Light In Torah

Good morning! Welcome to the 18th day of counting the omer and the self revelation of "doubting Thomas", one of the 12 disciples who doubted; as well as the countless millions of us today that doubt unless we see. Thomas, who was absent the first time Yeshua appeared to the 10, was honest enough to say what many are too scared to admit: "unless I see the nail marks unless I touch..." It was this doubt that Yeshua came. He made a special trip just for Thomas.  He met Thomas' doubt with demonstration. He didn’t scold him for needing evidence. He invited him closer. Put your finger here...that moment changed everything. Yeshua doesn’t bypass fear or doubt. He steps right into it, with scarred hands, extended in breath that brings life. At this time of counting the omer, I'm fairly confident that each of us have areas that we need visible evidence of what we've been told. Fortunately, in those moments, when it's least expected, He gives peace where there...

Good morning! There's a lot going on during these 40 days of counting the omer. What Yeshua did during His 40 days on the earth, during the first 40 days of counting the omer is the same work that the Holy Spirit is doing today in His disciples: communicating individually to reassure them that He is the Messiah and to strengthen them for the commission ahead...Welcome to the 17th day of counting the omer.            Yeshua has now turned his attention to a locked room in Jerusalem. A room thick with fear. A room where 10 grown men, one who had walked on water hide because their fear of what men think is greater than their love for their Messiah. These grown men, walked on water, cast out demons, saw the dead raised, learned Torah, in Spirit and Truth, from the Master's lips. Now these chosen men are hiding behind walls. Why? The same reason that I do! Was it because they didn’t believe in Yeshua anymore? Nope. It was because they didn’t know what to believe...

Good morning! Welcome to the 16th day, the 3rd week and 2nd day, of counting the omer :-)! I woke up at early:thirty this morning with my mind going a hundred miles an hour. Contemplating. Meditating. Praying. And marveling at God's Word while taking a helicopter view of all that was still going on during the 40 days Yeshua made His resurrection known. Sometimes, and unfortunately, I get so focused on the narrative that I forget what's still going on everyday in Jerusalem; the cock still crows every morning, the daily offerings, the poor still beg, the lighting of the menorah twice daily, the incense offering twice daily, the government still keeping a watchful eye on the followers of Yeshua, the religious leaders still trying to squelch the renewing of the covenant, millions still celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread...Religious and political fear tactics fill the air! As I said, sometimes, I get lost in the narrative and forget all the daily routine of what was going on ...

Good morning! Yeshua's 40 day appearance was for those who knew Him, but out of fear and/or uncertainty of their one hope, they were apprehensive in openly committing to His resurrection promises...it's known as the fear of men. "Therefore the Lord said, " Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the commandments of men."  (Isa. 29:13) When the fear of men (what they think overrides what God says) establishes itself in our lives, cultural and social religious norms dominate over God's Word. It affects the emotional response and self-justification in our spiritual lives. In yesterday's zoom call , we addressed the topic: "If you find yourself afraid of what others think above God's commands, or you think you can emotionally supersede His commands or you find yourself self-justifying your culturally accepted norms above God...

Good morning! On this 14th day of counting the omer, the 2nd week and the 7th day, we'll continue our journey with the risen Messiah during His 40 days before His ascension. Each encounter gives us an opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of the people He met. These meetings aren't random! Neither is the encounter you're having with Him right now! On this Sabbath morning, my hope is that you'll stop to think about how He's enountering you. Pause. Reflect. Align yourself with Him, and follow. After His garden encounter with Mary Magdalene, He strolled down the road to Emmaus where He found two disciples walking away from Jerusalem; away from the chaos, away from the cross. They had hoped Yeshua would redeem Israel, but he was dead and along with His death, their hopes. But then, as if it was out of nowhere, a stranger walked beside them, not recognizing, not announcing, just present, and as they poured out their confusion, He didn’t rebuke them. He opened the scr...

Good morning! All three of God's pilgrimage feasts are agricultural by design. The picture of the harvest in the Bible is amazing. Incredibly, both barley (Passover) and wheat (Pentecost) contain the eight essential amino acids that are regarded as essential for human life! They are: phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, leucine, and lysine...don't we feel smart :-) In all of Scripture the number eight (8) moves us from the physical realm into the spiritual realm. It's often referred to as a new beginning and eternity, as we will see tonight on our zoom call in the Torah portion shemini/eight: "Does God judge us based on our heart: a deep dive into the death of Nadab and Abihu"? Numbers are important in Scripture and so are the pure metals. In Scripture fifty (50) carries with it "deliverance and freedom" while silver represents "redemption". Have you ever noticed Leviticus 27:16 that connects the two? "And ...

Good morning! I have been asked by many people recently about counting the Omer. Should we do it? Isn't that Old Testament stuff? Didn't Yeshua do away with that stuff when He died? Isn't that bondage to have to count to 50? Why do I need to discipline myself to count to 50? Isn't Pentectost/Shavuot going to come regardless of my counting? All kinds of questions and many answers. Today is day 12 of counting the omer. So, let's take the time to see whether followers of Yeshua, the Messiah, members of the body of the Messiah should or should not practice counting the Omer. After Passover comes Pentecost, the appointed Feast of Weeks. In Hebrew it is Shavuot. It is called The Feast of Weeks because in Leviticus 23:15-16 Yahweh tells us to count seven weekly Sabbaths from the first Sabbath following Passover Day and on the 50th day of counting it is the appointed day of Shavuot (Pentecost). In reality, Passover is not over until Shavuot :-)...I want more of His delivera...

Good morning! Whether it was the children of Israel who left Egypt after their Passover (Exodus 12) or the Disciples after Yeshua’s crucifixion, they both had to endure a 49 day period of uncertainty...and might I add, even us today (very uncertain times). Leaving the past behind is never easy. In fact, it’s quite scary! Even slavery is better than uncertainty! Eight days after Yeshua’s crucifixion the disciples are still scared to death for their lives (John 20:26). Life was so much easier when Yeshua was around! Life was so much easier when we were enslaved in Egypt! Life was so much easier when... Forty-nine days are given to each of us to prepare for Shavuot/Pentecost; Seven sevens or Sabbaths. For all of us it’s a potentially scary time. We’ve never been here before. We live in uncertain times, financially, physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. These days of counting the omer are about taking care of the little foxes that hinder us from the intimacy that Shavuot ...

Good morning! Welcome to the tenth day of counting the omer! We are in the second week and the third day of counting with a focus on investing more and expecting less. In our zoom call study last night , we connected the glory of the Lord with the role of the priest (Lev. 9:6, 23), who teaches the Torah (specifically, the difference between the clean and the unclean, the holy and the common (Lev. 10:10), the daily bread of an omer that God provides for us on our journey (Ex. 16:7,10), the intimacy of covenant marriage (Ex. 24:16,17), God's presence within us (Ex. 40:34,35), all are designed to help us understand more about counting the omer (Lev. 23:15,16) and what waits for us at Pentecost, for those who obediently count to 50 :-)  A couple days ago, I gave you some thoughts on the enemy's attack plan. Today, I want to take it a step further by giving you some practical truths to take the negative behaviors that society desires to control us with and flip them on their head (l...

Good morning! On the eighth day of counting the omer, we start the second week of counting (Lev. 23:15,16). The Passover celebration is complete. The conscious removing of leaven out of your house, and examining your life is complete. The celebration of first fruits is complete and now it's time for the preparation towards Pentecost, the mini Jubilee, and the outpouring of the spirit. Everybody is looking for freedom (Jn. 8:32). Everybody wants to enjoy a mental state and emotional peace. For our 50 day purpose, it can be boiled down to basically for words: Invest more, expect less. It’s really about where we choose to direct our precious energy. Let me ask you an important question: have you ever spent a lot of mental and emotional energy wishing people were different than they are? Have you ever wished that someone in your life or that you interact with regularly was different than they are? Maybe your spouse, maybe your kids, maybe your parents, maybe coworkers, even somebody wi...

Good morning! Thank you for all your prayers, phone calls, text, pictures, and encouragement on the way back to Michigan from the wonderful, warm and loving trip in Florida. The past 9 days have been amazing and the seven days celebration of the feast of unleavened bread was definitely unleavened..the only problem I have now, besides my normal many, is I can't get that 'shanty' tune out of my mind (hehe)! Last night when I Had a few minutes to think, like 24 hours worth of thinking (lol), I was contemplating thoughts in my mind that were deep and significant, and would be life transforming when it came to truth regarding the counting of the omer. When I got back to the cottage, I stayed up to write and pray, knowing, however, that I needed beauty rest...and after a few hours of sleep, I woke up with a mindset that was more practical, probably much simpler and hopefully way more relevant. In the seven weeks of Counting the omer, those seven periods of seven days, we are focu...

Good morning! The extra day in Florida was wonderful. Special visits, meals, Bible studies and lots of anticipation for coming back in 44 days to celebrate Shavuot. I'll be heading back to Michigan in a few minutes and want to wish you a happy 6th day of counting the omer! Speaking of omer, let's keep rolling with more truths to help us prepare for a powerful Pentecost coming in 44 days :-) After the first and second Passover (Num. 9:10-13), the next Biblical Holiday following the summer's Pentecost (Shavuot) is in the fall, it is Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets, the Day of the Awakening Blast. Because of the Messiah's resurrection and His connection to Pentecost, the counting of the Omer is an important participation for all believers as you count your blessings and ascend to greater heights spiritually. This Feast represents the Biblical counting to the great Jubilee (Yovel) year. The Bible tells us a Jubilee (50) is the appointed time of release and return. It repres...

Good morning! Last night at our Q&A, I announced that it was going to be my last night here in Ft. Walton Beach, until it wasn't :-) Today is the last day and tomorrow morning I'll drive back to Michigan.  Unless... Life changes doesn't it? Sometimes those changes are convenient and other times they are not. Either way, we always move forward toward our goal, knowing God directs our steps (Prov. 3:5-7). Though unexpected life events may offer us a temporary reprieve from our regular schedule, time never stops ticking! And once it's gone,it can never be purchased back (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5). There's nothing positive about killing time here. As we head into the 5th day of counting the omer, let's think about our spiritual journey for just a moment (Song 3:1-4). For every person who has been baptized into Jesus The Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach, they get the privilege of making daily decisions of walking in obedience or disobedience to the heavenly instructions given...

Good morning! Today, the fourth day of counting the omer, will be my last day here in beautiful Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; I'm not referencing the obvious beautiful coastline, but the beautiful people! Thank you Pastors and youth leaders. Thank you praise and worship teams. Thank you Brad and Linda for taking care of my every fundamental need. Thank you members of Grace and Mana for your growth in faithfulness. Thank you Suzanne and Joseph for tirelessly sharing your knowledge of whole health processes for every ear to hear. Thank you college age students for modeling for the young bucks, a growing life in Messiah. And thank you Alondra for the sacrifices you made every day traveling back and forth from FSU to translate for each teaching! Wow, what an amazing 8 days. Tonight, caps it all off with Q&A at 6:30 p.m. prayer appreciated. When we choose a relationship we look for two things: Faithfulness and being trustworthy. Many of you have completed the feast of unleavened bread ...