Month: August 2015

In the Spirit of Brotherhood

When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name. — Deuteronomy 26:1–2

The portion for this week is which means “when you have entered,” from Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8, and the

The summer of 2014 was a difficult one for Israel. Bombarded by incessant missiles, the Israel Defense Forces had no choice but to put an end to Hamas’s firing capability. What the soldiers found in Gaza was far worse than they had imagined. The terrorists had built an intricate set of tunnels that spanned the few miles between Gaza and Israel. These tunnels were part of an elaborate plot to sneak into Israel and kill as many civilians as possible.

During the operation, pandemonium broke out one Friday morning as terrorists opened fire on the IDF soldiers during an official cease-fire period, killing two instantly and dragging another, Hadar Goldin, into a terror tunnel. As soon as the soldiers realized what had happened, 23-year-old Lt. Eitan turned to his comrades and said, “I’m going after Goldin. If I’m not back in five minutes, I’m dead.” While Eitan did not succeed in bringing back his comrade, he found enough evidence to allow authorities to determine that Goldin had been killed, giving his family closure. In addition, Eitan’s valiant display of brotherhood served as encouragement to all.

In this week’s portion, we read about the commandment of Bikkurim, bringing the firstfruits to God, once the Israelites were inside of Israel. However, the children of Israel did not observe this directive right away. Why? Because the full conquest of the land took 14 years, and until every one of the Israelites had settled in the land, the rest of the nation was unsettled as well, even if some had already built houses and harvested produce. If part of the nation was still battling for their security, the whole nation shared in their plight. Their joy could not be complete until all their brethren were safely out of harm’s way.

This spirit of fellowship and brotherhood was present from the very beginnings of the nation of Israel and remains tangible even today. The sentiment that “I am not OK if you are not OK” is a guiding spiritual force that will always govern our nation.

On a larger scale, we would have a much greater world if everyone thought along these lines. How can we be OK if there are millions of others who are not? It’s easy to get caught up in our own lives and to forget the poverty, danger, and terror that grips other parts of our world. No one person can save everyone, but if we each do our part and see all human beings as our brethren, we can dramatically change the world for the better. As the Jewish sages taught: “It is not for you to complete the work, but you are not free to desist from it.” We all need to do our part today!

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Be Willing to Let God Mold You

“As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.” Jer 18:6 NKJV

Henry Poppen, one of China’s first missionaries, spent forty years telling its people about the love of Jesus and how He died to take away their sin. One day after he finished speaking, a man approached him and said, “We know this Jesus! He’s been here.” Dr. Poppen explained how that wasn’t possible because Jesus had lived and died long ago in a country far from China. “Oh no,” the man insisted, “He died here. I can even show you his grave.” He led Dr. Poppen outside the city to a cemetery where an American was buried. There, inscribed on a crumbling gravestone was the name of a medical doctor who felt called by God to live and die among the people of this remote Chinese village. And when its people heard Dr. Poppen describe the attributes of Jesus—His mercy, His love, His kindness, His willingness to forgive—they remembered the missionary doctor. God will use you when you’re willing to become “clay in the potter’s hand.” Clay has no aspirations; it’s moldable, pliable, and completely subject to the potter’s will. Henry Blackaby says: “When God’s assignment demands humility, He finds a servant willing to be humbled. When it requires zeal, He looks for someone He can fill with His Spirit. God uses holy vessels, so He finds those who’ll allow Him to remove their impurities. It’s not a noble task being clay—there’s no glamour to it, nothing boast-worthy, except it’s exactly what God’s looking for.”

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Isaiah 51:5 On mine arm shall they trust.

In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father’s arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in Him. Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the everlasting arms. Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.

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Acknowledge Your Mistakes

“He who heeds rebuke gets understanding.”     Pr 15:32 NKJV

In spite of his faults, flaws, and failures, God called David “a man after [my] own heart” (Ac 13:22). And one of the qualities that made David great was his willingness to acknowledge his mistakes. Here were two instances of it: (1) When fleeing the wrath of King Saul, he sought the help of a certain priest—a decision that caused Saul to order the death of eighty-five priests and their families. Devastated but not defensive, David told the surviving son of the slain priest who had assisted him, “I have caused the death of all your father’s family” (1Sa 22:22 NLT). Can you imagine taking responsibility for such a tragic consequence? (2) When the prophet Nathan confronted him about his affair with Bathsheba and his attempt to cover up her resulting pregnancy by having her husband killed, David acknowledged, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2Sa 12:13 NLT). Would you have the emotional and spiritual maturity to make such an admission? Or do you have a tendency to defend your actions for fear of being judged, criticized, or rejected? Do you sometimes feel attacked when someone offers feedback, whether it is positive or negative? Do you retreat in silence? Do you counter-accuse or blame your attacker? Do you make hostile comments? Do you become sarcastic? Making mistakes doesn’t make you a lesser person, but defending them does. Don’t let pride rob you of the wisdom that comes from acknowledging your mistakes and ultimately growing through them. “He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.”

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Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord.

It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God’s warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that if He keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry. Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, “Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for Thee in the full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.”

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God Keeps His Own Records

The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:

     “This one was born in Zion.” — Psalm 87:6

For many Jews, making aliyah – immigrating to the land of Israel – is a dream come true. To have children and raise them in Israel is to take that dream held by the Jewish people for more than 2,000 years a step further. So, as you might imagine, many American olim (immigrants) were dismayed to find out after giving birth to children in Jerusalem, our nation’s capital, the American passports of these children would simply list “Jerusalem” as their place of birth, but not “Israel” as their country of birth.

As far as these passports were concerned, Jerusalem was not recognized as part of Israel.

Over a decade ago, some American parents of children born in Israel decided to pursue the matter legally. In 2002, the U.S. Congress voted that Israel should be listed on such passports as the country of birth. But subsequent presidential administrations have all called this congressional act unlawful. In 2015, the issue came to a head when the Supreme Court ruled that “Israel” should be left off the passports of Americans born in Jerusalem.

It came as a staggering blow to the many American Jews who love their country of birth, but who came to Israel as part of their divine calling. How can our greatest ally not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital? Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat responded by saying, “Just as Washington is the capital of the U.S., London is the capital of England, and Paris is the capital of France, Jerusalem was and will always be the capital of Israel – but more than that, it’s the heart and soul of the Jewish nation.”

Psalm 87 could have been written today to address this very issue. The psalmist wrote: “The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: ‘This one was born in Zion.’”

In other words, ultimately, it doesn’t matter what the world might say about babies born in Jerusalem. God has a register of His own. He will keep records of which children were born in Zion, another term for the Jewish State.

This is a great reminder that while there is some importance to what the world or the people in our lives might say about us, in the end all that really matters is what God will say about us. We should never place too much importance upon what others say or think about us. We should strive only to please our Lord and to concern ourselves only with how we will go down in His records. Will God list us as kind or cruel? As faithful or fearful? As obedient or wayward? God writes the final record — and that’s the only one that counts.

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