Rabbi’s Reflections – Thursday, September 21, 2023
Shalom,
Announcement: Here is a great opportunity for those wanting to learn Hebrew. Our dear friend from England, Jonathan Allen, is offering 10 weeks of online beginner’s Hebrew classes. It looks like they will be offered on Sundays. If there is enough interest, the recommended minimum donation will be $18 per week. Also, if you would like more information, please contact Jonathan at Jonathan Allen, Messianic Education Trust, Email: jonathan@messianictrust.org.uk, T: @MessianicTrust, Website: http://www.messianictrust.org.uk. Also, here is the link to the syllabus http://www.messianictrust.org.uk/learning-hebrew/Hebrew-I.pdf .
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We began this series on Romans back on January 9th of this year (writing from Israel at the time) with a preamble. The previous RRs can be found at www.syknox.org/blog Thirty-five weeks later, here we are, our study of Romans continues as we begin yet another series within a series. Romans 6, 7 & 8 provided us a series on personal holiness. Then Romans 9, 10 & 11 provided us a series on being one in Messiah. (The beauty of inclusiveness, Gentiles and Jewish people loving each other and building the manifestation of the kingdom of God together in New Testament Judaism, most call it Christianity.)
Today we start another series, this one on life in the body. In these next three chapters, Paul gives us a tutorial on what it takes to live together, as fellow believers in one body. Why? Yeshua is not coming back until His Bride has made herself ready (see Revelation 19:7-9). What? It starts with this… “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Are you ready? Let’s go!
Life In The Body part 1 – Romans, part 176
Romans 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy, acceptable to God—which is your spiritual service.
In this world we have options. We can obey God or disobey Him. So it is important in this life to control what we can control. This is especially important concerning our physical bodies.
Rabbi Trail: In the US military, trainees (A generic term, to be specific we would have to know of which branch of the military we are speaking.) are instructed that their body is now government property. If a military member abuses his/her own body, one of the charges at the court martial could be destruction of government property. So it is in the Lord’s army too. End RT.
We belong to God, so if we abuse ourselves, we are also guilty of stealing from Him. Furthermore; God has established His temple (His residence) within each of us. So, if we don’t present our bodies as a living sacrifice, we add the offense of destroying God’s temple.
1Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that the Ruach Elohim dwells among you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Carrying these thoughts further, I am amazed at the proliferation of body tattoos, given the injunction in the Torah against it. Leviticus 19:28 You are not to make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead or make any tattoo marks upon yourself. I am Adonai. But, what do you do if you already have a tattoo? My recommendation, recognize it is sin and repent. Peter spoke this on the Temple Mount. Acts 3:19 Repent, therefore, and return—so your sins might be blotted out.
If you have a tattoo, or several, don’t get mad at me, I’m just the messenger. Don’t get mad at God either, it is only by Him that we know right from wrong. And don’t get mad at yourself. Let the Holy Spirit bring conviction and let conviction have her perfect work. In the TLV, conviction is called grief.
2 Corinthians 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that you were grieved (convicted), but that you were grieved to the point of repentance. For you were grieved according to God’s will, so that you might in no way suffer loss from us. 10 For the grief that God wills brings a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret. But the world’s grief brings death.
We offer ourselves to the Lord, in every way. Paul starts with our physical bodies, but you will soon see that our souls and our spirits will all follow. Shalom shalom.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Thu 21 Sep 2023 6th of Tishrei, 5784
De 32:19-28 Zec 4-5 2 Ch 27 Rev 12 (Ac 19:21-40)