Author: Steven R. Bruck

Why Predestination Doesn’t Work

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The answer is found in Ezekiel 33. This chapter, similar to Ezekiel 18, is where God tells Ezekiel that he, Ezekiel, is like a watchman on a tower. When God tells Ezekiel of upcoming doom for the sinful, like a watchman blowing the shofar to warn people when the enemy approaches , he is to tell them what God says so they have warning and time to turn from their sins. If Ezekiel warns them, he is free of their blood. Therefore, God is saying that people can choose to turn from their sin, or choose to die in it.

God tells us that He takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner while still in his sin:

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

The gist of predestination is that the elect are chosen already, and we don’t have any choice. God has designed and determined everything that will happen. There are some things in the Bible that can be used to make this argument; for instance, God told Jeremiah he was chosen to be a prophet and that God knew Jeremiah when he was still in the womb, Moses being chosen, Gideon, Samson, and there are others. All of these Prophets, Judges, and Saviors of Israel (oh, yeah- don’t forget Esther, who was where she was “for such a time as this”) were determined by God to do His will.

Does that mean they didn’t have a choice? Jonah had a choice, and even though he did get a lot of “encouragement” to turn back to Nineveh when he ran away, he still could have fought off the calling. He probably would have died, and we would not read the Book of Jonah at Yom Kippur services; maybe it would be the Book of Bob, or the Megillah of Myron? In any event, if Jonah had turned from his calling, or Gideon, or even Moses (remember that God almost killed Moses as he was first going back to Egypt), God would have still raised someone up to do His bidding. Even Yeshua, when He was praying before capture, asked if the cup could pass from Him let that be so. Even the Messiah clearly could have changed His mind about what He was to do. That’s not predestination, that’s free will in action.

You can’t make an argument from nothing (this is a very important lesson to remember when interpreting the Bible) but we can never know how many babies were pulled form the Nile. Perhaps there were more than just one baby saved during the Pharaoh’s decree, so if Moses hadn’t chosen to fulfill the role God had for him, there might have been others available to God to serve His purpose.

Ezekiel isn’t the only place where we can see people have had choices, and God has given them that right. We do have free will, we do have the opportunity to chose God. Really, when you think about it (something most religions seem to want you to avoid doing), predestination can’t be God’s plan because if the Lord already chose what and who, then why bother allowing evil in the world? If God knows who will be in heaven, then why put billions of people through the Tribulation, or make innocent people die? Why even tell Ezekiel to warn the sinners? Why send the Prophets? If God has determined, ahead of time, who will live and who will die, why even give those destined to die life?

None of it makes any sense. Not that we can be expected to understand God, but really? God making billions of people go through life for what is, essentially, no reason other than to die is… ridiculous. That makes God out to be a young boy with a magnifying glass digging up ants just to incinerate them. Or creating the ants to watch them die (Oy- that’s even worse!)

God is the captain of our lives, and His ship will sail from Creation all the way to Salvation on Earth, a new Earth, where the people who have chosen to choose God (through Messiah Yeshua) will live in eternal joy and peace.

Those who have chosen to ignore God’s existence and choose sin will suffer eternal damnation.

The bottom line is that it is a choice, and it is our choice. It is your choice, and you are the only one responsible for that decision. You can’t blame your parents, your Priest, Rabbi or Pastor. You can’t say your favorite teacher taught you that God is dead, or that you just don’t know what to believe.

Not believing is a choice. And, take it from me, it’s the WRONG choice!!

Yeshua said that those who are not against Him are with Him. Not accepting or believing is being against Him.

Also, accepting what others say without confirming the truth for yourself is, well, it’s just plain stupid! You are going to have to answer to God, and He will not give you a break because you were too lazy to read the Bible and ask for the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to lead your understanding so that you can make up your own mind. And he won’t buy the, “But that’s what I was taught” line, either.

I will talk about God with anyone, believer or atheist, and if I don’t respect their choice, I respect their God-given right to make that choice.

Make your own choice, and do that with the knowledge that comes from reading the Bible for yourself. There are some parts that are boring and tough to get through, but get through it. Please- at least once in your life do this so that you  have a real chance at having life eternal. It may take a few days or weeks, or even months to get through it- the whole thing, from Genesis through to the end of Revelations. If you are Jewish, read the New Covenant writings, also (it will help if you get a Messianic version of the Bible) and if you are Gentile, read the Old Covenant writings first. You may be surprised at the fact that Jesus did not say anything new. Same thing for the Jewish readers of the B’rit Chadashah: Yeshua taught Judaism, He did NOT invent a new religion.

God has determined what will happen to mankind- no one who says the Bible is true can argue that point. However, because the fate of mankind is settled and already determined, that doesn’t mean the fate of any individual man (or woman) is already determined. The ship is sailing, it will reach it’s final port, and we all have the right and the freedom to decide if we will sail with this ship or not.

It is your choice, so make it a good one.

Parashah Pinchas Numbers 25:10 – 30:1

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The plague was just stopped by the zealousness of Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron, when he killed a prince of Israel who was with a Midianite woman (also of high birth) and blatantly showing disdain and rebellion against Moses’s command to not have any relations (especially physical ones) with the Midianites. God makes a covenant with Pinchas that throughout his generations his seed will serve in the Priesthood.

The Israelites are at the end of their wandering, and God has already demonstrated His support as they have defeated two kings and taken their lands. Now He has them take another census, and after 40 years of living in a desert, the difference in the size from when they came out of Egypt and now is less than 3/10 of 1%. Essentially, there are as many now before entering the Land as there were when they left Egypt. Some of the tribes are less but the nation, as a whole, is the same size.

The rules for inheritance are stipulated and God reminds the people about the regulations for sacrifices, Joshua is appointed as Moses’s replacement and Moses is allowed to view the land, although he is still not to cross over and enter it.

Isn’t it amazing that when the Jews were in Egypt as slaves, with plenty of food, water and shelter they were able, despite their slavery, to grow into a great nation, and then after 40 years in a desert, devoid of food, water and shelter, they were still able to maintain their great size? Well, maybe it is amazing to someone who is secular minded, but to me it is just what I would expect from God. He said that the generation which had rebelled would die in the desert, and they did, but still we read in this parashah that not only did God maintain the size of His people, but even the descendants of Korach have survived (26:11) to enter the land.

Now, as God prepares the people for what is to come, He reviews the laws for the daily sacrifice and the holy convocations, since these were first given to the prior generation (Leviticus) before they were to enter the land. They didn’t get in, though, and it has been 40 years, so God is reminding them what to do when they enter.

The lesson I see here is simple: God’s plans, whatever they are, will be accomplished. He is flexible enough to make it seem to us, with our limited ability to understand, that He changes His mind or doesn’t accomplish what He said, but what is really happening is that the ship is moving. We may have to take a round-a-bout way to avoid some reefs and rough waters that weren’t on the chart, but it is always going to the place it is sailing to.

God’s plan of salvation has been working itself out since before Adam was created. The Israelites in the desert got to see miracles daily, and these have been recorded for us because we are too “sophisticated” and too “scientifically wise” to see the miracles that are still happening today, every day. We think that just because we can explain how an event occurs that knowing how it happens makes it less of a miracle. I can describe how the digestive system works, but does that make it less of a miracle? Could anyone of us design that system? Could any one of us make a stomach? Can we create a physical being that can spontaneously create hydrochloric acid inside itself and not burn itself to death from the inside out?

God needed a nation to enter the land that was big enough and strong enough (and faithful enough) to be His weapon of judgement against the nations that had been defiling His land for centuries. The first group didn’t meet that criteria, so God got rid of them and had the second group, just as large but more faithful, do the job. When all was said and done, what God wanted was accomplished. Oh, yes, not all of the baddies were destroyed and, yes, the people screwed up royally and ended up being thrown out of the land, also. But has that stopped God’s plan? No, of course not: God is this very day actually completing His plan. We see the regathering of the people back to the land and the land becoming a fruitful garden, again. And we see the world starting to suffer the judgement that God promised would happen through the words of the Prophets and in Revelations.

This parashah shows us that whatever God plans to do gets done. Maybe not when it was first started, maybe not with the people that it was first intended to use, but it will be done, one way or another. That is something that the enemies of God should find totally frightening, and the children of God should find totally encouraging.

The generations we are reading about in today’s parashah got to see God up close; they saw Him on the mountain when they were children, they have been miraculously fed and watered by him in a desert for forty years, and now they see Him supporting them in their battles, allowing them to defeat bigger and stronger nations, easily. They saw His plan to free them from slavery and lead them into the land evolve and succeed. We, today, are also seeing His plan evolve and succeed. We have seen the Messiah overcome sin, we have seen the gathering of the people back to the land happening for the past 60 years, and we are seeing the earth being judged and in turmoil, weather-wise, politically and spiritually. The enemy is on the move, this is his time and we are seeing it happen. We need to steel ourselves against what is to come because it will come! Don’t listen to the prophets that advised Ahab, or the ones that told Zedekiah everything is fine. We are coming into the End Days, and it won’t be pretty.

Take hope, no matter how bad it gets, in the knowledge and the proven, historical evidence that God’s plan WILL be done, and the promises He made and the ones He will make are all absolutely trustworthy.

And also remember that you are responsible to do your part- God will keep His word to you, but you need to hold up your end of the bargain.

What’s Coming is Already Here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Worst Sin of All

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That is why He sent Yeshua.

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

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

Parashah Balak Numbers 22:2 – 36

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace in the Midst of Turmoil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– if you want more, give more away

– if you need more, ask for less

– if you want less, you will get more

– if you share your wealth, you will be wealthier

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

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

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

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

Parashah Chukkot (Statutes) Numbers 19 – 22:1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Forget the Past

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No one wins a race looking back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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