Perplexed and feeling alone in church matter

Being as Christianity has roots in Judaism, I thought becoming a Christian and learning & being exposed to Jewish customs, especially ancient ones, should make a Christian lean towards Jewish culture, especially Messianic Jewish. Learning about ancient Jewish customs only helps me understand the Bible better.

I have been in a couple of Messianic Jewish synagogues, and for the most part, loved the worship (& dance), and found the teachings interesting (from what I can remember). I didn't and still don't understand their "thing" for the Torah, while claiming they believe the New Testament, too, as well as a few other things they did.

Now the problem. My hubby is a Christian and goes to church with me, but from the get-go I felt the Jewish tone was missing. Before this one we went to one that HAD that undertone, and I loved it. They didn't consider themselves a synagogue or even a "Messianic" anything, but they seemed quite familiar with the music. I felt like the worship time was truly glorious and beautiful. PLUS, I saw more of the Charismatic giftings uttered. I have long figured that the degree of worship ushered in the Holy Spirit that much more. The one now, has never expressed an interest in incorporating Jewish anything into its services, and I can't understand why. What's more is my hubby has been in a Messianic Congregation with me, thought it was boring, and at the end couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I have also been to more traditional churches and felt like they were stuck in a hymnal and/or organ music rut. Like they were afraid to sing any songs other than hymns, which to me have mostly old words.

I have been so in love with Jewish music and teachings that I have often wondered if I have some in my biological history, though I doubt it.
I don't feel I can talk with my hubby about this, because I can see he doesn't feel the same way, nor do I feel I can talk to the church, because I don't think they would understand or want it in there. And I can't understand WHY.

Can anyone offer any insight or advice or explanation as to why some Christians aren't into anything Jewish?

An actual book could be written to answer your question.

In short, I'd offer that the majority of churchgoers are near completely unaware of what's within the Old Testament. "Christians" typically focus on the New Testament, thinking something like, "We're under the New Disposition. What does the Old Testament have to do with me?" - That's actually what my Sunday School teacher believed throughout his entire life. It wasn't until about forty years later that he and I really began to dig into the entire Bible that we realized how utterly wrong both he and I had been. Neither of us knew anything about the Old Testament, therefore, it could only be said that we hadn't a clue as to the Story of God, or in other words, the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I highly encourage you to read the entire Bible in a timeline, chronological order so that you can appreciate the plight of the Jewish community in its full form. See the link below if you don't already have such a reading plan:

Timeline Chronological Reading Plan

When you are able to see the history of humanity almost as if a picture in your mind, your love for the Jewish community will be even greater than it is today. Your love for these remarkable people will be strengthened even further still, and though they do not appreciate Christians, your sense of Holy Compassion for them will be heightened. Why?

Isaiah 29:10 NLT - "For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries."

Paul quoted this text (or its companion, which is Deut 29:4) when he delved into even deeper when he wrote:

Romans 11:7-8 NLT - "So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have--the ones God has chosen--but the hearts of the rest were hardened. As the Scriptures say, "God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear."

There you go! Paul just gave us all one of the most important clues to understanding all that Scripture is about. First, it shows us the utter Power of God, which is that He is capable of taking away the option of free will from the near entire Jewish community. Un . . . believable! That level of Power is simply staggering! But also, the above text gives us explanation for understanding three things:

1) The Purpose of Christ
2) The Work of Christ
3) The Effect of Christ

The Purpose of Christ is to take away the Veil that covers the hearts, and of course, that Veil is the Sinful Nature. How Christ does this is the Work of Christ, which includes granting Repentance, Spiritual Circumcision, granting the Holy Spirit, and paying the debt for our sin on the cross. The Effect of Christ is to be reborn, having been lifted of the Veil, or, the Sinful Nature.

But these Promises were also granted to the Gentiles, thus destroying the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. For when that wall is destroyed, we all become Brothers and Sisters in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free. The Purpose of Christ is to Redeem all that the Father had given to him of the Curse of the Sinful Nature, SO THAT we would be completely Transformed in the way we think and believe, and that our behaviors would fall in line.

And when you read of the dissemination of the entire Law in the Old Testament, which spans three books, imagine that they had to LIVE IT! You're only struggling through reading of the Law, but they had to live it . . . day in; day out. Be with them; experience their plight and suffering of having to obey that law that often rendered them outside of camp for extended periods of time (a punishment for their sins). No wonder the Lord gave them manna to eat, for how could they survive under such strict rules?

I am glad to see that you have a heart for our Blessed, remarkable Jewish friends. It warms my heart that you "get it."

These sites may be of interest to you...
https://www.commonwealthofisrael.org/
https://bneyyosefna.com/

If you care to study church history as I have, you will soon discover that the modern day Christians aren't into anything. I read an article a few weeks ago that said the biggest barrier to Christians knowing God is the church. The requirements of their salvation is to go to church Sunday morning and perhaps once during the week and if you do that you have paid your dues.

I don't find that surprising because the quality of the preaching in most cases is woeful. The word depth is not even on the horizon. 90% of what I know is from my two years at Bible College and my own personal study helped by having a library that deals with serious study of the Bible and the Christian walk.

Because I know that Christianity was and is based on the Jewish way of life, I have spent many hours studying New Testament Judaism to get a greater understanding of what the bible teaches. Since I have been doing that the bible makes much more sense as it has given me a greater understanding of what it says.[/QUOTE]

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Still, why do you suppose so many churches seem totally oblivious to the richness of the Bible and God's giftings? One reason I have seen is that they are afraid of "offending" or scaring newcomers away. Understandable, but sad. The thoughts during my first exposure to churches that are open to the move of the Holy Spirit's moving like I had never seen before was EXCITING. Then I saw the extra "anointing" that the Jewish music gave to it.

Do you see why my heart has ached and I've been so perplexed at this lack I've been seeing?

Still, why do you suppose so many churches seem totally oblivious to the richness of the Bible and God's giftings? One reason I have seen is that they are afraid of "offending" or scaring newcomers away. Understandable, but sad. The thoughts during my first exposure to churches that are open to the move of the Holy Spirit's moving like I had never seen before was EXCITING. Then I saw the extra "anointing" that the Jewish music gave to it.

Do you see why my heart has ached and I've been so perplexed at this lack I've been seeing?[/QUOTE]

You wrote:

“I don't understand the closing or blinding of the eyes and/or hearts of the Jews when God has wanted them to recognize and accept that Jesus was and is the Messiah they have been looking for. Jesus even told them, perhaps sadly, that they would not see Him again until that day.--which sounds to me like a continual postponement of Jesus' return.”

This is an outstanding question. First, Paul talks about God having an Eternal Plan, as you will read below. But it's important to recognize that where there is a Plan, that means Power and Control in order for the Lord to be able to implement it. Some people say that God didn’t “make” things happen, but that He is so Powerful that He can see our end before they take place. Biblically, there doesn’t seem to be any Bible to support that idea. God is not a simple bystander, rather, He is an enforcer who makes His Plan happen.

Ephesians 3:9-11 NLT – “I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. 10 God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So again, the single most important concept that we are to grasp from the Bible is that God is Powerful and we are not. When you follow the timeline, chronological reading plan, please please please take note of every instance where God’s Power is either on display or He simply tells us about it (which is often).

So, to answer your question of why God would blind the eyes of the Jews, the answer is Power. God want to show us His Power by predicting all things and then making them happen. Here is why the Lord blinded their beloved eyes . . . the continuation of Romans 11 that I initially quoted about Israel’s “deep sleep”:

Romans 11:11-15 NLT – “Did God's people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. 12 Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God's offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. 13 I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, 14 for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. 15 For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!”

Again, the primary principle that we are to recognize is that the Plan of God revolves around Power. Paul is telling us that the Lord’s Plan was to use the Gentiles to cause the Jews to become Jealous so that the would claim Salvation. And as you read the Bible in the timeline, chronological order, you will discover that God has NOT awakened the Jews as of yet. This most incredible display of Power is yet to come. Wouldn’t that be amazing to see? Can you imagine the Jewish Nation awakening all at the same time? This, of course, cannot happen unless the Lord possesses the incredible Power to do so. In other words, there will come a time when their eyes will be opened to Jesus. In an instant, their hearts will be unlocked (Spiritually Circumcised) and they will come to know the Truth, which is what the Veil of Moses is all about. When the Veil is lowered, Israel can Spiritually see. This is what it means to be Spiritually Circumcised.

2 Corinthians 3:13-18 NLT – “We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people's minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. 16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

Again, what does it mean to have the Veil removed? The Sinful Nature is permanently cutaway, thus the Spirit will never leave us.

Colossians 2:11, 13 NLT – “When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision--the cutting away of your sinful nature.” ... 13 “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.”

Just as the Veil, when the Sinful Nature is cut away through the Circumcision of Christ, a person is finally able to Truly See, and no longer be like a Pharisee, Sadducee, or teacher of the Law (all of which claimed to know the Truth, though they were angry, unrelenting hypocrites).

So before you read the Bible in a timeline, chronological order, read Ephesians chapter three first, and then Ephesians chapter 2 . . . it will make more sense regarding the Mysterious Plan of God. Then, the third set of Scripture would be Colossians 2:9-15. Read the below passages specifically:

Ephesians 3:1-13

Ephesians 2:10-16

Colossians 2:9-15

If you read those passage sets each day before your daily reading, the entire Bible will unfold for you. And, each subsequent time that you read the Bible, you will pick up more and more and more. Quite frankly, it is the single most unbelievable story ever imagined. It is packed with excitement and even heartache. But if you do this, your life WILL change. And if you can encourage your husband to do read through the Bible with you (after your first thorough reading), it will change his life too. And when you read the Bible in this fashion, you will find tremendous sympathy for them. It is incredible to see how the Lord promised the Jews that He would cause such famine, that they would murder, cook, eat, and hide the remaining flesh of their own children. The Lord caused it all. But you will also discover that the death of the Lord’s Saith is a beautiful thing to Him, so you will walk away with an entirely new scope and vision of all the death and slaughter of the OT. These deaths . . . ITS OK! The only way to be in the presence of the Lord is to die, and it doesn’t matter how. We just need to die so that we can live with Him in Eternity.

I like this one also cjf ministries (<= link ) aka Messianic Perspectives. Listen

Gary Hedrick hosts the radio ministry; I have listened to it quite a bit in days gone by...

Their stated goals:

Evangelizing
Our first goal is to reach Jewish people with the Gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach,
Jesus the Messiah. Like Paul, we want to proclaim the Good News that God has
fulfilled the promise He made to the Fathers: The Messiah has come (see Acts 13:14-39)!

Equipping
Our second goal is to build up the Body of Messiah and equip believers for
service by means of Bible study and discipleship training (see Eph. 4:11-12).

Educating
Our third goal is to teach the local church about its Jewish roots and to train other
believers in how to share the Gospel with their Jewish friends (see Rom. 9:4-5, 10:14-15).

The focus since Jesus' ministry on earth, is on the Lord Jesus himself. As Paul said about himself, he has left behind his Jewish past and pressed onward to the prize in front of him, which was the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul also said that Jesus has put paid to the distinction between Jew and non-Jew, that He regards them one and equal.

What more can God do for any human being, than what He has already done through the sacrifice of His son? All the promises God has made to Israel are completed/satisfied in Jesus.

That being said, it's not wrong to have feelings for the Jews, and to pray for their salvation, and to members of any other race or culture for that matter. It is wrong to polarise one's interest in the welfare of the unsaved of a particular culture or race, above any other. Worship services, dancing, etc, can be pleasing to the senses, but are not necessarily spiritual, irrespective of where and how they are being held. In respect of a Christian couple, it is proper that the wife defer to the spiritual judgement of the husband, unless it is obviously morally wrong.

Still, why do you suppose so many churches seem totally oblivious to the richness of the Bible and God's giftings? One reason I have seen is that they are afraid of "offending" or scaring newcomers away. Understandable, but sad. The thoughts during my first exposure to churches that are open to the move of the Holy Spirit's moving like I had never seen before was EXCITING. Then I saw the extra "anointing" that the Jewish music gave to it.

Do you see why my heart has ached and I've been so perplexed at this lack I've been seeing?[/QUOTE]

You have made some insightful comments in your post. To answer, no I can't remember mainly due to the fact that there is hardly a day goes by that I am not reading something and when I read something like that I store it in my human computer (brain) and it pops out if what I read provokes my memory. Sorry about that. Some things sit there for years and come back to me if the topic comes up.

Preaching or worship? it all depends on the denomination and the man up front. Not like love and marriage that you can't have one without the other.

It was a Brethren bible college and apart from their blindness to the gifts of the Spirit their theology was spot on. My senior lecturer was a converted Jew, which of course helped. Then I spent 10 years in a charismatic Brethren Church which arose out of the renewal in the UK in the 60s and 70s.

Where I live now in Australia, I don't waste my time with the church because it is self defeating. All of them even the pentes are flogging a dead horse. Suggest doing something different and they throw up their hands in horror. I meet with an all male group on a Friday afternoon that provides me with the fellowship I need. No two weeks are the same. Many are not wanted by the church, or they too have got fed up with the rote and boredom. I add to that a very big library of my own so I can pick up a book at any time and get fed and taught. As the scripture says "Study to show thyself approved to God..." not approved to man.

I wrote a dissertation on New Testament Church life and leadership for a Ph.D. and I spoke to several denominational leaders to ask why their practices do not line up with scripture. Everyone said Yes, but.....They admitted to the fact but denominational teaching had more importance than what the Bible did. Whilst that line of thought persists at the top you don't have a hope in hell of getting anything changed.

Finally your heartache and perplexing is nothing new. There are thousands upon thousands and I am led to believe in America there are millions that have left the church and are now meeting in homes to get a fuller experience of what it means to be a Christian. I left a church here which I was a foundational member of because it became too rigid and legalistic.

I suppose Jewish culture is foreign to many gentiles that were never in contact with them and so, if they never lived near them (Jews were relegated to the ghettos in many countries) their customs and language were seen as strange. By the time of Jesus most of the Bible had already been translated into Greek and many Hebrews had assimilated into Greek/Hellenic culture, plus their promised land was occupied by Romans.

And I suppose that just carried on to present day, plus many of the orthodox/traditional Jews were very anti-Christ at first. espeically the Pharisees. They didnt like Jesus and didnt believe he was the Messiah.

Those attitudes towards Jewish people could be extreme...witness the holocaust, the spanish inquisition, etc. Jews were not allowed to own land or have certain jobs. Also the Jewish ppl held on to their culture and langauage as they tried to be a holy people, and some of the orthodox ways of doing things were very legalistic. And impossible for gentiles to understand, what, you cant eat bacon? But its so delicious! and crayfish?!