I know I say this sometimes and it doesn’t end up as I thought it would, but I really, REALLY think this should be a short-and-sweet message.

If you prefer to watch a short-and-sweet video, click on this link: Watch the video.

What does today’s title mean?

It refers to the drash (parable) Yeshua told of how a shepherd will leave 99 sheep alone to go find the one lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7; Matthew 18:12-14).

We are born lost, and what God is willing to do, actually desires to do, is to help us find our way to him. So for each step we take in his direction, he is willing to walk a mile to meet us on our way.

This is how much God desires to be in communion with his children; yes, even the ones who curse him and reject him.

Ezekiel 18:23 proves what I am saying, and if that isn’t enough, the entire Bible demonstrates God’s desire to have a relationship with us, but that relationship does have to be on his terms.

And to make sure we know what those terms are, he gave us the Torah: he first gave it to the Jews who, as his nation of priests (Exodus 19:6), would learn it so that they could then take it to the world. Then he sent Yeshua to teach us the deeper, spiritual meaning of those laws and commandments.

The Torah is more than just a bunch of commandments- it is a constitution for a nation, with a system of government (judges and Sanhedrin), a penal code defining punishments for both capital crimes and torts, rules for ethical business practices, rules regarding health concerns, defining what is morally right within interpersonal relationships, and a calendar of Holy Days on which to celebrate God and his many blessings he has given us.

The Torah is God’s “User Manual for Righteousness”.

And when we try to live in accordance with the Torah, as he commands us to do, we receive blessings each time we do something right (Deuteronomy 28).

So, in a nutshell, what we are talking about is how God is willing to go a mile just to meet us as we take steps to meet him.

All you need to do is take it a step at a time, and God will meet you before you know it!

Thank you for being here and please remember to comment, “like” these messages, and share them 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!

We all know God gave many different commandments to Moses during the 40 years in the desert, but have you ever considered that God never gave any other commandments, anywhere else, throughout the rest of the Bible?

I think that’s because God figures that when he says to do something, we should do it. Do you agree?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

If you do agree, then can I ask you this question: do you try to do what God said to do, or do you do what your religion tells you to do?

For example, God says to rest on the 7th day, which is Saturday. Even the Gregorian (Christian) calendar has two starting days: Sunday for the non-business week and Monday for the business week, so the standard calendar used by most everyone in the world starts on Sunday, which means the 7th day is Saturday.

Yet most every Christian sabbath is on Sunday, the first day of the week, not the 7th, which is a rejection of what God said to do.

Here’s another example: in Leviticus 11, God tells us there are certain animals that he considers unclean and that we should not eat, but nearly every Christian I have ever known, even within Messianic Jewish synagogues and Hebraic Roots Churches, totally ignore that rule.

I hate to say it, but many Jews do, as well.

And, just for the record, as far as God is concerned (hey, this is not my opinion but is stated in the Bible), when we ignore or refuse to do what God says, he sees it as rejecting him. Remember what God said when the people called for a king (1 Samuel 8:7) (CJB):

Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “Listen to the people, to everything they say to you; for it is not you they are rejecting; they are rejecting me; they don’t want me to be king over them.”

You know, I hear so many excuses why it is okay to reject God’s Torah, but most people have no idea that there are different commandments, rules, laws, ordinances, etc. that are in there, which go beyond the Big 10.

Did yo know that the Torah has a penal code defining which crimes deserve what punishments? Did you know that it covers interpersonal relationships, defining what is proper and godly and what is perverse and sinful? The Torah tells us how God wants us to worship him, defining which days to celebrate and how we should act on those days. And most important of all, it tells us how to live in order to please God and how to be holy, as he is holy (which is, by the way, another Torah commandment).

God has rules he gave to us Jews to teach the world. How do I know? Because he said so!

Read Exodus 19:6– God tells Moses the Jews are to be his (meaning God’s) nation of priests, and since we already had our own priests, the Levites, then the other 11 tribes must be priests to whoever else there was, which was the Goyim, the nations… in other words, everyone else in the world.

There are many good reasons to obey God: to please him, to be a worshipful believer, to earn blessings (Deuteronomy 28), or to show that we trust him; but the bottom line is this: obedience demonstrates the level of our faithfulness.

If someone you love asks you to do something, won’t you do it for them?

Yet so many people say they love the Lord and in the same breath say that they don’t have to obey his Torah because his son did away with it.

Yeshua, however, often said that he does everything his father in heaven tells him to do. So if Yeshua was faithfully obeying his father, how can he then tell everyone else they don’t have to?

There can be no argument that ignoring the Holy Days specified in Leviticus 23, the rules for food in Leviticus 11, the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20, or any of the other commandments God gave throughout the entire Torah is a rejection of God.

I don’t give a hootenanny what you priest or pastor or minister or even your rabbi tells you- if God said to do it, do they outrank God?

Despite all the arguments why we should obey the Torah, and all the excuses why we don’t have to, it really comes down to this: if you believe that God is the ultimate authority and power in the Universe, why would you not obey him?

If you want to call yourself “faithful”, then that faith (as James said) MUST be demonstrated through what you do, and that really means how you worship God in your everyday activities throughout your life.

Worship isn’t what you do in church or shul, but how you live your life outside of those places.

I am going to finish with something I write very often, and pray that it will get through to at least someone, someday:

When you meet God at Judgement day, and we all will, and you tell him that you only did what they told you to do, I can’t speak for the Big Guy in the sky but I believe he might say something to this effect:

“I understand that 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 comment or like these messages to help me get more exposure on the Internet. And also share these 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!

How many understand the message about looking in the mirror in James 1:22-24?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

It is a fundamental principle of Jewish study that the Torah is a mirror reflecting one’s own life, soul, and spiritual journey. 

The Book of James was written specifically to those believing Jews who lived in the Diaspora, and since Yacov (James) was Jewish, he knew about this teaching and so when he used it, he knew that his audience would understand, as well.

But how many Christians know what he was actually referring to?

Let’s see what he said (CJB):

Don’t deceive yourselves by only hearing what the Word says, but do it!  For whoever hears the Word but doesn’t do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror,  who looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

The only “Word” that existed when he said this was the Torah. That is not an opinion, it is historical fact, so what Jimmy was telling these messianic Jews was that they need to remain Jewish to stay on the right track for salvation. He did this because of the ever-growing influence of the Gentiles who were taking over this Jewish movement and teaching to reject much, if not all, of the Torah.

The Gentile introduction to salvation through Yeshua is considered to have begun with Kefa’s (Peter) conversion of Cornelius around 37-40 AD (Acts 10), and by the end of that century (after all the Jewish leaders had died or had been martyred) the now Gentile leadership of what was now a mostly Gentile sect was already separating itself from its Jewish roots.

Consequently, the further this movement got away from its Jewish roots, the further it got away from Yeshua.

The Book of James is considered to be one of the earliest written messages, sometime around 40-50 AD, and as such was written a little after the time that Gentiles started to come into (or should I say, infiltrate?) this evolving Jewish sect of Jews who accepted Yeshua as the Messiah. However, there was never any conversion because these Jewish believers continued living a Torah observant lifestyle, which is also how Yeshua lived and what he taught.

Sometime around 98 AD, Ignatius of Antioch stated that the Sabbath will be on a Sunday for (those who were now being called) Christians, and by the Council of Nicene, Christianity was not only totally foreign to its Jewish roots, but was anti-Jewish.

So, the idea that the Torah should be a mirror, meaning that when we see how God says to worship him and to treat each other we should recognize that this is what we do every day, has been lost to Christians.

The real new Covenant, Jeremiah 31:31, says that God will write his Torah on our hearts. This also reflects back on the analogy of the Torah being a mirror (get it? Reflect, Torah as a mirror, get it?).

OK, back to being serious… it is atsuv me’od (Hebrew for “very sad”) that because traditional Christian teaching is that the Torah is only for Jews, by rejecting the Torah Christians are excluding themselves from being able to partake in the new covenant. Why? Because you can’t have something you reject written on your heart.

Yacov wrote to believing Jews who were being influenced by Gentiles who accepted Yeshua, but were teaching to reject the way he lived and worshipped. That is why Yacov used this well-known analogy of the Torah being a mirror when he “drashed” about one who doesn’t do as God said is like someone who forgets what he looks like.

What he was saying was to really be who God wants you to be, the Torah has to be a mirror.

So, nu?… what do you see when you read the Torah?

Thank you for being here and please remember to like and comment on these messages, which helps me to get more exposure on the Internet. Also share these 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!

How often have you heard people tell you that you are saved by faith, and faith alone? Then someone else tells you that James said faith without works is dead. Then someone else tells you that works are useless.

Then someone else tells you all you need to do is ask God because the Bible says that all who call on his name will be saved.

For Pete’s sake, make up your mind- which is it?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

Now here’s the kicker: works and faith do not save you, but they keep you saved.

Now that you are really confused or upset, let’s step back a bit and start with what does it really mean to be “saved”?

From my nearly three decades as a “saved” person, to me being saved means that when the Acharit haYamim, the End Days, are over and we all come before God when he is sitting on his Throne of Judgement, that we will be judged as righteous, i.e., without sin, and thereby allowed to remain in his divine presence for the rest of eternity.

But, since none of us are righteous, our “righteousness” being nothing more than filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), the only way we can be viewed as righteous is by means of the righteousness of Yeshua the Messiah. And that is possible only by accepting him as our Messiah.

So, what saves us is being sinless, and since the Bible is clear that no one is without sin, only because of Yeshua’s sinless life and his sacrifice can his blood, which is forever available to us, cleanse us and allow us to come before God as sinless, which is what saves us.

We are not saved by faith or works or anything else other than the way God said we are to be saved from the very beginning, which is through the sacrificial system defined in Leviticus, which shows us that forgiveness of sin must be through the shedding of innocent blood.

Now, as for faith and works, they are essential to stay saved. It is faith in Yeshua being the Messiah God promised to send that allows us to ask forgiveness through Yeshua’s sacrifice, and it is doing as God said to do, not some religion, that demonstrates the truth of our faith.

Christianity calls these acts of obedience “works” and we Jews call them “mitzvot”, but what is important is that whatever you call them, they are the things that God said to do and not what some religion tells you to do.

Within Judaism we have different levels of obedience, from secular Jews who are more interested in Jewish heritage and identify with Jewish culture, history, and peoplehood rather than religious belief or ritual observance to Chasidic Jews, living strictly by Halacha (as outlined in the Talmud) and calling all other sects of Judaism “Goyim”.

(Goyim in Hebrew means “nations”, but in modern language
it is used as a derogatory identifier of non-Jews).

In Christianity, sadly, nearly everything any one of the many, MANY different Christian religions tells you to do is almost always in complete opposition or totally ignoring what God said he wants us all to do, which is found only in one place in the entire Bible and that is in those first 5 books called the Torah.

That’s it, Folks- the only thing that saves us from eternal damnation is to be forgiven of sin, and the only way you can be forgiven of sin (now that the temple is gone) is through accepting Yeshua as your Messiah, and obeying what God said to do in the Torah.

Now, you may ask, “Are you saying that even if I faithfully accept Yeshua as my Messiah, call on the name of the Lord for forgiveness of my sins by means of Yeshua’s sacrifice, but don’t obey the Torah I will be damned, anyway?”

I can’t answer that because I am not God, who makes the final decision.

What I can say is that I believe your faith in God and Yeshua is demonstrated through how you live your life and is an intregal part of God’s decision about your eternal future.

Let me leave you with this: I believe because no one can be 100% obedient to the Torah, it isn’t how successful we are at obeying all of God’s mitzvot, but how hard we try that God will take into consideration.

The ones who should be worried are the ones who know what God wants them to do, but refuse to even try because they just don’t want to.

Thank you for being here and please remember to like and comment on these messages, which helps me get better exposure on the Internet. 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 End Times, which in Hebrew we call the Acharit HaYamim, also known as the Apocalypse will be a terrible time of destruction and death when the earth and its people will be ravaged with disease, pain, and strife.

And it is necessary.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

Okay, so the big question is why must this happen?

I am going to tell you why I think it is necessary based on what I have read in the Bible.

I need to preface this with reminding everyone that God does not want anyone to die, and he says so- very plainly- in Ezekiel 18:23. That verse is the foundation for my argument why the destruction is necessary.

Building on this foundation, the framework for my saying the destruction is necessary is that people will not do what is best for them unless they have no other choice.

Yeah, I know, that just can’t be true, but look at history; look at people you know and I think you will begin to see that no one really learns from the mistakes others make. We human idiots just have to try it, even though it has always failed, because we think we can do it better.

Then when we fail, that’s how we learn.

I used to be in Sales, and what I found out was that you didn’t always know what you did or didn’t do that made the sale, but you could always identify without any problem where you lost the sale. When you win, you feel confident that you know what you are doing, even if you may have won because someone else made a mistake.

But when you lose, you only have yourself to blame, so only by failing are we humbled enough to be open to changing how we do things.

We learn best from our own mistakes, and the Bible has shown us that God will cause destruction and tsouris (Yiddish for troubles) in order to get people to pay attention.

One of my favorite chapters in the Torah is Deuteronomy 28, which is the Blessings and Curses chapter. In that chapter, God starts off by telling us all the wonderful blessings we will receive when we obey his Torah, and then (as that culture always did) he followed it up with all the curses he will send if we disobey.

But in Leviticus 26, starting at verse 14, we read what justifies my argument why the destruction is necessary. That is where God says if we disobey him, he will curse our health and our crops. And from there all the way to verse 39 or so, as we continue to disobey, God “ups” the severity of the curses he will send upon us, until we finally get our head back on our shoulders from where it had been (Hint: the sun never shines there) and repent of our disobedience.

This is why the destruction before final judgement is necessary- it is God’s last-ditch effort to get those who still reject him and his Torah (which is one and the same thing) to repent and save themselves before it is too late.

You may be thinking that all God has to do is show a miracle or two and that will convince most people, but it won’t because it hasn’t.

God split the sea, he destroyed armies attacking Jerusalem, the Messiah was miraculously born and later, after he died, God raised him from the dead. God has done hundreds of miracles, and still does miracles every day- we just refuse to accept them as such.

And to this day there are hundreds of religions teaching their followers to reject God’s Torah, which is the same as rejecting God- the very same God they profess to worship!

No, my friends, miracles won’t do it and sending prophets has never really worked in the long run, so what we need is not a gentle leading by the shepherds hook, but a sharp smack to the side of our heads with the rod.

And that is what God is going to do before we are judged.

People take pride and confidence in their own strength, their property, money, etc., so what God will do is to slowly, bit by bit, remove those things from them until they have no other option but to repent or continue being cursed, which the Bible tells us is what will happen to most people. It actually says that the worse things get, the more they will curse God for it.

God will kick tuchas and take names- those who repent will have their names in the Book of Life, and the rest will be on the Hot List.

So, that’s why I believe the destruction before final judgement is necessary. It is designed to wake up those who refuse to accept God’s sovereignty: it is their one, last chance to get it right.

Thank you for being here and please remember to comment, “like” these messages, and share them 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!

When we read the Bible, we learn about God, about his people, history, the Messiah, and what to expect at the end.

The problems arise when we don’t interpret from what we read, but instead make up our own minds what we want the Bible to say, then go fishing through the Bible to find verses or phrases (almost always taken out of context) to validate it.

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

When we read the Bible, one of the hardest things to do is to be able to separate the actual from the imagined. For instance, visions are imagined, and although the vision may describe actual events, it is still something that must be interpreted.

There is also the case where something is absolutely real, such as a war or miraculous event, which we can trust to be valid.

There is a significant difference between reading the Bible and forming a conclusion from what is read, or thinking you know what the Bible means then looking through the Bible for something in it that would validate what you want it to say.

In the real world we call that putting the cart before the horse.

There are so many things I believe people want to be true, then go to the Bible and find a verse, or a phrase, or manipulate what is there to make what they want to be true appear to be biblically validated.

For example, the calendar issue- there is a real fight among some about which calendar is “correct”, citing differences when any Holy Day is to occur. Well, how do we know what calendar is the absolutely correct one?

I’ll tell you how: we find someone who is a direct descendant of one of the Jews who left Egypt with Moses, and since that day when God said the first day of Aviv will be the beginning of your calendar (Exodus 12:2), that family has painstakingly throughout the millennia kept a count of every 7 days. They have not separated months or years, but just counted the days, from Day 1 (Yom Rishon) to the 7th day (Shabbat). We then take their number of days, decide how many days will be in one month (if it was me, I would make every month 28 days since 7 goes easily into 28), how many months in one year (since we already have the Jewish months, we would use them), then go back and separate the months and years to bring us up to date.

Other issues are Holy Namers, we also have the Flat Earthers, and there are even those who claim the Tabernacle in the desert was round, not rectangular.

Oy! First of all, God knows your heart and mind and he knows who you mean when you pray. As for Flat Earthers, they can deny what telescopes show, which is that every planet or planetoid is round, so why would the earth be flat? Not to mention the pictures from space flights and mathematics that show the earth has to be round.

And the ones who say the Tabernacle was round? The description of the Tabernacle (at the end of Exodus) clearly states east side from west side, and north side from south side. So, nu?– I would like them to explain how a circle can have a side.

And for those who claim that the Bible says Yeshua (Jesus) did away with the law, well- that is an entire series of messages in and of itself.

Let me ask you: do you read the Bible to learn God’s truth, or do you think something is true then go to the Bible to see if you are right?

If you know before reading, then read to find a way to validate it, you are most likely going to be able to find what verses or words or phrases you need to do that, but you will most likely have to misinterpret or take things out of context to do so.

You can make whatever you want to appear validated by the Bible… but that doesn’t mean it is what the Bible really means.

How do you think all these different religions started? And not just within Christianity- there are some 6 different sects within Judaism, even though we are all supposed to be obeying the same Torah!

(Some may say only 6 sects because mainstream Judaism doesn’t recognize Messianic Judaism as being Jewish.)

If you are asking me, and even if you aren’t, the way I see it is that to truly know God and understand what he wants us to do and believe, we need to read the Bible and from what we read determine what God wants from, and for, us. We must first learn the Bible events, visions, and history before we can decide what they mean because only by starting with the source document, then forming conclusions from what it says, can we feel secure that we are concluding correctly.

And even then we may be wrong, but at least we are starting with the Bible and not starting with our own desired interpretation, then pulling out of context from the Bible to make it appear to be biblically correct.

I believe this to be a truism: if you start with what you want to believe, then go to the Bible to prove it, you are most likely wrong from the git-go.

I have written an entire teaching series on how to properly interpret the Bible, which you can find using this link:

How to Properly Interpret the Bible

(For those who preferred to watch a video, I placed this link in the video description).

To conclude, always start with the Bible, then form your conclusions and interpretations, using the proper set of interpretive tools (as outlined above) and you can be certain that whatever you believe is, at the very least, from the Bible and not from yourself.

Thank you for being here and please remember to “like” and comment on these messages, even just a “Nice job” or “Are you nutso?” helps me get more exposure on the Internet. And also 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!

One of the two most important commandments that Yeshua (Jesus) told us to obey is to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, soul, and might.

But I wonder how many of us feel that way when we pray, or just repeat what someone else wrote because we are supposed to?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

When I was a kid going to Shabbat services at the Reform synagogue I grew up attending, I always felt that there was something wrong with repeating the prayers from the Siddur (prayer book). I thought, “If I am supposed to be praying to God, why am I using someone else’s words? Shouldn’t I be praying to him directly from my heart?”

Little did I realize back then, LONG before I really knew God or accepted his Messiah, Yeshua, that I was on the right track.

I still feel somewhat coerced into praying to God when I am repeating prayers that are not my own. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some prayers that are fine to repeat because they are part of a service and not meant to be from our heart as much as a community prayer, where our prayers are strengthened through unity of purpose.

But when it comes to certain prayers, such as the Amidah, which is a very long prayer and said three times a day (and even more during Yom Kippur services), I just believe that an intimate prayer to God, which is what the Amidah is, should be personal and not “professional”.

Have you ever felt that you were bored with the service? Have you wished that the person giving the sermon would stop already?

I have, many times.

I believe if any sermon goes on longer than 15-20 minutes, it’s too long and you’re probably giving too much for anyone to really absorb. I often gave the Shabbat message at the houses of worship I attended, and I could see after 15 minutes or so the eyes of the people in the congregation begin to glaze over, like a deer in the headlights, and that meant I had lost most of them.

I confess there have been times when that one person who, when the Rabbi says, “I guess I need to close” says, “Go on, Brother- preach it! We have the time.”, well…I just want to gag him, tie him up, and lock him up in a closet just to make sure he can’t keep talking.

I am not saying that you should not go to services, or join in the prayers, but if you are feeling that this is more like forced labor than a labor of love, you need to ask yourself if you are really getting what you need from that place.

If your attendance is becoming laborious, I believe it is as much the fault of the leadership of your house of worship as it is your own need to strengthen your faith. Prayer should be fulfilling: emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. There have been times, sadly too few and far between, when I am praying to God and I feel his touch; it would cause me to tear-up, once in a blue moon even cry, and when that communion with the Lord happens I feel ethereal- like an out-of-body experience, and I know God is with me and his Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) is still alive within me.

It is a feeling that is hard to describe: a sense of being totally enveloped by an absolute love.

So, to finish today’s message (“Shut that guy up! I am done.”) how you feel when praying is an important way to know if you are truly loving God or just going through the motions. If you honestly know that you prayers are not with all your heart, soul, and might, then you need to work on your faith, to remind yourself of all the things God has done in your life (how often we forget that, especially when times are hard), and consider maybe going to a house of worship that fulfills you.

Of course, if the sermons aren’t that great but the kibbitzing with everyone there is wonderful, you can survive the sermons. No one knows whether you are praying the words from the book or from your heart.

And I believe it is never wrong to simply forget the prayer book and pray from your heart. I guarantee that you will feel closer to God that way than you ever will praying someone else’s words.

Thank you for being here and please “like” and comment on these messages, which helps me to know if I am doing well and also to get more exposure on the Internet. And 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, happy holidays, and an early Shabbat Shalom!

There are two places in the Torah, both in the Book of Deuteronomy, where God says that we are not to treat him the way the pagans treat their gods.

But in the Book of Leviticus, the first 7 chapters are dedicated to tell us how to do the things that the pagans did! So, what’s up with that?

If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.

God says not to do as the pagans do, but tells us we should sacrifice to him (which pagans do for their gods) and we are to bring him offerings of fruit (which pagans do for their gods).

I have been seeing this “don’t do as they do” command lately more than usual because it is one of the main arguments against celebrating Christmas and Easter. Personally, I am Jewish and don’t celebrate either of them, but what I do celebrate is God and his Messiah, Yeshua, so when I see people telling others that these man-made Christian holidays are pagan, just because they fall on a certain date or because they incorporate a tree (which is nothing like what Jeremiah and Isaiah talked about) and misusing this command in Deuteronomy, I have to say something.

I have already lost one of my “friends” who even honored me for years as her “mentor”, but now has rejected me and all my teachings because she is adamantly against Christmas, and I defend it. She has even gone as far to warn people in my own discussion group against following me because I support paganism. Oy!

So, let’s see what this is all about, this idea that we are not to do as pagans do yet God tells us to do the same things that pagans do.

Lety’s start with the first admonition against this in Deuteronomy 12:1-4. Here is what the verse states (CJB):

You must destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing served their gods, whether on high mountains, on hills, or under some leafy tree.  Break down their altars, smash their standing-stones to pieces, burn up their sacred poles completely and cut down the carved images of their gods. Exterminate their name from that place.
But you are not to treat Adonai your God this way.

This commandment is to be performed when the Israelites enter the land while they are conquering it, eliminating the pagan people as God directed them to do.

The main emphasis on this command is to destroy every pagan symbol and formation they find, but they are never to do that to anything that is of God. There isn’t anything here about not copying the pagan practices, only not doing to God’s standing stones and altars as they are doing to the pagan ones.

Now let’s see what Deuteronomy 18:9-12 says (CJB):

When you enter the land Adonai your God is giving you, you are not to learn how to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There must not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through fire, a diviner, a soothsayer, an enchanter, a sorcerer, a spell-caster, a consulter of ghosts or spirits, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is detestable to Adonai, and because of these abominations Adonai your God is driving them out ahead of you.

Now we see that God is a little more detailed in what he says we should not do. And, relating the many experiences I have had with Christian friends and their families, I do not recall anyone ever doing any of those things during Christmas or Easter.

The bottom line is this: every religion has sacrifices and offerings, that is an essential part of worship. So, when a Hindu offers fruit to one of their many gods, or a Buddhist offers fruit to their god, and then a Jewish or Christian person offers fruit to the God of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob, why is it okay for the Jew and Christian but not okay for the Hindu or Buddhist?

After all, aren’t they all doing the same thing?

Yes, they are both doing the same thing and no, they are doing something totally different; it is that difference that is so important.

The difference is not what we are doing, but to whom we are doing it.

When we are worshiping the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob by obeying the Torah regulations regarding sacrifice and offerings, we are pleasing God and doing what is righteous in his eyes.

On the other hand, if we burn our children as an offering to Molech, or bring fruits to Ba’al, or sacrifice to Ashera, that is not going to get us an invitation to eternity.

For a few years now I have asked this question to those who are adamant that Christmas and Easter are pagan: “How can something be pagan when there are no pagan gods involved?”

And you know what? No one has addressed it directly- all I get is a red herring about Jeremiah and trees, or December 25th isn’t Yeshua’s real birth date, or some other comment that does not directly say how something can be pagan without a pagan god.

You know why? Because it can’t be pagan without a pagan god, and since there are no pagan gods associated with Christmas or Easter, they cannot answer truthfully because it is the one thing that will destroy their “Christmas is pagan” argument.

I have even had people tell me that Santa is thought to be a god, but the truth is that Santa has NEVER been considered a god by anyone: what a ridiculously lame attempt.

And since the Bible is pretty clear that what we do in worship is going to be accepted or rejected based on who we are worshiping, if a man-made holiday is designed to thank God for sending Messiah Yeshua by celebrating his birth (or resurrection), regardless of the tree and tinsel and Maypole and such, it honors God and his Messiah, so how is that pagan?

Unless, of course, you think God doesn’t know the difference between honoring him and Dagon, or Ba’al, or Molech, or Ashera? Personally, since we are told over and over throughout the Bible that God knows our hearts and minds, I can’t see him getting confused about who you are really worshiping.

I will agree that the real meaning of these holidays has been lost to many by over-commercialization.

So, the bottom line is this: so long as we are not doing specifically what God said not to do in Deuteronomy 18, and the holidays we do celebrate are designed solely for honoring the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thanking him for his blessings (whether they be of health, freedom, or the Messiah), we are doing what pleases God and is right in his eyes.

Thank you for being here and please remember to comment or “Like” these messages to help this ministry get more exposure on the Internet, and share them 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!