#machashabah

[melungeonculture]

Contrary to popular belief Mekhashepha =\= Witchcraft. You can be a witch and practice Mekhashepha, you can be not a witch and practice Mekhashepha. It is not a religion, there's no contracts or covenants. In my experience it's just learning to work with the energy of things and the environment around you. Calm down. Quit demonizing your kin just because you don't understand. A lot of us are Christians no less, and are against the witch terminology.  

This belief was born in the same sense that the word Melungeon is a slur was born. As Melungeon people we did not call ourselves Melungeon, we called ourselves Ridgemanites and other names denoting where we resided. We did not call out practices Mekheshepha (Machisaba), this is the OT word for a witch or a female sorceress. We were demonized as mixed race and demonized as witches and had our own dialect stripped from us, so we adopted what was given to us.  Machashabah similarly is the biblical word for cunning work, or knowing how to use intentions, thought, and prayer to heal. 

[christophe76460]

La leçon de la remorque

Une remorque est un ajout intéressant pour transporter une charge encombrante impossible à placer dans le véhicule même. Cependant, la remorque peut être dangereuse. Par exemple lorsque survient une descente, s’il y a une décélération brusque, la remorque, hors de contrôle, peut zigzaguer de façon tout à fait inattendue et les zigzags seront plus ou moins marqués selon le poids de la remorque. Il s’ensuit en général une embardée plus ou moins importante et catastrophique.

Le terme utilisé dans Ésaïe 65.2, est le mot « remorque » (TOB). Voici différentes traductions : dans Le Rabbinat français ; « au gré de ses idées », « au gré de ses pensées » (NBS), « au gré de leur fantaisie » (Bible de Jérusalem), « qu’à leur tête » (Français courant). Finalement, le terme hébreu « machashabah » se traduit par ; pensée, invention, désir, concevoir, mauvais dessein, comploter.

Un terme important ! Dans Ésaïe 65, c’est le mot « clé » du texte. En effet, lorsque on lit le texte, on peut voir que malgré « l’accueil » de Dieu envers Son peuple (v1), malgré que Dieu « tende les mains vers cette nation infidèle » (v1), ce peuple n’en a fait « qu’à sa tête », « qu’à sa fantaisie », « qu’au gré de ses pensées », que « selon ses désirs ». Dans le texte, Dieu énumère les faits : Ce peuple a fait des choses contraires à la loi (v3-7). De plus ils se sont crus plus « hauts » que Dieu en pensant qu 'ils étaient plus « sanctifiés que Lui »; « Je suis saint pour toi », ne me touche pas…(v5), pourtant Dieu a appelé, parlé, mais ils ont fait LE CHOIX d’opter pour ce qui ne plaisait pas à Dieu, VOLONTAIREMENT (v12) à cause des pensées orgueilleuses qu’ils ont eue.

Ce mot « machashabah » est souvent repris dans les psaumes, les proverbes, en Esaïe et Jérémie pour parler des hommes à la pensée « inique », « vaine », « des projets mauvais et rusés ». Ces pensées entraînent celui qui les pratique vers une pente descendante, la remorque de ses pensées, dépasse la capacité de l’homme à les contrôler. Dès que les pensées sont amorcées, le péché est alors consommé (Mat5.28 ; Ph4.8; 2 Co10.5), l’acte suit la pensée.

Comme nous l’avons vu plus haut, cette « remorque » entraîne tout dans son embardée. L’homme ne peut plus contrôler sa propre existence. Il « pense » être un enfant de Dieu (Dieu parle aux croyants au v5) mais il est éloigné de Lui, car il vit selon SES propres pensées et désirs. Nous avons tous à lutter contre le péché, mais celui qui est dirigé par ses pensées charnelles, sans être renouvelé, ne Lui appartient pas (Jc1.14-15). La suite d’Ésaïe 65, nous annonce les conséquences de ceux qui ne Lui appartienne pas, versus ceux qui sont à Lui. Maintenant, ces rétributions sont en rapport avec leurs mauvais comportements dû à leurs mauvaises pensées.

Ce texte nous apprend aujourd’hui, que nous ne pouvons pas nous laisser conduire par de vaines pensées. Parfois même ces pensées paraissent bonnes, mais les pensées de Dieu, ne sont pas les nôtres (Ésaïe55.8-9). Dès que l’homme met en avant ses désirs, ces pensées ne viennent plus de Dieu.

Comment rester « connecter » aux bonnes pensées ? La CONSÉCRATION. « Quand un homme se consacre. Il ne sait jamais où Dieu le mènera, c’est une aventure, un temps ouvert » (Antoinette Butte).

La consécration, nous amènera à faire des sacrifices nécessaires. Nous comprendrons que nous dépendons de Lui à chaque instant, qu’Il peut nous aider à vaincre nos pensées vaines et iniques. C’est par cette reconnaissance que nous saurons que nous ne SOMMES RIEN, SANS LUI. Qu’aucun de nous ne peut se vanter d’être plus que les autres, où trop SANCTIFIÉ (v5). L’’orgueil fera place à l’humilité. Cette humilité nous amènera à comprendre que nous AVONS BESOIN DES UNS ET DES AUTRES (nous sommes un corps), ET SURTOUT NOUS AVONS BESOIN DE DIEU TOUS LES JOURS À CHAQUE SECONDE. Nous allons librement chercher Sa face, par la prière et en lisant Sa Parole et en la mettant en ACTION.

Notre « remorque » sera légère, puisque nous ne « porterons » que notre croix (Mat16.24), ayant délester notre fardeau (Mat11.30). Elle ne nous entraînera dans une pente descendante. Mais lorsque la pente sera là, naturellement nous allons chercher plus Dieu et nous laisser renouveler par Son Esprit.

Le mot « machashabah » veut aussi dire dans son « bon sens » des pensées profondes, de bons projets, des pensées justes. Dans Ésaïe 55.7-8 Dieu dit que si nous abandonnions ces mauvais projets, Il nous pardonnera et en Jérémie 29.11, le mot est utilisé pour parler des « bons projets de Dieu sur notre vie ».

AUJOURD’HUI : Si tu sais que tes pensées sont vaines, ou tu as « glissé » dans le légalisme envers les autres (à cause de tes pensées d’orgueil) ou tes pensées iniques t’ont fait tomber dans le péché et tu n’arrives plus à t’en sortir. Si tu te sens de moins en moins attiré par le Seigneur ou à passer du temps avec Lui, c’est que tes pensées (tes désirs, tes projets) ne tenait pas compte de Dieu, alors revient vers LUI, car Il a promis qu’Il te pardonnera si tu reviens et si tu recherches CONTINUELLEMENT sa face ! (1 Chr16.11).

PRIONS : Seigneur pardonne-moi mes pensées vaines et renouvelle mes pensées par ton Saint-Esprit ! Viens me libérer de mes mauvais penchants, je te demande pardon et je place dès aujourd’hui toutes pensées captivent à Ton obéissance (2Co10.5). Seigneur je prends la décision de me consacrer plus à Toi et priant et en lisant Ta Parole. Permets-moi de comprendre aussi ma place dans le corps de Christ, et transforme toutes mes pensées orgueilleuses par des pensées humbles. Merci Jésus !

Photo TimHill/Pixabay

[dfroza]

A video and some words shared below from an email received Today that helps in the dealing with life and its imperfections. its pain. whether caused by our own thinking and actions, or that of others. sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose. some tragedies just happen, and the Source of Love sees it all. but that doesn’t mean those things are prevented from happening. the world we now see is finite, including every physical body. all of it points towards death and rebirth. and so it matters what we come to believe in this life. how we think about ourselves and others. and how we think God thinks about us. for the need of acceptance is perfectly valid. and many don’t receive it from others in the way they crave. and sometimes it seems like God doesn’t care, in the silence of it all. in the obscurity we all face in this strange world. so many opinions. so much fear and judgment. and yet, there is right and wrong and pure boundaries in Love that are written on our hearts as a moral code. it is as though the eternal is whispering to us through all of nature but not all tend to listen. some prefer to follow chaos, or deception. and so it is good to keep a constant reminder of the pure genesis of things. and the way that all things are destined to be reborn.

from the email:

What God Really Thinks About You

by Esther Fleece, from No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending

Many times in my life, I’ve come back to the promise in Jeremiah 29:11:

‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’

This had been my favorite verse for some time. It helped me when deciding which college to attend, what path to take, which way to turn in so many of life’s decisions. I still have a picture frame with this verse engraved on it from my high school graduation. It’s a verse many of us love, because it is a promise that God is good and wants to be good toward us.

But as my life plans were not working out as I had envisioned, I found less and less comfort in these words. Some days, this verse even seemed like a joke. It’s easy to believe that God has a good plan for your life when things are working out well, but it’s a little tougher when the path is difficult.

And my path has been difficult. Uprooting my life and moving so many times to start over, to get away from my broken past. Company layoffs and job loss. The sudden death of friends. Years of being stalked and anxiety over my safety.

I’ve gone through times when it seemed as if God’s plans were not prospering me at all; in fact, it felt like they were hurting me.

I became confused because I couldn’t see any divine “plan” for my life, much less that it was good. In fact, there were times when I thought God was taunting me. What is He trying to do? I thought. Make me tough? Make me stronger? How were His plans bringing me hope? I had yet to see this prosperity He promised. I began hating this verse, especially when it was read aloud in church or quoted at the local Christian bookstore. I really was not liking God’s “plans”!

I don’t think I’m alone in this.

But the very same God of the harvest is also the God of the desert. Could it be possible that God has sometimes thwarted my plans in order to destroy my shallow understanding of His love? Could God have allowed difficult circumstances so I could wrestle with who He really is? Maybe the messing up of our plans is exactly what we need. God will go to great lengths to squash a false gospel and repair a cracked foundation in our faith. He does this not out of anger but out of love. He knows we can miss Him completely if we misunderstand Him.

But He would not give up on me. Again and again, I kept hearing Jeremiah 29:11 echo in my heart and head.

Finally, one day, during my time away seeking healing, I begrudgingly opened my Bible to this familiar verse and asked God to give me new eyes to see what I was about to read. I couldn’t see Him clearly in the season I was in. I loved God, but it had been so long since I had sensed His presence. I had almost forgotten what He looked and sounded like. Life can be so unrecognizable in the midst of pain, and yet I decided to look up the word plans. I was surprised to learn that the original word in Hebrew is machashabah; a more literal translation is “thoughts.” God knows the thoughts He has toward me. And His thoughts toward me are good.

I had to read it several times to make sure I was getting this straight.

If it was true, this changed everything! I had always defined plans as “an easy life” and “prosperity,” here and now. I put time, effort, and finances into knowing those plans. And I pursued those plans. I wanted plans without pain, plans without suffering, plans without hardship.

The emphasis was on me. Me knowing the plans; me understanding the plans; me implementing the plans. But God’s machashabah — His thoughts — toward me are so much more than anything I could have ever imagined on my own. His thoughts toward me are the real constant, despite whatever circumstances I am walking through. Instead of being so fixated on the plans for my life, I realized I needed to be more interested in knowing God’s thoughts toward me.

My behavior does not determine my identity. Rather, anyone who calls on God is welcomed into the family and named a beloved son or daughter (John 1:12). I am not an employee of God;

I am a daughter of God.

My relationship with God isn’t dependent on my performance. Rather, all our sins are forgiven and washed away in Jesus, who canceled all our debt and nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14).

And I don’t have to try to make something happen. Rather, God is working in me to give me the desire and power to do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13).

Part of the reason I had resisted making myself vulnerable to God was that I didn’t think His thoughts toward me were good at all. I thought He wanted to discipline me, scold me, or point out something wrong with me.

I had often heard people talk about the difference between the punishing God of the Old Testament and the loving God in the New Testament. But the truth of the matter is that God does not change (Malachi 3:6) and that God is love (1 John 4:8).

God knows everything about each one of us (Psalm 139:1), and we were each made in His image (Genesis 1:27). We don’t have to fear what God thinks about us because He always, always looks at us with love.

Even if you weren’t treasured by your earthly parents, the God of the universe treasures you, and His thoughts about you are always good. He chose you when He planned creation (Ephesians 1:11-12), and you are not a mistake (Psalm 139:15-16). He brought you forth on the day you were born (Psalm 71:6), and His thoughts toward you are countless — like the grains of sand on the shore (Psalm 139:17-18). You are really, truly, deeply loved by God.

When we learn to lament out loud, we allow God to correct our misconceptions about how He sees us and thinks of us. God was not angry with me and was not taunting me. I didn’t understand the difference between God’s pruning (John 15:2) and God’s disciplining (Hebrews 12:6). Although very different, they often feel the same, because pain is pain. So whether we are being pruned by God to bear good fruit or are being disciplined by a loving Father, conviction and correction still hurt. But this is when it becomes crucial to be confident that

God’s thoughts toward us are always good.

Over time, knowing God’s good thoughts toward me dramatically changed my understanding of God and, therefore, my perspective on what He wanted to do in my life. When I did not see God as loving, I did not believe I was worth receiving love. When I did not understand God as kind, I saw evil in my life as something He caused. Of course He would want this understanding to change! As I learned to lament, I also learned how to wrestle with Him — asking the hard questions, engaging Him with my doubt and pain, asking Him for the faith to feel — and when I wrestle with God, I get the chance to look Him in the eye, hand to hand, heart to heart. God never tries to one-up me or make me look bad. He wants to woo me into a deeper and more satisfying relationship with Him. God has taught me to not despise my struggles, because my wrestling is proof that I am in relationship with Him. He would much rather have me wrestle with Him than to be out of the game.

When our hearts are breaking, it’s natural to wonder:

If God is so good, then why does He allow evil and suffering to exist?

If God is so loving, then why is there only one way to heaven?

If God cared, then why wouldn’t He stop the hard things from happening?

The key is to take these questions to God rather than use them as an excuse to disengage. What would happen if we took our grief directly to Him? What if instead of gossiping and grumbling about God, we used our questions to draw closer to Him? He can take it. In fact, He wants to hear them.

The greatest gift that has come from my suffering is a deeper understanding of the character of God and His thoughts toward me.

This is why we are blessed when we mourn. This is why we must take time to mourn. Admitting grief over loss does not mean we are ungrateful for God’s provision. Lamenting actually deepens our gratitude, giving us the capacity to be more receptive to the blessings that do come.

It was only in adulthood, after I had learned to lament the loss of my biological family, that I could give thanks for the way I experienced God’s care and provision through friends, and even strangers. I learned that family is so much deeper than blood; family is spiritual. Jesus demonstrated that for us when he left His own family to create the family of God for others who had no place to call home. Orphans are close to the Father’s heart, and He cares deeply about their pain. Abandonment is not beautiful, but being found in God is. We never have to audition for God’s family or go through a trial period. When we are in His family, we are in!

It’s not that God celebrates grief or that He brings it on; but God does promise us His presence and blessing in the midst of it. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit,” the psalmist tells us (Psalm 34:18).

A lament will not be the end of our story. My friend and pastor Louie Giglio has said, “If it is not good, then God is not done.” What wise words!

When we are insecure in God’s love for us, we will assume the worst of Him. I had been doing this for years. And it finally broke on that dark night in my hotel room as I stumbled into the language of lament. But when we are secure in how God really sees us, it brings us back to the truth of who He is and to His promises for us.

Whatever you are going through, knowing that God’s thoughts toward you are always good should help you endure. Further study into this passage showed me that Jeremiah, a weeping prophet, was address- ing captives. He was not addressing high school graduates or rising-star professionals or budding talent; he was addressing people who would be in captivity in Babylon for nearly seventy years. Knowing God’s good thoughts toward them was the only thing that got the Israelites through years of captivity. And knowing God’s goodness will not only help us to endure; it also gives us the confidence that no matter what life brings our way, His thoughts toward us are loving!

When we are secure in God’s love for us, when we know how He really feels about us, we are free to ask and tell Him anything. We can “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). And that is His hope for us exactly — to come to Him even, and especially, when life falls apart.

Your Turn

Are you faking fine in life, with your friends, in your marriage, with your own self, and even with God? What would happen if you reread the scriptures Esther shared and received the fullness of God’s thoughts about you, that they are always good? What would happen if you approached God with what is really going on with you and stopped faking fine? Come share your thoughts with us on our blog. We would love to hear from you!

[endtimeheadlines]

What Were the Days of Noah Really Like? “Who are the Sons of God?”

(By Jeff Roberts) The term “Sons of God or (Bene HaElohim)” is a technical term that applies strictly to that of what many would refer to as “Angels of God” four times in the Old Testament. Genesis 6:4, Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7. This term is also referenced in the New Testament in Luke 20:36 While the term angel is a title that simply means messenger, these are thought of more as divine beings that have ranks and responsibilities. This is not to be confused with the New Testament such as I John 1:3 , John 1:11-12 which involves a birth that takes place. This is not a figure of speech that is being spoken of here this is creative event that takes place in our lives when we receive Yeshua (Jesus) as our Lord and savior and that’s why it’s called a new birth or we use the term born again.

The Bible tells us that these Bene HaElohim had offspring with the daughters of men. The offspring that was produced is referred to as “giants” in most English translations of the Bible. While these particular offspring did happen to be large in stature the Greek LXX renders the word as “Gigantes” which means earthborn. This same word is transliterated in the Latin Vulgate as “gigas” which is where we get the term giants from in English but Latin scholars understood the word to be “delapsus angelus” meaning fallen angel. The Hebrew word for the word giants is Nephilim which comes from the Hebrew root verb “Nephal” which means to fall, to be cast or thrown down, to overthrow or cause to lie/lay within a sexual way. In Hebrew, the verb often become nouns and the spelling is the same but in this instance Nephilim is used instead The New Testament also confirms these Old Testament views in 2 Peter 2;4, For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; In English the word used for Hell is Tartarus. Tartarus is only used once in the entire Bible.

In the Iliad (c. 700 BC), Zeus asserts that Tartarus is “as far beneath Hades as heaven is above earth.” It’s also known in Greek the dark abode or the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. *It’s also worth noting that Tartarus in Greek mythology is a place and a deity. The Bible confirms this concept in Revelation 20:14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Death and Hell are titles of places and of fallen divine beings. Jude 1:6-7And the angels which kept not their first estate G746, but left their own habitation G3613, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange G2087 flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude said the Angels that kept not their first estate the word used for this is “arche” (which means the first place, principality, rule, magistracy of angels and demons) BUT left their own habitation. The word used here is “oikētērion” which does mean dwelling place but it’s used in reference to a spiritual body the same body that we on earth groan for in 2 Corinthians 5:2 “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven”. Understanding this upfront, yields a much better understanding of Genesis 6.

Genesis 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them. Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. Genesis 6: 3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. So, the offspring of the “Sons of God” became the same as the “Sons of God” which were mighty or powerful. The word used is “gibbor/gibbowr” which is an adjective. This means power by implication, tyrants, chiefs, leaders or giants. The term “which were of old” is the Hebrew word “owlam”. This is a term that means from the ancient of days, everlasting or without end. The best way to apply this word is of perpetual existence from the time they were created. The term men of renown is “shem” in Hebrew.

This is a unique term as it means name, reputation, fame in the sense of being infamous. Monument is also another word that is used for “shem” which is rather strange considering right after the flood and the earth was being repopulated the first thing they wanted to do was create a name for themselves and build a monument Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now the word for wickedness is “ra” which means affliction, calamity or sorrow evil or wickedness. it goes on to say that every imagination (yetser) which can be imagination which also means (intellectual framework), form, creation, device, technology, graven image. It worth noting that we are Gods temple and while to defile it by mixing DNA would be considered creating a graven image. Thoughts is machashabah which can mean thoughts but also it means device, invention

Genesis 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. Genesis 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. Notice that it was not just man that was evil. It was all flesh including man and animal. Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. Notice here that the Bible states that Noah was perfect in his genealogy. The Bible also says that no man was perfect except for Jesus the Messiah, The word used for perfect is tamiym Which means complete or without blemish or whole.

So in Matthew 24: 37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Could it be that Matthew didn’t understand what the days of Noah were like or is he assuming that we already knew from reading earlier books that we would know exactly what it was like. I think it’s safe to assume that he did. God’s laws are set into place

for a specific reason just like any other rules and regulations. There is always an example of why these are in place. In Leviticus 20:15-16 it demands the death penalty for any man that lies with or has sex with an other animal. If woman is caught lying with an animal, the Levitical law says that both the woman and animal involved shall be put to death. Even Paul in I Corinthians 11:10 is insisting that women wear a vail or covering over their hair lest they tempt the angels. Most people don’t understand the meaning of this verse because, in Paul’s time, they believed that the length of their hair was a sign of her fertility. They believed that the hair was used to help with child birth.

[mieuxvivremonquotidien]

Dieu a des projets de paix pour nous

Dieu a des projets de paix pour nous

En effet, moi, je connais les projets que je forme pour vous, déclare l’Eternel, projets de paix et non de malheur, afin de vous donner un avenir et de l’espérance. (Jérémie 29 :11)

Dieu a des projets de paix pour nous.

Le mot projet dans ce verset, c’est le mot : « Machashabah », qui signifie : pensées, dessein, plan, but, invention, art.

Le mot paix dans ce verset, c’est le mot « Shalown »qui…

[melungeonculture]

Welcome to the world of Mekhashepha.

This is a spiritual path practised by a small Melungeon community known as Ridgeminites and other Melungeon communities with heavy Jewish influence, it is not practised by all Melungeon communities, but it is not found outside them.  More commonly spelled Mekhashepha or Machisaba, it is a folkhealing and conjure craft brought to the Appalachian region by Melungeon peoples. It is historically spelled Mekhashepha or Machashabah, roughly translated from Hebrew, it means witchcraft or cunning work. This blog is for educational purposes only, I do not offer any goods, services, or medical advice.  Machisaba should not be used as a replacement for professional health advice. 

[christophe76460]

Dieu a des projets de paix pour nous - Vivre Une Vie de Faveur En effet, moi, je connais les projets que je forme pour vous, déclare l’Eternel, projets de paix et non de malheur, afin de vous donner un avenir et de l’espérance. (Jérémie 29 :11) Dieu a des projets de paix pour nous. Le mot projet dans ce verset, c’est le mot : « Machashabah », qui signifie : pensées, dessein, plan, … faveurdivine.com https://www.instagram.com/p/CKqU5Gwgqyj/?igshid=14oqjhdp6c79h

[juliekjohnsonwrites]

Ope, I got blocked. Guess I made a point, huh? 😉

Contrary to popular belief Machisaba =\= Witchcraft. You can be a witch and practice Machisaba, you can be not a witch and practice Machisaba. It is not a religion, there’s no contracts or covenants. In my experience it’s just learning to work with the energy of things and the environment around you. Calm down. Quit demonizing your kin just because you don’t understand. A lot of us are Christians no less, and are against the witch terminology.   This belief was born in the same sense that the word Melungeon is a slur was born. As Melungeon people we did not call ourselves Melungeon, we called ourselves Ridgemanites and other names denoting where we resided. We did not call out practices Mekheshepha (Machisaba), this is the OT word for a witch or a female sorceress. We were demonized as mixed race and demonized as witches and had our own dialect stripped from us, so we adopted what was given to us.  Machashabah similarly is the biblical word for cunning work, or knowing how to use intentions, thought, and prayer to heal.