In this issue of Israel & Christians Today I am sharing some further pastoral reflections on the Torah portion, or parsha, named Ekev – Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25 – which is the 46th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading
I have a very good friend who I catch up with every few months for breakfast. We order our food and coffees and then sit down and the conversation starts with something like - ‘How are you?’ ‘How are things with the family?’ ‘’Have you heard the one about the pastor,...
In this and the next two issues of Israel & Christians Today I will be sharing some thoughts from the Torah portion, or parsha, named Ekev—Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25.
I have seven beautiful grandchildren—six handsome grandsons and one stunning granddaughter. I love them with all my heart… and the thing I love to hear the most is when we sit down for our Friday night Shabbat meal and they say ‘Tell us a story Grandpa.’ And by story they mean a Bible story.
My wife Trixie and I had the privilege recently of representing Christians for Israel Australia at a historic and memorable gathering presented by SCAFI at Victory Life Centre in Perth
Mark 12:29-30 is a very familiar verse to most Christians and often quoted. Did you realise that Jesus was quoting the first two verses of the Shema which was an integral part of daily prayer then—and now?
Abraham and Sarah lived their lives in response to a call from God. They abandoned everything that they knew, to go to an unknown destination where they would be strangers. They had the faith to believe that by doing so, they would be establishing a nation and that...
When the Shema is recited by the Jewish people (and Christians), it begins with this statement: Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4) Pronouncing God’s name YHWH is considered a sin, so the Jewish people use other words to replace...
This is the season of joyful feasts, a time of year where the faithfulness and triumph of the Lord is measured against worldly threats. Jesus used the Feast of Tabernacles to make a profound statement. On the last day of the Feast, He declared rivers of living water would flow from the innermost being of those who believe in Him (John chapter 7) The Feast of Tabernacles, this year in October, is also known as Sukkot (sukkah singular). Most people eat and sleep in the Sukkah. From the fragile sukkah the stars are visible and the occupants are exposed, at least partially, to wind and rain. The conditions relate to their history and the forty days of wandering in the wilderness. In the synagogues the celebrants sing hymns while circling in a procession. The circle is about unity. They dance, hand on the shoulder in front, and shuffle forward while singing hymns. In this formation, they are one. There is no leader, no class. No direction either! They are together linked by choice and wherever they are going, they are going together. Christians Those who ignore the Biblical feasts miss the deep lessons. Christians have the same human emotions as […]
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven…” The words of Jesus (Yeshua) in Matthew 5:17-19 NKJV What do we understand about the Jewish or Hebraic Roots of Christianity? Having grown up in a Gentile Christian home and preparing for ministry in a Gentile Christian church, little thought was given to the context of the early church in its Jewishness and Torah observance. After all, the only available scripture in the 1st century was the Hebrew Scriptures as we know them. It wasn’t until about 30 years ago that I realised the significance of the destiny of Israel in the light of Bible prophecy and a short time later the significance of the early church being totally Jewish […]