Tag: God

What’s Coming is Already Here

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I have often heard people say that the Kingdom of God is here, it just hasn’t arrived yet. I like the sound of that statement because it offers hope in two ways: first, we can be hopeful because the kingdom is here and second, those who aren’t yet members of that kingdom can be hopeful because it hasn’t arrived yet, so they still have time to become a member.

Today we can say the same thing about the Acharit haYamim, the End Days. They are here but the worst part hasn’t fully been realized in the world.

Look at the regathering of the tribes of Israel back to their land. From the four corners of the world Jews are returning to Eretz  Yisrael. And as the Jewish people return, the land becomes more fruitful and productive. That’s because the End Days are not the time for judging Israel, but for judging the Nations. Throughout the books of the Prophets we read of how, back then, Israel came under judgement for it’s sinfulness. But, as the people are regathered, God will hold the nations that were so destructive to His Elect accountable. Even though Israel will come under attack, it is not from God but from the Enemy through the nations. God says He will judge the Nations in the End Days and the Enemy, still trying to win a battle long ago lost, will try to defeat Israel. God, however, will use this to show His power and might, and glorify His name throughout the world.

If you think it was remarkable that Rocky beat Apollo Creed, wait until you see what Yeshua does to protect Israel when He returns to the Earth in power and glory! One punch, nay- a single word from His mouth- and the armies of the world will be defeated.

I heard my Rabbi, Jeff Friedman, once say that he thinks the word from the mouth of Yeshua at that time will be, “Enough!” I like that- “ENOUGH!!!”  Yup: that is all He needs to say. That’ll do it.

The regathering of the people  is not the only sign: look at the number and ferocity of all the earthquakes we have had in the last decade, look at increasing number of Tsunami’s, there is war in the Middle East and the rumors of war (threats from ISIS, ISIL and the constant racial and political tensions throughout the world.) The world’s forests are being destroyed by acid rain: is that the first trumpet in Revelations? The first couple of trumpets cause destruction to the Earth- just because in John’s vision we are told that the angels sounded these trumpets doesn’t mean that the angels had to be the ones causing the destruction, does it? Remember, this is a vision, a virtual reality, not a word-for-word narration of witnessed, real events. So, that said, the angels may sound the trumpets but someone has to react to those blasts, and we are the ones that have been “loosed” on the planet. God put us in charge of the world, and we have been screwing it up since that time, and we will continue to do so. The terrible weather conditions, oil spills killing sea life, global warming, etc. are all because of our poor husbandry and management of the world God created for us. I think today the world has had enough and is fighting back.

Look at Israel: the land was a wasteland, unproductive and desolate but since the mid-twentieth century, as the people God gave that land to returned, it has prospered. It is now a garden, again, and getting better. The opposite is true of the rest of the world, and that is because now Israel is once again blessed while God sends His judgement down on the rest of the world.

If you study the writings of the Prophets, you can see that they come together and finalize in Revelations. And, when you study Revelations (meaning read it for yourself and let the Holy Spirit guide your interpretation- don’t go on what anyone else says as absolute, including this dissertation of mine, but use it to guide you to your own understanding) I believe you will see that we are already in the End Days. Not a spiritualized type of Tribulation, but the real thing.

It’s here, folks. No longer is there a need to say, “The End is Coming!” because the End is here. If you aren’t on the winning side, it is not too late. You still have time, but no one knows how much time.

I used to sell Estate Planning, and people would tell me that they weren’t ready yet but when they are they will call me. I would tell them,  “I understand. After all, why spend money until you need to, so here is what we’ll do: since this planning takes about 3 months to complete , {as I pull out a calendar}  you let me know the day you are going to die and we will set an appointment three months before then.”

That usually got their attention, and it was a very successful closing line for me. So pull out your calendar and mark the day that you will die, and make sure that (at least) a day or so before then you get yourself right with God.

If you are already saved, then put the calendar away and pull out your Bible, go to Revelations and start to study it- not read it, STUDY it because the end has begun and if you want to know what to expect, Revelations is your guide book.

The Worst Sin of All

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What is the worst sin of all of them? The Torah has 613 commandments, regulations and ordinances, so with all of those rules there would be (at least) 613 sins we can commit.

Of course, being the inventive and ambitious species we are, I am certain that humanity has found new and wondrous ways to have violated every single one of those commandments.

Yet, we still always want to know who is “Number One”, don’t we? Who’s the best boxer? Who is the best pitcher in baseball? Who was the greatest President? So naturally, we would want to know which sin is the greatest; not that any sin is great, but which sin is the worst one anyone can commit?

I am thinking that the worst sin would be the one that violates the most important commandment, leaving us now to wonder which is the most important commandment, right? That is, fortunately for us, easy to answer, since Yeshua Himself told us- it is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and might.

Therefore, since loving God is the most important commandment, the worst sin would be to not love the Lord. But how do we know we don’t love God? So many people shout it out at services, or say they do all the time, but how do we know if we really love the Lord?

Oh, wait- that’s pretty simple, too, because the Big Guy gave us that answer, as well: obey Him. That is in Yochanan (John) 14, when Yeshua said that if His Talmudim (Disciples) love Him, then they will obey His commandments. Now, the trick here is to know that Yeshua never gave them any commandments because there is nothing “New” in the New Covenant writings. Everything Yeshua told His Talmudim they should do came directly from the Torah.

So, what do we have? The answer to the question, “Which is the worst sin of all?” is the sin that violates the most important commandment of all, to love the Lord. And how do we show that we love the Lord? We obey His commandments. All of them, which are the ones Yeshua (Jesus) told us to obey, the ones He taught, which encompass every single one of the 613 commandments found in the Torah.

That’s it. Simple, straight-forward, easy to understand. If you want to commit the worst sin of all, just disobey God. It doesn’t really matter which commandment you disobey, you have 613 to choose from, just don’t make excuses. Don’t try to tell God that you love Him but you reject some of what He says because you don’t agree, because you think they aren’t important, or because your Rabbi, or Priest, or Pastor, or whatever told you that the commandment was done away with. Yeshua says in Matthew 5:17 that He didn’t come to change the law. If anyone tells you that the laws of the Torah have been changed, or aren’t valid anymore (gee, if they aren’t valid doesn’t that mean they’ve changed?) then you are being lied to.

Don’t be left thinking that you don’t really love God because you still sin. All of us sin, and many, many, many do love the Lord. . God understands that, and since He can look into your heart He can see the love that is there but which cannot overcome the Yetzer Hara, the Evil Inclination, which we all have.

That is why He sent Yeshua.

I think the worst sin that anyone can commit is to reject Yeshua, the one who came to overcome the sins we cannot overcome ourselves. There is nothing in the Torah that commands we must accept the Messiah: we are promised a Messiah, we are told what to expect, what He will do and why God is sending Him. But there is nothing that says, “Thou shalt accept my Messiah and follow Him.”  Maybe because accepting the one to save us from ourselves is so basic, so understandable, that it is considered a Prima Facie fact of existence. After all, who wouldn’t want to be saved?

Now that’s a good question for which I have no answer.

Parashah Balak Numbers 22:2 – 36

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Here we have one of the more celebrated stories of the Bible. I expect most readers know the story: Balak, the king of the Moabites, calls upon Balaam, who is a well-known sorcerer and diviner, to curse the Israelites so as to protect Balak’s kingdom. Balaam, however, is also a prophet of the true God, Adonai, and at first he properly requests of Adonai what he should do. God tells Balaam that the people are His people and blessed, and that he (Balaam) is not to curse them or go with the king’s envoy. This is the first word that God gives to Balaam, but Balak is insistent and sends another envoy to Balaam, promising him even more riches than at first. This time Balaam asks God again, which he really shouldn’t have done since God is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. If these are God’s people, which God said they were, then they will always be God’s people until God, Himself, says they aren’t (do you hear that, Replacement Theologists?)

So Balaam is told that if he is summoned to the king he can go. Balaam goes, but in his heart he intends to do as the king asks. On the way God sends an angel to keep Balaam from getting to his destination and Balaam is blind to the angel’s intervention. His ass, however, is not and purposefully leaves the road to avoid the angel standing in the way. Balaam, not understanding what is happening, is angry at the beast and beats her. This happens two more times: the second time to move out of the way the ass crushes Balaam’s leg against a stone wall and gets beaten, and the third time because the angel is in such a narrow place there is no way to go around, the ass just drops to the ground and refuses to move. This time as Balaam starts to beat the animal with his staff, she looks up at him and speaks to him, asking why he was treating her so badly.

Remarkably, Balaam seems to take this miraculous event in stride and, maybe because he was so angry he doesn’t even realize he is talking with his ass, he simply answers the ass back. The ass is quite well spoken, and points out to Balaam that she has been his ride for many years and never before was so obstinate, and he cools down enough to realize she is right. Just as this happens God allows Balaam to see what the ass has been seeing- an angel with drawn sword standing just out of reach, ready to kill him. The angel told Balaam that he knew Balaam was going to do what he had been told not to do, and if it hadn’t been for the animal moving out of the way these three times, Balaam would already be dead and the ass would be alive.

Balaam confesses his sin and is ready to return, when the angel tells him to continue but say only what God tells him to say, resulting in some of the most beautiful blessings and poetry of the entire Bible. In fact, one of the blessings is sung every Shabbat when we sing the Mah Tovu.

After blessing Israel three times, in accordance with what God tells Balaam to say, Balak is understandably upset with Balaam, doesn’t pay him a red penny ( or silver shekel, as the case may be) and sends him back to his own home. Before he goes, however, Balaam has a prophecy of destruction for each of the different kings gathered there with Balak.

Balaam was a very important man, revered, feared and sought after. He was a bit of a conundrum, too, in that although he is generally renown within the Rabbinical circles as an evil man, he knew God, was able to talk with God, and was used by God. He was not totally a pagan, yet he worked with pagans and performed pagan rituals.

I liken him to many people today who think they can pick and choose what they want, and think God will just go along with them. Buffet Believers, I call them; they are willing to enthusiastically worship God by obeying those laws and regulations that please them, but if there is something they don’t like, well, that particular requirement isn’t needed. It is only for men, or for women, or for Jews, or is outdated and no longer valid, or maybe it isn’t really a sin, at least it shouldn’t be, yadda-yadda-yadda. In other words, they love what they love and what they don’t want to do, isn’t required. Buffet Believers- take what you like, leave what you don’t.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but everything on God’s table is good for you: you don’t need to worry about there being any gluten-free foods, there ain’t no substitute sugar or decaf coffee; it is all real, it is all good for you, and it is all required.

Balaam though he could fool God, and he almost lost his life trying to. There are many like this throughout the Bible. In Jeremiah and Ezekiel God, in visions, shows these prophets important men in secret rooms doing sinful things and thinking that God doesn’t know about it. God knows: believe me, He knows. So when Balaam’s ass saw the angel and turned aside, did Balaam think this strange? After all, the ass was correct when she said she had never done anything like this before, so why didn’t Balaam stop and think about what is happening? How often do each of us, in the midst of doing something we are (pardon the expression) hell-bent on getting done, stubbornly refuse to see what is happening around and to us while we are rushing forward to our goal? Balaam was thinking only of the riches he was to receive, and as such was blind to not just the angel of God, but even to the actions of his trusted and life-long friend who was actually saving his life!

Have you an experience that is similar? Have you ever found yourself to be so stubbornly obsessed by something you want, even though in your heart you know it may not be right, that you rush headlong into a brick wall, all the time cursing and hurting those who love you and are trying to stop you from hurting yourself?

I have. If you think you haven’t, well, if you haven’t that is great. But I think you are fooling yourself; it is almost a basic aspect of human nature that we sometimes (oftentimes?) do that which is bad for us, and I’ll bet that most everyone reading this right now can say they have done something like what Balaam did.

I believe that God is in charge of everything and in control of everything, but that doesn’t mean He does control everything. Sometimes He lets us do our own thing, and sometimes He intervenes. If you are finding that your friends, family, workmates, anyone is “in your way” and trying to stop you from doing something you really want to, maybe, just maybe, you should stop for a second and think about it. Maybe you are rushing headlong into something that is not good for you but you can’t see the angel in the road ahead of you. Maybe you should take a short break: smoking lamp is lit so light ’em if you got ’em, and rethink what you want to accomplish. You may be on the right path; but, if there are people that you have known and trusted and these people are leading you off the path you are on, you need to stop dead in your tracks and listen to them.

You should always be willing to listen to others because you never know who God will use to help you.

Even if the one you are listening to is an ass.

Peace in the Midst of Turmoil

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I am attending a Bible study on the Prophets and prophecy. It is a short study, just during the summer, and already I am learning new things.

One of the things I enjoy about this class is how it brings out that the prophets always left us with God’s promise of the regathering of Israel and the coming of the New Creation. However, there is a lot of Tsouris before that happens and none of it is very enjoyable. Death, famine, mutilation, sexual abuses, murdering babies…sounds more like some video game than real life.

But it is going to be real life. It may happen during our lifetime, it may happen to our children, but whenever it happens, it is not going to be spiritualized or quick. It will be devastating to people, animals and the Earth, itself.

The upside to this is that for those who accept Messiah Yeshua as God’s Messiah, and are working to be more of what God requires of us, we can find peace in the midst of this turmoil.

We have armor that God has provided to us to wear and protect us during the battle (see Ephesians 6) and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), which Yeshua called “the Comforter” (John 14 – 16) to guide and help us in times of trial and need to find that peace that comes with knowing Yeshua.

If I was to try to define what it was that I saw in Believers, before I was one, that attracted me to them it wasn’t the promise of heaven, nor the threat of hell, but the peace that they found even when they had the same troubles and situations I had. I was frantic, angry and frustrated, striking out against anyone and everyone, using cruelly cynical and “dirty” humor and really bad language. Since I have accepted Yeshua, and was given the Ruach, I have calmed down tremendously. Except, maybe, for my language when I am trying to get something down and these stupid, slow and uncooperative computers that I am working with just don’t want to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it so I start to get crazy and then I have to let it all out and say, “$^&&^$##@#&^(**&^$$$#%^^$##%%!!!!!!”

Um…where was I?  Oh, yes…peace in the midst of turmoil….

The Ruach helps us to stay in touch, spiritually and, yes, even physically, with God. Haven’t you ever felt the calming touch of the Lord? I miss it so much, so often, and realize it’s because I am not reaching out. So at Shabbat services, I will now and then cover my head with my Tallit, and sit during worship music under my own Kippur and pray to God for His touch. I try to open my heart and my emotions; I try not to think of anything else except asking Him to touch me. That’s all, just touch me. And when I am open, when my spirit is broken, my heart is appealing and my request is genuinely, humbly presented….He responds. I feel that tingling, that sudden emotional “rush” that feels like the waters of life have washed over me, leaving me sparkling clean. I feel the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders, and I have to cry tears of joy and peace.

Yes, the big, tough Marine cries. Heck, I cry if the TV commercial has a happy ending. I can’t cry at real life, but I can cry over a movie or a stupid TV show. One day I’ll have to figure out why that is.

Have you felt God’s presence? Do you know His touch? If you do, then you can understand, and I’ll bet as you are reading this you are feeling exactly as I feel writing it, thinking just how nice it would be to feel that way right now! But if you don’t know what I am talking about, you need to ask God for His intervention in your spiritual growth; ask God to send the Ruach and have an open heart and mind to accept it. Also ask the Ruach, itself, to let you know it is there. I remember reading somewhere that we can ask the Ruach, the Holy Spirit, to come to us. It is a sort of self-help, with the Ruach’s help: you stop what you are doing, you close your eyes (obviously you don’t want to do this while driving or operating heavy equipment) and you ask the Ruach to give you peace, to help you overcome the moment. Breathe deeply and slowly, relax, prepare yourself for whatever the Ruach is going to do, and faithfully expect that your prayer will be answered. I really believe, from my own experience, that if you genuinely ask and trust in the Spirit, the Spirit will answer you with a sense of peace and relaxation. Maybe even joy, in the midst of your Tsouris.

That’s what we can look forward to; in the middle of the destruction, we will be at peace. God gives us a spirit not of fear but of victory. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will have no fear, for Thou are with me.

Those are very powerful words, and they should be a reminder to us that the power of God is living within us, and greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

When the world starts to fall apart, which it is already doing, don’t look to yourself for the strength to survive: ask the Ruach for help.

For any human to find peace during the Tribulation times, it is impossible, but with God, well…you know how that one ends, don’t you?

 

The More You Give Away, The More He Gives You!

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God just never seems to run out of good stuff, does He? He sends blessings down, He sends the rain, He provides for us financially, emotionally, and even physically. He has enough patience to fill a bottomless hole, and when He gives us all these wonderful things, what He really wants us to do is to share them with those that He did not give them to.

In Acts 4:32 we read how every one of the new Believers shared all they had with each other. In 2 Corinthians, 9:7 we are told that God loves a cheerful giver, and in the Tanakh we are told that we must leave the edges of the fields untouched, and not to go back and shake the trees a second time or pick grapes a second time. These are to be left for the poor and needy who will be gleaning the fields.

God interacts in our lives often through using other people than the miraculous intervention of angels. As such, we who are given much must share what we have with others. Yeshua tells us that we will always have the poor with us, and I believe this is why: God directly blesses some, but doesn’t bless others, so that that they will be available to those of  us who have received blessings in order to allow us to bless them. God is doing a double-blessing: what He gives to us we are to share with those He has not given to, so that all can share and be blessed. As such, when we cheerfully give to those less blessed, we are blessed in the giving, they are blessed in the receiving, and God is honored and glorified. A true win-win-win situation.

And here’s the kicker: God will resupply us! He never runs out of good stuff.

There is a caveat: be wise and use discretion in your giving. Just because a charity seems legit doesn’t mean it is, and if you see someone on the street begging, giving them money may be enabling their sin, not helping them overcome it.

I will not give money to someone who is begging, which is (in fact) easier to do than what I do. I will find a store and buy them something to eat and drink. If I give them something to eat and drink, and they are grateful, then I know that I am helping them to survive another day. If they don’t seem grateful, then I know that I have not helped them get more of what they really wanted, most likely money for drugs or alcohol. Still, they will eat what I have given them so despite themselves, I get to bless them and they get to be blessed.

Donna and I contribute to charities that are important to us, we tithe (not just what is comfortable for us to tithe, either) and we contribute our time volunteering with groups that interest us. No, we don’t work the soup kitchens, although we never sell what we are “downsizing” but instead donate it to charity. We both volunteer at the Brevard Zoo and Donna volunteers at a local wildlife hospital. Sharing blessings doesn’t have to be exclusively with humans: remember, God also put us in charge of the Earth and all it’s inhabitants, whether animal, vegetable or mineral. Not just humans.

Are you blessed? Do you really believe that God has given you all you need to survive? If you can look at yourself and say that you actually are pretty well off, but you haven’t really given that much to the poor and needy, please start to share more of what you have. I am not saying to sell everything and give it to your church- God forbid! I don’t think that is right at all. I think you need to tithe, and if you aren’t sure if you really want to give a full tithe to where you worship, split it between different Godly activities. Anything that cares for people, animals or the environment is taking care of that which God created and put us in charge of.

Here are some conundrums regarding blessings that can only be true with God:

– if you want more, give more away

– if you need more, ask for less

– if you want less, you will get more

– if you share your wealth, you will be wealthier

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But, then again, God makes the wise seems foolish (1 Corinthians 1:27) and the ways of the world are not God’s ways.

Don’t be stingy, don’t be selfish, don’t have a “dark” eye (Matthew 6) and let the blessings that flow to you flow through you to others.

I guarantee that if you do unto others as you would have them do unto you, you will never feel alone, or unappreciated, or bad about yourself.

Giving to others is the greatest gift that God has given to you. Use it.

Parashah Chukkot (Statutes) Numbers 19 – 22:1

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Where do I even start? The Red Heifer rules? The death of Miriam? The death of Aaron? The defeat of Sihon and Og? What about the incident at Meribah, which made God so angry with Moses and Aaron that He refused to let them enter the Land? And the snakes, which caused Moses to make the brass snake that we hear about later in 2 King, 18:4 (I speak of that in my book.)

The Chumash speaks of the Red Heifer regulations as the most mysterious in the Torah; in all scripture, for that matter. That which defiles everyone involved in the making of it also purifies all those who partake of it. The lesson the Rabbis give us is simply that there are many things that we can not understand, and it is not our understanding that is required by God, but our faithful obedience.

This can also be seen in the sin of Moses at the rock at Meribah. There are a few different commentaries, but (essentially) the way Moses acted showed faithlessness in front of the people, and for that God was not given all the honor He expected Moses to give Him. In Judaism it is believed that the greater the man, the stricter the standards by which he is judged.  This is repeated, in a way, in James 3:1-2 where it says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” The total and complete obedience of Gods commands are what God expects and demands from us. Moses did not just speak to the rock to show God’s miraculous intervention, he struck it (twice!) with the staff that God told him to take with him. That staff represented the miracle that God caused (Parashah Korach)  and I believe that God wanted Moses to take it, not to strike the rock, but to have it there to remind the people of God’s choice of Moses and Aaron as His representatives and their leaders. Moses used the staff in a totally wrong way, which brought no honor to God at all.

In Chapter 21, verses 4 – 9 (inclusive) we are told of another time the people grumble against Moses. This is at the end of their journey- Miriam and Aaron have died- yet after all these years of God’s miraculous intervention and provision, they still kvetch about everything! Oy! No wonder God was so angry that he sent snakes to kill the people. Yet, when they repented, He told Moses to make a brass serpent and place it high on a pole, high enough that all the people, no matter where they were in the camp, could see it. And when they were bitten, they only need look to the snake and they would not die.

Yeshua said, in John 3:14, that He would be lifted up like the snake in the desert. I see a double-prophecy in this statement, one prophecy to be fulfilled currently and the other aspect to be a far-future event. The current meaning was that Yeshua was going to be placed up on a pole, i.e., He was to be crucified. The future meaning of this prophecy would be that Yeshua (Jesus) would be worshipped instead of God, as the snake (called Nehushtan) was in 2 Kings during the time of King Hezekiah. When Moses placed the snake on the pole, it was to represent the salvation of God- the people still suffered for their sin (they were still being bitten by snakes, and that doesn’t feel very good) but instead of dying they could look to the representation of God’s salvation, the brass snake, and the consequence of their sin (death) was avoided. Today, and for many years, the image of Yeshua, a graven image on a pole (cross) that is displayed in some churches, is worshipped in lieu of God.  Just as the representation of Gods salvation was turned into an idol during the time of Hezekiah, today the “church” has turned Yeshua into an idol- an image and a person to be prayed to directly for salvation and to answer prayers. Yeshua told us to pray in His name; He was telling us to pray to God and to invoke His name. It’s somewhat like when someone wanted to enter a Speakeasy during Prohibition days, when they were stopped at the door they would say, “Joe sent me”, or some other code, that gave them recognition and entry.  When we pray to God, praying in the name of Yeshua is a means to gain entry, to have our prayers recognized and seen as righteous: not because of who we are, but by the righteousness of Him who we are referring to when we come before the Lord. The snake stopped being a representation of God’s salvation and replaced God as an idol, in and of itself. An idol is anything that we worship instead of God. So, too, today the image and the very personage of Yeshua has become an idol, something that is prayed to instead of God. Just as He said He would be.

God, and God alone, is who we worship, who we pray to, and who we obey. God, and no other. Yeshua is our Messiah and, as such, he sits at the right hand of God. At the right hand of God, NOT on the throne of God! So we should pray to God, and ask what we ask in the name of Yeshua; as intercessor to God, not as His replacement.

From all there is in this parashah, let’s remember this: God is the only God, God is supreme, and whatever God tells us to do, whether we understand why or not, we should do. That means E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G God tells us to do, as much as it is possible for us to obey.

And if you want to know everything that God tells YOU to do, read the Torah. Read the Mitzvot (commandments), read the Chukkot (regulations/statutes) and read the Mishpatim (rules).  All of the laws, rules, statutes, commandments, and regulations in there are expected to be obeyed by anyone and everyone who worships El Elyon, Adonai, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the father of Jesus.

There is just so much in this parashah, but if I were to put it in a nutshell, so to speak, I would say that the lesson here for us is to recognize that God isn’t concerned with how well we understand His laws and regulations, just that we show Him our love and worship through obedience.

Yeshua said that if we love Him we will obey Him: like Father, like Son.

Forget the Past

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My undergraduate degree is in History, and one of the things we historians say is that history tends to repeat itself. This is (usually) because people don’t know their own history, so when the same types of events that caused one historical tragedy begin to coalesce once more, people can’t “read the warning signs” of the beginnings of another tragedy.

That’s a “world” view, meaning what we humans are taught. But God’s view is different.

God says to forget the past, and I think He has the better idea. After all, how can one look towards the future when you are always reviewing the past? I never liked the Jewish ….what do I call it? A celebration? a Holiday? I am thinking of Yom Hashoah, the remembrance of the Holocaust. It is a day where I have seen the Sanctuary of a synagogue covered in black and with pictures of the concentration camps. A day devoted to the past, with people reliving the horrors, they cry over things from half a century ago and their anger burns anew.

I don’t really want to remember the past because when we do we get mired in it. Yeshua said that anyone who puts his hand to the plow and looks back isn’t fit for the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62) so if we want to grow in the Lord and do more for God, we need to forget the past.

Doesn’t God forget the past? You bet He does, and thank Him for that! He tells us that when we are forgiven our past sins are as far from us as the East is from the West; that although we are stained scarlet red, we will be washed clean as new snow; that He will blot out the memory of our sins and they will be no more. That’s what forgetting the past is all about.

Forgetting the past means we have to let it go. If you hold on to something old, you can only have one hand left for reaching out to grab something new.  I remember in the martial arts classes I took that when someone grabs you with both hands, like you always see in the movies, that means both their hands are unable to protect them, and both your hands are free to attack them. It’s like the story of the person in the water holding on to their heavy bag of valuables- they want to be saved but they are dragged down to their death because they won’t let go. What they are saving from their past is preventing them from having a future.

Whatever has happened to us in the past, happy or sad, we need to let it go in order to grow in the Spirit. Given a choice, I would prefer to hold on to the happy memories and forget the bad ones, but even happy memories can be a hidden trap. You can’t hold on to something and let it go at the same time, so anything and everything of the past, good and bad, must be released so we have both hands free to grab hold of the future.

This is a hard word to hear, and even harder to do. I am no further along than you are, believe me, and I wish I could just forget so many things. Actually, I do forget a lot of things, but they are recent and important, like the names of people I see when worshipping every Friday, what I was supposed to bring home from work, and to turn the alarm on at night. I DO remember Donna’s birthday, our wedding anniversary and when we had our first date. I may be forgetful, but I’m not suicidal!

The point of today’s Drash is that we need to remember to forget. Put the pain behind us, put the sadness behind us, and look to the future. I know people, one in particular, who can’t forget the past because she wants it to be different. Apologies never helped make her feel better, and “venting” didn’t vent out the anger; it only added oxygen to the fire. I truly believe that “getting it off our chest” is a lie from the pit of Sheol- when we relive the pain, the frustration and the anger all it does is re-open the wound. You can’t heal a cut by pulling at it- you cover it, and forget about it.

God tells us, over and over, to look to the future. He says when we return and ask forgiveness for the past, He will forgive and it will be no more. Not an event, not a memory, not even a faint recollection of something that once happened. It will be as if it never was. All the Prophets told of the upcoming judgements, and they always ended up with a promise of future reconcilement, a regathering of the people and the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth. The Bible is chock-full of God telling us to forget our past and concentrate on our future with Him.

There is no hope in the past, the present is over in a heartbeat, so the future is all that is left to us if we want to make things better. The world says to remember the past and memorialize that which has happened; God says to look to Him for a better future and to work towards the goal: as Shaul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:24, we must run the race in such a way as to win the prize.

No one wins a race looking back.

Write it, Re-write it, Do it a Third Time, then Delete it

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Before I was concerned about what God would think I would not slow down or think about what I said when reacting to something that bothered me.

My boss just sent a response to a customer apologizing for how things were handled, and I was the one handling it, and I was handling it the way he told me to handle it.

I wrote back this morning asking him why he apologized, then I wrote down how it made me feel, and then I started in with what good managers do, what a real manager does, and after writing it, I deleted everything after “Please tell me why you wrote this.”

I then started in again about management skills and good vs. bad managers, then deleted that, too.

After one or two more of these, I ended up just asking for an explanation and saying it made me feel like I was being hung out to dry to make him look good, and asking if he would please tell me who he is apologizing for.

Even that may be too ‘harsh’, but hey! I may be saved, but I’m still human, and telling someone how what they did makes one feel is not a bad thing, so long as it is done in a non-blaming or accusatory way. Things are stressful at work and my poor boss, who really doesn’t want the job and is not handling it very well, is more stressed than we are. But that is what being the boss means, and if he can’t handle it he should ask his manager to let him go back to being a tech.

One could make an argument that his boss should already know about what is happening.

So, nu? What’s my point here? My point is that even if my boss did the worst thing any boss can do, the worst thing that anybody can do (for that matter) which is to make me look bad so he looks good, as  a Believer I should be able to demonstrate fairness and patience. I should wait to decide what is happening until I hear his side, too. I can’t stop my emotional reaction, but with the Ruach I can control it to the point where I delete those messages that I would, in the flesh, prefer to send.

We need to do this all the time, not just with silly little misunderstandings at work, even when they aren’t silly or misunderstandings. We (meaning those that profess to be God-fearing) should show those who don’t know the Lord that we can overcome the flesh and the emotions that it brings because we have the Ruach (Spirit) to help guide us to be compassionate and fair. And patient to hear the whole story.

This isn’t a “Make it or Break it” event for me- I understand the management issues where I work. They aren’t really any different than any other place I have worked at. And because I am only 1 1/2 years away from retiring, it does make it harder to take. Truth to tell, God has blessed us enough that if I wanted to quit tomorrow we could afford it, although it would be really stupid to do because we have a number of big expenses coming to finish this house upgrade and I would rather pay them from earned income and not from savings.

But still, it is hard to overcome the flesh. That’s no excuse for Believers. Just like a boss who should take the “heat” for his or her people when something doesn’t go right, we have to show what having the spirit of God inside us means, how it separates us from those without spiritual guidance, and to make sure what we do brings glory to God.

So go forth into the world of flesh, and do so with the strength not to succumb to the flesh, which we get from the Ruach HaKodesh that lives inside of us. Yeshua called it the Comforter, so let it do it’s job and comfort you when you feel abused, ignored, mistreated and unfairly accused.

Get used to it because if you are going to be a Believer in the tribulations to come, that is the kind of treatment you can expect from nearly everyone.

Every day, in every way, we are in training for the End Times.

Parashah Korach (Korach) Numbers 16 – 18

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This parashah starts with Korach, a Levite, coming together with Dathan and Abiram (both from the tribe of Reuben) against Moshe and Aaron, especially Moshe. They accuse Moshe of going too far and placing himself above them. Korach has organized another 250 men who stand with him. When Moshe hears this accusation he falls on his face, then he tells them to gather their people the next day at the Tent of Meeting and to bring their censors with incense and fire before the Lord, and that he and Aaron will do so, also. Then God will choose who is holy and can come before Him. Moshe goes on to remind Korach that the Levites were chosen by God to be separated and given special privileges to serve God and the people, but now they aren’t happy with that, so they seek the priesthood, too! He tells them they have gone too far.

The next day they all come to the tent with their censors and incense. When Dathan and Abiram refuse to come, Moshe goes to their tents and Abiram and Dathan rebel against, and insult, Moshe even more, going as far as to blame Moshe for the people not having received the land they were promised.  At the Tent of Meeting God speaks to Moshe and says to separate himself from the community as He is going to destroy them, but Moshe asks why should all the people suffer for the sins of a few? He uses the same argument Abraham used when trying to save Sodom, except the other-way around: Abraham asked if a few righteous should be killed for the many sinners, and Moshe is asking why the many righteous (innocent) should be killed for the sins of a few men. Same argument- please don’t kill the “innocent” with the guilty.

This also is a theme that we see develop as time goes by: God is more willing to relent destruction of the children for the sins for the father, and vice-versa.

God says He will only destroy the rebellious ones, and Moshe is told to have everyone in the camp physically separate themselves from the tents of Korach, Dathan and Abiram. As the people draw away, Moshe says that if these men die a normal death than God did not send Moshe, but if the earth were to split open and swallow them all alive into Sheol, then everyone will know that Moshe is God’s chosen representative and that these men have rebelled against God. No sooner does Moshe finish then the ground splits open and swallows Dathan, Abiram, and Korach, as well as their family and possessions.

Then fire comes from heaven and incinerates all of the 250 men. The censors, which are all that is left of the men, at God’s command are beaten into a cover for the altar so everyone will see it and remember. However, the very next day the people accuse Moshe of killing the Lord’s people, and the cloud of the glory of the Lord comes onto the Tent of Meeting. God again warns Moshe to get away from the entire community because He is going to destroy them, but Moshe again intercedes. However, a plague has already broken out from God’s fury, and Moshe tells Aaron to burn incense and make atonement for the people. Aaron runs right into the middle of the plague, standing between the dead and the living, and stops the plague.

God now provides another demonstration of his choice of Aaron through the miracle of making Aaron’s staff grow not just buds, but flowers and ripe almonds, as well. Now the people finally “get it’ and they are frightened of God and the tent of Meeting, crying that they are all dead men because all who come before the tent die.

Oy! How blind can you be? They just don’t see their own sin is causing their destruction.

The last part of this parashah reviews the rights of the priests with regards to what portion of the sacrifices brought before God they are allowed to keep for themselves, and reminds the Levites that they are to keep the common people away from the Tabernacle to protect them, from themselves.

What we see here are two tribes, both of which feel slighted. The Levites (specifically Korach and his followers) aren’t satisfied attending to the tabernacle and carrying the tent; they want to be in charge of the service and attend to God, directly. The Reubenites feel slighted because Reuben was the firstborn, but did not receive the blessings or rights of the firstborn. Of course, maybe they forgot it was because Reuben had disgraced his father, Jacob, by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines. That’s not going to get you any points, believe-you-me!

It seems that they also forgot that the people were the ones who refused to enter the Land, and so it was their fault, not Moshe’s, that they didn’t have their own property, as promised. In fact, it was the people who told Moshe that he should be the only one to talk with God. Go back to Sh’Mot (Exodus) 20:19: the people assign Moshe the position of intercessor and leader. Now they accuse him of putting himself in charge!

When I read this story, it seems to me we are being shown that we should be grateful for anything we receive, and not be jealous of what God has done for others, or think we deserve more than what we have. God knows what we need, and that is all we should ask from Him. This is an attitude of humility and faithful thankfulness, and that is what God asks from us. Just trust in Him and be thankful for whatever we have.

In the 23rd Psalm, David says that the Lord is our shepherd and we shall not want. Maybe “want” doesn’t mean ‘want’ as in a desire for something, but ‘want’ as meaning to have needs, as “the poor want for food.” If we trust God, we will not want, in other words, we won’t be in want.  He can, and will, provide for everyone who trusts in Him. Not only did Korach, Dathan, Abiram and the other men not trust in God or have an attitude of humility, but they rebelled against God and accused Moshe of doing exactly what they were doing- placing themselves above others. Moshe was doing as God told him, but the others weren’t- they were doing as they wanted to do. And, since God had told them what their job was already, by wanting something else they sinned, and they suffered for it.

The sad part is that the sin of Korach, Dathan and Abiram caused not just their wives, children and the other 250 men to die, but the plague that came killed another 14,700 people. Three men sinned, and nearly 15,000 died from it.

Sin always has consequences, and more often than we realize, it is the innocent who suffer for the sins of the guilty. This is why it is so important to avoid sin, avoid people that sin, and be trusting and thankful to God. It’s not that hard to do. Don’t be covetous: it’s OK to have ambition to be better, to want to provide more for your family, but not to the point where you accuse others because they have more and want what others have just to have it.

I have driven by many beautiful homes and thought, “What a nice place to live.” Then I remind myself of what it says in Proverbs 15:17 (Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred) and also Proverbs 17:1 (Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.) Not that everyone in a beautiful house is living in a loveless family, but just because something looks great to have doesn’t mean it is great to have. We must be happy with what God has provided and not concern ourselves with how much happier we would be with more of what someone else has.

That’s the problem with wanting more: there is always more to want. Always wanting more is a self-defeating proposition and you will never be satisfied.  On the other hand, people who appreciate what they have are happy and satisfied.

This doesn’t mean that just going through life accepting whatever happens is right. There are things we can’t change, things we can, and we need to ask God to show us to know which is which, and to strengthen us to do what we need to.

It is all about God and all for God: if doing more can glorify His name, do more. If being content can glorify His name, then be content.

It isn’t easy to know the difference, is it? I depend on the Ruach haKodesh to show me what is growth in the Lord and what is selfish ambition.

I don’t always get it right.

Who Really Said That?

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I was reading the “Today in History” section of the paper the other day and it said that in 1858 Abraham Lincoln, during his run for the Senate, said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

What got me was that I am absolutely convinced that there are many, many people reading that who think Honest Abe coined that phrase, himself. They have no idea that Yeshua said it, or that it is from the Bible.

That made me think (yes, it hurt, but sometimes I can) about how many other statements or sayings that are biblical, but which people do not know came from the bible, or (even worse) how many things do people think are biblical that are not?

How many times do we hear people say, “The bible says….” and then say something that isn’t in the bible? For instance, “God helps those that help themselves.” I hate that saying because it leads people to the wrong conclusion- it leads them to think that God wants us, first and foremost, to look to our own power for resolving our problems. And, if we do, then He will step in and help us.

WRONG!!!!  We need to look to God first: first, foremost, only and always before we do anything on our own. God is the one to count on, and God is the only one who can overcome. Yeshua said that for man it is impossible, but with God anything is possible. If what we need is possible only with God, then why even start on our own?

There is one time that you can say, to a degree, we need to start on our own- that would be regarding faith. When it comes to having faith, I believe that is something we need to show before we can have it fully justified. If we have faith only after some miraculous event, then we are reacting instead of acting. Faith is, to me, more than a word, more than a noun- it is an action verb! We say to “have faith” but it really should be (if you ask me) to “show faith.”

God will be faithful to support our faithfulness. We need to step out in faith, then He will walk beside us and guide us.

But when it comes to anything else, pray first, go to God first, and after you have first asked Him to guide and help you, then walk out in strength; fearlessly, faithfully knowing that God is with you.

We all need to know the bible- what it really says, and just as importantly, what it doesn’t say. We need to be able to right the wrong that people say which can only lead them to Sheol, and not to salvation.

How often do you read the bible? There are calendars that have a bible verse for each day of the week, there are tracts galore, there are online reminders, and every sort of biblical “reading” and daily devotional that you can find. These are not what I recommend, mainly because they are out of context and can be misleading. I believe, and I preach, go to the source. God can show you what He wants you to see, give you spiritual sight that will allow you to receive whatever message He has for you no matter what biblical reading source you use, but why go anywhere other than where He wrote it, in the way He wrote it. See what happened before the verse, and see what happens after it.

Too many of these sayings from or referring to the bible are misleading because they are out of context. The bible is not in true, chronological order, and the Christian order of books in the Tanakh is different from the Jewish order, but at least you get the history, the stories and the events in the way that Moshe wrote them (for the Torah) and in the way that people have learned them for millennia.

If you were given a book to read- history, mystery, self-help, whatever- would you read it haphazardly? I mean, would you read the first chapter, then the middle, go to the third from the end, then the second, and bounce all around like that? I hope not, but the Christian world does that. Pretty much every Christian service I have gone to preaches a sermon that takes from the bible, but the sermons have no biblical order. Now, in all fairness, maybe I am just a little too used to the Jewish system of reading the Torah portions (called Parashot) every Shabbat , in order, so that every synagogue throughout the world is reading the same message at the same time, and we all turn the Torah back to the beginning every Simchat Torah (Joy of Torah) on the eighth day of Sukkot.  There is also the haftorah, or additional reading from the other parts of the Tanakh, which emphasize the Torah portion reading.

I am not saying it is bad to use daily devotionals- any time you are reading from the bible is better than not reading from it, at all. But I hear too many people that do not know the bible, and think that there are things they hear that are from the bible. This is the path to destruction because the enemy knows the word of God as well, if not better, than almost anyone else. And he will use that to destroy your soul.

Let’s finish with this- gun control. Yes, gun control. If you own a gun, and don’t know how to use it, you are much more likely to have it used against you or to hurt yourself with it than to get any benefit from it. The word of God is like that- even Shaul tells us, in Ephesians, about how the word of God is both armor and weapon (from shield to sword.) The enemy will try to use the word of God against you, just as he tried to use it against Yeshua during the forty days He was in the desert, so if you don’t know it, and know it well, you may find the very weapons God has provided for you to protect yourself from the fiery arrows of the enemy, being used against you.

You can, and will, be defeated by the very weapons God has given you to defend yourself if you don’t know how to use them! And the way to know how to use them is ….to use them. Read His word, in order, from start to end, then go back and read it again. And make that as much a part of your daily routine as eating, drinking, and brushing your teeth (I certainly hope that is a daily thing!)

And always, always, always pray to God for the Ruach to guide your reading so that all He has for you to see in that book is made available to you.

We are living in prophetic times- the battle is coming. Quickly. If you don’t know how to use your armor and the weapons God has given you, you will be lost. Don’t think that just because you are saved now you can’t be fooled into giving up your salvation. In Revelations it tells us that many will be turned and apostatized. “Many” is a lot of people; in some translations I have seen , it says “most”- meaning more than 50% of the Believers will be fooled into taking the mark of the enemy. I believe those will be among the ones who don’t know the word of God as well as they need to.

Know your bible, know how to use the armor of God, and know your enemy.

He certainly knows you.