Sorry folks for the lack of updates lately, I just don't have the time at present though I will endeavour to make sure normal service returns next Monday, including the next installment of the Bible Study.

Shalom friends,

It's been a long time since my last entry here - 50 days in fact. The last seven days have been a complete dream - a jam-packed visit to the USA followed by two days zombie-like recovery. In my absence the only folk interested in the site have been those pesky spammers, who have run amok. Oh, only if true believers could have their zeal!

It's been an age since I was last here in this blog. It's just been a mad busy time, but, as I have a few minutes free, here's the story so far.

First, apologies to those in the Oxford area who may have been planning to hear me speak at Witney last Friday. The organisers had to postpone this until the Spring, too much snow! Wifey and I made good use of the unexpected gap in the schedule and went to Pilgrim's Hatch for a short retreat. It was real quality time and the poor girl had to put up with me reading out aloud four chapters of my latest manuscript. I'm almost at first draft stage, the book itself - How the Church lost The Truth - should be published around May, I think.

Planning my visit to the USA next month. Will be visiting my new publisher, the wonderful and marvellous Steve Spillman (www.tppress.com) to plan the launch of my books in the States and there will also be two appearances on the Jewish Voice TV programme, in Phoenix AZ.

So it's go, go, go. Please pray for me.

Happy New Year/Decade. Goodbye "noughties", hello "teenies".

Many hopes and expectations for this coming year, though must always be mindful of the Lord's leadings and not just to follow ambitions and clever plans, however wonderful you may think they are.

Nevertheless I have a couple of items of news. Firstly, I'll be getting some practical help on this website from the good folk at the Tree of Life, my fellowship. They will be helping me deal with emails and content and provide much needed prayer support. It can be a lonely place here sometimes in Saltshakers towers ...

Bah! Humbug! And so starts my Christmas speech ...

It's a time of mixed emotions. Warm family companionship for some, the agony of loniliness for others. Everything is magnified and intensified on this one day of the year and, personally, I wish it wasn't. Did God intend this to be the only actual Shabbat the Church was going to celebrate - a day cut off from others, with no work, no shopping. On the other hand, do we set aside this day actually to worship God, or is it simply a day of overindulgence of one's appetites and senses?

Here's a sneak preview of the latest batch of questions sent to our clever "messianic rabbis". The answers should be published by the end of December. If you have any burning questions of your own, why not email them to steve@saltshakers.com

1. Should believers keep kosher? Isn’t it down to a misunderstanding of scripture and promoted by the Talmud, which surely Christians should not put on par with Holy Scripture?

Yesterday I was privileged (particularly as I only got in at the last moment due to someone else dropping out) to attend the Men's conference for the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust in Ashford, UK. I am happy to report that there is good to come out of the USA, in the form of the excellent speakers, Paul Washer and Justin Peters - compensating for the prosperity preachers and "prophets" and "apostles" that have invaded our shores from our "cousins" over recent years and given the secular world "a right old laugh" with all their nonsense!

This week I spoke at an evening meeting at the Cornerstone bookshop in Clapham. I don't get out much, so when I do venture into the cold dark night, I try to make the most of it. As I'm struggling with writing the next book ("How the Church lost The Truth ..."), I thought it would be good to get some feedback with what I've already written. So that's what I spoke about ...

It was a small group but, in true Hebraic style, the talk developed into a discussion and we covered some heavy stuff. The book concerns - among other things - the Hebraic/Greek divide in Church history and the idea I put forwards is that Greek thinking puts a stress on doctrine and Hebraic thinking on conduct. The hallmark of most of Christian history is a complete neglect of conduct, in favour of doctrine - hence all the killing and persecution done in the name of "correct doctrine".

God has placed an idea into my brain that won’t go away. As a writer, the only way I can ease the pressure is to write about it. Well I have …. And it still hasn’t gone away, so I have to keep on writing.

So far I've come to three major observations:

1. Going back to our Hebraic Roots is NOT just taking on jewish and OT practices, doing Shabbat and the festivals, being nice to your Jewish neighbour etc. It's a taking on of a different mindset, the Hebraic Mindset

2. All Churches and fellowships, at every point in history apart from the very first Church of the apostles, have had a mindset of Hebraic and Greek - the more Greek it is, the further away from God's ideal it is.

3. Our ultimate aim for going "Back to The Way" is to strive for a completely Hebraic mindset. Personally I think this is unattainable - we have Greek thinking so embedded in our minds, our actions, our motivations.

HEBRAIC = faith and conduct
GREEK = reason and doctrine

I have been asked by folk how they can ask a question for our "messianic rabbis". Well, a good way would be to just add your question as a comment to this post. At the moment our clever clogs are poring over the following questions, to be answered within the next 3 weeks:

1. Who was Melchizedek?

2. When was communion introduced and what were the disciples doing when they met daily and broke bread together?