Category: Life With God

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Anger Discussions Torah

Numbers 30–36: ‘Be angry, and yet do not sin’

"Four men, perhaps farmers, make angry gestures while holding an axe, rifle, pitchfork and stick. They typify the traditional Western concept of an angry rural mob protesting something with the threat of violence." Photo by Robert Couse-Baker via Creative Commons License.

The men of Midian used their wives to seduce the Israelites. In the dual Torah readings מטות Matot and מסעי Massei, we learn that Midian did this under the belief that they had to conquer Israel for their own long-term survival, for the sake of their sons.

At some point in our lives, we have all unintentionally “murdered” someone in our hearts. If you hate someone, you are guilty. We should repent, but we still have to deal with that murder guilt. That guilt was paid by the High Priest, our High Priest is Yeshua. It is only the death of Yeshua that pays for that sin.

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Appointments With God Discussions Gossip and Slander Life With God Passover Torah

Numbers 8–12: The LORD calls, but will we answer?

The President of the United States reaches to answer a call. Official White House photo by Pete Souza. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

As the Torah reading בהעלתך Beha’alotcha begins, the menorah and the Levites are dedicated to God’s service, and the Tabernacle is ready for business. However, this reading is permeated with all sorts of ingratitude and complaining, from the people complaining about the manna to Miriam and Aaron complaining about Moses. God doesn’t put up with any of it. Whether it’s sending down a consuming fire or a plague, God doesn’t put up with people grumbling about His provision.

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Discussions Life With God

God ‘cuts off’ parts of House of God to promote growth

Daniel Agee

There’s a common theme occurring throughout the Hebrew Roots/Messianic community recently — separation and regrouping. We also see in Scripture the recurring symbol of “cutting off” in an agricultural sense to talk about God’s action in improving the health of the “vine” of Israel. It’s OK when God cuts off parts of the vine to promote growth. It’s OK if there is a time of not producing fruit.

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Discussions Life With God

How do we make the God’s words honorable?

Sean Hilton

How are we living up to God’s instruction to make His words in the Bible “honorable”?

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Life With God

Luke 21:34-22:6: Guard your heart; It’s later than you think

Jeff

The Spirit of God is our burglar alarm, our crash-detection system. We should be praying for the Spirit of God to show us where we are “asleep” or “drunk,” in other words, weakness. We live as people who are not afraid of death because we are “awake,” in a continual state of alertness.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Life With God

Phillipians 2:1-11: Regard others better than yourself

Jeff

We are to “regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). As the Messiah considered mankind more important than His standing with YHWH, so too, we should consider our brothers and sisters in faith worth our humbling ourselves. When God went to such lengths to make peace with us, we should be willing to go to great lengths to make peace and keep peace with others.

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Anger Apostolic Writings Discussions Life With God Torah

Real meaning of ‘eye for an eye’: God’s lessons in peace-making

A biblical man and a woman weighing each other on the scales of justice with northern lights. The Real Meaning of "eye for an eye" God's lessons in peacemaking.

Last time, we discussed lashon ha-ra (evil tongue, i.e., gossip, slander and divisiveness) and how it is one of the latter-day plagues among God’s people.

In this excursus, we will explore a related principle taught in Torah by Yeshua and His apostles: proportionality. A number of Christians often consider “eye for an eye and tooth for tooth” an example of the “old covenant” not to live by anymore and quote Yeshua to that effect.

Rather, we’ll see that “eye for an eye” is a Bible parabolic idiom teaching proportionality. The point of justice is to restore the offender to the community, not extract a pound of flesh.