Your Daily Bread for March 17-23, 2024 by Dr Apelu Poe

Welcome to Your Daily Bread for March 17-23, 2024 by Dr Apelu Poe!

Key Torah Code for this Last Week of the Lent or Preparation Season: “Acharei Mot” (After the death of): Leviticus 16:1-18:30

Basic Principle of Our Judaic-Christian Faith:

Death is not God’s last word to us: it is the ‘after the dead ‘when God will give us his heavenly gift of eternal life that God wants us to focus on.

“The Bible says very much the same thing. Moses, in his last words to the ancient Israelites before he died, said it plainly: “It is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.” I’ll get to the point in a minute.

But, first, let me say Talofa, Welcome, and Shabbat Shalom to you, my friends in the name of “Yeshua HaMashiach” Jesus the Messiah! And through the power of God’s Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). As they say in Samoan, Malo le soifua manuia! Faafetai fo’i le fai tatalo! Congratulations on your good health! Thanks also for the prayers. May our God always grant us his lovingkindness!

Getting back to the point. If you have followed God’s calendar, which dictates and foretells the events of our lives to which the above quote refers, you will know that from March 17-23, we will then be entering the last week of the Lent or Preparation season.

What is the Lent or Preparation season? The Lent or Preparation season is the sixth season of the 2023-2024 Christian year calendar. It does not have a festival because everything looks forward to the Easter festival. Just as the name itself suggests, Lent or Preparation season is the time that we are called to prepare ourselves spiritually for the holy suffering of Jesus on the cross.

Therefore, it is a time of prayer and fasting, a time to draw closer to God, knowing that it is our sin that sent Jesus to the cross. The Biblical basis for this is found in Mark 2:20 where it says, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”

Before we take a look at this week’s Torah portion, let me also say “thank you” to all of you, my regular readers. You’re a fantastic community of believers made up of Jews, Christians, and Islamists, as well as people of other faiths. You are amazing because you take the time to access my Torah-Bible teaching on Facebook and LinkedIn which has now become a top-performing weekly post on social media.

It is, indeed, a great inspiration for me to see that so many of you around the world have been following my teaching on social media from week to week. I call my Torah gift for you this week “Your Daily Bread for March 17-23, 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 40 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 best receive his blessing and to best 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 last week of the Lent or Preparation season? Well, the first and foremost is self-consciousness.

Why self-consciousness? Because life transformation begins with precisely that: self-consciousness.

It all has to do with the flow of information, the dynamic of your brain's plank field, and the feedforward and feedback process that is involved in it.

The physics is not hard to understand. You’re receiving the information from the universe (God), and you are feeding that information forward into your brain’s plank field through a process called quantum oscillation of all your protons and neutrons.

Remember, each one of us is made up of trillions of cells. And each one of those cells at its quantum or sub-atomic level is made up of hundreds of trillions of protons and neutrons. nucleons...etc

So you are feeding this information into your brain’s plank field, your brain interprets it and feeds it back to you in a way that will enable you to say, Aha, I now see it with my naked eyes. That’s self-consciousness.

Anyway, the point is this. Until we are made aware of what we need to do to help make this world a better place for all of us, we will never be able to get out of this geo-political, socio-economic turmoil that we now find ourselves in, no matter where we are in the world today.

Perhaps it is for this reason that on Monday, March 4, US Vice President Kamala Harris reiterated her call for a cease-fire in Gaza putting the onus on Hamas to agree to a deal during her controversial meeting with Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz in Washington.

Harris voiced continued support for Israel's security but also "expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza,'' adding that she and Gantz also discussed the urgency of freeing the hostages.

To that effect, Harris exhorted Hamas "to accept the terms on the table whereby the release of hostages would result in an immediate six-week ceasefire and enable a surge of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza.''

On Sunday, March 3, Harris made news by becoming the highest-US-ranking administration official to call for an immediate cease-fire.

Listen, again, to Vice President, Harris’ words, "People in Gaza are starving,'' urging Israel to allow more aid into the territory. The conditions are inhumane, and our common humanity compels us to act."

The visit by Gantz, an increasingly popular figure in Israeli politics and a longtime rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was not authorized by Israel's government. Gantz's meetings with top U.S. officials are viewed in Israel as a warning from the Biden administration to Netanyahu, who has refused global demands for a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis and has pledged to continue the war in Gaza until Hamas is crushed.

Gantz, a centrist who joined Netanyahu's government in a show of solidarity after the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, is scheduled to meet Tuesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Associated Press reported Netanyahu admonished Gantz for the trip, telling him the country has “just one prime minister.”

Why am I sharing this with you? Because it highlights the fact that to address any concern or any challenges that we face in our life today, we must, first of all, identify what is at the heart, the root of those challenges. Without that, we will never be able to come up with an adequate or appropriate strategy that will resolve our challenges.

So the Torah gift I’m giving you this week will help you become aware of the fact that despite our iniquities, transgressions, and sins, our God is ever able and willing to forgive us.

Listen, again, to God’s word to us, “For if that first covenant had been fruitless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. But the days will come, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I paid no heed to them, says the Lord. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach everyone his fellow, or his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:7-12).

The second benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is a greater sense of moral clarity. It’ll help you develop a greater sense of moral clarity so that you can have the courage to overcome any challenges and difficulties that you may face in your life today while at the same time, eliminating all the negative or limiting beliefs that have prevented you from manifesting who God created you to be.

A classic illustration that affirms this moral clarity we can see Tuesday, March 5 when the ICC (International Criminal Court) issued arrest warrants for top Russian commanders.

In other words, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for top Russian commanders over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov, an army lieutenant general and a navy admiral, are the two men named by the ICC.

This is the second round of warrants for Russian officials related to the war in Ukraine. The first was for President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights envoy.

Russia does not recognize the ICC, making it highly unlikely they will ever be deported to face the charges.

The ICC said the latest warrants were due to there being reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects were responsible for "missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure".

The alleged crimes took place between October 2022 and March 2023, the ICC said.

The court said that the attacks caused civilian harm and damage that would have been excessive.

The two men "are each allegedly responsible for the war crime of directing attacks at civilian objects" and are also accused of the "crime against humanity of inhumane acts", the court said.

Mr Kobylash, 58, was the commander of long-range aviation for the Russian Air Force at the time of the alleged crimes.

Mr Sokolov, 61, was an admiral in the Russian navy who commanded the Black Sea Fleet during the period to which the charges relate, according to the ICC.

It is no wonder why God wants us to be quite clear on what we should and should not do.

Listen, again, to Paul’s reminder to us, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). “Say to those with fearful hearts,” the prophet Isaiah said, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance, with Divine retribution, he will come to save you” (Isaiah 35:4).

The third benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is self-discipline. It’ll help you to develop your self-discipline.

What do we mean by self-discipline? And, why the need to do that at a time when we witness the world in moral and spiritual crisis?

By self-discipline, we mean the ability to control our actions and our emotions. The first in importance is the will. Because man is his will; and woman is her will, too. When we will God’s will, and desire God’s desire, then we will be much more clear on why we are here, and why God has put us in leadership and management positions in such a challenging time as this.

Perhaps it is in this context that a US professor felt it necessary to teach Ukranian students the art of peace-making.

Professor David Dowling of Pepperdine University travelled last fall from California to Ukraine to teach some students of Taras Shevchenko National University a course in conflict and dispute resolution.

In a bomb shelter under Kyiv, as the war continued above them, 18 undergraduates learned the art of peace-making.

"Five minutes into class, the air raid sirens started," Dowling said. He added, "For the first time in my teaching career, and possibly not the last, I taught my class in a bomb shelter."

Selected based on interest and English proficiency, the class was a response to the lack of mediation and negotiation in the curriculum, according to Kateryna Manetska, the program coordinator and an alumna of Taras Shevchenko.

"But now that's more important than ever, so we decided to do anything possible to make this happen," Manetska told ABC News.

For the students, this class was their first time back in person since the COVID-19 pandemic and the war began. The excitement, said Dowling, was palpable before he even embarked on a long journey from Los Angeles to Poland and finally to Kyiv, via what he called "the longest train ride in my life."

It is no wonder why the apostle Paul put it this way, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).

The fourth benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is high levels of motivation. It’ll help you develop high levels of motivation knowing that everything is energy.

How do we go about doing that? By putting your complete trust in the mighty hand of God who spoke the universe into existence.

Could this be the reason why on Tuesday, March 5, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Ukraine's allies not to be "cowards" in supporting the country to fight off the Russian invasion?

He added that he "fully stood behind" controversial remarks made last week not ruling out the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine, which sent a shockwave around Europe.

Listen, again, to President Macron’s words of motivation, "We are surely approaching a moment for Europe in which it will be necessary not to be cowards," Macron said on a visit to the Czech Republic, which is pushing a plan to buy weapons outside Europe for Ukraine.

Speaking later after meeting his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel, he asked: "Is this or is it not our war? Can we look away in the belief that we can let things run their course?"

"I don't believe so, and therefore I called for a strategic surge and I fully stand behind that," Macron said.

Why am I bringing this to your attention? Because it emphasizes the importance of high levels of motivation.

It is no wonder why God put it this way, “Fear not for I am with you, be not dismay for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

The fifth benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is inner strength. It’ll help you enhance your inner strength knowing that with God, nothing shall be impossible.

Mahatma Gandhi considered this when he said, “Strength does not come from physical capacity”. For Mahatma Gandhi, “strength comes from an indomitable will that goes after God.”

How does Mahatma Gandhi know that? Because he was quite convinced that God created us alike in his Divine image, therefore, we are Divine beings. That means within us dwells the infinite wisdom and the sacred creative force of our Divine Creator.

Conscious of these incredible Divine gifts, it is not hard for us to witness how on Tuesday, March 5, NASA’s latest group of astronauts were able to complete their space training with flying colours.

NASA Group 23 of astronaut candidates, informally known as "The Flies", have now become eligible for space missions alongside the second astronaut candidate group from the UAE.

The 12 astronaut candidates, all selected in 2021, have completed 2.5 years of basic training. Their graduation to full astronaut status means they are all eligible for a spaceflight, although that may not happen right away depending on the needs of the space program.

The new astronauts are on the eve of a huge shift in the human spaceflight program. The class will likely witness the end of the International Space Station (ISS) program, now expected no earlier than 2030, and the transition to new commercial space stations that will host professional astronauts.

If all goes to plan, this group will also fly to the moon's surface and to NASA's lunar-orbiting Gateway space station to support the Artemis program that aims to land astronauts at the moon's south pole no earlier than 2026. This will make The Flies among the first astronauts to do moon missions since the Apollo astronauts of the 1960s and 1970s, more than half a century ago.

Why is this important to mention here? Because it reminds us of the importance of inner strength.

David, then, summarizes it this way, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped and my heart exults, and with my song, I give thanks to him” (Psalm 28:7).

The sixth benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is change and adaptability. It’ll help you to know that time has changed. Therefore we need to prepare to make changes and adjust as best we can. Adapting to new changes requires flexible leadership.

To do this, we need to accept, embrace, and lead through change. More leaders all over the world are facing change and complexity. Why? Because the world is no longer the same.

In 2020 we had the global coronavirus pandemic that affected everyone. It has called each of us to rethink how we’re living. It has presented us all with new challenges, new circumstances, and new uncertainties in our workplaces. Whether we like it or not, adaptability is now a requirement. Because change is constant and inevitable, that means leaders must be flexible to succeed.

Perhaps, this is why King Solomon leaves us with these words of wisdom, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

The seventh benefit that my Torah gift will give you this week is a deeper sense of gratitude and heartfelt appreciation. It’ll help you develop a deeper sense of gratitude and heartfelt appreciation, knowing that the greatest expression of the fulfilment of our mission on this earth is not anything that we have done, but rather, it is what God has done for us after death: our entry into life without end.

Perhaps conscious of this incredible expression of God’s gift to us, the UN rights chief on Monday, March 4, urged an end to the ‘repression’ of independent voices in Russia after Navalny’s death.

The U.N. human rights chief called Monday for a quick end to the “repression of independent voices” in Russia and expressed concerns about the “persecution" of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison last month.

Volker Türk, in a wide-ranging speech, also lamented dozens of conflicts around the world, widespread violations of human rights law that have impacted millions, and displacements caused by war, which could escalate in places like the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and Sudan.

Alluding to some countries among the dozens holding national elections this year, Türk denounced “increasing restrictions" on rights defenders, journalists and “perceived critics” in India.

He urged U.S. authorities to ensure that voting is universal, alluding to discriminatory policies that restricted the right of Black Americans to vote.

In the run-up to Russia's presidential elections from March 15-17, Türk said Russian authorities “have further intensified their repression of dissenting voices” and noted how some candidates “have been prevented from running due to alleged administrative irregularities.”

He said Navalny's death in a Russian prison last month “adds to my serious concerns about his persecution” and noted how thousands of politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and others have faced criminal or administrative charges for having “simply spoken their minds on social media.”

Türk called for a swift and comprehensive review of all cases where people in Russia were detained for exercising fundamental freedoms, and “an immediate end to the repression of independent voices and the legal professionals who represent them.”

"The future of the country depends on an open space,” he said. March’s vote in Russia is all but guaranteed to see President Vladimir Putin 71, cement his place in power until at least 2030.

“Russia’s political leadership and authorities must be held to account," she said in a discussion following Türk's remarks.

"Navalny’s courage, sacrifice and unwavering commitment to the cause of justice. Freedom and democracy will never be forgotten.”

Türk spoke out against the perception of “racially motivated” police activity in some Western countries and called on China to revise a criminal procedure law and the “vague offence of ‘picking quarrels and making trouble’” in one of its articles.

"I urge the release of human rights defenders, lawyers and others detained under such legislation,” he said.

Why is this important as we prepare ourselves spiritually for the holy suffering of Jesus? Because it makes clear to us the cost of our salvation.

Listen, again, to the author of the Book of Hebrews who helps us see the transition from the Torah teaching to the New Testament teaching, “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come” (Hebrews 13:12-14).

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

Does it surprise you, then, 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, Leviticus 16:1-18:30 to see what’s in it for me (WIIFM).

Remember our Lord’s Prayer where you hear Jesus asking Father God, “Our Father who art in heaven…Give us this day our daily bread.” That means every week; God gives us our daily bread, our weekly Torah portion that sustains us spiritually.

So, in the Hebrew language (God’s sacred tongue) from which our English Bible translation was taken, the Torah portion for the week of March 17-23 is called, “Acharei Mot” translated as “After the death of,” see Leviticus 16:1.

To understand this, one has to, first of all, identify the double references in the text. On a superficial linguistic level intended primarily for the Jewish audience, the reading focuses on the code “Acharei Mot,” translated as “After the death of.” Thus, in the opening part of the reading, we are told about the aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aaron.

In the central part of the reading, we learn that it was after the death of Nadav and Avihu that God warned against unauthorised entry “into the Holy of Holies.” What this simply implies is that only one person, the high priest may but once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, enter the innermost chamber in the Sanctuary. What for? To offer the sacred “ketoret” or incense to God.

Please note that another significant feature of the Day of Atonement service is the casting of lots over two goats to determine which should be offered to God and which should be dispatched to carry the sins of Israel to the wilderness.

The reading ends with a reminder warning the people of Israel against:

(1) bringing animal or meal offerings anywhere but in the Holy Temple,

(2) consumption of blood, and

(3) incest and other deviant sexual relations.

Indeed, on a profound theological level, this last week of the Lent season Torah portion, “Acharei Mot” (After the death of) has an important message to us, the Church, and the Body of Christ. This message is evident when the Torah portion is interpreted in the context of this last week of Lent or the Preparation season. And that is, God wants to remind us of our hope of salvation that lies after the death of Jesus on the cross. This implies that death is not the last word.

How do we know that? Listen, again, to our text for this week: The Lord said to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark, lest he dies; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat,” (Leviticus 16:1-2).

This means that the aftermath of Nadav’s and Avihu’s death is a metaphor, a symbol that directs our attention to the aftermath of Jesus’ death. Because it was precisely after Jesus’ death on the cross that our redemption from our sins was effected.

Question: Why, did the mysterious death of the two sons of Aaron, Nadav and Abihu occur when they went into the Holy of Holies? After all, they, too, were priests.

Answer: Because they were not high priests, and so they did something that they were not allowed.

Only Jesus, the high priest, can enter the Holy of Holies on Good Friday to effect our redemption from our sins. This is why the Book of Hebrews said, “But when Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent…he entered once for all into the Holy Place taking not the blood of goats and calves, but his own blood thus securing an eternal redemption,” (Hebrews 9:11-12).

It is no wonder why the prophet Zechariah exclaimed, saying, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you triumphant and victorious is he.” (Zechariah 9:9).

Perhaps, it is for this reason that David put it this way, “For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods…For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (Psalm 95:3, 7).

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The book also peaked at #1 in Australia in Judaism, Jewish Sacred Writings and Old Testament Studies and made the #1 International Bestseller list in Great Britain in Religion, Exegesis, and Bible References. Here’s the link to get your copy of my #1 International Bestseller, “The Hidden Secrets of the Master’s Mind: How You Can Live with God’s Time”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWVMBSJP. You can reach me at [email protected]