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Spiritual Bluff and Bluster

12/30/2014

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Everyone wants to be a mouthpiece for the Lord, but few are willing to just simply speak His Word as it is written. Today people look at the role of the prophet in the same way that the secular world looks at the celebrity.  But scripturally speaking, the role of the prophet is not one that should be viewed lightly. More times than not the prophet was reviled, castigated, and vilified, just as it was in the case of Elijah.

1Ki 19:1  Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

1Ki 19:2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time."

1Ki 19:3  And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

1Ki 19:4  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."

1Ki 19:5  He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, "Arise, eat."

1Ki 19:6  Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.

1Ki 19:7  The angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you."

1Ki 19:8  So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

1Ki 19:9  Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

1Ki 19:10  He said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."

1Ki 19:11  So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

1Ki 19:12  After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.

1Ki 19:13  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

1Ki 19:14  Then he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."

I wonder; if the treatment of the so-called modern prophets today was the same as it was in the days of Elijah, would we have this upsurge in people who want to speak for the Lord? There are self-proclaimed prophets everywhere and most of them make a pretty good living at it.

Here is a list of modern day prophets.

http://www.elijahlist.com/links.html 

There is even a school to learn from.  http://propheticministries.org/school/school.htm

Just pay $19.95 plus shipping and handling and get the complete CD set.

I don’t think they had a list like this during the days of Isaiah, Elijah, or Daniel. It’s so good to know that the prophets are out there and all I need to do is find them on the internet.

Check out some posts of those “prophets”; their words were not exactly what I believe reflects the typical Biblical model. I don’t know these people, I have never met them, and I am not judging them. I am judging their words. I am obligated by Scripture to test the spirits and see if they are from the Lord.

1Jo 4:1  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from the Lord, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

The Father says:
“The enemy has targeted some of you since birth because he knew I had a call on your life. Since birth, you have been attacked, oppressed, rejected, despised, silenced, and wounded. THIS DAY, I AM REVERSING ALL THE ENEMY HAS DONE TO YOU. I AM RESTORING ALL THAT WAS STOLEN. FOR YOU ARE CHERISHED IN MY SIGHT AND GREATLY VALUED. AND I WILL DISPLAY MY LOVINGKINDESS IN YOUR LIFE FOR ALL TO SEE. YOU WILL BE LIFTED UP, AND MY GOODNESS AND MERCY WILL BE WITH YOU AND FOLLOW YOU ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE, AND YOU WILL REJOICE IN MY GOODNESS. THE DAYS OF YOUR SORROW ARE OVER. THE DAYS OF YOUR REJOICING ARE HERE." - Jeffrey Stewart

From THE PORTLAND SESSIONS: SCHOOL OF PROPHECY

"God is measuring us for a blessing. He wants to move you into fullness because that is the only measure that He is comfortable with: Fullness! You choose the depth that you want to travel in, but He wants you in over your head!"

Now these might seem to be rather harmless and encouraging messages. What harm can something like this cause? The problem is that these “prophetic utterances” were so generic that they could apply to anyone or no one. What if the one reading this applies it to him or herself and that person loses someone dear to them. How about if they end up in the hospital? Does that mean that the Lord does not cherish them? Have they lost His loving-kindness? After all the “prophets” did declare that the “Father said”. These “prophets” presume an awful lot of authority in the life of their readers in the name of the Father. This is dangerous ground to tread on, and I for one don’t want to be on that road.

This year my wife had a brain tumor. This was not fun for anyone in my family, especially my wife. Did we lose the Lord’s favor and blessing? Not at all! We grew like tempered steel. I have no idea why this happened. I do, however, know the result was that we all grew in our faith as a result.

I am not in any way, shape, or form denying the blessing of the Lord in this blog. I am just not going to buttonhole the Lord and demand that I alone know what’s best when it comes to the Lord’s will. I don’t know what blessings lay in store as He sees fit to distribute them in any fashion He chooses, even if I don’t like the way he distributes those blessings.

We are taught in the Scriptures to be content in all circumstances.

Phi 4:11  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Phi 4:12  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

Phi 4:13  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Would this “prophet’s” message serve Rav Shaul well?

These types of “Kingdom now” messages are rampant. It is a very popular thing to say. This kind of message will not usually bring opposition. Who wants to hear a message of doom and gloom anyway? But when you are claiming to be a mouthpiece for the Lord, you had better make sure that what is being said is consistent with His Word.

If you want the job of a prophet you had better be willing to take the lumps of the prophet. If you don’t like what the prophet has to say, then it is the Lord you are bucking against not the prophet. One thing is certain; if you speak on behalf of the Lord it better be on behalf of the Lord.

Num 12:1  Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman);

Num 12:2  and they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?" And the LORD heard it.

Num 12:3  (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)

Num 12:4  Suddenly the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, "You three come out to the tent of meeting." So the three of them came out.

Num 12:5  Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward,

Num 12:6  He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.

Num 12:7  "Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household;

Num 12:8  With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?"

Num 12:9  So the anger of the LORD burned against them and He departed.

Num 12:10  But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous.

Num 12:11  Then Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned.

Num 12:12  "Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother's womb!"

Num 12:13  Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "O God, heal her, I pray!"

Num 12:14  But the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again."

Num 12:15  So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was received again.

People need to understand that the role of the prophet is a very serious and frightful role. It should only be desired by those who are willing to run entire length of the field set before them. If the message does not line up with the Word at first glance, then we should dismiss it right out of the gate. Don’t be deceived by false prophets who peddle a message of peace and prosperity in a day when calamity looms around the corner.

Jer 8:6  "I have listened and heard, They have spoken what is not right; No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turned to his course, Like a horse charging into the battle.

Jer 8:7  "Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their migration; But My people do not know The ordinance of the LORD.

Jer 8:8  "How can you say, 'We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie.

Jer 8:9  "The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, And what kind of wisdom do they have?

Jer 8:10  "Therefore I will give their wives to others, Their fields to new owners; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is greedy for gain; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone practices deceit.

Jer 8:11  "They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.

Jer 8:12  "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They certainly were not ashamed, And they did not know how to blush; Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down," Says the LORD.

It is easy to preach and prophecy in bluff and bluster; but it is OH so difficult to preach from the Word and declare “thus saith the Lord”. Everyone wants to hear that only good things are coming their way. Unfortunately, the only time this will happen is when Yeshua reigns from Jerusalem during His millennial reign. Apart from that, life is fragile and unpredictable. Yet we who serve the Lord still endure in spite of and through all circumstances as Rav Shaul (Paul) instructed us in Phil 4. If we are not teaching people to be faithful and endure, then we are doing them a serious injustice. We better make sure that if we dare say we speak on behalf of the Lord, it is through His Word alone and not our desire to be received in the role a prophet because of the acclaim it brings to us. We are called to preach His Word even when it is not popular or positive.

Luk 6:26  "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets  in the same way.

This is the true nature of prophecy

2Ti 3:1  But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2Ti 3:2  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

2Ti 3:3  unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

2Ti 3:4  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

2Ti 3:5  holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

2Ti 3:6  For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

2Ti 3:7  always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2Ti 2:1  You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2Ti 2:2  The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

2Ti 2:3  Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2Ti 2:12  If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 

1Ti 4:1  But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

What I hear in these passages is that we are to endure, be faithful, and persevere. Why are our modern “prophets” not speaking these words of prophecy? I’ll tell you why: they are not popular. I just don’t hear a lot of “everything’s coming up roses” from the prophets in the Scriptures. Most of the time prophets were rebuking a disobedient people and reminding them to turn back to the Lord. They certainly weren’t getting acclaim, riches, and winning popular opinion.

1Ti 6:6  But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

1Ti 6:7  For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.

1Ti 6:8  If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

1Ti 6:9  But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

1Ti 6:11  But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1Ti 6:13  I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,

1Ti 6:14  that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1Ti 6:15  which He will bring about at the proper time--He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,

1Ti 6:16  who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

1Ti 6:17  Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

1Ti 6:18  Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,

1Ti 6:19  storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

1Ti 6:20  O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge"--

1Ti 6:21  which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.

Let the modern day “prophets” speak words that are sure, true, and tested by time. Not words that are popular, speculative, or presumptive.

In the Word the blessings of the Lord are always predicated by the requirement to keep His Word and to be faithful to obeying Him.

Deu 28:1  "Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

Deu 28:2  "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:

In the immediate context the Lord is speaking to the children of Israel as they are getting ready to enter the Promised Land. The commandments of the Lord are the ones given by Moses in the Torah. Now if the “Church” wants to be blessed and claim this kind of passage as their own, they must also do as Israel was commanded and obey His commands. Yet for so many they look at the commands as being abrogated and replaced. So they refuse to see the full context of the passage. They want the blessings but not the obedience. The modern “prophets” preach that they are hearing from the Lord, yet they refuse to obey two thirds of the Word, the Torah.

Num 15:14  'If an alien sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, just as you do so he shall do.

Num 15:15  'As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD.

Num 15:16  'There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.'"

Num 15:17  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

In this passage the Lord through Moses addresses the subject of Gentiles who have joined themselves to Israel.

Those Gentiles who have come to the Messiah of Israel have joined themselves by adoption to Israel. They have come alongside of the natural children, they have not replaced them. So it is time for the adopted children to act like they belong to the family. It is not appropriate for an adopted child to come into a home and change the dynamic of the house. They are to be a part of the already established family. Those who call themselves “prophets” refuse to preach the fullness of the already written instructions given by the Father; therefore, they are invalidated by that one fact. Let them preach and teach that which has already been established and written before they set out on their own with words of “prophecy”. You can’t say you speak for the Lord when you won’t read and speak what He already gave us.

Mat:17  "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

Mat 5:18  "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Mat 5:19  "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The instructions given to us by our Messiah is that the Torah (instructions) that the Father gave us were not annulled. Therefore, if you want the blessings that these so called “prophets” are speaking of, they might want to instruct people to keep His whole Word, not just one third of it.

In one last closing thought you might want to check out one of the last sermons of David

Wilkerson. This is a word for the Church to hear today. I don’t count too many people as prophets, but if there was one in our modern times, it would be him. It would do you well to hear the words of this true PROPHET.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI

The full sermon can be heard here if you have the stomach to hear from a real prophet. It might shake you a bit and that would good. It did me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayYizi9TZAQ

May the Lord bless you and fulfill you with His calling and will for your life, no matter what that might be.

Shalom uvracha b’Yeshua

Rabbi Henry

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Ferguson Mo and a whole lot more

12/11/2014

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I have been very carefully watching the events that have transpired over the Ferguson, MO and Staten Island, NY crisis during the past month or so. I have tried not to get involved in the dialogue because it seemed so fruitless – everyone’s opinions and emotions flying every which way but loose. People have already come to their conclusions, whether they know the facts or not. Looting in Ferguson has gotten out of control. There are protests in major cities all over the country. So I asked myself, “What can I add to the madness of this dialogue?” People put their fingers in their ears when they don’t want to hear another side. Al Sharpten has made his presence known mouthing off at every chance he gets. Now, to make it worse, I am going to add my two-cents worth. Will the madness ever end?

I have no intention of commenting to the point of who is to blame. I simply don’t know all the facts. I was not there. I only have heard what is on the news. It is not that I don’t have an opinion; I have just decided to keep it to myself. The point I want to address is the response of the masses.

It is pretty obvious that to most rational people, the looting and race baiting is the wrong response and adds nothing to the situation. I have heard all the arguments. I have watched all of the riots. The carnage brought to their communities is nothing less than a crime in itself. Then to make it worse President Obama and Eric Holder refuse to allow the State to handle its own problems. I wonder how much time either one of them has spent in Ferguson, MO?

There are many who want to compare the recent events to the Civil Rights movement. The black community blames the entire situation on racism. The white community says it has nothing to do with racism. All I see is that no one has addressed the systemic problem; that is, the breakdown of society from every angle.

No one in their right mind would deny the civil injustices enacted upon the black community throughout the history of this nation. No one can ignore the need for the Civil Rights movement during the 60s. But what is happening today is not the same as the Civil Rights movement. Civil disobedience is needed in many situations to bring attention to unjust social circumstances. But…rioting, looting, violence, and burning down community businesses is not a legitimate response. All this does is to perpetuate the stereo typical behavior that is being complained about by the black community.

There have been many people groups in the history of the world that have been oppressed and treated unfairly. The Jews were slaves as far back as Egypt. They have been persecuted and murdered throughout the world for centuries. In their entire struggle throughout their history, we do not see that the Jews, as a people group, have ever received or asked for reparations or entitlements. History does not record a time when the Jews rioted and looted their own communities in protest against unfair treatment. That kind of behavior smacks of insanity.

As a child I experienced prejudicial treatment from Catholics and black people for being Jewish. I was called a “Christ killer”. I have been beaten up a number of times for being Jewish. Does that make every Catholic or black person suspect? Should I have rioted or started looting because of the unfair behavior I received? If race relations are tense, it is not because Whites are plotting against Blacks; it is because of the poor, stereo-typical behavior enacted by those who are thoughtlessly destroying their own communities.

These are some statistics from the American Free press. Nearly 50% of all black males will be arrested by the age of 23. “African American youth represent 32% of all weapons related arrests [and] were arrested for aggravated assault at a rate nearly three times that of Whites. Similar statistics were released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the “Uniform Crime Reports.” They determined, “In the year 2008, black youths, who make up 16% of the youth population, accounted for 52% of juvenile violent crime arrests, including 58% for homicide and 67% for robbery.” By contrast, the only categories where white youths surpassed blacks were in liquor law violations and driving under the influence.  

Is this as a result of white oppression? Is there a plot against black people? Has anyone looked at world events lately? Jewish people are being killed and violated all over the world. Campuses protest Israel. Major “Christian” denominations have divested form Israel. Muslim countries swear that they will wipe the Jews from the face of the earth. Synagogues are being bombed. Jews are stabbed in their own places of worship. They are oppressed by the world and then accused of being the oppressor when they defend themselves. Where is the outrage? Why aren’t my people protesting, shutting down highways, looting stores and throwing stones at the police. It might be because they are too busy trying to survive and prosper as a people group. Hey, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If this behavior is acceptable for the Black community, then it should also be acceptable for every oppressed people group. After all, the Jews are truly a minority in every sense of the word. According to Wikipedia, the world's core Jewish population in early 2013 was estimated at 13.9 million people (around 0.2% of the world population).

During the Civil Rights movement of the 60s, when the black community finally made the decision to fight against the injustices enacted against them, they did it with dignity. They fought systematically using wisdom and restraint. They were an example to the whole world. The kind of behavior that has been exhibited in modern times by the black community has been atrocious. It has been stated that the greatest revenge is your success. This is a message that needs to be preached to every black youth. Instead of rioting and protesting, maybe they could invest all of this energy into programs for the re-education of the next generation. It would be so much more constructive if they spent their time redeeming their youth and rescuing them from this ghetto culture which has done nothing but destroy an entire generation of our black youth. I say get your revenge against those who you say have oppressed you and succeed. Stop blaming the world for your problems and rise to the task of creating a successful community. Who cares what others say or think about you? We Jews certainly don’t.

One of the reasons there has been such a disparity in our black neighborhoods is because of the destruction of the family. Over 70% of all black children are born out of wedlock. According to CNN anchor Don Lemon (a black commentator) "Black people," Lemon said, "if you really want to fix the problem, there are just five things that you should think about doing."

The No. 1 item on that list -- "and probably the most important," he said -- had to do with out-of-wedlock births.

2011 Census Bureau, data compiled by Kids Count, is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The group defined "children in single-parent families" as kids under 18 who live with their own single parent; it includes children living with a parent and a cohabiting adult, but it does not include children living with married step-parents.

“Estimates for the percentage of African-American children growing up in single-parent households are slightly lower, at 67 percent.”

It makes no difference what you think, the destruction of the community happens when the family structure breaks down. This can be clearly seen. The family is the backbone of society. When the family structure breaks down, society breaks down.

As a result of this breakdown the father figure, who leads his children in teaching his sons how to be a strong honorable man, is absent. Daughters do not have a healthy example of what a faithful man should look like; therefore, they fall prey to men who are nothing more than exploiters and thugs.

Ghetto culture is not an accurate example of black culture. Ghetto culture is an example of the family breakdown, abandonment of responsibility, and abdication of a segment of our society to fulfill their responsibility to rise up the next generation ready to handle life.

Scripture states it best.

Pro 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. 

Deu 6:6  "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
Deu 6:7  "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.  

The real issue we are dealing with in the black community is that simple Biblical precepts that used to be a major part of black identity have been totally abandoned. Families were strong then. There used to be a time when the black community embraced that identity. They celebrated it in the “Negro” spirituals. The majority of these hymns identified with Israel and their oppression. What you did not see, however, was a black community asking for entitlements or expecting a handout. Their determination to pick themselves up and move beyond their oppression was admirable, and it was the formula that finally led to the Civil Rights movement of the 60s. 

It is time for the black community to be a little bit more introspective and ask the tough questions. I believe the greatest oppression that has happened to black people since the time of slavery has been entitlements. It has kept them dependant on handouts. It has not allowed them to rise to their full potential. I blame the whites and the blacks for this. It is about time that the black man has his revenge against the years of oppression that has befallen them. Let them rise to their success just like every other oppressed people group and find revenge through their success. Man’s injustice against man has been and continues to be felt in society.  

The one thing I do know, however; as long as some act like animals pouncing upon road kill, they will continue to perpetuate the stereo-typical perceptions.  

Pro 14:34  Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
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Rabbi Henry's last "Christmas" blog for ever and ever and ever.

12/4/2014

1 Comment

 
I think I have made a decision that this will be my last Christmas ramblings. I have given it much thought and have come to realize that I might just be doing the very thing that I have been complaining about. My complaint has been that every year it is the same old story. We are inundated in the news, churches, and our communities with the subject, “The war on Christmas”. People are so busy fighting the war either for or against “Christmas” that they have forgotten what the real war is about. They are so busy fighting on this one battle field that the more important battle fields get ignored. Therefore, they open up a front in the war that never is won. Even if it is won –  so what? What gets accomplished by winning the right to say Merry Christmas in the public square? Who really wins if we get the schools to change the name back to “Christmas vacation” instead of holiday vacation? How is society benefitted by changing the “festival of trees” back to “Community Christmas party”?

Has anyone’s life been changed to worship the Lord? Have babies been saved from being aborted? Have young men and women been delivered from drugs or crime? Have families been reunited? Have the fatherless, widows, or orphaned been comforted? Have the homeless been fed and lifted out of despair? The list goes on.

I am afraid I have also been complicit in the same behavior. I can’t say my opinion has changed on the matter; but that being said, I have written more than enough to prove my point. There is a plethora of information out there to show the pagan roots of “Christmas”. So what am I going to say to change your mind on the subject? NOTHING! You will study the Word and come to this conclusion on your own through your own study or you won’t.

In the mean time we are living in a period that is so dangerous and precarious, that when the wave of persecution hits this nation and the world, neither you nor I will have time to even think about this subject. Then the real issues of the Gospel will be preached and all the peripherals will fall by the wayside.

2Ti 3:1  But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

2Ti 3:2  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

2Ti 3:3  unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,

2Ti 3:4  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

2Ti 3:5  holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

2Ti 3:6  For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

2Ti 3:7  always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2Pe 3:1  This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

2Pe 3:2  that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

2Pe 3:3  Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

2Pe 3:4  and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."

I believe that as we get closer to the end this will be a moot issue. No one will be worried about defending something that is as ridiculous as this. The true believers will be busy trying not to lose their heads while remaining faithful to the Lord. So, as I said, this will be my last “Christmas” rambling. But that being said, it does not mean that I am giving up my right to teach what the Word says about being faithful to His appointed times and seasons, Lev 23, Is 66, Zech 14, etc.

So take heart, I am done. Feel free to do what you want. You will get no protest from me. But I still choose to refrain.

May you have a blessed Chanukah season.  Remember if it was not for Chanukah there would not have been an Israel for the Messiah to have entered into. The basic theme of every Holy-day is they tried to kill us the Lord saved us let’s eat. That the Lord preserved Israel so Messiah Yeshua could be born is a good reason to celebrate. Our job is to do it according to His prescription.

Shalom uvracha b’Yeshua

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    Author

    Rabbi Henry Morse's ministry has taken him all over the world. He is an accomplished speaker, author, trained acrobat, and physical comedian. In addition to the active and growing congregation in Stoughton, MA, he and his wife Cherri helped launch a messianic congregation in Hilo Hawaii in 2011 and one in Maine.

    benafuchi@aol.com

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