G-d did something interesting this morning.
So I felt compelled to give a Bible to this random guy--he was black, he had dreadlocks, and he was wearing a Jamaica jacket.
"Hey, man! I don't normally do this but I felt like I was supposed to give you this," I said as I smiled at him and handed him a little red Bible.
And he looked like he'd just seen a ghost. He went on to explain to me that he was concerned about a difficult situation and he'd been praying for a sign from G-d--right before I walked up to him!
Thing is, I almost didn't talk to him. I had been driving down the road and G-d had to pretty much force me to come back and talk to the guy.
It turned out he didn't know any Believers, didn't know about Yeshua (I used the name "Jesus" in the conversation). I explained to him how Yeshua loves us even though we're not perfect, that He provided the Bible as a set of instructions so we'd know the way to walk in life.
We sat down on a nearby bench and as I prayed for him, we both cried a little bit. It was pretty obvious to us both that G-d was doing something. Today was the day that this man called out to G-d and G-d responded!
If you, dear reader, are going through a tough time, please remember to call out to G-d. If you genuinely seek Him, He will reach out to you. He's your Father and He loves you very much!
Shalom,
Peter
"I explained to him how Yeshua loves us even though we're not perfect, that He provided the Bible as a set of instructions so we'd know the way to walk in life."
ReplyDeleteArg.... you set that man on the road to idol worship ... "Yeshua did this for you, Yeshua provided, etc.".
"Yeshua" didn't do anything for that man or for anyone. He's just a man, a created human being, like you and I. How do you think the True G-d of Israel feels when you give credit due to Him alone to another, to some creature, a long dead man? Judaism has been almost universal hated, attracting few followers, but missionaries from various false religions have been very successful, readily attracting millions world over to their gods. And for a good reason, - it doesn't take much to convince ignorant and vulnerable people about just about any particular religious claim, using kind words and gifts, along with appealing and persuasive arguments to tag on person's emotions when they are down on their luck, looking for true answers.
This man may have indeed been looking for G-d, but as happened to me many years ago, when I too earnestly desired an encounter with my Creator, instead of the True G-d I was re-directed by Christians toward their futile false god, wasting precious years on that idol. If not for the grace of the True G-d of Israel who, in His infinite kindness finally rescued me from myself, I would still be bowing down to nothingness.
Gene,
Delete"Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him," Psalm 2:11-12
Why does the Torah connect showing honor to G-d's Son with Yirat HaShem and Avodat HaShem?
You are without excuse. When you reject the Son, you reject the Father also.
Shalom,
Peter
You mean "Kiss the Aramaic Son?" Interesting, that would be the only Aramaic word in the whole book of psalm, when the word ben (son) was previously used on the same psalm!
DeleteRemi,
DeleteBoth "ben" and "bar" are understood in Rabbinic writings as referring to Moshiach. What is your point?
Ben is Hebrew, Bar is Aramaic, I would have agree with son if it would have been in Proverbs or Daniel, but the Book of Psalm only uses Hebrew. That would be the only exception in the whole book. And regardless, we should show homage to the king, it does not mean worship. And... Yeshua never was a king, and even less a king that reign over all the earth. Psalm 2 refers to the messiah, but he will be a real king that will reign over the whole physical earth, not spiritual "realities" that nobody can confirm.
Delete"Real" Messianic,
DeleteSo you are saying you would like to rewrite the Book of Psalms? Take out the words you do not like?
Peter, it's a nonsensical translation conjured by Christians who falsely "translated" many part of the Jewish scriptures. (Or, as Chrisnas liked to do throughout the ages, search high and low to find obscure Jewish midrashic uses of various words, ignoring plain meaning of verses in the actual scripture, to use as "proofs").
DeleteWhich is to say that you, Peter, are the one who wants to rewrite the book of Psalms, take out the words you don't like and put it the ones you want it to say.
Thankfully, a few Christian translations were more honest than most, e.g.:
"Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way. When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are all they that trust in him." (Douay-Rheims Bible)
"Give sincere homage! Otherwise he will be angry, and you will die because of your behavior, when his anger quickly ignites. How blessed are all who take shelter in him!" (NET Bible)
Gene,
DeleteIt makes perfect sense actually. He addresses the foreign kings "Therefore you kings...be warned" and incorporates a term that they would be sure to understand (and which is not uncommon in Hebrew poetry anyway).
Not to mention the fact that the Rabbis interpret this passage as referring to G-d's Son--the Messiah. Yet you accuse us as having invented a Messianic Psalm where none supposedly exists. Your argument is laughable.
But your Yeshua was never a king! Seriously Peter.
DeleteWhy are the nations so angry? NOTHING TO DO WITH JESUS, THE NATIONS EMBRACED HIM!
Why are the people making useless plans? WHAT, JESUS IS IN HEAVEN, THE NATIONS NEVER PLOT TO KILL JESUS
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight, IS THAT SPIRITUAL?
and their leaders make plans together AGAIN, NOTHING TO DO WITH JESUS, HE IS IN HEAVEN
against the Lord
and his appointed one.
3 They say, “Let’s break the chains that hold us back
and throw off the ropes that tie us down.” JESUS HAS NO CHAINS, NO POLICAL POWER, A NATION COULD DECIDE TO JUST WORSHIP ALLAH, BOUDAH, OR KRISHNA IF THEY DECIDE!
4 But the one who sits in heaven laughs;
the Lord makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them
and frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king
to rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain, Zion.”
JESUS WAS NOT A KING, NEVER RULES JERUSALEM, NOR ZION!
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations;
all the people on earth will be yours.
AGAIN, JESUS NEVER RULES ANY NATION, EVEN LESS THE WHOLE WORLD
9 You will rule over them with an iron rod.
AGAIN, THAT'S ON YOUR IMAGINATION, THAT JESUS RULES!
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
10 So, kings, be wise;
rulers, learn this lesson.
11 Obey the Lord with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son,
or you will be destroyed by his anger,
AGAIN, THAT DOES NOT EVEN HINT JESUS. JUST BECAUST IT SAY "SON", DOES NOT MEAN IT's JESUS!
because he can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
(What an awful translation that I CHOSE! well..)
"Real" Messianic,
DeleteDo you believe that HaShem is currently the King of the world? Or would you deny Him that title given that there are various earthly kings at the moment?
Who has authority?
yes G-d is KING, but Psalm 2 is clearly speaking about a earthly king. If you spiritualize everything, you can say anything you want! But because it's unprovable, you cannot use it as a "fulfilled" prophecy, can you? Look, Psalm 104:33 say "I will sing praises to the L-rd", fulfilled! First time fulfilled when Jesus sang to the L-rd, even if it's not recorded, I am sure he sang at least once, second it's fulfilled in heaven! He is singing right now! Way to go, 2 prophecies fulfilled by Jesus! And you thought, Gene, that if fulfilled nothing!
DeleteThis fellow you met.... Who has dreeds and wore a Jamaican jacket..... I can't see why that was relevant to your storyline. However, I'm glad you was able to be a light to that gentleman.
ReplyDeleteIt's not relevant to the storyline that was mentioned. It is however relevant to the storyline that went unmentioned. : )
DeleteWhat makes you know that it was really G-d who put that in your heat Peter? I don't want to under-estimate your feeling that you had, but Muslims think it's G-d's will to blow themselves... And we both know it's not. I used to give bibles and tracks when I was a Christian. Mormons do the same, and so do the JW. They all think they are right, but are they? They could say the same thing about G-d leading them, but in the end, what we feel does not make it right. The Charismatic movement is filled with "I felt the lord..." That's what people think, that the were led by the lord, but that does not make it so.
ReplyDeleteThe Prophets talk about a New Covenant that is needed to write the Torah in the heart and to bring permanent forgiveness. We know that Israel, as a whole, had not accepted the New Covenant when the 2nd Temple was destroyed (else it would not have been destroyed). So a New Covenant Judaism is needed to bring salvation to Israel and prevent further destruction. To that end, you have nothing to offer. But Yeshua offers the New Covenant and you have rejected it:
Delete"Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him," Psalm 2:11-12
Your "New Covenant" is taken out of context, you put meaning to the words that Jeremiah did not say, by saying it was fulfilled when Jesus was on the cross, then you forget all the context and everything that Jeremiah say!
DeleteThe Covenant is not with the Gentiles, it's with the Jews.
I will put my law within them (THE JEWISH PEOPLE), and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
That's the covenant... You can argue as much as you want, but it has not happened yet. Your best argument is about second coming, because you have nothing for his first coming!
Remi,
DeleteRE: "The Covenant is not with the Gentiles, it's with the Jews."
Are you sure that G-d will not draw others into His People Israel? Observe:
"Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you" Zechariah 2:11
"Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem," Isaiah 2:3
They will be joined in to the Jewish People, not the other way round.
DeleteAgain I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
See, it has not happened yet. Look at Isaiah 60, G-d's arm will judge the isles, then there will be no more war and they will worship the G-d of Israel.
For the isles will hope for Me, and the ships of Tarshish [as] in the beginning, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, in the name of the Lord your God and for the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. טכִּי לִי | אִיִּים יְקַוּוּ וָאֳנִיּוֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁ בָּרִאשֹׁנָה לְהָבִיא בָנַיִךְ מֵרָחוֹק כַּסְפָּם וּזְהָבָם אִתָּם לְשֵׁם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַיִךְ וְלִקְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי פֵאֲרָךְ:
10And foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall serve you, for in My wrath I struck you, and in My grace have I had mercy on you. יוּבָנוּ בְנֵי נֵכָר חֹמֹתַיִךְ וּמַלְכֵיהֶם יְשָׁרְתוּנֶךְ כִּי בְקִצְפִּי הִכִּיתִיךְ וּבִרְצוֹנִי רִחַמְתִּיךְ:
11And they shall open your gates always; day and night they shall not be closed, to bring to you the wealth of the nations and their kings in procession. יאוּפִתְּחוּ שְׁעָרַיִךְ תָּמִיד יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לֹא יִסָּגֵרוּ לְהָבִיא אֵלַיִךְ חֵיל גּוֹיִם וּמַלְכֵיהֶם נְהוּגִים:
Bunk. Moshe the prophet anointed Aaron Moshiach from the Torah. The prophet Sh'muel anionted Shaul as Moshiach. Moshiach/anointed with oil/ requires a dedication. What did the prophet Sh'muel "compliment" the anointing of Aaron by the prophet Moshe? Law Giver. HaShem rejected the Moshiach of the house of Sha'ul b/c he failed to obey the commandments. Therefore when the prophet Sh'muel anointed David as Moshiach, he did so based upon the precondition that he dedicated David holy to HaShem to keep and observe the commandments.
ReplyDeleteKorach rebelled against Moshe. His ''replacement theology'' sought to replace Aaron as Moshiach.
The noise new testament [it never once brings the Name of the God of Israel - a violation of the 1st Commandment of Sinai - its substitution theology directly compares to the rebellion of Korah and Yerav'am! Limiting the reality of the Gods to 3 physical dimensions defines idolatry. Xtianity must have a physical jesus!