Welcome to The Crimson Thread. the teaching web site of Jon Behrens, pastor of Restoration Messianic Fellowship in the Boulder/Longmont area of Northern Colorado. You will find here articles on various Scriptural subjects as well as Bible studies that have been recorded at RMF.
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At the end of the Olivet Discourse where Messiah tells His disciples that even He does not know the timing of His return, He recounts three parables all having to do with our behavior while He is away. The Parable of the Ten Virgins speaks of preparation. The Parable of the Talents of how we should be advancing His interest using the assets we have been given. The Sheep and Goat judgment describes how we are to treat one another.
In the resurrection and the New Heaven and New Earth we will have an eternal inheritance.
God designed humans to exercise dominion over the earth and all its creatures. That design feature also drives people to try and dominate each other, often in inappropriate or harmful ways. What does God have to say about the proper exercise and limits to power relationships between people? It turns out, quite a lot.
Christ rose from the grave on First Fruits and so became the first fruits from the dead. There are a number of other resurrections in Scripture. What makes that one special?
Having failed to follow God's commandments and destroy the inhabitants of the land, Israel would never fully enjoy peace. They intermarried, followed other gods and reaped the consequences. Since they would not know peace, God set them up to study war.
Truth is one of the world's most elusive qualities; yet the Bible holds it in the highest regard. How then do we navigate human interactions while holding fast to the truth
In a private conversation on the Mount of Olives, the disciples ask Y'shua about the signs and timing of His return. Most of His answer is in the negative; listing events that will be disturbing but are not signs of the end. He is careful to emphasize that His coming will not be subtle and that He expects to find His servants doing what He tells them to do.
There are two instances of heart circumcision in the Torah. While their intended effect is the same, the agent is different in each case.
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He did not take them directly to the Promised Land. Instead He began a process of teaching the former slaves how to be free. The first stage of the process took 50 days (seven sabbaths plus one day). That pattern is repeated in the Land, but in years instead of days. Every fifty years, Israel was to do a reset, restoring everyone to his patrimony, freeing all slaves and forgiving all debts. This teaches us that liberty is not easy and must periodically be refreshed.
The human impulse to seek a 'better deal' than one believes is available from God has not gone away. Idol worship today looks a bit different than in Biblical times, but all of its pathologies are still with us. This new look helps keep idolaters from realizing what they are doing - allowing them even to attend church with a clear conscience.
Leviticus 19:1—20:27
Ezekiel 20:2-20
Matthew 10:34—42
Thus said the Lord:
"Stand by the crossroads
and consider,
Inquire about ancient paths:
Which is the road to happiness?
Travel it, and find tranquillity
for yourselves."
(Je 6:16)