We all know that God is in control of everything, but that doesn’t mean God is controlling everything.

There is a word I am thinking of that relates directly to this message, and if anyone has ever been in a position of authority over others, you might be thinking of the same word. And that word is… delegation.

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We read often throughout the Tanakh, especially in Kings and Chronicles, how God used the Semitic kings of the Middle East to be his means of punishing both the Israelites (Northern Kingdom) and the Judeans (Southern Kingdom) when they rejected God and sinned. He was not always controlling what those pagan kings did to his chosen people, but he allowed them the freedom to do as they wanted.

Yet, even though it may seem somewhat unfair since God gave them a free hand, he also held them accountable for what they did when they exceeded what he had intended. We know this by reading about it in the Tanakh. Two examples are Isaiah 10:5-34 and Nahum 1-3, both about Assyria and how even though God used them to punish the people, they went beyond what God had wanted them to do and boasted about their own strength, not giving glory to God who made their victory possible.

I have held many positions of authority in my life: I was in charge of a department in Marine Midland Bank that processed over $60 Billion dollars of securities daily; I was the Operations Manager of the Fidelity Discount Brokerage Services office on Wall Street; just 3 years out of college I was a First Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps and the Executive Officer of a company of United Stated Marines that numbered over 350 men.

I am not saying this to brag, so please don’t think that, but I am telling you this so you can understand that when I talk about being in charge and delegating, I know what I am talking about.

I was in charge, it was all me, I ran it all, but I did not control everything because in order to develop my people I had to let them make their own mistakes and learn by doing. I trained, I instructed, but I also had to let them go off on their own.

Delegating one’s authority is not being relieved of the responsibility, it is just giving some of what you have to others for them to do the work. No different than when God told Moses he would take some of the spirit on Moses and give it to the ones Moses chose to be judges under him (Numbers 11:16.) Even though there were judges under him, Moses was still the ultimate authority and in control.

If you are wondering what my point is, it is this: don’t automatically blame God for whatever happens in your life, whether good or bad. Even though he is in control, more often than not he might be allowing you to go out on your own. He is watching and allowing, which means he hasn’t ceded control to anyone, such as the Enemy, but he has just delegated authority for the moment to you so you can grow.

Think about this: if God wanted us all to be perfectly sinless, because he is in total control of everything that happens we would all be sinless. Easy! But where’s the fun in that, right?

No, God can control everything in the universe, but he doesn’t because he knows that for us to grow in spiritual maturity and in spiritual power, we must be making the decisions. We must be the ones in control of what we do so that we learn by both suffering the consequences and reaping the blessings for what we decide.

So be comforted in knowing that no matter how much you screw up, God can always make it right, or at least get you back on track, but that doesn’t mean every time something goes wrong, God is behind it. He may be, but to be safe and fair, you should always do a self-check when things are constantly going wrong. Don’t ever automatically assume that God is doing anything, or for that matter, that the Enemy is attacking you.

This may be what is happening, but in my experience, it is just that when you live in a cursed and fallen world, stuff happens. Too often I hear people blame God because they say since he is in charge of everything, he must be doing it. That is wrong; God may punish, and he may reward, and he may just do neither and let you run the show, yourself.

I think the best way to go through life is to be comforted that God is in charge and can do whatever needs to be done; yet, for the most part, he allows us the authority over our life to make our own decisions and just like a good parent, he allows us to screw up so that we learn.

It is as I often say: If I should happen to do something really good, it is only because God is working through me; when I screw up royally, that’s when I can take full credit.

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

The truth about heaven is that most people you know or have ever known will not be there. Actually, you won’t either: heaven is where God lives, and when the Apocalypse is over, the Enemy and his servants are forever in the Lake of Fire, and Yeshua rules over the new earth, the “saved” will be living on the new earth.

Yet, when someone loses a loved member of their family or friend, they almost always say something like, “Well, they’re in a better place now.”

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How do you know? How can anyone be certain that someone else’s heart was truly for God, that they lived according to God’s ways, and that they had accepted Yeshua/Jesus on their own merit and not just because someone told them they had to?

On the other hand, if we know someone lived a sinful life, rejecting God, Yeshua, and all his instructions, can we really be certain that he or she is in hell? How do we know whether or not in their last moment of clarity they repented of their evil and asked for forgiveness?

We can’t, and we will never know if they made it or not until we are there, too.

My family recently suffered such a loss. A sibling who had been depressed and didn’t take the medications he was supposed to be taking, allowed himself to become so sick that he passed away. We all tried to help him, but what he wanted was not possible from any of us, so here we are, frustrated, upset, angry, and missing him.

But is it right to console ourselves by saying he is in a better place, even if we aren’t certain that he is?

The truth of God’s word is that anyone who lives an unrepentantly sinful life will suffer eternally out of the presence of God, and we know that as much as God loves us all, even those who reject and hate him, he would rather not see anyone die, but turn from their sin and live, eternally, in his presence, joyful throughout time (Ezekiel 18:23).

But, on the other hand, we also know that because God is holy, trustworthy, and said he will not allow the guilty to go unpunished (Exodus 34:7), well…

So what do we say to those grieving the loss of a loved one who we know, absolutely, did not live in accordance with God’s instructions? I mean, not even close! When they say he is better off now, do we deny that and tell them the (probable) truth that he will forever suffer? Or do we go along with their hope (against hope) that he will be happy now that he is in heaven?

For me, I think that truth is paramount, but not always more important than love. Shaul (Paul) once told his congregation in Corinth that without love he is nothing, and if a “nothing” tells you something, then the best value it can have is…nothing! So I believe that loving compassion and understanding trumps truth when it comes to the feelings of someone in emotional pain over the loss of a loved one.

Maybe later, when the initial shock and depression is over, we can approach that person with the truth regarding their own life, never saying their loved one is in trouble but giving a general understanding of how things work with God, and (hopefully) they will figure it out for themselves.

In Catholicism, the living are told to light candles and say prayers for those in Purgatory so that they will be forgiven and allowed to enter heaven. Even though the Roman Catholic Church has admitted there is no biblical justification for the idea of purgatory, which could kill all the money they make from Mass Card sales, yet many “good” Catholics still buy them. And what good can it do?

God gives us our entire life, down to our last breath, to do what is right in his eyes, even if that is just confessing our sin and asking forgiveness through Messiah Yeshua. That is all there is to it; of course, you have to mean it, but I believe anyone on their deathbed or realizing that this is IT will be honest.

Too many times I read in discussion groups or postings between people someone being cruelly straightforward about the word of God and how wrong the other person is.

Even if the one being terse and discompassionate is correct, they won’t make any “points” with anyone else by being so heartless and cold. The truth is that the truth won’t mean anything if someone can’t hear it because they are too emotionally deafened by the other person’s anger, pridefulness, and lack of love in telling that truth.

There is an old saying in the Sales industry: No one cares what you know until they know that you care.

So when you are in a situation where you know someone suffering the loss of a loved one is lying to themself when they say the dead person is better off now, go along with it. Even if you are pretty certain that the one who has passed is most likely not going to go through that narrow gate, let it be for the moment.

Love doesn’t conquer all, as the divorce rate proves, but it is always better than not being loving. Acknowledge their pain, show loving compassion, and let the truth sit on the sidelines for the time being. The truth never changes, so it will be there for them when they are ready to hear it.

God is the epitome of love, and love is better than truth in some cases; so, when you feel you just have to tell the truth to someone, if you can’t tell it with love then you should just keep quiet so that you don’t waste God’s truth by telling it in an ungodly way.

Thank you for being here: please subscribe, share these messages to help this ministry grow, and consider buying my books (available on Amazon and through my website.)

And I always welcome your comments.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Have you ever wondered how Arnold Schwarzenegger or Lou Ferrigno became so muscular? They worked at it, hours every day, for years. And the way they built their muscles so large was by destroying the existing muscle tissue.

That’s right! The way you build muscle is to first work the existing muscles so hard that you destroy them. When the body rebuilds the damaged cells, it always adds more cells to the repaired ones, and after many years of hard work, you look like Mr. America.

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

Our spiritual muscles are no different than our biceps or abs: in order to build spiritual muscle, we need to work hard every day destroying wrongful teachings and lawless beliefs and build new spiritual muscles.

How do we do that? First, by accepting that what God said to us is the primary and unchanging requirement for righteousness; the other writings, interpretations, and teachings of men are nothing more than commentary to be verified and validated against what God said in the Torah.

For example, many churches today are not only condoning homosexual marriage but endorsing and confirming it as godly. But God is clear in his admonishment against such relationships in the Torah, and in the way he punished those societies (such as Sodom and Gomorrah) who practiced that form of sexual orientation.

Another example is that God said we should NEVER make and bow down to any graven image of anything on the earth, in the sky or under the sea; but walk into most any Christian church (especially a Roman Catholic one) and there are paintings and statues all over the place. And when I asked a Priest why they pray to them, he said they don’t really pray to them, but are simply asking them to intercede with Yeshua to have him intercede with God. Really? You’re bowing down in front of these statues of people and asking them to intercede with Yeshua, even though Yeshua said the only way to the Father is through him. Not through someone through him, but through him, alone!

And Yeshua never said to pray to him but only in his name– praying to anyone or anything other than God is the definition of idolatry!

Another thing the musclemen do to help build muscles is to have a protein-rich diet: muscle fiber is made up of protein chains, so they ingest protein to help fuel these new muscles.

Spiritual muscles need the Word of God to feed upon, so when building your spiritual muscles you must read the Bible on a daily basis.

I have often shared that I keep my Bible in the bathroom because I know I will have (at least) a few minutes of totally uninterrupted time to read a chapter or two. And it works! I have been through the entire Bible (which is the only way to read it), from Genesis straight through to Revelation, so many times over the past 25+ years I have no idea how many times I have done this. And what is great about God’s word is that no matter how many times I have read it, there is always something new for me to see in there, that God (through the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit) shows me that I never saw before.

So nu? If you want to become a spiritual muscleman or musclewoman, then start your workout today. Grab that Bible, put it in your bathroom within easy reach of your throne, and start reading from the very first line of Genesis, reading (at least) one chapter every day.

And remember one last thing: working out causes aches and pains, and in your spiritual workout you may be upset and uncomfortable with learning that what you have been taught is wrong. Let God lead you through his spirit to see the truth, and pray to God (in Yeshua’s name) to show you the truth, because most people don’t know what God said, but have been totally misled by what people have taught them.

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Until next time, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

In Jeremiah 11:14, God told Jeremiah that he should not pray for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

It seems odd, doesn’t it, that the Lord would tell his own prophet that he shouldn’t pray for the security or peace of God’s children, but there is a reason for it.

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God is a loving and compassionate father. He understands our weaknesses and he is not just able to forgive us when we repent, but he desires to forgive us, as he demonstrates in Ezekiel 18:23 where he says he doesn’t want anyone to die.

But, God is also a fair and just God, holy and not one to change his mind. He says the guilty will not go unpunished, and although salvation is available to everyone, those who refuse to repent and continue to sin will be found guilty and their own deeds will come back on their own heads.

God has more patience than any human ever could have, and often he has waited to judge and punish for centuries, hoping against hope (since he already knows what will happen) that somehow the guilty will repent.

But sooner or later, the hammer has to come down.

What sins were so terrible in Jerusalem that God told his prophet to stop praying for the people? What could they have possibly done to bring God to the point where forgiveness was no longer possible, and judgment (meaning punishment) was the only option left to God?

Well, let’s see: we read about their worship of many of the pagan gods of the Semitic tribes around them, building and worshipping of idols, sacrificing on the high places, burning their children to Molech and K’Mosh in Vadi Kidron, cult prostitution, use of divination and spirit guides (necromancy), as well as many other horrible sins. And despite the good kings that we had along the way, with the sins of King Manasseh the point of no return had been reached.

This all happened circa 600 BC, but I believe we are seeing the same conditions today, here in America, only there is no prophet to warn us.

How does this apply to America, today?

Well, to start with, our government has not only legalized abortion but subsidizes it: I have posted in the past how this is no different than burning children to Molech (Abortion is More Than Just Murder).

We haven’t erected idols to Ba’al or Dagan, but we do hold our celebrities and sports figures in such awe that it is nearly a form of worship.

Every newspaper throughout the country has a section by an Astrologer, which is not much different than worshiping the army of heaven.

And in our society, we honor sinful relationships which include (but aren’t limited to) homosexual marriages, transvestites reading to children, and government removal of prayer from schools and from our courts.

When you take a close look, it really isn’t that different from the way society lived in the days of Manasseh, is it?

That’s why I believe if there was a prophet in America today, as Jerusalem had Jeremiah, he would be told by God something to the effect of:

"Geeze! I thought they would have learned their lesson after what I allowed Nebbie to do to Jerusalem! Oh well, here we go again- don't bother praying for this bunch because they have gone too far."

Look, I am not anti-American: I was an Executive Officer of a Combat Engineer Company in the United States Marine Corps and was willing to give my life to protect and preserve the America I grew up in. That was an America where people said they were Americans first, not something-Americans; that was an America where people had opportunities and weren’t chained to a system of welfare which reduces your chance of being able to pull yourself up out of your current social and economic class.

That was an America where nationalism was the rage, and racism was not used as a political weapon to usurp elected officials.

That was an America where education taught our children proper ethics, didn’t try to change history (although it was somewhat white-washed), and respected all life, in and out of the womb.

And in that America, the government asked for God’s direction and help, instead of rejecting him as unconstitutional!

No, my friends, we are seeing the beginning of the end of the America in which I grew up, the America that was a world leader, not just economically but ethically, and which represented the best opportunity for a person to really make something out of themselves. Sadly, that America is diminished to the point where it can’t come back.

No, my friends, the best we can hope for is that Messiah returns soon, because the ignorance and sinfulness of the youth today, as evidenced in YouTube videos, video games, TV shows, and movies, demonstrates that America’s future looks bleak. Even our professional athletes, heroes of the people who represent the best America has to offer, kneel at our national anthem and turn their back to the flag at Olympic events!

No, my friends, this is the end of the America I knew and the start of a different America, a godless and sinful country with no hope.

Although on the outside we seem to be strong, we have rotted away on the inside, just like a centuries-old Baobab tree, and one day (just like with those trees) we will suddenly collapse, and be no more.

So stop praying for America and start to pray for the return of the Messiah, because America is past help. And don’t tell me that God will forgive anything because he won’t- the Bible is clear on that. Yes, he is able to forgive anything, but he will not forgive an unrepentant sinner and that is what America has become, for more than a few decades now. The time for repentance and forgiveness is passed, and I personally don’t believe there are enough true American’s left in America to save the country.

Sorry for being such a “Debbie Downer” in my message today, but I preach what I believe to be the truth. If I wanted to be popular and go viral, I would do what the mega-churches do and tell you all the wonderful things God has for you and how wonderful everything is going to be.

I would rather be unpopular with people but do what is right in God’s eyes; people can only do so much for me while I am alive, but God can do everything for me throughout eternity.

He can do the same for you if you learn who he is, what he wants from you, and then deliver.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe to my YouTube channel and website, share these messages with everyone you know, and if you like what I do here you will like my books, as well. That’s it for today so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

I was having a discussion with one of my Facebook friends, a sister in the Lord (Yes, Sarah- I am talking about you) about the red heifer, and I said something that I think is worth sharing. I doubt it will be of any great significance or a wonderful revelation to anyone, but still and all, this is my ministry and so I will talk about it.

Seriously, I think it might be of interest to some.

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

The red heifer is an important animal in Judaism. It is a rather rare birth, and when born the cow is to be sacrificed and its ashes used to cleanse those who have become ceremonially unclean when touching a dead body. You can read about the red heifer in Numbers 19:1-10. One of the interesting aspects of the process of preparing the ashes that purify and cleanse people is that for every step in that process, the one performing it is made unclean and must wash their clothes and their body in water, remaining unclean until the evening (i.e., the next day.)

I have read the red heifer is considered a foreshadowing of Yeshua, in that the death of the heifer cleansed people, just as did Yeshua’s death. Personally, I don’t really think that is such a good comparison.

True, the red heifer was killed outside the camp, and Yeshua was killed outside Jerusalem; and true, the death of the red heifer led to a process by which people could be made clean, and the death of Yeshua cleanses us of our sin.

But there are significant differences that I believe make this comparison weak, if not invalid.

For one thing, no one became unclean associating with Yeshua, but the person who burned the heifer, the one who watched it (the Cohen), and the one who collected the ashes all became unclean by their association. The ones who were around and in close proximity to Yeshua not only were not made unclean but instead received the Ruach HaKodesh!

The ashes of the red heifer were used to remove only the uncleanliness that one receives from being in contact with a dead body. There’s no sin in being exposed to or touching a dead body, only ceremonial uncleanliness. The ashes make you clean, ceremonially, but they do not remove sin.

That is a significant difference: the ashes of the red heifer are useful only to remove ceremonial uncleanliness, but they do not remove sin because being unclean is not a sin. God never says, anywhere, that if you are unclean you are in sin. You are not allowed in the sanctuary when unclean, and if you go to the sanctuary when you are unclean or participate in any service (such as a Seder), THAT would be a sin and the ashes of the red heifer would be useless to you. You will need to go through one of the sacrifices outlined in Leviticus 1-7 to remove that sin, and the red heifer ashes are not part of any of those sacrifices.

On the other hand, Yeshua’s sacrifice and the blood he shed cleanses from us our morally wrong sins.

Yes, when in sin we are “unclean”, but not in the same way as when touching a dead body. There is a BIG difference between being unclean because we touched someone’s dead body and being unclean because we killed that person; the former is a ceremonial condition and the latter is a mortal sin.

Now, let’s talk about something I do find to be a valid comparison between the red heifer and Yeshua.

As mentioned above, everyone involved with preparing the red heifer becomes unclean, and what I find interesting is that when we are first introduced to the Torah, the closer we come to the Torah, the more we become aware of our own moral uncleanliness.

In the letter he wrote to the Roman Believers, Shaul mentioned how the Torah created sin because before we were given the law, there was no way to identify sin. As we become more knowledgeable, or better yet let’s say “in contact”, with the Torah, we become more aware of our own sinfulness (uncleanliness) before God.

With Yeshua’s sacrifice, we can be cleansed of our uncleanliness (from sin) just as those who had the ashes of the red heifer sprinkled on them became cleansed of their (ceremonial) uncleanliness.

The red heifer made people unclean and clean, first in contact with it and later after it had been properly prepared for them.

Yeshua, the Living Torah, makes us unclean by identifying that which we do as a sin, and he also makes us clean through his sacrifice, i.e. after he had been “properly prepared” (by means of his crucifixion and resurrection.)

The red heifer and Yeshua initially make us unclean (through touch and learning about sin, respec.), and both have the power to make us clean after they have been “prepared”.

Interesting? I thought so, and I hope you found this little conversation to be interesting, as well.

That’s it for today. I thank you for being here and if you haven’t already subscribed, please do so on my website and on my YouTube channel as well, because they are different lists and I don’t always do a video.

You might also consider buying one or more of my books, and with that I will say l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

How many times has someone called you “judgmental” because of something you said or wrote regarding an article or a person’s opinion? Me? More times than I care to remember.

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But aren’t we to judge the world? (1 Corinthians 6:2-3) And didn’t God tell Moses that he will take some of the Holy Spirit he placed on Moses and place it on others so that they can share in judging the people? (Numbers 11:16-30) Heck, even God thinks we should be able to judge others.

So why is it that when someone comments regarding an opinion or a statement, they are called judgmental, indicating that it is wrong to judge anyone?

If you ask me- and even if you don’t I will tell you, anyway (after all, it is my ministry, right?)- the difference between judging and being judgmental is not so much in what we say, but how we say it.

Once I was given (what we call) a back-handed compliment: My Boss told me that when we are in meetings what I say is usually correct, but because of the way I say it no one listens.

In other words, I judged correctly, but the way I expressed myself caused people to ignore my comment.

So, nu? How can we judge without being judgmental?

Here’s what I think the difference is: when we judge, we are looking at both sides of a situation and fairly and unemotionally making a statement regarding that situation. The focus is on the event and not the people involved with the event. When we go past the event and begin to make comments about the people involved, specifically their ability, their knowledge, or their emotional and spiritual state of mind that is when judging crosses over into being judgmental.

We can tell the difference between these two words simply from their proper grammatical usage: we can judge, but we are judgmental. “Judging” is something we do, but “judgmental” is something we are.

Of course, whenever someone judges they are, by definition, being judgmental, so where does it turn sour? It turns sour when we stop talking about the issue and turn it onto the person.

Here’s what I mean:

Judging: I understand what you said but when I look at the Bible references you quoted, there is more to them than what you gave us, and in their proper context the meaning you gave is not biblically sound.

Judgmental: I understand what you said but when I look at the Bible references you quoted, there is more to them than what you gave us, and if you were more spiritually mature you would have known that.

The difference is pretty obvious, isn’t it? Both times the comment is being judged, but in one case it is just the comment and in the other case, it is not the comment, alone, but the person, as well.

No one can tell what someone else’s spiritual state is. We can get an idea from what they say and write, and we can usually have a pretty good understanding of whether they know what they are saying or not, but even when we are positive, in our own mind, that the person is an idiot, it is not for us to say.

God is the only one who truly knows the heart, and even when we are absolutely certain someone is way off base, God knows if that is because they are really an idiot, or maybe a truly repentant and God-centered person who has been taught all the wrong things and speaks with concern but from ignorance.

I have never seen anyone who is in agreement with someone else be called judgmental; I assume that is because when someone says something we agree with, well, then, they are a genius! It seems we pull out the “You’re so judgmental!” card only when someone disagrees with us. Whether or not they really were judgmental, if I don’t have an answer to their comment I can always pull the judgmental excuse to redirect the issue.

In my experience, when someone accuses someone else of being judgmental it is little more than a defense mechanism designed to take the focus off the person accused of being wrong and placing it on the other person. It is nothing more than “smoke and mirrors”, and even when it is justified, it shouldn’t be used.

“Wait a minute, Steve! Why shouldn’t I call someone out when they are being judgmental?”

I’ll tell you why, and this is (of course) just my opinion: it won’t help. Even if you put that person in their place, so to speak, how will that help edify anyone? Sure, after you tell that person off they may open their eyes to what they were doing, but now the focus is totally off what you originally wanted to say and on this argument between the two of you. What you said in order to help people know God better, or edify them, or help console them, is now lost in the smokescreen that this name-calling has created.

If you find yourself being called judgmental, don’t reply and don’t just shrug it off: be humble enough to review what you said and if you think, even just think “maybe” you were judgmental, apologize.

And if you just have to let them know why you are right, you are no longer talking about God but just feeding your own pride.

Better that you should show humility and compassion for the feelings of others than to be correct because (just as I had to learn) being correct won’t be of any use if you are correct the wrong way.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe, buy my books, and share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry grow.

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