The Messiah taught that to be great in the kingdom of heaven, we should
keep and teach the commandments of the Torah (Matthew 5:17-20). The
beloved disciple, John, stated that the one who says he abides in [Yeshua]
ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked (1 John 2:6).
To be like Yeshua, we need to obey God's commandments.
This page is currently under construction and currently highlights
several commandments of the Torah, mostly those specifically given to the
Jewish people. Messianic Niagara understands that when it comes to
salvation, there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. However, that
doesn't mean that there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles
altogether. In the coming weeks, you will see this page make a distinction
between those commandments that Gentiles must keep and those commandments
that Gentiles can keep but are not held liable for not keeping.
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. On the Sabbath, we celebrate
the fact that God is the Creator and we devote ourselves wholly to God, to our
families and our community.
In addition to blessing
God before eating, the Torah commands that we bless God for the food He
nourishes us with and for the land of Israel He has given to Israel.
As Gentile
believers, at a minimum, after consuming a meal containing bread, we
should pray the following:
"Blessed are You, O LORD, King of the universe, Who nourishes the
entire world, with goodness, grace, devotion and compassion. He gives
bread to all flesh, for His devotion is eternal. Because of His great
goodness, we have never lacked and we shall never lack nourishment forever
and ever, for the sake of His great name. For God provides for and
nourishes all. Who does good to all and prepares nourishment for all of
His creatures which he has made. Blessed are You, O LORD, Who nourishes
all." (Birkat Hazan from the We Thank You bencher by FFOZ, pg. 10)
Though we are not
affiliated with First Fruits of Zion, we do encourage you to purchase their
Grace After Meals resource called "We Thank You," as it will enable you to
begin to pray the traditional Grace After Meals prayer with a Messianic
flavour. Click here for more information!
The Messiah and his disciples were people of
prayer. As they no doubt did themselves, you also can
affirm the unity of God by reciting the Shema
every morning and evening! The Shema consists of
Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21 and Numbers
15:37-41.
Additionally, the people of Israel have historically patterned prayer
after sacrificial worship system. To parallel the daily burnt offerings,
there is a prayer called the Amidah and it is recited in the morning,
afternoon and evening. You can find the Amidah in any Jewish prayer book.
A Jewish prayer book is called a Siddur.
Of course, as followers of Yeshua, we should be praying the prayer he
taught his disciples (as found in Matthew 6:9-13):
Our Father who is in heaven,
May your name be sanctified.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
[For Yours is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.]
Keeping Kosher
The following kosher symbols
can be found on many products in any grocery store:
We
are happy to report that the Sobeys at 344 Glendale Ave, St. Catharines,
ON, L2T 0A1 now carries Chai brand kosher chicken, Montreal Kosher challah
and desserts, a few meat products in the frozen foods section
and a modest kosher section!
The following kosher restaurants are open
during certain times of the year in Niagara. They are supervised by
Chabad Niagara.
The following are locations that are close to
but are ultimately outside of the Niagara area
which have a large kosher section. Please
let us know if there
are
other kosher sources in the area.
All Biblical quotations are from the New American Standard Bible and all other
text is simply the current opinion and interpretation of Messianic Niagara.
Please contact us with any feedback, comments or corrections.
