Light In Torah

Good morning! This morning I'll be taking a dory ride to Utila and a ferry ride to Roatan, Honduras to fly back to Michigan via Atlanta. I'm scheduled to arrive at 11:45 p.m. Prayers are appreciated for the trip back to Michigan and the days ahead :-)! It's been a wonderful 9 days of sharing God's Word, experiencing some of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean and receiving love from the Honduran people...it's been a wonderful trip! Thank you Dave, Brenda, Staats, Mona, Pastor Glen and Brenda for the privilege to share this time with you, your family and your people...memories that will stay with me for a lifetime! One theme during our studies that came up frequently, but we never dissected, was the topic of 'thick darkness' (Ex. 10:22). However, that will be the topic of discussion on tomorrow morning's zoom call, Shabbat morning; 'Why is it so dark' or 'Why is this the only miraculous sign the Egyptians couldn't see'? Darkness...

Good morning! As we continue through this week’s Torah portion, leadership would not be the obvious topic that rears its beautiful head, however, upon a behind the scenes look, we find that it is essential to the exodus, and it’s the difference between dying in the darkness and exiting in the light. With further investigation from Exodus 11–13:19 we find three leadership themes rising to the surface (Clarity, Confidence, & Connection). And less we think that this topic is for someone else, we are all leaders in our own right. Some over the masses and others over a small number, but we are all leading someone :-) On this Honduras trip, the topic of clarity has surfaced as the most essential truth to equip ourselves with (Hab. 2:2,3). "Then the Lord answered me and said:  "Write the vision! Make it plain on tablets so that he who runs may read it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; ...

Good morning! It’s ironic after I shared with you thoughts on isolation yesterday that I got invited to go spearfishing off the Cays in the Caribbean. The fish that were swimming in schools were safe. It was the fish that were isolated and on their own that were vulnerable and became dinner. I bet there’s some good application to that. I was asked a question yesterday how I knew that only 1/5 of the people of God's people applied the blood of the lamb in Exodus chapter 12 left Egypt? And after I gave the answer, we began to hypothesize in our minds why that was the case that 80% of the people chose to stay behind in a land that was decimated. My pastor friend, who is hosting me, will spend more time on this topic for certain :-) This morning, I wanted to take a theme from this week’s Torah portion Bo/come where I want to give you some historical wisdom to help you move out of your personal Egypt. During World War II, there was an evaluation Method that saved countless lives of men ...

Good morning! Heart attacks are one of the leading causes of death in America. Fortunately, because of modern medicine, with the use of stents, bi-pass surgery and even heart replacement life can continue. The physical realities of life can teach us a lot about the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46). The biblical idea of a heart attack is slightly different, but in the end they both separate. One is a physical separation from this life and the other is a conscious separation from God. Emotionally speaking, the leading cause of death for boys age 10-14 is suicide due to gender confusion: manly role models, treating boys like boys is desperately missing. Both issues, adults and in young boys (and we're not going through all ages of people), come from being overwhelmed/ataph with life and feeling alone in the world (Psa. 61:2; 77:3; 102:1; 107:5; 142:3,4). In our exodus studies, both the Israelites and the Egyptians have a lot of isolating thoughts going through their world (Ex. 1-11). Internal...

Good morning! Thank you for taking time to pray for me yesterday! The three studies at the 3 different churches were wonderful. It's been said that the speaker is only as good as his audience...in this case, when you have hungry, pure hearted individuals (Matt. 5:6, 8)...the rest was as simple as 'open your bibles to' ... God did the rest :-)! Amazing people. This week's Scripture study of Bo/come takes us into the beginning of this season/moed/appointed time (Ex. 12; Gen. 1:14; Lev. 23:4-8; 1 Cor. 5:7-8). Please be in prayer for everyone as they prepare their hearts for the upcoming feast season preparation. As we all know, this journey in Messiah is full of revelation. He's constantly breaking down our 'confirmation biases' and He's unveiling new dimensions of His love and plans for us. Last week I shared with you how God hardened/chazak, literally encouraged Pharaoh's heart to make a decision on his own that there is only one God (Ex. 8:10). In th...

Good Morning! This morning and tonight I will be speaking at 3 different churches, here in Utila Cay, Honduras. Prayers appreciated (2 Pet. 1:1-12 (How to never fall); 1 Jn. 2:12-14 (Growth cycle); Gen. 24 (Who is the Bride?). In Exodus 6-9, seven of the miraculous signs have been completed in the saga of God's people within the confines of Egypt. The hail-fire episode was the consummate event of the Lord God's process in getting all the world to recognize that there is none other besides Him (Ex. 9; Isa. 45:1-4). The locusts, just like the frogs, the sheep and the goats, are contronyms (positive and negative expressions). The life lessons are more numerous than a swarm of crop eating insects :-/. The locusts were only going to be satisfied once they had consumed everything the hail-fire didn't destroy. Like the locusts, we have a voracious appetite for life. Whether it's towards the positive spiritual areas like study, prayer, sharing, giving, serving and loving unself...

Good morning! Here in Utila, we had a little break in the rain for about six hours, but the rain has come back again today, to add to the beauty of this Shabbat morning (Isa. 55:10,11)! Over the past week, we have been looking at family and relational abuse through the story of the Exodus (Ex. 1 – 11). We have concluded that there are three groups of people involved in every act of abuse. There’s a perpetrator, a victim, and the bystander who either becomes a savior or a perpetrator by their choice, but they can’t remain neutral. Yesterday‘s study may have been the most pivotal one yet. And hopefully on this beautiful Shabbat morning we can follow up with something that’s practical for all of our relationships. The question that we all face is, “am I willing to take on the role to rescue somebody out of their abuse“? The answer to that question is determined by my personal mindset, “Do I have the capabilities, the skill set, the tools in my tool bag to make it happen“ (Gal. 6:1-4)? Am ...

Good morning! There's a children's rhyme that says, "rain, rain, go away, come back another day..." The Prophet Isaiah may have countered that thought with, "Word, Word, keep pouring down until you've finished what you need today..." "For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it." (Isa. 55:10,11) The trip is wet, wet, wet and soaking us with the water from heaven and our time has been filled with opportunities to drink in His Word to water the seed that has been planted (Lk. 8:11). What a blessing we are experiencing on this Island off the main island of Utila, Honduras! In our studies this week, in the Torah portion Vaeira, we have been examining a common issue to all of us, abuse within relat...

Good morning! We made it to an island offshore from Utila, Honduras, via some 8'-10' swells in the gulf, thanks to the crazy weather patterns hitting the southern United States; cold weather and freakish snow for Florida and rain, rain, rain and more rain for Honduras. Fortunately, our Utila Ferry was able to handle the swells easily...but garbage bags were available for those who might need them :-). It was an amazing day of Bible study, sharing, listening and gleaning truths to conform our lives too. I can't wait to see what the next 7 days will bring, besides rain, wind, rain,wind, and more rain (Isa. 55:10,11)!!! Thanks for your prayers, encouraging notes and snowy pictures :-) After a long commercial break on God's hardening techniques (Chazak vs Kavad), let's go back to our question: "How does this cycle of family abuse connect to the Exodus story"? When we stop to really think about this Exodus story, theoretically, God didn't have to put on suc...

Good morning! I woke up at 1:30 this morning praying for my dear friends in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida who just got their 1st snow in a long, long, long, time; for some the first of their lifetime. Then, I proceeded to pray for all the people around the world that are experiencing bizarre situations in life (spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally and financially), followed by our country and the coming 'golden age' coming soon to a theater near you and the importance of every person in Messiah to be on their 'A' game as America becomes great again (Dan. 2:38). Then, I felt impressed to do a 'commercial break' in the middle of our 'family and relational abuse study' in order to harden/chazak your heart. Huh? Hope you'll understand in another ten minutes. Please read the following thoughts carefully and applicably :-) P.S. We are leaving Roatan, Honduras today to head off to another island for the remainder of the trip in a few hours. My int...