Are you a spiritual person? A mature Christian? The apostles do not think that you are unless you have mastered the basic principles of the oracles of God.

Historians, scholars, and theologians agree that first-century Christianity was a sect of Judaism, but where does that information place first-century Gentile Christians? What did it mean to be a Gentile who practiced Judaism in the days of the apostles? These are not just academic questions; they are at the heart of today's growing Messianic Jewish movement. How do non-Jews engage in the modern Messianic Jewish revival?

In his acclaimed work, "The Sabbath," renowned theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel unveils the profound meaning of this sacred day. Transcending mere rest, the Sabbath emerges as a transformative experience, fostering awe, introspection, and connection with loved ones and the divine.

There is this great difference between the works of men and the works of God, that the same minute and searching investigation, which displays the defects and imperfections of the one, brings out also the beauties of the other. If the most finely polished needle on which the art of man has been expended be subjected to a microscope, many inequalities, much roughness and clumsiness, will be seen. But if the microscope be brought to bear on the flowers of the field, no such result appears.

Prayer is simply talking with God. Nonetheless, the grown men who followed Jesus felt as if they had something yet to learn. As true disciples, they wanted to pray just as their Rabbi did. In ancient Judaism, disciples sought not only to learn their master's teachings and interpretations; they endeavored to imitate their rabbi in every detail. Rabbi Yeshua taught, A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher (Luke 6:40). What does prayer look like in a Jewish context? How did Jesus pray?