TANAKH of the WEEK

11 Novermber 2006: Blessings

2006-11-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

I shall be with you and bless you...and all nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendents in return for Abraham's obedience. (Gen. 26:2...5)

God's promise to Isaac at first glance appears to have been for the past, and not for today, but that is just appearance. All nations will bless themselves by his descendents doesn't seem to be for us, or is it? There is one descendent of Isaac by whom many in the nations count themselves blessed, and that is our Adonai Yeshua haMoshiach (Lord Jesus Christ) who has come into the world.

Now let us be aware of this word bless. I do not have my Hebrew scriptures close by to check this out, but most often the word be blessed means to speak good of, or to make happy. In other words God will speak good of Issac (and God's word is power) and the nations will be made happy by the descendants of Isaac.

This blessing may be divided up in several ways. The Jews were to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. Their scriptures explained what sin was, and led people to attempt to lead a holy life. By seeing the impossibility of living a holy life on our own, the scriptures reveals our need for a saviour. In the century preceding and following the death of the Messiah, many attempted to follow the Jews because they recognised that the Jews were different, they had holiness of life, that many others did not have. Many of these people became Christians because they saw that through Yeshua, they had the power to conquer sin and death in their lives. In this way all nations will be blessed (or at least those that choose to follow Messiah).

There is though a second way that the nations will be blessed. Consider the Jesiwish nation today. Current estimates are that there are about fourteen million Jews in the wolfd today. This would give the Jews about 0.2% of the world's population. Now for comparison, 21.06% of the Nobel Prize winners have been Jewish. Of these 158 winners, of these 115 were in practical sciences such as chemistry, physics and medicine (in other words they will have real physical affects at some point in time.) I think it is fascinating that a group which only has two tenths of the world's population contributed one fifith of the Nobel prize winners. Is this a coincidence. I think not. God still has his chosen people, and they are still to be a blessing to the nations of the world. They have done this by contributing the faithful remnant of Torah observant Israel for the birth of Messiah, and by contributing to the well being of the world even today. The book of Revelations seems to indicate that the Jews will still have a role to play in the end times.

What does this mean for us? First we must learn to be obedient to God. God desires to speak well of us that we may make the world may be happy. Christians have done this in the past, fightting against and defeating the slave trade (especially Wiberforce), stopping sati (forcing widows to jump on the funeral pyre with the deceased husband) and in general raising the status of women and children in the world. In other words, to use the words of Yeshua, we are to be salt of the earth. We are to make a difference.

Today, Christians do not seem to be making a difference. Mark Foley apparently did not forgive someone who mistreated him, and became that very thing he did not forgive. (Many critisise Mr. Foley for making laws against this very type of behaviour and then indulging in it. I think that Mr. Foley sponsored these laws because it was a bad experience for him being on the receiving end of pedophile behavior and he wanted to protect children. In other words he was really against pedophiles. He was trapped into the behaviour by his lack of forgiveness, much as a drunk hates drunks but cannot breat the addiction ((sometimes also for lack of forgivness)). Just recently the head a an Evangelical group has fallen apparently admitting to bestowing favours and drugs upon a homosexual prostitute. St. Paul adresses this very behaviour, "I do not understand what I do, for I don't do what Iwould like to do, but instead I do what I hate... So I am not really the one who does this thing, rather it is the sin that lives in me...for even though the desire to do good is in me, Iam not able to do it. I don't do the good I want to do; instead I do the evil I don't want to do." (Romans 7:15-19).

What is the anser to this problem? First, we must make the effort, to truly want to submit ourselves to Yeshua as Lord. Far too many people want him as fire insurance, not as Lord. Knowing him, that is accepting him in truth as Lord, we must develop our relationship with him, especially through study of his word and meditaion on the same. (how ever long you take reading the word, spend that much time in silence afterwards so that the Lord can shew you what he wants to. Talk to him. Formal prayers are fine, but also develop informal prayers. Talk to him as a friend. Spend as much time listening to him as you do talking. Spend time with other Christians. If you have a weakness, then confess it to a friend, and ask him to hold you accountable. Let us say you have a problem with internet pornagrphy. Tell your priest or a good spiritual friend and have him or her ask you. Have you done this this week or month. Often, knowing you will be asked that question will keep you out of trouble. Take your sins to God as well, and ask him (and your presbyter or bishop) and seek the spiritual roots of your besetting sin. Often it is unforgiveness. And for heaven's sake, if there is someone who has hurt you, forgive them. You often become what you do not forgive.

In other words, let holiness be our watchword. Ask God to bless you that you may be a blessing. And those Jews whom God uses to bless us, we need to pray and witness to them, for even though God is using them, they still need to know Yeshua as Lord and Saviour. (BTW two of those Jews on the list did accept Jesus).

Shalom b'Yeshua haMoshiach

Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

All Saints Sunday: 5 November 2006

2006-11-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11

The fifth of November being the first Sunday after All Saints Day is celebrated by some as All Saints Sunday. and several of our readings reflect on what a saint is. Starting with the the Writing for today, we find several things about saints. First, if you desire to serve the Lord, prepare to be tested. (Ecc. 2:1) Why is it that God tests his saints? Partly because he wants us to be truly saints. As we are told in verse 4, the value of gold is determined by the fire, and the value of men in the oven of suffering. This is a theme repeated in the Tanakh, that as silver and gold are tried and refined, so God tries and refines us through suffering. Even Yeshua himself learns obedience through suffering according to the New Tesatament. In other words, we are tried, not so much to test us, but so as to strengthen us and make us truly into saints.

As we go through the saints of the Tanahk, we note that many of their lives were marked by suffuring, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Josehph, Job, but most especially the prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah among them suffered at the hands of men. St. Paul himself talks about how God's grace is made perfect in our weekness. In other words, through suffering we learn to lean on the Lord and not on ourselves, to truly seek him and to allow him to work through us.

Those who are true saints who have left writings for us have a consistant message. They do not see themselves as saints, they see their sins and know the necesity of God to forgive them, and to transform our lives. The reading from Ephesians especially (Ephesians 1: 3-14) reminds us that being a saint is not something we do ourselves but something that God gives to us through his Holy Spirit.

Now I would remind you that in some circles that there is some false teaching going on. It goes something like this. "I'm just a poor sinner. If I sin, it will be OK because God understands that I am a sinner." This is a theology that leads the church to be powerless today. Please not that many of the Epistles of the New Testament are adressed to the Saints at such and such a location, they are not adressed to the sinners in Corinth, etc, but to the saints.

How does one become a saint. Paul explains in I Corinthians 6:9-11: Surely you know the wicked will not possess God's Kindom...people who are immoral etc. will not possess God's Kingdom. Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin, you have been deidicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lrod Jeuss Christ and by the Spirit of our God. In other words, once we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and are baptised into the church, we are no longer sinners, but saints, washed clean by the blood of the lamb, which is why All Saints Sunday (or All Saints Day) is one of the four days which we reserve for Baptism at Benim Avraham.

So you have done so but still sin. Confess it to the Lord. If your sin is habitual, then confess it to a priest or spiritual director who can help line you up. Each morning as you get up, remind yourself that you are a saint and need to live a saintly life or you put Jesus and the church to shame. Ask the Lord to fill you with his Holy Spirit and set you free and make you a true saint, a holy member of the body of Christ, and he will do it. Saints of God, let us arise.

King David: 9 September 2006

2006-09-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

II Samuel 11:1-12:23

I remember well when I was in Conroe High School studgying the Greek myths and tragedies. As if it were yesterday I remember our English teachers getting it across to us that the heroe always had a character flaw that would doom him to failure. At the time, young and foolish as I was, I thought that this was a Greek precocupation and had to do with their understanding of all things, including the Gods being controlled by fate. Now I come to see that we all have at least one character flaw that dooms us eternally unless we allow Jesus into our heart and the Ruach haKodesh to control our lives.

This is well seen in the Tanakh, where almost everyone has obvious and distressing flaws. Look at King David. He consorted with the enemy, killed his soldier for his wife, and was a terrible father, yet received promises from God that were ultimately fulfilled in Yeshua haMoshiach. What was so wonderul about King David. We are told that it was the condition of his heart.

Briefly looking at one episode in David's life, his encounter with Bathsheba. To summarise in brief. David, while his army is at war is walking on the roof of his palace when he spies Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her house. David calls her to his house, and has a one night stand with her, which results in her pregnancy. Daavid to cover up his sin, calls Uriah the HIttite, Bathsheba's husband in and arranges for Uriah to be albe to spend the night with his wife so as to cover his sin. Uraiah, behaving in a more righteous way than David (men were to abstain from sex while fighting) stays outside of his own house, leaving no good explanation of Bathsheba's child, so David arranges for Uriah to die in battle and even has Uriah carry the orders with him for his death. Nathan confronts David over his sin. David's response is characteristic, "I have sinned."

In other word, David takes full responsability for his sin. This is a very important reason why David is a man after God's own heart. He recognises his sin, and he accepts responsability for it. He does not make excuses. He does not respond, everone else is doing it. What he does is to fast for the life of his son, but after his son dies, he accepts God's punishment.

The Tanakh in addition to pointing the way to Jesus and our salvation clearly lays out God's spiritual laws, one of which is responsability. From my experience in modern America, I see few people willing to take responsability for their actions. It is all too easy to blame sickness, weakness or everyone else for our iniquities. Unfortunately, sin must be punished (even though Jesus pays that punishment), and even though Jesus bore our sin for our justification, sin results in consequences that must be dealt with. The consenquences for David were great problems with his children, and eventual splitting of his kingdom under his grandson. Of course for the punishment of sin to pass to Jesus, we must aknowledge that sin.

Christtians must be very careful to aknowledge sin. Unaknowledged sin is an opportunity for Satan to gain a foothold in your life. Aknowledged and confessed sin is an opportunity for God to work in our lives. Let us all seek then to imitate David, not in sinning but in aknowledging and confessing our sins to God that we may enjoy his mercy.

Shalom b'Yeshua haMoshiach

Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

20 May 2005

2006-05-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Moshe said, “If you will listen intently to the voice of YHWH you God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvoth, and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians: because I am YHWH your healer. (Sh’mot [Exodus] 15:26)

The Red Sea has been crossed, Moshe and Miriam have praised God, and they are preparing to follow the pillar of fire by night and pillar of smoke by day to cross the desert. YHWH has thoroughly demonstrated to the Hebrews and Egyptians who is truly Lord, yet we find this little reminder here. One would think that after the miracles performed on their behalf by YHWH working through Moshe, that the people would have obeyed instantly, but apparently not, even after all those miracles they must be reminded, and reminded and reminded and reminded. Now it is important to note, with the warning comes a conditional blessing, “if you will listen intently…I will not afflict you.”

Today there is a divide in Christianity. There are two schools of thought. If I have faith in Jesus, then I am saved, or I am saved by my works. Neither, yet both are true. Faith is what saves us, but we are saved to do works. James tells us, that faith without works is completely dead, or in other words, if Jesus is your Saviour, then he is your Lord as well. As I look around me, the number of people who tell me they are Christians flusters me. I think of one who tells me at least his live in girl friend and children hear about Jesus. While hearing about Jesus is well and good and important, that lady and the children will not see or understand Jesus, unless they see the power in this man’s life. Jesus commands our obedience. What does a live in girl-friend learn of Christian commitment? What do the children learn of obedience when their mother enters the country illegally, drives without a license and lives with someone without being married to them? The point is of course that they learn nothing except to disobey.

Obedience is both hard and easy. Do you really want Jesus as your Lord? You must make the decision whether he is to be your ultimate boss or not. Jesus is either Lord of all or he is not Lord at all. The decision is ours. Once we make that decision and surrender to him, he will give us the power to overcome all, as long as we keep our eyes on him, obeying where we can (and trusting him to help us obey when we cannot obey under our own strength), asking his help when we need it, and studying and obeying his word.

Now the passage says, “I will not afflict you…because I am YHWH your healer, so if you want God to afflict you, then ignore his word. If you want his power in your life follow and obey it. There is a Rabbinic belief about the 613 mitzvoth (commandments) found in the Tanakh or Old Testament. God does not indicate that any are more important than any others, nor for the most part does he indicate rewards for any particular Mitzvoth. This is so that we will obey them all equally out of love for God, and not seeking the reward. It is like tithing. If we tithe seeking God’s blessing on our lives(especially financial as the prosperity Gospel churches preach), then we will receive little or no reward. If instead we tithe because we love God and want to spread his kingdom, the blessings as He promises will be abundant. More than likely they will not be financial, (especially if one hasn’t learned to manage money yet). The primary blessing that God gives us is shalom, a deep inner peace that comes from truly walking with Jesus. As I read the lives of the saints, I am always impressed at their tranquillity and joy in being able to die for the Lord. I especially recall the martyrs of Uganda, who went to their deaths (rather than submit to abominable sexual acts with the king) singing hymns, and the blessing followed them, as the church in Uganda is one of the fastest growing in Africa. We must learn to obey out of love, not in self seeking. We must seek the healer not for healing but for Himself. We must ask him to bless us, but not for our happiness, but that we may be a blessing to further the Kingdom, and we must love Him enough to seek with all our lives to glorify his name. Doesn’t it seem that after we have been delivered from sin and death, we could learn to obey Him?

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

2006-04-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

15“'Seven days shall you eat matzah; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Yisra'el. 16In the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. 17You shall observe the feast of matzah; for in this same day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall you observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. 18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat matzah, until the twenty first day of the month at evening. 19Seven days shall there be no yeast found in your houses, for whoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Yisra'el, whether he be a foreigner, or one who is born in the land. 20You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat matzah.'”Exodus 12:15-20 (World English Bible)

Lent is drawing to an end and we are approaching Easter and Passover. I would like to comment on several pre-Passover customs at this time. As many of you know, Passover will begin the evening of the 12th of April, which is the 14th of Nissan according to the Hebrew Calendar. A week before Passover, spring cleaning begins, and all the good plates, silver ware etc. are cleaned up and prepared for the feast. The 14th of Nissan, the entire family goes about the house looking for leaven, traditionally with a candle, a brush and a dust tray. (We ourselves use a flashlight). To encourage the children, whoever finds the most leaven is given a reward. (Pieces of leavened bread a strategically hidden before hand). For the eight days of the holiday there is not bread to be found in the house (and indeed in remembrance our communion bread will be unleavened for celebrations of the Eucharist these eight days).

Leaven is symbolic of evil. Indeed, even Jesus told his Talmidim (disciples) to be careful of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, referring to false teaching and example. When we become Christians, it is time to part ourselves from all evil. The preparation for Passover reminds us to remove all evil from our lives and our homes. The preparation for Passover for those who celebrate it, is a good time to seek anything evil and remove it from our homes. This could be books, magazines, movies, etc. As we look for the leaven in the house, I also look to see if there is anything that would detract from my Christian witness, and remove it and burn it with the leaven. I also take part of the day and analyse my style of life, my thoughts, and habits, and when I find things that are not befitting Jesus, I write them down, and on Good Friday give them to Jesus by nailing them to a cross which we have for that purpose (they are later burned). Our minds and thoughts must be subject to Christ.

Naturally, while we can remove evil things from our houses, it is much harder to remove evil from our minds. This is done by doing it symbolically, and by developing different habits of thought. If you have some habit, which leads to sin, impure thoughts, etc., then you much get rid of that habit. Some habits are more difficult to deal with, and must be given to the Lord to deal with.

Do not take the attitude that God must convict you of a sin before you must deal with it. I have certain friends who smoke (as we all know smoking is bad for the body, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and the New Testament tells us we should not damage the Temple of the Holy Spirit). These people knew smoking was bad for them, that the money they spent on cigarettes would have been better used buying food for their kids, but would not quit because God had not convicted them. If something is obviously a sin (by being found in the Bible), then God doesn’t need to convict. We must accept his word and follow it. There are some things that God must convict us of, either through our ignorance or lack of thought, and he will, but if the Bible sets a standard, we must abide by it, or we are in danger of hardening our own hearts as did Pharaoh and make ourselves incapable of hearing his word, or his conviction. There are many in the world today who pick and choose what we need to do, instead of accepting God’s word. We risk our destruction. There are many examples of people in the Bible (I am thinking of Saul) who lost their relationship with God by disobeying his clear word.

On another train of thought, all firstborn Jews, on the 14 of Nissan fast until the Passover Seder. The reason for this is to remember the first born of Egypt who died for our freedom. Likewise at the Seder, when remembering the plagues which befell Egypt, we remove some wine from the cup so it will not be full, in remembrance of how the Egyptians suffered. Let us remember then, as we clean the sin from our lives with the power of Jesus, that we must have compassion even upon our enemies whom we must feed when hungry and clothe when naked.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

25 March 2006:

2006-03-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Exodus 7:1-10:28

Please take the time to read the above lesson.

We are now entering the fight between Moshe and his brother Aaron against Pharaoh for the children of Israel. More properly we are entering the fight between YHWH and Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s world system or Kosmos. Do not think that any of these plagues were accidents. Each one was aimed at a specific aspect of Egyptian religion. YHWH is not only demonstrating to the Egyptians that He is God, but he is demonstrating to the children of Israel that He is God.

Let us look at the first plague. The Nile is turned into blood. It is important that we realise what the Nile meant to the people of Egypt. Every year the Nile flooded, and that flooding would leave a rich layer of alluvial soil which made Egypt different from many other nations. Egypt had rich crops of a variety that would have been the envy of any other civilisation. That the flooding was caused by the melting of snow off the mountains was a mystery to the people of Egypt and they attributed the flooding to the gods, and in fact at several times in their history worshipped the Nile as a god. In addition, the Nile provided an abundance of fish for all, and was the main source of transportation for the country. Ninety percent of the population lived less than ten miles from the Nile. When the Nile turned to blood, God demonstrated that he was mightier than the Nile and had the entire Egyptian economy in his hands, and I am quite sure terrified the people of Egypt.

The second plague was frogs. Frog gods were said to accompany the god of the Nile as he came down the river in the floods. Frogs were associated with fertility, and there were several frog or frog headed gods: Heket, Ogdoad-heh, , Hek, Nun, Amun, and Heka, the last maybe most important as she was the goddess of magic. When YHWH used the Egyptians own frogs against them, he was demonstrating that he was superior to the powers of Egypt.

The third plague was lice. While I cannot link these in any way to Egyptian mythology, the magicians themselves tell Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God,” in other words something beyond their powers and beyond their Gods.

The following plague is probably gnats, which after the lice certainly made life miserable. We note at this point the magicians have given up and no longer try to imitate Moshe.

The next plague was death of livestock. We note in passing that there were three Egyptian bulls that were considered incarnations of gods, and at least one cow goddess, so once again the Lord is demonstrating his superiority to Egyptian gods. (We might remember that Moses told Egypt the Hebrew sacrifices would be abhorrent to the Egyptians, the Egyptians did not sacrifice cows or any thing they worshipped, but sacrificed wine and bread. Mummies of animals that had died naturally were also given to the Gods.)

God by this time has proved he is Lord over all these false Gods and Lords, and the next few plagues demonstrate his Lordship over mankind and nature. The next plague is of sores which leave the people miserable, but just as miraculously they are healed. The following plague truly demonstrated YHWH’s supernatural power, burning hail. By this time, some Egyptians are beginning to believe in the Lord, and bring their livestock and slaves in to protect them. Next we have the plague of locusts which destroys what the hail had not (it is noted that the wheat and buckwheat were not destroyed by the hail because they had not yet come up. YHWH, blessed be his name is truly God of nature.

The last plague we will consider for today is darkness. YHWH is getting up close and personal here. Ra or Re, the Sund God, is considered the chief of the Egyptian Gods. Pharaoh is a manifestation of Horus, the son of Ra, a God of the power of the Sun. The plague of darkness proves YHWH superior to Ra or Horus or to the supposed supernatural powers of the Pharaoh.

But these manifestations are not only to demonstrate to the Pharaoh that YHWH is true God, but to the Hebrew people themselves. As Dr. Tony Evans has said, “The problem is not just to get the people out of Egypt, but to get Egypt out of the people.” The Hebrews had lived for close to four centuries in Egypt, among a people whose god blessed them in abundance, especially with the mysterious yearly Nile floods. The people had to learn freedom, and dependence on the Lord of Hosts. Slavery, amazingly enough is easier and more desirable to stick with than freedom, especially after four centuries. Those of you familiar with the Torah will remember that the Hebrews cried often to return to Egypt where they had meat, leeks, and melons for the asking. Christians have the same problems; we want to go back to Egypt, to serve the gods we served there, gods of sex, carnality, food, liquor, drugs, addiction to internet, pornography, etc.

During this time of Lent, it is good to ask ourselves, “do we want to return to Egypt?” “Do we recognise that YHWH is God over all of our gods and lords which we have made?” “Do we recognise that God is God of and over nature, fully in control?” In other words, most of us are out of Egypt, but is Egypt out of us? Do we allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives? He cannot be Lord of our lives in truth unless we recognise that he is Lord of All. When we learn to truly trust him by giving him our selves, our souls, our bodies, our time and our money, or will we just give him lip service? It is time for us to decide. Remember what Corrie ten Boom said about revisiting our sins. “It is as God has thrown our sins into the deepest part of the sea, and placed a sign that says, ‘No Fishing!’ God has won the victory. All we need to do is follow and obey.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

19 March 2005: Moshe Rabeinu

2006-03-18T23:42:00.000-07:00

As we approach Peshach or Passover and Easter, it is a good thing to consider Moshe Rabeinu (1393?-1273? BC), more well known to us westerners as Moses. There is still speculation about the exact years in which he lived. According to the Rabbis, Moses was born and died on the 7th of Adar. Moses lived in Egypt for 40 years, towards the end of which, he killed an Egyptian who was mistreating one of the Habiru (Hebrew) people. Moshe then spent the next forty years taking care of sheep in the desert. The end of this period he has his encounter with the burning bush. His last forty years he spent combating Pharaoh and leading the Hebrews to freedom.

We can look at this in a different way. During Moshe’s first forty years he attempted to save his people through his own efforts. His second forty years were spent learning to depend on God. His last forty years were spent in allowing God to use him to save his people.

Forty is an important number in the Bible. Forty is a number which symbolises trials, temptations and preparations. Moses spends forty years getting to know God in the desert. The children of Israel spend forty years in the desert to prepare to enter the promised land. Yeshua (Jesus) spent forty days in the desert to prepare for his ministry, and of course we have forty days of Lent.

Moses, when he encounters the burning bush approaches to see this strange sight. God instructs him to remove his sandals and come no closer because he is standing on holy ground. Today, the Cohen (Jewish priest) removes his shoes before giving the Aaronic blessing. In both the Coptic and Assyrian churches, the congregation remove their shoes in memory of this verse, and that their church is holy ground. I myself usually remove my shoes before entering the church, or at the least before approaching the alter, in memory of this verse.

Moses does not jump at the opportunity to save his people. Perhaps the memory of the slain Egyptian gives him doubts. Perhaps he did not want to confront the Pharaoh, of whom the Midrash and Talmud suggest grew up with Moses, perhaps he has finally realised that he is not worthy. But God is not concerned with our worthiness. He is concerned with our brokenness and our willingness to be used by him. Moses was a murderer, yet God used him. Samson was a philanderer, yet God used him. You and I are sinners (or were before we accepted Jesus, but now we are saints, we’ll save that for another day). Moses was broken when he fled Egypt, Sampson when his eyes were removed. Are we broken? Have we come to the point that we realise that we are not worthy, nor will we ever be ready for God’s gift of eternal life to us? Do we really appreciate what a wonderful gift this is?

When we are truly broken, and realise that we have no power to help ourselves, nor do those things that God wants us to do, then we are ready to be used by God. “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up.” (James 3:16) His strength and power are truly manifest in our weakness.

But Moshe hesitates. He tells Adonai YHWH that he is slow of speech. (An aside on this, according to the Talmud, Moshe was a very intelligent child, so intelligent in fact that the Pharaoh became worried that Moshe would supplant his son. Pharaoh’s counsellors suggested that they test Moshe by putting a piece of gold and a burning ember in the crib. If Moshe took the gold, they would know there was danger. Moshe began to reach for the gold, but an angel of YHWH (blessed be the name) pushed Moshe’s hand to the ember which he took and put in his mouth burning his tongue). Anyway, the Lord reminds Moshe that it was the Lord YHWH who created Moshe and gave him his mouth, and of course arranges for Aaron to speak for Moshe. The point that we need to take is that if YHWH calls us to do something, he will give us the power to do it. The Lord sent me to Honduras. It took me a year to learn Spanish, but I was preaching in my first week of travel in Mexico. I was sent to the Miskito Coast. In six months the language was learned. Brothers and sisters, this was not me, it was the Lord. When he gives us a job, he gives us the ability to complete it. This is not just a job in missions or ministry. This is in holiness as well. God calls us to be holy as he is holy.

Friends, I am deeply disappointed by seeing all the smokers rush to the door of their church (close by our house) so they can get that cigarette. I am appalled by gluttony that I see in Christian brothers (and myself, but I am in battle, 22 pounds down and 42 to go). I am disgusted that George Barna’s statistics show that Christian youth are more likely to be involved in sex than non-church attendees. Oh Lord, forgive us, have we done such a sorry job teaching our children.

There are two problems. One, we have lost the power of self-discipline. When I was in high school, contraception methods were pretty primitive. The birth control pill had not yet been invented, yet one girl in four years in a class of 900 plus got pregnant. Times they have changed. My first year in a regular public high school, fourteen of about 200 students that I had were pregnant. People tell me times are changed we cannot go back. My response is balderdash. First we need to remember that sex is a gift for use in marriage only. Secondly we need to know that God will give us the power to overcome any sin in our life. Any sin. Sexual sin, addiction, any sin.

When I gave up my snuff, I had been using it fourteen years. The good Lord showed me that it was messing up my witness with the youth group with which I worked. I was reminded on Christian radio that God was bigger than my tobacco habit. I laid my can of tobacco on the altar, asked the Lord to take away my desire and have been free ever since (twenty-three years now).

Brothers and sisters, God is calling you to personal holiness. You know where if you are listening to him. He will give you the power to conquer sin in your life. God is also calling you to work for him. I do not know where, but you do. Have no doubts. God will give you the power. Twenty-two years ago I left Conroe, Texas on my motorcycle with $90.00 in my pocket. About 10 weeks later I arrived in Honduras still with money in my pocket. God had cleared a way for me miraculously to make it all the way to Honduras. A week after I showed up at the Episcopal School in Tela, the teacher had to leave on an emergency trip because her father was dying. It is amazing how God moves.

Don’t be afraid. Don’t argue with God. Don’t tell him you cannot do it. Be like Samuel and tell him, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” Tell him, “I cannot do it on my own, but with you at my side all things are possible.

Moshe Rabeinu, (once he got going) displayed faith. Note, before each of those miracles, except the food ones, Moshe had to obey God, and trust God to do the rest. Let us all go out and do the same.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua
+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

18 December 2005

2005-12-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

This week I will not be talking about the Tanakh, but a little about Christmas. If you would like to look at some of the scriptures in the Tanakh which relate to the birth of Yeshua, please go to http://www.freewebs.com/childrenofabraham/ and look at the lessons for the Eve of the Nativity at the bottom of the page.

One comment, you are about as likely to win the lottery as it was for Yeshua to complete the propehcies fortold about him in the Tanakh.

Now at this time of year, many things come up about Christmas being a pagan holiday, and that Christians should not celebrate it. Some of the same links tell us we shouldn't celebrate Easter because Easter was the German Goddess develloped from Babylon. We won't go there today. Let it suffice today that our Christmas tree does not come from German Paganism, nor from Babylonian paganism, but from Mediaeval morality plays. In former times, literacy was low, and besides stained glass windows, the church used dramas to teach the faithful the Bible. The first play on Christmas eve in the Holy Roman Empire was on Adam and Eve and the play would not be complete without the tree of life which was hung with candles (sometimes with apples as well, but these were usually used on the tree of knowledge hence the apple in many paintings, since the apple was the only fruit that could be preserved through the winter). Eventually the faithful moved the tree into their homes where it remains long after the demise of morality plays.

The incarnation of our Lord was originally celebrated on the 6th of January and indeed the Armenians still do not celebrate the 25th of December but only the 6th of January, on which they celebrate several Christmas events. In the Eastern church Christmas is still less important than Epiphany but is celebrated. Apparently the feast was celebrated on the 25th of December because that was nine months after the celebration of the Annunciation which was celebrated back in the 2nd century. The feast of the invincable sun was not placed on December 25th until very late in the third century, and if the truth be known was probably placed there to win Christians back to paganism. (By the way, some people think Jesus was born in the Spring, others in the fall. Few believe he was born in December, but just think of it as being like the Queen's official birthday, which regardless of her real birthday always falls in June.)

Now it is true that some pagan symbols are used by some in celebrating Christmas, such as mistletoe. Truth be known, mistletoe is so poinonous, you probably shouldn't have it in your house. Holly has some pagan associations, but since it is evergreen it does make for a nice wreath. If you are aware of pagan associations and it spoils you celebrating the birth of Jesus, then just kick the mistletoe or whatever out of your house.

The important thing is don't spend too much money on presents. Take time to truly celebrate the birth of our saviour. Remember what Marin Luther said about Jesus's humble place of birth (the stable was located in a cave), that it demonstrated God's utter disregard for those things which we think important). Also remember, that Jesus became man, so that we might have salvation.

+Mar Michael Abportus
Pastor, Congregation Benim Avraham
mjthan@quik.com
http://www.freewebs.com/childrenofabraham/
http://www.christiansynod.org/
1-281-303-3671

Tanakh Portion for 4 December 2005

2005-12-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Genesis 44-46.

The Torah portion for this week is taken from Vayigash. Joseph has tested his brothers to see if they were the same men who left him to be sold to slavery and finds that his brothers have changed. Upon revealing his identity to his brothers, he tells them that what they meant for evil, God has turned to good. Indeed it was necessary that Joseph go to Egypt to prepare the way for his brothers and their descendents to be saved from the famine, which still had five years to run. We see here that all was turned to good. Avram’s favouritism of Joseph, the dreams, the selling of Joseph into slavery, Joseph being cast into prison, all of these worked together to put Joseph where God wanted him to be. I am reminded of a verse from the New Testament, “All things work to the good of those who love the Lord.”

This goodness works in several ways. First we are brought into a state of blessedness, or shalom. Do you love the Lord? Do you accept his will? IF so you have entered the true state of blessedness, for you will accept what the Lord gives you. Joseph among others in the Bible have reached this state where they totally trust God. It is when we learn to say with Job, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” In other words total acceptance of God’s will and total faith in God. Do you have what you want or do you have what you need. Through my fourteen years in Honduras as a missionary, I usually had what I wanted, for I had learned to want what I needed.

As we prepare to celebrate the Nativity of Yeshua, blessed be his name, may we be aware of the awesomeness of the divine plan. Yeshua was the culmination of the blessing made to Avram, that God would bless the whole world through him. That promise continues through us who are true Talmidim (disciples) of the Messiah. When we are salt of the earth, then the world through us is blessed. When we witness to the mission and work of Yeshua, the world is blessed through us. Part of our witness is learning to accept the will of God with grace and thankfulness.

For this and other reasons, it is very important to study the Old Testament. Yeshua truly does fulfil it, and it truly leads us to him, as well as the blessed life.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

26 November 2005

2005-11-26T22:58:00.000-07:00

A voice cries out, “Clear a road through the desert for Adonai! Level a highway in the ‘Aravah for our God! Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill lowered, the bumpy places made level and the crags become a plain, and the glory of God will be revealed.” (Yesha’yahu [Isaiah] 40:3-5

Something truly sad happened about 2000 years ago. The long expected Messiah came, and his people new him not. The law and the prophets had shown his coming in various ways, and indeed there was a frenzy of belief that the Messiah was coming soon, yet he was not recognised. He wasn’t recognised for several reasons.

The Pharisees did not recognise him because they had substituted works for relationship. They had taken the many marvellous commandments which were for the purpose of developing a relationship with God and turned them into an end in and of themselves. In other words, instead of salvation through a relationship with God, they were pushing salvation by works, which is a dead end. No matter how good and holy we are, we can never measure up to God’s standards. Those of us here in the USA have to watch out for this, for we like to do everything for ourselves and often forget this is not God’s plan.

The Sadducees (They don’t believe in resurrection or spiritual things so they are Sad, you see) couldn’t recognise him because they (as many here in the USA) had lost their spiritual base. They no longer believed in resurrection, angels or spiritual events, some may not have even believed in God, so when faced with the truth, they could not face it and denied it. In fact someone even today asked me, about some of the people that Jesus faced. They didn’t really have demons did they? They were just insane, right? Wrong, the demonic is still with us. Many of our problems today have a spiritual basis, but we (including many church folk) have become such materialists that we no longer can see it. Disease, storms disasters are merely natural phenomena, they don’t have anything to do with God, right? Now I do not deny the germ theory or modern science, but the more I counsel, the more I see that disease and disasters have a spiritual element to them. We ignore this at our peril.

The Herodians on the other hand had a different problem. Outwardly, they were Jews, but inwardly they worshipped power. We all know the saying power corrupts, and absoluter power corrupts absolutely. In this case they were so worried about power that they were incapable of recognising THE POWER when he came into their presence. We often do the same. We are so busy pursuing power, money, sex, etc. that when the eternal maker comes into our presence, we know him not.

Do you recognise your saviour. Will you listen to the message of Yesha’yahu and Yohan the Baptist and recognise the Messiah and invite him to your heart? Maybe you already know him, but have allowed the cares of this world to usurp his place in your heart. Call upon him today, and you will be saved.

Mar Michael Abportus
Pastor, Congregation Benim Avraham
mjthan@quik.com http://www.freewebs.com/childrenofabraham/http://www.christiansynod.org/
1-281-303-3671

13 November 2005

2005-11-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

“Likewise you human being, --I have appointed you a watchmen for the house of Israel. Therefore, when you hear the word from my mouth, warn them for me. When I tell the wicked person, ‘Wicked person, you will certainly die’: and you fail to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his way; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death.” (Yechezk’el [Ezekiel] 33: 7-8)

While at first glance, this passage appears to be aimed at Yechezk’l in particular and prophets in general, it has much wider ramifications. I would invite you to read the entire passage starting at 33:1 and continue to the end.

Obviously this passage has ramifications for those of us who are clergy, and for those clergy who are truly longing for the sanctification of their congregations, much of this warning will be done through sermons. Unfortunately, the church seems to have forgotten its prophetic role in relation to Christians living. Christian children seem to have more children out of wedlock than non-Christian children. Faithfulness and virginity are unheard of in many pulpits today. Honesty in dealing with fellow men and women is ignored. The church instead of salting society is being salted by society. It is time that we who are clergy take note of this prophetic call on our lives and once again lead our members in holiness by preaching holiness.

We must not only preach holiness, but we need to lead lives of holiness as an example. In addition, as charged in our liturgy, if we know someone is living in sin, then we need to take them to task. Loss of communion is part of this. A notorious sinner might even be denied community. Premarital sex, adultery, cohabitation among others have become so common, that we have forgotten that they are sin.

But this task does not only belong to the clergy. Any Christian who knows of another Christian who is living in sin has the right, nay has the duty to call that person to task. The presbyters and bishop might not be aware of any problems, especially if the congregation is large. Some aspects of life are not readily obvious to the clergy, but are obvious to friends. I think specifically of something that I recently became aware of. A certain friend of mine is working with a dentist, who due to poor skills with managing time and money cannot retire because he has nothing to retire to. This friend must call the dentist to task on these items. Good stewardship is part of good Christianity. This includes not only time and money, but also stewardship of our bodies, eating right, and exercising in moderation, and stewardship of our minds, feeding them with helpful and useful items and not with garbage. These are all things we can help our brothers and sisters with. Remember that St. Paul says we are together for edification of the body. We are each to help each other in love. That includes calling each other to repentance.

As Christians, we also have a task to the lost. How many people are going to hell because we are too embarrassed, or scared to tell them about the wonderful love of Jesus Christ. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but they need someone to tell them. I can tell you from experience, when God lays someone on your heart for you to lead to Jesus, when you accomplish it, your joy will be full. I have lead several people to Jesus, and it is always a joyful moment.

Listen then for the shofar. God is giving you a word for someone, either to holiness of life or to salvation. Listen to the call of God, that you may be an instrument of the kingdom.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

6 November 2005

2005-11-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

Hear oh Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. Love him with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy (6:4-5)

Most if not all of what Jesus does and says is backed up in the Tanakh. This includes love for neighbour and love for enemies, but this week I would like to look at some of the things the Lord calls upon for his saints of the Old Testament.

First of all, the relationship with God is based on love. John tells us God is love. In Deuteronomy we are told that that love must be total. Jesus expands on the description of that love. We are to love God more than spouse, children, home or even life itself. Jesus even says we must hate those things. Only when we truly love God first will these other things find their rightful place. Jesus tells us to seek first the Kingdom, and the rest will fall into place.

Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you. (Jeremiah 7:28)

This verse from Jeremiah, which is paraphrasing the Torah is the Old Testament basis for Jesus’s words. But even more they emphasise an importance of the Old Testament or the Tanakh for Christians. St. Paul tells us, “All scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living, thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.” Note that when Paul wrote this, the scripture he was referring to was the Old Testament or Tanakh. In other words, many of the precepts found in the Tanakh are still for us Christians. This begins with the moral law, but continues with many other aspects of Christian living. The Tanakh teaches not only by commands, but by example, both positive and negative. Do you favour one child over another? Look at Abraham. Do you not like to punish your children when you do wrong? Look at King David. There are many things which can be learned in the Tanakh, which will allow “all to be well with you.”

Micah 6:8, “This is what God wants of you, to do justice, to love with all your heart and walk humbly with your God,” sums many of the demands of the Tanakh. Adonai truly does desire justice. Much of the Tanakh is dedicated to equal treatment of rich and poor, of justice for the stranger in the land, and of penalty only being imposed on the word of two or three witnesses. Protecting the widow, the orphan and the helpless are important aspects of God’s justice. If we truly love with all our hearts, then it is easy for us to be just. If we realise truly who we are, and who God is, and what he did for us, then it is truly easy to walk humbly with him.

The best news of course, is when we invite Jesus into our hearts, he sends us his Holy Spirit to give us the power to do all these things.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com
http://www.freewebs.com/childrenofabraham/
http://www.christiansynod.org/
1-281-303-3671

Tanakh portion for 29 October 2005

2005-10-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

Worship

In the year of King ‘Uziyahu’s death, I saw Adonai sitting on a high, lofty throne! The hem of his robe filled the temple. S’rafim stood over him, each with six wings---two for covering his face, to for covering his feet and two for flying. They were crying out to each other,
“More holy than the holiest holiness is Adonai-Tzva’ot! The whole
earth is filled with his glory.”

The doorposts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke, then I said,
“Woe to me! I too am doomed!---because I a man with unclean lips,
living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own
eyes, the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!”

One of the S’rafim flew to me with a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the alter. He touched my mouth with it and said,
“Here this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is gone,
your sin is atoned for.”
Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) 6:1-7 Complete Jewish Bible

As I read this passage and contemplate it, I think of much of the music which has been based on this passage, and the common denominator in all of this music is worship. We see in this passage the worship of the Seraphim, declaring the holiness of God. They are shouting and crying out to each other and worshipping.

What is worship? Today’s church seems confused as to what worship is. Many churches have changed the name of their music or choir director to minister of worship as if the worship is entirely centred in song (Usually at the very beginning of the church service)as if singing were the only way to worship God. It seems that this type of worship is aimed at making us feel good.

Let us face the challenge then to look at worship in a different light. Marva Dawn, whom I have heard quoted (Thanks Jerry), states that worship should be “a royal waste of time,” instead of something aimed at meeting our needs. What she is saying is that worship is not about us, but about God. The therapeutic paradigm of the church is not the one Yeshua had in mind. The church is to be built up in order to grow, to evangelise, to heal, but most important of all to worship. All these other items have the goal of worship. In other words, worship is about a relationship, about love, a love which truly puts God above all others. This is why it is a crime to relegate worship to the first fifteen minutes of the services. When the body of Christ gets together to pray, the whole thing should be worship. Our attitude towards worshipping God, should be something like my cat’s attitude towards me. When I am in the house he is always close to me. If I am sitting where he can get in my lap, that is where he will be whether I am awake or asleep. When my wife isn’t home he sleeps next to (or in winter on) the bed. In other words, he cannot get enough of me.

This too should be our relationship to God. How much do we love God. When we are gathered together as the church, our goal should be worship. How much do we love him? Do we love him enough to confess our faults to him? This is worship. Do we love him enough to listen to the Bible readings to hear his instructions for us? This too is worship. When we receive the holy communion, this too is worship, in other words all of our liturgy is worship, it is loving Jesus more than ourselves or our circumstances. It is remembering that he is king, and allowing him to be King of our lives.

There are things we can do to help this truly happen. First, we must truly accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Too many Christians desire a Saviour, but not a Lord. Too many do not hear his voice because they (we) do not apply his written Lord. Worship begins in a relationship, acknowledging the Lordship of King Jesus. The vestments worn in Benim Avra’am reflect the clothing worn in the Imperial Court of Constantinople. The clergy wear these vestments to show that they are courtiers of the great king, and that we are joined together to do him homage and worship him.

Secondly, we must know his word. True, over the course of several years, you will hear all the Bible read in our congregation, but this does not compare with reading and studying the word. The Bible is both God’s love letter to us, and our operator’s manual. If you truly know the word of God, then the readings in the church will make more sense. You will be able to place it in context, and the Holy Spirit will bring it to life within you. Knowing the Bible, will allow you to worship more and strengthen your relationship with the Lord.

Thirdly, be Holy as the Lord is Holy. As we work with God to allow us to transform ourselves into the image of Jesus, the more we can truly worship him. Holiness is both a goal and a means to the end.

Fourth, worship the Lord during the week with your family, daily at least, and during the day on your own and with others. Begin and end each day with worship. Try worshipping on your knees, worship prostrate, worship in you car. Praise and thank the Lord for all his blessings as he gives them to you. Invoke his name at the beginning of every activity. As a certain Nigerian preacher once said, develop the activity of Thanksliving. Dance as you praise the Lord, clap, bow (my favourite), truly worship him with body, mind and voice, at home and at church.

Fifth, participate fully in all. If you do all in God’s fullness you will truly enter worship. The Eucharistic service is balanced between word, sacrament, prayer, confession to allow us to fully worship.

Sixthly, receive the communion in a worthy manner. You are taking the body of Christ, you are drinking his blood. No one is worthy of this great honour, but the Lord condescends to be manifest to us in the form of bread and wine. The power, which created the universe, is given to us unworthy sinners to give us power to conquer sin and death. Do we rush forward to accept the communion? Nay rather let us draw near in fear and trembling and fall down and worship the Lord.

When we truly learn to worship in all we do and say (that is with all our heart, mind and strength), then we shall draw near to him and will experience the worship of the S’rafim and the K’ruvim, of Thrones, Dominions and Powers, of Angels and Archangels, and we will learn to love our neighbour as ourselves.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

Symchat Torah, 23 October 2005

2005-10-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

Psalm 150 Laudate Dominum

1 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy temple; *
praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts; *
praise him for his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the blast of the ram’s‑horn; *
praise him with lyre and harp.

4 Praise him with timbrel and dance; *
praise him with strings and pipe.

5 Praise him with resounding cymbals; *
praise him with loud‑clanging cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath *
praise the Lord.
Hallelujah!

(1979 Book of Common Prayer)

This coming Tuesday is the feast of Simchat Torah. In Simchat Torah, which immediately follows Sukkoth, we read the final portion of Deuteronomy (Chapters 33 and 34), and then re-roll the Torah scroll back to Genesis and read Genesis 1:1-2:3. We do this to remember that the Torah is never ending. The Torah is fulfilled in Jesus, but still never ends.
This is one of the most joyful times in the synagogue. Many are given the opportunity to read, and people bring paper Torah scrolls from home, and people dance and sing. There is a sense of worship that is found only in an Orthodox liturgy. Both Orthodox Jews and Christians seem to realise that motion is involved with worship, we are to bow, prostrate ourselves, raise our hands, to clap and dance and truly to make a joyful noise in the Lord.

Praise and thankfulness are often mixed for us, but to be true Christians, we must learn to truly praise the Lord. Sometimes we make it difficult by filling up our churches with chairs and pews. Sometimes we are so solemn that we forget what it is to worship. Sometimes we forget what it is we are doing. There is a joy in the synagogue when we reach out to touch the Torah, the word of the Lord. The same joy is realised in Orthodox churches as worshippers reach out to touch the Gospel book as it processes down the centre of the church to be read. Do we anticipate with true joy the reading of God’s word. Do we take true joy in listening to his love letter and instructions to us, or do we handle it in a mundane way. I admit that sometimes we can tire, but if we are surrounded by joyful Christians who take joy in God’s word, and we realise as in the Lutheran Gospel procession that these are the words of life, then we will find joy in these words and celebrate them with joy and dancing.

Join with me Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and read the Simchat Torah readings and dance, dance and praise the Lord with your Bible or your Torah in your hands and praise him.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

Tanakh portion for 15 October 2005, Sukkot

2005-10-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

I have been greatly amiss in my writing these days. Life is good, but busy after getting things back in the house after hurricane Rita. I have missed Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur, but have stirred my bones in time for Sukkot, also known as tabernacles.

So let us begin: Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the 15th day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to Adonai. On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work. For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; on the eighth day you are to have an holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; it is a day of public assembly’ do not do any kind of ordinary work…but on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the and eighth day is to be a complete rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year’ it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah*, so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra’el live in sukkot** when I brought them our of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God. (Vayikra*** 23:33-36, 39-43, Complete Jewish Bible)

In passing, let us note some things. First, most Tanakh feasts are to last eight days, that is one full week. This expresses the fullness of time. God created heaven and earth in seven days, and as Christians we know that he sealed his redemption of creation on the eighth day, Sunday, which is both the first and the eighth day. Secondly, as many feasts, no work is to be done on the first or last days of the celebration, just as some of us did no work on Yom Kippur. The prohibition of work on our part is to demonstrate to us that our salvation does not come from our work, but that we must depend on God’s grace, in other words salvation is God’s work, not our own. (By the way, the Roman Catholic and some other churches used to keep octaves of feasts such as Christmas and Easter. It has only been in the last forty years that these octaves have died out.) One other note in passing, from http://www.biblicalholidays.com/Tabernacles/jewishcustoms.htm is the following:
There is thought to be spiritual significance based on the characteristics of the lulav and citron:
The palm bears fruit (deeds) but is not fragrant (spiritual blessing). This is like a person who lives by the letter of the law but does not have compassion or love for others.
The myrtle only has fragrance, but can’t bear fruit. This is like a person who is “so heavenly minded he is no earthly good.” He (or she) may recite scripture, but he doesn’t produce fruit.
The willow can neither produce fruit nor fragrance. This is like a person who is intrigued by different doctrines but never produces fruit.
The citron creates both fruit and fragrance. This is like a faithful believer who lives a balanced life in wisdom before God and man. Believers should strive to be like the citron
(lulav is the wave offering presented to the Lord on the first day of the feast)

Also let us note it is a feast. We are to celebrate God’s providence to us with feasting, dancing and rejoicing! Sukkot, falling in the fall of the year is very much the Hebrew thanksgiving, and the Sukkah is usually decorated with fruits of the season, here in the US with squash and corn, in Europe with cabbage and grapes.

The purpose of Sukkoth is two fold. First it is to remind the people of Israel that they lived in shelters for forty years in the desert. Our family usually set up a Sukkah to eat in during this time, and tents to sleep in. It is easy to think of ourselves being with the Israelites in the desert when we camp out in the back yard this week. But the feast does not only remind us that the Hebrews had to camp out, but of God’s protection. The sukkah is supposed to have a leafy roof that lets sunlight and starlight through because God supplied a sukkah (the cloud) to protect us from the sun by day and the moon by night. Sukkot is a thanksgiving celebration because God provided man (Manna), and water for the forty years in the desert. We are also told that clothing and shoes did not wear out during this trek in the desert.
Yeshua too provides spiritual and physical protection and blessings for us when we walk in his ways. He tells us, “Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mattityahu**** 6:33) This promise is that when we walk in his ways, we will have what we need to achieve the kingdom, and I do mean what we need, not necessarily what we want. I can say through my own experiences as a missionary in Honduras, I often wanted certain things, but never received them, but the things I needed to complete my mission (say tyres for example) were always forthcoming when I needed them. The trick is to line up our will with God’s. When we are truly seeking the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength, then we will be praying for the things we need to advance the kingdom, and the Lord will provide.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

*Leviticus
**Shelter (can mean tent)
***Shelters
****Mathew

From the Eye of the Storm

2005-10-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

The recent events surrounding Katrina and Rita leave one to contemplate the word. The flood destroyed everyone but Noach and his family. The people of Israel were delivered when a strong wind divided the sea. An East wind brought quail to eat. God spoke to Job out of the eye of the tempest. The question is, what is God trying to tell us.
As I mentioned before, it is no accident that these storms hit where they hit, and there are some important lessons to be learned. The press tries to make it look as if the government does not care for certain groups of people because they are poor, etc. Maybe we should start by asking questions about poverty. Jesus tells us the poor will always be with us. The Tanakh talks about causes of poverty and how we should deal with poverty. My experience of people on Medicaid, is that poor people make poor decisions. We have already seen how some people used the $2000.00 given to them to buy frivolous such as Rolex watches, etc. When people have to work for their money, they respect it more. That is why the Torah instructs us to leave the corners of our fields and vineyards, and not go back for a second harvest. These are to serve for the orphan and widow. We see this acted out in the book of Ruth. When the poor have to work for their sustenance, they begin to break the chains of poverty. When we give things away without requiring work, we create the chains of poverty.
Interestingly enough, about 80 years ago, the unwed mother rate among black women was very close to white women, in fact in some places there were fewer unwed black mothers than white mothers. What happened? The government decided to help the black people because they were downtrodden. The problem was not that the government helped the black people, but the way in which they are helped. When we receive help from the government, it makes us dependent on the government, and not on ourselves or God. Look at our Medicaid system. Most people on Medicaid, take very little responsibility for their own health, because they know the government will take care of them. Women in New York rebelled in the 1970’s when the state of New York tried to make them earn their welfare checks. Living on the dole has become a way of life for many whites, blacks etc.
Oddly what has happened to blacks has spread out to other groups, as we have ignored the Biblical principles. First of all, we need to look and see what the Biblical principle was, i.e.to help the widow and orphan. The reason that the Bible specifies widows and orphans, was because in the system of the day, the widow and orphan were the helpless. It was not their fault that they were widows nor orphans, and they had lost their breadwinners. In other words, we are to help the truly helpless. When we help those who are capable of helping themselves, we are contributing to a system of economic dependence. Often we contributed to other forms of dependence as well. In Honduras it was very rare that I would help anyone with money, but I would help with food or clothing. That was partly because I found money being used for drugs and alcohol. Here I have seen drug users going around selling the free food they were given at the food panty so they could buy crack.
Now this is not to say that we should not fight injustice. There have been problems in our society that have been addressed and need to be addressed, but these problems are rarely solved by throwing money at them, and are rarely solved by government intervention. There are many black families and immigrant families who have risen to the top of society, through old fashioned hard work, and by application of Christian principles and morality to their lives.
Last week, my family and I evacuated our house and left for San Antonio as there was a possibility of a tidal surge which would have completely overwhelmed our house with a wall of water. We left for San Antonio, taking some eleven hours for a trip that would normally take four and one half. We could have done it in six had I not made an error. There were huge lines of cars buying gasoline and cars not making it for various reasons. The problems were multiple, but can be summed in one phrase, lack of planning. Back in May, before hurricane season began, I had planned my route out of town, I checked my car out, and began buying emergency food supplies. It took us a short while to get across Houston and I was able to consult my map over trip changes. My gasoline lasted all the way to San Antonio because I was not afraid to turn my motor off when we were not moving, and because we did not have the air conditioner running. Does this demonstrate that I am smarter than other people? No, it merely demonstrates that I did not wait until the last minute to make my plans. I have been watching hurricanes for more than forty years, and have been planning for them that long. Some of this I learned from my parents. It is important that we all learn to plan for emergencies and disasters, and to help and make provisions for the less fortunate among us.
It is important to to use our minds and wisdome. Mistakes in this situation go back years to when the Corps of Engineers wished to strengthen the levees, but were overruled by the courst and the Sierra Club. It goes back to greed in developping areas below sea level. It goes back to expecting the federal government to solve all our problems instead of taking care of things ourselves, or at a local or state level.
Jesus too, tells us to plan. We should plan about how we should live when he is Lord and saviour of our lives. We should plan on how we advance the Kingdome, and how to best serve him. If you are not his servant, then you should think about your eternal future and learn to make Jesus the Lord of your life.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

Why are Christians so Uptight About Sex?

2005-09-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Tanakh portion for 11 September 2005-09-10

Why are Christians so uptight about sex?

Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person, and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh. The rib which Adonai, God, had taken from the person, he made a woman person, and he brought her to the man person. The man person said, “At last! This is bone from my bone and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman (Ishah), because she was taken out of man (Ish).” This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh. Genesis 2:21-24, Complete Jewish Bible.

This passage among others gives basis for Christian teaching on sex. It establishes that marriage is between two people of the opposite sex, and it establishes a very strong relationship, the two shall be one flesh, which suggests a rather personal relationship. I like the particular use of the word stick in this translation. This is the passage quoted by Yeshua when he is asked about divorce, and the passage Shaul (St. Paul) quotes when corrected the Corinthians about making a prostitute a member of the body of Christ.

In Jeremiah, we are told something else about marriage, that marriage is like the relationship between YHWH and his people, a theme repeated in the New Testament as well.

Putting these two themes together, we find out some very important things. First, we discover there is something permanent about sex. When two people have sex together they become one flesh. This is something that happens whether we desire it or not, it is inherent in the way that YHWH has created us. The Sanfords (John and Paula) explained it this way. When you have sex with someone, then your spirit wants to satisfy that person. The more people you have sex with, the more people your spirit tries to satisfy, and the less your spirit is able to accomplish this. In a new book for college students (I took this from Breakpoint by Chuck Colson), they explain it differently. We are like tape. The more you stick tape to something and unstick it and restick it again, the more it looses its stickiness (you see why I like this translation). This is what happens when we have multiple sex partners, out ability to stick becomes weakened and eventually fails. In fact among junior high schoolers and high schoolers today, their ability to stick may have been permanently impaired by the promotion of free sex without commitment. It is frightening that to many young people, having sex is totally divorced from commitment. Now this is not something that YHWH did to us, it is inherent in the way we were created. When there is a creator, then we should follow his instructions. How many people buy a new car and ignore the owner’s manual. Only the ones who do not want their car to last.

Secondly, marriage is an icon of the relationship between Christ and the church. The ease of divorce in our society has left many young people without an intuitive grasp of the relationship between Christ and his church. Christ loves the church and was willing to die for her. The Church must obey and respect Christ, and work together with him to complete his mission. How many kids will be left unable to understand the steadfast love of God, (as reflected in Hosea say) because they have never seen an image of that love on earth in their family. This relationship is so important that I am unable to overemphasise it.

The church today in much of the west is dying. It is advertising, it is pulling gimmicks, but it is still dying. Why is this so. First because solid doctrine is not being taught. We are sinners, Christ died to save us from our sins. We can be saved by permanently accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. When this doctrine is not taught, the church dies. The church no longer accepts transformation of life. Divorce is rampant. Premarital sex is rampant. Sexual relationships not permitted in God’s word are held up as healthy relationships. Children are being adopted to single people.. Holiness is no longer the standard. St. Paul describes the situation which derives from idolatry. Much of this situation is seen in the western church today. Where the church preaches Holiness, she grows.

Unfortunately today the church is in a difficult position. Satin has robbed children of a father to look out for them. He has robbed the icon of a loving father and respectful mother. Our youth are taught to live for themselves. Kids in the eighteen year old range have told me marriage and children are not in their plans because they do not want to share their hard earned money. What a situation for the church.

What can the church do? First we must encourage society to give a more accurate idea of the importance, permanence and need for commitment in sexual relationships. Uganda has been doing this to fight AIDS. The government, the media, the church and popular artists have gotten together to promote monogamy. Imagine if our media and artists promoted monogamy instead of free sex. We also need to get government out of sex education in schools. Much of what is taught is an excuse to sexualise our children and introduce them to perversions. Safe sex is promoted instead of no sex to marriage. It is not mentioned that clymidia and certain other unpleasant venereal diseases are not stopped by a condom.

Next the church needs to start teaching morality, and teaching the parents to be parents in the house. Many people my age and younger feel that since they messed up their own lives, that they have no right to tell kids what to do in certain instances. This is a shame because there really needs to be an adult in the house to guide and lead the children.

Most of all, the church needs to proclaim holiness. The time to whitewash sin is over. A church which does not proclaim personal holiness (achieved by permitting the Holy Spirit to run our lives) is a church that is useless, and one which Christ will proclaim lukewarm and will be vomited out.

Where are you? Is holiness a goal? Do your children know what the Bible says about sex? Have you and your children read the marvellous stories about men who took multiple wives in the Bible? Abraham, David, Samson are as important in their negative examples as they are in their positive examples. Spread the word about what the Bible says about sex. Also help promote release liturgies. People who are getting married who are not virgins need to release their past sexual partners and plead with the Holy Spirit to seal this release.
To answer the question as to why Christians are up tight about sex, it is because marriage is an icon of the relationship between God and church. We have been made to be monogamous, and to be married to a person of the opposite sex. To not do so not only harms us eternally and spiritually, but also harms us physically.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

A Sermon for the Astrodome 4 September 2005

2005-09-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

A Sermon for the Astrodome (not actually delivered yet because of overcrowding)

Text: Genesis 3:1-24.

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. The lesson today is a key lesson in understanding the way the world is today. At the beginning of the lesson, we find Adam and Havah in Paradise. While Adam has to work, his work is not tiresome, and he has dominion of the earth and its creatures. It is a state in which we all could enjoy. Then enters the serpent, and catches Havah in a weak moment. Havah then shares with her husband. Then comes the key moment. HaShem asks Adam, “Where are you?” The question refers not to Adams physical location, but to his relationship with God. I truly believe that up to this point, things were not set in stone, but Adam, instead of being a man (Adam) shows he is really still dirt (Adama) and blames Havah. Of course she does not admit her guilt either, and blames the serpent, who did not have a leg to stand on (sorry, couldn’t help that).

Three key points here. First, where was Adam while Havah was being tempted. He should have been somewhere around defending his wife. Second, we are told it was Adam’s sin that brought down creation, not Havah’s which of course says some very strong things about a man’s responsibility in the house and for his family. Thirdly, neither Adam nor Havah take responsibility for their sin.

Creation at this point is transformed. Whereas mankind had a perfect relationship with Yahweh, with nature and with each other, this relationship is destroyed by Adam’s sin. Not only is the relationship destroyed, but nature itself at least of the Earth, and maybe even of the entire universe has been broken. (as referred to by St. Paul in his Epistles). This is shone in several ways. Man now has to toil for his food. He now knows he is naked and must clothe himself. Instead of living forever with HaShem, his lifespan becomes shorter and shorter. Nature instead of being under man’s dominion, becomes something that he must conquer. Storms, earthquakes, volcanoes enter into the world.

In other words, sin has entered into the world and has transformed it, and not for the better. Sin is like a pebble thrown into a large lake. The ripples eventually reach to the shore, whether we observe them or not. Sin, Adam’s sin, my sin, your sin, corrupts nature and results in such disasters as many of you have suffered. We have been corrupted by sin which destroys all. This of course is the bad news, that sin corrupts all and grows and increases. There is even further bad news in that Yahweh punishes societies that ignore his word and commandments. I think most of you know what was to be celebrated in New Orleans this weekend. I believe that most of you know how much money the state of Mississippi is losing because of the loss of gambling income. This is not my judgment. Look at what Yahweh did with his chosen people, kicked out three times because of their disobedience.

Now for the good news. While we must continue living in this corrupt world, there is a saviour. He cries with us, but more importantly when we walk with him, and allow him to be the Lord of our lives, he gives us a peace which the world cannot conquer or understand. He has overcome the world and he gives us the strength to be over comers as well. To join him in being an over comer, we must take several steps, the first of which is to admit that we are sinners, and that we cannot overcome the sin in our life. The second is to recognise that only Jesus can help us conquer our sins and invite him into our hearts and lives, and ask him to send his holy spirit to help us conquer sin in our lives. Thirdly we must seek to live a Christian life which will involve studying God’s word, prayer, seeking holiness and evangelism. There is no cost, except to accept God’s eternal gift which he freely offers, but we must recognise our need to tell him yes constantly. It is as if I offered you a dollar. All you have to do is reach out your hand and accept it. But you also must be willing to allow God to transform your life. The world is full of Christian want-a-bees who are not willing to take on discipline or to allow God to transform their lives. If you have not taken this step yet, I invite you to visit with me or some other pastor and invite Jesus into your heart.

There is yet more good news. I do not believe that you would be here if God did not have a purpose for your life. God has a plan for everyone, but you all must be a special remnant to have made it out. Look for what it is that God has planned for you, it must be something special.

In addition I truly believe that God is trying to get our attention. The Twin towers were no accident. Neither was the San Francisco Earthquake nor Katrina. God is trying to get the attention of the USA, and the western world. Gambling, homosexuality, infidelity in marriage, idolatry of money, cars, houses, our nation is falling deeper and deeper into a pit in which we may not be able to get ourselves out of. We need not only personal repentance, but national repentance as well.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

21 August 2005

2005-08-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

Tanakh study for 21 August 2005

You shall not set your heart on your neighbour’s house. You shall not set your heart on your neighbour’s spouse, or servant, man or woman, , or ox, or donkey, or on any of your neighbour’s possessions. (Exodus 20:17, New Jerusalem Bible)

I like this translation. To covet something is to set your heart upon it. This is some ways a very easy commandment for us, and yet in other ways a most difficult commandment. To obey this commandment, it is necessary to truly enter into a true state of Shalom, i.e. in good relationship with God, with our neighbour and with nature.

Today we live in a much different society than the Hebrews. Coveting our neighbour’s spouse or servants is not something that we are likely to do. We are more likely to covet their house, possibly, but I am not sure about that. In fact I believe our desires are somewhat different. Maybe we do not covet our neighbours house, but we want our new house. That is what is going to make us happy. A dear friend of mine and her husband are getting ready to buy them a four bedroom house, for this is what will make them happy, or will it? Another friend of mine believes that if she returns to Honduras, all will be well, or will it? That brand new car, or stereo system or wife, or husband, will it really give us happiness?

I hope it is apparent that these commandments often interconnect. Are there idols in our lives? If so then we are most likely to set our hearts upon them for our happiness.

What do you set your heart upon for happiness? Is it money, house, friends, money? I have three main goals in my life. The first is to love Jesus with all my heart, my mind and my strength. The second is to obey him in all things. The third is to look our for my family’s spiritual and physical well being. Now let us translate this into real life.

In Honduras, for three years I served on the Miskito Coast. I lived in a wood frame house, slept on a sleeping bag on a palm mat for the first year. Had electricity from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, water from 6:00-9:00 AM and rarely enough money to do what I thought needed doing. I travelled by boat or foot, and occasionally in Cesnas. I still remember one trip in which I had to walk back home 26 miles by foot. Many people thought I was a saint to live there. My wife keeps talking about how much I must have suffered to live there. Balderdash. I did not suffer. I was in a state of Shalom. I was with God, building churches, building disciples and doing his work. Did I need a fancy car or house? NO, I did not. As long as I was doing God’s work, I was content.

Today because of some odd circumstances, I live in a small three bedroom mobile home with my wife, and my three youngest sons. Sometimes it is too hot, and sometimes we gripe because we have a lot of things in a warehouse that we cannot fit in here, but does it affect my happiness? No, my joy is in Jesus, not my circumstances. We hope to buy a new home (one build in 1925 with a building we can use as a church behind it) but my overall happiness will not be upset if this doesn’t work.

In other words, there are two secrets to obeying the 10th commandment. First make Jesus the true centre of your life. When he is your joy, you will be content. The second is do not worry about what you do not have, but be thankful for what you do have.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

8 August 2005, Do not bear false witness

2005-08-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Tanakh study for 7 August 2005

Do not give false evidence against your neighbour (Complete Jewish Bible).

A straightforward commandment, apparently intended for legal proceedings. As there are many injunctions against violating the Sabbath, there are many injunctions against being a false witness. I believe the legal intent here is clear, when in a court of law, we must be honest. The penalty for being a false witness was that the false witness would receive the punishment for the crime he was witnessing against.

Should this then only be applicable in court or other places as well? We know that Yeshua (Jesus) is the truth and that the truth shall set us free. Does this mean we should always tell the truth, or are white lies permitted. I know that there are many excuses for white lies and half-truths, but I am not convinced that they honour our Lord. In fact many times they are only necessary to cover up other sins, in which case they are definitely wrong. If your spouse or your mother wants to know how they look, and they do not look so hot, then instead of brutal honestly, we can offer constructive criticism (I do remember that my honesty with my mother, while it disheartened her, kept her from leaving the hospital before the doctor was ready to dismiss her.)

Where else should we look to discuss honesty and being an honest witness. Are we honest witnesses to Yeshua HaMoshiach? Do our lives reflect that he is our Lord and Saviour? Do we sometimes hide that we are Christians because our actions or circumstances would cast aspersions on our Christianity? These are questions that we should often consider. Many times the only Bible that some of our friends and neighbours will ever read will be our lives. My collar has often reminded me of what I should be doing or not doing. If I felt embarrassed about watching a movie in my collar, then I should feel embarrassed by watching the movie period. That is why the fringes (tzit tzit ) help me, for when I look at that one blue string, it reminds me that I am to strive for heaven and live in holiness.l

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

31 July 2005

2005-07-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

Tanakh Study for 31 July 31, 2005

Do not steel.

This commandment seems obvious, and truly it is. If it does not belong to you, do not take it. It is only in modern times that this commandment has become more difficult.

For example, we are now told that a woman’s body, and hence any children within that body are the property of the woman, and no one else’s business, which completely cancels out what St. Paul tells us in the New Testament. When we marry, the woman’s body now belongs to the man, and the man’s body belongs to the woman. Hence if we violate commandment number VII, we are also violating commandment number VIII. This is not the way society thinks today, and so it means as in the first century that Christians and the church are way out of step with modern culture. In fact, after Constantine, one of the struggles of the church was to Christianise culture, without the church being salted by the culture itself. For the most part the church succeeded until the Enlightenment at which time society began salting the church. It is important therefore for us to remember that the church did it once and can succeed again.

Time is another area. When you work and are paid a salary or by the hour to do truly give your boss your time, or do you spend a lot (or even a little) time taking care of personal business. I know personally, I do my best to see that my personal affairs take place during the lunch hour when I am off the clock, not when I am trying to make money for my boss. It is very easy in these situations to say, “Everyone else is doing it.” So what, if everyone else chopped their head off, would you do it too? We not only rob our boss of time and money, but of the respect that he deserves as the man (woman) who provides the paycheque. In my opinion, not to give God a significant part of Sunday (or Saturday if you are Sabbatarian) is also to rob God. It is also important to pray during the day. Daniel prayed thrice per day. The Psalmist says “Seven times a day shall I praise you.” Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. Time comes from God, we need to give some back to him to continue growing in our relationship to him.

We also need to balance our lives and give our spouses and children a certain amount of our time. To not do so would be robbing them.

Income taxes are a sore subject in the USA. Many do not agree with them. Does that give us a right to cheat? I think not. When a Christian cheats, because he bears the name Christian, he is dishonouring our Lord and Saviour, and robbing the honour due his name. Are we not showing God that we do not rust him to provide for us? On the other hand for those of you who vote, is it correct for the government to take from the rich and give to the poor?

There are differences of opinion too on the Biblical tithe. I do not have figures for the USA, but the Church times shows the average offering in the UK is about 2.7%, I suspect in the USA, it is slightly higher. Imagine if all our parishioners tithed the things we could do for the downtrodden. Malachi addresses the tithe. It states that not to tithe is to rob God. I know that when I actively and fully tithe, I do not have money problems, not that I become rich (I do not believe in prosperity Gospel teaching), but that it focuses how I spend my money. It also allows God to bless me in areas, which help my spiritual growth, and helps me to accomplish my mission.

There are other areas, which for us church people are more problematic. I am of course referring to plagiarism and copy write. The church has to spend a fair amount of time making sure that they have permission to use songs and hymns. Now, if the church can afford hymnbooks for the entire congregation this isn’t too much of a problem. If they don’t then it becomes time consuming to track down copy writes and obtain permission. I personally address this problem by using Cyberhymnal for most of our hymns. I mention cyberhymnal and give their URL, plus the name of the composers of the hymn with no further worries because everything on cyberhymnal is in the public domain (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/). Does this mean, that we have to identify the source for our sermons? I think we are safe as long as we identify which thoughts are ours, and which come from other sources. I am not always good about displaying my exact sources, but I do try to at least give the book of the Bible mention it came from someone else besides me.

I might mention anyone is free to use my materials as they wish, just if you print them, acknowledge where they came from.

Other than that, when we display that we are Christians, we should be careful not to walk in sin, for to do so is to rob God of the honour due his name. If you have trouble with his sin, confess it to him, discuss it with a good spiritual friend or presbyter, deacon or bishop, and allow God to deal with it. He is happy to help you conquer sin in your life.

The icon at the upper right is from the Ethiopian Coptic Church. It is a favourite of mine. Unfortunatley I do not have the URL from where it came.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus

mjthan@quik.com

23 July 2005

2005-07-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tanakh Study for 23 July 2005

“You shall not commit adultery.” On the face of it, a very simple commandment, but a commandment which has far reaching consequences, as it refers to marriage, which institution is central for the stability of society. The word adultery also has a strong context for Jews in the time of Jesus. In the Tanakh (Old Testament), adultery is frequently used as meaning being unfaithful to God. This meaning would have been understood by almost any Jew after the exile.

But back to marriage. This is one of the commandments which has the death penalty attached. Both the man and the woman were to be stoned. I am one of those who feel that in the case of the adulterous woman, that Jesus wrote, “where is the man” in the sand,” as she had been caught in the act. This is also the commandment of which Jesus specifically said, “if a man looks at a women lustfully, he has already committed adultery in his heart.”

This commandment highlights the institution of marriage. Marriage is important, not only because of being a cornerstone of society, but because marriage is an icon of our relationship with God. In the Tanakh, Israel is frequently referred to as the bride, and YHWH as the bridegroom. Likewise in the New Testament, the Church is referred to as the bride, and Yeshua as the bridegroom, in other words marriage is not only a foundation of society, but an institution which directs us in our relationship with God. One of the difficulties the church has today, is a marriage deteriorates, fewer and fewer people understand that relationship.

Marriage and sex are also important in a purely spiritual sense. In Genesis, we are told that man and woman become one flesh in marriage. St. Paul extends this even further, when he tells us that a Christian should not have sex with a prostitute, because she becomes one flesh with the body of Christ.

In Exodus, we are told that if a man and woman have sex, then they are to be married, unless the girls father forbids it. The man has an obligation to the woman, because they are now one flesh, as they have been united in sex. This is why the whole marriage, divorce, and sexual problem of today is such a problem. We have forgotten the underlying principles.

Now from Ephesians, “Wives should be subject to their husbands as to the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband he head of his wife; and as the Church is subject to Christ, so should wives be to their husbands, in everything. Husbands should love their wives, just as Christ loved the Church, and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy by washing her in cleansing water with a form of words, so that when he took the Church to himself she would be glorious, without no speck nor wrinkle, nor anything like that, but holy and faultless. In the same way, husbands must love their woves as they love their own bodies, for a man is to love his wife is a way for him to love himself…” (Ephesians 5:21-29 New Jerusalem Bible).

Two emphases are prime here, wives are subject to their husbands (i.e. the husband is the ultimate authority in the house), and the husband is to love his wife, and sacrifice himself for her as Christ gave himself for the church. There is a reference to baptism which we will leave for now, but let us concentrate on the duties. Love is very much an action word here, referring to those things which the husband must do for the benefit and comfort of his wife, not related to material, or sexual, but including spiritual and emotional as well. If all husbands loved their wives as we are called to in this passage, there would be no need for divorce. It is also called for the wife to respect her husband. This is more and more difficult to do in our society, where commercials, movies and television programmes make the husband/father look to be the biggest dufus while wife and children solve all the problems. Many cases of marital discord are because wives no longer know how to respect their husbands. The media would have mutual respect between men and women be thing of the past.

Yeshua, himself, gave marriage a very high calling. To marry a divorced person is equivalent to adultery. I do not know, but it seems that there is a very large number of people living in adultery today, which is one reason why children have such a difficult time in understanding God’s faithfulness.

What to do? First let us not commit spiritual adultery with false Gods. Secondly, those of us who are pastors need to commit not to marry people in haste. Check with
http://www.marriagesavers.com/. Make sure that people that are getting married realise it is to be a life long commitment. Be sure we are only marrying Christian couples, as the Bible tells us we are to be unequally yoked, (which by the way means not only both Christians, but somewhere close to each other in their walk). It is very frustrating for Christian parents to raise children when they are not on the same page. We also need to be sure we deal with any baggage, whether mental, sexual, material etc. that is brought into the marriage. Get the pastors in your area to work with you on this, so the couple doesn’t just move down the street. Those of you who want to marry, think about it. Read the passage from Ephesians, and see if you really mean it. Learn in your heart that Jesus says marriage is to be permanent. Discuss marriage issues. Who will run the finance. How many children will you have? Will you both be working? Is the wife able to accept that hubby has the final word. Hubby, are you willing to do things you don’t really want to for the well being of your wife? Hubby, are you prepared to continue your spiritual growth, help your wife grow spiritually as well and be the spiritual leader in your household (many wives are the spiritual leader because the gentleman defaulted).

It is time the church took a stand on these issues. The church has been slack on these issues, and many Biblically based laws have been done away with, leading to a weakening of the high view of marriage. This is one reason for some of the troubles today. Recognition of homosexual marriage will not destroy the high Christian view of marriage. It is a recognition that it no longer exists. Rampant and easy divorce, but more so, cohabiting without benefit of marriage is something that the church must deal with, and yes, outright adultery and pornography must be addressed and dealt with. The gay people just want what we have, a legal recognition of a union that has no commitment. The church must also deal with internal issues such as divorced and remarried Bishops, and priests, and clerical sexual abuse.

Now, I am against gay marriage because it will further destroy our society. I have watched many changes because of homosexuals being out of the closet. In high school, most kids no longer shower at school, because some gay person might be watching them. Coaches are afraid to make kids shower because they might be accused of wanting to watch the kids naked. Younger kids now know a lot more about sex (probably more than is appropriate). I know my youngest has some ideas about homosexuals, an idea that I was not really familiar with until I was about thirteen or fourteen. I might add I am very upset about the homosexual use of television and schools to sexualise our children. Children and parents need to talk, but not at such young ages. Enough soap box.

Let us all learn to have a high view of marriage so we may truly obey the 7th commandment.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

16 July 2005, Thou Shalt not Kill

2005-07-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

16 July 2005
Now we enter firmly into the “Thou shalt nots.” “Do not murder is pretty straight forward, but can lead into exploration of other subjects.

First, the commandment read, “do not murder,” not as some would have it, “do not kill.” The Torah, as a whole demands justice, and evening up the scales so to speak. There are five crimes for which the penalty was death. They were murder, rape, working on the Sabbath, homosexual acts and adultery. Why these particular acts and not others? I believe to some extent, because each of these acts truly desecrates the image of God, of whom we are made in his image. Punishments in the Bible were not placed to keep people from committing crime. Note, prisons in the Bible are usually used for what we would call political prisoners, not for punishment. Not once in the Torah (or anywhere else in the Bible for that matter) does it suggest that people should be punished by being sent to gaol. Punishment is a matter of retribution and justice. Death penalty for the rapist or murderer. The thief had to return the stolen property (or its monetary value) and then some.

This is something in our “modern” society that we have forgotten, is that the scales must be balanced. Yes we are saved through grace and the blood of Jesus, but we must make amends for our wrong doings. We must learn to apologise, to admit our wrong doings, and when we hurt someone make amends.

Indeed, for Christians, it is even tougher. Jesus tells us that to hate someone is equivalent to murder. In fact to paraphrase what Jesus says about adultery, if anyone should kill someone in his heart, then he has already killed them. That is bad news for us. Sometimes we hate, thinking we are doing the right thing. It is popular today to say, “hate the sin, but love the sinner,” but this is not always easy to accomplish. Here we must rely on the grace of God. Love your enemy, feed him and give him drink and clothe him are instructions not only found from the New Testament, but in the Tanakh as well. We must not be guided by our feelings (as Obeywon Kanobe tells Luke Skywalker), but by faith and the word of God. Loving our neighbour is not a warm fuzzy feeling in our heart. It is seeing to his or her needs when they are in need, as did the “Good Samaritan.” God will honour our actions and give us the feelings at the appropriate time.

Worse today in our society we kill through kindness. There are many in our society who are doomed to an eternity of Hell, because we say naught. And why don’t we. Well, it might be embarrassing, or everyone has the right to believe the way they wish, or the Bible doesn’t really mean that that is sin, after all we live in modern times. We through our inaction condemn many to death. Do we tell the adulterer, the active homosexual, the drunk, the glutton, the dainty eater, the idolater, that Jesus can make them into a new creation, or do we take the political correct stance and say nothing, or even worse incorporate their sin into church. Many of us are responsible for sending many to hell, to eternal death because of our silence.

For those of us from Anglican backgrounds, especially English, this kind of murder is quite easy because religion is such a private thing, something not to be shared or discussed. As I recall the rules from West Point, a gentleman cadet and officer does not discuss religion or politics, but what more important thing to discuss than the prospect of eternal life?

My friends, I encourage you to ask God to send his Holy Spirit into your heart so that you may lead people to life, and not leave them to death.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

Tanakh Portion 2 July 2005

2005-07-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Honour your father and mother , so that you may live long in the land which YHWH your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12, Complete Jewish Bible).

A simple commandment, but one that often is lost in the translation. This is the first commandment with a promise. Many times we interpret this as a children’s commandment, commanding to obey and respect parents, but this is actually a commandment for adults. The Hebrew word here has more the sense of giving adults respect and honour by looking out and caring for them. It is true, that if we as parents teach our children to honour us, then they will be more likely to look out for us once they are grown up.

How does one do this? Several cans of worms must be opened here. For children to honour their parents, the parents must honour one another. The onus in this case is on the mother who is commanded to respect the father. The father, on the other hand is called to love the wife, as Christ loves the church, being ready to lay his life down for her. In other words, women, honour and respect your husbands. Do this in all ways, and you will gain your children’s respect (By the way, if your husband is not a believer, you might even win him to Christ this way). I have seen many a woman lose her children’s respect because she did not honour her husband.

Husband’s too gain their children’s respect by truly loving their wives and sacrificing for them. Men, we must look out and meet or see that our wives needs are met. Women are not just one of the boys. They have different emotional and other needs than men have. Be aware of this, and be ready to make sacrifices.

Part of the secret to keeping this commandment is by not being yoked unequally. It is very important when you marry, that you marry another believer. If you do not, then there will be tremendous tensions in raising your children if you attempt to raise them in a Godly manner. You will end up in conflict with your spouse, with your children and with your God. Now maybe you have become a believer since being married, but your spouse has not. Just follow Paul’s instructions, women respect you husband, men love your wife. Do not preach, but get your spouse to attend a good Bible preaching church, where God’s word can work on them. Listen to Christian radio, fill your family with God’s word.

Another important way to teach your children the importance of this commandment is by fulfilling it yourself. Do you visit your parents? Do you constantly criticise them in front of your children? What you sow, so shall you reap.

How important is the commandment? It seems that every centenarian I have known had a deep love and respect for his or her parents (and cared for them). In addition, if children respect the authority of parents, and parents take care of their parents, then children will respect their teacher and the policeman on the street, and the adult will try and help those in authority to do their job. As we learn to seek to honour and care for our parents, we learn to honour and care for the society in which we live, and for those in authority in it, instead of criticising and allowing them to do all the work.

As I draw to a close, it appears that I have left out an important part. In and of myself I cannot do it. All of us hold something against parents. Some of us have hurt our children. But there is always grace. If you have truly asked Jesus into your heart, he will send his Holy Spirit to give you the desire and the strength to truly honour our parents and authorities. Indeed we will want to honour them, because in honouring them, we honour HIM.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus

mjthan@quik.com

Tanakh portion for 25 June 1005

2005-06-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

The fourth commandment:
Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work, not you, you son or your daughter, not you male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself. (The Jewish Bible)

This is the longest of the Ten Commandments and one referred to quite often in the Tanakh (Old Testament). We are told in fact that Israel was to remain in captivity until the land had celebrated its Sabbaths, which the Jewish people had not celebrated. The commandment is quite straightforward. It applies to both to the Jews and the foreigner. It applies to animals and slaves and all the family. It is a commandment to be remembered.

In this commandment, we learn first that the Sabbath Day is a day of rest, when no work is to be done. It is a day in which we are to remember the creation, and in the Siddur (basically the Jewish Prayer Book), we are told it is also the first of the Holidays which are to remember the Exodus from Egypt. In other words, the Sabbath is a special day of remembrance to remember the mighty acts of God. For those of us who are Christian and who have come to celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, it is a day to remember another great act of God, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is the true completion of the Passover or Exodus event.

Should Christians then celebrate Sunday as a day of rest? Without going into too much history, Christians at first (being mostly Jewish as well) celebrated the Sabbath, followed by celebrating the resurrection. We can see this clearly in the book of acts where the disciples return to their homes to celebrate the Eucharist, early on Sunday with their disciples (remember, for the Jews, Sunday starts the minute the Sun sets on Saturday evening). Officially the Orthodox church recognises Saturday as the day of rest and Sunday as a day of worship. Here in the United States and in Protestant Europe, Sunday developed into the day of rest.

Is it necessary? Jesus tells us, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath which suggests that the Sabbath is more that a religious holiday meant to remember God, but something that will benefit us. Just as eating Kosher lowers our fat and cholesterol intake, keeping the Sabbath allows us much needed rest. In many non Christian societies, the day of rest or day off still does not exist, and the people are worse off for it. The day of rest was a wonderful present given to us by a loving God, who knows we need the rest for our own physical and mental well being..

Is it not interesting that the Protestant countries which keep (or kept) the Sabbath are among the most prosperous? Is that a blessing from God, or are people who get a day off more productive because they have had more rest? Many years ago, I was here in the USA on Sabbatical from missionary work in Honduras. Matters being what they were, I did not have money for a real Sabbatical and had to work. It was very hard to find a job for a young man who only wanted to work for one year, and so I found myself in a car wash. I told the man up front that I would not work on Sunday, and did not. Strangely enough, I who cut myself off for one day of the week, consistently worked more hours than those who were willing to work seven days a week. Coincidence? I doubt it.

Today we rob ourselves. Various businesses now open seven days a week, and spend more money to make the same amount of salves. Is being open seven days going to allow a store to sell more groceries? Probably not. As blue laws have been rolled a way, we now spend more money for the same amount of things. To pay people seven days per week costs more money. The consumers have become lazy and do not plan any more, because they can always depend on the store being open. Our young people are robbed of the opportunity of a day of rest (because of school) and many people are robbed of the ability to go to church.
Do yourself a favour. Take a rest this Sunday. Remember the mighty acts of God. Go to church and praise him and rest in him.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com