Homosexuals March in Jerusalem
posted: June 21, 2007
Well, the homosexuals managed to persuade the Israel Supreme Court and the Jerusalem police to let them show their perverted ways in the streets of Jerusalem. Recently, there was much spiritual warfare around the world but the humanists in Israel were determine to let them have their way.
It's not surprising that the homosexuals wanted to march in Jerusalem. It's their ultimate in-your-face to the God of Creation. They may not consciously know what they are doing but spiritually they know. That is why the hatred and anger is seen; they know what they do is against God's commands and their spirit fights against it.
The Meaning of Passover
posted: April 01, 2007
Soon we will celebrate the festival of Passover, as commanded by Yahweh in Leviticus 23.5. It's an awesome celebration of the mighty power of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as I look around the Web and read the newspapers and listen to people talk, it seems like there are many different Passovers. Some proclaim it to be the celebration of human freedom, others say it is a reminder that we must free ourselves from those things that enslave us, and still others claim that we must understand the "contemporary" meaning of Passover.
Take Responsibility for Your Own Actions!
posted: March 24, 2007
I'm always amused (or perhaps irritated is a better word) at how people in the United States blame others — especially Hollywood — for the degeneration of our society. It's as if we were a holy nation and suddenly, after decades of watching movies and TV, we have become degenerates. I'm not saying that we were always this bad but let's be honest. Many of these things have been going on for years but people just chose to ignore them.
For instance, children have been molested by priests, teachers, and other "trusted" adults for more than a few decades. The murder of unborn babies has been legal — and accepted by the majority — for over 30 years. In the early sixties the U.S. president was in the process of being impeached for sleeping with an enemy spy — and he was married — but he is still considered a great president. Another president defied U.S. laws and used witchcraft to run the United States, yet everyone still upholds him as a righteous 'Christian'. Wife-swapping become popular over 40 years ago. It was over 20 years ago that one of the first (or, perhaps the first) known homosexual was elected to Congress. Forty years ago the majority of the youth of the nation became sexually promiscuous and experimented with different drugs — and that was without a long history of television viewing. And what about all the sin during prohibition? That surely didn't happen as a result of watching too much television. (And it wasn't just a minority of the population, either. Otherwise, Congress wouldn't have repealed it.)
Israel Will Be Just Fine
posted: November 11, 2006
It sure seems as if a lot of people these days are willing to write off Israel if the United States government backs off from its (alleged) support. They seem to think that, without the backing of the United States, Israel doesn't have a chance of surviving, even with Yahweh's help. But, is that really true? Is Israel doomed now that the evil Democrats have taken over the US government and cast out the corrupt Republicans?
Well, I don't really care too much for the smut of politics, so I won't go into the travesties that have been accomplished by both Democrats and Republicans. (Yahweh, by the way, is neither Republican nor Democrat.) So, let's take a look at the words spoken by the only One that we can trust — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What does Yahweh have to say about Israel, whom He chose to be His people forever?
An Ugly Reality Only the Most Enlightened Refuse to Concede
posted: October 29, 2006
I recently found the following short article while going back through my old e-mails. It's written by Rabbi Berel Wein. While it's not the Torah reading for this week, it's still a very good, concise statement regarding the essence of man. Contrary to what many people believe, man is not really good. I'm not trying to be negative; I'm just trying to be realistic, which seems hard for many people. Once we realize our true, fallen condition, we can clearly understand Yeshua's words, ""Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." (Luke 18.19)
Only A 'Day' of Prayer?
posted: October 01, 2006
Several Christian groups are sponsoring an "International Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem" on Sunday, October 1, 2006. The leaders of this event include Robert Stearns, Jack Hayford, Malcolm Hedding, Wayne Hilsden, and Rebecca Brimmer. According to the press release, "members will be stationed in various nations and regions of the world, including Jerusalem, Germany, Brazil, New York, and Indiana."
United States: One Nation Under Four Gods
posted: September 18, 2006
According to a recent survey, people in the United States who believe in God are, evidently, not in agreement which God it is. The survey was written and analyzed by sociologists from Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion in Waco, Texas, and conducted by Gallup. The survey [available in PDF format] asked 1,721 people 77 questions with nearly 400 answer choices that burrowed deeply into beliefs, practices and religious ties. It is considered to be by far the most comprehensive national religion survey to date.
The Weight of All That Sin
posted: September 11, 2006
By now most of you probably are aware of the earthquake that struck central Florida on Sunday. If you're not, don't feel bad. It came as a surprise to everybody here also. It also was felt in Louisiana and other places in the Gulf of Mexico.
Quoting from the Orlando Sentinel, "The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors seismic activity, recorded the earthquake at 10:56 a.m., about 260 miles southwest of Tampa. It reached magnitude 6, the strongest and most widely felt of only about a dozen temblors that have been recorded in the Gulf in 30 years.... Before Sunday's earthquake, the most recent quake in the Gulf was February 10 and was a magnitude 5.2, USGS data show. That another one followed seven months later puzzled scientists even more."
Music Comes to shamar.org
posted: March 06, 2006
David stated, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). I have been so blessed to witness the truth of this statement several times in my life. One of those desires has been to perform music that will bring honor and glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A little over three years ago, the Lord brought me together with a brother and sister — Byran and Beth Wong — to bring life to that desire. As it turns out, it was not only my heart's desire; it was also the case with Bryan and Beth. The testimony of what the Lord has done in our midst with music is beyond comprehension.
Through several trials, we have persevered and continued our calling from the Lord. In doing so, He has brought forth a collection of music to celebrate His Passover festival — a fest to celebrate Israel's deliverance from Egypt. We have recently finished recording a CD titled, "Songs of Passover". You can hear some of the songs on our Web site.
There are a few traditional Passover songs on the CD, e.g., Dayenu and Le-Shanah Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim. There is also a rendition of The Four Questions. In addition, there are several original songs that the Lord has brought forth. Most of these songs have interesting stories behind them, which perhaps I will go into detail in another posting. For now let me just say that it is our prayer that the Lord will be blessed by this offering of music before His throne, and that others will blessed by what He has done in our midst. Baruch Ha'Shem.
Worship from a Hebraic Perspective
posted: February 18, 2006
[This article is taken from the archives of the Ancient Hebrew Research Center. It explains the Biblical meaning of worship much better than I am able.]
Webster's Dictionary defines "worship" as:
1. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
2. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
As I have stated many times but worth repeating, when we read the Old Testament/Tanach we must define our words from a Hebraic perspective, not English. Unfortunately, when we see the word "worship" in the Bible we automatically assume the above definition causing misinterpretation of the Biblical text.
If I asked the average Christian/Jew/Messianic, "Is it okay to worship a man?", The answer would be, "Absolutely not, we are only to worship God.".
The first question we must ask is, "What is the Hebrew word behind the English word 'worship' and what does it mean?". Below are a couple of verses in English using the word "worship".
"And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord." Genesis 24:26
"So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord." 1 Samuel 15:31
"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Psalm 29:2
In each of these verses the Hebrew word behind the English word "worship" is "shahhah" (the hh is pronounced hard like the ch in the name Bach). This Hebrew word appears 172 times in the Biblical text but is only translated as "worship" 99 times in the KJV. Below are some other translations of this same word.
"Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee." Genesis 27:29
In this passage other nations will bow down/worship the descendents of Jacob.
"And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of [their] welfare; and they came into the tent." Exodus 18:7
In this passage Moses bowed down/worshiped his father-in-law.
"So king Solomon sent, and they brought him [Adonijah] down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house."
In this passage Adonijah was found righteous when he bowed down/worshiped Solomon.
Whenever the Hebrew word "shahhah" is used as an action toward God, the translators translate this word as "worship". But, whenever this same Hebrew word is used as an action toward another man, the translators translate this word as "obeisance", "to bow" or "bow down". As you can see, the translators are preventing the reader from viewing the text in its proper Hebraic context. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word "shahhah" can be seen in Numbers 22:31: "and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face". "Shahhah" means to bow down with the face to the ground.
The concept of "worship" as defined by Webster's Dictionary is not Hebraic in any way and is not found in the Bible. We would be better off to remove the idea of "worship" from our Biblical vocabulary and replace it with "bow down". The only true way to bow down/worship God or a man from a true Hebraic perspective is to bow down with the face to the ground. Of course, this concept of bowing is an eastern custom that is not practiced in our western culture.
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