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Discussions Torah

Stand up against ‘spiritual gravity’ — aka ‘the flesh’ (Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22)

We live with gravity. Though considered a weak force, between the massive Earth and us on its surface, gravity keeps us grounded, but it can also crush us. In the International Space Station in orbit, astronauts don’t feel gravity, and they need something to grab onto and push off of something. But if you were to go to Jupiter, gravity is so strong, that it would crush humans and kill them instantly.

How much more will “spiritual gravity” (aka “the flesh”) drag us down, age us and crush us unless we morally stand against it?

In the Torah reading דברים Devarim (“words,” Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22), we learn that God wants us to moving forward — rather than going in circles like a stunt driver burning doughnuts on the pavement — repeating the same mistakes. God treasures us and wants us to reach our destination and enter His rest. One day His rest will encompass the entire world and what we learn and practice now is a preparation for that time. God is willing to help us standing against the gravity of our old way of life and help us stand for what is right.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

How to pray for the enemies of Heaven (Leviticus 16–18)

Korach and his merry band of insurrectionists used populist propaganda, revisionist history, blame shifting and faux humility to instigate a popular uprising against Moses and Aaron to return to Egypt to die there so they could avoid suffering God’s judgement that they would die in the wilderness over the course of 40 years.

The people followed along because they would rather blame Moses and Aaron for their lack of faith and their eventual death sentence than themselves for their failure to take what was promised to them.

Fast-forward about 1,500 years: Israel’s leaders who confronted Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) about His ministry repeated some of the same arguments and found themselves on the wrong side of history, just as Korach, Dathan and Abiram did.

But the real lesson of the Torah reading קֹרַח Korakh (Numbers 16–18) is how Moses, Aaron and Yeshua responded to the attacks on their authority. They didn’t ask God to take out their enemies, but interceded in prayer for them. God asks us to do the same.

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FAQs

LDS offshoot targets Jews and Hebrew Roots Messianics with Book of Mormon paraphrase

An offshoot Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) group, which calls itself the Restorative Scriptures Foundation, and incorporated under the name Restoration Archive LLC, published a Hebrew Roots paraphrase of Restorative Scriptures Foundation’s version of the Book of Mormon in 2019. The work targets Orthodox Jews and Messianic believers through social media with a Hebraicized, unorthodox spin on the faith of Yeshua. Learn more about this effort.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings

When God’s people need a ‘timeout’ — and a heart-to-heart restoration (Hosea 1–3)

One of the last warnings Heaven has for Earth is that it has serious commitment and infidelity issues. The people don’t know the Maker because of cultural drift over decades or eons, or the people have had a relationship with the God revealed through Israel but want something else.

As the annual Feast of Weeks (Shavuot, aka Pentecost) approaches quickly (May 17 this year), we are focusing in this study on the opening chapters of the Bible book of Hosea. One of the themes of Shavuot is the “marriage” of Israel and Heaven at Sinai with the giving of the Ten Words (aka Ten Commandments, Exodus 19-20) and the joining of the nations to the Holy One (Acts 2). And Hosea begins with an extended living parable for Israel through the prophets dysfunctional family.

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Discussions Torah

Learning to see over the horizon gives us insight for today (Exodus 3)

Many things can make us feel like we’re forgotten, alone and suffering unfairly. A key lesson of the Torah reading שמות Shemot (“names,” Exodus 1:1–6:1) is the Creator of all that is, was and will be knows the deep, anguished cries of our hearts and has been actively working to set us free from the long downhill slide of the world.

Just as the LORD revealed His name, His character, to Moshe (Moses) at the burning bush, the Holy One of Israel revealed His character though the Word of the LORD made flesh — Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ).

Set free by the LORD’s Anointed from our bondage to the the ways of the world that are headed toward death, we can carry the memorial of the LORD’s character, great works and deliverance with us as ambassadors of the Messiah. We can give testimony on what He has done for us, our families and our friends with us everywhere we go, whether in person or virtually. As His reputation (name) reveals to us, God has shown up, does shows up and will show up.

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Discussions Torah

Why character of Israel’s 12 tribes matters for the ‘end of days’ (Genesis 49)

When some learn about the connection between the 12 tribes of Israel and the “end of days,” they can obsess over finding out their modern identities and whether one is part of said tribe. Yet a more important lesson from the blessings for the 12 sons of Israel in the Torah passage ויחי Vayechi (“he lived,” Gen. 47:28–50:26) is the character of each of the peoples that are the sons’ legacy.

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Discussions Torah

Why a life is worth remembering respectfully (Genesis 23:1–2)

Ancient views on the opening verses of Torah reading חיי שרה Chayei Sarah (“Sarah’s life,” Gen. 23:1–25:18) about the funeral for the pivotal matriarch of Israel remind us that we all go through phases of our lives. Like Sarah, Abraham and other key leaders of the people of God, we get a new name — character, reputation and legacy — when we are delivered from our old life of bondage to things that keep us separated from the Kingdom of Heaven. In this study, we explore why embracing our “new name” as a “new creation” of Heaven is essential to this transformation.