Musing - How To Do Our Best for the Lord?

Hebraic Musing - How To Do Our Best for the Lord?

A story from Jewish tradition: 

A group of Jewish sages was having a discussion regarding the most important verse in the Bible. One sage suggested, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” Deut. 6:4.  Indeed, belief in one God is a cornerstone of the Jewish faith.  But another sage proposed, “love your neighbor as yourself” Lev. 19:18 because belief in God is not enough. One must also act appropriately toward man.  Finally, another sage made a third suggestion.  He said, “Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight” Exod. 29:39 which refers to the twice daily sacrifice that was offered in the Temple.

The third choice may seem strange, but even more strange is that the other sages agreed with him!  Why?

There is a deeper meaning to the verse about sacrifices. It’s about consistency – doing the same thing day in and day out. One sacrifice is offered in the morning and another at twilight – every single day. This sacrifice, called “the daily sacrifice,” is symbolic of consistent righteous behavior.

It’s one thing to have exemplary faith in a particular situation or to perform an extraordinary act of kindness at one time. But righteousness is not determined by what we do once in a while. Righteousness is determined by all the little things that we do day in and day out, whether we feel like it or not, rain or shine, every single day of our lives.

The last sage was suggesting that what we do is not as important as how consistent we are at doing it. Real spirituality is constant and consistent. Otherwise it’s as fleeting as a rainbow which is beautiful only while still in the sky.

Notice how the concept of consistency plays out in Psalm 101:8.  King David asserts that “Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land.”  David was emphasizing that he did his job every single day with the same enthusiasm as on the first day.  He didn’t take a break on Tuesday because he did a good job on Monday, and he didn’t skip Thursday because he had a late night on Wednesday.  David was constant and consistent in his service to the Lord and that made him righteous.

Another view of David’s inspiration is seen in his Psalm 145:2  “Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.”    Like David, we need to wake up every morning, jump out of bed ready and willing to be our best, even if we are tired or uninspired; especially if we are tired or uninspired!  If we are consistent and give 100 percent every day of our lives, then God will be there for us, too.

The early church grew because of a consistency we see in Acts 2:46-47 “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  NIV

Point to ponder

If we work hard six days of the week,
will we really appreciate the opportunity to rest on a Sabbath with the Lord.

♫  “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before…” ♫ 

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   February 21, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life”  “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Inspired and excerpted from Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein’s Any Given Morning   January 8, 2017

Musing – How to Take Sunday into Monday?

In Jewish thinking, there is no distinction between “sacred” and “secular”.  Are you a “Sunday go to meeting Christian”?  How can we take our Christianity to work with us on Monday?  How can glorifying God become a full-time occupation?  Here are just a few thoughts:

Dependence. Go to work utterly dependent on God, as if without him you can’t breathe, move, think, feel or talk. How can we possibly be spiritually influential without Him?  Get up in the morning and let God know your desperation for Him.  Prov. 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”  NIV  Notice, it does say  “in all your ways”.  Maybe the Lord could also help your job performance as well?!

Integrity. Be absolutely and meticulously honest and trustworthy on the job.  Be on time. Give a full day’s work. “Thou shalt not steal.” Some people rob their employers by being slackers.  People notice integrity!

Culture.  As co-workers, peers, management, vendors and customers observe you, do they see Christ at work in you?  And is it possible they might want what you have?  And might they be inclined to also deal more fairly?   We have two well know examples of Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby known for their Christian culture.  And I know from personal experience we can influence corporate culture from the bottom and middle management roles also.

Communication.  Every organization has a culture of communication styles.  That’s the good news and the bad news!  How much coarse language is tolerated?  Weave your Christian beliefs and worldviews into the normal communications of life. Don’t hide your light under a bushel; put it on the lampstand.  Winsomely, naturally, joyfully -- let your light shine.  Let your light always say “Great is the Lord!”  Notice the word “Always” in Psalm 40:16 “But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, ‘The Lord be exalted!’"

Love. Serve others. Be the one who volunteers first to get the pizza, drive the van, organize the picnic, etc.  Take an interest in others at work.  Love those around you; pray for them and point them to The Prayer Answerer.

Money.  Remember, it is all God’s, not yours.  You are only the steward.  Always remember you work so that you can give and invest in Christ-exalting ventures.

Give Thanks. The worker who is always thankful for the opportunity to work is appreciated by management and is envied by peers, especially by those with a complaining life-style.  Always give thanks to God for life and health and work and Jesus.

These were only a few of the ways we can glorify God in the workplace.  We can also recognize how the Lord shapes (a) our skill set; (b) corporate structure; (c) life-enhancing product lines; (d) company reputation…   Add to the list as God gives you insights; but as Christ through you reshapes the company, both you and Christ benefit.  Sounds like a win-win!

Point to ponder

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31-32

When Jesus told us to go into all the world, did He mean the workplace too?

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Prov. 16:3

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   February 14, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life”  “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Note – Inspired by “How to Glorify God at Work” By John Piper - January 2, 2017

Musing - Come and Go with Me!

Hebraic Musing - Come and Go with Me!

One of the first songs I learned at a Charismatic prayer meeting during my search for the Lord 40 years ago is entitled Come and go with me to my Father's house.  Here are the lyrics:
♫ 1 Come and go with me to my Father's house,  To my Father's house, to my Father's house.
Come and go with me to my Father's house;  There is joy, joy, joy!
♫ 2 Peace and love abide in my Father's house, …  ♫ 3 Peace and happiness in my Father's house, … 
♫ 4 No more dyin' there, in my Father's house, ….♫ 5 Sweet communion up there, in my Father's house…

Exodus chapter 10 is nicknamed “Bo” in Hebrew Torah studies, and the Hebrew “Bo” is translated “Go” in our Bibles when the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them.”  Exodus 10:1   Jewish scholars point out that the better translation of “Bo” should be “Come.”  However “Come to Pharaoh” doesn’t make sense so what could be the meaning of this verse if we use the word “come”?

Could it be that Moses was hesitant to continue on his mission?  He was weary and Pharaoh was still very powerful.  Doubts began to creep in.  Could he really complete the task that God had given to him?

God understood how Moses felt, so He said something like this to Moses “Come with me and together we will go to Pharaoh.”  Scripture abbreviated those words by saying “Come to Pharaoh.”  God was telling Moses that he was not alone, that God was right there with him. All Moses needed to do was come and follow Him.  In Exod.31:6 God told Moses “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." NIV

When the Lord prompts us to “Go” we sometimes hesitate, checking to see if He is going with us. In fact, did you know that according to Jewish tradition only one-fifth of the Israelites left Egypt?  According to tradition, four-fifths of the Israelites chose not to leave!  These people weren’t interested in leaving the only place they knew for some unknown destination in the future.

If you listen closely you can still hear the Holy Spirit of God saying to you “Come with me!”  The word “Go” appears about 1,400 times in our Bible; and whether the instruction is given to an OT person or given to us, we can often recognize God wanting us to “Come and Go with me…”

Example, among the many “come/go” statements in our Bible, “First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” Matt 5:24  When we are called to Go, how often do we need and want Him at our side.

The classic “Go” instruction to us in Jesus’ red letters "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”   Mark 16:15-16  NIV   Whenever I follow this instruction I quickly realize I cannot do it alone.  I have to be led by His Holy Spirit as He “Comes and Goes with me…”

Points to ponder

When we are called by the Holy Spirit to Go,
how often do we need Him to come along with us?

♫  Come and go with me to my Father's house,… 

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   February 7, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage” “Musings - A Victorious Life”  “Musings - The Torah and New Testament”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Inspired by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein’s “Come with Me!”  January 30, 2017