Relish the wonders of YHVH Elohim’s creation as you see humpback whales, underwater video of tropical fish, exotic marine and exotic wildlife, the paradise of a white sand beaches, stunning sunsets, live Mexican music, a visit to a gorgeous cathedral, a tour of the Queen Mary cruise ship and more. Enjoy!
If anyone has a home fellowship or a Bible study group that meets on Shabbat and you would like me to talk to your group via Skype, let me know. All you need is a computer with a camera in it and a Skype account, which you can download for free. After that, get your Skype name/password and you’re ready to go.
Email may me the suggested time of our meeting and I will confirm if that works with my schedule or not. If so, we’ll arrange a predesignated time to make the Skype connection from my computer to yours. Give me your Skype name/password and I’ll call you at the prearranged time. That’s all there is to it. It’s totally free to use Skype!
I would be happy to talk with your group on any Biblical subject, answer any biblical questions anyone may have, or just to speak an encouraging, prophetic word over your group, or to pray over people.
You can contact me by email at hoshanarabbah@earthlink.net.
The use of trees or wooden poles as an object of worship in the ancient world was universal as a fertility or phallic symbol. In many places, the Bible strongly condemns involvement with this pagan custom. Obviously the tree of Jeremiah 10:1–5 is not the modern “Christmas tree” as we know it, since Christmas wasn’t invented by the Christians until about the late fifth century AD. However, the decorated tree is a pagan symbol as evidenced by history, which is why it was outlawed by the Puritans and many other religious groups in America in the 1700s. It was not until the 1850s with many Germans migrating to America with their Christmas tree tradition that Christmas became popularized again in this country.
The Scriptures advise us to abstain from all appearances of evil (1 Thess 5:22). At the very least, because of its pagan connotation, a Christmas tree is an appearance of evil. Furthermore, where in the Bible do we find any examples of YHVH’s people reclaiming a pagan tradition, sanitizing it, and then practicing it? This occurred only when Israel was in a state of apostasy or was attempting to syncretize the religion of the Bible with the pagan practices of the surrounding nations.
True, many things in our daily lives have been tainted by paganism. If we were to toss out everything that fits that category, we probably wouldn’t be able to say anything, wear anything, eat anything, or do anything. Some of us would even have to change our names! What we are to throw out are those things that the Bible forbids, anything that is indigenously pagan, or anything that leads us away from YHVH and his Word.
Often our view of the Scriptures is filtered through our emotions. We all struggle with this spiritual disease. When we’re extremely partial to a belief or an idea, we have a hard time conforming our lives to those biblical scriptures that disagree with us. Thus, we have a spiritual blind spot. For many, Christmas has become a spiritual blind spot because it is so ingrained in our families and the culture around us. It is perhaps the hardest thing for people to let go of because of family and emotional ties. Each of us has to make the choice: Do we love the praises of family or the praises of Elohim more (John 12:43)?
Jeremiah 10:1–5 is the perfect description of what has come to be known as a Christmas tree. Continue reading
To get the most enjoyment out of our dollar, science tells us to focus our discretionary spending on experiences such as travel over material goods. A new Cornell University study shows that the enjoyment we derive from experiential purchases may begin even before we buy.
This research offers important information for individual consumers who are trying to “decide on the right mix of material and experiential consumption for maximizing well-being,” said psychology researcher and study author Thomas Gilovich of Cornell University.
Previously, Gilovich and colleagues had found that people get more retrospective enjoyment and satisfaction from their experiential purchases than from their material purchases. And other research has shown that people often hold off on experiences so that they can savor the thought of eventually having them.
Gilovich and co-authors Amit Kumar of Cornell University and Matthew Killingsworth of University of California, San Francisco wanted to bring these lines of research together and investigate whether the enjoyment we get from the anticipation of a purchase depends on what we’re buying.
The researchers discovered that people thinking about impending experiential purchases, such as ski passes or concert tickets, have higher levels of happiness than those who anticipate spending money on things.
In addition, researchers found the act of actually waiting in line to make a purchase may be more pleasant for those intending to spend money on an experience. In one, an analysis of newspaper accounts of crowds of people waiting in line, found that those waiting to purchase an experience were in better moods and were better behaved than those waiting to purchase material goods.
“You sometimes hear stories about people rioting, smashing windows, pepper-spraying one another, or otherwise treating others badly when they have to wait,” said Kumar. “Our work shows that this kind of behavior is much more likely in instances where people are waiting to acquire a possession than when they’re waiting for tickets to a performance or to taste the offerings at their city’s newest food truck.”
The researchers speculate that there may be several factors that could explain these findings. People may think about future experiences in more abstract ways that can make them seem more significant and more gratifying, for example. It’s also possible that waiting for an experience induces less competition than waiting for material goods. Finally, anticipating experiences may confer greater social benefits, making people feel more connected and happier overall.
The findings have clear implications for individual consumers, but they could also inform the way money is spent on a much broader scale:
“Our research is also important to society because it suggests that overall well-being can be advanced by providing an infrastructure that affords experiences – such as parks, trails, beaches – as much as it does material consumption,” says Gilovich.
The findings were published in Psychological Science and supported by the National Science Foundation and by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation through the Greater Good Science Center.
From http://www.faithit.com/seth-adam-smith-marriage-isnt-for-you/
They met when they were 15 and were best friends for 10 years—but after being married just 1 year, the truth hit him HARD.
By Seth Adam Smith
Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me.
Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading.
I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for 10 years until … until we decided we no longer wanted to be just friends. I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all.
Nevertheless, falling in love with my best friend did not prevent me from having certain fears and anxieties about getting married. The nearer Kim and I approached the decision to marry, the more I was filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? Was I making the right choice? Was Kim the right person to marry? Would she make me happy?
Then, one fateful night, I shared these thoughts and concerns with my dad.
Perhaps each of us have moments in our lives when it feels like time slows down or the air becomes still and everything around us seems to draw in, marking that moment as one we will never forget.
My dad giving his response to my concerns was such a moment for me. With a knowing smile he said, “Seth, you’re being totally selfish. So I’m going to make this really simple: Marriage isn’t for you. You don’t marry to make yourself happy, you marry to make someone else happy. More than that, your marriage isn’t for yourself, you’re marrying for a family. Not just for the in-laws and all of that nonsense, but for your future children. Who do you want to help you raise them? Who do you want to influence them? Marriage isn’t for you. It’s not about you. Marriage is about the person you married.”
It was in that very moment that I knew that Kim was the right person to marry. I realized that I wanted to make her happy; to see her smile every day, to make her laugh every day. I wanted to be a part of her family, and my family wanted her to be a part of ours. And thinking back on all the times I had seen her play with my nieces, I knew that she was the one with whom I wanted to build our own family.
My father’s advice was both shocking and revelatory. It went against the grain of today’s “Walmart philosophy,” which is if it doesn’t make you happy, you can take it back and get a new one.
No, a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It’s about the person you love—their wants, their needs, their hopes and their dreams. Selfishness demands, “What’s in it for me?” while Love asks, “What can I give?”
Some time ago, my wife showed me what it means to love selflessly. For many months, my heart had been hardening with a mixture of fear and resentment. Then, after the pressure had built up to where neither of us could stand it, emotions erupted. I was callous. I was selfish.
But instead of matching my selfishness, Kim did something beyond wonderful—she showed an outpouring of love. Laying aside all of the pain and anguish I had caused her, she lovingly took me in her arms and soothed my soul.
I realized that I had forgotten my dad’s advice. While Kim’s side of the marriage had been to love me, my side of the marriage had become all about me. This awful realization brought me to tears, and I promised my wife that I would try to be better.
To all who are reading this article—married, almost married, single, or even the sworn bachelor or bachelorette—I want you to know that marriage isn’t for you. No true relationship of love is for you. Love is about the person you love.
And, paradoxically, the more you truly love that person, the more love you receive. And not just from your significant other, but from their friends and their family and thousands of others you never would have met had your love remained self-centered.
Truly, love and marriage isn’t for you. It’s for others.
Some of you may not be aware that the articles posted on this blog are but the tip of the iceberg of the free biblical discipleship resources that our ministry offers to you. Here is a list of links to other opportunities to help you connect the message of the gospel to its pro-Torah Hebrew roots.
We have a YouTube channel with 230 some videos on numerous biblical subjects from about a half-dozen Hebrew roots teachers who are part of this ministry’s teaching team: https://www.youtube.com/user/HoshanaRabbah?feature=mhee.
We have two complete Torah-study guides (one for each week of the year)—one for beginners and one for the more advanced student. The beginning level is called “Torah Explorers.” Both are available at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/parshiot.html. Some are even in Spanish!
We have written dozens of teaching articles on numerous subject relating to understanding and walking out the pro-Torah, gospel lifestyle at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/teaching.html.
We have monthly calendars in printable form, so that you know when YHVH’s upcoming biblical feast will occur. You’ll these at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/calendars.html.
Want to read the Bible in a year? Need the help of a Bible reading schedule to help establish this noteworthy discipline in your life? Check out our Bible reading schedule at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/read-bible-in-a-year_2015-16.pdf. You can print out the handy, beautifully designed schedule and keep it in your Bible.
Do you need helpful suggestions and guidelines on how to celebrate the biblical festivals? Check this out:
Last but not least, we have a local congregation,which meets on the Sabbath and on all the biblical feast days. To learn about this, please go to http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/elim.html.
Stay tuned. We’re putting out new stuff all the time to help you in your spiritual walk.
The Sabbath is a spiritual picture not only of the life in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man, but also of the Millennium when the majority of the earth will be walking in harmony with YHVH Elohim, his Torah-commandments and with other humans. Not only that, the animals will be at peace with humans as well (Isa 65:25). Wild animals will no longer be vicious or have a fear of humans. The whole creation will be dwelling at peace with itself and its Creator.
Now take a look at these photos I shot yesterday of me interacting with a baby nuthatch in my back yard who hasn’t yet learned to fear humans. Our backyard is a Garden of Eden containing beautiful shrubs and trees with bird and squirrel feeders, bird baths, and places where birds, squirrels and chipmunks can be at peace. This is in spite of the fact that we live in an urban area.
This baby nuthatch allowed me to pet it and I even touched its beak. I did this at three different times over a period of time! He seemed to be fascinated by a little water feature I have in may back yard.
