Hate is such a strong word, yet God says He hated Esau. If we don’t want to be on the receiving end of this hatred, it makes sense to find out why God hated Esau, doesn’t it? The writer of Hebrews calls Esau sexually immoral and godless. In part one we saw that Esau’s priorities […]
Author Archive | Ro Pinto
Why Did God Hate Esau?
Did you ever wonder why God hated Esau? After all, hate is such a strong word. Yet God chose Jacob over Esau and He says several times that He hated Esau. But why? Well, when we read Romans 9 we see that Paul explains God is sovereign; He can bless and curse whomever He wants […]
Why I Don’t Celebrate Christmas
As some of you know, I’ve been struggling with the notion of Christmas/no Christmas. I like Keith’s thoughts on the matter. I especially like how he goes out of his way to keep Christians from feeling condemned. Good article! Originally posted on Man In The Street Musings: *Disclaimer – I found that photo on […]
Should I Stop?
A couple of weeks ago, I posted Puzzling Over Fringes. It was quickly followed by a flurry of activity on Google+ and a reader on this blog. Now, normally a flurry of activity for a writer is a good thing, and I’m not complaining, but as subscribers to my newsletter know, I felt sucker-punched by […]
What Does it Mean to be Born Again?
A friend on Google+ posted a very inspirational piece called, “Born Again – the DNA of Eternal Life”. The music is moving, the images inspiring, and the message encouraging. However, I had some thoughts that I feel are pertinent to understanding what it means to be born again. So here is my reaction to his […]
Puzzling Over Fringes
On Friday, I was in line at the kosher deli in Winn Dixie. The gentlemen there have come to know me as I used to work as a vendor in the store and have shopped there for about 3 years. I’ve shared with them my trip to Israel, we’ve exchanged pleasantries, and they’ve helped me […]
God Sees Your Pain
Our God is an amazing God. He offers us comfort, gives us instruction, then always follows it with a promise. With Him, there is life and peace – even in the midst of the storms of life. Today’s post is from a chapter in a book I wrote several years ago, though never quite finished. […]
It’s All About Grace
The other day a friend responded to my post, ‘Same God, Same Commandments, But?’ with, “It’s all about grace.” And he’s right! It is all about grace. The challenge we have as Christians is that we think grace came into play only in the New Testament. However, when we look at the writings of the […]
Going to a Miknic
A miknic? What on earth is a miknic? Well, if you attend Temple Aron haKodesh, you know that a miknic is our family’s way of saying we are going to a beach picnic that will include immersion in the ocean. In Hebrew, the word for the place to have that immersion is known as a […]
Who Can Define Sin?
God is the Creator of all things. Stop for a minute and dwell on that. No really, meditate on the fact that before God began creating, nothing existed – no time…no space…nothing. Then God began to create. And He set up laws and systems to keep that creation going, laws like gravity and motion, the […]