A Postmortem Examination on David Jesse’s Defense of Christmas and the Top 7-Issues Most Affecting Hebrew Rooters in 2016–STAR 42

by | Jan 12, 2016 | Podcasts

A Postmortem Examination on David Jesse’s Defense of Christmas and the Top 7-Issues Most Affecting Hebrew Rooters in 2016

Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections Episode 42

  1. Shalom and Welcome
  2. Calendar
    1. 27th day of the 10th Biblical Month which is the 9th of January, 2016
    2. 1-1/2-months from Purim
  3. News Relevant to Rooters
    1. Stand-off between Feds and armed militia group in Burns, Oregon–~20-armed protesters seized control of a building at the Malheur National Refuge in Burns, Oregon–a wildlife sanctuary which began last Saturday, January 2nd 2016
      1. Ammon Bundy–leader of armed protesters
        1. son of Clive Bundy–NV rancher, who’s father found himself in a similar 2014 armed stand-off with the feds in 2014 over unpaid grazing fees
      2. Group responded to the re-sentencing of rancher’s Dwight Hammond (73) and son Steven (46) who were sent back to federal prison for setting fires that damaged federal land. The father and son were sentenced to 5-years in federal prison for setting brush-clearing fires that spread to public land in 2001 and 2006
        1. total damaged assessed at less than $2,000
        2. there were no injuries
        3. BLM (Bureau of Land Management) concluded the 2001 fire actually improved the federal land it affected
        4. prosecutors argue the Hammonds did not get permission from BLM for lighting the fires
        5. The Hammonds were originally sentenced to 3-monts and 1-year respectively–far below the mandatory minimum federal punishment of 5-years if convicted of violating 18USC844–damaging federal property
        6. the feds went to US Court of Appeals for 9th Circuit who overturned the court’s original sentence, sending both men back to federal prison and sparking this current protest
        7. The group contends that landowners and supporters are battling the fed’s over issues of access and control of lands and they see the case of the Hammonds as the latest example of government overreach that is running Americans off federal lands and into poverty. Furthermore, the group contends the feds are exercising “Blatant violations of the Constitution.”
      3. Ammon Bundy says that his group doesn’t want any confrontation, but they intend to stay indefinitely as they protest what they see as government’s overreach
        1. The group indicated that it would defend itself if necessary
          1. the protesters are giving little indication of leaving despite increased calls from the surrounding rural community for them to leave
          2. the protesters claim they will leave if the feds release the Hammonds from prison
      4. FBI, Harney County Sheriff Office, Oregon State Police and other local and state law enforcement agencies
      5. Bundy and other members of his group believes, after praying, that he is doing what the Lord would have him do regarding this situation. Bundy is a Mormon
      6. References: Infowars.com; Jacob Sullum of Forbes–1/7/2016; Tamara Audi of WSJ–1/4/16; Jim Carlton of WSJ–1/6/16
      7. Lessons to be learned
        1. Live peaceably with all people (if at all possible)–Rom. 12:18
        2. Unless it violates your practice and obedience to the Faith, obey the laws of the land--Rom. 13 (Read)–
          KJV  Romans 13:1 ¶ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.1 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

           4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

           5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

           6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

           7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

           8 ¶ Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

           9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

           10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

           11 ¶ And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

           12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

           13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.1

           14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. (Rom 13:1-14 KJV)

        3. Realize, life is not always fair and there will be wrongs committed in this world; injustices
        4. But also, this could be serving as a precursor to potential harm to us in the future as it relates to our practices of our Faith. If the government overracts to what she sees as her citizens threatening public land, one can only wonder what she will do when she perceives a threat from those of us who stand up for our Faith
    2. Talks of Impeachment for President Barak Obama in the aftermath of perceived threats to Americans’ Constitutional Right to possess and bear arms by the president and concerns that the president may be endangering the safety and wellbeing of American citizens
      1. stories floating about the internet that the RNC will consider President Obama impeachment proceedings–a resolution consisting of 48-criminal charges against the president (draft resolution)–aired on infowars.com–1/5/16
        1. Political Scientist and Lawyer Stephen Pidgeon contends
          1. the president has allowed or aided in the unabated and uncontrolled immigration of potential radical Islamics
          2. ObamaCare
          3. usurpation of the office of the president
          4. actionable identification fraud
          5. illegally deploying American troops
          6. Creating and funding terrorist groups such as ISIS–destabilizing Libya and Iraq and trafficking weapons to terrorist groups
          7. Using executive powers to threaten the right to possess and bear arms and belief by some that the president intends to gut the 2nd amendment
          8. illegal spying on members of Congress and other Western world leaders
        2. Lessons to be learned
          1. Our government, believed to have been originally founded upon Judeo-Christian principles, may not be that same government that we once trusted to protect us from all enemies foreign and domestic
          2. Our rights as a free people with certain inalienable rights may not continue and we must be prepared for the future. But I don’t believe it’s our fight–Father is still on the throne and His will shall be done. Our fight is for the Kingdom of Yahovah, the great commission and seeking after righteousness–Matt. 6:33
    3. Muslims engage in sexual terrorism across Europe–Infowars.com
      1. Middle Eastern Muslim men, who have migrated to Europe have been engaging in widespread rapes of European women and have demanded welfare throughout Europe
        1. The world’s attention related to this event has centered this week on the city of Cologne, Germany where the Police Chief was sacked over his handling (or lack thereof) of these assaults
        2. Some leaders have passed blame of these heinous attacks onto the victims of these rapes, sighting that maybe their dress causes the attacks
        3. The various affected law enforcement agencies have indicated that they are ill-equipped to address such widespread attacks
      2. Lessons to be learned
        1. Given stories that 1,000s of Muslim men are being allowed to enter this country with little to no accountability on the part of our government to track and control them, could such attacks happen here in this country?
        2. Are we poised for future terrorist attacks in this country?
        3. We must exercise caution and educate ourselves as to the dangers we may be facing. We must be cognizant to the fact that our government is likely not going to be of much help if and when radical Islamic activity occurs. Stay vigilant; be aware of your surroundings at all times; yet we must trust Yahovah in the end. Not to fear that which could happen. But we are told to be wise as serpents yet harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16). Father has the wherewithal to take care of us, especially when our government may not
  4. Hebrew Roots Ministry News
    1. Arthur Bailey Ministries and House of Israel--Arthur concluded his multi-series teaching on the Book of Galatians and is continuing to encourage support and participation in the Discipleship 101 Course
    2. Michael Rood and A Rood Awakening International--Shabbat Night Live Part 3 of Michael’s interview with Jim and Penny Caldwell on the Real Mount Sinai–highlight of the Mountain of God Conference held in the Aviv Moon Studios in December during Sukkot
      1. Michael still vacationing and working on material for future teachings
    3. Brad Scott and Wildbranch Ministries
      1. Port St. Joe, FL this weekend
      2. Phoenix City, AL–January 10th
      3. Costa Rica–21-31 January
      4. West TX, NM and AL–February
    4. Matthew Vander Els and Founded in Truth Ministries--3-Part Teaching entitled “You Sunk My Battleship”
      1. The number one thing that plagues believers today and prevents us from truly engaging with others about Y’shua is Battleship. In the game of Battleship, we are taught to hide our vulnerabilities and do our best to strike out at others. What is the end result when believers apply this strategy in everyday life?”
  5. Thoughts and Reflections on 7-Issues that will be of Great Importance to Rooters in 2016
I learned last Sabbath from a dear brother in our Faith that David Jesse, a fellow Rooter–he is described as a disciple, Christian Conference Speaker and Men’s Ministry Speaker and Author. He was the former Director of Strategic Relationships for Promise Keepers–may have incited some disturbance in the force–the Hebrew Roots force if you will. At least, that’s my perception. I will explain in just a second. But first a little background.
I first came to know about Mr. Jesse at the International Messianic Convention held in Rochester, N.Y. in 2014. I’ve known about Promise Keepers for many years and I was interested to hear why an executive of a traditional, fundamental Christian organization like Promise Keepers would be highlighted at this conference that featured Hebrew Roots speakers and teachers. David Jesse told us, a crowd of several hundred, his story and how he ultimately came to become a Hebrew Rooter. His story was compelling to me and from the hearing of his story, I accepted him as another brother in the Faith. I saw him also assuming somewhat of a leadership role in the Faith, which I believe is quite a big deal. You see, as I’ve said in a number of postings, our community is fragmented and we are not united. There is a ton of infighting and it would seem that our community seems to be focused upon just a small handful of teachers who hold great influence in our community. Yet, even in the ranks of these teachers there seems to be great disunity and attending this conference, I felt, was a start in the right direction.
Consequently, since hearing him at that conference in the Fall of 2014, I’ve not heard from or about David Jesse. I understood that he was in great demand in terms of speaking engagements throughout the country. Not hearing anything in over a year, I didn’t give much thought of him and his ministry and figured that he was out there doing his thing for the Kingdom and the Hebrew Roots Faith. But as a mentioned at the start of this reflection, I learned some news about Mr. Jesse that caused me great distress in my spirit. I was told that Mr. Jesse came out on the internet in support of believers keeping Christmas while slamming believers who believed that Christmas was of pagan origin. I was shocked and outraged by this news. I wanted to immediately get to the bottom of this allegation.
I did some digging around on the internet and found on his ministry’s website, several articles written by Mr. Jesse, indeed in support of Christmas keeping by believers. Initially I only read the brief summary of each post, too disgusted to subject myself to the entire content of each article addressing various aspects of Christmas. So, foolish me, I immediately responded to this discovery by posting a rant on my Facebook account, expressing my outrage over Mr. Jesse’s support of Christmas, despite him being a self-professing Hebrew Rooter holding significant influence in our community. In support of my position against Mr. Jesse’s contention that Christmas was good and should be kept by believers, I sighted Alexander Hislop’s book, “The Two Babylons,” the seminal piece on the pagan origins of much of Catholicism and the traditions that she has passed on to protestant Christianity. I believed, without reading the articles in their entirety that Mr. Jesse had not be introduced to Alexander’s Hislop’s work. Well, after my post on Facebook, I received replies from individuals who informed me that Mr. Jesse had actually referenced Hislop’s material in his posts and had strongly refuted Hislop’s claims that Christmas was of pagan origin. I also received a reply from a well known Hebrew Roots teacher who stated that Hislop’s work had been debunked by scholars long ago and that Hislop himself was deemed a fraud. Needless to say, I was pretty well banged up the replies to my Facebook rant, not knowing what I should do to satisfy my outrage over this issue now that I had been openly embarrassed by my lack of exercising due diligence to confirm the claims made against the man. I knew better. I know that it is up to us as true believers to be Berean-like in our efforts to defend the Kingdom and not to run off on flights of fancy based on my emotions. Churchianity is heavily influenced by emotions–that is, people making an emotional decision to become a Christian. But as Hebrew Rooters, our decision to follow Y’shua Messiah is based upon the truth of Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit; sound teaching and commonsense. We cannot be found being led by our emotions. It has the potential of getting us in trouble, as I very well experienced.
So I decided to go back to Mr. Jesse’s site and carefully read each article and see exactly what Mr. Jesse’s position really is. As true believers, we must have open minds and hearts and be willing to hear every brother or sister out. It is then up to us to go back to the books and determine whether or not that which those brothers and sisters bring us is indeed supported by Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Since reading Mr. Jesse’s posts on the subject of believers keeping Christmas, I have found some disturbing things that I am compelled to address, despite the fact that Christmas has now come and gone some 2-weeks now. But I have been called, through this forum, to tell the truth as it relates to our Faith, and that’s what I intend to do. So, beginning next Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections, I will conduct a postmortem examination on Mr. David S. Jesse’s series in support of Believers keeping and celebrating Christmas. I plan to do this in the spirit of what Mr. Jesse contends throughout his posts on this subject–using sound academic and biblical references. So, once again, the Grace and the Law series has been put on temporary hold pending my completing this examination on Mr. Jesse’s posts on Christmas. I’m sorry if you were looking forward to completing this series in the coming weeks. But I am absolutely compelled to deal with this issue. Why? As I stated earlier, Mr. Jesse and others like him have significant influence within and outside our community. I feel that we must be on guard and be willing to defend our Faith against those who would come with doctrines, beliefs and traditions that fly contrary to the teachings of Scripture and Father’s Torah, and attempt to sway the less-grounded of us to follow those wrong and errant doctrines, beliefs and traditions. I cannot let this go. Some may condemn me for taking on this thing and I get that. Some brothers and sisters in community feel that we must be united and accepting of each other’s beliefs and positions on various issues affecting our Faith. I’m in favor of not splitting hairs and debating navels on non-salvation issues such as the name of Yahovah or the use of the Biblical Calendar. However, when individuals in our Faith elect to persuade others in our community to follow their errant belief systems, I take exception to it. You see, I don’t care if you choose to celebrate Christmas–that’s your business. I’ve met many people who are self-professing Hebrew Rooters who continue to celebrate Christmas, eat bacon and shop and work on the Sabbath, and I’ve determined that that’s their business. We are all on respective journeys at varying levels of maturity in the Faith and it’s not my place to judge you or take you to task for those things that you do that are contrary to the tenets of our Faith. I do believe, however, that I must say something when individuals try to get me and others in our community to follow them down into the muck and mire of secular and pagan-based Christian life. Torah clearly tells us NOT to follow the ways of the pagan nor are we to inquire about them. (References: Deut. 5:7: 6:14; 8:19; 13:6-18) Furthermore, we were instructed to NOT tolerate those who would entice or encourage others to follow them into pagan worship and lifestyles. Father was quite adamant about this and because Father cared so much about this, we must also care. Just saying.
Hebrew Roots is not supposed to be that “give me that old time religion,” feel good religion that most of us came out of weeks, months and years ago. It’s hard and it is not an easy walk. We must face this reality before it’s too late. As much as we may want to be united in our Faith, I’m afraid that as long as the fundamentals of our Faith are challenged, there will always be conflict and division. We can not stand for error that serves only to divide our Faith. The Master (not Paul) said:
34 ¶ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Mat 10:34-39 KJV)
I’m apologizing in advance for those who may be put off by this examination, but at the same time, I’m not apologetic of doing what I know is right. I’m more sorry that we have to deal with this at this stage of our journeys. So, next week, I’ll begin my postmortem examination of Mr. Jesse’s postings in support of Believers keeping Christmas. I hope you’ll join me. I intend to make it worth your while.
But for this week, and before we get too much more into January and into 2016, I wanted us to look at 7-issues that I believe will be of great importance to us Rooters in 2016. As you may have observed, I have an affinity–a true love for world news, especially news that points to what I see as the End Times and that may have some impact on us as Torah Observant Disciples of Y’shua Messiah. These 7-issues will not be given in any specific order. I would assert that each issue is an issue within itself and has just as much importance as the other six.
  1. If you do a Google search of the most important issues facing Americans in 2016, our very own U.S. Government is near, if not at, the top of the list of issues
    1. The President in particular, the inept Republican and Democratic Congress, coupled with the liberal news media in 2015 seemed to be working in concert to marginalize the threat of Radical Islam while demonizing Christians. It appears that 2016 will be no different. I would even submit to you, that unless the citizens of this country wake up to the injustices being perpetrated by members of our government who are being supported by the liberal news media, and the citizenry demands change, 2016 may turn out to be the worse year on record for Christians
      1. Fairness (Islamists vs Christians)
      2. Faults of Christianity are constantly being thrown in the Christian’s face–such as the Crusades
      3. Race relationships
        1. White men are being demonized throughout
        2. Political correctness is stifling our free speech and ability to function as a free society
        3. Radical groups such as Black Lives Matter are disrupting communities and demanding attention; threatening the safety of many
        4. Peaceful Muslims residing in this country are in danger of being targeted by members of society as fear of terrorism grips the nation
        5. Jews are being kicked to the curb as their safety and well-being is left to chance
      4. Links to home grown terrorists in the name of Christ and U.S. patriotism
      5. The whole gun control and concerns over gutting the 2nd Amendment are often linked to ultra conservative Christian groups who advocate God, Family, Country and the right to own and bear arms
      6. Countless instances of governmental bias against Christians and Christian groups
        1. IRS scandal denying 501c3 status
        2. People in positions of authority fired from their jobs for exercising their right to free speech and living out their Faith as we saw demonstrated in the Gay and Lesbian Union issue this past year
        3. Fines and legal rulings against Christians who reject Gay and Lesbian Unions in their talk and in their acts
      7. Christians targeted for execution by radical Islamists while our government calls these instances of violence workplace violence, which us also used as another reason to ban guns in the U.S. We saw this demonstrated in the San Bernardino California massacre just last month
  2. Radical Islamic Terrorism
    1. Unbridled immigration will ultimately lead to instances of terrorism as we are seeing in Europe
    2. Excessive accommodations being made for Islamists in the name of political correctness and compassion. The President went on record stating that we as a country are afraid of widows and orphans coming in to this country from these war-torn areas of the Middle East, essentially demonizing any who would have concerns over allowing in to this country those who would commit terrorist acts. Yet image after image on the internet and even in mainstream news forums show that military age men are outnumbering the so-called widows and orphans by leaps and bounds
      1. In Europe, these orphans and widows are running rampant in the streets and raping and pillaging the citizens
    3. Our government is unprepared to handle this onslaught of immigrants and have no way to keep track of them once they are released into American society
  3. Gun Control
    1. The Obama Administration appears poised to gut the 2nd Amendment that gives U.S. citizens the right to own and bear arms
      1. First ObamaCare; 2nd Gay and Lesbian Unions; 3rd gutting the 2nd amendment regarding guns; what’s next? Our right to practice our religion and free speech?
    2. If our government will disarm its citizens, they will completely control them
    3. Such an act to remove guns from Americans will make every citizen vulnerable to intruders who possess the guns and the U.S. government who will assert total control over masses.
  4. Political Correctness
    1. Creating tensions between the races that will inevitably lead to race wars if not tempered
    2. Silence is golden when it comes to anything having to do with one’s culture or another culture and race
    3. Form of witchcraft–control of the masses–the enemy must be behind this
  5. Apathy Towards and Within our Faith
    1. As a Faith and Community, we tend to be pretty docile and uncaring about the things of the world
    2. We don’t even care about practicing the tenets of our Faith as we violate Torah at every turn
    3. We avoid fellowships and stay within the confines of our homes
    4. The cares of life overtake us and we move Yahovah down to the bottom of the list of priorities in our lives
    5. We are disobedient and we don’t honor Father–like Israel and Judah of old
  6. Biblical Illiteracy
    1. Ignorance of the Bible remains an epidemic in our Faith as no one takes to time to study their Bibles
      1. We rely on preachers and teachers to tell us what the Bible says
      2. We don’t invest in our eternal calling, but chose to make up our own rules to life because the Bible is too difficult to understand and no one is in agreement as to what we are suppose to do
      3. Preachers and teachers are teaching various forms of the gospel
      4. Sects within Hebrew Roots are growing in number because we refuse to learn what thus saith the Lord for ourselves and thus we seek out the sect that best fits our personal preferences
  7. Conflict Within Our Rooter Community
    1. Infighting between teachers
    2. Infighting between rooters
      1. knit picky squabble over non-salvation issues
      2. excessive focu on the nuances of Torah and teachings of Shaul, but little on the teachings and instructions given to us by our Master Y’shua HaMashiyach
    3. Hebrew Rooter leaders teaching a gospel that is not the true gospel and leading members of the community down a path of destruction
    4. Losing ground to fundamental Churchianity, Catholicism and Islam because we can’t get our collective acts together