Musing – Is Psalm 104 a Glorious description of Creation?

 Hebraic Musing – Is Psalm 104 a Glorious description of Creation?

We are created beings.  Reciting Psalm 104 verse by verse might be a way for us to appreciate and thank Our LORD, our Creator, for Creating us.  How much care did Our LORD give when He created us?  Let’s appreciate the Thoughtfulness of the God of our Creation as described verse by verse in Psalm 104:   

1   Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. (NIV)

2   He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent

3   and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.

4   He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.

5   He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.

6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

7   But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8   they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.

9   You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.

10   He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.

11   They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12   The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.

13   He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

14   He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:

15   wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.

16   The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17   There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees.

18   The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

19   The moon marks off the seasons, (Biblical calendar!) and the sun knows when to go down.

20   You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21   The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.

22   The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.

23   Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.

24   How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

25   There is the sea, vast & spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number - living things both large & small.

26   There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27   These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time.

28   When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.

29   When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die & return to the dust.

30   When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works—

32   he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33   I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

34   May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.

35   But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Points to Ponder

Did Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, think of everything we, His Children, would need?

How Great is Our God?   How Awesome is our God?   How Caring is our God?

Maybe we need to learn to read our Bible more slowly and thoughtfully?!?!

♫ What a mighty God we serve. Angels bow before Him.
       Heaven and earth adore Him. What a mighty God we serve! ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          January 27, 2026            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing - Does the Bible require that we “Like” our neighbor?

 Hebraic Musing - Does the Bible require that we “Like” our neighbor?

I know the Bible says we are to Love our neighbor (Leviticus 19:18 and 8 more times in the NT), but does that mean we have to Like them also?  What’s the difference?
 - Love - selfless, sacrificial, unconditional commitment to the well-being of others as a reflection of God's nature.  “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV   Sounds like Love is based on a desire to provide Care and well-being!

 - Like - To enjoy or approve of something or someone.  To show that you think something is good/agreeable.  Having the same or similar characteristics.  To feel an attraction toward or take pleasure in.  To enjoy.  To choose or prefer.

Can you love somebody or something you don’t like?  Can you like them or love them if they belong to a different political party, or they have life habits we don’t like, or they have hurt you, or they don’t like or respect you and your opinion(s), etc. etc.

On the other hand, maybe we need to try to like them by getting to know them?  Remember the 50’s song from “the King and I”.  “Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, Getting to hope you like me. Getting to know you, Putting it my way, But nicely, You are precisely, My cup of tea.”  This message calls for considerable effort to develop long-term relationship building.

Years ago, we used this “Like/Love” concept in “three steps for effective witnessing.”  It was our modus operandi for successful door-to-door witnessing!
 1. Make a friend                   – Introduce yourself openly, get acquainted, pay them a compliment.
 2. Be a friend                        – Do a “friendly something” for them to earn friendship, respect and likeability!
 3. Bring a friend to Christ   – Now they will listen to you and respect your message and the appeal.

Here’s some hard questions:

-          Is there any unforgiveness or a grudge causing us to not like or love a neighbor, or anyone?

-          How easy was it for Jesus to forgive us for our offenses?

-          Who decided they are unlikable?  What right do I/we have to decide that?  Who created them?

-          If we do not want to witness to them, does that mean we don’t care if they go to hell?

-          Why are we afraid to open a conversation about Jesus with a stranger?  What are we afraid of?

-          Where is your “Mission Field”?

Love demands that we seek the other person’s highest good at my expense.  Do we find it hard to Love somebody if we are not Liking what they are doing?  How are we to distinguish between those forces and keep those perspectives separated?!?!

Points to Ponder

Who is our neighbor?

Do we love our neighbor, or might we just simply like our neighbor?  

Can we really Love our neighbor without Liking them?
or, can we Like our neighbor without really Loving them?
 BTW - How much do we love ourselves?

We know God loves all 7 billion souls on earth equally, but more importantly, do we?

Where is our “Mission Field”?

“… and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9 NIV

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                        January 20, 2026            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing – To whom is the Bible saying “Hear, O Israel”?

 

Hebraic Musing – To whom is the Bible saying “Hear, O Israel”?

The phrase “Hear, O Israel” appears 6 times in the Bible.  Many understand that today’s new spiritual “Israel” is the population of Believers.  If so, how are we believers to understand these six Bible verses?

“Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.” Deuteronomy 5:1 NIV   Do the words “Learn them and be sure to follow them” apply to us today if Israel means “all His people”?    Who are “His” people?

“Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.” Deuteronomy 6:3   Does this mean that if we are careful to obey the Lord, we will be blessed with a promise of wealth?  Interesting prosperity message worth pondering!

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9  The first part is the infamous "Shema" prayer that the Jews are taught to recite at least 3 times a day.  Could this become our daily prayer also?  Is it just for Jews, or might Christians also adopt this custom?  Try it, you’ll like it.

“Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.  The people are strong and tall—…”  Deuteronomy 9:1-2   Is the Lord promising to provide us with the strength to stand up against our enemies?  Seems we are to fear the Lord, but not man.   Which definition of “fear” am I referring to?

“Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.  For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:3-4   Does the Lord have your back today?  Are we to call on Him to fight our battles?

When Jesus was asked which commandments is most important, He answered “The most important one, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31   How well are we abiding by these two commandments that Jesus said are most important?  Who is our neighbor?

In the book of Genesis, God promised Abraham: “To your offspring I will give this land.” Genesis 12:7   Are we believers the offspring of Abraham?   Are we living in the new Spiritual Israel?

And in Genesis 32 Jacob wrestled, or struggled, with God and his name was changed to Israel.

Israel is mentioned 1,726 times in the Bible and Jerusalem 785 times.  The state of Israel, established in 1948, acts as a literal fulfillment of various prophecies.  “Hatikvah” – Israel’s national anthem means “the Hope”.

 Points to ponder

Are we/you the new Israel, a Spiritual Israel?

Should we or might we also recite the “Shema” daily?

Do you and I know enough about the significance of today’s Israel?

What does the God want us to know about “Israel”?

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd            January 13, 2026

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Musing – How does a Christian grow?

 

Hebraic Musing – How does a Christian grow?

Peter challenged us to grow, and he told us why!  “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”  2 Peter 3:18 NIV   How are we to grow? A – “in grace and knowledge”.  Why and how should we grow?  A – To give God the glory now and forever!  And as we enter the New Year with fresh resolutions, maybe this challenge from Peter is worth accepting?

We live in a culture today that is isolating groups into divisiveness and name-calling!  More than ever we need to learn to yield to Jesus’ leadership in our lives?  We have His Word to guide us, but are we yielding to His Word?  Or instead, have we let the words of the world and news media guide us in our thinking and actions?

Is it about time that we get out of ourselves and go with His plan?  Are you satisfied or are you dissatisfied with your current walk with Him and the progress you’ve made so far?  Are we getting too comfortable doing the same thing over and over, year after year?

It’s not unusual for fear and panic to creep into our lives and keep us from stretching and doing something that is “outside the box”!  However, if we are going to step out, let’s do it with wisdom, prayer and a plan (like a New Year’s resolution).

Sometimes it feels a little lonely stepping out of our own comfort zone.  Therefore we need the support of one another.  Suggestion – should we share our New Year resolutions with one another?  Might we then receive encouragement from our Brothers?  How important is it to be plugged into one another? 

Men like challenges, so let’s listen to Paul’s words.  “… I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14   Why are we called to be “straining toward what is ahead”?  What is our “Higher Calling”?  I believe God can use all of us if we are willing to press on.

Do you have goals for this year?  Is there something new you would like to accomplish?  Or is there something you would like to do much better?  Phillipians.3:13 is calling us to be “straining toward what is ahead”.  Straining takes work; but on the other hand, let’s consider what Jesus has done and will be doing for us!

Don’t look back, let’s go forward and be a new tool for the Lord.  We are in a race and as the Apostle Paul reminded us – “Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-25  We are called to be in training, strict training?!?!  Let’s look to the finish line as our daily motivation to serve Him in new and better ways this year.  And as we work as a team, we can and will celebrate each other’s victories!

Does Matthew 16:15 tell us to “Go into all the world…” and simply go to church?  Or, are we told to “preach the good news to all creation.” 

In kindergarten we learned to Share.  What should we be sharing as Christians?

Points to Ponder

If we share our goal with our Brothers, might they be hold us accountable?

Do you really want God’s Kingdom to grow?  What are you called to do to help?

Do you want your New Year to be more connected and accountable?

Do you want to grow?

Is this message a kick in the pants?  If so, mission accomplished!

♫  Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; And all these things shall be added unto you. ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                      January 6, 2026            
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”
Note – Inspired by Pastor Tom Hatley’s January 4^th message.