Light In Torah

Good morning! It's day 26, the 4th week and 5th day of counting the omer. We're officially heading out of the proverbial forest. Every step we take with the risen Lord will be one step closer to a deeper revelation at Shavuot and ultimately at Pentecost. Can you imagine the weight of those moments when Yeshua walked with them, ate with them, opened the scriptures again and again, just as he did on the road to Emmaus, pointing back to the law, the prophets, and the psalms, showing them how everything pointed to this kingdom? He wasn't focused on the politics of His day, because His wasn’t a political kingdom, not the kind they had hoped for in their earlier days when they argued about who would sit on His right hand (Matt. 20:21-23). No, this kingdom would not come with tanks or manipulation of governments, it would come through truth, through sacrifice through hearts made new. This is what the disciples had to grasp before they could change the world; before Pentecost came ...

Good morning! We are on day 25, the fourth week and fourth day of counting the omer. We are exactly halfway to Pentecost, which brings up a great follow up question from the end of yesterday‘s study on the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Part of Yeshua‘s commission was to go into all the world and make disciples. But it’s impossible to make something that you’re not. The seed always reproduces after its own kind (Gen. 1:11,12; Lk. 8:11). Have you ever taken the four question disciple test? 1. Do all men know that you are His disciple by your love (Jn. 13:35)? 2. Are you diligent in the study of God's Word (Jn. 8:31)? 3. Is your life producing abundant fruit that lasts (Jn. 15:8)? 4. Is God's law sealed in your life (Isa. 8:16)? Now that we’ve discovered your status as a disciple, or one who really wants to be, let me ask you another question: "Have you ever tried teaching somebody how to do something and it just didn’t stick"? Me too! You've explained it clearl...

Good morning! Welcome to the 24th day, the fourth week and the 3rd day of counting the omer (Lev. 23:15,16).  Near the conclusion of Yeshua's 40 days, after His personal appearances to those who had followed Him during His earthly ministry, after they received the evidence of His resurrection and personalized it, He commissioned them to take the message of the Kingdom/basilea into all the world making disciples. Fortunately, this One who sent them did not just commission them or send them alone (Matt. 28:20). No, no, no! The same voice that calmed the storms and cast out demons now pledged His presence to every believer who stepped out in Faith, which includes us even today.  In a world that often celebrates comfort, this uncomfortable, inconvenient command still stands. The great commission is not outdated, it is not optional. It is the heartbeat of bringing heaven to earth. It's the strategy of the church and the assignment of every child of God.  We live in an age of d...

Good morning! It's never been about flawlessness, it’s always been about proximity! Proximity, with the Lord, as well as with any human being, creates a problem! The problem is exposure! The closer you get to someone the more they are able to see your flaws. Just ask Peter, when he was in the boat with Yeshua (Lk. 5:1-8). "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Yeshua's knees, saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. (Lk. 5:8) There's two ways we can respond to the word of God being shared, offended ((Matt. 15:12; 24:10) and those who recognize I am a sinful man and I need more of His light in my life (Lk. 7:23). Maybe that's why we put up artificial barriers towards one another that are built on preconceived notions, which stem from past hurts and fears (I have resembled those words too many times on this journey). After the resurrection, Peter found out that not even denial could cancel the call so if you failed, fallen or forgotten who you are. R...

Good morning! Happy 22nd day, 4th week and 1st day, of counting the omer. As we look at Yeshua's 40 days on the earth, prior to His ascension, we learn that this life is not about living flawlessly; though we should aim for that :-). It’s always been about proximity! And after the resurrection Peter found out that not even denial could cancel the call that the Lord put on His life.  As with Peter, if you have fallen, failed or feel forgotten, no matter who you are, remember this, Yeshua still makes breakfast. He still calls your name. And the same grace that pulled Peter out of shame can still pull you back into purpose. Peter stood dripping. Wet on the Galilee on shore. Once again being called into destiny. But it wasn’t just Peter that the risen Messiah was appearing to. He was gathering all his disciples; restored and humbled.  40 days of personal encounters would pass since the stone was rolled away. 40 days of private appearances, public revelations, broken hearts made wh...

Good morning! Shabbat shalom and happy 21st day, the 3rd week and 7th day of counting the omer (Lev. 23:15,16). Last night's zoom call: Spiritual leprosy (Lev. 13, 14): Is it possible for my isolating sin to be restored and elevated? Yes! For 40 days Yeshua sought His own who were hiding, fearful, guilty of denial, ashamed, and lost in their own minds of disparity and hopelessness. I'm certain we all know these feelings of bewilderment. And I'm certain we understand the feelings of boldly desiring to go where all else will fail, only to fail ourselves. "Peter answered and said unto Him, 'Though all men shall be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended." (Matt. 26:33)  But, for Peter, when the pressure came, he folded three times. There around a fire, outside the praetorium, in the dark, just yards from where his Savior suffered, he had sworn loyalty with his lips (Matt. 26:33). So what does the risen Yeshua do with the individual who failed Him th...

Good morning! Happy preparation day! And happy 20th day of counting the omer, the 3rd week and 6th day :-)...As I've shared with you multiple times over the past few weeks, these days of counting are about consciously committing to behaviors that transform your soul (Psa. 19:7; 1 Pet. 1:22) and prepare you for the upcoming celebration of Pentecost. It would be easy to just mark our calendar, plan an event, successfully finish the event and move on, but that wouldn't be pleasing to God (Heb. 11:6; Lev. 23:15,16). And, I'm confident that everyone reading these daily studies wants to live out Hebrews 11:6 to the best of your growing ability. "Without faith it is impossible to please God and anyone who comes to Him must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Heb. 11:6) During Yeshua's 40 days of resurrected ministry He came to those whose words were heavy, their heart’s broken because to them Yeshua was dead. For the past ...

Good morning! We live in a world where doubt is often disguised as intelligence and belief is naïveté. Think about that for a minute.  We live in a world where doubt is often disguised as intelligence and belief is naïveté. On this 19th day of counting the omer, the 3rd week and the 5th day, may we call doubt, doubt and truly understand that belief is something that is birthed out of my life for all to see. Yeshua blesses those who believe in what they have not yet seen, but this wasn’t blind faith. It was faith anchored in the word, confirmed by the spirit, and for us today, it's served to us on a platter through the testimony of those who saw and doubted, and still chose to believe. Today's doubt is the prerequisite to a destination. Unfortunately, people wear it like it’s a badge of honor. However, biblical doubt isn’t meant to be a place where you stop, it’s meant to be the hallway you pass through on the way to deep conviction. Personally, I have to overcome the mindset th...

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...