Lives 1st

  When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem with the First Torah Scroll in Judah, he was accompanied by a body of 120 elders, judges, prophets, sages, teachers, and scribes . They had been members of the very large Jewish community in Babylon that was founded by the captives who had been taken there in 586 BCE by the Babylonian armies that destroyed the previous Temple. This story has been lost for almost 2000 years, but it is essential for understand the words the scribes wrote on the Torah scroll. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/46277860ee5e/ezra-his-team-and-the-message-of-peace

  I am writing this email to you 113 years after my father was born , 1,946 years after Jesus was crucified and 1,926 after Luke wrote his two books . Without knowing what happened in those huge time gaps between me and those events , it would have been impossible to discover any facts-based examined answer to the question -- “When did Gentiles first officially become members of the Jesus Movement?” Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/826a2209e63a/using-belief-models-to-create-transparency-in-belief-conflicts

  Although Hillel and Akiba after him taught that love of man is a central pillar of the Torah’s teaching, behind it is something even more basic. Love of neighbor is itself derived from an even greater principle: that man is made in the image of God; and a religiously inspired love of man flows from the more fundamental love of God. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/1596bff17ac0/hillel-taught-that-all-people-are-deserving-of-love

  If we had been there at the time of Ezekiel, as we walked around Jerusalem, we would have seen people giving food to idols and worshipping them on the mountain tops around Jerusalem. There were idols in the Temple also. Who put the idols in Jerusalem? Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/f44166b57dd2/lots-of-elohims-idols-and-king-solomon-this-why-we-use-models-guidelines

We were known and often introduced as the Professor, Rabbi, and Preacher .  Ike Tennison  was the Professor,  Jeffrey Leynor  was the Rabbi, and I ( Jim Myers ) was the Preacher. Everyone knows that when a professor, a rabbi, and a preacher -- two Christians and one Jew -- are sitting at the table discussing Jewish and Christian Scriptures --  there are some very big elephants in the room . Continue reading at – https://mailchi.mp/5c45631843ea/the-professor-rabbi-and-preacher-who-confronted-the-elephants-in-the-room-corrected

  In my previous emails, I have been using a handful of notes I made earlier when I was translating Psalm 49. Today, I am going to share the entire Psalm without any comments. For me personally, this is one of the most powerful Psalm I have ever translated! Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/2e6b69414e8d/the-psalm-jesus-used-to-create-parables-in-his-jewish-teachings