Tag: Israel Attack

Israel and Racism

Would you ever consider discriminating against the apostle Paul?

Video only via Rumble, Twitter, and Spotify below.

Managing Emotions and Seeing Truth Clearly

I talk about managing emotions from a biblical perspective and how believers should react to the Israel Attack in this week’s message. Yes, it’s OK to be angry. Then what?

Messages below are from Rumble, then Twitter, then Spotify so folks can use the platform they are most familiar with. Then the written version below.

Managing Emotions

The truck story. We researched what we needed in a vehicle. It needed to be a 4X, have 4 doors, tow 9K pounds minimum, have certain interior comforts and cost no more than a certain price. I sent out for bids and a dealer said “come on down”. So we went down and they had two beautiful trucks ready for us. A blue one with the ride of a Cadillac and a black one with a stiffer ride but an upgraded engine. We drove the trucks and there was no way they cost what we could afford. When we asked them, they said there was no truck available that could do what we want for what we wanted to pay, would we like the blue one or the black one? The sales people had deceived us to get us to drive the trucks so we would make a huge financial decision based on emotion.

We left the dealership and got a message on the way home about a truck that matched what we wanted for our exact price point. Yahweh provided.

I tried to think about something else to talk about this week but this topic is so front and center that I just couldn’t. Or the Ruach pushed me in this direction. Last night, when it is customary for us to say Shabbat shalom to each other online, I couldn’t. That would make this time too normal. And when I think of saying it, I imagine the poor people being held hostage in dark tunnels beneath Gaza. They have no peace right now. They can only hope the Israelis find them quickly and free them. So here we are.

Two weeks ago, we saw an incredibly horrific, planned, premeditated attack on Israel by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. The terrorists attacked on the 8th day, also known as Shemini Atzaret, the 8th day of sukkot, which is a high sabbath culminating a week long festival. They did this on purpose. It was beyond dastardly. It was pure evil. After the attack was over, the Israelis found evidence that this was the sole purpose of the attack. Killing civilians, women and children, the elderly, and taking them hostage was the goal. In our country, we periodically have mass shootings where somebody goes berserk and shoots up a mall or a school. That’s evil. That might be the pinnacle of evil. But in this case, we have hundreds of people planning and financing a large scale version of this. To distract from the invasion, Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched thousands of rockets, thousands, into Israel to try and get past their missile defenses and make them think that was all that was happening.

In the aftermath, we are seeing videos of incredibly depraved behavior. Most of it completely unspeakable and I try not to watch. One video I saw was the incredibly cruel burning alive of two Israeli hostages. They were chained so they could not escape or quell the flames. I could not watch the whole thing. The terrorists are burning bodies of victims so badly that the Israelis can’t identify them. The world has not seen barbarism on a scale like this in a very long time.

Are you angry? Are you outraged? Is that OK?

Slide 2 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Eph 4:25-27 NAS95)

Being made in God’s image, we are supposed to have emotions because He has them. His Son was quite emotional when He was on the earth as well. We saw him pour out compassion on individuals and then on mankind as a whole with His death. Yeshua had a job to do and, while feeling things probably as deeper than anyone else ever has, He remained faithful and on mission. The flip side of emotions with Yeshua’s crucifixion is how the people were convinced very quickly to betray not only the Messiah, but to deny their very purpose and existence when they cried out “we have no king but Caesar”.

You can see the danger here with making rash decisions in the heat of the moment. Of course, Yeshua’s sacrifice and everything that happened with it were part of Yahweh’s plan of salvation. Those people reacted the way they were supposed to so God could be glorified. But what happened 50-ish days later when the Holy Spirit came and Peter preached Yeshua? Those who had been spun into a frenzy saw the error of their ways and asked how to make it right.

There are some things that are so awful that we react to them without thinking it through. Like when terrorists premeditatedly paraglide into an innocent country for the specific purpose of mass murder. Reacting viscerally to that is the proper reaction. Reacting violently to attack on yourself, your country, or innocents is normal and just. Reacting violently when it’s not a life and death situation is not. We need to have control of our emotions. A safeguard against making bad decisions in the heat of the moment is to make the bible our foundation. For us to channel our emotions to be useful or good, we must build our intellect and our culture on justice. We must have a solid foundation so when we react to something emotionally, we react properly. When we see tragedies, do we take it personally and have empathy? Or do we look at it as being disconnected?

Slide 3 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Mat 24:9-14)

Facing reality for a moment, hasn’t our love grown cold because lawlessness has increased? The amount of violence in the US today seems out of control. We have mass shootings almost routinely. We’re saturated with bad news of lawless deeds. That has an effect on us whether we like it or not. It’s simple reality when bad behavior happens so much it becomes normalized. We need to find a way to keep our hearts soft in these trying times.

Are you still outraged about what happened to Israel a week and a half ago? I am. I walked outside to get the mail yesterday and saw a neighbor walking his dog. I immediately thought of those in Israel who were doing normal things on October 7 when the monsters attacked them. I introduced myself to the neighbor and thanked God we live in a place that is still peaceful. It’s a sad state of affairs when the simple act of meeting a stranger on the street and saying hello is somehow fulfilling.

Slide 4 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:7-10 NAS95)

We know this is not now. It says “when the thousand years are completed”. They haven’t even started. Let’s be clear, in scripture events can happen several times. Prophesies can be fulfilled on a small scale and then on a big one. Satan also plays a huge role in deceiving the world, so he is surely getting warmed up here before the 1000 years starts. But these protests in favor of the terrorists and the refusal for colleges and others to support Israel is really astonishing. These protests all over the world of people hating Israel and supporting the bad guys is just shocking. And terrifying.

Now’s the time to say why we support Israel. It’s not because of theology. It’s not because of prophecy. It’s because they have a free and open society. They accept people from all over the world to come enjoy the promised land. People from more than two dozen countries were kidnapped when the monsters invaded. We know that the country called Israel today is not governed like Israel should be and we know they have huge sins in their multi-cultural society, but the reality is that we have to live in the now. They have enormous military might and the use it to defend their tiny country. They have had the power to erase Gaza for decades and have not done it. Because they just want to be left alone and free to live as they see fit. They are innocent and were attacked yet the world decries their response 100X or even 1000X the brutality of the attack by the monsters. It’s like we’re living in the twilight zone. But guess what, it’s a global deception. It’s a complete lie. It’s calling evil good and good evil on a global scale. So while we know this is not the ultimate time when all nations will go against Jerusalem, it’s still happening and we have to acknowledge it. Not because of theology, but because justice demands it.

Keeping our hearts and minds about us in tumultuous times is a challenge. The best way to know justice, maybe the only way, is to read our bibles. The whole thing. Cover to cover. And then continue to meditate on the Word of God.

Slide 4 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘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; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’” (Mat 25:31-36)

These words are telling us parts of how not to grow cold. They are telling us how to be found doing His will when He returns. Be compassionate, be hospitable. Don’t forget the parables which were spoken just before this. Have oil in our lamps and use our talents. Stay involved, stay kind, and stay loving. And be around people who are like this, too.

When we get emotional, the best way to not sin and to be able to see the truth is to have filled our minds and our hearts with the Word of God. We are to speak truth to our neighbors. That means we have to know truth. Most consider this doctrine, which it includes, but for the love of Yahweh the entire world seems to be uniting against the country that was attacked. They are uniting in a lie. And it’s not some smoky back room conspiracy, it’s right in our faces. We have to give praise to Yahweh and Yeshua for those who can still tell the difference between good and evil, for we are a dwindling lot.

We study our Bibles to be closer to God and His Son. If we fill our minds and hearts with their will, then when something sad or awful happens, we will be much more likely to respond in a biblical fashion. When we fill our minds and our hearts with the ways of the world, we are more likely to respond in a worldly fashion. The world loves lies. The world loves evil. We love truth and peace. We are not to let the sun go down on our anger so that means there’s a limit to excusing mistakes carried out because of emotion. After we sleep on issues, we can then begin to divorce emotion and sort things out logically. How did this bad thing happen? Could we have done anything different? How can we make a change so the bad thing doesn’t happen again or is that even possible? After we cool down, then we can contemplate.

In the case of the attack on Israel, I’m still outraged and now even astonished at how many people in the west are already growing cold over it. Even to the point of supporting the monsters. Israel was providing water and electricity to those who attacked them. We are to be a forgiving people, we are to turn the other cheek, but there comes a point when action needs to be taken. This continent suffered tyranny under King George for many, many years before declaring our independence and going to war. Israel cannot be expected to live on the knife’s edge like this anymore. They must destroy those monsters for any sort of peace to exist. Let me be clear, I’m not supporting Israel because of some prophecy interpretation or because they are called Israel. I’m supporting them because they are an open and free country that just wants to be left alone. They allow people from all over the world to come and go because they are caretakers of the holy land. The behavior of their enemies is the opposite. I support Israel because their enemies are our enemies. The monsters who paraglided into Israel to kill women and children would do the same to us if given half the chance. When I see those poor teenage girls who have been kidnapped and drug into Gaza, I think of my own girls. And I think of how to protect my own girls and what I would do to get my own girls back should that happen to me.

This is because I love my neighbor as myself. I have empathy. And compassion. And a sense of justice. These all come from my relationship with Yahweh and His Son. And these traits run through my entire life, as they should yours. How long we suffer in bad relationships, how long we suffer in bad jobs, how long we tolerate injustice and misbehavior in all our lives needs to come from our relationship with God. Being patient and longsuffering has limits and sometimes we have to draw a line in the sand and say no more. The same apostle who taught about patience and perseverance also scolded the Corinthian church for tolerating immorality. So we know there are limits. When the bible tells us to care for the widows and the orphans, we better take heed.