Grace! and Peace! to you,

In this newsletter, I want to share our resolution for 2025 and the impact it can have on your life and ministry. But first, a big thank you is in order. Because of you, JCStudies remains viable.

Your financial support is a kingdom act of camaraderie, a curious word not used much but packed with meaning. Like the word haverim, on the most accessible level, it means friends. In the kingdom, however, haverim means disciples who grasp that the Master’s work in them is meant to lead to meaningful ministry through them (John 15:15-16). What Jesus does in us is for those around us; our network of relationships.

Thank you, my faithful traveling companions!

Learning to Delight in God

And now to our resolution for 2025: To help every fervent follower develop a weekly sabbathing habit that is practical, repeatable, and sustainable.

Our Sabbath Devotional Study, sent out by email every Saturday, is the gateway for seekers to tap into our wealth of resources. The weekly article is full of gems that enrich all who receive them. Out of the archives of Dwight’s timeless teaching just began a series called, Learning to Delight in God. Listen to these provoking ideas from his introduction.

“What makes the cosmos cohere? That is what the physicists are looking for and the most brilliant minds cannot explain. What is the invisible force that holds everything together? It is the sustaining utterance of YHWH. He still speaks. Do you hear him? Should he cease to speak, we should cease to be. For in him, in his very breath, his Spirit, we have our existence, we have life. Apart from him, we would not be.“ – God’s Self-Disclosure

“And so it is after his great deliverance, at the mount of his choosing, that he gives his bride Torah—his guidance, directions, and instructions on how to continue in unabated, unmediated intimacy with her lover. He establishes the whole sacrificial system because they will fall short. And when they do slip from the presence of his glory they can be restored.“ – Build Me a Sanctuary

You can read more here.

Sabbathing: A Way to Seek First the Kingdom

My recent online seminar, Harnessing the Power of Beginning Again, was packed. I detailed the what and why of the Sabbath and how it connects in both Testaments. Here is a liberating thought. The Hebrew word shabbat is first used as a verb, twice! God rested [shabbat] on the seventh [shevi’ith] day from all his work (Gen 2:2-3). Sabbathing is first a creation principle and something we can learn to imitate as a spiritual habit.

Sabbathing is an action our Father models and by his Spirit we can learn, like Jesus, to imitate.

Out of my study I developed a course called How to Sabbath. I’m teaching a class of 25 enthusiastic students even as I write this newsletter. If you’re interested, I’ll be running a How to Sabbath class every quarter on our event page.

Community News

• I was the chapel speaker for over 250 middle and high schoolers at Legacy Academy last Friday. Rejoice with me and keep praying for this coming generation! The Holy Spirit was evident and the response was moving. What a difference preaching from a Hebraic perspective makes. It helped them hear familiar things with new ears.
• Be on the lookout for our new 2025 bookmarks coming with your March-April newsletter.
• By the leading and with the help of the Lord, I’ve begun the process of putting together a book of Dwight’s teaching on the Psalms of Ascent to be published in 2025. More soon!

Please pray for us; we pray for you.

Immanuel!  James