The Book of Exodus begins, ve’eileh shemot (וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת), “and these are the names” (of the sons of Israel). God call each person by name to make the journey… Indeed, God calls each star by its own name (Gen. 22:17, Psalm 147:4) and yet He also knows each lily of the field and sparrow that flutters its wings (Matt. 6:28-30, 10:29). As Yeshua said, even the hairs on your head are all numbered (Matt. 10:30). In Jewish theology, the term hashgachah pratit (הַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית) refers to God’s personal supervision of our lives (hashgachah means “supervision,” and pratit means “individual” or “particular”). Since God is the Master of the Universe, His supervision and providence reaches to the smallest of details of creation – from subatomic particles to the great motions of the cosmos. Of particular interest, however, are those whom He created be’tzelem Elohim: in His image and likeness. The LORD is called אלהֵי הָרוּחת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר / Elohei ha-ruchot lekhol-basar: “The God of the spirits of all flesh” (Num. 16:22), and that means that every spirit ultimately answers to Him.

Read more “God Knows your Name…”

Simply knowing about God is insufficient for a transformed life; something more is needed, namely, receptivity of the heart – a sense of concern, a hunger and a thirst for life, and the willingness to believe in the truth of love.  Yeshua taught that the condition of our heart is revealed by how we hear. Without charity and a deep sense of concern, loss will inevitably occur: “Take heed therefore how you hear: for whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him” (Luke 8:18).  Just as the “good eye” (העין הטובה) that searches for what is good, so the “good ear” listens to the word of hope; and just asthe evil eye (העין הרעה) searches for what is evil, so the “evil ear” attends to the message of loss and despair.  As we inwardly receive the truth of Yeshua, more truth is revealed; but if we resist, untruth will take root and grow….

Yeshua often employed parables (משׁלים), or analogical stories, in his teaching because they simultaneously conceal and reveal spiritual truth.  A parable obscures the truth to those who don’t really want it, so that “seeing they may not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:9-10; Isa. 6:9-10), and yet it reveals truth to the humble of heart.  Since Yeshua’s whole life was a parable of sorts – a “disguise” that led to the victory of our deliverance (Phil. 2:7) – it is not surprising that he regularly used “figures of speech” to provoke people to examine their own heart condition and the quality of their faith… In this connection note that Yeshua never explained the “mysteries of the kingdom of God” directly to the crowds, nor did He ever pander to the crowd’s clamor or interests. God’s word is freely “sown” to all, but it is received only by those who are willing to hear.  The message is always directed to the individual willing to follow Him — to the one who has “ears to hear.”

For example, the famous “Parable of the Sower” (Luke 8:4-8) teaches us that God is like a farmer who sows seed upon the “soil” of the human heart, the quality of which may be hard, shallow, choked, or good:
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• A “hard heart” (לב קשה) is likened to impenetrable soil that repels the “seed” of the promise of God (ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ, Luke 8:11). Because of bitterness, a person can become indifferent and numb inside, and this heart condition enables the devil to snatch the seed of hope from the heart like a ravenous bird (Luke 8:12).
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• A “shallow heart” (לב רדוד) is likened to topsoil that overlays bedrock. At first the soil receives the seed and quickly begins to grow, but since there is no depth of soil, the growth fails to take root and the growth withers for lack of nutrients and moisture. When tested, the shallow heart reveals its lack of commitment and does not persevere (Luke 8:13).­­
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• A “choked heart” (נחנק לב) is likened to weedy soil that hides other roots that exhibit “thorns,” namely worldly fears, the desire for riches, and the pursuit of comfort or pleasures. Such people are double-minded and their spiritual life becomes obstructed, throttled by busyness, distracted by desires for comfort, security, and worldly vanities. They are full of inner conflict and despair and consequently become stunted in their growth (Luke 8:14).
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• Finally, a “good heart” (לב טוב) is likened to tilled and receptive soil that receives the seed to yield an abundant harvest: “yielding thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.”  Because the righteous honor the seed and nurture its presence, the hidden power of the Life is powerfully released (Luke 8:15). They are also likened to a tree planted by rivers of living water that bring forth fruit in their season (Psalm 1:3). In this connection it is helpful to remember that fruit does not immediately crop up but requires time and its own season… The process of spiritual growth is ultimately mysterious and divine: “The kingdom of God 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, “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). With God all things are possible, and the life of God is a miracle that comes from God’s own source of Life. It is the fruit of the Spirit, after all, and not the result of human effort or moral reformation…
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So the “parable of the sower” teaches us that how we hear will determine the quality of the ground of our spiritual life.  If we are honest with ourselves, we will see our own hardness, shallowness, and selfishness in contrast to the fruitfulness marked by the good heart, and this should provoke us to seek God for help… Again, only a new heart (לב חדש) created by power of God’s Spirit can possibly yield the fruit of the Spirit (פרי הרוח). “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (Luke 8:18).

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• Psalm 92:12 Hebrew page (pdf)

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Surely our great need is to have heart, to find strength, resolution, and steadfast determination to walk boldly during these heartless and depraved days (2 Tim. 3:1-5). We are not without God’s help, of course. Yeshua told us that the Ruach HaKodesh (רוּחַ הַקּדֶשׁ) would be “called alongside” (παράκλητος) to comfort us on the journey. The English verb “comfort” literally means “to give strength” (from com- [“with”] and fortis [“strong”]), an idea similarly expressed by the verb “encourage,” that is, to “put heart [i.e., ‘core’] within the soul.” In Hebrew, the word courage is expressed by the phrase ometz lev (אמֶץ לֵב), meaning “strong of heart,” denoting an inner quality of the will rather than of the intellect. Ometz lev means having an inner resolve, a passion, and a direction. The sages say “the mind is the eye, whereas the heart is the feet.” May God be our Light and Salvation as we walk through the surrounding darkness…
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• Psalm 27:1 Hebrew page (pdf)

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­Fear is the primary tool of the devil and the underlying motive behind sin itself (Rom. 14:23). Beloved, “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). Always focus on Yeshua, the Light of Torah (האור של תורה) and the true Wisdom of God (חָכְמַת אֱלהִים): “Whoever has My commandments (מִצְוֹתַי) and keeps them, that is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest (lit., “shine within” from ἐν, “in” + φαίνω, “shine”) myself to him” (John 14:21). There it is – the Source of the Light that overcomes all darkness; the Power that is behind the armor of God… Yeshua is the Beginning, the Center, and the End of all true meaning from God. Blessed is His Name forever and ever…

Menachem Mendl once wrote that there are three things fitting for us to do: upright kneeling, motionless dancing, and silent screaming… Not everyone will understand the pain that moves us to seek inner healing, but Gods’ Presence shines for us all…

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An honest person is a humble person, since honesty compels the soul to confess the truth that it is profoundly ignorant, incapable of understanding even the simplest matters of life, and entirely powerless to heal itself… People argue over words, concepts, and abstractions, inflating their opinions above even the Reality they purport to define, but the humble soul acknowledges that he doesn’t really know much about anything… And if “all the efforts of the human mind cannot exhaust the essence of a single fly,” then how is it that people get puffed up and proud regarding their supposed knowledge of God Himself? Far better to approach God in deep reverence, wonder, love, and childlike trust than to profess a theology based on pride and illusions…

Read more “Honesty and Humility…”

God’s Name is “I-AM-with-you-always,” imanu-El (עִמָּנוּ אֵל) – always in the midst of you, your heart, your Center (Matt. 28:20; Isa. 41:10, Psalm 23:4, etc)…. The LORD is so named because he is never without his own, and we are who we are in relation to his presence in our lives. Yeshua is not simply the Lord of the past or the Lord of the future, but the Lord of this moment, this “here” and this “now.” He is the same yesterday, today, and forever – the breath of life, our sustaining hope, the Shepherd of our souls… Whatever else may come of this day, this is the day that the LORD has made, and we find peace in God’s Presence… Let us look to Him in this hour!

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• Psalm 118:24 page (pdf)

Yeshua forewarned that just before the End of Days, “many shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matt. 24:10). What dreadful people, you might imagine… what terrible depravity will mark that time! And yet here we are today, with so many crusading for their own personal sense of victimhood, demanding special treatment, and threatening retaliation for being treated unfairly… It must be remembered, however, that whenever we find offence in others, we are reflecting the evil within ourselves (Matt. 7:1-5). What is this evil within you ask? How about being intolerant toward those who differ from us? How about be impatient – refusing to allow others to share their perspectives? Indeed, how many of us make the demand that others be “perfect” but turn a blind eye to our own imperfections? And what about the sin of unforgiveness? What about our attitude of suspicion — using the “evil eye” regarding others’ motives – looking for something impure – rather than extending to them the benefit of the doubt? Do you carry resentment with your heart? Do you hold on to a grudge over a real (or imagined) insult from the past? Do you harbor the desire to seek revenge? All of these evil attitudes are symptomatic of hardhearted unforgiveness, and failing to remember that all that is good in your life you owe exclusively to the mercy of God alone… When you feel offended, look within and carefully consider the assumptions at work in your thinking. Ask whether your indignation is based on the truth of God or something else. Are you demanding: “My will be done, in heaven as it is on earth?” Are you seeking your own vision, or surrendering to the truth of Reality?

Read more “Deliver us from Offence…”

You’ve likely have heard the saying, “hate the sin, love the sinner,” and while it is true that we should hate sin (most of all, our own sin), it is contrary to the gospel to hate the sinner. After all, Christ died for the ungodly; he came to seek and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). “God demonstrates his love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Yeshua died for us – the just for the unjust – that we may reconciled with him (Rom. 5:8; 1 Pet. 3:8; 2 Cor. 5:21). Indeed Yeshua was maligned by the self-righteous of his day by being called “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:34, 15:2). So it is a spiritual misstep to hate the sinner because we hate their sin.

On the other hand the sages have repeatedly taught that love cannot take root within our hearts unless there is a hatred of the enemy, that is of the devil and sin. Indeed to hate sin indicates love for the sinner because sin inevitably yields suffering and loss (Psalm 97:10). So how is it possible to love others – including ourselves – if we do not hate evil? How can we exist within this state of inner contradiction? Doesn’t “holiness” mean separation from what is evil and to no longer partake of “works of darkness” that mark a godless life? (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:11; 1 Pet. 4:1-3). Is that not the meaning of “sanctification”?

So how can we love someone who does evil? Well, it’s not really that difficult. Indeed, as C.S. Lewis once observed, we love someone who does evil all the time – namely, ourselves! “You dislike what you have done, but you don’t cease to love yourself. You may even think that you ought to be hanged… Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” The point Mr. Lewis makes is simple. If we are able to love ourselves despite our shortcomings and faults, surely we ought show the same compassion to others. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive others,” Yeshua said, for if we do not forgive others, we ourselves remain unforgiven (Matt. 6:12-15).

It’s easy enough to love goodness; it’s no struggle to desire or cling to our supposed ideals. Even the pagans do as much. But Yeshua wants us to go beyond these sorts of natural affections to the realm of the divine, that is, to love our enemies and to care for them (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27). But how is that love possible if it is not a decision, an act of will to unconditionally give goodness to others (including ourselves)? When we pray and ask God to forgive us, our spirit cannot say “amen” and receive pardon unless we trust in God’s unconditional love for us. And this is the very love he wants us to give to others…

Still, there is this tension within us – the “demand” to be perfect alongside the reality of our daily imperfections…. Since we must, however, presently coexist with evil, what is essential is for us is to remain righteous by holding God’s goodness close to our hearts. This is the goodness of God’s unconditional love, his grace that overcomes all the evil in ourselves and others.

The devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy; he wants to steal goodness from our hearts. He tempts us to judge ourselves and others as being no good, unworthy, sinful – and therefore unlovable. To overcome this temptation is a work of faith wherein we re-accept that we are accepted by God on account of his great love. That is the meaning of the redemption, after all, that God so loves you that he bears your evil and loves you in spite of it all. Yes, the Lord will help us and transform us so that we will learn to walk in love and stop being evil, but we love God because he first loved us. Or as C.S. Lewis again said, “the Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.

The only way we can overcome evil is by the power of faith, seeking God in all things, and understanding that his redemptive love is our salvation. Practically speaking this means learning to see the good in all things, and especially in others. We have to overlook much, to forgive much, and so on, but that is what Yeshua meant when he said “judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). Such righteousness “sees beyond” superficial appearance to discern the underlying good. It is seeing by the truth of mercy and by the truth of hope more than “factual” seeing… The Hebrew word for “righteousness” is tzedakah (צְדָקָה), which is a kind of giving to others than goes beyond natural measures of justice, such as “eye-for-eye” retribution or even the reward for doing good.

“Judge righteous judgment.” Don’t be holier-than-thou, damning others for their sinfulness. If we are not willing to overlook imperfections in ourselves and others, we will be miserable, angry, and hateful people. As Nietzsche said: “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster, and if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” Again, we overcome the power evil by means of the greater power of the good. And that’s really the message of the cross, after all: God overcomes evil by means of love. Focusing on the good does not deny that sin and evil are real problems, but it ensures that our response to such is grounded in God’s love that overcomes the darkness. Amen.

Hebrew Reading:

• Isa. 53:5 Hebrew page (pdf)