Musing – Whom do you choose to serve?

Hebraic Musing – Whom do you choose to serve?

We may have to make some choices as the nation’s and world’s culture change.

One of my favorite verses comes at the end of Joshua’s challenge to the Israelites as they were about to cross the Jordan.  After describing the history of what Almighty God had done for them, he said:   "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."  Josh 24:14-15 NIV   (We had an excerpt of that verse on our home answering machine for many years.)

The ruins of Masada are a popular destination for tourists to Israel because the event that took place on this high rocky mountain has become a modern-day symbol of the resistance and faith of the Jews and their commitment to serve the one true God.  The site is a reminder of the courageous and tragic event in which 960 first century Jews killed themselves rather than submit to Roman capture and enslavement.  The final words of the Masada leader, Eleazar Ben Ya’ir, resonates with people of faith: “Since we long ago resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God Himself, Who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice.”

Remember Ruth’s declaration of loyalty to the God of Naomi?  “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God”  Ruth 1:16

How can we forget Elijah’s memorable challenge to the people of Israel on Mount Carmel as he prepared to battle with 450 prophets of Baal?  “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” 1 Kings 18:21.

Based on the events of the world around us, people of faith in Almighty God and His Word may well be facing circumstances similar to those faced by (a) Jews atop Masada being attacked by the Romans, or (b) Joshua having to call for a decision from the people, or (c) Ruth having to choose between her home or the God of the Universe, or (d) Elijah having to confront 450 false prophets.

We each must make a choice daily as to whom we will serve on matters like money management, utilization of our free time and with whom we spend our time, etc.  But there are faith challenges of much greater consequence ahead, like how to deal with the pressures of ungodly cultural changes around us. How are we to deal with these questions?  (a) Who we choose to marry? (b) What does marriage mean to us? (c) What does “love” really mean? (d) When does life begin? And (e) How to treat what God calls sin but is now being flaunted and legalized?

So, as we face the changing times, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,…. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Points to ponder

What choices are we going to have to make?

And on which issues will we have to take a stand?

                                                                                                            July 28, 2015    

Lord, we thank you for your Word.  What would we do without it?!?!

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd,   Author::

“Hebraic Insights”  “Biblical_Marriage” “Musings v.1 – A Victorious Life”
“Musings v.2 – The Torah and New Testament” Weekly “Hebraic Musings”   
www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – Are we moving the fence(s)?

Hebraic Musing – Are we moving the fence(s)?

Rabbis have been known to establish Fence Laws - created rules to protect one from violating G-d’s commandment. It’s better to be extra safe than to be sorry by offending Almighty G-d, so Fence Laws can be a good thing. A classic example – rather than trusting a sign at the edge of a cliff, build a fence twenty feet back to eliminate any chance that someone might get hurt.  Fence Laws and rules are designed to be extra careful to avoid offending G-d or neighbor.

This reminds me of a Sunday School lesson I taught years ago.  I told the 10 – 12 year olds “Today we are going to play a game; a fun game called Bochici Ball.  It is so much fun because there are no rules. So the questions came – How do you keep score? Any Way You Want, There Are No Rules.  How many balls? AWYW,TANR.  How many to a side?  AWYW,TANR  What’s out of bounds?   AWYW,TANR etc. etc. etc.”   It did not take them long to decide that a game and/or life is no fun and can’t be played without rules.

A related verse in Deut. 19:14 says “Do not move your neighbor's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.”  NIV   Boundaries are to be honored and this verse could easily be applied to rules established in prior generations by our elders that should be honored if we expect to receive God’s blessings.

Human nature wants to “push the envelope.”  As a kid, I used to call it “boundary breaking.” I would deliberately and knowingly sneak past the electric pole that was my boundary according to my Mother.    

Non-theistic and/or atheistic groups can cavalierly or rebelliously proclaim their liberation from Judean/Christian morality. They need to hear the old expression “Whenever you move any fence, always pause long enough to ask why was it put there in the first place?”  Society, and we as individuals, cannot survive in a boundary-less existence. Your neighbor has his own self-serving boundaries; so who is going to provide and respect the ethics between yours and his boundaries? If there is no objective law, relativism takes hold, and ultimately leads to self-destruction. 

I can’t help but still be thinking of the recent Musing – “Whatever happened to Biblical Marriage” and the rules changes (or fences moved) that have been changing – notably since the 1960’s.

Have we entered a post-Christian era while still trying to hang on to the blessings of our Judeo-Christian value system?    Philosopher Will Durant once said, ‘The greatest question of our time is not going to be East vs. West, North vs. South, or Communism vs. Capitalism. The greatest question of our time is going to be, ‘can man live without God?’ … pragmatically, ‘yes’ but coherently, ‘no’.  And when coherence breaks down, there’s an implosion and a self-destructive mood sets in. And once those values have been expended, and we no longer have the roots from which to draw, then we will find out the ramifications of it.”

Maybe this is why when I kiss the Mezuzahs on our doorframes I say “Thank you Lord for your Commandments”?

Point to ponder

How many fences have been moved recently?

                                                                                                            July 7, 2015    

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd,  Author::

“Hebraic Insights”  “Biblical_Marriage” “Musings v.1 – A Victorious Life”
“Musings v.2 – The Torah and New Testament” Weekly “Hebraic Musings”   
www.InsightsByYosef.com

Musing – Are We Expected to Be His Soldiers?

Hebraic Musing – Are We Expected to Be His Soldiers?

The Bible is a war story. God started recruiting His army as soon as His people left Egypt.  He was preparing His army to fight not only physical but spiritual battles of life and death.  Since the time they left Egypt, Israel was being prepared to become the army of the Lord Almighty! 

Old Testament -- The book of Numbers begins with counting the children of Israel for military purposes.   The Lord spoke to Moses … after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.  … number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army. Num 1:1-3   NIV  At that time, they were not far from the Promised Land and didn’t realize they had 40 more years.  I’ve often wondered if the wait was (a) due to the lack of faith by the 12 spies, or (b) to give God time to prepare His army for the battles ahead.  Nevertheless, their journey took 40 more years. God needed them to get organized, unified and prepared for the battles ahead.

And right after the first Passover -  And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies. Exod. 12:51  NKJV    Many English translations say “hosts” rather than "armies."  The Hebrew word "tzava'ot" is often translated as "hosts" or "divisions", but the verbal root is "tzava" which means "to wage war".  For example:  Zech 14:12  Adonai will strike all the peoples who made war against Yerushalayim… CJB  

Every army needs a military commander: Hos 12:5  Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot; Adonai is his name! CJB  Or in NKJV -  That is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name. Hos 12:5  NKJV   

And the God of Hosts also controls and uses nature to fight our foes - You will be visited by Adonai-Tzva’ot with thunder, earthquakes and loud noises,… Isa. 29:6  CJB  

New Testament -- The need for a military mentality continues in the NT. We saints become the soldiers who are expected to serve; and Paul used military terms:  But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier…  Phil 2:25  NIV   And ,,,to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier…  Philemon 2  NIV  

Do you think this word of encouragement from Paul to Timothy might apply to us?    Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  2 Tim 2:3  NIV 

Book of Revelation tells of the final war between Satan and the King of Kings -- Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and His army. Rev. 19:19  NIV    Will the Lord God of Hosts count you as one of His soldiers in His army?

Points to ponder

Do we accept the news of the day? Or are we listening for His marching orders?

Were you prepared for Spiritual battles right after you were saved?
Or did you need time and experience in His boot camp?

Are we in unity battling the enemy, or are we warring against each other?

What are we fighting for?

♫ I may never march in the infantry, Ride in the cavalry, Shoot the artillery
♫ I may never fly o'er the enemy,  But I'm in the Lord's army!   Yes Sir!
♫ I'm in the Lord's army!   Yes sir!    I'm in the Lord's army!    Yes sir!

Ready for war?                                                                       June 30, 2015    

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd,  Author::

Musing - What ever happened to "Biblical Marriage"?

God was clear when he created man and the wonderful combination of marriage, sex, and childrearing.  Some rightly call that the “Golden Triangle”. When He blessed His first man and woman He also gave them their first commandment -- "Be fruitful and increase in number;…” Gen 1:28  NIV

But that original plan is about to be dismantled by the Supreme Court. The permanent union of a man and woman, husband and wife, and the raising of children was, and still is, the ideal plan for mankind according to Almighty God.  Where, when and how did all this go wrong?

·      In 1960 the FDA approved the "pill". I have heard the pill referred to as a human pesticide. This was the start of the sexual revolution in the 60’s and 70’s. Non-marital sex, adultery and avoidance of pregnancy became acceptable.

·      Out of this, the concept of abortion became a controversy instead of an abomination. This further damaged the concept of childBearing which includes childRearing as the purpose of marriage.

·      Co-habitation became popular in the 60s and it continues to be common to this day.  Co-habitation ignores the concept of biblical marriage and negatively impacts childBearing.  Can childRearing be done as effectively by the “Significant Other”? 

·      In 1970 no-fault divorce was introduced and is now available in all 50 states since 1985. The concept of permanency of marriage is no longer important or honored.  What is the impact on childRearing?

·      Societal pressures are causing many couples to consider getting their college degree and career started before getting married. With hormones running rampant “biblical marriage” fell by the wayside and the sexual revolution is going forward with full steam. 

·      Marketing of credit started in the 70’s. “Buy now, pay later” teasers financially strains marriages. “We can’t afford more children.” (I raised six; and I don’t regret sacrificing  a little “standard of living.”)

·      Meanwhile the church did not do its job to promote and educate regarding the purpose of marriage. Should sex education be taught in the church? Sex education is the responsibility of the father and mother, but one or both of them have been removed from their role in childRearing. (Now you know what inspired me to write the book "Biblical Marriage" in May 2012.) 

·      And a “Seeker-friendly” church focused on an very over-simplified message, "God is love."   As a result the concept and definition of love has been abused. What does it mean today when someone says “Let’s make love”? And therefore the LGBT movement is built on a seriously warped definition of love. The unchurched world found a devious way to go around God's original plan by using or abusing the word “Love”. A recent Focus on the Family article exposes the issue in a challenging headline “Shouldn't People Be Allowed to Love Who They Want?”  I really get concerned with the number of people who claim to love their cat or dog; where will this lead us?

If you are troubled by this, I wonder how God feels? 

Points to ponder

What can we do to promote biblical marriage?

Has your church given up trying to deal with the sexual revolution issues?

How many "Biblical Marriage" examples can you find amongst
your friends and acquaintances?   How many non-biblical relationships?

How many other societal problems would be solved
if biblical marriage was restored to this nation?

I really would like to hear and share your answers.                            June 23, 2015    

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd,  Author::

“Biblical_Marriage” - available at Amazon and Kindle – search “Biblical Marriage Yosef”