Mary did you know? What about Amtilai, Rachel and Jochebed and......Part 1.

I have always loved the song, Mary Did You Know, written and sung by Mark Lowry.  It is a most powerful Christmas song both in word and musical performance.  It is about Mary the mother of Jesus and wondering if she knew the full implications of what her baby boy would do, but looking back have you ever wondered about other women in history?

What about Amtilai?  Don't recognize the name?  Don't feel bad, most people wouldn't.  According to the Talmud (Baba Batra 91a), Amtilai was the name of Abraham's mother.  I searched long and hard for that one and found it here:  http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/586401/jewish/What-was-Abrahams-moms-name.htm 

Do you think she had any clue that her baby boy would be the father of many nations?  That he would become a father at the age of 100?  If the Jews and their writings are correct, Abraham's father was an idol worshiper and most likely his mother was also.  The story the Sages tell is a very interesting read. http://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=9168&showrashi=true&p=7   

If the stories the Jews have passed down for centuries about Abraham's father are true and the possibility that his mother was like the father, how does a righteous, Godly man like Abraham come from such people?  Are you living in the midst of what you perceive to be an evil, ungodly surrounding?  Is every day a struggle?  Take heart!  Don't quit and hang on.....!

Now what about those other moms.  Mary did you know that your baby boy, would someday rule the nations.  This line in the song is one most Christians understand has yet to be fulfilled for the Savior Jesus, but what about....Joseph?  Rachel did you know.....?  I want to go over the words to that song so you can really, really see what I see.  Hear what I hear.  Know what I know.  Wow!  That sounds like a Christmas song!

Mary did you know that your baby boy would some day walk on water?
Mary (Rachel) did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
(Rachel) Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
(Rachel) This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary (Rachel) did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?
Mary (Rachel) did you know that your baby boy would calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

Oh Mary did you know 

(Rachel)The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, (Rachel) the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb 

Mary (Rachel) did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary (Rachel) did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am 

I know you may have never seen Joseph in this kind of light before, but trust me I could apply even more verses of this song if I wanted to.  Don't get me wrong, Joseph wasn't super human or even deity, but he was so much a fractal of Jesus it is more than you could ever imagine!!!

I think you get the part about ruling the nations right? What about saving our sons and daughters?  If Joseph had not have been placed in charge of rationing supplies he could not have saved the nations, especially the Israelite nation which would eventually lead to a Davidic line and an ultimate Savior.

As a leader of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, Joseph had power.  By his word or by the raising of his hand he could silence an entire nation.  He was...the Man!  He calmed a storm of grumbling, complaining, hungry people with his authority.  By his hand of provision and planning he calmed the storm of famine.

Those last three phrases that I set apart are something Joseph did, but are symbols of something Jesus has yet to do.  It is a story of redemption for his own people.  A story of love for his brothers.  Are you ready to hear that story?  Chances are you have never heard this story.  This story is about more than redemption or healing.  This story, my friend, is about a forgiveness you and I cannot know.  It is about a brothers love that you and I cannot know.  It is about blinded eyes being opened, deafened ears being able to hear and those who were dead now being able to live.  I know as Christians we may have applied these things to our lives, but my friend we cannot know them in this light.

I think of it in these terms; it was just this past week that the world lost a great humanitarian in Nelson Mandela.  Throughout the last few days we have heard the news reports of what he accomplished during his lifetime.  I will neither fully understand what apartheid was like nor the significance of breaking free of it.  Although I am a white southerner in the United States who grew up in the 1960's I still cannot, nor will I ever understand the full impact of racism in America for I am not an African-American.  No matter how much I may love my fellow man or feel oppression and then find release from that oppression, I cannot know true racism the way the African-American population did in the early part of the 1900's or prior to that time.

In the same manner, we as Western Gentile Christians cannot ever understand what it is like to be a Jew; one of the true brothers or sisters of Jesus.  They are family by physical birth.  Nothing will ever change that fact and someday He will reveal himself to them.  Someday.......

Back to our song.  Genesis 45.  I have always loved this passage and now I know why!  The compassion!!!  If you know the story (if you don't, go back and read starting with chapter 37 and read forward), you know that Joseph seems to have been toying with his brothers who have not recognized him at this point.  BUT that really isn't the case! Everything he did he had to do for the dreams to become reality.  (The sheaves bowing down remember?)  Not only that, but he recognized them.

He required they bring their younger brother with them and now all 11 brothers are present in front of him.  Joseph in verse 1 is so overcome with emotion that he calls out (I'm guessing that means shouts, but that's just my interpretation), for his servants and all the other Egyptians to clear out leaving only him and his brothers.

Does that statement ring any bells with you?  Hmmmm?  Then it says..... "Joseph wept!"  So loud that he could be heard by the Egyptians all throughout the house.  Why did he weep?  His brothers didn't recognize him.  Then what comes next?  Two words in Hebrew or three words in English.  "Ani Yosef!  Ani Yosef!" (or in English)  "I am Joseph!  I am Joseph!"  I have a feeling there were great big sobs in between the words while the brothers stood there with mouths agape.  Half in horror yet half in awe.  What to do?  Do you run toward him in an embrace or toward the door for your life?  What will he do next?

Joseph's next words are probably anticipated by them.  "Is my father still alive?"  They know that as long as Jacob is still alive they will probably live, but when is gone.....well then Joseph will get his revenge.  The scriptures say they could not answer for they were basically, "in shock."  Wouldn't you be?  Then Joseph does the unthinkable.  He asks them to come close and tells them to not be sad and let it not trouble them that they sold him, for God sent him there for a great deliverance!  (will soon deliver you! vs 7)

He continues on with his speech asking them to go tell their father that he is alive and wants the entire family to come and live with him in Egypt.  He will care for them and see that all their needs are met.  In verse 12 he says, "And behold your eyes see" and yes their eyes did see!  Suddenly their eyes were opened and they knew that this man, this ruler over all the land of Egypt truly was the brother who had returned from the dead!" 

Joseph also gives his brothers a message to give to his father.  Verse13, "And you shall tell my father of all my honor in Egypt,"  In Rabbinic literature Egypt refers to the Gentile nations.  Marinate on that one for awhile.  Chapter 46:1 we read something very interesting.  "And Israel and all that was his set out...."  Not Jacob, but his other name is used here Israel!  How significant!  All the house of Israel went to live with Joseph.  Hmm.

Now the last point.  46:2-3, "And God said to Israel in visions of the night and He said, 'Jacob, Jacob!' and he said, 'Here I am.'  And He said, 'I am God, the God of your father.  Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.'"  Come to make you new maybe?

The story of Joseph must be read in light of a future time period.  We will continue this discussion later, but until then do your eyes now begin to see?  Do your ears now begin to hear?   "Ani Yosef!  Ani Yeshua!"  Do you see what I see?  Do you hear what I hear?  Ringing through the sky little lamb?

Until next time, Shalom!
   

Haunting Words: I hope you hear them the rest of your life

Since my last post I have been through the fire.  I didn't intend to be in the fire, but I kind of set an intentional controlled burn and suddenly found the fire burning all around me.  If I had it to do all over again I would still set the fire and I would still be willing to take the heat. To be passionate about lost souls and take a stand for them is always worth it.

I was reminded of that very thing this morning as I pulled into the parking lot of my church building.  I was listening to Christian Radio's WAY-FM as they talked about a recent episode of The Biggest Loser where a contestant broke down about her childhood.  The contestant began to cry telling how her mother abused her over and over while family members sat silently by, doing nothing.  As she cried she made the statement, "No one would save me, no one would save me and I was worth saving."  Wow!

Saving lost souls......how is that done?  What part do we play?  It is my conviction and I can prove it Biblicaly that our part is NOT TO TELL PEOPLE HOW SINFUL THEY ARE!  Our part is to love people where they are and show them the Love of Christ.....PERIOD!  When they see our love they see Christ and Him personified in us.  Then and only then will they want what we have.  When they receive Him.......then the HOLY SPIRIT takes care of the sin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY  BACON-BURGER GOD!  You mean I ain't responsible for pointing out the sins to all those lost people?  I ain't gotta get em cleaned up before I bring em to you and I ain't gotta be the one to get em saved?  WHOO HOO, WHOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is the most freeing thing I have ever heard in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  All I have to do is love people and help them in any way I can!!!!!!  Meet needs?  I can do that!!!!  WOW!  I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off my back!!!

The work of the Holy Spirit - the Ruach HaKodesh is to convict the world of sin, that is not OUR job!!!  We are to love our neighbor as our self and which one of us knows but that the neighbor we are loving is that little girl crying out, "Someone save me, someone save me.  I am worth saving."

Part 2: When the Holy Spirit Came He Did Away With Education...or did He?

Have you thought about those questions?  If your answers are like the ones I received they sounded something like this:

1. The 3000 who were saved at Pentecost were made up of many different people, but we don't really know. 

2. The righteous will be taken and the unrighteous will be left.

3.  Paul is speaking to the Galatian Jews.

4.  Here is where it gets a little tricky....some of you said yes, while others said no.

Well, not too bad for starters.  My original post, after all, was about education.  God wants us to study to show ourselves approved unto Him.  He does not want us ignorant, especially where His Word is concerned.  Nothing makes me angrier than to hear someone say, "I never study for a class I am teaching (or a sermon I am preaching), I just wait till I get there and let the Holy Spirit give me the words."

My next question for that person is, "What does the Holy Spirit have to work with?  You've given Him a box of marbles and you've even lost all but one of them."  Oh well, so much for my sermon on that little off-shoot.  

Now, back to the matter at hand.  I have always believed that the best teacher NEVER gives you the answer you seek, but rather teaches you how to search for and arrive at the answer.   My sons will be the first to tell you that it always irritated them when they came to me for a quick answer and I would give them, "Look it up!"  

In order to find the answer to the four questions, let's take a look at each of the scriptures above.  

The story of Pentecost is found in Acts 2:1-12.  In true literary style, we must ask a few questions.  Do you remember what those questions are?  Does the old, "who, what, when, where, why and how" ring a bell?  You got it!!!  Those are the questions we start with.  Who are the people involved in the Acts 2:1-12 story line?  Well, my Bible says in verse 5, "There were Jews living in Jerusalem devout men from every nation under heaven."  Verses 9-11 goes on to list the nations they represented.

What was going on and when did this event occur?  Verse 1 tells us it was Pentecost.  This special day occurs; 50 days after Passover.  If you want to read all about how they were to observe Pentecost, go back to Deuteronomy 16:9-12, but the original Pentecost was much earlier.  To read about it go back to Exodus 19-20.

Where did this event happen? Verse 5 mentions that there were devout men in Jerusalem. In keeping with the Pentecost celebration, (and if you study the requirements for it), you find that Pentecost or Shavuot as the Jews refer to it, is one of three festivals requiring all males to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.   (Deuteronomy 16:16 Pentecost or Shavuot is also the culmination of the Feast of Weeks.)

Okay, why and how?  Ooh, this one is going to get deep.  Are you ready?  (I am leading you through this one to give you an example, okay?)  For every antithetical action, there must be a corrective action. The very first Pentecost took place 50 days after the first Passover.  This is in Exodus 19-32, but there is one very important verse of scripture.  Exodus 32:28, but I would ask that you read the entire 32nd chapter.  It is very important and verse 28 is only a part of the why and how.  Our English translations can only convey a portion of the true Pentecost story.  Oh, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have only known in a very small part and we have missed so much of the story!!!!!!!!!!

Now, on to question 2: Matthew 24:37-44  Let's look again at our six questions.

Who does Jesus use as a reference in the taking away comparison?  Genesis 6:1 - 9:17

What type of person then will be left behind, the righteous or the unrighteous?

When will this occur?  Where will the ones go who are taken away?

If it were not going to be carried out in the same manner as that particular time in history, why did he not compare it to the taking away of Elijah instead?
How are we to prepare for this taking away?

Question 3 and 4:  Paul addressing the Galatians; Who were these believers, Jews or Gentiles and was he telling them that the Law was no longer valid?

Look very closely at the scripture in question, Galatians 3:1.  It is absolutely imperative to back up a few verses in order to see the issue clearly in this passage, because this question goes hand in hand with question 4.  Now back up to Galatians 2:1.

Who is Paul directing his message to?
Where was Paul going with this issue?  Is he saying the Law was completely done away with?
If so, when was the Law done away with?
If the Law has been done away with, how can Jesus say in Matthew 5:17-19

 17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." 

If the Law hasn't been done away with, then what is the main subject matter of the discourse?
Why is it necessary for Paul to address this issue?

Can you see that some of the scriptures you thought you knew well........maybe you didn't know quite as well as you thought?  Does asking some hard questions about those scriptures make you stop and think a little more?  Perhaps we need to think a little more on the last subject above.  The Law really isn't what you have always thought.  It isn't and never was a means of salvation.  The Law is and always was a means of connecting to the Father.  Just in the same manner a husband and wife connect and communicate to keep their marriage vibrant, alive and intimate.

Now, ask yourself these questions:

a. Did Jesus observe the Law?

b. Did Jesus tell others to observe the Law?

c. Did Jesus ever tell anyone NOT to observe the Law?

d. Did His disciples continue to observe the Law after His death and resurrection? (if not, why were they observing Pentecost see question 1)

e. Did Paul observe the Law throughout the New Testament?

If Jesus did away with the Law, then are we free to commit adultery and murder, to lie, steal, and covet and no longer need to observe the Sabbath?  Oh, and we can now take the Lord God's name in vain?  Imagine a marriage where a spouse did those things and had no desire to spend time with their partner on the designated date night.  Well?  If the Law is no longer valid........you know if the speed limit is no longer valid, then I can go as fast as I want and nothing can happen to me, right?

THINK ABOUT IT!  LET IT SINK IN!

Do you think you have enough educational help for now, to find the answers to all four questions? 

Can you begin taking these steps to look at other scripture in a different light?  Reading the Bible is about more than picking out a verse and making an entire theology out of it.  We must educate ourselves about the Scriptures and what God is and isn't saying.  For far too long men have taken a verse here and a verse there and have preached sermons and taught lessons or based entire theologies on those verses alone.  Take the churches that handle snakes or even the Westboro Baptist Church for example.  Both of those beliefs are as off base as the entire Muslim religion.

If the scripture you are interpreting appears to be in contradiction to other scripture you are missing something in your interpretation, for scripture NEVER contradicts itself.  God is not a God of contradiction or confusion!    The problem is us!  We read a verse and build a belief on it.  When we begin to educate ourselves on the truth of the Word, we find that the Word flows like honey from Genesis to Revelation and is smooth as silk!

Let me say this again.....  Church we can not take the liberty of picking one verse here and there!!!!  We would never dream of taking a verse from a Mozart opera, a line from Edgar Allen Poe, a quote from Martin Luther King and a sermon or two from Billy Graham and building a congregation of believers from that.  That example unfortunately is how we view scripture.  We take a verse from a song (Psalms),  a verse from a poem (Song of Songs), a verse from one of the Gospels (John) and a few verses from Paul's writings and put them together to build an entire theology.  The reason our way doesn't flow like honey is due to the fact we don't look at the verses we choose in context and from the perspective of the people who wrote them.

It is of the utmost importance that we look at EVERY single word of scripture from the proper perspective and this requires us to educate ourselves on what that perspective is.  I will let you in on a little secret......it is not a modern day American perspective!!!  God wants us to know the truth and when you know the truth....IT WILL SET YOU FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Keep on studying so that you will not be ashamed when you stand before your God on judgment day!  I know you want to hear Him say, "Well done good and faithful servant!!!"  

When the Holy Spirit came He did away with the need for education!

Oops!  Did I really say that?  Perhaps it is all the drugs I have been taking lately or just the virus inside me.  You see, I have been home for several days with Type A Flu!  They have just started offering the flu shots at work and already the bug is starting.  I haven’t had the flu in 30 years!  I am zapped!  This is the first day in four days in which I have felt like a human being.  I am taking Tamiflu (a lifesaver) and took Tylenol for the first couple of days. 

I haven’t been able to read, watch TV or look at a computer screen without my eyes crossing.  In fact, my husband must really love me (after all he has been with me for 36 years), today is the first day I have showered in four days.  I looked and smelled pretty bad, I’m guessing on that one since I have no ability to smell at this point in time.  Of course, my first day with the flu followed him having two days of the intestinal bug in which he was, you know, not the most pleasant of roommates.  I pray he does not get this mess!  I would not wish this on the worst of my enemies.  PEOPLE: GET THE FLU SHOT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, on to the subject matter stated in my headline.   I am a person who, all my life has been one who searches for truth.  I don’t care what the standard or norm has always been.  If there is even a hint of non-truth in it, I want to know.  I want to go all the way back to the origin and start there and come forward to find out where the truth got off course.  It is beyond me how anyone can accept something other than the truth. 

The United States of America prides itself in being a nation based on educational values.  In accordance with figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and yes I spelled that first word right.  That is the way they spell it on their web site http://www.oecd.org/about/  in 1999 the USA was 1^st among the industrialized nations in education, but in 2013 we are at best 12^th. 

We push our children to better educate themselves and go farther.  We are constantly raising the bar in education and in the workplace, requiring higher education to qualify.  Now, let’s think about this; the people who make up the church, what occupations do they have outside of the church?  Well, let me think about the people I know.  I’ll list them:

Physicians                                     Lawyers                                       School teachers

College Professors                         College Administrators                   Factory workers

Building Contractors                       Law Enforcement                         Business Administrators

Day Care Workers                         Accountants                                  Bankers

Jewelers                                        Speech Pathologist                         Secretaries

Librarians                                      Coaches                                        Underwater Welder

Painting Contractor                        EMT                                                   

It seems the Church is made up of all occupations of life.  It also seems as if the Church is made up of a wide range of educational levels.  It is one of the few organizations on earth where you will find so much educational variance among its members.  Now, this is not to say that factory workers do not have a college education or that some of the highly skilled occupations like underwater welding have a diverse education.

My question to you now is this, if we are filled with such a diverse and educated membership, why are we so ignorant on the scriptures themselves?  When in the work world we say, “Wait a minute, I’ll need to check the source of that material out.”  Yet in the Church we just sit back and say, “Okay.”  It is as if when we walk through the doors of a church building we lose our educational sense.  We just sit back and relax and think, “Tell me what to think, cause I have to think every other day of the week and I don’t want to have to think on Sunday.  Besides, you have the Holy Spirit and all those guys who translated the Bible from the Greek to English had the Holy Spirit, so I don’t need to think.  Just lay it out there for me!”

Why have we allowed ourselves to be taken captive by those who “told us” what the scripture meant, without taking into account whether those people were legitimate?  So as not to be misunderstood, I am not talking about your local pastor but, perhaps it is time we went back for a little history lesson to see where we were misled.

Just for starters, let me ask you a few questions to see how you answer them:

1.      Who were the 3000 people saved on Pentecost?

2.      In Matthew 24:37-44, there will two working in the field, who will be taken and who will be left?

3.      In Galatians 3:1, who is Paul addressing his famous “bewitched” speech to?  Jews or Gentiles?

4.      When Jesus died and rose again, did he do away with the Law?

Have you thought about these?  I want so much to get into these today, but I want discussion….from you!  Not to put you on the spot, I just want to see how educated my readers and the general public are.  So?  What are your answers to the four questions?  I’ll pick this post up in a few days!  Shalom!

I guarantee you can't pass this test!!!!!!!

Can you identify by the picture the religion it represents?  I will give you the choices to pick from (in alphabetical order): Atheist, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew and Muslim.

 

Did you get them all right?  If you did, you achieved something I could not do.  You see, I can’t tell the Atheist from the Christian in the photos.  In fact, I don’t know if either of those are Christian or if either of them are Atheist.  The point of the test is that outwardly there is no difference between them.  A Christian doesn’t usually stand out in a crowd but neither will an Atheist.  Every major world religion stands out in a crowd except Christians, am I right? 

Why do all other world religions stand out?  Look at them; they dress differently, eat differently, act differently and sometimes even talk differently.  So, why don’t Christians follow this same pattern?  Now, before you go all out with that, “Well, Jesus set us free!  We don’t have to do all those things,” speech, I want to take you to a place we have touched on many, many months ago, but I want to show you something new and exciting about some scripture that is probably very familiar to you.

It has been one year since I began this blog and this coming year I am going in a brand new direction!  I intend to show you something you have perhaps never noticed before.  I hope to show you how every verse of the New Testament is actually a commentary on the Old Testament (The Tanach).  So, are you ready to begin?  Something old is about to become new again!!!  Let’s go!

Something very important in Judaism is a thought process called verbal tallies.  These are words or phrases that connect you back to a section of The Torah.  Are you ready for it?  Turn to John 1:1-5

 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  Everything was made to exist through Him, and nothing that was made to exist was made to exist except by Him.  There was life in Him and the life was light for the sons of men.  The light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not overtake it.”

Does anything in this scripture give you a verbal talley?  What jumped out at you when you read it?  Did this verse take you back to Genesis 1:1-5? Let’s see those verses:

“In the beginning of God’s creating the heavens and the earth – when the earth was astonishingly empty, with darkness upon the surface of the deep and the Divine Presence hovered upon the surface of the waters – God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and God separated between the light and the darkness.  God called to the light: ‘Day,’ and to the darkness He called: ‘Night.’  And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

Wow!  Lots of verbal tallies, wouldn’t you say?  If you have been raised in the Church you have been taught this Word is referring to Jesus Christ, but what about the Light?   Light in Jewish teaching as far back as you can go is, in it’s simplest terms….Torah!  More in-depth it is spiritual illumination or wisdom.

As we are starting a new year of teaching, the Torah reading for this week has been Genesis 1:1 – 6:8 so I want to give you more verbal tallies to that passage.  Go a little deeper into John.  Do you remember last week when I mentioned Jesus speaking up at the water drawing and pouring ceremony on the last great day of Sukkot?  Well, I had a misprint in that post.  It was on the 7^th day of the festival (so sorry, but I wanted to correct that and will go back and correct it on the actual post).   After making his famous, “If anyone is thirsty” speech he then says the following:

“I am the light of the world.  Anyone who follows me will not walk in darkness, for he will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Both the “If anyone is thirsty” and “I am the light of the world” statements are made on the same day at the same festival.  It is the Last Great day of the festival of Sukkot.  This day is called the “Great Salvation.”  This day is a “Great” day of celebration culminating seven days of living in personal booths known as sukkahs.  The entire festival is a fall festival which is known for its thankfulness for a great harvest and beseeching God for rain for the coming year, thus the water drawing and pouring out ceremony every day of the festival.  On the last great day of the festival there is overwhelming joy and special celebrations containing lots of singing and dancing. 

I want to give you a word picture of Jerusalem on this day as described to us in the Mishna:

“there were four golden menorahs with four golden bowls at the top of each and four ladders each leading to a bowl.  Four strong young cohanim (priests) would climb up with pitchers each holding 9 liters of oil which they would pour into the bowls.  From the worn-out drawers and girdles of the cohanim they made wicks and with them they lit the menorahs; and there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up by the light of the Beit-HaSho’evah (festivities).  Pious men and men of good deeds would dance around (the menorahs) with lit torches in their hands, singing songs and praises, while the Levites played harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets and innumerable other musical instruments…” (Sukkah 5:2-4)

In Sukkah 52b it reports that these menorahs were 75 feet high.   Can you get a feel for the surroundings at the moment Jesus shouted out his famous lines!  More like a concert in the middle of a huge outdoor arena with all the lights on than probably what you have had in your mind all these years, isn’t it?

Now, if you went to your Bible, you probably noticed the story of the woman caught in adultery thrown in between the two sections of Jesus shouting out about living water and being the light.  And, if you read it closely it says, “In the morning” which implies that after Jesus talked about being living water one day the statement about being the light was on a different day.  Well, let me straighten one thing out.

John 8:1-11 from what the experts can figure out is true, but it is not John’s writing.  It is believed (by many scholars) to be the work of one of Jesus’ other disciples, but which one is quite the mystery.  Along with that tidbit is the fact that no one is quite certain about the timeline in Jesus ministry as to when this event took place.  It was placed here in John’s Gospel early on in the Church’s beginnings and has been left there.  It is believed to have been an Oral tradition with the early Church that found its way into the early manuscripts.  Now, if you are OCD, like me, don’t get too hung up on this passage being inserted at this point and just trust what the experts tell us. 

Now, back to our original conversation on the Word and the Light!  John tells us the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled or sukkahed) among us!  Yes He did!!!  The Great Salvation had come: The Torah and Spiritual Illumination had become flesh and was living among us and would soon be dwelling IN US!!! 

Great news!  What could be wrong with that?  Well what did Jesus say about the Light?  “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.”   If light dispels darkness, where is this light in the world today?  All I hear about is the darkness in the world and how bad the world is becoming, yet the majority of America claims to be Christian.  If Christians have the light which gives life, shouldn’t we be dispelling the darkness? 

Why can’t you pick out a Christian in a crowd of people?  Should Christians not look different?  The fact of the matter is; if you are a true Christian then you are going to look, think, talk and act differently and you will eat differently.  (That lesson comes much, much later.)  If everyone who says they are a Christian actually were a Christian, congress wouldn’t have to be on the verge of a shutdown.   Welfare, food stamps, homelessness would all be a thing of the past.  Our United States federal income tax rate would drop to an all-time low, because there would be no need for federal or state programs to take care of those needs I listed.  There would also be no need for FEMA or mandated health insurance programs.  No child would be falling through the cracks of the court system.  Prisons would become desolate wastelands and there would be NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND!

If we are reflecting the Light of the World, we are His hands and feet and we will be carrying out the following:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me……Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  Matthew 25:34-36, 40

Well, how do I know Christians are supposed to have this light? 

“You are the light of the world.  A city that sits on the mountain will not be hidden, nor do people kindle a lamp just to put it under the bushel measure, but on the menorah, to illuminate all who are in the house.  So also, shine your light before sons of men, so that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father who is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

That is you and me, if we have Jesus!  It doesn’t say to do these things so they will praise us.  NO!  Heaven forbid!  It is so they will see the Father in the Light we reflect out of us!   If you have ever worn a shirt or necklace that had a little mirror type ornament on it, you know how it catches the light and reflects it onto everything!  That is what I want you to take away from this!  When people look at a picture of a crowd, I want them to be able to pick out the Christians, because they are reflecting the Light within us!!!  May that reflection be so bright the people are blinded by it!!! (I like visuals!  lol) 

One of the smallest, tiniest almost non-existent slivers of light can break the darkness, BUT NO AMOUNT OF DARKNESS, NO MATTER HOW LARGE CAN DISPEL THAT SMALL SLIVER OF LIGHT!!!!  Never ever forget that concept!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, go spread some light this week!!!!!!  SHALOM! 

How about a little delectable dessert? Come on, one little bite won't hurt you!

What does your facebook newsfeed look like lately?  If yours is anything like mine it is mainly pictures of delectable desserts and luscious meal ideas that you must try.  In fact, some nights it seems that food is all I see on my news feed.  Of course, it may be something you barely pay attention to, unless you are hungry, but for me it stands out like a bright flashing light.  The problem?  I have food allergies and 99% of those recipes are completely off limits to me.  For the most part many of them have so many different items in them I cannot have; I am not even able to make substitutions.  Ugh!

I’ll admit there are times I think to myself, “If I make that and eat it just this once, how bad a reaction will I have to suffer through?”  I know that none of my allergies are life-threatening, so my reactions are going to only be uncomfortable.  I suppose if they were life-threatening I would never, even have that thought.  Then, I get sick without eating them and suffer the same debilitating results and remember, “Oh yeah, I DON’T EVER WANT TO GO THROUGH THOSE SYMPTOMS AGAIN!”  Just like my current situation.  I was in the Doctor’s office yesterday and left with a diagnosis of sinusitis.  I have been miserable for almost a week now and boy has it brought back memories of 20 years of agony!   Drainage, coughing, ears stopped upped and feeling like I am under water every morning, clearing my throat constantly….NO THANKS!  Within 48 hours of completely cutting dairy out of my diet….it all stopped.

I now live a life free of dairy and gluten (I also have Celiac’s disease)!  Some days it is a difficult chore just to find food to keep me alive.  For the past four years I have lived on meats (pure meat, no processed luncheon types), vegetables (frozen or fresh since they have no additives) and fruits.  Now, cook with those and be creative without falling into a rut! 

There have been many, many days since my diagnosis, that I have been so hungry I have literally cried and asked God, “Why do I have to go through this?  It is too hard!”  I am laughed at for carrying a large lunch box everywhere I go. 

“Hungry there?” people say to me.  If I had a dollar for every time I have explained why I must carry a larger lunch box than everyone else, I could buy my son a new car! 

I have to explain, daily, why I can’t go to certain restaurants to eat, take part in the potluck at work or church, or just take off on a road trip on the spur of the moment.  Traveling is almost a nightmare.  I need a hotel with a refrigerator AND a microwave in the room.  I even have to question chewing gum, candy AND all medications including over the counter medications.  I cannot trust anything that goes into my mouth….even toothpaste. 

I become a little depressed at times and it seems as though EVERY commercial is a food commercial showing things I CANNOT have.  Now as I have learned more and more about the Torah, I have become very convicted about eating Kosher.  (I am not asking you to do so, but God has been asking me to do so and I have taken on the daunting task of now doing away with meat since kosher meat is almost non-existent in my neck of the woods.)  As I cut my list down further I looked at God and said, “God, I am not sure I can do this….it’s too hard.”  That is when God clearly replied to me, “I didn’t say it was too hard for me to send My Son to atone for your sins and neither did My Son say it was too hard for Him to give His life to atone for your sins.”

Wow!  Put me in my place, very quickly!  Suddenly my allergies and decision didn’t seem like such a hardship after all and then the song which had been stuck in my head for weeks suddenly came full circle.  I realized why that song had been stuck in my head.  God had been preparing me for this moment.  The song?  ‘Already There’ by Casting Crowns.  The words of this song, especially the bridge, say,

               “One day I’ll stand before you

               And look back on the life I’ve lived

               I can’t wait to enjoy the view

               And see how all the pieces fit”

“Aha” I thought!  “That is it!  That is why I was given the food allergies!  It was so I would be able to ease into the kosher eating!”  I had already been on a four year struggle of learning new ways to eat and the battle had been half won before I made the decision to go Kosher!!! 

Now, why am I telling all of this?  Well, I do have a reason other than my struggle with allergies and kosher cooking.  It is the festival of Sukkot or better known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths.  The point of this festival is for the people in Israel to move out of their houses for one week and live in manmade “tents” or sukkahs.  This “roughing” it for a week, helps the people to remember the time after leaving Egypt when the Children of Israel lived in tents.  It is a reminder of God’s provision and that all our “stuff” is just that, stuff.  All the luxuries we enjoy and the things of this world are only temporary and all of it is a gift from God. 

What does that have to do with my allergies?  Well, if you recall, the people while in the wilderness with Moses began to mourn the loss of all the “stuff” they had left behind in Egypt.  As they did, they began to become ungrateful.  An ungrateful heart is a heart that will begin to become discontented, then angry and eventually will turn away from God.  The worst part of this equation is that ungrateful heart is not the only heart affected.  One person’s sin is never his own, he always takes someone with him.

 

Sukkot is a time for reflecting on the truly important things in life.  The provisions which can only be given by God and God alone, to allow for a thankful heart.  A true sukkah must be comprised of a roof of leaves thin enough you are still able to see the stars at night.  There is no furniture, appliances or closets full of clothes and jewelry.  No garages full of cars either.  Days are full of singing and dancing and thankful hearts to God!  Night time in Jerusalem is filled with Sukkahs and candles and each day is filled with singing which ends with a water drawing ceremony. 

The 7^th day of this festival is also called “Great Salvation.”  It was on the last day of this great festival when Jesus, during the water drawing ceremony, shouted out those famous words;

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’”  John 7:37

Does that verse seem a little more eye-opening for you?  Can you see how much understanding we have missed over the years?  Have we understood this verse properly?  Well yes, but in its fullness?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!   What a difference a little background information can make. 

Now back to my original train of thought.  How often are we thanking God for His provision, yet eyeing that forbidden dessert thinking, “Well, maybe one bite won’t have too many consequences.  After all, it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission!  Ha Ha!”  A verse of scripture keeps coming back to my mind over and over and it applies so well, not only to America, but to the Church as well.

 

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired, I refused my heart no pleasure.”  Ecclesiastes 2:10

Or perhaps this one:

“What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?  …..This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods.”  Luke 12:18

We are constantly looking around and accumulating everything our eyes desire.  In fact, we accumulate so much stuff; we have to add on to our houses, add storage units to our property or rent storage units to hold it all!  The worst part, most people don’t even know what all they have in those units or rooms.  Do you have any idea what is in your attic or closets? 

And the Church isn’t much better.  “We build bigger buildings and mega congregations filled with the latest technology and programming gimmicks and yet are people any better off? 

Why don’t we stop looking at all the things that aren’t “kosher” and keep our eyes focused on the things which are.  Personally, I had to change my attitude.  Instead of being upset about all the things I couldn’t have, I changed my attitude to say, “Look at all the things I can have, but most importantly what a wonderful connection I will have with God by keeping my eyes focused on Him!”

So, what do you focus on, the prize or the distraction?  The choice is yours.  

A lot of people must love the taste of vomit, EWWW! I want apples and honey!

It is the New Year celebration in Israel!  It is Rosh Hashanna and time for the fall festivals.  Oh you don't want to miss these and this is where I want to introduce to you one of the most important principles of Judaic study; the festivals!  There are two basic sets of festivals; spring and fall.  These festivals also known as moedim are actually appointments and are just what the name implies.  Just as we make an appointment with a doctor or accountant, God has set appointments with us and He keeps them whether we do or not.  Each of the festivals plays a different role in man's relationship with God and how we are to keep that relationship on the right track.  They are a time for "re-positioning" so to speak.

These festivals are also "dress rehearsals" for the one and only festival that is to be held at a time in the future when we will hold them with the heavenly host and the Messiah!!!!  Each year, as they are being celebrated, you might consider them practice runs for the "real" thing!  If this is true, then why aren't Christians everywhere celebrating these festivals?  Jesus celebrated them while on earth and His disciples celebrated them after His resurrection so why do we not celebrate them may I ask?

The 10 day period between Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur is known as the Ten Days of Repentance.  On Rosh Hashanna the shofar is blown 100 times to call the people to repentance and then again on Yom Kippur a single blast of the shofar is blown to signal the end of the days of repentance while a cry is shouted, "Next year in Jerusalem!"

During these ten days the people take a serious inventory of their lives, ridding themselves of any dross they find within themselves.  A beautiful ceremony on Rosh Hashanna is to go to a body of "living water" (one in which the water is moving, i.e. a river or lake where there is fresh water) and to cast whatever is in your pockets into it.  When you do this you contemplate how these objects thrown into the water represent the things in your life that weigh you down from a relationship with God.  These are your "sins" and as they float away you are to imagine God taking them away.  (Think of the scripture about casting your bread upon the water.  Understand it now?)

I want to camp here for a moment, because my Rabbi said something this past week that needs to be repeated.  When Jesus was teaching the sermon on the mount he was talking about these days.  In Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus is talking about what you should do about sin in your life.  Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement - your court appearance date.  It is suggested you "settle out of court" before your court date.  You know, that is always a good idea, isn't it?  If we can just settle out of court we save a whole lot of trouble for ourselves.

Well, I don't have to settle out of court, because there isn't anything to settle!  Oh really?  Nothing at all?  Nope!  I'm saved by grace and that settles it!!!  Okay, well, I guess you are the first person in history to be zapped into perfection then, well other than Jesus that is.  If you have settled salvation, GREAT!, but what about everything else?  I was only kidding about the perfection part.  I know you aren't perfect, regardless of what you might believe, so what is it about your life that needs to be forgiven and cleaned up?

Perhaps you are searching for God.  Maybe you have never known a relationship with Him.  Well, from this point on whether you know Him or you don't, I am going to just pretend that none of you do.  No matter where any of us are in a relationship there are always things that need to change.  Let's look at the two people who will possibly be in this relationship.

God is perfect and sovereign.  He loves you more than you could ever understand.  He has nothing but great and mighty things in mind and in store for your life.  It may seem to you that He wants to rain on your parade, but you, in your finite mind, cannot see things from His perspective; the bigger picture of how your life would be if you let Him have control.  He DOES NOT want to harm you, but rather wants to give you HOPE and a FUTURE!  WOW!

Now to you.  You are probably a fantastic person.  You are well liked, but there are things you would love to change about yourself (or ahem, things others would love to change about you!  lol).  Not necessarily physical attributes here, but things about your past or decisions you've made. I think for sanity's sake I'll just make a multiple choice list for you to choose from.

Are any of the following a problem for you?  We'll start with the 10 big ones.
*1. Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart?  How do you use His name?  (if not see#14, this is a good place to start!)
*2. Do you keep the Sabbath Day Holy? (see #14)
*3. Does anything come before God and the things of God? (see #14)
*4. Do you honor your parents? (No matter how they treat or treated you?  See #14)
*5. Do you murder people with your words? (I know that most likely none of you are actual   murderers, see #14)
*6. Sexual issues?????????????  I'll just leave this one tween you and the Lord.  (see #14)
*7. Do you steal? (Why absolutely not!  Well, do you take longer breaks than you are allotted at work?)  (see #14)
*8. Do you lie?  (Ooh boy! Glad it's not tax time, oh but wait....what about that......oh it's not that big of  a deal.  It was only a little thing.  Oh and that little purchase you made on the credit card that you  covered up without telling your spouse or maybe your boss.  No big deal.)  (see #14)
*9. HERE COMES A BIG ONE---COVETING: are you always dissatisfied and  looking to get something newer and better? (Never thought of covet in those terms?  Think again!) (see #14)
*10. Anger issues (see #14) Why are you always so angry?
*11. Money (either spending too much or not spending when you should) (see #14)
*12. Attitude (are you a negative person about many things?) (see #14)
*13. Sarcasm (Uh oh.....do you use sarcasm as humor??????) (see #14)
*14. Self-Centeredness (hmmmm, is everything about me, me, me?) (see #14 oh this is #14!)
*15. Over Achiever (well, I guess I never thought of this one as being a sin, but from God's perspective if   we are not seeking Him above all then this one puts ourselves above God.  When we seek to go above and beyond, unless it is in a spiritual sense and even then we should tread carefully to ensure it is feeding a spiritual hunger and not our own ego.) (see #14)
*16. Under Achiever (well we have to have the flip side!  Do you think, "Well, why should I even try?  I can't do anything right anyway.")  (see #14)
*17. FOR MEN ONLY HERE: Do you pray over your children and teach them daily in the morning and  evening about God? (OOOOH  you thought it was only the Mother's responsibility huh? NOPE!  Have  you read the Word lately?  Think again!)  (see #14)
*18. Have you lost your sense of embarrassment? (Whew!)  (see #14)
*19. Is there someone you need to forgive?  OR is there someone you need to ask forgiveness of?  (see #14)
*20. The victim or martyr (do you think this is your role in life) (see #14)


In the Christian world we study ONLY the Bible, but in the Jewish world they have many sacred works that support and entwine each other.  I want to show you something that is actually part of the New Testament, but we have never known this.  This is a quote from the Talmud, end of tractate Sotah, and see whether or not you think they describe our world today:

Insolence and self-centeredness will increase; there will be oppressing inflation; people will be addicted to the good life, and the costs will be high; moral standards will dissolve, and morality and wisdom will be denigrated; there will be unbridled irresponsibility on the part of authorities; centers of learning will turn into centers of immorality; poverty will increase; the young will denigrate the old; families will disintegrate; leadership will be impudent. The world will see a succession of troubles, epidemics of terrible diseases and international confrontations. The face of the generation will be “like the face of a dog.” Just as dogs are not embarrassed by anything they do, so too, people will lose their sense of embarrassment.

Wow!  Sounds like it was printed in yesterday's newspaper, doesn't it!!!  Also sounds a lot like a Bible verse I learned along the way.  What was that verse now?  Oh yeah 2 Timothy 3:1-5

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power"  

Sounds like it came from the same place, doesn't it?  Well maybe it did! What do you think?  Could Paul have been quoting from the Talmud?  WOW did you catch how almost everything in our problem list can be linked back to self centeredness and the Bible AND Talmud both say that is the main problem, yet we don't seem to think of it that way.

Let me give you an example of what is happening to us using the Talmud's quote.  Have you ever eaten something that was a little bit "bad" and it made you nauseated or perhaps you have had the lovely opportunity of having the 24 hour stomach flu?  If so, you know how it starts.  At first we feel this little burning sensation or a slight queasiness.  A few belches and it goes away and we go on with life.  NO PROBLEM, but eventually the symptoms return.  Another belch and a little something comes up in our throat, EWWW, but we swallow it down and begin our positive thinking approach.  "I am not going to be sick!"   

We keep pushing it down and disassociating our self from it until another symptom arises.  We swallow it down again.  We are in agony, but if we keep swallowing and keep our mind preoccupied we won't have to (dare I say it), throw up.  As long as we don't let our mind go there, we won't have to deal with the fact that we are actually sick.  We even chant the mantra, "I am not going to be sick, I am not going to be sick!"  All the while swallowing down the acidic gunk burning our esophagus and stomach until the inevitable happens......we can't hold it back any longer.  What then?  RELIEF!!!!  Why were we holding back the inevitable in the first place?  If we know we will find relief after getting the junk out, why do we fight the purging?  

God wants to purge us from all the gunk inside, but we want to hold onto all the acidic, churning, corrosive mess which is eating away at us.  It rears it's head in symptoms from time to time, but we push it down and say, "I'm not sick!  There is not one thing wrong with me.  If I don't admit it, then I don't have to deal with it."  We push it down and down and down and, as the Psychiatrist's put it, shove some things to the back of our minds to the point that we have even forgotten they are there.  The problem is, when we least expect it, uh oh, a belch, then a little acid and before you know it that gunk is eating away at our esophagus like a cancer.  We try a little pepto and think all is well, but I guarantee the problem will be back.  You see, all we do is cover the symptoms and think we are taking care of the problem.  We are only providing temporary relief when we could be receiving complete relief!    

Dealing with sin is a job tooooooooo big for us alone.  That is a job for superman and there is only one true Superman - God!  He provides complete and total relief from sin whether it is the sin of our own making or the degradation marked by the sin of someone else on our own lives. Dealing with it takes a little at a time.  Just like a stomach virus, we get rid of the worst first then as the day goes on we get rid of less and less until we are left weak, but with a virus free stomach.  After that it is up to us to replace our bodies with vitamins and nourishment in order to strengthen ourselves for work!  Sometimes though, if the virus has been extremely hard on us, we need a little intervention.  We have to go to the hospital or doctor for a little intravenous fluids.   

God does not work any differently.  He will start with the thing in your life causing the biggest problem and deal with it first.  Come on get it up and out of there.  If that virus is so horrible or deadly then intervention maybe required up front.  God has plenty of specialists on His team.  Yes, prayer can and does work, but God also has people chosen to help.  IT IS NOT A SIN TO USE COUNSELORS OR PSYCHOLOGISTS!  (Do you think twice about going to a physician if you are having a heart attack?  If you really read God's Word you will find there are times He even used a donkey, so He can use worldly Psychologists also!  Most of their foundational wisdom came from Jews who were very knowledgeable in Torah!)  Just make sure the person you are using is a qualified professional.  DO NOT use a person who has a photocopied certificate in a drawer somewhere or no certificate and qualifies themselves by saying they received their knowledge from the school of hard knocks.  If you need intervention, use a professional, especially if you have suffered a deep trauma in your life.

Friends, I am finding there are many, many of you who have suffered deeply at the hands of someone else at an earlier point in your life.  DO NOT DELAY in getting professional help to deal with this issue.  For those of you who think I harp way too much on this subject let me reiterate something for you right now.  Nothing comes into our lives without reason and God has been bringing woman after woman after woman into my life to re-tell their story to me for A REASON and here is the reason:

http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm
 It is estimated that there are 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America today.
Source: Forward, 1993.

Can you understand my insistence on this subject?  There are many, many of you who have never told ANYONE about it nor have you received help for it: (also from the same website)

 In the adult retrospective study, victimization was reported by 27 percent of the women and 16 percent of the men. The median age for the occurrence of reported abuse was 9.9 for boys and 9.6 for girls. Victimization occurred before age eight for 22 percent of boys and for 23 percent of girls. Most of the abuse of both boys and girls was by offenders 10 or more years older than their victims. Girls were more likely than boys to not disclose the abuse. Forty-two percent of the women and thirty-three percent of the men reported never having disclosed the experience to anyone.
Source: Finkelhor et al., 1990.

42% of the women who are abused and 33% of the the men will NEVER tell ANYONE!!!!  You will go on to become a tortured mess while the abuser goes scott free to live a life of abusing others.  You will choose to keep yourself full of acid and bile that churns and boils until it explodes one day like a volcano into either a meltdown or suicide.  

All of the things I listed in the 20 above can also cause this churning and boiling until they explode, not just abuse, and those 20 are things are things we do to ourselves.  Abuse is something someone else does to us, but keeping the abuse to ourselves, in fact only keeps the lid on an explosive situation.  Here is the result of keeping the lid on these things from this same website:

Dr. William C. Holmes of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine."  [snip]  "The earlier studies found that one-third of juvenile delinquents, 40 percent of sexual offenders and 76 percent of serial rapists report they were sexually abused as youngsters."  [snip]  "The suicide rate among sexually abused boys was 1½ to 14 times higher, and reports of multiple substance abuse among sixth-grade boys who were molested was 12 to 40 times greater."  [snip]  "Holmes said a review of the studies leads him to believe 10 percent to 20 percent of all boys are sexually abused in some way. But widely varying definitions of sexual abuse in the studies and differences in who was being studied make it difficult to accurately gauge the prevalence of sexual abuse, he said."
Full Story at MSNBC News, Dec 1998 (Note: may be archived).

 Young girls who are sexually abused are more likely to develop eating disorders as adolescents. The findings also add to a growing body of research suggesting that trauma in childhood increases the risk of developing an eating disorder. Abused girls were more dissatisfied with their weight and more likely to diet and purge their food by vomiting or using laxatives and diuretics. Abused girls were also more likely to restrict their eating when they were bored or emotionally upset. Wonderlich suggests that abused girls might experience higher levels of emotional distress, possibly linked to their abuse, and have trouble coping. Food restriction and perhaps other eating disorder behaviors may (reflect) efforts to cope with such experiences. The report also indicates that while girls who were abused were less likely to exhibit perfectionist tendencies (such as making extreme efforts to avoid disappointing others and a need to be 'the best'), they tended to want thinner bodies than girls who had not been abused.
Source: Stephen A. Wonderlich, M.D., et al, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Fargo, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2000;391277-1283.

AND ONE MORE!

Sexual and Other Abuse May Alter a Brain Region

"Many women and men who have been subjected to severe physical or sexual abuse during childhood suffer from long-term disturbances of the psyche. They may be invaded by nightmares and flashbacks -- much like survivors of war -- or, conversely, may freeze into benumbed calm in situations of extreme stress. Two recent studies find that survivors of child abuse may also have a smaller hippocampus relative to control subjects. If substantiated, the discovery could fill out the profile of an abuse survivor and help define what constitutes abuse." "Changes in the hippocampus--the part of the brain that deals with short-term memory and possibly the encoding and retrieval of long-term memory--could, researchers suggest, be wrought by hormones flooding the brain during and after a stressful episode." "Dissociation and PTSD are not sharply separated and often alternate in the same individual. Dissociation, often employed by children who cannot escape from the threat of abuse, is a means of mentally withdrawing from a horrific situation by separating it from conscious awareness. The skill allows the victim to feel detached from the body or self, as if what is happening is not happening to her or him." "David W. Foy of Pepperdine University notes that within days or weeks of a traumatic experience, therapy seems beneficial in dispelling PTSD. This period, Bremner speculates, could reflect the timescale over which the hippocampus organizes experiences into a person's worldview. Although some functions of the hippocampus are known, its mechanics are poorly understood." "Psychiatrists contend that if repeatedly invoked in childhood, dissociation prevents memories from being integrated into consciousness and can lead to an altered sense of self. Many normal children play with imaginary companions; abused children can use such creative resources to a pathological extent, in extreme cases falling prey to multiple personality disorder (MPD). Adults may continue to use dissociation as a coping mechanism. Once dissociation or PTSD develops, the majority of psychological symptoms and the hormonal profile are very resistant to treatment." Reference: Scientific American, N.Y., (273: 4) 10/95, page 14. This is NOT how God wants us to live our lives as adults.  He designed this as a coping mechanism for small children who are too young to do anything about the situation, including reporting it.  This is not for those old enough to report the abuse and get help dealing with it.  It is the enemy's way and the enemy is the abuser.  His way says: "Don't tell anyone.  After all who are they going to believe anyway?  They aren't going to believe you!  Besides, you are worthless now.  No one will want you, because no one cares." But God's way is much different: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord.  "Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11 "Are not two birds sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them falls to the the ground apart from your heavenly Father.  And as for you, even the hairs on your head are all numbered,  So do not fear; you are more precious than many birds."  Matthew 10:29-31 WOW!!!  Quite a different outlook than the quotes from the website I have been posting, correct?  So why are you holding back the vomit?  Do you enjoy the taste of it?  Whose report do you believe? The enemy or God?  Every time I either hear the word vomit or have to actually go through with the actual act of it, I always think of these verses: "As a dog returns to it's vomit, so fools repeat their folly."  Proverbs 26:11 Now I am not calling you a fool, what I am doing is showing you how the New Testament writers used scripture.  Look with me at  I Peter 2:22 "What has happened to them accords with the true proverb, 'A dog returns to its own vomit.' Yes, 'The pig washed itself, only to wallow in the mud!'" What is Peter talking about?  People who lead you astray is the context of this verse, but it is my Jewish commentary that made me really want to print this verse.  The part about the pig is a Jewish expression which means, "to enter the mikveh (baptistry) while [still] holding onto the corpse."    You see one reason for a mikveh is for spiritual cleansing after touching a corpse.  Are we trying to ask God to cleanse us while we are still holding onto the very things He is trying to cleanse us from? Keep shoving down that acid while smiling and chanting that "I am not sick" mantra and we are like a volcano.  They are the most beautiful mountains in the world, but also the most volatile and potentially deadly of situations in the world.  We have only recently become able to predict with even slight accuracy when and if they will explode. Ignoring the signs of an eruption will not negate a said eruption, (just ask the people of Pompeii, well if you could, but they are dead now aren't they?  I think they were killed from a volcanic eruption, because they didn't heed the warning signs!) Sin, is described in Genesis 4:7 as crouching at our door, desiring us and we must master it.  Even to do nothing is a sin.  Doing nothing won't make it go away, but rather allows it to set up residence and what happens when it sets up residence?  You become it's slave, either out of fear or the two of you just become old pals. "Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Romans 6:16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? Numbers 32:23 "But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. NOW, back to your New Years Resolution:  Judgement Day has come and the day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, will be here on Friday the 13th (ha! hadn't realized that until I actually printed it) around 6 p.m. through Saturday the 14th around 8 p.m.  A day of hard fasting where there is neither food nor drink taken by an observant Jew.  The days from now until then are days of repentance.  It is the time to settle out of court.  A time when we come before God to plead our case and spill our guts to cleanse ourselves of the rotgut inside.  Yom Kippur will be ended by one blast of the Shofar!  At that blast, our verdict will be sealed for the coming year.  (Remember what I said about the festivals being a dress rehearsal for the real thing to come!!!) I know my Western thinkers are screaming at me right now saying, "Don't go there with me, Jesus has already paid the price and I don't have to worry about my verdict!  My penalty has been paid in full!  I'm not perfect just forgiven."  In one respect you are correct.  The penalty of the curse has been paid, BUT as I said earlier, we MUST keep on in the repentance process.  At salvation God does not magically purge us from all the impurities or we couldn't stand it.  We would need to be on IV fluids for years!  No, He begins little by little teaching us and showing us the things we need to rid ourselves of so we can "learn" from our past and our mistakes and "know" to stay away from those in the future.  Neither does salvation remove from us any obligation to live our lives under His control rather than our own.  Salvation does not give us freedom to "sin" as we please since all sin is forgiven past, present and future.  (I could take issue with that statement, but now is not the time or place.) We must continually be pulling ourselves loose from ourselves and grasping onto the hand of God while He draws us to Himself.  It is a lifelong process, thus a yearly cycle of Rosh Hashanna and Yom Kippur until that Final Shofar blows to bring in the Kingdom of Heaven. Are the words of John the Baptizer becoming a little clearer now?  Do the words of The Word, Himself, make a little more sense?  Please don't delay.  We do not know which Yom Kippur may be the final practice and the verdict will be sealed with no chance for another Rosh Hashanna and another time of repentance.  Oh, and those of you who don't believe that a God exists?  Well, he still loves you whether you believe in Him or not.    Are you willing to take that chance?  What will your verdict be?  Another year of turmoil or would you love to find peace within?  Your choice, your verdict. Oh, the other verse I was speaking of?  Well, the Church undergoes a day of judgement also. Message to Laodicea 14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16So because you are lukewarm,and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (vomit) 17Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clotheyourself, and [that] the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" Did you catch the part where they had become self-centered?  "I have become wealthy and don't need anything from you God!"   Whoops, there is that #14 again!  Oh dear Creator of the Universe, never let me be such an acidic, corrosive being to you that I would make your stomach churn and you would wish to "vomit" me out of your mouth!  Show me the wicked ways in me that I may turn from them and create within me a renewed heart, one that searches only for the things of You!  Amen!