Category: A Drash to Start the Day

Why I Believe the Gospel of John Isn’t.

1 Comment

Isn’t what? Well, isn’t a Gospel, meaning a truthful description of who Yeshua was and of his ministry. I also don’t believe it was written by a Jew, or, at least, by a Jew who was writing to Jews.

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

John has long been recognized as being very different from the other Gospels; Matthew, Mark, and Luke are written as historical narratives that relate to the events in Yeshua’s life. John, on the other hand, while mentioning events in Yeshua’s life, is written as a spiritual revelation, and instead of plain language is full of overly spiritual double-talk:

I am he, and he is me; you see me, you see him, and I know him and he knows me but you don’t know me so you don’t know him, but if you knew him you would know me, yadda-yadda-yadda…

The thing about the Book of John that really gets my goat, and yes- this is a personal peeve– is that it seems to be written by a Gentile, to Gentiles, and has many subtle anti-Semitic undertones. And, frankly, I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Only in the Gospel of John do we hear Yeshua refer to the Torah (when talking to the Pharisees in John 10:34) as “your law”. If Yeshua was the word come to life, then why would he differentiate himself from who and what he is? If Yeshua was a Jew, he would never say “your law” when referring to the Torah; he would say “the law” or “the Torah”, but not talk about it as if he had no relationship to it or that it had no meaning to him.

And in the other three gospels, the term “the Jews” is used about 16 times, total within all three, but in John, that term is used some 67 times! When you are talking about your own people, do you refer to them as “those (whatever) people”? Of course not- if you are Jewish, you say “my people” or “them”; if you are Italian and talking about other Italians, you don’t say “those Italians”, you say “them” or “us” or some other term that recognizes your attachment and solidarity with them. But we don’t see that in John- instead, we see Yeshua talking to the Pharisees and Sadducees about the people as if they are different from him.

In the other gospels, it is clear that the real enemies of Yeshua are the power elite, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, but in John, it seems that all the Judeans are against Yeshua.

One really big difference is that in the other three, Yeshua never makes the absolute claim that he is the Messiah, except to his Talmudim (Disciples), whereas in John, he says it outright to the Samaritan woman (John 4:26) and makes claim to being one with God multiple times, and also claims that he is the son of God, whereas in the other gospels he refers to himself as the Son of Man.

In my experience, John is the only gospel that is used when people try to justify that God, Yeshua, and the Ruach HaKodesh are all one-and-the-same entity.

One of the most valuable tools in biblical exegesis is called Hermeneutics, which is the idea that the Bible does not contradict itself. We all have been told, over and over, that God is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow and many believe the Bible to be infallible, and the perfect word of God, directly from God.

For the record, I don’t buy that for a moment, but that’s a different message.

So, if the Bible is infallible and God’s word is perfect, then hermeneutically we can prove John’s gospel is not scripture because it is so different, and does contradict what we read in the other gospels. In John, Yeshua claims to be the Messiah to many people but not in any other gospel; in John, Yeshua’s ministry seems to be only one year but the other gospels make it about three years; in John, Yeshua is tried before the Pesach meal but in the other three, it is after; in John, Yeshua claims to be not just the son of God but God, himself, yet in the other gospels he calls himself the Son of Man.

John was most likely written at the end of the First Century when more Gentiles were converting to this new sect of Judaism than Jews who were accepting Yeshua as their Messiah. And when Jews did accept Yeshua as the Messiah, remember that this was not a conversion: there was no conversion of Jews to Christianity: the early “church” was a synagogue, and the Gentiles who accepted Yeshua as Messiah were learning how to live a Jewish lifestyle, just as Yeshua lived. The truth of the beginning of what we call Christianity today is that the only conversion was from paganism to Judaism, or at best, a sect of Judaism. From the turn of the first century until Constantine created modern Christianity (about 325 CE), there were Jews, those Jews and Gentiles who accepted Yeshua as the Messiah, and pagans. The Believing Gentiles were learning about the Torah and how to live as Yeshua did, although the Gentiles that were taking command of the movement began to leave Judaism and form different worship, such as changing the Shabbat to Sunday (Ignatius of Antioch in 98 CE) and misinterpreting the letter sent by the Elders (Acts 15) as meaning Gentile Believers were excluded from following Torah.

John was, in my opinion, either written by a Gentile using John’s name, or if John, a Jewish follower and Disciple of Yeshua, did write it, he wrote it so that Gentile Believers could separate themselves from Torah and worship Yeshua not just as the Messiah, but as God, as well. That opens the question of why a Disciple of Messiah would reject his own religion.

Many Christians I have known feel that John is the best Gospel, and when I was first open to learning about Yeshua, I was told to read John before any other gospel. Now, some 20 plus years after coming to accept Yeshua and knowing the entire Bible very well, I know that the Gospel of John is an anti-Semitic and separatist book designed so that Gentiles can feel comfortable rejecting the Torah and Judaism as separate from Yeshua, what he taught, and to worship Yeshua as God.

There are many out there who will find this message not just disturbing, but maybe even blasphemous, and that is too bad. I doubt many Gentile Believers who were raised Christian (any denomination) can understand how a Jewish person, Believer or not, feels reading this gospel. The other Gospels are fine because they don’t hate Jews, but the Gospel of John is full of subtle, Jew-hating terminology.

If it was up to me, I would throw the Gospel of John, along with nearly all the Epistles of Shaul (Paul) out of the New Covenant. I would keep Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, Hebrews, James, and Revelation, and deep-six the rest, or have them in a separate volume, like the Apocrypha.

I hope that no one is offended, but I understand there might be a sense of wanting to defend this gospel because, well, you just need to! “Why?” “Because, that’s why!”

If that’s how you feel, maybe you should consider why you feel that way. I mean, really, if the Gospel of John is verifiable and hermeneutically validated as scripture, you wouldn’t need to say “because” as the reason to defend it, because “because” is not a reason. 

That’s my message for today. It is my opinion, you do not have to agree, but if you do agree, I would appreciate you letting me know with a “Like” or something similar, even a comment. And if you think I am out of my mind, please comment as well, but be nice.

In the meantime, thank you for being here; please share these messages (if you dare), and until the next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Don’t Misuse Your Memories

Leave a comment

Huh? What do you mean? How can I misuse memories, since my memories are what they are?

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

We all remember both happy and sad times, we remember those people who we have loved but are no longer with us, and there are even things we remember that we wish we could forget.

It is especially tough at this time of the year when the world (right or wrong) celebrates the traditional holidays. We remember times past and being with family and friends, but instead of feeling cheerful, so many people suffer from seasonal depression, and at this time of the year instead of joy and goodwill, we see depression and suicides rise at an alarming rate.

And why is that? This is supposed to be one of the happiest times of the year, yet suicides and depression are at their highest!

I believe part of the reason, if not the entire reason, is that people misuse their memories by making themselves sad over what isn’t anymore, instead of giving thanks for having been able to have those experiences.

Can you imagine how much someone who has been raised in a broken home, on welfare, with no hope and nothing but bad memories would give to have even one of your family get-together memories?

What would someone raised in a third world country who has dirt floors and lives hand-to-mouth every day be willing to do just to have your memory of a holiday dinner and opening presents?

Maybe as you are reading this you might be one of those who doesn’t have these happy memories; if so, please comment on this post to let those who have had them know what they would mean to you.

We are, by nature, self-absorbed and so when we lose a loved one, the first emotion we feel is sadness. Not for them- they are beyond pain or troubles- but for ourselves, because now we won’t have that person in our life anymore. And that’s not necessarily wrong; at least, not at first. But when their memory brings sadness to us instead of appreciation and joy that dishonors them because it creates a feeling within you that they wouldn’t want you to have.

Job set the example about how to handle disaster: when all that he owned, as well as all those whom he loved, were taken away in an instant, his first reaction was to thank God for being able to have had them in his life, at all. He said, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away: blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21). Notice how his first acknowledgment was that the Lord gave- that is what we need to focus on.

When we remember those who we have lost or good times that aren’t happening anymore, we need to be thankful for them and not sad that they are gone. When you really think about it, being sad about good things is silly, isn’t it? We should reflect on all the joy that God has provided for us, and even though we are sad, to a degree, that we can’t have that anymore, the fact that we allow it to ruin our day or our attitude is actually doing that memory, and all those who are part of it, a disservice.

When I die, if anyone cares and misses me, I would not want them to be sad when they think of me; rather, I would want them to be joyful and feel good because if I was alive, that is what I would want to do for them. I want to do more than just make people feel good now, while I am alive- I want the memory of my relationship with them to make them happy when I am not there. The best thing I can think of is when someone is sad, they remember me and our relationship together, and that makes them feel better.

I can’t think of a more wonderful legacy than one where the memory of being with me makes someone feel better.

So, for those of you out there who become sad at this time of the year because you remember the good times that you used to have, which (for whatever reason) you can’t have anymore, please take this advice: STOP IT!

Get your head on straight, remember the good times with joy and appreciation because you were blessed by God to have them! Just because things are different now, do not dishonor those who are missing, whether still alive or dead, by allowing your selfish and greedy feelings (which we all have) to sadden you.

How much enjoyment you get from a holiday season, of (for that matter) from life, itself, is entirely up to you. So don’t misuse your memories but appreciate them, savor them like a fine wine, and honor those who are no longer with you by letting the memory of being with them make you happy.

Life goes on, and when it comes down to it, it is better to remember than to be remembered.

Thank you for being here, please subscribe and share these messages with everyone you know to help this ministry grow. I never ask for money, but you could always buy my books. And remember that I always welcome your comments.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch haShem!

Hanukkah 2020 Message

1 Comment

חג שמח! Chag Sameach!

Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate this joyous holiday.

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

The Torah parashah for this Shabbat is called Vayeshev, which relates the story of Joseph. It begins with Israel giving him the coat of many colors, how he tells his brothers of his dreams showing he will rule over them one day which leads, along with other reasons, to his brother’s plot to destroy him, to him being sold into slavery in Egypt. While a slave, he is unjustly accused by his master’s wife, thrown into jail, and while there he interprets the dreams of the Pharaoh’s Baker and Cupbearer. The parashah ends with how the Cupbearer, after being restored to his post as Joseph saw in his dream, forgets to mention Joseph to the Pharaoh.

I think, though, instead of the parashah, I would like to talk with you about Hanukkah. After all, we all know the story of Joseph, but how many really know about Hanukkah?

You won’t find the story anywhere in the Tanakh, and it’s only mentioned, briefly, in the New Covenant. The places you will find the story of Hanukkah, which is told in the Books of the Maccabees (there were originally supposed to be five books, but they have been condensed into two), is in the Talmud, Septuagint, and the Apocrypha, and the only place you will find the Apocrypha included with scripture is in a Catholic Bible.

In the first book of the Maccabees, we are told how Antiochus IV Epiphanes was continuing the program called Hellenization, which was started about 1-1/2 Centuries earlier by Alexander the Great. Hellenization is the replacement of all cultures with that of the Greeks, and so in Judea, under Antiochus, circumcision and any other Jewish ritual or worship was strictly forbidden. He sacrificed pigs on the altar in the Temple of Solomon, which is the abomination that causes desecration Daniel prophesied about.

One of the generals, in a town called Modein, was enforcing these laws and as one of the priests of the town was converting to the Greek religion, the father of the Maccabees, Mattathias, became zealous for God and killed the priest, as well as the soldiers of the king. After this act of rebellion, he and his 5 sons hid in the desert, and as word got around he gained followers who wanted to rid Judea of the Seleucid rule.

Eventually, there was a full-out rebellion, and these Jewish farmers and shepherds, with little more than pitchforks, hoes, and other farming implements, fought against what was probably the best armed and most experienced professional army the world knew at that time. Imagine a man with a sharpened stick going against an elephant wearing armor plating on its body and archers sitting on its back. That would be like you or I standing in the way of an Abrams tank!

And the real miracle of Hanukkah doesn’t have to do with a lamp but is the fact that we won!

The temple was cleansed and ritual purification was to begin, with the relighting of the Ner Tamid, the Eternal Light that was never supposed to be extinguished.

Now, here is where the story is embellished with Jewish mythology from the Babylonian Talmud: there is no mention of oil lasting 8 days anywhere in the books of the Maccabees. According to legend, there was only one day’s worth of ritually purified oil for the Ner Tamid, but it miraculously burned for 8 days, which was just the right amount of time needed to produce more ritually pure oil. This is why we light the Hanukkiah (it is not a menorah) with a new candle every night during the 8 nights of Hanukkah. The ninth candle, which is called the Shamash (leader) is used to light the other candles as we recite the prayer for the Hanukkah candles:

Bah-rookh ah-tah ah-doh-noi, eh-loh-hay-noo meh-lekh hah-oh-lahm, ah-sher ki-deh-shah-noo beh-mitz-voh-tahv, veh-tzee-vah-noo, leh-hahd-lik nayr, shel kha-noo-kah
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah light.

The second book of the Maccabees is a continuation of the story and outlines the events after the initial rebellion, the leadership by the oldest Maccabee, Judas, and how he restored Jewish rule and freedom of worship in Judea. It also tells of the eventual plots against the Maccabees, resulting in they’re being deposed by the very people they saved.

There are also a number of atrocities outlined in these books regarding the torture of the Jews who refused to accept the Greek religion. When Antiochus heard of a rebellion, his army slaughtered some 40,000 men, women, and children, and another 40,000 were enslaved.

One story from 2 Maccabees is about a woman with 7 sons. They were told they had to eat pork but each refused, being tortured to death, one-by-one, with their mother watching. As the last son refused, it is told how the general even begged the mother to tell her son to comply so she wouldn’t have to lose all her children. Instead of telling her son to eat the pork, she told him not to eat the pork so that the death of the other sons was not for nothing.

Other stories of torture include ripping pregnant women apart, sliding men down a ramp with sharp knives along the way, whippings, cutting out of tongues, hands being cut off, and roasting people alive on a metal pan over a burning hot fire.

Ouch!

But, despite the torture, the desire by the populace to do what is right in God’s eyes, even to the point of death, is what the Greeks faced, although there were many who turned from the faith. Eventually, God came to the aid of his people when they rebelled against this evil.

There are some who refuse to celebrate Hanukkah simply because it isn’t commanded in the Tanakh, even though they recognize it is meant to glorify God. That is their choice, and I suspect they don’t celebrate Purim or Simchat Torah, either, since neither of those holidays are commanded. And, again, I don’t want to originate a discussion about whether or not you should celebrate Hanukkah or Purim or Christmas or Easter, or whatever- frankly, if it isn’t commanded to be celebrated, then it is a personal choice.

Today we see a similar sort of evil in America: not that there is a king taking away our ritual worship and torturing people, but there is a growing societal conversion from morality and righteousness to selfishness and the condoning, actually more than that, the enthusiastic supporting of sinfulness.

Have you noticed that in family-oriented commercials now there is almost always a same-sex couple? Have you heard about how already there are some states that don’t just allow abortion, but now they are able to kill the child after it has been born if the abortion failed!

Hello, Molech- welcome back!

The recent pandemic has been turned into a political weapon, and instead of helping people cope with it, many of our country’s leaders are using it to shut down businesses and cause fear, with which they can control the populace.

There is no temple in Jerusalem suffering the abomination that causes desecration, but we can see it in our society! I won’t go off on a rampage here, and I don’t want to initiate any political battles, but it is clear to anyone who knows anything about the Lord, God that our society is not all that far away from what Antiochus was trying to do some 200 or so years before the Messiah came, which was to remove all God-fearing worship and lifestyle from the society.

Hanukkah is a joyous celebration of the miraculous overthrow by God-fearing people of a corrupted and evil government, and I have to wonder: couldn’t we use a Mattathias or a Judas Maccabee, today?

Thank you for being here; please subscribe, share these messages with everyone you know, and I always welcome your comments.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!

Always Give Thanks to God

Leave a comment

I am waiting for my new webcam to come and also will be busy baking dessert for this afternoon’s feast, so I am going to make this quick and easy.

With respect to everyone’s personal opinion about man-made holidays, for those who will be giving thanks to God for all he has done for you and for others, my wife and I wish you a peaceful and blessed Thanksgiving Day.

It is NEVER wrong to give thanks to God.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

How Can We Help Sinners If We Are Separated?

Leave a comment

That’s a good question, isn’t it? I mean, if we are to be separated from sin, and not take part in sinful activities, how can we ever reach the sinners?

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

Yeshua ate and drank with sinners- all four Gospels write about that, and how it was used as an attack against him. Yet, he said it best when he replied that he came to call the sinner, not the righteous.

We are also commanded to be holy, as God is holy, but how can we be holy, which means separated, if we are in the midst of sinners?

It seems to be a complicated situation, but the answer is really quite simple: the separation we need to maintain is not a physical one, but a spiritual one, which we demonstrate in the real world through our speech, actions, and lifestyle.

In Mark 7, Yeshua said that what makes us unclean is what comes from our hearts. Now, in that case, he was talking of ceremonial uncleanliness with relation to traditionally washing the hands before eating, but I think we can safely take that teaching one step further.

Being in the company of sinners doesn’t make you a sinner, nor does it make you unclean, so long as you, yourself, maintain separation from what is in the hearts of those sinners, and by doing so, you become a symbol and example to them of righteousness.

We need to be separate but not separated- what good is a lamp if it is placed under a bowl, right? We need to let our light shine, but not in the sunlight- that is useless. We aren’t told to preach to the choir, we are told to be a light in the darkest of places.

In other words, we are to work in a fish market for hours at a time, and come out still smelling like a rose. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But, as Yeshua said, with God, all things are possible.

When we are told to be holy as God is holy, that is a spiritual condition. We are humans, born into and with iniquity and to think that we could ever be really holy, inside and out, is a pipe dream. God told Cain that sin is crouching at his door, and that means we cannot ignore the existence of sin within us. That is what the Enemy wants us to think because that is how he can sneak sin into our lives.

When we are always aware of the potential to sin, we will always be on the alert. There are a number of biblical parables Yeshua gave about always being prepared, and I believe that also means to always recognize the sin within ourselves, which is how we can be in the midst of sinners and stay separated from their sin.

If you want to fulfill the commandment to find new disciples, you will have to go where angels dare not go. You will have to go into the lion’s den, into the fiery furnace, and do so willingly. That doesn’t make you unclean- remember those three guys came out of the furnace without even smelling like smoke, so you, too, can be amongst sinners without getting your clothes stained.

Be the light in the darkness, and always be aware of your own weakness- that, and being guided by the Ruach HaKodesh, is how you can be surrounded by sinners and still be separated from them.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe; share these messages with everyone you know, check out my website and consider buying my books. If you like what you get here, you will like my books.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

I Got Nothing! (Again)

Leave a comment

Usually, I come up with messages, inspiration, whatever you want to call it when I am riding my bicycle and praying. Too often I can’t stop and add it to my calendar, and by the time I get home, I forget what it was. I don’t know if that’s because it wasn’t really what God would want me to say, or just a result of my age.

Whatever.

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

In any case, I have nothing on my calendar except to make a blood donation at 1100 this morning. That, and a whole lot of complaints about the Facebook postings I see, which reminds me how easily people can be manipulated.

And why is that? Why does it seem to be so easy to manipulate thousands, if not millions of people? Josef Goebbels did it to the German people, the Creel Committee (under President Wilson) did it to Americans so we would enter WWI, and it seems that both the news and social media are now the means to get people to believe whatever propaganda the “powers that be” want them to accept.

And maybe that’s the message for today- don’t believe anyone. And you can believe me when I tell you that.

I saw a post about a secret government unit that identifies cyber-security infractions and it is being used to register and document all the voter fraud that is happening in the current US election. It has captured the use of a CIA program designed to manipulate voting results, which has been used in foreign elections but is now being used in this Presidential election.

And here’s what I found interesting: they posted a picture of what is supposedly the room where this is done, and all the computers were running Windows 8:

So I have to wonder how did anyone manage to get a picture of such a secret unit, and why is a top-of-the-line tech unit using an operating system that was replaced many years ago?

The obvious answer is something ain’t kosher about this. Maybe it’s the picture or maybe it’s the whole story, but whether or not it is legit, I am taking it as nothing more than some fertilizer someone is trying to spread to grow their story.

And you know what? It might all be true! But not for me; at least, not until it becomes public knowledge in a verifiable way.

The problem is that so many people will buy into this, immediately, because it is what they want to hear. And that is how people can be manipulated: tell them what they want to hear and they will buy into it, ASAP!

So when you listen, don’t listen with your glands but with your brains, and don’t believe anything you hear, no matter how wonderful it sounds, or (for that matter) how bad it sounds. Do your own research, realizing that if you research on the Internet, you are trying to smell a rose which is hidden in the middle of a fertilizer factory, so be careful, use discernment, and believe only that which seems to be believable.

As the old saying goes: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

One last thing for you: this system of reviewing and thinking about what you see and hear is not just something that is good to do when listening to the news or on social media, but it is really important to develop this talent because we are warned about false messiahs and how many will be turned from the true faith by them. Those will be the people who want to hear only what they like and ignore what they don’t like; they are the ones who tell you they love the Lord but will be first in line to take the mark when it is offered. And how can that happen? It will happen because they will hear what they want to believe and not use discernment.

When people do not think with their brains but, instead, believe with their emotions, they are easily led astray.

God has given you not just a brain, but through his Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), you have the opportunity to call upon his divine discernment so PLEASE! -for your own sake, use it!

Thank you for being here and please subscribe to the website and the YouTube channel (they are different lists), check out my entire website and I always welcome discussion.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Are Different Versions of the Bible a Problem?

Leave a comment

If you go to a book store, to the Religion section, and look for a Bible, you will see many different versions. A quick Google search shows no less than 35 different versions of the Bible.

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

Even more confusing is the fact that all these different versions have been translated into hundreds of different languages, each with its own challenge to express the proper meaning and not have it lost in translation, resulting in the situation where now we have so many different versions of the Bible in the world that it is impossible to find two different versions that match, exactly.

In fact, from what I understand about copyright laws, there is a limitation on how many verses can be written exactly the same (somewhere around 500) without written permission from the author, and they cannot be presented as an entire work.

In other words, it is illegal (at least here in the USA) to have two different versions of the Bible that are exactly the same.

So, nu? If the Complete Jewish Bible says one thing, and the New International Version says another thing, and the King James Version says something completely different, which one is correct?

I could give examples of these differences, but that would take more time than is necessary, so if you don’t believe there are significant differences, just use whichever search engine you like (Google, Bing, Mozilla, Yahoo, for example) and do a search for a few of your favorite verses, then compare the “hits” you get. I am sure you will be amazed at how different some of them are.

For me, there is one version I would never recommend, and those are the ones that call themselves extended language versions. The reason is that they are “filling in the gaps”, so to speak, of what is written that may be difficult to comprehend, or they just add a lot of words to try to make some things easier to understand. We are told, very plainly, in Deuteronomy (more than once, in fact) that we should not add to or remove any words from the book, so (in my opinion) by God’s command these extended language versions are just not the place where you want to get your information from.

So, again, who do we believe? How we can trust what we are told is “God’s Word” when the word, itself, is so different?

My belief is that we can trust what we read, no matter which version we read it from, so long as we read it trusting not in written words in a book, but in God’s Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to give us the true understanding of what God is telling us.

And my belief is founded in what Isaiah heard God say, which was that God’s word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11)!

So, when people argue the Bible is untrustworthy because it has so many differences between different versions, or that the Zachariah mentioned in Luke is not the same Zachariah mentioned in Matthew or any other number of apparent discrepancies within the Bible and between Bibles, my reply is that human error will be found in anything humans do, but God can overcome human error.

The way God does this is through his Holy Spirit in those who have accepted it, and USE it when reading the Bible. Yes, we can have the Holy Spirit but ignore it, if we choose to, and often (too often!) I have heard people say things that aren’t from the Bible, but from their own flesh, yet they use the Bible to justify what they want.

I am sure you have run into this, as well- someone who clearly has decided what they want the Bible to mean, then pull passages and verses out of context in order to prove their point.

You usually cannot argue effectively with these people because they are the living example of the old saying “I have already made up my mind- don’t confuse me with facts.”

The most important thing about the Bible is that it tells us how to worship God and how God wants us to treat each other. God doesn’t have any religion, just his instructions to us; and when I say “us”, I don’t mean just Jews, I mean everyone. God told Moses that the Israelites would be his nation of priests (Exodus 19:6), which means priests to the world, and as such the instructions God gave to the Jewish people through Moses are meant to be taught to the world. That is why he told Abraham, long before the Torah was given, that his descendants would be a blessing to the world.

Let’s face it, salvation is the goal we all want, and every Bible ever written will have one thing that will always be understood to have the same meaning: Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. In other words, it is through faith, and faith alone, that we can be saved.

The problems start after this, usually with the confusion about faith and works, but that’s for a different message.

The Bible is not God- it is a book about God. And since it is written by humans, it will have faults. The most dependable word of God is the Torah, and I mean a Hebrew Torah because of all the painstaking steps that are employed when copying one Torah to another; for example, did you know that when the Sofer (Scribe) copies one new Torah from another, one of the tests they use to ensure accuracy is that every single letter is counted to make sure nothing is missing?

Read the Bible, read whichever version you find easiest to understand, but never read it without first praying to God to give you HIS understanding of what the words are supposed to mean. Remember that Yeshua didn’t teach just the P’shat, which means the literal meaning of the words, but he taught the Remes, which is the deeper, spiritual meaning of the words, so don’t let different words or what seem to be discrepancies confuse you.

Know what God wants you to learn from his word by praying for guidance by, and listening to, the Ruach HaKodesh, which God will help you hear when you ask him to do so.

Thank you for being here, please subscribe and check out the entire website. And don’t be shy about making comments- I always welcome discussion.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

God’s Punishment Proves His Love

Leave a comment

We all know there are more than one or two proverbs about how we should not avoid disciplining our children, which means that punishment is mandatory for raising a child correctly.

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

But if we punish them, it causes them pain and can even traumatize them, so if we harm and traumatize our children does that mean we don’t really love them?

Of course not!

All God’s creatures need to be taught what is good and what is bad for them, whether it be a mother lion teaching her cubs to avoid the cobra or a human mother teaching her child to stay away from strangers. All youngsters need to learn what is useful and good for them, and what is harmful, and since humans are, by nature, rebellious and curious, the lessons often need to be accentuated with a slap on the tuchas to demonstrate that doing wrong hurts.

God loves his children more than any human ever could, and being God, his punishments can be more terrible than any human could come up with.

The main difference between human punishment and God’s punishment is that humans almost always punish when they are frustrated and angry. Too often, because humans are self-absorbed and prideful, parents will punish as much because the child isn’t listening to them as because of what the child is doing, and often we punish others as a means of “getting back” at them.

God punishes us for disobedience, as well, but he has no prideful desire to get back at us, and when he punishes it is usually after a long and drawn-out period of him putting up with our rebellion and sin. Humans punish pretty much right away, but God waits a long time before issuing his punishment because he loves us so much, he wants to give us more than enough time to repent before we have to suffer the consequences of our actions.

And when we repent, we are forgiven. But, although we have forgiveness through Yeshua the Messiah, that fact is not going to save you from the consequences of what you do while you are alive. Forgiveness of sin through the Messiah is on an eternal plane, and is meant for our spiritual beings; while we are on the earth, we will suffer for our sins.

Another thing about God’s punishment, which is usually referred to in the Tanakh as God’s curses, is that he doesn’t really do anything to us; he will simply leave us alone. The world is a cursed and fallen place and when you separate yourself from God by sinning, he will simply stop protecting you from the world. Without God’s kippur (covering) of protection, it is you against the world, and I don’t have to tell you who will win that battle.

However useful punishment can be, it is a two-edged sword: it can humiliate us to the point where we stop doing what we want to do and realize that God’s way is best, or we can become angry and more rebellious, blaming God for the problems we have (which we caused) and turn further away from him.

Humility and knowledge of the Bible are things, in my opinion, which will help us choose to have the right reaction to God’s punishment, and believe me, it is always our choice how we react. Whether we obey or reject God, it is always our decision, and even if you are following the teachings of another, it is your decision to accept those teachings as valid.

“I was just following orders” did not save anyone at the Nuremberg Trials, and it certainly won’t save you from God’s judgment.

If you feel you are being punished by God, be grateful that he loves you enough to try to steer you back into communion with him, and for your own sake, humble yourself and listen to him. God has told us in his Torah all we need to know in order to worship him correctly and treat each other as he wants us to do; and, when we do that, we will be blessed- that is his promise, and he always keeps his promises.

Read Deuteronomy 28 and see what wonderful blessings you can have for simply living your life as God instructs; and, while you’re there, after the blessings read the punishments that will follow if you choose to ignore God.

Punishment is necessary for learning- that’s just the way it works. If you ever have to punish someone, do so using God’s example, and don’t punish from anger or spite or a need for revenge, but do so with love and desire to help the one you are punishing; if you can do that, then you may just save their life.

Thank you for being here and please subscribe, share these messages with others and until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Are Man-Made Holidays Bad?

Leave a comment

As we come closer to Christmas, we will begin to see the numerous postings about this holiday, about how it is pagan, and about how no “real” Christian should celebrate it.

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

We will also see postings to justify Christmas, saying just because it is celebrated on the same day as an old pagan holiday, that doesn’t make it a pagan celebration.

We will see the same spurt of nonsense come April regarding Easter.

I say it is all nonsense because I know that anything being done in Yeshua’s name or which honors Yeshua and/or God is OK by him.

How do I know that? Simple: Yeshua said so.

Both the Gospels of Mark and Luke relate how the Talmudim (students) of Yeshua told him of a man that was driving out demons in Yeshua’s name, and they told him to stop doing that because he wasn’t one of them. Yeshua told them they were wrong to do that.

This is what he told them:

Mark 9:40– For whoever is not against us is for us.

Luke 9:50– Yeshua said to him, “Don’t stop such people, because whoever isn’t against you is for you.

Yeshua understood that whatever was done for good in his name or that brought glory to God was something that confirmed he is the Messiah, and as such, could never be used against him, meaning to deny God’s power and authority.

In plain English, whatever we do that gives honor and glory to God (or his Messiah, Yeshua) is a good thing.

So what’s this have to do with Christmas and Easter?

I’m glad you asked

These Christian holidays, which (for the record) being Jewish I never really cared about, anyway, are man-made, they are not biblical, and they are, essentially, a rebranding of an old, pagan holiday. But they do not celebrate the pagan gods; they celebrate, respectively, the birth and resurrection of the Messiah of God, and as such they bring glory to God.

And, because Yeshua said that whatever is done for him is not against him, i.e. it is a good thing to do, then these holidays must be acceptable to Yeshua.

And what is acceptable to Yeshua is acceptable to God.

Despite the modern-day commercialization of, or the original reason for those days to be celebrated, Christmas and Easter are good things, and celebrating them to honor and glorify Yeshua and God is also a good thing.

And, for that matter, any man-made holiday created to glorify God or the Messiah is a good thing.

Now, if you still feel that because these are man-made holidays or because they were originally celebrations to glorify pagan gods, therefore they shouldn’t be celebrated, then go ahead and reject them. That’s fine- they aren’t required celebrations according to God’s instructions in Leviticus 23, and choosing not to celebrate them is not a sin or condemnable.

But telling others that they shouldn’t celebrate is no different than what the disciples did when they tried to stop the man expelling demons in Yeshua’s name, which Yeshua said was a wrong thing to do.

Whoever is not against is for, so anything we do in order to honor and glorify God or Messiah is a good thing.

And that comes straight from Yeshua, himself!

Thank you for being here and please subscribe to this website and my YouTube channel, check out my books and share these messages with everyone to help this ministry grow.

And remember… I always welcome your comments.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

Who’s Really in Charge?

Leave a comment

Do you believe in Predestination? Do you think that God has already planned your entire life and that no matter what you do, it is already set out? Is it true that you are either saved or condemned to hell before you are even able to determine right from wrong?

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

And while we’re asking questions, do you believe that God is in charge? Is God really running the show, making the decisions every moment of every day, and ensuring that all he wants anyone do to is being done, just the way he wants it?

I don’t believe in predestination, and I’ll tell you why: God told Cain that sin is crouching at his door and he must master it (Genesis 4:7), so it is clear that when it comes to what we do, it is our decision. God didn’t say to Cain, “Sin is waiting for you and you can’t fight it- you’re chosen to be sinful and you have no way out of it. Sorry ’bout that, but that’s how it goes for some people. I spin the dice and you pay the price.”

Don’t worry- that’s not how it works.

God gave us all Free Will, the right to choose what we will do and say, and throughout the Tanakh God lets us know that whatever we decide to do, it is our choice. When we do what is right (in his eyes, not our eyes) we will be blessed, and when we choose to reject his instructions, we will be on our own. The world is a fallen and cursed place, under the dominion of the Evil One (remember that Satan was thrown to the Earth) and when we reject God, we lose the kippur, the covering, of God’s protection.

God doesn’t curse us when we disobey, he just leaves us unprotected from the world.

So, nu? If God gives me the right to choose what I do, then is he really in charge?

Yes, and no.

Yes, God’s plans will be fulfilled, and the way he wants them to be fulfilled, yet while we are waiting for that day, we have the ability to do what we want to do.

I once heard that God is the captain of a ship that is going from here to there, and along the way, the ship stops at many different ports. We are able to get on the ship or off the ship every time it stops. In fact, we can even “jump ship” between ports. Eventually, the ship will land at its final destination, and obviously, you want to be on the ship when it gets there.

I was in a position of management for most of my career, and when you are in charge you learn that you need to allow those under your authority to learn, and the way to do that is to give them the freedom to be in charge of themselves. The really good Boss is the one who can let people make their mistakes, and still correct those mistakes before the mission is compromised.

Being in charge often means ceding authority to others so that they can become leaders in their own right. Micromanaging never works out well for anyone, and God is the absolute best manager of all, for he knows everything you will do before you know it yourself, but he is willing to allow you the freedom to do it, even when it may result in pain. He can always soothe the injury and heal us, but if we are never allowed to burn ourselves, we will never learn to be careful around fire.

God is in charge, but you are still the only one who is responsible for what you do and say. If something bad happens, don’t blame God, and don’t say that you are under attack. Of course, you may be under attack (from the Enemy) at times in your life, especially if you are doing what is good and helping to advance God’s kingdom, but for the most part (if you ask me), when bad things happen to good people, it’s just that the good people may have slipped a bit, or as the saying goes, “Stuff Happens.”

We live in a fallen and cursed world; every now and then bad things will happen. You can’t walk through a field of sheep and not end up stepping in something, now and then. And according to the Bible, it will only get worse, so remember that you are the only one who you can blame for what happens to you.

The answer to today’s question is that God can be in charge of everything whenever he wants to be, but when it comes down to your life he will take charge only after you ask him to do that.

In the end, the one who is really in charge of you is YOU!

Thank you for being here and please subscribe, share these messages and check out my books. If you like what you read here, you will like my books, as well.

Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!