Category: Contend for the Faith

Pressing in to a deeper understanding of what it looks like to walk with Yahoshua (Jesus) daily.

Podcast Episode: Understanding the Moral Debate: Abortion and its Implications

Podcast Episode: Understanding the Moral Debate: Abortion and its Implications

Pip: There’s a streaming service out there that markets itself on wholesome family content — and somehow that’s where this episode begins, with a hymn, a British abolitionist, and a question that has no comfortable answer.

Mara: cj’s writing takes us into the moral and philosophical territory of abortion, tracing a line from William Wilberforce’s biography through scripture, law, and the question of what we lose when we define life by its quality. Let’s start with that argument.

Understanding the Moral Debate: Abortion and its Implications

Pip: The post opens not with a policy brief but with a biography — specifically, a detail about William Wilberforce that stops the reader cold. The question underneath it is ancient: who decides which lives are worth sustaining?

Mara: The setup is a passage from Stephen Tomkins’s biography of Wilberforce. Here it is: “In later life he often reflected with gratitude that if he had been born in what he was pleased to call ‘less civilized times’, his parents would not have taken the trouble to keep him alive.”

Pip: So the man who dismantled the British slave trade — one of the most consequential moral reformers in history — was himself a weak, sickly child who, by a different calculus, might never have been kept alive. That’s the stakes the post is building toward.

Mara: And the post connects that directly to current law. Massachusetts recently eliminated gestational limits on abortion, joining Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington D.C. The post pulls from Britannica to name the reasons often cited as justification — quality of life, physical or mental well-being, rape, incest, fetal abnormality.

Pip: The post pushes back on the word “serious” in that last category — arguing it’s undefined, that what counts as serious shifts person to person, and that the word functions more to soften opposition than to set a real boundary.

Mara: Right. And the post returns that back to Wilberforce: poor eyesight, small, sickly — none of it disqualifying by the standards of his time and place, but potentially disqualifying by ours. The post asks, plainly, how many breakthroughs, leaders, and lives were foreclosed by that same reasoning.

Pip: It’s a question the post acknowledges no one can answer — and says no one dares try.

Mara: The post closes with scripture from James, First Peter, and Ecclesiastes, grounding the argument in the idea that life is knit together by the Creator — and that choosing otherwise is, in the post’s own image, ripping the needles from His hands.

Pip: The metaphor lands harder than most policy arguments do.

Mara: The thread running through all of this is the question of what we lose when quality of life becomes the measure of a life worth living.

Pip: Wilberforce wouldn’t have passed that test. Worth sitting with before the next episode.

Read the post in its entirety here: Understanding the Moral Debate: Abortion and its Implications

Understanding the Moral Debate: Abortion and its Implications

Understanding the Moral Debate: Abortion and its Implications

“What is the meaning of life?” “To be or not to be? That is the question.” “There is a time for every purpose under heaven.” “Live in the moment, walk humbly, work hard.” “Vanity, all is vanity.”

I subscribed to a streaming service the other day. It prides itself on wholesome, family entertainment. I caved, after seeing a particular trailer for a film that I could only find on their streaming platform. The film was called, Amazing Grace. From Google, “The film tells the true story of British politician William Wilberforce. He led a long fight to end the slave trade in the 18th century. It also features the hymn’s writer, former slave trader John Newton.”

After watching the movie, Amazing Grace, I was moved to learn more about William Wilberforce. I found a Biography on William Wilberforce, written by Stephen Tomkins. I am only a few pages in and I read this paragraph.

“Robert and his wife Elizabeth had three children besides William – all daughters – but only one of the girls, Sarah, survived infancy, and William himself was a weak, sickly child, small and with poor eyesight. In later life he often reflected with gratitude that if he had been born in what he was pleased to call ‘less civilized times’, his parents would not have taken the trouble to keep him alive.”

I was struck by the last line, “his parents would not have taken the trouble to keep him alive.” My mind immediately went to Massachusetts new abortion law eliminating any gestational limits. Not to single out a single state as it isn’t limited to just Massachusetts. In fact, they simply joined a growing list of states to take this step securing the right to abortion up to birth. The states Massachusetts joins, Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.).

What are the reasons for abortion that some find being a “good argument”? In my readings on it, it appears to be mainly, quality of life. Here is an exert from U.S. Abortions Rights by State, at Britannica.com. “Induced abortions can be performed for various reasons, including to preserve the mother’s physical or mental well-being, in cases of rape or incest, to prevent the birth of a child with serious abnormalities, or for social or economic reasons. When abortions are performed to preserve the mother’s well-being or in cases of rape or incest, they are often considered therapeutic.”

Some will call me deceptive for not highlighting the word serious when talking about abnormalities. Well, my reasoning is quite simple, serious is undefined, what constitutes serious for one individual may not for another. Therefore, serious is added to quiet dissension, and for no other reason.

Imagine if William Wilberforce’s parents lived in a society such as ours, in such moral decay. What would have been his outcome? I find it striking that Stephen Tomkins points out that William thought it a good thing that he wasn’t born in ‘less civilized times’, or his parents might have chosen not to keep him alive. It sounds barbaric and yet here we are in 2026, modern medical advancements beyond imagination when William Wilberforce was born, August 24, 1759.

How many William’s never saw the light of day because of convenience, or quality of life? How many medical breakthroughs lost, cultural revolutionary leaders missing, quality of life enhancements never realized, because of ‘therapeutic’ reasons? No one can answer those questions. No one dares try.

“What is the meaning of life?” “To be or not to be? That is the question.” “There is a time for every purpose under heaven.” “Live in the moment, walk humbly, work hard.” “Vanity, all is vanity.”

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Messiah. 1 Peter 1:17-19

Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of Adonai. 1 Peter 2:1-3

The word says, metaphorically, that we are knit together by God in our mother’s womb. Using this metaphor, when we as a society choose abortion, are we not also ripping the knitting needles out of the hand of the Creator?

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

You are loved,
cj

Podcast Episode – Eschatology Explained: Will Believers Face the Anti-Christ?

Podcast Episode – Eschatology Explained: Will Believers Face the Anti-Christ?

Pip: If you have ever wanted someone to walk you through the end times with the calm urgency of a person who has genuinely thought this through, cj at The Way of the Rabbi has been doing exactly that.

Mara: This episode follows one extended argument about eschatology — specifically, whether believers will be present when the final Anti-Christ arrives, and what Scripture actually says about that moment.

Pip: Let’s start with the question of who exactly is still on earth when things get very, very bad.

Will Believers Face the Final Anti-Christ?

Mara: The central tension here is timing — specifically, whether the Church will be present during the tribulation period, or whether a pre-tribulation rapture removes believers before the worst of it unfolds.

Pip: And the post goes straight to the source, opening with Matthew 24 and the disciples asking Yahoshua directly about the signs of the end. The audience for that teaching matters enormously to the argument.

Mara: The post sets up the key passage this way — Yahoshua is speaking privately to His disciples, and here is what He says: “So when YOU SEE, the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.”

Pip: The word “you” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, and the post leans on it hard. If Yahoshua is warning His disciples to flee, the pre-tribulation reading has to explain who exactly He thought He was talking to.

Mara: Right, and the post addresses that directly. The pre-tribulation response is that the disciples were Jewish, not the Church. The rebuttal offered is pointed: were they not Messianic Jews, and are Messianic Jews not worthy of the rapture?

Pip: There is also the nursing-infants problem — which is the kind of scriptural detail that quietly dismantles a tidy theological system.

Mara: Exactly. The post asks why Yahoshua would say “woe to the pregnant women and for those who are nursing infants” if infants are raptured. It is a concrete, textual inconsistency the pre-tribulation reading has to account for.

Mara: The stakes the post names are pastoral, not just theological. The concern is that believers shaped by pre-tribulation teaching may be spiritually unprepared to resist the final Anti-Christ — and the post is direct: “I fear if they are not ready to stand against the final Anti-Christ, they will end up standing with him.”

Pip: That is the real weight of the argument. It is not a debate about timelines — it is a warning about readiness.

Mara: And the post closes by reading Matthew 24:29-31 alongside 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 and asking the listener to notice how much they sound like the same event. The gathering of the elect, the trumpet, the clouds — the post invites the comparison and lets it sit.

Pip: The eschatology is the stakes. And the stakes are whether you are spiritually braced for what comes next.

Mara: The thread running through all of this is preparation — not fear, but clear-eyed readiness to stand when the pressure is real.

Pip: Next time, we will keep following where the signs point. There is more ground to cover.

For More check out the posts series *Signs Read the entirety of this post here: Will Believers Face the Final Anti-Christ?

Signs 1, Signs 2, Signs 3, Signs 4

Podcast Episode: Understanding God’s Covenant: Written on Our Hearts

Podcast Episode: Understanding God’s Covenant: Written on Our Hearts

Pip: There is a corner of the internet telling you not to be afraid — 365 times a year, apparently — and then there is cj, writing for The Way of the Rabbi, who would like a word about what the fear of God actually means.

Mara: This episode goes deep into Hebrews 10 — covenant, Torah, sacrifice, and what it means to have God’s instruction written on your heart rather than carved in stone.

Pip: Let’s start with the covenant itself.

Understanding God’s Covenant: Written on Our Hearts

Mara: The post opens with a tension the internet tends to flatten: the difference between “fear not” as comfort and the fear of God as the beginning of wisdom. Both live in Hebrews 10, and the post argues the church has traded one for the other at its own cost.

Pip: The anchor quote comes early, and it does not ease you in. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” That is Hebrews 10:31, and it is not a metaphor being softened anywhere in this piece.

Mara: What that verse is doing is framing the whole chapter. Hebrews 10 opens as a commentary on Psalm 40, arguing that the Torah’s yearly sacrifices were a shadow — not the substance. The substance is Messiah’s offering, which accomplished what the shadow could only gesture toward: the exchange of sin for righteousness.

Pip: So the yearly sacrifice covered. The one offering exchanged. That is a meaningful distinction — covering versus exchange is not just a theological nicety, it is the hinge the rest of the argument swings on.

Mara: And the post brings that home through Jeremiah 31, quoted in Hebrews 10. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says YHWH: I will put My Torah upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them.”

Pip: Which raises the honest question the post actually asks out loud: if Torah is abolished, why write it on anyone’s heart?

Mara: The answer the post gives is precise. What Messiah’s blood removes is the law of sin and its consequence — death. Not the call to walk in obedience. The covenant written on the heart beckons toward the throne of grace, not away from instruction.

Pip: Holiness as destination, not as the price of entry. That reframe is doing a lot of work quietly.

Mara: It lands in Hebrews 10:19-25 — the “let us” passage. Draw near, hold fast, spur one another on. And then the warning: willful sin after receiving the truth leaves no remaining sacrifice. The post closes on Revelation 14:12 — “the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Yahoshua.”

Pip: Fear and confidence, written on the same heart.

Mara: The thread running through all of this is covenant as living obligation — not abolished, not optional, written inward.

Pip: Next time, we will see where that obligation leads when it walks out the door and into the world.

Read the full post: Understanding God’s Covenant: Written on our Hearts

Gluttons of Grace: The Spiritual Dangers of Gluttony

Gluttons of Grace: The Spiritual Dangers of Gluttony

The other night I ate out. It was fast food so nothing fancy and I brought it home so is that actually eating out, technically? The place I chose had a special menu option of a one dollar item. So I added it to my order. However, I didn’t take anything away from what I was already ordering. Therefore, in the end I over ate. Is this the definition of gluttony?

What is the definition of gluttony? The definition is quite simple, gluttony is “excessive eating and drinking.” It is also numbered among the often spoken of, seven deadly sins. Side note here the seven deadly sins although can be found separately within Scripture they do not appear as a list. It is believed that the seven deadly sins was coined by Pope Gregory I. Now gluttony in Hebrew can also be translated as, to be vile, to be worthless, to be insignificant. Based on these definitions, being glutinous, doesn’t sound so appealing.

The church doesn’t like to talk much about gluttony. If you ask me it is because this one hits way too close to home and is far harder to hide. Everyone has their struggles so I am not trying to be insensitive just pointing out an observation. There is plenty that I have had to overcome and others I am still battling, to that I say fight the good fight.

One issue I see abounding in the church today is, gluttony of grace. Taking advantage of Elohim’s patience. Without a doubt I have fallen into this trap as well. However, once one begins to realize that Yahoshua (Jesus) kept and taught the Torah and that He used it to teach, it cannot be denied or swept away.

In John eight Yahoshua makes a statement that many ignore or give it a cursory glance. In being brought the woman caught in adultery at the end of the encounter He says to the woman; “Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more.” Rather than take this verse as a statement of fact, many treat it as an invitation to change. Although they are partly correct they are missing the bigger picture. We are called to abound in good works.

Not a works based salvation but good works because we are saved. Abounding in the good works prepared for us before the foundation of the world. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Messiah Yahoshua to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.” (Ephesians 2:10 Berean Study Bible). What are these good works? Some would say they are the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians five. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are in Messiah have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Again this isn’t a wrong belief it is simply incomplete. The good works involve keeping that which the Father established for His people. His instruction, the Torah, as we walk in the light of His Truth. The problem is that we see a list of rules and say it is impossible. Rather than holding to the promise that the Holy Spirit brings in fulfillment of Ezekiels prophecy. Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

Paul himself, the one in whom so many twist to justify their sinful natures, said, “What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Messiah Yahoshua were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.”

Newness of life is not to continue to sin. Essentially becoming gluttons of grace. Then in the end finding out the one we claim to know, never knew us. Yahoshua said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Adonai, Adonai,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Adonai, Adonai, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23.

Imagine finding out that we are vile, worthless, or insignificant. Because, instead of putting on the newness of life we walked as gluttons. Continuing in the traditions of man rather than searching out truth and living according to the Fathers instruction. Proverbs 23:15-19 is a good place to wrap things up. “My son, if your heart is wise, My own heart will indeed rejoice. My inmost being will rejoice  when your lips speak what is right. Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the YHWH. For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.”

May we all seek for a heart of flesh from the Father. This is the Way of the Rabbi.

You are loved,
cj

Podcast Episode: Transforming Lives: Conforming vs. Standing Out

Podcast Episode: Transforming Lives: Conforming vs. Standing Out

Pip: There is a children’s Christmas program somewhere in the annals of history where one kid showed up in a three-piece brown suit, and it turns out that is the whole sermon.

Mara: That story comes from cj, writing at The Way of the Rabbi — and today we are sitting with what it actually means to live as someone set apart, from conformity and identity to the call to stand out in a world pulling hard the other direction.

Pip: Let’s start with the brown suit and what Romans has to say about it.

—

Conforming vs. Standing Out

Mara: The central tension here is one believers navigate constantly — the pull to blend in versus the call to be genuinely different, not as a performance but as a lived reality. The question is what that actually looks like when no one is watching.

Pip: The setup is a second-grade Christmas program, one kid in a chocolate brown three-piece suit in a sea of green, and a teacher who thought putting him front and center as the trunk of the tree would help. It did not help. But the pivot to Romans 12 is where the real argument lands, and the text is direct: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Mara: So the upshot is that transformation is inward first — the visible difference in how someone lives is the outward sign of something already changed at the level of mind and orientation, not a set of external markers bolted on afterward.

Pip: And the post is careful to name what standing out is not. It is not a bumper sticker. It is not a Bible verse posted to social media. The question asked is sharper than that.

Mara: Right — “When you say no words what do your actions say? When you are at work, what does your production say? When you are out with friends, what do your habits say?” The measure is lifestyle, not signal.

Pip: There is also a warning woven in about comfort. The image used is a pot beginning to boil — too many people are so settled into the surrounding culture that they do not notice the temperature rising.

Mara: The passage from Micah gets pulled in here as well: “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.” That requirement, the post argues, is consistent across Moses, the prophets, and Paul — the Father’s standard does not shift.

Pip: The call at the end is to learn the way of the Rabbi, Yahoshua, and to study rather than inherit someone else’s tradition wholesale.

Mara: Standing out, it turns out, is less about being conspicuous and more about being rooted — which is a different kind of visible entirely.

—

Pip: A brown suit in a sea of green. It is a small image for a large idea — that what you are wearing, spiritually speaking, should be unmistakable.

Mara: More from The Way of the Rabbi next time.

Read the post here: Transforming Lives: Conforming vs. Standing Out

Transforming Lives: Conforming vs. Standing Out

Transforming Lives: Conforming vs. Standing Out

When I was kid I had a green tank top that was my absolute favorite shirt. I wore that shirt every chance I got. I not only liked the style, but the image on the front, I found especially amusing. It had a picture of a chimpanzee, sitting on a toilet, eating a banana. Most people found the shirt tolerable, my parents surprisingly did. Especially given their usual apprehension to such things, on religious objections.

My mormon friends down the street did not find it at all amusing. In fact, I was not allowed in their home if I was wearing the shirt. I would have to go home and change, which wasn’t too bad, as I just lived a few houses down the street. A small price to pay for my favorite shirt.

I loved it so much that one Christmas season, at my schools Christmas program, I attempted to wear it. You see my second grade class was instructed to wear green. Well, I only owned two pieces of green clothing. My green chimpanzee tank top and a pair of green corduroy pants. I also wore those pants often, never with the tank top, but often enough that they were faded, worn, and never looked clean, even, fresh out of the laundry.

You should have seen the look on my mother’s face when I came out of my room. I announced, “Okay, I am ready to go.” To which my mother said, “You are not wearing that to your Christmas showcase.” “But Mom, we have to wear green and this is all the green I have.” I rebutted. She glared down at me, “Go put on your suit, you are going to look nice.” There was some more back and forth, but there was no winning and eventually I conceded, my mother victorious again. I went back to my room and pulled out my chocolate brown suit with creme colored shirt. The suit was three pieces, slacks, vest, blazer, accented with my creme colored shirt and a brown tie that had a gold weave. It matched the brown shoes with gold buckle. No doubt I looked very nice, but it wasn’t green, and I knew I was in for it, when I walked into my classroom.

Sure enough, the click clack of my dress shoes on the tile floor of the school, echoed down the halls, announcing my arrival. I stepped into the glass and my friends gasped and then as good friends do began pointing and laughing. “You were supposed to wear green!” They said. “I know!” I snapped back. Mrs Michaels my second grade teacher, who already disdained my very existence, walked over to me shaking her head. She asked if my parents were here and I said yes. She then surprisingly turned around to address another issue and I thought, “wow, that’s it? That wasn’t bad at all.”

Soon after Mrs Michaels called the class to the front and told us to get into our stage places to rehearse our two or three songs. I don’t recall the exact number but the one song that stands out in my core memory, “O Christmas Tree.” During all the other rehearsals I was set in the back row, stage right. Tonight in a sea of green Mrs Michaels would get a scarring blow, “CJ, you come down here in front, you are going to be the trunk of our tree. This way you won’t stand out as much.” To which even my second grade brain thought, ‘Not stand out? I am right in the middle up front . . . it will be like I am the only one on the stage!’ It would have been far less noticeable had I been able to stand in the back wearing my worn out green corduroy pants and chimpanzee tank.

Romans 12:1-8 says:
“Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function, so in Messiah we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.“

“We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his faith; if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.“

I have told that story many times before, illustrating our need as believers in Messiah, to stand out, not blend in. We are called to be different. That although we live in the world, we are not of the world. We were once partakers in sin and disfunction but now we are called to a new life. We are now Ambassadors of the Kingdom. We are now clothed in righteousness and the world should know it. We should stick out. This doesn’t mean driving around with a sticker on your bumper, or posting Bible verses on your social media pages. It isn’t about attending church every week or going to Bible studies.

Now, none of those things are necessarily bad. However, what does your lifestyle say of you. When you say no words what do your actions say? When you are at work, what does your production say? When you are out with friends, what do your habits say? Are you wearing the lifestyle of the King? Have you taken the mantle, are you carrying your cross? This doesn’t mean perfection, we all make mistakes, we allow our flesh to win sometimes. The question is, was that win an upset, or was sin favored to win?

Walking in righteousness is a struggle, walking in the spirit is a struggle. Yahoshua, never said life in Him would be easy. He said, “you will be hated for my names sake.” That isn’t blending in, that is standing out. Does it mean you can’t find favor in the eyes of others? Absolutely not. The early believers in Acts, “praising God and finding favor with all the people.” Yet, still as the day of Adonai approaches He did say that our obedience would become a suffering point. Unfortunately, too many are comfortable with the culture that they don’t realize that the pot is beginning to boil.

The ground is being shaken and we are being called to the front. We are called to represent the King by standing on the roots, bringing the message of life to the masses. We are called to be a brown suit standing in a sea of green tee’s. We are called to be set apart from the world, not to participate in its lawlessness. We must discover what it means to be an heir in the Kingdom.

What did the Father mean when He gave Micah these words; “He has shown you O’man what is good and what does Elohim require of you, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim.” He wasn’t changing His ideals or His message for the Father spoke through Moses saying; “And now, O Israel, what does YHWH your God ask of you but to fear YHWH your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of YHWH that I am giving you this day for your own good.“

What did the Father mean when He inspired Paul to pen these words; “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” We are called to stand out and be different. We are called to honor our Heavenly Father. We are called to walk according to the Son, our Messiah Yahoshua.

We must learn the way of THE Rabbi, Yahoshua, and walk and do according to His instruction. Which is the Father’s instruction written out for us. Do not get wrapped in mans tradition, and twisted theologies, but rather study to show yourself approved. His Spirit will lead us into all truth if we diligently seek Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength. Will you earnestly seek Him? Then join me and subscribe.

You are loved,
cj

Podcast Episode: Reflecting on the Past: The Journey of Growth in Truth

Podcast Episode: Reflecting on the Past: The Journey of Growth in Truth

Pip: There’s a certain genre of birthday reflection that goes: “I’m older, possibly wiser, and here’s what Scripture says about it.” cj has written one, and it’s more rigorous than that description suggests.

Mara: This episode covers one extended meditation on memory, growth, and what the New Covenant actually asks of us — looking back at the past without being chained to it.

Pip: Let’s start with what it means to sit with your shoulda-coulda-wouldas and actually do something useful with them.

Reflecting on the Past: Learning Without Being Chained

Mara: The post opens on familiar ground — the mental loop of regret, the “shoulda, coulda, woulda’s of life” — but the argument is that those thoughts aren’t worthless. The question is whether they become a foundation or a trap.

Pip: The anchor here is a quote from Yahoshua, set up as a warning about nostalgia: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Mara: And the post immediately asks whether that means never look back — then answers its own question. Obviously not, or Hebrews 11, the whole hall of faith, would be unreadable. Looking back has a purpose; it’s the posture that determines whether it helps or harms.

Pip: So the post draws a practical distinction — learning from past mistakes, using moments of forgiveness received as motivation to forgive others, pondering what you’ve learned to better understand truth. That’s looking back with healthy perspective.

Mara: The accountability piece lands hard. The post names pride as the specific obstacle: “The problem many run into is that they don’t like to admit to their mistakes. Instead they blame others for their misfortunes.” Owning your choices, not just the bad luck, is where truth gets discovered.

Pip: And then it reframes the whole idea of being shaped by your past. Not “we are the sum of our mistakes” — that’s called only half truth — but “we are the sum of our choices, good, bad, indifferent.”

Mara: The resolution is grounded in the New Covenant. Paul writes to Timothy: “Study to show yourself approved, a workman, who rightly handles the word of truth.” The past informs the student; the word directs what the student does next.

Pip: So the shoulda-coulda-wouldas aren’t the enemy. Staying in them is.

Mara: The core argument holds: the past is material for growth, not a verdict.

Pip: Learn from it, grow from it — just don’t set up a residence there. More from The Way of the Rabbi next time.

Reflecting on the Past: The Journey of Growth in Truth

Reflecting on the Past: The Journey of Growth in Truth

Another year older and i would like to think that i am at least a bit wiser. Although, every year at this time i can’t help but think what my life would be like if certain things could be undone. Statements like, “i should have done this . . .”, “i could have done this . . .”, and “i would have done this . . .”, circle my mind. The shoulda, coulda, woulda’s of life. In my opinion they aren’t completely without merit, although they can become problematic.

Yahoshua said, “And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’” He was making a specific point about instructing His disciples but the idea is transferable. You have probably thought it yourself at some point, “It was better when I was a kid.” Wishing for another time in the past, hoping things will return. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but they won’t. In fact things are only going to get increasingly worse overall. At least until Yahoshua returns.

When He does return He will restore things, but to what? We have only the word but no experience in what is to come. This is why there are so many opinions. Everyone who reads it has a slightly different idea and all of them will say, “God, revealed to me in a dream . . .” Who do you trust, who do you listen to? You probably have your teacher favorites based on your doctrinal upbringing. And through that lens you will fit your understanding of Scripture. Regardless if it makes any sense or not because one simply says, “For now we know in part, seeing things through a mirror dimly.” “There are many mysteries that will be revealed in the end.” Etc.

Although, this is true it does not justify ignorance on the matters of truth. What is TRUTH? His, God’s Word, is Truth. Yahoshua said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Did He mean never look back? Obviously not, or Hebrews 11 would be unreadable. So what can one gain from looking back at one’s life and reflecting?

Learning from past mistakes, is clearly a good idea. Looking at times you were forgiven, in order to forgive others, is a worthy endeavor. Pondering what you have learned in order to understand truth, without a doubt, is a good idea. After all, Paul tells Timothy, “Study to show yourself approved, a workman, who rightly handles the word of truth.”

Be a student of life. Be willing to learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others. Learning what not to do is as important as learning what to do. Both are equally beneficial if treated correctly. Those previous experiences can be motivation for future decisions, and they should be, with healthy perspective.

God has spoken to us through His word. There is no guessing if you read it for yourself. Part of the ‘New Covenant’ is that His Spirit will guide us. John says, “And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.”

The New Covenant is written on our hearts. It is the Instruction of God and it includes the history of His people. All of it. The good, the bad, the indifferent. All of the shoulda, coulda, woulda’s. The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah when he writes, “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Adonai. I will put My Torah in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.”

Paul writes to the Romans, “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the Torah, do by nature what the Torah requires, they are a Torah to themselves, even though they do not have the Torah. So they show that the work of the Torah is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Messiah Yahoshua, as proclaimed by my gospel.”

The problem many run into is that they don’t like to admit to their mistakes. Instead they blame others for their misfortunes. Pride becomes an issue. Even if it is equal parts their own doing and that of someone else, it is a default to blame the other entirely. We need to own our own. In that we discover truth. It is said that we are the sum of our mistakes. That is half true. We are the sum of our choices, good, bad, indifferent. Therefore it should stand to reason that we should desire to make choices, from this moment forward, that reflect faith, hope, and love. Right?

Yahoshua said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Let us be willing to learn from our past mistakes. Study the word with a desire to be changed by the word. In order that we might walk in newness of life, within the ‘New Covenant’, given to those who put their faith in Messiah. The past is the past. Learn from it. Grow from it. But do not be chained by it.

You are loved,
cj

Podcast Episode: Breaking Free from Legalism: Embracing Messiah’s Love

Podcast Episode: Breaking Free from Legalism: Embracing Messiah’s Love

Pip: There’s a question that doesn’t get asked often enough in religious circles: if someone suffered horribly so you’d be free from all obligation, who exactly is the abuser in that story?

Mara: That’s the provocation cj opens with on The Way of the Rabbi, and it sets up the territory we’re covering today — the line between legalism and genuine faith, and what a life shaped by Messiah’s example actually looks like.

Pip: Let’s start with where that tension lives.

Breaking Free from Legalism, Embracing Messiah’s Love

Mara: The central question here is whether following God’s commands and trusting in Messiah are two separate things — or whether they were always meant to be inseparable.

Pip: And the post doesn’t ease into that. It opens with a scenario: you look at everything Yahoshua endured, and your takeaway is that you no longer have to keep the law. The post asks you to say that out loud and notice what it sounds like.

Mara: From Galatians, Paul’s words are quoted directly: “You stupid Galatians! Who has put you under a spell? Having begun with the Spirit’s power, do you think you can reach the goal under your own power?”

Pip: That’s not a gentle pastoral nudge. Paul is saying the Galatians made the same error many make today — they separated the practice from the person, making Torah observance a performance rather than a response to trust.

Mara: And that distinction is the spine of the argument. Abraham is the example: he trusted God, acted on that trust, and obedience followed naturally. The post draws on Romans 6 to sharpen this — “Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? Certainly not.” Then 1 John 3:4 defines sin plainly as lawlessness, as being outside Torah.

Pip: So the post isn’t arguing for rule-keeping as a transaction. It’s saying faith without the life that reflects it is the same problem, just wearing different clothes.

Mara: The resolution the post offers is relational. It uses the image of a long marriage — both partners seeking to honor the other more than themselves. That’s the model for how trust in Messiah is meant to work: not obligation, but orientation.

Pip: Which is why the closing image lands. Psalm 51 — a broken and contrite heart, a renewed spirit, and then the line: “I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You.”

Mara: The post ends on Revelation 14:12: “Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yahoshua.” Both together. Neither alone.

Pip: Faith and faithfulness — turns out they were always the same direction.

Mara: The thread running through all of this is that relationship and obedience aren’t opposites — one is how the other shows up in a life.

Pip: Next time, we’ll see where that thread leads.

Read the full post here: Breaking Free from Legalism: Embracing Messiah’s Love