Usually, this time of year, we tend to start thinking about friends and family. We think about all the blessings and all the gatherings that we will attend filled with good food and fellowship and of course we also tend to think of the poor and what we can do to help them.....This is not going to be one of those warm fuzzy posts....
I find myself angry, yes, ticked off ,rip snorting angry at our government , our churches, to include Synagogues, leaders of all these same groups and quite frankly most of us. Why? Because we are allowing our government to violate the word of G-D for some absurd notion of safety.We are letting our G-D given constitutional rights and freedoms get stripped and we have done nothing.We have stood idly by as our wives and daughters ,husbands and sons, have been virtually strip searched. We have seen children groped in a way that would put others in jail if they didn't work for the government and yet we have remained silent. The elderly have been searched while in wheel chairs and others have had to be felt up by total strangers because their prosthetic knee has set off an alarm. Decency and common sense has gone out the window and what is even worse is the thousands who blindly go through the whole process and think that it is perfectly OK . Are you going to feel that way when they start actually strip searching us? If you don't think that will happen, ask the Israeli's about it. They will tell you that the terrorists have become very good at hiding bombs in their body cavities. Are you ready to bend over and spread yourself out?
So what does the word of G-D have to say about this? A Lot.
Of course most Christians are at an disadvantage in this regard because you have all been told that G-D's laws no longer apply so therefore you are most likely not aware of just how strongly G-D speaks against this kind of thing.
Leviticus 18: 6-17
None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I amthe LORD. The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover.The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness.You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she isnear of kin to your father. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for sheis near of kin to your mother.You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt.You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness.
Some of you might be reading this and saying; Well that's saying that family shouldn't do that to each other and the government is certainly not family. I say that you are wrong.
You are the protectors of your family and if you allow someone else to expose their nakedness then you are just as guilty as if you had done it yourself. If you are not going to defend your family and their honor then who else will? I will grant you that an individual doesn't have to fly but how much longer will it be before they are using this on the buses and subways? How about trains? G-D makes this very clear that we are not supposed to allow this kind of thing to go on, in fact in another story a son is cursed for exposing his fathers nakedness.
Genesis 9: 20-27
And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.
So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.”And he said:Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant.May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem....
Perhaps there are some of you that have read this far and you really don't care or even believe what the Bible has to say about these things, fine I have an argument for you as well it's called the Constitution of the United States.
Amendment 4
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons,houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by an Oath or affirmation,and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Are you feeling terribly "secure" as they search through your stuff? How about as they are searching you? Where is the "probable cause"? Where is the warrant that allows them to do this? Since when did getting on a commercial airline constitute you being a criminal? What happened to innocent until proven guilty? How many times have you heard of a small child with a bomb or a granny with TNT strapped under her bra? I'd dare say never. Yet the very people who supposedly caused all this to get started ,from their caves , may wind up being exempt from all this. Perhaps we are not being told the truth? Just a theory mind you, but where is the evidence that suggests that we, the average working class Americans, are the ones responsible for the terrorism? It must be out there somewhere because they are treating us like criminals, or could there be something else behind this, such as blind obedience to a government mandate? The government says so , so therefore you must obey? Just a theory on my part.
The bottom line is this, both the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and the Bible make it very clear that this is wrong and should not happen. I have done my part and have spoken out along with refusing to fly. I have done what I can to protect my family and myself from this evil, and I have spoken out as a man of G-D to you with the words of G-D to show you that this is wrong. The question now is; What are YOU going to do about it ?
To all of you I do sincerely wish you a happy Thanksgiving and G-D's perfect Shalom. (Peace)
Ignacio
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Faithfulness to G-D
What does it mean to be faithful to G-D? Have you ever even thought of that idea? We all know what faith means, by definition, but what about faithfulness? I imagine that most of us who have been to church have sung songs about G-D's faithfulness to us, but how much time has been spent on us being faithful to Him?
He is G-D after all so shouldn't we be the ones showing our faithfulness to Him rather then the other way around?
I have been reading in Genesis about Abraham, Issac and Jacob and I have been struck by their faithfulness to G-D. What really caught my attention has been how their faithfulness to G-D not only blessed them but how it affected others around them, both at that present time and in the future.
In Genesis chapter 24 we find that Abraham is now getting old and has decided that he needs to find a wife for Issac. The simple thing to do would have been to get a wife from the local people, but Abraham, I am assuming that this came from G-D, decided to send his "servant" back to his homeland ,to his family, to find a suitable wife for Issac.
Abraham has his servant make a vow to find Issac a wife amongst his own people and off the man goes.
We know nothing about this man, not even his name. All we really know is that he was a "servant" to Abraham, but he must have been a man of great faith. When he arrived at the town of Nahor, the very first thing that he did was pray to G-D for guidance. Now where would he have learned that from? Abraham. If you go back to chapter 14 you will find where Lot and all that he had was taken into captivity. Abraham mounted a rescue consisting of himself and " 318 men born and trained in his house" to rescue Lot. I am guessing here, but I would humbly submit to you that part of the training must have consisted of teaching them about the One G-D. He must have been witness to G-D's faithfulness to Abraham,in saving Lot without losing anyone or anything in the process, but also must have witnessed as well Abraham's faithfulness to G-D. In turn that gave him great faith, so much so that before his prayer was even finished, Rebekah was there. Again the man shows his faithfulness to G-D by thanking G-D for His guidance; " Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” Gen 24: 26-27.
He didn't take any credit for himself. He didn't strut and talk trash. If he hadn't believed in the G-D of Abraham he might have taken all the credit for himself, but instead he recognized the leading of G-D and showed his faithfulness to Him by praying and giving Him all the glory. Abraham's faithfulness to G-d led to his servants faithfulness to Him and as a result Rebekah enters the story. The servants faithfulness doesn't end there either. Now he gets to tell his story of G-D's blessing both to Abraham and Issac , but also of G-D blessing his mission to find a wife for Issac. By the time he is done telling the story to Laban and Bethuel their only comment is "This is from the Lord; We can say nothing one way or the other" (VS 50 ). Rebekah herself shows much faithfulness because she was willing to go with this man, essentially based on what she had witnessed and heard. Chances are she was young and likely an Idol worshiper, yet even she saw something in what had happened to start her down the path to faithfulness to G-D. As a result she became a direct ancestor to many nations but in particular, the Hebrew people.
The idea is simply this; Be faithful to G-D in all that you do, because you are being watched . If Abraham had been unfaithful to G-D, his servant might not have been faithful to him and as a result Rebekah might not have entered the picture, thus not having Jacob and no Hebrew people. Yes G-D could have made this happen in some other way but look how much better and simpler it is when His people are faithful to Him and are obedient. Abraham obeys G-D, The servant obeys G-D and his master Abraham and Rebekah gets to see the one true G-D in action and as a result she believes and obeys as well.
Faithfulness to G-D, those three words can move nations, literally.
Shalom,
Ignacio
He is G-D after all so shouldn't we be the ones showing our faithfulness to Him rather then the other way around?
I have been reading in Genesis about Abraham, Issac and Jacob and I have been struck by their faithfulness to G-D. What really caught my attention has been how their faithfulness to G-D not only blessed them but how it affected others around them, both at that present time and in the future.
In Genesis chapter 24 we find that Abraham is now getting old and has decided that he needs to find a wife for Issac. The simple thing to do would have been to get a wife from the local people, but Abraham, I am assuming that this came from G-D, decided to send his "servant" back to his homeland ,to his family, to find a suitable wife for Issac.
Abraham has his servant make a vow to find Issac a wife amongst his own people and off the man goes.
We know nothing about this man, not even his name. All we really know is that he was a "servant" to Abraham, but he must have been a man of great faith. When he arrived at the town of Nahor, the very first thing that he did was pray to G-D for guidance. Now where would he have learned that from? Abraham. If you go back to chapter 14 you will find where Lot and all that he had was taken into captivity. Abraham mounted a rescue consisting of himself and " 318 men born and trained in his house" to rescue Lot. I am guessing here, but I would humbly submit to you that part of the training must have consisted of teaching them about the One G-D. He must have been witness to G-D's faithfulness to Abraham,in saving Lot without losing anyone or anything in the process, but also must have witnessed as well Abraham's faithfulness to G-D. In turn that gave him great faith, so much so that before his prayer was even finished, Rebekah was there. Again the man shows his faithfulness to G-D by thanking G-D for His guidance; " Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.” Gen 24: 26-27.
He didn't take any credit for himself. He didn't strut and talk trash. If he hadn't believed in the G-D of Abraham he might have taken all the credit for himself, but instead he recognized the leading of G-D and showed his faithfulness to Him by praying and giving Him all the glory. Abraham's faithfulness to G-d led to his servants faithfulness to Him and as a result Rebekah enters the story. The servants faithfulness doesn't end there either. Now he gets to tell his story of G-D's blessing both to Abraham and Issac , but also of G-D blessing his mission to find a wife for Issac. By the time he is done telling the story to Laban and Bethuel their only comment is "This is from the Lord; We can say nothing one way or the other" (VS 50 ). Rebekah herself shows much faithfulness because she was willing to go with this man, essentially based on what she had witnessed and heard. Chances are she was young and likely an Idol worshiper, yet even she saw something in what had happened to start her down the path to faithfulness to G-D. As a result she became a direct ancestor to many nations but in particular, the Hebrew people.
The idea is simply this; Be faithful to G-D in all that you do, because you are being watched . If Abraham had been unfaithful to G-D, his servant might not have been faithful to him and as a result Rebekah might not have entered the picture, thus not having Jacob and no Hebrew people. Yes G-D could have made this happen in some other way but look how much better and simpler it is when His people are faithful to Him and are obedient. Abraham obeys G-D, The servant obeys G-D and his master Abraham and Rebekah gets to see the one true G-D in action and as a result she believes and obeys as well.
Faithfulness to G-D, those three words can move nations, literally.
Shalom,
Ignacio
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Would You Change Things?
Have you ever played a game, in your mind, that asks the question; What would I say to my younger self if I could go back in time, or what would I change given that opportunity?
I know that I have. Sometimes I will be thinking of various scenarios of things that have gone on before where I made a total idiot of myself or did something that got me in a lot of trouble and then I think of what I might have said or done to change it. It is pure fantasy and I know it's impossible, but if you could would you really change things?
There is an episode of Star Trek, Next Generation, where the dreaded "god like" creature known as "Q" takes Captain Picard back to a time where he had a fight that almost got him killed, this was the one event that Picard said he would change if he could. He did, he avoided the fight, but then everything in his world changed. "Q" then brings him back to the present where everything in his world is different. Instead of being the Captain of a star ship, with a notable record, he is a science officer on the Enterprise who has but a mediocre future at best.
The short end is that he goes back again , has the fight, almost dies but then everything is returned to what it was.
I know it was just a show, but you know I think it speaks to the heart of all of us a bit.We often dream of how things might have been better if...pick your if, but then you wouldn't be the person you are now. Your world might improve, but then again you stand the chance of it being worse.
I know a man personally, who spent a good chunk of his adult life in prison for a crime that he didn't commit. He had some hard choices as to how he was going to spend that time ( he was sentenced to 99 years ) he could go out and kill the next person that he saw and there would be nothing that they could do to him , or he could choose to try and do something positive while he was there. He picked the positive route and wrote many books and articles, that wound up being published, and he was able to positively influence many people including me. My grandmother wrote to him about her juvenile delinquent grandson, me, and he responded by sending me tapes from his prison cell telling me all about the " glories " of prison life. I can tell you it made a difference for me.
I bet if you asked him, he would probably say that he wished that he had never gone to prison, but then on the other hand if he hadn't, if he had made some different decisions, then he might not have had the time to write and to counsel troubled youth. I am not advocating prison here, I am just saying that his past, effected my past, and I am better for it, and now that he is out he is working with troubled youth making a difference for them.
In reality, I don't think I would change anything about my youth. Yes I was a delinquent, and yes my growing up years were hard, but now I am able to empathise with others that have gone through the same kinds of things. My wife and I get along real well because we come from similar backgrounds. I have spent a lot of my time around younger adults and teenagers, whom I can relate to and help, because I have been in their shoes.
I have been to war, I have seen the ugliness associated with it, but that again helps me to understand the younger men and women as they come back from war. I would not change any of it because I am able, through the grace and timing of G-D, to help others .
G-D tells us in Psalms 139 that he knows everything that there is to know about us ; Psalms 139:1-6
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.You know my sitting down and my rising up;You understand my thought afar off.You comprehend my path and my lying down,And are acquainted with all my ways.For there is not a word on my tongue,But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.You have hedged me behind and before,And laid Your hand upon me.Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;It is high, I cannot attain it.
Some of you reading this might be thinking ; That if G-D knows all this already then why doesn't He fix things? I would reply to that by saying that if G-D does know us and has ordered our lives the way that they are, then surely He knows what is best, not only for us, but in the future as to how we might do good for others. He saw you suffering and also saw that through that suffering you might be able, if you are willing, to help others who are in the same boat. We live in a world full of heart ache and tragedy, but it is also filled with people who know that tragedy and suffering and are able to use that knowledge in the helping of others.
When the time of G-D's kingdom comes and His anointed one is in place, then will come a time for the healing of the nations and a return to what G-D meant for us in the first place. See Ezekiel 36:33-35, 47:12.
It will be then that we will have to answer to G-D for our lives ,and I never want it to be said of me that I whined so much about my "rotten childhood" that I refused to help others who were in need as I was.
Can I wish that some things had been different? Yes. But reality sets in and I know that I am able to help people only because I understand what it is that they are going through.
No, I will never be a star ship Captain, but it will be enough for me to know that I have done the will of G-D and have served Him by serving others. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the kingdom of G-D then have all the riches of the world but be useless to others.
Something to consider,
Shalom,
Ignacio
I know that I have. Sometimes I will be thinking of various scenarios of things that have gone on before where I made a total idiot of myself or did something that got me in a lot of trouble and then I think of what I might have said or done to change it. It is pure fantasy and I know it's impossible, but if you could would you really change things?
There is an episode of Star Trek, Next Generation, where the dreaded "god like" creature known as "Q" takes Captain Picard back to a time where he had a fight that almost got him killed, this was the one event that Picard said he would change if he could. He did, he avoided the fight, but then everything in his world changed. "Q" then brings him back to the present where everything in his world is different. Instead of being the Captain of a star ship, with a notable record, he is a science officer on the Enterprise who has but a mediocre future at best.
The short end is that he goes back again , has the fight, almost dies but then everything is returned to what it was.
I know it was just a show, but you know I think it speaks to the heart of all of us a bit.We often dream of how things might have been better if...pick your if, but then you wouldn't be the person you are now. Your world might improve, but then again you stand the chance of it being worse.
I know a man personally, who spent a good chunk of his adult life in prison for a crime that he didn't commit. He had some hard choices as to how he was going to spend that time ( he was sentenced to 99 years ) he could go out and kill the next person that he saw and there would be nothing that they could do to him , or he could choose to try and do something positive while he was there. He picked the positive route and wrote many books and articles, that wound up being published, and he was able to positively influence many people including me. My grandmother wrote to him about her juvenile delinquent grandson, me, and he responded by sending me tapes from his prison cell telling me all about the " glories " of prison life. I can tell you it made a difference for me.
I bet if you asked him, he would probably say that he wished that he had never gone to prison, but then on the other hand if he hadn't, if he had made some different decisions, then he might not have had the time to write and to counsel troubled youth. I am not advocating prison here, I am just saying that his past, effected my past, and I am better for it, and now that he is out he is working with troubled youth making a difference for them.
In reality, I don't think I would change anything about my youth. Yes I was a delinquent, and yes my growing up years were hard, but now I am able to empathise with others that have gone through the same kinds of things. My wife and I get along real well because we come from similar backgrounds. I have spent a lot of my time around younger adults and teenagers, whom I can relate to and help, because I have been in their shoes.
I have been to war, I have seen the ugliness associated with it, but that again helps me to understand the younger men and women as they come back from war. I would not change any of it because I am able, through the grace and timing of G-D, to help others .
G-D tells us in Psalms 139 that he knows everything that there is to know about us ; Psalms 139:1-6
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.You know my sitting down and my rising up;You understand my thought afar off.You comprehend my path and my lying down,And are acquainted with all my ways.For there is not a word on my tongue,But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.You have hedged me behind and before,And laid Your hand upon me.Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;It is high, I cannot attain it.
Some of you reading this might be thinking ; That if G-D knows all this already then why doesn't He fix things? I would reply to that by saying that if G-D does know us and has ordered our lives the way that they are, then surely He knows what is best, not only for us, but in the future as to how we might do good for others. He saw you suffering and also saw that through that suffering you might be able, if you are willing, to help others who are in the same boat. We live in a world full of heart ache and tragedy, but it is also filled with people who know that tragedy and suffering and are able to use that knowledge in the helping of others.
When the time of G-D's kingdom comes and His anointed one is in place, then will come a time for the healing of the nations and a return to what G-D meant for us in the first place. See Ezekiel 36:33-35, 47:12.
It will be then that we will have to answer to G-D for our lives ,and I never want it to be said of me that I whined so much about my "rotten childhood" that I refused to help others who were in need as I was.
Can I wish that some things had been different? Yes. But reality sets in and I know that I am able to help people only because I understand what it is that they are going through.
No, I will never be a star ship Captain, but it will be enough for me to know that I have done the will of G-D and have served Him by serving others. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the kingdom of G-D then have all the riches of the world but be useless to others.
Something to consider,
Shalom,
Ignacio
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