It’s hard to believe the fall season is upon us. It seems to be coming much faster these days, don’t you agree? As our team was discussing the upcoming plans for what is traditionally a very busy time of the year, I couldn’t help but think how far we have come since we moved into our new offices at The Bethany Center approximately a year ago this month. In our desire to further the mission of The Nathaniel Foundation, we’ve launched many exciting programs, hosted numerous guest speakers and scholars, and developed online avenues of communication that have enabled us to reach countless people around the world with the message of our Jewish Messiah. We’ve even expanded and redesigned our space—twice!
I’m especially excited about Kaleidoscope (this bi-monthly newsletter) as well as the video teachings we have been regularly producing and distributing. This month’s video is on Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah) a very sacred time in the Jewish and Hebraic Christian communities. As we move toward Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), this is historically a time of watching and waiting—a time of personally preparing and being attuned to God “performing” His Word.
Sadly, many of us go through the motions of preparing for the upcoming season by shopping, planning, decorating, organizing, and scheduling. However, while these tasks can be important in their own ways, this is not the kind of “preparing” God has in mind. It’s our heart that He intends for us to prepare—to focus on honest self-introspection and to make our life right. The watching and waiting that signifies the Ten Days of Awe is entirely different than what many of us might think. The intention is to wait for the Holy Spirit to do His work of fulfilling His Word and then we watch it manifests as end time events occur and Jesus returns.
In Just a Little Girl I shared my out-of-body death experience with readers which prompted the profound question in this months “Ask Victoria” section. I hope you’ll take the time to read my response to a reader who I have assured has no need to fear death. As you may recall, it was during my death experience that I was shown what I refer to as the “grid of my life”—a grid on which I saw life experiences as precious gifts that I would one day possess. In honor of those gifts, I developed articles and teachings that I have fondly called Precious Gems. This month, the featured Precious Gem is “Watching and Waiting for His Return.” As the title implies, this teaching exemplifies the deep spiritual meaning of the season before us.
Our Hebrew word this month is “Zakar,” it means “remember.” Without doubt, this is a word that holds a special place in the Jewish lexicon—for the need to remember the great things that our God has done and the genesis of our faith. As you’ve come to know, the ministry outreaches of The Bethany Center are near and dear to my heart—and spirit. As a Hebraic teacher, my passion to share the faith of Yeshua runs deep. My desire is to illuminate the rich traditions of His observances of Torah and to provide teachings and tools to equip and deepen your walk by the Spirit. To that end, I’m pleased to announce the rollout of a series of teachings called First-Century Genesis. In this series of video and radio segments, you will experience not only the first century teachings and customs of Yeshua taught by myself, Paul, my daughter Cynthia, Dr. Barkley and David and Lisa Depew, but you will be swept away by the beautiful voice of Jonathan Settel and heart warming images of the Land where God has placed His Name. Our lead intercessor Josh Christian will be offering prayers of faith and Bron will be playing some of his music as well. We are also planning to take this ministry on the road if the Lord leads.
Our Featured Ministry this month is The Jewish Voice, an organization whose founder I am happy to call colleague and friend. Rabbi Jonathon Bernis has successfully sat at the helm of this respected ministry since 1998 and in order to introduce him to you in greater depth, we’ve also selected A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days: Surprising Insights on Israel, the End Times and Popular Misconceptions as our Featured Book. Additionally, this months “Word up from Pastor Bron” is sure to inspire you as he further explores the intrigue of this prophetic time of the year. Pastor Bron will also be teaching his very popular class; In His Own Words – Messianic Insights Into the Hebrew Alphabet using the curriculum of L. Grant Luton. Scroll down to Upcoming Events to find out more about this 11-week course that will immerse and educate you in biblical Hebrew.
Since the fall feast season is the customary time of eating apples and honey be sure to check out our recipe of the month— Caramel Apple Oven Slices by Marpe Wellness.
Those of you that are interested in continuing Dr. Booker’s Institute classes, be sure to register for the upcoming course “Israel In History, Bible Prophecy and Current Events” to be held on Monday evenings at 7:00 starting September 11, 2017. New students are welcome. The Institute is a Bible School program founded and developed by Dr. Booker consisting of six 12-week courses that may be audited or attended in order to receive an Associates Degree in Hebraic Christianity with all required homework. See our events page to download a registration form.
As you may know, writing Just a Little Girl was a big step in my life and ministry—sharing so much of my life was at first quite daunting. However, the experience of losing a child, dying, and being in the presence of my guardian angel was a critical turning point in the plans God had for my marriage, family, and life. Writing a memoir wasn’t initially my plan—but once decided was an experience that taught me more about myself—and my ministry outreach than I could have imagined. For many of us, writing about some aspect of our faith is something we feel called to do—yet the actual craft of writing is not something we are all inherently gifted to do.
In our desire to more firmly establish The Bethany Center and to meet the needs of those in our community, we’re excited to offer two opportunities to encourage and equip those who desire to write books—books that successfully incorporate drama, description, and dialogue in a way that will impact readers and change lives. Be sure to scroll down to Upcoming Events and read about our one-day Master Class Intensive with an established best-selling author in September and about our monthly writer’s critique group launching in October.
This is our 7th issue of Kaleidoscope, and it’s been a pleasure to watch not only it’s growth, but the growth of the dynamic ministry that my team has worked tirelessly to develop. For all these awesome people, I am truly grateful—and for you, my dear readers, I am deeply thankful. Your response to our efforts has been encouraging and supportive, and I look forward to the coming season as we join together to watch and wait for all God has in store for us.
Shalom,