Category: Journey Devotional

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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

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

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

Living Life His Way: A Perspective on Faith

Living Life His Way: A Perspective on Faith

In the end, when the time has come, for the final curtain, will it be said, “I did it, His way?” Unfortunately, for many and even myself, on more occasions than I would like, like many we do things “our way.” Like the famous song sung by many and introduced by Frank Sinatra, “I did it myyyyyyyy wayyyyyyyy.” The more I learn and grow and discern truth in Scripture, it becomes glaringly more clear, His Way is constantly under attack.

There is a certain amount of pride that comes with the idea that we do things our way. Success feels good, as does rebellion in certain areas, power and control, is captivating. They say no one likes being told what to do. And there is some truth to that. Neither does anyone like to be under constant pressure to perform. So when you couple the idea that the Law is some sort of checklist that one must keep, it becomes less appealing. Especially, when it is put up next to a philosophy of do whatever you want.

However, most will agree that having certain parameters is necessary for a cohesive community. Now the debate begins, how far should those parameters reach? Who should get to dictate those boundaries? In today’s world regardless of where you live in it, you are living within the parameters of society. Those parameters are being established by governing bodies. The country you live in has laws that you must live under. This trickles down, State laws, city ordinances, even communities have bylaws dictated by HOA’s, work has codes of conduct even. In fact the home you live in with your family has unspoken rules as well as established understandings. Without the rule of law, there is chaos. Imagine six billion people all doing things their own way?

In the days Yahoshua (Jesus) walked to streets of Jerusalem He confronted a religious order. He did so on the premise of calling them out on their hypocrisy. Placing on the people a yoke none could bear. Taking the instruction of God and lacing it with human tradition and placing that tradition above the very Scriptures they taught. In the end causing the people undo hardship increasing the taxes levied, sacrifices required, offerings given, lining the pockets of the priests and religious counsels. Not much different than we see today in a lot of ways.

This verse in Acts 5 got me thinking: 39 “But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it–lest you be found to fight against God.” Humanity will fight hard to keep their traditions. They will make excuses for it. Warp Scripture for it. Say it doesn’t matter in order to justify it. Rather than ask the question, “Is it of God?” If the answer is yes, then we better be found doing it, if the answer is no, we better weigh its consequences carefully. God left us with a pretty clear set of instructions, we better seek to understand them rather than make up our own.

The world is pulling for our attention in every–which–way possible. Human tradition, cultural tradition, family tradition, church tradition, individual tradition, are often at odds with God’s instruction. If we aligned ourselves with His ways we would find a set of traditions unparalleled in society. Leading to a genuine relationship with the Father based on Truth, His Word is Truth. John writes in the fifth chapter of his first epistle the following concerning Gods instructions.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

What does it mean to overcome the world? It is the same as overcoming the flesh. We are not to count ourselves as citizens of the world any longer, once we come to faith in Messiah. We are a new creation and therefore become representatives of that Kingdom. Paul to the Romans writes: 6:11: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Messiah Yahoshua.” Later Paul writes: Romans 8:13: “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”

John defines sin this way in the third chapter of his first epistle, “Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness (Torahlessness) as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness” (living outside of Torah, or Gods instruction). John continues to drive home a point that Paul was trying to make to the Romans. “But you know that Messiah appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.” These all seem quite inline and incredibly opposed to how modern christians live today. For many say that the commands of God have been done away with, or worse, they ignore the commands of God outright.

To the Galatians Paul writes: Galatians 5:16: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Paul goes on to contrast the flesh vs. the spirit and caps his thought with this: Galatians 5:24: “And those who belong to Messiah Yahoshua have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Man has been fighting God’s instruction from the beginning in an effort to do things on mans terms. It is the same lie whispered in the garden by the serpent, the devil himself. If Satan can get you to question God’s word then he has you right where he wants you.

Proverbs is a wisdom book. You probably have heard the expression “Ancient Chinese Proverbs”. Well, the same can be said of the book of Proverbs in the Tanakh. Hear now an Ancient Hebraic Proverb, “Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the Torah, even his prayer is detestable.” This wisdom and truth. Do not fall to the temptation to dismiss God’s instruction. His Torah is the guardrails that keep you on the path of life, to keep one in the Way. Yahoshua said to Pilate, “So then,” Pilate said to Him, “You are a king, after all.” Yahoshua answered, “You say I am a king. The reason I have been born, the reason I have come into the world, is to bear witness to the truth. Every one who belongs to the truth listens to me.” Shortly before this interaction, Yahoshua is praying in the garden, “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.”

As much as I like music and even some of the classics sung by Frank Sinatra, the one song that makes me cringe every time is the song, “My Way.” Because when my final curtain closes and this part of my life is over, I want others to see in my and to say of me, “he did it, HIS way!” That in spite of all his flaws, he was always growing, always learning, and always trying to walk the Way of the Rabbi. Here is a remastered version I could probably sing along to.

And now the end is near
So I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case of which I’m certain

I’ve lived a life that’s full
I’ve traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it HIS way

Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exception

I studied each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it HIS way

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you know
That I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
Faith ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it HIS way

I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried
I’ve had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, no not me
I did it HIS way

For what is a man, what has he got
If not Gods Instruction, then he has not
To say the words he truly feels
And the words of one who kneels
The record shows HE took my blows
And I did it HIS way

You are loved,
cj

Reflections on Family and Faith in Daily Life

Reflections on Family and Faith in Daily Life

Quick life update before we dive into the current post. i took a vacation. A much needed visit to see two out of my three adult sons. As well, their amazing wives and my now three grandchildren, with a fourth on the way. It was an amazing week in a beautiful part of the world. The grandkids are growing like weeds. my boys continue to make me proud, as they have grown into great men, husbands, and fathers. They help each other out on projects as they live 15 minutes apart. While i was there my middle son helped by oldest put up a new stove pipe for a wood stove and my oldest son helped my middle son with some landscaping work, putting in a pad for a fifth wheel trailer with full hookups. The way they worked together, communicated, asked questions, gave advice, and sought outside input from others was so impressive and inspiring to me.

The earliest “Christians” as you may know were not call themselves Christians. Although, the term Christian means “little christ” it was used as a mocking term. An insult. Believers, were known in Judaism as the Sect of the Nazarene. “Followers of the Way”, was another name in which one would be known by within the early Church. It was a family. Sabbaths, began with a meal at sundown on Friday, known then as the “day of preparation.” These meals were in homes with like minded family, friends, and neighbors. They then would attend Synagogue on the Sabbath day, we call Saturday. This was the custom. It didn’t stop there as they were all excited for life in Messiah they met as often as they could.

We read in Acts 2 this description; “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. A sense of awe came over everyone, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need. With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts/ and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And Adonai added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

This eagerness to be apart and to learn and grow in Messiah was infectious. As we read, “And Adonai added to their number daily those who were being saved.” A desire to be like Messiah was the heart of those in Berea, as we read in Act 17 (which I have shared numerous times over the past few posts) “Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.”

This is what i was reminded of this past week and a half. i watched my boys (now men), live out early Ekklesia life. Throughout history, culture, and community, there have been pockets that mirror this life. There is a glimmer of The Way. It sparks a desire within those partaking to commitment, one to one another, as a collective. While simultaneously sparking the interest of those on the outside looking in.

They say old habits die hard. It isn’t because there isn’t a desire for change, but routine is comfortable. Braking out of routine was the problem the Pharisee’s and the Religious leaders had. Their way of life was being challenged, their understanding was being challenged, their traditions were being challenged. When Yahoshua (Jesus) was talking about why His disciples didn’t fast He says this in particular to make His point: “Besides that, after drinking old wine, people don’t want new: because they say, ‘The old is better.'”

This is true with many things in life. Recently, the company that I work for as means to pay bills has been updating their computer system. With every update it will be heard, “I liked it better the old way!” I have probably said it a time or two. Yet, the more I use the new system the less I feel that way. The Pharisee’s had been doing things one way their whole lives, and in so doing adding more and more man made traditions. It is the same with the Church today, they have been doing things one way their entire lives, and following the traditions of man in the process.

my desire has always been to strip away the pomp and circumstance for simplicity. To look beyond the torn veil into the perfect instruction of God. To test what I have been taught and to seek Gods truth above all else. And to do it in community with other Followers of the Way, the sect of the Nazarene. To mirror the early Ekklesia, in fellowship and in attractiveness. So that those who see from the outside, see a group of people, loving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. And likewise, loving their neighbor as themselves. Seeking to live lives pleasing to the Father by imitating the Son.

What is your desire? How do you want to be seen? And who do you want others to see in you?
For me– simplicity, just, loving, humble, a reflection of my Messiah.

You are loved,
cj

Podcast Episode: Living by God’s Instructions: A Faith Journey

Podcast Episode: Living by God’s Instructions: A Faith Journey

Pip: There is a particular kind of morning ritual that starts with Scripture and ends with a question you cannot easily shake — and cj has been living inside one of those.

Mara: This episode follows a single extended meditation on what it actually means to live by God’s instructions — the tension between hearing and doing, between belief and action, and what Ezekiel and James have to say about where loyalty really lies.

Pip: Let’s get into the faith journey itself.

Living by God’s Instructions: A Faith Journey

Mara: The question at the center of this post is whether faith is something you hold or something you do — and whether the two can come apart without consequence.

Pip: The post opens with a daily recitation cj has built into morning Scripture reading, and the passage from Ezekiel 33 that it unlocked: “Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?”

Mara: That imperative is the hinge. Ezekiel’s point, and the post’s point, is that past righteousness does not bank credit against future sin — and past wickedness does not foreclose future restoration. The ledger resets on the direction you are currently moving.

Pip: Which is either deeply liberating or deeply unsettling, depending on which direction you thought you had locked in.

Mara: The post is careful to distinguish obedience from performance. The framing is direct: “Obedience isn’t works, it’s covenant.” Forgiveness is a promise, but it is tied to the orientation of the heart, not the accumulation of good deeds done while continuing to do as you please.

Mara: James gets quoted at length on exactly this point — the mirror illustration, where a hearer of the word walks away and forgets his own face. The post identifies the “perfect law of liberty” James names as Torah, God’s instruction in righteousness, and cites Strong’s definition of liberty as freedom from corrupt desires so that the soul acts freely in alignment with God’s will.

Pip: So liberty, in this reading, is not freedom from the law — it is freedom through it.

Mara: The post also draws on Acts 15, where the Jerusalem council’s guidance to gentile believers is framed as a beginning, not a ceiling — a first set of steps into a process of ongoing instruction read every Sabbath. Faith here is explicitly described as progressive, growing, active.

Pip: The closing question lands without softening: how are you seeking, how are you growing — because faith, the post says, is not stagnant, not passive, and not finished.

Mara: The through-line is that hearing and doing are not the same thing, and the gap between them is where the real work of faith lives.

Pip: The kind of work that apparently starts before breakfast, with a statement that challenges you before the day has a chance to.

Mara: Read the post in its entirety: Living by God’s Instructions: A Faith Journey at thewayoftherabbi.com

Living by God’s Instructions: A Faith Journey

Living by God’s Instructions: A Faith Journey

A statement that I have begun to recite after my morning Scripture reading has both challenged me and encouraged me. The statement goes like this: “The reading of the Word of Yahweh. Blessed be the Name of Adonai and the Word made flesh Yahoshua Messiah. Blessed be the hearer and the doer of His Word.” In this statement I give praise and honor to the Father, and His Son, as well, I challenge myself to not be a hearer only but a doer of His Word. When passages are read that challenge me, this statement, challenges me. When passages are read that encourage me, this statement, encourages me. For example today as I read Ezekiel 33 I was both challenged and encouraged. Let me explain.

First let’s look at the passage I want to highlight. It is Ezekiel 33:10-20 and 30-33.
“Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’ Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares Adonai Elohim, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’ If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right— if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—then he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live. Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die for it. But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this. Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.””

30-33 “As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from Yahweh!’ So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain. Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice. So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Within the spaces, between the lines, in the sound of each letter, i am challenged to repent and to seek truth and righteousness in my life. i am equally encouraged. In this that IF one repents of any wickedness, sin, forgiveness is a promise. It isn’t based on the amount of works one can do or how good a performance one puts on. It is about the heart and where loyalty lies. Will you choose your way, saying to yourself, “I am good, because I believe, so my deeds do not matter therefore I will do as I please.” Or, will you choose His Way, the Father’s Instruction, saying, “Oh Adonai Elohim, forgive me of my sin and hear my prayer, that I may walk according to Your Instruction. Write Your Torah on my heart and my mind that I can walk in the light of Your righteousness.”

This message is woven into the fabric of the Apostles letters. Forgiveness, repentance, faith, righteousness, sin, living in instruction. Obedience isn’t works, its covenant. Paul writes to the Philippians, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Messiah Yahoshua has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yahoshua. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”

This is a progressive faith, a growing faith, an active faith. It is what the Apostles were getting at in Acts when they talked about the gentile coming to faith in Messiah. What is it they were to do? How were they to assimilate? Well, it is a process, one taken in steps through instruction. “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

James writes, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” The perfect law, is Torah, God’s Instructions in righteousness.

Strongs makes this statement regarding ‘Liberty’; “freedom from the dominion of corrupt desires, so that we do by the free impulse of the soul what the will of God requires”. This is liberty, liberty from the fruitless acts of humanity into the fruitful works of righteousness. As the world seems increasingly out of wack, bizarre events happening in increasing measure, it is vitally important that you align yourself on the side of Yahoshua, the King of kings. As we pray, “Our Father in Heaven, Holy is Your Name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. . .” This is the Way.

Growing in faith isn’t finding loopholes and ways to continue in sin. Rather, growing in righteousness is seeking with your whole heart, how to Love Adonai with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. How are you seeking? How are you growing? Faith isn’t stagnant, it isn’t passive, it isn’t perfect, it is growing.

This is the way of the Rabbi, will you walk in it?

You are loved,
cj

Podcast Episode: The One Story: God’s Covenant and Instructions

Podcast Episode: The One Story: God’s Covenant and Instructions

Pip: One book, not two — and apparently that page between Malachi and Matthew has a lot to answer for.

Mara: cj’s recent writing on The Way of the Rabbi goes deep into what holds scripture together as a single story, and what that means for how we live inside it. Let’s start with the covenant itself — and what the text actually says about sin, Torah, and obedience.

The One Story: God’s Covenant and Instructions

Pip: The central claim here is that the Bible was never meant to be read in two halves — and that the dividing line most readers take for granted has quietly done real damage to how people understand who they are and what they’re called to do.

Mara: The post frames the whole of scripture this way: “It should be read as if it was written to you and your family from your dad. Because, every word of it, was inspired by your Heavenly Father.”

Pip: That reframe matters practically. If it’s a letter from a father, you don’t skip chapters or treat half of it as superseded fine print. The whole thing carries weight, and you read it looking for coherence, not contradiction.

Mara: And the coherence the post argues for runs straight through the question of sin. John’s definition from 1 John 3:4 is quoted directly: “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” The post is careful to note that the word translated as law is better rendered Torah — instruction.

Pip: So lawlessness isn’t just moral chaos in the abstract. It’s specifically being without God’s instruction — which reframes repentance too.

Mara: Exactly. Repentance, the post argues, has always meant returning to the Father’s ways. Not a one-time transaction, but an ongoing orientation. Romans 6 gets quoted at length on this point — the logic that dying to sin means you can no longer live in it.

Pip: There’s a pointed moment where the Pharisees come up — not as rule-obsessives, but as people who added to and subtracted from Torah while performing compliance. That’s the irony the post lands on: the accusation of legalism often comes from people who also claim you should obey God.

Mara: The post closes with a direct question to the reader — what exactly are you practicing? It’s less a rhetorical flourish and more a genuine diagnostic. The instruction, the covenant, the door — all one continuous thing.

Pip: One story, one covenant, one set of questions you actually have to answer for yourself.

Mara: The kind of reading that doesn’t let you stay comfortable at the page break. More of that territory next time.

Read the whole post here: The One Story: God’s Covenant and Instructions

Podcast Episode: Peter’s Three Little Pigs

Podcast Episode: Peter’s Three Little Pigs

Pip: Peter had a vision involving a sheet full of animals, and somehow it became the most consequential real-estate dispute between clean and unclean in all of scripture.

Mara: Today we’re looking at a piece from cj that works through Acts 10 — Peter’s rooftop vision, what it actually meant, and what Israel had quietly forgotten about its own calling to the nations.

Pip: Let’s start with the vision, the pigs, and what Peter finally understood.

Peter’s Vision and the Nations

Mara: The post opens with a question that Acts 10 has been answering for centuries: what does it mean for something — or someone — to be called unclean, and who gets to decide?

Pip: And the anchor is Peter’s own words, once the vision lands. The setup is Acts 10:28-29, where Peter explains himself to Cornelius’s household: “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for.”

Mara: So the vision was never about dietary law. The sheet full of animals was a teaching tool — the real subject was the Gentiles standing at Peter’s door.

Pip: The post takes care to show how Israel arrived at this moment. The Torah was clear about welcoming the stranger — Leviticus 19:34 says to treat the foreigner as a native and love him as yourself. Exodus 12:49 and Numbers 15:16 both establish one law for native and stranger alike.

Mara: But somewhere between Sinai and the first century, a protective instinct calcified into total separation. Contact with Gentiles became a purity issue requiring Temple sacrifice and ritual cleansing. That’s the tradition Peter is carrying when the vision hits.

Pip: Which is why the Spirit’s staging is so deliberate — three times the sheet descends, three times Peter refuses, and then three Gentile men knock on the door. The number isn’t coincidence; it’s the lesson repeating until it sticks.

Mara: The post traces the original purpose back to Exodus 19:5-6, where Israel is called “a kingdom of priests” — priests exist to mediate between God and others, not to wall themselves off. Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 frame the Messiah as the fulfillment of that priestly, outward-facing calling.

Pip: So Yahoshua isn’t dismantling Israel’s structure — he’s restoring what Israel was always supposed to be doing.

Mara: Peter’s conclusion in Acts 10:34-35 makes it explicit: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” The apostles in Jerusalem respond: God has granted the Gentiles “the repentance that leads to life.”

Pip: A kingdom of priests that forgot it had a congregation — and needed a rooftop vision to remember.

Mara: The post is careful to note what the vision does not revise. The animals on that sheet were still unclean as food — the point was the people at the door, not the menu.

Pip: Isaiah 66:17 gets cited as a prophetic bookend: judgment still falls on those who eat swine’s flesh. The dietary instructions, the post argues, were not the thing being cleansed.

Mara: What shifts is the wall between peoples. What stays is the Torah’s instruction — and the post frames both as consistent expressions of the same God calling humanity back to His ways.

Pip: One vision, one sheet, one centurion — and the whole architecture of who belongs gets reexamined.

Mara: The thread from Sinai to Acts to Isaiah 66 is longer than it looks. There’s more to follow here.

Read the full post here: Peter’s Three Little Pigs

Peter’s Three Little Pigs

Peter’s Three Little Pigs

“Now I know not to call any man common or unclean.”

Once upon a time there were three little pigs. They were traveling the country side selling their wears. “Come and buy my brother, kill and eat him. He is fat and juicy and will make a great sandwich.” Said the oldest of the three pigs. The brother didn’t flitch but seemed to accept his fate. “Today, just moments ago on your rooftop you saw a vision and in that vision, we three pigs came to knock on your door. “‘Rise up kill and eat,’ the voice said. And now here we are your lunch has arrived.” The man who opened the door invited the three visitors in and after exchanging a few shekels, bought the portly brother. He prepared him and the entire household partook in the kingly feast of the fatted pig.

This amazing story is found in Acts 10. Let’s have a look. We find Peter, on the rooftop in prayer. He is seeking wisdom from Adonai, as we all should do. Now as we all do, he became hungry. In that time of prayer and using that urge of hunger Adonai gives Peter a vision. What is the vision, what does it entail? Before we get there we need the back story. We need more information to put into context what is unfolding within the words, and lines, and spaces of the page.

Although the Tanakh (Old Testament) instructed Israel to be a welcoming people, a light to the world. Overtime they cut themselves off from the nations. Rather than obeying the commandment to not assimilate into the cultures around them, adopting their practices and worshiping their gods. They took the extreme approach and had nothing to do with the nations around them. To do so made one unclean and required sacrifices and offerings at the Temple, ritual cleansing. Let’s look at three passages that talk about Israel and the foreigner together.

Leviticus 19:34
You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am Yahweh your Elohim

Exodus 12:49
There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.

Numbers 15:16
One Torah and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.

This is what Israel had lost sight of and this is what Yahoshua (Jesus) is restoring. Not just reconciliation to the Father but of humanity itself and the order designed from the beginning of Israel. Isaiah writes:

Isaiah 42:6
“I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations.” (Granted these first two passages are about the coming of Messiah Yahoshua but it was through Judah a tribe of Israel in which Elohim would fulfill the promise of Israel being a light to the nations.)

Isaiah 49:6
“He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'”

Isaiah 60:3
“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Let’s take it one step further back. In Exodus 19:5-6 Elohim begins to layout the purpose of Israel. “‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.‘” What is the role of priests? One of reconciliation, healing, instructors of the Way. But something went drastically wrong.

Now fast forward, Israel is broken apart the northern tribes are mostly scattered. Some have regathered and are known as the Samaritans of which many lessons were taught by Yahoshua. However, the Southern Kingdom, in part remains. Made up of mostly Judah, Benjamin, and some of the tribe of Levi as they were spread out throughout Israel not having any land of their own.

What a mess. There was a separation that remained as part of the curse pronounced against Israel for not obeying the instructions, the Torah, of Elohim. And at this point although there was an attempt to do so it was lost in man made traditions of which the Pharisees and religious leaders were very proud. This is what Peter knew and he would struggle with it for some time. His awakening however begins or continues, with this vision.

Acts 10:11-16
“And he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Adonai, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’ Again a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.”

As you could imagine Peter is greatly perplexed, he doesn’t know what to do with the vision. Then the Spirit said to him, “Behold three men are looking for you. Get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” Who were these three men? They were gentiles, men sent from Cornelius a centurion and a believing Gentile. He was instructed by an angel of God, “Cornelius!” He responded, “What is it, Adonai?” And the Angel said, “Your prayers and offerings have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter.”

The men explain who they are to Peter in this way. “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.” So we have Peter having a dream about unholy things and then three ‘unholy gentiles’ come knocking at the door. Sent by a Centurion named Cornelius, who just so happened to be a God-fearing man, who had a vision to call Peter to his home. Do you see the correlation the reason for unholy and unclean things to be lowered before Peter. Can you see why God chose this visual as a lesson?

Let us hear from Peter his interpretation of the vision. “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for.” (Acts 10:28-29). Later in that same chapter (V34-35) Peter says this: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”

After these things Peter reports to the Apostles in Jerusalem. In closing the apostles said; “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:18). Much more can be said concerning this and all of it reflects the heart of God towards all the nations and tribes and tongues and people coming to know God. It is a calling back to God’s instruction the same instruction that calls Israel a light to the nation, still calls swine unclean and not meant for food. That has not nor will it change, it was unclean in getting on the Ark. It was unclean in Leviticus. It was unclean in Acts. And it is unclean now.

To drive this point home a bit further let’s look at Isaiah 66 a prophetic chapter looking at the second coming of Messiah and the Kingdom that follows. Isaiah records this in verse 16-17; “For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by Yahweh will be many. ‘Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center, Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice, will come to an end altogether,’ declares Yahweh.”

What is my motivation? It is to point to the Word and show anyone who will listen, that God from the fall has been calling mankind back to Himself and His ways. Will you choose to listen and obey the instructions of Elohim? This is the way of the Rabbi.

You are loved,
cj