Category: Life With God

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Life With God Prayer Prophets and Writings

Transforming pain: The Hannah principle (1Samuel 1–2)

A woman with tied-up brown hair is leaning forward in emotional distress, resting her head on her clasped hands. Overlaid text reads: "Transforming Pain" with "The Hannah principle, 1 Samuel 1–2" underneath. The image promotes a message of finding spiritual growth through suffering, inspired by the biblical story of Hannah. The logo and URL “hallel.info” appear in the top right corner. Image source: Adobe Stock.

Hannah’s prayers in 1Samuel 1–2 teach us about honest heart-wrenching grief, persistent faith and surrender to Heaven’s will. In this study, we also explored the parable by Yeshua (Jesus) of the persistent widow in Luke 18, James 5’s instruction on prayer for the sick, and John 11’s account of Yeshua’s weeping at Lazarus’ tomb. We discussed how Hannah’s desperate plea for a child mirrors humanity’s need for redemption, emphasizing community support, authentic prayer and hope in God’s ultimate plan of resurrection and restoration.

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Discussions Parenting tips Torah

Children: Heaven’s strategy for kingdom expansion (Genesis 29–30)

Adobe Firefly illustrated banner featuring three joyful young girls running through a vibrant field with sunlight and colorful brushstroke-style background. The large bold text in the center reads, “CHILDREN,” with the subtitle below: “Heaven’s strategy for kingdom expansion – Genesis 29–30.” The hallel.info logo is visible in the top left corner.

Children are a divine blessing and essential to God’s covenant. In this study, we zeroed in on the bigger lessons from the sibling rivalries in Genesis, focusing on Leah and Rachel’s struggle to bear children (Genesis 29–30). Contrary to a frequent refrain on social media, children aren’t an inconvenience, but a sacred trust for passing faith between generations. Modern society is slowly recognizing children’s importance as birth rates plummet to civilization-ending levels. Scripture reveals the crucial role parents play in teaching God’s words and modeling trust across generations.

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Discussions Life With God Parenting tips

Parenting on the edge: When negligence becomes a crime (Deuteronomy 24:16)

A blonde haired mother and red-headed teenage son in a kitchen

This study on the Torah reading Ki Tetze discusses contrasting approaches to justice between recent cases in Michigan and Georgia, where parents were charged for not preventing their children’s actions, and North Korea’s practice of punishing entire families for an individual’s wrongdoing. It compares these to the Torah’s principle of personal responsibility and prevention of harm.

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Gossip and Slander Life With God

Like ripples from a pebble are injuries from an ‘evil tongue’: Lessons on gossip

water drop
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Gossip is a premeditated destruction of one human being by another. Scripture and James Foley’s “Drop a Pebble in the Water” poem teach that we need to let our “ripples” be encouraging and uplifting.

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Discussions Jubilee Pentecost/Shavuot Tabernacles Tithe & Finances Torah

How to be a dependable part of Heaven’s rescue mission to Earth (Leviticus 25)

How to be a dependable part of Heaven's rescue mission to Earth (Leviticus 25). Shown is a mountain climber helping another climber to get to the top.

The Torah reading בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” [Sinai]; Leviticus 25) teaches us how to be a kinsman-redeemer. It’s a beautiful ancient role for a family member with the character to step up and bail out a relative who has fallen on hard times.

The Bible book of Ruth provides an example of such a redeemer in action, and the Messiah is foretold to be the ultimate one for the world.

In the greater family of God on Earth, the lessons of the annual festivals of Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles) plus the multiyear cycles of Shemitah (sabbatical year) and Yobel (Jubilee) instruct us in how to be of service to the less fortunate within our sphere of influence.

A successful kinsman-redeemer helps others with the blessing of means that God has provided. We are not called to go into debt to help others, we are not compelled by God to drown ourselves to save someone else. 

From these cyclical memorials of God in action past, present and future, we also can learn how God is building up His Kingdom. It starts with the call of individuals then nations into His Kingdom to live as citizens in His presence.

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Discussions Life With God Sexuality Torah

Yes, offering children to an idol is still a thing today. But it doesn’t have to be (Leviticus 20:2)

Torah reading Kedoshim: Leviticus 20. Drawing of the pagan deity Molech with the tagline "offering children is still a thing today, but it doesn't have to be."

If you faithfully follow the news, you have heard that an early draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the media, which has created a firestorm of media attention. A 1973 Supreme Court decision that created a “right” to abortion, Roe was contentious at the time, and the prospect of its overturn is equally contentious.

In our day, we pretend that we are more sophisticated than our ancestors millennia ago, because we kill our children while they are yet unborn, in the privacy of a clinic. Medical personnel dispatch the unborn modern sophistication.

In the Torah reading Kedoshim, we discover that the excuses for killing the unborn today are the same as those given by pagan priests for the infanticidal sacrifices to the god Molech several thousand years ago.

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Discussions Life With God Prayer Torah

From shame to new name: Power to achieve God’s high expectations (Exodus 30–34)

From shame to a new name: Power to achieve God's high expectations (Exodus 30-34)

The slide of ancient Israel from redemption by God from slavery in Mitzraim (Egypt) down to apostasy from God at the golden calf is an important and enduring lesson from the Torah reading כי תשא Ki Tisa (“when you take,” Ex. 30:11–34:35).

And the intercessory prayers of Moshe (Moses) and Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) to redeem after great treachery are examples for how we should view those around us.