Our Hands Are Stained With Blood

The Tragic Story of the “Church” and the Jewish People

by Michael Brown

This was an excellent read, especially given the timing. I started reading this book on the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz which is the first day of a three week mourning period that ends on the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av. This mourning period reflects on the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people and the discipline that has been handed to them by a loving Father over the millennia. It is a time of reflection and repentance of sin, a time to mourn the tragedies and mistakes, a time to remember those lost and resolve not to allow ourselves to fall again.

This is a very fair book. As was stated in the book, modern history has conveniently forgotten what the Jewish people continue to remember. G-d has commanded His people many times, “Remember the day..” If we remember the past we are less likely to repeat the same mistakes. If we refuse to teach these things to our children, they will almost certainly repeat the same mistakes because they never knew. It’s time to know. This is a fair and accurate book. It is a hard read but a necessary one.

This book chronicles the history of the “church” (in quotes because these people people were not representative of HaShem, only a church outwardly, not led by the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh). Throughout this history there have been many horrible things done to non-believers, and Jews in particular. The church today needs to know. Once people gain an understanding of this history they can begin to understand why the Jewish people often react to passionately against Jesus Christ - why there is such fear and rejection. The Jesus Christ that the “church” has portrayed over the past almost 1,800+ years is not the Yeshua HaMoshiach of Scripture.

I highly recommend this book to any believer! In fact, our children will be reading this book as soon as each of them are able to handle the material. Our 16 year old is currently reading it, our 14 year old is next on the list.

Father, forgive us!

This is a movie, not a book. BUT I have to write about it anyway. This is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful movie! I have heard rave reviews about it for quite some time and it is just recently available in the US. So I asked our local library to purchase a copy and they did! Both DH and I are very impressed with the movie, we enjoyed it so much. It is in Hebrew with English subtitles so I assumed that DH would fall asleep early in the movie. But he really enjoyed the whole movie and even wants to watch it again. :~)

It is a wonderful story about a Jewish couple in Jerusalem celebrating the fall feast of Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles. They receive incredible blessings from the L*RD and along with them, a couple of guests who really challenge their strength. Ushpizin means guests. The prayer scenes and the praise scenes were so moving, I almost cried. I'd tell you more about the movie but I would rather you all watch it instead. :~) This will be one of my favorites, quite easily!

Enjoy Ushpizin. I hear that Blockbuster carries it in most areas and if not, try asking your library to purchase a copy. It's only $20. Goodness, you might want a copy for yourself. :~)

I just finished reading a book that a friend of ours (and local Messianic pastor) wrote. I was thrilled with the book - it was written well, it grabs you and pulls you into the story quickly, and you just can't put the book down. It's a wonderful story about a bush pilot in the Canadian Pacific coastal mountain range who finds himself involved in a struggle to rescue and protect Jewish refugees as they are escaping Russia on their way to Israel. It's a fictional story based on many actual events that are woven into the story line. It's like a modern day "The Hiding Place" but in the Canadian wilderness.

It's one of those books that is a faith-builder and a reality-shaker. I enjoy those. In fact, I finished the book in less than 2 days because I enjoyed it so much and I simply couldn't put it down. :~) This is a great "guy book". Women will enjoy the book too but there's something about an adventure story that guys really like, besides the majority of the characters are men and in today's world men need other strong men - even in fiction books. I think that DH and our boys will really enjoy this book!

I encourage you to visit the Amazon website that is linked through the title of this message and if nothing else, read the reviews written there. It's well worth the $13 - and more!

This book was simply amazing. I am so very glad that it came at a time when we had already drawn our own conclusions from our own studies, because what this book does is eloquently explain what it is we've been learning over the past several years. If I were able to write about what we believe and how we came to these beliefs in Messiah, my book would look a lot like this book that D. Thomas Lancaster has written. Reading this book was like reading transcripts of many of the conversations that DH and I have had together over the several years.

The Librarian Who Measured The Earth by Kathryn Lasky

We checked this book out from our local library and thought it might be a nice after-lunch read. It was recommended in several sources as a good book for the study of Greek culture, the times between 500 BCE and 1 CE. So, since that's where we're studying, we got the book.

I never would have guessed that this would be such a great book! On the surface it looks like a book for younger children, which was why I thought it'd be a good after-lunch book, a cute little story without much substance but that would get their minds moving in the direction of our next subject of study. Boy, were we impressed!

This book has an awful lot of information that ties into much of what we're studying, from the artwork in the book to the content. Not only that, it encourages the kids to think and ask questions and to learn. What's more, it gets the kids to think about how they could apply math to their lives - "Why do I have to learn this?" Well, look at what you could do with that knowledge!

We were very impressed with this book and how it fits so wonderfully into so much of the things we've been studying over the years. The kids enjoyed the book and DH and I enjoyed the book. I think I'll recommend it to my librarian friend who was intrigued by the title alone. She'll LOVE it! :~)

Within The Palace Gates

Written by Anna P. Siviter

This is the story of Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the King of Persia. It follows a man who has lost his wife and son in a Samaritan raid on Jerusalem to Susa where he plans to ask the King to allow Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. But before he is in Susa for one night he runs into Nehemiah and tells him of how Jerusalem has fared. Nehemiah is also a Jew and the two make an amazing discovery. Together the two begin making plans to approach the King, which eventually Nehemiah is successful in doing and gaining the Kings permission and blessing. The story then follows the two as they journey back to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the walls, and those who would rather not see them succeed.

This is another book that the kids often would ask, “Is it time to read yet?” Filled with suspense, excitement, fear, and devotion to God, it is a wonderful book to compliment your study of Nehemiah and the return of the exiles to Jerusalem.

God King

Written by Joanne Williamson

This is a story set in the time of King Hezekaih. The story is based on a boy who grew up a prince in Egypt and was mistakenly chosen to be King. As king he must learn the ways of “the great god” who he now finds himself, he wrestles with the realization that he is now a captive. He is intrigued by a plea from a Hebrew named Amos and the two end up running together when a treacherous plot is discovered and forces him to flee his country. They travel with a bedouin tribe through the desert and right into the hands of the Assyrians as they are attacking Judah. He must choose with whom will he live or die - the Assyrians or the Jews.

This is another favorite written by the same author who wrote Hittite Warrior. The story got off to a slower start and seemed to end so suddenly, but it was still a wonderful story. Filled with so much accurate history of the Egyptians, the Assryans, and the Jews it was a pleasure to read.

Hittite Warrior

Written by Joanne Williamson

This is a story set in the time of the Judges about a boy named Uriah. The story begins with Uriah the Hittite escaping from a Greek invasion of his homeland and finds himself in Tyre, the Canaanite city. He befriends a half Hebrew boy and the two end up running for their lives in an effort to save a younger boy who was scheduled to be offered to a pagan god, Moloch, as a sacrifice. The threesome end up moving through the camp of Deborah and Barak as they are mustering the Hebrews to fight against their oppressors, fighting in that great battle, brushing against the Egyptian army, sailing back to Tyre, and learning to honor the God of the Hebrews.

This is a story that is well loved by all of our children,one that years later the kids still talk about. The way the author weaves various people groups into the story and from what I can tell, is so historically accurate, is incredible. It will be a longtime family favorite.

Tirzah

Written by Lucille Travis

This was a wonderful story of a young girl named Tirzah. Tirzah and her family are Hebrew slaves in Egypt when Moses comes to free them from Pharaoh's hand. The story tells of her experiences while living in Goshen and of the wonderful, yet sometimes frightening, escape from Egypt and through the sea on dry land. It follows Tirzah to Mt. Sinai and through the battle with the Amalakites, to the when Joshua and Caleb return with their report of their new homeland and the Tirzah learns that her parents will not enter the Promised Land along with her. The book says, “In the flight to freedom, Tirzah learns a song of hope.” This is a wonderful description of the story.

This is an excellent book to aid your study of the Exodus from Egypt. There are many details in Exodus that are so easily missed yet are brought out in this historical fiction story.

The True Story of Noah's Ark

Written by Tom Dooley and illustrated by Bill Looney

This was a great book that we used in studying the time of Noah and the flood. The artwork is incredible and the material is based on Genesis 6 to 9. The story draws you into it’s pages and you see, maybe for the first time, intelligent man living in the days before the flood. It shows splendid pictures of not only creative and intelligent man, but the evil and hateful men that roamed the earth causing G-d to grieve that He created them. You also see, maybe for the first time, dinosaurs and other animals long extinct filling the ark with every day animals such as dogs and cats, tigers and giraffes, parrots and doves. The suspense of the flood and the endless waiting for it to be over is wonderfully portrayed in both the writing and the illustrations. The heartache of the devastation and the joy of the renewal are so easily felt through these pages. This is one of our families favorites.

Hadassah, One Night With the King by Tommy Tenney with Mark Andrew Olsen.

This is one of my favorite books. I generally don't like to read fiction, but I am developing a tremendous appreciation for accurate historical fiction in the past few years. This is a book that was recommended to me by a friend from Israel, just after it came out in fact. Her review to me was that "he wrote it like a Jew", which I thought was a compliment. At any rate, this is a book I have loaned to friends and family and all have thoroughly enjoyed it as well. DD just finished the book for younger girls by the title Hadassah : the girl who became Queen Esther also by Tommy Tenney ; adapted from the novel above. This one is a shorter version of the same story with the same characters and same events, yet toned down a bit in places for younger readers. She says it is one of the best books she's read in a long time.

If you do get this book (from the library or from the book store) I recommend a little background reading in the Bible first. First read Exodus 17 then 1 Samuel 15.

I decided to post this for those who might be interested and because Purim is next month, March 14. Purim is the celebration of the events in the book of Esther. Purim is not a holiday that was outlined in Leviticus by G*d but it is a holiday adopted by the Jews/Hebrews after their exile into Babylon (which was later taken over by Persia where the events of Esther take place). It is common to read the book of Esther and every time the villan's name is read, the audience will boo and hiss in order to blot out his name. Every time the hero's name, Mordecai, is mentioned the audience cheers and applauds. The children can dress up and play the parts of the story, one as Queen Esther and another as the King, one as Mordecai and one as Haman. It is intended to be a time of teaching Biblical and Hebraic heritage. All teaching can be fun and enjoyable, can't it? :~) There are snacks/treats to make and food to share with the less fortunate. It is a time to celebrate the victory G*d gave the Jews over those who would persecute and murder them simply because they were Jews.