Have you ever heard any one say that they thought they were paying for the sins of their youth? Perhaps you have said it yourself, I know that I have.
Have you ever considered what people might mean when they say that?
Perhaps they are referring to a time in their teenage years when they climbed up into a tree and tried bungee jumping with a rope and a board and they hit the ground...hard... not that I would know anything about doing something as stupid as that mind you, but they think of those things when their old bones are aching and they say in effect that they are paying for the sins of their youth.
Of course there are other ways to pay for the "old days" as well. You may find this hard to believe but I was kind of wild around the edges when I was a younger man and I did some pretty stupid things,see the above paragraph, things that I would have to say that I am not proud of now, but were done none the less. Back in those days I took drugs, I didn't care what,as long as it didn't involve needles, and I smoked. It could be argued that the reason I never got past high school was because of the drugs and it was just as easy to go with the military. It could be said that if I was to develop lung cancer that it would be due to my foolishness in smoking in the first place. These could be seen as ways that you pay for the sins of your youth.
Relationships. I know for a fact that there are some of you who are reading this that I have hurt in the past.I am truly sorry for the pain that I caused.Some of you reading this have hurt other's. You might not have thought much about it at the time,as kids we generally don't,but now as an adult you remember and are troubled.
You ask questions , such as, what if...pick your if, and you realize that you will probably never know.We can't go back and change it so the memories hurt and you regret them and so in effect you are paying for them.
Really though what is the truth in all this, do we really pay for our past sins,especially those from our younger days ? I would have to say yes, to a point.
If you are Jewish or a Christian then you know that G-D forgives those who come to Him for forgiveness, the sins themselves are gone, but many times we have to live with the consequences of that sin.
If you were a smoker, you could develop lung cancer because of it. If you messed around and got pregnant you may have found yourself with a child. If you jumped out of trees while stoned then your bones are probably going to ache.
I think you get my point.You do stupid things, there is a price to pay.
G-D gives us some sound advice from Jeremiah, kind of wish that I had heard this and had listened when I was younger, might have saved me and a few others from some trouble. Jer. 6:16
This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
If you think about this a bit you will see how it applies. Simply put; If in our youth we had stopped long enough to ask, we might have found the best path to follow, that of course being G-D's ways, the "ancient paths". Might have saved a bone ache or two...OK so maybe not, stoned or not I would have tried it.
So do we pay a price for our own stupidity? Yes. But there is still G-D's ancient path waiting on us; Care to take a walk ?
Shalom,
Ignacio
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Come ,Let Us Reason....
Today as I was reading the Bible, I ran across one of my favorite verses and I just wanted to share my thoughts on it real briefly and I hope that you receive the kind of blessing that I have from it.
Isa. 1:18-20 “ Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The reason I like this verse so much really has to do with the first part of verse 18 but all of it carries a very important message and thought.
"Come now and let us reason together says the Lord" What an awesome thought! The creator of the heavens and the earth is inviting us to come and reason with him. He doesn't say here that I am G-D and you are puny human so I demand that you do exactly as I say to you, though this would probably be a good idea, but no He actually wants to talk to you.Can you grasp that concept? How many of you have been raised with the idea that G-d was a harsh taskmaster that had no room for compassion and He was somebody that you could not approach or even question? I know I grew up that way, and yet right here in the beginning of Isaiah ,at a time when Israel is in deep trouble, G-D still says come let us reason together.
The best part is that reasoning with G-D was going to produce results that both He and you want; "Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow, though they be red as crimson they shall be as wool." G-D knows that if you actually take the time to talk with Him and bring Him your cares and trials and yes your sins that you will confess them to Him and He will forgive you and make you pure to Him once again. This was His plea with Israel and it is the same with us. He knows that this is what we need and He tells us right here that He is willing to talk about it.
The last 2 verses carry both encouragement and a warning; "If you are willing and obedient you will eat the good of the land." If you are willing to what? Come and reason with Him! What will happen if you do that and are obedient to Him? Your sins will be forgiven, you will be made clean and you will enjoy good things. Simple and to the point.
The warning ,as well, is just as simple and to the point "But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword."
The real beauty of all this is that the above warning doesn't have to happen to you just as it did not have to happen to Israel. They continued in their rebellion and they paid the price for it. But you don't have to suffer the same fate.
You have a problem? Take it to G-D , He WILL listen. You have sin in your life that needs to be cleansed? Take it to G-d, He will make you as white as snow.
G-D wants to talk to you. He wants to reason with you. He wants to forgive you.
We serve an amazing awesome G-D.
Shalom,
Ignacio
Isa. 1:18-20 “ Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The reason I like this verse so much really has to do with the first part of verse 18 but all of it carries a very important message and thought.
"Come now and let us reason together says the Lord" What an awesome thought! The creator of the heavens and the earth is inviting us to come and reason with him. He doesn't say here that I am G-D and you are puny human so I demand that you do exactly as I say to you, though this would probably be a good idea, but no He actually wants to talk to you.Can you grasp that concept? How many of you have been raised with the idea that G-d was a harsh taskmaster that had no room for compassion and He was somebody that you could not approach or even question? I know I grew up that way, and yet right here in the beginning of Isaiah ,at a time when Israel is in deep trouble, G-D still says come let us reason together.
The best part is that reasoning with G-D was going to produce results that both He and you want; "Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow, though they be red as crimson they shall be as wool." G-D knows that if you actually take the time to talk with Him and bring Him your cares and trials and yes your sins that you will confess them to Him and He will forgive you and make you pure to Him once again. This was His plea with Israel and it is the same with us. He knows that this is what we need and He tells us right here that He is willing to talk about it.
The last 2 verses carry both encouragement and a warning; "If you are willing and obedient you will eat the good of the land." If you are willing to what? Come and reason with Him! What will happen if you do that and are obedient to Him? Your sins will be forgiven, you will be made clean and you will enjoy good things. Simple and to the point.
The warning ,as well, is just as simple and to the point "But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword."
The real beauty of all this is that the above warning doesn't have to happen to you just as it did not have to happen to Israel. They continued in their rebellion and they paid the price for it. But you don't have to suffer the same fate.
You have a problem? Take it to G-D , He WILL listen. You have sin in your life that needs to be cleansed? Take it to G-d, He will make you as white as snow.
G-D wants to talk to you. He wants to reason with you. He wants to forgive you.
We serve an amazing awesome G-D.
Shalom,
Ignacio
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A Nap, A Movie, and G-D
It has always amazed me,the things that G-d will do, to get our attention sometimes. We read the Bible stories of the burning bush and the fire on Mt . Sinai and so I think we get it into our minds that these are the types of things or ways that G-d usually uses to get our attention. I have come to discover though that this is not His normal way, at least in my case, of trying to tell us some thing. Let me share with you...
For the last few weeks I have been struggling with some personal issues, amongst them, has been where do I fit into the grand scheme of G-D's plan? At one time I thought that I knew and yet as time has gone on and my beliefs in G-D have changed and developed, I have come to discover just how little that I actually do know. The more I have studied the more I have pondered as to where I fit. My wife can attest to the fact that I have spent hours pacing around outside while deep in thought and in prayer just trying to grasp a little of what He wants. I had even considered that my usefulness was over because of the physical problems in my life and the simple fact that in my writing I only have a few who even read it anymore so I found myself ,in a manner of speaking, banging my head into a wall and arguing, sort of , with G-D.
Even my very identity I have been questioning, was I or was I not a child of G-D or at least His servant?
Then I took a nap and watched a movie and I finally caught on to what He had been trying to show me.
G-D is amazing!!!
So I took a nap on Friday afternoon, nothing terribly unusual there,except that I woke up with this song going through my head that I haven't heard in many years. Some of you who ever went to Sunday/Sabbath school or perhaps even camp will likely know this song, but truly it came out of nowhere, well sort of nowhere, G-D put it there so it came from Him....
The song in question was "Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had father Abraham.." It hit me like a ton of bricks on my rather thick skull that G-D was trying to tell me that He has many children. Not all of them are going to agree on everything, but it does not change the fact that we are still His children. Then Psalm 139 came to mind where G-D asks the question; Where can you go and hide from my presence? We can't hide from G-D and there is little point in trying and we are all His children! This was the first part.
The second part came a few hours later, while watching the movie "Prince of Egypt" In the very beginning of that movie you have the children of Israel in the midst of slavery and they are crying out to G-D to deliver them from their bondage. The animation was incredible and as much as an animated movie could, it put you right in the middle of their pain and suffering. It moved me so much that it brought me to tears, but it was the part of Moses with Jethro in Midian that really touched my heart.
In that part of the movie you have a span of 40 years shown in a matter of a few minutes which had Moses going from a guest to a member of the family, but again it was the song that touched me. The songs title "Heavens Eyes" says it well but when I listened to all the lyrics it hit me once again as to what He was trying to tell me.
Remember I had mentioned earlier that I was not feeling terribly useful to G-D? Well the lyrics to the song say basically; How can you know what your worth unless you look through heavens eyes? The song talks about a single thread in a tapestry that doesn't know it's worth until it is seen from a distance combined with all the rest, then you see it's worth and it's beauty. I may not feel like I am worth much, but G-D knows my worth and someday I will see the bigger picture and I will understand that every one of us, just like the lone thread , is worth something to the eyes of Heaven.
The third part of this equation fits in a different sort of way and is directly related to this blog. I used to write several times a week because I truly enjoyed the process.I would see something or experience something and I would share it with you. Usually it had something to do with some wonder of G-D that had gotten my attention and I was eager to share.
Over time though it has changed from something light and good, something to get the mind away from the insanity of the world, into a blog I hardly recognize anymore.It was never my attention to turn this blog into a battle ground of my thoughts are better then yours, or my beliefs are far superior, and yet I am afraid that it has turned somewhat that way.
The reason that I mention this is because I was reading something the other day, concerning Jewish law, that makes it very clear that it is not my job to do the afore mentioned things, it is simply my job to live the life that G-D has given to me and to keep peace,as it is in my control, with my neighbors. To love G-D with all my heart ,mind and strength. It is not my job to judge you or anyone else who sees things differently from me or even those who blatantly disagree with me. Who am I to judge a servant of G-D? Who am I that I should point my finger at anyone and judge them. I am not in the place of G-D and therefore it is not my place to try and act as G-D.
So this is where this phase of my writing will end. I am going to go back to the type of writing that I enjoy and I will leave the religious debates and arguments behind.
I do have another blog that I write my political views on and maybe from time to time as is appropriate I will write about religion, but as far as this blog goes I am going to go back to the whole concept of "His Quiet Voice", and simply thank those of you who read this for putting up with all of it.
Shalom,
Ignacio
For the last few weeks I have been struggling with some personal issues, amongst them, has been where do I fit into the grand scheme of G-D's plan? At one time I thought that I knew and yet as time has gone on and my beliefs in G-D have changed and developed, I have come to discover just how little that I actually do know. The more I have studied the more I have pondered as to where I fit. My wife can attest to the fact that I have spent hours pacing around outside while deep in thought and in prayer just trying to grasp a little of what He wants. I had even considered that my usefulness was over because of the physical problems in my life and the simple fact that in my writing I only have a few who even read it anymore so I found myself ,in a manner of speaking, banging my head into a wall and arguing, sort of , with G-D.
Even my very identity I have been questioning, was I or was I not a child of G-D or at least His servant?
Then I took a nap and watched a movie and I finally caught on to what He had been trying to show me.
G-D is amazing!!!
So I took a nap on Friday afternoon, nothing terribly unusual there,except that I woke up with this song going through my head that I haven't heard in many years. Some of you who ever went to Sunday/Sabbath school or perhaps even camp will likely know this song, but truly it came out of nowhere, well sort of nowhere, G-D put it there so it came from Him....
The song in question was "Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had father Abraham.." It hit me like a ton of bricks on my rather thick skull that G-D was trying to tell me that He has many children. Not all of them are going to agree on everything, but it does not change the fact that we are still His children. Then Psalm 139 came to mind where G-D asks the question; Where can you go and hide from my presence? We can't hide from G-D and there is little point in trying and we are all His children! This was the first part.
The second part came a few hours later, while watching the movie "Prince of Egypt" In the very beginning of that movie you have the children of Israel in the midst of slavery and they are crying out to G-D to deliver them from their bondage. The animation was incredible and as much as an animated movie could, it put you right in the middle of their pain and suffering. It moved me so much that it brought me to tears, but it was the part of Moses with Jethro in Midian that really touched my heart.
In that part of the movie you have a span of 40 years shown in a matter of a few minutes which had Moses going from a guest to a member of the family, but again it was the song that touched me. The songs title "Heavens Eyes" says it well but when I listened to all the lyrics it hit me once again as to what He was trying to tell me.
Remember I had mentioned earlier that I was not feeling terribly useful to G-D? Well the lyrics to the song say basically; How can you know what your worth unless you look through heavens eyes? The song talks about a single thread in a tapestry that doesn't know it's worth until it is seen from a distance combined with all the rest, then you see it's worth and it's beauty. I may not feel like I am worth much, but G-D knows my worth and someday I will see the bigger picture and I will understand that every one of us, just like the lone thread , is worth something to the eyes of Heaven.
The third part of this equation fits in a different sort of way and is directly related to this blog. I used to write several times a week because I truly enjoyed the process.I would see something or experience something and I would share it with you. Usually it had something to do with some wonder of G-D that had gotten my attention and I was eager to share.
Over time though it has changed from something light and good, something to get the mind away from the insanity of the world, into a blog I hardly recognize anymore.It was never my attention to turn this blog into a battle ground of my thoughts are better then yours, or my beliefs are far superior, and yet I am afraid that it has turned somewhat that way.
The reason that I mention this is because I was reading something the other day, concerning Jewish law, that makes it very clear that it is not my job to do the afore mentioned things, it is simply my job to live the life that G-D has given to me and to keep peace,as it is in my control, with my neighbors. To love G-D with all my heart ,mind and strength. It is not my job to judge you or anyone else who sees things differently from me or even those who blatantly disagree with me. Who am I to judge a servant of G-D? Who am I that I should point my finger at anyone and judge them. I am not in the place of G-D and therefore it is not my place to try and act as G-D.
So this is where this phase of my writing will end. I am going to go back to the type of writing that I enjoy and I will leave the religious debates and arguments behind.
I do have another blog that I write my political views on and maybe from time to time as is appropriate I will write about religion, but as far as this blog goes I am going to go back to the whole concept of "His Quiet Voice", and simply thank those of you who read this for putting up with all of it.
Shalom,
Ignacio
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Two Responses
This is a true tale of two very different responses to the same statement. I write this because I was expecting the first response but was not really expecting the second and it pleasantly surprised me. Names will not be used because regardless of the responses or lack thereof ,as you shall come to see, I care greatly for all involved and I would never go out of my way to embarrass anyone if I can help it.
As most of you may know, who have read this blog for any length of time, that I have publicly stated that I do not believe that Jesus was or is the son of G-D and that at best he was a good Rabbi and at worst he was misrepresented by others to be something that he never intended, but I have stated very clearly that I do not believe that he was ever any kind of deity. Having said that to a great many people both on and off this blog kind of started everything from crying to stone cold silence. I have had arguments and heated discussions over Hebrew words and there usage to various books trying to disprove my beliefs by using what I consider to be material that already had a predetermined outcome... the list goes on, none of which changed my mind.
Interestingly enough , what I do believe is not all that dissimilar to Christianity, I follow what is known as the Laws of Noah which are the 7 laws that were given to Noah after the flood and are considered to be binding on all of humanity no matter if you are Jew or Gentile. These Laws can be summed up simply by Saying love G-D with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. There is more to it then that but you could sum it up that simply. According to the writers Jesus preached these very things and their are even some Jews who believe that Jesus and Paul's real mission was to point Gentiles back to those Noahide laws and to remind the Jewish people that they are to be the light to the nations and teach those nations, granted this is pure educated speculation but I find it interesting...
So why tell you that? Well up until this weekend no one had ever asked me what I DO believe in. I heard all sorts of arguments as to why I was wrong by people that have my utmost respect, but not a single person even began to ask what it is that we believe and or why. I heard all sorts of stuff, quickly alluded to in the above paragraphs, but it seems that the basic assumption that I got from everyone was that we have left G-D and are on our way to hell. Until this past weekend.
This past weekend we had some good friends come to see us for the 4Th and in the course of doing up BBQ and talking , I told them that we had left Christianity and why and without even a pause his first words were; "Well then , what do you believe?"
Imagine that! No tears, no "your going to hell" not the silent treatment. Just a simple question and I gave him my answer. His response? "Nothing has really changed then, you still believe in G-D, you still study the scriptures and you believe in doing good to others, so not much has changed."
For the record that family is Christian and not only were they accepting of it, we are all planning our trip to their neck of the woods soon, and no I didn't get them to convert to my beliefs. They are what I consider to be true followers of G-d, they ask the question I gave my answer and we went on from there looking at the common ground rather then where we differ.
Two very different perspectives on the same issue.
I don't know where you find yourself in your beliefs or in your opinions of others beliefs but I can tell you if more people were accepting of others their would be a lot less fighting and a whole lot more loving going on.
Enough said,Shalom,
Ignacio
As most of you may know, who have read this blog for any length of time, that I have publicly stated that I do not believe that Jesus was or is the son of G-D and that at best he was a good Rabbi and at worst he was misrepresented by others to be something that he never intended, but I have stated very clearly that I do not believe that he was ever any kind of deity. Having said that to a great many people both on and off this blog kind of started everything from crying to stone cold silence. I have had arguments and heated discussions over Hebrew words and there usage to various books trying to disprove my beliefs by using what I consider to be material that already had a predetermined outcome... the list goes on, none of which changed my mind.
Interestingly enough , what I do believe is not all that dissimilar to Christianity, I follow what is known as the Laws of Noah which are the 7 laws that were given to Noah after the flood and are considered to be binding on all of humanity no matter if you are Jew or Gentile. These Laws can be summed up simply by Saying love G-D with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. There is more to it then that but you could sum it up that simply. According to the writers Jesus preached these very things and their are even some Jews who believe that Jesus and Paul's real mission was to point Gentiles back to those Noahide laws and to remind the Jewish people that they are to be the light to the nations and teach those nations, granted this is pure educated speculation but I find it interesting...
So why tell you that? Well up until this weekend no one had ever asked me what I DO believe in. I heard all sorts of arguments as to why I was wrong by people that have my utmost respect, but not a single person even began to ask what it is that we believe and or why. I heard all sorts of stuff, quickly alluded to in the above paragraphs, but it seems that the basic assumption that I got from everyone was that we have left G-D and are on our way to hell. Until this past weekend.
This past weekend we had some good friends come to see us for the 4Th and in the course of doing up BBQ and talking , I told them that we had left Christianity and why and without even a pause his first words were; "Well then , what do you believe?"
Imagine that! No tears, no "your going to hell" not the silent treatment. Just a simple question and I gave him my answer. His response? "Nothing has really changed then, you still believe in G-D, you still study the scriptures and you believe in doing good to others, so not much has changed."
For the record that family is Christian and not only were they accepting of it, we are all planning our trip to their neck of the woods soon, and no I didn't get them to convert to my beliefs. They are what I consider to be true followers of G-d, they ask the question I gave my answer and we went on from there looking at the common ground rather then where we differ.
Two very different perspectives on the same issue.
I don't know where you find yourself in your beliefs or in your opinions of others beliefs but I can tell you if more people were accepting of others their would be a lot less fighting and a whole lot more loving going on.
Enough said,Shalom,
Ignacio
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