I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae...
Romans 16:1 ESV
From the very broad use of diakonos throughout the New Testament, it appears to apply to any role in which one person serves the needs or purpose of another. I don’t think Paul ever intended to create an office in the body of Messiah bearing the title “deacon”. Rather, there are many roles that people fill in service to the body, with or without any inherent authority, and therefore can all be called deacons.
Sometimes people are clearly commissioned to be servants for a specific purpose--as is the case of Timothy (1 Thessalonians 3:2), Stephen (Acts 6:1-6), and the servants of 1 Timothy 3--but more often, people are simply being helpful, as is likely the case of Phoebe in Romans 16:1. Indeed, I think it would be better if we removed the word deacon from our vocabulary altogether and simply translated diakonos as “servant” in every case.
Some traditions identify the people named in #romans 16 as the bishops of various churches, but I think that's just fanciful myth-making.
These greetings are more profound than a list of ecclesiastical dignitaries. They are a mix of rich and poor, famous and completely unknown, personal friends, relatives, and people Paul only knew by reputation. These seemingly mundane greetings are a beautiful testament to the authenticity of the whole letter.
052725
Day 38 of counting the omer. Symbolism of 38 in the Bible. The New Testament records that YESHUA performed 38 miracles during his earthly ministry. These miracles were not only displays of power but were also acts of judgment against sickness, death, and demonic oppression.
WORD FOR TODAY “why is trusting ELOHIM so difficult?”: Psa 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
WISDOM FOR TODAY: Ecc 7:5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
www.BGMCTV.org
"And Yahweh thy God will lay all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, and that persecute thee.
Return thou therefore, and obey the voice of Yahweh"
De 30
There is no mention of mankind entering heaven until Genesis 11:4, “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
Over the weekend I was thinking about how serious breaking just one of Father's laws is.
James 2:10 says: “For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
As I understand it, this verse isn’t saying that one sin is identical in consequence to all sins—but rather that the Torah is a unified covenant, not a buffet from which we can choose our favourites. If we claim to uphold Father’s law but ignore parts we find inconvenient, are we really walking in obedience?
Many believers today say, “We’ll keep the moral laws, but the rest was nailed to the cross.” But can we truly separate the Torah into parts and discard some, while keeping others, without compromising the integrity of the whole?
My next thought then is, how does that impact salvation?
🕊️ Are we saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), not by Torah-keeping?
Is grace a license to disobey (Romans 6:1-2)? If we love Father, we are called to keep His commandments (John 14:15), but what exactly are Father's commands? Are they only the 10 Commandments, or the Torah without the sacrificial laws, or even excluding the cleanliness laws?
Are we disregarding Father’s instructions due to willful rejection of certain "inconvenient" laws?
If we are honest with ourselves, are we choosing obedience based on conviction… or convenience?
Thought for Today: Tuesday May 27
I believe that becoming a believer, is a once-for-all event, in which we repent of our sins and give ourselves to our Moshiach alone for our salvation. When we are converted, YHVH takes us “out of darkness into His marvellous Light” (1 Peter 2:9). But being a believer is a life-long process of daily repentance and faith, turning from sin and seeking to live for Moshiach, in the Power of Ruach HaKodesh… Although we have been converted, and YHVH is living in us, our “old nature” is still alive. Our stubborn wills still demand to put self-first instead of the Moshiach… Who will control your will today? You --- or the Moshiach?
READINGS FOR OMER COUNT – DAY 38
Behold, I am about to fulfill the affirmative precept of the counting of the Omer, as it is written in the Torah:
“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Shabbath, from the day that ye brought the Omer of the wave-offering, seven complete weeks they shall be; until the morrow of the seventh Shabbath shall ye number fifty days.”
Blessed art Thou YHWH, our Elohym, King of the universe, who hast set us apart by Thy commandments and hast given us command concerning the counting of the Omer.
This is the thirty-eighth day, making five weeks and three days of the Omer.
May the All Merciful restore the service of the Temple to its place. May it be Thy will, YHWH our Elohym and Elohym of our fathers, that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days, and grant our portion in Thy Torah. And there we will serve Thee with awe, as in the days of old and as in ancient years.
May Elohym be favorable unto us and bless us. That Thy way may be known upon the earth, Thy salvation among all nations. Let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, Elohym; let all the peoples give thanks unto Thee. Let the nations rejoice and exult: for Thou wilt judge the peoples with equity and lead the nations upon the earth. Let the peoples give thanks unto Thee, Elohym; let all the peoples give thanks unto Thee. The earth hath yielded her increase: Elohym, even our Elohym, shall bless us. Elohym shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
READINGS: TEHILLAH 105
Give thanks to YHWH! Call upon His Name, Make known His deeds among the peoples.
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; Speak of all His wonders.
Make your boast in His set-apart Name; Let the hearts rejoice of those seeking YHWH.
Seek YHWH and His strength; Seek His face always.
Remember His wonders which He has done, His miracles, and the judgments of His mouth, O seed of Aḇraham His servant, Children of Ya‛aqoḇ, His chosen ones!
He is YHWH our Elohim; His judgments are in all the earth.
He has remembered His covenant forever, The Word He commanded, for a thousand generations, The covenant He made with Aḇraham, And His oath to Yitsḥaq, And established it to Ya‛aqoḇ for a law, To Yisra’ěl – an everlasting covenant, Saying, “To you I give the land of Kena‛an, The portion of your inheritance.”
When they were few in number, Few indeed, and sojourners in it, And they went about from one nation to another, From one kingdom to another people, He allowed no one to oppress them, And He reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no evil.”
And He called for a scarcity of food in the land; He cut off all the supply of bread.
He sent ahead of them a man, Yosěph, sold as a slave.
They afflicted his feet with shackles, His neck was put in irons.
Until the time that His Word came, The Word of YHWH tried him.
The king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him loose.
He made him master of his house, And ruler over all his possessions, To bind his chiefs at his pleasure, And to teach his elders wisdom.
Then Yisra’ěl came to Mitsrayim, And Ya‛aqoḇ sojourned in the land of Ḥam.
And He increased His people greatly, And made them stronger than their enemies.
He turned their heart to hate His people, To conspire against His servants.
He sent Mosheh His servant, Aharon whom He had chosen.
They set among them the matters of His signs, And wonders in the land of Ḥam.
He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His word.
He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish.
Their land teemed with frogs, In the rooms of their kings.
He spoke, and swarms of flies came, Gnats in all their borders.
He gave them hail for rain, A flaming fire in their land.
And He struck their vines and their fig trees, And broke the trees of their borders.
He spoke, and locusts came, And larvae, innumerable, And they devoured all the plants in their land, And they devoured the fruit of their ground.
Then He struck all the first-born in their land, The first-fruit of all their strength, And brought them out with silver and gold, And among His tribes no one faltered.
Mitsrayim was glad when they left, For the fear of them had fallen upon them.
He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night.
They asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places, a river.
For He remembered His set-apart word, To Aḇraham His servant.
So He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with singing.
And He gave to them the lands of the nations, And they inherited the labor of peoples, In order that they might guard His laws, And watch over His Torot. Praise Yah!
READINGS: MISHLE 23:19-35
Hear, my son, and be wise, And guide your heart in the way.
Be not among heavy drinkers of wine Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the drunkard and the glutton become poor, And slumber puts rags on a man.
Listen to your father who brought you forth, And do not despise your mother when she is old.
Buy the truth and do not sell it – Wisdom and discipline and understanding.
The father of the righteous greatly rejoices, And he who brings forth a wise one delights in him.
Let your father and your mother rejoice, And let her who bore you exult.
My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes watch my ways.
For a whore is a deep pit, And a strange woman is a narrow well.
She too lies in wait as for a prey, And increases the treacherous among men.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who feels hurt without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
Those staying long at the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.
Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it gives its colour in the cup, As it flows smoothly; In the end it bites like a snake, And stings like an adder – Your eyes look on strange women, And your heart speaks perversities.
And you shall be as one Lying down in the midst of the sea, And as one lying at the top of the mast, saying, “They struck me, I was not sick! They beat me, I did not know! When shall I wake up? Let me seek it again!”
READINGS: AVOTH 4:28-29
Rabbi Elazar Haqappar said, envy, desire and ambition drive a man out of the world.
He used to say, they that are born are destined to die. and the dead to be brought to life again, and the living to be judged; to know, to make known, and to be made conscious that He is El, He the Maker, He the Creator, He the Discerner, He the Judge, He the Witness, He the Complainant; He it is that will in future judge, blessed be He, with whom there is no unrighteousness, nor forgetfulness, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes. Know also that everything is according to the reckoning; and let not thy imagination give thee hope that the grave will be a place of refuge for thee; for perforce thou wast formed, and perforce thou wast born, and thou livest perforce, and perforce thou wilt die, and perforce thou wilt in the future have to give account and reckoning before the Supreme King of kings, Haqadosh, blessed be He.
Rabbi Chanan’ya ben Aqash’ya said, Haqadosh, blessed be He, was pleased to make Yisrael worthy; wherefore He gave them a copious Torah and many commandments; as it is said, it pleased YHWH for His righteousness’ sake to magnify the Torah and make it honorable.
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