Yes, I know it’s Shabbat, but these two items are well-worth the exception. Ellen Jones is out of ICU and home. Recovery will take time, but she is on the mend. Thank you for your prayers. Now we have another woman who needs support. Pam’s youngest son died and then her husband. Her other son…
You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:3 NASB Scrutinize– Been winnowed lately? When necessary, God takes us down to the threshing floor. The Hebrew verb, zārâ, is a product of the Israelite agrarian culture. It means, “fan, scatter, cast away, winnow; disperse, compass, spread, be scattered, dispersed.”[1] …
Bob and Ellen Jones of the Sarasota community have been faithful supporters and hosts for us many times. A few days ago Ellen was admitted to the hospital after collapsing. She has been in ICU since. Please pray for her recovery. She and Bob are wonderful people and a great example of a Torah observant…
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. Psalm 139:2 NASB Understand– If God “knows” everything about me, then why do we also read, “You understand”? Isn’t knowing and understanding pretty much the same thing? As it turns out, in Hebrew these two ideas are different, and the difference is precisely…
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. Psalm 139:2 NASB Thought– God knows it all, right? He knows every thought you have, every fleeting desire, every inclination, every unvoiced declaration. We all agree. God knows us—perhaps better than we know ourselves. After all, He is the omniscient external observer in…
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. Psalm 139:1 NASB Searched– Does anyone really know you? Do you really know yourself? If the research into personality and identity formation is correct, we would be inclined to answer both of these questions with, “No.” There are some really good reasons why this is the case. First, really being…
On this last day to the Gregorian calendar, it’s good to reflect on what has happened since the beginning of this year. First, I want to tell you about the amazing success story of Children Under the Bridge. This year we have grown from the original 35 children to about 200. We started skills training…
“Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again before I depart and am no more.” Psalm 39:13 NASB Away from– The end of David’s autobiographical, public revelation is just as counter-intuitive as the beginning. Having reached the point of a desperate cry for mercy, and an identification with YHVH estranged from creation, we expect David to…
