Tag: jesus

Art Imitates Life Through Supply and Demand

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What can these two things possibly have in common? Our social media, that’s what.

Look at television, Twitter, FaceBook, movies, radio, Youtube, TV sitcoms…art imitates life, and the media is full of sexually sinful activities acceptable as normal (fornication, adultery, homosexuality, even necrophilia if we include dead people in love, as with the vampire movies that are so popular lately), cop shows are all over the TV listings and they show only the worst aspects of civilization, reality TV demonstrating the sickness of society: everything from hoarding to gross obesity to naked strangers in the woods, marriage at first sight (what could be more derogatory to this holy institution that that show?), etc.

The media shoves this drek and schmutz down our throats, stuffs it in our face and feeds it to us on a platter. And then! to add insult to injury, they make us sit through commercials that are little more than an insult to even the least intelligent of humankind. Now, here comes the tie-in to supply and demand: they are able to sell this stuff because the people want it. They can put anything they want in the media but if it doesn’t sell, i.e., if it isn’t popular with the audience, then the advertisers won’t endorse (meaning: pay for it) the show and it will go off the air. So, ergo, the drek we see is because that’s what we want- they supply what we demand.

And what’s the bottom line? Society is going to Sheol, in a handbasket! We are getting closer and closer to the total degradation of God’s creation. In the garden God put us in charge of the world and the animals, and what have we done to it? I don’t even have to answer that, do I?  God also has given us commandments to follow in order that we become separated from this cursed world, and the vast majority of religions (remember- God doesn’t have any religion, only humans have religion) have taught their followers to ignore these commandments.

The “vast number” I am referring to, just so we understand each other, includes the Oriental religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, also Islam (they do not follow the Torah), and just about every form of Christianity which, for the most part over the past two millennia, has taught that following the Torah is being “under the law” and after Jesus came it is not important and refers now only to the Jews.

God’s laws and His commandments, given to the Jewish people to make available as a lamp unto the world, has been rejected by the world. Basically, God said, “Here ya go- this is the way to live forever” and the world has said, “Thanks, but no thanks. We’ll make up our own rules. The Jews can keep it.”

So, let me get this straight- the Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe and Master of all there is, who created everything and is in total control of everything, who answers to nobody and whom no one can command, says to do something and we say no. And then, we expect to be accepted? Really?

Puh-leeze!!!

The good news is that the lower we sink, the worse society becomes, the more sinful and disgusting we are, the closer we get to the Acharit HaYamim, the End Days, the Final Judgement, the Lord’s Day!!

BTW…the Lord’s Day is not really the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day for the Lord, meaning a day committed to honoring Him. The “Lord’s Day” is not a descriptive term, it is a possessive term, and throughout the Tanakh it refers to the Day of Judgement.

Therefore, in the midst of the garbage that we have to sift through every day as we read the paper, hear the news on the radio, watch the TV or the surf the Internet, remember that all this is leading to something wonderful. But also remember that we have to get through this without becoming a part of it. You can’t just walk through a cow field without stepping in something now and then, so we need to watch every step we take. We need to pray for discernment, look to the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) for strength and guidance (it’s our spiritual GPS) and obey God’s Word- yes, I am talking about the Torah.

When we read about the stone which the builders have rejected we all think of Yeshua (Jesus), right? Well, what did John say Yeshua is? The Word that became flesh, and what is “the Word”? It’s the Torah! That is all there was when Yeshua walked the earth. That is all He taught from, and what the founding fathers of today’s “church” taught and obeyed.

Yeshua was, and is, the Living Torah, He is the rock rejected, so that means the prophecy about the world rejecting Yeshua means that the world will also reject Torah (which it has.) Now, if  you have accepted Yeshua, then, by definition, you have accepted Torah! Therefore, if you say Yeshua is your Messiah, then you must follow the Torah, or you are a liar.

If you believe the Bible, if you have been brought up being told that the Old Covenant is for Jews and the New Covenant is for Christians, if you want to do as Jesus did, then understand this: Jesus said, over and over, that He did as the Father wanted Him to do, and the only instructions the Father gave to us was (and is) the Torah, so Jesus had to be following the Torah. If He didn’t do everything the Torah said to do, then (by definition of sin) He sinned! And if Jesus had sinned, He couldn’t be the sinless lamb of God, could He? And if He wasn’t blameless and without defect when He was crucified, then His sacrifice could not be accepted, and that means we have no hope, no salvation, no chance of ever being with God. And, ultimately, that would mean that God’s plan of salvation will need another Messiah.

Everything that Christianity is based on- Jesus being the Messiah, blameless and perfectly sinless so that His sacrificial death is the path to salvation- is a lie if Jesus isn’t the living Torah.  And if Jesus is the living Torah, and we are to do as he did, then….well, if you haven’t figured it out by now, better stock up on sunscreen and aloe.

The Torah will not save you, mainly because no one can live totally in accordance with it. Forget about the sacrificial laws, just the moral and ceremonial laws and commandments are way beyond what any of us sinful humans can live up to. Yeshua, Jesus- He is our salvation. And that is because He did live the Torah perfectly.

But that is no excuse for ignoring Torah.

Please think about what I am saying. We cannot earn salvation, but we can earn blessings, and we earn blessings by doing as God says. No one can argue with that. That’s all I am saying: to do what God says you should do, you need to know what He says you should do! NOT what some human decreed as necessary.

There is only one place where God tells you what you should do, and it is not in the New Covenant because there is nothing ‘new’ in the New Covenant. You need to read and live according to both the Old and the New Covenants.

It is one book, we have only one God, and there is only one Messiah, Yeshua. .

Parashah B’Har (On Mount) Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2

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God instructs us to be fair to each other in our economic dealings, to use a pro-rata system of valuation when we are exchanging  and redeeming property, and that slavery is an acceptable form of servitude, except that other Israelites were to be treated with more respect and allowed to go free in the Jubilee Year (Yovel) whereas slaves which had been purchased were slaves forever, and property that could be transferred in one’s estate to one’s heirs.

I am not sure what happens if you are a foreigner who is a slave, then you convert, i.e. become a fellow believer, and the Yovel year comes. There isn’t anything I saw that covered that, but I wonder because in all other areas, one who sojourns with the people and worships as they do is to be considered as one of them, and equal in the eyes of the law.

Anyone got an opinion?

This book is all about the everyday relationship between people and God, and between people and people. We are told about cleanliness, personal hygiene, the festivals, the sacrifices, the selling of property and the methodology of evaluation when redeeming that property. We are also told that all property belongs to God and we are just temporary residents. This goes well with the prior statements God made, and ones He will make later in the Torah, regarding how the land vomited out the prior residents because of their sinful ways, and will do the same to this people if they follow that example.

We are reminded about the Shabbats, rest for the people and now, too, rest for the land. And the wonderful law of the Jubilee Year, the Yovel, where all the followers of God are brought back to their land, a year of rest for the land and the people. Since this happens every half-century, given the normal lifespan of a person, everyone would most likely get to enjoy a Yovel, at least once, during their lifetime.

What I see in this parashah is a legal description of what Yeshua brings to us spiritually: redemption. The main difference being that in the physical world, when someone is redeeming their land, there is a pro-rata evaluation of the worth of the land. When Yeshua redeems us spiritually, there is no valuation: we are redeemed, totally, and forever. No matter whether our sins outweighed our righteousness, or vice-versa, this redemption is complete and once-and-for-all.

Just as God told the people (this comes later in the book) that so long as they do as they should their lands will be productive, we who are redeemed by Yeshua’s sacrificial death are to do T’Shuvah, to turn, and live our lives as representatives of God. Our redemption is immediate, and just as the people had to obey God and follow His laws for the land to be productive,  we are to do the same with our spiritual lives in order to produce “fruit.” We are to obey God’s commandments, the ones in the Torah (there is nothing ‘New’ in the New Covenant- everything Yeshua taught and said we should do is from Torah. Same for Paul, John, and all the other writers of the B’rit Chadasha) and when we do so, we will be blessed. If we reject God, even after He has redeemed us from our sin, we apostatize and throw away our redemption.

That is what I said: I have said it before and will continue to say it because it is so very, very important to understand: salvation is irrevocable, but that only means God will not take it back. It doesn’t mean we can’t throw it away, and if you want Biblical evidence that what I say is true, go to Hebrews 6:4-6; John 15:6; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 2 Peter 2:20-21. There are many other verses demonstrating clearly that salvation gained can be rejected, how in the End Days many will turn away from and betray Yeshua, and Revelations tells us that most will be turned from the true faith. Believe it- salvation is guaranteed to be given, but it can (and by most, will) be easily lost.

Redemption is the underlying theme of the entire Word of God, and we see here one aspect of it- the one that is in the physical world. Both the redemption of property and of self; God-granted freedom from slavery. Even freedom from work during the seventh year Shabbat for the land (Shmita) and the Yovel.

Redemption of your life and property in this world, and redemption of your soul in the next. This is what the Bible is all about, this is the plan God has for all of us.

Redemption: easy to get and hard to keep.

How Do You Use Your Gift?

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If we look for verses in the Manual which talk to us about “gifts” we can find a number of them. There is the gift of prophecy, of teaching, the gift of Grace, and many others.

1 Peter 4:10 tells us that the gifts we receive we should use to help each other, and James 1:17 reminds us that every good gift comes from God.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 exhorts us to use our gifts collectively, that no one gift is above any other, but we all are given gifts to be used collectively as in the body, meaning as one group working together to serve the Lord.

Exodus 35:30-35 tells us that Bezalel and Oholiab were given the gift of skills in all types of artistry to allow them to serve God by managing the construction of the Tabernacle.

One thing that I have noticed about gifts, which is the same (to me) as the use and administration of the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) is that prior to Messiah Yeshua fulfilling His role as the final sacrifice for sin, the gifts and spirit were given to people as needed, but then revoked. The Spirit fell on Shimson (Samson) and it fell on Elijah, as well as other prophets and the heroes in the Book of Judges, but that Spirit was lifted up, again, and returned to God. It was a gift that was revocable.

However, after Messiah Yeshua gave up His Spirit, that same spirit was given to all who believe and accept Him as their Messiah as a gift that is irrevocable. God will send the Comforter to all who Believe and ask for it, and it will not come and go anymore: it will dwell within, for as long as we allow it to remain.

That’s right- I said for as long as we allow it to remain. Irrevocable means it won’t be taken back, but we can give it away, or more correctly, we can throw it away. That’s the thing about a gift: once given, it belongs to the one who possesses it, to do with it as they please. In my case, I try to use and listen to the Ruach all the time, but I am still learning and maturing in the Spirit. There are those that have accepted the Spirit but it proves too much for them to handle, so they ignore it or just throw it away, they become apostatized, and even the Bible tells us that once we have known the Ruach, known Messiah and then rejected Him, we have trampled His blood into the dirt (Hebrews 10:26-31.)

To know best how to use your gift, I guess you first need to know what it is. Yes, I believe there may be many who are not really sure what their gift is. We humans are easily led astray, and I do not doubt for a second that there are many who are trying to use what they believe to be their gift, which is really no more than a gift they want to have. As such, they are blinding themselves to their true gift. If you’re thinking you don’t feel quite right about what you think your gift is, talk with other Believers who know you and ask them to tell you, honestly, what they think your gift is. Nothing wrong with getting confirmation from those who have spiritual maturity.

Once you are sure about your gift, use it to please the Lord. The answer to the question, “How should I use my gift?” is given to you: read Colossians 3:17.

God has many gifts to give, and every gift He gives to us is precious and is to be used to honor Him. It’s all about God.

Regarding your gift: find it, know it, develop it and use it to help others in order to honor the Lord.

Remember what Yeshua told us: that which we do the these, even the least of His brethren, we do unto Him.

We Will Always Have Less Than What Is Available

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Remember when Yeshua told us not to worry about what tomorrow may bring because today has enough trouble of it’s own? He also told us to ask for our daily bread, not to request enough food for more than that.

And what about the manna from heaven? They were to only collect enough for one day, except on Shabbat when they were allowed to gather two days worth.

And what about the promise in Malachi, that if we tithe correctly God will open the storehouses of heaven and bless us more than we could ever imagine?

I believe (and I hope you agree) that one of the real problems we humans have is that there never seems to be enough. Even in the Garden, it wasn’t enough to have all the food and water and peace and joy that Adam and Eve had- they wanted more. With only a little enticement, they just haaaaad to have the one and only thing that was forbidden to them. They had everything they could ever need, but it wasn’t enough.

And we haven’t changed. Enough is never enough for us, whether we are talking about food, or income, or pets (everyone knows at least one person with 4,000 cats) or cars, or toys, or whatever. We just always have to have more.

With God, there is always more. But that’s not what He wants us to desire. God doesn’t want us to gather, He wants us to sow.

The river Ezekiel sees in his vision of the End Days starts small and gets larger as it flows farther from the source. Now that ain’t normal, right?

And Job- all he had, he lost; but, in the end, he had twice as much as he started with.

God doesn’t love a cheerful receiver, He loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6.)

And how many times in the Tanakh are we told about taking care of the widow and the orphan?

If you really, really absolutely must have more, than give more of what you already have to others.

This is how it works: the more you share what God has provided to you, the more He will continue to provide, provided you provide for those with less provision. (Say that three time fast!)

Maybe that’s why Yeshua tells us we will always have the poor among us: that is the way God can test us. He will always provide us with someone to share His blessings with.

That’s the lesson for today: there’s never enough, God never runs out, so to get what God has for you give what He has already given you to those with less than you have.

Don’t believe me? Then “test me on this” (ooh, we’re back in Malachi!) and see if God won’t do wonders for you when you do what pleases Him.

Why Do You Love God?

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Maybe we should ask, “Why do we love, at all?”

What is it that can create both a strong attraction, and then an equally strong revulsion, often at the same time, and with the same person?

Before we can answer why we love God, we first need to know why we love.

I guess that’s it for today, then…I have no idea how to explain, define or even make a guess at why we love.

Let’s try this from a different angle: let’s ask , “How should we love the Lord?”

I think I can do this one, especially because God tells us exactly how to love Him: we love the Lord by obeying Him. In Yochanan (John) 14:15 through to 14:26 Yeshua tells His Talmudim (Disciples) that if they love Him they will obey Him. He further says (I paraphrase here) that the love they show Him will be shown to them by God, and they will all be together. Also they will receive the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) as a comforter.

Let’s not get confused here, with regards to chronology: God loved us first and foremost.  Yeshua said that when we love Him we show our love to God, which makes sense since He also said, throughout the Brit Chadashah (Gospels, or Good News) that when we look at Him we see the Father, and to know Him is to know the Father. Loving Yeshua is loving God, but it was, always has been, and forever shall be that God, who forms us and knows us while we are still in the womb, loves us before we are even born.

God gives us Grace, forgiveness, and the rules telling us how to live and treat each other: these rules aren’t given so God can control us, they are given so we can become more holy and, thereby, be with God for all eternity. His laws and commandments aren’t really restrictions; in fact, they are the path to freedom and joyfulness. God blesses us when we obey (check Deuteronomy 28)  and His blessings are never ending. Maybe one of the reasons we love God is because of all the love He shows us. It is hard to dislike someone who constantly does good for you and shows you love and compassion.

However, since He is also the righteous Judge, when He disciplines His children (as all loving parents should do) we often turn against Him, reject and even curse Him.

I know when I was growing up my parents did the best they could for me- they had their own “demons” to overcome from their parents, and as I grew up I was very difficult, rebellious, extremely disrespectful and I did not feel love for them in any way, shape or form. It took quite a while, but when I was old enough and mature enough to understand them and where they were “coming from”, it made forgiving and appreciating them much, much easier. And I felt better about my relationship with them, too, because it had been reconciled. They are both gone now, but for years before they died they knew, and heard me say, I loved them. And for that I also love God, because He was a big part in my spiritual growth and maturity, and He showed me how to love. My love for the Lord is based on who He is and what He has done for me.

Loving God is not (and I think should not) be a romantic love- that’s just weird. As I said, I can’t define absolutely why we love someone or something, but I do believe the love we feel for God should be ‘above’ human love. It should be with respect and awe (doesn’t the one you truly love often inspire you, and sometimes just make you feel so proud to be loved by him or her?) and appreciation for all that He has done. We also need, as I did, to mature, emotionally and spiritually, so that we can begin to glean a little of the reasoning behind why God allows bad things to happen in the world, and bad things to happen to good people. It takes a very high level of spiritual maturity to accept that the gold must be refined through fire. Even though going through the fire is just a little less enjoyable than root canal without the benefit of anesthesia, those who love God with a mature, unselfish and spiritual love understand that the suffering and pain can be overcome by maintaining their loving trust in Him, which comes from the faithful understanding and acceptance that God only wants the best for us. It is that faithful trust and the love we feel for Him that strengthens us and enables us  to endure.

Why do you love God? If you haven’t asked yourself that question, you should. Is it only because of what He does for you? Do you feel love, or thankfulness? Do you accept God’s judgements, do you allow Him to make judgements and wait upon the Lord (as Proverbs says we should do?) or do you cry out for justice? Is it justice or revenge?

Or, would you rather be able to forgive as God does? As God commands we should?

Do you love God or do you just love what you want from Him?

The way God will know how much you love Him is to count how often you obey His commandments (He is talking about the ones in the Torah.) If you are obeying more than rejecting, then you are loving God. If you reject more than you obey, well….time to reflect on how much you want to love the Lord.

How many people scream out, “I love you, Jesus! Oh Lord! My God! How I love you!”, then they go home and do whatever they feel like doing, eat what they want to eat, and rationalize their sins.

I used to be a sinner who rationalized my sins; now I am a sinner who regrets my sins. It is that regret, my personal T’Shuvah, that enables me to obey God, and it is my obedience that demonstrates my love for the Lord. And it was His love for me that I (finally) came to recognize and accept, that made me want to love Him back.

Do you love the Lord? If you say, “Yes”, the next question you need to ask yourself is: “Does my obedience to the Lord show it?”

Overcoming Sin is a Team Effort

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All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved- Joel (2:32) certainly knew what he was talking about.

Oh, I am sure there are many of you out there who were thinking Romans 10:13- big surprise: there’s nothing “new” in the New Covenant writings. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in there is from Tanakh. Yeshua quoted Torah, Shaul (Paul) quoted Torah, they all spoke about the writings of the Prophets (Nevi’im) and every law God gave to Moses is validated in the B’rit Chadashah (Good News), so the next time you read your KJV or NIV and it references something said in the letters to the new Messianic synagogues Shaul began with a quote from Yeshua, go further back and you will find that Yeshua quoted it from Torah.

But that’s another Drash. Today I want to talk about the teamwork between God, the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and me, and you, and all of us who are trying to overcome sin in our lives.

God can and will forgive our sin, but we have to do our part. We have to be willing to follow the guidance of the Ruach. God will forgive sin, but up to a point. I know that sounds against Biblical teaching; after all, there is no sin too big for God to forgive, and the Prophets say (as Joel did) that if we call on God we will be forgiven. The teachings of the Talmudim (Disciples) of Yeshua all point to being able to have every sin forgiven. In light of this, how can I say God will forgive but up to a point?

I look back to Shomron, the Northern Kingdom. And less than two centuries after their destruction I see the nation of Judah, also destroyed and dispersed. God allowed them both to sin and fornicate with other gods for centuries before He finally had enough, at which time His forgiving and compassionate nature had to be overruled by the fact that He is still our Judge. He is a holy and righteous God, who will forgive sinners who wish to repent, and punish sinners who refuse to.

That’s the difference between those forgiven and those punished: when we work with God and the Ruach to overcome our sinful nature we can be forgiven over and over, but when we refuse to work at it, when we simply call out to God to forgive us but do nothing to sin less in our lives, then we will not be forgiven.

God isn’t stupid, and he sees the true desires of the heart. You can lie all you want to people about trying your hardest not to sin, but God knows if you really mean it or not. He is forgiving, He is loving and merciful, and He is also our Judge. When we come before Him, and we all will, He will decide based on His understanding of just how hard we really tried.

I talked with someone yesterday who told me that all who believe in Jesus Christ are saved. I disagree. Think about it: don’t the demons believe in Jesus Christ? Don’t they know that He is the son of God and the Messiah? Aren’t there many people who tell you how they believe in Him, yet you know that they are still living their lives the way they want to? Just saying you believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah and then ask for forgiveness in His name doesn’t mean you have arrived.

Sorry, Pal- it isn’t that easy; but, then again, it is that easy.

What makes your confession meaningful is the testimony to that confession you demonstrate during the rest of your life. It’s a team effort- God forgives, Yeshua’s sacrifice makes that forgiveness available to everyone, everywhere, and always, and when you ask Yeshua to ask God to send the Ruach to dwell within you (which you have to accept), then you have a guide. The Ruach is your ultimate “Life Coach”, your conscience, it’s Jiminy Cricket at your side helping you to realize what you want to do is not what you should be doing. And the final member of this team is you. It’s is up to you to work with the Ruach to overcome the desire to sin, and even if the desire never fully goes away, it’s still no excuse to sin. To get Freudian, your Id wants to sin, your Ego tells you not to, and the Superego is the Ruach haKodesh, keeping you in line morally and helping you to become more holy. But still, when all is said and done, the Id will never go away and you need to overcome it.

That’s how it works- we are all sinners, born into it and it is as basic a part of our psyche as is the desire to survive, the need for food and water, and the drive to eat all the oreo’s that exist in the world (well, maybe that one is more particular to me, alone.) In Judaism it is called the Yetzer Hara- the Evil Inclination. As we grow older, we fight it with the Yetzer Tov, the Good Inclination. When we, individually, realize and accept that God exists, that He has a plan of redemption and that Yeshua ha Maschiach is that plan, we then accept Yeshua as our Messiah, ask for forgiveness of our sins in His name and by His sacrifice we can be saved. Notice I said “can be saved”, not “are saved”- that’s what we all need to realize. It is free, it is true and it is automatic, and it is also on us to do our part to fulfil it.

“Calling on His name” has become a “tag line”, a hyped-up excuse for the real purpose of His sacrifice, which is to give us a means to overcome the result of our sins, namely sheol (hell) and eternal suffering. Yeshua’s sacrificial death atoned for us, but it doesn’t give us Carte Blanche to continue to sin. We are saved not by His sacrifice alone, but by our T’Shuvah, our “turning” from sin along with His sacrifice.

Salvation is not an individual event- it is a team effort. God, to Yeshua, to the Ruach, to you.

Get in the game; play hard; listen to and obey the Coach and win the only thing that is important: eternal peace.

Who or What; Was or Is; Which is Right?

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Yeshua, called Jesus by most of the world, is recognized pretty much as the Messiah by the Christian world, although He is also called the Lord, to the exclusion of THE Lord, and God in the Flesh, although there is only one God, and the son of God, which He can’t really be if He is God, can He?

Here is an excerpt from my book, “Back to Basics: God’s Word vs. Religion” regarding who or what Yeshua is or was:

Let’s not overlook the fact that He was in existence from the Beginning- He may have been born of a virgin, as the prophecy states, but He certainly wasn’t born as a human is born. He was fully human, but He was not of human origin. He was subject to human frailty and temptation but He was also so completely filled with the Ruach HaKodesh He was, as no other person ever has or will be, able to overcome His humanity.

I know, I know…this sort of “He was – He wasn’t” back-and-forth can give you a headache! Was He human? Yes. Was He God? Yes. Did He die? Yes. Well, if He was God how could He be human, and if He was God how could He have died, and if He was human how could he be God, and if He was Human how could He do those miracles, and if and if…. YIKES!! That’s why it is just so much easier to just take things on faith. Although, being faithful doesn’t mean accepting ignorance. We still need to know what the truth is, and the only way is to hear it from His own mouth. The way He allows us to hear Him is that He gave us The Bible, The Manual. Reading that, and asking Him to guide our understanding by the Spirit, is the best and most productive way to know His word. Since Yochanan (John) tells us in his Gospel at first that there was the Word and the Word became flesh, if we know His Word then we know Him.

Some things we know, historically, about Yeshua was that, first and foremost, His was born into a Jewish family and His name was never ‘Jesus’- that is a translation of a transliteration. For the etymology of the name Jesus do a search on “what’s in a name” in the Search window at the bottom right of this page. We also know His mother and father, what the family business was, that He was circumcised, had been to Yerushalayim at least once (and was left behind there for a week alone), He was baptised by Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptist), had a wandering ministry, healed many people of different diseases, taught 12 Disciples who lived and travelled with Him for about 3 years, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. We also are told by the same dependable writers and witnesses that He was resurrected and wandered among the people for about 40 days (40- another well used number in the Bible) until He rose into heaven.

So, where’s that leave us, with regards to the title of this blog? Is Yeshua a “who”, meaning a human being, or a “what”, as in a proper noun such as Messiah? We know He existed and was killed, so do we refer to Him in the past tense as with a dead person? If so, when He was resurrected He became alive, again, and He is forever alive so shouldn’t we say He “is”, as we do when referring to a living person? He was the Messiah for those people, but, then again, He is our Messiah today. He was God’s son and God in the flesh- didn’t He say if you see me you see the Father? To know Him is to know the Father? If so, that fits in with the old Jewish adage that the Torah is to be a mirror so that when we look into it we see ourselves. John says that Yeshua was the Living Torah, that the Word became flesh. Since Torah is still valid and the Word of God, and Yeshua is the living Torah, then Yeshua is alive, so we should say He “is” and not that He “was”, anything. As a living entity, He is a “who” and not a “what”, wouldn’t you agree?

Who He was is why He was able to do what He did, and what He is is why He is able to do what He does. (say that three times fast!)

It’s all a bunch of literary hoopla. It doesn’t really matter who, what, was, is… whatever! Yeshua was the Messiah, He is the Messiah, and there is only one true Messiah; even after all is done and Yeshua takes on whatever mantle of leadership or divinity that He will wear at that time forevermore, who or what He was or is will not change.

God is eternal, Yeshua is eternal ( Yeshua said, “…before Abraham was, I am.”), and past and present are irrelevant when discussing the eternal.

What is important from this discussion is to understand and accept that Yeshua always has been and, until the end of this existence will continue to be, the only hope we have for salvation.

I have collected this laundry list of questions, and I figure when I see Yeshua’s face I can ask Him because He will know the answers. But you wanna know something? When I do see His face, I don’t think any of those answers will have any meaning for me.

Once I see His face, all that is important to me now won’t matter anymore.

Dear Abby Strikes, Again

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I have a lot of respect for Dear Abby. For the most part, the advice given by her is reasonable and I am sure over the many years this column has run that there are many people she has comforted, as well as set straight. I have the same respect for Ask Amy, and pretty much any advice columnist because, if for no other reason, they have such an impact on and responsibility to others.

But, then again, sometimes they are giving “politically correct” advice and not really honoring a godly position.

Here’s today’s take: an older couple has a daughter moving in with her boyfriend and having an open house. The couple writes that their faith is against this sort of relationship, they love their daughter but feel they can’t bring themselves to participate in an open house that represents a relationship they are against, religiously.

Abby pretty much told them they were wrong, that many couples are living together today and that they will lose more than they will gain by not attending.

I think since this couple raised these kids, the kids would already know how they feel about cohabitation (“living in sin”, as we used to say; that is, when people cared whether they were sinning or not) and might invite the parents as a courtesy, but not really expect them to attend.

We are to hate the sin and love the sinner, but that doesn’t mean we should condone the actions, and being “tolerant” is just standing by and watching sin without speaking up against it. The Bible is pretty clear about not allowing evil to be ignored. Check out Ezekiel 3:8, or Ephesians 5:11, Hebrews 13:4 (about marriage) and throughout the Tanakh. We are told if we see an enemy’s donkey overburdened we are to offer to help, and if someone loses their animal we are to care for it until it can be returned.

The Bible teaches us to try to help others and speak out against wrongdoing, whereas the World teaches that we should be happy if our enemy suffers and “finders, keepers; losers, weepers.”

I applaud this couple who say they love their kids and yet will not prostitute their beliefs just to make the kids happy. What lesson does that teach? It teaches that if the world says it’s OK then you should do it. That is bad advice, Abby- that is the “wisdom of the world” that will send people straight to hell. If everyone else takes the “mark” and is rewarded for it, as they will be, then should I also take it, even when I know what it means? Just because it will make my family happy? Because everyone else is doing it? Because it is accepted by society? Hasn’t your mother ever asked you, “If everyone else was jumping off the Empire State building, would you jump off, too?”

The trouble is that in today’s world (actually, it has always been this way) people jump off the building because they don’t know they are jumping off the building. The Prophets were told, because they know the true word of God, that they are required to tell those sinning to repent, otherwise the blood of the wicked will be on the head of the Prophet! That sounds like a lose-lose deal, doesn’t it? If I say something against what the world does I will be an outcast, and if I go along with them I will be guilty before God. Read Jeremiah to find out how difficult it is to be Godly-right and worldly-wrong.

Personally, I prefer being OK with God and the World can go to … , well, that’s where the world is already going, isn’t it?

The Bible says that we, those who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are to be holy because He is holy. Being holy means being separated, and you can’t be separated from the world if you go along with the world. This couple is separated, and they are determined to stay that way, even at the potential cost of alienating their own daughter. That is the kind of faith that wins people over to God, and the kind of faith that God requires of us all. That is the kind of faith the Levites showed at the base of Mt. Horeb.

What is the strength of your faith? If it was your daughter or son having an open house for their unmarried relationship, or even a gay relationship, would you go?  I confess I am not sure what I would do. I have family members who have been in a gay relationship for many years and when Donna and I visit we stay at their house. They are very aware that I do not agree with their lifestyle, but I love them and want to be with them. I think the best way I can get someone to see God’s way is to demonstrate it in my lifestyle and I can still be true to my beliefs without having to alienate them. But that’s me.

These are tough questions, and require tough answers. And the answer has to be one you decide for yourself. The end is coming sooner than we realize; it is just around the corner and there is no more time to think about it.

There are only two sides to this game, and God has already won. So, nu? Who’s side do you want to be on?

Holy Doesn’t Have to Mean Boring

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Do you think that when Yeshua was at that wedding (you know, the one where He turned water into wine) that He was standing all alone in the corner, a wallflower not dancing or joining in the fun? I don’t. The Bible doesn’t specifically say anything about that, but it does tell us He cried when Lazarus was dead, so we know He is willing to show emotions. When He felt compassion for the people, He had to be showing feeling, don’t you think? I have to think that when Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water, then almost immediately lost faith, Yeshua had to be disappointed and the tone of His voice must have shown that.

If we are to love God and love each other, how can we do that if we are emotionally dead, being stoic and serious all the time?

I like to joke around, sometimes to excess, and sometimes a little more blue than some might think a “Believer” should be (you should have heard me before I cared what God thought; actually, it’s probably better that you haven’t), and I can often relieve tension with a funny comment. This is a gift from above, and when I use it as it should be used, I have to think that God is pleased with what I do.

I can’t believe that Yeshua was dry and always serious. In the Bible He is always talking about God and the way that God wants us to act (that’s called Torah!) After all, the Bible is the manual and what’s important is to have it full of the truth of God and how to please Him. So it’s only natural that the main text will be composed of those things Yeshua did and said that relate directly to His announcement and demonstration of the Kingdom of God. But don’t you wonder, even a little, if Yeshua ever just “talked” with the Disciples? Maybe a little kibbutzing over a nosh?

I think He had to. There had to be “normal” discourse at times because to get through to people you need to be able to communicate effectively, and effective communication is two-way. I can’t think that Yeshua never had a normal conversation about something other than God.

Maybe I am wrong (it wouldn’t be the first time and won’t be the last time): I will be the first to say we can’t make an argument from nothing, and there is nothing (I can recall) in the Gospels that indicates Yeshua had conversations that were not about God. I am not totally confident about this, either (in case you hadn’t picked up on that) because I also believe that to be holy we need to be separated, we need to talk and act differently from the rest of the world. But what about amongst ourselves? Can’t we joke with each other? Can’t we have a little fun?

God gave us a sense of humor, so shouldn’t we be using it? If we are to do what Yeshua did, and we have a sense of humor, can I make a “backward” argument that Yeshua, therefore, must have also joked around now and then; at least, with His Disciples?

I am rambling on a bit today; maybe I won’t get a whole bunch of “Likes” for this blog. Maybe I will get some conversation going. Maybe I am just shouting into the wind.

I want to be holy as God says we should be, and I want to use the gifts He gave me in a way that will glorify Him. I will keep on joking, and making every effort I can, worm that I am, to make the humor acceptable in all circles. And still, I will make jokes to get the attention and to give happiness to those that need a little “blue” in their humor. I will do as Shaul (Paul) did (Corin. 9:22) and be whatever I have to be to get the attention of the person I am talking with so that I can get the message of God to them. I know I was afraid to seek the Lord and turn myself over to Him because the image of “holy” people is one of being stoic, never laughing, never smiling, always talking about God and, basically, boring to be with. I love the Lord and love talking about Him, but I need a break now and then to just have regular conversation. How can I know how to comfort someone if all I do is relate to God and not to that person?

I want to show that God’s influence in my life has been wonderful, and that since I gave myself over to Him I am not becoming a different person, I just am becoming a better me. I didn’t lose myself when I came to God; yes, I found “it”, but I also found myself, and I found the completeness of worship that was always missing. What I found was what had been calling to me since I was a child: I found relationship with the Lord and completeness in my Judaism. I have come full-circle, a Jewish person who knows his Messiah. The Jewish people were separated for God, and promised that in the Acharit HaYamim (the End Days) God will bring us back to Him, and that our Messiah will be the means to which we are rescued from not just dispersion throughout the Diaspora, not just from separation from our ancestral lands, but separation from God.

This news about Messiah ain’t boring: this is good stuff! We should be joyful and happy, we should show that in all we do. And if we can’t present, and represent, the Lord in a emotionally strong manner than how “happy” can we be, really? If we are always emotionally contained, and “proper” and “in control” then who would believe that we are joyous, elated and free? Can you be ecstatic without a smile? Can you talk about your most enjoyable experience without a tear in your eye? Or jumping up and down? Maybe being a little “Pentacostal” is important to demonstrate the uncontainable joy that knowing the Lord gives us.

Being holy doesn’t mean being boring; it just means being separated, and separated doesn’t mean being “bad” different, it just means being different.

As the French say, “Vive la différence!”

 

Parashot Acharey Mot / Kedoshim (Leviticus 16 – 18; 19 – 20)

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Acharey Mot starts with the regulations about how to celebrate Yom Kippur, then about not eating blood and ends with forbidden types of marriages and worship. This is a continuation of the main theme throughout this entire book, which is to teach the people how to be holy.

Kedoshim is the central book of the Torah because it is right in the middle. It is the center of Vayikra, and also the center of Torah. As such, the Rabbis have regarded it as “the essentials of Torah” ( Pentateuch and Haftorah, Soncino edition) and a brief description of it’s main points follows:

* holiness and imitation of God

* moral and ritual laws

* Duties to and treatment of other people

* Prohibitions against hatred and violence

* additional precepts and ordinances

* prohibition against the pagan lifestyle

* ethical injunctions

* penalties for disobedience

* laws regarding immorality

* final exhortation to be holy and set apart

As I say above, this book is not just a set of laws and rules. It is how we become sanctified, holy and separated for God from the rest of the world.

In America, the court cases of Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. The Board of Education (of Topeka, Kansas) are well known to almost everyone, lawyer or not. “Plessy” was a Supreme Court ruling (in 1896) which stated separate accommodations, if equal in quality and standards, is not unconstitutional. Half a century later (1954), “Brown” was the reversal of that decree stating the very nature of things being separate means they can’t be equal (I ask any law professionals to excuse any minor misstatements I may have made in condensing these.)  The belief that separate cannot be equal is also what we are told in Leviticus, and throughout the Bible. If we want to be holy, as God is holy, we need to be separate and NOT equal. We need to be different.

Let’s get something straight here: different is not better than; it is not worse than;  it is just different from. The only thing that separates Believers from the rest of the world is Messiah Yeshua. We are still sinners: the only thing different is that we are saved sinners. And because we profess to accept the truth that Yeshua is the Messiah, and accept God’s Grace provided through Yeshua’s sacrifice, we are bound to change our way of living to that which God decrees in the Torah. Doing that makes us different from the world. God tells us to be holy for He is holy, and in Leviticus He gives us all the rules, regulations, and ordinances that will teach us how to worship Him properly and how to properly treat each other so that we can be holy.

Problem is…we ain’t holy! God gave us all we need to be holy, but it’s beyond us, that’s why God also provided Yeshua, and why we so desperately need Him, our Messiah, to bring us into the communion with God that we cannot bring ourselves into, by means of His sacrifice cleansing us of our sins.

We need to be different, and in the way God says to be different. Not as a means of rebellion (of course, if you’re a teenager, rebellion is mandatory behavior) or as a means of acting “holier-than-thou”, but as the proof that we worship God. It’s just that simple. We worship God, Adonai; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, the one, true God. And when we do this as He said we should (not as a religion tells us) then we are separated from the world.

The world says “holier-than-thou” as a condemnation against someone thinking they are a better person than someone else. Yeshua told His Talmudim (Disciples) that the Goyim (nations, or Gentiles) lord it over each other and they should not, so He also teaches us not to think we are any better than anyone else. But, in the long run, we are supposed to be “holier than thou”, but not because we are better: we are to be holier because our God is holy and we represent Him. We aren’t better, just saved. The difference between heaven and hell is certainly much more than that between railroad cars (Plessy vs. Ferguson) and we definitely want to be in First Class.

I believe this about Leviticus: the central theme of this central book of the Torah is to be holy so that we can represent God correctly.

The book tells us exactly how we achieve holiness by telling us how we are to worship, how we are to treat each other, how we are to marry, how we are to have intimate relationships, how we are to eat; essentially, Leviticus tells us that we should be, and how we are to be, separated from the world.

The brokerage firm Smith-Barney had a great commercial where their spokesman used to say (something like), “We make money the old fashioned way…we earn it!”  That’s the way the world works, and there’s nothing wrong with that- you work hard and you earn your reward.

With God, it isn’t like that. Salvation cannot be earned through hard work, it can only be gained by asking for it.

It’s not until after we have been saved that the hard work starts.