His will and apply His sacrifice accordingly. Rejection of God's LAW results in the Second Death, by the LAW. (3) Jewish tradition, as expressed in Mosaic LAW, remains. For example, a serious Jew won't eat bacon bits on his salad or buy a cheese burger from McDonalds' on Saturday (do not mix meat with dairy and don't hire someone to work for you on Shabbat). Ask yourself if you as a non-Jew are bound by Jewish tradition and you'll have your answer. According to apostolic epistles non-Jews are not bound by Jewish tradition. Even the Torah doesn't require it of them. NOBODY is saying Torah is abolished in any way. There are two major misunderstandings of non-Jews about the Biblical discussions of Jesus and the apostles about LAW and works. First is that they were referring to the Law of Works also called the Talmud. The Talmud was composed during the Babylonian captivity and is an invention of man/the Jewish Rabbinate. The Torah was given by God in an act of Grace to Moses. It is divinely inspired. Second, Jesus lived by Torah. He did NOT live by or was bound by Talmud. We read many instances in the gospels where Talmidim (disciples) of the Talmud were angry with Jesus for performing miracles on Shabbat. There is no restriction against such things in Torah, but there are restrictions in Talmud. There is a definite distinction between the two and Jesus made it many times. Finally it should be understood that the LAW/Torah nowhere claims to be able to save anybody. Talmud does! Therefore much of the writing of the apostles is an argument against the law of works (Talmud) vs. Grace (Torah). One has to be a Jew who is familiar with the distinction and the argument to understand what is being said and not said. Non-Jews, who are normally unaware of these differences are pretty confused about the whole argument. LAW (Torah) and Grace are pretty much the same thing - operating together for the justification and sanctification of men. Hope this helps. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

I believe I've already written my position about that. Please scroll up and read it again. CL

Spelling of the Hebrew representation of the Name of the Son of Man varies depending upon who uses it and where it appears. The Hebrew pronunciation remains the same as you have demonstrated. Spelling varies from the example you've posted as well as Y'shuah to Yshuah to Yeshuah, etc. In the Messianic Shabbat Siddur (Messanic Sabbath prayer book), the Name (Hashem) is spelled YESHUA. A lot of people who are new to our congregations get the spelling really mixed up. I can't pretend to list all the variations they come up with. Most of us know what they mean, though. They are sincere about trying to get it right and that's all that matters to us. I'm not here to say you're wrong about spelling, but you're not exactly right either. The Name (hashem) is holy and I believe that's what really matters. Don't you agree? A lot of Jews don't even use the word Adonai as is spoken in the Shema. They don't usually say "God" either. Instead they say Hashem, which literally means THE NAME. I should point out a few tips to ANYBODY who is interested in witnessing to a Jew about the Son of Man (use this term rather than Son of God. 'Son of Man' refers to Daniel 7. I have no idea why they choke on Son of God, but not Son of Man other than its a tradition thing.). Do NOT refer to a difference between Old Testament and New Testament. Instead use the term New Covenant or, better still, direct references to the gospels or epistles. They know what you mean, but separating the Bible into component parts irritates them. DO remind them that all the Bible Christians use was written by Jews for Jews (except the gospel of Luke and book of Acts). The Bible isn't a relic of space aliens. DO NOT tell them they are "Christ killers." It was Roman soldiers who actually executed the King of the Jews. Everybody in town had a part in killing God that day, Jew and non-Jew alike. DO remind them they ought to read Isaiah 53, which is the most graphic representation of the crucifixion anywhere in the Bible. Oddly, the regular reading of scripture in every synagogue does NOT have any passage from Isaiah 53. They 'skip over it'. If they won't read the gospels they should read Isaiah 53. Most of them haven't. DO remind them that Y'shuah (the Hebrew name of the Son of Man...USE IT) survived his own public execution and walked out of His own tomb a few days later. Only God could do that....and it is documented in many secular records as well as the four gospels...some of those accounts are rather shocking, btw. There are other hints too, but that's all I need to share today. Thanks for reading... that's me, hollering from the choir loft.... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

All I read here is a lengthy wordy defense of SIN.......godless licentious SIN. That's all anyone seems to be able to come up with. Either one is in obedience to God's LAW or one is in rebellion against it. It's just that simple....no apology in defense or 'spin' of SIN will stand against the LAW. that's me, hollering from the choir loft...

Once again the LAW is being subjected to the criticism of illiterate dogma. What do you know of the LAW? Little, if all you can do is argue about dietary restrictions and what does or doesn't dangle between....... Little, if the purpose of your entire discourse is to defend SIN itself. The books of the LAW, the PROPHETS and the WRITINGS comprise the books of the Tanakh, what is generally referred to as the Old Covenant by church types. The nomenclature has been adopted by people who today DENY any covenant between God and His people. This is why I wrote apart from the LAW no one can be saved. Matthew 5:17 quotes Jesus saying, "I did not come to abolish the LAW. I came to fulfill it." Is Jesus Christ a liar? If He is, then this entire discussion is moot. If He isn't, then there is something else going on that the church cannot fathom because THE CHURCH IS IN LOVE WITH ITS OWN SIN. The church today exalts a godless gospel of hyper grace that doesn't exist and never did exist. The LAW and GRACE work together. One is saved by grace according to the LAW so that they may live lives of holiness, apart from the world, according to the LAW. Having been saved is one justified in killing one's neighbor, raping his wife, stealing his worldly goods and burning his neighbor's house to the ground after which he can walk away justified in himself? Sounds more like a middle eastern philosophy than anything promoted in the Bible. YET it is exactly this that our churches now promote. For instance, the Gay Alliance has a greater voice in the assembly of faux saints today than the rigors of the gospel and its call to REPENTANCE for SIN. Do you deny this hypocrisy? (1 Corinthians 6:9) Shall I go on to mention leadership abuse of minors, of the rape of little boys, of ministers of the gospel who have sexual affairs with women who aren't their wives, of church employees who regularly embezzle money from the common purse, of church youth programs that promote horizontal entertainment for teens rather than Bible study? Shall I continue about violations of the laws of man and god to certify what I here declare? The church is riddled with the cancer of SIN and WILL NOT let go of it. For this offense against both God and man the church shall die as an institution. Let us depart from meaningless bickering about diet and traditions of personal hygiene (that are medically sound, btw). The church, like the pharisees in Jesus' time has rejected God's LAW and traditions and adopted pagan substitutes instead. The church today is as religiously hypocritical as the pharisees, yet it's hubris justifies any wicked thing it chooses to put its hand upon. Continue to reject the necessity and vitality of God's LAW and you will see the institutional church crumble into the dust of history before your eyes...not understanding at all why it is happening. THE LAW STILL STANDS. Take a long hard look at Jesus' words and my poor attempt to explain them. Take a long hard look at the corruption of the church and its withering existence in the world. Take a long hard look at the LAW and you will see the beauty of it as well as the condemnation our church justly deserves. For it is the Grace of God that gave us His LAW, not to be abolished but to be lived as He gives us purpose to do so. The FIRST thing the LAW requires of anyone is REPENTANCE. The church has denied that too. that's me, hollering from the choir loft....

If non-Jews aren't required to live by the LAW, then none of them could be saved. It is the LAW that tells us we need salvation. It is the LAW that tells us we need to approach God for atonement. It is the LAW that prescribes the method by which God has established our justification. None other. There is no other way a man can be saved. None. The LAW is not dead...has not been abolished. (Matt 5:17) Jesus said so. Did He lie about it? How then ought we to live? If non-Jews aren't required to live by the LAW, then its perfectly ok for me to kill you, rape your wife, steal your goods, burn your house to the ground and blame you for the whole affair. Sounds more like a middle east theocracy to me than the LAW of God operating in the minds and hearts of those He has redeemed by His blood - by the LAW. Are we saved by the LAW so that we can put our hands on any filthy thing we desire? THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LICENSE TO SIN. The Ruach ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) puts God's LAW into our hearts so that we can live by it, not so we can play religious games with it. Nowhere does the Bible say those for whom Christ died are allowed to SIN without restriction. Everywhere does it say we are to live by the LAW as He has given us GRACE to do so. Fifty days after Easter/passover, Pentacost demonstrated God's Gracious gift of the Holy Spirit - His gift of grace to live in His will. Fifty days after Pesach/passover, the feast of Shavout celebrates God's Gracious gift of the LAW to Moses - His gift of grace for atonement. BOTH observances fall on the SAME HEBREW CALENDAR DAY. Is this a coincidence or is God saying something very important about LAW & GRACE? They are the same thing! We are called to live in accordance with the LAW as God gives us GRACE to do so. Are non-Jews required to emasculate themselves, to restrict their diet and to observe Jewish holidays? They are not required to do so because they aren't CHOSEN of God to keep them, but they ARE required to live by that which justifies them before God - THE LAW OF MOSES. The Post-modern church has betrayed the gospel....that gospel once delivered to non-Jews BY JEWS, but a church that thinks it can live in hypocrisy and replace God's LAW with its own ordinances and with its own traditions .... THE SAME error that the pharisees of Jesus' time presumed they could do as well. So go out and tell yourself you are justified in your SIN, that you can break God's LAW applicable to all men....and see what happens. The first thing that will happen is that your church will close its doors permanently. And that's exactly what's happening today. Don't you get it? I hope so. The post-modern church and all its disciples are too busy wallowing in SIN and justifying itself in false grace to understand God's will or TO DO IT. They shall have their reward in the lake of fire. Hopefully, you will not follow them in their error. that's me, hollering from the choir loft... (Isaiah 6:9-10)

Glad you mentioned false doctrine in what is generally perceived as the Messianic community. Not all Messanic Jews are messianic....nor are they Christian or Jew. If the reader has any predisposition to explore the Messianic Jewish movement, which is currently experiencing a Ruach ha-kodesh (Holy Spirit) global revival much like the Jesus movement in America during the 1970's, one would be well advised to understand that there are wolves in sheep's clothing among us. MOST of the false doctrine you mention is gnostic in nature and is manifest in what is known among us as THE HEBREW ROOTS MOVEMENT. (google it) We like to say these misdirected people "play Jewish dress-up" because they are more like department store mannequins than religious devotees - empty of any substance but giving an outward appearance of religion. Originating with the Pentacostal tradition, the HEBREW ROOTS MOVEMENT IS a tossed salad of pagan and religious notions that have no foundation either in the Bible, in secular society or in anything approaching religious or moral discipline. Ergo: gnostic. It begins with an almost absolute rejection of Mosaic LAW (*), which is the foundation of most Jewish disciplines and in the 1st century at least was at the heart of Christianity. It continues with a not-so-subtle rejection of the gospel definition of "being saved" or of being "born again". Even Jesus said one must be born again (John 3:7), but these promoters of false religion deny both the words of Christ and the LAW of God which has not been abolished (Matt 5:17). Messianic Jews DO have a lock on salvation. Why? Because we are directed by the LAW of Moses, which says it's possible during one's lifetime, and by Jesus the Son of God who defined the human duty before God, by the LAW of God. It's not rocket science, but wayward Pentacostal doctrine, which has manifested in the HEBREW ROOTS MOVEMENT denies it all. To them some secret knowledge is all that matters....knowledge that is not present either in the Tanakh (OT), gospels or epistles. Actual Biblical doctrine has as its root the LAW of Moses and it hasn't been outlawed except by those who even deny salvation itself. You referred to "actual Biblical doctrine." If the LAW isn't at the heart of it - its false doctrine. Jesus NEVER did or said ANYTHING opposing the LAW. Neither did any apostle...all of whom were Jews, by the way. All of them attended Shul (worship meetings) in synagogue. Much is said of the 1st century church, of 1st century disciples (Talmidim) of Jesus (Y'shuah), but much is also denied that WE were Messianic Jews. We still are. Beware the lies of the Hebrew Roots Movement and of those antisemites who hate Jews no matter where they may be found. Jesus IS a Jew, by the way. I follow Him, by the LAW given Grace to live it. I am a Messianic Jew. WE are the future. that's me, hollering from the choir loft.... (Isaiah 6:9-10) (*) It's interesting to note the religious hypocrisy in Pentacostal and Hebrew Roots Movement devotees. On one hand they claim the LAW is abolished. It isn't, but they insist it's been replaced by Grace, which is mostly the same thing. Their opinion is that grace is a form of religious licentiousness - one is allowed in their discipline to put one's hand on any filthy thing one desires and be justified in their own eyes. Having claimed the LAW is abolished they then insist one owes a 10% tithe to the church - based upon the LAW. Which is it? They have no idea. They just want your money.

I've written a few books myself. Is it now appropriate to advertise one's literature on these pages so as to garner a profit from gullible types who believe anything they read? People who tred upon the desire of others for some sort of spiritual circus act or to obtain the approval of other men are not the sort of people from whom one can learn truth. Instead of learning spiritual magic to impress one's friends at the next fellowship meeting, it might be more spiritually efficacious to learn what pleases God instead. Or is pleasing God now something that's not important to anyone? Are we all so fervent to obtain gifts of the spirit from God that we cannot embrace the subtle rewards of pleasing God and giving to Him (by faith) instead? The post-modern church today has so corrupted itself that pleasing the congregation rather than God is the primary focus of ministry. that's me, hollering from the choir loft.... (Isaiah 6:9-10)