Humility is not weakness; in fact, it takes a lot of emotional maturity and inner strength to be humble. On the other hand, it takes little or no effort at all to be prideful.

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Look at Moses- he was certainly a strong leader, yet he is also described as being the most humble of all men (Numbers 12:3), and I think we can agree that if we were to think of who was the most faithful of all people in the Bible, Moses would have to be right up there in the Top Ten.

But think of the most prideful person in the Bible and whichever name you come up with, I’ll betcha that person doesn’t show a humble bone in his (or her) body, do they?

So why is it that I say without humility you can’t be really faithful? It’s simple: pride is the antithesis of humility, and pride is the mother of all sins, so if someone is exceptionally prone to sinfulness, how can they be truly faithful?

Now, don’t go all the way to the moon with this: I am not saying someone who has pride can’t be faithful, but let’s see what God said (Jeremiah 9:23-24) about his thoughts on this:

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in  his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he  understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and  righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Later…MUCH later… this same thought was stated by Shaul (Paul) in his letter to the Corinthians, which was that a man should only boast in the Lord; over the centuries this relationship has been known to holy men of God:

Pride and faith do not go together.

We generally feel proud of things we have accomplished, such as creating something beautiful or doing such a good job at work we receive a promotion, but doing well at what we are supposed to do is expected of us, isn’t it? Yeshua said that when we do what we are supposed to do, we don’t really deserve any special reward (Luke 17:10), and aren’t we told in Colossians 3:23 that we should do everything as if for the Lord, and not for men?

So, going forward, let’s each of us try to remember that to be truly faithful, we have to be humble, and that humility shouldn’t be a false one but come from the understanding that whatever we are able to do that is worthy of respect and admiration is because God gave us those gifts.

On our own, we aren’t worth diddly-squat; if not for the gifts God gave us when we were born, and the insight we receive through the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), which is also a gift from God, we would have nothing to brag about.

So when you are being complimented for saying or doing something remarkable, say what I say:

Whatever I do that is good is because it is God working through me;
when I screw up totally, then I can take full credit.

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for this week, and I will be on vacation all next week, so until we meet again, l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

In the Gospel of John, verse 14:13, Yeshua said (CJB), “If you ask me for something in my name, I will do it.”

Those of you who follow this ministry know that I believe the Gospel of John is a false one, and this one verse is further proof of that because I really do not believe Yeshua would tell us to pray to him, or that he will answer prayers instead of God.

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There are a few slight differences in how this one verse is stated, depending on which Bible version you are using, but the point remains that Yeshua, according to whoever wrote this gospel, is saying that when we pray to him, he will make sure we get what we ask for.

In some versions he says when we pray in his name, he will make sure we get it, or when we pray in his name, to glorify the Father he will make sure we get it. But in the end, he is saying that he will answer our prayer.

You may not agree with me, but that sure sounds like he is saying he will handle it, God doesn’t have to get involved. And, again, you may not agree with me, but that doesn’t sound like a son who really wants to glorify his father, but it does sound like a son who wants to take things away from his father. In fact, it reminds me of when Absalom told the people that they won’t get justice from the king, but if he was king he would make sure they did. (2 Samuel 15)

Another thing about this particular verse is that it is not stated in any other gospel. One of the many reasons I do not believe John is a valid gospel is because Yeshua says so many things that are not in the other gospels, failing a necessary tool of Bible interpretation, which is that everything in the Bible must be hermeneutically validated by the same statement or condition found elsewhere in the Bible.

I have, in the past, written how we do not need to invoke the name of Yeshua every time we pray to God. For instance, if we are offering a prayer of thanks, we aren’t asking for anything, so we don’t need to invoke the power of Yeshua’s name. If we are just talking with God, and not really asking for anything specifically, we don’t need to invoke the power of his name.

I used to believe that we should ask in Yeshua’s name whenever we pray to God for something, especially something important. And I have always stated we do not pray to Yeshua, directly, but to God, only referring to Yeshua as our Intercessor.

But that has always confused me a bit, because God knows my heart, he knows my mind, and he knows that I accepted Yeshua as my Messiah nearly 30 years ago, so why do I have to refer to Yeshua when I pray? Doesn’t God know this? Isn’t Yeshua there as my Intercessor anyway?

I mean, if I do not ask for something in Yeshua’s name, does he tell God to reject my prayer?

Is this some sort of spiritual “Simon Says”? ….

“In Yeshua’s name raise your right hand.” (my right hand is raised)
“In Yeshua’s name, lower your right hand.” (my right hand is lowered)
“In Yeshua’s name, raise your left hand.”( my left hand is raised)
“Lower your left hand.” (I lower my left hand)
“Ah-hah!! I didn’t say ‘In Yeshua’s name’- your prayers are rejected!”

My introduction to Messianic Judaism, where I was saved and served in many positions, even as Rabbi-Pro-Tem for 18 months or so, was at a Messianic synagogue in Philadelphia. The rabbi there was raised in an Orthodox Jewish household, and even went to a seminary school (he called it “Cemetery School”). It was there that I was taught Yeshua is God (we used to say, “Yeshua hu Adonai”), and that we must pray in his name.

It is almost three decades later, and after having studied the Bible every day and in this ministry (which is about 8 years old now) issuing messages from (what I believe) are inspirations from God, written 5 books, and answered hundreds of tough questions from people all across the world, I have come to some conclusions that go against what I was originally taught.

The first realization is that Yeshua is not God, but he was created from God (not from a man), and being filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) from birth, he was able to demonstrate that he is the Messiah; and, as the Messiah, his sacrificial death is available as a sin sacrifice for everyone.

I also have come to believe, after years of thinking it over, is what I am about to tell you right now: I do not believe that we ever need to pray in Yeshua’s name, for anything.

And that is not just because the only place he says to do that is in John’s Gospel, which I reject as valid, but because it makes no sense, whatsoever, when we read the Bible.

Throughout the Bible, God is clear that he is the one, and only, God, and that praying to anyone or anything other than him is idolatry. Yeshua always prayed to God, and always gave the credit for everything he did to God, so why would he suddenly say that we need to refer to him if we want to receive something in prayer?

And not just refer to him, but he said that by referring to his name, he will make sure we get it!

He isn’t saying he will intercede for us; what he is saying is that he will give it to us, essentially taking God out of the picture. Again, I am sorry, but that doesn’t sound at all like the obedient son who lives to glorify his father.

No. It sounds to me like someone who is trying to take over his father’s business.

So, starting today, this very minute (because already this morning I still prayed in Yeshua’s name- conditioning is very hard to get over), I will no longer invoke Yeshua’s name when asking God for forgiveness or anything. I trust God to know my heart and mind, to know that I am a true believer in his Messiah, Yeshua, to now that I am always trying to live in accordance with his instructions in the Torah, to know that I am a member of Yeshua’s flock, and I trust that Yeshua will, and is, always interceding for me in every prayer I make to God because I am one of his flock.

I really don’t think I need to remind either of them of that fact.

And one other thing, which I hope you will agree with: Yeshua never wanted anyone to put him in God’s place.

Well, this is certainly an eye-opener, if not for you, it is for me. I have wondered and battled with myself over this question for years, and I already felt secure that John’s gospel is a false one, but now I also feel secure that we never had to invoke Yeshua’s name in order for a prayer to be heard or answered, which is essentially what John says Yeshua said we have to do.

Look, I am not saying that everything in John’s gospel is bad, only that it is not a “real” gospel. It falls more in line with the Epistles; writings that are not God-breathed scripture, but from men who had an intimate relationship and knowledge of God. And as such, whatever is said in those letters must be in agreement with the rest of the entire Bible, hermeneutically validated that it is in line with everything God said.

If you want to continue to pray in Yeshua’s name, I don’t believe that is a sin, and I also don’t believe there is anything really wrong with that. What I do believe is wrong s to think if you don’t pray in his name, your prayers will be rejected. So, pray in his name, or don’t pray in his name, but always pray to God, and try to live in accordance with how God said to live, not some religion, and as Yeshua lived.

I truly believe and trust that God knows who is a real Believer and who is not, and will always act accordingly with their prayers.

If you are told the Bible says something that cannot be found in at least one other place in the Bible, then it can’t be a valid interpretation.

Thank you for being here, and please share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!

The Torah is the scroll containing the first five books of the Bible, and most Christians, and even most Jews, know it as “the Law”.

But the word “Torah” means learning, or teaching, and even though The Torah has laws, it is really God’s “User Manual for Righteousness”.

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Let’s start off by trying to agree on something: when we disobey God, that is a sin. So far, so good? OK, then the next thing to agree on is that sin is “lawlessness”.

Are we also okay with that? Good, because now we are all in agreement with the Bible because the apostle John tells us in 1 John 3:4 (NIV):

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

So, sin is not obeying the law, but what law was John talking about? Well, truth is, at that time there was only one law- the Torah.

So, nu? Where are we?

Christianity has taught you that Yeshua (Jesus) did away with the law, which if that is true, means that the son of God told you to ignore his father and live a life of sin.

That doesn’t really make sense, does it? The Messiah, son of God, was sent by God to be a means for us to be forgiven of sin, so what he does is teach everyone to sin.

What is that, some sort of job security?

Yes, it makes absolutely no sense, so what did the early Christian leaders do? To make it seem sensible, Christianity has come up with the idea of moral and ceremonial laws, and that even though they say Yeshua did away with the law, now they don’t mean ALL the law, just the ceremonial ones.

Which, of course, begs the question: who decides which is ceremonial and which is moral?

Isn’t God moral? If he is, then he wouldn’t tell us to do anything that wasn’t morally correct…. right? Well, God told us how to worship him (Leviticus 23), what social and familial relationships are righteous and which are sinful (Leviticus 18), which foods are best for us and which we should avoid (Leviticus 11), and many other ways to live a righteous and worshipful life throughout those first five books.

Now ask yourself this: if God is moral, and everything he tells us to do is morally correct, then although people try to separate moral from ceremonial, isn’t it all moral, anyway?

Of course it is! Whatever God tells you to do is not just righteous but morally correct, and anything God says you should do that you refuse to do, is a sin, which is lawlessness, and the wages of sin is…death! (Romans 6:23)

The choice is yours. I have given you biblically correct information so that you can make an informed and biblically correct decision; you can continue to follow some man-made religion (for the record, every single Christian religion is man-made) or you can decide to follow God.

I can tell you, and I am sure you will agree, that to reject God is not a good idea, yet remarkably enough, that is what Christianity tells you to do.

In nearly every respect it rejects God: it doesn’t celebrate the Sabbath when God said to, it doesn’t honor any of his Holy Days, it eats all the foods God said not to, it teaches that Yeshua did way with his father’s commandments, and there are some forms of Christianity where the people pray to statues and their houses of worship are full of graven images, and …well, you get the idea.

Follow a Christian “torah”, or follow the Torah that God gave to all humanity so that they know what is right and what is wrong. The choice is yours, but let me give you one more thing to consider….

When you face God at Judgement Day, which we all will do, he might ask you why you lived the way you did, and when you tell him, “I was just doing what they told me to do.”, I can’t speak for the Big Guy upstairs, but I think he will respond with something to the effect of:

“I know you did what they told you to do, but it is what I say that counts!”

Thank you for being here, and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!

I know this sounds impossible, right? I mean, how can a prayer straight from the son of God deny us salvation?

Well, I’ll show you how!

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Let’s take a look at the prayer; it’s in Matthew 6:9-13 (CJB):

Our Father in heaven! May your Name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come,
 your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us the food we need today.
 Forgive us what we have done wrong, as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.
And do not lead us into hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.
For kingship, power and glory are yours forever. Amen.’

Let’s concentrate on that line in the middle, you know, the one that says God should forgive us as we forgive others. What is that verse really saying?

It’s saying that if we do not forgive others, then God should not forgive us!

And that interpretation is confirmed by verse 14 when Yeshua says:

For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;  but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours.

So, if you are not willing to forgive those who sin against you, then God will not forgive you.

And Yeshua further confirms this in the parable about the man who was forgiven a great debt he owed, but refused to forgive a small debt owed to him (Matthew 18:21-35) .

Now, you may say, “Yo, Bro! Wait a minute! This was before Yeshua shed his blood for us, by which we are forgiven! We’re golden.”

I have to disagree. Yeshua said if we do not forgive, then God won’t forgive us. There’s no escape clause, no “But what if..?”, no option other than we forgive or we aren’t forgiven.

Now can you see why I say that the Lord’s Prayer can actually deny your salvation?

Sure, Christianity makes a big deal out of love thy neighbor, but it seems to me Yeshua is making a bigger deal out of forgive those who sin against you. And I can see why- doesn’t Yeshua tell us in Luke 6:32-36 that even sinners love those who love them? And aren’t we hurt by those who love us, and don’t we hurt those we love? It’s part of the human experience, which doesn’t always stop us from loving each other.

But when it comes to forgiving those who hurt us, that seems to be much harder to do, doesn’t it? Even those we love!

C’mon, be honest- how many times have you felt that someone just doesn’t deserve to be forgiven? The fact is we don’t have the right or the option to make that call- that call is up to God. What we are told is our responsibility is to forgive that person, no matter what our emotions tell us.

And when we forgive someone, don’t think that it makes them right with God, because it doesn’t- it makes YOU right with God!

This is the truth about forgiveness: it doesn’t do anything at all for the one we forgive, but it does a lot for us, in that it makes us right with God and it is the ONLY way to make the hurt go away.

The take-away from today’s message is simple…forgive others so that you will be forgiven and to make the hurt go away.

And here is a tip that helps me to forgive others: I imagine that person standing before God at Judgement Day, and if they haven’t done t’shuvah (repentance), when I think of what they will have to endure for all eternity, well…all I can feel is pity for them, and that feeling of pity is what helps me to forgive them. Maybe it will help you, too?

Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.

That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!