Friday, December 31, 2010

New Years Eve 2010

As we approach another "new year," there seems to be another round of what I call, "Help is just around the corner" messages. You know the type: things have been not been going too good, but the New Year is going to be different. Is that because we move from December 31ST to January 1ST? Is there some magic that takes place in the dropping of the big ball? Is God really going to do something great in 2011? One definition of insanity is to continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. If you keep doing what you did in 2010 in 2011, why should you expect a different result? I suggest that God doesn't need a "new year" to start doing something great in your life. If you need a "start up" date, then use today. How should you make a different result in your future?

The Hebrew sages tell us that the soul has three garments: thoughts, words, and actions. If you want a different result than your present circumstances, start with your thought life. Consider your thoughts. Do you find your mind naturally drifting toward the negative? If so, grab the reins and redirect to the positive influence of the Holy Scriptures. God is not a negative God. He has made provision for your success in His Word. You need to meditate on it. Joshua 1:8 tells us to meditate on God's Word. Meditate means to mutter to yourself. Joshua wants us to mutter to ourselves God's Word all day. Don't you think that might make your thought life different? One Hebrew rabbi said: "You are present where your thoughts are, so be careful what you think." A proper thought life will lead to the next garment.

The second garment is your words. Yeshua said that we would be judged by the words of our mouths. He said that what was in our hearts will be spoken from our lips. Your words can help you achieve success. Words alone won't do it, but it is part of the success package. Words do matter. They matter a lot. You can create with your words. No, I'm not talking about creating a tree or some inanimate object. However, your words can create love; they can create hate. You get to choose what type of creative power you will have. Do you want success; talk success. Do you want failure; talk failure. The choice is yours.

Finally, let your actions express your thoughts and words. They need to be consistent. Talk success and live success. Talk failure and live failure. This is not an overnight process. One character trait is to "keep at it." Determine that no matter what occurs, you will not quit. You will see it through until success manifests itself. You will need to understand that everything you need to be a success is inside of you right now. Just like gold is not on the surface of the earth (you have to dig for it), the thing on the inside of you that will put you over may have to be found after doing some digging. Remember that the only thing holding you back is you. Make every action count. Start with your self and then show kindness, love, and respect to all that God brings across your path.

If you follow the above, you can expect success in 2011, not because of the new year but because of your new approach to life. Guard your thoughts, watch your words, and live a life in obedience to God and you will be a success!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve 2010

As we approach Christmas day 2010, I wonder how many well meaning Christians will totally miss the "reason for the season." The Internet has many historical accounts of the true reason for the season. It is not the Hebrew Yeshua; the holiday is a pagan celebration of the winter solistice. Almost every major religion has some type of holiday this time of the year. All the time we have been fighting to keep "Christ in Christmas," we have been engaging the wrong battle. Yeshua has nothing to do with the season, despite what you have been taught in Sunday School. This season is about greed and money. It is about finding the best gift at the right price to make our loved ones and friends happy. Everybody does the same thing and the retailers hope to benefit from our efforts to some how believe that Jesus is happy with all this mess.

All of this must make G-d sick. The typical Christmas story contains so many errors. The wise men didn't show up in the stable. Actually, neither did Joseph or Mary for that matter. They were in a home with an attached area with privacy. They were not in an inn, but they were not out in a cold stable either. Joseph was from the lineage of David. He would have been well received in Bethlehem and would not have been turned away. Yet, we have created a Christmas story that we seek to fight for that is just plain wrong.

We need the truth, but from the line in a "Few Good Men," can we handle the truth? The truth is that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. His mission was to renew the covenant as promised in Jeremiah 31. The law was to be written on the hearts of mankind and not on tablets of stone. Every new covenant required a sacrifice and Yeshua was the ultimate sacrifice for this covenant. Yes, He was born; however, it was not on December 25TH. He is not the reason for this season, but He is the reason that we as Gentiles can be grafted into the Olive Branch of Israel and we can have salvation. Now that is something to rejoice over, but Christmas isn't.