Category: Living Daily
Monday Memories: In Memory of Lidia
I’m haunted by Lidia’s face. Is it her gentle, shy smile? Is it her lovely dark eyes framed by perfect eyebrows?
LIDIA LEBOWITZ. Born in Sarospatak, Hungary, in 1933.
The younger of two sisters, Lidia was born to Jewish parents living in Sarospatak, a small town in northeastern Hungary. Lidia’s parents owned a successful dry goods business. At the time, ready-made clothes were still rare in the countryside. Townspeople and local farmers would purchase fabric at the Lebowitz store and then take it to their tailor or seamstress to be sewn into clothes.
1933-39: Lidia was 2 when her Aunt Sadie, who had immigrated to the United States many years earlier, came to visit with her two children, Arthur and Lillian. All the cousins had a good time playing together on their grandparents’ farm. On the trip over from America, Lidia’s aunt’s ship had docked in Hamburg, Germany, and Aunt Sadie had seen Nazis marching in the streets. Aunt Sadie was worried about what could happen to her family in Sarospatak.
1940-44: In 1944 German forces occupied Hungary. A month after the invasion, Hungarian gendarmes, acting under Nazi orders, evicted Lidia and her parents from their home. The Lebowitzes spent three days crowded into the local synagogue with hundreds of other Jewish citizens. Then they were all transferred to the nearby town of Satoraljaujhely, where some 15,000 Jews were squeezed into a ghetto set up in the gypsy section of town. The ghetto residents had a hard time getting enough food to eat.
The ghetto was liquidated in May and June of 1944. All the Jews were deported in sealed freight cars to Auschwitz. Lidia and her parents were never heard from again.
Note: This information was obtained from
the United States Holocaust Museum
Washington, D.C.
Friday Notes: Office of the Discerners
“Silence is often golden.
Many times, we are truly discerning when we say nothing at all.”
—Thomas R. Schreiner
There has arisen across the land a new breed of prophets. They are “discerners.” They have been given the “Gift of Discernment.” They are Ministers of Discernment. They have YouTube Channels devoted to their Ministry of Discernment. No one is out of their reach. No One. Anyone with whom they disagree is subject to their condemnation. They will silence us all if we disagree.
The are the new condemnationists. These “discerners” began as ultra-fundamentalists, and progressed into merely angry, modern-day pharisees. A couple thousand years ago Jesus called the pharisees white-washed tombs. It’s as appropriate today as it was then.
Yet there is a genuine place for discernment. And I would argue that in these increasingly contentious times, with a predominately atheistic society that includes political leaders, business leaders, and YouTube “Culture Creators,” we need the gift of discernment. We need it for ourselves. We need those who’ve truly been assigned to the Office of Discernment to build up the Body of Christ. The key here is “To Build Up The Body Of Christ.”
“One of the spiritual gifts God gives the Church is discernment (1 Corinthians 12:10). The Church needs people who are able to discern error since we’re called upon to “test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).” —from “When the Spiritual Gift of Discernment Turns Sour,” by By Thomas R. Schreiner, Lifeway Research, Insights—Personal Development, Oct 26, 2018
“Too often, people think they have the gift of discernment when in fact they have a critical, fault-finding, cynical, and negative spirit,” wrote Mr. Schreiner. I see a trend these days to categorize preachers as either right or wrong, true or false. Then the “Discerners” attack. Certainly there are people living today outside the Christian Church that are anti-christ in their views and actions. There are also people within the Christian Church who do not preach truth. And then there are those preachers that are mostly preaching the “mystery of the Gospel” and teaching mostly appropriately from GOD’s Word. Mostly. How can we expect a preacher to be one hundred percent accurate in his—yes, his—preaching? Jesus is perfect. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but we are not. We come to the podium broken individuals doing the best we can, given our shameful state. If we come to the podium thinking otherwise, we are the pharisee pointing out the tax collector, saying “I’m so glad I’m not like him.” Ugh!
The Redeemed of the LORD are called to discern. As such it is their job to take from a preacher what is for them, to glean truth from the harvest of words spoken from the pulpit.
“Those who are truly discerning recognize truth and goodness wherever they find it. Properly understood, it’s one of God’s gifts to his people,” wrote Trevin Wax —“The Dangerous Gift of Discernment,” in The Gospel Coalition, Nov 5, 2018.
As for those who have received some particular insight, even LORD’s appointment to the Office of Discernment, there is a difficult road to follow.
“People with discernment face the temptation of wielding their gift as a sword of condemnation rather than healing,” wrote Trevin Wax.
Ministry is service. Service is to build up. We build up the Body of Christ as we are led by Spirit. Are there times we must tear down things? Sure. However, I see little value of condemnation before the world of unbelievers. It seems unworthy of a Child of GOD to attack his brother before pagans. Would not a better strategy be to approach an individual privately, taking along a few other spiritually discerning persons. Hum, I think I read that somewhere.
At this point I feel a bit sarcastic. (Okay, two bits more.) That approach wouldn’t get a lot of “likes” on YouTube. Getting “likes” is how one gets higher on the algorithm, and gets better exposure, and More Money. Cash is King.
Spirit’s Gifts are wonderful. Apostle Paul wrote to us about them, and to the Corinthian Church (first letter).
12:31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Psalm 24: Bearing Away a Blessing
He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the GOD of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the GOD of Jacob. Selah
In this next section of Psalm 24, King David speaks of receiving a blessing from GOD. Pastor Albert Barnes states that receiving blessings from the LORD literally is “bear away a blessing.”
King David says of those who are allowed to ascend the Holy Mountain and stand before GOD must have “clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” They must already be Righteous Ones. I think of Esther’s fear—in the Book of Esther—of approaching the king. If she did so unbidden, the king could either invite her in or have her killed. This same fear prevented the people of Israel from approaching Mount Sinai in the desert after their rescue from Egypt.
To ascend to the Temple, to bear away a blessing from GOD, we must be pure. Again, Apostle Paul plainly states we are not at all, in any way, righteous.
Before the destruction of The Temple, we could offer a sacrifice. Annually the Chief Rabbi offered sacrifices for the people during Yom Kippur. It was all a little like wrapping a leaking pipe with tape. Works for a minute, then fails.
GOD has a plan. He had it before creation. He knows, as the Scriptures state, the heart of humankind. He provided a way. The only way to the Father is through His Son, Jesus. We, through Jesus, are now pure and are entitled to stand before GOD. We take away a blessing.
That blessing, wrote Pastor Barnes, is to “be welcomed and treated as a friend of God. The wicked and the impure could not hope to obtain this; but he who was thus righteous would be treated according to his real character, and would meet with the assurances of the divine favor. It is as true now as it was in the days of the psalmist, that it is only the man who is in fact upright and holy that can obtain the evidences of the divine approval. God will not regard one who is living in wickedness as a righteous man, nor will he admit such a man to His favor here, or to His dwelling-place hereafter.”
Thanks be to GOD our Father, and to His Son, our Savior.
LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
###
Sunday’s Psalm: 24
Genesis. “In the beginning, GOD created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of GOD was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And GOD saw that the light was good. And GOD separated the light from the darkness. GOD called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
Psalm 24 is a Psalm for Sunday Celebrating GOD, Creation, Righteousness, and the Blessings of GOD.
A Psalm of David
The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the LORD
and righteousness from the GOD of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the GOD of Jacob. Selah
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah
The first stanza affirms that GOD is Creator of the Universe, and calls to mind the first day of creation. In his Notes, Pastor Albert Barnes wrote: “It belongs to Him in a sense somewhat similar to our right of property in anything that is the production of our hands, or of our labor or skill. We claim that as our own.” For Pastor Barnes, if we think we have complete right to our property, its usage, its disposal, and I might add its protection, then think how much greater is GOD’s right to what He designed and created. Our Creator has “right to direct man in what way He shall employ that portion of the productions of the earth which may be entrusted to Him,” wrote Pastor Barnes.
There are absolutely no limits to GOD’s ownership and authority over “The earth. . . and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” GOD has a claim upon everything from the beginning up to this present moment and into the future. GOD, however, allows us to use what is His. Along with the privilege to “own” property, including animals and plants, we have obligations. As Pastor Barnes put it, GOD has “the right to direct man in what way he shall employ (what) is entrusted to him. What we think of as our property is a trust. Ultimately we are accountable to our Creator for the way we use His property.
LORD willing I’ll share some thoughts on the second stanza soon.
LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Who will help us in this time of trouble, this time of national calamity?
“I,
I am
the LORD,
and besides me
there is no savior.”
(Isaiah 43:11)
A Short Prayer List
O LORD
Enable Us To
Rejoice always
Pray without ceasing
Give thanks in all circumstances
Not quench the Spirit
Not despise prophecies
Test everything
Hold fast to the good
Abstain from every form of evil
O GOD Of Peace
Sanctify Us Completely
May our whole spirit and soul
and body be kept blameless
at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ
He calls us and is faithful;
He will surely do it.
[Based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24]
יונינה- לא תנצחו אותי | Yonina- Lo Tenatzchu Oti
Yonina write on their YouTube channel:
“Terror strikes again here in Israel, with a shooting attack yesterday in the center of Tel Aviv. It’s hard to continue our day to day life when such tragedies happen, but that’s exactly what the terrorist want- for the Jewish nation to give up on living in our homeland. This song- “Lo Tenatzchu Oti” by Naomi Shemer, means- you will not defeat me. We’ve been singing it to ourselves lately, inspired by a post by Sivan Rahav Meir about this song. She writes that the way to defeat terror is a nation is just by continuing to live life, to create, to build. They won’t defeat us. Blessing us with a peaceful and quiet Shabbat, and praying for the health of those who were wounded. Shabbat Shalom.
[Song Translation] From my window I can see a street like an over flowing river and people go for their day job . And young children go to school with their backpack on their backs ; And in their hands they hold some myrtle branches blooming. Suddenly it becomes clear, And I say to myself: You won’t beat me I am not being defeated so fast.”
A Song for the Sabbath
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High; to declare Your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
Psalm 92:1-3 (ESV)
Giving thanks and praise “itself is appropriate, for there is much, under all circumstances, to be thankful for: life, health, food, raiment, air, water, friends, recollections, hopes – and, above all, the blessings of redemption, and the assurance that we may be happy forever. Many of these things may be found in the condition of all; but if all else fail, the hope of heaven – the assurance that the Redeemer died – the offer of salvation – cannot fail. That is ours, and cannot be taken away,” wrote Pastor Albert Barnes in his commentary to this Psalm.
When all else fails! Not if. May I remember that when all seems to collapse around me, there is Hope in YeshuaJesus. But most of all, may I remember to give thanks to our LORD and to praise His Name in the good times, when all seems right in my world.
The LORD Reigns
The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Psalm 93 (ESV)
Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.
I love how Pastor Albert Barnes comments: “The same commencement of a psalm occurs in Psa 97:1-12; Psa 99:1-9. The same idea is often found in the Scriptures. 1Ch 16:31; Psa 47:8; Isa 52:7; Rev 19:6. The thought seems abrupt here. It would appear as if the psalmist had been meditating on the dark things which occur in the world; the mysteries which abound; the things which seem irreconcilable with the idea that there is a just government over the world, and that suddenly the idea occurs, as a flash of lightning in a storm, that Yahweh reigns over all, and that all must be right. Amidst all these things God sits upon the throne; he orders all events; he sways his scepter over all; he orders all things according to his own will; he secures the accomplishment of his own purposes.”
LORD Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Jonah’s Song 