It’s Been 8 Years Already!

Eight years ago, on July 14, 2014 (to be precise) I posted my first message on this website, and began my on-line ministry.

It occurred to me the other day that I should share with you how this ministry has been doing over these 8 years.

Before I created this on-line ministry (with help, of course from a website provider), I had already written my first book, “Back to Basics: God’s Word vs. Religion” and was living in Melbourne, Florida working as a Systems Support person (i.e., Help Desk) for an IT services provider.

Back then, I would post a couple of times a month. After I retired and had more time, I began posting my messages every Tuesday and Thursday, and on Friday I posted a message for that Shabbat’s Torah reading.

As for my books, well…it’s a niche market, for sure. They have been available on Amazon Books and through my website for years, and yet I have barely sold more than 20 or so in all these years, and that is combining sales for all 4 books.

And that is a shame, because they are really quite good, which isn’t just my opinion but the feedback I have gotten from everyone who has read them.

Everyone, that is, but one Messianic Rabbi, whose sole comment after I gave him a copy of “Back to Basics” was “You’re no James Mitchener.”

So, here are the stats for this Messianic Ministry, as of this morning:

  • My website (messianicmoment.com) has a total of 78 subscribers.
  • My YouTube channel has an audience of 174 Subscribers (and there are 608 videos I have available for viewing)
  • My Facebook discussion group, “Just God’s Word“, has 87 members and my Facebook page for Messianic Moment has 160 “Likes”.

Overall, when you consider that these sites and videos are available throughout the world, the numbers seem small.

I should mention that I have subscribers all over the world, from Japan to India to Africa, as well as the UK and (of course) America.

On the other hand, the Messianic synagogue I attended in Northeast Philadelphia never had more than 100 or so people show up for services, and the Hebraic Roots Church I attended here in Melbourne, Florida never had much more than 45 or so people at services, so when you consider those numbers, I am not doing too badly.

But it isn’t really the numbers that matter as much as what is being produced, and that can’t be measured with statistics.

I do not know, and probably never will know, what effect I have had on anyone’s life, especially their eternal life. And that’s OK with me, so long as I always put out the truth, according to God and not what some religion says.

I am not a missionary, and this ministry will never be a “mega-church”. It is simply a learning ministry. As such, I will never tell anyone what they have to believe, only what I believe and why.

God gave us all Free Will to decide how we will live our lives. He certainly desires that we live it according to the way he told us to live it, which is not in the Gospels, or any of the Epistles, but exclusively in the Torah.

That is the ONLY place in the entire Bible where God dictates his rules for worshiping him, and his rules for how we are to treat each other.

The O-N-L-Y place!

So, I continue to do what I hope and pray to be a godly work, honoring both God and Yeshua, designed to free people from the constricting blinders that religion places on them, and to see clearly what God says he wants from us.

And that is why this ministry will never be very large- people don’t want to know what God wants from them, only what God will give to them. That is why large churches and synagogues always preach how wonderful God’s love is, how Jesus saves them from sin, and everything else that makes salvation seem like a “come as you are” party.

But as the song goes…”It ain’t necessarily so!”

Thank you for being here and, if you aren’t a subscriber, please do so. There is a SUBSCRIBE button in the right-hand margin on this website, and also go to my YouTube channel and subscribe there, as well.

On Facebook, “Like” my Messianic Moment page and join the group “Just God’s Word” (please read and agree to the rules).

Finally, buy my books and share them with everyone you care about.

Please help this ministry continue to grow and share the truth about who God is, who Yeshua is, and what God wants from each of us.

God promised that when we do as HE says, we will be blessed, so let’s receive and spread God’s blessings to everyone.

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

Why Did Yeshua Call Himself “Son of Man”?

From what I have researched, Yeshua called himself “Son of Man” some 78 times throughout the Gospels. It is supposedly a term reserved for the Messiah from the Book of Daniel, in that the son of man would inherit God’s everlasting kingdom.

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

But wasn’t Ezekiel also called “Son of Man”? Didn’t God, himself, call Ezekiel the son of man?

So, was Ezekiel the Messiah?

I don’t think so.

In Judaism, the term “son of Man” generally refers to mankind, to the mortal state of humanity as compared to the immortal and spiritual condition of the deity.

In some circles, it is believed that Yeshua used this term for himself to represent that he was the Messiah. However, most likely only those who were biblically knowledgeable would have known this usage, certainly not his Disciples, who were Am haAretz (literally, “people of the land”, i.e., commoners, generally considered to be uneducated).

It is also thought that he used this term to identify himself as human and suffering all human weaknesses (Isaiah 53 does say that the Messiah will be no stranger to illness and suffering).

But I think there might be one more reason for Yeshua referring to himself in this way.

What is the one, most obvious, blaring, and definitive difference between mankind and God?

It’s sin, isn’t it?

Throw out the spiritual vs. physical, throw out the created vs. eternal, and throw out the earthly vs. heavenly, and what do we have left?

People sin but God never does, never has, and never will.

We may be made in the image of God (whatever that really means), but it is sin that definitively separates us from God.

And guess what is the one thing which is the inheritance of all human beings?

It’s sin! Duh!

Original sin the one thing that we have to overcome, first and foremost, in order to be one with God.

And if you think Original Sin is a uniquely Christian thing, think again.

In Judaism, the Talmud tells us of the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) and the Yetzer Tov (good inclination), and of these two, guess which one we are born with?

That’s right- we are born with the Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination, which (of course) translates to being sinful from birth. Just like King David said in Psalm 51.

Let’s also recall that Shaul (in Romans 5:12) said that sin was introduced into the world through one man (Adam, of course), and that through the Messiah we would be able to overcome that.

Adam, representing mankind, introduced sin into the world (we’re letting Eve off the hook, for the moment), so what mankind inherits from Adam, the father of all people, is sin.

But Yeshua wasn’t born from Adam, so the title he gave to himself- Son of Man- doesn’t really make sense, does it?

Yet, I think it does for this reason- he came to take on all our sins, and as such, he then would become a son of man.

I believe Yeshua called himself the son of Man because he would inherit, not by lineage but by choice, the sins of mankind. He wasn’t a natural son of man, as we all are, but – in a way- an adopted son of man, in that he voluntarily took on our sins to allow himself to be our scapegoat.

So, even though Yeshua was not born a son of Adam, he accepted the position as a son of Adam.

And by doing that, by rejecting his spiritual birthright to accept a physical inheritance, he made it possible for all of us to be saved from our sins.

Thank you, Yeshua, for what you did for us, and thank you, God, for sending him.

And thank you for being here. Please share these messages with everyone you know, subscribe to my website and YouTube channel, buy my books, and join my Facebook group called “Just God’s Word” (please read and agree to the rules).

And remember that I always welcome your comments.

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

Parashah Balak 2022 (Balak) Numbers 22:2 – 25:9

We now come to the story of Balaam, the prophet who was asked by Balak, the king of Moab (for whom this parashah is named) to curse the Israelites encamped just outside his territory.

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

Balaam, although a sorcerer and user of magic, apparently is also someone who knows the true God, and as such asked God for guidance regarding this request.

God says when it comes to cursing the Israelites, Balaam is not to do so because they are blessed.

In other words, they’re my people and you will not say anything against them.

Balaam tells the committee of princes sent by Balak that he cannot help them, and after they tell Balak, Balak sends more important men, with a greater promise of reward.

Here’s where Balaam’s faithful obedience begins to waver.

Even though God already told him “NO!” Balaam tells this second group that he will ask, again. God tells Balaam that if he is summoned, to go, but he is not to curse the people.

Well, Balaam goes to Balak and God, realizing that he is going with the intention to curse, anyway, sends an angel to stop him.

Balaam doesn’t see the angel, but his donkey does and three times goes off the path to avoid the angel. The third time Balaam beats the ass, and that’s when God allows the ass to speak; and, after the ass sets Balaam straight, the angel becomes visible.

Now Balaam realizes his ass saved his ass these three times, and says he will go home, but God tells him to keep going but say only what God tells him to say.

I believe God now intends to use Balaam to further bless the people and teach both Balaam and Balak a lesson.

Balak is happy to see Balaam, but after three separate attempts to get the people cursed, with Balaam obeying God and blessing them each time, Balak furiously sends Balaam home, without pay.

Before leaving, God gives Balaam a prophetic warning to Balak and the other kings there with him regarding the Acharit HaYamim (End Days).

So, nu? There’s a number of interesting issues here, but I am going to boil it down to reduce today’s lesson to one, simple message:

When God says something, that’s all there is to it.

Balaam at first did as God said, but when he was further tempted with more money, he tried to finagle a way for God to let him go. The Torah wording seems to say that God told him it was OK to go, but then sent an angel to kill him because he went!

When I first read this, I thought “What’s up with that?”

In Numbers 22:12, God tells Balaam “Thou shalt not go with them.” but after Balaam asks a second time, in Numbers 22:20, God says “If the men are come to call thee, rise up; go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do”

I believe God now is telling him if he is summoned to go, i.e., if he is given a royal command to appear, then he shouldn’t disobey the king.

The Talmud states that Balaam’s second request wrested from God approval to go, but the statement God made about speaking as God says to is a warning that if Balaam really wants to disobey, go ahead and do so, but there will be consequences.

This makes a lot of sense, considering that God sent an angel to kill Balaam for having decided to go.

I said today’s message, or lesson (if you will) is simple: God means what he says. People don’t mean what they say, they mean what they do, but God isn’t “people”- he is God. He says what he means, and he means what he says, and besides that, he does what he says he will do.

That goes for punishment as well as forgiveness.

God’s instructions regarding how he wants us to live are given to all of us, by God through Moses, in the Torah. There is no other place, anywhere, throughout the entire Bible (Genesis through Revelation) where God specifically says to do certain things in a certain way.

What Paul says, what John says, or Peter, James, the Pope, the WCC, the Talmud… whatever and whoever within any religion that tells anyone to do anything other than what God said to do in the Torah, is a Balaam.

God tells us how to worship him and how to treat each other, and that is all we need to know. As I said before, when God says something, that is all there is to it.

In the Torah, God tells you, and me, and all of us how he wants us to live. You have the option to obey or reject what he says, but if you ignore it and chose to accept what some religion tells you to do instead, you are no better than Balaam trying to get God to change his mind about something he already told you to do.

God means what he says, and Balaam found out the hard way.

Later in Numbers we will see that Balaam still tried to win Balak’s favor, and that ended up costing him his life.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe to my website and YouTube channel. Share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry continue to grow, and when on the website, check out my books.

I also have a discussion group on Facebook called “Just God’s Word”, so please join (please read and agree to the rules, first.)

And remember: I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!

Parashah Chukat 2022 (Laws) Numbers 19 – 22:1

We are now beginning the 40th year of the Israelites journey through the desert.

God gives Moses the regulations regarding the cleansing of people who touch a carcass or in other way becomes unclean, and that is by a special water made from the ashes of a red heifer.

It is a remarkable thing, in that everyone associated with creating the Water of Purification becomes unclean by doing so, yet that water is what cleanses you.

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

As they enter the wilderness of Zin, Miriam dies and the people immediately complain that they have no water, accusing Moses and Aaron, again, that Moses brought them into the desert to die.

God tells Moses to take Aaron’s rod and strike a rock to bring forth water, which he does, but he does so in such anger that it doesn’t bring any credit to God, and for that one mistake, God tells Moses that he will not enter the land.

They travel to the land of Edom, but are refused passage, and end up at Mount Hor, where Aaron dies. With the death of Aaron, Eleazar is appointed the new Cohen HaGadol. Aaron is mourned by the people for 30 days.

The king of Arad attacks the people and takes prisoners, so the people tell God that if he gives them victory, they will utterly destroy Arad, which he does, and which they do. They rename the place Hormah, which means utter defeat- the same Hormah that they were pushed back to when they were utterly defeated the first time they tried to enter Canaan, some 38 years earlier (Numbers 14:39-45).

The people again start to complain, and God sends poisonous snakes to attack and kill the people. They repent and ask Moses for help. God tells Moses to erect a snake, which Moses makes from brass, so when someone is bitten, if they simply look at the brass snake on the pole, they will not die.

This parashah ends with the battles against the two kings of Moab, Og and Sichon, ending with their utter destruction and the Israelites living in their land.

Oy! There is just SO much in this parashah, I could talk about it over half a dozen sermons. But don’t worry- I am going to hit on a couple of things that I feel are important, but not in great detail.

One quickie: you may be thinking that Mitzvot is the Hebrew word for “laws”, and you would be right. Chukat are those types of laws which we cannot understand why God gave them that way.

Maybe you will take the time to mull these things over in your mind later?

Let’s start with the red heifer- everything that is done to create the Water of Purification from the ashes of the heifer makes everyone involved unclean, yet the water they make is what cleanses you! What’s with that, right?

It’s like making mud pies, which make you filthy, then using those same mud pies to clean yourself up. It’s meshuggah!!

The lesson here is simple: we can’t understand why God does what he does, but as a holy people, who worship and follow a holy God, it is not our place to understand: it is our place to obey. Period.

To paraphrase an old saying:

Ours is not to reason why, our is but to do and live.

OK, next on my list is Miriam’s death and the need for water. In Jewish tradition, Miriam is called the “Well”, and as long as she was alive, there was water for the people. That’s why we read about the people having no water after her death, which brings me to the next thing I want to talk about…

How unfair is it that Moses did everything he was told to do, with humility, honor, and grace, obeying God to the letter, but here he makes one mistake, loses his temper, and for that the past 40 years of total obedience is out the window!

For 40 years he dealt with this group of kvetching, annoying, childish, and stiff-necked people, and never messed up. In fact, any number of times he risked his life to keep them alive, begging God to kill him if God was going to destroy the people, saving millions of lives.

But here, he makes one mistake. After 40 years of handling these annoying people, he loses it once and his most heartfelt desire, to enter the Promised Land, is taken away.

Why would God, who had constantly shown his compassionate understanding and forgiveness, punish his most trusted servant, a man who God spoke to as a friend (Exodus 33:11), so harshly?

I don’t know. Maybe it was because God really wanted Joshua to take over in the Land? Maybe it was because God was having a bad day? Who knows?

This brings us back to the previous lesson: we haven’t ever, can’t now, and never will understand why God does what he does.

Finally, a quick lesson on the snake.

In John 3:14, Yeshua says he will be lifted up, like the snake in the desert, and this is taken to be a prophetic statement to indicate the type of death he will have.

I have no problem with that, but I believe this is a dual prophecy, with an immediate future meaning and another meaning which won’t be realized until the distant future.

At that time, yes- Yeshua was to be crucified, lifted up where all could see him. And like the people who were bitten by snakes but when they looked to the brass snake, they lived, likewise, by looking to Yeshua (i.e., believing in him), spiritually speaking, we will not die from the second death.

Additionally, I see a future meaning of this reference to the snake, which we read about much later in 2 Kings 18:4.

You see, the snake was never destroyed but many years later, under King Hezekiah, the people called the snake Nehushtan (in Hebrew, the word “Nachash” (נחש) means “snake”) and worshipped it as a god.

In modern Christianity, many people believe Yeshua is God and pray to him, directly. This is, to me, exactly what happened with the snake: what was created to be a symbol of the salvation God provides, became an idol of worship and replaced God.

Well, these are the messages I see for us in today’s parashah reading. I pray that they make some sense to you, and if not, that you will look them up in the Bible, and ask God to give you understanding.

Don’t ever just take my word, or anyone else’s word, at face value.

If you don’t seek the truth for yourself from the Word of God, asking God for guidance, then whatever you do or don’t do, come Judgement Day your decisions will be totally, and solely, on you.

Thank you for being here, and please share these messages to help this ministry grow. Subscribe to both my website (while there, please buy my books- if you like what you get here, you will like the books, guaranteed!) and my YouTube channel. Next time you are on Facebook, “Like” my Messianic Moment page and join my discussion group called “Just God’s Word” (please make sure you read and agree to the rules).

And remember- I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!

Forgiveness, Mercy, and Grace are Not the Same Thing

Too often I hear people using these terms interchangeably, but that is not the proper use of them.

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

If you don’t mind, I am not going to give Webster’s definitions or go through dozens of biblical verses to justify the statements I am about to make.

Instead, I am going to share with you my personal understanding of these terms, gleaned from some 25 years of studying the Bible, earning a Certificate of Messianic Studies from the Messianic Bible Institute, talking with hundreds of Believers, and (what I hope to be) a spirit-generated wisdom.

That being said, even though forgiveness, mercy, and grace are not the same thing, they are definitely intertwined.

Forgiveness is letting go of the need to retaliate or get revenge on someone for having hurt you, in any way.

We all know not to seek revenge because vengeance belongs to the Lord, but if we’re lucky, sometimes we get to see it happen.

Forgiveness does NOT mean allowing someone back into your life, or trusting them (unless they earn it back), but we should keep an open mind. Forgiveness NEVER means that who we forgive gets away with whatever they did- forgiveness is not absolution, and even when God forgives sins, that is on an eternal and spiritual level.

When you sin, you WILL pay for it on earth, one way or another.

Mercy, like forgiveness, is not allowing someone to get off scot-free when they sin. No; mercy is not escape from punishment, it is the rendering of compassionate punishment.

In the Bible we are told “eye for eye, tooth for tooth”, but that was never meant to be taken literally. God meant that the punishment should be proportionate to the crime.

That means if someone steals, they must return or pay for what they stole (often with an additional fifth), and if someone maims another, they must make a payment equal to the lifelong financial loss of that appendage.

If someone murders someone else, depending on whether it was accidental or premeditated, their punishment will be appropriate.

Mercy is, to some degree, a part of forgiveness- in fact, I would say that forgiveness starts with a merciful attitude.

Now, let’s talk about grace.

Grace is not an action, it is a desire. God tells us in Ezekiel 18:23 (OK, so I’ll use one Bible reference) that he desires all people to live. That is his Grace- the desire to forgive, the desire to punish mercifully, and the desire that everyone, sinner and righteous alike, by able to be in his presence throughout eternity.

So, to bring them all together, here is how I see it working:

Because of God’s Grace, he gave us the Torah so we would know how to live forever with him. But, knowing that we would never be totally Torah observant, because of his Grace, he provided a way we could be forgiven of our sins, which is the sacrificial system. He also decreed a penal system in the Torah, which (by his Grace) defines the types of merciful punishment to be meted out.

His Grace is the reason why he sent the Messiah, knowing that the temple would be destroyed and that we needed another way to be forgiven of our sins.

That’s it- Grace is behind forgiveness and mercy, but forgiveness is not mercy, and mercy is not a “Get Out of Jail for Free” card.

When you sin, by God’s Grace you have a means to be forgiven on a spiritual level, but you will still face punishment for your actions, although that punishment will be tempered with mercy.

That’s how I see it all fitting together. However, if you see it differently, please let me know and share your ideas with all of us.

Thank you for being here- please share these messages, buy my books from my website or Amazon, subscribe to the website and my YouTube channel, and on Facebook “Like” my page and join my discussion group called “Just God’s Word” (please ensure you read and agree to the rules).

And I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for today (WOW! Two short messages in the same week!) so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Does the Bible Say to Pray to the Sacrifice?

I know this sounds like a really silly question- everyone knows that you only pray to God, right?

Praying to anyone or anything other than God is idolatry, right?

Then tell me why so many people pray to their sin sacrifice instead of to God?

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

OK, so you already are thinking this is going to be a message about trinity verse unity, but it isn’t.

It is a message about the roles each one of us plays in God’s plan of salvation.

God is the creator and ultimate savior because, even though Yeshua did say he was given authority on the earth to forgive sins, that was ONLY while he was on the earth. As the resurrected Messiah, his role in God’s plan of salvation is to be the substitution for the animal sacrifice, whose innocent blood was shed so that we can be forgiven of our sins.

The role of the Messiah is to be a sacrifice for humanity, and thereafter as the Intercessor for those who accept his role for themselves.

That’s why I asked if you should pray to the sacrifice, which, of course, you shouldn’t do.

The role of God is no different than it has been since he created us- God is our savior who forgives our sins, only now it is through the sacrifice of Yeshua and not an animal killed in front of the altar at the temple.

Our role is to accept that Yeshua is the Messiah God promised to send, and by doing so we can then ask God for forgiveness and the indwelling of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, which (before the Messiah) was only lent to people- the Spirit came upon them, but was always lifted off later. Through the Messiah, we can have the Spirit indwell for the rest of our natural lives.

Unless, of course, we screw it up. This is always something we have to be careful of: no one can take away God’s gift of salvation, but we can reject it.

So, nu! Let’s review the roles to be played: God saves us by forgiving our sins; Messiah Yeshua sacrificed himself so we have the means to attain God’s forgiveness; and the role we have play is to accept that Yeshua is the Messiah, repent of our sins, and ask God, by means of the shed blood of the Messiah Yeshua, for forgiveness and to receive the gift of the Ruach.

That’s how it works, so whether or not you believe Yeshua is God doesn’t matter- if you pray to Yeshua you are praying to the wrong person under God’s plan of salvation.

We are NOT to pray to the sacrifice, we are to pray to the one being sacrificed to!

So, let me be frank (even though I am really Steve): with regard to salvation, it doesn’t matter if Yeshua is God or not because the way God set up the plan of salvation (since the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem) is that we must accept Yeshua as the sacrifice we would have brought to the temple, and thereby pray to God for forgiveness by means of the shed blood of the Messiah.

So, I suggest you pray in the way God set things up.

Thank you for being here and please share these messages with everyone you know. Subscribe to my website, YouTube channel, and when on Facebook like my Messianic Moment page and join my discussion group called “Just God’s Word” (please read and agree to the rules).

And remember: I always welcome your comments.

That’s it for today (this was a short one, wasn’t it?), so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!