Tag: love

We Aims to Please

Leave a comment

Do we, really? In a retail environment, the salesperson certainly wants to please the customer.  In work, we want to please our Boss. At home, pleasing the spouse isn’t even a choice- you’d better!

But what about pleasing God? Do we put as much effort into pleasing God as we do to please people more “directly” influencing our lives? Maybe I should say more “visibly” influencing our lives, since God is in charge of everything and influences our lives from before we are even born, but He is invisible and people are visible; they are tangible and always in sight. Not in spiritual sight, but in physical sight; God is in the heavens but people are where we are.

In my experience I have seen people who do almost anything for someone that they believe can help them attain what they want in the world, but they are pretty much cavalier about pleasing God. Don’t they realize that what they have in the world, no matter how much of it they own, will be someone else’s when they die? That point is well made in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes.)  Then they will only have the treasure they have already stored in heaven to spend eternity with. Think about it: would you rather live in a mansion for 30 years and a shack forever, or would you rather have a humble home for 30 years and a mansion forever?

DUH!!!

I would like to offer an excerpt from my book (to buy the book, hardcover or downloadable, see the right margin) that briefly discusses how to please God. If you find this interesting or useful to you, please consider buying the book.

“Then tell me how to please the Lord”, you may ask. Sorry, but I will not tell you what to do, or (for that matter) what not to do. That would make me just like a religion. What I will tell you is what the Lord tells us. And the Lord tells us that to please Him we must obey His commandments. I will give you 2 places where He does this, although He tells and shows us this throughout the entire Bible. The places I will mention are in the Tanakh and in the B’rit Chadashah (New Covenant).

   In the Tanakh go to Deuteronomy 28. This is the chapter where God gives us the listing of His blessings for obedience. You can see He blesses us going in and out, home and away, pretty much 24/7/365. Clearly, obedience pleases Him. The other place is in the Gospels where Yeshua (Jesus) tells us that if we love Him we will obey His commandments. Everyone is pleased by having people they love show that love back to them, and Yeshua is telling us that showing our love for Him (which must please Him) is through obedience.

   Yeshua makes it even easier to demonstrate obedience. He tells us that the two most important commandments are to love the Lord and to love our neighbor. If we simply do this than everything else falls into place.

For the record, this isn’t a new idea. Yeshua was quoting Tanakh; in fact, there is nothing “new” in the “New Covenant”.  It is all strictly and completely from Torah and the other Old Covenant writings. Every single reference Shaul makes, as well as John and James (Ya’akov), is from the only scripture that existed at that time, which is the Tanakh.

    So there it is. How do we please our God? Simple- follow His commandments. That’s it. He doesn’t say to follow all the regulations and traditions that the religion to which we belong adds or takes from His word. He simply says do as He says. He even tells us that what we should do is not so hard to do. It is not so far away that we need someone to bring it to us, or so deep we can’t see it, or so high we can’t reach it. He says it is right in front of us, within our grasp. True, we can’t do everything as He wants us to do it; we are sinners and we are sinful, and our very nature makes living a perfect life impossible. That’s why He promised a Messiah. But Hey!, that’s no reason not to try!

Brothers and Sisters, please hear me now: God has no religion. His Word, His commandments, His Blessings, His House of Worship, His Messiah and His Salvation is for ALL people! Just as His judgment will be on ALL people.

I think it is important to remember, especially, that last sentence: His judgement will be on ALL people! And that judgement will be based on our heart and our actions, but it will not be based on what others tell us is right or wrong.

You need to understand (and I believe the Bible supports me in this) that God will judge fairly and rightly, but what He judges us on will be what we did and not on what others told us to do. That means if the Rabbi, Priest, Pastor, or whomever leads your religious organization tells you to do something that is contrary to God’s command, you will be responsible for your actions. And using that old, “I was just following orders” excuse won’t carry water with the Lord. He told us how he wants us to worship Him, how we should treat each other, what is important and what isn’t. And if you aren’t sure how to tell what is important and what isn’t, I will make it easy for you: if it is in the Bible, it is important. And, if it is important you had better know about it, right? So read the book! Don’t be a dope and just believe what anyone tells you the book says- read it for yourself. Read it for yourself because you will be held accountable for what is in it!

Think about that: in fact, don’t waste time thinking, just do. Read the Bible, start today. Only a chapter a day: do it at lunch, do it when you get home, do it before you get ready for work. Or do what I do- keep your Bible in the bathroom. No one bothers me there, and I have a guaranteed 10 minutes or so of quiet.

Please please God first, then people, if you must, but not at the expense of pleasing God. I think you wil lfind that if you concentrate on pleasing the Lord you will be surprised at how much more you will be pleasing to people.

Why Do You Love God?

Leave a comment

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?”

We Need to Forgive Everyone, but We Need Forgiveness Only From God

Leave a comment

When was the last time you visited Psalm 51? That’s what David wrote after being convicted by Natan the Prophet of the sins he committed against Uriah and Bat Sheba. Yet David knew who he really sinned against- God, first and foremost; David said that against God, and God alone, did he sin.

That doesn’t mean David didn’t realize the effect of his actions against these people, but God is the one who gave us the commandments and when we violate even the simplest of these laws, regulations and ordinances, we have sinned against God directly. Even if the actions are directed to another person, it is against God that we have sinned.

So, we ask forgiveness of God, and we should ask forgiveness of the person we have sinned against, too. If that person decides to forgive us, that is good for them.

No, I didn’t get that wrong: when someone forgives us it is good for them because God doesn’t tell us to be forgiven by others, He tells us to be forgiving of others. When we forgive we are doing what is right in God’s eyes. No person can forgive someone their sin- only God can do that. Your act of forgiveness is actually between you and God; likewise, the sin itself is between that person and God. Your forgiveness of others helps you, not them. They have to deal with God for forgiveness on their own.

The one who has sinned needs forgiveness from God- the sin is between the sinner and God. God is the ultimate judge, He is the one who will decide if we get to sit under our own fig tree and enjoy our wine, or if we spend eternity out of His presence, in misery and darkness gnashing our teeth.

Forgiveness is a wonderful remedy for the pain of being sinned against. Truth is, the only way to make the pain go away is to forgive the person who caused it. That isn’t easy to do, but it is the only remedy. Maybe that’s why God commands us to be forgiving? He wants us to be happy and, therefore, He tells us to forgive (so that we can be happy.)

Maybe that’s also why God is so willing to forgive us? It makes Him happy, too, and helps Him to remove the pain of being ignored and rejected by the ones He loves so much (He is much better at it than we are. Thank God for that, right?)

Yeshua tells us to “…seek ye first the kingdom of God,…” when He is talking to the crowds during the Sermon on the Mount. Within the context of this speech He has been talking about our relationships with each other, about leaving our gift at the altar to make reparations with those we have sinned against, about forgiving each other as God forgives us, and that’s when He tells us to not seek things of the world but things of God. The world seeks vengeance, God seeks forgiveness and reconciliation.

When it comes to things of God, forgiveness is definitely near the top of the A-List. Forgiveness is a natural result of loving each other and since Yeshua said the two greatest commandments are to love God and love each other, forgiveness (in my book) comes in at a very close third.

Shaul tells us to run the good race. If we are to run the race well, we need to understand and remember that to love God, love each other, and forgive each other is the Win:Place:Show of the most important race we will ever be part of.

We must forgive others and we should ask for forgiveness from those we have sinned against, but always ask forgiveness from God first and foremost because that is the most important forgiveness there is, and the only forgiveness you need.

Sin is Sin

Leave a comment

I read an article this morning about a Lesbian Minister who has performed over 700 same sex marriages in the DC area. She said that many of the couples have already been together for decades, and that the “paper” makes them feel that they are finally “legal.” She said it was uplifting, that the services are full of love, and that she feels one of the most important things to do to maintain a long relationship is to constantly say to each other, “I love you” and to always ask forgiveness.

It all sounds nice, and despite the fact that I cannot agree with the lifestyle choice, I am impressed that these relationships, of themselves, have shown to be ones of duration. Let’s face it- heterosexual marriage today is no better than a crap-shoot: your chances are better to be divorced than to be together. If same sex relationships are more long-lasting, that’s something no one can argue is a bad thing.

The downside is that it is not right in God’s eyes. The idea of a gay minister is,to me, an oxymoron, but it is a reality that we all have to face in todays world. And, as I have said before, although homosexuality gets a lot of attention, it is just one of the many sins we all commit. I may not be homosexual, but I do many other things that are sinful: in my thoughts, my words against others, and in how I act, as well. I try to forgive but I am still angry about things done against me, unfairly, that happened many years ago. Not “red-in-the-face-yelling” angry, just not feeling the sense of closure that comes when you know the one who screwed you got their comeuppance. Not revenge, so much, as knowing that God has judged in my favor. You see- there’s a sin, right there: I want God to judge them and find them guilty of the sin they committed against me, but I should be asking Him to forgive them that sin for what they really need is His love and salvation. No one has ever come close to really doing anything so terrible to me that they should burn forever in hell. I want revenge, yes- there! I’ve admitted it. And that, in God’s eyes, is not any different than if I was homosexual- sin is sin.

Why I title this the way I do is because in the midst of the lasting and loving relationship this Minister described has been her experience to witness, these people are still living in sin. Maybe they have the approval of human law, but it is not approved under God’s law.

Do you know about LGBT churches? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender churches, Christian and Jewish, that allow and encourage openly gay (as if that would make a difference to God, who sees everything and who knows the heart) members and clergy.  And this isn’t new. Even in the days of the Temple there were the cult prostitutes, and all the way back to Lot we know of the sexual misdeeds of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah. Homosexuality has probably been around ever since we had more than two of any particular gender.

Does that make it right? No. Does that make it normal? No, and Yes: no, in that God says it isn’t the way we should be, and yes, if we describe “normal” as something that one will usually find existing within a population. And there can be no argument that homosexuality has existed in human populations for thousands and thousands of years.

So…what do we do, those of us who are told we should hate the sin but love the sinner? I can’t speak for you, but I have family members who are actively and openly gay, and I love them. I love being with them, I see their long-term relationship partners as much a part of my family as they do, and I welcome them into my house and my heart.

I just don’t agree with their sexual orientation. That’s no different than if they were liars, or kleptomaniacs, or had adulterous relationships. Actually, I would prefer homosexual to the other sins, if I had to make a choice. And since I also am a sinner, if I am asked about my position, I state it but I don’t “judge” them as being any more sinful than I am.

What “gets me” is when the gay community says that they have a right to make their own choice and the rest of us shouldn’t treat them any differently, then turn around and in the same breath demand that we agree with their stand that it is not a sin to be homosexual. Of course it’s a sin- God spells it out clearly, so just admit it. You want to live that way, fine, I don’t- I have as much right to disagree with what you do as you have to do it! So stop being so hypocritical and just admit that you do what you do because you choose to do it- don’t blame genetics, your mothers hormones, or society.  There are more than enough cases of homosexuals returning to a heterosexual lifestyle as there are the other way around to make an argument that it is a choice. Just live your life and let me live mine; make your choices and let me make mine. Stop saying the Bible is wrong, God is wrong, and I am wrong just because you don’t like the consequences of your chosen lifestyle.

Many of those who have chosen to be Believers and live in accordance with the Word of God have suffered bigotry, torture and death, just as many Gay people have.  The truth is that what is really normal in the world is godlessness. The majority of people in the world do not worship the one, true God as He says He should be worshipped. Even within the religions that profess to be God-fearing, they make up their own rules and traditions that overrule God’s word- the same thing Yeshua resisted and told us was wrong when He was walking the Earth.

That’s what my ministry is all about: God has no religion.

Gay, liar, murderer, gossiper, foul-mouthed and nasty, bigoted, hateful, self-serving: all are the same in God’s eyes, all are sinful. And God doesn’t grade on a curve- sin is sin, and any sin separates us from God. It is only through Yeshua that we can have any hope of being with God.

Here’s the final statement on this for today: if you ask me do I think that Gay people can get into heaven, based on all I have said so far, I would have to say….yes. If they accept Yeshua as their Messiah and try to live as He did, if they do T’Shuvah and turn from their sin, then yes- I believe they can enter heaven because sin is sin- I sin, you sin, everyone sins. Those of us who have asked for God’s forgiveness in the name of Messiah Yeshua and done T’Shuvah, still sin. If I am right that homosexuality is a sin, and that every sin is the same to God, then if you are heterosexual and eat pork, you have the same chance of getting into heaven as the gay, kosher person. And remember this: Yeshua told us there is no marriage in heaven, there won’t be sexual relationships, so being gay or heterosexual is only an Earthly condition. It won’t matter who you like to kiss after you are dead.

One last thing: the Minister got it backwards when she said that couples should always ask for forgiveness. People in love should always forgive each other, whether or not they are asked. God commands that we forgive, not that we ask for it. The hurt doesn’t go away when someone asks us to forgive them, it goes away when we DO forgive them, so forgive each other.

They say, “To err is human; to forgive, Divine.” You wanna know something? they’re right!

Why Teaching about God is so Important

Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why We Don’t Know How to Love

1 Comment

“Huh?  Why do you say we don’t know how to love, Steve? I love my spouse, I love my kids (most of the time), and I love and have loved many other people in my life. And, of course, I love the Lord!”

Good for you. But look at all the other people in the world that don’t know how to love. The terrorists can’t possibly love with all that hatred in their hearts. Oh, they may like, they may lust, they may even really adore, but I don’t believe they can possibly love, not like we learn from God, when they do such horrible things.

Read the Dear Abby, the Ask Amy, or whomever is the advice columnist in your local paper. I can’t count how many times I have read something along these lines:

I have been with this person for x years and s/he is hateful and cruel. I am yelled at for not doing anything, then yelled at for doing something wrong, even when it is exactly as they told me. I am scared of being hurt, he has had three affairs and drinks too much. She spends our money and I have seen her name on multiple dating sites. There are emails with co-workers that are sexually explicit. But they’re really a wonderful person and I love him/her. What do I do?

You are with someone who cheats, is brutish, scares you, is having affairs, keeps secrets, wastes your money and drinks too much, but you think they’re wonderful, love them and just don’t know what to do? OY!!

Look- love does not conquer all. To be in any relationship where you are considered second class and mistreated is not only a sin the other person commits against you, but is also a sin you commit against yourself! I am not saying to ditch your main squeeze at the first sign of trouble, and we are married for better or worse, but that doesn’t include debasement, infidelity, and abusiveness. These things need to be handled. Even Yeshua, who stood up for the sanctity and holiness of marriage, said that infidelity is a reason for divorce. And Shaul told us that if we are in a relationship that is unevenly yoked the Believer is allowed to leave, but only if the non-Believer wants that. He goes on further to say that they should stay together because the one may be saved by the other, but not if your safety is threatened.

This confusion about relationships, which is so prevalent it sends the love columnist’s kids through college, is rampant because reading the Bible is a rarity. God tells us how to treat each other, and through the writings of the Prophets and some of the Epistles of Shaul, we can see clearly how God loves us and how we should, thereby, love each other.

God’s love is unconditional, but not enabling. He will punish us when we are wrong and He will allow us to choose our own fate. He will protect and nourish us when we are faithful, and when we reject Him He will allow us to be on our own. But He still loves us and is always willing, and hopeful, that we will repent of our sins and turn back to Him.

The Torah shows us how God’s love is unconditional, but His blessings and presence are. We must obey and remain obedient in order to have His constant protection and blessing. Reading the book of Judges, as well as the writings of the Prophets, Kings and Chronicles shows us how God has constantly shown His love, yet allowed us to wander, to prostitute ourselves with other gods (have an affair), mistreat and berate Him (by rejecting His laws) and be abusive (taking His name in vain, choosing to work on His holy days, even watching football religiously but never attending services or reading His word.)

God loves us and wants to be with us, always. He wants us to bask in His glory and be joyful. He also provides everything we need for this to happen. Then He has to watch us throw it all in the garbage, curse Him, ignore Him, reject and even forget about Him, totally. There are many who don’t even believe He exists. Yet, He still loves us.

However, He isn’t writing to Dear Abby saying, “I have created them, I gave them the Earth and everything in it, which I created for them, and I have nurtured, protected and kept them alive for millennia, yet they don’t care a whit about me! All they want to do is what they want to do- I tell them how to be happy and they choose not to; I tell them how to treat others and they spit in my face; I tell them to keep away from the Enemy because he will lead them to ruin and they laugh at me and follow him gladly. I love them and show them my love, yet they have affairs with other gods, like money, professional sports, career activities, and they prostitute themselves with gluttony and avarice and fornication. I just don’t know what to do, Abby.”

What do you think she would say? I’ll bet that getting professional help will be in there, somewhere.

Here’s what I’d like to see them say: “READ THE BIBLE, YOU DUMMY!! Get to know what love is and what love is supposed to be, and then go find it. You can’t be loved until you learn how to love, so read about God and learn how to love so you won’t be saddled with some schmo like the one you have.”

We need to do everything we can to save our marriage, to work with our steady love interest, and to make the relationships in our life worthy of God’s blessing. But it takes two to tango, and if you are the one doing all the work, and the other side is just not caring at all about you, your feelings or you needs, you are not in a healthy, Godly relationship. If the other side is not willing to change or even try, you need to realize that, just as God allowed His loved people to wander off and nearly destroy themselves in order to come to their senses, you need to allow your other half to do the same. You need to talk, offer compromise, go to counseling, and try hard. If this is something the other side says he or she is willing to do, then be patient, show the truest form of loving in that you will abide by that person and help them, even if they are being somewhat cruel to you, and forgive them as long as they really want to change and ask for it.

If none of that is happening, though; if the other person is unwilling to try, unwilling to listen or care about you, and unwilling to love you as you should be loved, then let them do what they want to do, but let them do it on their own. The books I mention above show that God, despite His love for us, despite His unbelievable level of compassion and forgiveness, and despite His willingness to overlook our past and our many sins against Him, still underwent a series of “trial separations” from His people. He left His bride alone, naked and wallowing in her own vomit, exposed and ravaged by her enemies until she realized her wrongdoings and asked for forgiveness, promising to do as she should.

Then He gladly and joyfully accepted her back. Now that’s what love is.

In our relationship with God, we must be faithfully obedient, and in our relationship with each other, we must be loving, compassionate, forgiving and treat each other as we would want to be treated.

If you aren’t getting that in your relationship today, forget Dear Abby or Ask Amy and go to the Bible. See what God says, and bring that book to your other half. Follow what God does, what Shaul tells us love should be, and stand up for yourself.

I am not saying to call a divorce lawyer. I am saying we should all know what love is, as God tells us and not what people say. People are stupid, self-centered and sinful. People are obstinate, stiff-necked and selfish. People are always trying to get something for themselves, people are…well, they’re people!

As someone once told me: Humanity is a wonderful thing- it’s the people that ruin it.

Learn about how to love from the one who created it, who set the standards, and who is a constant source of renewal and strength: Adonai.

If you are looking for love and not finding it in your life or your relationship, stop looking around and start looking up. God is always there to show you how He loves you, and to give you the love you want. Once you have that, then you can go find it in the world because you will know what to look for.

Why God Blesses those who reject him

Leave a comment

When I was a kid, in my early teens, I would curse God. I was depressed, feeling unloved, always angry…you know, those normal adolescent emotional waves of trauma that we all go through. And like many people who don’t understand God, I blamed Him. I had no idea that all the time I was cursing and blaming God for all the bad things in my life, He was gently leading me to Him, to salvation, and protecting me. Both physically and spiritually.

Eventually (it took nearly another 25 years) I found my way to Him. Now I understand better how the world works and how God works. Please don’t get me wrong- I do not understand all about how God works, I just understand it better than I used to.

And one thing I have learned, and truly believe, is that God’s love is totally absent of ego. Oh, He says He is a jealous God, and He is, but I do not believe it is the jealousy we feel, as humans. As a human, my jealousy is selfish, self-centered and (usually) leads to destructive behaviour, either against myself, the person I am jealous for, or both.

I believe (and I have to say this is not something I can quote from the Bible, so I am sharing just my belief) that God is totally focused on our well being. He cares for us so much that He loves and cares for us even when we reject Him for anything else, such as another god, another person, or Monday Night Football; whatever comes between us and God is an idol that separates us from all that God wants us to have. And that is what gets His goat. He is not jealous that we are not loving or worshipping Him for something else, He is jealous that we are not doing what is best for ourselves.

In other words, He is not selfishly angry that He is left out, He is un-selfishly angry that we are hurting ourselves.

Think of someone you love who constantly does things that are bad for him or her: drinking too much, using other drugs that are harmful, maybe never seeing a doctor, never exercising, eating too much, dating total jerks and users…whatever. It is harmful to them, and because you love them it burns you inside that they do this to themselves. And there’s usually little or nothing we can do about it.

It’s like the joke: “How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?    Only one, but the light bulb has to really want to change.”

When people don’t want to be better to themselves, we who love them have to sit on the sidelines and try to help when we can, suffering for them and with them, all the time feeling helpless and forlorn. That’s sort of how God feels when we reject Him.

In the real world, we can’t do anything to change a person’s behaviour if they don’t want to change. The best we can do is be a light for them, an example of what they can feel or be if they do change. And during this process of watching them destroy themselves, we will try to be supportive, try to direct them to the right path, then inevitably (often for our own protection) leave them to their own devices. Or vices, as the case may be.

That’s what God does. He will bless those who curse Him, He will protect them even when they tell Him to leave them alone. God loves us that much. Eventually, though, if someone totally rejects God, and does so long enough, God may just leave them alone. After all, His love is so great that He will do what we ask, even if it may hurt us. Being omniscient, maybe He knows when to leave us alone so that the world will beat us up so much we might finally look to Him for salvation instead of ourselves, or some other god or drug or social fad?  Maybe, maybe not.

I read how someone asked Billy Graham’s daughter how a good God could allow such evil in the world (I think this was after the Columbine murders) and she said, in brief, that we have asked God to leave our lives, to leave our government, and to leave our schools (thank you very much, Brown vs. the Board.) And, being the gentleman He is, He has. That’s why there is so much violence and evil in these places today.

I don’t need to go on about how God has helped, guided, protected and blessed me even as I was rejecting and cursing Him. I am certain that most of you can look back in your lives and remember a time when this was true for you, too. That’s why I don’t need to go into detail anymore than what I have already said.

The point is this: God’s love is so holy, so unselfish, so far beyond any love any human can generate, that He is happy to bless us when we reject Him, when we ignore His Torah, when we teach others to ignore His Torah, and even when we fervently deny the very truth of His existence. In the Manual the Lord says He will have mercy on those He will have mercy on , and not on those He will not. It also says He rains on the just and unjust, alike. God loves us all, and it doesn’t matter if we love Him back or not.

I remember hearing a story in Jewish lore, maybe it’s in the Talmud, but it goes this way:

After the Jewish people crossed the Red Sea, and as the waters were crushing in on the Egyptian soldiers, destroying the army of the Pharaoh, the angels in heaven wanted to sing for joy at the salvation of the Jewish people. But God said not to sing, and when they asked why not, His reply was, “Because my children are dying.” That’s how much He loves everyone.

Unrequited love is hard to live with- I am certain that all of you reading this have had to live through it at one time or another in your life.  I know, absolutely, that every parent has had to live through a time when their own children hated them. I myself have two children whom I  love and miss terribly. They have used me, taken me on an emotional roller-coaster ride and as each one reached maturity (legal maturity, not emotional) and received the inheritance from my parents they were due, they rejected me. It wasn’t even that much money, and they squandered it before it got warm in their hands. They were raised by their mother and it’s a long story; I think I can safely assume that I am not the only one who has such a story to tell. Yet, if they wanted to reconcile (which is my daily prayer) I would do so in a heartbeat, because my heart still beats for both of them. That will never change. And that’s why I think I can understand, to some degree, how God feels and why He still blesses those that hate Him.

That’s just how love works.

 

You Love Me? Really?

Leave a comment

We all know that the Lord loves us. Whether or not we love Him, He loves us. His love is unconditional, it is forever, it is based on who He is and not who we are (thank God for that!), and it will cause Him to judge us fairly with mercy. Which we all need.

It is so much above human love, and so far beyond human understanding; how can any of us, really, associate with what He did when He sent His only son to die for us so that we could be close to Him. Something we could never have achieved on our own, even though it isn’t that hard. After all, Moshe told us that it isn’t so far away we need to send someone to get it for us, or so deep we can’t retrieve it, or so high above us we can’t reach it. It is right there, right in front of us.

But we can’t get hold of it, not a real good hold. So God did for us what we should have done for ourselves, at a great cost. Yeshua stripped His robes of righteousness and took on a mantle of flesh: filthy, dirty and mortal coverings that He wore just as the rest of us. Except despite this, He did not sin in the flesh that causes all the rest of us to sin. He survived unblemished, He showed us how to live, and He properly interpreted God’s word for us (which means Jesus/Yeshua did NOT create a new religion- those that followed after Constantine created a different religion, but Yeshua taught from the Tanakh and taught how to follow the Torah correctly.) Yeshua died so that I could live; so that you could live. It was, and is, a very personal thing.

Do you love the Lord? Most everyone I ever met who is Born Again says “YES!! Emphatically! Totally! Absolutely!”

I love God, too, but I don’t feel it.  I feel love for my wife. I feel love for my children (even though they have rejected me, so in that way I know a little about how God must feel), but I confess I don’t feel love for God- I know I have love for Him. Maybe because He is so wonderful, so far from me (in holiness, but not emotionally or relationship-wise), or maybe just because I am really selfish with using the word “love”, I don’t have the same emotional sense I feel with other humans. I love the Lord, and I am His bride (wow- to say such a thing in today’s world, and so close to election time, is scary) and those who read this most likely know the true meaning of that reference. But I just can’t honestly say I love God and feel it. I want to, I know I do, but I don’t feel it. I do feel unworthy, unresponsive, and undeserving of what He feels for me because I just don’t know how to return it. And I absolutely know that He deserves it.

Maybe my real problem is that I can’t separate the holy love I know for God from the romantic love I feel as a human. How many of you out there love someone because of how they make you feel? You feel whole, completed with the other person, right? My relationship with God has made me feel completed as a Jewish man, I feel that I have (finally) come full circle with God and we are on the same page, so to speak. My relationship is wonderful and fulfilling with the Lord- exactly what He planned when He sent Messiah. And more than anything or anyone else that ever was, God deserves my love. He has earned it because He gave me life, because of His sacrifice for me, through His devotion to me, through all He has done during my meager life that has protected me and kept me from harm, both physical and spiritual. God is worthy of my worship, my devotion, and more than anything, my love. He is worthy and deserving of everyone’s love.

However, I am not. That’s why I am confessing to you that I don’t “buy it” when a stranger, or even someone I worship with regularly and would call a friend or acquaintance, comes to me at the worship and says, “I love you, Brother!” I don’t doubt their sincerity, but I doubt they really love me. Not me. Maybe the spirit of God that they expect I should be housing? I could go along with that. But not me. They don’t know me. They haven’t seen me at my worst. They haven’t  heard the words I use when I am angry and frustrated (for me, those two emotions are so close together they are almost like Siamese Twins.) They haven’t heard my vengeful talk when I am wronged; I don’t take vengeance- that is for the Lord. But, I do plan it out for Him, now and then. They haven’t seen my evil twin, Skippy, at work when he locks me in the basement and takes over for me in real life, going to work and impersonating me. He angers the clients, makes trouble for the co-workers, he even gets my wife angry at him. It takes a lot to get Skippy to leave town; fortunately, he doesn’t get along with the Ruach HaKodesh so the closer I get to God the less often Skippy comes around.

But if you met Skippy, you certainly wouldn’t say to him, “I love you , Brother!” You would probably say something more like, “Oh Brother!”

I don’t tell people whom I don’t really know that I love them. I am not much of a hugger, either. I find it very impolite when someone hugs another person without asking permission. It isn’t their love for me that makes them want to hug me- it is their own desire to feel loved. They physically misuse my body, they assault me, in order to feel that they are loved. And if I should say, “I’m not really a hugger” their response more often than not is, “Well, I am.” and they proceed to violate my space, my body and my rights by hugging me. And if I should complain, guess who’s at fault? That’s right- they blame me for not loving as the Lord loves. They insult God’s love and cheapen what Yeshua did by ( as the psychologists call it) “projecting” their feelings at me instead of reflecting on what I said.

{By the way, to those who know me and those who worship with me, if you are thinking you should keep your distance don’t worry- I do hug people I feel comfortable with, and if you offer and I reply with a hug, it’s OK. If I should stick my hand out, that’s the signal that I am not comfortable enough yet. It’s not a rejection, it’s just caution on my part. Don’t stop asking, and please do not be upset or feel rejected if it isn’t time yet. It will be, eventually.}

You love me? Really? I don’t think so. I don’t think humans have that kind of love. Again, I don’t doubt your sincerity, and I appreciate your attempt  to be more like God, but love for others is worth a lot to me, and I don’t just throw it at the feet of anyone who says they are a child of God. It is like throwing pearls before swine, in my book. I pretty much start of with giving everyone the benefit of the doubt when I first meet them, or start to work with them, and I assume (and expect) they will be professional, dependable and trustworthy. I trust them and am looking forward to working with them, or knowing them as friends, whatever the relationship is supposed to be. It is up to them to give me cause to feel otherwise.

But it’s not like that with love. Love is something that the Bible teaches us we should have for each other. Love thy neighbor as thyself- Leviticus 19:18 (for those who don’t know this, when Yeshua gave us the “Golden Rule” He was quoting from Torah. There is nothing ‘New” in the New Covenant)- is the standard for all of us. Yeshua said the two most important commandments (in this order, by the way) are to love God, and love each other. He told His disciples that the way people will know they are His disciples is if they love each other. There is nothing but love in the life of a true Believer, a real worshipper of God. Shaul tells us, ultimately, no matter how many gifts he has been given, no matter how many talents he has, no matter how hard he works for the Lord, if he has not love, he has nothing.

I guess I am just a step or two above nothing. I have love, but I am selfish with it. I am too ensnared in the world, still, to separate the romantic version of love from the holy love that God feels for us. And, I am sorry to say, I don’t think I am that much different from most everyone else.  I believe that people cannot love the way God loves, but I do honor their attempt. That’s why when someone says they love me, I don’t argue with them. I may thank them, I most likely won’t say anything, and I guarantee I won’t say that I love them, too. I don’t know them that well, I am not that Godly, and I am certainly not that open with my feelings.

I hope you are different. I hope that some of you reading this will pity my weakness, my fleshly curse that prevents me from feeling love the way God does and keeps me chained to the emotional, romantic understanding of love that is a bane, in many ways, of humanity. Pray for me, if you will, and pray for yourself that you are really feeling the intercessory power that comes from truly loving as God does- not romantically, not selfishly, not humanly.

I doubt that I will ever feel that way, at least, not in this body. I do believe that once resurrected, I will be beyond the human level of emotions; I believe that we will all, those of us resurrected to the second life, no longer have emotional feelings as we do now. Our sense of love and emotional closeness to each other will be beyond the physical and it will be as God feels- love that is so powerful, so much a part of us that it is like breath, and as such we will be in total joy just being with each other.

I can hardly wait.

Where’s the Love?

Leave a comment

I read in Dear Abby this morning how a teenage girl felt she didn’t fit in, and asked Abby for a booklet she wrote about how to be liked by others. I remember that Andrew Carnegie, the great Steel King, wrote a book about how to win friends and influence people. In fact, there are many self-help books, and people on the lecture circuit, telling those who feel they are unappreciated, feeling that no one likes them, or generally feeling unloved how to find  the love they are missing.

People want to be liked. We are a social animal, traveling in packs, seeking others who are like we are. Yet, the divorce rate is almost as high as the marriage rate, children are killing children, and the news is full of nothing but murder, rape, and deceit.

Why? Well, yes- it’s a cursed world (follow my ministry blog and you will hear me say that a lot!) and we are all sinful sinners (also heard from me often), so it all makes sense, doesn’t it? That we should have so much tsouris in the world, right?

Yes. That’s right. But it isn’t just because there are so many people who feel unloved. The real problem is not about our feeling unloved or disliked, it’s that we are looking to the wrong source of love. Like the song says, we are looking for love in all the wrong places and looking for love from all the wrong faces. The Manual tells us what to do: we should be looking to the one, true source of the only love that counts, the only love that lasts, and the only love that is truly trustworthy, and that is God’s love for us. His love is absolute and faithful; His love is what keeps us going; His love is going to shape us and strengthen us to overcome the evils in the world; His love is what saves us from destruction on an Eternal level.

His love is perfect, and the only love we don’t need to look for because He has it for every, single person that has ever been born, is living today, and will be born in this world until the end of time as we know it.

WOW! What a statement! You won’t find any human love that can match that.

Now, with that being said, don’t think that I am saying we don’t need the love of each other, or that it is not necessary or correct to seek out human love. It is absolutely necessary and normal; in fact, God commands us to love each other. If you feel unloved, Abby and Andy and most everyone else has the correct cure for that- to be loved, you need to love. That’s really all there is to it- love isn’t something we are entitled to. It’s not owed to you. Love is not something that you deserve to be given, it is something that must be returned. Think of it as an emotional rebate- you give enough of it and you will get some back.

That’s another thing about love that we all need to understand- it isn’t an “Even Steven” sort of thing. You should give love without expecting anything back.  Unrequited love is the stuff sad stories are made of, the “Love Triangle” where everyone loves someone, but no one is loved by the one they want to be loved by. It is historically the meat of romance writers, a never-ending human tragedy, but not to me. What I get from God’s word is that we should love others as ourselves, not that we should love others to be loved. It is, to me, something I should give without expecting or demanding back. It is like when Yeshua says if someone wants your cloak, give them your shirt, as well. And if someone asks you to carry their pack for a mile, carry it for two. And if someone asks you to lend them something they need, give it to them, instead.

Humans do things altruistically, with the selfish intent of getting it back. It’s all about “Now you owe me one” instead of what God wants us to do, which is to give freely (the Manual tells us that God loves a cheerful giver.) God provides us blessings so that we can share them with others.

“Whoa! Hold up a minute here…if God can bless me, why do I have to share it? Why can’t God bless the ones that need it?” I have an answer for that- it’s to allow you to be able to do God’s work. It’s all about giving us a chance to be more like Him. The more God blesses us with finances or talents, the more we should share those gifts with others, which is exactly what God did for us. We are constantly told throughout the Tanakh that we are to be holy, for He is holy. One way we can do that is to share the blessings we have with those that do not have as many blessings. Yeshua said we will always have the poor- perhaps that’s so that we who have more can be able to share it with those that have less. Perhaps the poor are here for our benefit- to allow us to glorify God by sharing what He has provided to us with others. Think about that.

I tell my wife, who I love with all my heart and who makes my life complete, that she is the most important thing in the world to me, but second to God overall. God is not of the world, and He, alone, is the most important thing there is. I also add that finishing a close second to the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Creator of the Universe and Lord God Almighty, is not too bad a place to be.

When you give a gift at a party or wedding, don’t expect one back. If you ask people to come to your party or house, or any event you host, don’t do so expecting they will invite you to their next affair. And if you have anything that you consider to be valuable, share it. If it’s of importance to you, it should be shared, joyfully and without expectation of recompense,  so that you can allow God’s gifts to you to be a blessing to others. That’s what it is all about- giving without expecting back. That is what God gave to us- He took off the robes of Majesty and wrapped Himself in rags of humanity, He suffered ills and sicknesses (see Isaiah) and allowed Himself to be ridiculed, beaten, nailed to a tree and to die a slow, painful death. Why? To get an award? To be honored at a banquet? Of course not! He did it because He loves us and wanted to give us what He has- Eternal life and joy.  And He did that knowing that  most everyone alive, then and for all time, would reject Him and hate Him. Yeshua said there is no greater love than that one gives his life for a friend. You probably won’t have to go that far during your lifetime, and in comparison, to give food, money, help, clothing, or even just compassion…whatever someone needs to make them feel loved and appreciated… is not so much, is it? Besides, that is what we are commanded to do.

You want to be liked? You want to be loved? Good- there’s nothing wrong with that.  Just make sure you go about it the right way, which is to love others, to treat them as you want to be treated, and to do so without ever wanting or expecting anything back. Give in secret, help without bringing attention to yourself; your Father in heaven will see, and you will be greatly loved.

The answer to the question, “Where’s the love?” is that it’s with God, and he placed it inside you. You got it from God when you were still in the womb, and He wants you to give it to everyone else, happily, without expectation. When you give love, you will get love.

 

Are You Saved Because You’re Selfish?

Leave a comment

Huh? What you talkin’ about?  I’m saved by the promise of the Almighty. Yeshua died for me. I called on the name of the Lord and He saved me. God loves me.

Yadda-yadda-yadda.

Oh, yes, it is true that Yeshua died so we could be saved, that God is forgiving and loves us, that all who call on His name will be saved, and all that other stuff that makes us feel warm and cozy inside.

But are you saved because you love the Lord or because the Lord loves you? That’s the question we need to ask ourselves. Too often I hear people that are talking about salvation and how God loves everyone. It’s all about how God loves them. But here’s what I think, and maybe it’s just me, but I think we should love the Lord because of who He is and not because of what He does for us.

God deserves our love. God is worthy of our devotion, obedience and worship. He does love us, but does He really love us as we are? For what we are? I don’t think it’s quite as “rosy” as all that; after all, he does require us to obey Him. And I don’t think anyone will argue that when God commands us to “be holy for I am holy” that He is asking us to change.

That’s right- let it sink in. God loves us as we are and for who we are, but He wants us to be different if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. C’mon, get real- we are sinners. Throughout the Manual we are told that everyone is a sinner, and that God is holy, so if we want to be with God, and God is holy, we need to be holy. Right? God can’t abide sin, so we need to be sinless to be with Him.

When Yeshua died for us His death atoned for our sin. That is how we get to be with God, but it’s not a ticket to continue sinning. We still have to die to self, to allow the Ruach to guide us, to be different than we were before we were “saved.”

I hear people talking and preaching and ministering to others, talking all about how God loves you and forgives you. What they are selling is Dr. Feelgood; snake-oil salespeople getting people to accept the Messiah as their personal Saviour only because of how He loves us. It’s all about me, me, me and how much I need to be loved and forgiven for who I am and what I do. Me…me…me!

I think this is wrong because it doesn’t allow people desperately looking for someone to love them to realize what their commitment really means. It all sounds so nice, especially to people who have a sense of loneliness and just want to feel loved. I know people who are loved but they are such a pain the the tuchas they reject the love people give them and ostracize themselves. Then they kvetch about how no one cares about them, but when we do call or show we care they only complain and carp about their lives. They are totally self-centered. These are the types that are ripe for the picking when it comes to telling them about how Jesus loves them and they can be saved and be in heaven, etc.

This is not what Yeshua said. In Matthew He says that anyone who wants to follow Him must reject parents and family, they won’t have a place to sleep or a home, and they must pick up their execution stake and follow HIm. He says he is a wedge between mother and daughter, father and son, and that the world will hate those who follow Him.

Doesn’t sound much like a good time, party-hearty atmosphere, does it?

I think of the parable of the sower of seed. Those people who are ministered to and proselytized on the basis that God loves them, no matter what, are the people who hear the Word and accept it but are shallow soil. Why? Because they are accepting salvation for selfish reasons. Their interest isn’t in doing what God wants because He is worthy of our worship and obedience, but only for what God can do for them.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am VERY grateful for God’s forgiveness, and it is a good feeling to know He loves me and that Yeshua did what He did for me. But I am saved because I want to have a relationship with God, I want to fill the emptiness I have felt my whole life not knowing who He is. It’s all about Him, and very little to do with me. That’s the kind of soil where roots grow deep because we are centered on what God is, what God deserves, and I worship Him because He is worthy of my worship.

I don’t want to sound holier than thou. I accepted Yeshua because, as Shaul says, I was jealous. I knew Christian’s who had a peace and joy that God gave them and I wanted in. I did want what salvation offered for selfish reasons, too. But that wasn’t all of it, and it shouldn’t be. As I have matured, spiritually (anyone who knows me can vouch that the only maturity I have is spiritual) I have come to realize that we need to be different, that although God loves us He wants us to be better. And salvation depends not just on asking, but on our doing, too. That’s right- it’s a free gift but it’s like having muscles: if you don’t use them,they atrophy and die. Our salvation is meant to be used to bring others into the Kingdom, to be fishers of men, to be a lamp, a light and to spread the Word by showing people how much God has changed us.

When we read of Yeshua’s ministry, how many times did He preach “God loves you?” It certainly was evident in the way He talked, but didn’t He really preach repent? Didn’t He make it difficult? Didn’t He warn us (by means of how He warned His Talmudim) about how difficult it was going to be  following Him? I don’t recall from the Gospels Yeshua droning on and on about God’s love and forgiveness and how happy you will be and how wonderful that you will get to be in heaven. Yeah, He made mention of it, sure. But it wasn’t what He really stressed, was it?

I want people to know the peace and joy that comes from His indwelling Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit of God. It has calmed me and helped me through rough times. I know God loves me and wants me to be saved; He says it over and over throughout the Bible. I would rather be with God than anywhere else,especially throughout Eternity. And because this is so important, I want everyone to know how difficult it is to be godly in a cursed world. I don’t want to “sucker them in” with promises of a rose garden for them to find out it’s really more like a brier patch. It’s tough being holy, it goes against our nature. And if all someone is told about is how wonderful they are, how God loves them, and only how about good they can feel knowing that the Almighty, the Creator of the Universe, the Lord, God, the Big Guy Himself, is only interested in making them feel loved, well…they will fall. They are accepting salvation on a premise that God is here for them, and the truth is we are here for God. If you really mean it when you say it is all about God, then you understand why I am so concerned about not pushing just love, love, love but making sure I tell people that it is tough, tough,tough out there when you accept salvation because you have to be different, you have to change. God loves you but He wants you to be different than you are now.

God is our Father in heaven, He is also our Judge, Jury and Executioner; He is Love, and He is justice and vengeance. When people accept His gift of Grace, it shouldn’t be only because of what God is doing for them. That won’t cut it when the going gets tough. Yeshua told the truth. He didn’t preach how wonderful it would be for everyone, He preached how everyone should be so it can be wonderful. We need to follow Yeshua’s example and preach the truth, both the wonderful and the not-so-wonderful aspects of salvation. We need to be tough and make sure people know what they are in for.

General “Chesty” Puller, a Commandant of the Marine Corps, and 5-time Medal of Honor winner, used to say that the more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war. This is war we are in, spiritual war, yes, but war all the same. We need to make soldiers for God and we can’t do that with people who are in it just to be “Hollywood Marines” (that’s a name we gave people who joined the Marine Corps just to look cool in the uniform.) We need to tell about more than just how God loves us because people who are “saved” so that they can feel loved are not going to last, and if we do that to them, if we tell them only the good and don’t prepare them for the worst, we are doing them an injustice and trampling the blood of Messiah into the dust.

I love the Lord because He is deserving of it. Not just for what He has done for me, but because He is deserving of it! If He never gave me a blessing, never did a single nice thing for me, He is still worthy and deserving of my love and obedience because of who He is.

And because of who He is, He does do nice things for me. He showers me with blessings I don’t deserve, and I am eternally grateful. Be grateful, be happy in the knowledge that you are loved, and that the Almighty wants you to be with Him. But don’t forget that we need to steel ourselves for battle, to put on the armor of God, and to focus on what we can do for His glory.

If it isn’t all about Him, it isn’t going to last.