11 Novermber 2006: Blessings
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
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
posted by The Synod of Saint Timothy at 23:13
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