So What Does Forgiveness Do?

Besides what was already mentioned (and forgive me if I repeat myself), forgiveness:

1. Sometimes makes you even forget what the person who offended you did in the first place.
2. May not make you forget what the person who offended you did in the first place, but it may make you realize that what the person did in the first place is not worth holding a grudge over or actually even that bad. This doesn't mean that the person is right for what he or she did—in fact, he or she may be (at best) completely misguided in what he or she did (and may even continue to be doing), and even (at worst) deliberately wanting to be blind to what he or she did (and may even continue to be doing). Also, what did Jesus say? "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (I don't have the reference right in front of me, by the way...it's Luke 23:34a. I was darned close—I thought that it was Luke 23:24 or something like that.).
3. Make you the better person in that moment. "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”" (Luke 17:3-5) 
4. Make you realize how much you need to be forgiven and hypocritically fall or fall back into unforgiveness. "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who arespiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)

After all, Rabbi Jesus warned, "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison." (Matthew 5:22-25)

Therefore, especially if you're Jewish like me—especially if you are Non Messianic and still under the Old Covenant—, for you to fast on Yom Kippur (which is on or around October 3, 2014, depending on which calendar you observe) would be quite hypocritical and pointless, for you will not be forgiven despite that you are שומר או שומרת הצום של כיפור.

Unforgiveness Hurts...

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. "

(Leviticus 19:17-18, JPS)

Sometimes, people show how far they can go with unforgiveness. Oh well; it's still worth the risk of seeing if they forgive you & forgiving them for not forgiving you. Now, are most people going to agree with Jesus' words on this? Absolutely not! In fact, I know that some of the people who have left me unforgiven vehemently disagree with Jesus, but they would at least came to agree with the passage from Leviticus—they some apparently do not. 

Nonetheless, what did Jesus—despite what he was, whether or not he was the Messiah or just a great rabbi—say?

"“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48, NKJV)

Meanwhile, what about me? Is there unforgiveness in me? Sure, and I know that I won't be forgiven until I forgive—and even if I'm not forgiven for my faults, I have to forgive others for theirs (including for not forgiving me). Again, what did Jesus say?

• "And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plankis in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." (Matthew 7:35)

• "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”" (John 20:22-23)

As my mom said, by the way, only those who have and/or trust in the Holy Spirit can truly forgive.

• "Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37c)

• "“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15)

Again, there is unforgiveness in me; and I won't be forgiven until I forgive, even if I'm actually not forgiven in the end. But why is this there unforgiveness in me? Am I not a believer? I'm a believer, and one who is both:

• Left unforgiven for my faults by some people (and I am being generous and forgiving by not naming names, at least this time if I've ever named you—you know who you are, and may what I am able to write here convict you of your unforgiveness)

and

• Blamed for and left unforgiven for sins that I didn't even actually commit. For example, I was abused as a kid and blamed for things that I did not do and called a sinner for righteous things that I did do.

Why is this relevant? Jesus said, "[T]o whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”" (Luke 7:47b) This is why I myself have a hard time forgiving people—especially since some people might take my forgiving of them as a sign that they can hurt me again. Plus, I have Obsessive Compulsive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder; so, I'm afraid that I might take it as a sign that they can hurt me again just because I've forgiven them.

Meanwhile, here is one more word from Jesus (through his emissary Paul, whether or not you believe that Jesus spoke directly or indirectly through Paul) before I go back and conclude with one more passage from Tanakh (not counting Hadashah):

"[I]f anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." (2 Corinthians 2:5-11)

Unforgiveness truly does hurt. As stated, "This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow."

In conclusion, I urge you to think about the following passage and watch the video that follows it:

"Didst thou not just now cry unto Me: 'My father, Thou art the friend of my youth. Will He bear grudge for ever? Will He keep it to the end?' Behold, thou hast spoken, but hast done evil things, and hast had thy way...

"Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every leafy tree, and ye have not hearkened to My voice, saith the LORD. Return, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am a lord unto you, and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion; and I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. " (Jeremiah 3:4-5, 13-15, JPS)

The Disgustingness of Legalism

I'm embarrassed that many here are forgetting Genesis 50:20, 1 Samuel 16:7, Acts 15, Romans 14, and Colossians 2:13-17, among other verses. First of all, Yeshua made a New Covenant and nailed the 613 mitzvot to the Cross (though some remain--see Acts 15, e.g.). Secondly, a holiday that Yeshua celebrated, namely Hanukkah, comes from a pagan tradition. Thirdly, your Yahushua or Yahushishi or whoever you worship in the place of Yeshua is not the Mashiach. "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,  which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7) Yeshua is clearly useless to you, since you pursue your own righteousness through Torah. "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”" (Galatians 2:21) Only non-believing Jews are still under the Old Covenant. "For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

By the way, Sha'ul once persecuted Yeshua. Think about that if and when you persecute Sha'ul and say that Sha'ul (who became Paul) was not following Yeshua. "But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12). You are doing to both Sha'ul and ultimately Yeshua what Sha'ul once did to Yeshua.

Object as you will, but then why does Yirimiyahu prophesy the following? "“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,[a] says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”"

You've made Yeshua quite useless, then; and I don't go after the majority to do evil. Also, many didn't believe that Yeshua was and is Mashiach.

Patricia Evans' Power-Over and Personal-Power Models In My Own Life

While I've made no claim to be perfect in or right about every matter, person, and factor in life and the afterlife, I certainly--as Shemoth cited on Twitter today--am trying to do what David did. "Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God." In his case, David was dealing with wiping out the Amalekites who had captured Ziklag. In my case, I'm dealing with people who are trying to use the Power-Over Model over me in every way that they can.

If you're one of those people, know who you are; be outraged; even want to stone me; but Yehovah is stronger than you and me alike. One or more of the following applies to you, and may Yehovah convict you for it:

1. You are a family member with some degree of seniority over me.
2. You are a person with some degree of authority over me.
3. You know that I am a Jew and a descendant of Jews, and of gentiles of Jewish descent. You may even be one of my ancestors or in at least one of the generations of at least one of them. 
4. You know that I am the descendant of Crypto Jews and do not hide that I am a bat-Anusim.
5. You know that I am a Messianic Jew and do not hide that I am Messianic.
6. You know that there is truth outside of the Written Word (the Scriptures), and that God is proven true both inside and outside of Scripture--or else He would not be Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.
7. You know that I have Cerebral Palsy, OCD/Anxiety, MDD, ADD, and IBS.
8. You know that I am a survivor of abuse and have an otherwise-sordid--even though redeemable--family history. You may even be part of who affected or even caused the abuse and sordidness. 
9. You know that especially 1, 2, 7, and 8 can be used to try to control me. You may have even used 1, 2, 7, and 8 to try to control me (e.g., what I post--v.g.--on my Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts).
10. You hypocritically cite the Constitution--v.g., the First Amendment--and claim yourself to be a Constitutionalist and a conservative.

Firstly, let me cite Amendment Nine for you: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Secondly, let me cite the Scriptures (since you may, after all, claim that that's the place wherein truth lies): "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge." and "[I]f this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;  but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God." After all, the same Scriptures say that God did not call:

1. The righteous, but the sinners.
2. The well, but the sick.
3. The wise, but the foolish.
4. The scholars, but the unlearned.

Thirdly, more from the Scriptures will I cite! "For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light." Don't play games with me, by the way--I'm not talking about Social Security numbers, home addresses, or other information that only you and certain other people need to know. I'm talking about, e.g., what was done to Vilmosz and his side of the Rusnak family, and--idem. v.q.--what we escaped from by becoming Anusim and what others may not know is in the Talmud. 

Fourthly, I'm not done helping others just because I'm done helping quite a few of you. I've done my job, and trouble will not fall on my house, and "When my father and my mother forsake me, [t]hen the Lord will take care of me." I look to an eternal reward, and I can only imagine what you look to: at least, you look to only a little reward.

I've said my shalom. Now, so to speak, the ball's in your court. You can either try to keep having Power Over me or letting G-d have power over all of us.

Are Non-Messianic Jews Legalists?

I was writing a blog entry on Valentine's Day. Then this came up.

Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki

about an hour ago near Baltimore

sees almost every day, if not every day, why Non-Messianic Jews have an excuse to laugh at us: our hypocritical, out-of-bounds legalism. For example, as much as I love Samuel Rodriguez, there is no way that I'm letting him get away with connecting Ash Wednesday to Tammuz. Even if (as his legalistic friend alleges, and he realleged) the sign of the Cross is connected to Tammuz and a costume thereof (of which I have never seen nor heard), the Church redeemed it. Ever heard of tikun-ha'olam? We don't implement it, though we have the strength given to us by Yeshua Ha'Mashiach; and then we wonder why Non-Messianic Jews find us to be hypocrites who have no real interest in tzedek.

Yo veo casi todos los días, si no todos los días, por qué Judios quién son no Judios Mesiánicos tener una excusa para reírse de nosotros: nuestra hipócrita, fuera de límites legalismo. Por ejemplo, por mucho que me encanta Samuel Rodríguez, no hay manera de que yo voy a dejar que se salga con la conexión del Miércoles de Ceniza a Tamuz. Incluso si (como su amigo legalista alega, y él re-alegó) la señal de la cruz está conectado a Tamuz y un traje del mismo (de la que nunca he visto ni oído), la Iglesia ha redimido. ¿Has oído hablar de tikún-Haolam? No lo ponemos en práctica, aunque tenemos la fuerza que Ha'Mashiach Yeshua nos da, y luego nos preguntamos por qué Judios quién son no Judios Mesiánicos encuentran que somos hipócritas que no tienen ningún interés real en tzedek.

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  James Walker I thought non-messianic Jews *are* legalists... why would they fault legalistic messianics for being legalists?
  
  Furthermore, even your NT says:
  
  Matthew 6:16 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."
  
  Where does having a clergyman paint black cross on your forehead as a sign of starting a fast, and go telling your friends what you gave up for lent, fit in even with the above commandment of your messiah?
  
  Thus, I'm not following your logic either from the Judaism side, or Messianic side.

  27 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki Firstly, many Non Messianics follow the spirit of Torah as opposed to the letter--even if they do not believe in the inerrancy of Torah or the rest of Tanakh, much less in Yeshua as Masiach. In fact, Reform Judaism is very clear: "This early radicalism was mentioned in the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform, which dismisses "such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet, priestly purity and dress" as anachronisms that only obstruct spirituality in the modern age. The platform stressed that Reform Jews must only be accepting of laws that they feel "elevate and sanctify our lives" and must reject those customs and laws that are "not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization."" (Jewish Virtual Library)
  
  Reform Judaism continues this thinking today: " Some institutions are considered to be a product of the cultural milieu and societal norms of the ancient Near East when the Hebrew Scriptures were written down, and do not speak to our lives today. In addition, Reform Jews do not ascribe to the Mishnah and Talmud the same authority which Orthodox Jews do. While the Talmud and law codes guide the lives of Orthodox Jews, it is more accurate to say that they inform the lives of Reform Jews." (http://urj.org/ask/questions/orthodox/
  

  

  )
  
  Reform Judaism even mentions that Judaism is, or at least should not be, "frozen in time". Therefore, legalism would be--for example--following some "societal norms of the ancient Near East when the Hebrew Scriptures were written down"--giving over a slave's wife and children to his owner unless he has ear awled into a door. 
  
  Besides, Yeshua made a New Covenant, not a "Renewed Covenant". The Old Covenant remains for Non-Messianic Jews (which Karaites like yourself and others frankly get). The New Covenant and the spirit of the Old Covenant are for the Messianic Jew.
  

  
  

  Orthodoxy - URJ
  

  

  urj.org

  16 minutes ago · Like · Remove Preview
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki Secondly, the intent is looked at. People who explain why they have crosses on their heads are certainly not looking for praise for doing it.

  15 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker And how many ancient Jewish Christians rejected the Law in favor of Catholic traditions? Any sources, my friend? Ebionites or Nazarenes - they both rejected the trinity, were divided on the virgin birth, and united on the binding authority of the Torah. This is proven through documents from the 2nd century onward. Modern Messianic Jews, however, are the opposite, in most cases - being mainline evangelical protestants in beliefs and practice. How do you account for this?

  11 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki I can account for that many modern Messianic Jews heed the warnings in the Apostlic Letters--since the Apostles were writing down warnings about apostasy and legalism like that of the Ebionites and Nazarenes, which has nothing to do with Catholicism unless you consider that Non-Evangelical Catholics learned well from the Christian-in-name-only cults. By the way, Maccabees is not a part of Tanakh or Brit Chadashah.

  7 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker It's our history, just as the German Reform movement and German holocaust a century later is part of our history

  6 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki The Reformation has nothing to do with the Holocaust. Martin Luther either fell away or was a Christian in name only.

  5 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker where does the word legalism even appear in the NT?

  5 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker German Jewish Reform

  5 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker He believed Jesus is Lord, and you can't say that without having the Holy Spirit, right? So whoever calls on his shall be saved, etc.

  4 minutes ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki So, Reform Jewish children are at fault, too? I see. G-d must be a sick G-d to punish children because of Reform Judaism. Look; s*** happens; life happens; the Holocaust had nothing to do with Reform Judaism. Also, not everyone who says "L-rd, L-rd" will enter Heaven; and some who do will still have been fallen away.

  3 minutes ago · Like
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  James Walker It's a covenant, with consequences. It's basic Bible

  about a minute ago · Like
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  Nicole Maratovah Czarnecki Covenant with consequences for innocent children, like my cousin Fredi, too? I see. So, Fredi, who was Orthodox, was thrown against a fence or burned in a furnace because of what Reform Jews in Germany did. Your thinking is sick, James.

The conclusion is that Non-Messianic Jews who follow all 613 mitzvot of Torah aren't legalists, because they have to follow all 613 mitzvot; whereas Messianic Jews who follow all 613 mitzvot, if they even are really Messianic, are legalists. Again, a New--not a Renewed--Covenant was made.

PS Good luck following Torah, James. Know that having fallen away is not a nice place to be in--you're still saved, but you will lose reward--the New Testament says that.