Your Daily Bread for December 31, 2023, to January 6, 2024

Welcome to Your Daily Bread for December 31, 2023-January, 6, 2024 by Dr Apelu Poe!

Key Torah Code for this Week: “Mishpatim” (Ordinances): Exodus 21:1-24:18.

Basic Principle of Our Judaic-Christian Faith: Our God is an innovative God who will guide our faith journey into new frontiers, new heights, and new opportunities for ministries and services this New Year. If and only if we put our complete trust in his hand.

“I looked in the Bible code for “steel vehicle.” It appeared, crossed by the words in the plain text that said, “His vehicle He threw into the sea.” Those words came from the famous verse of Exodus that tells how God saved the ancient Israelites by parting the waters of the Red Sea and then drowning the Egyptians who pursued them.” I’ll get to the point in a minute.

But let me, first of all, say Talofa, and Shabbat shalom to you, my friends, in the name of “Yeshua HaMashiach”, Jesus the Messiah! I’m Dr Apelu Poe, a Hebrew Bible scholar, and a retired Ordained pastor with over 40 years of academic and church leadership experience. I’m also a Torah-Bible Code developer and a 3-Times #1 International Best-selling author from Samoa, now residing permanently in LaVergne, Tennessee, USA.

Getting back to the point. If you have been following God’s calendar, which dictates and foretells the events of our lives, as the above quote indicates, you will know that entering December 31, 2023, through January 6, 2024, we are now in the first week of the Presentation season. What is the Presentation season?

Well, the Presentation season is the fourth season of God’s calendar with the “Church Anniversary” Sunday, January 28, as its festival. Just as the name itself suggests, the Presentation season is a time in which God has called us to celebrate Jesus being presented by his parents, Mary and Joseph to the Lord God for the mission for which he was sent to the earth.

Think about the Incarnation season we’ve just come through. And think, again, about the prophet Isaiah’s words, “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given. His Name shall be called, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Now, we’re in the next season of God’s calendar. The Biblical basis that supports this new season, one can see in Luke 2:22 says, ‘And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.’

Question: Do we have the Biblical evidence that further supports this? Of course, we do Listen, again, to these Biblical witnesses that provide a solid Biblical basis on which one could reflect on this critically important season of God’s calendar: God himself said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14).

With this in mind, the prophet Isaiah put it this way, “A voice cries out, In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3-5).

This is why David acknowledges, saying, “Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your power and come to save us! O God, restore us and cause your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved (Psalm 80:1-3).

Matthew, therefore, summarizes, saying, “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Matthew 17:1-27).

Before we look at this week’s Torah portion, let me also say “thank you” to all of you, my readers, for taking the time to access my teaching on Facebook and LinkedIn from week to week. It is a great delight and inspiration to know that so many of you worldwide find my special Torah gift helpful in your daily walk with God! I call my Torah gift for you this week “Your Daily Bread for December 31, 2023 to January 6, 2024.”

Why am I saying this? Well, for those of you who have been following my teaching, I’m saying this because, as you might have noticed, I have been using this same gift that God has given me for the past 41 years to help guide the destiny of those whose spiritual welfare God has entrusted to me. And now that I have retired from the ordained ministry in July 2021, I want you to have free access to it.

My pastoral desire is simply this: For you to be the person God has created you to be. My prayer, then, is that you would be able to live according to God’s time so that you may discern God’s Divine path for your life and how it is that God wants you to live to receive his blessing best and shine his holy light.

Your Benefits from My Torah Gift I Can Give You This Week

So what exactly can you expect from the Torah gift I’m giving you this first week of the Presentation season? Well, the first and foremost is self-awareness. Why self-awareness? Because life transformation begins with self-awareness. So my Torah gift will help you become aware of the fact that our God is the Creator and the Ruler of all created beings. He, alone, has made, do make, and ever will make all things.

How do we know that? How can we be sure that our God is our Creator God who created us alike in his image, incorporated us alike into the Body of Christ, and blessed us alike through the gifts of his Holy Spirit?

Well, listen to Moses’ very first testimony in the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis 1:1) that introduces this Infinite God to us, “It was at the beginning of time and space that He referring to this Infinite God created his Word identified in the text as Elohim (Jesus) along with the Hebrew alphabet (Alef-Tav), a metaphor for God’s Spirit hovering over Jesus, (see Isaiah 61:1-2)). And with these two, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Infinite God created the heavens and the earth.

This Infinite God then said to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, “Come, let us create man in our image and after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). In the image of God, he created him, male and female; he created them (Genesis 1:27).

Surprisingly, this Infinite God we refer to as our Creator God did not stop there, did he? Because in (Genesis 1:28) God blessed the human being and said, “Be fruitful and multiply…”

Remember this, the fact that this Infinite God created you in his image means that you are a God-man or a God-woman. Your value is unlimited and your worth is without measure. Perhaps it is in our realization of our failure to live up to the truth about God’s high expectation of us that one can make sense of the UN Security Council’s struggles to ‘speak with one voice’ on Gaza.

The UN Security Council is struggling to find a unified voice on the war in Gaza, recently swapping a call for a "lasting cessation of hostilities" with a draft resolution demanding the fighting's "suspension."

Even still, members of the council are grappling to find common ground: though a vote on the resolution is scheduled for Tuesday, after being postponed Monday, it might be delayed again.

Israel backed by its ally Washington, a veto-wielding permanent Security Council member has opposed the term "cease-fire." This is one of the sticking points for the divided body to navigate as diplomats call for a "pause" or a "truce," or try to qualify any cease-fire as "humanitarian."

"The negotiations are complex but we hope to see the council speak with one voice today," said the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the UN, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh.

The current struggle comes after an impasse earlier this month, when the United States, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, blocked the adoption of a Security Council resolution on the war.

President Joe Biden meanwhile has exhibited growing impatience with Israel, warning that its ally risks losing the support of the international community for its "indiscriminate" bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says Israel's military response has killed more than 19,667 people, mostly women and children.

It is no wonder why God said what he said to the people of Israel and us, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children” (Hosea 4:6).

The second benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is a sound mind and good judgment. It’ll help you develop a sound mind and good judgment, knowing that one of the most fundamental laws of nature is that everything shall come to an end. Even your life and mine will one day come to an end.

What, then, is the key to our long-term success? The key to our long-term success will surprise you because it is not what you think it is. You see, the key to our long-term success is not how many years we live or how much we can produce but the quality of our life. In other words, it is the quality of your service to others which can continue even after you die.

Genesis 23:1, says, Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the lives of Sarah. At first glance, one may think that the text is repeating itself. But it is not. What the text is trying to convey to us is the fact that the key to long-term success is not the quantity but the quality of our lives.

How can that be possible? Well, let’s put it this way. When you help somebody who is in desperate need, or when you teach somebody a life-changing lesson, those people will never forget what you have done. They will never forget that you went out of your way to lend them a helping hand. And they will more likely continue your good works even after you die.

That in a nutshell is a distinctive, and timeless motherly quality that Sarah bequeathed to all her children. For what purpose? To help fulfil God’s desire to build a home for him so that he may dwell in our midst.

What does that mean for us Jews, Christians and people of other faiths? It means that it is not enough to say that I am a Jew, or that I am a Christian, or that I am an Islamic or a person of any other faith who belongs to a community of faith. Unless we invigorate our psyche, our character, and every fibre of our being with God’s desire to build a home for him to the point that God’s desire will become the focus of our lives, the object of our will, the vista of our minds, and the yearning of our hearts, we will never be able to fulfil our lives purpose.

Perhaps, it is for this reason that on December 18, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticised Israeli forces on Monday for allegedly shooting and killing people in a Christian compound in the Gaza Strip, saying such actions would not help in its war to defeat Hamas.

Listen to Antonio Tajani’s words of caution,

"(We) strongly condemned Hamas's attack against unarmed civilians ... but we also want the reaction of Israel ... to be proportionate and spare the civilian

"An (Israeli) sniper shot two women inside a church. This has nothing to do with the fight against Hamas because the terrorists are certainly not hiding in Christian churches," Tajani continued, offering a rare censure of Israel from Italy.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic authority in the Holy Land, said at the weekend the two women, named Nahida Khalil Anton and her daughter Samar, were shot dead in the compound of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza.

Pope Francis on Sunday deplored the reported attack and suggested Israel was using "terrorism" tactics in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

Gaza's 2.3 million population comprises an estimated 1,000 Christians.

It is no wonder why the apostle Paul, reminds us, saying, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

The third benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is self-discipline. It’ll help you discipline yourself so that you will know that life and death are in the power of your tongue. That means that the fruit of our actions is in direct consequence of the words that we speak.

Why is this important? Without self-discipline or the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses, we will not be able to pursue what we think is right despite the temptation to abandon it.

How can that be possible? Well, let’s think of it this way.

Learning discipline isn’t a destination or a yardstick: it’s a practice. Practices never end, but we do become more skilled.

Many strive to practice discipline, but mastering this form of self-control is harder than we think. Our mental well-being, upbringing, personal habits, and present circumstances impact our handling of ourselves.

Perhaps, it is in this context that the UN on December 19 decried Russia’s failure to protect Ukraine civilians.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said on Tuesday there had been an "extensive failure" by Russia to take adequate measures to protect civilians in Ukraine and that there were indications that Russian forces had committed war crimes.

Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said his office's monitoring indicated "gross violations of international human rights law, serious violations of international humanitarian law, and war crimes, primarily by the forces of the Russian Federation."

These violations, Turk said at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, included 142 cases of summary execution of civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, as well as enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment of detainees, including through sexual violence.

Listen, again to Turk’s argument,

"There has been extensive failure by the Russian Federation to take adequate measures to protect civilians and protect civilian objects against the effects of their attacks."

"They must cease the use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas, and scrupulously map the location of mines," he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded more than 1,400 attacks against healthcare facilities and other health infrastructure in Ukraine overall since the start of Russia's invasion, making it hard to provide the most essential care.

It is no wonder why the Apostle Paul urges Timothy and us, saying, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

The fourth benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is cognitive competence. It’ll help you develop your cognitive competence so that you will be able to withstand any challenge or the forces of darkness that you face in your life and ministry today.

Why is this important? Cognitive thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by observation, experience, reflection, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.

So how do we go about doing that in a time when we see the world in a geo-political or global leadership crisis? By putting our complete trust in God and trusting that anything that runs contrary to God’s will, God will not let that stand. Perhaps it is for this reason that Vice President Harris of the United States argued that far too many Palestinians have been killed by Israel.

In an interview, on December 19, Vice President Harris stood by the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war but acknowledged how Israel defends itself matters and that “too many innocent Palestinians” have died.

Listen, again, to Vice President Harris’ argument,

“Our position has always been that Israel has a right to defend itself, without any question. And how it does so matters,” Harris said in an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell that is set to air Tuesday evening.

“As I have said many times, I think we know that far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. And it is important then — and we have made clear our perspective on this ?— that there be a lessening of the intensity and more precision around how Israel goes after Hamas and the leadership of Hamas,” she continued.

Harris’s comments come days after top U.S. officials have discussed with Israeli officials a transition to more “surgical operations” and ways the Israeli military could lower the intensity of the war.

Harris said she recently spoke with several leaders in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, about the U.S.’s commitment to a two-state solution in the war.

The vice president said the administration is committed “to doing the hard work that will require to get to a place where we, for the principles that we have stated, will insist there’ll be no reoccupation of Gaza by the Israelis, there’ll be no forced displacement of Palestinians.”

It is no wonder why the apostle Paul, cautioned us, saying, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness…” (Ephesians 6:10-12).

The fifth benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is a deeper sense of responsibility. It’ll help you gain a better grasp of the leadership dilemma we are faced with today. That is, people want to take advantage of the privilege that comes with being a chosen leader but do not want to be held accountable when things do not go well.

Why the need to uphold a deeper sense of responsibility in a time of moral leadership crisis?

Because this Judaic-Christian way of life that God has called us to live does not stay the same always. It fluctuates just like the stock market. Sometimes things go well. Sometimes not.

Here’s the thing. Maintaining a feeling of responsibility or being morally obligated to a task or duty can ensure that we uphold our God-given obligation for the betterment of the whole.

It can be regarded as a general conscious awareness; "a sense of security"; "a sense of happiness"; "a sense of danger"; "a sense of self" that cannot be overemphasized even in our society.

Perhaps this is why President Zelenskiy was confident that the United States of America wouldn’t betray Ukraine over financial support.

On December 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was confident the U.S. would not "betray" his country by withholding crucial wartime funding as it fights off a Russian invasion.

Listen, again, to Zelenskiy’s words of confidence,

"We are working very hard on this, and I am certain the United States of America will not betray us, and that on which we agreed in the United States will be fulfilled completely."

He added that financial assistance was key to Ukraine's defence from Moscow's full-scale attack, which is nearing its two-year mark and showing no signs of abating.

He also said he expected the European Union to approve a 50 billion euro aid package soon. EU leaders approved the launch of membership negotiations, but Hungary blocked the aid package.

"I'm confident that we have already achieved all this," Zelenskiy said. "The question now is one of a certain matter of time."

Ukraine hopes to plug a $43 billion budget deficit next year mostly with foreign aid, including 18.5 billion euros from the European Union and more than $8 billion from a U.S. package that also contains vital military assistance.

It is no wonder why the apostle Paul leaves us with these words of wisdom, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).

The sixth benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is a more profound sense of gratitude. It’ll help you engrave in your heart and mind a more profound sense of gratitude for God’s faithfulness to us all.

Think about our faith journey this past year: the many challenges and the turbulent times that God has brought us through.

Despite our shortcomings, failures, our iniquities, transgressions, and sins, God remains committed to his sacred vows to us,

“I will be unto you your God, and you be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6).

Perhaps a classic illustration of this profound sense of gratitude, one can hear in the new Voice of Ukraine when on December 21, Switzerland nearly doubled their planned winter aid to Ukraine.

Faced with the harsh challenges of a merciless winter, millions of people in Ukraine are in dire need of assistance.

In response, the Swiss federal government will allocate an additional $13.7 million in aid, bringing total aid to approximately $30 million.

This aid includes supporting several non-governmental organizations that provide vital winter assistance, as explained by the Swiss government. Swiss aid has enabled the repair of nearly 1,000 apartments and houses and has supplied heating fuel and equipment to around 1,300 households in frontline areas of Ukraine.

It is no wonder why David asks us, O let us give thanks to the Lord our God, for his steadfast love endures forever. Let all those redeemed by the Lord say so, whom he had redeemed from troubles” (Psalm 107:1-2).

The Historical Proof that Supports our Need for Your Daily Bread that Sustains Us Spiritually.

Does it surprise you that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, did not forget to remind us about these things? That is why last week you heard Jesus speaking to us, saying, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything that is written about me in the Law of Moses [Torah] and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled…” (Luke 24:44).

Jesus, then, did something which I thought was quite remarkable and quite extraordinary. He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. Jesus said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:45-49).

Overview Summary of this Week’s Torah Portion

With this in mind, let us look at this week’s Torah portion, Exodus 21:1-24:18. In the Hebrew language (God’s sacred tongue) from which our English Bible translation was taken, this week’s Torah portion is called, “Mishpatim” translated “Ordinances or commandments,” see Exodus 21:1.

To understand this, one has to, first of all, identify the double references in the text. On a superficial linguistic level which is intended primarily for the Jewish audience, the reading focuses on the Torah code, “Mishpatim,” translated as “ordinances” or “commandments.” Thus, in the opening part of the reading, we hear about the three (3) ordinances or commandments that God commands Moses to set before the people of Israel: (1) establish the calendar; (2) bring an offering to the altar as an atonement for your sin; and (3) sanctify yourselves through good deeds. In the central part of the reading, we learn about God’s special revelation and, of course, the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

Please note that from these three (3) ordinances or commandments that God instructed to be set before the people of Israel have emerged many more laws. Of these, fifty-three (53) of them are imperative commandments while thirty (30) are prohibitions.

This includes the laws of the indentured servant; the penalties for murder, kidnapping, assault and theft; civil laws pertaining to redress of damages, the granting of loans and the responsibilities of the “Four Guardians” and the laws governing the conduct of justice by courts of law; the laws warning against mistreatment of foreigners; the laws concerning the observance of the seasonal festivals, and the agricultural gifts that are to be brought to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; the prohibition against cooking meat with milk; and the mitzvah or commandment concerning prayer.

God promises to send his angel to guard, protect, and bring the people of Israel to the Land of the Holy One and warns them against assuming the pagan ways of its current inhabitants. The people of Israel proclaim, “We will do and we will hear all that God commands us” thus leaving Aaron and Hur in charge in the Israelite camp. The reading ends with Moses ascending Mount Sinai and remaining there for forty (40) days and forty (40) nights to receive the Torah from God.

Indeed, on a profound theological level, this week’s Torah portion, “ordinances,” “commandments” or “specific set of instructions,” has an important message to us, the Church, and the Body of Christ. This message is evident when this week’s Torah portion is interpreted in the context of this first week of this so-called Presentation season, And that is, this 2023 New Year could be our most blessed year provided that we faithfully follow these three commandments or these three specific set of instructions that God puts before us.

Question: What specific instructions are we discussing at the beginning of this New Year? Answer: (1), establish the calendar, (2) bring an offering to the altar as an atonement for our sin, and (3) sanctify ourselves through good deeds.

Here’s the million-dollar question: Now that we know what God wants us to do at the beginning of this brand New Year, what, then, is in it for me; what is the reward for following these three commandments or these three specific sets of instructions?

Listen, again, to God’s promise. “Behold, I send my angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared,” (Exodus 23:20). “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth…” (Isaiah 40:28).

It is no wonder why David acknowledges with a loud voice, saying, “You are the God who works wonders, you have displayed your might among the people. With your strong arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph,” (Psalm 77:14-15).

Perhaps, it is for this reason that the apostle Paul urges us, saying, “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect, (Romans 12:1-2).

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