Author: Steven R. Bruck

O.S.A.S. is a Lie and the Truth is F.U.N.T.

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In my last message (a link to it is in the description) I mentioned I would talk about FUNT this week.

To start with, it is not a reference to Alan Funt, of Candid Camera fame.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

To review, OSAS is “Once Saved, Always Saved”, and the reason it is a lie is because there is no such thing as automatic forgiveness of sins.

There is a never-ending desire by God to forgive your sins (Ezekiel 18:23), but to even suggest that your sins will be forgiven automatically just because you have accepted Yeshua as the Messiah is unbiblical.
The forgiveness system has 5 steps to it:

  1. You must sin (after all, you can’t be forgiven if there is nothing to forgive- DUH!);
  2. You must confess your sin (if you refuse to accept that you sinned, it is a rejection of recognizing God’s authority);
  3. You must repent of your sin (God will not forgive an unrepentant sinner);
  4. You must ask to be forgiven with the shedding innocent blood (Hebrews 9:22); the Torah allows for a sacrifice to be substituted for your own blood;
  5. You must do t’shuvah (turn from sin) and rededicate yourself to obedience to God.

Yeshua, the Messiah, died as a once-and-for-all (meaning all people) sacrifice of innocent blood in lieu of bringing an animal to the temple in Jerusalem, the only place according to the Torah where sacrifices could be made (Deuteronomy 12:5; 2 Kings 21:7). Once the temple was destroyed (70 AD), there was no possibility to be forgiven without Yeshua.

Once you accepted Yeshua and asked to be forgiven by means of his sacrifice, the sins you had committed UP TO THAT POINT were forgiven, but any future sins (and we all continue to sin) are separate and new, not covered by that initial request.

When Shaul said that our sins were nailed to the tree with Yeshua (Colossians 2:14), he was referring to the prior sins, not any future ones.

The real danger of OSAS is that people who think they are doing what is right stop asking for forgiveness, assuming they are already forgiven, And, given human nature, if we know we are already forgiven, then we will think it is OK to sin, which means there won’t be confession, or repentance, or t’shuvah!

How many of you think that God will accept a person who has sinned continually, not confessing, repenting, or even trying to be better?

Yeah, me, too.

The way forgiveness really works is FUNT– Forgiven Until Next Time.

Believing that Yeshua is the Messiah is not enough- after all, every demon in hell knows he is.

And obedience to the Torah is not enough, because no one can be 100% obedient, 100% of the time.

What we need is a combination of accepting Yeshua and trying our very best to be obedient to the Torah (not to a religion), which is God’s User Manual for Righteousness.

So, when you screw up (and you will), if you confess, repent, ask forgiveness by means of Yeshua’s sacrifice, and try to be better (t’shuvah) in the future, God will forgive you…THIS TIME!

We know that the next time we sin, if we do all these steps that God outlined for us in the Torah, we will (again) be forgiven because, as I pointed out in Ezekiel 18:23, God is not only willing to forgive, but desires to do so.

But only when we go through the proper procedure.

God desires to forgive us, and Yeshua made forgiveness available to us any time, any where, but forgiveness, itself, is not automatic.

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!

Salvation Is Not Of This World

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How easily we all throw around the expression, “I’m saved!”, like it was tartar sauce at a fish fry.

The truth is that no one who is alive can truthfully say that they are saved.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

Now you may be thinking how I can say such a crazy thing as no one who is alive can say they are saved, but what is really crazy is using a word that is clearly representative of a past event to identify a current condition.

The word “saved” is in the past tense, and we are in the present. No one can really know that they are saved until after they have died, have come before the Lord, have had Yeshua intercede on their behalf, and received God’s final judgement of salvation.

Only then can anyone say, “I am saved!”

If you are thinking that once saved you are always saved, that is a lie from the pit of Sheol. The true acronym isn’t OSAS, but FUNT!

(If you think you know what that means, hold that thought until my message next week because FUNT is the subject of that drash)

How many times does the Bible talk about those who will apostatize in the Acharit haYamim (End Days)? Shaul mentions it to Timothy in both his letters to him; and the writer of Hebrews says in Chapter 6 that for those who turn from the faith, it will be impossible for them to return.

The frightening truth is that we may be forgiven, and will be able to seek forgiveness every time we sin (which we all will continue to do- don’t fool yourselves!) by means of the sacrificial death and shed innocent blood of Yeshua, BUT… we are always threatened by our own, sinful nature and too easily controlled emotions (which then control us) to throw our faith away, even when we think we are being faithful.

HUH? How can I be unfaithful when I am acting in a faithful way?

Easily- by following the wrong teachings.

Are you being taught that the instructions God gave in the Torah for worshiping him are just for Jews? Well, if you ignore the Torah, you ignore God!

Do you believe what John says when, in his Gospel, he said the Word became flesh? The only word at that time was the Torah, and if it became flesh in Yeshua, and Yeshua said that when we reject him we reject the one who sent him (Luke 10:16), then rejecting the Torah is rejecting the flesh that it became, which is rejecting Yeshua, which is rejecting God.

Who here thinks that they will be accepted by God after having rejected him their whole life?

OY! I suggest you go back and read that again to make sure you understand that if you don’t obey the Torah, you are rejecting God, and no amount of false worship, man-made ceremonies or holidays will have any effect on your salvation, other than to throw it away, while all the time you think you are doing what is right.

If you are following a religion, any religion, you are probably going in the wrong direction. I would say, although it sounds bias, at least Judaism, despite its many improper man-made traditions from the Talmud (called Halacha, the Way to Walk), is still the closest way to follow God since we try to be obedient to the Torah as best as we can.

It’s so simple that people cannot understand it – the only proper way to worship God is to do as he says to do, and the only place God tells us what he wants us to do is in the Torah. Modern Christianity is not based on the Torah or on Yeshua’s teachings, as much as it is based on misinterpretations and misuse of the letters Paul wrote to Gentile congregations.

And, sorry to burst anyone’s bubble, but Paul is not God, and his letters are not God-breathed scripture; they are nothing more than managerial directions to Gentile Believers who were having issues of faith, and interpersonal relationship problems. Read those letters with an open mind, and you will see the closest thing to scripture they come to is when he quotes from the Tanakh.

The bottom line is this: I believe by saying “I’m saved” we are actually fooling ourselves and creating a false sense of security. What we should be saying is “I am on the path to salvation”, because that is the reality of our condition. We aren’t saved until after we are dead; what we are is walking a path, a path with many misleading road signs such as religious non-biblical doctrine and false teachings which can make us lose our way.

By remembering there is only one path to God, and that map is the Torah, we are better equipped to stay on the right path.

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 will be until you plant a seed in it.

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

It All Starts with Exodus 19:5-6

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I have been absent for the past two weeks as Donna and I have been on a cruise, but I am back now.

Before we start, if you are thinking this might be one of those messages where I tell you that God intended the Torah to be for everyone, let me address that concern right away… of course this is about how God intended the Torah to be for everyone!

And today I am going to give you the proof of that statement!

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

The title of today’s message tells us it all starts with Exodus 19:5-6, so let’s take a look at that:

 5 Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.’ These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra’el.”

Moses is told that the Jewish people will be God’s nation of priests.

So, nu? what does a priest do? Well, according to the Internet version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the priest is…

Someone who is authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God.

Well, that certainly sounds correct…for a priest of today, but what about the priests back in the days when God chose us to be priests?

According to the Bible, yes- they performed the sacrifices and acted as mediator between the laity (common folk) and God (divine person). Those duties were outlined in Leviticus 1-7.

But the priests also served in a judiciary position, judging the people in criminal matters, with the Cohen HaGadol (High Priest) acting as the court of last appeal (Ezekiel 44:24).

But that wasn’t all- they were also to serve as medical consultants regarding problems with skin diseases (Leviticus 13).

The priest also served as teacher, teaching the people how to properly serve and worship God (2 Kings 17:28).

Knowing the multiple functions of a priest at the time God chose the Jewish people to be a nation of priests, let’s backtrack a bit to when God separated the Levites to be priests to the Jewish people in Deuteronomy 18:15. He didn’t name all three families (Gershon, Kohath, and Merari) to be priests, only the sons of Kohath were chosen to be cohanim, and from them only the direct sons of Aaron were to serve in that position.

All the Levites were priests, technically, but only the sons of Aaron were Cohanim, those who presented the sacrifice and officiated over the ceremonies and rituals.

Now let’s start to put this in order…God first chose the Levites to be his priests to the Jewish people, and that means (as we have identified from the Tanakh) they served as intermediaries between the laity and the Divine, performing services to both people and God. The sons of Aaron were the Cohanim, while the other Levites served God by caring for the Sanctuary.

After God told Moses that the Jewish people (which meant all 12 tribes) were to be God’s nation of priests, since priests act as intermediaries between the common and the divine, and they were already intermediaries, they couldn’t really be priests to themselves, right? Therefore, when God said the Jews are to be a nation of priests, they must be serving as intermediaries between some laity other than the Jews, which leaves only the Goyim- the nations.

In other words, when God chose us to be a nation of priests, he clearly meant we are his priests to the entire world.

And right after God told Moses we are priests to the world, the very next thing that happened was in Exodus 20, when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, and (as many believe) the entire Torah while Moses was on Mount Sinai.

The Torah is not just a bunch of laws- it is God’s User Manual for Righteousness, with rules about how to worship him, how to treat each other, how to conduct business, how to identify skin diseases, a penal code for capital crimes, torts, and other misdemeanors, even including formulae for making restitution, and many other societal and spiritual guidelines for proper living.

Do you now see the logical and absolutely obvious sequence of events? God chooses the Levites as priests to the Jews, then he chooses the entire nation of Jews to be his priests to the world, and then he gives the Jews the Torah, which contains God’s instructions on how to worship him and how to treat each other. And so, as priests to the world, with the instruction manual from God, we are to learn it then teach it (remember teaching is a function of the priest) to the rest of the world.

Which means, like it or not, that anyone who professes to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob- whether or not they accept Yeshua as their Messiah, but especially MORE so if they do- is to be taught by us Jews how to live in accordance with the Torah.

The Jews that accepted Yeshua didn’t change from living in accordance with the Torah, and the Gentiles that accepted Yeshua were being taught how to live in accordance with the Torah. And, for the record, Shaul (Paul) never told anyone to ignore the Torah; rather, he allowed the Gentiles learning it to learn at their own pace, concentrating first on faith and love. And this process was confirmed by the Elders in Jerusalem, when James said in Acts 15:21 these believing Gentiles will learn the Torah as they attend Shabbat services.

Hey, look, if now maybe you realize that you have been ignoring what God wants you to do, which is to live according to the Torah, don’t be angry with me- go complain to your religious leaders who have been misdirecting you!

But be kind to them, because they have also been misdirected; in fact, Christians have been misdirected for two millennia.

Thank you for being here, and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. 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!

About Me and This Ministry

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Even though this website has an “About me” page, I thought it would be nice to share a little something about me.

If you prefer to watch a video, sorry-I am not doing one today.

I was raised in a reform Jewish house, where I was pretty much the only one of my two parents and two sisters (one three years older, one 8 years younger) who cared about being Jewish. I did get B’rit Milah (circumcision) at 8 days old, and I am a Bar Mitzvah. But after that, I pretty much didn’t do much. I attended Saturday Shabbat services, now and then, but for the most part, after I reached 16, I was working all weekend slinging hash at a local fast food hamburger joint.

After high school I went to Temple University (Philadelphia) and was in an officer program with the United States Marine Corps, so when I graduated (with a Ba in History), I was commissioned a Lieutenant. I served 3 1/2 years active duty (1976-1980, so I wasn’t in any wars) and also later did a year in the Reserves. I finished as a First Lieutenant.

I entered the business world, in the financial arena working for Lehman Brothers in their Commercial Paper Division, right there on Wall Street. I stayed in finances for the next 12 years, working my way up from a clerical position to an officer position with a major New York bank, earning an MBA along the way.

I also married, and had two children, but the marriage was a bad one. I quit Wall Street (we were living in Pennsylvania and the 2 hour commute in each direction wasn’t helping anything) and tried my own water system sales, but that led to a bankruptcy, and the marriage finally came to an end in 1993. I spent the next 20 years visiting my children in New York (she moved in with her mother) and suffered hateful and spiteful attacks from the “ex”, which she infused into my children, conditioning them until they finally rejected me, completely.

Of course, this was a very bad time in my life, and God was kind enough to send mature Christians to show me how faith can overcome sadness.

You have to understand- being Jewish, the last thing we want any part of is Jesus, a Jew who rejected Judaism and created his own religion, which for millennia has hated, tortured and killed Jews if they refused to convert.

During this time, God sent friends from work who were mature enough to know they should introduce me to the real Messiah, which helped me to realize the lies I had been raised with.

In 1997 I met my wife, Donna, through a blind date, and we will be celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary in a few days, celebrating it as we always do- on a cruise ship.

I was in Sales when Donna and I started to date, and I spent 15 years in Sales, eventually quitting that job, going to school to learn computer repair and ended up getting an MCSE certification from Microsoft, spending the last 8 years as an IT professional.

I retired at the end of 2016, and haven’t regretted it for a nanosecond, since.

Back to me and God….

It was 1997 when I decided I would make up my mind about God and whether Jesus (I didn’t know his true name at that time) is the Messiah, or not. I knew that when sad, if you smiled, you actually became happier, so I thought it might work the same with God and Jesus- maybe if I prayed like I believed, I would eventually believe.

Well, it worked! I became more comfortable in praying, and I even found a Messianic Jewish synagogue where I attended Shabbat services, and learned the truth about Yeshua, the real, Jewish Messiah who didn’t reject Judaism or create Christianity. The more I learned, the more serious I got about learning more, and after about three months of doing that, I went for prayer and anointing one night, and I felt the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) enter my body.

I haven’t been the same since.

However, I have to confess that any changes God has made in me took a long time, and I am still a work in progress. I like to say that I used to be a sinner who didn’t care, but now I am a sinner who repents.

Over the past 25 years or so since I was “saved”, I have worked towards becoming more knowledgeable about the Bible, and have earned a Certificate of Messianic Studies from the Messianic Bible Institute. I continued to worship at the synagogue in Philadelphia where I first leaned about the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, for about 17 years. During that time I was in charge of a few different ministries, served on the Council, and was the assistant to the Rabbi. I also led services, and when our Rabbi left to start his own missionary work, I acted in his place for about 18 months, until we were able to hire a new Rabbi.

Donna and I moved to Melbourne, Florida in 2013, and I was worshipping with a Hebraic Roots church here. After a year or so with them, I was asked to serve on their Board of Directors and ended up leading services with the Senior Pastor. However, this church dissolved, and for about 8 years now I have my own ministry, Messianicmoment.com.

I have written 5 books (available through this website or through Amazon), and also started my own YouTube channel, as well as a Facebook page and discussion group, called “Just God’s Word”. I have about 280 or so subscribers.

If you are still with me this far, I appreciate your interest. I will end with these few remaining, but important facts:

  1. This ministry will never ask for money;
  2. This is not a missionary ministry- it is a teaching ministry; and
  3. I will never tell anyone what they must believe, only what I believe, and why.

The purpose of this ministry is to give you what you need to know in order to make an informed decision about where you will spend eternity.

And if I can save even one soul then I have fulfilled my purpose.

Well, folks- thanks, again, for supporting this ministry. If you haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so, and when I post messages (usually Tuesday and Thursday) please share them with everyone you know, believer or not. Hey, look- you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

I will be taking a break for the next two weeks, while in the Caribbean, so I look forward to seeing you all again later this month.

Until then, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

If Adonai Knows the Future, How Can He Regret Doing Anything?

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Have you ever asked yourself how Adonai could regret something he did? I mean, if he knows everything, including the future, then shouldn’t he have known what would happen, to begin with?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

One example of Adonai regretting doing something is right at the start, when he says in Genesis 6:6, that he regretted making mankind. And later, in 1 Samuel 15:11, he tells Sh’mu’el that he now regretted making Shaul the king.

This would seem to be a major issue; I mean, if God regrets doing something, doesn’t that mean he didn’t know how it would turn out? And if so, that means he doesn’t know the future!

Oy gevalt! Is the Bible wrong?

I considered this for a while, and finally I came to what I think is a viable answer.

Even though there are many verses in the Bible that indicate God knows the future, I think God knows what will happen because God has two things going for him:

  1. He knows our hearts and minds, and as such, he can accurately predict what we will do; and
  2. Because he is God, whatever he wants to happen will happen, one way or another.

There are several references in the Bible that tell us that he has plans for us, that he knows the beginning from the end, etc., all indicating that the future is known to God.

But isn’t it possible God knows what will happen simply because he can make it happen?

God gave each and every one of us Free Will, so we can decide what we are going to do, or not do. Take Jonah, for example: when God first told him to go to Nineveh, isn’t it possible that God expected him to go? Maybe God was a little surprised that he went in the opposite direction, or maybe God wasn’t the least bit surprised because he knew his heart! God knew that Jonah’s hatred for the Ninevites would cause him to refuse, and that is why God called him, in the first place- to give him the chance to show his obedience.

And when Jonah disobeyed, God sent the storm to give Jonah another chance to repent, which he did (good for him!). Maybe, just maybe, if Jonah had not repented, he would have died with all the men on board that vessel, and God would have sent someone else.

But let’s not go there- it is never a good idea to postulate.

I believe God is able to regret doing something because of Free Will, which adds a certain amount of uncertainty, and God will not override our decision. If he did, then we wouldn’t really have Free Will, would we?

However, God can influence our decisions, such as sending a terrific storm to prevent us from doing what we intended.

Maybe there has been an event in your life where you realized the conditions you were in were so terrible that you needed to change your decisions or lifestyle? Perhaps you realized, or maybe now are first realizing, that this was God regretting what you were doing and influencing your decisions for the better?

Now, the other side of that coin is how the Devil can do the same thing by causing events in your life that might influence you to turn away from God.

This is why it is so important to know the Bible, so we know what God wants us to do. We need to always weigh our decisions against the way God says to live, which is not found in a religion but in the Torah, and constantly ask God for discernment and insight so we are always doing what God would want us to do.

It sounds simple, but it isn’t- there are so many ungodly influences (and influencers!) in our life, many of whom are found in social media, as well as the news media, and especially in WOKE Hollywood!

My advice? If the world loves it, God probably hates it, so stay with God. You may lose friends, family, jobs, and in some places in the world, maybe your life! But you will gain eternity.

And when it comes down to it, this life lasts for a moment, and eternity is forever. I truly believe that when we are resurrected, if we do remember anything of this life, if won’t matter to us at all.

After all, when we are in God’s presence, fully joyful and forever at peace, who cares about this life?

Thank you, as always, for being here, and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. 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!

Street Preaching and Ecclesiastes

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I recently saw a video of someone complaining that as they were preaching the word in a crowded subway car, no one was paying any attention. That made me think how Ecclesiastes has a lesson for us regarding street preaching.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

Let me start out by stating that despite my expertise in Marketing and Sales, I am not suited well, at all, to missionary work, such as preaching on the street or in subway cars.

The reason is simple: the first person to spit on me would wake up in the hospital.

Now, that being established, you may be wondering how street preaching and Ecclesiastes (the Hebrew name for that book is Kohelet) are related, and the answer is that in Kohelet (I’m using that name because it is easier to type) we are told there is a time for everything. I think we can extrapolate on that idea and state there is also a place for everything, and that things work best when you are in the right place, at the right time.

Preaching in a subway car is certainly a right place, mainly because you have a trapped audience. But I believe doing so during rush hour is not the best time.

You may be thinking it is the absolute best time because the subway is at its most crowded, but I think, having been a commuter for a very, VERY long time, it is not a good time because people are concentrating on what they are going to do when they get to work, or (on the return trip) what they are going to do when they get home.

And that equates to this: they are not at all interested in hearing anything, from anyone.

Now, you may come back to me and say that any time we plant a seed we are doing good for the Kingdom, and I would not disagree. Yet… if I am throwing good seed on sandy desert ground or in a rocky crevasse, am I really doing any good?

And I can tell you from experience, which you may be able to relate to (especially if you’ve been a long-time commuter), when going to work I am concentrating on work; I am thinking exclusively on what I have to do when I get there, and I do not want to be bothered with anything else to think about.

And when going home, all I want to do is get home.

I think the best time to preach on a subway car is between rush hours, when the people are not concentrating so much on what they have to do when they get to wherever they are going.

As for preaching on the street, I think any time of the day is good because there are many people on the street who are not in a rush to get somewhere, and may be more open to spending some time to listen, and maybe even interact with you (hopefully, in a respectful and non-violent way).

I have no end of respect for you missionary types- like I said from the start, I could never do it. This ministry of mine is a strictly teaching ministry- my purpose is to let you know what you need to know in order to make an informed decision about where you will spend eternity. I say what I believe, and why, but never tell anyone else what they have to believe.

So, that all being said, if you do missionary work, God bless you! And please consider what I have said, in regard to choosing the best time and place to spread the seeds of salvation, because, if you ask me, they are too valuable to throw away, like pearls before swine.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even if they aren’t a Believer. After all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

(And, no, I am not contradicting today’s message by saying this- I am specifying to plant the seed in soil, not rocks or desert or sand.)

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

Is Our Sinful Nature to Help Us Survive?

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The Christians have Original Sin, and we Jews have the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination), both pretty much saying that we are all born as sinners.

But could what we consider to be a sinful nature simply be a survival instinct?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

How do children show their “sinful” side? Isn’t it when they won’t share things they desire, such as food or toys? Later, when they grow older, they are cruel to each other, especially to those who are different from themselves by rejecting them from their circle of friends.

These character traits we usually identify as “sinful”; however, if we look at it from a survival viewpoint, it kinda makes sense.

The most basic instinct in all living creatures is to survive; Yeshua said so when he said the greatest act of love is to give one’s life for another. So, when we see something that we consider to be necessary for our survival, isn’t it normal that we would desire and protect that thing?

As we get older and more mature, we protect things that aren’t really lifesaving, such as our possessions, our finances, our jobs, and other important and necessary things for survival (like those box seat tickets). As adults, that survival instinct presents itself as selfishness, discompassionate nature, and being just plain nasty.

What happens is that as we age, our basic survival instinct mutates into sinfulness.

Coveting what someone else has, such as a new car, a beautiful spouse, or a better job is not much different, really, than living in the wild, being hungry, and seeing someone else with a fresh kill. Instinct will drive us to try to steal that kill, won’t it?

The hyena is considered to be a repugnant creature, whereas the American Bald Eagle is considered to be a noble creature, yet they are both scavengers! Both would rather steal the food from another than to hunt and catch their own food- that’s their survival instinct at work

Now, don’t get me wrong- I am not saying that you can be selfish and hedonistic and miserly without consequence or responsibility just because it is instinct.

Nope! It don’t work that way.

What I am suggesting, and I could be way off on this entire idea, is that when we are sinful, it isn’t because (as the comedian Flip Wilson used to say)…“The Devil made me do it!” It is part of our very psyche, from the very beginning of creation, and is (again) the basic instinct of all living beings- we want to survive.

Now comes the clincher: even though it is instinct, it is not acceptable.

God has made us in his image, meaning (at least, to me) that we have the ability to overcome our instincts, to take control of our emotions, and to be able to do what is right instead of what is wrong.

What is considered to be right and wrong can be different in different cultures; at times, they might be in exact opposition to each other. But with the society we live in, we all have the obligation to behave in accordance with what that society sees as right.

Those of us who are faithfully obedient to God, and try to live as best as we can to the instructions he gave us in the Torah, sometimes find that we are in opposition to the society we live in. Today, sadly, we also find that living in accordance to the Torah is too often in opposition to what many Christian religions say. And when that happens, we must make a decision. Instinctively, we may feel that we want to go along with society (or our religion) because being like everyone else, we will be accepted (there’s that survival instinct thing, again), but sometimes that means rejecting God’s ways.

That’s a tough call for most, but for the truly faithful, there’s no real option- it has got to be God’s way. That is sort of an advanced survival instinct, in that we aren’t concerned with our survival in this life, but with our survival in the afterlife.

So, I guess what I am saying is that evil may be nothing more, in some cases, than an extension of our basic instinct to survive, but that doesn’t mean we can allow it to control us. We must control our instincts, and do what is right- not just according to our societal rules, but overall, to what God says is right.

And when they clash, well…then the decision we must make is this: do we do what we have to do to survive in this life, or do we do what God says we should do in order to survive in the afterlife?

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even those who are not 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!

Cease Fires are Useless

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I do not want to make this ministry a hub for political arguments or agendas, but when it comes to Israel, how can any Jewish person, such as I, not say something? There won’t be any video today, and please excuse me for not doing my usual type of message.

First off, I read this morning there is another cease fire being proposed between Israel and Hamas. How many successful cease fires have there been between Israel and her enemies over the past decades?

Well, there have been 7 major battles fought between various Arab forces and Israel: 1948–49, 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, 2006, and 2023–present, and everyone of them had a cease fire agreement, at one time or another, so I would have to say the answer to the question of how many successful cease fires have there ever been between Israel and her enemies is: NONE!

Each one of those battles had a cease fire agreement, and some even had a peace treaty, and yet we are still at war today. What does this prove?

It proves what the ignorant world (including some of the politicians in Israel) refuse to acknowledge: the enemies of Israel do not want the land! They do not want the technology, they do not care one iota about anything other than the complete annihilation of Israel as a state, and the Jews as a people.

During the many centuries since 172 AD, when Rome completely decimated the Judeans in the third (and final) Judean-Roman Revolt, and dispersed the Jews throughout the Diaspora, the land laid fallow. The Arab nations surrounding that land only used it to feed their herds, and once the grasses were desiccated, they went back into their own country.

It is obvious to anyone with the ability to see facts and make valid deductions that the land of Israel has no value, whatsoever, to the surrounding countries. And even now, when God has blessed his people making Israel a world leader in technology, agriculture, and many other necessary sciences, the enemies of Israel do not want those valuable assets- all they want is the land to be cleansed of Jews.

I guarantee that if this happened (of course, God won’t let it, but speaking hypothetically) all that has been accomplished will be allowed to erode back into a desert, as it was all those centuries when the Arab nations all around Israel had the opportunity to make something out of the land, and didn’t.

Did you know that Jews represent 0.2% of the world population? That’s roughly 2 in every 1,000 people! Yet, they have been granted nearly 22% of all Nobel prizes ever awarded, across nearly every category?

But of all the Nobel prizes awarded over the decades, less than 1% have been given to Arabs.

What’s that tell you?

But the world wants the Jews destroyed, not the Arabs! Oy! Talk about killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

OK, we agree that cease fires are useless because they never remain ceased, so what is the answer?

The answer is to do what God told Joshua to do, all those many millennia ago:

completely destroy our enemies!

We don’t need another cease fire, we need a cease Hamas! We need a cease Isis! We need a cease Hezbollah!

We need to ignore what the world says and forget trying to make peace with nations that have proven that all they want from us is to be dead. What we do need is to do what God said to do!

The world is on the brink of the Apocalypse- the signs are there stronger than ever before, and if the whole world is going to come against Israel (as we are told will happen in Revelation), then let’s get it over with quickly. The sooner this happens, the sooner Messiah will return and then things will be done the right way- God’s way!

I hope you all agree with my ranting, because if you want peace with our enemies, you will never see it happen…but you will always be disappointed.

That’s it for me this week, and I will ask you to please share these messages with everyone you know. Hey, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

L’hitraot, and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

The Worst Place to Be

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Many of us have memories of places we have been, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but I believe that as bad as some of these places were, pretty much everyone has one place that they feel is the worst place they have ever been.

But I’m telling you that no matter what your experience has been, there is one place that is ultimately the worst place anyone can be…

But first! A word from our sponsor…
(If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.)

The worst place anyone can be, especially if we are talking about your spiritual condition, is…

Locked into your comfort zone.

Now, I am not saying you should go out and ride rollercoasters, or bungee jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, or even just tell your wife that those pants make her look fat.

No. Neither should you give up being comfortable nor forego those things that make you feel safe and secure.

When I say the worst place to be is locked into your comfort zone, what I mean is when you are so comfortable that you no longer want to learn anything new, or do anything different, or even order something other than Chicken Parmigiana every single time you go to an Italian restaurant.

And this is especially true of being so comfortable with what you have been taught regarding God or Yeshua (Jesus) or salvation that you will not even be open to hearing anything that someone has to say which is different than what you already think you know.

I am very secure in my beliefs, but I confess that I have had to change my mind at times. And when I say you should be open to listening, that means to investigate and verify anything you are told about anything, especially if it is different from what you already believe.

One more thing: if you haven’t/don’t read the Bible regularly, from front (that is, Genesis) all the way through to the end of Revelation, then you are already in trouble because whatever you think you know, you are probably wrong.

And if you are stubbornly comfortable with your golf game, or your favorite chair, or with whatever books you have already read, and no matter what anyone says, you don’t want to order something different at your favorite restaurant, the only thing that mindset will effect is how interesting you are and how exciting your life will be.

BUT…if you stay locked into your comfort zone regarding your spiritual condition, meaning that you don’t want to hear or know anything other than what you have been told, then you are risking your eternal soul!

What things am I talking about? How about once you’re saved, you are always saved (that’s a lie!); or all you have to do is call on the name of the Lord and you are saved (that won’t be enough!); or howzabout the one where they say if you love each other you get to go to heaven (again, that’s not enough, and for the record? -no one goes to heaven).

When it comes to God, Yeshua, and the truth about obedience to God, which can only be done by being obedient to God’s instructions for righteousness in the Torah, these are things that we should NEVER be comfortable with. You must always verify whatever you hear, whenever you hear something different from what you have (hopefully) already verified to be true, and do so with an open mind. Make sure people aren’t making up what they want the Bible to say, then taking verses and passages out of context to create the illusion that what they are saying is truly in the Bible.

Yeah, all the parts of what they say are in the Bible, but they have taken bits and pieces, here and there, to make it seem that is what the Bible means. But that isn’t always true.

I have written a teaching series on how to properly interpret the Bible, and here is a link to it: Bible interpretation.

So, my friends, please always stretch yourself beyond what is comfortable, and the way to know that you need to stretch is when you are so comfy-cozy that you do not ever want to change. Read a new book, talk to people who disagree with you (nicely, of course) to get an idea why they feel that way, and then spend some quality time verifying their opinion, or being able to (nicely, of course) rebut it.

But do something different, now and then! Your life may be comfortable, but your life is temporary, and eternity is….well, it’s eternal!

If you aren’t willing to spend the time to expand your understanding of God, Messiah, the Bible and salvation, then you are risking your eternal soul.

Are you really that lazy?

Thank you for being here, and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, especially non-believers. Hey! 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!

Salvation Only Comes from Forgiveness

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Have often have your heard people say that Jesus died for our sins?

And he did, but it isn’t his death that saves us.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

The sacrificial system has 5 steps:

  1. You have to sin (no sin, no need for forgiveness, right?)
  2. You have to recognize and confess that you sinned
  3. You have to repent of that sin (turning from sin is called T’shuvah)
  4. You have to shed innocent blood for that sin to be forgiven: blood that should be yours
  5. You have to ask to be forgiven.

When Yeshua sacrificed himself, he did not to do away with any of these steps, or the sacrificial system, itself. He replaced step 4, the need to sacrifice an animal (shed innocent blood) at the temple in Jerusalem, which was the only place that any sacrifice to Adonai would be accepted (Deut. 4). Through Yeshua’s sacrifice, we can now ask for forgiveness any time, any where, whenever we need to.

Which, in my case, is too darn often!

Yet, it isn’t by reason of his death that we can be saved; there is more to it than just that.

First, he lived a life that was in 100% accordance with the Torah, 100% of the time. That is something that no human before him, or since, has been able to do, so when he died, he was truly the innocent lamb that the sacrificial system required. And because he was supernaturally born to be the Messiah, his human life and death had a much greater effect on humanity.

Second, his resurrection proved that his sacrifice was accepted, which is the second most important step in being saved. But, as I said, it isn’t how we are saved.

We are saved not by his life, or by his death, or even by his resurrection, although they are all part of the process….

We are saved by being forgiven.

Only God can forgive sins, and even though Yeshua said that he had the authority to forgive sins ( Matthew 9:6; Luke 5:24), he was very specific to say that he had that authority “on earth”, meaning (as I understand it) only while he was ministering to people, and only to prove that he is the Messiah God promised to send.

What we are told about him after he was raised into heaven is that he now sits at the right hand of God, where he intercedes for us.

From the very beginning of creation, and throughout time even to this very moment, it is only God who can forgive sins. Not a priest, not a Minister, not a Rabbi- only God. And the only way we can be forgiven is through confession, repentance, and accepting that Yeshua is the Messiah, whose sacrificial death was accepted as the sin sacrifice we must make according to the Torah.

Oh, yes, and one more thing…you must ask to be forgiven.

That’s right! Even with all that Yeshua did, if you do not ask to be forgiven, you will not be forgiven. There is no such thing as OSAS (Once Saved, Always Saved); that is a lie from the pit of Sheol, originated by Satan in order to fool people into remaining stained with their sins, even while they believe they are forgiven.

I hate to burst bubbles, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

It is not Yeshua’s life, or death, or even resurrection through which we are saved; his part in all this was to provide the means of forgiveness (especially after the temple was destroyed) so that we can ask for God to forgive us.

When we are forgiven, THEN we are saved. That is, up until the next time we sin, which (again, for me) doesn’t usually take too long until I have to ask.

Especially when I am driving in traffic.

So, that is the real way we are saved- not by Yeshua’s death (although that is part of it), or by calling on God’s name (which is also part of it), or by the fact of Yeshua’s Torah observant life (which made it all possible)…no!

The only way we are saved is by asking God to forgive us.

In the end, after all that Yeshua did, after faithfully accepting him as Messiah, heartfelt confession, repentance, t’shuvah (demonstrated through Torah observance), it still comes down to this- the only way we are saved is to ask to be forgiven of our sins, and only God can do that.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even those who do not believe. 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!