Being Holy But Not "Holier Than Thou:

Today is three weeks and six days of counting the Omer, 27 days! Are you counting the days up towards Shavuot (Pentecost) too? Can you believe we are already 28 days in? Almost four full weeks of preparing our hearts for Shavuot; we are just past the halfway mark. We are also at the midpoint of the month of Iyar—how time flies!

Today is also Pesach Sheni (the Second Passover). It’s such a beautiful reminder of our Creator’s heart for "second chances"—He literally built a day into the calendar for those who missed the first feast because they were away or ritually unclean. If you feel like you’ve "missed the boat" on your spiritual goals this month, today is a wonderful reminder that His grace provides a way back.

I had great plans to create a Pesach Sheni Seder plate because I was quite weak on the first Passover, but the power was off for most of the day. When I tried making the chana flour matzah recipe from memory, it turned out too thin and then too thick—it looks more like pieces of a hard tack map (Australia, Antarctica  China and South America Japan!) than matzah. Frankly, I was plum tuckered out from dragging my cart with drinking water and groceries up the hill yesterday!”

Even my matzah got a bit 'puffed up' with pride! These three pieces—resembling Australia, Japan, and China—remind me that sometimes our best attempts turn into something entirely unexpected.

This Week's Readings: Parashat Emor

• Torah: Vayikra (Leviticus) 21:1–24:23
• Haftarah: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 44:15–31
• Brit Chadashah: 1 Corinthians 8

How Torah Reading Enhances Understanding of Yeshua

Why Study Both Testaments?

Many followers of Christ eschew the Hebrew scriptures -discarding them as "The Old Testament " or "The Old Covenant".How sad!  If we do not read both the First Testament and the Second Testament, we are missing out on so much!

The importance of reading the whole Bible is really evident when we combine the  prescribed Torah readings for this Shabbat  of Leviticus 12-15 and  the Second Testament readings of Luke 2:22- and Mark 1:35-45  By reading the Levitical laws in Leviticus 12-15 we can much better understand the Second Testament readings.

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

How Leviticus Fleshes Out New Testament Readings

Camping Outside With Jesus

Understanding People Camping Outside

Scripture:

• Hebrews 13:13 NLT So let us go out to Him, outside the camp and bear the disgrace He bore.

What does it mean to camp outside the community? Why were people relegated to be outside the camp? These are some questions that are addressed in this excellent teaching by Messianic Rabbi David Stone embedded below.

I had the opportunity of hearing Rabbi David Stone in person when I visited Ottawa several years ago and I find his teachings very enriching. Rabbi David Stone brings a unique perspective to Biblical teaching showing how the Hebrew writings point the way to Christ. I learn a lot from his Shabbat lessons and you may enjoy them too.

Messianic Rabbi David Stone Jr.

Messianic Rabbi David Stone - Leviticus 12 and 13