Author: Steven R. Bruck
Do Miracles Still Exist?
Do you know how a car engine works?
Can you explain how television works?
What about being able to teach someone about how water on the earth becomes rain from the sky?
I’ll bet almost everyone reading this message, right now, can do all of these things.
But, although you can explain how it works, can you make it work?
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I looked up the definition of a miracle, and (as expected) there are a few different versions, but the main idea is that it is something inexplicable, whose cause cannot be explained by scientific or other means of proof, and thereby considered to be an act of God.
That is a fine definition, don’t you think? My problem with it is that by crediting only the unexplained to God it implies that what we can explain is not by God. Therefore, humans believe that simply because they can explain how something happens that disqualifies it as being a miracle.
I can explain digestion: I eat something, it is transferred to my stomach by my esophagus, then the digestive juices in my stomach dissolve the food into its components, which are then absorbed through my intestines and transferred to the various organs in my body by means of the blood pumped by my heart.
Simple, easy to understand, all scientifically explainable. Therefore, it isn’t really a miracle, right?
WRONG!!
The entire process is miraculous, and just because I understand how it happens, that doesn’t make it any less a miracle.
Can you create a digestive system?
The Red Sea split open to allow the Israelites to pass through. Now we all recognize that as a miracle, specifically an act of God. The Nile turning to blood, the frogs, lice, boils, etc… every plague God sent upon Egypt were all miracles.
But what about the first couple of miracles? Doesn’t the Bible tell us the magicians of Egypt were able to turn their staffs into snakes? And they also turned the water to blood, so those events couldn’t have been miracles.
Here is a cute drash I read a long time ago:
Many of the best-known scientists in the world gathered to congratulate themselves on being able to read and manipulate the entire human genome. Upon discussion, they came to the conclusion that knowing the genes that cause diseases and other health problems, soon they will no longer need God because they can control disease, and even heal genetic mutations. God asks them, “Can you make a human being out of a lump of clay?” The scientists discuss it and agree that they can. God says, “So, nu -show me.” They go outside and collect some clay, and as they are heading back to the laboratory God says, “Hold it right there! That’s my clay…you have to use your own clay.”
The things the magicians did to match what God did are miracles because they were the result of a miracle: who created the tree from which they got their staff? Who created snakes, which is what they turned their staff into?
Whose clay is it?
Do you see my point?
People think the Age of Miracles is over because they do not recognize that everything in the world is a miracle. Everything they see, touch, smell and hear is a miracle. No matter what mankind creates, the materials that he uses are already here. The earth, the wood, the water, the elements…everything we have ever created has been made possible because God first miraculously created all the materials.
Every machine humans have created, every species hybrid we have created, every medicine we have formulated, every everything…all miracles because God miraculously provided the materials we needed to make these things.
So the next time you see a flower bloom, or you hear a child laugh, or you see a building being built, recognize that it is the result of a miracle.
There are miracles happening everywhere, every day and the problem is that we take them for granted; just because we can explain how they happen doesn’t make them any less of a miracle.
And since all miracles come from God, that means God is in everything, everywhere, and we need to remember and appreciate that.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe and share these messages out with everyone you know. I am not in this ministry to make money but to prevent what Hosea said about my people being destroyed for lack of knowledge. This ministry is devoted to helping people get the knowledge they need to make an informed decision about God and how they should live their lives.
So, until next time L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
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Parashah Tetzaveh 2020 (Command) Exodus 27:20 – 30:10)
God continues to give Moses detailed instructions for the building of the Tabernacle and all that is involved with it. In this reading, we are told how to manufacture the priestly robes, including the breastplate of judgment, the procedure for anointing the priests, and the construction of the altar.
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I don’t know why there is so much detail in these last chapters of Exodus, but today’s reading mentions something that has been a mystery to every biblical scholar of modern times, and that mystery is: what the heck are the Urim and Tummim?
The Hebrew words mean Lights and Perfections, and there has been an on-going argument over whether they are a separate part of the breastplate or incorporated into it. There is no question that they are an essential part of receiving the divine will when matters of great importance are discussed but what are they? Are they some kind of dice? And, whatever they were, how were they utilized?
I believe that the throwing of lots had to be a binomial action, meaning when asking God to indicate his will, the questions had to be presented as a “Yes” or “No” option. There are many references in movies to seers throwing pieces of bone with letters on them and diving an answer, but I don’t think that is how the Urim and Tummim worked; however, I really can’t say anything for sure since I don’t have any idea of what they were.
Another interesting fact about the Urim and Tummim is that they seem to have been used only up to the time of David, and the only mention of them after 1 Samuel 28:6 is in Ezra, where they were used to determine the genealogy of those who couldn’t identify their families when making aliyah from Babylon to Jerusalem.
I have my own idea about the loss of these devices and will share it with you. Again, this is my thought and is not to be taken as a definitive answer to what happened to them.
I believe the use of the Urim and Tummim was rejected because the kingship decided that it was able to make its own decision. There was the king, who had advisors, the prophets and the assigned Cohen. These people seem to be the ones who decided what to do, and even though we often read of David consulting Adonai with regards to what actions he should take, we don’t really read that much after Solomon’s rule. Actually, mention of any of the later kings of either Judea or Israel even consulting God is rare. Of course, the kings of Israel wouldn’t have consulted Adonai because they worshiped the pagan gods, but I would have expected that the kings of Judea, at least those who did right in God’s eyes, would have consulted him often, but I really don’t recall a lot of references to that.
We know that under Solomon, Israel had peace and Solomon had the supernatural wisdom that God gave him, so maybe a need for the Urim and Tummim didn’t exist? After many years of not being used, their existence could have been more or less forgotten, or maybe how to use them was lost?
To me, from the time of Shaul as king, and more so down the line of kings, it seems that the prophet took precedence over the priest with regard to knowing God’s word, and since the high priest was the only one with access to the Urim and Tummim, perhaps that is what led to the loss of their use?
No one knows, and probably will never know, what the Urim and Tummim were or how they were used, or why they weren’t used (except for one mention) after David’s kingship.
The Urim and the Tummim are a mystery, and people love to solve a mystery, and when I run across a mystery within the Bible I always check to see how it stacks up to my Acid Test question, which is: “How does this affect my salvation?”
And, as far as knowing all about the Urim and Tummim, the answer is: it doesn’t. It is an interesting mystery, and since I can’t answer it, and (frankly) no one ever has, I will leave you with this reminder from Moses (Deuteronomy 29:29):
Things which are hidden belong to ADONAI our God. But the things that have been revealed belong to us and our children forever, so that we can observe all the words of this Torah.
In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff and stay focused on what matters, which is to follow the instructions God gave us.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe if you like what you read. I also welcome comments and would ask you to check out my entire website, especially my books. If you like my messages, you will like my books, as well.
Until next time, L’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!
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Again, Be Careful What You Ask For
How often do you pray? Me? I pray daily, usually (from a habit of doing so when I was still working) every time I get in my car or ride my bike. And when I pray, as I suspect you all do, I ask God to do things for me.
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I ask to be forgiven of the sins I have committed and to strengthen me to avoid them in the future. I lift up those I love and care about, and then I get into the other things. You know, things like protection or help in remembering the Hebrew I am teaching myself.
On Monday and Wednesday, as I am driving to meet my friends for our golf game, I also pray for God to help me maintain my composure and not get so angry when I duff a shot.
You see, as I have mentioned before, the one thing that gets my goat faster than anything else is when I screw up a golf shot. I know the Pro’s do it, and often, and that it is only a game, and that most of the reason I get angry is because of my own pride. But, still and all, knowing why something happens doesn’t always help to control what we do when it happens.
Besides, I don’t like doing anything half-donkey and that is not a bad trait; but, when it gets out of control, that is not a good thing.
So, yesterday I prayed for better control and to have the peace that the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) gives if and when I mess up some golf shots.
I prayed, and that was that. I know God hears our prayers, and that he will answer. Sometimes it’s “Yes”, sometimes its “No”, sometimes it’s “OK, but not yet”, and most of the time it is not what we expect or when, but it is always exactly what we need.
Now I start to play. The first hole starts off OK, a nice drive, a good second shot, and then the game goes down the tubes. Instead of getting bogies or pars, as I usually do (I tend to score in the high 80s or low to mid-90s), I was getting double and triple bogies. I couldn’t sink a putt if I was aiming for the Grand Canyon, and my wedge, which is usually my best iron, was on strike.
It took me, and I say this to my credit, only until the 4th hole when I realized that God was answering my prayer from that morning: he was teaching me how to not get mad by giving me every opportunity to practice not getting mad.
As I said, the answer to prayer is not often what you expect it to be. I was hoping for a supernatural calmness that was from the indwelling Spirit, but instead, I was thrown into a lousy game and told, “Sink or swim”; or, in this case, smile or scream.
Through these lessons, I am learning how God works. For me, and maybe this is what happens to you, too, God will answer my request to be better by creating the environment where I need to be better, then throwing me head-first into it! He will not miraculously change my attitude or my personality, or even my thinking: no, he will create the opportunity for me to learn to do what I want to, and sit back and watch how well I do. It is up to me to become better, and he always has my back, meaning that if I fail he will take me out of the test.
At one point yesterday after my drive sliced into the next fairway, I dubbed the next shot into a strand of trees, then hit a tree, I screamed, “Alright already- I am failing the test!” (It wasn’t loud enough for anyone else to hear.)
Then I asked God to forget what I said, and confessed I am still in need of help. I gave in to the fact that this was going to be a bad day, and I should just play and enjoy the company of my friends. After all, no one can be good all the time.
I guess that confession was a passing grade because then I calmed down and my game improved.
I was also thankful to God for answering my prayer. I didn’t necessarily like the way he did it, but I was thankful.
In case you’re interested, I shot a 51 on the front nine, but a 42 on the back nine, so I ended up playing my usual game. However, more important than learning a lesson about self-control, I received an answer to prayer, which is always a blessing and more important than any score could ever be.
Today’s message is this: remember my experience and review, in your own life, how many times you have been answered by God but maybe didn’t realize it at the time. And, as I said in my message from the other day (Always Be Listening), when you pray, remember that you will receive an answer, so stay alert.
God will not change you but he will give you the opportunity and the tools to change yourself. He will place you in the fire, which is the only way the dross can be burned away, and when the fire gets too hot, he will pull you back out again. The best part is that the more often you are placed in the fire, the more heat you will be able to take, and the more purified you will become.
Thank you for being here; please subscribe and share this ministry with others. If you have had a similar experience, I would love to have you share it with me and my subscribers.
Until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
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Always Be Paying Attention
I was going to do a message this morning about the truth and how we can’t always trust what is truth and what is not, and I didn’t really feel happy with it. I thought the title was worthwhile but as I wrote, it just didn’t “feel” right.
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After spending a few hours on it, writing and editing it a few times, I recorded it for my video. When I went to review the video, there was a place in it where the video slowed down for no reason and the voice track and visual tracking were separated. The voice slowed down and the visual sped up.
I tried to repair it and re-record a section but that didn’t work out, either. And after getting that done somewhat, all of a sudden another part messed up.
I tried to record all over and kept messing up, and suddenly I thought that maybe this message isn’t a good message.
You see, I often pray to Adonai that everything I write and post is good in his eyes and that he shows me when something is wrong. It occurred to me, finally (just as it took Eli three times to realize God was calling to Samuel) that maybe this message is wrong.
I threw the fleece out and told God I would try it one more time, and if it didn’t work again I would not do it, at all. I went through the entire recording of the message which went smoothly, but when I went to review the message, which should have been about 8 minutes long, after only three minutes the recording suddenly stopped!
OK…I hear ya! This is NOT a message that God approves of.
The message that I now think God wants me to share is that we must always remain alert to be aware when God is telling us something and once we hear what he is saying, to do it.
God clearly did not like the message that I created, and frankly, I wasn’t too happy with it, either, but because of my stubbornness, I was going to make it, anyway. Fortunately, God decided that I wasn’t going to deliver that message, and I am so grateful to him for preventing it from happening.
I am also grateful that he answered my prayer about this ministry, keeping me in line with what he sees as good and not accidentally doing anything that doesn’t give him the glory and the honor he deserves.
So what was wrong is now right: always be alert for God’s intervention in your life. Always ask him to show you what is right in his eyes, and he will help you, guide you, and as he did for me today, prevent you from sticking your foot in your mouth.
Thank you for being here and please subscribe and share this ministry with others. I welcome your comments and until next time, L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!
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Parashah Terumah 2020 (Offering) Exodus 25 – 27:19
Except for the chapters devoted to the sin of the Golden Calf, from here until the end of this book of the Torah, we are given a detailed account of the manufacturing of the Tabernacle.
These chapters outline the instructions from God for building the Ark of the Covenant, the menorah, the table for the showbread, the altar and the types of materials to be used for the tent and its supports.
And that’s it for this parashah.
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The Tabernacle played an integral role in the lives of the Israelites as they wandered through the desert, as well as did the Temple in Jerusalem.
There have been different interpretations by Jewish biblical scholars of what the Tabernacle represents, and as a Messianic Jew, I am also familiar with the Christian thoughts (initiated by Saul/Paul) that we, as members of the body of the Messiah, are ourselves a tabernacle, or temple, or church, since we have the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, living within us. Just as God was known to be present in the Tabernacle in the desert, Christians believe that they are a tabernacle because God is present in them.
The Rambam (Maimonides) said the Tabernacle was the way God helped the Jewish people to wean themselves from the pagan practices many had adopted during the four centuries they served as slaves in Egypt, and that makes sense to me. Even much later, when Gentiles were accepting Yeshua as their Messiah and converting from their pagan practices, the four commands that the Elders in Jerusalem required of them (Acts 15) were designed to wean them from their pagan lifestyles and allow them to learn how to become Torah observant in a manner that wouldn’t be too difficult a change to do, all at once.
I think the churches and temples today are where same-thinking people can gather and support each other. They serve as a meeting place for communal worship, but I have always thought the communion with each other was as important as the communion with God.
Too many people go to church or shul once a week on their Sabbath and feel they have “done their part”; the rest of the week they live as they want to. I also have known people who feel that going to their congregational meeting place is a commandment, and by doing so they are worshipping God correctly.
That’s not true – there is no place, anywhere, in the Bible where we are commanded to go to the temple every weekend. We are commanded to go to where God places his name three times a year to sacrifice, but other than that our communion with God is to be daily, hourly, every second of our lives, no matter where we are.
In other words, going to church or to the temple doesn’t make you a good Christian or a faithful Jew; what does is our relationship with God and how we act when no one else is around.
I am sure you have heard the adage that an honest person will do the right thing even when they know no one else is watching. In the same way, a faithful person will be praying and doing as God wants, whether or not anyone else can see, whether or not they go to a house of worship.
Now don’t get me wrong…there is nothing bad or incorrect about attending church or shul on a regular basis. In fact, that is a good thing because we need to support and encourage each other, and the best way to do that is through getting together. But the Tabernacle, the Temple in Jerusalem, Westminster Abbey, or the small shul a Shabbat-walk away, are all just symbols of the presence of God in our life. It is not wrong to have one, as some might say, and the building of the third Temple is not a bad thing, either. Until such time as God completes his plan of salvation and his Shekinah glory is among us, forever, we need a physical place to meet and worship.
The point is that a place where we gather and worship together, as well as schmooze over coffee and sweets, is just as important a reminder of God’s presence in our lives as the Tabernacle was for the children of Israel as they wandered through the desert.
As I said above, except for a chapter or two, from here to the end of this book we are told, in extreme detail, about the building of the Tabernacle and it is, understandably, a little boring at times. I don’t know why there is so much detail, but I hope that as we delve further into the remaining parashot we may receive some revelation.
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Until next time, L’hitraot and Shabbat Shalom!