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3.30.26 ~ Formerly Active Emptiness

Passover is just a couple of days away—the excitement is building! It’s a time for reflection on where we were and where we are now. It’s time to give thanks for our deliverance. It’s time to remember, but never look back to those days. Paul emphasizes this when he states in Ephesians 5:8: “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” (Eph. 5:8) Isn’t that awesome? Did you notice that the imagery doesn’t say, “you were like darkness,” or “you were caught in darkness,” or “you were found in darkness”? No, Paul makes a Hebrew-equivalent statement:  You were darkness.  Darkness wasn’t merely a description of your state—it was the essence of your being. Remove the darkness, and there would be nothing left. Before we were rescued, through the Passover, through the Lamb of God, we were black holes in the world, pulling creation into the emptiness within us. When I read this verse, I imagine a person described as alone, without direct...
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3.29.26 ~ New Beginning

The prophetic New Year has arrived. The Spring Feasts, Appointed Times/Moedim, are just around the corner. In Leviticus/Vayikra, we are entering into the grand holiness/kedusha discourse that will take six weeks to navigate and discover the standard of holiness from our Bridegroom King that still exists today (1 Pet. 1:15-16). The Ultimate Bridal Makeover is in full swing, and His instructions are available for the great exchange—exchanging our flesh-indulgent minds and lukewarm, self-centered hearts for the passion-filled heart of our divine lover. "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." (Song of Solomon 8:6) Speaking of flames and fire, you'll want to finish our daily altar studies from last week by listening to a fairly comprehensive study on "keeping the fire burning on the altar." Enjoy, and let the Word...
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3.28.26 ~ New Opportunity

In this week's Torah portion,  Tzav  ("command"), the stage for the Great Passion Play—to awaken all peoples and nations of the world to the stunning reality of the goodwill of their Creator and the brilliance of His grand plan of redemption and restoration—is ready, and the show has begun. The Tabernacle is complete. The bronze altar is ready for service. Now, all eyes are on the bronze altar. In the outer court of the Tabernacle, something wonderful is happening. The  tamid  offering is burning 24/7. The ashes are removed daily and taken to a clean ( tahor ) place (Lev. 6:10–11). God Himself is receiving diplomatic visits from men for the first time since Adam's expulsion from the Garden of Eden. He is welcoming people into His presence through a variety of  korbanot  (offerings). He is revealing Himself to them in a personal, divine encounter (Ex. 29:43): "There I will meet with the children of Israel, and the Tabernacle will be sanctified by My glory." ...
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3.27.26 ~ Heart-Directed Action

With Passover just a hop, skip, and a jump away, we find ourselves at the point of the year that represents a time to reject ungodly counsel, a time to taste and see the goodness of God, and a time to declare, "My blessings are on the way!" (Deut. 28:1–14). Yesterday's study, "Daily Ash Removal" (3/26/26), emphasized new input in the heart in order to get better output in our actions. Philippians 4:8 tells us, "Whatever things are... think on these things." The question that inquiring minds want to know is: how do I know the things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and praiseworthy? With the Torah, there are six timeless events that we are commanded to remember ( zakar ) every day. These six will not only keep you on a great spiritual track, but you will find they fit the Philippians 4:8 mindset. Let me list them for you, and you can write them down on a couple of 3x5 cards for your bathroom mirror. Remember... ...that you were once ...
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3.26.26 ~ Daily Ash Removal

In our study yesterday, we focused on the way that you think will direct your choices in life and the outcomes (Prov. 23:7). What happens when you make a wrong choice and then you repent from that wrong choice? The Torah portion for this week,   Tzav , gives us the solution in a way that we might not even consider. Let us take a trip to the ash heap and see what we can find. But before we get there, let us set the stage in a way that may surprise you :-) Yeshua said, "By your words, you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned" (Matt. 12:37). To our surprise, He is not talking about judgment, as one might suppose. What is He actually saying? Is this about punishment? No, it is about self-exposure. Huh? In God's economy, words are not decoration. They are outputs. They reveal what already exists inside of you (Matt. 12:34). Your words are not accidents; they are indicators. You do not say what you intend; you speak what you contain in your heart. This is...
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3.25.26 ~ Whatever It Is

Yesterday, I shared with you the RAS of the brain. I hope that made sense to you, and I hope in every realm of your life you will put into practice what is necessary to get you out of the doldrums of life! In this morning's Zoom call, I will deal with what you do with all those negatively influential thoughts that weigh me down (Lev. 6:10–11; 2 Cor. 10:3–5). It is a daily process of "letting go." Sometimes you just have to let go—quit wasting your time on things that are not moving you forward. Inquiring minds are asking, "If I do, is there a right time to quit those thought patterns and habits?" (Yesterday's Zoom call :-). Or should I be like Colonel Sanders of KFC, or Thomas Edison, and pursue, pursue, pursue until success is achieved? Are there common, everyday, fundamental thought patterns that I can use as a guideline to help me determine whether I should quit something or not? Sometimes it is as obvious as the nose on our face, and other times it is no...
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3.24.26 ~ The Hidden Becomes Visible

I am going to be a little cryptic this morning. Do you notice anything interesting in the two verses below? And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward  (saphon)  before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. (Lev. 1:11) Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy. (Lev. 6:25) Today, I want to take you on a technical thought trip on how to think. Are you ready? Let me warn you ahead of time—do not freak out about learning how to visualize, because you do it all the time already, and the results are evident. Your brain has a reticular activating system (RAS), which is composed of a network of neurons. It acts as a filter system by allowing certain things into your brain and keeping others out. Unfortunately, we and the people of our past are responsible for this fil...
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3.23.26 ~ Following Orders in the Lord's Army

We have completed one week of our study in the book of Leviticus— Vayikra   ("and He called"). As we have learned, the root word of   vayikra   is   karav   ("to draw near"). This book, the heart of the Torah, the book of holiness, the book that contains the four initial prerequisites for new covenant believers (Acts 15:19–21; Lev. 11, 19), is filled with more details than you can "shake a stick at"! Truly to the point of being overwhelming and mind-boggling. Maybe that is why I call Leviticus the speed bump of the Torah (most likely to avoid it :-). Through many conversations over the past couple of weeks, there have been quite a few people in my life facing abundant challenges. Many have been struggling with spiritual victory in their daily lives. There is the constant pressure to conform to the cultural standards of this world. And, honestly, if we were to speak out loud, most of us would admit that we live in a world where most of us feel we need to pe...
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3.22.26 ~ Bookends

This morning we will continue our journey through the "speed bump" of the Tanakh (the Old Testament)—Leviticus ( Vayikra ). This week's Torah portion,   Tzav   ("command") (Lev. 6–10), is our second week of learning about the   korbanot   system used to give us access into the presence of the Most High God! We read about the laws known as the   korban Tamid , or the daily offering (Lev. 6:9–13). Our portion begins by telling us, "This is the law of the burnt offering" ( korban olah ) (Lev. 6:9). The burnt offerings in this passage, unlike Leviticus chapter 1, are not voluntary. The lamb is brought voluntarily, but the role of the priest is under   tzav —"command" (Ex. 19:6). The offering of this lamb is to be continual (Rom. 8:36): As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. (Rom. 8:36) The  Tamid , or daily offerings, are required to be brought at the beginning and end of every ...
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