Rabbi’s Reflections – Saturday, June 30, 2018
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Trail: TGIS! (Thank God It’s Shabbat.) Take a deep breath and truly give thanks. We tend to say this in East Tennessee in a glib manner, “I appreciate you.” Let’s be sincere with God when we say, “I appreciate you God. Without You in my life, Lord, life itself would not be worth living. Thank you for loving me so perfectly. I receive Your blessing on this Shabbat. Now I bless Your holy name, in Yeshua’s name. Amen.”
New subject: Our friend Jonathan Allen (who with his wife and daughters leads a ministry in England) publishes a weekly drash on the Torah portion. He has recently started a daily devotional that is available for a small subscription price. Everything Jonathan does is very high quality. Here is a link to the free drash for this week. http://www.messianictrust.org.uk/parashiyot/balak-15.php. From there you can follow a number of additional links.
Jonathan points out from this week’s Torah study how God asks questions throughout Scripture. Why does God do this, when He is clearly already omniscient? God knows everything, so why does He start with a question to Adam and Eve? Genesis 3:9b “Where are you?”
With every Scripture and at every opportunity we must ask one question, “What is God saying to me now through those words?” If God is asking us today, “Where are you?” (and He is) what will we answer Him?
Rabbi Trail: Is there any point in speaking anything other than the truth to God?
Where are you spiritually? That’s for each of us to answer individually. I can say in principle that we want to answer, “I desire to walk with you. From time to time I have my moments. I ask now for your grace, so that I can walk closer to you tomorrow than I did today. In Yeshua’s name. Amen.”
Now add your own detail. Shabbat shalom. Michael.