The Reform Jewish Community has voted to recognize same sex unions in their synagogue.

Now . . . before we start throwing stones and judging . . . let’s look at the positive side of a declaration of such historic significance. There is far more evidence in the Old Testament that identifies Jesus as their Messiah, than there is evidence that God would be happy joining Fred and Ted in Holy Matrimony.

So we should celebrate that the Jewish community is finally opening their eyes to new possibilities in the interpretation of the scriptures. Hopefully they will now see that Christ was the Messiah they have waited for all these years and is as alive today as he was two thousand years ago. That He wants to have a personal relationship with them.

In the meantime, in their very open minded stance on recognizing same sex unions . . . I wonder if they will finally allow Jews to marry outside their religion? If Bob Jones can lift restrictions on dating outside a race, and same sex unions are recognized by the Reform Jewish community . . . certainly Jews and Christians can finally join as one.

Now that would be cause to celebrate! We are at ninamay.com and love hearing from you.

I know a woman who rejected God, the Bible and Christianity because of a verse in it where Jesus says he came to divide father from son, brother from brother.

This very spiritual verse was read and translated with the mind of man. Jesus is speaking of the type of division that occurs when a young man or woman leaves their home, separate themselves from their families and join together as one in holy union. This is the type of union he calls us too . .. a holy union, the bride with the bridegroom . . . where the spiritual bond between us and God is stronger than any blood bonds we have every known on earth.

The Word divides flesh from spirit so that we can truly reflect His perfect and complete love for those around us. Until we die to self we will never live . . .

All of these are mysteries in the Bible that can’t be explained with the head . . . only with the heart and the interpretation of the One who wrote it.

Ironically, this woman’s wrong misinterpretation of that verse was what estranged her from her son her whole life . . . because she refused to allow the son to have that intimate relationship with Christ. That was the division Christ spoke of . . . but it was not caused by Him. It was caused by a rejection of Him.

When you fly over a city or country . .. no matter how poor it is . .. it always looks better from the air. Then when you get in a car and drive through the same town, you are shocked by the contrast as though it can’t be the same place you just flew over.

That is how God sees us all the time .. .after He has landed and seen how imperfect we are . .. but His image of us is air-borne. He sees the vastness of our hearts, the depth of our character, the terrain of our personalities and the flowing rivers of love we are looking to share with others.

We are the ones tripping over the mundane, failing to see our potential, refusing to accept that we have a destiny that is a beautiful landscape of ideas, creativity and dreams. But nothing is hidden from God . .. He gets the birds- eye view of our potential plus a nostril full of our depravity . . . and He still loves us.

Maybe we need to change our perspective of God and see that He cares about the mundane, but beckons us to a higher calling. Nothing is too difficult or far away for God to handle. If we just let Him land on our airfields to help show us the way to higher altitudes . . . and . . . attitudes.

This is ground control at ninamay.com

The scribes, pharisees, and Sadducees were all learned men who spent their entire lives transcribing and translating the scriptures. They were the most intelligent men of their times and their main goal was to interpret the prophecies to determine when the Messiah was coming. And although the prophecies were clear that His birth and life would be humble . . .their intelligence misled them into believing he would come as the conquering hero to save them from bondage by the Romans.

So as smart, prepared, read and intelligent as they were . . . when their Messiah did come . . . not only did they not recognize or receive him . . .they nailed him to a cross.

This is not a judgement on the learned men of that time, it is just an observation that many times our intellect can be the enemy of our heart. If we are not open to hear the ever present, non-linear voice of God . . . to interpret His word for us, we will miss the message . . . big time. It is interesting that more and more Jews are accepting Christ as their savior because they have learned to read the scriptures with their hearts . .. and not their heads.

The truth was there all along . .. but now “they have eyes to see, and ears to hear,” as Christ said.

A number of people have asked what I think about Jane Fonda’s conversion to Christianity. Some are suspicious about it being real. But in light of the current social status, where Christians are the only group it is fashionable to discriminate against . .. why would someone pretend to join it?

What would she have to gain by telling everyone she had become a member of society’s least respected group of people. She isn’t running for anything, and it has certainly alienated her from people she cares about. It has to be real for a number of reasons. God loves everyone and accepts them just where they. All men are redeemable … no matter what they have done … take Saul of Tarsus, whose redemption and conversion brought about the writing and spreading of the Gospel around the world.

God loves Jane Fonda as much as those who have condemned her. God loves making a statement. But most of all … God answers prayers. Many of us have been praying for her, and Ted for years…

So, I rejoice at her conversion and pray that all believers join in that rejoicing . . . and refrain from second guessing whether it is real or not.

The Zumwalt family extended grace and mercy to President Clinton by asking him to give a eulogy at the funeral of Admiral Zumwalt, who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Viet Nam conflict.

Even though Bill Clinton had stated, and illustrated openly, his loathing of the military by avoiding the draft . . . the past has been forgotten by those who want to move on. And even though Admiral Zumwalt’s son, Elmo Jr., did the honorable thing and served in the Viet Nam war, and lost his life as a result of it . . .there are no hard feelings extended to Bill Clinton that he did not honor his duty to serve.

So I hope that those who would stand and throw stones at other presidential hopefuls today, for youthful indiscretions that reflected poor judgement yesterday, will show the same mercy. Extend to them the same grace, forgiveness and love that has been extended to Bill Clinton by the Zumwalt family.

A good slogan, to have emblazoned on the hearts and minds of all those running in this next election should be . .. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

The Bible really can’t be taught in public schools because it is meaningless when approached from an intellectual perspective. The true meaning can only be discovered through revelation knowledge, not by applying man’s understanding to it.

Why else do you always find atheists who teach in Seminaries and Bible colleges, but never see the mystery behind the words? Because they are interpreting it with their limited knowledge, disregarding the Author’s opinion. It would be as though they were teaching about the love letters from one person to another.

They can teach the mechanics, the style, the historical significance . . . but they will never understand the mystery of the love between the two . . . unless one of them reveals it. God’s word is a love letter to his church . . . to his believers. He has hidden truths in there, just for his beloved, as they pray for revelation as they read.

There are many verses that say the meanings will be revealed in time, to those who are seeking a deeper understanding of God’s heart.

I am glad they don’t teach the Bible in public school, because there is only one Teacher qualified for that job . . . the One who penned it .. .the Holy Spirit.

This is Nina May suggesting that if we want to learn the mysteries of God’s Word . . . we have to let Him teach us.

As we come to the end of the millennium it is hard not to contrast the beginning of the last one with the ending of this one.

Two thousand years ago we saw the birth of hope for the world in the person of Jesus Christ. And as the religious leaders of that time wisely said, “let the Christians alone. If it is just a cult it will die out, and if Jesus truly was the son of God, then there is nothing we can do to stop the spread of this new religion.”

That was very prophetic and history has shown that indeed, Christianity is as alive today as it was when the stone was rolled from the tomb to reveal a promise kept . . . a risen savior for the world.

But where are we now, as a world? Some scholars believe that we are at the end of the sixth day and the new millennium will usher in the return of Christ to rule the world. But the lines are clearly being drawn spiritually and the day of deciding to be, hot for Him, or cold against Him, are upon us.

May this year be the year you decide which side of eternity you will be on. This is Nina May and the Renaissance Women wishing you a thoughtful New Year.

The end of the millennium, century, decade, year has many speculating that it is a ripe season for terrorists attacks . . . for one reason or another.

But what is interesting is that all attention seems to be directed at the Muslim fundamentalists around the world, with specific emphasis on Osama Bin Laden . . .remember . .. . Clinton’s foil during his impeachment escapades?

But it all seems to receive a big yawn from the potential victims of such terrorists attacks. They say, Oh yes, the Jihad group, the torch and burn, strap explosives to the body group . . .whatever.

It is almost as though we have come to recognize and accept that there are religious fanatics of a specific faith who have made a life mission of destroying the heathen infidel. But heaven forbid, if that same infidel put a nativity scene on public property . . . or mention the name of Jesus in a public work place, or pray in a public school.

The anti-religious crowd should be thankful that the only thing Christians do during their holy days is stimulate the economy and sing some really neat songs. Now tell me again why the Christians are the ones who are intolerant?

If you listen to the words of the old Christmas Carols you will notice that not only are they heralding the arrival of the Savior, the new born King . . . they are introducing unbelievers to Him.

Joy to the world . . . not just to Christians . . . let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare Him room. This is an invitation . . . not a commandment. Even nature is implored to sing His praises. Joy to the earth, the savior reigns . . . while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy. And the message is timeless. In Bethlehem, the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

When Christ was born, there was no Catholic or Protestant or denominational conflict. Christ fulfilled Gods promise to the Jews, but his salvation is a gift to the entire world. The most priceless and enduring gift you can share with someone is a personal relationship with the one whose birthday we celebrate today . . . Christ, the newborn King.

This is Nina May and the Renaissance Women wishing you a blessed Christmas.