Shalom Mishpocha, Where did summer go? School is starting, hurricane season is in full swing, and though September is a transition month into fall time we still have 21 days of summer left until the Autumnal Equinox on September 22nd at 8:44 A.M. EDT-the first day of Fall. September’s name comes from the Latin word septem, meaning “seven.” This month had originally been the seventh month of the ea...  Read More

There is an age old and timeless question that has been asked for millennia by those that seek and follow the God of Israel!  What does God want, what is God asking of me?  This question couldn’t be more prevalent as we prepare to enter into the Fall Moedim, the Fall Feasts next month.  The sages throughout biblical history have pondered this question so we have examples to read.  King David, a ma...  Read More

We strive to hear God’s voice, to live in His presence.  This alone can be a daunting, complex task, one that requires many actions on our part. We must be obedient and subservient to God. We must live according to His word to be sanctified, set apart for service, to worship Adonai. We must maintain holiness and purity before Him, to walk and live according to His ways. We cannot have love of this...  Read More

Shalom Mishpocha!August has arrived! August is the last month of summer and the hottest month of the year. The original name of the month of August was originally a Latin word, Sextilis. In the 8th century BC, during the early Medieval period, the month was renamed August in honor of Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor. Interestingly, more babies are born in August than in any other month. Au...  Read More

Sha’ul wrote that twice he had tried to come to visit and minister to the messianic Congregation in Thessalonica, “but the Adversary (hindered, thwarted) stopped us” (I Thess.2:18). The Greek word for hindered or thwarted is EGKOPTO:  to cut into, to impede one's course by cutting off his way, to hinder. Egkopto was used to describe a road so deteriorated, so tore up it’s impassable, forcing a per...  Read More

One of my favorite passages in scripture is II Chronicles 29 & 30 with King Hezekiah who at the young age of 25 became the king of Judah.  After Kings David and Solomon, King Hezekiah is considered one of the greatest monarchs of Judah because of his restoration of worship and ministering to Adonai.  Hezekiah had a great zeal, great desire, a longing for God during a bleak and desolate time period...  Read More

Shalom Mishpoca,        Summer is full here!  Warm temperatures, cook outs, and days at the beach!  July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honor of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., being the month of his birth. Before then it was called Quintilis, being the fifth month of the calendar that start...  Read More

It can be hard at times to be committed to a Messianic Congregation and all of the inherent idiosyncrasies.  We're either to churchy, too Jewish, not Jewish enough, or there's not enough New Testament, or there's too much New Testament, too much liturgy, not enough liturgy, too much Torah, not Enough Torah, moving in the gifting of the Ruach is too Charismatic, not moving in the Ruach not charisma...  Read More

Numbers 20:1-8. The people of Isra'el, the whole community, entered the Tzin Desert in the first month, and they stayed in Kadesh. There Miryam died, and there she was buried. 2 Because the community had no water, they assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon. 3 The people quarreled (Vayarev: to strive, contend, debate, make complaint, to quarrel) with Moshe and said, "We wish we had died whe...  Read More

Shalom Mishpoca,                June, the sixth month of the year (we are t half way through the year) and the first month of summer is here! June has 30 days and is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of youth and protection. Her name (Latin Iūnō) comes from the root word for “young” (Iuuen) and goes back to the idea of vital energy and fertility.  The Summer solstice, the longest day of the year...  Read More

Leviticus 23:15-17.  "'From the day after the day of rest -that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving -you are to count seven full weeks, 16 until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to ADONAI.  You must bring bread from your homes for waving-two loaves made with one gallon of fine flour, baked with leaven -as firs...  Read More

Father’s Day is a day set apart to honor and celebrate our Father and fatherhood in general. We recognize and honor the influence of fathers in our homes and society, and in blended family paternal bonds. It is also celebrated to honor and commemorate our fathers and forefathers. Fathers-Day is celebrated in the U.S. on the third Sunday of June. Tradition has it that Father’s Day was first observe...  Read More