Tag: Romans 08

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Faith over fear: Embrace the journey with God, and overcome fear’s paralyzing hold (Exodus 13–15; Romans 8)

A dramatic, cinematic digital oil painting (created by ChatGPT) depicting the Israelites at the edge of the Red Sea at night, illuminated by the towering pillar of fire that rises in the center of the scene. The people in the foreground huddle in fear beside their tents—men clutching children, women covering their faces, elders raising their hands toward heaven—lit by warm, flickering firelight against the dark shoreline. The Egyptian army is faintly visible in the left background, emerging from the darkness with chariots and spears. The sky and sea are rendered in deep blues and blacks, with thick palette-knife textures throughout. In the upper left corner, a text overlay reads: “Faith over fear: Embrace the journey with God. Overcome fear's paralyzing hold. Exodus 13–15; Romans 8.” In the lower left corner, a watermark shows the Hallel Fellowship logo with “hallel.info” beneath it.

The repeated Bible message “Do not fear” throughout ancient Israel’s harrowing passage from bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land urges us to trust God during hardship, learning how challenges refine our faith and inspire courage even when we feel too afraid to move forward. The lessons remind us to stay prepared, rely on the support of Heaven and our those around us, and develop resilience. By building a healthy relationship with Heaven, we can view every trial as an opportunity to draw closer to Him and to encourage one another, growing stronger together through faith and love.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Discussions Pentecost/Shavuot

Spiritual viticulture: What Pentecost teaches us about thriving in God’s vineyard

Adobe Firefly digital painting depicting a vibrant, colorful scene of spiritual viticulture. A hand reaches out to hold a bunch of richly detailed grapes in shades of purple, yellow, and orange, surrounded by lush green leaves and golden hues. The background features an abstract, textured blend of blues, greens, and yellows, evoking a vineyard. Bold white text overlays the image, reading "Spiritual viticulture" at the top, and "What Pentecost teaches us about thriving in God's vineyard" below. The Hallel.info logo is visible at right.

Shavuot (Pentecost) isn’t just a harvest festival. This study explores its profound spiritual lessons about harvest and growth. Just like Wine Country grapevines need careful tending, so too our spiritual life requires intentional connection with God. This Festival of First Fruits remind us that everything is a gift, not our own achievement. Through challenges and Heaven’s empowerment by the Word (Yeshua, or Jesus) and the Spirit, we’re transformed from disconnected branches to fruitful participants in God’s redemptive work. It’s about gratitude, resilience and being part of something much larger than ourselves — Heaven’s harvest of the Earth.

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Discussions Torah

Why the Way to the Kingdom of God is both open-armed and divisive (Genesis 32–33; Romans 8)

Why the Kingdom of Heaven is both open-armed and divisive (Genesis 32-33; Romans 8)

One would think that a direct encounter with Heaven would have made Ya’akov (Jacob), an ancient founder of Israel, more bold in how he acted in life. But what we see recorded in the Torah reading וַיִּשְׁלַח Vayishlach (“and he sent,” Gen. 32:3–36:43) looks more like fear than faith. After all, he sent his stuff and those closest to him on ahead in a meeting with his enraged brother Esau.

But one key lesson from this division and many others in the Bible is why God separates the righteous and the wicked. Yet we learn from the Prophets, Gospels and Apostles is that this separation is more about what’s happening with development of the open-hearted character than on external appearances.

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Discussions Torah

New covenant = Sinai + Spirit (Exodus 18:1–20:22)

Mt. Sinai on the left and a dove in flight on the right with the text "New Covenant=Sinai+Spirit" over it

Rather than the Law and the Spirit of God being in opposition to each other and the latter usurping the former, as some teach, we will see in this study of the Torah passage Yitro (“Jethro,” Exodus 18:1–20:22) that we receive the “new birth” in Mashiakh Yeshua (Christ Jesus) via both Sinai and Spirit.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Pentecost/Shavuot Torah

Spirit of God is essential for Torah observance

Torah + Spirit = life
The people of God need the Testimony, the Word made flesh and the Spirit to know the Father.

Shavuot (Pentecost) commemorates the testimony of God coming and the Spirit of God coming to give it power. Yeshua haMoshiakh (Jesus the Christ) is the “word made flesh” (John 1:14) and “exact representation of (God’s) nature” (Hebrews 1:3). We explore the Ten Commandments and the Pentecost after Yeshua’s resurrection to see why the Bible makes so many connections between them.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Discussions Prophets and Writings The Eighth Day

The Eighth Day: What it means to have ‘Christ in you’

Priests, such as Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, could enter the Holy Place to burn incense to take care of the menorah, but the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place only once a year. (Photo from www.LumoProject.com via Creative Commons License for educational purposes only)

This is the second part of a study on how we go into the Creator’s presence by way of the Messiah and how the Creator’s presence goes into us and through us into the world around us by way of the Messiah. Yeshua’s ministry on Earth fulfilled God’s desire to dwell with us, not to be foreign to us. A heart transformed, such as King David’s, welcomes the Kingdom of God and the fact God can see everything in us. The Holy One provides us a way out of temptation to forsake Him when we cry for help from Heaven’s tag team of comforters, Yeshua the Son of Man and the Spirit.

Teachings of Sukkot and Shemeni Atzeret (Tabernacles and the Eighth Day) and of Yeshua’s ministry on Earth are that God desires His dwelling place to be with us — better, within us — not foreign to us. A heart transformed welcomes the Kingdom of God and the fact God can see everything in us. The Holy One provides us a way out of temptation to forsake Him when we cry for help from Heaven’s tag team of comforters, Yeshua the Son of Man and the Spirit.

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Appointments With God Discussions Trumpets

When God calls you, move without hesitation

Banner Photo: "The Snake", Larne. “The Snake” is the local name for the path connecting the Promenade to the Bankheads, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This is the view from the Bankheads. "It is steeper than the photo suggests. The chap in the foreground made an excellent ascent without hesitation or deviation." Photo by Aubrey Dale, used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

The reason for the high holy day of Yom Teruah, the Day of Blowing (Trumpets) aka Rosh HaShanah (New Year), is not as obvious as all the others. As we “look under the hood,” we find that it calls us to accept godly change without hesitation.