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A delusion is essentially a belief that does not correspond to reality which is held without rational warrant and is therefore immune from any possibility of falsification. Webster's Dictionary defines it as, "a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self that is maintained despite indisputable evidence to the contrary." An example of a delusion is the theory of macro evolution, or the idea that the universe is an eternally self-existent, closed system of cause and effect. Another example would be the belief that value, meaning, purpose, logical inference, morality, beauty, truth, love, and so on, can exist in a universe apart from God.
On the other hand, there is rational, intuitive, and empirical evidence to believe that the universe was created in time by a transcendental power that is the source of all value, meaning, purpose, and so on. Martin Heidegger asked, "Why is there something rather than nothing," which is not a question about a possible cause for an observed effect, but is a question about the underlying cause of any possible existence at all. The Scriptures reply: "For God's invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature from the creation of the world, have been clearly perceived, because they are understood through what has been made, so people are without excuse" (Rom 1:20).
השׁמים מספרים כבוד־אל
ולילה ללילה יחוה־דעת
יום ליום יביע אמר
ומעשׂה ידיו מגיד הרקיע
ha-sha·ma'·yeem · me·sa·pe·reem · ke·vohd-El
oo·ma·a·seh · ya·dahv · ma·geed · ha·rah·kee'·a'
yohm · le·yohm · ya·bee'·a' · oh'·mer
ve·lai'·lah · le·lai'·lah · ye·cha·veh · da'·at
"The heavens declare the glory of God,
the sky above proclaims the work of His hands.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night declares his knowledge."
(Psalm 19:1-2)
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Hebrew Lesson:
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If the LORD is God, then that changes absolutely everything, and nothing is unaffected by this all-pervasive truth. As Abraham Heschel once said, "God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance," and this is eminently true because "in Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Since reality turns on God, reasoning from another set of assumptions is really a form of delusional thinking that ultimately leads to insanity, that is, unsoundness of mind derived from folly or unreasonableness. The fool has said "in his heart" there is no God (Psalm 14:1). "The wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 10:3-4). The suppression of the truth necessarily implies an exchange for the lie, and with the lie comes deranged reasoning, slavery, darkness, and fear....
Ultimately we are living in the midst of a great spiritual war -- the war for truth. This has been the battle from the beginning. The very first recorded words of Satan (הַנָּחָשׁ) questioned God's truth: "Did God really say...?" (Gen. 3:1). In the end there will be found two types of people: those who love the truth and those who love the lie. These are the children of light (בְּנֵי הָאוֹר) and the children of darkness (בְּנֵי הַחשֶׁךְ), respectively. Followers of Yeshua the Messiah are told to "walk as children of light" / ὡς τέκνα φωτὸς περιπατεῖτε (Eph. 5:8). The children of light are called to be am kadosh - a holy people - separate from the evil engendered by the fallen world and its forces, just as the very first creative expression of God was the separation of light from darkness (Gen. 1:3-4). The children of light "hate evil and love the good," and conversely, the children of darkness "hate the good and love evil" (Psalm 34:21, Prov. 8:13, Amos 5:15, John 3:20-21). Regarding the heavenly Zion to come, it is written: "nothing ritually unclean will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or practices falsehood (lit. "makes a lie"), but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev. 21:27).
We have to stand for the truth, because the truth is what sets us free (John 8:32). As Yeshua said, "For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world -- to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37). We must turn away from the lie to embrace the truth. One day all that is hidden will become manifest. "As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame. A river of fire was streaming forth and proceeding from his presence; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened...." (Dan. 7:8-9).
If the devil can't kill you, he will try to make you insane... He will lie to you about who you really are... He he will attempt harass you and vex your soul. He will whisper fearful things in your ear... He will make what is small seem big and what is big seem small. He will raise dark suspicion within your soul, causing you to walk in mistrust. He will remind you of your sins to make you feel ashamed and dirty. He will hiss that you are unlovable and unworthy. He will argue on behalf of your flesh that you deserve better than this... He will tempt you to seek relief in cisterns of emptiness and futility. Most of all, he will try to cast a spell to make you forget that you are truly a prince or princess of God Almighty... The devil seeks to drive you into the exile of loneliness and despair. Resist him in the Name of the LORD!
נסו ואין־רדף רשׁע
וצדיקים ככפיר יבטח
nah'·soo · ve'ein-roh·deif · rah·shah
ve·tza·dee·keem · keekh·feer · yeev·tach
"The wicked flee when there is no one pursuing,
but the righteous are as confident as a lion."
(Prov. 28:1)
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Hebrew Lesson:
Da lifnei mi attah omed: "Know before whom you stand!" As Elisha said to his servant Gehazi, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (2 Kings 6:16). We are surrounded by an innumerable multitude of angels, with the LORD of Hosts who rules over all. Ask the LORD God Almighty to give you the "strategic advantage" over the enemy -- for you to see his wiles, but not for him to see you.... Ask God for the armor of light that blinds eyes accustomed to darkness (Rom. 13:12). How else can we fight this archenemy of our souls? We cannot fight "fire with fire," but we can appeal to the One who fills heaven and earth "with horses and chariots of fire all around" (2 Kings 6:17). "Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Adonai Tzeva'ot" (Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of the armies of heaven); "melo khol-ha'aretz kevodo" (the whole earth is filled with His glory" (Isa. 6:3).
קדושׁ קדושׁ קדושׁ יהוה צבאות
מלא כל־הארץ כבודו
kah·dosh · kah·dosh · kah·dosh · Adonai · tze·vah·oht
mei·loh · khol-ha·ah'·retz ke·voh·doh
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!"
(Isa. 6:3)
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Hebrew Lesson:
God told the prophet Jeremiah, "Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD" (Jer. 1:8). Likewise Yeshua says to us, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you" (Luke 10:19). We need the courage and boldness that comes from the Holy Spirit to overcome the "giants in the land." We need the confidence of young David who beheaded Goliath in the Name of the Living God. Ask God to empower you to serve Him now... Just as salvation is "of the LORD," so is the battle of faith: "Not by might, nor by power - but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).
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