People tend to underestimate the radical nature of their sinful condition, which truly is a “sickness unto death.” However, even the metaphor of lethal sickness itself is not strong enough, since the spiritual condition of the natural man is the state of being spiritually dead… Apart from direct divine intervention on behalf of the individual soul, a person is literally unable to respond to God and receive the gift of eternal life. That is why Yeshua taught that we need a spiritual rebirth in order to see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). Read more “Rebirth and Spiritual Death…”
Month: August 2020
Finding Purity of Heart…
“Who shall ascend to the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to vanity (לא־נָשָׂא לַשָּׁוְא) and who does not swear deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4). Yeshua expounded: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’” (Matt. 5:8). The Greek word translated “pure” is katharos (καθαρός), sometimes used describe the cleansing of a wound (catharsis), or to describe the unalloyed quality of a substance revealed through refining fire (the corresponding Hebrew word for the “pure of heart” (בַּר־לֵבָב), used in Psalm 24:4, comes from a root (בָּרַר) that likewise means to purify by fire). Read more “Finding Purity of Heart…”
What is a “circumcised heart”?
Our Torah for this week (i.e., parashat Eikev) appeals to our need to forgive: “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer hardened” (Deut. 10:16). The metaphor of a “circumcised heart” (ברית מילה של הלב) symbolizes cutting away the outer covering of the heart so that it is “opened up” to feel once again. God wants us to let go of “hard feelings” so we can experience compassion (i.e., com+passion: “feeling-with”) and sympathy for other people… Heart circumcision represents a radical turning away from the insular realm of the self toward the emotional realm of others and God. When our hearts are open, we are able to receive the flow of the Spirit of God and obey the “law of the Messiah” (תּוֹרַת הַמָּשִׁיחַ) to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2).
Idolatry and Rage…
We are warned not to destroy ourselves by allowing bitterness, anger, or fear to consume our hearts. In our Torah this week (Eikev) we read: “And you shall not bring an abominable thing (תּוֹעֵבָה) into your house and become devoted to destruction like it” (Deut. 7:26). The sages of the Mishnah said that yielding to rage is equivalent to idol worship and should never be brought into the home. Indeed, rage is linked with avodah zarah (עבודה זרה) – idolatry – because it exalts the ego and claims that the Lord can’t (or won’t) help you in your moment of testing or need. Read more “Idolatry and Rage…”
Thou Shalt be Satisfied!
Our Torah portion this week (Eikev) includes the remarkable commandment: “And you shall eat and be satisfied” (Deut. 8:10), which means that God desires for us to receive the goodness of life itself. “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” Addictions, cravings, lusts, etc., arise from a refusal to be satisfied, by hungering for more than the blessing of the present moment. “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). The living waters are present for us, but we will only find them if we open our hearts to the wonder of God in this moment. We can “break the spell” of continual dissatisfaction, of the power of greed, ambition, and so on, when we discover that our constant hunger is really a cry for God and His blessing. This is the blessed “hunger and thirst” given by the Spirit (Matt. 5:6). Our sense of inner emptiness is an invitation to come to the waters and drink life. So come to God’s table and ask the Lord Yeshua to give you the water that will satisfy your heart’s true thirst for life…
Your Good Shepherd…
The walk of faith is one of “holy suspense,” trusting that God is on the other side of the next moment, “preparing a place for you” (John 14:3). In the present, then, we live in unknowing dependence, walking by faith, not by sight. For “hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he sees?” (Rom. 8:24). This is the existential posture of faith – walking in darkness while completely trusting in God’s daily care. Our task at any given moment is always the same – to look to God and to accept His will. This is where time and eternity meet within us, where God’s kingdom is revealed in our hearts. Therefore Yeshua taught us: “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow has its own troubles. Live one day at a time” (Matt. 6:34). It makes no sense to worry about the future if the LORD is the Good Shepherd who tenderly watches over your way (Psalm 23:1).
Every Knee Shall Bow…
Learn Isaiah 45:23 in Hebrew:
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The Great King Over all the Earth…
Learn Psalm 47:2 in Hebrew:
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Don’t let the godless despair of this fallen world define your reality, friends… The LORD God is on the throne and all things will eternally answer to Him (Heb. 4:13). He works all things together for your good and for His glory. Amen.
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Your Reason for Being…
Your faith must mean something to you if it is to mean anything to God, for “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6). There must be agreement between your heart and what is real. The LORD must be your “ultimate concern,” the passion of your heart, your desperate treasure, or he will be as nothing to you (Matt. 13:12; Luke 8:18). God’s Name is Savior, Healer, Redeemer – the One who is everlastingly interested in your life (Heb. 4:13). As the late Abraham Heschel once remarked, “God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance.” Likewise King David said, echat sha’alti me’et Adonai, otah avakesh: “One thing I ask of the Lord; that is what I will seek” (Psalm 27:4). David asked for one thing – not many things. He did not come with a litany of requests. He was not double minded. He had focus. As Kierkegaard said, “purity of the heart is to will one thing.” David sought the best he could find. He wanted the “pearl of great price.”
Romance and Tu B’Av
Today is the 15th of Av (i.e., Tu B’Av), the “holiday of love.” Just as Yom Kippur originally celebrated the reconciliation of Israel to the LORD after the sin of the Golden Calf, so Tu B’Av originally celebrated the reconciliation of Israel for the Sin of the Spies. Therefore both the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur became joyous times celebrating forgiveness and restoration to the LORD. The Babylonian Talmud (Ta’anit 31a) quotes Shimon ben Gamliel as saying, “Israel had no holidays as joyous as the fifteenth of Av and the Day of Atonement, when the maidens of Israel would go out and dance in the vineyards… What were they saying: Young man, consider whom you choose to be your wife…”