Back to Basics: God's Word vs. Religion
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Today, there are just too many things that have been added to or taken away from what God has given us. The Old Covenant writings (the Tanakh) give us His laws and commandments in the Torah (the first 5 books), and throughout the rest of the book (the Prophets and the Writings) we see how the Jewish people went back and forth between doing as God said and ignoring Him. Up and down, in and out- you would have thought we would have finally gotten it! Of course, it’s not just the Jewish people. I certainly believe that, despite the obvious mistakes made in the Old Covenant, and despite the detailed explanations in the New Covenant, just about every religion or sect that has sprung up since God first spoke to Abraham has made the same mistake of going off in their own direction. That’s why I feel led to write this book- it burns inside of me just as the Word of God burned inside Jeremiah. Not that I think I am a prophet or anyone special, it’s just that I love the Lord and really, really believe that all he wants us to do is what He said to do, and to leave all the other stuff alone. It’s faith that He wants, it’s devotion and obedience He wants from us because the rules He gave are for our benefit, not His. If we simply do what He says we should, and we do it as He says we should, then we will have a blessed life. That’s what He wants for us- a blessed life. The only reason I can come up with why we refuse to do that is because of our sinful nature (in Hebrew it’s called the Yetzer HaRa) and pridefulness. We just have to do it our way. If our way worked, folks, we wouldn’t need God or a Messiah, would we? But yet, there He is, and there is His Messiah (still coming for some), so it doesn’t look like our way really works, does it? You know, if there was even one human being who could live a sinless life, then there would be no need for the Messiah. And at the end of time, when Judgment Day comes, there will be three people in heaven- God, Messiah, and that one jerk who ruined it for everyone else. God doesn’t grade on a curve, people.
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About the Book
For too long, too many people have told us too many ways in which we should worship God. God, Himself, told us how to worship Him, and that’s all we need to know. This book will not give you any answers but should raise many questions, for which you need to ask God to get the answers. My goal is that when you have finished this book, you will feel very uncomfortable with what you have been told to believe. I believe we are living in prophetic times, and this book is a wake-up call.
About the Author
I was raised on Long Island in a reform Jewish family. I always felt something missing from the ceremonies, and after my Bar Mitzvah I stopped practicing. I attended Temple University, served as a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corp (the only Jewish officer in the entire battalion) and then went into the business world.
As I got older, I felt a need to know God, and started to search for answers. All I got was the same rhetoric I had always heard. Finally, God directed me to people with spiritual maturity who allowed me to see the peace and joy of salvation without forcing Jesus down my throat. As I searched the Bible, I came to know my Messiah, and God directed me to a Messianic Synagogue, where I learned I can be born again and still be Jewish. You can hear my testimony on Jacobshope.com in the media portion.
I have two children from a "previous life", am remarried (I finally got it right!) and am an IT professional.