Musing – Are we to Know Him or to Serve Him?

Hebraic Musing – Are we to Know Him or to Serve Him?
Or -- The unintended consequences of placing learning about God above living for God.

Years ago, my beloved pastor drilled into us
            “To Know Him is to Love Him; and to Love Him is to Serve Him.
             If you are not Serving Him it is because you do not Love Him;
            and if you do not Love Him, it is because you do not Know Him.” 

Have you known folks who claim to know Jesus, are doing some study and sort of know the Bible yet they are not serving Him? Are those folks are storing up God’s wrath against themselves by not applying their godly knowledge to their daily walk, or ‘Halakhah’ (one’s way of walking)?  

They should know better! And there are many biblical references to support this concern:

·      Rom. 1:18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them … so that men are without excuse.   If God has made it plain, what excuse do we have?

·      Isa. 59:2  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.  He will not hear or even listen to us, no matter how much we know, why?

·      Eph. 4:17-18  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.   Two points – 
        (1) Don’t live like you used to. 
        (2) And don’t conform to the world view around us.  Be separated!

·      Rom. 1:17   …just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”   Note that it does not say “the knowledgeable will live by faith.” How many knowledgeable folks do you know who need to heed Habakkuk 2:4  See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright -- but the righteous will live by his faith.

My all-time favorite is James 1:22.   Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.   Then verses 23-27 continues to emphasize the need to apply God’s Word in actions  23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does. (Do you know anyone who claims to be ‘religious’?  How does it show?)  v.26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.     Did you recognize all the ‘action verbs’?

Something to ponder and memorize

            To Know Him is to Love Him; and to Love Him is to Serve Him. 
          If you are not Serving Him it is because you do not Love Him;
                   and if you do not Love Him, it is because you do not Know Him.

Go forth to Know, Love and Serve Yeshua HaMashiach my ‘Chaveri’ (Friends)

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                             November 26, 2013

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”

And weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”  Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – What happens if we live life without direction?

Hebraic Musing – What happens if we live life without direction?

In the story of "Alice in Wonderland", Alice has arrived at a crossroads and she doesn't know which path to choose, so she asks advice from a Cheshire cat sitting in the trees: "Which road do I take?" she asks. "Where do you want to go?" the cat responds. "I don't know," Alice answers." "Then it doesn't matter," says the cat.  So, if you don't know where you want to go in life, then you can take any path at all, even those that may lead you to places you never intended to be in, or wanted to be in.

There is a similar situation with a Bible character who apparently doesn’t know who he is or why he is --  Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.  The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. …  Then the Lord said to Moses:  "Take the blasphemer outside the camp. … and the entire assembly is to stone him…. anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. Lev 24:10-16  NIV    (BTW  What is the ‘unpardonable’ sin?)

While this man was among the Israelites, he really didn’t know whose side he was on, or where he was going.  Was he a lost soul as hinted at by his mixed lineage – part Egyptian and part Israelite?  Even today, people with no purpose or plan or guiding belief system wind up where they do not want to be due to lack of direction.  His lack of direction came to light when he was doing something he should not have been doing in the first place, a fight. Then he blasphemed or cursed God.  Israel’s God was not his god!  

There is more to this story or lesson than blaspheming or cursing God; it is about the danger of living life without direction. Every choice or decision or step we make needs to be in the direction our of desired destination. In all things, we need to be moving directly toward the God of our Salvation.

What did Paul mean when he testified to the Philippians in 3:14? “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” KJV     Targets in Paul’s days were a thin stick, a mark, which you either hit or missed. There was no close enough or ‘leaners’ or fewer points in the rings around the bulls-eye.

Points to ponder

If our focus and/or our direction is not clear,
will we still hit the mark, or goal?

What is your goal?

Shalom Chaveri (Friends)

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                 Nov. 19, 2013

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”

And weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”  Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – How to start a meaningful conversation?

Hebraic Musing – How to start a meaningful conversation?

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,  1 Peter 3:15   NIV   People argue with my teachings and even with my preaching; but no one can argue with my testimony.  So I love sharing my testimony as a powerful witnessing tool.

However, I am concerned that we Christians get overly involved telling others that “I’m right and you are wrong”.  I learned long ago that is not the way “to make friends and influence people” (Dale Carnegie).  Instead, we need to recognize that we are usually talking to members of a very large segment of our population that has not (yet) understood the importance of acknowledging God and trying to understand His Word to us and His plan for all of His creation. 

So we find ourselves debating or negotiating from dramatically differing points of view.  Remember the business principle -- Good negotiation requires understanding the position of the other party, even to the point of being able to restate his/her position.

My friend, John R, likes to open conversations by posing questions like -- "Why is the Devil in opposition to the Kingdom of God?";  “What are we saved from, and to, and what is the purpose and the necessity of this change?"   I used to ask people “What church do you go to?” but that can be confrontational and judgmental.  So now I ask “Where are you in your spiritual walk?” That is a non-judgmental conversation starter that actually provides more information to work from.

These conversations are often triggered by mention of topics such as homosexuality, abortion, capital punishment or …..  Is the other party approaching the topic(s) from inside or outside of a Judeo/Christian moral background?  If the other person does not understand the necessity for personal sanctification (lit. "to set apart" for special use or purpose, to make holy or sacred) there is not a common ground to support discussion(s) of these topics.  Words like "holiness, sin, righteousness, judgment" have been largely abandoned.  Motivational speakers who have abandoned those terms can fill stadiums, and get mainstream media time.

Our challenge is to present the Gospel message without getting caught up in the “How do you define sin” and other divisive issues.  At the same time, we do not want to accept contemporary human preferences that conflict with God’s Word.   

How to?  Let’s start with your testimony.  They cannot argue with that reality.

Point to ponder

We sing “Go tell it on the mountain…” but how do we do that?

Are you prepared to give your personal testimony in a
45 minute, a 3 minute or a 10 second ‘elevator talk’ version? 
Have you practiced?

with gentleness and respect

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd             Nov. 12, 2013 (a week and 2 days late, we enjoyed Honduras)

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”

And weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”  Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – How to appreciate the Sabbath Experience?

Hebraic Musing – How to appreciate the Sabbath Experience?

Have you ever been on a spiritual retreat, or even an all-day program, and at the conclusion you suffered the reality that it is time to “re-enter” the daily routine?  It is a bittersweet time as you savor the fellowship time you have spent with God and with others, coupled with the knowledge that soon it will be over.  In many respects, that parallels, or should parallel, our experience as the Sabbath comes to a close.

The Sabbath is truly a holy and blessed time. Our loving Father God wants us to have a good life. So He advised us –  "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, …. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth…, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”  Exod. 20:8-11

Ideally, the Sabbath experience should be a time slot, a day, in which we are to live fully in that moment as we find the pleasure and holiness that comes from relaxing, studying the Torah or Bible, and having fellowship with family and friends. If we fully honor the Sabbath -- experiencing rest, study and fellowship — then we have achieved our spiritual goal to follow God’s plan for holy living.

Whether you are accustomed to a Sunday worship or the Saturday worship as is directed in the Torah, there is a lot to learn from the Jewish customs for Sabbath worship.  Let’s look at a way of appreciating the concluding hours of the Sabbath experience. 

The Jewish custom is to conclude the Sabbath formally with a time of evening prayer and a rich Havdalah, or ‘separation ceremony’.   During that time, Jews reaffirm their belief in the coming of Messiah and the redemption of the world. They acknowledge their duty to sanctify life with holy living.  Then, they light a long braided candle, drink from an overflowing cup of wine, and deeply inhale the fragrance of spices as they recite “Be not afraid, my servant Jacob, for I, the LORD, am with you” from Jeremiah 30:10.

According to Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein:

·      “The light of the braided candle symbolizes the intertwining of the Eternal One and the divine spirit in man; for as the Bible says, “the LORD is our light and our redeemer.”  

·      The overflowing cup of wine symbolizes our uncontainable optimism and hope for the coming week.

·      The aromatic spices refresh our soul and dispel the emptiness we feel at the conclusion of Shabbat.”

In what ways can we involve more of your senses to help us focus more on God?

When I’ve experienced an Havdalah ceremony, the verse that comes to mind is “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” from Psalm 34:8.  And if the day had been truly devoted to God – resting, studying and fellowshipping, then the Havdalah ceremony is especially encouraging.  Then I’m ready and prepared to walk in holiness for six more days until I can once again ‘rest in Him.’

Point to Ponder

What can you do to receive the intended benefits of honoring God’s Sabbath?

What might you add – or subtract – to make your experience more meaningful?

P.S. It has been said “The Jews keep the Sabbath; but actually, the Sabbath has kept the Jews.”

Shabbat Shalom

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                             October 29, 2013

Author of two books “Hebraic Insights” and  “Biblical Marriage”

And weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”  Yosef1@cox.net  or  www.InsightsByYosef.com