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?
As this parashah starts, the brothers have been accused of stealing a cup from Joseph’s house, and Benjamin is found to be the one holding the cup. They are brought before Joseph, and Judah pleads for Benjamin’s life.
His plea is so heartfelt that Joseph can no longer hide his identity, and upon the brothers being reunited, Joseph has them all move to Goshen for the remainder of the famine. Of course, they stay a little longer than that.
Joseph tells his brothers that what happened to him was God’s work, which provides us a great lesson to remember when we have Tsouris in our own lives.
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.
Yeshua tells a parable about tares planted in a field along with the wheat, and that the owner of the field directs his workers to wait until the entire field is harvested before separating the tares from the wheat.
What can that mean to us, today, when we are trying to talk to someone about God?
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?
I often read from postings on different discussion groups, Hebrew Roots, Messianic and Christian, of people telling others exactly what is right and wrong in God’s eyes.
Now, there are many things God tells us about Himself, but there are many things He doesn’t.
God gave us commandments, rulings, judgments and statutes (613, to be exact), but what about those things not mentioned? If God says to celebrate a certain festival, does that mean we cannot celebrate any other kind of festival? Too often I read people stating absolutely if it isn’t given by God, then whatever is man-made is wrong and against God.
My question is: “Who are we to decide what is God’s will?”
People who have been raised as Christians, no matter what denomination, cannot understand what it is like to be a Jewish person who is approached about Jesus.
Many people I have talked to in the Messianic or Hebrew Roots congregations I have belonged to tell me they haven’t heard anyone they know do or say the things I tell them about, but that’s because they have been hanging around with people who have a heart for the Jewish people, and accept their Jewish roots.
There are some very important rules you need to follow when you are talking to Jews, and if you don’t follow them you will be wasting your time.
Jacob returns to his homeland and hears that Esau is coming to meet him, with 400 armed men. splits his camp, then sends gifts from his flocks, a bunch at a time, to his brother in order to try to appease his anger.
But what is important to note is that before he sent gifts, he prayed to God, reminding God that He told him to return, and of God’s promise to protect him.
After this, Jacob wrestles with an angel, and prevails. What meaning does this have for us? When we have Tsouris in our life, who do we wrestle with?
