The Olive Tree Messianic Synagogue Blog Page
Shalom and welcome to The Olive Tree Messianic Synagogue blog. We are a vibrant Messianic Jewish ministry dedicated to sharing the Gospel of Yeshua (Jesus) with both the Jewish community and the Nations. If you have been searching for a deeper connection to the roots of your faith or want to know more about Torah-observant living, you have found a place of learning and exploration.
Our mission is clear: to be a light to our Jewish brothers and sisters while presenting the truth of Scripture in love. While some feel that Judaism and Christianity belong to opposite worlds, we rest in the assurance that the prophesied Jewish Messiah is our LORD, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ of Nazareth). HaShem’s spiritual story begins and ends with the Lamb that was slain. (Genesis 22:8; Rev 5:12)
With insight into the Weekly Torah Portion, Prophets, Gospels, and Epistles we seek to help the followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the insight they need to live Torah today, in a spirit-filled way — just as Scripture always intended (Romans 8:4; Ezekiel 36:27). We work to bridge the gap between ancient Hebrew traditions and a modern walk with the Messiah.
The Beauty of Torah-Observant Faith in Yeshua
At The Olive Tree Messianic Synagogue, we believe in the enduring relevance, importance, and holiness of the Torah. Far from being “done away with”, we view the Torah as a divine blueprint for a righteous life — one of humble, faithful, obedience to the Father who sanctifies through the Holy Spirit and saves by the Blood of His Son. (1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 5:9). Our blog focuses on the depth of Scripture, often challenging commonly-held misperceptions about the Bible. We do this so all people can learn for themselves what Scripture says — and most importantly, what it means.
In addition to the Messianic Synagogue Blog entries, be sure to tune into our Shabbat services LIVE every Saturday — you can do so by following us on Facebook
Let Go Now, Grasp Hope – Elul and Psalm 27
“Each year which starts in poverty [ends in wealth]….” As the commenter states, poverty equals contrition. It’s not simply a matter of feeling bad on one day or the next; is it? Elul is a process of deliberately letting go in order to pick up something different. Think about how much we can receive if we have emptied our hands first. The principle is really quite simple. Let go. And then hold your hands out.
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Train Up A Child: Where We Went Wrong
It would be nice if knowledge of Scripture, even a deep education in it, equated to righteousness and a heart of faith. But since it doesn’t, we need to educate differently. We all want respect. We want to be seen and known for who we are as individuals. The LORD does this for us. Shouldn’t we be willing to do the same for one another? When we dedicate, initiate, and train others, we can’t walk in with a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter curriculum. Let’s heed the true words of the Proverb and honor the soul of the student. They will hold those…
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The Appearance of Evil
Imagine Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians signing off saying, “And be sure to stay away from things that can be misperceived! Only do things that are approved by literally everyone, okay? I love you! Buh-bye!”
Why does this sound so silly to me now, and yet I have 100% bought into this misconception up until this very moment as I write this blog? I have mitigated my behavior based on, not my own conscience of action, but based on who could or couldn’t see me. In other words, I’ve done things that I don’t mind the LORD seeing,…
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Isolation: The First “Not Good” Thing
Coming around in this new Torah cycle, something in B’reisheet (Genesis 1:1-6:8) stuck out to me in a new way. We know the common refrain: “And it was good.”, “It was good.”, “It was good.” But how closely have we paid attention to the very first “Not Good” of Scripture? It’s not been overlooked, by any means. It is the core of marriage vows. It is the plea of those who pray for spouses. We all know that it is “not good for man to dwell alone” (Gen 2:18). Still, with all of this attention paid to the solution, I…
Keep readingWhat Does Evil Have to Teach Us? – Proverbs 16
“The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.” … I propose to you, therefore, that the L’rd creates those who are prone to cause strife so that they may be like our tutors, helping to teach us right from wrong by showing us what true wrong looks like. Through experiencing the strife they cause, we learn what not to be like, and gain a greater appreciation for goodness.
Keep readingBuilding a House or Tearing it Down – Proverbs 14
“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” … Well, in psychology it is often said that the house represents the self. One’s house is one’s personal space, a place that we can customize and make to represent us.
In high school I was in a psychology class where the teacher told us each to design a house, and she didn’t first explain that the house represented the self. After she explained that, she had us analyze each other’s houses a bit, and then told us a story about a student she’d had…
Keep readingHypocrisy and Repentance – Romans 2:21-24
So, we see here that part of the importance of us following G’d’s Torah is not just so that we may be blessed, but so that His name may not be cursed among the nations. We, as His followers and His chosen people, represent Him. Time and again, I’ve heard anti-religious people reference the way that Believers act as the reason why they don’t believe anymore. Sometimes, these anti-religious people rejected any authority telling them they can’t do whatever they want. Other times, they were pointing out true hypocrisies.
Keep readingHonesty in Business – Proverbs 28:6
“Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.” … We need to be honest in our business dealings, because failing to do so just sets us up for failure in the long-run.
Keep readingDo Not Boast About Tomorrow – Proverbs 27
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”
Keep readingDo We Take it To Court? Proverbs 25
There have also been cases of religious leaders intimidating people and thus intentionally making it difficult for them to go through the process of Matthew 18. Where they meet to discuss the matter that the offended party wishes to talk about, and the religious leader immediately makes the meeting a hostile one by shouting, throwing accusations, and otherwise biting back in exceedingly cruel ways.
In circumstances like that, outside authorities definitely needed to be called in to handle the matter, because leadership is held to a higher standard.
While 1 Timothy 5:17 says, “Let the elders who rule well be…
Keep readingThe Wisdom of Community – Proverbs 18:1,2
The first half of this suggests to me the importance of community, especially when it comes to spiritual matters. There was a time when I spurned religious community. I made all sorts of excuses, ranging from, “They’re all judgmental,” to “They’re hypocrites,” to “I don’t fully agree with them.”
The funny thing about that was, in coming to those conclusions, I myself was being judgmental and a hypocrite, and who cares if I fully agreed with them? The point is not to find people we 100% agree with on all matters (that’s never going to happen). The point is to…
Keep readingThe Cruel Messenger – Proverbs 17:11
In our American society, we kind of see rebellion as a good thing. After all, our country was founded on an act of rebellion against a tyrannical power. I won’t get into a history lesson about the American Revolution. What’s important is that we understand that the kind of rebellion this passage seems to be talking about is different from that.
Tyrants who abuse their power and torment their people are in rebellion against G’d. Therefore, when the people successfully rise up against tyrants, it is to put a stop to those tyrants’ rebellions against G’d’s Law, which is above…
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Do Messianics Trust Paul? 2 Peter’s Word About Who’s Trustworthy
Let’s talk about, “being led away with the error of the wicked.” The Greek word here translated as “wicked” is “athesmos.” The Greek word for “wicked,” however, is “kakos.” So, what is athesmos? If you look at it in the Strong’s Concordance, it translates to “lawless” or “unrestrained.”… be wary of people who twist Paul’s writings to suit their own agendas. This passage specifically refers to those people as “lawless.” …let us be careful not to read his epistles as we’ve often been taught to do so. Let us not assume that his writings are anti-Torah or anti-Law,
Keep readingSpare the Rod – Proverbs 13:24
“He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” -Proverbs 13:24
This passage is often cited by people who want to promote beating children to get them to behave. While I would agree that spanking may have its place as a last resort (to be used sparingly, lovingly, and carefully), I do not believe that this passage is saying “beat your children with a stick.” … So, let’s present a more accurate translation that’s more to the point.
“He who refrains from his tribe (his people, his community) works against his son, but…
Keep reading“Beaten for the Light”
[Exo 27:20 KJV] 20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר Kateet L’ma’or – “Beaten for the Light” The root word ‘katat’ is a sneakily familiar one to us: [Isa 2:4 KJV] 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. [Joe 3:10 KJV] 10 Beat your…
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The Chosen Season 3 – Beautiful Jewish Things You May Have Missed
What we call the waters of ritual immersion is only part of the meaning of the word, Mikvah. The Hebrew root word kavah means “to wait, to look eagerly for”. Mikvah literally means, “Hope”.
I have to believe that the writers of The Chosen knew this when writing the scene between Eden and Veronica. Eden asked, “What do you do with no hope?” She as may well have asked her, “What do you do when you can’t go to the Mikvah?” And this is a question that the Jews have been asking since the Temple fell.
Keep readingDo We Wear Tefillin on Shabbat?
This blog is based on a concern that was brought to the attention of our ministry leadership. There was an urging to read through the article Why No Tefillin at Night or on Shabbat? before encouraging the men of our community to join in this practice this coming Saturday. And it’s valid! There is a standing tradition in Judaism not to don tefillin (phylacteries) in the evening, nor on any of the following days: Saturdays (Shabbat), Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot But as Messianics, we have several things to consider… In this blog, I will happily explore…
Keep readingA Resource for Biblical Teaching and Spiritual Growth
The Olive Tree Messianic Synagogue Blog is a supplementary resource in addition to our Weekly Torah Teachings. Our ministry leaders and guest contributors provide insight into a variety of topics, including:
- Weekly Torah Portion (Traditional Selections from Genesis to Deuteronomy): Insightful commentary on the weekly readings.
- Messianic Prophecy: Exploring how the whole of Tanakh (Old Testament) speaks of Yeshua, the Messiah. [Luk 24:27 NKJV] 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
- Biblical Feasts and Festivals: Understanding the prophetic significance of the Sabbath, Passover, Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).
- Hebrew Language Insights: Unlocking the rich meanings behind original Biblical texts.
- Practical Discipleship: How to live a life of faith, prayer, and “Tzedakah” (righteousness/charity).
Join Our Growing Community
We invite you to join us at The Olive Tree Messianic Synagogue. Those who are searching for answers can find them in a supportive, loving environment. We believe that walking this road together makes the journey more meaningful.
As you explore our blog, we encourage you to interact with us. Leave your comments, ask your questions, and share these teachings with your friends and family. Your growth is our priority, and we look forward to seeing you flourish as you dive into the treasures of God’s Word.
Thank you for visiting The Olive Tree Messianic Synagogue blog page. We are honored to have you here and look forward to interacting with you as we grow together in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.