Everywhere You Look

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.  Romans 15:2  NASB Please – The wonderful thing about paradigms is that they help you make sense of the world.  In fact, if you start discovering anomalies in your world–things that just don’t add up–paradigms offer useful solutions.  You can claim that…

TAX TIME

TAX DONATION LETTERS If I have your email address, you received (or will shortly) a tax donation IRS letter for the donations made in 2013. For about 20 people, I did not have an email address so I sent physical letters in the mail. BUT I MADE A MISTAKE.  I used a prior year template…

Beyond the Letters

And the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the Tent of Meeting, saying,  Leviticus 1:1 Hebrew World And the Lord called – Hebrew is a structural language.  What I mean is that each of the consonants are like the structural beams of a building.  They communicate in more ways than simply…

The Cure and the Warning

From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
because of Your adversaries,
to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.  Psalm 8:2  NASB Established strength – According to Rabbi Munk, this verse teaches “that Israel’s protection from harm depends on the Torah study of its innocent children.”[1]  Don’t dismiss his comment too quickly. …

Boqer Tov

Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
so as to cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity.  Psalm 101:8  NASB Every morning – When you walk the streets of Jerusalem as the sun rises, you are likely to say, “Boqer tov” to those you meet.  “Good…

Just in Case You Were Confused

He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.  Psalm 101:7  NASB Speaks falsehood – So David won’t let any deceitful practitioner in his house.  Would that change your list of dinner guests?  Just in case you were confused about David’s meaning, he clarifies. …

Fashionable

He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.  Psalm 101:7  NASB Practices deceit – Who practices deceit?  Who’s on your list of liars?  Let’s see.  Maybe some politicians (or may be all of them?).  Maybe your ex-spouse.  Maybe your business competitor.  Maybe that…

God and Israel

My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.  Psalm 101:6  NASB The faithful of the land – “The Torah is God’s wisdom, and Israel translates it into real life.”  “. . . Israel…

Who Is High and Lifted Up?

A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.  Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy.  Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.  Psalm 101:4-5  ESV Arrogant – Does your praise and worship music include the words “high and lifted up”?  If so,…

Need I Say It

Every once in awhile I get an email that questions my commitment to the divinity of the Messiah, usually in the form of “if he believes such and such, then he must not believe that Jesus is God” or something like that.  The last one was an accusation that I have adopted rabbinic Judaism and…