Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Stick With the Word and the Word Will Stick With You




The world just experienced another false prophet.  This man was all caught up in announcing the time to say goodbye to family and friends was imminent.  There have been many commentaries about this and what the false prophet’s  influence has done to a great many people.

Am I naïve or is the bulk of the “believing” population so easily deceived?  I read the Bible and I read that it says put your faith in YHVH.  I read where Yahshua says he has come only for the lost sheep of the Kingdom of Israel.  He further states that He only does and speaks what His Father has told Him to do and speak.  I read where it says to have no other gods before YHVH.  Also, I have read that we are told to not put our faith in man, but to pay attention to what our Heavenly Father wants us to do.  What is so difficult in accepting the truth of the word?  I am not talking about the deciphering required of some to the most in depth passages.  I am not talking about getting into the sod level and trying not to get caught up in the mysticism that distorts Torah.  (BTY: The sod level comes from kabbalistic wisdom).  I am talking about the common sense presentation that YHVH, Elohim, has placed in front of us.  

As simple and straight forward as Yirmeyahu 33: 2,3
“Thus says YHVH the maker, YHVH who formed [the universe]
So as to keep directing it ---YHVH is His name;
‘Call out to me,  And I will answer you ---
I will tell you great things,  Hidden things of which you are unaware.’”

YHVH formed the universe and all that is in it.  He formed it and He will direct it and nurture it.  He, YHVH is His Name, He said so that we would know who He is and what He is capable of. He directs us to call out to Him… He told us His name, He qualified himself. He can help us and He is waiting to hear from us.  We must listen to Him and no others.  Yeah, I’m excited…very excited. 

Please go  to Matthew 24.

Read it gently.   Don’t complicate it.  Take it for as it is written. Yahshua was not complicated.  Even though He spoke in parables, (so some could not follow) He spoke straight forward so we, the remnants in search of the truth, could make some semblance of order to what He wants from us.   There are many lessons and loads of discussion about this reading. 

When you get to verse 33, slow down.  Verse 33 says that when you see all these things, you are to know that the time is near.  We are to know that the time is near when we see all these things…(Do I hear an Amein!? ) Verse 34 is more direct than this;  it says that Yahshua tells us THIS PEOPLE will not pass away until ALL these things have happened.  Let not your heart be troubled, I heard someone say.  Well, now I ask, who are THIS PEOPLE ?  I find that Strong's backs up most Bibles where some who say it is this age, or this generation, or this time….So I take license to read it as ‘this now’… (Strong’s was written to understand the KJV). We live in the ‘now’  He says to be ready. Ready for what?  Ready for now! And then we get to verse 36. The bomb drops! 36 "But when that day and hour will come, no one knows -- not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father.   

Even if we do not fully understand all the implications of Mathew 24, it is not difficult to understand the bottom line.  Be ready, yet no one knows when the wedding dance starts, but we certainly know that we are prepared for the marriage of all marriages.  There’s going to be a wedding….like nothing we have ever experienced.  Patience, devotion, trust, faith…focus, focus, focus….Do not put too much credence in those who profess to have have all the answers. Not that they may be wrong, but if it causes confusion and heartache, stick to the simplified version.  No One Knows!

Formulate your own impression and do not hesitate to discuss your findings with others.  When we all come together and speak openly and honestly, we all learn.  But No One Knows the day and hour.  That is in Yahshua’ teaching.  He doesn’t lie.   Stick to the simplicity of the Word. If Yahshua haMashiach does not know, how the dickens can we?  He only came to say what the Father told Him to say, and we can only know that which the Father places within us through Yahshua.  Surely, we have not been elevated to stand between our Father and His only Begotten Son.

We can research and study all the time lines.  We can investigate all the dates, events, calendars, celestial bodies, etc.  Or we can, in my most humble opinion,  spend all that time reading His Word and making our life better for Him.  Then we can possibly be ready when that day and hour comes.  It is like when we were in school and we knew we had an exam coming up.  The exam may not be for six weeks from the time the assignment was given.  Some started getting ready (studying to be approved) early on.  A little bit each day.  Some would wait five weeks and four and a half days and when the day and time came for the test, were not fully prepared.  They were still getting ready.   As I heard a while back, we must remember that the teacher doesn’t talk during exam time.  So, when that time comes, YHVH/Yahshua has said all that He needs to say. I do pray that I hear Him say…come on, My faithful servant!

Searching for truth and understanding of His Word is not impossible.  Lets just not get bogged down in rewriting His Word to make our truth fit in.  Remember, don’t add and don’t take away. I do believe He is coming soon.  I pray the marriage takes place in my lifetime as I currently am experiencing it.  There is still a part of me that does not want delayed gratification. Come, Master Yahshua.  Let the wedding feast begin!

Love you all,

Titus 3:9

Pinchas a/k/a Frankly Speaking

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Burden of Freedom





I stand on the stairway, my back to the dungeon. The doorway to freedom so close to my hand.  And voices behind me, so bitterly damn me, for seeking salvation. They don’t understand.  Lord help me to shoulder this burden of freedom and give me the courage to be what I can.”   (Burden of Freedom, Kris Kristofferson)

Many of us have or are currently struggling with the burden of freedom that Torah gives us.  We, like Mr. Kristofferson, may be wrestling with the voices behind us. The voices of family and friends, strangers and others that just want to help us "come to our senses."

Kate Shalk, in an article for Activism, (11-1-06) Can I Live Up to the Gift of Freedom?  states:  “I often think of freedom as a burden, the fact that I have limitless choices to be anyone I want to be or not. It scares the h… out of me. The burden to choose responsibly and wisely for myself on a personal, civil and spiritual level. Do I believe in a God or don’t I? Do I care about the environment enough to actually make choices that protect it? Do I care enough about my neighbour to make choices that actually benefit my neighbour, my friend, my co-worker?  I often choose not to experience the freedom of being who I am, to explore who I am, to risk and choose wrongly.”

Reading the above,  ponder a bit about the two greatest commandments.  When I choose not to experience the freedom of being who I am, and also question if  I care enough about my neighbor, am I then kidding myself about my Torah compliant life?  What factors come into play for me to shy away from the freedom to be who I am?   Could it be the same trigger that prevents me from caring about my neighbor? 
Most people focus on ‘freedom’ and overlook ‘responsibility’.  In my researching this question, I find the common denominator is RESPONSIBILITY.  When I choose to permit myself to be the me that I believe is myself, then I am responsible for all that follows.  Whether it is accepted by others, rejected by others, laughed at, scorned, loved, despised, etc. etc. etc.  When I do not permit myself to be the me that I perceive is myself, then I am a slave to my environment and not to my Creator.          

Myles Munroe’s book The Burden of Freedom gives excellent examples of why we have so much difficulty in accepting responsibility for ourselves. [a euphemistic way of saying, ‘what prevents us from getting Egypt out of our programmed minds and becoming a slave to Torah’.]  Look at how we train our pets.  We can take a horse, place him in a fenced pasture, put up electric wire and within a brief time he will not go near the fence. Then we can take down the wire and leave the gate open. He will not go near the fence until we reprogram him.  This is the same for us.  We have been programmed with so much controlling thoughts that we have to be reprogrammed.  We leave the path we were on looking for some truth and yet want to have the same structure that we experienced on the path we were following (church).  We are guided by the fullness of the Bible to reprogram ourselves.  We are even cautioned to know more than the Torah teachers.  This means we must study to show ourselves approved.  We cannot be approved on the backs of another man.  We must be responsible in order to enjoy the freedom. 

Freedom can be very challenging.  When we were brought out of Egypt, we were physically ready for another place to dwell, but we were not mentally prepared.  We needed time to get rid of the old stinking thinking and begin a new way of life.  We became the mixed multitude looking for some reason for being.  

We must fully grasp our purpose in life.  …loving YHVH your God, paying attention to what he says and clinging to him - for that is the purpose of your life! On this depends the length of time you will live in the land YHVH swore he would give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov." (Deuteronomy 30:20 CJB)  Apparently, He created us for this very purpose. But the old habits keep popping up.

In his book The Burden of Freedom, Myles Munroe states that people use old oppression as a reason not to exercise new freedom.  I believe this is valid. Listen around  you to those who excuse away not speaking up for the truth by saying they do not want to upset the family, friends, etc.  I have been in discussion with some who keep the Sabbath and say they love every minute of it, and continue to keep the sunday worship.   They tell me they are ‘working on their friends to come join them”.  I don’t disagree with encouraging friends to come join.  But, it takes leadership and responsibility.   If we don’t lead, who will follow? All the while, the friends in the sunday worship are waiting for this person to come to their senses and return to the pew.  A drunk that wants sobriety does not keep going to the bar to get his friends to join him.  It takes responsibility for oneself to make the change.  It takes courage to become Torah compliant no matter how many voices we hear from behind as we move forward searching for the promise to come.  Redemption has been granted, through no act of our own. The rest is up to us.  We must be responsible or we lose our freedom. The rest of the song says: “But I’m free to travel where no one can follow, in search of the kingdom, they don’t understand” Be ready for the freedom that will soon follow.  Torah assures us freedom. Freedom spelled SALVATION. Only in the end will we know if we were responsible enough. 

Renew Your Mind! (Romans 12:2)

Shalom and be blessed  
Pinchas a/k/a Frankly speaking

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Be Fruitful and Multiply!



Last week, I wrote in part;
….when a person is living the very basic first steps of Torah, that person takes the commandment to “have no other gods before Me” and  “love your neighbor as yourself” to heart.  These are the two commandments that get us started.  ……. This is a tough thing to do if we are trying so show everyone how Scripturally intelligent we are.”  (Please read last week’s blog)

There seems to be a flaw in what was opined.  The text appears to say that having no other gods and loving your neighbor is only tough due to a specific character flaw; that of being too intelligent.  When we read the Scripture, Matthew 22:37-39 (CJB) we read:  

37 He [Yahshua] told him, "`You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, `You are to love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot."

When we read this as Yahshua is reported to have said it, the implication is different.  That is, unless we are able to come to some understanding of all the Torah and the Prophets, we cannot fully grasp the direction of the two most important commandments. 

Lets get out of the box for a moment.  The first time I was able to grasp this portion of Yahshua’s teaching, I was told to visualize a clothesline pole.  One pole at each end of a clothesline.  The poles represented the two greatest commandments.  The clothesline is where all the Torah and the Prophets were hanging.  Without the two poles, there would be nothing to hang all the laws and prophets on.  That was how I was taught.  It didn’t make complete sense but it worked for me.

Change the imagery for a moment.  Take it in another direction!
For this discussion, view the Torah and the Prophets as the foundation for the two greatest commandments.  The Torah and the Prophets basically are the sustenance that ensures the growth of having no other gods before Him, and loving your neighbor as yourself.  The Torah and the Prophets are a direct out growth of YHVH Elohim. They are the roots to all of it. Just as Yahshua says He is the vine and we are the branches, YHVH is the root that produces the vine and thence comes forth the branches.  Having ‘no other gods before YHVH Elohim and loving our neighbor as ourselves’ is the fruit of the vine. This fruit is nourished by the branches (Yahshua) which are fed by the root (YHVH). In order to be fruitful (ie. Have no other gods before Him and love our neighbor as ourselves), we must get rid of all character flaws and blossom. We are then being fully fed from the roots, and nourished by the branch.  So, we must make living Torah the basis for our existence.  Yet, not become pompous and arrogant about “how much we know”. Humility goes a long way.  Be fruitful and multiply!

Thank you for tolerating me,
Be blessed beyond measure...

Pinchas a/k/a Frankly Speaking

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Treating the other guy as more important than myself….





This may be difficult to read … My thoughts are so fragmented.  But a few hours ago they were very pleasing and reassuring ... focused, even.   We had just returned from a quiet getaway that was restorative to my mental and spiritual health.  This is a very busy year.  I seized an opportunity to reflect on Torah, my life, my family, friends and many other entities.  It was fantastic.  Prior to taking this journey, I asked my Father to please be with my wife and me to enable us to have some quiet time and just relax and be.  He was very loving. We did. Then the time to return home came.  And the usual stuff went through my head about what I had to do; what I had to catch up on; who I needed to touch base with, and what surprises might await me.  You know, the usual. However, the nagging stream of thought that kept at me and has driven me to post this blog is simply this: I feel inadequate to properly spread the Good News.  My tolerance level for my own self has become minimal.  But when I examine that thought, I negate it.  In my mind it may be real, but in my heart it is an invalid repudiation.

    This all stems from my judgmental thoughts on the ridiculousness of some of the explanations people have for violating Torah.  To avoid a lengthy dissertation, example after example, let me minimize it to say…. the majority of people that I have met that violate Torah are so self-important; they are determined to show how powerful and knowledgeable they are.  Go ahead; give me the lecture on being judgmental. Just keep in mind, we are encouraged to judge inside the camp and not be overly concerned about outside the camp.  If we don’t confront what is not kosher inside the camp, the camp can fall apart.

    In my opinion, when a person is living the very basic first steps of Torah, that person takes the commandment to “have no other Gods before me” and  “love your neighbor as yourself” to heart.  These are the two commandments that get us started.  They give us assurance that someone greater than ourselves is looking out for us and asks that we look out for our neighbors and not put ourselves first.  This is a tough thing to do if we are trying so show everyone how Scripturally intelligent we are. That is just the part about having no other gods before Him.  He said “before Me”… like in my face before Me… like obstructing your view of me ... like don’t turn to Me second; turn to Me first…. like “don’t do it your own way because you know better than Me.  When all else fails, do we then ask Him what went wrong?… or where was He?   When we get past this little obstacle, then we must deal with our injured pride… and we try to hide from or ignore our neighbor…ie. our brother, our friend, our fellow worshiper.  Oh, remember the part about love your neighbor as yourself? Escapism occurs when we skip the coming together on Shabbat.  Which means no fellowship before, during or after service.  Historically, human behavior reveals the longer we are able to avoid something, the more difficult it is to face it head on.  So, the longer we stay away from worshiping together, the easier staying away becomes. Psalm 18:1 says:  He who separates himself indulges his desires and shows contempt for sound advice of any kind. 

    Soon we have a tough situation on our hands.  We want to be there but other events become more important.  We become more important than the other guy.  When the ‘other guy’ is YHVH we run out of excuses. Treating the other guy as more important than myself must always be paramount in my mind and heart.  When I am able to do this, there will be no need for ridiculous explanations I may have for violating Torah.  This will help me ensure that I never have any other god but YHVH Elohim. 

Shalom

Pinchas,  a/k/a Frankly Speaking