I launched this Substack platform almost a year ago. I’ve learned a lot over this past year about writing weekly blogs that are interesting, accessible, and hopefully helpful (and not packed with too many ideas!). My main focus continues to be to invest in using this digital platform to promote engagement with God and others in embodied and incarnational ways. Thus, my real passion is not developing an online following but to follow God more obediently and see Him do the “heavy lifting” of transforming human hearts and relationships and use my small little “loaf and fish” offering of weekly blogs.
My soul soars and sings when I rest under the words of Moses—himself echoing the very words of God:
ADONAI will fight for you, while you hold your peace. (Exodus 14:14)
Furthermore, my soul soaks in the rest only God can bring—a “shalom that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) when I receive in faith the words of the Greater Moses—speaking the very words of God:
Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and “you will find rest for your souls” [see Jeremiah 6:16]. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
Let that soak in.
Our Creator wants intimacy with you. I believe God prioritizes pursuing Relational Depth with you. To what extent do you prioritize your relationship with God? This Substack platform is my way of trying to help you prioritize and pursue Relational Depth with God—and Relational Depth in your relationships with others.
So, what’s changing.
First, I am in the process of restructuring the online Substack platform to better align with my other initiatives and online website platforms (linked below). Specifically, this means that I will be writing in three different areas:
1. Faith for ALL blogs will promote disability engagement.
2. Scripture for ALL blogs will promote biblical literacy.
3. Education for ALL blogs will promote transformational schooling.
Furthermore, while breaking up my writings into these three distinct areas will help clarify the distinctive purposes, the underlying and unifying focus will remain promoting what I call the “RD for KB DNA” through all my writings. Click HERE for a verbal articulation of what is visualized in the RDKB Crest. This encapsulates what I believe is my life message and animates everything I say and write.
What you can expect from me.
For the past year, I have been writing weekly blogs creating a kind of introduction to the devotional commentary I wrote years ago that has now become The Parashah Project. In the restructuring described above, I’ve gotten a little behind. We are almost at the end of the year and will “Roll the Scroll” back to the beginning in just a few weeks and begin the cycle anew. One thing I love about the Parashah Rhythm of studying God’s Word is that while God—His Words and His ways—do not change, we do. Thus, we revisit the stories of creation and the ensuing corruption. The stories of God entering into covenant relationships with Abraham’s family and Moses’ nation. The promise and fulfillment of God renewing these promises and extending relational access to the nations/gentiles by becoming “grafted in” as spiritual seed of Abraham through the Greater Moses. And as we wait together—Jews and Gentiles—for the coming of the Messiah—we find that the only thing that has changed—is us. We change…and hopefully we find that we have grown and continue to grow and hopefully become better human beings. We become more like the One who created us in His image.
So - here’s what you can expect over the next few weeks to finish out this cycle and begin again with the first portion — in Genesis 1 (B’reisheet) on October 14, 2023.
In the next few days, I will post the overdue blog for the last double portion: Nitsavim / VaYelech covering Deuteronomy 29:10[v. 9 in Hebrew] through the end of chapter 31, along with the sections from the Prophets and Apostles.
I will also be posting blogs for the final two portions: Ha’azinu and V’Zot HaB’rachah in the next few weeks.
The High Holy Days begin this Friday night with Erev Rosh Hashanah followed by Yom Kippur and then Sukkot and Simchat Torah. In the future, I plan to post devotionals for all these holidays with their associated Scripture readings. But for now…I will be working on finalizing the transition and changes I described above to make all of my digital presence clearer, more accessible, and hopefully more useful to wonderful folks like YOU!
Shalom,
Thomas