What Is Worship-13 Shevat 5771

I recently had a discussion about worship with someone. I didn’t get a chance to finish it yet, but I believe the point was the old, “if Jesus isn’t G-d, why did he receive worship from people?” All in all that is actually a very good question. Why would someone who was not G-d let someone worship him or her? We do have the example of the angel in Revelation (22:8-9) “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’”  Now that indeed does make it clear. The angel was very quick to address John’s actions to correct him. So in Mat (14:33) where the text reads, “And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of G-d.’” that would be a proof-text that Yeshua is G-d. 

     Our problem here is the word worship. We have this preconceived idea that worship is the reverential acknowledgement of deity. And this does goes without saying. But, it stops a little short. Here is what Daniel Webster has to say. Including the previous it is also; to regard with great, even extravagant respect, honor, or devotion. Technically then, when someone is honored by receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, that could be called worship.

In the Hebrew or the Greek I do not know a word that actually means worship. I know words for prostrate, bow, honor, and serve, revere. And actually, these are the words in the Hebrew and Greek that get translated as worship. I can use all of these words with anyone. It would then be our own opinion as to whether worship (as we have come to think of it) is what is being given or received.

OK. Example time. In the passage above (Mat 14:33), what were the disciples doing? In Mat 18:26 we find the parable of the wicked servant. “So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'” What was the servant doing? According to the Greek he was doing the exact same thing the disciples were doing.

The two words, from the ESV, translated ‘worshipped’ in Matthew 14 is the same as the word translated as ’imploring’ in Matthew 18. This is Strong’s #4352-

Strong’s definition:  G4352 (35x)

proskuneō  (pros-koo-neh'-o)

From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

Thayer Definition:

1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence

2) among the Orientals, especially the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence

3) in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication

3a) used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank

3a1) to the Jewish high priests 3a2) to God 3a3) to Christ 3a4) to heavenly beings 3a5) to demons

When this word is used in reference to G-d it is obvious that we are acknowledging the Divine nature of G-d. When this word or the Hebrew equivalent is used in reference to idols it is irrelevant whether it is translated worship or prostrate. G-d said don’t do either. When it is in regard to men it should only be translated prostrate in regards to honoring. When it refers to Yeshua? I’m not going to give my opinion. Does the Bible REALLY say that he is G-d?   References please.                Shalom uvrachah, Lemuel

What In The World Is Going On Here?- 2 Shevat 5771

As a general rule, I hate computers. And I am not sure that Facebook is really helping it to win my affections. On the one hand, I am kind of isolated so it does give me connection to like-minded people. On the other hand, I read a lot of things that would have been better off unread. The majority of my “friends” are of the “Hebrew Roots, Torah based, believe the Bible as the Word of G-d” type people. There is a basic anti-church type sentiment, which goes along with being hurt by, let’s say, misguided truth, a fair dose of pagan phobia, and a lot of Bible only doers.

Being of the “Hebrew Roots, Torah based, believe the Bible as the Word of G-d” group is a good thing. Here we have people who have searched out the basis of their faith and found it to be Jewish in the beginning. They are returning to the only faith the Bible talks about in a good tone of voice.

The anti-church sentiment is something we need to get over. I had to come to the realization that the teachings I sat under were not a plot to deceive me. They were generally honest beliefs and understandings of the teachers. Like it or not, they are our brothers and sisters and the Torah and our Master said to love our brethren. Granted, this does not mean that we are going to get along with them. That is a different issue.

Pagan phobia is a whole monster in itself. This is where there is a highly intentional aversion to doing anything that might of at one time or another had some basis in paganism. Now, mind you, I am absolutely NOT advocating any form of paganism, but we have really got to get a grip on this. It is way out of hand. I don’t know if there is a single thing that one couldn’t find some kind of connection to paganism.

Bible only doers. This is a problem. There is not enough information in the Bible to make this a realistic faith. This admonition is pointed at those of us who belong to the “walking in the way of Torah” group. I have seen way too many conversations of the “Bible says this” and the “this is what this passage means” type arguments that it is very discouraging. We don’t need to start a new religion. This religion is thousands of years old. The problem is that most people don’t like, to put it mildly, the words ‘tradition, oral, sages, or rabbis’. It is like they are some kind of curse to be avoided at all cost.

Do we not see what is happening? How will we ever become a unified entity if everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes. We have people determining their own New Moons, people who think tzitzit on belt loops is acceptable, at the slightest inkling someone picks up a shofar and starts blowing it at the moon. We pitch around our variations of the Name of G-d against the commandment even arguing the correct pronunciations. Our Messiah never did this. Do we even care to try to find out what the correct observance of the things we are doing is? Do we really think we will provoke jealousy in anyone when we have such disregard for what they believe?

We are no different from the Christian assemblies that we have complained about. They chucked the ways of the Torah and the original faith. So have we. The Torah says to obey the decisions of the priests and judges. (Deut 17:8-13) Since they are not around, the last known decisions are in effect. When we stop making up our own rules and decide to humble ourselves and follow after the standards of normative Judaism maybe we will really become something to be envious over. G-d told us to be obedient to the authority He set up. That’s not you or me.  In Mat 23:2-3 Yeshua tells the people to obey the leaders even if they are not righteous in their actions. I don’t care what you do in your homes but we need to be careful teaching against tradition when we don’t know a thing about tradition.
Peace and blessing, Lemuel.

Let The Light Shine Through- 12 Tevet 5771

As many of you know, I am a handyman by profession and one of my favorite chores is washing windows. There is this immediate satisfaction seeing a dirty window transformed into a clear sparkling piece of glass. One thing you just are not supposed to do though is to wash windows with the sun shining on them. It is almost impossible to get a streak-free window if you do. So they need to be washed when the sun is not on them. That means that you don’t really know how good a job you did until the sun comes through. That’s when streaks and other abnormalities show up. Washing windows is a matter of trust. My part is to make sure that the squeegee rubbers are in good shape and that my rags are lint-free and that my washing solution is clean and a good mix. Then I just wash, doing what I know is the right way to wash them. If I do all that right, when the sun starts coming through they should be sparkling and streak-free.

      I thought today how much our life that we show to people is like window cleaning. If I live my life according to the teachings of G-d’s Word I don’t need to worry about what people are going to see when they see me exposed by what I profess. My life will be transparent and free from the streaks of hypocrisy. But if I allow myself to be influenced into areas of mediocrity in my walk of faith; to take short cuts and compromise my ethical standards; to fudge on the commandments of G-d, it will be revealed to the onlookers in life.

The light of the Word of G-d will always shine through our lives and reveal to others who we really are.  In Matthew 12 Yeshua said, “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." And in Luke 6, "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” We can only hide who we are from ourselves and it comes by hardening our hearts to the things of G-d and living a life of righteousness according to our own making.

May our Master never say to us, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46)

Time To Take Your Medicine-16 Kislev 5771

Don’t you just hate it when your advice comes back to get you? Carrie was about to leave this morning to do some errands and I wasn’t quite ready to see her off. She said, “Well, you’ll be done in a minute, I’ll just wait to kiss you.” I said, “Yeah, it might be the last kiss we get.” That was it. Ouch. I had just spent a whole day two days ago feeling sorry for myself because of some circumstances (that, of course, are always insignificant in the scheme of things) and lost everything that the day could have had.

As a general rule, I do look past the things that go on (gam zu latovah, this too, is for the good) and look for the things to learn and improve myself in. But, every once in awhile my yetzer harah (evil inclination) gets me and down I go. The worst part is that I don’t usually go alone. For some reason everyone around me seems to go down too. Boy does that really help with the guilt.

In a way, having these times is also a good thing. Not that the L-RD would want me be a spoiled brat, but this also is a time to grow. I see in it that I am far, far away from where I will be one day, bezrat Hashem, (with the help of the L-RD) and it’s a great opportunity to grow in my humility. May the L-RD give me 20-20 vision to see my faults and not be afraid to confront them.

Did You Brush Your Hair? -7 Kislev 5771

I have to admit; sometimes I take shortcuts in getting myself ready to go someplace. It’s not so much that I don’t care it’s just that I don’t really care. I’m just not the primping kind. Carrie and I were going out the other day and she looked at me and asked if I had brushed my hair. I told her that I had kind of straightened it up. Then she asked if I had brushed my ponytail. I told her that I had felt it and it felt all right. She told me that that was the problem with the faith of so many people. They don’t really look at their faith. Their faith is more a matter of feeling than of what it actually looks like. It may feel OK but it’s not OK.

That reminded me of a visual aid I had done in a class I was teaching one time. I don’t remember where the example came from. I used a football representing our feelings and a Bible representing our faith. Placing the football on the floor and trying to balance the Bible on top I was showing what happens when we build our faith on our feelings. As our feelings change our faith also moves and changes with no stability to what we believe. But if you put the Bible down first and the ball on top (I wouldn’t do this trick now, I don’t think I could put a ball on a Bible or a Bible on the floor) your feelings can do whatever they want. Your faith is unaffected by your feelings. Your foundation is solid and unchangeable. Just the way faith should be.

Hence, the problem with so much of modern evangelism. I see billboards and signs with pictures of people suffering from traumatic experiences of some kind with captions that read, “Give Jesus a try, or G-d can fix anything.” And that is absolutely true. G-d can fix anything. But will He? People are being encouraged into something based on a feeling without knowledge.  And when it doesn’t work out the way one might like, what happens to faith? It falls off the football. Faith is a matter of having a relationship with our Creator and being faithful to Him no matter what our circumstances. Our actions bring about consequences that are apt to remain with us the rest of our lives. G-d might change them and He might not. That does not change what our response to Him should be. He will never change. Shouldn’t we be like Him?

May we all be encouraged to know G-d as He has revealed Himself and not add to Him the things that we want Him to be. That’s kind of like idolatry. Let our faith be firm and enduring to the end. Our feelings will be put in order by our faith.

Sometimes It’s Just Hard- 28 Cheshvan 5771

As I write this, we have just heard that the son of friends of ours has just died after many months of struggling for his life. I talked to another friend today and she was really missing her mom today. She died several months ago. And then she told me that another acquaintance had just found out that their 2-year-old daughter had leukemia. What discouraging news. And of course, the big question, why? Why do these things happen? How come we can’t do anything to find the cures for these problems? Illness and disease continue go devastate humanity without rhyme or reason and we are virtually helpless to do anything about them. Is there an answer for all of this?

 Of course, one is that we live in a fallen world. All of this is a result of our desire to do wrong and it is the effect of our own choice. That’s not a bad thought. G-d’s desire for our life has kind of been side stepped because of what we wanted? His hand of protection is limited because of our choice to decide our destiny? The culmination of our circumstances is the result of the choices that we have made and now they are being worked out to its fruition? I don’t have an answer. All is speculation.

As I have thought on this today an interesting thought came to mind. What in the world was the nachash (serpent) doing in the garden? Wasn’t that the Garden that the L-RD planted to the east? Didn’t He take the man that He created and place him there? Wasn’t it good? How did the serpent get there? Wasn’t that the worst possible thing that could have ever happened to humanity?

We are not without understanding even though we don’t have answers. What we have is what Paul said, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1Th 4:13-14) We have hope and faith in our Creator that He is working out His plan and that it WILL come to pass. We still grieve. We still cry and miss those we love. We will hope and trust.

Let us weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15) and be a blessing. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2Co 1:3)

To my beloved friends: I weep with you. My heart breaks over your anguish and loss. May the peace of our beloved Father comfort you in this time and may you find rest in the shadow of His wings.

Watch Out For The Edge Of The Path-25 Cheshvan 5771

It’s leaf-blowing season here in central Arkansas. I enjoy blowing leaves. It is instant gratification of the work being done. I was blowing leaves the other day on a little winding path going down a hill to a lake. As I got to the bottom I didn’t want to blow leaves into the lake so I stepped off the path to blow them across the path into the woods. The leaves were a little damp and slippery and as I stepped on them my foot slid right out from under me. One of my knees is not in great shape and as that leg folded in half and I came crashing down and sat on my foot all I could do was lie on the ground and say, “Oh boy, that really hurts.” After about five minutes I could finally get up and hobbled up the hill. My knee and my ankle were pretty sore.

That evening Carrie put some of that great horse liniment on it and I went to sleep for the night. Lying inactive didn’t help much. Every time I got up and in the morning my leg was really sore. It kind of worked out a little during the day but I think it’s going to be a while before it gets better. I have got to be more careful.

That path is a lot like our walk in faith. As long as we stay on the path things are going to be all right. The path is well marked and there usually isn’t much on it to trip us up. The edge is the problem. That’s where the trouble starts. There are things that you can’t see. They are hidden under the leaves. Sticks to trip you. Holes to stumble in. There are actually things off the path that want you to come off the path. Sometimes it’s not so easy to get back to the path once we get off of it. Even worse, there may not be anyone off the edge to help us.

That’s why we have to continue busying ourselves with the things of G-d. Study, prayer, acts of loving-kindness. Setting our sights upon our Master who has gone before us. He has shown us how to live. He has shown us the things that bring us closer to our Father in Heaven. The more focused on these the less likely we are to wander near the edge.

Luk 18:22-  When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."