The Christian Letter, Volume One
The Dream I Had
A lifetime ago, I had a dream I remember as clear as the sky is now. I could see in the far distance a figure of white light that was brighter than the sun. There, in front of me, was a large wooden cross; I bent down and tied my racing shoes, picked up the cross, and began to walk towards this light. Shadows formed, and I began to see other people on this plain of cracked dry red earth. Some were running, some standing, and some were going the wrong way. I wanted to get there faster, for this Light was the Messiah. I had to be closer, so I started to run, but try as I might, I couldn’t run very quickly.
Now you’ve got to realize that this was a dream. I don’t know how to use, nor do I carry, a cowboy’s rope; nevertheless, I took my rope, and lassoed the cross of a man who was running past me. I felt as if I had hooked onto a speeding train. I tripped, and drug on the ground. I got back up and ran for a bit before being drug again. Nevertheless, in time, I began to run as fast as him. I saw a woman running even faster, so I did the same. I tossed my rope, and it hooked onto her cross. It didn’t slow her down at all, but I had great difficulty trying to keep up. I did this to men, women, and even small children, but I kept my sight on His light that was burning the horizon; melting the sun. Time passed, and I was getting closer; I was running faster. I still had a long way to go, but I was learning how to run towards Him better through the help of His Spirit filled followers.
It was then I looked up and saw a rearview mirror on the top of my cross. I positioned it so I could see behind me, and there I saw more people with ropes around my cross than I could count. Several thousand. I pushed the mirror upward so I could see behind me no more, and set my eyes firmly on the Word as I ran the race to be with Him. Some of the ones behind me passed me … I threw my rope again around their cross, and began to tumble with a smile.
“Do you not know of that those who run in a race, all run, but one receives the prize? So run in such as way that you may obtain it. Everyone who competes, striving for victory, is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable. I, therefore, run accordingly, not with uncertainty; I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I keep control of my body, and bring it into servitude, least having proclaimed to others, I myself should not be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
No dream in the Bible is literal. I thought this dream somehow was at first, but then I met—was sent—more and more people who truly raced after Him by “Taking up their cross” and following a loving Messiah, Who obeyed the Father perfectly. In time, I understood the meaning. … Run, by His Strength, to His outstretched arms, for none of us lives to ourselves, nor dies to ourselves.
Over a decade later, and I still can see that dream. Today, though, I recalled something dark about it. The people who had their cross, and were running away, were still looking at the Messiah. I look to the Messiah, yes, but let me tell you something you already know, but never hear: Looking to the Messiah can be dangerous. We need to keep our eyes on the path. Yes, look up to Him, but keep your eyes on the path, for you can look toward a goal while walking away from it. I see this in relationships quite often. They both look to the Saviour, but one is walking to the left, and the other to the right, and soon there is discord. Walk the straight and narrow, and be vigilant enough to make sure that is the path you are on.
The Definition of Doctrine
I vividly recall the day I watched The Vernon Johns Story: The Road to Freedom. I was quite young when I first saw it. I recorded it from the T.V. onto a VHS tape, and then bought the real tape when I wore out the recording, and have since bought it on DVD as I wore out that tape as well. In this film, the minister said things the congregation did not want to hear. He was as unorthodox as you could be, due to his zeal—his total disdain at human inequality. I didn’t seek out to be like that—I was like that … and I wasn’t alone.
There is a growing hunger in Christendom, a desire to do more than just be called a Christian. I have visited many churches over the decades, and, in every church, the people themselves stated aloud that they were hungry for more of His Word, and not just to hear His Word, but also to live His Word in action. Many, as I, simply had no idea as to how.
I have been accused of preaching behind the pulpit a message of fire and brimstone, but I am doing something much more daring than that—I am standing on the pews, shouting up to the pulpit with more fire than brimstone can hold: “We need actions in our proclamation of following Him!”
My faith? It all started by putting my feet into His footsteps. While I have stumbled many times, I have persisted in continuing forward. I lost my doctrinal and emotional baggage somewhere, and have not found it since. And I don’t care to.
A Matter of Words
Many people are concerned about bad words, but do not pay as much mind to good words. Before beginning, let it be known I believe there is One true Creator, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Alas, the names given to Him are akin to the title of boss, president, and spokesman, at best. I use the real Names of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The Names are the correct names of the same King, Son, and Spirit spoken of in the Bible. The following Names and words, and their common alterations are:
Yahoweh (Lord), Yahoshuah (Jesus), Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit), Torah (Teachings / all of Scripture), Shalom (Peace), HaShem (the Name) Elohim (God), as well a few others. (Please see the glossary for more detail and pronunciation of these and other names, as well as additional Scripture references.)
Yahoweh knows you by name, and I hope knowing His Name will bring a smile to your face, much like the one Yahoweh, Who dreamed you into being and danced at the joy of your birth, has at your name. I will speak more on the Name at a later point, but, for now, there is something vitally important:
How to Open this Book
Funny thing about introductions, they are seldom written when the writer first sits down. This is being written last, and, as I sit here, I harbor a great and terrible fear. I say great and terrible because that is exactly what I mean. My voice has shuddered as I pen this. I am filled with fear.
The portions of the book are called Letters. I used to send them out to thousands of people. Some call them devotionals or studies, but I, as Paul, though my words are not Scripture, called them Letters. They were first to myself, but after many months I would send them to thousands, both online and off. Soon what were thousands, became less than ten.
To understand the whole matter better, take a moment and imagine beautiful doors made of dark woods and iron. Each of them are along a wall, and each one of them has a golden sign.
As you walk to the first door you read the sign, and it says, “Bathroom.” Below that sign is another one that reads the opposite of your gender. No man is going to go into the ladies bathroom—nor is a lady going to walk right into the gents. You might hear mumbled voices from behind that door, but that is all. What are they saying? Well, frankly, you don’t care. They might be asking you to come in, but you cannot hear them from behind that door. However, it isn’t the door that blocks the ability to see, to hear—it’s the sign hanging on that door.
We walk away from this door and approach another door. This one has a sign that reads, “Martial Arts Class—free for women—Push.” Now some people would walk away, thinking it was only for women, or that it was somehow Buddhist. They would not enter. Others would try, but fail. Have you ever come up to a door, and the sign read “Push,” and you pushed and pushed, and you almost walked away, thinking it was locked against you until you realized that the right door had the wrong sign? … Pull.
There are other doors that lead to something more than a bathroom or a class. There are doors that lead to faith.
Sometimes people see a door that says Buddhism, and so they run right in, regardless of what is actually behind it. Alternatively, they see one that says Jewish, and they open that door simply because of the sign on the door. For example, the Talmud is called a Jewish book, but it is actually Babylonian. On the other hand, Christians run right in because the door says it is for Christians, but that music or that festival is not Christian at all—it’s worldly!
And now the truth: To say something is Jewish to a common Christian, is no different than saying it is Islamic. They will not open that door. However, if a door says, “Jews only,” is it truly something Christians need to run away from? If the door says, “Christians only,” is it truly something Christians need to run into—just because of the sign?
We all have gone through doors that said welcome, and while not all the signs were true, there is a Door that is truthfully welcoming. The Messiah called Himself the Door. It is very important to our spiritual maturity to remember this understanding of doors, or we may falter and walk away from the Messiah, the Door that reads, “Jewish” … all while we look right at Him.
To say, “Believe in Him.” causes no problems, but to encourage others to, “Follow Him.” to, “Walk as He walks.” causes many people to walk away in disdain at the idea of doing something that is … Jewish. Don’t walk away from this Door. The tradition of hating all things Jewish, and considering them to be done away with, is the first thing we must remove from our lives. Otherwise, even His Name will not be received, let alone any of His actions.
Peter, James, John, Matthew, Timothy, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Abraham, Moses, David, Stephen, and Nicolas from Antioch (a gentile, who, filled with the Holy Spirit, converted to the Jewish faith), are Jews. The Messiah Himself: Jewish. And while many say that Paul was the first Christian, he said he was a Pharisee, and rose against those who claimed he was teaching against the Torah, not with words or new doctrines, but by showing them that he kept Torah, and by encouraging others to do so as well.
However, what does this mean, and what does it matter, to a Christian?
Two answers. The first: The greatest form of worship is not perfect church attendance; it is not comical t-shirts; it is not simply having a Bible on your shelf—it is emulation. To emulate the One Who said to, “Follow Me.” is worship. … I’m asking you to worship the Saviour.
The second: The term Jewish means little to us today. I was always told that Jews believe in the Bible but not the Messiah, while Christians were exactly the same, except they believed in the Messiah, but then I looked at all the Jews in the Bible, who believed the Messiah was Elohim, and all the churches that claim they love Him enough to follow, but then oddly refuse to do any of the things He did simply because they are Jewish.
The word Jew, in Hebrew, is Yahudi, or for the plural: Yahudim. “Yah” is the poetic short form of His Name, Yahoweh. The letter “u” denounces that Yah is the owner of the following, which is “dim.” The “di,” or “dim,” is the short form of “disciple,” which is to say: one who follows and worships the preceding. To say one is a Jew is to say: I belong to Yahoweh, Whom I worship.
I am asking you to worship the Saviour—even if it is labeled as Jewish to do so.
So, what does this mean, and what does it matter, to a Christian? Well, that depends on the Christian. It depends on whether or not he or she desires to show the Saviour love in return. They have a choice to make. We all do. A, or B?
A. I am freed from the curse of His wretched Jewish footsteps.
B. I will walk as He walked. I will worship Him His way.
The choice is yours. I pray you make the best one.
Speaking of prayer, I urge you to be in prayer. These Letters are tough. Some of them took me many months, even years, to accept. Some things I say may be alarming, but putting up a wall is nothing more than building a prison around yourself; therefore, be open with prayer, and go beyond what is presented, by searching the Scriptures for the Truth, praying for His Spirit, and daring to take those steps, not just towards Him—but with Him … even unto the cross.
Note
Many men speak of three: the Shepherd, the sheep, and the wolves. I am not amongst these. I know my lowly place. I know that I am nothing more than an unusual sheepdog—a lone wolf, rescued by His grace long ago—worthy only of scraps that fall from my Master’s table by His Good Graces. My battle cry is fierce, my shout stuns both innocent and wicked alike. Yet, I, dear reader, am not as valuable as the sheep whom the Messiah loves, and any minister who does not understand this, who does not understand that he is a dog, is not humble nor brave enough to be as he claims to be.
“I write to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His Name.
I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.
I wrote to you, fathers, because you have known Him from the beginning.
I wrote to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of Elohim stays in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.”
(1 John 2:12-14).
Please give these words a chance. Do not stop reading, as many of the most important things I could ever say to you are buried deep within this series, and hidden in plain view within the Introduction.
May you grow further in love with the Creator, in Spirit and in Truth.
In Closing
And so, seekers of Truth yearning to see, to hear, in the bravery of Spirit, yes, the daring who acknowledge they may be wrong, without further ado, here is all I have to give.
Be Blessed and be a Blessing.
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
If this blessed you, please share it.
Additional Scripture References: Philippians 1:4-6, 9-11, Hebrews 3:12-14
