I have often said, and will continue to do so, that scientific proof is the antithesis of faith.

And that’s because it is, but that doesn’t mean science and religion do not have one very important thing in common.

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Let’s kick this off with what a scientific proof is all about. You start with an hypothesis, which is a fancy word for guess, questioning why something in nature occurs. You then test that hypothesis with experimentation, using both a control and a variable group. If your hypothesis is correct, the scientific proof is that you are able to recreate- at will- that event which you first asked, “How does this happen?”

Religion is quite different. Religion requires faith, which we are told is believing in things not proven or seen (Hebrews 11:1). In fact, Yeshua himself identified the importance of faith over proof when he told Thomas (John 20:29) that he believes because he has seen, but blessed are those who believe without seeing.

So, nu? If science and religion are so very different at their very basic level, what can they possibly have in common?

The answer, as I see it, is that they both are based on asking a question.

Science questions what it sees in order to understand what makes something in nature “tick”, and religion questions who is saved, is Yeshua God, is there a hell, which calendar is correct, should we eat this or not, do we follow Torah or not, etc. etc. ad nauseum.

And what is important to remember is that truth- whether about nature or God- is strong enough to stand up to being questioned.

When I am having a discussion with someone about God or Yeshua or the meaning of something in the Bible, if we disagree the first thing I will do is ask, “Why do you believe that?”

Now I know I have stated that faith is believing in what can’t be proven, but generally speaking everyone does have some reason for believing what they do. In my experience, it is rare when someone can use biblical knowledge or life experience to prove that what they accept on faith is actually based on a reasonable explanation for that belief.

I chose, long ago, to believe Yeshua is the Messiah, but I can also back that up, to a degree, with biblical verification and even non-religious verification (the writings of Josephus, for example). I do not need proof, and if questioned I can stand up to the “doubting Thomas’s” simply by providing enough documentation to show there is some justification for my belief.

Science is based on asking questions, and religion is based on faith, but both are correct when asking questions in order to dig down deep enough to come to the truth.

Science does that through experimentation, and religion does it through study of the Bible, study of extra-biblical documentation, and (believe it or not)…logical thinking.

Many scientists over the years, after becoming more familiar and learned about the world, have come to the “scientific” conclusion that there is some higher intelligence that has formed the universe, and that conclusion is based on observation and knowledge of how the world and nature works.

They have actually proven, scientifically, that order does not come out of chaos, but quite the opposite- order eventually devolves into chaos. So, knowing (again, scientifically proven) that there was a Big Bang billions of years ago, that was certainly chaos, but it has evolved (for lack of a better word) into order. And not just order, but a perfectly designed order of life.

That doesn’t just happen.

So, if anyone questions your faith, be prepared to justify it with more than just “Because”, because because ain’t good enough for those who need to question.

And understand this… people question in order to seek an answer, and by accepting their questions with calm, confident answers, you have an opportunity save someone’s soul.

Thank you for being here, and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

Alright, I know you must be thinking that this title is totally off, but believe it or not I see a relationship between these two things.

But first- a message from our sponsor!

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For those who may not be familiar, visceral fat is the fat that forms around the liver, heart, and intestines, underneath the subcutaneous fat (the fat directly under the skin). The danger of visceral fat is that it isn’t as obvious, yet it increases the risk of chronic diseases, inflammation, insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances, and can cause premature death. 

(Of course, if you believe in Predestination, then there isn’t any such thing as premature death, right?)

So, visceral fat isn’t just fat, it is a silent and invisible killer.

Starting to see where I am going with this?

Sin is not always so obvious as we would like it to be, but it is a killer, none the less.

Oh, yeah, sure, you know when you have killed someone, or committed adultery, or cursed out a parent, or any other of the many sins outlined in the Torah. Those are easy to spot.

But what about when your religion tells you it is OK to eat pork, or to observe Sunday as the Sabbath Day, then after church go out to a restaurant for a nice brunch?

Or what about when you reject God’s Holy Days to celebrate man-made, non-biblical holidays because you have been told that is worshipping God?

Or maybe you don’t know you have sinned simply because we have a sinful nature, and doing what feels right is probably not right in God’s eyes; and, not being intimately familiar with the Bible, you aren’t aware of what you are doing.

In the end, though, just like when you tell the cop who stopped you for an illegal turn that you weren’t aware it was not allowed, God will give you the same reply when you say you didn’t know it was a sin:

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

The way to get rid of visceral fat is to eat the right foods, get regular exercise, and reduce stress (stress causes the release of a hormone called Cortisol, which promotes fat storage, especially visceral fat).

Remarkably enough, that is also the way to reduce sin (using a spiritual equivalent):

Eat the right foods means to take into yourself only that which is healthy, meaning reject false doctrine and any tenets or ceremonies that are not biblical;

Get regular exercise means to read the Bible every day, strengthening your spiritual muscle and maturity; and

Reduce stress by increasing your faithful trusting in God to keep you safe, even when you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

You may be wondering how to increase faith, and the answer (at least, for me) is to recall all the times you were nearly hit by another car, or when you really needed to get somewhere and all the lights were green, or when you lost something valuable and a stranger returned it to you intact. Every time something in your life happened that you thought would end up terribly, but you came out okay, that was God protecting you. When you think about how many times that has happened, even (as with me) way before you became a Believer, that is how you strengthen your faith- by remembering and believing that all those times, it was God interceding on your behalf.

And one other thing- because visceral fat is nearly invisible, you have to know it is there by measuring yourself. The rule for visceral fat is your waist should be half the number of inches of your height, so if you are 5’10’, that is 70 inches, your waist (above your bellybutton) should measure 35 inches. Any more than that, you’ve got visceral fat!

As for your spiritual visceral fat, read the Torah; that is the only place where God, himself, tells us directly how he wants us to live, and see how close you come to God’s definition of what the ideal measurement should be.

For the record- Yeshua was skinny as a rail!

I know this message feels more like an infomercial than a spiritual encouragement, but I have been working on my visceral fat (the physical kind) recently, and it occurred to me how invisible fat and unrecognized sin are the same: both are dangerous to your health.

We all need to work at being healthier than we are, both physically and spiritually, and it has to be a lifetime commitment.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

PS: Hey, can I ask you to do me a favor? Will you please make any sort of comment on this and all of my messages in the future? Even just a Thumbs Up emoji helps these messages get more exposure on the Internet. Todah Rabah!

Okay, I’ll bet you are waiting to see how this one turns out, right? I mean, what do restaurants with automatic tipping have to do with the Bible?

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Let’s start by reviewing what Yeshua said in Luke 17:7-11 (CJB):

If one of you has a slave tending the sheep or plowing, when he comes back from the field, will you say to him, ‘Come along now, sit down and eat’?  No, you’ll say, ‘Get my supper ready, dress for work, and serve me until I have finished eating and drinking; after that, you may eat and drink.’  Does he thank the slave because he did what he was told to do? No!  It’s the same with you — when you have done everything you were told to do, you should be saying, ‘We’re just ordinary slaves, we have only done our duty.

Let’s first talk about the slave thing- if you recall, and even if you don’t, in the Gospel of John, in Romans, and in 1 Peter we are told that everyone is a slave to that which controls them. So, we might be a slave to sin, a slave to obedience, or a slave to Facebook…but we are always a slave to something.

The ideal thing is to be a slave to God. (DUH!)

We’re getting closer to the automatic tipping part of this message.

By the way, when I talk about obedience I do not mean obeying a religion but obeying what God said we should do, how to worship him and how to treat each other, and that is found only in the Torah. That obedience is not something that we get extra credit for- it is what we are expected to do. There is no “tip” for resting on the Shabbat, no “tip” for fasting on Yom Kippur, and no “tip” for loving your neighbor.

No! That is the minimum required.

Now let’s get to automatic tipping: one of the real problems in America today, as I see it, is that people in a service industry, such as a waiter in a restaurant or a steward on a cruise ship, are being given tips automatically. The bill comes and there is a 17% tip automatically charged to you (sometimes it’s called something else, but it is a tip), and they still have a space under the subtotal for you to add another tip!

Why is that a problem, you may ask? I’ll tell you why- it supports the selfish and lazy attitude people have because they feel they are entitled.

C’mon, tell me that you don’t think many of today’s youth think they are entitled. They expect their school loans to be paid for, they expect to work hours convenient for them, they expect raise at work for just showing up! When people are expecting to automatically get a reward, where is their motivation to give the best service they can?

In my experience I have found that when you have people working together, and the ones who do the least get the same rewards as the ones who do their best, guess who changes their attitude?

When I was an Executive Officer in the United States Marine Corps, I was transferred to a company whose morale was so low you could walk on it without having to get on your tip-toes! I spent a month or so punishing those who were lazy and not doing what they were supposed to do, and the morale increased tremendously.

Most Christians are taught that because Yeshua served God, they don’t have to! The idea of following all those rules and regulations in the Torah are not for Christians because when you believe in Jesus, you get an automatic tip called salvation, no matter how good or bad your service is.

Sorry, Folks, but salvation is not automatic, forgiveness is not automatic, and when you just do what you want to do you are a slave only to yourself.

But to be saved you must be a slave to God!

So, from this point on, please review your service to God and make sure that you are doing what you are supposed to do without expecting any special treatment in heaven or here on earth. Remember how Yeshua often said that those who seek their reward from men will get only that?

Too many have been taught to expect a lot from God only because they believe in Yeshua, but that won’t get you anywhere. Remember, every demon in hell believes in Yeshua! What you need to do is to faithfully believe Yeshua is the Messiah, and because of that (not in spite of it) obey God, which is demonstrated by your good works.

I can tell you that when I face God at his Throne of Judgement, all I want to hear is “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I don’t need anything more than that because I know when I do what is right in God’s eyes, that is what I am SUPPOSED to do!

But it isn’t all bad news: just like servers who do exceptionally well get a larger tip, according to Deuteronomy 28, when we serve Adonai as best as we can we receive blessings, which is God’s way of giving us a tip.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

In Chapter Nine of the Gospel of Mark we read about a man who asks Yeshua to heal his son, if he can. When Yeshua says all things can be done if you trust, the man’s response is something that we should all confess we need.

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When Yeshua tells the father that if he trusts anything is possible, we are told (CJB):

 Instantly the father of the child exclaimed, “I do trust — help my lack of trust!”

So, how can he say he does trust if he needs help for his lack of trust? It seems that either we trust, or we don’t trust, right?

Not right; trust is tiered, not absolute.

And because we are human, that goes for trusting God, too. Even though we all know he is 1,000% trustworthy, trust is an emotional thing. As such, it has different levels: we can trust someone who doesn’t trust us, and vice-versa.

For example, a man who has been paroled from jail for robbery asks us for a job as cashier because he did that before he stole from where he was working. He says that he has learned his lesson and repented, so we give him a chance.

But we don’t trust him, well, not completely, so we have a video system to watch his every move which we check every night when we double-check his closing-out numbers. Now, he trusts us to allow him to continue to work there so long as he remains honest, but we don’t trust him enough to leave him unobserved.

We trust his ability to do the job, so there is that level of trust, but he trusts us as his employer a whole lot more than we trust him as our employee.

Eventually, if he has really repented of his criminal desires and proves, over time, that he is trustworthy, then the levels of trust can be more equal.

Getting back to the Bible story, when this man trusted that Yeshua could heal his son, he still doubted because of his own insecurities. I believe that is why trust is so hard for so many, myself included, because we always interpret the world through our own experiences and knowledge. If we have had a life of difficulty, or been misled and cheated on, we will find it difficult to trust anyone, even someone like Yeshua who we heard so much about.

And that time in Israel’s history was a very untrustworthy period; the Sanhedrin were composed often of political hacks who weren’t Levites, the king of Israel was not a descendant of David, and the High Priest was a descendant of Aaron, but he was appointed by a Roman official, not by lot.

It was probably the most dishonest time in Israel’s long history, so trusting did not come easily for many.

I confess that I am like that man: I trust that Yeshua is the Messiah and that he did those things we read about, but when it comes down to asking for healing for myself, or someone I care about, well… I don’t trust that I am trusting enough to deserve that help.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you are going to say- God is trustworthy to do what we ask him to do, and he will bless us even if we do not deserve it. And blessings, unlike salvation, is something we can earn (Deuteronomy 28). But still, whether we need to deserve a blessing or not, it is up to God to bless or not to bless, and I will always feel that my level of trust is undeserving of his blessings.

Yet, I know he blesses me every day, so I trust, but I need help to trust more. I have known God’s work in my life, I know absolutely that he is there and watching me, and I also know, absolutely, that he knows what is best for me.

There are some prayers I have been praying for decades which haven’t really been answered; at least, not as I was hoping they would be. God did answer me once, and it was something that I didn’t want to hear: after asking many times for God to excise certain thoughts from my brain that I don’t want, thoughts that are sinful, he told me that it doesn’t work that way.

He said that if he just took away all my evil thoughts then I would never be able to call on his power when having to face the Enemy’s temptations.

In other words, if God just made it happen then I would not be able to stand on my own when faced with temptation. God is not a “helicopter parent”, he is a coach and he will teach us how to trust, how to live, and empower us when we call on him for help. But, we also need to be able to stand on our own two feet when facing tsouris (troubles) because spiritual strength comes from spiritual exercise, and if God does everything for us, we will never develop those spiritual muscles.

I believe that every single one of us has good reason to ask God to help our lack of trust because we are human beings, which means we are weak, self-absorbed, and easily led to sin.

When we are truly humble, we will be able to recognize our weaknesses, and then we can remember what Shaul (Paul) learned. In his second letter to the Corinthians (verses 12:9-10), when asking God to remove the thorn in his side, God replied (CJB):

“My grace is enough for you, for my power is brought to perfection in weakness.”

Shaul goes on to say he will boast of his weakness.

I, also, am strong enough to confess that I am weak.

And with that oxymoron to consider, I will thank you for being here, ask you to continue to share these messages with everyone you know, and wish you an early Shabbat Shalom.