Light In Torah

Good morning! To live as salt, it's important to connect pieces of the salt covenant. Through our study yesterday, we saw the salt covenant spoken of in two different ways. With the phrase, 'covenant of salt' He desires a relationship with His people based upon trust that is seen in their actions and, eventually, through a changed life (Rom.12:1,2; 8:29,36,37; Matt.5:13-19). A covenant is an agreement or alliance between two parties where each party makes a pledge to keep their end of the bargain; whereas the terms of the agreement are known as terms of grace.  We find the first covenant in this week's Torah portion (Gen.6:18). Noah was to build the Ark and gather the animals.  If Noah would fulfill his end of the bargain, God would get them safely through the coming deluge...This took trust.  In order to go through the embarrassment of building a boat so far away from water in a land that's never needed or seen rain, in order to start gathering supplies for animals...

  Good morning! My trip back to Kansas City has been filled with amazing events...Oh my, Yahweh is so good! Over the past week, I've revisited the passage where Yeshua speaks of us as being salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16). Too often, and I am guilty of this, we just superimpose our modern day meaning on Yeshua's statements that fit a culturally accepted paradigm. This morning, I want to take you on a journey to reconsider some salty thoughts. Good hermeneutics teaches us to always go back to the first mention of a term in Scripture to establish its original meaning. The first time 'salt' is found is in Leviticus 2:13 where the order of the words are “salt of the covenant.”  The context of this passage is the grain offering, which was to have salt added to it.  But the Spirit didn’t stop with just the grain offerings.  He had Moses write in the same verse that the Israelites were to “add salt to all your offerings.”  Thus, all offerings made by the Israelites to t...

 Good morning! With the elections just a few days away, tyranny, socialists, marxists and communist are pulling out all the stops to hinder the influence of resurrection power in believers. We are living in a time when rationally minded people have become fearful to stand up for traditional and/or godly values that strengthen the home and answering simple questions like what is a woman while promoting sexual identity, gender confusion and promiscuity in children. We are in a battle for humanity imploding. As a society we are in danger. A serious question we should all ask ourselves is, 'Do I want to be a part of rescuing humanity'? Or should we put our head in the sand and hide? I want to suggest to you that we MUST engage the culture (Matt. 28:18-20). As awful as society has become, you must go! Our job is to elevate the world; to influence it rather than allowing it to contaminate us with its perverse ideologies (Matt. 5:13-16; Jn. 1:5; 3:19,20; Job 24:13-17). If not through ...

 Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was great. Yesterday, I had a lot of window time driving from Michigan to Kansas City to do some jobs while the weather is nice :-) It has been said, 'those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.'This morning, I want to give you a short history lesson with hopes that we don't repeat it. Since coming back from Sukkot in Florida, one topic has been popping up more than any other...the difference between the words fulfill and destroy used by Yeshua in Matthew 5:17,18. A major focus of Yeshua's ministry, as well as ours, was/is to disciple and guide individuals through the ‘happy, salt and light-filled’ life (Matt. 5-7). We have discussed many times how He consolidated His thoughts on these three descriptive terms by revealing their foundation in the Torah, Yahweh’s instructions to His people. Notice that salt and light are connected to these verses. Being salt and light is essentially connected to ...

Good morning! In a few minutes I will be driving down to Kansas City to work for a week. Prayer appreciated! I'm leaving at 5:00 a.m. As with the new Torah cycle, many of you have begun your studies in Genesis/bereshit all over again. The cycle of life and beginnings continues. For me, back from Florida, my new beginning is officially living in Michigan, but heading back to KC for some work opportunities. A new cycle begins; a new chapter is to be written. Commercial: Shabbat morning's zoom call: A strange beginning. This isn't your typical children's story: An inquisitive look into the Garden of Eden, the temptation and the consequences like we've not seen before (Gen. 2&3) Personally, I think we are all confronted and/or presented with opportunities for new beginnings on a regular basis, but more times than not, we (speaking of me, myself and I), find ourselves sliding right back into the old patterns, a default setting, even if new opportunities arise before ...

Good morning! Commercial: Last night's zoom: When God makes a new creation He restores it in full (Gen. 1:1-2:3; Isa. 45:18; Jer.4:23; Isa. 14; Eze.28) Every story through the book of Genesis takes us back to the Garden of Eden. Strangely enough, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is no exception. After man stretched for their hand/shalach yad to reach for the fruit, the banishment eastward out of the garden followed, two angelic beings were sent to guard the way to the tree of life with a flaming sword that turned/mit’hapechet each way (Gen. 3:24). Why guard the pathway to the tree of life? A path seems like a way of gaining access to the thing that lies at the end. So does the mystery of how to access the Tree of Life lie, somehow, in this path? You may be asking how does this Garden of Eden story and the Sodom story fit together? Sodom was like the garden of Eden (Gen. 13:10). Angels came to protect Lot and his family as they stretched forth their hands (Gen. 19:10). Lot is r...

How did Noah bring comfort from the labor and toil in the cursed earth? The sages say that Noah invented the plow; a device to make labor easier. Could this be the straw that broke the camel's back? Huh? Wouldn't the plow be considered a good thing? By allowing men to accomplish more work...yes, it's wonderful. As far as bringing 'comfort/nacham', the answer is no. Comfort involves a change in perspective. Many of you understand this perspective shift in the loss of a loved one. At first there is a terrible pain, searing grief before the burial. But after the burial, there's a new kind of mourning that makes us deal with the reality of loss. It's a coping mechanism to our pain and loss, which allows us to move on in life. The curses put upon the earth that led to man making bread through the sweat of our brow and eating in sadness, were given to remind us of our alienation from what the Lord God originally intended. None of us like labor and sadness so we in...

Good morning! The Feast of Tabernacles has come to a close here in Ft. Walton, Florida. 8 days of celebrating the 7th of 7 appointed times on God's prophetic calendar (Gen. 1:14; Lev. 23; Zech 14). Commercial: Who do you say that I am? He is the living Menorah, the Light of the World. The One whom the Spirit of God rests and Who lights my path in growth and maturity In our study last night we highlighted certain practical truths concerning the 7 Spirits found in the Menorah (Isa. 11:2,3; Rev. 1:20; 4:5,6; 5:6,7; Lev. 24:1-4). For many, this topic appears to be archaic. For others, who know they are called to be a kingdom of Priests, the topic grips the heart. This morning I was dissecting this passage in Leviticus 21-24 only to find clearer instructions for those who are called to be a kingdom of Priests (Rev. 1:6; Ex. 19:6; Isa. 61:6; 5:10; 1 Pet. 2:5-9). Unfortunately, for too many years I had looked at these passages as aloof instructions that have no bearing on my life except f...

 Good morning! We have arrived at the final day of Sukkot, the day where Yeshua stood up after the water libation ceremony and hushed the crowd with a bold declaration...'Is any thirsty?' Let him come to me and drink...' (Jn. 7:37-39). Each day of the week, this ceremony took place and every day the people would read from Isaiah 12 about drawing water from the 'wells of salvation/Yeshua (Isa. 12:3). Daily the people would anticipate the coming of their Messiah and daily He would not make Himself known...until the final day! Here in Florida, we've made some attempts to answer the question: 'Who do you say that I am' (Matt. 16:15)? It's a question that we all have opinions on, but for now, we can only know in part (1 Cor. 13:9)...at least for now (1 Cor. 13:12 :-). Commercial: Last night's celebration: Who do you say that I am? The One Who forgives even before you need it so that we can dwell together in unity (Psa. 133:1-3; Jn. 13). Earlier this week...

 Good morning! One of our Sukkot highlights has been the lunchtime Q&A sessions from noon-3:00 p.m. They are filled with insightful questions from pure hearts that want to know more fundamental truths from the Word of God. We have one more Q&A on Wednesday, the final day of this beautiful sukkot celebration. However, I'd be remiss to leave out the worship services, the prayer meetings, the after meeting meetings, the hospitality and the overflowing love displayed from the youngest to the oldest along with their hunger and thirst for His righteousness. In our study last night, we spent our time together scraping the surface on the topic of salvation and how works fit into the whole process of being prepared for the wedding feast at a future Sukkot celebration. Part of the teaching we were discussing how Scripture reveals righteousness in relationship to works. Fortunately, through Scripture, the potentially ‘muddy-water’ topic of righteousness and works became clear as ‘good...

  Good morning! Our Sukkot celebration, here in Ft. Walton, Florida has 3 days left. The worship, the interaction, the learning, the Q&A, the fellowship has been genuinely sweet! By God's design, it’s a feast for the nations! Prophetically speaking, it will be the major determining event, after the Tribulation, to find out where the hearts of men are stationed. Zechariah tells us that everyone who makes the trek to Jerusalem to worship Messiah Yeshua will be blessed with rain. Those who don’t will experience a difficult year of drought (Zech. 14:16-19). Every time we celebrate this event it is known as a holy convocation, a set apart dress rehearsal (Lev. 23:35). One of the most unfortunate realities to living in the 21st century is that most people have forgotten that we’re supposed to be celebrating these appointed times/moedim of the Lord in anticipation to the full revelation that is to come; erroneously thinking they are Jewish Feasts or only for the Jews. Nothing could be...

Who do you say that I am?   Many have gotten the identity of our Lord and Savior, correct but many have not established their own identity in the way that God views them. From the Aaronic blessing to the Abraham and Isaac story in Genesis 21 through 25.  Our identity is connected to the Most High. And if we choose our identity is complete with his opinion.

Who do you say that I am?  He is the Bridegroom King who gives instructions on how to win the race. Who knows the beginning from the end. He declares the end from the beginning. He knows who he is, and clearly reminds us of who we are.

 Good morning! As most of us have experienced, Sukkot is an eight-day long feast. That’s a lot of feasting! The first evening and day are special, but the end of the feast even more so. In fact, the last day is the high point of the Festival. At this concluding point of the 7th day, there is a request for the great salvation/hoshana rabba. Yet, ironically, and kind of in a funny and amazing way, God commands an 8th day of celebration/shemeni atzeret and simchat Torah/the joy of Torah. In the gospel of John chapter 7 Yeshua went to celebrate the feast of Sukkot in Jerusalem and at this climactic moment in the week long celebration He gives the crowd what they have been longing for, hoshana rabba (Jn. 7:37,38). Each day, at the conclusion of the day there was a water libation ceremony, which had become a tradition to the celebration (Isa. 12:3; 55:1). This was called the simchat beit hashoavah/the water drawing festival. The priests would go down to the pool of Siloam in the City of ...

Good morning! It was a full day yesterday. A lot of traveling and all types of preparatory events for the trip throughout the day. I got to bed at 2:00 a.m. and, by God's grace, slept like a rock. I'm experiencing His daily mercies here in Destin, Florida and I'm ready to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with Grace Church. Many of us have already celebrated Yom HaKippurim (Day of Atonements/Coverings), where each individual had just finished afflicting their soul (Lev. 23:32); with deep soul-searching time for any rebelliousness within their lives towards Yahweh (Lev. 16:30). As you know, Atonement(s) is the sixth of seven Moedim/God's appointed times on His prophetic calendar and precedes chag HaSukkot (Feast of Sukkot/Tabernacles) by five days (Lev. 23:27,34). And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. (Lev.23:41) For many around the world, today i...

Good morning! From the commandment to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, at least at first blush, it's difficult to figure out why we should celebrate 8 days outside of our homes. But, as we are learning, it's a big deal. Commercial: Last night's Zoom Call:  Life Lessons from Living like a Tree (Mk.8:24; Deut. 20:19). Pride? Humility? Intimacy? Abiding? Fruitful? Am I fulfilling my tree calling or am I only 'bark' (Mk. 8:24; Deut. 20:19; Rom. 11; Isa. 41:8-11; Judg. 9:1-14) Observing Sukkot doesn't seem as earth-shattering an event as the revelation at Mt. Sinai/Pentecost or the Exodus/Passover. But I think, if we put on our 'Sherlock Holmes' inspector's hat, we will find the answer is: What happened the first night we left Egypt: It was earth-shattering. Earth-shattering in a quiet, terrifying kind of way. Huh? The act of faith is always earth-shattering. The pit in your stomach as you look around in the desert and feel all alone, only to have it dawn o...

  Good morning! As you can tell, I'm still working on figuring out my schedule...it will balance out soon :-) For now, I'm just a couple of days away from celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in Destin, Florida, and thankfully, they haven't been hit with the hurricanes! Praise Yahweh! With the traditional date of Sukkot just a couple days away it begs us to ask the question, ‘why would anyone leave their house to sleep in a temporary shelter (Lev. 23:39-43)? Before we get to the answer, let's play a game called ‘Big-deal, Little-deal’. Here's the way the game works: We're going to take each of the three main festivals of the Torah – Passover/Pesach, Pentecost/Shavuot and Tabernacles/Sukkot – and we are going to ask ourselves: What event does this holiday commemorate – and… is the event a "big deal" or a "little deal"? The game should be very easy for most of you. We'll start with Pesach/Passover. What event does it commemorate? Well, that...