Brick v Stone as a Building Material

A couple of days ago, I was delivering some metalwork to a customer in the upstate of South Carolina.  While in the area, I called a good friend and brother, Jeff, to see if we could meet-up for lunch.  What a blessed time of fellowship, open Bibles in the restaurant and animated discussion of the Word!

During our conversation he began talking about the difference in building with bricks and stones as an illustration in the context of Exodus 20:24-25.  Let’s read,

24 You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

I could immediately identify with his illustration as I had written a related article almost a year ago.  His angle was slightly different, but the points are inextricably connected. Continue reading “Brick v Stone as a Building Material”

“Which is the attitude of maturity?”

I have recently been involved in another “HRM” ‘drive-by shooting.’  But, it is not the first “love” Messianics have received from that blog.

So, pondering some of the comments and wondering about the general lack of desire to really dig in and understand why Messianic/Hebraic studies are growing by leaps and bounds, and what that reveals about lacking elements in Christendom, I continued reading J. K. McKee’s terrific scholarly work, The New Testament Validates Torah: Does the New Testament Really Do Away with the Law?

In an extended quote, McKee so eloquently defines exactly what the crux of the differences are between Christian and Judaic perspectives on the Torah: (pgs 65-66) Continue reading ““Which is the attitude of maturity?””

By what standard?? Pray tell!

… I can tell you what is NOT the standard!!

The Westminster Confession of Faith is NOT the standard!!
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith is NOT the standard!!
The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church are NOT the standard!!
The Confessions of the Lutheran Church are NOT the standard!! ….

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin        Hebrews 4:15

The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that Messiah Y’shua was without sin.  By what standard was this determination made?

the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.    I John 2:3-6

The Apostle John tells us that if we abide in the Messiah, then we will ‘walk as He walked.’  We will ‘do as He did.’  By what standard did He walk/do?

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.  I Cor. 11:1

If we are to imitate Rav Shaul who is imitating Messiah Y’shua, by what standard do we imitate? Continue reading “By what standard?? Pray tell!”