Category: A Drash to Start the Day

Teaching is a Double-Edged Sword

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I believe, and have had it confirmed by others, that God has given me a gift for teaching. My mother was a teacher, so I learned some of how it’s done while still in the womb. Her sister was also in teaching, as a Vice-Principal. My older sister is a teacher with specific skills for handling troubled children. You could say the defective gene for teaching is in my system, but I like to think that God gave me the gift, also.

Here’s the problem: when you take on the responsibility of teaching, whether it be teaching Math or the Bible, you are shaping someone’s life. If you don’t mold that person correctly you could send them to hell in a handbasket.

The Bible is pretty specific about this: check out these verses:

Proverbs 22:6       Yacov (James) 3:1-2    Luke 6:40 (this one demands we teach by example)

2 Timothy 2:15     Mattitayu (Matthew) 5:19    Nehemiah 8:8      Romans 2:21

There are other verses, but from these you can get the idea that there is great power in teaching. The power to mold and shape someone, which is the same power to turn them aside from the truth and lead them to wrongful decisions. There is the power to save, and the power to destroy.

In the world today there are many teachings, both right and wrong. There are teachings that tell us somethings are bad and there are teachings that tell us the same, exact things are not bad.  The Catholic church says priests are not to get married, but the other Christian religions and the Torah teach that the Kohanim (Priests) are allowed to marry (but there are restrictions on the type of woman they are allowed to marry.) Another teaching is that being kosher is only for Jews, but Yeshua was kosher and we are told to be like Yeshua, to “Do what Jesus would have done”, so why is it taught that we don’t have to keep kosher? If you read my book you will learn more on how this idea that kosher laws are done away with is wrong.

The world teaches you to look out only for yourself and the Bible teaches us to care for others as much as ourselves. The world teaches to live for today and the Bible teaches us to live for Eternity.

So many different things, and all seemingly opposing each other. For those of us who want to teach about God’s way and to lead others to the salvation that Yeshua made possible, we have to work against the world and all the teachings therein. Then, we have to work against all the wrongful teachings that the Christian world has proliferated: Yeshua did away with Torah, Torah is just for Jews, Jews are Christ-killers and because they rejected Jesus God has rejected them so the Christians are the new Chosen People (this is called Replacement Theology), the church leadership shouldn’t get married, or (at the other end) the church leaders can be homosexual. Eat anything you want but you can’t drink alcoholic beverages or dance, and there are hundreds of other teachings, each religion with it’s own ideas, and all claiming this is God’s way.

God has no religion, only commandments. They’re all in the Torah- there is nothing “new” in the New Covenant writings. Get with the program , people!

Then there’s the big one, which I think will send more people to hell than anything else we are being told: if you’re a good person you get to go to heaven. That is a lie from the pit of Sheol (hell) and even Yeshua says He is not good, only His father in heaven is good. So, then, who can be good if only God is good?

What we are being taught is a roadmap, a sort of spiritual GPS, and it is sending us somewhere… but to where?

Here’s is a lesson I offer that is true: we are all sinners. No one is good, no one is worthy, and no one has a snowballs’ chance in Heck of being saved without Yeshua HaMashiach. Simple, straight-forward, Biblically sound, and awesome to realize. Scary actually.

If you want to teach about God, make sure you read the verses I quoted above, and don’t forget this: Yeshua said those who sin and teach others to sin will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. The good news is that you may be teaching wrong things and still be saved, as this verse implies, and the bad news is I don’t think you will hear Yeshua say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Not if you teach others to sin. Here’s the really bad news: how will you feel if you are in Heaven and people you taught did not make it because of your teachings? Through all eternity you will know they are suffering because of you.

To teach God’s word means you need to live God’s word, and I am the biggest failure of all in doing this. I am teaching do what I say (actually, what God says) and not what I do. Truthfully, we all do this, teach what we can’t do, since we are all sinners without hope of redemption on our own, so no one is going to live a perfect life. That was done already, and we only needed it for the one time. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, because we can sin less.

Here is another lesson you can count on as being true: we will never be able to say we don’t sin at all, but we can always sin less than we do now.

If you want to teach, think about it. You don’t know what you are getting into. If you have the gift, use it, but if you aren’t sure then ask those who are faithful and spiritually mature. Trust their judgement and, more than anything, ask God what He wants you to do. Ask Him to show you what gift(s) He has given you, and work with those. There is nothing more satisfying than doing good for the Lord, and if my gift was toilet cleaning, I would clean the toilets so well that no one would even want to use them, for fear of making them dirty again.

Of course, I am glad that’s not my gifting, but my point is this: whatever God leads you to do, do it well. Do what we are told to do in Colossians 3:23 (I am really breaking my rules about not giving exact locations today, aren’t I?) and you will always feel a sense of fulfillment from your work.

I love doing what I do…this blog, writing my book (c’mon, already- buy it!) and being able to give the message at my place of worship, now and then. And I always, always, always  hold myself up to the Word of God, making sure everything I say and teach about is able to be found in the Bible. I also tell everyone, including you, to test me and verify whatever I say is in the Bible to really be there.

I once read you shouldn’t believe everything you read, but then I didn’t know what to do!

Be careful when you teach because the ones you are teaching are depending on you to guide them to the truth and to their salvation. Don’t let them down.

Why Teaching about God is so Important

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Back from a week off, having been cruising around the Caribbean with Donna. We celebrate our anniversary this way, with the special day being finished with a fancy dinner, in a fancy restaurant, on a big ship somewhere in the Caribbean.  It used to be we went there from a frozen and snowy Philadelphia, and there was always the concern if we could get back home, and then how much snow would I have to shovel after hours of plane and airport “fun” just to get the car in the garage? However, it is definitely better to just get off the ship, walk over to the parking lot and get in the car, then drive home in a few hours. Living in Florida does have it’s advantages.

It was on the cruise that I discovered, anew, my dislike of most people. Yes, that’s right- I really can’t stand being around a lot of people because they are so rude and inconsiderate. I can certainly understand why God has had so many issues with us. And that is exactly why it is so important for us to teach everyone we meet, especially our children, about God.

When we read the Bible we are told how people should treat each other, but God is such a “second-class person” in today’s world that His rules and commandments are more like nice ideas than necessary ways to be. People push and shove, cut you off in line, and children run around screaming and disturbing the people around them (while the parents totally ignore them.) And if you were to say something, no matter how politely, you get an earful from them about how intolerant you are, or how they are just children (yes, that’s exactly what they are: children, and as their parents you are supposed to teach them the proper way to behave in public!) and to mind your own business.

God tells us that we are not supposed to look out for ourselves only, but that we should treat others as we want to be treated. Indeed, love others as we love ourselves. Hey, wait a minute! Maybe that’s the answer right there…maybe these people are loving others as they love themselves, and the problem is that they don’t really love themselves? Without a godly perspective, without understanding how much God loves us, and without really feeling and “owning” the pain that Yeshua went through to save our souls, then we can’t really feel love, for anyone, including ourselves.  That would explain a lot of it, wouldn’t it? People are self-absorbed, ego-centric and unconcerned with anyone else because, deep down, they don’t know the love of God and the Messiah. They have nothing to go on but what they were given as a child, and the only dysfunctional family left in the world (I think) is the one that isn’t dysfunctional. I mean, just about everyone has some skeleton in the closet, just about everyone has wanted someone else’s mother or father to be their own at one time or another, and just about everyone wishes their life could have been different in some way.

I have reflected on my life plenty of times, and wish that I had been less of an ass many, many times. However, now I know the Messiah and I know the love of God, and I have a wonderful loving relationship with Donna (with whom after 17 years of marriage it still feels like we just started dating) so I really don’t want anything in my past to change, because then my present would be different, too.

I just can’t help believing that the more people know about God and His ways, the history and the truth of His Word, the more they will recognize that there is more to life than what we have. It is the belief that this is all there is that sucks the hope out of everything we do, and makes us so self-centered that we are impolite and unconcerned about anyone else. Even, to some degree, those we love.  If this is all there is, then it makes sense that people would want all they can get now. Even something as little as trying to shove onto a crowded elevator when you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean…where the heck are you going to go?  It’s a ship…in the middle of the ocean…and you’re rushing so much you need to crowd onto an elevator? Then they end up going up or down one level! What? Your legs are broken? There’s no crutch, or wheelchair, you are standing up fine, but you need to crush in on everyone, even before the people on the elevator try to get off, so you can go down one flight of stairs?

Okay, okay…yes, this is getting a little personal, I confess, but the point is valid, is it not? People don’t care about others because they don’t know how much God cares about them. Do you agree? People who have been brought up well show their love by properly disciplining their children ( read proverbs- it doesn’t say that sparing the rod spoils the child, it says that sparing the rod condemns the child to death! And read also how the Bible tells us a father who loves his children will discipline them, just as God disciplines us because of His love for us.) Today we are too concerned about being friends with our children instead of being parents to them. We are all victims, and we surround ourselves and our children with this teflon coating that says we aren’t responsible for ourselves, or our words, or our actions- it’s all someone else’s fault. I shot someone but it’s because my parents beat me, or I stole because society hasn’t given me a chance, or I didn’t go to school because there was a bully there, or whatever because of anything. There is always an excuse why it isn’t their fault when they do something wrong.

Yet still, before the Lord, they are guilty. I don’t like people, but I like even less the idea of the shock and terror they will have to go through when they face God. It’s because of His spirit within me that I feel I need to try to help those poor souls before they face that terrible truth.

We need to bring God back into society. We, who are Believers and understand why this is so important, need to show the faith and courage God demands of us and be anti-political by bringing up God in every way and opportunity we have. At work, yes, at work, and at play, and at social events. Do it properly, don’t do it in a way that compromises your job or friendships. After all, if we are so strong about discussing a topic most people don’t want to hear, then we will end up not being invited anywhere or having anyone talk to us. Then we can’t do what we need to, which is instruct people about God. Talking to the wall isn’t good, and we already have a “saint” who preached to the birds, so we don’t need another one of those. We need to bring God into the discussion in a non-threatening way; just a mention of His rules and ways. For instance, instead of saying something like, “Don’t you know the Bible says this…..” try something more abstract, such as : “I read in a book that people should act this way because it brings them closer together, socially.”  That will leave it open to someone asking which book, and you can follow up with saying it’s an old book, a sort of history book and self-help book, all in one. If they haven’t guessed it’s the Bible, you have their interest enough now to say, “Believe it or not, it’s the Bible. You would be surprised at how many things in the Bible are all about treating each other well and self-help.”

I am not saying to demean the Word, just give it a “spin” that won’t immediately make people think, “Quick, Mr. Scott- bring up the shields!”

I have a friend who once told me that he thinks humanity is a great thing, it’s just all the people that ruin it. I couldn’t agree more. But we are all “the people”, you and I, everyone. We can’t avoid them, and the sad truth is, we need them. We are a social animal and we need the company  of others or we go insane. Funny, isnt it? Alone we go insane and other people drive us insane. Maybe insanity is the norm?

Talk God, think God, act godly, and always, always, always teach your children what God tells us we should do and what kind of person we should be. And more than that, teach by example. We need to show the world what knowing the love of God and the love of Messiah Yeshua has done for us so they have a chance to redeem themselves, and really, finally, know what it means to be in love.

Don’t deny people the chance to know true love, the love God has for them. It’s greater than anything they can get from you or anyone else on Earth, and like most things from God, the more you give, the more there is.

Sometimes There’s Nothing

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Most of the times I get some inspiration from the Ruach. I know that I am inspired when I get positive feedback from you all out there in cyberspace.

Then, other times, I got nothin’! Today, for example- no ideas; no inspiration; Nut-N-Honey!

And yet, as I am writing this, I am coming to a realization that sometimes, nothing is something. Nothing may be the presence of something we don’t recognize. How many times have you thought nothing was there, but there was something?  Looking at a nicely mown lawn but not seeing the roots of the weeds strewn throughout the property, or there is a bird in a tree but it’s hidden behind a branch so you don’t see it. It’s still there, isn’t it? Infrared light is not visible, we see nothing, but it’s there. Blow a dog whistle- you hear nothing, but the sound is very present to a dog. There’s also that tree falling in the forest we don’t hear.

When we see or hear “nothing” it may be that there is something there, we just don’t recognize it being there.

It’s like that when we think God is absent from our lives: He is there, always, but sometimes we don’t hear Him.

That doesn’t mean we are wrong or He has given up on us (“I shall never forget nor forsake you”); it just means we aren’t hearing Him, just now.

I didn’t hear Him when I started writing this, but I think I am on to something. I didn’t hear a message, or read something in the paper that inspired me, I just came, empty-headed (normal for me) to say I have nothing to write about. But it seems I do.

Maybe that’s what God wants us to learn today- to come before Him without plans, without pre-ordained goals, but just come before Him empty and ready for Him to fill us with what He wants us to have?

Wow- I think that’s a good lesson so I am going to cut it short because I can’t add anything more to this:

Come before the Lord empty of desire for anything but to be filled by His Ruach, and you shall receive what He has for you.

Under Attack: Good Thing or Bad Thing?

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Are you under attack? Do you think the Enemy is trying to get you to do things that will separate you from God?

If so, that is actually a good thing, isn’t it? I mean, if you are getting so close to God that the Enemy sees that as a threat to him, then the attack means you are doing something right. Doesn’t it?

That may not help make things feel better, because an attack is, well, an attack. It’s never fun. But it does mean  you are on the right track.

I don’t feel like I’ve ever been attacked. Really. I often review myself and think, “Why am I so blessed? Why aren’t I going through real Tsouris?”  And the only answer I can come up with is that I am not getting any closer to God today than I was yesterday.

That’s not a good thing- that’s a bad thing. I am not growing, spiritually.

Maybe I am being blessed; so much so, in fact, that I am under the kippur (covering) of the Lord so that the Enemy can’t get to me. That sounds wonderful, but I really can’t see myself there. I just don’t! I still have wrongful thoughts, I look at pretty women just a little longer than I should (not that I lust with my eyes, I just, oh, let them linger there for an extra second or so), when I get frustrated I still spew forth a stream of expletives that can make the sailors blush (once a Marine, always a Marine- in both spirit and language), and I…well, let’s just say there are a few more items on the list. I like to joke that I don’t want to be perfect because of what happened to the last perfect Jewish boy. In truth, I can’t be perfect, and I would like to be closer to God than I am now. Even at the risk of coming under attack.

I guess I have to try harder. I have to work more at taking up my execution stake and following Yeshua more closely. I need to die more to self, to empty the sin from my soul so that there is more room for the Ruach HaKodesh to fill the space that is left there with His righteousness.

I know this sounds really stupid, but I kinda wish that I was under attack more. I would feel that I am doing something right. But let me also state that NOT being under attack is the preferred way to go through life, and being protected by God is better than anything there is.

So, Lord…if you’re reading this, and you are spreading your wings over me like a mother hen spreads her wings over her chicks, please don’t think I am ungrateful or that I don’t want to be here. What I want is to please you, to do what is right in your eyes. I want what David asked for: that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to thee, always.

If you are under attack, look to the Ruach for support and help, and recognize that the attack is not just because the Enemy has nothing else to do- it is because you are doing something worthy of attack. You are getting closer to God, and that is a good thing. Suffer through, for perseverance can build your faith and strengthen your spirit; that’s what Jimmy said, and he is right.

Of course, you may also be under the rod of God. Don’t forget we gain strength and comfort from His rod and His staff; the staff to gently lead us, and the rod when we refuse to listen. Being under attack may not always be the Enemy trying to separate you from God. It may be God trying to get you back on the right path. Either way, if you feel under attack take a really close look at yourself: if you know you are doing what God wants, it’s the Enemy, so stay the course. If you truthfully know you have wandered off the true way, it’s God wanting to direct you back, so get on track.

I don’t really want to be under attack, and I am happy and grateful if I can avoid it. Maybe God is protecting me, maybe the Enemy is waiting for a more opportune time. Remember Cain? God told him that sin is crouching at his door, as it is for all of us. Maybe the real attack is yet to come? Whatever. I am ready, and I think the best defence is a strong offence- believe me, no one is more offensive than me- so I will keep trying. I will continue to work to get closer to God, and to do what is right in His eyes.

Being under attack could be a good thing, it could be a good sign, but not being under attack is even better. I pray that no one reading this is under attack, and if so, won’t be for much longer. There is always hope in the Lord, and that is what the Enemy wants to take away from you. He cannot, nor can anyone, take away the promise of salvation, but we can throw it away, so when you are under attack hold tight to the Lord and His promises. That is your anchor.

Fight back, stay the course, win the ultimate laurel wreath. Attacks are bad things that represent a good thing- keep in mind the good thing is that you are getting closer to God and when you come through the fire you will be more refined, like much fine gold. The purer the gold, the less it tarnishes.

 

Two Taboos Too Many

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What are the two taboos? Never discuss religion and politics, right? That’s what we are told, and it’s good advice.

The reason I say they are two too many is because when God created everything, His original plan was that there would be only one, non-taboo discussion: Him. The governmental system in the garden was God, the religion was God. That was it. A perfectly run, perfect example of Theocracy.

The de-evolution of this perfect government started with the invention of other gods (man-made, of course) which is what religion has become.

God has no religion. Gee…where have I heard that before?

Then the gods were not enough, so the system split into gods (religion) and human rulership, aka kings (politics), which further devolved the governmental system into the two taboos of today.

We will eventually get back to the perfect Theocracy that God intended, but that will have to wait until Yeshua returns and the Apocalypse is completed.

As the world falls deeper and deeper into revolution, disruption and civil disorder, helped by human intervention with the destruction of our ecosystem and habitats, I can only smile. Not that I enjoy the tsouris, but that I look forward to His return. And I know that won’t happen until things look their worst.

I hope anyone reading this, who is not absolutely sure where you will be after God drops the other shoe, will read some of the older entries in this ministry blog. Go to Category and (especially if you are Jewish) read some of the Jews and Jesus posts, then the Messianic 101 posts. I think that should give you some level of comfort when thinking about who Yeshua, the real Messiah of Israel is (vice that Aryan-looking guy with the blond hair, blue eyes and whose kingdom has been hell-bent on killing the Jews), and help you to understand how things got so separated.

I recommend that we stick to the two taboos, for the time being, and wait until they are one again. Then we won’t need to talk about politics and religion because, well…they won’t exist anymore. It will be just God.

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait.

Be Intolerant To Tolerance

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I have often said (and most likely will continue to do so) that whatever the “world” sees as correct and justified is most likely not so in God’s eyes.

Every day we see evil and wrong-doing, and most of the time we just look the other way. Is that wrong? From what I read in the Bible, it is. Does’t God tell us that if we see an enemy’s donkey under a load that is too much for it, we should help? Doesn’t Proverbs tell us to give our enemy food and water? Doesn’t Yeshua tell us to forgive someone not 7 times, but 70 times 7 times? Doesn’t the Bible command us to love our neighbor as ourself?

We also, way too often, are too afraid to speak out against what God says is wrong. We don’t want to appear “intolerant” or racist/homophobic/bigoted, or whatever other label someone wants to place on a person who simply disagrees with them.

If I say that a person who is homosexual is doing what the Bible says is wrong, I am accused of being homophobic and an intolerant bigot. If I say that a homosexual person is perfectly normal, acceptable, and that he or she is not sinning or doing anything wrong, I am looked upon by the world as  a tolerant and wonderful person. But in God’s eyes I am wrong.

For the record- I am not saying the KKK, the Aryan Nation, or any other violent and hate-crime related organization or member is acceptable or that hating someone for their color, religion, lifestyle choice or any other reason is OK. It is not. Don’t go off of the deep end here- I am talking about “socially acceptable” levels of disagreement and not violent or bigoted feelings and actions that are not biblically defined.

God is clear about homosexuality. It is a sin, but it is no more or less a sin than lying, since every sin is a sin. If I say I just don’t believe homosexuality is a correct way of life I am called all sorts of nasty names; however, if I say I am against lying I am perfectly alright. Why? Because the difference between whether I am a bigot or OK is what the world says I should accept. In God’s eyes, though, wrong is wrong.  God doesn’t really put sin in different categories: this one is a major sin, this is a minor sin, you need three of these to even count…violation of a single stroke in the Torah is a sin. Yes, there are sins that require death and sins that do not, but my point is that any sin separates us from God, and we should speak out against any and all sin. And do so remembering that we, also, are sinners.

I believe everyone has a right to choose what they will be and what they will do, so long as it doesn’t interfere with the rights of others. Be whatever you want to be, but don’t force it on me or demand I agree with you. Have you noticed how some people, no matter what their belief or position, will raise a holy stink about how they aren’t allowed to just be themselves, but when you disagree with their position they call you a bigot or some other nasty name? What hypocrites! They cry for their right to be what or who they are, and demand to be accepted when they make their own choice, but if you choose to disagree with them you are wrong! Being tolerant in the world means not just accepting a different lifestyle or belief, or religion, or color…it means you have to change your mind about it. The world says that tolerance means you not only have to live with it, but also accept it as correct and normal behavior, and you have to like it, too!

If I say I don’t believe that something is right, and won’t change my mind, I am wrong! I am intolerant, I am a bigot, I am not a good person.Well, then I guess, as far as the world is concerned, I am just that. Yes, I do not believe many of the things we see in our society are acceptable behavior, I do not believe they are healthy for the society, and I believe they are wrong. In God’s eyes, using the Bible as my guideline, they are wrongful acts and doing those things is committing a sin against God.

There! I said it. I am against the world.

Apathy is no better than intolerance, but at least when you don’t give a darn about anything, you are more likely to be accepted. Not caring is one step less annoying than having an opinion. However, as far as God is concerned (disagree if you want but you will be wrong…just joking) not doing the right thing in God’s eyes is the same as doing the wrong thing.

I guess this little rampage I am on is a pet peeve of mine, so please excuse me if I am talking more about what Steven feels today than (maybe) what God says. I do believe my minor rampage is still biblically accurate and appropriate, and if I am too much about my own opinion and getting away from what God teaches us, someone please let me know.

We who are professing to love the Lord, who say we believe in Yeshua as the Messiah and have accepted God’s Grace, and who have the Ruach HaKodesh living within us: we are the ones that are supposed to be separate from the world. And, as such, we need to have the strength and faith in God to voice our opinion when we see something that is against what God says. And we should do it when appropriate, and with loving compassion. Not agreeing with someone is no reason to accuse them of being anything but wrong in God’s eyes. Hate the sin, but love the sinner.

The Torah was given to Israel to separate them from the world. Within Torah the Levites are separated from the other tribes. The closer we get to God, the more separated we become from the world around us.

If the world says following God and proclaiming God’s Word is intolerant and bigoted, you can hang that sign on me. It may be just another type of big yellow Star of David that separates me from the rest of society, but if I must wear the Star, I will do it, proudly.

Yes, I am intolerant of sin. Yes, I will speak out to those who ask me what I believe exactly what the Bible says and what God demands, which is what I believe. Yes, I will call something that is defined in the Bible as a sin, a sin. Yes, I will not let someone, no matter who, that is doing wrong not be given the chance to know what God says so they might do T’Shuvah, and be saved.

No, I will not hate the sinner. I will hate only the sin. No, I will not attack or suggest harm should come to anyone who sins because that is God’s purview. Do not return evil for evil, but wait upon the Lord.  No, I will not walk by or look away when someone is doing wrong to another.

Shaul said that we live in the world but we are not part of the world. Not anymore. It is not easy; Yeshua said those that follow Him must pick up and carry their own execution stake every day. We must be dying to self, which means becoming more and more separated from the world. That means separated from what is comfortable, what has been pleasurable, from friends, from family, even from those closest to us, if it comes to that.

Tolerance and apathy are two sides of the same coin, and as a Believer we don’t want that coin in our pocket. As Yeshua said, give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and give unto God that which is God’s. Let what the world calls “tolerance” belong to the world, and let those who follow God be separated from it.

It’s Not Where It Is That Matters: It’s What It Says

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How many people do you know that can quote chapter and verse from the Bible? In fact, can’t we all? Isn’t one of the basic training exercises for Bible study to remember a favorite quote or story, and where to find it?

If you read this blog regularly (and thank you, if you do!) you know that I rarely tell you where something is. That’s not because I don’t know, its because I believe two things:

1. Everyone needs to read the Bible, but the way it is taught is to tell you where the quote is from. Now why bother reading it, right? Telling you where to find it almost prevents you from looking for it, which keeps you away from the Bible. Making you look for it brings you closer to the Bible, and what God has for you in there won’t be found by someone else telling you what it says; and

2. It doesn’t matter where it says something in the Bible- what matters is that you know what God wants you to know.

Have you ever had a conversation with a Jehovah’s Witness? If you want to talk to someone who knows where nearly every word of the Bible can be found, that’s the person you want to go to. Unfortunately, the ones I have talked to (even before I knew God) have little or no understanding of what they are quoting. If you ask them about it, they will tell you another quote. If you question them, they will tell you another quote. But they don’t understand the meaning.

I don’t want to insult any JW’s out there, but this is my experience, as well as the experience of other people, knowledgeable of the Bible, who I have talked to about this.

The blood of bulls and sheep is not what God wants. He doesn’t want the circumcision of the flesh without the circumcision of the heart. Yeshua did not teach anything new; in fact, as you have read and heard me say many times, there is nothing new in the New Covenant writings. Yeshua interpreted the Word correctly, which is why it was so powerful. He didn’t tell us where God’s messages and commandments were found, He told us what they really mean. He went beyond just repeating what God says, and transformed our understanding.

Yeshua showed us that performance of God’s commandments is necessary, but living them is what we should be doing. In other words, don’t just repeat what is in the Bible but live it.

That’s all I want to say. I know I usually ramble on a little more, but what else is there, really, to say?

Live the Word of God. The Word became flesh so we can know God better, and so we can be with God in the Olam Haba (World to Come.) God has something in His Word just for you, but if you don’t look for it you will never find it. Seek, and you shall find, and what you find will change your life and the life of others.

You can make a change in people’s lives, as well as your own, but not by sitting still and listening- you need to get off your tuchas and DO something! Reading the Bible is an easy way to start, and the best way.

So go read something now!

The Meaning of Life

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Ah, yes…the quintessential question, the ultimate knowledge, what philosophers throughout time have sought to know.

And I am going to give it to you now…ready?

The meaning of life is….to prepare for death. That’s it. Nada mas. Nichts mehr. Yener iz gants!

God originally made us to worship Him and, more than just that, to be with Him. We have children for many reasons, but mostly they are a natural result of being in love. Be in love; make love; have kids. You don’t need to be a genius to figure that one out.

God had children, but since He is above humanity and is a Spirit, He didn’t need anyone else to help. Adam and Eve were His children, as we all are, and just as we want the best for our children, we want them protected from harm and to be with us forever, God was able to have that.

Until Adam and Eve screwed it up.

After the Fall we all lost our immortality, and the mortality rate got shorter and shorter. A few generations after the Flood it was down from hundreds of years to about 100. Today we are at about the same as it was in Moshe’s time; we get to live up to somewhere in the eighties. A nice number, if you’re talking about the weather, but not where we started.

Since eternity is no longer available to us during our “first” lifetime, we have to use the first lifetime to prepare for where we spend the second lifetime. That’s why I say the meaning of life is to decide where we will spend our second life, for all eternity.

Yeshua is the Messiah, and through Him we can repair the rift between us and God that the Fall began, and the rest of history has widened. There are many religions, none from God (remember that God has no religion- only His laws and regulations) so we need to spend our lifetime now figuring out what we will believe, who is the Messiah, and will we do as God wants or as the world wants.

In other words, whose slave will you be: slave to sin or slave to God? That’s the choice you have your entire lifetime, however long or short it may be, to determine.

Once we are in front of His throne, there is no going back. And there is no appeal process, either.

The real question isn’t, “What is the meaning of life?”; it’s, “How long will I live?” That will let you know when you need to make that important decision. Since none of us know when we will die, don’t you think you should make that decision as soon as possible?

There you have it, Brothers and Sisters: the meaning of life. Now that you know the answer, if you are reading this and you haven’t made your choice between the world and God, unless you know exactly when you are going to die, better get with the program and choose.

Who knows how much time you have left to decide?

To Do Things Right, It Must Be From God

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Real simple: nothing of this world is righteous. The world is a cursed place, and therefor all that is of the world is born cursed.

We are a cursed species, and therefor what we create, perform and desire is from a cursed and sinful mentality.

Ouch! Have some more coffee, Steve, or maybe have less! What a way to start the morning.

Well, it is a rather stark and unhappy realization, but it is true. The Bible tells us the world was cursed, the Enemy was not thrown into Sheol but thrown down to the Earth, and we are told he is the Prince of the Air.

If the world is cursed, we are cursed, and the Enemy rules on Earth, what hope is there for us to do anything right?

My hope is in the Lord, He is my light and my salvation. David knew that some 2,800 years ago. And he was right, of course.

If we want to do something that is holy and righteous, we need it to stem not from us but from God. That comes from the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, that indwells us when we accept Yeshua as our Messiah and ask for God’s forgiveness through Yeshua.

I believe that God will forgive anyone who asks with a broken spirit and contrite heart, even if they are not a confirmed “Believer”. Why? Because that’s how God rolls- He loves all His children, and we are all His children, so He is willing to forgive. He tells us so in so many ways throughout the Tanakh.

But to receive the Holy Spirit we need to do more than be repentant- we need to do T’Shuvah (turn from sin) and accept the gift of Grace that is Yeshua Ha Mashiach. Then we can receive the Ruach and with the spirit of God inside us, we are able to overcome the cursed world, and our own sinful nature. It isn’t easy, but it is possible. Greater is that which is in me that that which is in the world.

I offer this simple thought this morning, which I also believe to be a simple truth: nothing that is from the world (flesh) is of God, and anything of God overcomes everything that is of the world.

The downside is when you do what is right in God’s eyes, the world rejects and hates you. Here’s the $64,000 question: who are you going to please? The world, which offers some immediate pleasures that result in separation from God and eternal suffering, or God, who offers peace, forgiveness and eternity in Paradise?

Ooh, that’s a tough one…how much time to I get to decide? You get until your last breath; do you know when that will be?

As you go forth today think of what I am saying, and see the world for what it is. It is God’s creation, it is beautiful and wondrous, and it is our home. It was created perfectly for us to live in, and we were given dominion over it.

And that’s where it got screwed up. When mankind was made manager the whole business went down the toilet.

Luckily, God is as good a plumber as anything else, and he provided the ultimate Rotor Rooter man- Yeshua. Yeshua went into the toilet, lived in it, overcame it, and emerged smelling like a rose. And He is standing there, plunger in hand, waiting for everyone else to grab hold and get pulled out.

After I die I will be pulled out of the toilet, not flushed down with what is all around me. And I will spend eternity with God and Yeshua.

You have a choice- get flushed down the toilet or call Rooter Rooter.

The Ultimate Anger Management Tool: Prayer

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There are a number of things that just can’t be done in this life:

1. You can’t scratch your ear with your elbow;

2. You can’t make a leopard change its spots;

3. You can’t make the person ahead of you in line go faster; and

4. You can’t stay angry with someone when you pray for them.

I have a few people in my life that have not only worked hard to earn my anger, but no matter how many times I have tried to overcome their nastiness and bad manners, they always prove their extraordinary talent for obstinacy and spitefulness is more powerful than my meager attempts to ignore them.

That’s when I pray for them. Not always, mind you- I ain’t no saint; not by a long shot. But there are times when I remember the title of this blog and pray for them.

When you pray for someone you need to “get in their shoes” so that your prayer is appropriately aimed at helping them overcome the very thing that gets you so mad at them.

I have a previous life, with two children and an “ex” that has constantly, and consistently, overcome all my attempts to ignore and diffuse her spite, anger and hatred, which she has instilled in my children against me and my family members. I pray for the kids every day, waiting patiently and prayerfully for their reconciliation with me and their turning to God, in whichever order He thinks is best. And sometimes, I am happy to say, I remember to pray for her. Since the day we separated she refused to let us buy things for them and do things for them, insisting she get the money instead of the children getting the clothes , furniture, or whatever we wanted them to have. Over the years she had proven that giving her money is the same as throwing it away, so in the end, the kids have lost out. The worst part is that the kids think everything she has told them is true, and they actually are just as brainwashed as if they had been growing up in a cult. Someone that mean, that hateful, and so hurt that she will eat her own children in order to hurt me is so desperately in need of the love of God that I cannot possibly refuse to pray for her.

And during those 20 plus years of trying to overcome her, the courts were useless (the mother always wins unless she is a drug addict or something like that.) Now the kids are long past majority, and I am helpless. All I have left is prayer. I haven’t even talked to them for a few years now.

All of this kvetching is not to vent or ask for pity, but to give you an idea of the background, so that when I say I have plenty of ammunition for hating and being angry with someone, you can understand just how powerful prayer is, because when I pray for her and for them all I can feel is pity. The anger is gone, and a genuine desire for them to find forgiveness and peace, as I have, is paramount in my heart and spirit.

When I have one of those conversations (you know, the kind where you tell the person what you have always wanted to say and they listen attentively, because it’s all in your mind) and feel myself getting a little worked up, I can now (thanks to the Ruach inside me) stop because I realize what I should be doing is not “getting it off my chest” (which, by the way, never works- you don’t put out a fire by pouring gasoline on it) but placing it before God and asking His intervention. Not for retribution, or even the justice that is deserved, but for help. And not for me, but for her.

For this to work you have to really mean the prayer, and the way I do that is to recall what I have that she doesn’t. I have the Lord; I have Yeshua as my intercessor, and I have salvation with a guaranteed seat at the table. I have everything that is important in death (that’s not a typo- what is important in life is to make sure you know where you go when life is over. Life is short, death is forever, so I want what is important in death more than what is important in life. Don’t you?) and all she has is her hatred and anger. And that is useless to her; it brings no warmth, no love, and no satisfaction since she can’t hurt me anymore. She has used up all her cards, laid them out on the table, and the other players are already gone.

She has nothing. Even though she has the children, what she has taught them is to be self-centered and unappreciative of anything and everyone. She has not shown them how to be useful members of a relationship, how to love properly, how to be independant and self-assured. She has only taught them the way to grow old and alone, with no friends and no God. If they should ever come to their senses, she may lose them, leaving her absolutely nothing. I have already lost them, and I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone. Not even her.

How can anyone be angry with someone so pitiful? And when I pray for her, and for my kids, I can feel the pain she feels. I can realize how hurt she is. I even feel (sometimes) useless and ashamed that I didn’t make more attempts than I did (and believe me, I made a lot of them) to apologize and help more. All I did is not relevant here, so please understand that I did a lot, travelled a lot, spent extra time and money trying to help them and be as close as one can be when two states away.

It is prayer that has helped me, too, to be less angry and vengeful. I know that God is a loving Father and a merciful Judge, but He is, when all is said and done, God. He will judge mercifully but fairly, and those that have come up short and rejected Him will get the short end of the stick and be, themselves, rejected by Him. Without a significant change in their lives, my ex and my children, blind leading the blind, will all fall into the pit and spend eternity in Sheol. I am not happy with that thought…not happy at all.

So I pray. I pray everyday for my children, and I pray now and then for her. As I said, I’m not a saint and do not pray for her as earnestly as I pray for my children. After all, it is anger management, not anger removal. I think it takes more than just prayer to remove the anger totally; prayer is just one of the tools God gives us to do that. There are still things, even from decades ago, that get under my skin, to to speak, and I try to release it all to the Lord, but I seem to have sticky fingers.

Maybe one day I will be cleansed enough by the Living Water, Yeshua Ha Mashiach, so that my fingers will no longer be sticky.

Are you still angry about something? Are you still feeling a need for justice and yes, wanting revenge? Or maybe just to see someone get their “comeuppance?” If you want to get over it, pray for them. Pray earnestly, pray as you know Yeshua would pray for them (“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”), and if you are having a hard time with that, think about this: you get to be in Paradise forever, and they will be in eternal suffering with no chance for parole. Think about how close you came to their fate, how much better your position than theirs, and much more love you have in your life because you have the Lord, Yeshua and the Ruach HaKodesh. Think about all that you have and all that they don’t, and if you don’t feel pity and remorse for them, well, you should question your own salvation!

I don’t want to believe that anyone who knows the love of God, the suffering of Messiah and the forgiveness we have received could possibly want to deny that to anyone. No matter what they did.

Anger is not a sin, and Shaul tells us that we should not sin in our anger. Be angry if you are mistreated, misjudged, hurt and humiliated. It’s natural to be angry, just don’t sin in your anger. If you want to get rid of it, pray for the person who did it to you. Anger and vengeance are a wormwood that will eat you up from the inside out, so let God have it.

Proverbs says to not return evil for evil, but wait upon the Lord. It’s good advice. Pray for those that have hurt you and made you angry and you will see that it really is the ultimate anger management tool.