They say evil succeeds when good people do nothing about it. But what if the good people don’t even know there is evil being done?
Have you ever really watched and thought about some of the TV commercials we are saturated with?
We are being conditioned to accept as good that which is evil.
This is the first chapter of the second book of the Torah.
Joseph and that generation are gone, a new Pharaoh enslaves the children of Israel, Moses is born and called by God to free the people.
This is where we first hear God tell us His name, but He also tells us by what name He wants us to use.
In Luke 4 we read of Yeshua teaching at a synagogue and reading from Isaiah. He reads a few passages from the scroll, folds it up and tells the people that He is the one talked about in that scroll.
But He didn’t read the entire scroll- in fact, He left out the part about salvation and resurrection of Israel and the Jewish people.
Why?
A new year, a new beginning for most everyone in the world. But how do we start it?
Many make resolutions to do something that they know they need to: a diet, give up smoking, be more helpful to the needy….whatever.
As for me, I think the best way to start anew is to get past the past, and the only way to do that is to learn forgiveness.
And that’s not just a good idea- it is a commandment!
My cat was next to me in bed last night, and as I was stroking his head he rolled over and exposed his belly to me, obviously wanting a belly-rub.
When I complied to his request, his purring got so much louder that I knew he was happy, and his joy became my joy, as well.
When we “roll over” to God and expose our “belly” by praying to Him from our heart and coming before Him with a contrite, humble and appreciative spirit, which is an act symbolic of complete trust and love, He finds great pleasure in providing blessings for us.
Part of the definition of a Demagogue, according to Wikipedia, is:
Demagogues overturn established customs of political conduct, or promise or threaten to do so.
Although the term is usually applied to a political system, can it be found within spiritual circles?
And if so, how do we recognize it?
A bridge gives us passage from one place to another over a terrain or obstacle that cannot be crossed by walking or driving. In the Marines Corps, one of the things I was responsible to do was to be able to blow up bridges that gave the enemy a tactical advantage
We have a bridge that is between us and God, which has it’s entrance here in the world and leads to salvation. Like all bridges, it is composed of components that provide the support needed to allow us to cross over.
The enemy of God wants to destroy that bridge, and we need to know how he plans to do it.
Many people believe that to be humble means to be weak and ineffective.
Some are humble from self-doubt or a low self-esteem, but those who are humble in the way God wants us to be humble find that humility comes from inner strength, and as a result strengthens oneself to not feel the need to prove oneself to others.
Those who are humble before the Lord and show that humility in their relationship with others are, for my money, the ones I want to have on my side if there was trouble.
Before I was saved, one of the things that always turned me off, right away, to those “Born-Again” people was that they talked so “spiritually” about everything.
When you don’t have the Holy Spirit, you can’t relate to it, or to people who talk using spiritual terminology.
We need to take a lesson from Shaul (Paul), and talk to people in a way that they can relate to us if we want to be able to open their ears and minds to the truth of God’s plan of salvation.
We now learn the history of Joseph’s life, starting with his bad report on his brothers and ending with his interpretation of the dreams of his prison mates.
Along the way we read about an incident in Judah’s life- why now? Why here?
What does the significance of Judah’s experience have to do with the life of Joseph in captivity?
