Thoughts and Reflections Part 1: The Great Book Known as the Bible

The Bible–The Holy Writ–The Word–The Word of God–The Sword–The 66-Special–The Book–The Good Book: these and many more are the descriptors and titles of arguably the most famous and well known book in the history of literature.

To the world at large, the Bible is a book containing ancient writings of dead idealists who got together to compose writings to convince the world of the existence of God–the Creator of the Universe. These folks believe the book to be a book of positive affirmations and a compilation of the best examples of writing pros known to mankind. They believe the Bible to be fabled history, but also a book that offers mankind an idealistic image of what man should and could be if he were to simply give him/herself over to this God and His Son, Jesus Christ. To these individuals, the Bible offers little to no value to the world’s human population.

To secular scholars, the Bible is simply another literary compilation of ancient writings that have little to no relevance to this world apart from its ancient near east historical placement. To these folks, as it relates to its literary place in the world, it ranks with ancient writings such as the Iliad, Homer, the Koran and various Hindi writings. To these individuals, the Bible only has literary significance and should not be taken seriously as any sort of life instruction .

To the 30,000 or so Christian denominations; the various and sundry Catholic sects and Jews, the Bible is the foundation of their Faith. To most, the Bible is the principle vehicle by which God/Jesus Christ communicates with His people. To many, it is an instruction manual; the Faith’s primary record of its history; a devotional tool; a discipleship resource; a source of profound hope and trust; the glue that binds the members of the Faith community together.

To those of us in Hebrew Roots, or as I prefer to call us, Spirit Filled Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah, the Bible is our Creator’s instruction manual for living the way He has always intended man to live. Indeed, within this instruction manual, we find the summation of our trust and hope in Yahoshua Messiah; we find our heritage and strength; we find lessons to be learned to prevent us from falling from grace; we find Truth; we find peace; we find clues to our amazing future.

With that said, the Bible also is different things to various people in our Faith. It means all that I’ve just mentioned, but it also has unique appeal and understanding to each of us as we go through our day-to-day walk with Master Yahoshua. I guess it comes down to how much we actually tap this amazing resource and tool: if we dive into its boundless pages each day we live, then this book means everything to us; if we reach for it on rare ocassions for whatever reason, its significance to us is debatable. If we never open the covers of our Bible, then certainly the Bible becomes nothing more than an asterick; a semi-colon; or at best, a footnote in our spiritual journey. The Bible is a pretty good gauge as it relates to how we perceive and live out this walk of ours. If the Bible is indeed that foundational and primary resource to our Faith and walk, then it must be tapped constantly with great intensity, anticipation and hope. Otherwise, it becomes as any other book on our dusty shelves.

For me, the Bible is the one printed resource that I tap on a daily basis; often multipe times in a day. It calls to me throughout the day and beckons me to explore its vast depths and mysteries. It serves as my daily medicine regimen, correcting me when I’m wrong and encouraging me when I’m down. It educates me. In a synergistic manner with the Holy Spirit, it connects me with the Creator of the Universe in a way that is not understood by carnal man. It fills my thirst for righteousness. It instructs me on what it means to be a true disciple of Yeshua Messiah. It sets me apart from the 7-Billion people on this planet that may or may not know Father. The Bible is the calling card that connects me with other like-minded believers in Yeshua Messiah. It serves as a reminder that no matter how tough things get down here, Master can identify and provide the blessed assurance that if I stay the course and run the race set before me, there is a prize at the end that awaits me and my fellow Torah Observant Believers in Yahoshua Messiah.

Thoughts and Reflections Part 2: The Bible: A List of Does and Don’ts or Instructions for Righteous Living

Most of us realize that the main disagreement that exists between Torah Observant Believers and Fundamental/Charismatic/Traditional Christians is the efficacy and application of “The Law” for Gentile believers. Essentially, Christianity teaches that the “Law” was done away with once Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Many place their belief in this assertion on a skewed understanding and misinterpretation of Colossians 2:14, that they insist proves that the Law was nailed to the cross along with Jesus. In nailing the Law to the cross, a new era of “freedom in Christ” emerged whereby the would be Christian was no longer subject to the extensive laundry lists of the do’s and don’ts of the Bible.

Sadly, this is the attitude that millions of would be believers in Messiah (more so Christ)  hold regarding Torah: that it is a list of do’s and don’ts. Of course, no one likes being told what to do, even if the person telling us what to do is the Cretor of the Universe and the giver of the Law.

There are many problems associated with such a skewed understanding of the Law/Torah. The one that I wish to reflect upon in this episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections has to do with the erroneous perception that the Bible is simply a list of do’s and don’ts for the would be believer; that our God is a terrible and tyranical Being who despises His creation (i.e., man) and demands that they do this and do that; that He demands strict and uncompromising obedience (which He does but not in such a crude, unloving and harsh manner) .

The Bible is in no way this magical 8-ball of answers to every question man has related to his or her present condition. In fact, the Bible is not the mystical book that tradition has assigned it, although I truly believe the Bible to be of divine origin.

Paul (i.e., Shaul) described the Bible as being given to mankind by the Creator of the Universe and that it is a valuable resource in leading every man and woman to Truth; that it is effective in correcting man’s behavior and showing him/her the right direction he/she should go; and lastly that being a disciple of the True Messiah, we have been tasked with bearing good fruit and living righteous lives. In order to accomplish this, the Bible is an apt resource for equiping any who would be of Yeshua HaMashiyach’s chosen (1 Timothy 3:16, 17; CJB with my embellishments).  Nowhere in this passage did Paul indicate that the Bible should be looked at and treated as a book of answers. More so, Paul sees the Bible as “an instruction” manual.

Because we tend to not fully grasp the full meaning and purpose of the Bible, we tend to treat the Bible as a “spiritual Google,” where by we search out specific answers to our modern day problems and challenges. As much as it would be a lovely thing to have at one’s disposal, I do not believe the Father desired His Word to be used in such a fashion. I believe He gave us His instructions upon which we would build our lives and walk accordingly. If we simply follow these instructions, the rest will naturally fall into place: that is, our modern day issues and challenges would become non-issues and non-challenges. 

A dear sister recently asked what the Bible had to say about “shacking up” (that is living unmarried) with a fella. To her credit, she didn’t want any denominational perspectives and no personal opinions on this issue. All she wanted was chapter and verse. Needless to say, there appears to be no such content to be found in the pages of our Bible as it relates to the question of shacking up. There are passages that suggests to us that shacking up is not a thing that Spirit-Filled Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah should be doing, but there are no “thou shall not hook up and live together as an unmarried couple” passages to be found in the Holy Writ. 

I don’t mean to beat up on this sister, or anyone who looks to the Bible in such a manner. Nevertheless, I truly believe that if we truly have the Ruach of Yah dwelling within us, we should have a pretty good idea what is pleasing to Father and what is not. 

Unfortunately, this is a common practice among many members of both fundamental Chritianity and Hebrew Roots communities. These individuals, instead of walking out their Faith in accordance with the Torah-based principles as taught to us by Master, use the Word to spell out to them almost verbatim what they can and can’t do in their day-to-day lives. Can I cook on the Sabbath? Can I worship alone on the Sabbath? Can I stay in a hotel during Sukkot or do I have to live outdoors in a Sukkah? Can I socialize with members of the opposite sex during fellowship? Can I put gas in my car on the Sabbath? Do I have to conduct a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in order to properly observe the Feasts of Yah? Can I use the title God when addressing the Creator of the universe? Must I grow a beard if I’m a male in our Faith? And what we find when we seek to answer for ourselves these and countless other such questions is that the Bible in more situations than not does not have the specific answers to our specific questions. 

So in the absence of answers to such probing and specific questions, what many do is create their own answers devoid of living out the life that scripture spells out for us. Yet the truth of the matter is that the answers to such questions will never be found in the Bible. They were never supposed to be found there in the first place. For Father gave us all that we needed to know to live according to the way He wants us to live. Anything else that pops up that is unclear in scripture then becomes a thing that should be rationalized in light of scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We can never live the instructions contained in our Bibles without the guidance of the Holy Spirit; for without the Holy Spirit, we become no different than our forefathers who go about mechanically living out their religion. It becomes robotic and those individuals who go about living such a mechanical lifestyle end up being tossed about the waves and winds of life. There’s never going to be an answer good enough–there’s always going to be “but what if’s” and “but what about’s.” We’re human. We’ve unfortunately evolved into such a way of thinking and living. 

If we can simply learn our Bibles; live out that which is spelled out before us in the pages of our Bibles; and leave the rest up to the guidance and instructions of the Holy Spirit, we will be alright. 

Paul wrote to Timothy: “Timothy my son, do the best you can (in the KJV, it is famously written–“study to shew theyself approved-Christianity has wrongly interpreted the word spoodadzo to mean study of the scriptures, which is not at all correct. Spoodadzo means to be dilligent or endeavor) to present yourself to Yahuah/Yahweh/Yahovah as someone worthy of His approval; and in so doing, we will not have any need to be ashamed of the life we’ve lived.” (2 Timothy 2:14,15; my paraphrasing of the KJV)

It’s one thing to confer with Scripture on life’s issues; it’s entirely another to rely upon Scripture to tell us what in life should be obvious. If we feel funny about the thing we’re thinking to do and we aren’t sure if doing that thing would be sanctioned by Father, then we should know right off the bat the answer to our question. 

The culture, timeframe and geography in which the bible was written 9-times outta 10 does not afford us a keen match as it relates to our particular 21st-century life issues. Sure, there’s nothing new under the sun as Solomon once wrote, but much of what is contained in scripture is not going to be a verbatim rehashing of our modern 21st century lifestyle. So we gotta know the mind of God in conjunction with the specific instructions outlined in His Torah in order to live the best life we can in Yeshua Measiah. 

Thoughts and Reflections Part-3–What is the Bible Anyway?

With the exception of the Torah (i.e., the first-five-books of the Tanakh/the Old Testament), the Bible is a compilation of inspired writings. I separate the Torah from the rest of the Bible, not to insinuate that Torah is uninspired; on the contrary, I believe that Torah was communicated directly from the mouth of Yahweh/Yahovah/Yahuah to Moses as Israel’s constitution; the manual that defines righteous living and leads to an unparalleled relationship between the Creator and His people. The remainder of the Holy Writ came about as men (i.e., the authors) were moved to write by the Holy Spirit; to write about the events that were transpiring before them; to write about the things that they saw with their very own eyes and heard with their very own ears; to write about their feelings, thoughts and fears; and to write that which Father desired be communicated to the select reader.

The Weightier Matters of the Law

The Bible as we have it today is a compilation of some 66-books (i.e., cephers and letters): some of these cephers are prophetic writings that foretell of things that were to happen to us as we lived in the land of promise as well as things that are to happen to us in the Last Days; some of these cephers were composed of songs and poems; some of these cephers were historical in nature and served to document the history of our people (i.e., the Hebrew nation)  in perpetuity; some of these cephers were letters written to specific individuals, addressing specific issues and questions that were posed to the writer. Although the Bible has been known from time-to-time to resonate with us as a people and as individuals, and to speak to our souls in very profound ways (which I would identify more as a gift to us by the Creator at the time we need His touch the most), the thing we have today that we call the Bible is a repository and collection of ancient writings that served (and for that matter, can serve today) specific and diverse purposes for its readers.  Again, the Bible is not this mysterious 8-ball that gives us magical answers to the questions we have for Father at any given hour of the day. More so, it is a training manual; a guide to Truth; a behavior corrector; a history book; and an equipping resource guide.

Nevertheless, I have had to go out of my way to keep in mind what the Bible is when I go about studying and researching in its pages. When we neglect having a True understanding of what the Bible is and what it is supposed to be used for, we invariably find ourselves misusing it; misinterpreting its content; damaging our relationship with the Most High; and leading others down a wrong path.

Yes, I believe with my whole heart that the Bible is Yahuah/Yahweh/Yahovah breathed; but it is also a product of man. Do I believe the Bible to be the Word of God? Well, I believe the Bible contains the Words and thoughts and love of God for all of mankind, especially for His chosen people. I believe for us to gain the greatest benefit we could possibly get from our Bibles, we must view and use the Bible from an entirety perspective (i.e., the Bible as a whole instead of scriptural soundbites that so many of us often hang our spiritual hats upon and develop these doctrines and beliefs that are rarely based upon any Biblical truth or reason). I believe that we must view the Bible from the perspective of the Creator of the Universe desiring to eternally connect with the jewel of His creation: mankind and that the bridge between man and Creator is our Master Yeshua Messiah. Everything in the Bible points us to the second-Adam: Yahoshua HaMashiyach.

As an aside to all this, many of us in Hebrew Roots spend the vast majority of our time in Torah and our focus is upon fulfilling the ceremonial and moral elements of the Law. Over time, we inadvertently write Yeshua out of the Bible and instead of living Torah the way Master taught us to, we live Torah in rote manner–striving to relive Torah the way our forefathers did in Synai and in the Land. Many of us eventually learn to become, what I’ve chosen to call them, Yeshua-haters. These individuals take on a pharisaical-like mentality and lifestyle that they somehow fool themselves into thinking, will earn themselves eternal life, devoid of anything having to do with Master Yeshua.

Then there is the New Testament, or as known in our circles, the Brit HaDashah, which so many in all faith community treat as do’s and don’ts answer books. The fact of the matter is that the Gospels, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, serves as our history book about the ministry of Master Yahoshua and the Holy Spirit, as well as it serves as our instruction manual related to our being His loyal disciples who have been tasked with fulfilling His Commission (Matthew 28:19,20)–and I would include the Book of Acts in the Gospels and maybe even the Book of Revelation.

Then there are the epistles or letters from Jude, James, John, Peter and of course Paul, which have been used by denominational Christianity to develop doctrinal structures within the body. The fact of the matter is that these are letters, written by men–apostles–to specific individuals, addressing specific issues and topics. It just so happens that these letters have been preserved, codified and translated for our benefit. Thus, in effect, when we open one of these letters, referred to in the Bible as books, we are essentially snooping in on a private communique that the author had originally posted to specific individuals related to issues and topics that he chose to address. Consequently, when we read one of these epistles–books–letters–we must always keep in mind what it is we are reading and thus it would behoove us to take specific passages within proper context.

All too often we spot a verse or two, and build an understanding about spiritual things without taking into account the whole of the conversation or discourse. Look how Christianity built around a couple verses, the doctrines of “grace” and the understanding that the Law was done away with. If those same individuals who took liberties to snag these scriptural soundbites and build around them vast and emcompassing doctrines would have studied the whole of the texts from the standpoint of contextual criticism and true Biblical scholarship, I believe it’s a fair bet that we wouldn’t have 30,000-plus Christian denonimations in existence today, for the truth of the matters in questions would be clearly evident and things such as Sunday worship, eating of uncleaned food and whether it is cool for Believers in Messiah to keep Torah would no longer be in question.

The quintessential passage of Bible that describes what the Bible is and what purpose it serves in the body of Messiah is of course found in 2 Timothy. Paul wrote:

14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.1 (2Ti 3:14-17 KJV)

Paul’s prolific brilliance shines exceptionally forth here as he summarizes for his young apprentice the purpose of scripture. We must bear in mind that at the time of this writing, scripture was the Old Testament writings–the Tanakh. So here he is specifically speaking to Timothy on the purpose of the Torah, the prophets and the writings. So much is contained in these 4-verses that one could spend hours exploring and pondering their significance to any Spirit-Filled Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah.

• The scriptures are the paramount pathway to all Truth which leads one to salvation in Yeshua Messiah
• The scriptures, although written by the hand of men, is God-breathed–an amazing meeting and coming together of the Divine and the mortal. Father spoke and men wrote as the Spirit so-led and guided. And Abba’s divine providence ensured that His Word would remain intact such that it would reach and be available to us in these last and evil days
• Scriptures/the Bible must be viewed as the foundation upon which the instruction of Truth is to be taught
• Scripture provides us instruction and defines what sin is
• Scripture corrects our faults
• Scritpure outlines the path that leads to righteous living
• The Bible is the ultimate equipping agent in all spiritual and human matters
• Strict adherence to the tenets of the Bible lead to good works/the bearing of good fruit, which is the meat and potatos of every believer’s life and calling.

Although the Bible is the ultimate instruction manual, every believer must be cognizant of its origin, the culture in which the writers of the books of the bible lived, the purpose for which each book was written, the meaning of words and phrases, and the effectiveness and accuracy of the translations we are using. Reading and understanding the Bible requires work on our part, and those who are willing to invest the time and energy to explore its great spiritual riches will come out on top everytime–these will be the most well centered and grounded and not be blown about by every wind and doctrine. Far too many of us have given only a passing read to the Bible. Far too many of us have only punched the pages of our Bibles to see if we can get away with something we know very well is wrong. Far too many of us have relied upon preachers, teachings, pastors, evangelists and deominations to tell us what the Bible says, when the truth of the matter is, that anyone of us who has access to a Bible, some basic Bible helps and tools, a willing and obedient heart and mind, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within, can know what Father is revealing in His word to us. As much as I respect scholarship and the accomplishment of some of our Faith leaders, which Father will on ocassion use to provide us with information that may not be readily available to us at the time, nothing trumps sitting down with a cup of coffee or tea and diving into the pages of one’s Bible to learn “what sayeth Yahuah/Yahweh/Yahovah. Father has no problem telling us what He wants from us and what He expects from us through the pages of His Bible. Churchianity has programed us to believe that we simple lay folk are incapable of effectively studying the Word of Yah. Nothing can be further from the truth.

If we are unable to receive that which we are searching for in the Bible, it behooves us to turn to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to, in Father’s perfect time, reveal those truths to us. He may send someone to us with the answers to the questions we seek. He may involve us in a situation where the answers to our questions will become quite evident. He may lead us to other areas of scripture that will illuminate within us that Truth that we are seeking.

The Bible–our go-to spiritual Google? Not hardly. A simple laundry list of do’s and don’ts? It certainly tells us what things are permissible and what are not in terms of living life Abba’s way, but it is not a simple do’s and don’ts list that we are to mechanically follow. Torah is supposed to be written on our hearts and minds and we should not focus on the rote, mechanical applications of the Word, but living lives that are pleasing to Father and provide an effective and righteous witness to the world around us. If we but take the time to read the Bible–the whole thing–multiple times through–and apply those principles to our day-to-day walk with Messiah, we will be apt workman approved of God needing not to be ashamed.

Thoughts and Reflections Part 4: The Bottom-Line to the Question of Do’s and Don’ts as Related to the Bible

I have always felt that anyone who would become a disciple of Yeshua our Master, before they were left to forge out on their own and walk out their Faith, that they first be equipped. Some organizations within our Faith Community, like the Church of God splinters, provide their initiates a great amount of teachings and valuable content to help them get acquainted with their new found Faith and walk with Messiah. The problem is that the teachings and content they offer are specific to Church of God doctrine and mindset and is not entirely based upon a literal, contextual and Spirit-led dispensing of the Truth. So any who would venture into a Church of God congregation to begin their walk with Messiah, would find themselves being indoctrinated into a Church of God body. The fact of the matter is that these are not being discipled into the true Body of Messiah. I’m not trying to bad mouth the Churches of God. I myself began my Torah Observant life in the United Church of God. That experience, which lasted roughly two-years was a positive one that introduced me to foundational tenets of the Hebrew Roots Faith. Certainly not a place one would spend the remainder of his/her life if they are truly desirous in fulfilling their unique role in the Great Commission and walking out their Faith profession in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.

Please know that I am in no way looking to badmouth the Churches of God–I love them and the people who attend these congregations are wonderful, sincere folks. Unfortunately, I truly believe that the vast majority of Church of God attendees may be too comfortable in their set-church lives to move beyond the walls of that community and achieve the great things that Father has in store for everyone of His beloved children. The point of my bringing up the Churches of God in the first place is the element of doctrine and indoctrination that pervades these communities. The same thing seems to be true as it relates to certain Messianic Jewish communities where members are taught Judaism first and foremost, and then maybe some of the teachings of Master Yeshua. These and other such communities endeavor to provide their followers laundry lists of do’s and don’ts that carry the weight and authority of scripture. Most of these communities, again, are devoid of anything having to do with the Holy Spirit.

The Famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

Bottomline dear friend, the Bible is not, nor should it ever be treated or seen as a grab-bag of answers to questions related to our day-to-day living. I concede that there is nothing wrong with punching the pages of one’s Bible to see what Father has to say to us on a particular topic or issue. Absolutely, the Bible is the absolute best resource we have to put us in sync with Father’s will for us as His special possession and kingdom of priests. The problem comes, unfortunately, when we ignore the things in Torah and the teachings of Yeshua in the first place, but choose instead to follow our own pathways to righteousness while using the Bible as a means to that end.

Abba has given us all we need to know to live according to the way that He wants His children to live. If we simply employ the commonsense that He has given each of us; come to Him in prayer and meditation with a pure heart; search the scriptures with an open mind to receive that which Father wishes to reveal to us; and give heed to the leading of His Holy Spirit that will guide us into all understanding and give us the wherewithal to walk out our Faith perfectly in the midst of this perverse and dying world.

The brilliant and prolific apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian assembly:

For, brothers, I don’t want you to miss the significance of what happened to our fathers. All of them were guided by the pillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea,

2 and in connection with the cloud and with the sea they all immersed themselves into Moshe,

3 also they all ate the same food from the Spirit,

4 and they all drank the same drink from the Spirit – for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah.

5 Yet with the majority of them God was not pleased, so their bodies were strewn across the desert.

6 Now these things took place as prefigurative historical events, warning us not to set our hearts on evil things as they did.

7 Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were – as the Tanakh puts it, “The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry.”

8 And let us not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, with the consequence that 23,000 died in a single day.

9 And let us not put the Messiah to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes.

10 And don’t grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying Angel.

11 These things happened to them as prefigurative historical events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the acharit-hayamim (i.e., the end of the ages). (1Co 10:1-11 CJB)

Thus our Bibles serve, according to Paul, as a warning–given the examples lived out by our forefathers in the desert and in the land of promise–a warning to live according to His prescribed ways and methods so that we may flourish and be a blessing and please Him. It would seem as we read the Bible and the Spirit speaks to us where we live at the moment–see what happened to our forefathers because of their insolence and stiffneckness. Don’t let it happen to us. Do the opposite. And how do we go about successfully living out this Faith? Through the example and teachings of our loving and blessed Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach.

Paul further wrote related to the use of scripture in governing our lives, this time to the Roman Assembly of believers:

So we who are strong have a duty to bear the weaknesses of those who are not strong, rather than please ourselves.

2 Each of us should please his neighbor and act for his good, thus building him up.

3 For even the Messiah did not please himself; rather, as the Tanakh says, ‘The insults of those insulting you fell on me.’

4 For everything written in the past was written to teach us, so that with the encouragement of the Tanakh we might patiently hold on to our hope. (Rom 15:1-4 CJB)

Thus the Bible serves as an instruction manual that teaches us how to live so that we “might patiently hold on to our hope” –that is, keep a positive spiritual perspective on life; enjoy life to its fullest; serve one another and act for their good and work towards edifying and building up one another in righteousness; to remain strong so that we may bear the weaknesses of those in our Faith Community who are struggling; to imitate Yeshua our Messiah and not take the things of this life too personal and do the best that each of us possibly can. That’s all that we can do. As far as Father is concerned, that’s all that He’s asking of us.

However, in order to fulfill these expectations, we must fully grasp the purpose and reality of what the Bible is and use it in the spirit and fulness in which it was given to us. Indeed, the Bible is not to be worshiped as so many of us tend to do, delving into the mystical elements that define much of Kaballah and Jewish mysticism. No, the Bible is our roadmap to righteous living and instruction manual that ultimately connects us with the Creator of the Universe.

I hope, trust and pray that this episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections has been a blessing to you, as much as it has been a blessing to me to ponder and reflect upon this subject of the Bible. Keep on keeping on, despite all the things that are going on around us in this nation and in the world today. Don’t focus on those things if you can help it for we have other matters to tend to. For Paul wrote to Timothy:

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.1

3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (2Ti 2:1-4 KJV)

Let us therefore strive for higher heights and deeper depths in Yeshua Messiah so that we may successfully be that kingdom of priest to the world that Father has assigned us to be.

Certainly, if you are reading this transcript or listening to this episode online, leave a comment in the comment box that follows this post if you are so led. Otherwise, you can connect with me either on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I’m here for and with you. Stay well and blessed fellow Saint.

Until next time, I bid you warmest and loving shalom.