Tag: salvation

Parashah Chaazinu (Hear), Deuteronomy 32

Leave a comment

This chapter of the Torah is known as “The Song of Moses”, which is really the second song of Moses, since he also sang of God’s great triumph after the people crossed the Sea of Suf (Red Sea.)

Moses also gave us Psalm 90.

The Torah is called the Mosaic Law, but it really was given to Moses by God; Moses just wrote it down and taught it to the people. This song, I believe we can safely say, was also given by God to Moses to write down because we read in the previous parashah where God tells Moses to “write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel” (Deut. 31:19.) It seems pretty clear that God gave the song to Moses since He said to write this song: if God had wanted Moses to write a song He would have said, ” write a song”, or “make a song” for them to remember, or something to that effect. However, God said to write this song, implying that the song was already known to God and that Moses was to take dictation.

In any event, the song is supposed to be a conviction of the people- they are to remember it so that when they stray from God and He brings upon them the destruction and Tsouris that they have (really) brought upon themselves, this song will be a testimony for God- a reminder that the people were warned years, even centuries before about the cost of rebellion against their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their Rock, their Redeemer, their Salvation. That was the purpose of the song.

How sad that we have forgotten this song, how sad that today we are no different than the people at that time- we do wrong, and we blame everyone else for it. When troubles come upon us we don’t accept the fault but instead find someone else to blame. “Yes, I did wrong but it’s not my fault- it was because (whatever)”; we are all victims, and if we can throw the stench of our own sin on others, it makes them smell as bad as we do, so by comparison we are less guilty. I killed, I committed adultery, I gossiped, BUT they asked me, he made me mad, s/he seduced me. There’s always an excuse.

The difference between people who are godly, trustworthy and respected is that they take accountability for their mistakes. The rest of the world (maybe I should say the majority of the world) is more interested in spreading the blame than accepting it.

This song is to be a conviction against the children of God. Not just the Jewish children, but all His children- the Catholic ones, the Baptist ones, the Buddhist ones, the Islamic ones, ….ALL God’s children, for we are all His children. And like sheep, we have been led astray (by religion) because it is easy to do so. We seek only our own hedonistic desires, and only when we are devoid of help, of hope, of guidance and all the other things we think we can find on our own or from others, only then do we (finally) turn to God.

Or we curse God.

That’s how we roll, as a people- we either turn to God recognizing that our punishment is just and deserved, and ask forgiveness, or we continue, even at the very gates of Sheol, to reject God and His justice and insist that we are innocent.

If you are a God-fearing person, if you readily accept your own sinfulness and have asked God for forgiveness through Messiah Yeshua, and if you demonstrate daily your true T’shuvah, then this song isn’t for you. This song is for the ones who reject God, who ignore or despise His laws, and who say they are OK. This song is for those who think God should do and accept what they want Him to do and accept, that certain sins are not sins (because that’s how they want to live) and that all foods are OK, and it’s not a sin to have sex out of wedlock, and divorce is normal.

Funny- Mosaic law is almost universally ignored, and many Christian religions say Torah was done away with by Yeshua (a total lie!) Yet when it comes to divorce, they ignore Yeshua’s admonition that divorce is hateful to God (Matthew 19 and Mark 10, for example) and eagerly accept the Mosaic law that a man can give his wife a Get (divorce decree) pretty much for no other reason than she displeases him (Deuteronomy 24:1.)  Isn’t that what happens today? The divorce rate is nearly 40% within the first 15 years. God said that they become one flesh, and Yeshua said the only justification for divorce is adultery. Shaul (Paul) said in an unevenly yoked marriage if the unsaved partner wants to divorce, that is an acceptable reason. But other than adultery or unevenly yoked marriage (only where the unsaved wants a divorce), marriage lasts as long as you both are alive. And, for the record, biblically acceptable marriage is for men to women, and women to men.

This song is for those who need it most, and probably will care the least about it.

That’s the sad truth of salvation: it is readily available for anyone who asks for it, and those that need it most are the least likely to want it.

Parashah Nitzavim (You are Standing) Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30

Leave a comment

Moshe is continuing his Third Discourse and telling the people there, both native born and those who are also members of the community, that they are not the only ones standing before the Lord that day to renew their covenant. He says that this covenant will be to them and to their descendants. He warns them about becoming self-righteous and turning away from God when they have been satisfied and blessed, and turning to other gods. He tells them that apostasy and rebellion will result in they’re being ejected from the land, but (as follows most promises of punishment) he also says that once they return wholeheartedly to the Lord, God will regather them and then punish the nations that had hated them.

When I read 29:28 I was reminded about God’s magnificence and His awesomeness. That verse says, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

What are the “secret things” that Moshe talks about? The Chumash says they are the secret things of the sin and that what is revealed to us is the judgement for that sin.

I wouldn’t argue with that, but I think it can mean something else.

My Aunt is dying; I found out last night she is (essentially) brain dead from an accidental fall and either tonight or tomorrow we will be flying to New Jersey to attend her funeral. She has attended a Conservative Synagogue that has done some things I would say are more designed to be politically correct than keeping to God’s word, and whether or not she knew her Messiah I am not sure. I had talked with her about it often when we were together (she read my book) and her mind was open to hearing about Yeshua, but as far as I know she never confessed her belief in Yeshua. Her feelings and beliefs about Yeshua and God, for that matter, were secrets that only God knew.

I think that is what Moses is talking to us about. God knows the secrets of our hearts, most likely better than we do (in fact, I am sure of that) and He alone will know whether or not someone is saved. We can’t know that, but we can see what is revealed.

The lesson I have learned is that what is revealed is not always the truth. Look at some of the TV Evangelists in the last decade or so- PTL  founder Jim Bakker was a crook; do you remember Jimmy Swaggart crying on television about his affairs with prostitutes? And the Catholic church problems with sexual molestation. And there was a Rabbi in New Jersey years ago that murdered his wife to continue an affair he had been having. Until these secret sins had been revealed, what we saw was righteousness and people to respect and admire. What had been revealed to us were two different truths, so which was really true?

Both were true, in a sense, because what we saw that was good was good, and later what we saw that was bad was bad. While the “good” was being revealed God kept the secret “bad” to Himself, and did so until He felt it was time to reveal it. That means that what may seem “bad” to us might have some secret “good’ still not revealed. Some secrets He has revealed, others He has not. We will never know what is true and what is not with regards to people, whether that be what they say, what they do, whatever (remember what I always say: people don’t mean what they say, they mean what they do.) We have to accept what we see, and trust in God that what we do not see is known to Him and will be revealed, in His perfect time.

This doesn’t mean don’t believe anything you see or hear (but you probably shouldn’t.) I am saying, or trying to say, that we need to trust God for everything, and to also trust ourselves when we call on the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit, to give us insight. The secret things are known to God, and His spirit can reveal these things to us; things that our human senses and human eyes cannot see. Always test for yourself what you are told.

Reading God’s word lets us know what is right and what is wrong, and trusting the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us will help us to see what is not revealed to others.

We can never know the inner secrets of someone’s heart; I think most people don’t even know their own heart. God does. And we should trust Him that whatever the truth is, He will know it, and it will be revealed when, and if, it needs to be.

The final lesson I have today is at the end of this parashah, which (I think) fits in with the above: the last verse of Chapter 30 is Moses telling the people that he is presenting to everyone life and death, the blessings and the curses, and for the people to choose life (obedience) so they may live long in the land God swore to the Patriarchs. The choice is ours to make; we can’t always know why some people choose to obey and why others choose to rebel, and we don’t know what is truly in the hearts of anyone. I have seen people who do not consider themselves Christian/Born Again act in ways that are more godly and Torah-observant than professed Christians. Are these people saved? I don’t know, but God does. God knows the secret things, and we should choose to obey God and not concern ourselves with trying to seek out those secrets He has kept to Himself. If they need to be revealed, He will when He is good and ready to do so.

When we lose loved ones, do not fret over their eternal fate, because you cannot be sure what it is and it is too late to do anything about it. Everyone has the right to choose, and they have had plenty of opportunity during their life to do so. Yes, I get sad thinking about all the loved ones I have already lost that I am pretty sure did not choose life, and I worry for the ones that are still alive who haven’t made their commitment to God and accepted Yeshua as their Messiah, the one God promised, and done so of their own accord. So many people I care about that have been raised a Gentile and told about Jesus, and told so many lies about salvation and Torah, and who don’t know the word of God at all, but believe (from what they have been told their whole life) that they are saved when they never really asked for it, themselves. Are they really saved?

I can’t say- it’s one of those secret things. What I choose to believe is that, based on what I read in the Bible, we have until our very last breath, until that final blip before the flat line on the machine, to accept God, Yeshua, and be saved. Do we get that one, last chance? Does God reveal Himself to the comatose, to the ones who have no responses to this world, and give them that one last opportunity to choose life?

I like to think He does, but that is one of those secret things that only God knows, and it won’t be revealed to us until we are with the Lord. So don’t drive yourself crazy thinking about it, trust in God, and concentrate on your walk with Him.

Bruck’s 3 Rules of Prayer

Leave a comment

Everyone has rules, and I have my own rules for prayer.

Rule #1: God always hears your prayers.

There are places in the Bible where God says He will not hear us. For instance:

1 Samuel 8:18 (And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. KJV);

Isaiah 1:15 (When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. NIV);

Jeremiah 7:16 (So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. NIV)

But does this mean God doesn’t hear your prayers? I don’t think that is what He means- He always hears us, He is just not listening, as in paying attention.

He always hears us, but when we have rejected Him and have sinned so often and so purposefully that we have thrown a wedge between us and God, He will have no option but to ignore our pleas. Think of it this way- we are calling to Him, He hears us but holds up His mighty right arm to our face and says, “Speaketh thou to the hand!”

God always, always, always hears our prayers, but how he acts is His choice. Which brings us to the second rule.

Rule #2: God always answers your prayers.

And sometimes that answer is, “No.”  As above, God hears you, alright, but decides to answer with silence. Or maybe He will just say, “Nope! Ain’t gonna happen.” And at other times His answer will be “You got it, babe!” and that answer will be wonderful, confirming, and blissfully full of blessings. Or it may be something totally unexpected, which leads to the last rule of prayer.

Rule #3: The answer usually isn’t what you expect or when you expect it, but it will always be just what you need and just when you need it.

God knows what we need better than we do, better than we can, and better than we ever will. And because He is a loving and compassionate Father, Judge and Savior , He will provide not what we want (which is usually not good for us) but what we need. And whereas our timing is usually lousy, God’s timing is always perfect because He knows what will happen and when it will happen, so He can make things occur just when they should. We won’t always get what we want, and we rarely will get it when we want it, but we will have a much better batting average if we learn to pray more in line with God’s plan for us. Look at the prayers of Abraham, Moshe, the Prophets, Yeshua’s prayers and those of His Disciples: their prayers were answered not only when they were asked, but often exactly as they requested. That’s because they were praying for something that was within God’s plan. And yet, there were other prayers which were not answered as requested. Take Shaul as an example, in 2nd Corinthians 12:7:

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Here is one good reason for us to expect God to decide what He will answer and when: God, and God alone, knows the best time to do something and the best time not to do anything, because it is all about Him. Shaul’s prayer was for himself, but God turned it into something that gave the glory where it belonged- to God.

God always hears, God always answers, and the answer is rarely what you expect or when you expect it. But it is always perfectly suited to help you and to glorify God. So, keep praying. Just because you don’t get the answer you want or expect doesn’t mean He didn’t answer you. It may be ,”Yes, but not yet”; it may be, “No. Now stop bothering me.”; and it may be, “As you request, it shall be done.”  And when we pray in Yeshua’s name we will receive what we ask for, SO LONG AS what we ask for is in God’s will and glorifies God. If you pray in Yeshua’s name to win the lottery, don’t be disappointed if you don’t, and don’t blame God. Winning the lottery isn’t what God is about. However, if you pray for salvation for yourself or someone else, God will listen, and He will answer.

I pray every day for the salvation and reconciliation of my children with God, and Donna and I, and that we will be a family centered on God. I know that God will answer my prayer by giving my children every possible opportunity to come to Him, but in the end, it is their choice. God will not force someone to ask for salvation. I pray in Yeshua’s name for the salvation of my wife and children, but they have to choose it. God will answer me, I faithfully trust that He will send angels of mercy to them, that He will make sure they have every opportunity to recognize Him, His work in their lives, and that He will protect them from evil, both physical and spiritual. And I know that He hears and He is answering this very moment, but since they have to choose, if they never come to salvation it is not because God didn’t hear and answer my prayer.

Make your prayers “God-worthy” by keeping them in line with God’s plan for you, as best as you understand what it is. And keep praying- you never know what the answer may be or when the answer will come, but if you pay as close attention to what God is doing in your life as you want Him to pay attention to your prayer, I believe that you will, eventually, see the answer.

Whatever it is.

Being Correct Doesn’t Make You Right

Leave a comment

One of the nicest slaps in the face I ever received was from Jim McGovern, one of the better bosses I have been blessed to work for. He told me that what I say to people is usually right, but I say it the wrong way.

That’s an important lesson for all of us.

I read this morning in Dear Abby about a woman whose uncle is (apparently) a person who believes in the Bible and what it says. However, at a gay marriage he was invited to (and he went?) he screamed out while the men were walking down the aisle that his bible says Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. He has also been very vocal (and impolite) at other occasions. She went on to say he was divorced three times already and on his 4th marriage, and by now I understood this person, and the way he was expressing biblical truths, was not using God’s word to honor God; in fact, he was dishonoring God by his actions.

Being a God-fearing, Bible-loving Believer is great! But ramming it down someone else’s throat doesn’t bring any glory or honor to God. Just the opposite- it dishonors Him, and will drive people away from the Lord instead of bringing them to Him. We need to show the word of God in the proper light- by being a living example of the love, compassion and forgiveness that God showed to us, and that Yeshua showed, as well.

I don’t believe that homosexuality is a correct way to be- it is a sin. So is lying, so is adultery, so is stealing, so is murder, so is gossip. To God, sin = sin. There is no sin>sin or sin<sin: sin=sin=sin. It is all the same to God, any one sin is just as bad as many sins, and it only takes one sin to separate us from the Lord.

By God’s grace and love, every sin is forgivable. Through Yeshua’s sacrifice, every one of us can be forgiven, and saved eternally from ourselves.

I have dear family members, on my side and Donna’s, that are gay. I love them, I visit them and love it when they visit me. I don’t ram down their throats what I think because I am just as much as sinner as they are- we are all in the same boat, we are all sinners, we are all in need of the salvation of God available through Yeshua ha Mashiach.

We should be allowed to voice our opinions but we need to respect the rights of others to make their own choices in life. We will all be before the Lord, sooner or later, and He is the final judge. God, and God alone, is the ultimate, final and only fair and just judge that is, was, or ever will be. And that is because He can see the heart, whereas we humans can barely see the nose on our face.

Hate the sin and love the sinner- we say it, we hear it, but do you live it? If you are the one who says what is right but says it the wrong way, the bottom line is that you are wrong. I am one who knows- I am the rightest wrong person you will ever meet. I am an old pro at being right the wrong way, and when you drive people away or hurt their feelings saying the right things, you are wrong.

Why? Because when you plant a seed you need to sow it gently. By shoving the truth down someone’s throat you are sowing seed then stomping on it, then kicking it, then stomping on it again.

Ain’t gonna get no harvest that way!

People don’t mean what they say, they mean what they do– the man described above may say he believes in the bible, but what he does says he is just a self-righteous, judgmental person who is using God’s word as his excuse to berate others and voice his own opinion. He isn’t giving honor or glory to God, he is only proving he is a “holier-than-thou” you-know-what.

If we are really God-fearing, and we really believe in the bible, and we really want to show others the truth and love of God, and we really want to bring others to salvation, we really won’t do it by preaching how wrong they are and insulting them. That won’t win people over to God because when you insult people all you do is force them to become defensive. Besides that, another truism I have learned from being in sales is that people only believe half of what you say, but 100% of what they say, so no matter what you say or how correctly you say it, they still won’t really believe you. They will, however, notice how you live, how you act towards them, and how you treat others.

If you want to win people over to God, don’t tell then how they should act: show them.

SWISH

Leave a comment

How many times do we find ourselves looking back at a situation and thinking, “Why did I get so upset?” I know I do, and then I add to that, “And what was I thinking (or not thinking) when I said/wrote that?”

It’s funny how we always blow everything up from manageable to unmanageable. You know what I mean? We get to a new job, we settle in a little and see everyone running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and we think to ourselves, “What’s the big deal? This isn’t so bad.” Then, a few months later, once we are fully settled in and as emotionally invested (so to speak) as everyone else, we are the ones running around and the new guy is thinking to himself, “What’s all the hubbub about? This isn’t so bad.”

Give it a few months, buddy, just give it a few months.

By now you are thinking, “Yeah, I know what you mean, but what the heck does that have to do with SWISH?”

I’m glad you asked.

So What, I‘m Saved…Hallelujah! That’s what SWISH is- keeping things in control, not going crazy, or getting upset, or allowing our self-absorbed ego’s to make us so frustrated that we say or do things we shouldn’t. SWISH is how we say, “Stand at ease!!” to ourselves.

The server is down and the clients are screaming they can’t work…SWISH.

I’m late and the car won’t start…SWISH.

My kids are driving me crazy and I need to get all this housework done, with no one helping me…SWISH

I’m broke, the bills are piling up and my marriage is falling apart…SWISH  (if you can SWISH with all that going on, you are a pro at it.)

This is hard to do, but we can all get there if we try hard enough and pray often enough.

SWISH isn’t to be used in a negative way, meaning we shouldn’t be apathetic, unconcerned or uncooperative. It is a way for us to be able to go through what is happening now without having to experience the emotional upheaval we feel at this moment (check out this post: https://messianicmoment.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/see-today-through-tomorrows-eyes/). It’s a way to keep things in perspective, to maintain control of ourselves and our feelings, and to demonstrate what it really means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, by keeping our heads on when everyone else is running around with their heads, well, somewhere other than between their shoulders.

It’s really easy to understand, but intensely hard to do. It takes practice (believe me, I am a novice at this myself) and dedication. And it takes more than human dedication- it takes a divine dedication, like when we first were imbued with His spirit, like when we came to salvation, like the first moment we felt His presence. Doesn’t it make you feel relaxed and joyful just thinking about that moment?

That’s SWISH. When you find yourself in the middle of “This is all wrong” or “All this bad stuff is happening” and you are thinking, “The world is falling in all around me: even Job had it better than I do!” When you get there (and we all do, sooner or later) just think for a second how it will all seem so insignificant when you are in your resurrected body, living in the New Creation and constantly in the presence of God. Imagine how silly you will think you acted when you look back at this very moment and remember what it was like to be human, as you sit in judgement over the Nations.

Have you experienced the overwhelming joy and total relaxation of  being held in the arms of the Lord of lords and King of kings?

Can you remember that feeling? Can you feel it? Right now?

That, my friends, is what SWISH is all about.

Parashah Ekev (follow) Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25

Leave a comment

Most of D’Varim (Deuteronomy) is a discourse from Moses reminding the children of Israel all that has happened to them over the past forty years, reminding them of God’s commandments and encouraging them to obey God after they have gone into the land and conquered it.

This parashah starts with Moses continuing his discourse on the history of their journey. He reminds them of the wonderful ways God has protected and fed them, and also of the horrible ways they have rejected God and tested Him. Moses goes back and forth from what God has done, what He will do to help, and how He has kept His part of the covenant, then about how they have, for their part, broken the covenant because they refused to obey and what will happen to them if they continue to refuse.

He tells them they are to go in and take over the land, destroying all the pagan items and peoples, and that even though the people there are stronger and mightier than they are, God will go before them and battle for them.

Moses warns the people that they shouldn’t become complacent when God has done all these wonderful things, and begin to think that they deserved any of it. He is quite adamant that they don’t, and they better not forget that. They are getting the best not because they deserve it, but because God loved their ancestors, who did deserve it. They don’t. He wants them to continually be humble before the Lord- as should we all.

I  like how Moses tells them in chapter 10, verses 12-13 that all God requires is for the people to fear God, walk in His ways, love and serve Him. Sound familiar? Read Micah 6:8.

The message here for all of us is that we need to remember that God will do for us all that we could ever want, and when we walk in trusting faithfulness, He will be there, in front of us, protecting us and forging a path for us so we can complete the trip. He will smooth the path, place hedges on the right and the left to keep us straight, and destroy the enemies blocking our way. And if we fall, He will pick us up. If needs be, He may even carry us for a way. However, He won’t carry us all the way; there may be a smooth path but there will be hills to overcome and valleys to pass through. It won’t be easy, it won’t always be fun, but we must keep going.

That’s really the whole story, isn’t it? From beginning to end, the basic A-B-C’s of salvation are:

A– Accept your own sinfulness and need for God, Accept the rule of God, and Accept His Messiah;

B– Be obedient, Be dedicated, Be an example of God’s wonder and goodness;

C- Continue to work at being more of what God wants you to be so you can Complete the journey.

That’s all there is to Salvation: it’s easy to attain, it’s hard to keep, but it’s well worth having.

Why They Just Refuse to Believe

Leave a comment

I’m no psychiatrist (although my going to one has been suggested) but I think I know, from personal experience, why so many people just refuse to accept the truth about salvation.

I think it’s from fear of loss. And what they fear losing is their freedom to sin.

No one will say that they want to sin. Well, maybe there are some who will admit it, but most people won’t say they want to sin, and being “saved” means they can’t, so they would rather reject God.

But I think that’s the real reason why they reject God.

I know when I was rejecting (and ridiculing) God and all who accepted Him and the truth that Yeshua is the Messiah He promised, I was afraid of having to become “holy”, meaning that I couldn’t joke around, drink, have sex without marriage, make dirty jokes, curse a blue streak when angry, etc. And yet, when I thought about it, I realized that these things aren’t the best parts of my humanity, but I still didn’t want to be ‘transformed’ into the image of Messiah.

Also, as a Jew, I was told that this Jesus guy was a Jew who started a new religion, and history can support the teaching I received, which was that Christianity hates Jews. I  will talk about why Jews reject Jesus in my Monday, 8/3 blog.

Yet, deep down, I did want to change. I didn’t like the cynical comments I made all the time, I didn’t like it when I hurt people (although I blamed them for being hurt) and I didn’t like embarrassing myself. I didn’t like some things about me and I did like other things about me, but being a “saved again Believer” seemed to require giving up everything.

Man, oh Manischevitz, am I glad I was wrong! I finally got sick and tired of not making a choice and when I did I found out that what I really wanted was to have God’s spirit in me to help me get rid of the dreck and improve what was left. I didn’t become a different me, just a better me. There is still plenty of “wrong” stuff to work on so that I am still the “me” I was before, but just with a lot less of the stuff I didn’t want.

I think most people don’t want to review their thoughts and beliefs about God and Messiah because they are comfortable where they are, even though they have a first class seat to Hell. They are enjoying the ride without any thoughts about the destination. That’s a shame, and it’s what the enemy can use to win souls to him, even when those souls have no idea what is happening.

What really frustrates me is when you meet that person who was raised a Gentile and has heard about Jesus all their life, and is comfortable with what their religious leader told them. Most are told either you are going to hell if you are a bad person and heaven if you are good, or that Jesus died for your sins so you are OK, don’t worry about that “Jewish” stuff in the Old Covenant and just be a good person. It’s all OK.

That teaching is a one-way ticket to the hottest spot in creation, and I’m not talking about a night club.

Do you know someone who says they believe in God, pretty much, and they know about Jesus (Yeshua is His real name, and the only name that has a meaning to it) but they don’t want to talk about the bible or God? They just want to go to church on Easter and Christmas and be left alone. If so, try to reach them by reassuring them that whatever changes they may have to make to live a more Godly life will be welcomed changes. Tell them that you changed and you now can look back and realize how much more blessed your life has been, how much happier you are and more calm and peaceful, even when you are in the midst of terrible times. Let them know that they will have to change some of their behavior, take time and make the effort to read the bible and get to know God’s word (which is the best and fastest way to get to know Him) but that with the Ruach HaKodesh helping and guiding them, this work will feel more like enjoyment. Basically, they can still have a really fun ride while also going to the right destination.

I know people, close to me, whom I love, who refuse to accept that they need to make a decision on their own and to face up to accept or reject. God is binomial- either you are with Him or you are against Him; there is no other choice. And yet, these people just want to stay where they are, lean on the broken stick that their religion taught them about salvation (just be a good person) and refuse, adamantly, to save themselves. It really hurts to watch people run to destruction.

If you are reading this and seeing yourself, please don’t be afraid of the change. You will be more peaceful and able to find that “calm in the midst of the storm” as you go through life when God is your pilot. Life is a storm, we get tossed about like leaves in a tornado sometimes, and there are things we can’t control. But God is in control of everything, and when you choose to be on His side, He will keep you safe. The changes you make will be at your speed because God won’t put on you more than you can take (Yeshua told us His yoke is easy and His burden is light) but you do have to work at it. You will need to live more and more in accordance with the Torah, which is God’s commandments to everyone who worships Him (God has no religion, remember?), but it isn’t hard.

Face up to the reality that you are on a trip to eternity, like it or not. You can choose what you do while traveling, and you can choose who you want to travel with, but the destination is coming and you never know when you will reach it. It may be years from now, it may be today. But you will reach it, it is going to come, and it will be where you remain for all eternity.

The trip is short, as James says, it is a mist that is here and then gone; think about how long it takes for something you really, really want to arrive, and when you look back how quickly the time seems to have passed. Stop thinking you have all the time in the universe, because you don’t. Your destination will be here before you know it, and when you have to get off the ride you will not have any choice.

Enjoy the ride, sure, but make sure that you are going to the right place first.

Everything’s wonderful, but…

Leave a comment

I have often mentioned I read Dear Abby and Ask Amy in the morning newspapers, along with the comics and the word puzzles, because these “advice columns” give me fuel for my blogging fire.

If you also read them, have you noticed that so very often the writer starts off with how wonderful their spouse or partner is, how s/he is kind and affectionate and how wonderful everything is with that person. Then they say something like, “But when he is drunk every night , he hits me” or “She spends too much money and we are broke” or maybe even, “I sneak into his emails and he is flirting with co-workers.”

They try to convince themselves that everything is wine and roses, but they have really significant issues and they ask Abby or Amy what to do. Don’t they read their own letters? It’s obvious what to do- get your head out of the place it is in and back on your shoulders! Open your eyes! WAKE UP!!!

I also notice how I almost never see anyone write in who is a Believer. Oh, there are “religious” people who write in, all right, but they are usually the ones that give God a bad name: they are self-righteous, unloving, and stoic. It is good stuff for the column, since everyone reading their bigoted and pretentious attitudes gets a good rise from it (which is why, when we are honest with ourselves, many of us read these types of articles) but you rarely, if ever, see anyone who trusts in God and is faithful write in.

Maybe that’s because we know the best answers aren’t in the newspaper, but in the Bible.

What will happen to these people who try to convince themselves that all is wonderful while they are in the middle of tsouris? Won’t they be the ones who will run to follow the false Messiahs Yeshua warns us about? Won’t they be the ones to take the mark of the enemy because he will promise joy and riches and all those things people without faith and trust in God will want given to them?

We need to keep our eyes open and be honest with ourselves. We need to follow the example of those in the Bible who were able to accept the truth about themselves. David listened to Nathan and accepted responsibility for his sin with Bat Sheba; long before David, his ancestor Y’hudah (Judah) accepted his guilt when he realized he had not given his son to Tamar in marriage, as he promised; Shaul even took the vows of a Nazarene twice- not because he did anything wrong, but to demonstrate to others that he was not doing anything against Torah.

We need to be very, very careful. The times are here already, the shofar is in the hands of the one who is to blow it, and we need to be aware, alert, and honest with ourselves about what we are doing, who we are with, and where we are going.

It is especially important for those Believers who only want to hear about the love and acceptance that the grace of God gives to stop fooling themselves. They don’t want to even think that their salvation comes at a price; I am not talking about Yeshua’s suffering, but the price each of us must pay when we are saved. Our individual salvation is easy to receive and hard to keep. That’s why Yeshua said that those who wish to follow Him must take up their execution stake every day. We need to work at keeping our salvation, at being better, at doing more for God and dying more to self. Every day, every hour. Those who only want to hear about God’s love and acceptance and heaven are, as my Pastor says it so well, not willing to leave Goshen. They want all the happy-happy and none of the real life truth about how hard it is to be, and to stay, saved in an unsaved world.

Don’t tell yourself lies. Don’t make out that things are fine when they aren’t, and don’t go in the opposite direction, either: don’t be discouraged by the evil and hate in the world. It’s going to get worse. You need to steel yourself, you need to wear that armor Shaul told us about in Ephesians. We all need to maintain our hope in God’s promises and keep faith in Him; more than that, we also need to accept that we all have to work at it. Salvation is here but it hasn’t arrived yet; we have it but we won’t use it until Yeshua returns; when we cash in our chips is when we receive the prize.

Yeshua told parables that ended with Him saying, “Let those with eyes see and those with ears hear.” We need to have eyes that are open, ears that are unplugged, and faith that is unbending. More than just that, we need to have a humble attitude and contrite spirit, as David did, so that we can accept the truth and work within it.

Look for the truth in your life and don’t sugarcoat salvation. Remember what Yeshua told you: the truth will set you free.

Jesus Did Not Take Away the Sins of the World

Leave a comment

Whoa!! Slow down there, son! Of course Jesus took away the sins of the world- why, that’s what John the Baptist told us about him in John 1:29; he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

Not. If Yeshua took away the sins of the world, why is there still so much sin left?

I know, it’s really a metaphor, but it is important, is it not, to know that what Yeshua did was to provide a means for each of us to be saved? I think it is more important for us to realize this is a personal thing, not a corporate thing.

When one is part of a crowd the individual disappears and becomes a part of the corporate identity. This is something that is both valuable and dangerous. Think of the term “Mob Mentality”, and how easy it was for the Nazi’s to do such horrible things, and Jim Jones, Charles Manson, and the other atrocoties done by people when they were part of a group.

The good side is that in Yeshua we are one, however, we are also separate in that each has been given different gifts to use for the glory of God. We aren’t stripped of our individuality, it is actually enhanced in that we become more of what we were, the good parts, and the bad parts are lessened.

I am still a sinner and I am still me, it’s just that since I was saved I have sinned less and I am a “better” me (I still have a long way to go, though.)

Yeshua didn’t take away the sins of the world- they are still here because so long as sinful people live, so will sin. What Yeshua did, what Yochanan was talking about, was the fact that Yeshua’s sacrifice would provide the opportunity for anyone and everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, to be saved. Yeshua did not take away the sins of the world, He took away the Rabbinical legalistic requirement to be “Torah-perfect” in order to earn salvation.

The Torah’s meaning had been perverted to a system of legalistic actions, in that between the 613 commandments in Torah and the additional requirements that the Rabbis put on people, it is impossible to meet the requirement that anyone (born of human parents, that is) live in total accordance with Torah. What was supposed to be the road map to salvation became a maze of turns and corners that led to nowhere. The rules that Moses said were not too high or far, but right in front of us, became unreachable. That was the argument Yeshua had against the Pharisees, in that they  made what was supposed to lead us to God into something that kept us from approaching Him.

Torah is valid, Torah is right, and Torah is still something that everyone who worships the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob needs to know and obey, as best they can. Yeshua followed and taught the Torah, the Disciples followed and taught the Torah, and Shaul (Paul) also followed and taught the Torah. The entire book of Romans is all about how Torah is still valid, and because it is in the process of being replaced, as Shaul tells us, that doesn’t mean it is already done away with. Remember that Yeshua said nothing in Torah will change until all things have come to pass (Matthew 5:17), so unless you can show me the new Temple in the new Jerusalem, with a new Earth and new heavens, well…better stick with Torah.

Yeshua did not take away the sins of the world, He made it possible for us to be saved from our own sin. In that way, John was right: Yeshua made it possible to overcome our inability, individually, to live a Torah-observant life. Yeshua reminded us that Torah is a means to improve and become more holy, which was it’s original intent.

Religion is what changed the Torah from a rope that will help us climb up from humanity to a chain holding us back from salvation. It’s not the Torah that’s the problem, it’s religion. Judaism has, through Rabbinical Halakah, made living up to the Torah a burden that no one can carry, and Christianity, which originally was Judaism, rejected Torah for another religious set of rules, in many ways even more onerous than Torah!

It comes down to this: each of us must make up our own mind about salvation and Torah, and whether or not we do, we will all be held personally accountable for our actions, no matter who told us to do them.

Yeshua didn’t take away the sins of the world, but He did make it possible to take away my sins when I give them to him.

The reason I am stressing the individual’s part is because being part of a crowd doesn’t allow us to “own” our individuality, and what we don’t own we can’t give away. Therefore, if you want to give your sins to Yeshua, then you need to own (up to) them. Not as part of the world, or a church, or a synagogue, but as you, and you, alone.

Salvation is an individual thing, not a group activity. You need to first, and foremost, be saved from your own sins. Then, you will become a part of the group of Believers that are saved. Make sure you join the right group, the ones that understand Torah is still valid and worthy of obedience. Shaul told us that we are all one in Messiah, and he also pointed out that although we are one body, it is made up of separate parts, each doing what they were designed to do to keep the entire body healthy.

When we understand that each of us is responsible for our actions, then we can truly realize the impact that Yeshua’s sacrificial death has made: every single person on Earth can be saved.

The Worst Sin of All

1 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That is why He sent Yeshua.

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

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