Category: Discussions

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Discussions Jubilee Prophets and Writings Sabbatical Year

What happens when we take Heaven’s mercy for granted (Jeremiah 16–17)

What happens when we take Heaven's mercy for granted (Jeremiah 16-17)

“It’s good to be king!” Except when invaders are about to conquer your kingdom because of your predecessors forgot Who put the crown on their heads and Who gave them the Land they ruled. The closing chapters of the Bible book of Vayiqra (Leviticus) foretell of Israel’s dystopian future, but it didn’t have to be that way. The companion passage to the Torah reading בְּהַר Behar / בְּחֻקֹּתַי Bechukotai (“on the mountain” / “in My statutes,” Leviticus 25–27), shows a moment just before that horror arrived when a king tried to reverse centuries of oppression in the Promised Land, Heaven’s mercy for Israel and the world.

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Discussions Torah

‘You are the light of the world’: Importance of an ‘othered’ people for a world dismayed by darkness (Leviticus 21–24)

'You are the light of the world': Importance of an 'other' peoplee for a world dismayed by the darkness (Leviticus 21-24)

The otherness (aka holiness) of the Kingdom of God can be a preservative for the world and an offense. Heaven’s messages and messengers can bring life-saving hope or abhorrent reminders of a life that’s being squandered. A key lesson from the Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24) is the ongoing and recurring work Heaven does through us by way of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ).

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

Toward a more relevant Torah for today’s world (Leviticus 16–20)

Toward a more relevant Torah for today's world (Leviticus 16-20). Image of a mezzuzah at an angle above a Torah text.

Some are concerned about making the Bible more relevant to modern society, by playing down or sidestepping the “icky” or seemingly backward depictions and instructions in it. However, among the key lessons from the dual Torah reading אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the deaths”) and קדושים Kedoshim (“holies/holy”) (Leviticus 16–20) is that the what seems obsolete is anything but that — especially for how they undergird the gospel of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

‘He has carried our sicknesses’: Heaven’s prescription for a world that doesn’t know it’s ill (Leviticus 13–15)

'He has carried our sicknesses': Heaven's prescription for a world that doesn't know it's ill (Leviticus 13-15)

The human condition is often ugly and gross. Yet the Creator still wants to live among us. He wants to deliver us out of the grossness and corruption of our culture. Yeshua (Jesus) sat with sinners, but He didn’t sin with them. That’s the lesson behind all the icky instructions in the dual Torah reading Torah readings תַזְרִיעַ Tazria (“she will conceive”) and מְּצֹרָע Metzora (“leper”) covering Leviticus 12–15.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

6 lessons from when fire comes from God

The closer we desire to be to God, the more He expects of us — more repentance, more humility, more love and compassion for those He created. We know who God and what He expects of us because of His words, the instructions He has given us to follow.

This is a key lesson from the deaths of two key priests in the Tabernacle from the Torah reading שמיני Shemini (“eighth,” Leviticus 9–11). God has given us counsel and instructions on how we are to conduct ourselves in the world, in our families, in our communities. He also tells us how we are to interact with Him.

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Appointments With God Discussions Passover Torah Unleavened Bread

Why you can trust that Heaven has your back (Lessons from the 7th day of matzah)

Why you can trust that Heaven has your back: Lessons from the 7th day of matzah

The last of the seven days of the Festival of Matzot (Unleavened Bread) commemorates ancient Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea, when Heaven delivered not just from slavery but also from certain death at the hands of the slave masters who pursued them.

Apostle Paul connected Israel’s passing from death to life through the sea to the passage of everyone who does likewise by trusting in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) and commemorating the freedom through baptism.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Discussions Passover Prophets and Writings Torah Unleavened Bread

Messiah is ‘faithful and righteous to forgive’ our leavened ‘malice and wickedness’

There’s ample reasons to stand in awe of Heaven’s love and mercy as we recall what when Heaven showed the Jail-keeper of humanity Who is boss that “Good Friday” and resurrection day two millennia ago. But we shouldn’t forget the enduring lessons about our salvation from the seven days of Unleavened Bread that surrounded ancient Israel’s deliverance in the Exodus and ours today.