Sukkoth

Catherine Martin, on her blog Everyone has a Story posted: Jesus was a homeless guy. And so He was.

A scribe approached Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!” Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. Matthew 8:19,20

It is an appropriate blog post this week. For this evening begins Sukkoth, also called the Feast of Tabernacles (or booths). The celebration of Sukkoth isn’t at all the same here in America as it is in Israel. The closest an American might come to visualizing the scene in Jerusalem would be if he or she is old enough to remember Christmases when many front lawns and parks had small tent-like structures within which were displayed nativity scenes. The celebration of Sukkoth is the celebration of remembering that once the Jewish people wandered in the desert. While not all celebrate the Feast by sleeping the entire night in the small tents that line the streets of Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel, most will at least eat a meal in the tent during the evening. This Feast is one in which giving extra to charity is emphasized, and often a stranger is entertained in a tent.

There is a local church here in north Georgia that holds a festival of sorts that has the youth group sleeping outdoors. Each year the youth group is tasked with going out into the community to beg for food, as food drive. The young people then return, hopefully with bags of groceries, or at least pledges. Toward evening, they build cardboard huts in which they will spend the night. There are adult chaperones, and a meager meal is served to those who’ve brought back food that will be shared with actual homeless individuals.

In her post, Ms. Martin tells of her anguish at reading a comment by a “Christian pastor explaining his opinion that people who are poor are reaping the seeds of irresponsibility and poor decisions, and the Church is not expected to physically care for them.” This pastor suffers from an excessive dose of Calvinism, in which those who are truly saved display that fact by being very prosperous. I suppose that love isn’t enough to display that we are Christians. So does that mean the song, “They will know we are Christians by our love. . .” ought to be changed to “They will know we are Christians by our riches. . . ” Huh! Yeah, I agree with Ms. Martin. And I agree with the church that is doing something to build some sort of empathy within its youth group for the plight of the homeless. And plight it is.

Being homeless is like ending up in a hole, whether or not it is one fallen into or one that a person digs for him or her self. Once in deep enough, it cannot be escaped without help. In the mid eighties I worked with a wonderful man who was homeless. He, along with his wife and two children, were living in a small settlement of homeless. The pastor had built a community out of old military barracks removed from a nearby military post when it was closing down some of its training areas. That pastor taught some of the men to fish, buying three fishing boats. He tried to work with those that were able to get them back into the mainstream. Some were not able. Some too burned out, too empty of self-esteem. To emotionally broken. But those that could, were able to get out, on their feet, and make it. My friend eventually became a music professor at a well-known university, and his wife a teacher and artist.

Think about this: If you are applying for a job, you need an address. If your driver license is expiring, you need an address. No address, no job, no identification. How do you get a job? Oh, sure, just rent a place to live, then you will have an address and you can apply for a job. But without a job, how do you pay for a place to live? Okay, some ingenuity and you use the address of a shelter until you get a job, save some money, and move into a place of your own. But getting a job takes money, too. Clothing, for instance, that isn’t rags, is a basic necessity. It’s just hard. The homeless need help. And, as Ms. Martin points out, it’s not helping them if a Christian just passes them a tract to read. What churches can do is look around the community within which it resides, and say, “What needs are there here?” Then supply them.

While working psych ambulance in California’s Silicon Valley, I went into a lot of board and care facilities for mental health patients. I also transported a lot of elderly people to and from residential facilities. Most of these places were really bad. But there was one, just one in all of the Santa Clara Valley, that was incredibly nice. It was in the back parking lot of a Mennonite Church. Being also a journalist in my though process, I asked about the senior care facility and was told that church members discovered there was a real need in the community for senior citizens, old people, to have a place to live, to be cared for. The parking lot was huge, and the city allowed the church to build a facility.

Like the pastor that built a community for the homeless, like the Mennonite Church, churches can spend more time looking to their own communities’ needs than to building fancy buildings and additional classrooms, or funding mission trips to other countries. While those things may seem important, the guy on the corner carrying a sign that says “Vet needs help,” might, with a little love and help, get on his own feet. In the meantime, that homeless man provides a witness against the church for its lack of commitment to Messiah Y’shua, who tasted life on the streets.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

First Step in Prepping for Whatever may Come

There is a simplicity to being “saved.”

The author of Hebrews addresses a Believing Jewish audience; an audience that believes in Y’shuaJesus as Lord, Messiah. In the first five chapters he writes at length presenting the arguments of Y’shuaJesus as the awaited Messiah. In chapter six the author writes:

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity. . . Hebrews 6:1

He wants to move on to other things, but first he recaps the basics of Messianic Judaism: 1) repentance from dead works; 2) faith in G-d; 3) the teaching of ritual washings; 4) laying on of hands; 5) resurrection of the dead; and 6) eternal judgement. (Heb 6:1-3) It is my belief that a Jew does not “convert” to Christianity. Rather, a Jew simply becomes “completed.” I learned of this from Pastor Jeff Sheldon, of southern Oregon.

So then, the non-Jew, the “Gentile,” who doesn’t have a relationship with G-d, finds salvation in Y’shuaJesus in another way if the Gospel’s presentation. In the Billy Graham Training Center Bible, the normal condition of mankind means that there is a need to be “delivered from sin and it consequences to find true peace and fulfillment. An understanding is required of G-d’s purpose, which is salvation, John 3:16 There is a problem here though, as there is a separation from G-d, Rom 3:24. G-d has a remedy, which is the Cross, 1 Tim 2:5,6. We must respond through trusting Messiah Y’shuaJesus, John 1:12. We finally accept G-d’s assurance through His Word, Rom 10:13.

Henry David Thoreau wrote that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This then is the man or woman who is separated from G-d. There is a struggle within the unsaved that often means pushing the Gospel away, defiantly. It is rebellion.

It is critical, I think, that we understand the differing perspectives of a person with whom we come into contact. We must be able to respond the that person in a way that he or she becomes willing to shed defiance and rebellion. Thus, that person can be lead to submit to Y’shuaJesus.

These precarious times in which we live, these times of crisis, are also great times of opportunity. We may be called upon to assist people who recognized that the world seems to be unraveling and don’t know how to do anything about it.

We must be prayed up to respond. We must be alert, and sober.

Lord Bless, Keep, and Shine. . .

Rosh Hashanah

Shanah Tovah (שנה טובה)

As the sun dropped below the horizon last night, New Years began. These days are now days to look inward, repenting of thoughts that are impure, and deeds that we did wrongly. As the these Holy Days proceed, we really are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We are called to righteousness in Messiah Y’shua. And we are saved, and need not work for our salvation. But we are responsible to allow our Lord to cleanse our feet from our dusty journey of this past year.

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;
seek righteousness; seek humility. . . Zeph 2:3

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Thinking more about being sober

Being sober isn’t only the opposite of being drunk; it is used in a few other ways (from Wiktionary), such as: moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled. A couple of examples: “No sober man would put himself into danger for the applause of escaping without breaking his neck.” Or: Which is the finest and soberest state possible.

While the King James Version uses “sober” in 1 Peter 5:8, the Holman Christian Standard Bible uses “serious.”

Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 1 Peter 5:8 HCSB

Paul expresses the need for this sober, seriously watchful attitude because we are not meant for wrath. (1 Thes 5:9). My wife has been watching a documentary on Bronisław Huberman, a Jewish Polish violinist who “founded the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (then known as the Palestine Philharmonic) and thus providing refuge from the Third Reich for nearly 1,000 European Jews.” (Wikipedia)

In the early 1930s, Jewish Germans were already being ostracized from German communities. Musicians were fired from their jobs in German orchestras. While there was a Jewish-only orchestra formed that accommodated some musicians, it did not last long. Mr. Huberman was able to gain support to build the Philharmonic, and filled its seats with Jews from not only Germany, but from Poland and other Eastern European countries. Some Jews did not want to leave Germany, however, even when the opportunity was provided. One of the chief factors was the attitude that “this is all going to blow over.” So many of the Jews could not accept leaving all they’d worked to build, believing if they simply played along, accepted some sacrifice, it would be alright. Once the musicians finally made it to Israel, then called Palistine, they found it quite different than they’d been accustom. One woman left the Philharmonic, returning to German. Another musician asked to be allowed to return to German to finish his PhD. The PhD. candidate stayed too long, and could not get out of German, as the border were closed. Both the musicians were sent to camps, and are presumed to have been murdered. All the musicians that accepted positions with Jewish-only orchestras were eventually sent to camps, were they, too, died. As we know, the sanctions against the Jewish community became an all-out war of terror against it. What began slowly rapidly turned evil, indeed.

So, fast forward from the years of Hitler’s reign of terror to the Twenty-First Century. What does this lesson teach us today? If we see persecution toward Christians increasing throughout the world, if we understand that it isn’t just going to go away, how do we proceed? One might say that there is really no place we may run, no place to hide. World War III may be the ongoing war against terrorism that has engulfed the world. Even if we perceive the threat to a Christian way of life, there really isn’t any place we may go for asylum. We are told by Y’shuaJesus directly that a time will come that we are unable to buy, sell, or trade. (Matthew 24) We are not appointed for wrath, but if we are not prepared, we certainly will be caught up in it. And we must not yield our souls to gain only a temporary life. Therefore we must be prepared. We must, like Joseph who helped Egypt, prepare for famine and plague and violence. We must become strong both physically as well as spiritually if we are to survive “underground.” Prepare Now!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

The Movie: GoodBye World!

In programming classes, during the dawning of the computer age, I recall the phrase, “Hello World.” It was used as the first statement a newbee programmer would have his first program write to a screen. This movie, “Goodbye World!” used a spin-off of that phrase as the last thing to be displayed on all cell phones as the computer age crashed into night. The movie, set in Northern California, centered on a group of old college friends, now middle-aged, that managed to get together as the world plummeted into chaos. It is explained that after college, after these friends went their own ways, two of the them, James and Lilly, were awakened to the fragility of the world, especially food production, electricity, and transportation. They not only saw that the modern world was headed toward an abrupt halt, they acted upon that vision. They left the city, heading to Northern California to build a self-sustaining home high on a mountain.

. . .let us keep awake and be sober. (1 Thes 5:6)

It is in this home that the old college friends gather. It’s not a movie with “we all lived happily ever after.” Right from the start the group finds it must deal with diverse personalities and perspectives. Ever the pragmatist, James has collected a sizable cache of food and medicine, and developed a large truck garden. He has a filtered well and solar panels providing power not only for the well, but also for the house. Lilly, on the other hand, would rather not think about tomorrow, and simply eat, drink, smoke dope, and be happy for the moment. James and another, more pragmatic friend, head into town to the small grocery store to pick up some supplies. They find that a motorcycle gang has taken over the store, and raise the prices a thousand percent. They pay with cash and a gold watch. Once outside the store, the witness three men taking groceries away from another man, and they leave without helping him. On the way home, they stop at a neighbor who often has sold them meat and things they don’t raise. They buy it at the same cost, added to their “tab,” that they’d always paid. They are neighbors, after all.

Internal tensions rise in the house as they learn of the extent of civil breakdown in the United States, and that two members of this old-college group, have contributed to the meltdown of society through their computer-hacking and virus-creating activities. Then the neighbor who’d sold them some meat comes by the house to ask for spare medicine. Someone from town has an infection and the motorcycle gang took all the drugs from the store when it left town. James says he doesn’t have anything to offer.

Next major event is that many of the neighbors from lower down the mountain have gathered at the home below James’s. Along come two armed National Guardsmen. They are told they can’t stay at James’s home, that the Constitution forbids it. They don’t leave the area, but settle in with the now larger group living in the home farther down the mountain. Trouble brews when that group is stirred up by these “soldiers,” when they learn of the large food cache and medicines that James and his friends have in their home. These soldiers come to James’s home, and at gun point, declare that James will not only share the food cache, but give all medicine to them. James sees no recourse, and agrees. The next day, James takes food down the hill, but not the medicine. He says that he will share the medicine, but the ill must come to him. It is his preparations, after all. One of the soldiers, a man named Damien, decides to kill James to make a point that to all not to defy Damien and his authority. That group does nothing. Just as Damien is about to kill James, he is shot by one of the old college friends, a woman, who’d come down behind James. She then makes a speech that begins with one spoken by General George Washington:

“The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.” (Address to the Continental Army before the battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776.)[Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/w/washington_george_ii.html#x4CP8VkwaPuVvH70.99]

Someone yells, “Who’s our enemy?” To which the woman says, “We are are own enemies.” She then goes on to say that we need to work together, for if we are are going to live free, we must work together.

What strikes me from this movie is that the character James is a hippie sort, yet wants to maintain control of that which he has stored, without sharing beyond his own household. Additionally, while wanting to maintain his home as his, to maintain his freedom and liberty, he is unwilling and unable to fight for it. It is the woman who ends up shooting the soldier Damien, that is willing to not only share, but to band together to form a cooperative, to work together for all their common good. And obviously she is willing to fight for that freedom, that liberty.

This soldier, Damien, represents the reign of tyranny an individual can inflict upon a community. These tyrants are not leaders, not rulers, not raised by G-d to serve people. They only wish to dominate, to control, to live at ease at the expense of humans for which they have no respect, no love. They gather others around them who’d rather join them than be against them. They suck the lives out of those they attempt to control. They are bullies. They deserve nothing more than to die. This is my opinion. As Christians we have a moral obligation to work toward righteousness, keeping always an eternal perspective. What does that mean? I think the meaning includes that the righteous have nothing to do with the schemes of the devil. I think the schemes of the devil include using willing humans to bring chaos and slavery to the lives of the righteous. If we fail to be on guard, fail to watch, we are going to sleep and darkness will fall upon us and we will be enslaved, economically, socially, morally. We will lose the rewards that we’ve gained, we will lose our crowns. If, as so many believe, the time is short, we must be doubly sure that we fall not into the devils way.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine . . .

Ice Bucket Challenge

It’s the rage, lately, to do the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” Here’s a perspective that I brings truth into what seems like a simple, harmless, activity.

Why I can’t participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge
By Nathanael King

Recently, I’ve received a few “ALS ice bucket challenges,” which I cannot accept. I don’t fault any of my friends for giving me this challenge. Thanks for thinking of me and trying to include me! Really. You guys are awesome, and it was really fun watching you shiver!

Amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more popularly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a horrible neurodegenerative disease affecting everything from speech and swallowing to basic mobility. I personally have friends whose parents have languished and died from this disease, and experts estimate that 30,000 Americans suffer from this disease. It’s as good a place as any to focus medical-research efforts.

But I cannot accept the challenge, and I hope you’ll understand why. It’s not because I’m afraid of cold water. (Although that’s true). My concern is where the publicity and money might go. Specifically, I’m concerned with the kind of research that might be financed by my hypothetical promotional activity. (For those who don’t know what this is, you’re supposed to dump a bucket of ice water on your head, and video it, and then challenge others to do it. If you don’t do it, you’re supposed to give $100 to the ALS Association, and if you do do it, you either don’t have to give any money to the ALSA or you’re supposed to give $10 to the ALSA, depending on the version).

The ALS Association funds a number of different types of research, and among these is embryonic stem-cell research. For those who don’t know what this is, it is when scientists take a female egg and a male sperm and fertilize the egg in a lab, and then after the new life begins to form, they remove the building blocks of life—embryonic stem cells. This is the same process that occurs when people struggle with infertility and then get in-vitro fertilization. The important difference is that instead of implanting the fertilized embryo into a mother so that it can grow into a baby, these embryos are experimented on, and then discarded. They are created for the express purpose of destroying them for medical research.

The ALS Association website says this: “Adult stem cell research is important and should be done alongside embryonic stem cell research as both will provide valuable insights. Only through exploration of all types of stem cell research will scientists find the most efficient and effective ways to treat diseases.”

Sometimes, stem cells are harvested as part of in-vitro fertilization as described above, and other times they are harvested as part of an abortion procedure. For example, one clinical trial, which was supported by the ALS Association with a $500,000 grant involved “stem cells … from the spinal cord of a single fetus electively aborted after eight weeks of gestation.”

At eight weeks, a baby has its own unique DNA, is 2 centimeters long, has tiny fingers and toes, and a heart beat of about 160 beats per minute.

Some might argue that life does not begin at conception. But the other options seem entirely subjective scientifically and unsupported biblically. Some say life begins not at conception, but implantation or even birth—as if the location of the embryo should determine when it is alive. Some say that it’s when the embryo is viable, but this point is completely subjective and would mean that now life begins far sooner than it did a few years ago when we didn’t have the technology to save early preterm infants.

At conception, a baby has a unique genetic code, and all of the necessary building blocks for life, and the Bible attributes the properties of personhood to us from conception (see Ps. 139:13-16, Job 10:8-12, Jer. 1:5, Ps. 51:5, Luke 1:39-44, Ex. 21:22-24).

The reason this is important is because as a Christian, I believe that no human life is intrinsically worth more than another human life. All humans are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27, 9:6), and therefore are uniquely valuable and have distinctive worth.

We’re not all born “equal” in the sense that we’re all able to run equally fast or complete math problems equally well, but we are all equally created in the image of God, and this is where we derive our worth and value.

The problem with embryonic stem-cell research is two-fold: First, it is morally reprehensible to anyone who believes that life begins at conception. Imagine the outrage that would happen if scientists proposed we grew infants and children for the express purpose of performing lethal experiments on them, no matter how scientifically helpful the results would be.

Secondly, if there is a breakthrough involving embryonic stem-cell research, then the resulting treatment would involve mass harvesting of embryonic stem cells, and therefore mass abortions. In short, embryonic stem-cell research involves the destruction of innocent human life. And therefore, I cannot promote donations to this particular organization when it thinks that infanticide is a legitimate way to save other human beings.

Now, I don’t think our response as Christians should be to just throw up our hands, check out, and not do anything. Instead, we should lead the way in helping those who are suffering with ALS and work toward finding medical treatments that are ethically researched. So, I would ask anyone who is making a donation to consider donating to an ethically focused organization, such as the John Paul II Medical Research Institute.

Finally, as one blogger on this issue said: “This is a good time to consider the effect that social-media activism is having on our culture—and ourselves as actors in it. … I very much believe in this medium’s capacity for acting as a vehicle for good, yet I also recognize how instant connectivity is a double-edged sword, making it much easier for a ‘herd mentality’ to develop. Which is all fine and good when the herd is headed in the correct direction, right?

“But peer pressure blows perspective out of the water, as we race to belong without first stepping back and considering each and every dimension before clicking ‘Like’ or share. How many of you stopped and investigated HOW your money would be spent before emptying the ice-cube trays? Exactly. You shouldn’t feel bad about it! That’s not my point. You should feel a little weird and more than a little prone toward caution in the future.

“So don’t look at this as a call for inaction. I’m asking you to be as active as ever and creative, too; what we’re looking for is a higher level of self-awareness the next time a Facebook buddy tags you with the best of intentions.”

Nathanael King is an associate pastor at Temecula Hills Christian Fellowship in Temecula, California. This article originally appeared on the author’s blog, which is at nathanaelk.com.

Honor Mom

Honoring parents is so much more that obedience. While that may be a part of honor, it is not all. To honor a person is to respect him or her. It is also to remember, and to hold dear.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12

My mother’s birthday is this month. I shared these things on facebook with my family. Many of them commented on their own remembrance of these products. A cousin in Wales still uses HP. A Welsh-Canadian, turned American, still uses Lyle’s and Bird’s and HP.

While these are products, they are part of Hearth Memories. Those are the memories we all share of being in the kitchen while the cooking’s done, of setting the table, of carrying the food out, and of gathering together to eat. They become a part of who we are as humans.

These are reminders, too, of things I’ve learned from my Mom: like G-d works in mysterious ways; like “It turned out nice again.”

Here are three things I remember, and this is my way of honoring the memory of my Mother.

HP is for steaks, but as i don’t/ won’t eat meat, it’s okay on veggies once and awhile. I remember trying to trick Mom by putting A-1 sauce in an empty HP bottle.

i really liked Bird’s custard. Found some in a store, but haven’t tried to make it yet; i’m sure it wouldn’t taste like Mom’s.

Did you know Golden Syrup was originally tapped from palm trees in Sri Lanka. i think it’s just sugar syrup now, though. i still have fond memories of Mom putting it on top a thin slice of toast.

And, no, not everyone knows who their parents are. Sad. Many children are abandoned or abused by their parents, and the parents make no effort to reconcile. Sad. Not all things that parents do are right. And some things are very bad, even if they the parents do mostly good. Yet we are called to honor our parents nonetheless. This can be a hard thing. I feel badly about that. I don’t know how that can be done. But the Lord knows and can work His way within those who seek Him.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

As the Days of Noah. . .

The Last Days. It’s on a lot of minds these days. Wars. Ebola. Islamic Terrorists. Rampant Crime. How could we not think that these are the Last Days. Yet, in all sincerity, as a human race we’ve had wars, famine, plague, and more than enough crime. The past looks pretty ugly. And yet, the mass of men, living lives of quiet desperation (thanks HD Thoreau) just kept on living. “Eat, Drink, Be Merry, for Tomorrow We May Die!” is the prevailing motto. This is the paradigm in which we, as Earth-dwellers live.

That’s what the Days of Noah were all about. Just going on despite the violence they perpetrated or experienced. That’s my sense of it all. We talk of the Last Days, but do we really believe it is here? Reading Genesis chapter six tells of G-d’s disappointment with the sin of the people. They’d become a real pain [ in King James English that was translated as G-d repenting of His creation] to Him. It’s Y’shuaJesus’s view of those times that opens things up for me.

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:36-39

Generally, people are simple unaware. Period. Sure, we occasionally get a Chicken Little running about yelling, “The sky is falling. The sky is falling.” And lots of things point to toward the Last Days. But we largely ignore the signs. We go on marrying, eating, living, dying. And maybe that’s okay, too. Maybe our lives are meant simply to be lived, that we just need to be good and do good, in the capacity that we find ourselves. Maybe that’s enough. But in the Days of Noah, the people were violent, sinful, because they’d lost their view of G-d. They’d forgotten G-d. The people of Israel, years later, did the same thing. A judge would arise, chosen by G-d to turn the hearts and minds of the people back to G-d–and to vanquish the enemy that had come against Israel. Than the judge would die and the people would again forget.

What I think. . . maybe. . . it’s okay to go on marrying, eating, and going to church weekly or whatever; but we need to turn our eyes toward the Heavens, we need to turn our eyes toward the Lord. The Lord must be the center. For if the Lord is the Center, then the Center will hold and our lives won’t fall apart.

Awake in the morning rejoicing G-d; go to bed at night thanking G-d for another mundane, ordinary day living for and through Him. And if at night we hear a voice calling our name. . . Listen Up! Look Up!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Thank You Lord for the Victory

Matthew Henry wrote: “Wherever we are, we may speak to God, and worship him. God must have the praise of that which encourages our faith. And his providence must be acknowledged in events, though small and seemingly accidental”

And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house. . . -Deuteronomy 26:11

It is shameful that I so often forget, in my living and in my praying, that thankfulness and gratitude go much further to bring me into the Holy Presence of the Lord Y’shuaJesus than all my good requests and good intentions. And to live, authentically, I must live in His presence. Saying “Thank You, Lord” when things work out is all well and fine. However, it’s a mark of true Christian Character that when things are difficult, things are rough, when trials are like fire licking my feet, that a man or woman in Messiah’s Care can rejoice in thankfulness to a G-d Who is personal, Who is loving, Who is faithful to show His Light after a long walk through a dark valley.

In these times, which appear to be close to the Last Days, peace with G-d is paramount and is sought by many. We as Believers in Messiah Y’shuaJesus understand the truth that the only way to have that peace is through Y’shuaJesus. We are warned that many will come in the Name of G-d saying many things. We are warned that we will be persecuted for our Truth. So there is physical trials we must endure. But there are other trials: for we battle a spiritual enemy that delights in emotionally battering us. We have feelings that betray us, disrupt our peace. As we are inundated with thoughts and fears, we pray for help and deliverance. We feel like we are dying, perhaps. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, or so goes the saying today. We must remember that we are not going to die. So all these hardships, both physical and emotional, only makes us stronger.

Being thankful to G-d isn’t thanking G-d for the trials, necessarily. Being thankful and rejoicing in that thankfulness, is remembering the past deliverance that G-d has done personally in our lives. Remember the time He did . And being thankful to G-d is rejoicing in the remembrance of those times of His deliverance. I can certainly begin a prayer with “Oh, Lord, please save me. . .” and proceed to go at length talking to Him about all that concerns me, that threatens me, that makes me feel so badly. But how much better it is when I say, “I praise you Lord, I thank You. For in times past You have rescued me and You have shown me that You were near me though I didn’t feel Your presence. Thank You that even today, even now, I can understand that despite how I feel, You are there with me. Together I will overcome, in Your Name by Your Power.”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

It’s a crazy world these days

Ferguson, MO. According to news reports, out-of-town agitators are entering the town and stirring up trouble. These reports say police arrests are being made of mostly people from out of town, many from out of state. Coming from outside, stirring up trouble, isn’t new. I remember Watts, the major riot in the 1960s. While living in Augusta, GA, in the early 1970s, I was told about protests and subsequent riots there. Local folks were peacefully protesting some issue and agitators came from the north stirring up trouble, turning the protests into riots.

These days, Riot-control techniques include using spotters to locate, and quickly subdue such agitators. The difficult thing is entering a crowd of people to arrest one agitator, who may quickly turn the entire crowd against the arresting officers.

This outside interference–or support, depending on your outlook–is told in the Book of Acts.

But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, they came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes. Acts 17:13

As Believers, as Elect, as People of G-d, we know there are fallen angels from Heaven here to trouble the people of this world, both Believers and non-believers. We know this. The agitators in Ferguson, MO, are themselves being stirred up. Any love of peace is being driven out of them.

These are troubling times; these are crazy times. Weird things are happening throughout the Earth, not just in Ferguson, MO. Ebola in Africa, with potential cases popping up in other countries outside of Africa. The U.S. is entering the ware in Iraq–again. There is trouble throughout the Middle East. And Arabs broke a short stay of violence in Gaza. There’s a volcano possibly erupting in Iceland. Muslim scholars are now calling for a ‘global uprising’ against Israel. Evan as we are building complex computer networks throughout the world, becoming technologically advanced, Al Qaeda is targeting U.S. infrastructure for a digital 9/11. And then there’s California, the state in which I was born and lived most of my live: California breaks drought record as 58% of state hits driest level. Are the Horsemen of Revelation upon us? I don’t know. I only know that we have a response to make, action to take. It is this:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Eph 6:12

The warfare in which we engage is spiritual. Our weapons are spiritual. And our prayers are not based upon our strength, our courage, our righteousness; we pray in the Name of the Lord our Messiah.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon y’all. . .