You may feel anxious about knowing God, about how to relate to him or how to understand or interpret the Scriptures, though the heart can only know the essential meaning of God in the state of its need, as its ultimate concern, and therefore unless you cry out “from the depths” of your being, you are merely intellectualizing or playing games… After all, the inner heart asks “How can I find God?” “How can I relate to God?” “How can I find hope and life?” but the answers to such questions are found by personal encounter with the reality of the Spirit of God, not by theological rationalizations.

Read more “Knowing God’s Name…”

The Rise of Techno-Fascism….

In light of the ever-creeping “techno-fascism” of the postmodern age, we wonder how long before politically motivated “censorship” will cross boundaries from various social media platforms to any “offensive content” on any publicly accessible website whatsoever… Indeed this is already happening as we see search engine services delivering filtered results (i.e., “shadow-banning”), Internet browsers that label web sites as “unsafe,” various conservative content providers being “defunded,” alternative social media sites being “Parler-ized,” and so on. In light of this incipient tyranny, we note there is a great passage of Scripture whereby we have precedent to make appeal to the LORD God Almighty: “O our God, will you not execute judgment? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chron. 20:12).

 

Hebrew Lesson:
2 Chron. 20:12b Hebrew reading

 

• 2 Chron. 20:12b Hebrew lesson card (pdf)

 

People confuse morality with spirituality all the time — and that includes apparently Christian people who mistakenly think that godliness has to do with worldly politics (and supporting certain political characters who assume a moral posture or offer up “conservative” sounding messages). Think again. Yeshua’s kingdom is not of this world, and he was never politically active or involved in the politics of this world (see John 18:36; Luke 17:21). No, his mission was to transform individual hearts through the miracle of regeneration, to call out a people who would surrender their lives to God and to love one another. Judas Iscariot was a “social activist” who wanted to change the fallen world in the name of morality, but we know his end… Being obsessed with worldly politics, fawning over a particular political candidate, believing that a mere man could change the world for God’s sake — all this is sheer idolatry and folly. “Love not the world, neither the things of the world; if any one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

Ever since the time of the defunct “moral majority” of the 1970’s, the so-called “evangelical church” has conflated worldliness with spirituality, resulting in an adulterous blend of muddled pragmatic thinking. One negative consequence of “politicizing” Christianity is that if the preferred political candidate or movement does not succeed in changing society, then Christianity is regarded as a failure, and the message of Yeshua is considered ineffectual. On the contrary, a worthy theology understands that the LORD God is in the heavens and that categorically nothing is beyond His sovereign will and power (Isa. 40:28; Psalm 145:3; 147:5). We are not to be disappointed or “crushed” because a political candidate did not get reelected since we are citizens of heaven and our allegiance is to the King of all kings (Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 3:1-4). We are to “seek first” the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Father Abraham “closed his eyes” to this world in order to behold the heavenly light. Looking to man and his schemes to solve the world’s problems is the essence of idolatry, since only the LORD our God is the Healer and Savior of people. Many people of the church would do well to weep over their misguided affections and ask the LORD for forgiveness for their worldliness and idolatries; many would do well to confess their lack of faith in the LORD and plead with heaven for the miracle of genuine regeneration. Dear friends, “God is the King over all the earth, sing his praise with understanding!” (Psalm 47:7).

Read more “Idolatry of Worldly Politics…”

The sages have said, “From a person’s mouth you can tell who they are,” which means that the words we speak reveal the inner condition of the soul and whether the Spirit of God is in control of our thinking or our lower nature… Because we are created in the image of God (i.e., b’tzelem Elohim: בצלם אלוהים), our thoughts express our essential nature, and that is why it is vital to avoid evil thinking, since otherwise we will be brought into darkness and pain. As Yeshua said, “the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). The Hebrew word for evil (i.e., ra’: רַע) also means sad or “heartbreaking.” We must learn to discipline ourselves to think good thoughts since that brings us before the light and blessing of the Father of Lights (אֲבִי הָאוֹרוֹת) from which every good flows (James 1:17). Wisdom is essential for right thinking, and therefore it is important to guard your mind against alien and godless thoughts (1 Pet. 5:8). We gain wisdom by studying Torah which is called the “Tree of Life” (עֵץ־חַיִּים) and by speaking forth its truth, as it says: “Healing speech is a tree of life, but deceitful speech shatters the spirit” (Prov. 15:4). Knowing the truth of God and the reason for our existence sobers the mind and dispels the ways of folly. Negative character traits are formed by carelessly admitting alien thoughts into the heart. Genuine teshuvah leads to life, wherein the heart returns to the truth and is delivered from the darkness of the lie.

 

Hebrew Podcast
Psalm 19:14 Hebrew reading:

 

• Psalm 19:14 Hebrew lesson card (pdf)

 

 

Many people go through the day oblivious to the miracle of existence… If you carefully consider even the most common of things, however, such as a piece of bread, for instance, you will soon realize that it represents a series of causes leading back to transcendental power, and finally, to the Creator and Sustainer of all things. A piece of bread comes from flour, which is milled from seed grown in topsoil through an amazing synthesis of light, air, minerals, and water. However, photosynthesis is a secondary effect of more fundamental forces such as the energy of the sun, the elements of earth, water, and atmosphere, the pull of gravity, and the marvelous inner “form” or intelligence of the seed itself… The “germination” of a seed is really quite miraculous, replicating the body and energy of a plant in miniature form (“this acorn I hold in my hand contains a thousand oak trees”). My point here is simple. Life is full of mysteries, though we can suppress consciousness of its wonders by means of ingratitude for our existence. God is never silent, however, since “The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky above proclaims the work of his hands; Day to day pours out speech; night to night reveals His knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2).

Read more “All-Pervasive Radiance…”

The Lord had compassion for his people as they were suffering in Egypt. The LORD told Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry… I know their sorrows” (Exod. 3:7). The grammar here is intense: “seeing I have seen” (רָאה רָאִיתִי). Understand, then, that God surely sees your struggles, friend. Second, know that God heeds the outcry (צְעָקָה) of your heart, and indeed, he interprets your groaning as if it were for the sake of serving him. Your heart’s cry is transformed by grace to be the cry for God himself, for relationship with Him: “The cry of the people has come to me,” he again told Moses (Exod 3:9), which means all the sufferings, the wrongs, the hopes, the fears, the groans, the despair, the prayers, were present before him, as if he counted every word and sigh. Third, realize that God knows your sorrows; he gathers all your tears into his bottle (Psalm 56:8). The word translated “sorrows” (מַכְאב) is the same used to describe the “Man of sorrows” (אישׁ מַכְאבוֹת), Yeshua our Suffering Servant, who gave up his life to deliver you from darkness, sorrow, and fear (Isa. 53:3-5).

Read more “Man of our Sorrows…”

Yeshua often used various agricultural images in his parables. For example, he explained that people are known by the “fruits” of their lives (Matt. 7:16-20). He likened the spread of his message in terms of “sowing and reaping” (Matt. 13:3-23) and compared the Kingdom of Heaven to the secret working of a mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). Yeshua regarded the world as a “field” for planting with different “types of soil” (Matt. 13:38-43), and warned of the “great harvest” of souls at the end of the age (Luke 10:2; Matt. 13:30). He pointed to signs from a fig tree to indicate the nearness of the prophesied End of Days (Matt. 24:32-33). Yeshua also used the metaphor of a “vine and its branches” to explain how his followers are to be connected to Him (John 15:1-6).

Read more “Mysteries of the Kingdom…”

This week we revisit the story of Moses and how God called him to lead the Israelites during the time of judgment against the cruel power of ancient Egypt. When Moses asked God why he (of all people) was chosen to be his prophetic emissary, however, the LORD did not explain His choice in natural terms; nor did he appeal to Moses’ past experiences, or to his potential, or even to his great humility… Instead God simply said that whatever inadequacies Moses may indeed have, being in a personal relationship with Him was going to entirely sufficient for the task: “for I will be with you” (i.e., ki eheyeh imakh: כִּי־אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ). That is all that Moses would need (Exod. 3:12).

When Moses further sought to justify his calling as a true prophet sent from God, however, he asked to know God’s “name” (see Exod. 3:13). God’s response to the request was enigmatic: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה – ehyeh asher ehyeh: “I will be what I will be” (or I am what I am), which may be understood as, “It doesn’t matter what my Name is – I will be what I will be – all that matters is that I will be with you (ehyeh imakh), and that is enough! Indeed, God’s name is nifla (נִפלָא) – “wonderful and incomprehensible” (Judges 13:18; Psalm 139:6), since the LORD is infinite and beyond comparison to finite things (Psalm 147:5). God is the great “I AM” that pervades all of Reality (אָנכִי), the glorious Eternal Personal Presence (i.e., hayah, hoveh, ve’yihyeh) whose power constantly sustains all things. Most of all, He is declared and expressed as our Savior, the One who reveals the face of God to us all (2 Cor. 4:6).

Read more “God’s All-Sufficient Presence…”

Spiritual fruit does not immediately crop up but requires time and its own season (Psalm 1:3). The process of spiritual growth is mysterious and comes from heaven’s creative power, as Yeshua said: “The Kingdom of God (מַלְכוּת הָאֱלהִים) is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. By itself (αὐτομάτη, i.e., “automatically”) the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. And when the grain is ripe, he comes in with his sickle because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29). The wonder of faith understands the “ordinary” process of the growth of a seed as genuinely miraculous… With God all things are possible – and that includes the miracle of our newness of life. It is the fruit of the Spirit, after all, and that means that its source and end is found in God’s love…

Thank God it is a process, that we are not perfected in a day, otherwise we might die in despair over ourselves… As it is, God helps us endure ourselves, reminding us to lay down and die so that the power hidden in the “seed” can be released (John 12:24).

 

• Isaiah 26:12 Hebrew lesson card (pdf)