Walking with Jesus

Passover. I know a lot of Christians who are interested in Passover (the word actually means "to cover" in the same way we say we are "covered" by the blood of Christ.) These followers of Jesus want to know about the Old Testament roots of our faith. After all, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was Jewish. The majority of our Scriptures are Jewish or written by Jews. In fact, when Paul says, "All scripture is God-breathed..." [ 2 Timothy 3:16 ] he is refering to the Old Testament. Additionally, God is doing a great work among the Jews and Israelis around the world in our day, bringing them to an understanding of Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah. I've been told there are more Jewish believers in Jesus today than in all the last 19 centuries combined. Combined with the emergence of Modern Israel and the relity that Jesus was Jewish, it only makes sense that so many followers of Jesus should be interested in Judaism and its relationship to Christianity.

I love Israel. I have for years... decades actually. I have friends who live and work there. I believe those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Issael will be cursed. I believe in their right to exist and that God still has a special place for them in His plan because of His faithfulness. In fact, His faithfulness to me as a Christian would be in doubt if He decided that Israel no longer mattered. Genesis 15 tells us clearly that the whole burden of God’s covenant lies upon God Himself. Moreover, the pledge that he makes there (that the failure of the Covenant calls for the death of God) is a picture of the Crucifixion of Jesus. That covenant does fail, multiple times, because God’s covenant people are a mess. In fact, they are still a mess. They provide free abortions for female soldiers, they empower idolatry in the practice of Hasidic Judaism, and they generally exclude non-Jews from membership in their community. Remember, I am saying all this as someone who l

Stop killing babies! Stop lying to pregnant women! Stop sitting on the sidelines! Start making a difference. Watch the trailer . Go see Unplanned .

One of the tools I enjoy using both in my classes and in my own devotional times is The Bible Project . They have a Bible Reading App you can download for free. This video is a sample of one of the theme videos, but they also have videos introducing each book of the Bible, with a particular focus on understanding the overall structure and purpose of that book.

An old Jewish proverb says, "Reading the Bible in translation is like kissing your bride through a veil." Thus, one of my goals right now is to be able to encounter God through His Word without the veil. I take my Hebrew Comprehensive Exam in less than and weak, and I'm hard at work translating and studying. In fact, even this blog post represents the sort of commentary I am expected to be able to make, so thanks for the opportunity to practice. The passages I am working on are selected by the grammar I am using. So, I find it curious that I should be learning what I am through them. In one particularly famous story from Genesis 29, Jacob works for his uncle Laban for 7 years in order to marry Rachel, the younger of Laban's two daughters, whom he loves. Laban tricks him after those seven years and he ends up married to Leah. However, there is a little word in this story that indicates that Jacob (though very patient ) is perhaps not very wise in his choice to b

Christian America, are you paying attention? The question isn't " if? " but " when? " Jesus says in no uncertain terms that we will suffer as he did. Consider these verses as a starting point. Do we really think persecution means being 'unfriended' or having nasty Tweets written about us? That isn't what it looked like for Jesus. [Image from Schindler's List] 77 years ago today , 65,000 Jews were shipped to the Chelmno Killing Center from the Lodz Ghetto near Warsaw where they had been imprisoned for almost 2 years. Men, women, and children suffered and died terribly because of who their parents had been. Christians, Whose you daddy? Are you willing to suffer for Him? He was willing to suffer for you!

I've been working on this PhD in Old Testament from Gateway Seminary for years now. I've poured hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, and over 6 years into answering this divine call. Through it all, Olivia has patiently supported and encouraged me. Go her!!!  One of the biggest challenges I've faced has been learning the Hebrew language. I had a good 12 years between my Master's work and these PhD studies, and I wasn't very good a Hebrew the first time around. So, as someone who has really struggled and passionately desired to get this language, I wanted to let you know what I've found that actually works. Of course, classroom experience is usually best, but that isn't a valid option for most people. [Warning, effectively learning biblical Hebrew is an investment that takes time and practice, especially if your goal is to be able to pick up your Hebrew Bible and actually read it.] So, here are my recommendations for study on your own: