So I am a big promoter of people and things I find cool and interesting, which by the way are most times never books as I am dyslectic and reading is no walk in the park.  Kurt Libby approached me online about buying his new book and giving him raw honest feedback so here it goes.

I wasn’t able to finish the tiny little book, I am stuck staring at experiment 18 and it has been three months or more since I started.  I have a hard time moving on to something if I have not completed the first and besides the many distractions in life like work, church, eating, and sleeping I just got stuck reading certain challenges over and over waiting to hear from God and not being satisfied to move forward until I did.  Let me tell you, #LIVENEW is not easy.  Sure I was tempted to power through the simple short sentences to get to the end but what would be the point.  I needed to wrestle and die to make this work.  I needed to lose my own identity and become new in Christ.

Now as I am reflecting on my own progression of this material I have a few theories of why it was so difficult.  #LIVENEW is not something you should do alone.  I needed to process these concepts with other men and I was a lone wolf trying to conquer myself.  Accountability to others was missing and I definitely felt my own laziness let things slide once or twice or like a bunch of times.

I also honestly got distracted by the writer’s voice more than once.  If you know Kurt you know that he is a youth leader and he works with young people with crazy ADD and using sentences longer than three words goes over their heads.  I felt that the material was yelling (in love) at me a few times.  For example,

“…your view of the Holy Spirit (HS) is way too small. Way. Too. Small. Get over yourself. You aren’t able.  He is able. Period.”   Or “No more faking it.  This just got real.”

I guess I’m just use to reading C.S. Lewis’ never ending paragraphs and the literary use of short statements to graB my attention felt like over kill and I was distracted trying to figure out why I was being yelled at.
Throughout the book Holy Spirit was abbreviated to HS, which I always associate with Home School, so that was a slightly humorous distraction as well.

Anyways, I think if the book wants to speak more clearly to an audience out of High school it needs to lengthen the sentences or shift the statements into questions to be discussed.  Whatev.  It is still a good book.

I have definitely applied much of the teachings in developing good habits and I think the goal of the book was achieved and I will continue to wrestle through it.  I highly recommend this book and you can buy it by clicking the image.

Be Blessed

Sean Trank

The modern Jewish view of sin is contradictory to the scriptural view of sin.  The whole idea of original sin is the concept that the wages of sin is death.  Simply put Adam ate the forbidden fruit and humanity was cursed with heavy labor and death.  We see this reality in Genesis 3:14-19.  Death is what is original about sin.  It starts with Adam and ends with Jesus, the only one who came back after death.  We see that the sins of the father do affect their children, ask any psychologist who has dealt with patients with abusive parents.  
People who deny original sin do so to justify their lives.  “I’m a good person,” is often the response of a person who won’t accept that they are a sinner.  Or they are in complete denial of Jesus and their only alternative is to also deny the apparent reality that all have sinned and all will die because of it.

For those who claim goodness, it can’t even stand before the law of God.  And unless you have a priest in Jerusalem making sacrifice in the temple there is absolutely no way to be atoned for sin.

I often have to help people figure out that even if you were not born with sin, it is very easy to sin and it might as well be original as the Psalmist explains “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”   We are born inclined to sin (Genesis 8:21) and even before we know of God or that sin is wrong we have already sinned.  Jesus said that just lusting without action was sin.  Sin is embedded deep within our being.

It is, frankly, a ridiculous notion that many have used to justify themselves.  When the patriarchs of scripture sinned they came to God in repentance.  They didn’t shrug and point out greater sinners and say “well I don’t do what they do.”

Whether you believe God’s word that sin begins at birth or you think you are born without sin, I challenge you to inspect your heart and see if there be any sin against God.  See if you have ever broken any of the Ten Commandments.  It does not take long to realize our sin and our need for a sinless savior.

Jesus died for you and he loves you.  He is ready to save you from sin and death.  Ask Him to do so and then go get yourself a Bible and read it.

Be Blessed

Sean Trank

Awesome deals of the week!  3 days left!

If you love animals and are heading down So-Cal for a vacay you can get half off tickets to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  $22 a person is uber cheap.  Living Social has them on sale for the next three days so get on it.  Click here to buy.

Also, check out some of the many other cool things they got on their site.  If you buy a livingsocial and can get three more people to buy on, your’s is free.  So far I have only been able to do this successfully with movie tickets.  I need only two more peeps to buy to get mine free so please help a brotha out so he can take his wife to see a bunch of freakin’ cute animals.

Speaking of Freakincute animals, check out this new site.  Animals so cute you will never be sad again.  Freakincute.com

Also, we have a new web address for Parsha in 60 seconds, Parsha60.com

So check out the Safari, freakincute, and parsha60.  If you have found a sweet deal you think I might like post the link in the comments bellow.

I use to dream of Israel.  When I was a kid I would hear the Bible stories and dive imaginatively into this magical Godly place where everyone did what was right.  The streets were all made of clean, perfectly shaped stones and it was always sunny, not to hot and not to cold.  Much like Disneyland, everyone who was there was happy.  Unlike Disneyland, everything was free.  Many of my ideas of the land of Israel were also very influenced by my pastors and others in the church I went to who  would describe their trips as being so spiritual, filled with high emotions, singing, ground kissing, dancing.  Some even came back from trips convinced they were now Jewish because they felt so connected to the land.

Well I finally got to go to Israel in 2007 and talk about disappointment.  The streets were mostly asphalt and filthy.  I was not inspired to dance, sing, or kiss the ground.  My Jewishness remained at the same level it was and I felt no other emotions more than maybe a little jet lag.  Now don’t get me wrong, I have experienced God in my life and I know when the Spirit is working but today as I took my first steps into Israel the Spirit of God was not setting off any fireworks.  That’s ok right, I mean this is just the airport terminal, the feelings and spiritual inspiration might come later?

Nope, throughout seven weeks traveling the land seeing the sights and being with other believers I did not feel any sort of extra HS (Holy Spirit) juice.  What I felt was the opposite, as I observed the locals and the newly made aliyah citizens I kept noticing what felt like a spiritual heaviness.  For those who confessed faith in Jesus, there seemed to be tendencies to keep quiet about their faith.  When speaking to Israelis they would completely beat around the bush about who they were.  It was like many were ashamed of the gospel or something.

So we visit Jerusalem, you know the most holy city ever, and what I saw was Religious Disneyland.  The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is where some say Jesus was buried along with a bunch of other people.  I watched the Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and two other “Christian” groups have a procession into this church and I felt it immediately: spiritual darkness.

One of Satan’s most clever traps is religion.  Satan warps the understanding of humans to create new man-made religion.  That is why it is so import that we trust in God’s Spirit to help us understand God’s word.  The Bible warns us to watch out for false teaching and to test the spirits and that is exactly what had taken over the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Human ritual and tradition had replaced Christian fellowship and Biblical teaching.  Idolatry had taken over hearts and replaced true relationship with God.

A similar trap can be found at the Wailing Wall were you will find many religious Jews crying out blessings and stuffing prayers into the cracks in the wall.  They do this because it is the closest wall to where the Holy of Holies would be if it was not destroyed.  It is an attempt to reach God, to become righteous through prayer and confession and hope that God accepts you.  Ironically, where the Holy of Holies once was, stands the Dome of the Rock which is an Islamic landmark.  Why would you pray at a wall to a site that has been defiled by an Islamic building?  It is an attempt to maintain the Biblical Judaism that remains since the destruction of the second temple.  The question that needs asking is did God intend to always stay in the Holy of Holies?

The way I see it is that God has been trying to bring humanity back to garden status ever since the fall and the only way to do that is to destroy the separation.  That separation is what the Bible calls sin, which means missing the mark.  The only person in human history who claims to deal with sin is Jesus.  When he died the veil in the Holy of Holies ripped in two.  What an amazing statement!  God has left the building.  With the death and resurrection of Jesus the separation has been destroyed and we can have a true relationship with God.  That is amazing!

If God is not in an ark, in a room, in Jerusalem, in Israel, in the Middle East, then where is He?  Well if Jesus is who he said he is, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), then Jesus is God.  Jesus also said that where two or three are gathered in my name I am there (Matthew 18:20).  So God is available to all who have been redeemed by Jesus who gather in His name.  So it is not the land or the building or the props that make something holy.  It is a relationship with God.

Have you ever been in a place that stimulated your emotions to make you think it was more spiritual than it ought to be?  How have you experienced Israel?  Do you know Jesus?

Please make sure to “like” this post, leave a comment, and subscribe to my blog!

Be Blessed

Sean Trank

No one could have known that today would end in tragedy for the two who lost their lives and the over one hundred reported injured in the Boston Marathon.  Runners train for months for this race.  How would they ever know that it would be their last? So far no one has a clue if these explosions were an act of organized terrorism or who was responsible.  Plenty of theories are circling the internet but nothing conclusive.  When we as a nation experience shock like this we often times react in anger trying to find that person or group responsible, but what if we never get these answers?  I know many people who would ask God why would He allow such tragedy to happen to us.  The anger often times gets directed at God and many in their search for answers walk far away from God.

Today I would like to offer those who are seeking the Why question from God not necessarily a black and white answer but more of a challenge to think about.  I offer this, that God feels tragedy and suffering just as we do and He hurts when He sees injustice and destruction.  It is the great mystery of freewill that gives people the ability to both love and hurt people.  We can logically come to the conclusion that somebody made the explosions and somebody somehow justified their actions today.  Meanwhile the truth is God knew and could have intervened and taken away that person’s freewill to make that terrible choice.  Today, God allowed freewill to take its course.  Why?

Sin, the same reason we seek out our own desires instead of God’s.  Sin comes in many forms and every form leads to death, destruction, and human suffering.    The problem is that we try to solve the sin in our lives on our own.  We deny it, hide it, point at greater sinners to try and justify ourselves.  In the end there is no human way to stop sin.  But, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world (from sin) through him” (John 3:16-17).

The Bible is clear about God’s plan of dealing with sin once and for all.  Sin has been put to death through Jesus the Jewish messiah who is God in flesh.  Until this world understands that and accepts the only cure available for sin we will all suffer from our own freewill and rebellion.  Until Jesus returns to bring judgment we will all live in a world that is falling apart.  Know this and remember that God knows and feels our hurt and has made a way for us to endure pain.  When we surrender our lives to Jesus the Spirit of God comes and brings us new life.  We have a future hope that allows us to endure all things in Messiah.

So if you are asking “Why?” today, Jesus endured death on cross and destroyed sin and death making a way to God.  He knows what you are feeling it and is waiting for you to allow Him to work in your life, heal your wounds, and give you a new life that can endure all things.  So why not let Him? Why not right now?  Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Be Blessed Sean Trank

Since the very recent suicide of Rick Warren’s son, I have been reflecting a lot on the question of mortality and brokenness.  I have never met Rick or his son but hearing this sad story was just another reminder that life is fragile.  If you don’t know what happened, in short, Rick’s son suffered from depression and thoughts of suicide throughout his life.  A report described him as a very empathetic and sweet young man.  He was 27 just as I currently am.  Rick had tried all sorts of ways to deal with his son’s depression.

Broken people inhabit this world with one major thing in common, we will all die.  It is a hard thought to fathom that one day each of us will face certain death.  After the fear of public speaking, the second most common fear is death.  People deal with this reality in very different ways.  Mostly unhealthy ways that hasten their own demise. So how do you deal with this?

Looking back I have created memorial videos for four people so far.  Leslie Wright, Moishe Rosen, Stan Telchin, and Jhan Moskowitz.  For Moishe and Stan I knew and they knew in advance that their time was coming to an end and I even communicated with Moishe about his video before he passed.  Leslie and Jhan were much different stories.  No one but God knew it was time for them to go home.  Leslie was walking in a parking lot after church and got bumped by follow churchgoer at less than 10 mph and she fell and hit her head which caused bleeding that could not be stopped.  Similarly, Jhan fell on the stairs of a subway entrance and hit his head.  Ironically, just a few years earlier I was sitting with Jhan during Moishe’s one year memorial and we watched the video I made for Moishe.  Jhan turned to me and said, when you make mine I want you to make it cinematic with some Johnny Cash or Dylan.  I used the Coldplay cover of Johnny Cash’s “Till Kingdom Come” I felt this song reflected Jhan’s life with Jesus perfectly.   See the video here

Tragedy, brokenness, death, these things are a part of this world.  Ready or not we still have to deal with it.  It is with great hope and expectation that I rely on the promises of God that Jesus will return and wipe away every tear from our eyes.  There is no other person in human history that makes this promise.  I know I can trust Jesus because he is the only person in human history to come back to life.  It is the reason we have faith.  Brokenness is not the final destination of those who have put their trust in Jesus.  Death has lost its sting, and though pain may last for the night, joy comes in the morning.

Been broken?  Lost loved ones?  Seen injustice?  So have I, and Jesus will redeem all of it.  What do you put your faith in?

Be Blessed

Sean Trank

So who do you think would win?

Write your arguments in the comments!  If you like the image favorite this post!

When I think about who God is I often think about what the Bible reveals about God.  I see a God who creates, who upholds right and wrong, who saves, who is jealous, who gives gifts, who destroys nations, etc.
It is often that I try to craft God’s character to my own and align God to match my own ideals and ethics.  This is perhaps the very reason that I stop hearing from God because I have stuffed him in my very defined and human box.  I think I have God pegged as my genie in the bottle that will bail me out when I pray.

Very soon after coming to this very limited and pathetic human conclusion, God breaks out of my box and shows me that I have been worshiping my own god that does not even have .01% of the power that God has.  This is not just my error, this is the error of all human religion as we try to make God in our own image and we become enemies of the living God who created us.

The truth is that God does and continues to surprise us.  For example, the Jewish people were promised a Messiah, a person from the line of David who would sit on his throne and rule forever (2 Samuel 7).   Isaiah spoke of this Messiah and said that he would suffer and die for the people (Isaiah 53).   David wrote a psalm of how this man would not stay dead (Psalm 16:10).  Daniel wrote the exact time that this man would arrive and that he would be cut down (Daniel 9).  Isaiah says that this man would pay for sin (Isaiah 53).   Jeremiah says he will bring peace and the nations will know God (Jeremiah 31:12).

So the confusion comes when we try and rely on our human understanding to interpret these things.  The Jewish leadership decided that since the Messiah had to die and also had to not die, then there must be two Messiahs, either a Lion or a Lamb.  Sure that could work since there had been messiahs before.  Remember King David, Moses, any of the Judges, they all saved the people right?  So the expectation of what a “messiah” does is already set and the Jewish people did not expect anything different that a conquering Lion of a man who will over through the government and be king for a while.

This was not and is not the plan of God.  You can see God’s plan spoken plainly through the prophets and you can see the Jewish people blatantly take the parts that fit their expectations and reinterpret the rest.  Who would have known that God would become flesh and be both the Lion and the Lamb?  Who would have thought that God would give His only son, a Jewish concept by the way (Proverbs 30:4), to die for our sins.  That Jesus would rise from the grave three days later having now paid in full all sin and satisfied the wrath and judgment of God.  Perhaps it was the same reason Pharaoh did not let God’s people go, perhaps the hardening of the heart is very similar or the same as having a veil over your eyes (2 Corinthians 3:14).  It is because of Jewish rejection that the nations have received Jesus the Jewish messiah.

So while many Jewish people today say that the Messiah must:

1. Be King
2. Bring peace
3. Make God known among the nations
4. Rebuild the temple

I must point out that Jesus:

1. Is King in heaven and His kingdom is being spread on earth.
2. Brings peace in the heart which can only be achieved after sin has been conquered and relationship between God and human is restored.
3. Caused the knowledge of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to spread to every nation for the last 2000 years and is still being preached.
4. Is God’s temple, and the dwelling place of God was destroyed the day Jesus was put to death and was rebuilt three days later.  Revealing that the dwelling place of God was Jesus’ body and not just an Ark or building made by men.  (John 2:19)

It is often said that it is out of ignorance that a Jewish person comes to believe in Jesus.  Yet, how much more ignorant is it for my people to ignore the prophets, ignore that Jesus made claim to his own Messiahship, ignore that the Messiah is both a Lion and a Lamb.  Don’t follow the worldly teachings of the Rabbis, they are keeping God in a box.

If you don’t know Jesus, look again.  If you think you know God and have him pegged may He destroy your tiny little box of human understanding and reveal the light of His truth to you.

Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Be Blessed

Sean Trank

If anything I wrote struck a chord in your heart, please “like” and “share” and comment.

Us versus Them need to stop now!  As people slowly being transformed by Yeshua into his likeness, we often hold onto old habits and old world views.  Our pride elevates our egos whispering self confirmation that our ideas are better than their ideas.  My way is the right way.  My ministry is worth more than your ministry.

I grew up being involved with Jews for Jesus and in the middle of the Messianic movement.  I have witnessed foolish disagreements tear relationships apart.  I now work with Jews for Jesus as their film producer.  I have had many amazing opportunities to reach out in a new way through creative media.  I also got a chance to travel the world through a program called Massah.

One of my favorite memories was going to Goa, India on the hippie beaches that are still populated by smelly long haired flower power people.  It was the last few weeks of a 7 month adventure and I was exhausted.  Our team got wind that there was another team from another Jewish ministry preparing to do outreach on the beach.   We got a chance to connect with them and worship and pray.  During that time I felt a tension in the room that put everyone on guard as if any sec a fight would begin.  It was difficult to bare and I silently prayed that God would brake all of our pride and unite us all in peace.  As I was praying this one of the others spoke words that I will remember forever.  He said he wanted to apologize on behalf of the messianic movement for not loving us and for making life harder because of the rejection.  This broke the tension and our pride.  After he said that, many words of encouragement were shared on all sides and we were united.

Since then I have had a heart for reconciliation for those in the messianic movement and Jewish ministry.  It is a complicated problem that I want to try and explain.  It is the reason my family left the movement near the beginning.

The reason it began is because Jews in the 70s were getting saved and they wanted to keep their heritage.  So they created a format of worship that had more Jewish flavor, worshiped on the Sabbath (Saturday), read from the Torah, spoke traditional Hebrew blessings, and some even kept kosher.  It was good, everyone did what they were convicted to do and Yeshua was the center.  Our congregation was made up of about five Jewish families and soon grew to larger numbers.  About a year in we had a large number of non-Jewish families who came from Seventh Day Adventist Churches or who discovered that their great x5 grandmother may or may not have been Jewish and that they felt it in their blood that they were now Jewish.  This was not when it became bad, just a little awkward because the Gentiles were acting more “Jewish” than the Jews.  The day it became bad is when the Gentiles pressured the leadership into being more Jewish.  My congregation began to expect that all men wear a kippah.  Soon people began to keep kosher to Rabbinical standards and they expected everyone else to do the same.  Many of the original families, including mine began to see that legalism was taking over.  (note: this is how I remember this experience) Approaching the leadership became tricky, we were now the minority and our leader did not want to offend the majority and lose people.  So they continued to be more and more Jewish until just saying the name Jesus in English was offensive, Christian holidays became taboo because of their Pagan roots.  Salvation required not only a belief in Yeshua, but also the keeping of the laws.  After a Saturday service where Yeshua was not mentioned once, my parents decided it was time to get out.  Though many of our  friends stayed, we left and began going to a non-denominational church.  I remember how appalled some people at the congregation were that we were going to a church.  When this happened I was still very young, we did not leave in anger and we still were in good standing with many.  In fact, I was Bar Mitzvahed by the leader several years later and even would visit their youth group every once in a while.  I still have wonderful memories of those times.

Jews for Jesus came into play when I was seven years old, my parents were trained in San Francisco to reach out to Jewish people on the streets.  They started the first Jews for Jesus chapter in Sacramento and coordinated outreach throughout the year.  I passed out my first broadsides (pamphlets) when I was eight.  It was the Bart Simpson broadside.  It was always hard getting volunteers because talking to strangers on the street was always difficult.  Facing rejection all day is never fun.  We were accused of being fake Jews by angry Jews and being unable to be Christians by Gentiles almost always Catholics.  I knew that what they were saying to me was not to me and I never took what they said personally.

In high school, this new idea of friendship evangelism became very popular  in both my church and in the messianic movement.  Reaching out was now easier than ever because you just wait for someone to ask you why your life is different, or you do nice things so that people will want to have whatever you have.  My church began sending youth to Mexico to build houses and the Messianic Congregation stopped reaching out entirely and stopped growing.  Passing out Broadsides in the streets was not the way to do it anymore because it might offend someone and push them away from Jesus.  Today, this is still a very popular idea.  It is funny how sensitive people get when you hand them a broadside and they yell, “Stop forcing your message down peoples throats.”   This is a typical reaction of someone who has been affected by the message.  I know many who have come to faith and when they first encountered the message they also had the same reaction.  Back to my point, direct evangelism was getting a bad rep because of these reactions.

Just to make things clear:

JFJ is a one issue ministry, to make the Messiahship of Yeshua and unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide.  They do this through proclamation and have a very direct approach on the street.  When someone comes to faith through the ministry they are connected with a local church or congregation where they can be discipled and grow.  CPM, on the other hand has a focus on planting new Messianic congregations as well as direct evangelism and discipleship.  The Messianic movement is made up by the UMJC and MJAA and then there are congregations that are independent.  This is all very complicated I know.  My point is not to bash any one organization or individual or anything.  I report it as I see it and this is what I have seen.

Going back earlier to my story of how my congregation became legalistic and unhealthy, this is a well known issue in many congregations.  Leaders have to balance the Judaising issue because if they don’t they will be useless in discipling any new believer that comes.  JFJ recognized this problem and out of concern for the new believers that were reached through their ministry, stopped connecting people to congregations that focused on Judaising .  As you can imagine this caused much strain as there was an unspoken expectation that a new Jewish believer belonged to the Messianic movement.  So fingers were pointed at JFJ and JFJ pointed fingers right back.  It was a mess.  It was Paul and Barnabas at it again.

Many bridges were burnt and there was much collateral damage.  Generations later bitterness resides.  But there are some who are’t going to stand for this nonsense.  There are those who are still working in the Messianic movement who are transforming it from the inside out.  They are rebuilding bridges and connections.  Reconciliation begins in your heart and we are called by Yeshua to be reconciled to God and to one another.  Both CPM and JFJ are amazing ministries that give spectacular opportunities to share your faith with our people.  I have friends who have worked with both and have reconciled.

If you hold any bitterness in your heart towards these ministries in general or someone specific, it is time to take steps and be reconciled.

Life is messy and our pride makes it worse, but that is why Jesus died for us.  Please do not squander in bitterness any longer.

Be Blessed

Sean Trank

Matthew 5:23, 24

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

If anything I wrote struck a chord in your heart, please “like” and “share” and comment.

On Tuesday I went to the dentist to get a few cavities taken care of. I was offered NOS (Nitrous oxide) and normally I would say no thanks I can take it. I light of my last dentist experience I gave in and accepted. So when your nossed up you mind is the loudest voice in your head, you become super aware of everything yet it does not really apply to you so it does not matter. Time becomes confusing as minutes feel like seconds and everything looks interesting.

So as I am in full dialogue with my mind discussing the art in the room I feel a sharp pain but it feels far away and like it belongs to someone else. I think “oh yeah I am probably getting the Novocaine shot right now.” I realize that this event happened several minutes ago. When the dentist says to open my mouth I begin thinking about the pros and cons of that action for a minute or two and then realize my mouth is already open…What!? Who did this?

As I was staring at the sealing I noticed that the florescent lights had a perfectly squared grid and I became convinced that it was my job to count each square, an impossible job when the room feels like it is spinning. I tried really hard but could not get past six.

Anyways this was a first for me, tell me about your experience in the comment box and if you have ever experienced this make sure to click like on this post.

Be Blessed

Sean Trank

PS I highly, no pun intended, recommend my dentist if you live in the bay area. Here is her fan page