RE-POST: getting the leaven out: THE MIND/keep it simple, stupid

Note: This post is part of a series.

In thinking about dealing with issues of the mind two nights ago, the one conclusion that I was able to come to was to keep it simple. In all of the preparations for Pesach, the reading and researching, exploring others' blogs and having conversations to discover how they view and live a "messianic" life, searching my own mind to try to understand how I view and live a "messianic" life..... it seems to have gotten too complicated. So this is my attempt to simplify (at least for now...) what I have been processing in my mind.


I have come to accept the fact that perhaps there are not a huge amount of messianic believers like myself and my husband, who strive to find the balance of living for Yeshua, keeping Torah as He did, and respecting and embracing those Jewish traditions that neither contradict the Scriptures nor compromise our testimony. There are "messianic believers" from all different walks of life, different levels of Torah observance or non-observance, different cultures, different nuances.... from those who attend churches and have little regard for anything "Jewish" to those who have gone so far in their rabbinical observances of Torah that they end up converting to Judaism and renouncing their faith in Yeshua. We are somewhere in the middle of that wide, wide spectrum labeled "messianic" because we choose to follow the Messiah and His teachings. We may not always find those who walk, talk, or dress like we do... we are who we are, and we rejoice in the fact that G-d created us the way that He did... from non-Jewish (non-Hebrew) families, brought together on similar journeys for a similar purpose in ministry and similar lifestyle.

Nevertheless, living a messianic life is pretty simple. In essence, we need to simply strive and live like Yeshua lived in the first century... in the twenty-first century... which isn't always easy, but it is always simple. Love G-d, Love His Torah, Love His people... and show others how to do the same... simple, right?

During this Passover season, we celebrate and remember our freedom from bondage... from oppression... from sin... but sometimes we forget to set our minds free once again. I am reminded of what Rabbi Shaul wrote in Romans 12:2 ... "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of G-d is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Sometimes our minds become so cluttered and convoluted with everyday life, concerns, and worldliness that we become unable to think clearly about G-d, His Word, and His will for our lives. So what better time could there be to renew our minds than during this season of renewal? The trees are beginning to bloom and blossom, the birds are singing happily, and the winter is turning to spring... let us also follow nature's pattern, changing what needs to be changed, resurrecting what needs to be resurrected, and renewing what needs to be renewed, namely our minds.

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is fear G-d and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person"

Ecclesiastes 12:13