Wherever You Go, There YOU Are...

This is for those people who are blind to their own frailties and take their toxic behaviors into every relationship, work environment, church affiliation, etc., and experience the exact same problems  and drama as before.

A friend recently told me that a group of individuals left the church fellowship (where I had been a member before moving away) and are now attending another group. They are studying their Hebraic roots, learning Hebrew, the Torah, the Tanakh, the Feast Days, etc. They have also come into the knowledge of the name of our Lord as He was called when He walked the earth, and the name of the Father.  The Son was not known as Jesus - a historical fact of which I'll not go into at this time (but it is searchable). His proper name is Yahshua. The name of the Father is Yahweh, presented as YHWH. And when I was told this, I was fine with it, as I've done my own homework on the Hebrew and Aramaic roots of my faith. I said, "Ok. Great. They're gaining more knowledge. Nothing wrong with that." 

However, the issue is - these people are behaving badly, as if they are now superior in knowledge to the "uninformed" Christians of their former church fellowship. And it is downright mean. As my friend was describing conversations with these folks, who were just months ago friends and fellow laborers for Christ, I realized something. These very same people had once been of other faiths/denominations, or none at all, and when they converted to what they (then) believed was the Truth, they grew arrogant and elevated themselves above those of their former associations/denominations. They had bragged about their new-found beliefs to their friends and family, and came close to condemning them all to hell if they didn't get on board THIS train!

Now, they've gained more information. But many of them are still arrogant and unloving as they study with the Rabbis and learn of the Messianic Faith System. This behavior is completely opposite of what Yahshua/Jesus teaches - and all their "knowledge" does them no good in the long run. They clearly have not been transformed in their minds and hearts, and have no love for their neighbors.

So they have hopped from church to church to doctrine to teaching to Feast Days from Sunday to Sabbath to saying "Shabbat Shalom!" - from first day to seventh day - yet they remain the same on the inside.Without His love in their hearts, they are just spouting religious teachings with no power to display the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

I told my friend that we have one response and responsibility: to pray for and love them, anyway.

Shalom!