Musing – Why can we trust the Canon of Scripture?

 Hebraic Musing – Why can we trust the Canon of Scripture?

Canon is “a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged.”  The Bible is the Rule, the Measure, the Standard.  Here’s why we can rely on the Bible.  “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV

Scripture did not come from man!  “…knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-22   All Scripture has come to us from the Holy Spirit.  Jeremiah heard the Word directly from the LORD.  “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.’… Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: ’Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.’” Jeremiah 1:4-9 NKJV

Does Scripture speak with Authority?   From Jesus!  “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Mathew 5:17-18    Joshua was given authority and a promise.  “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Joshua 1:7-9   Wow! This is a “prosperity message”!

Scripture is our source of sound Doctrine.   We are told to avoid false doctrine(s).  “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer.” 1 Timothy 1:3   And then 1 Timothy 6:3-4 tells us why.  “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,…”  And 2 Timothy 4:3-4 warns us – “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers. and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”  Is Timothy’s prophetic statement coming true even today?!?!

How important is the right doctrine?  “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.  He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”  2 John 9-11

Scripture is Apostolic, it comes from chosen apostles.  “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,” Ephesians 2:19-20

The Old Testament is called the TaNaK (Hebraic abbreviation for Torah, Prophets, Writings.) and Jesus affirmed the TaNaK.  “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” Hebrews 1:1-2    Consider the number of times Jesus and NT writers referenced the O.T.   The N.T. books abided by these rules: (a) Apostolic authors; (b) Agreed with Canon of truth; (c) Universal Acceptance; (d) Self-authenticating Divine Nature.  Have you ever read a book like the Bible with over 40 authors and yet has no contradictions?!?!

Points to Ponder
Might God’s promises to Joshua also apply to us today? 
“Being “Strong and Courageous”   leads to    “Prosperity & Success”!

Is Scripture (the Bible) a gift to you from the Holy Spirit?

♫ Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                           April 29, 2025            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired from SS lesson from Corey Corrick, March 9, 2025

Musing – Are you ready?

 Hebraic Musing – Are you ready?

We traditionally think of the word martyr as someone who gave their life for a cause they believe in.  Does the Bible define all true Christians as Martyrs?  Consider this quote: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12 NKJV   How many martyrs does the Bible describe?

Abel was the first martyr we find in the Bible, one of the sons of Adam and Eve.  Abel did right, but his brother, Cain, did not agree and killed Abel out of jealousy!  Abel trusted God.  Are there those who do not like us because of our trust in God?  Are we friends only because we think alike?

Zechariah, Jesus tells us that Zechariah (the prophet) was killed between the temple and the altar as he was ministering.  Jesus warned us!  “I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.” Luke 11:49-51.  Zechariah was killed by stoning.  He was killed by those who wanted to re-create God into their own image.  Sound familiar?

John the Baptist was the first New Testament martyr that we know of.  He was killed by Herod who had imprisoned John because of John’s disapproval of the king’s divorce for the purpose of marrying his sister-in-law.  John had spoken up in Matthew 14:4. “Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”  John paid the price for speaking the truth!

Stephen boldly preached the Gospel.  He clearly called out those who put Jesus on the cross.  This did not make the religious leaders happy.  What truth did John speak that offended them?  “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” Acts 7:51

James was one of two brothers who, along with Peter, made up the inner circle of disciples.  James and John were the sons of a fisherman named Zebedee.  James was killed by King Herod Agrippa.  “Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. … because he saw that it pleased the Jews,” Acts 12:2  He was killed by the sword because the king was starting to persecute the church.  Is the church being persecuted today?

Two Witnesses that God says will be killed during the time of the tribulation.  They will preach the truth of God for 1,260 days during which time they will be unharmed.  Then they will be killed by the beast in Rev. 11:7-8 as they lay in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days.  People will look on them, dance, and rejoice that they are rid of the convicting preaching of these witnesses.  After that time they will have a bodily resurrection and ascend into heaven at the command of God.  Does the world reject your preaching?

Host of Martyrs in Heaven were martyred for the cause of Christ.  We are not to seek martyrdom, but we face it with faith in God and trust in His grace if that becomes our fate.  During the tribulation time many will be martyred for Christ.  In Revelation 6:9-11 the martyrs inquire of God when their lives will be avenged. God gave them a white robe and they are told to wait for those who are martyred for Christ for they will be given responsibilities to reign alongside Jesus during the millennial kingdom.  See Rev 20:4

Martyrdom Today.  Many around the world are being persecuted for the cause of Christ.  We might be teased by schoolmates because you go to church on Sunday!  Just because your boss won’t let you off for a religious holiday does not mean you are suffering martyrdom.  That’s nothing compared to what is happening in many places in the world.  Think about the Christians who are killed in their churches around the world simply because they choose to worship the Christ of the Bible.  Real persecution is happening today.  Pray for those who choose to take a stand for the cause of Christ and suffer because of it.

Key Question –How should our commitment to the work of the kingdom be like Paul’s?  “For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 21:13

Points to Ponder

How much faith do we really have?

In how many ways might we be martyred, or lose some of life’s freedoms?

Are we willing to witness our faith in Jesus at risk of offending someone
who might slight us, unfriend us, hurt us, or kill us?

Finally – Christian, what are you afraid of?

♫ Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready for the judgment day? ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          April 22, 2025            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by “Martyrs In The Bible: 8 That Gave Their Life For Christ” by David Peach

Insight - Three days in the grave?

 Hebraic Insight - Three days in the grave?

Ever wondered how Jesus was crucified on Friday, resurrected on Sunday and in the ground for 3 days? 

That year was unique in that Passover, 15^th of Nissan, started on our Wednesday evening, continuing through daytime Thursday.  Like-wise in AD 31 when Jesus was crucified, Passover also started Wednesday evening.  This helps explain what Matthew tells us in 12:40  “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (NIV)    This provides an explanation that makes more sense if we take into account the timing of G-d’s Feast Days (unfortunately the world refers to them as ‘Jewish Feast Days’ or ‘Jewish Holy Days’).

First, remember that G-d’s and Jewish days start at sunset (3 stars visible in the sky) and end at sunset the next day.  Not Midnight to midnight as we are accustomed.

Second, there is more than one Sabbath to consider.  In addition to weekly Sabbaths on Saturday, the Jewish calendar has seven Annual Sabbaths, also called "High Days", which can fall on any day of the week.

Third, Passover in the year 31AD started on our so-called Wednesday evening.

So, now let’s try to count the days G-d’s way and better understand the daily calendar of Holy Week?

Once we recognize that Passover occurred on Wednesday, and we recognize then the Passover Seder (Meal) would have been on Tuesday evening.   (Some figure that as Rabbi’s and members of the Priestly family, they may have had to celebrate their Passover Seder on the prior evening, Tuesday evening, so they could minister/work, sacrificing lambs on the Passover Sabbath.)  This meant Tuesday night, the start of Wednesday for the ‘Last Supper’.  Here is how an Hebraic Scholar friend of mine explained it.

Joe, it is easy for me to let my knowledge of Passover A.D. 31 being on Wed. April 25 that I forget that Seder night would have been Tuesday night, as the Passover day would begin the evening before.  Yeshua was crucified Wed. April 25, 31 A.D. and gave up His spirit at 3 PM  just as the Temple Passover lamb gave up his breath as well.  Yeshua was taken to the tomb that evening.  He was in the grave from Wednesday night until Thursday night - one day.  He was in the tomb Thursday night until Friday night - two days.  On Saturday night, after the third day, He rose in His once cold body.   Scripture tells us that the ladies came to the tomb very early in the morning, in fact before it was daylight and found the tomb empty.  Yeshua rose from the dead hours before the Ishtar sunrise service.  He rose from the dead on Yom HaBikkurim (The Day of Firstfruits), on the Havdalah or Motza'ei-Shabbat (departure of the Sabbath - cf.1st Cor 16 and Acts 20:7 CJB).  This is why for four centuries Christians, Jewish or otherwise came together on Shabbat in the local synagogue and particularly for the Havdalah afterwards (before Constantine shut all that down).

This timing also explains why Joseph of Arimathea was anxious to bury Jesus before the Passover Sabbath began at sunset.

And some Hebraic Midrash claims that Jesus was able to see through the western gate of the temple and see the Passover lambs being slain while He was on the cross.  (True or not, it is an interesting picture)

Additional opinions, if and as interested:

Proponents of the Wednesday crucifixion argue that this special Sabbath was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which commenced on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan and was preceded with a Passover meal on the 14th of Nissan. If Jesus was crucified in 30 A.D. or 31 A.D., the 14th of Nissan would have fallen on a Wednesday, with the next day being an Annual Sabbath.  All of this fits perfectly within the Scriptural timeline. If true, Jesus would have been crucified the day before a Sabbath, as recounted in the Bible, and His ultimate sacrifice would have occurred on a day typically reserved for the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.

Other pieces of the puzzle add weight to the Wednesday crucifixion theory.  Modern versions of Matthew 28:1 record the resurrection as occurring "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week." But the Greek text reads "After the Sabbaths" (plural), meaning two Sabbaths had passed between the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus - the annual Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath.

Points to Ponder

Is when Jesus died important? 
Or that He died for us sacrificially for our sins?

In any case, have a Happy Resurrection Day!

“And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” Mark 15:39

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd               April 15, 2025            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – First published May 15, 2009 as Insight #19 in Hebraic Insights – 95 Messages Exploring the Hebrew Roots of our Faith, by Yosef.  Available from Amazon.

Musing - Holy Week, or Mark’s Wartime Gospel

Hebraic Musing - Holy Week, or Mark’s Wartime Gospel

Holy week starts next Sunday, called Palm Sunday.  During Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Passover and Resurrection Day, Mark’s gospel documents Jesus’ activities with military precision.  Mark’s gospel is a wartime gospel revealing the times, the culture, and most important, the political and spiritual condition of Jerusalem and the temple practices.  Jesus’s symbolic actions and parables are generally interpreted individually, but taken as a whole, Jesus’ actions and words proclaim how the already present kingdom of God is pitted against the kingdom of Rome.  The Jewish high priests were in collaboration with the Roman domination of Jewish Israel.  For a clear example of Rome’s dominion, Rome changed the high priests many times, whereas God appoints each great high priest for a lifetime.  The Roman appointments were corruptly acquired, and the people knew it!  Consider these events (in CJB) in light of the corruption:

·         Mark 11:1—(Palm) Sunday: “When they were approaching Jerusalem …” Jesus enters on a donkey with the people cheering him wildly.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate was entering in a regal procession in order to be present and quell any uprising that may occur during this major Jewish feast of Passover.  Palm Sunday starts with a declaration of war by God’s kingdom against Rome’s dominion by mocking the governor with Jesus’s parade.  The friction between righteous people and Rome’s priestly appointees was already building.

·         Mark 11:12—Monday: “On the following day…”  Jesus says to a fig tree, “may no one ever eat fruit from you again.”  Thus He cursed the symbol of Israel and Jerusalem by pointing out the lack of fruit.  Why?  The high priesthood was controlled by Rome; the sacrificial system was corrupted; the temple was built by Rome; and God was no longer in charge.  Then He symbolically desecrates the temple by turning over the ‘money changers’ tables.  He calls the Temple a “den of robbers.”  A den is what robbers call home and where they hide out and feel safe.  The authorities were using the temple as a hiding place for their misappropriation of authority.  In Mark 11:19, He and His entourage have to get out of Jerusalem.

·         Mark 11:20—Tuesday: “In the morning …”  The fig tree has withered.  Jesus talks to His disciples of “throwing a mountain into the sea”.  Could this be reference to Mount Zion, Jerusalem, which needs to be moved through serious prayer?  The corrupt leaders challenge His authority, and He in turn rightly challenges theirs for good, godly reason.  In Mark 12:1–12, He indicts the temple leadership with a parable of the wicked tenants.  (Read it in that light.)  It’s frequently preached as a foretelling of the beloved Son’s coming; but that message misses Jesus’s indictment of the tenants, stewards, and authorities in the temple who were greedily using their positions for their own aggrandizement.  In Mark 12:13–17, the ruling party tries to trap Him on the issue of paying taxes.  He responds , “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”.  The people were forgetting to distinguish between, or choose sides between, God and Caesar.  Then in Mark 12:18, He starts to attack the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection.  (That is why they are “sad, you see.” [pun])  In chapter 13, He says, “Not one stone will be left on another” which is prophetically forty years before Jerusalem was utterly destroyed.  Then he discourses on the end of the age.

·         Mark 14:1—Wednesday: “It was two days before Passover…”, the priests and scribes were out to get Him.

·         Mark 14:12—Thursday: :On the first day of Unleavened Bread when they slaughtered the lamb for Pesach…” over their seder (feast meal), He says His good-byes, shares the cup, prays, and gets arrested by the corrupt Sanhedrin, members of the leadership body.

·         Mark 15:1—Friday, 6 a.m.: “As soon as it was morning…” some of the Sanhedrin “reached a decision …”.

·         Mark 15:25—Friday, 9 a.m.: “It was the third hour when they crucified him”. The worst possible curse for an Israelite is to be nailed and hung naked on a stake.

·         Mark15:33—Friday, noon: “At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.”  I wonder what the corrupt leaders were thinking then.

·         Mark 15:34—Friday, 3 p.m.: “At the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice …”   In v.38, the curtain of the temple was rent from top to bottom.  Was that Father God tearing His garment in mourning for His Son?

·         Mark15:42—Friday, 6 p.m.: “It was Preparation day, the day before a Sabbath…”  And Joseph of Arimathea, one of the righteous leaders who had become a disciple, claimed Jesus’s body and to bury Him before sundown, which began the Sabbath.

·         Mark16:1–2–Sunday, “early”: “When the Sabbath was over … very early in the morning they were on their way to the tomb…”   A good Jew would not walk that far or go to a tomb on the Sabbath.

I hope and pray that we will all read Mark’s gospel during Holy Week, with fresh perspective, and be inspired to identify the dominions that we are called to protest in today’s world.   

The dates used in this Insight are the ones traditionally understood.  Next week’s Musing, “Three Days in the Grave?”, will spell out an alternative and more logical dating which differs from tradition.

Points to Ponder

Is He the same yesterday, today, and forever?

What dominions are we called to protest in today’s world?

“…your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey,…” Zechariah 9:9

BTW - Next Sunday will be Palm Sunday!

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   April 8, 2025
Author:  Biblical Marriage”    Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com

Note - This ‘Musing’ is reprinted from Insight #64 in “Hebraic Insights – 95 Messages Exploring the Hebrew Roots of our Faith” by Yosef.  Available from Amazon.

Musing - Could you be Deceived?

 Hebraic Musing - Could you be Deceived?

(an April Fools Day message)

The word ‘deceived’ and its variants appear about 70 times in our bibles.  Jesus himself expressed concern and frequently warned us not to be deceived.  Matthew 24 contains the ‘Olivet Discourse” in which Jesus is dealing with eschatology and one of His final and desperate messages to his beloved disciples.  

Note Yeshua’s expressions of concern re ‘deception’ in Matthew 24:3-26 NIV   As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"  Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. . . .  8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.  Then you will be handed over to be persecuted . . .  10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. . . .  15 So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' . . . .   23 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible.  See, I have told you ahead of time.  So if anyone tells you, 'There he is…..’ do not believe it…  

And here are three more familiar examples of deceptions:

·      “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction…”  Galatians 6:6-8 NIV

·      “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived…” 1 Cor.6:9

·      Lest you think deception is New Testament only, consider a very early event for mankind.  “Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’  The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’" Genesis 3:13

The bible is the Manufacturer’s Operating Manual.  Any other source of information could lead to deception.  Other sources, while valuable, should not be allowed to take precedence over the Holy Scripture itself.  For example, a minister recently told me of a lady that thanked him for studying the bible and sharing an insightful teaching because that way she did not have to read the Bible herself.  What do you suppose went through the minister’s mind?

Personally, I try not to read more than one book by any one author and/or avoid focusing on one preacher, evangelist, televangelist or commentary for fear of picking up and mentally rehearsing an error that any one man might introduce.  After my salvation experience, I became an avid reader of Christian books.  After one year, the Lord spoke to me and asked “Are you going to read books about me, or are you going to read my book?”  For the next five years I read nothing but the bible.

Points to Ponder

Who are the Saints that Satan wants to ‘deceive’?

Are you satisfied with the amount of time you are in God’s own word,
instead of digesting someone else’s interpretation?

In what ways are we being deceived today?
Where do you get your news and entertainment?

Don’t be an “April Fool”.

“Don't be deceived, my dear brothers” James 1:16                                                                          

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                 April 1, 2025    (April Fools Day!)             
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Originally published August 11, 2010 as an Hebraic Insight

Musing – What’s the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?

 Hebraic Musing – What’s the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?

Or, what’s the difference between the first half and the second half of our beloved Bible?

Before God made the Old Covenant through Moses, he made a promise to his people through Abraham.  This promise was a prophecy in Genesis looking to the New Covenant where God concluded with - He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Genesis 15:5 NIV

Later in the Old Testament, long before Jesus was born, Jeremiah wrote a more direct prophecy about the new covenant as declarations from the LORD: “The time is coming, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them.  This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time.  I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31–33 NIV

Key difference, because in the old covenant, God wrote his law on tablets of stone.  Now, under the new covenant, given through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit writes His law on the hearts of His people.  Jesus instituted the new covenant at the Last Supper when he told his disciples - “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:20 NIV

The old covenant wasn’t defective, it just wasn’t meant to continue forever.  There was something greater coming, the new covenant through Christ’s redemptive work.  The old covenant was given for a limited time and purpose.

And I like Paul’s clarification.  “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Galatians 3:2   So the purpose of the Old Covenant, or the law was to lead us to Christ.  It was like a schoolmaster, teaching God’s people to look ahead to Jesus and the promise of the gospel.  Now that we have the promise—the reality—in Christ and the new covenant, we are no longer dependent on the old covenant.

God’s moral law, summarized in the ten commandments, always binds people.  But the symbolic sacrifices, rituals and civil laws that were part of the old, mosaic covenant are gone.  We’re not under Moses; we’re under Jesus Christ.  That’s the beauty of what we were told to expect in Jeremiah 31:3-4 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.  I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.”  And it is fulfilled in the New Testament.

Jesus fulfilled the law in our place, so we are free from it.  The moral law guides our lives, but the gospel tells us that, through his perfect life and sacrificial death for us on the cross, Jesus fulfilled the law, He did everything the old covenant required.  Therefore, we are justified in Christ.  And we’re free from the condemnation of the law.  That’s what makes the new covenant new and better!

Hebrews 8:6-8 provides us with a clear description of the purposeful differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.  “But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.  For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.  But God found fault with the people and said: ‘The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.’”  The problem was not with the old covenant; the problem was that God’s people broke the covenant and needed a superior covenant.

Points to ponder

How would we recognize our need for the New Covenant
if it were not for the understanding revealed while living under the Old Testament?

Whenever we take the Lord’s Supper, we participate in the renewal of the New Covenant.

♫  I'm just a sinner  Saved by grace. When I stood condemned to death, He took my place.  ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                           March 25, 2025
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing - It only takes a spark to get a fire going!

 

Hebraic Musing - It only takes a spark to get a fire going!

The Holy Spirit brought this 1969 song to mind that was popular in the late ‘70’s, about the time I gave my life to the LORD in 1977.  Now I cannot get it out of my mind.  The title is “Pass It On” and it had a major impact on my discipleship and my appreciation of the gift of salvation that I was enjoying.    

In how many ways does this song speak to you?

♫  It only takes a spark to get a fire going,

And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.

That's how it is with God's love;

Once you've experienced it,

You spread His love to everyone.

You want to pass it on.

 

♫  What a wondrous time is spring when all the trees are budding,

The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming.

That's how it is with God's love;

Once you’ve experienced it,

You want to sing, it's fresh like spring,

You want to pass it on.

 

♫  I wish for you my friends this happiness that I've found

You can depend on Him, It matters not where you're bound

I'll shout it from the mountaintop, (PRAISE GOD)

I want the world to know,

The Lord of love has come to me,

I want to pass it on.

The Lord of love has come to me,

I want to pass it on.  ♫

 

Although I missed kindergarten, I still feel compelled to “Share”.

Points to ponder

What’s the greatest gift you have ever received?  Do you want to share it?

With whom would you like to share it?   

In how many ways can one “Pass it on”!

♫  I wish for you, my friend, this happiness that I’ve found.  ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                           March 18, 2025
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Song first released in 1969 by Kurt Kaiser.