Have you read through Psalm 119 recently? That passage is one of my favorites in Scripture, and if you haven't, I would for sure encourage you to give it a read. It is packed with encouragement to honor YHWH's instructions and I think we all benefit from those reminders.
"Don't let me stray from your commands." Can you hear the cry of the author who penned this? I love how their desire to serve and honor YHWH is expressed this way. You've told me what to do...don't let me wander away from that. I decided to make this into a printable so that we can all be reminded of that prayer for help.
Guys, there is something I am so excited to share with you today; a look at the Hebrew faith on the big screen! I can't wait for all of you to watch this and five of you will be able to win a copy of The Way for yourself as well.
Husband and wife team Luke and Kayte started this film with a simple premise: if Yeshua lived a perfect life then why do his followers today do almost everything differently than how he walked? They traveled to meet dozens of people who discuss what drew them from ordinary Christian faith to a Hebrew lifestyle of Shabbat observance, keeping the festivals of YHWH, and Scripturally clean eating. Check out the preview below.
Not to spoil anything, but the film is even better than the trailer. It was so refreshing to watch this, to see others who have been on a similar journey, to hear their stories of celebrating the Feasts. If you are someone who feels isolated or alone in your faith then please check out The Way! You'll feel like part of the tribe. :) That said, this isn't just a documentary for those in the Hebrew or Messianic movements. I think this would be a great introduction for anyone who is not familiar with this kind of lifestyle. Luke and Kayte did an excellent job of explaining through Scripture the thought process behind the seventh day Sabbath, etc. and even incorporated differing viewpoints as a way to address the 'what abouts' that many of us have dealt with. I would recommend this movie to anyone pursuing the faith, no matter where they are in that journey.
Luke and Kayte
Kayte was kind enough to spend some time sharing more of what went into The Way.
What caused you guys to create
this documentary?
The Way started as a seed of an
idea in Luke’s heart. He’s a journalist, so he’s super inquisitive and great at
finding a story. A few years back, he got a call from his mom that she wouldn’t
be celebrating Christmas that year. He thought that was crazy, so he set out to
research so that he could set her straight with facts. Except he found that she
was right about Christmas’ origins. That led him on a search through scripture
and church history that revealed the ways that modern-Christianity has veered from
the life of Yeshua and the apostles. In the course of all this, I joined him in
this journey and we realized there were countless others around the world
seeking to get back to a more biblical way of life. So The Way is the story of
those people and the things they’ve discovered.
Why did you feel this was an important venture to
undertake?
This awakening is spreading like wildfire right now.
There are truths that God’s revealing from history and in His Word that we’d
love to help share with the wider world. We think a lot of believers are
searching for a deeper connection with God and a richer understanding of His
Word, and we hope The Way will help people pursue those things.
How has the process of making this film changed or
challenged your own faith?
Our faith has grown tremendously
in this process. We’ve spent a year and a half hearing from probably 50 people
about the most formative moments in their spiritual lives and the most awesome
things they’ve learned from the Word. It’s been a sort of masterclass.
Personally, I have such a deeper reverence and awe of God’s goodness,
seeing the love and wisdom and justice in each and every instruction He’s given
us. Instructions that used to seem archaic or arbitrary are such a joy now.
Plus, I feel like I have so much more in common with Yeshua, living this way. :)
Who do you hope will watch The Way?
Anyone who’s curious about the
discrepancies between the way Yeshua lived and the way that modern-day
Christians live. Or anyone who’s made huge changes in the way they live and
worship and are having a hard time communicating their reasons to their friends
and family.
What's something that's going to surprise viewers about
this film?
They’re going to learn some crazy
facts from some pretty surprising sources - things that made me wonder, “How in
the world did I never learn this in 25 years of church, history classes and
Bible study?!"
What was it like to work as a couple on a project like
this?
It’s been awesome - this project
has stretched through for 90% of our marriage! The doc has been the most
rewarding and most challenge thing either of us have undertaken. We’ve gotten
to work as a team, hear each other’s ideas, pray together constantly, cover
each other’s shortcomings and get really good at tackling the insane new
challenges that have popped up every day for the last year and a half. And
during the early editing process, we’d turn watching the 50 hours of footage
into date nights by cooking dinner together and picking an interview to watch
through and take notes on while we ate!
How was your experience getting crowd funded through
Kickstarter?
The Kickstarter experience blew us
away. We knew there were pockets of people who’d be excited about seeing this
story come to life, but we had no idea of the scope of the support we’d
receive! We were nervous about our initial fundraising goal of around $12,000 -
we wondered if we could make it - so by the end of the Kickstarter when the
project had been 330% funded, we knew God was telling us that He’d supply
everything we needed to make the best film possible - and not just financially,
but also in terms of interview leads, prayer support and people with wisdom we
needed.
The Kickstarter campaign was also
how we met our incredible composer, Jake Hull, and many of the wonderful
interview subjects you’ll see in the film. Lots of people reached out to us
with their stories after hearing we were making the film. So even though we
thought we were finished shooting interviews, we ended up doing lots of travel and
shooting more interviews after the campaign - and some of those interviews
became core to the story.
Is there a certain message or takeaway point you hope
to impart to viewers?
We want people to finish watching
the film and to think, “Wow, maybe there’s actually some timeless goodness
still in the instructions God gave in the Old Testament. And maybe there’s a
way that the whole Bible can work together as one story - with the patriarchs
and the apostles and modern-day Christians all with core commonalities in their
walk. And maybe I should take a second look at traditions I’d never thought to
question before.” But most of all, we hope that (as Zac Bauer says) people “go
home and read their Bibles."
What kind of responses have you gotten to this so far?
We’ve had lots and lots of people
tell us that they cried! It blows us away. I think that there’s something
powerful about seeing your story echoed back to you in a medium like this. It’s
very human and affirming. We’ve also had believers who’ve gone to church their
whole lives tell us that The Way answered questions from the Bible that they’ve
wondered about for years. And lastly, lots of people have told us they’re
excited to share The Way with friends and family, to start a conversation about
what they’ve been learning in their walk with God.
How can we learn more about The Way?
You can watch the trailer for The
Way, clips from the film, read FAQs and of course, buy a physical or digital
copy at The Way's website.
We’re also always on Facebook
hanging out with everyone there and posting video clips from the film (or cut scenes)
so come on over!
Thanks so much Kayte for taking time to talk with us! Doesn't she feel like a kindred spirit? I loved the 'real life' that went into this. Mom announced we aren't celebrating Christmas anymore - I can relate! And the creativity of incorporating the making of the documentary into date night. You'll hear more from Kayte when you watch The Way as she makes a couple of appearances! And a huge shout out to Kayte and Luke for providing five copies of the DVD to give away! Here's your chance to watch the documentary at no cost, or if you've seen it already win a copy to share with a friend. This giveaway is only open to readers in the US, sorry my international friends (you can still download a copy at the website) but I will have something special for you guys in a couple weeks. A huge shout out to Kayte for sharing their story and generously giving away five copies of the movie! Winner will be announced Sunday. a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Torah is often misconstrued as a legalistic law given to us by a grumpy God as some sort of temporary appeasement until his son would get out of bed and come downstairs to fix things. And, yes, YHWH allowed the Levitical Temple system to temporarily stand in for the blood of Yahusha. However, YHWH never meant for his instructions to be written off later. Rather they are a permanent guide from a loving Father to teach us how we can live in a way that is best for us and most honoring to him.
Reading through the Old Testament it is easy to see that the core of the stories are centered around keeping YHWH's Torah - also know as instructions or commandments. The first books of the Bible are about those who were obedient to YHWH's spoken instructions and then about receiving the Torah in writing. Judges is a cycle of things going well when the Israelites kept the word, and disaster happening when the people were disobedient by not keeping the feast days or intermarrying with those not serving YHWH. Kings is about the rulers who didn't keep the Torah, and the few who did. Ezra is a celebration of the Torah. King David wrote Psalms about the Torah being more valuable than millions in gold. King Josiah tore his clothes when a Torah scroll was found in the Temple, fore he realized YHWH was angry they weren't keeping it. Nehemiah is a return of the walls of Jerusalem and the set apart times of YHWH. Daniel is the story of a man who refused to break Scripture's dietary commands by eating unclean animals. There are prophecies of the destruction that comes on nations who are disobedient to Torah, and the hope of a greater day when YHWH's instructions are honored. The Proverbs admonish us to keep the Torah. The whole thing is about that. Surprising as it may be, YHWH's Word is about keeping YHWH's word.
So we can see the significance of YHWH's instructions take in 2/3 of the canon of Scripture. But what about the rest of it? Once you read of the beauty and the value of YHWH's word it is hard to swallow the idea of 'he got rid of that and now we don't have to keep the Torah anymore' that the traditions of Christianity push. A closer look at the New Covenant reveals that the Messiah and his followers kept and honored the Torah.
Torah Keeping in the New Testament
"I did not come to abolish the Torah." -Matthew 5:17
This statement alone should send us into prayer and reevaluation of the what we have been taught. The Messiah said so himself that he wasn't getting rid of YHWH's instructions.
"I will put my Torah in their minds, and write it on their hearts." - Hebrews 8:10
The book of Hebrews was written some thirty years after the Messiah's death and YHWH still desired the hearts and minds of his people to be filled with his instructions.
"Let everyone who names the name of Messiah depart from Torah-breaking." -2 Timothy 2:19 Faith in the Messiah does not let us off the hook to act however we please. Paul is telling us that if we are going to claim to be believers in Messiah we had better start honoring his word.
"I have never eaten food that was unclean." - Acts 10:14
This statement from Peter is a big clue. He made this statement years after the ascension of Yahusha. That whole time he never considered it okay to violate the dietary instructions. Why? Because the Messiah never taught that.
"The doers of the Torah are being made righteous." -Romans 2:13
This tells us that Torah observance is a sign that YHWH is working in that person to make them righteous. In the same way, if you want to be made righteous you should start keeping the commandments.
"By going after the error of the Torahless, you fall." - 2 Peter 3:17
Peter not only taught that disregarding the Torah was an error but one that is damaging and destructive!
"What good is it if someone has faith but has no actions to prove it?" -James 2:14 Much of the writings of the Messiah's half-brother and leader of the Israaelite congregation are devoted to reminding us that simply having faith is not enough. Faith alone is a starting point, but then we are called to take steps of obedience. James questioned the supposed faith of those who weren't willing to prove it by putting the Torah instructions into practice.
"Lot was tormented with the filthy conduct of those without Torah." -2 Peter 2:7
One of Yahusha's most trusted disciples and leaders of The Way said this. The conduct of those without Torah is tormenting to the righteous. Believers should be saddened when someone disobeys the Word.
"Sin is the transgression of Torah." -1 John 3:4
Decades after the Messiah, sin was still defined by violating the commandments of YHWH. This is no different today. More on how the New Testament defines sin here.
"All the Scriptures are given by YHWH and are profitable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting of faults, and training in righteousness." - 2 Timothy 3:16
There was no "New Testament" when Paul wrote this. He is talking about the whole of the Old Testament, including YHWH's instructions. He still viewed them as the measures for what sin is, knowing truth, and righteous living.
"Acting contrary to the Torah insults Elohim himself." -Romans 2:23
YHWH is insulted when we are unwilling to keep his commandments.
"Keeping the Torah of YHWH is everything." -1 Corinthians 7:19
Yes, the instructions of YHWH like Sabbath guarding, clean eating, and the feast days. Paul tells us these should be of the utmost importance to us.
"Be doers of the Torah, and not hearers only deceiving yourselves." -James 1:22
A person believes lies when they decide it's important to study Scripture but that they are not required to implement it in their lives. While they may be deceived by this, YHWH is not.
Isaiah
58:12 RSTNE -And they that
shall be from among you shall build the old ruined places, you shall restore
the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called,
Gadar-Peretz, the restorer of paths to live in.
Restorer
of the Breach. The dictionary defines 'breach' like this:
1
: infraction or violation of a law, obligation, tie, or standard
2
a : a broken, ruptured, or torn condition or area
b : a gap (as in a wall) made by battering
So
from the definition we can see the breach Isaiah is talking about here. It's a
gap between us and the "paths to live in," and it was made that way by
violating YHWH's instructions. It is a break in the foundation of our faith.
The
Hebrew for restorer or repairer drives this point even further. The word is
shuv, which is the root word of repentance, and it literally means to
"turn back to YHWH." Restoration can only happen when we repent of
our own ways and get back on YHWH's path.
The
imagery of paths is very prevalent in Scripture; it is not limited to simply
your life, but rather the way YHWH desires all of us to live. Walking on
YHWH's path means doing things his way, both trusting in Yahusha and keeping
the Torah instructions. Early believers in Yahusha described themselves as
followers of The Way. Same idea here.
YHWH is speaking of things in his Word that have long been ruined or forgotten
about.
Things
like honoring Shabbat, the Festivals of YHWH, and eating according to
Scripture have been mostly disregarded throughout the centuries but YHWH is
equipping us to be Restorers of this Breach.The
one path of YHWH, of trusting in Yahusha and honoring the Torah, will be
restored. The national heritage of Israel will be restored and YHWH will
bring both houses to the truth.
This passage tells us that no matter how long his Word has been misunderstood or
disregarded, YHWH promises to restore it. YHWH desires the old, foundational
places of our faith be restored so that we can walk in his way, on his path. He
says some of Israel will be known as 'Restorers' of his way. When the path to
live in is restored, more people will walk on it.
Ezekiel 36:36 - "I YHWH rebuild the ruined places."
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