As many of you know we recently moved our Home Office and more things get settled and put in order every day. For that, and for your support during our time of transition, as the new Administrator, I am truly thankful.
Now we are ready, at least in part, to make an exciting announcement.
We will soon be hosting a celebration cruise in honor of the 25th anniversary of Angus and Batya’s first Ephraim and Judah Conference, held in Jamestown NY in 1989. There will be two cruises to help accommodate schedules. Enjoy one or both.
Through the MIA and ARI, the Messianic Israel Alliance and the Alliance of Redeemed Israel, Angus and Batya and their friends have been diligently working to renew and restore the whole House of Israel! Come and Celebrate the progress that has been made, and delight in the vision of what we think is yet to come!
This Cruise is designed to celebrate the direction and service of two Godly warriors: Angus and Batya Wootten. It will be celebrated with other Guest Speakers and with Praise and Worship. However, the goal of the event is not to applaud the works of man, but to see and know that our God is working in our lives, and to experience precious fellowship in its fullness.
Fellowship will be key in this Cruise. Respectful Midrash (Discussions) will be its crown. We are coming together that we might celebrate our God and get to know one another, to enrich each other with the Word and in life.
More details will be announced shortly. For now, we ask that you please save these dates:
25th Anniversary Celebration!
Angus & Batya and and an ARI Cruise!
December 3rd-5th and 5th-7th, 2014
We thank you again for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Alex David Altman
Administrator
Angus and Batya Wootten
Founders
Aligning Our Self With Holy Traits
by David Altman
Most words in Hebrew have a root of three characters. In order to understand the whole, we must first understand each individual letter. The concept of being a witness is much like the concept of a root Hebrew word.
In order to grasp this concept, we must first understand three key aspects of God:
- God is the God of Peace
- God is Love
- And most importantly, God Is.
These seem like simple concepts, and they are. But the underlying truth is that being a true “witness” depends on how well we align ourselves with these holy traits. Who we serve is exhibited by the actions we take, by the spirit we present to others, and the peace that we hold fast to. Like the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we cannot be One without all three parts.
To better understand these concepts we first note that God is. In Exodus 3:14 He says to Moses, “I AM that I AM” and He tells Moses to say to the people, “I AM hath sent me unto you.”
God is definition. He does not need definition outside of Himself. Existence is defined by Him. We are defined by Him. That is the first and most important concept that we must understand. If we are to represent Him, it is the first concept that we too, must represent.
The second part is that God is a God of peace. If we truly understand this aspect, peace will be shown forth in our lives.
1 Colossians 14:33 – For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Yeshua is the Prince of Peace and God is the God of Peace. Considering that we can only serve one master (Matthew 6:24), if we do not serve peace, we serve a different master. All of the actions that God took were in pursuit of peace. The same must be true of us.
There are exceptions to every rule, but essentially, control is the source of every conflict. If one side gives in to the other, there is no conflict. If neither side pursues the matter, there is no conflict. The only way that conflict occurs is when two sides are intent on being in control.
We must realize that in the end, it is God Who is in control. So we want to give in to Him in all things. We do not give in to others, but to Him. We trust Him to settle the matter.
He does not require our ability, only our cooperation. That said, all of the little quarrels that we have, with ourselves, with our families, or with our neighbors, the source of these conflicts is what? Sometimes accusations may be true, or it may be that you were not the one to start the problem, but either way, we do not have to pursue the fight. Again, remember that regardless of what is happening around us, God Almighty is ultimately in control. So if we give in to Him and His ways, there will be no conflict in us. This will be true even if conflict swirls around us.
The peace our decision to follow this path of yieldedness will bring to our lives will be a witness to others of Yah’s reality in our lives. If someone sees a person in complete peace amidst chaos, they see a person who is set apart and belonging to the Holy One.
Lastly, God is Love. He is the source of it, He even is Love.
1 John 4:8 – He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
The truth is that love and God need to be the core of all that we do. Anything else is simply not of Him. We want to reverence the truth, but what is said about truth in John 4:24?
John 4:24 – God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Just as we need to see that spirit and truth cannot be divided, so we need to define love – because in so doing, we define how to both pursue and be a witness for God.
We begin our study of love by noting that there is only one fruit of the Spirit. However, that one fruit is made up of many characteristics. Like a tree and its fruits, the fruit of the Spirit, like God, is one. It is a composite whole and we need to similarly exhibit, not just one, but all of its traits.
Galatians 5:22-23 – The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Ephesians 5:9-10 – The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
We must accept that when we stray from this one true composite fruit, we stray from the Almighty. In so doing, we act as witnesses, not of God, but of a darker kingdom.
Another important point is that the Word of God was given to us for our benefit. It was given by the Almighty to guide us in all things, to help us grow straight and tall as one unified, fruitful Body – so if we hope to grow aright, we absolutely must abide by the entire Word of our God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
The Word is not meant for us to use to lord knowledge over others. We must ask ourselves in all situations, did God give us the knowledge? If it was a gift from Him, how can we boast because we have it? We also ask, did He give us a choice to receive or not receive His truth? If He did give us a choice, then why would we be so arrogant as to rebuke others concerning things that God Himself wants to similarly give to them? We are but servants and not lords. We must behave as servants if we are to be a witness of the Master we truly wish to serve.
1 Corinthians 4:7 – Who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
1 John 1:5-10 – This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Remember, the Word was designed to lead each one of us into enriching personal experiences. It can be shared with others, but not through our edicts or judgments; it can only be shared through a loving relationship – because that is how the Father first shared it with us.
How then must our relationships look?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Note that the words translated charity in 1 Corinthians 13:4 and the word love in 1 John 4:8 are the same word: agapē.
If we want a definition of God’s witness and of the witness that we must have, we find it in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
We must show forth charity in all that we do if we are to represent the Holy One of Israel.
The truth is that we find how the Lord feels about us in Isaiah 26:3 – Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
The Lord trusts us, wants to use us, and if we want to be be used by Him, we should strive to love in the same way that He loves. We should seek to be at peace because He is at peace. We should work to spread the fruit of the spirit because He planted the seed in us first and He wants us to help spread it around.
Because He has put confidence in us, we should be confident that we can achieve a godly witness in His strength. This will not have to do with our appearance, but with actually being. The simple fact of the matter is that God does not appear as something. God IS. If we are to be a witness for Him, we must not appear as something, but must instead BE. Simply put, like God, truth is a whole and includes the witness and not just the knowledge about truth. It is being truth and love at the same time. The two are one, even as He is One.
May the Lord bless all of us as we seek to walk in His way and be successful witnesses for Him.
A Door of Hope for the Last Days
Book Reviews
Batya writes:
Some dear friends reviewed my Door of Hope for the Last Days manuscript and offered the following comments:
Once again, YHWH Elohim has used His servant, Batya, to hear and faithfully bring forth the message that we, as leaders, are and should be teaching our flocks. In one sentence, the message is: “We must be a people prepared.” That preparation comes by Spirit and Truth, repenting from and casting side the doctrines and traditions of men and asking the Father to guide us and empower us to walk in His revealed Truth. As Batya so aptly writes: “It is not about knowing when things will happen or how long our coming test will last. It is about being ready, about us first learning to truly be like our Messiah…”
Messiah Yeshua IS The Door of Hope for the Last Days. May this book be a tool in the hand of the Father to bring many of His people to a knowledge of the Truth…and thus, be prepared for whatever may transpire on planet earth in the coming days.
Shoshana Swedlund
Shoshana and her husband Terry lead the long-standing Shalom al Yisrael Messianic Israel Congregation in Englewood, Ohio.
We love this book!
I [Will] have been digging in the marrow of it repeatedly allowing the Father to use it to minister to me. Some of its truths are woven into my new song “Love One Another.”
I also love the points made in the research paper about doors. Brilliant. The idea compels the reader to actively move toward the last days Door of Hope. The quote from Philippians 3:13 catapulted my mind into a state of spiritual excitement. I can’t wait to see how God is going to use the truths in this book to help me learn to filter things differently in my thoughts, motives, attitude, and actions.
In my opinion, A Door of Hope for the Last Days pours forth YHVH’s clarion call for us to reexamine His truths in these last days. It is a timely work that eloquently infuses a heart of compassion into difficult subjects. It speaks with urgency and fills one with faith at the same time. It calls for all of us to refocus and reexamine our hearts in order to experience the real and enduring transformation that is destined to come to Yah’s children in this hour. It is a transformation for which all creation is groaning.
Will and Debora Spires
Will is a musician and worship leader; he and Debora lead B’Midbar Ministries (Little Mountain, SC) and write weekly Torah Portions that are listed on our ARI site. Hear him here: https://redeemedisrael.com/product-cat/music/
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News from the Administrator’s Desk
We are making progress with our exciting new product and can’t wait to reveal it! Last but not least, Batya’s book cover is finally being prepared and the book will soon be at the Printers!
We pray that the Father’s blessings be upon all of you.
Alex David Altman
Administrator
Note: The new ARI Home Office address is:
Alliance of Redeemed Israel
PO Box 947
Palatka, FL 32178
800 829 8777
386 937 5742
David Altman, Administrator
davidaltman@redeemedisrael.com
Saint Cloud Office: 407 344 7700