HisQuietVoice

Be Still

2012-02-16T11:57:00.000-05:00

Psalm 46: 10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!I have had that verse running through my head this morning and I have to admit that I am finding it difficult to do. The " be still" part that is.There was a time, in this country, that a religious person was given an amount of respect, because ,while not everyone was religious, most believed that at some point you would have to answer to G-D for your soul, so you didn't want to mock people of faith and add to your sins.How times have changed. Not only is there little to no respect of anyone religious, but our nation has gone to the opposite extreme, if your Christian or Jew, anyhow.Today both Judaism and Christianity are mocked and ridiculed by the elites in the government and Hollywood. Essentially your moral values and or beliefs, are worthless, unless they agree with the state policy or what Hollywood is trying to promote. This is what we have become.You may believe what you wish and worship or not as you see fit, or at least you should be able to under the Constitution, but apparently that's not the case anymore. You will do as the government tells you too and if you don't like it you will be fined and or imprisoned ,your morals and conscience doesn't matter anymore.Strange how Hollywood can produce movies that suggests that there are no consequences to free sex and yet those same people will push for forced compliance for religious institutions to pay for abortions and birth control which they, religious institutions, believe to be morally wrong. Perhaps the better solution is to let the Hollywood elite pay for all of it seeings how they are constantly telling us it's OK to be sexually free.I have tried to tell people that if we go down this path on religion, that it's only a matter of time before they come after something that you believe in. No one ,so it seems any how, is listening. So be it.So I go right back to "Be still and know that I am G-D" in the end G-d will not be mocked, in the end ,as it says in the verse, "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." It really doesn't matter if anyone listens to me, I have done my part, but when G-D speaks there will be no doubt who is in charge, so I will be still, and everyone will know that He is G-D.

I know Nothing

2012-02-08T17:37:00.001-05:00

I don't know. Other then your children uttering them, how many times have you asked a question of someone, who should know the answer to the question, and they say to you I don't know? It's probably not as often as you might think. I have discovered that when most folks are given that question, and they are the acknowledged brainiacs of said subject, that they tend to either try to blow you away with much talking and wind or they go the route of vague generalities and silence.We took our home school group, a few years ago, to see an exhibition of recovered items from "The World Of Pharaohs" at a museum that I won't name. The exhibition it's self was great but it turned out that the kids knew more about what was there then the tour guide that we were given. In all fairness to the woman, our kids had been studying this for months and I think could have named all the major and minor gods in alphabetical order, and I think she had been pressed into service at the last moment, but rather then admit this, she tried real hard to bull her way through it. It must have been hard on her to have 12 year old's know more about what was going on then she did. "I don't know" could have saved her a lot of embarrassment.Then there are the scientist. The really smart people who are supposed to have the answers to everything. Ask them a question sometimes and I swear you will get one of the most colorful and wordy " I don't knows" that you will ever hear. They will use words such as probably, perhaps, theorize and postulate, amongst others, and give you a lot of specialized words just to tell you that they really don't know.What , pray tell, is wrong with not knowing? Is it a sin or a crime to admit to not knowing everything ? I was watching a show on reincarnation and near death experiences the other night and the main person that they were interviewing, at the end of it, actually said that all he could do was base his evidence on what people had shared with him, and while he believed it was quite possibly real, he openly admitted that he didn't really know.If some of you are thinking ,well of course he didn't know because it's not real, then you are making my point. HOW DO YOU KNOW? Your not dead so therefore you can only guess based on your own personal beliefs and what you have been taught . Do you get my point?I saw a picture the other day, taken from Mars, that was of Earth. Our planet was little more then a pinprick in the far distance, I actually thought it was a speck of dust on the screen. If the earth is so insignificant just in our own solar system, and the ends of the known universe are billions of light years away, how is it that we tend to think that we know all the answers?Religious leaders will say we KNOW the truth. Scientists will disagree and say no your wrong,we KNOW the truth! Political leaders and dictators and just about anyone with any kind of opinion will all claim that they KNOW and yet the truth of it all is that none of us really know.Perhaps if collectively we could all come to understand just how little we know and just how vast the universe and all it's unknowns are, we could get passed all our petty differences and make this world a better place.Bottom line for me is that I don't claim to know anything. Nothing. Nada.Zilch. I'll leave all the great wisdom to those with the degrees and technical skills. I will, how ever try to embrace the fact that my knowledge of things is rather small and embrace those who feel the same as I do and who knows maybe it will turn out that we knew more then we thought.

Human versus iPod Touch

2012-01-31T11:57:00.000-05:00

I love technology. I really do. I love how people, much smarter then I am, can come up with an idea for a new electronic product that can do things that we could only have dreamed of in science fiction when I was a kid. Just a few examples; there is a couple of tech guys and scientists who have come up with a body suit of sorts that allows a paraplegic to walk. The man that they were showing, wearing this suit, hadn't walked in years, but now thanks to this technology he is able to walk after a fashion. There has been at least one famous person who had a device implanted near his deaf ears that now allows him to hear. And then there are the guys in Europe who built a car that can be folded like a stroller. The list of things could go on forever.Then we have the more personal devices such as computers and smart phones. My family has just recently been introduced to the joys of iPods, makes us wonder how we ever got anything done with out them, and then there is all the social networking websites.We are, in short, one of the most technologically and electronically connected societies in the world but I think that in the age of "touch " every thing, that we have, perhaps, lost sight of something more important, the human touch.Not to be taken wrong, I like my cell phone and iPod, I love having the ability to chat with people thousands of miles away via the computer or post this blog to a social network but think of how many times something that you have said, via the web, has been taken wrong or out of context simply because someone couldn't see your face or actually hear your voice. They took it wrong because, we are wired, to listen to tone and inflection as well as observe body language, none of which you can really get online or while texting. We have of course, invented some pretty handy short words and smiles to help express our thoughts and ideas but there is nothing quite like up close and personal.Twice in my married life, I have been separated from my family for extended periods of time and it was great to have the technology available to contact them, but once I came back I couldn't get enough of personal contact and it was hard for me to let them out of my sight for any length of time. It wasn't that I lacked contact, it just wasn't human physical contact.We were recently visiting some friends and I found myself amused that all of us were sitting in the same room talking and joking but we were all wired at the same time. My son was on an iPod, my daughter on a laptop, my wife and I were on an iPod, as were our friends. We were actually interacting via these devices by playing games and talking, but we were also all surfing the web.I suppose it could be argued that this is the modern day version of sitting around the radio to listen to Buck Rogers or the tube to watch the Ed Sullivan show, but still somehow I find this less personal. Back in those days everyone was doing the same thing so that somehow connected you to others. Mobile technology seems to make it different somehow. I remember I was at a baseball game with a friend a few years ago and there was a man and his young son, sitting a few rows down from us, the son was trying to find out what was going on because he didn't understand the game but the father ignored him and then became angry with him for interrupting what ever it was that he was doing on his phone. Other then getting angry with him, he didn't interact with his son and missed a great bonding moment.Perhaps it boils down to a lack of human contact and bonding. I enjoy reading people's status updates and their links to various pages, and texting has become quite fun for me as well as a challenge and I think it's nice to make arrangements with our friends to get together via the internet, but, I have to admit, I am old fashioned. I actually prefer personal to electronic, I'll take human touch over iPod touch anytime....excuse me I have to answer this text.....

What Really Matters

2012-01-29T12:16:00.000-05:00

You have heard the stories, have probably seen it on the web or TV, somebody famous has given a huge chunk of change to an orphanage in a third world country. Another has gone to Africa and has adopted several children and still someone else has donated their time and money to feed starving people somewhere in the world.All the above mentioned things are good, and I believe that if G-D has given you the means to help folks out you should, but it makes me feel kind of small in comparison. I know that I am not likely to ever be able to afford to go to Africa , never mind giving large chunks of change to anyone, so what are people such as myself ,and likely you, supposed to do?In an earlier post I wrote about George Bailey in the movie "Its A Wonderful Life" and how all the things that he had done in his life had effected others in ways that he had never realized. It wasn't that he had done super colossal things, instead it was all the effects of the small things that he had done that made him a great person and loved by all. As shown in the movie its the small everyday things that we do that can make a difference. Let me give you some examples based on a recent event. When it is 6 degrees outside, with a wind chill of 10 below, and you pass a car broken down beside the road, complete with a family in that cold car, rather then honking at them, because they have the nerve to be broken down in an inconvenient spot, how about stopping to see if they need any help. Or perhaps if you can't stop, driving up the road until you have a signal and then call for help. Or if you come out of your house and you see a car with the flashers on, the hood up and a man desperately trying to make a call perhaps rather then driving away (the car died literally in front of this house) perhaps you could take a moment and let the people use your phone long enough to call a friend and a tow truck, these things may seem like a small thing to you but to the ones who are freezing that little act of kindness could make a huge difference. In all fairness there were a few people who stopped and checked on us, one man pulled his car up and we tried jumping the battery but to no avail. Another person, a woman, slowed down enough to ask if we needed help, but the vast majority drove by us and looked but that was it.We are blessed, however with friends and family who came and froze with us until the truck came, towed our car from the garage to their house, and loaned us a car until this one is fixed. None of them were probably thinking that they were doing anything of any great importance, because they are a humble bunch after all, yet it was these, by the standards of the world anyhow, small things that made a huge difference for me and my family.You don't need to go to Africa to feed people,feeding folks in Africa is a good thing don't take me wrong, but there are likely people right in your town or neighborhood who could use some food. Pick up a couple of cans of soup and bring them to a food shelter or a food drive, you don't have to spend a fortune to make a difference. I have a friend who sold Christmas trees to benefit a homeless shelter, she didn't buy the trees herself, but she did give of her time to sell them. These are the little things that count and make a difference.In the movie "Evan Almighty" G-D, looking a lot like Morgan Freeman, tells Evan Baxter to build him an "Ark" because the flood waters were coming. In the end it was a dam breaking that caused the flood, but because Evan built the Ark many people were saved and a larger environmental disaster was averted but it was the end of the movie that really mattered. It was when G-D says to Evan that if really wants to change the world all he has to do is an "act of random kindness" hence the word Ark.I believe that it is as simple as that. Open the door for someone,give time to a charity, pick up a bag of groceries and quietly give them to someone in need . Give a hungry dog a bone, any thing that you do may not seem like much but in the eyes of G-D and the recipient it is huge.Isa.1:17 JPS "Learn to do good. Devote yourself to justice; Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow."

Parallel Worlds

2012-01-10T12:12:00.001-05:00

Imagine waking up in a world that is different then the one you went to sleep in. Not in huge ways, but in little ways. The bed sheets are different, the curtains are blue when you remember them being green the night before. You go to work, only to discover that your department is in another building then the one you had always gone to and that you are the manager, whereas yesterday you had just been a part of the staff. You go home sick and confused because you know something isn't right, and waiting for you is a spouse that you don't remember having, yet she is the sweetheart that you had in high school. Sounds kind of freaky doesn't it? How about getting off of a plane in a country that you have visited many times only to be told that your passport is no good because the country it's from doesn't exist and as far as they know, never existed. Yet, you know it's real, you can see it in your mind, you have money in your wallet from that nation and even your driver's license says that you are, yet no one has ever heard of the place.

What would you do if you found yourself in that situation? The people I read about, and there were more then just the two, are understandably upset. People are telling them that they are crazy and confused. Yet, in all these cases the people who are experiencing this will insist that this is really happening to them, that they have some how shifted into an alternate or parallel universe.

I read these two stories from an alternative news sight that has everything from normal news, if there is such a thing anymore, to out right weird and all points in between. I don't claim that these stories are true (I did change some of the details and left out names though I stayed true to the intent) but the idea "Intersecting Alternate Realities" really fascinates me.

The basic concept, very simply put, suggests that every decision that we make or don't make happens in an alternate universe, and because we have so many decisions that we make every day that the alternates realities just go on and on. It is also suggested that from time to time some of these alternates intersect with each other causing these anomalies to happen and people get moved from one to the other, not everyone mind you, but just people in the right place and time. Now, before you dismiss this as just being totally insane, understand that Quantum Physics says that all this is mathematically possible.

Now to the point. I wonder to myself how many of us go through our lives wishing that we were living in an alternate reality. We spend a lot of time looking backwards and regretting decisions that we made many years ago and then pondering what life might have been like if we had decided differently. I can use my self as an example. What would have happened if I had gone to college instead of going into the military? Or a trade school?

First off, I wouldn't have been in the Iraq war dealing with consequences both physically and mentally but then I likely would not have married my wife either. She was 5 years behind me in school and while we were all a part of the same religious persuasion, and we would have likely have gone to the same college, because I was so far ahead of her I would have likely gotten together with someone else and our paths might have crossed but not in the same way. By joining the military when I did, it set the stage for us to meet via mutual friends and here we are now with 22 years of being together, 21 of them married and the 5 years of difference doesn't matter.

Here is another thought; you might be where you are because G-D knows that you can handle it. I was complaining one day about my physical condition to a Rabbi friend and he suggested to me that I was in this position because G-D knows that I can handle it and make some good come from it. That blew me away. Take something that is painful and down right humbling at times and use it for good? I had never even considered that thought before. So it could be said for all of us, perhaps rather then wishing we were elsewhere in time and place we could look and decide for our self to make this time and place a little better.

Then think about what would happen if you weren't here or had never been. Most of us go through our lives never really knowing how much we affect others around us, that's partially because we don't generally let others know how much we appreciate them until we are at their funerals, but I also think it's because life comes at us so fast that we simply miss the influence we have. In the movie "Its A Wonderful Life" George Bailey gets a chance to see just how much his life has impacted others after he declares that it would have been better if he hadn't been born. Every thing from his brother drowning, thus causing a bunch of soldiers to die on a troop transport years later, to his wife becoming a old maid, and his home town becoming a bad place to be was shown to him, and it all happened because he hadn't been born. He returns to this life in no less trouble but he sees his life from a much different perspective.

None of us are likely to be as lucky as he was and get the chance to see what it would be like without us, so it is up to us to live the life that G-D has given us to the fullest. The formula is for it is actually quite easy. Love G-D and Love people. You do those two things and you probably won't want to be elsewhere in time or space.

The people that I mentioned in the beginning, according to the story, are not very happy campers. If it is true that they have been removed from their time and space it is also just as understandable that they wish to go back, so be careful what you wish for or you may wake up one day wondering who changed the curtains.....

A Miracle

2011-12-26T14:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I witnessed a miracle. There was no angels singing on high, no endlessly burning candles, but no less a miracle. My daughter celebrated Hanukkah / Christmas with us and that is nothing short of a miracle.
For those of you who don't know, my oldest daughter developed a disease called Stevens Johnson disease, which comes about as a result of a bad reaction to anti biotic.The odds of this occurring is something like in one in one billion but she happened to be the one. The results of this is basically the effect of your entire body being burned, including all mucus membranes. The mortality rate of this disease is somewhere around 70% and is extremely painful. If you survive it there is a good possibility that you will be scarred for life and you could go blind. They originally told us that we were looking at a minimum of 6 weeks in the hospital if not months and that if she developed any kind of infection that it could prove to be deadly. There was not a single thing in all of this to bring us any kind of hope.
When I saw her in the hospital I was shocked. The cold written facts of it pale in comparison to the realities. I have been to war and I have seen much in my life but nothing could prepare me for seeing my daughter in so much pain and misery. She couldn't walk. Her body was blistered everywhere. Her fine motor skills were about gone and her skin would just randomly tear and she would start bleeding. She could barely see. I honestly didn't believe that she was going to live through this.
I went home and did the only thing that I knew how to do and that was pray and then start contacting people to get her on prayer lists everywhere.
Between my wife and I, and then through our contacts ,we had people ,literally from around the world, praying for her. In Israel her name was put into the wall and she was prayed for over the airwaves. In churches ,in a variety of denominations, across the country she was prayed for and though I don't know what the actual number of people praying was it had to have numbered in the thousands if not more.
I don't want anyone to misunderstand me. The doctors and nurses did an outstanding job with her, they were some very kind and courteous people and very professional in their work. They are to be thanked long and loud for their work, but make no mistake ,the prayers of the people of G-D also played it's part. G-D gave those doctors and nurses the intelligence to do the job that they do and the wisdom to know how to treat her. But G-D also heard the prayers of thousands to heal one of His children and He did. I have one friend who reminded me of his opinion of G-D but because she is my daughter that he would send a prayer.These prayers were brought before G-D from a wide variety of people from differing denominations and belief systems. Jews, Christians, Pagans, of all varieties, all prayed to G-D in their own fashion and a miracle occurred. Say what you will but I believe that G-D honors all prayer.
Three weeks ago I wasn't sure she was going to live. Last week the miracle began.
First she decided that she was going to get up and walk and despite the pain she did and she sat in a regular chair. The next day she got up and walked and went out side for the first time in weeks, it was painful on the new skin but she was determined to get things moving. She then ate real food, and the following day they removed the feeding tube. Friday she called and told me that she was going home.
Yesterday the miracle of my daughter walked through my door and celebrated both holidays with us. She is still in some pain and she will still be awhile recovering, but the fact of the matter is that she was able to go home and then come and spend the day with us. Miracles happen.
For the skeptics out there, to whom G-D is a fairy tale, I can only say this; I didn't witness the healing as it happened, I only know that it happened. I didn't see the hand of G-D reaching down to touch my child with healing yet I have seen the results. I can't even prove to you that G-D exists , at least not in a way that you would demand the proof, yet my daughter walked through my door yesterday a walking miracle. That's all the proof I need.
To the Doctors and Nurses at both St. Josephs, in Nashua NH and Mass General in Boston my deepest thanks. To those individuals in Israel that took the time to put her name into the Wall and pray for her over the air thank you, and for all of you, no matter who you are, or what you believe, who took time to pray Thank you. Most of all to G-D, may His name be praised, I give my greatest praise and thank you.

I'm A Hick

2011-12-23T12:17:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard the saying that if you don't know who the geek in your crowd is that chances are it's you? I have a bit of a modification to that that goes something like this; if you don't know who the hick is in the crowd, it just might be you. That's me. Front row, center section, with the big neon sign. I have always known this fact, but I was reminded just how much of a hick I actually am while traveling to Boston to see my daughter.
First of all you must understand, that to me, cities of any kind are scary places. My idea of a city is say, Montpelier, Vermont where you might find more moose then people on any given day and the only things that are dangerous are the congressmen or women in the capital building or trying to find a parking space on the 4th of July. I would be more comfortable in the woods with a tent and flashlight with a black bear for a neighbor. In all fairness, some of this is the medias fault. Everything from Dirty Harry movies of the 70's to the local nightly news would give you the impression that cities of any size are full of crazy people who speak with funny accents and want to shoot you with large caliber weapons. Even knowing this Is a false impression I'd still rather deal with an angry moose.
My first experience was the serious mistake of actually driving into Boston. To the uninitiated, of which I am no longer one of, it seems easy enough, just follow the directions that your printed up map tells you and you will get there with a smile on your face without having even the slightest hint of stress, yea right. I now understand why seasoned veterans of commuting from out of the city use the train. First, the map lied, OK so a map can't lie, it only can exaggerate the truth a bit or more correctly, it left out certain details, such as one way streets and merging traffic. Second, it doesn't tell you of the legendary manner of drivers that Boston is famous for. I had heard these rumors before making the trip, but the experience of it defies any kind of rational thought. I have never been sworn at so much in my life, since boot camp any how, and that was from the people walking out in front of me! The drivers were worse. You have to understand that my idea of traffic is being able to see tail lights at about a half a mile away or having to slow down because a deer just ran out in front of you. The deer alone can cause me to brake out into a sweat if it's close enough, so imagine my horror at bumper to bumper traffic with multiple lanes merging all at once and not being able to see the road sign to know which way I had to go! Obviously, I survived my encounters with the Boston road warriors but I started to catch a glimpse of how much of a hick I actually am.
My second trip in really clarified to me just how truly hicified I have become. This time I thought that I'd be smart and take the train in. Sounded simple enough. Looked online to see what train to take that would bring me the closest to the hospital, found it and because I know where that one is and it seemed like a straight shot, I decided to go that route. I should just state here doing stuff like this without someone else along, who actually knows what they are doing, can be very stressful to me and make my imagination run wild. But I didn't start to panic until I was informed that the train that I was going to take wasn't running, so I would have to catch the bus there at the train station, get off in Harvard Square and then take the train to the hospital. Panic time, hick style was about to start.
Getting to the station and onto the bus was fairly simple but I was not prepared for the amount of people that can fit onto a bus, remember we are talking a metro bus here, not a school bus, add that to the fact that I didn't know exactly where I was headed on this bus (it had several stops to make on the way) a driver who didn't speak very loud, I thought he said Harvard when he actually said Porter, and the full knowledge that at any minute the Crips and Bloods where going to jump on the bus and start a gang war or I would get mugged by a local hotdog vendor and there you have my mind set.
As things happened, I was not caught up in a gang war and I did manage to get to Harvard and then onto the hospital via the train but not before I showed how ignorant I was by asking directions and info about the ticket machines. I had always understood that any place that had a booth that said information on it would be a place to actually get information, apparently that was my hickness thinking.
My last realization of how much I was a hick came just from my observations of the people on both the bus and the train. I am by nature, a jeans and flannel shirt kind of guy. When winter rolls around I am interested in warmth and not fashion. If my clothes and shoes are 10 years out of date but they keep me warm I am usually quite content but I felt massively out of place there. I have been on commercial sized farms that didn't have as much leather as I saw on the train and bus. I didn't know just how many styles and name brands existed, of course that might be due to the fact that I get my styles from wally world, but still I was shocked and suddenly aware at just how much I stood out. I was wearing my typical Jeans and shirt but I was also wearing a bright red winter Jacket and my black felt fedora style hat (something that you would see men in the 40's and 50's wearing) along with my sneakers, there wasn't a name brand on me and in a sea of black and other dark colors I was in red! I stuck out like a sore thumb though I didn't realize it until I was looking in the windows reflection and trying to figure out who the hick was looking back at me....
So, now I am a seasoned veteran. I know how to get to point B from point A without too much trouble, I can quickly navigate my way through the bus and train stations and perhaps look like I know where I am heading, but alas, I will always be a hick but don't laugh at me when you see me in the city in my fedora and red jacket, just remember some day you might be in the boonies and you may want me to introduce you to that bear before he introduces himself.

The Meaning Of The Season

2011-12-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

I think that this time of the year it becomes hard to write something that is truly unique and yet bears the spirit of holiday season. I have written this post three times and have wound up starting all over again because I really don't wish to sound sappy or sentimental about the holidays or the past year, or angry about our economic or political mess. I am not wanting to engage in a battle over whether it's better to say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas/ Happy Hanukkah" because honestly I don't care, if it makes you happy say it, if you wish not to then don't. Honestly does it really matter? Or could there be more important issues out there, even during this time of the year?
How about family? Seems to me that whether or not you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, the truly important stuff belongs with the gathering of your family and friends to share those traditions that are a part of your faith and seeing to it that this is passed on to those of the next generation. This is what is important.
How about peace? When I think of that word I hear Johnny Cash singing his version of "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" with my grandfathers slightly wobbly voice or I think of the New Testament text that says "Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men." Yet what I see going on around me speaks of something else completely.
Yes the war in Iraq is now officially over, but we are still in other countries. Our economy is still shot and despite the protests, nothing is changing. All the wild commercialism of the holidays is still in full tilt. Politicians are still greedy and corrupt and it would seem that those that have gained the most have turned their backs on those that need the most. The ghost of Marley would cry out even more if he could see that the very thing that he paid for with an eternity in hell still happening today. Where is this "Peace"? Where is the compassion?
How about the most amazing concept of all, love. Both Christmas and Hanukkah share this in common. Christmas is supposed to be about G-D showing His love to mankind and Hanukkah is supposed to be about G-D showing His love to the Jewish people. Both involve miracles in hard times, but at least for me, the real issue is the love of G-D. Shouldn't we be spreading that around rather then worrying about what someone calls a tree? Is it going to do anything to show our love for others by protesting about a manger scene? I don't think so.
Spend time with your family. Enjoy the traditions that your faith brings to you, have peace come from within and above all else love for that is the real meaning of the season.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all.

A Change In My Mind

2011-12-01T13:12:00.000-05:00

A funny thing happened along this road of life, I hit a bump in the road or rather the bump hit me. Or more precisely it was kind of an explosive bump, one that has made a huge difference in my life, though it has taken me a while to understand just how far different it has made me.
In 2003, I was part of the original invasion or liberation, depending on your point of view, of Iraq. And I had the misfortune of getting too close and personal with a couple of explosions, one of which briefly knocked me out, doing some small amount of damage to my brain. When I came to, the only thing I noticed was a cut on my arm and a slight limp, nothing, so I thought anyhow, that would be life changing. I was wrong.
Upon my return from Iraq, there were things that I started to notice right off that weren't quite right with me. My focus was gone, the limp was worse, and I started to find things more confusing to me then I had remembered them being before. Simple things that I had taken for granted, such as balancing a check book, or remembering names or even just where I was headed had become so daunting a task that I would freak out.
In 2007, I went to the VA in Arkansas for a series of tests to determine whether or not I was suffering from some sort of Traumatic Brain Injury. After many tests and an MRI it was indeed decided that I was suffering from a mild case of it. They found three spots on my brain, but told me that they were minor and of no concern. That was the last I heard from them. They were wrong.
After moving back to New England I was assigned a doctor at the VA in Vermont and as he was looking over my record, during a check up in September, he found the results of the tests and was not happy with what he found. He immediately set up appointments for me with the TBI doctor and clinic and it was there that I found out that the injuries to my brain, though small in size, went deep into important parts of my brain, the parts that affect sight and speech as well as cognitive abilities and the nervous system. In short, everything that has been happening to me, eyesight going down, muscle twitches and spasms as well as trouble with basic cognitive things, such as speech and memory are a result of those injuries.
But here is the part that will shock you, I am thankful. Yes, I did say thankful.
While I have taken a moment to tell you some of the negative effects of what has happened to me I think the positive greatly out weighs it.
I have learned humility. I was once a very proud man who thought it was great to be able to run younger men and women into the ground and barely break a sweat. Now, many times, I need help just getting my shoes on. To walk any great distance is a massive chore, yet I am thankful, not because it is difficult but because it has made me a much more humble and compassionate man to those who are hurting.
I have had to learn that it is OK to rely on others from time to time. There are many things that I am unable to do and so I have had to seek out those who could help me and in turn I find it easier to help others when they are in need.
I have learned to love my family more and really appreciate what G-D has given me through them. My wife, in particular, has had to deal with a lot of issues with me, my health, my mental attitudes and difficulties, yet she has stuck with me when many others would have left. And through her love for me, I have learned to love the way that I should.
I have learned who my real friends are. They are not the people who expect me to be the way that I was before and have accepted what I have become without reservation. They have become the best extended family that anyone could hope to have.
I have learned to do some things differently then I might have otherwise. The fact that I am writing this is proof of that. Some years ago I would not have ever attempted to write anything, yet my brain, in all this confusion, switched gears and now I enjoy the challenge. It matters little that only a few people read it. What matters is the enjoyment and the challenge.
I have had the time to really look and study the scriptures and while much of my religious views have changed because of it I have also come to appreciate those who see the world and religion differently then I do and for that I am thankful.
In some ways I have been given a second chance at life. Yes the things that I have done in the past are still the things that touch me in the present, but I see things so much differently then before that I almost don't recognize the person from the past.
And I think that this is a good thing.
This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24

Deut. 30:11-14

2011-09-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

I have spent several days thinking and writing about the verses below. I have written entire posts and deleted them never being quite happy with what I wrote so I would start again. It then hit me that the reason that I was having such difficulty in analyzing and writing about it was because the verses actually speak quite well for themselves and don't require a lot of thought. A simple analysis of these verses is that G-D doesn't make keeping His commands difficult, He makes it simple and the only real requirement is a willingness on our parts to obey. How much simpler can it be if they are put "near you" in your heart and mouth.

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. Deuteronomy 30:11-14.

I have heard many people say over the years that you can't keep the commandments of G-D. Really? So your calling G-D a liar then? G-D's laws are not the problem, it's our lack of willingness to obey them. Perhaps it could be better said that it's religion's rejection of His laws, while adding many of their own un- biblical rules that's the real problem. Most people instinctively know the difference especially when they are looking from the outside in,they know something isn't quite right.

If you are one of those people that don't think that you can follow His laws, or you have never read them, then I would encourage you to read them and tell me which parts about treating people good or worshiping G-D that you can't do. Yes there are many laws that only count if there was a temple and / or if you were one of the priests, but most of them are fairly common sense things, others don't apply in our society, such as how to treat slaves, but most are fairly simple and to the point. If nothing else look at the "10 commandments" and then tell me what part of that you can't do. If you don't think you can do them for some reason then go back and look at Deut. 30:11-14 to remind yourself that G-D says you can.
Shalom. The High Holy Days are coming!

Prophecy And Israel

2011-09-15T10:16:00.000-04:00

I am not a prophet. Let me state that right from the beginning. I don't know but one person who I would even consider to have that ability ,though there are many others who would claim to be, but It really doesn't take a prophet to point out all the mess that's going on in the world and just how close to our own destruction we are if we don't change things. You can go to just about any blog on religion or religious source and they will all prove to you , in their own way, that what is happening right now in the world had been prophesied. Some I agree with,though not completely, some I think are a joke, but one thing is for sure everyone seems to know things are happening and not much of it good.

Back in the summer of 2008 I wrote a blog about the state of the economy and just how bad it was going to get. I made it very clear that the words that I wrote then were not mine but were what I believe that G-D was telling me about what was coming. These words have proved out to be true, but it was not my words. Those were G-Ds words. I tell you this so that you will understand that what I write from this point on will be a combo of what is written in the prophets and what I believe may be coming at us soon, if not in the coming months, then in the very near future, but I am not claiming that I am any kind of prophet.

The nations of the world are ganging up on Israel. Egypt, Syria and Jordan are a mess and are threatening Israel. Turkey has war ships on the way to the Med to prevent Israel from "aggression" as Israel protects its coastline. Iran is making nuclear weapons and they have said quite clearly that they will use them to eliminate Israel. Hamas in Gaza is tossing missiles on a daily basis and in the UN the so called "Palestinians" are pushing for statehood with,at last count, 130 nations backing them. All of this to put pressure on the Jewish nation to give up more land and essentially make it impossible to defend themselves. Many believe that war is inevitable.

Zechariah 14: 1-2 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming And your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

This is what is happening today. The nations are gathering against Israel and if enough nations approve of Palestinian state hood, or the UN security council gives it's approval, knowing that Israel is never going to agree with it under forced terms, then they will have set the stage for UN intervention. The above text says the city, Jerusalem, will be divided or put into captivity, which it already is ,but also that the remnant will not be cut off. I take this to mean that while things are not going to be good for Jerusalem for a while, such as they are right now, that the Jews will never be completely removed either.

In verse 3 we start to get a picture of whats going to happen to those nations who come up against Israel and in verses 12-15 it's quite blunt.

Zech. 14:3,12-15 Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle..... And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet,Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets,And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the LORD will be among them.Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand;Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey,And on all the cattle that will be in those camps.So shall this plague be.

This sounds to me remarkably like a Nuclear blast and or all out war or it could simply be the power of G-D. Either way it will bring about massive destruction not to just the middle east but to all the world. Look at verse 16 : And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
We are not talking about something that happens 7000 miles away in a foreign nation we are talking about an event that is world wide in it's nature and in it's destruction.

Simply put, the nations are going to go up against Israel and, perhaps, temporarily prevail. Then G-D is going to intervene on Israel's behalf and there is going to be a massive world wide destruction of those that go against His chosen people. The stage is being set for this to happen and make no mistake it WILL happen. Everything that had been predicted about Israel has happened and there is plenty of evidence that tells me that all the rest that hasn't will as well.

Remember this; if the scriptures are to be believed, which I do, then it is very clear that while G-D was angry with His people, they are still His people. They are a nation once again as was prophesied and they are a greatly blessed people. There are multitudes of biblical texts that make it very clear that in the end they will be even more blessed then they were in the former days and that G-D himself will dwell with them. Those of us who survive, after the nations try to destroy Israel, will go to Israel to worship G-D and to participate in His holy days.

It has been predicted. The stage has been set and the players and pieces are all in motion, it will happen.

Sweet Hour Of Prayer

2011-08-30T11:44:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I crawled out of bed just as it was starting to get light outside, I opened up the curtains pulled up a chair to the big picture window and spent an hour or so in prayer and bible reading and rediscovered something that I had been missing for awhile, peace ,quiet and the reassuring presence of G-D. To some of you this may not be a new idea and honestly it's not to me either, it has just been something that I had kind of forgotten.

My explanation really is rooted in many of the changes that we have gone through in our family, moving,loosing a house, trying to get used to a new place and all the assorted chaos that comes from that kind of economic madness. But really it has been the spiritual changes in my life that has caused some or even most of the confusion. Don't take me wrong, I was not confused about what I believe,just rather how to go about implementing what I believe.

I am not a big fan of organized religion and it's various interpretations of how to do things simply because it gets too complicated and confusing. My issue was really a matter of how does a person approach G-D in prayer, is there a right way? A wrong way? How do you do it?

If you are a Christian it will all depend on what type of Christian you are. Many are very conservative and the prayers are very formal,almost rehearsed. Some pray standing,others kneeling and some ,especially amongst the older folks, will use so many thees and thous that your never quite sure if they remember what century that they are in. Then there are those who like a less formal approach and they will be speaking in tongues, clapping their hands or have their arms up towards the heavens praying with the tears rolling down their cheeks in total ecstasy. If you are Jewish, many times the prayers are sung and a prayer book is used and,depending on the day, it will be a different prayer sung for different events. Some of it's done sitting other times it is done standing and rocking with most of it being in Hebrew.

So this has really been my source of confusion. Whats the best way to go about praying. Do I do it the way that most of the formal groups do it? Do I stand and rock? Do I sit and contemplate? Is it necessary to raise my hands or use a prayer book? What is the right way to do it? I had wrestled with this for so long that I had gotten to a place where I wasn't doing it at all. Yes I was still reading the scriptures but I had kind of left out prayer and really wasn't sure what to do. Then an old song reminded me of what to do. Sweet hour of prayer by William W. Walford, 1845

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care,And bids me at my Father’s throne Make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief, And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

This song had been running through my head for a few days but it wasn't until I actually paid attention to what the words said that I finally understood. G-D tells us to come to Him in prayer but He doesn't tell us how. Why? Because all of us are different and we all have different needs and expectations of what consists of prayer and worship. What works for you may do nothing for me. What is truly important is that we take the time to pray, not how, it's as simple as that.

Sweet Hour of Prayer....

Shalom,
Ignacio

Not Guilty and Circumstantial Evidence.

2011-07-06T13:07:00.000-04:00

Not guilty....two words that no one expected to hear at the end of the recent Casey Anthony trial. In fact, I would say that shock and outrage was ,and still is, the most common reaction of practically everyone who was interviewed by the media and seems to be the common sentiment across most of the social networking sights as well. People put on their porch lights for Caylee and said many a prayer and poem in her honor and many shed tears. I have to say that it seems to me that they had pretty good evidence against her, in particular the finding of Chloroform through out the trunk and on the body seems to me to be rather damning, along with not telling the police anything for a month, lying to them and going out and partying like a wild woman.....

Here is the problem though, the "evidence" was mostly circumstantial. Compelling? Yes, but still circumstantial.
I personally am appalled by the outcome, but I don't think that you can convict someone on nothing more then circumstantial evidence, there has to be no room for doubt before you convict someone and condemn them to death.

I personally know someone who was convicted for a murder based on " circumstantial " evidence, the problem was that while they may have been guilty of stupidity for hiding evidence and covering for the person who did do it, the person was not guilty of the murder. This proved to be the case when many years later a Judge from the 6th circuit looked at the case and told the state that they had to release him because they had no proof that he was even involved never mind guilty, consequently he was released from prison. There was a lot involved in that case that I won't get into here, but I'll tell you this, if his conviction had come one year later he would have received the death penalty for it.

I was convicted, as a teenager, of a crime that I didn't commit, based on circumstantial evidence as well. There were no witnesses who said that they had seen me and no real evidence except for a sneaker print that was within a "size or two" of my sneakers. The only person that was seen was a guy that I hung around with and as soon as he was arrested he pointed the finger at me. Nothing more then circumstantial evidence.

These two examples are but a small sampling of many a wrongful conviction of crimes both major and minor. Would you want to be the one to convict a person and send them to their death without real solid proof?
Our system of justice is not perfect. Too many times politics ,both national and local, play a part in bringing about a conviction. The media does not help because it goes out of its way to make you believe that a person is guilty just based on being arrested or questioned. They seem to take pleasure in insinuation and innuendo without a single shred of evidence and,as a result, we condemn people before they ever get to trial.

Is she guilty of murder? I believe so, but do I have enough compelling proof to say so 100% ? No, and apparently neither did the jury. You can't convict on a maybe, proof needs to be solid.

Just my humble opinion.

The Corners Of The Field

2011-06-24T13:22:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of talk lately about the stalemate in congress on just how to fix our economy. There has been many a talking head and pundit criticizing this politician or the other for what is clearly a problem caused by all parties and no one has really posed anything that seems like it will work. Some have said that this has been done purposely to force us into a one world currency and / or government or that it's the bankers and the IMF that is responsible for this mess. I believe that it is because we have ignored some basic biblical principals that, if applied, could easily solve many of our economic problems.

WE DON'T TAKE CARE OF OUR POOR

Imagine what would happen if we followed the simple biblical principal of seeing to it that the poor are taken care of? Some of you might be thinking that there are already multitudes of government programs that assist the poor, and I would agree with you, but this is not supposed to be the job of the government. The fact that so many are dependent on the government is a serious sign that we have forgotten some of these basic biblical principals given to Israel but very relevant for today.

Lev. 19:9-10 says:

‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Please note that the verses quoted didn't put the blame on the poor for being poor, nor did it point the finger and accuse of them of doing something that made them poor, it simply points out that there are poor people among you and this is what you should do.

So why did G-D tell them to do this? Two reasons, one is so that they would understand that they were but stewards of the land and that the land and all that it produced belonged to G-D,but also give them a way that they could help and be a blessing to their poor neighbors. Those that were poor didn't have to beg for help because G-D had provided a way for them to eat without the humiliation of having to beg! In fact if you go and look through all the laws that concerned the poor, it never had anything to do with government intervention, instead it had to do with those that had more, helping those that were in need. Even in the cases where people became the servants of others it was only allowed for a certain period of time and then all debt was forgiven and the person could have a fresh start. So the short version was that it is our responsibility not the governments to take care of people.

Imagine what could happen if we followed that principal. Imagine what could happen if all the big corporations and agri- farms came to the understanding that G-D has blessed them so that they could, in turn, bless those that are less fortunate?

Here, where I live, We have a Sylvania plant that makes automobile lights. Now just imagine what would happen if the owners or the CEO of the plant looked around town an realized that there are many people out of work and they decided to do something about it. They might go out and hire several hundred more people to work at the plant but then they would loose some of their profit margin. What could they possibly gain from this? First it would increase production, more workers usually mean more production, and it would also give them a larger loyal customer base. Think about it, first you would have those that were hired being grateful for the job, thus allowing them to take care of their families, and word would get out about what they did, and I know that I would be buying all my lights from them after that, knowing that they were willing to sacrifice some profit to help those in need. I suspect that many others would feel the same. Its a win -win situation. I am not saying that this should be the motivation, just suggesting that it could be a result.

Some might say that this idea is nothing but Socialism,well I disagree. I don't believe in "redistribution of wealth" or that you should be forced to pay for my disabilities, the government sent me to war not you. What I am saying though is simply this; if everyone from individuals to business applied that one basic principal we could effectively end poverty here in the United States and ,perhaps, the world as well. If we all became our "brothers keeper" there would be no need for government intervention and ,as a result, we could fix part of our messed up economy.

This is just one principal. There are more to come.
Shalom,
Ignacio

Live Long and Prosper!

2011-06-15T09:33:00.000-04:00

I am a Star Trek fan. Not to the point of dressing up like characters from the show but certainly a fan enough so that I have a collection of the various TV episodes and movies. There is just something about the idea of exploring what is out there on other planets that I just find really appealing and of course the idea that, on the show anyhow,you could make up things as you go. Think about it, for those of you who have watched the show, how many times have they re arranged the Dilithuim crystals to push out energy that they didn't really have in the first place, and you sat there and watched the show and nodded in agreement with what they were doing? Had no clue as to what they were rambling on about but it sure sounded good! Of course you also knew that anyone that you didn't know who was wearing a red shirt was toast, some things were just a given.
I think , at least for me, that part of the appeal was that they lived in a harmonious world. Greed was gone, prejudice a thing of the past, war and disease eliminated, at least as far as the earth was concerned, and everyone lived comfortably. They could talk about flying off to Alpha Seti 4 just as easy as they could discuss going to San Francisco, overall life was good.
Probably one of the most famous lines ever from that show was when Spock would raise his hand, part his fingers into a "V" and say "Live long and prosper." I have thought about that line just a bit and have always kind of been curious as to what he meant by that. If you believe the scenario that they present then everyone on the planet ,and Vulcan as well I assume, is already prosperous. Remember in their universe all the things that make the world a bad place have been eliminated so what does it mean, then, to prosper? Live long is easy one, but to prosper in a world that's already as perfect as it can get? Perhaps it's a message to us, the viewers.
We don't live in that perfect world, so what does it mean to prosper? In our world when you think of prosperity you think of great wealth and having the various toys and whistles that accompany that, but is that the real definition? The dictionary defines prosper as "to be fortunate or successful or to thrive." So what does it mean then to prosper? If by "fortunate" you mean wealth , then by that definition I have failed miserably, as I suspect that most of us have,but if you mean being greatly blessed then I am indeed a fortunate man , who has a wonderful loving wife and children and some of the best friends any man could ask for. If you mean by successful that I have my own business or practice or that I am CEO of some major corporation, then no,once again, I fail the litmus test. If ,instead, you mean that I have taught my children right from wrong, have taught them the values of honesty and integrity and personal sacrifice and have shown them what it means to truly love your family then I would say that I have been successful. If by thrive you mean the accumulation of things then I have failed that as well. Quite frankly, my wife and I look for ways to make do with what we have and if we have things that are not needed or we never use ,we give them away. If there is any any thriving to be done in that , it would be that we can be a blessing to others so that they can thrive.
So I guess when it comes right down to it you have to ask yourself what does it mean to you to "prosper." For me I think I am quite prosperous but it has very little to do with the accumulation of wealth or of things. I am prosperous because I have a family that I love and they love me. I have, as I said earlier, some of the best friends a man could want and I worship a G-D who loves me, not because I can do anything that makes that so but simply because he created me. I am, indeed, a very prosperous man.
Live long and Prosper!
Ignacio

The Outing of a Closet Crunchy

2011-06-12T11:44:00.000-04:00

Over the years I think I have really confused a lot of people on what I believe and where I stand on many issues. I have gone from being a very conservative Christian to following the teachings of Judaism and I have hit many places in between. There was even a time where I totally dismissed G-D, as I had been taught about him, and started getting into some of the Pagan and Indian religions. To say that I have been around the block is an understatement.

On the political side there has been even a greater change in my my beliefs. Just as I was once very conservative in my religious views I was once very conservative in my political views . In fact I was a big fan of the various conservative talk shows and thought we were justified in our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. I remember being on my way to Iraq, and all of us sitting around at night and talking about it, and while most of us didn't really see what kind of threat Iraq was to us, we had our orders and that was that. Amazing how time in a war can change your opinion on a great amount of things. That conservative view has changed dramatically for me over the last few years.

For some of you who have personally known me for many years, none of this will really surprise you,a few of you might even be thinking " well duh" but the truth of the matter is that I really can't subscribe to the conservative right point of view any more. I am not saying that I have become a far left Liberal either, but I have had to really come to terms with the fact that much of what I had once held to be true just isn't.

If I had to put a label on myself I would have to say that I am a cross between a Libertarian and what I fondly refer to as a "closet crunchy." My definition of a crunchy would have been a hippie when I was a whole lot younger and though I don't have the long hair (any hair on my head is an amazing sight) I have come to understand and appreciate the ideas of peace and social justice. You might find my belief in " social justice" to be a bit surprising because, as many of you know, I once believed that just about anything that started with the word "social" had to be communist in nature. I was told things to that nature in my conservative world and, as such, I took them to be true. I was wrong. How can it be " communist" to help your neighbor, or the elderly or poor? How can it be that when both Christianity and Judaism beliefs call for that very thing that in this quasi religious nation it can be considered to be a bad thing?

I am in effect a Crunchy Libertarian.

Here are some other things I believe and while I don't expect you to agree with everything, at least it might give you some pause for thought.

I believe in peace as I believe any sane person in this world would. I have no use for war or our continuous war efforts. I am for defending ourselves against anyone who attacks us, but none of the countries that we are currently at war with has attacked us.

I am for social justice. By social justice I mean the collective efforts of the people to take care of those that have needs and assistance for those who need a hand to get them selves back on their feet. Having said that I am not for the government playing a major role in that effort. To often where the government gets involved, there is no progress or real help for those in need and instead they tend to get stuck into the system and can't get out effectively. I grew up like that and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I do not like the way our "two party" system works, or more correctly doesn't work. There are many reasons for this but the best being that there really isn't any real difference between the parties any more. There was a time that you could easily pick out a republican from a democrat simply based on what they stood for, but that's not true any more and with a two party system there is no real viable option for any real change to take place. Any one who is seen as a third party candidate is generally marginalized or ignored by the powers that be so we are left with a stalemate at best and no real changes . The only real difference between the parties now is simply how they spend your money and the inventive ways that they have found to blame it on the other party or some other entity.

I am for a small government and an ending to all our wars. We call ourselves a Judaic/ Christian society with a large population of Muslims and yet we are engaged in immoral and unnecessary wars. Where is the justification? Where is congressional approval? If OBL is dead why are we still there? Don't talk to me about the stability of the region, that region of the world has never been stable. We are interfering in places we have no business being nor are we wanted. Personally I think it all has to do with the oil and perhaps the heroin trade. If I am wrong , and it's for supposed humanitarian reasons, then why aren't we engaged all over Africa? Why aren't we involved anywhere that there is a need ? Then it would be consistent and might even be justified.

I believe that all the money that is being spent overseas, whether it be our wars or helping nations that hate us would be better spent here in our own country. How can it be that we spend billions of dollars on these wars and hateful nations when our own people sleep in cardboard boxes or live in the kind of squalor that you think only exists in third world countries? I have been to those "homes" I have seen how the people, American people, live. This is just plain wrong. Wouldn't the money be better spent helping our own people and then providing relief for those countries and people who truly need the help?

Our government has now fallen prey to not only those who would perpetuate war but also to those who would control the worlds food supply, big pharma, big everything. They have granted patents on modified food to big agri- companies such as Monsanto, while going after small family farms for having the nerve to sell raw milk to those who want it! They have regulated the food supply to the point that the average farmer is going broke and it won't be long before the only ones left is the big agri-farms. The quality of most of that modified food is so bad that we are not getting the right kind of nutrition for our bodies. If you think I'm wrong just ask yourself a question; Why do we need all the vitamin supplements if our food supply is doing as well as the government would have you believe? Why, if they are not in bed with the big agri-companies, do they go after small farms? The small farms ,especially the organic farms, have not been the ones that have been producing all the bad food, it has been the big agri- farms. What are they so afraid of ? If our food supply is so good why do we need so many drugs to cure us from things that were never heard of back when our grandparents had their own farms? As the saying goes;" follow the money honey" that will answer many of those questions.

Let us speak briefly about oil and alternates. I am all for finding other sources of energy, but until that time comes we need to get out heads out of our collective back sides and use the resources that we have available to us right here in our country. Instead of regulating them to death, let the companies do what they can to make us self sufficient and, at the same time, look for alternatives knowing that this is a limited supply at best. This is not difficult to do if you have people with the courage to do so. Also consider that our dependence on foreign oil has made a bunch of thugs vastly rich while they keep their own people in poverty.

Our personal freedoms have been under serious attack for the last 50 years and with the renewal of the Patriot act ,with the help of both parties, we can rest assured that more and more freedoms will be wiped away. Ask your self this, if we really have the freedoms that our forefathers had, then why are there so many regulations and taxes concerning everything? Try going hunting and fishing with out a license and see what happens. Try building on you own property without the proper permits and see how fast you get stopped. Why should Gay, or straight couples for that matter, have to involve the government at all just to get married, what gives the government the right to decide such a thing? Don't want the police in your home in violation of the 4th amendment? Tough. The supreme court has said that they can enter your home under nothing more then suspicion and your not allowed to resist. These are but a few examples. To write about the violations of many other rights as described in the bill of rights and the amendments would take way too long. The point is that we have nothing left but the illusion of freedom unless we are willing to go back to the constitution, and our G-D given rights.

Some of you may be thinking well these are dangerous times, I agree that they are, but what is the real danger? A questionable threat from a vague foreign opponent who may or may not have attacked us and who have been decimated by all accounts, or the one who puts fear into you and then slowly takes your liberties away all the while telling you it's for your safety?This is the real threat to our freedoms. If we allow our liberties to be removed then we simply don't deserve them.

It simply boils down to this; we have all been lied to and manipulated for the last decade or two. We are nothing to them because we have given them the power rather then the power staying with the people as it's supposed to be. It doesn't matter one bit what the party is any more they have all lost the high ground and they will be the death of this nation unless things change.

Some things I need to add to this, in the last few days as I have been writing this and re writing it,a couple of things happened that again show just how far down hill we have come, you'll need to either Google these or check alternate news sources, but one is a group of people being arrested at the Jefferson memorial for dancing led By a man by the Name of Adam Kodesh and then one,which I have posted from "seeds of truth" is a group in Orlando Florida being arrested for feeding the homeless in a public park.
This is the partial views of this Libertarian Crunchy.
Ignacio

Blaming G-D

2011-06-09T10:08:00.000-04:00

Has it occurred to any one that most of the problems in this world have nothing to do with G-D? Instead it has to do with mans warped view of G-D and what He wants?
I have been mulling over this thought for a while now, as I try to come to terms with many of the misconceptions concerning G-D that we have all been taught over the years. By mis conceptions I am talking about doctrines and beliefs that we have all been taught were true and never really took the time to question or to study for ourselves , just kind of assuming that our religious leaders were all ways telling us the truth and never taking the time to dig out the facts for ourselves.
This of course, has caused me a whole lot of problems as I have challenged just about everything that I have ever heard or been taught. Yet at the same time it has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done , because I find that I have a much better understanding of G-D and what He wants, while also being able to publicly say that there is so much that I don't know or understand! This my friends is probably the the source of the greatest relief that I have ever known; the simple idea that I don't have to know everything in order to enjoy a relationship with G-D. I don't have to go after others beliefs about G-D because G-D has never asked us to do that. He has two very simple requirements of all people, Love G-D and Love your fellow man, engage in serving Him through worship and by acts of kindness. As the Reform Jews put it We must engage in "Social Justice" and that ,in part, is a part of worshiping G-D.
Some of what has brought me comfort as well, is things like the Talmud and other writing that the Jewish sages of old have written, because it shows me that even these great learned men didn't know everything about G-D and while they certainly tried to clarify things in the law, they didn't always know or agree with each other, but at least they took the time to study it out for themselves and come to a general consensus, then as time has passed and other things came to light, more debate took place and things changed.
So how does this fit with my opening statement? I am becoming quite weary of all those who seem to think that they have a monopoly on G-D and His ways, when the truth to the matter is that G-D is G-D and we are mere mortals who are striving to learn His ways, but will never be able to fully comprehend Him. Just because we have a particular belief or pet doctrine, does not mean that we can fully understand His ways. Think about this, how many millions of people have been killed over the centuries because someone thought that they had the right ideas about G-D and everyone else was wrong? How many wars have and still are going on all over the world based on that same notion? Now consider this, what would happen if everyone came to the understanding that we can't possibly know everything that there is to know about G-D and came to acknowledge that we might just be wrong in spots? Most of the wars would end and quite possibly a massive amount of loving would result. Pipe dream? I think not.
Both Christian tradition and Jewish belief tells of a time at the end of all things when a universal knowledge of G-D and of peace will come about through Him and His anointed one, but that can't happen until a time comes when all of us acknowledge that we were wrong and we seek the truth, getting away from all the man made dogmas,bringing an end to all wars, eliminating poverty and greed and removing our biases and prejudice. When that day comes and we are all "singing the same song of freedom" blaming G-D for our own stupidity and mistakes will come to an end as He promises to place His ways on our hearts. This brings me joy and this is what brings me peace in a chaotic world, I don't have to know everything now, nor is it my job, or anyone else's for that matter, to force my belief upon you, instead we strive to learn and we rejoice in what we can know and we can wait patiently because that day will come when we will know the truth about G-D because G-D will put it in our hearts!
Shalom,
Ignacio

Memorial Day Thought

2011-05-27T08:41:00.000-04:00

The first official weekend of the summer season is about to start this weekend with the coming of Memorial Day weekend. Many of us will be enjoying the weekend with BBQ with parades and camping over all a very enjoyable weekend.
I remember ,as a child, how excited I used to get on Memorial . I would be going crazy eating breakfast as fast as I could so that I could get up to the corner where the parade was going to come by and stop at the town memorial. I remember more then once coming out the door and hearing the distant sounds of the drums as they got ready to start and straining to get the first glance of the parade in the distance.
Likely by New York or Boston standards this was small time indeed but it was huge to me. Seemed like every group and club was represented as well as the high school band, but my favorite part was the fire trucks! They would turn on their sirens making a lot of noise above and beyond what was already going on and they would have many players from the little league baseball riding on them as well.
Of course the most somber part of the whole parade was when they would lay a wreath at the memorial say a prayer and play taps while firing off the 21 gun salutes. I didn't understand all of it at that time. I understood there had been a big war, WW2 and that some place called Vietnam was coming to an end, but the whole idea of war and the loss of friends and comrades was something I didn't grasp then. I do now.
So this weekend, as you enjoy your weekend, keep in mind those that gave their lives so that you CAN enjoy your BBQ and the camping. Perhaps take a moment to lay a wreath at a memorial or quietly listen to the mournful sounds of taps as it is played for the fallen, but most of all never forget.
Ignacio

Personal Responsibility

2011-05-26T11:20:00.000-04:00

The man said " the woman that you ( G-D ) gave me" the woman said " the serpent told me...." the serpent said I was possessed...... " actually the snake said nothing but you get the point. Gen.3 Uncle Iggies version....

The argument usually goes something like this, "it wasn't my fault" it was my husband,wife, children or neighbors fault, the devil made me do it or , at least in one case , it was the snakes fault so why should I have to pay the price for my mistake, forgetting of course that you had to make a conscious decision to do something in the first place. It's never our faults for anything, it's society or our up bringing or our neighborhood or government. Sometimes ,admittedly, that's not far from the truth, however not everything can be blamed for our mistakes, at some point you have to take a hard look in the mirror and understand that you play a large role in this as well.

Of course passing the blame to others can become real easy to do when your world starts to collapse around you and things that you thought were fairly secure come apart at the seams. It becomes real easy to point the finger at anyone or anything other then yourself for the problems and the mistakes in our lives, much easier to have a talk show mentality and blame every thing on your mothers uncles second cousins brother in laws pet fish rather then taking the responsibility, after all this is generally what we in our great society teach.

Society says that it's not our fault for....pick your thing, instead it's the fault of our parents, our schools, our religion or even the a fore mentioned fish, but never is the blame affixed where it truly belongs; on ourselves. A Fine example; if I choose to smoke is it the tobaccos companies fault? Certainly they have done lots of advertising to get my attention but when it boils right down to it, I am the one who is responsible for putting the cigarette in my mouth and smoking it. They may have provided the material but I did the action. If I choose to live a promiscuous life style and sleep around who bears the responsibility of an unwanted STD or pregnancy? Is it society? Or should we again blame it on the parenting or the proverbial fish? Or is it my fault?

Our mainstream religions are at fault for this as well. We are taught the idea of "original sin" through Adam and Eve, and tell us that we can't help but be sinful because we are born with that tendency, leaving out the idea of freewill. So what that boils down to is that we are little more then robots with no real choices in life other then to do evil continuously. I reject that notion. While the Bible certainly speaks of the sin of Adam and Eve and all that has happened since then, it has never suggested that they are the ones responsible for our sinful and or foolish acts. In fact the Bible makes it quite clear that we don't die for someone else sins, we die for our own. Adam and Eve aren't the problem and neither are your parents or your neighborhood,or that fish, you are. And you are the one who has to decide how your going to handle things. You can continue to blame others for your life problems or you can suck it up, take responsibility for yourself and then do something about it.

Let me give you an example and I will use myself. I bought a van that has lead to us leaving Arkansas. Some things were good about that and other things were bad. Technically speaking I could put the blame elsewhere and some would argue that I would be justified in that, however even while blindly going into this thing, I made a choice and that choice had consequences, unseen and unknown at the time,but still there were consequences and the responsibility is mine to deal with, not someone else. It's not my mothers fault, nor the neighborhoods fault because it couldn't see what was coming and it's not the fishes fault either. The choice was made by me so therefore the responsibility of my actions also reside with me.

None of this is new, just look at Genesis and the proverbial fall of man, and you can see that everyone is passing the buck as to who is to blame, when the truth is is that they are both to blame for their own mistakes.

The point of this is that we need to get beyond this and start taking the responsibility for our own actions and teach our children the same. We need to stop blaming others for our problems based on nothing more then their religion, color or sexual orientation.We need to put an end to this blame others for everything mentality that has invaded our society and get back to personal responsibility. We should be responsible for ourselves and we should only ever have to hold ourselves accountable to G-D, because in a society where we accept our own responsibility for our mistakes , that is all that will be needed.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Tolerance and Acceptance

2011-05-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

Tolerance and acceptance, two words that I have never been terribly happy with. Their base meanings are good but in the last 20 years or so they seemed to have changed into something political which went something to this effect; I will tolerate what you believe to be true and accept you but you, on the other hand, don't have to accept or tolerate me if my views are not politically correct or doesn't meet with your accepted point of view.
In the past , and even still today, I could really care less if I am politically correct but I would like to think that I have become at least a bit more tolerant of opposing views and beliefs and have accepted many things that years ago I wouldn't even have dreamed of. The thing that is actually troubling to me are those who would claim that they are tolerant and accepting of people and opinions and yet what they say or do differs from reality. Let me give you an example.
My wife and I along with our children have recently moved back to New England after a rather troubling and intolerant time in the south west, living amongst people who would not accept us because we were Yankees and because we did not follow Christianity and I had publicly said so. Worse were those that had once called us friends, abandoning us even while claiming the love of their "god" for us.
Fast forward to our time here. Since our arrival here we have been reunited with many of our old friends including those who are of a Christian persuasion and I can tell you it has been wonderful. No one has been floored by our beliefs in Judaism and if any one has been critical it certainly hasn't been said to our faces and it has been a breath of fresh air.In fact even while discussing the things that we saw differently, we were doing it while eating burgers and our kids were playing together. There was no condemnation it was a simple matter of we see things differently and that's OK. This is what I call tolerance and acceptance.
While I have been very critical of Christianity and it's views, I have also come to discover that not all I have been told about Judaism is entirely accurate either.
Most of my contact with the Jewish community has been via the internet and usually with those of the Orthodox community, so imagine my surprise to find out that not all of what I have been told is entirely accurate. I had been told in the past that the only people who would ever be considered Jewish were either those born Jewish or who converted via an Orthodox conversion, that if you ever wanted to live in Israel that this was the only way that you would be accepted. I have puzzled over this for a long time, why would it be that they only way to be considered a real Jew was to convert to the Orthodox? There are Christians that are Israeli citizens as well as Arabs and Palestinians. There are those that are considered secular Jews as well as those from other Jewish communities,it made me quite confused and as a result my wife and I really wasn't sure just where we fit. It kind of reminded me of the Southern Baptists because unless you were one of them they really didn't consider you to be a christian and the only difference I could find between them and my baptist denomination was little more then wording. So while I was interested in conversion to Judaism we were concerned about what really seemed like an intolerant point of view.
Then this past Monday things changed.
Monday my wife and I met with Rabbi Robin at Temple Beth Jacob and it was a blessing. We walked in being nervous ( we have been blasted by Orthodox and Christians prior to this ) not really knowing what to expect and she immediately put us at ease.We were made to feel welcome and we had about an hour and a half of questions and answers. Turns out that they are a Reform Synagogue and that all the things that I had been told via the "friends" I had were from the ultra orthodox point of view and it was only their group who would not accept your conversion, if you so chose , and that many things were open for discussion that I had been told were not and that at least here in New England the various Jewish congregations all get along! Imagine my surprise. We left the meeting with Rabbi Robin feeling like we had finally found a place to be and to learn. Today we went to our first Torah study and again we were welcomed by all even though we are not Jewish as of yet,it was enough that we were there. Now that's tolerance and acceptance.
To all of our friends here in New England, no matter what it is that you believe, thank you for welcoming us back, and to Rabbi Robin thank you for welcoming us into the Synagogue, showing what true tolerance and acceptance is.
Shalom,
Ignacio

Surplus Population

2011-05-17T13:55:00.000-04:00

I am not known for my "liberal"thinking. In fact most anybody who knows me would , perhaps, label me as conservative. That , Of course, is no more accurate then the liberal label, but still I think most would at least consider me to be somewhat to the right when it comes to politics and religion. I am a firm believer in the constitution and our G-D given rights as expressed by the founders and I am a firm believer in the Jewish bible and of G-D. I think however that this is just about where my conservative side ends.
Lately I have been listening to a growing sound coming out of a lot of prominent conservatives on both the radio and through various news sources and all of them seem to be blaming the woes of the economy on all the "entitlement programs" and those of us who are poor enough to, at times,have to use them, and I find this trend to be a bit troubling.
I agree that there are many people who take advantage of the situation and just leech off the state even though they are physically able to actually work,but I have also witnessed those who desperately needed the help get turned down because , at least in one case,they had $7 too much in the bank. I personally know of the struggles that come from living on such a low income. I receive nothing more then VA benefits and while the cost of everything has gone up, my pay has not in 3 years. This really isn't about me though, nor is it about those who receive various assistance programs, it's about those who make an incredible amount of money being critical of those who don't and, quite frankly, looking at the wrong place to put the blame.
Now let me state for the record, that I have no problem with people making decent money on their skills and talents. If you can make big bucks doing what you do, I am happy for you. If you can enjoy the finer things in life because of your skills ,great, but I would also say to you that you should take the time to get to know some of these people that you are so critical of.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", is one of my all time favorite movies and I think that there are many parts of it that are very relevant for today. When the ghost of Marley arrives, in the course of the conversation, Scrooge tells Marley that he had always been a good man of business and Marley's reply is perhaps the most condemning of our world today," Business! Business?! Mankind should have been my business!" He goes on to explain to Scrooge that because he never did anything to help anyone in the world that he was now condemned to walk the earth for eternity and see all the misery and be able to do nothing about it. The Ghost of Christmas Past has ignorance and want hidden under his cloak in the form of children and tells Scrooge that these belong to all men and to be ware of them both because if things stay as they are they spell the doom of all of mankind. Bob Cratchet was a hard working man by all accounts, yet he had a very sick son and he would die if nothing changed.The point being that you should get to know who "the surplus population" is before you condemn them to conditions that you wouldn't willingly live in.
So who or what is really to blame for this mess? Is it the wealthy guys on the airwaves? Nope.Though I think they are looking in the wrong direction. Is it the military? Not really, at least not at the troop level. I do believe however that we could save a huge chunk of money by ending all of our wars and overseas bases and bringing everyone home but the average grunt is not the problem. How about the politicians? I would have to say at least partially, why only partially? Because the only power that they have comes from us, what we allow them to do, so that leads to my answer which is; you and me. Yes, we are the one's to blame.
Every two years "we the people" have an opportunity to vote out those who are corrupt and power hungry, those that refuse to do ,as we the people, tell them to but we don't. As a matter of fact if you ask the average American what is actually going on in politics and how it effects them they won't have an answer and yet when it comes time to vote they will vote simply on name recognition. Some politicians have become so powerful that no one even bothers to run against them. Is this the way that things are supposed to be in a Republic? No!What needs to happen is that everyone should educate them selves as to what is going on in their government and then vote them all out of office and then if that doesn't work , you recall them,which most states have the power to do, and fire them until you get people in office who are accountable to us and not to powerful lobbies.
Lest any of you think that I believe that government is the answer, let me end that in a hurry. We need a whole lot less government intruding in our lives and coming up with more and more insane laws and regulations and ways to spend our money. The paragraph before was simply to illustrate that if we do not fire the whole lot of them , and I do mean all from all parties, we will not get this monster under any kind of control. It will simply get worse.
The other half of this though is our own fault. We have become an instant gratification, social networking, isolationist types. By isolationist I mean that we don't really interact with people anymore. We "speak" to each other via various social networking sights and occasionally might run into someone we haven't seen in a long time at Wal-Mart but we really don't interact with each other the way that our parents and grandparents did.
I remember a day when you didn't have to lock your doors and your neighbors were practically your parents, because if they didn't whoop on your backside, they would make sure that your parents knew what you had done long before you got home and , at least on a few occasions getting it from all sides! The good part of all that though was that people knew each other and they knew who was poor and struggling and,as a community, whether it was a church or just a bunch of neighbors, they would gather up what ever was necessary to help. There was no need for all the government programs because people took care of each other as was intended by G-D.
Something has changed though over the years and now most people don't bother to even know their neighbors, never mind if they are hurting in any way, and because we are taught that we are supposed to be able to "keep up with the Jones" many of us hide the fact that we are struggling. The government, of course, not wanting to let a good opportunity for control go by, fills in the gap where the churches,synagogues and neighbors once stood. We have, as a society, essentially relinquished control of our lives to those who's joy of spending our money knows no end and shows no sign of stopping.
My solution to this is really simple and rather old fashioned. We need to get off the computer, put down our massively entertaining cell phones, shut off the TV and go out and get to know each other again as we once did. You want to see an end to ridiculous spending in DC? Help each other out and there will be little need for all the government programs, get back into your churches and synagogues and start programs to help the needy. Take food to the local food bank or shelters, almost anything that you can think of will help. The government won't ever give up it's programs but perhaps we can all share the burden and lessen the need for them. Help people get on their feet rather then leaving them dependent on anyone and you will have accomplished that which the government cannot.
End the wars and bring everyone home. You want to see a major savings? Just do that one thing and you will have accomplished your goal.
Of course the government itself could take a pay cut as well,seems to me that if there is so little money that seniors and veterans can't get a raise that they should have a major cut in pay until that issue is resolved.
So there you have it, just a few simple solutions that would make a world of difference, I realise that it's just a pipe dream, but when that's all you have left...dream away.

Shalom
Ignacio

OBL And Mother Teresa

2011-05-06T09:51:00.000-04:00

What a week it has been. Sunday night we were informed that OBL had finally been killed in a rather nasty 40 min fire fight with Navy SEALS and that ultimately he was killed in the course of that fight. Americans who heard this, I was sleeping when the president told the nation, went out into the streets to celebrate the death of this man and to basically flag wave and rejoice.

Then the story started falling apart. In fact the only thing that seems to be true in this whole story is that he is dead and even then they won't show the evidence to prove it, so many don't believe it's true. Personally I think it's true that he's dead, I just believe that it happened long before now and that his death has been put on hold for political reasons. I also believe that I don't really care. If him and his cave dwelling buddies were really the ones responsible for 9/11 then great, he's dead, and can we now move on to more important things? Such as calling it a win and bringing the troops home?

OBL can serve as an object lesson though to all of us. Here was a man that was, by all accounts, a very wealthy man, from a very powerful family in Saudi Arabia. He likely had every toy and whistle that any man could want. He was working for the US government in Afghanistan and so was likely receiving a goodly chunk of change from us as well. Something changed though.
He went from being our man, fighting the Soviets, to public enemy #1 all in a matter of moments.

We can debate as to whether or not he was actually involved or just a convinient target to point a finger at and we can debate the how why and when of his death but the one thing that can't be denied was that he went from rich and powerful to being quite dead.

Mother Teresa was just the opposite. She had nothing. No money. No power, no wealth to command and yet she took what little she had and she did some real good for the poor of India. She fed those that she could, clothed whom she could and took care of the sick. Yet in the end, humbly and just as poor as when she started her mission, she died.

Sadly, most people will remember OBL long after Mother Teresa has been forgotten because of all the evil he allegedly did and yet Mother Teresa is the one who deserves the remeberance more. His life was filled with violence and death and hers with healing and hope.

OBL dead? Good, lets move on to really note worthy people now and let him fade away into the dust of obscurity where he belongs.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Why I left Christanity

2011-04-26T12:20:00.000-04:00

Today I am going to be writing about how I came to leave Christianity and embrace Judaism and the one true G-D of Israel and the creator of the world.

One thing I should mention here I am not interested in “converting “you to what I believe. You may find that hard to believe because of what you are taught in Christianity about converting the world, but in Judaism they don’t believe that you need to be converted (I have not converted by the way) but only that you live as a righteous Gentile following the laws that G-D gave to Adam and to Noah, which are known as the Noachide laws, a subject for another day, and in keeping those you will have a place in the kingdom to come.

Another thought that came to me is that some of you seem very shocked that I have left Christianity. A few have suggested, rather strongly, that I am ‘godless’ or that I am following the father of lies. It finally hit me as to why. As Christians you are taught that if a person does not believe in the deity of Jesus then they are automatically placed in the camp of Satan by default, so my guess is that you couldn’t imagine that I would be anything else, other than a Christian, when I am acting and living my life in a G-Dly manner, quoting scripture and singing the praises of G-D. I think that it is very hard for you to compute and therefore the shock comes in.

So as I set out to write this, here is my challenge to you; be open minded. If you are reading this for the purpose of trying to find my mistakes or to try and convince me that you are right, then you miss the purpose of this writing. Some of you have asked and now I am answering.

You also must keep in mind two very important facts; the first being that I was a pastor and that I have been involved in Christianity, in various forms, most of my life. The second is that I never set out to disprove Christianity, in fact I was determined that I was going to prove that Christianity was right so I could present this to a few Jewish people that I had met. Obviously, my studies did just the opposite and as a result I have left Christianity in all its forms.

What started me on this road was a simple question that had come after a rather severe berating I had received from a Jewish man on my interpretation of something that Jesus had said, I don’t even remember what the issue was, but what I do remember is that I couldn’t understand why it was that they couldn’t seem to grasp that Jesus was the messiah and that he was their future king. This led me to ask the one simple question; why don’t the Jews believe in Jesus? This was my starting point. It made no sense to me that such a wonderful and intelligent people couldn’t grasp something as basic as that and so I started out to show them , if I could, just who he was and that they were wrong. I couldn’t accept the idea, as most Christians are taught, that the Jews were blinded to the truth because I had listened to too many Jewish Rabbis and people who knew the NT very well so it was not a matter of ignorance, there had to be another reason.

To set the stage for you, I had already left my position as a young adult pastor and camp director, not because I didn’t believe in Jesus, but because I had started to learn about messianic Judaism and I believed that this was the route that we should pursue. In all fairness it was probably, up until that time, one of the best things I ever did. The group that we belonged too did not believe in trying to convert people, especially the Jewish people, because they believed that the Jewish people already had the Torah (the law) and G-D. Our Rabbi was Jewish and through his teaching we embraced a combination of Jesus and Jewish ways, I wore the Kippah, Tzit Tzit, and the Tallit, by all external measure I had become Jewish but still with just that touch of Christianity. The reason that I believe that it was one of the best things to ever happen to me and my family ,was because it introduced us to Judaism and it started me on a study and love of the” Old Testament” and more of a love for the G-D of Israel as a result.

The first thing that I did was peruse the internet. There are many articles and excerpts from writings and books that were both for and against Jesus as being the messiah. I looked at some of the writers of the Jewish Talmud as well as some of the early church fathers and the one thing that I came to realize was that all of them had some sort of an agenda or, perhaps better put, a bias in one direction or the other and it was really hard to find someone who was neutral on the subject. Those that were neutral usually turned out to be atheists or serious skeptics of G-D or religion in general. So I decided on a completely different approach.

The first thing I did was decide how I would approach someone in the time of Jesus to convince them that Jesus was the messiah that they were looking for. I wouldn’t be able to use the NT because that was written well after the events so that left me with the option of just using the OT to prove the point. It makes perfect sense to do it this way when you consider that Jesus and his followers as well as John the Baptist would have only been able to base their views or opinions on their knowledge of the OT prophecies. So I used several different versions of the Bible, including KJV, NKJV, and NIV amongst others. I also used the Strongs/Vineyard concordance as well as a program that could show the words as they would have been written in the OT Hebrew and, with pens and lots of paper, I began to search.

The first thing that I started with was the word Messiah. Messiah is the English translation of the Greek word Christ which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Mashiyach which simply means “anointed one“. The word is used 98 times through the Bible with 86 of them appearing in the OT. Of those 37 apply to people such as kings and priests and one refers to a person in particular, that being Cyrus who eventually let the captives go back to Israel and rebuild the temple. Please see Strongs/ Vineyards #4899. Nowhere though is there any reference to the Messiah, or anointed one, as being anything more than human. A servant of G-D? Yes. A king yes, but nothing about him being G-D in any form.

I still wasn’t too rattled though because I figured that somewhere in the scriptures I would find something that would explain the idea of the messiah being G-D, I just had to dig a bit deeper. So dig I did. I started out by reading every scripture that I had ever heard even had the remotest reference to what the messiah was supposed to do or be. I read all the “suffering servant” passages, checked out words and entire phrases as they would have been written in Hebrew/Aramaic and came to the rather startling conclusion that there were no scriptures what so ever that even hinted that the messiah was going to be anything more than human, with the exceptions of the ones that clearly pointed to Israel doing the suffering, but there again we are not talking about Israel being G-D, just His servant. Well needless to say I was floored. I had always just kind of assumed that it was there hidden in the passages but it wasn’t. I even did the whole 300 proof texts thing only to discover that the vast majority of them could have applied to anything or anyone and the few that were left were either badly misquoted or were taken out of context and still none of them proved that the messiah was to be G-D. It simply was not there.

Let me remind you at this point that there was nothing more I would have liked any better than to have found some sort of solid proof the messiah was to be G-D. This discovery threw me for such a loop that for almost a year I did nothing more than mull over it and re read biblical passages just to make sure. I honestly couldn’t decide if what I had found, or in this case not found, was really all that important. It seemed to me that Christianity had done a lot of good for the world and if getting people to know G-D was through someone who everyone believed was G-D then who was I to say.

I decided at that point that what I would do then was find out what the scriptures did have to say about the messiah, because I thought that surely Jesus could at least have that role even if he wasn’t G-D. I started from the beginning again and came to realize that even in this manner he couldn’t have fulfilled the role as the messiah, because one of the things about the messiah is that he is to bring about an end to war and bring both a universal peace and knowledge of G-D and His laws, none of which Jesus accomplished. In fact Jesus himself said that he hadn’t come to bring peace but a sword, that alone would disqualify him and since his time there have been literally millions killed in his name, many of them Jews, who simply refused to convert. Israel is not the nation it once was and yet the messianic prophecies say that when he comes the nations of the world will come to Israel to seek forgiveness and for the knowledge of G-D and as of this writing this has not happened. In fact it is quite the opposite; the nations of the world are ganging up on Israel to do her more harm. Now I know that some of you are thinking to yourselves well he is going to accomplish all that during his second coming. The problem here is that there is no mention at all of any second coming nor is it even implied. Again a commonly held belief in the Christian world that’s not there.

This is usually about the time someone will say to me, well what about the blood sacrifices don’t they point to Jesus? If the sacrificial system was done away with and the temple destroyed how is it that they can have forgiveness without the shedding of blood?

First of all if you go back and do a careful reading of the sacrifices you will discover two things. One is that a blood sacrifice wasn’t always needed, especially for those that were poor. They had flour offerings as well as meal offerings, no blood necessary, and then the second thing is that when they did have an offering of animals, depending on the situation it could be a Dove, or a male or female sheep and or goats or a bull.

So what about the temple then, how does one receive forgiveness without the sacrifices and the temple?

Prayer. Simple answer isn’t it? G-D, through Solomon and Moses, foretold of a time when the temple would be gone, that they would not be able to do the sacrifices and that they would be in captivity because they turned from Him and went to other “gods”. What they told the people was simply this; when you go into captivity and you finally realize that you have sinned turn your heart back to me and seek my forgiveness. Solomon goes so far as to say that their prayers will be as the sacrifices of bulls. All through the prophets you have this theme emphasized that when they turn their hearts back to Him that He will forgive them and save them. It’s not through the sacrifices it’s through having a willing heart to turn back to Him. In one place it even says that He will bring them back to the land, then forgive them, then remove their Idols and place His laws back in their hearts where it will never be removed. Not because they deserve it but because He is their G-D and He loves them. In fact if you take the time to look at the OT prophets , you will find that it’s not just about the “wrath” of G-D but rather that there is much to be found as to His redeeming His people and bringing them back to Israel. I should also point out that it also is very clear that it will be all who worship G-D will be amongst those that G-D gathers not just the children of Israel. But here is a real shocker for you, in the end the third temple will be build according to the description given to Ezekiel and the sacrifices will resume. It also says that the nations of the world will keep at least some of the holy days of the Jews such as Sabbath, New Moon and the Feast of Tabernacles, it even goes so far as to tell you that the nation that doesn’t keep the Feast of Tabernacles will not receive any rain.

So the more I studied the more surprised I became because I was seeing things that I had never seen before and suddenly realized that it was I that was blind, not the Jews.

Other things kept showing up ,like G-D saying over and over again that He alone is G-D and besides Him there are no others, that He will not share His glory with another or the all-important, you shall have no other gods before me. Probably this one alone was the one that pushed me into a realization that worshipping anyone else other than G-D is Idolatry. The first commandment that He gave to the children of Israel was that they were to not have any other G-Ds before Him, in fact the reason that they were scattered into captivity and exile was because they broke that law over and over again.

There can only be one G-D and He has made that very clear.

Now at this point you have probably noticed that I haven’t given you much as far as biblical text goes. It’s not because they don’t exist, they do, and it’s that I want you to do the research for yourselves. Secondly though I could give you a good chunk of them but I would be wasting my time if you aren’t really interested in the truth of it all, and it has come to my attention, especially while I was a pastor, that most aren’t interested in the truth they just want it handed to them in a sermon. So if you are truly interested you will look for yourself and, I might add, I have only scratched the surface of what is to be discovered if you actually look.

I will however leave you with two texts to consider and my own prayer that you will look for yourself.

Jeremiah 16: 19-20 O LORD, my strength and my fortress My refuge in the day of affliction The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “ Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.” ²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?

Zechariah 8:22-23 ²² And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him.”

²³ This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”

From here I don’t know what else I could say to you that would convince you of anything, and as I said in the beginning I’m not trying to convert you to my way of thinking or believing and, quite frankly, if believing that Jesus is somehow god will at least point you to the true G-D of Israel then who am I to stand in the way of what He is doing in your life.
The challenge I do give though is to read it and research it for yourself and then draw your own conclusions, with a heart for G-D and not the doctrines of man.

Shalom,

Ignacio

Puzzle Pieces

2011-04-19T07:54:00.000-04:00

I knew an Autistic man once who was amazing when it came to puzzles. He could take any puzzle, look at the picture on the box, dump the pieces on the table and know where all the pieces went without ever looking at the picture again. Even the most complex and large puzzles were not a challenge. On the flip side to that, if there was a piece missing he would get highly upset trying to find it but even if he didn’t he was able to do the rest of the puzzle, missing piece and all.

My grandparents always had puzzles around. They had a table out on the porch where they would spend a great amount of time reading and putting these together. Now I can’t say that I spent a lot of time helping them but I did have one very memorable day when I destroyed one badly. We had a rather large amount of snow one winter and as always the snow banks went all the way to the roof of the house and being a very typical wild kid, I thought that taking my sled up on the roof and sliding off would be great fun. It was until I discovered that the house let off just enough heat to melt the snow right next to the window on the porch and it gave way. I suddenly found myself sliding through a window, boots first, right onto the table that had the puzzle on it. Pieces flew everywhere and the only thing my grandmother said was; “well there goes that puzzle.” I don’t think that they ever found all the pieces.

Personally I love puzzles. I haven’t put one together in a while because it always seems like I buy a puzzle and either there is a piece or two missing or I lose one almost instantly into some dark void as I’m opening the box. Sure I can put it together, but it’s not going to look right without all the pieces.

I wonder how many of us go through life thinking that we are one of those missing pieces. We think to ourselves that we are nothing because we haven’t done all the good that Mother Teresa has or we are not some great Biblical scholar or Rabbi and so therefore we are nothing but discarded and forgotten pieces. Perhaps you consider yourself to damaged and broken, too young or to old, I don’t really know but I do know this; G-D has created you for a purpose and that purpose may not always be evident to you and me, but He has one for all of us.

Consider for a moment just how many people you interact with in a day. Every one of those people that you interact with is a part of the great puzzle and they interact with others and it just spreads from there. It is impossible to not be a part of that puzzle. There is a good chance that I don’t know you, yet G-D is using this medium to connect us together in this puzzle. The only way to avoid being in this puzzle is to have never been born.

Psalm 139 asks a really simple question; “where can I go from your presence” the answer is simple; nowhere. He is always there and He sees us in the big picture. You are not a disregarded piece of the puzzle, without you the puzzle cannot be complete.

I already know what some of you are thinking; how can we be a part of the same puzzle when we don’t see eye to eye on the things of G-D? Where has it ever been written that before the time when G-D’s kingdom is established, that we are all going to agree with each other? The only time I see it is when all the nations go up against Israel and G-D destroys them for doing so! In Genesis chapter 11 you have the whole world coming together to defy G-D and G-D scatters them to the four winds and confuses their language. Maybe, just maybe, having the same view of things isn’t always so good.

Going back to the puzzle analogy, how many of the pieces are the same? If all the pieces were cut the same way and all had the same design on them wouldn’t that really defeat the purpose of building a puzzle?

The bottom line is simply this; we are all a part of G-D’s puzzle. We are all a part of the big picture that He is putting together. We may think we are discarded or of no importance, but, as I said earlier the puzzle cannot be complete without you.

Shalom,

Ignacio

Deleted posts

2011-04-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

Just a quick message for anyone who is reading this blog. I have deleted a rather large portion of what I have written over the last 4 years because I realized that it was causing some confusion as to what it is that I believe. It originally started from a Christian point of view and since that time I and my family have come to embrace Judaism as much as a Gentile can and this has apparently caused some confusion. To those who were confused by it I apologize. Simply put I am not a Christian in any form any more and as I said before I follow Judaism as much as I am able to do as a Gentile.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Goodbye to Arkansas

2011-03-31T14:49:00.000-04:00

This is to be my last posting from Arkansas and I am really not sure what I want to say.

To quote Thumper from Bambi “if you can’t say nothing nice, don’t say nothing at all”. So that sort of leaves me hearing crickets in the background.

It hasn’t been all bad here. We have learned a lot, but I guess what we learned wasn’t what we had hoped to learn or even do. I came here with the high hopes off helping a friend with a new type of ministry and instead wound up loosing that friend and a host of others, all because I believe differently concerning G-D.

I realize in the Christian world that my difference is huge, not believing that Jesus is G-D, but nothing about my values or morals have changed, yet here in what is supposed to be the Bible belt, home of more variations of Christianity then you can shake a stick at, and I have found a level of intolerance that I never quite expected. Sure I have known that there is a large concentration of KKK and skin heads, but I never imagined intolerance coming from the churches. Actually it isn’t so much intolerance as it is ignorance, ignorance as to what I believe and just how little of a threat I am to any ones ministry especially if their goal is supposed to be helping people. Ah well, I was seen as a threat thus here we are.

In many ways it’s ironic that the NE is actually more tolerant of differing views then here in the south, some in the NE will tell me that I am wrong, but at least they will do it to my face and we then continue on with our friendship, yet I am always seeing the polls that tell us just how ungodly folks are up there and yet I haven’t found that to be true. If by “ungodly” you mean that many people want nothing to do with main stream denominations then I would probably agree with you but just because someone does not conform to the denominational view of things doesn’t mean that they are ungodly.

What is it that makes a person “godly”? Is it following one denominational view over another? Is it dependent on how many times you darken the doorway of a church or synagogue? Is it a question of how many times you go to confession or how much you give in money? Is it carrying picket signs or fancy programming? The list could go on but the answer is no. Then what does make a person “godly”? Interestingly enough both the Jewish bible and the Christian bible agree on this question, though it tends to get lost in the battle for denominational superiority and it’s really simple.

Love G-D. Love your neighbor. Five words, two very short sentences, and you have just summed up the entire Bible. How do you love G-D? Read the Bible and you will find out. How do you love your neighbor? Read that same Bible and you will find the answers to that as well. This is not difficult. It is us humans and our desire to be better then others that make this whole thing difficult.

Just based on those two basic commands there is no reason why we cannot work together but alas it’s our own personal doctrines that seem to get in the way. So we don’t believe the same way about G-D, at least we believe, and that doesn’t excuse us from serving others.

This is the part where I stop. There is more that could be said, but my friends already know what I believe and they are still my friends. To you Shalom.

So as we go into the Passover and Easter holidays, I simply hope that you will remember that which we have in common and may your holidays be blessed.

Shalom, see you soon NE

Ignacio

A Follow Up....

2011-03-17T14:07:00.000-04:00

This post is a follow up on my last post where I basically said that throwing out G-D has left a vacuum that is filled with evil and I really didn’t take much time to focus on what that evil might look like or, should I say, in what manner it shows its ugly head, so I thought I’d take just a moment and try to clarify what my humble opinion is on that. Please understand all of what I believe is tied into the idea that we have pushed G-D away and this is the result of that collective decision.

One of the things that I liked about “Star Trek Next Generation” was the idea that they had become a society where financial gain had become obsolete. Everyone had had everything that they needed or wanted simply because they contributed to their society. This is not to be confused with communism. That is nothing more then squashing people into the dirt. Their society (STNG) was simply that by doing away with financial profit, they were able to fix all the problems of the world and that all people were blessed and well off because of it. Their catalyst for this society however was very similar to what’s happening to us, poverty and strife, greed run rampant and endless war ending with a massive war that destroyed all nations and governments. Then the Vulcans showed up…

We are still a very blessed nation, I think that this is quickly passing because of our greed and selfishness, (and I see no signs of Vulcans coming) but no where on Earth is there a nation with so many resources on hand as we have. We could easily not only sustain ourselves but we could sustain most of the world just based on the foods and products that we are capable of producing but we don’t. Why is that? Simple, it’s a combination of greed and arrogance on our part.

We literally have the ability and the means to feed the world and yet our government pays farmers to not grow food. Then what is grown is genetically altered and is priced through the roof, so that poor countries can’t afford it and because it’s genetically altered many countries don’t want it. Yet our government allows it to go on even as billions starve to death or have very little and what is available, right here in our own country has been priced sky high and it is still going up. We have been greatly blessed with the ability to grow a variety of food and we are squandering the chance to do some real good so that a few elites have large bank accounts. I say “we” in very generic terms here. I know many people who grow their own food and they share it or sell it as inexpensively to others as they can but even for them, as more regulations are piled on and the price of farming goes up, it is getting harder to maintain and keep up with the big boys.

This is greed pure and simple, when G-D is tossed aside, greed follows.

We also have the ability to clothe the world and bring the world material comforts that they have never had, but again the powers that be don’t do that because there is no profit in it.

All of this combined with the fact that everything from our food to gas has gone up through the roof has put those of us who would like to help others in a very tight spot.

My wife and I, up until a little while ago, would make donations to various projects and people that needed it. We have always felt that we are blessed and that we should share with others if we could. In the last year or so that has become increasingly difficult as the price of everything has gone up and we watch the end of the month come up short of cash. We are not alone in this. Many others are faced with the dilemma of helping out others or just simply keeping food on the table. So the people who could literally do a world of good do nothing, while those of us who want to help out even in a small way are cut off.

I recently heard the story of a man who would pass out food to the homeless, who was court ordered to desist because his food had not gone through some sort of health inspection. This is insane and all of this, everything mentioned, is one of the reasons that I believe that G-D is removing His blessings from us. We are not willing to share so we don’t deserve what we have.

Our arrogance comes from the idea that we are blessed and always will be and that we are the most powerful nation in the world and we can’t be stopped. Every nation in history that has risen up to great power has all suffered from the same things that we are, greed and selfishness. Wanting nothing more then our constant mindless entertainment, and belief that our military and our nation will always be great.

Rome is a fine example of this, they ruled for hundreds of years and yet, in the end it was all the fore mentioned things that did them in. They cared nothing for anyone who was not Roman, they lived very decadent and lazy lives full of constant amusement and they stretched their military to far in their conquests. Sound familiar?

Their great empire fell and they didn’t see it coming, their military was broken and they didn’t see it coming and in the end they lost everything. An amazing empire was destroyed and they didn’t see it coming. We are no different. Except that we have been warned, we are just choosing to ignore it.

We could turn this around, though I’m not hopeful that this will really happen, by taking the resources that we have been blessed with and blessing the world with it, but in order to do that we would have to return to G-D first so that we would have the ability, again collectively speaking, to understand that loving G-D and loving our neighbors, no matter who they are, is a major part of being blessed by G-D.

So when I say that we are reaping what we have sown what I mean simply is this: If you toss G-D aside evil, in whatever form you care to call it, takes over. When that happens, greed and suffering quickly follow suit and the common people suffer, this is what is happening. We have told G-D to leave and He has. Evil has taken His place and the world suffers for it and there are no Vulcans on the horizon to show us the way.

I believe this passage says it very well. “For the earth was defiled under its inhabitants; because they transgressed teachings, violated laws, broke the ancient covenant. That is why a curse consumes the earth, and its inhabitants pay the penalty….”

Isaiah 24 5:6

Shalom,

Ignacio

Scifi and G-D

2011-03-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

I am a fan of mindless Sci-Fi entertainment. I love it. The more far out there it is the better I like it. I own the movie 2012 and I was awed with CGI and all the other major effects that they produced. Even the idea of the world’s government building arks to save the elite was fascinating to me. Of course all of this kind of thing you can find all over the internet and in a lot of Hollywood movies as well and I love all of it. I even liked the movie the “The Day After Tomorrow” where it shows an almost instantaneous freezing of the northern hemisphere, while I disagree with the premise it still asks the question ; what if?

Well over the weekend we got a bit of a taste of “what if “and there is not any cool CGI to look at, it is all very painfully real.

The world is literally staggering with a massive sense of loss over the utter destruction in Japan. The earthquake was so powerful that it moved Japan 8 feet and left a rip in the crust that is 50 miles wide and 150 miles long. Some scientists are saying that the earth tilted in it’s axis by some small an amount.

They are now dealing with possible horror of radiation poisoning as well. Something else that was not reported on much was that 2 Volcanoes erupted at the same time as the earthquake hit, one in Russia and I believe the other was on one of the Japanese islands.

While that has been the center of attention, more fish have washed up in various places and no one seems to know why, that added to birds and other fish earlier in the year. I have read that the worlds Bee populations are dying out as well as Bats, what is going on? And magnetic North is moving at almost 40 miles a year as well.

The internet is filled with many dire predictions as one expert after another tries to explain what’s going on. Some say it’s because the magnetic poles are moving, others say it’s because planet X is getting closer to us and the sun. Still others have the idea that the world’s governments are engaged in a new type of weather war using top secret sophisticated equipment to cause all the massive Hurricanes, snow storms and yes even earthquakes. Some even say it’s all G-D’s fault. Most things suggested are theories. Some may be more possible then others and any and all could be possible, but the one I want to address is the idea that this is G-D’s fault. Is it really?

Someone recently asked “why is G-D doing this to us?” and I have an answer but it’s not probably what you think. I don’t think that it’s G-D doing anything to us. I believe that what is happening is exactly what we have brought upon ourselves. We have told G-D that we don’t want Him in our schools or our government. We have tried to remove Him from every aspect of our lives. Pastors and Rabbi’s have gone the politically correct route and will not speak out against the corruption in our government and in the churches them selves. We would rather be told about the love of G-D, rather then the idea that there is a judgment coming for our collective sin of getting rid of Him and turning to our “idols”. G-D is a gentleman. We have told Him that we don’t need Him any more and He has obliged us. The problem is that when you remove G-D and all the goodness and morality that come from the idea of G-D, it has to be replaced by something and usually that something is evil. Call it Satan or HaSatan, call it what you will, but evil is at its heart and destruction is in its nature.

Here is a rather poor analogy, if I decide I am going to make doughnuts and my children wish to help, one of the first things I am going to tell them is to keep away from the very hot oil, because if they touch it they will get burned badly, but if they don’t we will have some fun making them and eating them. Now I have given the warning and my child then proceeds to do things their own way and puts their hand into the oil and they get badly burned. Is that my fault? Did I cause the burn? Did I not give out a warning? Didn’t it happen just as I said it would? The point is that I gave the warning and I was ignored and it happened just as I said it would. G-D has given us warning after warning and we have pushed Him away and we ignore Him, what then, do you think is going to happen?

Look at the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28. G-D tells the people of all the blessings that they will receive, and become to the nations, if they obey Him and then it goes through a much longer list of what would happen if they disobeyed. Look at all of the prophets. Over and over it’s a call for repentance of the people and the warnings as to what was to come if they didn’t. G-D kept His word true then and His word is still true for us today.

One thing to consider, what the Israelites had in common with us now is that they collectively rejected G-D. Not all individuals did. In fact G-D said at one point, that He had 7,000 that had not bowed the knee to Bale, but as a whole everything from their leadership on down had rejected G-D and had turned to foreign gods. He told them what would happen and everyone, including the innocent, wound up suffering for it.

As a Seventh Day Adventist, growing up, I heard all the dooms day scenarios that you could imagine. We had many books and sermons based on what everyone believed would be the “end times”, and I remember we would have conversations, at least those of us that were of the rebellious type, that were something to the effect that when the end times came we would recognize them and then turn back to G-D and in the end be saved. Obviously my personal beliefs have changed a lot since those days, but scriptural events are being fulfilled even as I write, not in the way that I was taught as a kid, but none the less we are seeing the destruction of the world a bit at a time and I believe that it is no coincidence that this is happening even as we push G-D further and further away.

The bottom line is that G-D isn’t doing this to us. It is simply a result of us, collectively, pushing G-D aside and in doing so loosing His protection. Sadly, that means innocent people suffer as well.

To the western world in general, but to the USA specifically I say, that we all need to put down our stupid petty differences and realize that we need to return to G-D because our day is coming and I think it will be soon. Please note I didn’t say join my religion or someone else’s, but we all do need to return to G-D. How you do so is between you and Him. Enough of the finger pointing it’s time for prayer and a return to loving G-D and our neighbors.

Shalom,

Ignacio

To my few friends in Israel, my heart breaks for all of you and for the family of the people killed. It is both a tragedy and a travesty of justice that the whole world would ignore the murder of innocent Jews and yet have a fit over building houses on your own land. We have collectively become perverted calling (or ignoring) evil good and good evil.

A Dream of Scorpions

2011-02-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

A Dream of Scorpions

Last night I had a dream and the dream was very disturbing to me, because G-D gave me the understanding of this dream and I understood that this dream was the culmination of several dreams that I have had and it concerns all of us today.

Some of you may not believe that dreams mean anything, perhaps you will write it off to bad food or drink as Scrooge did when Marley came to see him, but I assure you that just as Scrooge had to see the meaning behind the dreams so you too need to understand what is behind this dream.

Let me say that this is not directed at any one group of people. This is for all. I don’t care if you are Christian or Jew, SDA or Baptist, gay or straight or Wiccan, this is a message to all people and only you can decide if it’s worth anything to you or not.

In this dream I am in a city, I don’t know which one, but I think it was meant to represent people. I had been doing surveys with people trying to find out what it was that they believed or what choices that they would make in various situations and I was busy trying to represent G-D at the same time. As long as everything was OK people were happy with G-D and the things of G-D, but as soon as it started to become hard or politically incorrect or even just unpopular, the people in the dream started moving away from G-D and complaining about Him and started worshipping Scorpions. It wasn’t just the worship of the Scorpions that was disturbing; it was the total consumption of the Scorpions that disturbed me. I watched as a man swallowed a small one whole and he was worshipping it and singing its praises even as it was going down his throat, stinging him and killing him. He was dead before it got to his stomach. I watched as others held bigger ones in their hands and again sung their praises even as the scorpion was treating them with disdain and stinging them and still yet others who worshipped much larger ones that wandered around in the streets and stung people even those that were on their knees to them.

The meaning behind it is twofold. One is the simple fact that we have sent G-D away. Instead of embracing Him and His ways especially in these very troubling times, we have instead embraced things that are of no worth and will eventually kill us. We worship at the altars and the gods of entertainment and avarice. We would rather be mind numbingly entertained then spend our time finding out the things of G-D. We rejoice at all that is evil and destructive to our moral sensibilities and encourage others to do the same and take lightly the things of G-D. We swallow what we are told to be true even as it’s killing us and we ignore the disdain and the threat to us both physically and spiritually. Simply put we are being destroyed by the very things that we focus on and that which entertains us.

The second part of this is very simple. While we are being entertained something evil is coming to take the place of the true worship of G-D. Islam is coming to punish us. You may deny it if you wish. You may choose to look the other way. You may feel free to call me Islam phobic I don’t really care. This is not a religion of peace but a religion of oppression and hate for anyone who is not Islamic, these are the facts, but it’s going to become our “religion” because we refuse to follow the laws of G-D and so those that are evil are going to use our supposed freedoms to gain control and they will force it on this nation. Just as G-D has used nations in the past to punish His people, so He will do to us. While we turn a blind eye to Islam and Sharia law, and abandon Israel, it is slowly taking hold. Already ,even as we worship our G-D’s of entertainment that are nothing more then scorpions, Sharia is gaining support and control here and the very people who tell us that we must be tolerant of them, are going to be amongst the first killed and beheaded because they would prefer the scorpions of lies and entertainment then the truth.

We are blind to the evil and we have come to embrace it and just like the Scorpions in my dream they are going to kill us.

This is going to be very hard on those who choose to follow G-D and His ways and laws both the prophets in the OT and John in Revelation tells of this time when evil will be permitted to “wage war” against His people and overcome them for a time. This madness will end as well but before we get to that we will have to go through much. It didn’t have to be this way but by our choices we have allowed it to come to this. Will it happen today? Not likely, but that day will come and it will be sooner then we can imagine. Pray that it is short or better yet pray that we will return to G-D before this can take place.

When G-D Spoke....

2011-02-03T18:04:00.000-05:00

In my last blog I asked you a question; do you think that all that is happening is a coincidence? I also hoped that I left you with the idea that G-D is trying to get our attention by whatever means is necessary. What I didn’t know at the time was that Egypt, Tunisia and other nations in the Middle East were going to explode in the way that they have. I didn’t know that there was going to be another massive snow storm here in the United States nor did I know that Australia was going to get pounded on with a category 5 cyclone dumping as much as 3 feet of water into areas that are already flooded.. I am not one who makes it a habit of preaching doom and gloom to people, but I will write about the things that I believe that G-D is impressing on my heart, even if that means that none of you ever read it or even listen to me. I read Isaiah chapter 6 and Isaiah asks G-D how long he should prophecy and G-D told him that he should continue to do so until there is no one but a remnant of people left in the land. I do not consider myself to be like Isaiah, though I too am a man with an unclean heart and lips, but I will continue to write as long as I am allowed and G-D impresses upon me what needs to be said.

The thought did occur to me though that there are some of you who may be thinking that all G-D needs to do is to speak to us and we will listen. I grew up with people that believed that when the end was near we would all see the signs of the end and return to worshipping G-D, we would go from our worldly sinful ways back to the worship of G-D in time to be saved. For those of you who have thought that way; its time!

When G-D spoke.

If you go to the beginning of Exodus 19 it says “In the third month after the children of

Israel

had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.” It was now just three months since they had left

Egypt

and they were at the foot of the mountain of G-D. What you need to keep in mind is that the children of

Israel

had just experienced miracle after miracle straight from the hand of G-D. They had heard as Moses warned Pharaoh what was to come if he didn’t let the children go. They witnessed the destruction of the land and experienced the awe, and, I am sure, fear that came from that first Passover. They witnessed His presence in the cloud by day and the fiery pillar by night. They saw the water part before them and they witnessed the destruction of their enemies at the hand of G-D, but now G-D was about to do something very different for them, not only were they going to “see” His presence on the mountain but they would hear His voice. There was going to be no doubt in their minds whatsoever that He was there with them and He was on the mountain. Go to verse 10.

10 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”
14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.”
16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain (some translations say that it was the people who quaked) quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

There was absolutely no doubt about G-Ds presence and the people were afraid. Perhaps one of the reasons that G-D does not speak to us anymore, like that, is because we don’t have a proper fear of G-D. We make fun of G-D; we disregard His presence and all of His creation we write off as evolution or myth. Why should He speak to us, as a whole, when we don’t really believe that He is real?

Egypt didn’t believe in the G-D of Israel either, yet they found out just how real He was through, what some might call, natural disasters, and those so called “natural disasters” were also an attack on the “gods” of Egypt. Are we any different then them? We don’t fear G-D, we have no respect for His power or His commandments and we make fun of those who do. We write off His creation as being nothing more then evolution and we hold fast to the gods of science and so called reason. In case you hadn’t noticed those gods of ours are under serious attack. Science can’t explain why all these massive storms are occurring, one group will say its global warming, another will say its cooling, and yet another just covers all their bases by calling it climate change. The bottom line is that they are clueless. Every day these so called greats of science have to come up with new theories of evolution as they discover new things that they can’t make fit into their mold.

The gods of reason can’t begin to explain all the chaos in the world. We blame parties and systems. We point fingers at various groups and nations that we disagree with and say that they are the cause. We blame the schools, the churches and synagogues everyone and anyone who even thinks a little differently then we do. They are the cause of all the problems and if we would just worship at the altar of reason we can work all our problems out. What do you base the conversation on? If we are but mere accidents of the universe and there really isn’t any right from wrong or moral absolutes how can we make any kind of rational, reasoned out decisions that might help solve the chaos? When you throw out G-D and His laws chaos takes over.

So what do you think would happen if G-D was to roll back the sky and write His message to the world? Most people would look at that and think it was good CGI or it was some sort of hoax and ignore it. If we already have His written word with the law and the prophets and we ignore it, what good would a massive display in the heavens do?

The children of Israel experienced G-Ds presence in a way that has not happened since and yet they forgot as well. When they finally get to the Promised Land, they refused to go across the Jordan because they were afraid of the people there. They were giants and they were afraid. They collectively forgot that G-D had delivered them from much worse and He had promised them that He would deliver this land to them. As a result that entire generation died off over a time span of 40 years as they wandered in the desert.

Is this going to have to happen to us before we again become a people of the book and true followers of G-D? Is this entire generation of people going to have to be killed off while our children wander in the desert, before we once again embrace the things of G-D, His law and the prophets? The prophets make it clear that there is a massive amount of destruction coming before His kingdom is established, and it speaks of those that survive in the nations finally coming to Him in Israel, to the Mountain of G-D.

Do we really need to go the route of Egypt or can we learn from Mt. Sinai? Shouldn’t we take a serious look at what’s going on in the entire world and ask that simple question; is G-D telling us something?

The children of Israel failed to go across to the Promised Land because they chose not to listen to G-D. They had the signs and wonders, they had the voice of G-D speaking to them in the wilderness yet in they refused to go and it cost that generation everything. Are we going to do the same? It’s really no question that He is speaking to us it’s that we are refusing to hear.

Pray for the nations.

Shalom,

Ignacio

A Dream And A Warning

2011-01-26T12:47:00.002-05:00

Monday night I had a dream. All day Tuesday I spent my time contemplating the dream and its meaning and, more importantly what I was supposed to do with it. I hardly remember any of the details except for three words and a message that was personal for me. It’s those three words and the message that comes with them that I wish to share with you and I pray that you will consider these things with much prayer and trembling.

Recently someone called me an optimist. I have never seen myself as such though as a general rule I will try to look for the good in about any situation if I think it’s there. Even in my more recent “rants” in the end I have pointed out that G-D is in control and for me that’s enough and I am content. This writing today is not going to be like that, there is indeed hope at the end of it all, which I will share at a later time, but it’s the warning that I want you to take seriously and prayerfully.

The three words that came to me were whistle, horn, and Isaiah. At first I had thought that it was whistler’s horn so I took to the internet thinking that I might find an answer there, which, of course, I did not. I did find many references to “Whistlers Mother” a very famous painting and I found a mention on a small device that is put on a trumpet and it gives it a different sound. It could be argued that I found at least part of the message there because what you are going to hear from me is going to be a different sound then you are used to. I then realized that the answer was right in front of me and that was Isaiah. I went to Biblegateway.com and typed in the word “whistle” because I thought that I had read somewhere about G-D whistling and sure enough I found two references in Isaiah and one in Zechariah.

I read the verses in question, Isaiah. 5:25-27, 7:17-19, and Zech.10:7-9 and while the word “whistle” was used, I really wasn’t sure what the message was supposed to be from it, so I decided that I would read the whole passages and see what came from that and it was then that it hit me like a ton of bricks what was being said in Isaiah 5 and this will be my focus.

Isaiah 5:1 says the following, and this is the key that told me that this is what G-D wanted me to tell you, “Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill.”

I took this verse and the chapter and looked at it on another program that I have that gives you the Hebrew translation as well, and it was there that my first round of goose bumps started. I discovered that the word for “hill” is translated as “in Horn of” it has several meanings but the fact that the very first verse contained one of the words in Hebrew that I had dreamed about really got my attention, I then read the rest of the chapter and I was surprised at what I found .

Starting with Verse one and going until verse four, G-D is giving a description of a vineyard that He has planted, He has done everything just the way that He is supposed too and yet the end result is wild grapes instead of cultured grapes. Then inverses 5 and 6 G-D makes it very clear what He is going to do with that vineyard; “ And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds. That they rain no rain on it.”

This was a message to the Hebrew people but I believe that it is a warning for us to day as well. We were once a nation of people who feared and worshipped G-D. Our founding fathers understood the need for G-D in our laws and in our constitution. They understood that real freedom comes from the hand of G-D and they formed our constitution based on that understanding and we were a blessed nation. We became the envy of the world and people from every nation in the world flocked to our shores to have a piece of that freedom that comes with G-D based laws. Some will argue and say that we shouldn’t have had slavery and we shouldn’t have taken the Indians land and I agree, but at the same time we were blessed and this really isn’t about the politics, it’s about the fact that our nation was based on Hebraic law and we were once a blessed people we have tossed that all aside and we are now beginning to pay the price for that.

Before I go on let us talk for a moment about verse 7. This is where some of you or even perhaps all of you will disagree with me, and honestly it doesn’t matter, because I have been told to give you this message and so I will do so, but I want you to consider verse 7 for a moment and then see if you “see” what I see from the rest of the verses.

Verse 7: “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of

Israel

, and the men of

Judah

are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but be hold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Please note that here you have a distinct separation between the house of

Israel

and the house of

Judah

is very obvious because they are currently in the land of Israel and are commonly called the Jews, but what about the “house of

Israel

?” Where are they?

There are many Jewish scholars and historians that believe that the lost tribes of

Israel

are scattered over Europe, North America, to include

Mexico

and

Canada

as well as Central and South America. For the purposes of this writing I am not going to get into a whole lot of detail as to how they draw that conclusion except to say that I believe it to be true and they base this on historical records and Biblical texts. You can research it yourself on their website BritAm.com.

This warning is given to both the house of

Judah

and the house of

Israel

and if what I believe is true then G-D is sending us a very distinct warning as to what is to come.

You see He doesn’t just give us a warning, He also gives us a description of what the people and their governments are like just before these things happen.

Now look at verses 8-25 and think about what you are reading, see if any of this fits as to what is happening in our world and particularly our nation today.

Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land! In my hearing the LORD of hosts said ,truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield one ephah.” Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them! The harp and the strings, the tambourine and flute, and wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider the operation of His hands. Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. People shall be brought down, each man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat. Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope; That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.” Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man! Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them and stricken them, and the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets.

Do you see any similarities? We are a people who have become full of greed and corruption. Our officials are bought off daily by big corporations and we are so busy being entertained that we don’t see the corruption in our governments or in our churches.

We know more about what is going on in American Idol and what is coming out in the theaters then we do the things of G-D. Why is that? Because we prefer mind numbing entertainment then the words of our creator. It is so much easier to watch the idiot box then to actually take the time to pray and find out the things that G-D really wants from us. We refuse to confront our leaders and point them to the word and call them on their corruption. We have kicked G-D out of almost every aspect of our lives and even in the churches, many times, people come for the entertainment rather then the word. We don’t want to hear that there is a way to live and that G-D requires it of us. We are afraid that we might offend someone if we call them on the carpet for sin and corruption. In short we have abandoned His word and His precepts, have essentially told G-D we don’t need Him or even believe in Him any more and corruption has taken it place.

The irony of it all is when I hear these same people ,who are either allowing this evil to take place or are even participating in it, say stupid things such as why has G-D abandoned us or why are all these bad things happening to us? It’s simple; If you throw out G-D, evil will take His place.

Do you really think that it’s just some freak of nature that is causing all this weird weather around the world? Flooding in

Australia

, Heavy winter snows in Europe and North America. Deep freezes here in the south, warm weather in the Artic. Typhoons in the Pacific, earthquakes all over the world, volcanoes erupting, not to mention the massive amounts of dead birds, fishes and bees. The Gulf of Mexico poisoned beyond all measure. Do you really believe this is mere coincidence?

One of my favorite shows is the X files and at the end of one of the episodes, Scully makes a comment that I think is very fitting, she said “What I am afraid of is that G-D is speaking to us but were just not listening.” This is very fitting for what is going on today.

G-D is trying to get our attention and He is using, for the moment, subtle ways to get our attention. His desire is not to destroy us but to return us to His word and to heal the land, but if we don’t return and do so soon there is worse to come.

Keep in mind that G-D sent multiple prophets to His people over a period of time, calling for them to repent and turn back to them and every time that they refused G-D would send another prophet and the predictions would get worse. It finally got to the point of where He did exactly what He said He was going to do and the land of Israel, along with many of the nations round them, were brought into captivity and the cities destroyed.

This is what is going to happen to us if we don’t turn our hearts back to G-D and follow His ways. He has warned us. It happened before and it will happen now.

Read the rest of the chapter and draw your own conclusions but I believe that it is a warning for us that a captivity is coming for us as well, whether it be from our own government or from an outside enemy, make no mistake G-D will do it if it is the only way to turn us back to Him. Consider; “He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, and will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. ²⁷ No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; ²⁸ Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. ²⁹ Their roaring will be like a lion, they will roar like young lions; yes, they will roar and lay hold of the prey; they will carry it away safely, and no one will deliver. ³⁰ In that day they will roar against them like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; and the light is darkened by the clouds.

If this seems to you to be little more then a message of gloom and doom, then you have missed the point, if you think that I am crazy and are making claims of knowing what G-D is doing then again you have missed the point. If in the end you simply decide that I am little more then a raving lunatic, I simply give you this warning; G-D said it was going to happen before and it did, so rest assured it will happen again, but more importantly when your world has collapsed and everything that you thought that you knew turns out to be lie, you will not be able to claim that you were not warned.

Ignacio

Rant The 3rd

2011-01-10T17:23:00.002-05:00

Rant the 3^rd and final.

I have edited this, a lot, over the last few days. I have cleaned it up a bit and it’s not so much a rant anymore as it is a written sadness as to what is happening , not just to us, though this is what this about, but to thousands if not millions just like us.

It is also NOT about whining. I wrote a week or two ago that G-D is in control and all is well. This is still my belief. G-D has His plans and purpose and I will be content in that knowledge.

So here it is in a nut shell. Our world has come to a screaming halt. My credit rating is about to drop through the floor. We will be loosing our house to foreclosure and everything that we have tried to build on for the past 20 years will come crashing down around our ears and there is nothing that we can do to stop it. This is not so much about what has happened as it is about how.

Welcome to the American dream.

I must take a moment first to talk about our wonderful financial system and institutions that we have in this great nation of ours. Where else in the world can you live where the banking and auto industry can rob you blind and make you believe that it’s a good thing? Where else can you go, that when you want to try and talk to a real person you will likely get nothing but a machine or, if you are really lucky, you get to talk to someone who lives in another country who promptly tells you that there is nothing that can be done to help, or they tell you what it is you need to do and you follow all the rules and you are promptly and completely ignored?

If I was a powerful business man or someone from the government trying to contact them, they would respond with much groveling, but because I am but a mere peon I can’t get the time of day from them. Such has become the acceptable way of life in America now.

There was a comment someone once made that goes something to the effect that if the American people really understood the banking industry that the bankers would all be tarred and feathered. I have truly come to understand this.

The first of the offending institutions probably will not come as a shock to you, Bank of America. They have been all over the business news for some of their less then savory practices and all over the internet for a host of complaints that, by far, out weigh my small bit of rant but here it is.

In the state of Arkansas, because I am 100% disabled from the military, I do not have to pay property taxes. All that is required is a particular form from the VA stating as such and then you send it in with all your paper work and it is supposed to be a done deal.

Well B of A has decided that it will play by its own rules and has ignored that paperwork even after I had it sent again via the county tax office. When you try to call you get the aforementioned lack of service and you are essentially ignored. So as the tax rate has gone up so has my payment. But they are not alone.

My home owners insurance went up as well. I can’t get much of an explanation as to why except that we live in Tornado country. OK fine, but that hasn’t changed in the last year and a half so why does it need to go up so dramatically? Are they planning on sending a Tornado our way?

The Town of Clinton, in order to make things appealing to Pilgrims Pride, gave them a huge break on everything from water to electricity. They re- did their septic systems and fixed roads, all this in the hopes of attracting them back to the area, but of course the cost had to be eaten by someone, so all our utilities doubled and tripled almost overnight and to add insult to injury, no sign that Pilgrims Pride is going to reopen.

Property taxes went up of which I wasn’t supposed to have to pay in the first place.

Van Buren County added a 5% sales tax on top of the states 9%. Now we are paying 14% every time we go shopping and as most of you know the food prices have been going up as well.

Have you noticed a pattern here? Everything has gone up dramatically in the last year, everything that is except for my paycheck. Our current bunch of legislators have seen to it that we have not received any kind of COLA for what is now going into our 3^rd year.

I would just love to see some of them try and live on what we get paid, but that is, in part, some of the point in this. We have successfully lived on one income for the last 15 years. We have had to move a bit to keep our heads above water, but up until now, we have been able to. We have wondered if the day was going to come when it would finally become too much and we would loose everything, but we have kept at it. For the record we home school our kids and I would rather eat nothing but bread and water rather then put my children into one of those mind numbing schools, so that is the primary reason for just one income.

Well the day finally arrived last week, where we finally hit a wall…hard. It wouldn’t be so bad if it had been our mistake but in this case someone else made a mistake, has admitted to it, over the phone anyhow, and yet will do nothing to rectify the situation.

Last month, after much research on the part of my wife, we traded in our car for a Van.

My wife found what appeared to be a good deal. There was a catch though that we were not aware of until it was too late.

Last week after payday we went to register the car and received a rather rude shock.

Apparently Red River Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep, in Heber Springs, Arkansas, did not include the tax in the cost of the vehicle.

Never in my life have I ever bought a vehicle where the taxes were not included. I didn’t even know it was possible to do that. Try going to Wal-Mart and walking out of the store with out paying the taxes. They would drag you away in handcuffs.

We contacted the car dealer about this apparent oversight and the short version is that they are going to do nothing. Their argument is that I should have asked about it sooner, while at the same time admitting it was their mistake, that they should have said something at the time of signing. I am not sure how I can ask about something if I am not even aware of the problem, but that is why they are a business and I am but a mere mortal. The simplest thing would have been for them to own up to it and take care of the problem, but instead, like most businesses in today’s world, their own profits are put ahead of doing the right thing.

This has been the proverbial straw that has broken the camels back or, in our case at least, the bank. I can’t afford to pay the tax unless I skip all the other bills including the mortgage. We have hit the wall that many have already hit and many more are going to hit unless things change. One clerical error, one unforeseen bill and everything that you have worked for can disappear.

I am not telling you this to invoke any kind of sympathy. I am not telling you this because I want any thing from you. It’s not about losing the house or having to move out of the area. It is the way that it happened that troubles me and should trouble you as well. We have not been living beyond our means. We have no credit cards and other then our house and car we have bought nothing on credit. Yet all it has taken is one major unexpected bill and the cost of living to go up and it has pushed us over the edge.

You are not nearly as far away from disaster as you might think you are.

My faith and belief in G-D has not diminished. If anything I know that it will become stronger because I am going to have to rely on Him more to make things happen for us.

But I would ask you to consider this; while everyone in the political arena debates over who is deserving of what help, or you intellectually decide that only certain people are worthy of your attention, you may be next on the list to go down and your intellectual debate won’t hold water much like the cup that will be missing from your hand.

Governments will fail. Economies will collapse. Religions may disappear.

But G-D will always remain. That is all I can base my hope on, and He is enough.

End of Rant.

Ranting Day 2

2011-01-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

Ranting day 2,

Do you know who your neighbors are? If I was to ask you what their names are could you tell me? Or if I asked about their health or financial situation would you have a clue? Most people can usually answer the first question but then get very vague or not know at all on the second, so where do you fit?

Being here in the south, the proverbial Bible belt, has given me a much more different picture of Christianity then I have ever had in my life, this started long before I left Christianity but has been reinforced over the last year or so. It would seem that Christianity has become a place that is filled with hypocrites. Now I know that some of you are going to look at that last statement and not read a bit more, and honestly I don’t really care, but for those of you who have any amount of courage you might get an answer as to why I say that and perhaps you might even figure out what to do about it.

It’s kind of a funny thing, in a way, because if I was in the “church” many of you would listen to what I say, nod your heads in all the appropriate places, and then forget everything that was said to you as soon as you get out the door yet if it comes from the outside you will screen it ( or ignore it ) for perceived errors and then forget all of it anyhow, but here I go.

Now for the record, there are some Churches and Synagogues that I know are doing great things, for instance Mishkan David based in RI, they give so much of their time and effort to helping people that they don’t even have a building to call their own. They literally help the poor and needy, the widows and the orphans. Not only do they sponsor an orphanage in Haiti, but they actually went there several times over even while the chaos was running wild to help the children . They know who their neighbors are.

There are some things that we may disagree on religiously speaking, but in the things which really matter, loving G-D with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself, we would agree on and that is the point of all this.

When was the last time you or your church reached out to people who were outside of your particular faith? I am talking people who believe different, look different, smell different maybe they have no belief at all. When was the last time that you or yours bothered to go and LOOK for people to help even in your own neighborhoods?

This is where I believe the hypocrisy is taking place. The very person that you claim to follow has told you do go out and find these people and yet you do nothing.

I have heard many of an excuse, everything from we don’t speak the same language to they are never going to believe the same way that we do. Is that what is really important?

I think the worse one that I have ever heard was when a prominent person asked one of the most telling questions; How much is this going to cost. What sadness.

Some of the most beautiful buildings around the world are churches and cathedrals and yet we have people living in tents right here in America. What’s wrong with this picture?

Where are the churches? Where are the Synagogues? Where are the religious leaders who should be doing everything in their power to help their neighbors? I’ll tell you where they are. They are in their comfortable offices and homes wringing their hands and doing nothing. They are debating as to whether or not G-D would be a Democrat or a Republican accusing each other of being wrong and doing nothing.

It’s rubbing off on your members.

I have a neighbor who attends one of the prominent churches in the area, who will not speak to me. My offense? I had an adult beverage. That’s right an adult beverage. I had seen that they were having some trouble with their vehicle and so I went out to help with tools in hand, but apparently it was the smell of the beverage that offended, but what was worse was that it wasn’t until later that I found this out and then through a different source, but the fact remains that they no longer even speak to us.

I realize that some of you are SDA or Baptist and you believe that this is wrong, fine we can have that debate on another day, my point though is that is not the way to treat people because not everyone is going to be on the same level as you are. Did not Jesus, the one you claim to follow, reach out to everyone no matter who they were? According to the NT he didn’t care if they were Jew or Gentile, prostitute or tax collectors they were children of G-D and he treated them as such.

So why am I talking about this so much? It comes down to this, I have taken it personally.

I have left Christianity. I don’t believe that Jesus was G-D. These are facts that I have stated before. But does that mean that we ( my family and I ) have no more need of those who once called us friend? Do we not rate the same kind of love and affection from G-D and from you that was there once upon a time? G-D I don’t doubt. He has shown himself true, no matter the circumstance but I have come to learn the ugly truth about most of you in Christianity, especially here in the south, that if your not a member of the club, then you apparently don’t rate friends anymore.

I think when the time comes, and I suspect it will be soon, we will go back to the Liberal east, where at least they are accepting of those of us who see things differently.

I have friends who go to the afore mentioned Mishkan who would have us even though they know that we believe different and I have even spoken to some Rabbi’s who would as well. What a difference. All the stats would suggest that the East is filled with godless people and yet in the things that truly matter, love, compassion and charity they beat out the south hands down.

So who’s your neighbor?

Shalom,

Ignacio

Gas, Minivans and New Years.

2010-12-29T11:43:00.000-05:00

We missed our minivan. It was almost like a death in the family we missed it so much. A bit more then 3 years ago when the prices of gas was up over $4 a gallon, my wife and I made one of the worst decisions of our life; We traded our van for a small car. Economically it made sense, it would be cheaper on gas and it would technically cost us about $10 less a month in payments and we, being the environmentally conscious people that we are ,OK all my Liberal friends can stop laughing now , we thought that this would be a good move. We were so wrong.

Two things happened, at least one of which we should have seen coming. The first was that the price of gas started dropping again, OK that's not so bad, still cheaper to run, but the second was this little thing called puberty. My two smallish children suddenly hit puberty with a vengeance and they became large adult sized children crammed into the back seat of a car that was not meant for large humanoids. A large can opener should have been a standard feature...

So what does this have to do with anything?

Well it's the price of gas and my New Years resolution that I want to talk about.
I realise that I don't determine the price of gas, in fact there is almost nothing in the financial world that I have any part of. I get paid and I spend what money I have and ,like most of you, I go about paying my bills and living life.
But it is the price of gas that got me to sacrifice something that I really enjoyed. The problem wasn't with the price of gas, though the cheaper the better is a good motto to me, no, it was listening to all the naysayers and believing almost everything that I was being fed that got to me.

As some of you probably know, I have time on my hands,and I am a news junkie so I have had the time to research and look at various problems going on in this country and the world. I fell into one of the biggest traps of them all and that was simply this; The world as we know it is going to end with chaos and anarchy. We are all going to become slaves of the man, and basically the world as we know it is going to come to an end and only those that are prepared for the chaos that is to come will survive.

I am not saying that their are not some serious problems in our nation and the world. What I am saying is that it became almost my sole focus, leaving little to no room for anything else but cynicism. This way of thinking has all but ruled to the point of where I gave up a vehicle that I liked and moved back ,and into, a place that I am not so fond of just to avoid some of the issues that I can see coming.

I still believe that if things don't change soon that we will have some very serious problems both in this nation and in the world as a whole, but my New Years resolution for 2011 is live my life to the fullest and let G-D worry over the finer details. Let me give you a text to consider Gen. 8: 20-22.

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night

will never cease.”

G-D is in control. He made a promise and He will keep it.
He didn't ask me to spend my time fretting over every stupid thing that government does, though it is good to be aware of whats going on, but if it becomes the sole focus of my life then I will miss out on the "joy of the journey".
I am not a complete idiot, I do understand that we are living in some very unique and even scary times. I also know very well as to what the various prophets have had to say about the end, but I take comfort in the knowledge that G-D is in control, He will deliver His people, even many who don't know that they are His and through very perilous times, but for now we are called to live the life of Ecclesiastes. What is that you might ask?
Two verses sum it up well, Eccl. 9:7-10

Go, eat your bread with joy,
      And drink your wine with a merry heart;
      For God has already accepted your works.
      Let your garments always be white,
      And let your head lack no oil.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

The first is to enjoy this life and to love your spouse and be glad in doing so. The second is love G-D with all your heart and serve Him.

Eccl. 12:13-14

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

So for me the conclusion is simply that G-D is in control and that all will continue as He says it will until He decrees otherwise and that I am to serve Him with all my heart and to rejoice in this life that He has given us rather then spend all of it in fear.

So while I still live in a place that I'd rather not live, G-D is on His throne and all is well.

My kids are the size of small horses now and this is as it should be and all is well.

We have health and life, a roof over our heads and food for the table and all is very well.

We are still as poor as church mice and that is still OK because G-D is on His throne and all is well.

We have Love and that is definitely as it should be and that is well!!

Oh yea ,we are back to a minivan, but even if we were not, G-D is on His throne and all is well.

My resolution for this next year ,and for the future, is simply to live the life that G-D has given me and spend more time rejoicing then in worry. Be prepared, yes, But do so while rejoicing.

From my family to yours I wish you a very happy and G-D filled 2011 !

Shalom,

Ignacio

Let There Be Peace

2010-12-27T15:22:00.002-05:00

This is the time of year, almost above any other time of the year, most people give the idea of peace some serious thought. Our holidays even allude to that ideas of " peace on earth " and that seems to be across the board. Does anyone who is sane wish for anything else? Yes I know governments and perhaps big business finds war to be a profitable thing, but for the average man and woman who is engaged in that war the vast majority of them will tell you that they would wish peace would break out everywhere.

I want to relate a peace story to you,one that actually happened, no fantasy no warm fuzzies, but a true peace story that happened during one of the darkest times in this modern worlds history.

Some of you may be familiar with the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914 during the beginning of WW1, for those of you who are not I will give a brief telling of the story.

Somewhere near Ypres, Belgium on or about Christmas eve 1914, approximentaly 100,000 troops along the western front, these were mainly Scottish, German ,French and Belgian troops, agreed to a cease fire for Christmas. A truce or ceasefire was not that unusual because they were so close to each other, sometimes as close as 30 yards, that they could send messages back and forth. What made this so amazing, at least in my humble opinion, was the massive scale of it. One hundred thousand troops spread over many miles who had been engaged in the madness of killing each other came to a very abrupt halt. In many places even the artillery stopped firing. As one soldier described it " it was an eerie kind of silence". It is said that the German troops put candle lit Christmas trees up on the top of their trenches and started singing Christmas songs and eventually they were joined by the Scotts and the French as well. One telling of the story has a French Opera singer standing at the top of his bunker, in full view of "the enemy" singing "O Holy Night" to the pleasure and applause of all who heard him.
In other places along the lines the troops actually came out of the trenches and exchanged gifts, buried there dead side by side and had memorial services for all the fallen. There is even an unofficial story of the French and Germans playing a game of football ( soccer ) where the Germans won 3-2.
All along the lines men who had been trying to kill each other before, came to understand that the "enemy" was no different then they were, they just wore a different uniform. It is also said by some that this ceasefire lasted a lot longer in some spots then in others, with men and officers on both sides very reluctant to start the killing again.
The stories are varied as to what happened and the effects, but there was no doubt, at least for a little while that "peace" broke out in that horrible place. The powers that be from all sides had the proverbial cow and ,sadly,they went back to the madness of killing each other.
Some of you may be thinking that this was easy for them to do because they shared, at least, the same religion. I would disagree for 2 reasons. One; They were constantly being told that their enemies were evil and corrupt and that it was their "Christian duty" to stop the spread of this evil. This was told by priests on either side. Second would be my own war time experience.
I was a 37 year old husband and father of 3 children at the beginning of the Iraq war. I carried pictures of my children and my wife through all those dark days and sometimes it was those pictures that kept me going.
We weren't in trenches but many times we found ourselves on trash heaps outside of various villages and cities or behind a freshly plowed trash heap mixed with sand as a defensive posistion or parked right next to open cesspools. The filth and garbage was horrendus and we were constantly being assaulted by flies. I can tell you for a fact that I went 57 days without a bath and I discovered just how badly I stank after I finally got a chance to get clean. So I have a basic understanding of what those who lived in the trenches experienced.
It was on a patrol one day just outside of a city where earlier we had experienced some heavy fighting and casualties, that I met an Iraqi man and his family. Remember this is in the beginning of this long war, we did little more then shoot and move during that whole time so while I saw people I had not met any of them.
Our patrol came to a halt outside this city, while our recon guys went out to scout, and we set up a defensive perimeter to wait for their return. There were children everywhere. Picking over rubble for usable bricks, pouring through trash to look for anything that might be worth saving and, very cautiously, approaching us.
You have to understand, even something as simple as that can set you on edge, when you don't know what to expect and you see everyone as a potential enemy. Having said that we let the kids get closer. We also noticed that among the children that there were some adults, but because they didn't appear to be a threat and they were only approaching us to get some food, we didn't worry...too much.
During this time I noticed a man with 2 children,one was a small boy that he was carrying and the other was a girl who was about the same age as my daughter, and she was wearing a pink dress with ponytails bouncing from her head.
I don't know what it was that he saw in me that made him approach me, but while his daughter was bouncing around from Marine to Marine , he came directly to me and we started "talking". I did not speak his language and he spoke very little English, but between hand motions and a few words, I found out that he was from the village that was out side of the city , which I could see in the distance ,and that they had been hit very hard during the fighting and that they were looking for food and what ever else might be salvagable. He also told me that the two children were his, which I had kind of assumed. I then proceeded to show him the pictures of my wife and children and we discovered that despite apparent differences we had much in common. Not once did we discuss politics nor, other then the damage to his village, did we discuss the war. We were simply two family men put in one very bad situation by people, who would never know the fear of war or of never seeing your family again.
I guess that would really be my point, we were bonded together by our very humnanity. It had nothing to do with our religions, it certainly was not about politics, we were two men with families who shared many of the same goals and fears that all parents face.
I think that this is a lesson that can be learned from the Christmas truce of 1914 and from my own experience.
All of us are human. We have fears and desires, hopes and dreams and it is up to us to bring about a true and lasting peace. For a little while it happend in Belgium during one of the bloodiest wars in history and it happened between 2 men in Iraq. If it can happen then it can happen now but only if we all want it to be.
To quote an Irish song "There were Roses" " the ones who give the orders are not the ones to die, it's Scott and McDonald and the likes of you and I.

At the top I have included a link to Walter Cronkite and the Mormon tabernacle choir giving a rendition through music and words of what happened in 1914
Let there be Peace.

Shalom,
Ignacio

A Rhetorical Question

2010-12-19T12:27:00.000-05:00

I have to ask you a rather rhetorical question. I know that it's rhetorical because I really already know the answer to the question or at least for some of you what your answer is likely to be, but once I ask the question I only ask you to do one thing and that's seriously look at the question and then seriously look at yourself before you consider the answer. First a bit of an explanation.

This post was originally going to be an answering of many questions that have come up from some of you and perhaps a defense against those that would suggest that I am somehow "godless" because I believe differently from you. But after writing a rather long explanation and sort of rebuttal, I have come to the conclusion that no matter what it is that I write you won't be able to get past our differences of opinion as to the divinity of Jesus.
You would start quoting from the Greek NT and I would quote from the Hebrew OT and the battle of the ages would continue to be a standstill. We would essentially accomplish nothing.

So my question to myself then ,and to you as well, is what can I say that might make some sort of sense and cause you to think outside the box ? Note I didn't say to convert you to my way of thinking or to try and convince you that you are wrong, but simply what can I say that will make you stop and think.

Now as a general rule I am not rattled by name calling or accusations. In fact, as some of you know, I will even defend your right to disagree with me and call me all the names that you wish, I am a huge fan of the right to free speech, but I guess there does come a point where you have to speak up a bit in your own defense and question the sanity of some people who not only call you names, but would even call into question your moral compass simply based on a difference in religious beliefs.

I recently read an article by a man claiming that he was a Christian pastor who said that if you didn't believe in Jesus as the son of G-D , then you were essentially blind to all the moral decay and was not capable of discerning the difference between what was evil and what was good. If this was the only time I had read something like that I would just pass him off as being some freak of nature, but he's not. Time and time again I run across articles like that claiming to come from one Christian pastor or another stating that because they believe in a man-god that this somehow makes them morally superior to others. Funny how some of those morally superior people let a lot of hatred pass through their lips.

So what is it that makes you somehow morally superior to others? I read the news, I see the evil that is all around us, I detest it and I fight against it in my own way. What is it that I am missing? I see the corruption in the government and in the governments of the world. I see the moral corruption that attacks our children and our women turning them into nothing but sexual objects. I see the pain of drugs and suicide amongst our teenagers. I see this evil for what it is.I pray for the people and ,where ever possible, I try to help end the suffering.

I once saw a video that included a bunch of people from various churches who went out to help homeless people out on the streets in cold weather. What I found interesting was that they all put their religious differences aside for the purpose of helping out those in need. It was a beautiful thing to behold. They weren't trying to get anyone to follow their particular brand of religion, instead they were simply helping them out. The Love of G-D was shown that day. Not only to those that were being helped ,but by those that were serving and those of us who saw it.

In Deut. 6:4 , which in the Jewish world is called the Shema, it says " Hear O Israel the L-rd our G-D, The L-rd is One. You shall love the L-rd you G-D with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.
That is the greatest commandment, in my humble opinion, and all others lead you to that one command.
Even Jesus, whom most of you believe in, called it the greatest commandment.Of course he would he was Jewish after all, but he added something that is very true as well, when he said that the second greatest would be to love your neighbors as yourself and that you could sum up all the commandments in those two. If any of you have ever taken the time to read all 613 laws you will find that they come down to loving G-D and serving Him and how to treat your family and neighbors,strangers and even enemies.

Now just imagine if all of us actually did those two things just how different a place this world would be.

Instead, we would rather argue over who is morally superior to whom and call others names when they don't agree with us.

There are days when I wish that G-D would do as he did in the book of Job. After Jobs "friends" basically accuse him of being a sinful man, G-D speaks to him and essentially tells him that they haven't a clue on the things of G-D. Job's response was simply to say that he thought he knew who G-D was before but now that he has seen Him, he was going to remain silent. There is a lesson here for all of us.We simply don't know all that there is to know about Him.in fact,like Job, we only know a little.

So finally I come to my rhetorical question ; Do you really think that it matters to G-D what our personal dogmas and beliefs are? Do you really think it matters to Him what it is that you think you know?
If someone who doesn't believe as you do, loves G-D in their own way and is doing acts of kindness, following the greatest commands ever given, fighting against those proverbial forces of evil, do you think G-D is going to just cast them aside because they don't believe the way that you do?
If you believe that way then I would suggest going back and looking at the things G-D said to Job.

My humble belief is that we only have a small inkling of an idea of who G-D is and what he wants. We know what is right and wrong. We have the choice to follow the good or follow the evil. He has told us what he wants from us but I still don't believe that we have a clue as to the whole picture.
The day will come when we will, the prophets make that very clear, but until that day comes we need to stop all this senseless arguing and bickering with each other. You don't like what I believe? Fine, that's OK with me, but let's set that aside and try to do some good in this world.

Shalom,
Ignacio

The Bible, Constitution and TSA

2010-11-23T10:57:00.000-05:00

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

Faithfulness to G-D

2010-11-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

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

Would You Change Things?

2010-11-04T11:52:00.000-04:00

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

"Why do the wicked prosper"

2010-10-27T12:53:00.000-04:00

Have you watched or listened to the news today? I must confess that as of this writing I have not, today. Yet. However at some point, I will ,and being the most humble of non-prophets I will predict what it's going to generally say; Politicians are lying to us and are power hungry, another famous celebrity is caught doing something wicked, evil abounds and is prosperous, death and war continue today, unabated, as those who prosper from it grow richer....
Am I sounding a bit cynical? I don't think so, I think,rather, that I am taking some general headlines and pointing out to you a truth that we tend to miss. Evil and corruption seems to pay and apparently pays well.

I am not the first to see this, frequently you can find even the prophets of G-D asking Him why this is so;
Jeremiah 12:1-2 "Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; They grow, yes, they bear fruit.You are near in their mouth But far from their mind."
Jeremiah even points out that these people invoke the name of G-D when it suits them to do so, but that G-D is far from their hearts. How can this be? How can G-D let such evil run rampant while good people get trampled down to dust? Why is it that evil flourishes while the good dies?

I think I may have an answer or at least a part of one.
We let it happen. Yes the blame falls squarely on us, particularly on those of us who claim to worship and serve G-D. We are the ones to blame.

We let the things that really matter such as "character" and "integrity" get hijacked by people who have a political agenda but were, themselves ,corrupt.Instead of holding them accountable as they break laws that would get us thrown in jail, we re-elect them and give them a pass. It is no wonder that they scornfully look upon us and laugh at our demands, there isn't enough of us with any moral fiber ,or will, to put an end to them.

We are addicted to entertainment. People who normally wouldn't let a bit of porn into their homes frequently watch shows and programming that are just as suggestive and trashy as anything you might find behind the counter of 7/11, but because it comes from Hollywood and is meant for entertainment and they put a rating on it (that everyone ignores) we assume that it must be OK.

We worship our sports heroes and pay big bucks to see them run and jump and hit things and then we are surprised when they take that worship of ours literally and start acting like they are "gods" and can do as they wish. Worse yet, when the dirty laundry does come out ,we watch it, salivating like a bunch of hungry dogs, just waiting for a piece of their flesh to fall off so we can chew on it.

It's too late for us to fix any of this. We have gone way to far down this road to be able to turn it around.We are where the Romans were just before their total fall. We are spread out too far, we are spending more then we have, but we don't care because we are being entertained, and the size of our enemies, both inside the country and out, is getting larger and not enough of us care.

Am I being cynical? Nope just pointing out the truth.
But there is hope.
Jews and Christians alike can agree on this. It's found in many places through out the scriptures but I just want to share with you a few verses from Psalms 37 starting in verse 7.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;Do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off;But those who wait on the LORD,They shall inherit the earth.For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more.But the meek shall inherit the earth,And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.The wicked plots against the just,And gnashes at him with his teeth.The Lord laughs at him,For He sees that his day is coming.The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow,To cast down the poor and needy,To slay those who are of upright conduct.Their sword shall enter their own heart,And their bows shall be broken. (VS 7-15)

What more can be said. WE are never going to be able to change it, but G-D Himself is going to intervene. The plans of the wicked are going to fall on themselves and in the meantime G-D says,"wait patiently","rest", "do not fret" and to "cease from anger".
I am not required to understand why it is that those that are full of such evil succeed. I just need to understand that G-D has it under control and when it is time He will do what is needed to fix the problems.
I am going to still try to fight for what is right. I will vote. I have already chosen to leave most of the trash that the world calls entertainment behind. I will stand for G-D in all things and I will not worry to much about the future, because He has made it quite clear that it is in His hands.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Ecclesiastes Living.

2010-10-15T11:26:00.000-04:00

You know things just aren't terribly wonderful out there in the so called real world. Because I am somewhat of a news junkie I get daily doses of the madness and ,at times ,I have spread my depressing thoughts and views to my family and to others. Recently though I have come to understand that this really isn't a good way to live life, always being so afraid of what tomorrow might bring that I forget to enjoy the day that is right in front of me. If you find yourself in that place and or category this is for you.

Have you ever read the book of Ecclesiastes? If you have not I highly recommend that you do, however for those who have not I will give you a brief summary of it. Simply put; this was written by king Solomon somewhere near the end of his life. He was a man who literally had it all. He had 1000 wives, horses, chariots,houses , gold and silver. You name it and he had it. On top of that he was ,and still is, considered to be be one of the wisest people on earth. Kings and Queens from around the world came to him for his wisdom and to see the wondrous things that he built and yet none of it brought him happiness. This is the premise of the book. He tells you that he did all these things, he had everything and didn't deny himself anything that could be found under the sun, yet he came to realise that all of that was a waste of his time and was vanity. In his words it was a "chasing after the wind". When all was said and done the same fate was, and is ,waiting for all of us and all these things that we have thought were so great and so important will disappear along with our lives. Or worse yet it would go to someone who would not take care of things the way that you might have so it becomes pointless. He also observed that when our lives were done, that it would not matter one bit what we had accomplished or built , because we couldn't take any of it with us and worse yet eventually everyone would forget who you were in the first place. Sounds down right depressing, but he had a point to make and it was a very simple point that all of us would do well to consider.

Eccl.9:7-8 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun— all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

G-D through Solomon makes it very clear, we are to enjoy the life that G-D has given us here, to eat and drink with happiness and to enjoy life with the wife of your youth, and what ever you find to do , do it with all your might! This is what you might call a very simple way to live.
Think about it; Can you really do anything about all the corruption and evil that fills this world? Yes, you can pray, Yes you can go out and vote, but I am talking about the overall scheme of life, can you really do anything about it? No! But just imagine if you lived your life to the fullest and, with great joy, what that might do for you and those around you.

It's awful hard to be depressed when you are around joyful, happy people. I remember my wife introducing me to a family, back when we were dating ,that just radiated happiness. They welcomed me into their home like I was a long lost son and we spent the evening in eating and song and prayer. It was wonderful. They spread their joy to everyone around then and it was infectious. Twenty years later I still remember that well. Ecclesiastes living at it's finest!

The book ends on one other note that is very important to remember even above the former verse, but combined they can make a powerful statement to all those around you.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard;here is the conclusion of the matter:Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Fear G-D and keep His commandments. It doesn't get any simpler then that.

If you combine the two you get a way of life that is simple and very uncomplicated. For some of you this may be too simple a way to live, perhaps all the afore mentioned things just keep your heart pumping and you can't imagine what it would be like to live life so simply.
So let me ask you a question ; When is it that you find the most peace in your soul? When your full tilt boogie into what ever the cause is? Or is it during those quiet moments, when it's just you, G-D and a cup of coffee? I know for me I look forward to those times early in the day when it's just G-D and I and a whole lot of peace. Nothing complicated, no politics, no causes just G-D and myself.

Life can be challenging and there are things that tend to put serious pressure on us and our time and sanity, but consider that if Solomon was filled with such wisdom, and after all that he had accomplished he concluded that this was the best way to live, maybe we should do the same.

Just something to think about.Shalom.

Ignacio

Gay and Suicide

2010-10-04T12:40:00.020-04:00

Over the weekend I ran across some articles and clips concerning a recent rash of suicide's of young Gay people. The reasons that I heard, as to why this has happened, has been very shocking to me. I am still trying to come to terms with the idea, that in this day and age, we still have people out there who seem to want to make it their life's work to intimidate and harass the gay community in such nasty and perverse ways. How many of us, who are straight, would like it if someone we trusted was secretly taping us having sex with our spouses? Yet, this is exactly what happened. A young man was having sex with his partner and his college room mate taped it and put it on the Internet. As a result, he committed suicide. Some of you might be thinking that it was just a harmless prank that got carried away. I would tell you to get head out of your backsides and understand that a man is dead because of sheer stupidity and ignorance.

This particular case is personal to me because my brother, David, went through the same kind of thing (click on the blog title, Gay and Suicide, which is a link to David's youtube clip). He had known that he was gay since he was about 6 and any of us kids who knew him, knew that he was different, even if we didn't know exactly what it was to be gay. Gay was not a word that was used a whole lot back in those days, but when it was, it was done in a very negative sort of way and was usually associated with Sodomy. It wasn't something that you just came out and said, that is, claiming to be gay, never mind talk about. If you did, then it was likely that you were going to get beat up by everyone and harassed at every waking moment. So he did what he knew was the smart thing, at the time, he kept quiet about it.

So, that was his life up till he was 15. We were, at that time, part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Norridgewock, ME. (For those of you who don't know who they are you can look them up or refer back to some of my older posts.) It was a very strict, orthodox type of church where there was little room for error and sin. Along came the 70's and the Aids epidemic and suddenly you had fuel for the fire. G-D was punishing the homosexuals for being who they are and was going to punish us if we didn't do something about the "evil" that they represented.

It was at this time that an Elder came to the church to preach a sermon. For the record, I was not there to hear this sermon, but the general gist of it was that everyone was going to punished by G-D because people were gay and he used Sodom and Gomorrah as his example. My brother was horrified. He knew that he was gay but he didn't want to be the reason that G-D used to punish everyone around him. He certainly had reason to believe it to be true, as he points out in the video link; I had been in trouble with the law and our mother had been hospitalized and was depressed and we were dirt poor. He believed that all this must be true, the elder said so, and he was quoting from the Bible, so he went to the bridge to jump and kill himself. He was willing to die because he didn't want to see any harm come to anyone else and a preacher said that it was all his fault because he is gay. I will state for the record, that I am so glad that he didn't and that he was talked down form the bridge. I am so thankful that G-D saw that young man and sent someone to save him from killing himself. I am eternally grateful for it because if he had jumped I would have been denied a wonderful relationship with my brother and his family. His husband and daughter would have been denied his love and the world would have lost a great writer and compassionate man. I have to wonder to myself how some people would justify their thinking when it is clear, at least to me, that G-D sent someone to him to save him. If my brother was full of such evil, why would G-D have chosen to send him help?

This Elder, of course, used the Biblical references of Sodom and Gomorrah as found in Gen.19 as his foundation, so I thought that I might just take a moment to look at this passage and a few others a little more closely and see if we can illuminate some things.

In the Bible (Jewish Tanach), there are 41 references to Sodom and Gomorrah and another 12 in the Christian New Testament. Most of them are just passing references or they are comparing Israel's sin to theirs, but nothing terribly specific. A couple of examples:

Gen 13:13 "But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD." This verse really doesn't say anything specific, except that they were "exceedingly wicked".

Gen.18:20-21 "And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” G-D himself did not identify their sin as homosexuality, He simply said that their sin was "grave"

There are a few that do get specific, but first I want to look at Genesis chapter 19, so we can understand it in context.

In Gen.19 starting with verse 4 "Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him,and said,“Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door."

So what was the sin here? Was it homosexuality? Or was it gang rape? I would submit to you that the issue was gang rape and power. Why would I say that? Simple, Lot was willing to hand his daughters over to the crowd to appease them (which, I am in no way advocating as a good solution). If it had been simply about sexual preference then, Lot, who had lived there for a long time, would have known that and likely wouldn't have offered his daughters to them. The point here is that it wasn't just about sex, it was about these people being sick and perverted. They wanted to gang rape those two men, to hurt them to show their power.

Now lets look at what Isaiah had to say about Israel in comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah, just before their captivity and dispersion.

Isa.3:8-9 "For Jerusalem stumbled,And Judah is fallen,Because their tongue and their doings Are against the LORD,To provoke the eyes of His glory.The look on their countenance witnesses against them,And they declare their sin as Sodom;They do not hide it.Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves."

Jer.23:13-14 says this about Israel; "And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal And caused My people Israel to err. Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem:They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers,So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

Israel is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah in a number of different ways: Their "tongues and doings" were against G-D, the very look on their faces were against Him. Their prophets turned to Baal and brought the people with them, they committed adultery, walked in lies, they strengthened the hands of those who did evil, in other words, they helped make those that were evil even stronger. They had done much to provoke G-D's anger yet the only sexual reference here is to adultery. Of course, in the process of worshiping Baal there was temple prostitution, but still this was not their main offense. Their main offense was turning their backs on G-D. Everything else that they did came as a result of that.

Finally, at least for this post, is one more text that spells it out very point blankly. This is in comparison again, to Israel, but it is speaking specifically of Sodom. Ezekiel 16:49-50 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit."

They disobeyed G-D, they followed after idols, they strengthened the hands of the wicked, they were haughty and proud, they became fat and lazy, ignored the poor and needy and yes, they proved themselves to be sexually perverted, through temple prostitution, adultery and gang rape, but they were destroyed because there was not found even 10 people who G-D considered to be righteous.

Bottom line; That pastor was wrong. Sodom and their neighbors were destroyed, not because of homosexuality, but because they disobeyed G-D in everything, to the point of defying Him in all ways humanly possible.

If the offense had been nothing more than sexual in nature or concerning one's sexual preference then we would have been destroyed a long time ago. You can't watch a commercial or see an add that isn't somehow related to sex. From car tires to toothpaste you can't escape it. No, it's much deeper then that. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because they had totally defied G-D and they lived their lives as totally depraved and hedonistic people.

End of sermon, now to those of you who are being hurt and are considering suicide;

If you are reading this and you are a young gay man or woman, don't give up. G-D loves you and has great plans for your life, if you'll give Him the time that He needs to show it to you. My brothers answers did not come over night, they took time, but now here he is, almost 30 years later and in his own words, "life is good". Suicide is a long term solution to a short term problem. It's not worth all that you will loose.

Are there people who are going to try and make your life miserable simply because you are gay? Most likely, but the fact of the matter is, that no matter who you are, or what you do, you are going to upset someone. I will have angered a small mob based on what I have written, but I don't care, because your life, just as the life of my brother, is precious to me and to G-D, don't let the ignorant win. If you are having trouble, find a friend or a counselor that you can trust and pour your heart out to them, if you can't find anyone closer to you to help,then contact me. I will listen and help you in whatever way that I can, but don't ever call it quits.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Day of Atonement

2010-09-17T09:51:00.003-04:00

This evening at sunset marks the beginning of Yom Kippur otherwise known as the Day of Atonement.This a day of solemn assembly, this is a day of fasting and prayer, because, as the tradition has it, this is the day that the fates of all men is to be decided by G-D for the coming year.It is also the day that the High Priest would have made atonement for the sins of the people and himself as well. Over all it is a solemn day and a time of reflection seeking out the forgiveness of G-D of of our fellow man.

I don't know who reads this blog. I don't have a number tracker on this page so people can come and go and I won't know. I don't know whether or not your Jewish, Christian or Muslim. You could be a non believer I simply have no way of knowing.

Some of you who read this I do know who you are because you comment from time to time and it is to you, primarily, this message goes.

First of all, thank you for reading this. I am not a gifted writer as is my brother and my daughter. I write most of the time because I enjoy it and it gives my mind and spirit a challenge, but I also do it as a way to try and make people think, to not just except the traditional norm simply because that is all you have ever known.

Considering some of the comments I have received ,I would say that I have done that on occasion, and while I have not purposely set out to offend I am sure that I have and to those of you who have been offended I apologize. I am not likely to change how I write, but please know that no offense has ever been intended.

I have been belittled by some and called G-dless by others. Some of you have been very gracious even when you didn't understand my point of view. To all of you I say thank you, yes even to those who were not so kind to me, including the Chinese folks who planted a virus on my computer, you are forgiven. Why would I do that? Simple I love all of you and I want the best for you over the coming year and I pray that HaShem smiles upon you with all His grace and mercy.

Joel 2:12-13
Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart,with fasting and weeping and mourning."Rend your heart and not your garments.Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

Today seek out you friends your neighbors and your enemies, seek their forgiveness even if they don't give it to you you have done your part. Seek out HaShem make things right between you and Him, He will forgive.

Today pray for you friends your neighbors and enemies.Pray that they would seek out G-D. Pray for their forgiveness, intercede ,as Moses did, on their behalf.

Today, pray for our nation and our leaders that they might hear the voice of G-D and do what is right, not whats politically correct.

Today pray for Israel and her people that she might live in peace and that the Messiah might come soon to reign.

Why do this? Because as Joel writes "Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

The formula for this is simple; Return to G-d, but how are people going to know to do that if we don't forgive each other and show them what the love of G-D is really about? This is really the message for today. We need to forgive each other and then G-D will forgive us and that in turn makes it possible for us to show the rest of the world what the love of G-D truly is.

So today, put down your politics and your anger, set aside your differences with people and love and forgive each other just as G-D has done for you.

May you come out of this day with great rejoicing in your heart and a greater love for G-D and your neighbors.

Shalom

Who is this amazing G-D?

2010-09-11T14:35:00.004-04:00

Who is this amazing G-D that we serve? Who is this G-D that has so much compassion for His idol worshiping children that He practically begs them to return before they suffer. Who is He that He has so much love and mercy that, even in the knowledge of His people turning their backs on Him ,that He tells them that they will return to Him and that He will forgive them? Who is THIS? This is not the G-D that I grew up with, the one that I heard about. The G-D that I heard about had a whip in His hands waiting to strike you down for even the tiniest of mistakes, who seemed to get more pleasure out of our shame then out of our joy. WHO IS THIS G-D!!!!

Hosea 14:2-10
Return Israel to HaShem your G-D for you have stumbled in your iniquity, take words with you and return to HaShem; Say to Him may you forgive all iniquity and accept good intentions and let our lips substitute for bulls. Assyria will not save us we will not ride upon horses,and we will no longer say," O our gods" to the work of our hands; for it is with You that an orphan finds mercy. I will rectify their waywardness I will love them gratuitously; my anger has turned away from them. I will be to Israel like the dew, and he will blossom like a rose bush and his roots will strike out like the Cedars of Lebanon. His tender branches will go forth , and his glory will be like that of the Olive tree and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. Those who dwell in His shade will return;they will revive like grain and blossom like a vine;their repute will be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim will say,"what more need have I of idols?" I will respond and I will gaze upon him, I am like an ever fresh Cypress tree your fruit will be provided by Me.Who is wise and will understand these things;who is understanding and will know them? For the ways of HaShem are straight; the righteous will walk in them and sinners will stumble over them.

This , my friends is a G-D, who loves His people! Not only does He plead with them to return, He even tells them what to say to Him when they return.
He isn't interested in their animal sacrifices, He IS interested in their confession of their sins and in their hearts return to Him.
In Verse 5 ( Stones Edition) He says that He will rectify their waywardness. In other translations that "He will heal". No matter how you look at it it indicates the Love of G-D for His people and His great desire for their return to Him.He wants them back and when they return He forgives them! What makes this all the more amazing to me is that He tells them all this, through the prophets, even before they have been carried off to captivity! He doesn't just leave them in the dark with the future, He tells them of their return as well. This seems to be a very common theme through out the prophecies.It is G-D's love for His people being shown.

In Joel 2:12-18 G-D tells His people what they needed to do to avoid the punishment that was coming. He didn't want to punish them at all, He was all about them turning their hearts back to Him. He says right in verse 12 "Even Now" meaning it was not too late even at that time for them to change their ways and return to Him again.

Even now," declares the LORD,"return to me with all your heart,with fasting and weeping and mourning."Rend your heart and not your garments.Return to the LORD your God,for he is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and abounding in love,and he relents from sending calamity.Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.Blow the trumpet in Zion,declare a holy fast,call a sacred assembly.Gather the people,consecrate the assembly;bring together the elders,gather the children,those nursing at the breast.Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,weep between the temple porch and the altar.Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD.Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,a byword among the nations.Why should they say among the peoples,'Where is their God?' "
Then the LORD will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people. Joel 2:12-18

What an amazing G-D, He spells it out for them, tells them exactly what it is that they need to do to come back to Him. It wasn't just that one or two people were to gather to ask for G-D's forgiveness but all the people, young, old, bride and bridegroom, everyone was to come, everyone was to fast and all were to seek His ways again and then what happens? Verse 18 "Then the Lord will be jealous for His land and take pity on His people."
G-D takes no pleasure in punishment, he gets no joy in the suffering of His children. He will let things run their natural course if a people and a nation reject Him, but His plea is still the same to us as it was to them, Return to Me with all your hearts and I will bless you!

Micah 7:18-19
Who is G-D like you, Who pardons iniquity and overlooks transgression for the remnant of His heritage? He does not maintain His wrath forever,for He desires kindness.He will once again show us mercy,He will suppress our iniquities. You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Does this sound like a G-D of vengeful wrath to you? Don't take me wrong, their is a day of reckoning coming and man will be judged, but I have come to believe that G-D is much more interested in hearts turning to Him rather then punishment. If He wasn't why would there be so much warning? Why would G-D go so far out of His way to tell the people what they needed to do after they turned back to Him. If He was all about punishment and wrath ,as some would have us believe, then He would have just let His people suffer without giving them any kind of hope whats so ever. Instead He chose to tell them of what was to come and what they needed to do when that day came, which has been going on for sometime now, and He told them about the future blessings that were to follow.

Who is this amazing G-D? Who does not hide His ways from His children who make His ways plain before them? Hosea 14:10 ...for the ways of HaShem are straight; the righteous will walk in them... 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... Isa.30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

G-D's ways are not hidden from us. We can refuse to seek Him out, we can go after other gods if we wish, but His ways are clear and His path is before us.
He loves His children and all His people and He prefers return to punishment, a repentant heart to the sacrifice of bulls. He is truly amazing.
And this heart rejoices in Him.

Missing Message

2010-08-30T11:31:00.003-04:00

In one of my first attempts at writing , I talked about perspectives, how different people in similar situations can view things in very different ways. The more that I write and the more that I study, the more true this has become for me.

I am neither Christian nor Jew. I have been in both the Christian world and the Messianic Jewish world. I have been an Ordained minster. I now follow a form of Judaism that is known, at least in the Jewish world, as being a Noachide. I have been an Agnostic and I have studied the teachings of some of the Pagan religions. So as you can imagine I have a somewhat different perspective of life and religion then many people do. But when is all said and done, my loyalty lies with G-D and his love for us and His commandments. I love the Jewish people and I have a great respect for Christians and really all people who would help their fellowman.

I give this short back ground to you so that you will understand the rest of the message and take to heart that I hold no bias or hatred for anyone, though at times, while writing, from my own perspective, it may seem that way.

I think what has happened is that the message has been lost. Not just my message, but all of ours.

We ,as religious people, have been caught up into the very dangerous and destructive world of politics. Back in the day, you didn't mix religion and politics and you certainly didn't hear it from the pulpit, but times have apparently changed.

Have you ever wondered why it is that the world hates Jews and Christians so much? More so the Jews, but now more and more Christians are being hammered as well, have you ever asked the question as to why?

I have a thought for you. It's probably going to differ with what you believe but I'm going to run it by you anyway. It's our hypocrisy and our hatred. Does that shock you? Does that make you angry? Or do you think I'm wrong?

One of the things that both the Jews and Christians share is that G-D is a G-D of compassion and mercy and yet as a general whole we don't tend to show it. We have committees and boards that will spend time and money to protest Gay marriage and Abortion but balk at the idea of supporting some outreach program that might actually help someone. I saw it happen. I almost broke out in tears one day, when the first questions that was asked, ( we were considering a program to help out some poor families in the area) was "how much is this going to cost". Nothing came of it and since that time that church has had a lot of trouble. The human cost is high.

My experience since leaving various Christian denominations and Christianity as a whole has been somewhat condemning and if not outright hostile. I have been told that I am G-D - less because I don't follow Christianities version of G-D and we have been left quite literally alone. Is ostracizing people a part of the Christian religion? On the flip side of that I have been blasted by some certain Jewish people for asking too many questions or appearing to consider myself smarter then the sages of old.I don't consider myself smarter, they were just questions. Where is the compassion in this, where is the Love of G-D?

When HIV and Aids became front page news back in the 70's the religious world had a chance to reach out in compassion to these people. Instead all that we heard was that Aids was G-D's punishment on the Gay community and people quoting scripture. We ostracized people instead of showing compassion. Now, 30 years later, I know people who will never darken the doorways of a church or Synagogue except for a funeral or wedding, all because the "religious" didn't show any of the compassion that they were supposed to have had in their hearts. You want to quote scripture? Go ahead, but you will get no where, most of the Gay people I have known, know those scriptures by heart. You are only re-enforcing their idea that you hate them and their is no compassion to be found.

We are quick to condemn and slow to compassion. That is just the opposite of what scripture teaches.

There are many examples that could be used here. There are many fingers that I could point with but then I'd have to point some at my self because I have done the same. I am not in a position to judge people nor did G-D put me here to do so. I also know that this is not true of everyone or all groups but the sad truth is that the world sees us as having no compassion because our main focus seems to be on politics rather then mercy. If all anyone ever knows about religion is that there is crazy guy on TV telling him or her that they are going to go to hell for anything and everything under the sun and they are shown no real mercy or compassion, who do you think is going to be held responsible for that?
Do you really think that G-D is going to be interested in how big your church was if you ignore the homeless, the widow, those that are sick with Aids? Do you honestly think that having a large congregation is a substitute for helping out a drunk or a prostitute or someone who is just down on their luck?
G-D makes two commands very clear, and from these the rest follow. Love G-D with all you are and with all you have and love your neighbors as you would wish to be loved.

I'll end with a more positive note. There was a group that I saw , not to long ago, that consisted of about 70 people ,from various denominations, bringing food and clothing and blankets to various street people. They set up tables and did everything from serving them a hot meal to cutting their hair and washing their feet.
The only complaint that I heard was from one of the ladies who was washing the feet of someone when she said that she wished that they didn't have to wear gloves to do this. She didn't care if the person was dirty and homeless, she knew what human touch and real compassion was all about. Just as a side note they were not there trying to convert people either, they were there to SHOW them the Love of G-D.

That, my friends, is the message that has been lost, compassion, mercy, love.
Pray that we find it soon.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Train Up A Child....

2010-08-16T12:02:00.003-04:00

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Are your children cool? Are they the trend setters, the ones that everyone looks to for the latest fashions and styles? Do they watch all the hip shows and do they own all the newest and latest gadgets? Do they have their own computers in their rooms and their own high tech cell phone? Have they driven you crazy with their requests for things that are unreasonably priced, but they put the pressure on because it's the new cool thing and everyone has one?

If the answer to any of this is yes, then let me state for the record you are being targeted. Actually it's your kids that are being targeted but the side effect is that it targets you as well, you have more money then the kids but you are actually only the secondary target.

This weekend I was sent a couple of links that showed just how corporations and big business have been teaming up to target your kids and, secondarily, you into buying whatever product it is that they are trying to sell at the time.None of this is terribly surprising to me and I suspect that it wouldn't be for most of you as well, but I guess what did shock me, somewhat, was just how far they would go to do so.

For the most part they would start out by interviewing teenagers and young adults out on the streets asking them all sorts of questions on their likes and dislikes, they would in some cases pay the kids for their time and take pictures of everything from their clothes to their tattoos and get just as personal with the kids as they could be. They then take this info and share it ( for a price ) with the major corporations and develop strategies as to how to market various products based on this info.

I am not against business making money on a product that everyone needs or wants, I am, however, against the methods of how they sell it to our kids.

I will give you one of the ways that they sell both a product and a band/way of life to our kids and most of the time it is subtle enough to slip under the radar while other parts of it are down right shocking.

I will not use names here because I don't need the hassle, but the scenario is real and it did happen.

A corporation owned 3 businesses that were having some problems and they were looking for a way to bring in more revenue based on those products and they came up with a brilliant idea. They would host a televised party that would feature the beverage as the sponsor, a music television show as the host and they would bring in some well known bands to play. They then proceeded to pay kids to come and dance and be "cool". The beverage that they were trying to feature was predominately displayed and the popular band was seen with the product name all over them and they introduced a new band in the process. The end result was that this beverage became the most popular beverage, the new band became world famous, and the music television show became top dog once again. Their target audience was the teenagers and young adults and it worked. From a pure business point of view it was brilliant, from a profit point they made a killing and they didn't have to spend a lot to do it.

Another method that has become popular has been through the movies and television shows. TV having advertisements is nothing new, but now you find it in every form of entertainment there is. There was a Disney movie recently that featured this princess coming up from out of the sewers right into the middle of Times Square in New York,as she pops up all you can see around her is billboard after billboard displaying corporate logos everywhere, it is a brilliant marketing move on their part, but again it was aimed at the kids and indirectly at you.

What became apparent as this went on, was just how easy it was to influence the kids.
I am not going to give you a blow by blow of all the sexually graphic ways that they present their products, via shows on spring break or on supposedly teenage shows where all the characters are sexually starved and promiscuous. What was interesting about that part was that the man who was doing the documentary on this subject came to the realization that it was the influence of these shows and marketing schemes that was turning these kids into sex crazed kids and NOT that the shows were a reflection of the culture but that they have caused the culture.

Again I realize that for most of you, this comes as no surprise and we can only sit here and wish that they had paid us to tell them would should have been blatantly obvious.

While none of what I saw was really all that shocking, it occurred to me that the one factor that was missing in all this was the parents. Where were the parents? Where was their influence in all of this? Not once was parental influence even mentioned, yet they featured kids at Daytona beach during spring break, both high school and college age and not a parent to be seen. The only conclusion that I could come to was that there is either a whole lot of orphans or the parents were not involved or perhaps, even worse,didn't care.

I quoted from Proverbs in the beginning for a reason. To ask you a simple question.
Are you raising your kids in the way that they should go? Or are you letting the influence of this world and advertisers shape your kids?

In my house we don't have cable hooked up to the TV, our children do not have their own computers hidden out in their rooms not to mention cell phones. You can say to me that I am depriving my kids of the wonders of modern technology until you are blue in the face and I will simply say to you that G-D gave my wife and I children to raise in His ways, not the ways of the world. I can't protect them from everything but I don't have to allow trash into my house when it is in my power as the adult/parent to prevent it. They still get to use the computer but we regulate their time and where it is that they go, they still watch movies and shows that we can find on line, but not without us and not without our approval.We have cell phones but again they are under parental control.

Why am I so wound about this? According to the statistics our children, with all forms of media, are hit with 3,000 advertisements a day! They are being influenced by everything from adds on the cell phones to product placements in movies and shows.
Do you want them to be the ones to influence your kids or do you wish to be the one?

G-D has given us a responsibility as parents to raise our kids. Here is what He says in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

If your kids are spending 90 percent of their time being influenced by the mass media, where is the time for you to teach your kids about G-D's ways?

I know that many of you reading this have raised G-dly kids and that they have become men and women that are serving G-D with all their hearts and you should rejoice in that, but it would seem that too many others are not.

So only you can decide. Am I going to raise my children"in the way that they should go" or are you going to get a shock one day as you see something on spring break and you see your half naked child on a television show proudly displaying themselves and whatever the current product of the day is. Your the parent only you can decide to act like one.

G-D Commands Us To Rejoice!

2010-08-08T10:50:00.003-04:00

You know everything we do in this life always boils down to choices. Some of those choices are really simple, such as do I turn left or right to get where I am going while other choices aren't always that simple, which Doctor do I go to, which bill can I skip, and with our choices there always come consequences. If I turn left instead of right I get stuck in a traffic jam, fail to pay the mortgage on time and you lose you house. Choices. There are some scientists out there in the world of Quantum physics that would even suggest that not making a choice in a particular way sets off parallel universes where any and all possibilities intersect with each other. A bit over my head but fascinating.Usually though when all is said and done everything that we do boils down to small choices and usually the results thereof are fairly clear.

In Deuteronomy 11:26-28 G-D gives His people a choice; Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today;and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.

Moses has been busy giving his farewell speech to the children of Israel and he had been going over many of both the good and the bad things that have been happening with them since they left Egypt. But here I think he hits a very important point (of course this is G-D speaking through him )he is basically telling them you have 2 choices that you can make, you can choose to follow G-D and keep His commands and Ordinances or you can seek after the gods of the nations,. Seeking G-D and keeping His commands and Ordinances brings about blessings but going after strange "gods" brings about a curse.

He then proceeds to re instruct them in His decrees and ordinances and says an amazing thing to them right in the beginning.

Deut 12:7 "and there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall REJOICE in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you."

He tells them to rejoice! That has surprised me to say the least for it. He doesn't just say it once he says it several times in the course of the next couple of chapters.

It was as simple as this; When they brought their offerings and their sacrifices before G-D, they were to eat and drink and celebrate, rejoicing before G-D ,them and all who were with them. See Deut. 12:12,18, 14:24-26, 16:11,14... it just keeps going.

Why do I find this so exciting and fascinating?

G-D expects His people to REJOICE while celebrating His holy days. This is a much different picture then what I had ever heard as a child. Everything was always a somber ,sober, event with much pomp and circumstance but little too no rejoicing.
Whenever I would hear the stories of the Jewish holy days it was always in that vein of being a somber right that had no real meaning and yet, according to what I have read in the Torah, that turns out to be a huge lie!

G-D essentially commanded His people to rejoice when ever they brought their offerings and sacrifices to Him, you were to remember His blessings and if you are doing that then how can you do anything else But celebrate and rejoice.

So they were given two choices, as we are, you can Rejoice in G-D and all that He has done for you and has provided, or you can follow the gods of the nations and sacrifice your kids and be nailed with curses.

So for this simple minded guy it comes down to this; I can chase after the gods of this world and sacrifice my kids and the life G-D has given me or I can Rejoice in G-D celebrate His holy days with great rejoicing loving Him and keeping His commandments.

I think I'll take the rejoicing....

Sins of our youth...

2010-07-22T15:09:00.004-04:00

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

Come ,Let Us Reason....

2010-07-16T12:33:00.003-04:00

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

A Nap, A Movie, and G-D

2010-07-11T17:30:00.003-04:00

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

Two Responses

2010-07-07T11:40:00.003-04:00

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

Leprechauns and Fairies

2010-06-20T10:45:00.003-04:00

Last night my family and I watched a movie that has grown to be one of our favorites by the name of " The Magical Legend of The Leprechauns" created by Hallmark Entertainment. When we got to the end of the movie my newly turned 13 year old son made a comment that I thought was rather profound, not so much because it came from him but perhaps because I could understand his sentiments real well. What he said was this; "I don't know why but the end of the movie makes me sad." I understood exactly what he was talking about because it did the same thing to me, it always has ,but this was the first time that he had expressed such sentiment. Now for those of you who don't know this movie at the end their is a uniting of two kingdoms one of Fairies and the other of the Leprechauns through the wedding of the princess of the fairies to the leader of the Leprechauns son.It is a joyous occasion and there is much celebrating, but in the end the fairies and the leprechauns all start to disappear and you are left with the two humans that witnessed everything. Between all the happiness and the music it really plucks at your heart strings, but why should it make me and my son so sad? It was ,after all, a happy occasion.

I admit, that I am a romantic of sorts and that I love a good story where love wins, or the good guys triumph over all odds and the bad guys get their due but I have to wonder what about it can make me so emotional. The above mentioned movie has quite a bit of conflict in it, along with a lot of humor, before you ever get to the part of the rejoicing and wedding and so you can run the whole gambit of emotions but in the end it's just a movie so what does this to me?

I have a thought , nothing earth shattering or profound, but I wonder if G-D just kind of wired us this way. What I mean is that in our life we look at the world around us and can see that things just aren't right. So when we read a story thats really good or watch a movie, we get caught up in that world and we forget about our own, even if it's just for a few minutes, and when it's all over and the good guys have won and all is right in that world, you have to leave it and come back to this world. The sadness and craziness of our own world still waits but somewhere deep in our hearts we long for something better. Is there hope here that in the end G-D wins? Yes of course there is, but at the moment we can't see it and so it becomes easy to become a part of someone else's world and long for a better one in ours or wish that we could disappear into that one.

We have a picture on our wall that shows a log cabin, next to a lake/stream with woods and a mountain in the background, there is soft light coming out from the cabin and wood smoke coming from the chimney. I have stared at that picture at times and have wished that I could just step into it and vanish from this insane world but sadly I can't. Some might think I need to get a grip on reality, but I would submit to you that reality ,as we know it, needs to get a grip on G-D because with out His intervention our reality is going to destroy us.

I tend to believe though that our final ending is going to take on the qualities of some of our favorite movies. The scriptures, and this is true of both Christian and Jewish scripture, tells that in the end, G-D does win, His Anointed is king and we will live without fear. That is what I believe that my heart,and my sons, is longing for and that is why it makes us sad, it may have happened in the story but it hasn't happened to us yet. The day is coming, but it's just not here yet.
Meanwhile I'll keep watching fairies and leprechauns getting married and enjoy the touch of sadness...
Shalom,
Ignacio

Ezekiel/ Gog and Magog

2010-06-13T13:05:00.000-04:00

Have you ever taken the time to read the book of Ezekiel? It is the longest book in the Bible and it is not the easiest of books to read. There is much in the way of prophecy against all the nations, including Judah and Israel, and a whole lot of it isn't terribly pretty to read. I ask you this because if you haven't I would highly recommend that you do in light of all the things going on in this world ,especially in Israel ,and the entire middle east.

Ezekiel is a book that is full of dark and foreboding prophecies concerning Israel and Judah along with the nations that are around them. Judah is condemned for looking the other way when Israel is put into exile. The nations around both Israel and Judah are condemned for mocking both Israel and Judah when they are taken away and doing nothing to help them and this type of condemnation goes on and on. But then you have these brief moments where G-D speaks and says ( Uncle Iggy's condensed version ) that he would remember His people in their captivity, that he would remember those that he has scattered to the 4 winds and that he would bring them back to their ancestral homes and bring unity and peace back to Judah and Israel. In one place He even says that he will bring Egypt back under His wing along with Edom. Imagine that! That would truly be real peace in the Middle East when that day comes.

The last part of Ezekiel, chapters 40 -48 is a description of the third temple that is to come, may that day be soon, that G-D showed Ezekiel, but it's primarily Chapters 38-39 that I want to point out to you in conjunction as to what is going on in today's world.

Chapters 38-39 deal with a leader that is known as Gog and his nation Magog that decides to invade that land of Israel and destroy it. It tells how G-D is very much against him and his nation and is going to lead him and his nation against Israel so that G-d can destroy him and his nation. Along the way it speaks of many nations siding with Gog and Magog and joining in the assault against Israel. It speaks of an army so massive that it's like "a cloud covering the earth" and that they will attempt to attack the areas first that have been newly resettled by the returned people of Israel (see chapters 36-37)places that have no walls protecting them. But all of this is a part of G-D's plan. He is essentially going to lead Magog into it's own destruction as they try to destroy Israel. His purpose is two fold, first it is to punish Gog and Magog, along with the rest of the nations that join them, for their sins against G-D and the people of Israel, but it's main purpose is so that G-D's name will be honored and worshiped on the earth because all will see that G-D has done this and their will be no doubt that He has, and His eternal Kingdom will be established on the earth at that time.

This is what I like to refer to as Uncle Iggy's short condensed version because there is so much more there to read but I wanted to make it short and to the point, so please read all of it and decide for yourself.

The reason that I bring this up is it has been suggested by some religious leaders in both the Jewish world and the Evangelical world, that what we are seeing , with this flotilla is but the beginning of what is to come and is perhaps the start of Gog and Magog. Nations, Iran and Turkey, that have been identified as possible locations of Magog, and there are several others depending on who you ask, have offered to have military escorts for ships that are bringing "Aid" to Gaza. That would put Israel in a position that they would have to defend their borders against those that have vowed to wipe them off the map, Iran for instance,and further isolate them from the rest of the world. They are in a no win situation.

Israel is already surrounded by many nations that want to destroy her and, I might add, they have tried over and over, and now it would seem that all of the world, including the United States is going to take a stand against Israel this next week at the UN over the issue of the flotilla. Whats next? UN troops trying to invade Israel and keeping her from defending her borders?

The biggest battle and world event is quite possibly playing out, right in front of us,and the vast majority of the world is ignorant of it, why? Because many have taken the "Old Testament" scriptures and have either relegated them as to being irrelevant or to being nothing but a bunch of stories and fables. Or they live in a nation that doesn't allow the scriptures thus leaving the people ignorant of whats happening.

Christians see the end as being a battle over what they believe, never quite understanding that this has never been about them, but has always been about Israel and G-D's promises to both Judah and Israel. Does Christianity have a role to play in all this? Yes. You at least believe in the G-D of Israel and it may very well come down to you having to decide if you are going to stand with G-D's chosen people, Israel,and the G-D of Israel or if you are going to stand with the world in it's attempt to destroy Israel.
Some of you reading this, may discover that the prophecies that concern the return of Israel to it's land, concerns you because your ancestry is of the house of Israel, I didn't say of the house of Judah, though that is possible as well, but of the house of Israel which consisted of all the 10 tribes that were dispersed by G-D. With that thought in mind the battle lines become more clear and it becomes very personal for all of us.

Before you just disregard this as the ravings of a mad man or someone whom you consider to be "lost" go and read those chapters, in fact read from chapter 36 on , with an open heart and mind and come to your own conclusions.
I don't know for sure whether we are seeing the beginning of the end events or not, I can only live the life that G-D has given me and write that which He has put in my heart, but I do believe that we are seeing what I would believe is the set up for it, if not the main event itself.

Pray for Israel,pray that our nation will wake up to the danger before we become numbered amongst the nations with Gog and Magog.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Defending Israel

2010-05-31T12:21:00.004-04:00

Where are all the supporters of Israel today? I know it's Memorial day here in the USA but still I must ask, where are all those people who claim that they support Israel?
Perhaps it's because it's a holiday weekend here that you are not even aware of what has happened over there, if that is the case then I will take a moment to explain.
On Sunday, The IDF intercepted ships that were bound for Gaza , supposedly with relief supplies for the people of Gaza, and loaded with pro-Palestinian supporters. The incident apparently got ugly.

From what I understand, the IDF told the ships that they needed to go to the port of Ashdod and that there the supplies of humanitarian aid would be inspected and then sent overland to the Gaza strip. They refused to comply. In fact their wording was not just no, but F!#@ you! From there they were boarded and the IDF was attacked and quite appropriately defended themselves. The number of casualties seem to vary from news agency to news agency but either way this is madness that could have been avoided had the people on those ships obeyed the laws. They were warned that Gaza is a war zone and that as such they could not go any further, but they continued on and provoked what is turning out to be an international incident. You will note that I have no sympathy for the people on those ships. They had no right or business being there and Israel gave them a chance to do it the right way, but they refused. I personally believe that this had nothing to do with getting aid to Gaza, I believe that it was a well orchestrated event by Israels enemies for the sole purpose of trying to isolate Israel and drum up more support for Palestinian thugs.
I did hear one Palestinian woman, who spoke up for Israel, say to protesters in Ashdod, something to the effect that she is Palestinian but that she is an Israeli citizen and that this land has always been Israel, sorry I didn't get it exactly right, but it seems that that one woman has it figured out. She got blasted by others that were there but she stood her ground.
So again the question; Where are the supporters of Israel here in the US? I have looked at the news from many sources and nothing I see tells me that we are, as a nation, backing Israel. Of course that may have a lot to do with the fact that we are spending $500 million and using special forces troops to train the PA army, though I could be wrong on this, and we seem to have an administration that would rather kiss up to all the Arab countries so I don't suppose that I should be really looking at them to do anything.
What about the Christian Evangelicals? Where are they? I always hear how much they support the land of Israel and it's people. Is it that the only time that you wish to support Israel is when you think you might be able to convert them, but not when they are backed into a corner and in desperate need of your moral and physical support?
Tell me something , those of you of a Christian bent, Who gave the land of Canaan to Israel? Could it possibly be G-D Himself? According to the scriptures that you have, that you supposedly study, that land belongs forever to Israel but more importantly to G-D because He is the creator and He gave them what was His to give. It is forever theirs. Gift of G-D , end of argument.
Where are the Jewish leaders in this country? I realize that many were supporters of this current administration, but still I would think that with the obvious distaste that Obama and company have for Israel that they would at least walk away from him and say something in support of their G-D given land, but I have heard nothing.
So while I see little support coming from us to Israel, I am going to say with out question or remorse that I fully support Israel and their right to defend and control the land that G-D gave to them. Something else some of you may want to consider, according to the prophets, Israel will one day posses all the land that was once theirs and I can tell you it is a much larger land then the tiny strip that they currently possess.The scriptures also make it clear that those who support Israel will be blessed, those who don't will be cursed. Look around you America, we have thrown out G-D and have rejected Israel and our nation is being torn apart. If you can't see the disasters and the obvious connection to G-D then there is nothing more that I can say to you that will help.
May G-D have mercy on us who still believe in Him, follow His Torah, and may He bless Israel and keep them safe.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Holding Grudges

2010-05-24T09:14:00.002-04:00

Early this morning the life of someone that I never got to know very well came to an end. She had been ill for quite some time so none of this comes as any surprise, but as it is with me, when there are issues concerning death it saddens me greatly.
The real tragedy though is not that she died, as I said she had been ill for a long time, but that she held onto grudges until the end.

What a waste of life. I know it's not good to speak ill of the dead but in this case I am not speaking ill I am simply speaking the truth and I should point out that the issue isn't just with her, but goes throughout her entire family.

I have never known people that will fight and bicker over such trivial issues to the point of not speaking to each other,as this family does, instead using others to be their messengers for them. Well today the messengers end and now you have nothing but your own shame and stupidity to show for it. Surprise! Life ends.

The sad part is that those in this family that need to read this won't see it. They will be busy making arrangements for the funeral and, I am hoping, regretting the years that have gone by, wasted by anger over stupid, trivial and meaningless things.

There are however some of you who may be reading this that I have hurt and offended over the years. If this is the case, or if you know someone whom I have hurt and offended in some way; I simply ask for your forgiveness, I don't want to spend another moment in anger or grudges.
I know of at least two whom I have hurt in the past. The first is my oldest daughter, but because she has G-D in her life and I apologized for what I had done, she forgave me and as a result we now have a dad/daughter relationship. I cannot make up for the years lost, but we can go on from here and we have.
The other person is someone that I grew up with,went to school with,literally from diaper days, and yet a few years ago, through a misunderstanding on my part, which I apologized for,she has come to hold a grudge against me. Thing's happen and mistakes are made but is holding a grudge really worth it?

If you are holding a grudge, let me ask you a really simple question;Why?
Who said that you or that other person is going to be alive , even as soon as later on today? Are you G-D? Do you know the length of your own days , never mind everyone else? No you don't. So why do it, why hang on to something that really is only killing you? Someone on Face Book posted a saying that goes something to the effect of "Holding a grudge is like you drinking poison and then expecting the other person to die" it's stupid and a waste of the time that G-D has given you in this life.

I have heard it said that the best time of the year to be in Israel is just before Yom Kippur, the Day Of Atonement. I have been told that it is the one time of the year where everyone is nice to each other and people go out of their way to seek out forgiveness and to grant the same to those that have done them harm. The reason for that is that they believe that on the Day of Atonement,G-D passes His judgement on everyone and that all nations and peoples fates, for the next year, are decided on that day. So ,accordingly, they wish to be right with both G-D and their fellow man.
We should live our lives everyday like that. Forgive each other, make things right with G-D and with your fellow man and or family, or you just might wake up tomorrow and find out that the time that you thought that you had has just run out.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Life lesson from a T-Ball game

2010-05-14T13:21:00.002-04:00

Last night my family and I had the extreme pleasure of watching a whole bunch of little kids playing T-ball. T-Ball for those of you who may not know is when they put the baseball on a "T" and the kids hit the ball off of that. It is usually for kids from about the age of 3 to maybe 6 and the ball, bat and bases is about as close to real baseball as you get in one of these games.

What really made this fun to watch though was the kids themselves. They were clueless as to what they were doing out there. The kid hitting the ball would swing the bat in the general direction of the "T" and usually at least make the ball fall off the "T" and then run for all they were worth towards first base. Now I say towards it because it was rarely a straight line and many times they had to go around infielders who were more interested in the worm they found then the person running by them. There was one little girl who hit the ball and it went down the first base line and while she ran to first, the entire team on the field went after the ball. They weren't interested in getting her out, in fact I'm not sure they even realized that was the idea. No, they were more interested in being the first one to get the ball just so they could run it back over to the coach. I really thought for a moment that the girl was going to get run over by all them as they all ran to the ball, but to her credit she was paying just enough attention to what was going on to stop for a second and then go around them.

Some of the fun of all this as well was just watching what the kids were doing as they were "playing" the game. I mentioned two boys on the first base line looking at a worm they had just discovered and then there were two others that were chasing each other all over the infield. Probably the cutest sight of them all was two little girls, one on the outside of the fence and the other on the inside crouched down, talking to each other then giggling, all these kids totally oblivious as to what was going on.

The there were the parents. Most of them were sitting in chairs socializing and cheering on the kids, didn't matter which kid or team, and in general just relaxing and having some fun and lot's of laughs. They were enjoying life as it was being given to them in the moment and, so it seemed , forgetting that the rest of the world even existed for just an hour or two.

There are any number of lessons to be learned here, but the one I want to focus on for a minute is that we need to relearn the art of relaxing and enjoying the life that we have been given. I am speaking very much for myself here , but I can't help but think that there are probably a lot of others out there like me who can easily let all the troubles in this world get to them.

I am not trying to say that we can become like those little kids playing T-Ball, totally oblivious as to what is going on, but I am saying that for a little while we need to put down all our worries and cares and watch the world through their eyes for a little while. My enjoyment of the game didn't come from their great skills and talents it came from the sheer joy that the kids had going on just being out there playing. No worries, no fears, just sheer pleasure in doing what they were doing.

So what should we do then?

Solomon writes in the book of Ecclesiastes that most everything that we do on this earth, most of the stuff we strive for or to have is nothing more then chasing after vanity and the wind but I really think he sums it up well in a couple of places as to how we should treat this life and as to what we should do.

Eccl.8:15 So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

I believe that this is one of the most important verses to found, especially for today's world. We are taught to strive and achieve and go after all the various things that the world has to offer and we are taught to do them even to the point of sacrificing everything else to achieve our goals. I know that I have known many people who strived for that proverbial nest egg/pot at the end of the rainbow, just to loose it all and their families as well. What did they gain from it? Nothing bad hard earned experience.

Solomons solution seems much simpler to me. Eat and drink and enjoy this life that G-D has given you. He is not saying don't try to do better for yourself, but I believe he is saying get your priorities straight. The parents of those kids, had the right idea, They let all the craziness of the world go away for a while and they took time to enjoy their families and the innocence of their children. This is a huge gift from G-D for all of us.

The last point I want to make with this is simple as well, though it seems that this point everyone wants to argue over, and it is the conclusion to the matter. Eccl. 12:13 "Let us hear the conclusion to the whole matter: Fear G-D and keep His commandments,For this is mans all." Simple and to the point.

So enjoy the life that G-D has given you . Fear and love G-D with all of your heart and keep His commandments. I would only add one other thing to it that hopefully would meet with Solomons approval; Get out and watch a T-Ball game and get life back into perspective.

Shalom,
Ignacio

Ants and Space

2010-05-10T09:24:00.007-04:00

Have you ever watched an ant? I know, it's not exciting, unless you happen to come upon an ant war. But you ought to sit down and watch an ant sometime just going about it's business. An ant's universe really isn't all that big, and for the most part they go about their time searching out for food and then bringing it home, nothing exciting but very vital if the ants are going to survive. In fact, their world is so small that they do everything by smell, one ant goes out finds food and leaves a trail of smell for the other ants to follow and off they go all in a file grabbing the food and bringing back to the nest. Have you ever seen what happens if the trail is messed up in some way? The ants will get confused and start running around trying to find the original trail, it never even crosses their mind that there may be another way to get to the food.

Now imagine with me that we are a bunch of ants. Our entire known universe is a patch of grass behind my house in Arkansas. For us, this means that our world is hard packed red dirt and rocks with a variety of grasses and wild flowers and during the summer very hot and dry. We do have our enemies from 10,000 variations of spiders to other ants in other colonies, but for the most part our world is very consistent and methodical. We search for food and we find our food and attack anything that threatens the nest or our queen. That's our life, that is our universe. Don't mess with it.

Seems perhaps a bit silly in a way, an ant does not see beyond it's own borders and can't begin to understand, as we do, that there is much more to this universe than just that patch of land that they occupy. Try telling an ant that not only is there their patch of land, but there are millions of patches of land all around them and it just keeps going on and on. They would probably think your nuts because all they know and or wish to understand is just that which they see in front of them, that which they can smell as it were. This, by the way, is not a slam on ants. G-D gave them their place and they are doing exactly what G-D intended for them to do. I simply use the ant and it's habits to illustrate some things about us humans and to show you what I mean we will turn to space for a minute.

Remember that I talked about the ant and it's territory. We are very much like the ant in that respect. We have our own little universe in which we live and we have our various routines that we live by and just like the ant, if it gets messed with we tend to freak out. What makes it bad though is that we have a choice in what we do and how we think and yes even how we view the world and the universe.

The other day I was looking at pictures that have been sent from deep space from various telescopes and to say that they boggle the mind is putting it mildly. Stars and Nebula of various sizes shapes and colors, thousands of star systems in distant galaxies that we are just now, for the first time, able to see. They are now discovering that some of these "stars" that we have been looking at are actually entire galaxies thanks to these telescopes and they have even found one place that is creating new stars. One of those "newborn" stars is 10 times the size of our sun and scientists have admitted that they don't even know how that's possible because it goes above and beyond what they had always understood about star formations. Simply put, that despite everything that we have ever thought we knew about the stars, our scientist are discovering just how little they actually know, much to their credit I might add. This is what made me think of ants and us.

We have a choice, we can continue to live in our little universe and look at things from our limited perspective, never lifting our eyes to look and see if that's actually true or not. We can scurry about smelling the trail left to us by others who think the same way and yes we will find sustenance, but that will be it.

Or, we can lift our eyes up to the heavens, to the night sky, and realize that not only do we know very little, but that which we thought we knew is wrong as well. We may have somethings right. But when you consider the vastness of the universe and you look at what G-D has created out there, that we are only now starting to see, you come to that awesome, wonderful place of humbleness where you realize that we know nothing. That's the place where G-D can use you. When you understand, from a humble perspective how little you know in this universe, that is when G-D can teach you the most.

Take some time to watch an ant and then take the time on a clear night to look up into the heavens and see if you have one of those Job moments:

Job 42:1-6

Then Job answered the LORD and said “I know that You can do everything,And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.Listen, please, and let me speak You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,But now my eye sees You.Therefore I abhor myself,And repent in dust and ashes.”

Job is one of my favorite people because he understood what it was like to loose everything and still remain faithful to G-D, and in that position he came to realize just how little he knew about G-D and the universe. He looked up and was humbled.

How much do you think you know? Are you like the ant who can't see beyond his small world or are you like our scientist's who are starting to understand the universe is much different and much larger than they thought?

Is your theology the the only right way and does everything that is from G-D fit into it? Is it possible, that maybe, just maybe, the things of G-D are so huge that we can't possibly understand it all. Could it be that the things that science is now seeing in deep space is G-D's way of telling us just how much like little ants we have been?

I'm not slamming on your religious beliefs, I love HaShem and I try to serve Him with what knowledge that I have of Him and from Him. I am simply asking you to think and to look up and see if there is anything to what I am saying. The universe and the G-D who created it will humble you just as He did to Job, if you will allow it and perhaps introduce you to a universe that you never even knew existed.

Shalom,
Ignacio