How would you answer this man?

I had a discussion today with a man who posed an interesting theory. He has been informed of many philosophies and religions throughout his life, so his position is not one which he has not seriously considered. At the risk of simplifying his reasoning, let me say many of his thoughts and you consider along with him what he is saying, and if you can or want to enter the discussion, answer my question, "how would you answer this man's allegations?'

He says he regularly steals from a grocery store in his neighborhood. It's a national chain here in Australia. His rationale is that the company makes too much money, and thus their money-making must be tainted, with greed, or with some other dirty method of making money, thus the money is not really theirs, since they have stolen it, so his sense of justice invites, no, almost demands, that someone steals the money (or product) back from them. It's Robin Hood-like.

His justification involved a comparison of two men. First was his kindly old uncle who was a humble farmer, all his life, who was worth close to a million dollars at his death. That money was distributed to the many, and he honestly earned all that money, one farm product and hard work at a time. He didn't go on vacations; he didn't live above his means...he was a simple man.

The other man in this man's comparison was Donald Trump. According to this man, Donald was a thief, who made more money than he ever could spend, and the money he made was not due to his hard work at all. He demanded from others; he made others work hard. But it wasn't earned so much as stolen money. Similar to the grocery chain.

OK, fair enough, do you have enough information to answer this man ywr?

He said that the million dollars of Mr Trump and the million dollars of his farmer uncle were equal scientifically, of course, but not equal at all, because of two things: 1) how they earned it and 2) the source of the money changed its intrinsic value, that is the Trump million was tainted.

A man should never earn more than he needs, this man averred, and what a man needed could be defined as owning one house, and perhaps another one, a distant one, for vacations. If a man made more than what he needed, there should be some sharing, some equity, some distribution of that wealth, and if that fair distribution didn't happen, then that was a clear sign of tainted, indulgent, 'dirty' money that needed to be taken, like the grocery stock to equalize the situation.

Do you have enough information to answer this man?

You may NOT use the Bible, or even the Older Testament, although he is Jewish, Bar Mitzvah and all. Just because some old Jewish man who was a power-hungry 80-year-old came up with such commandments don't necessarily translate to today's world, he says. OK, fair enough. Using only assumptions and philosophies and looking at big pictures, what would you answer this man?

Jerusalem at the same time: Coincidence?

I wonder when Donald Trump, president of the US, decided to visit Jerusalem. Was it during his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu? Was it after some advisor reminded him that Wednesday is Yom Yerushalayim? Or did he read my tweet that I was going to be in town starting Tuesday? Unless his motorcade prevents my movements, which is highly likely, and he gets out to shake hands (which is highly unlikely), I will never know. But I can imagine, can't I?

Yes, I'll be in Israel at the same time as the Donald. But our purposes are significantly different. He will be on a lecture tour, although he insisted that's not what he went to Saudi to do, and I will be meeting up with Jewish leaders and agencies for various purposes. There is room here at the Great Synagogue in the sanctuary...maybe we should have a default meet-up time and date, just in case it works out.

Wednesday will be the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and as such will be celebrated with all kinds of activities and foods around town. Of course, reunification indicates something about unity, and if I remember right from my last year's visit, there was deeper division than I had experienced in a long time. More Palestinian flags, downright hostility to me by one man, in the Old City, not for being a Jew for Jesus, but for being a Jew! From what I overheard, that's not the mood of the young people, but I'm hoping that this week, across the town, there will be significant unity among believers and those who don't yet believe.

Maybe Donald and I will see eye-to-eye.
Maybe Donald and Bibi will see eye-to-eye.
Maybe I won't get caught in his motorcade.
Maybe Yeshua will return to set up His throne--- it's going to happen. And it's going to happen in Jerusalem. I'd love that to happen.

Whenever that does happen, be ready, dear reader. That reality of the return of Messiah, to establish His government, way better the Republicans in the White House or Macron in Paris or Hassan Rouhani in Iran. The rule or Kingdom of God will be established throughout the world, and all will bow their knee to the Almighty.

PM and President Trump to meet Thursday

The Australian reports today about the meeting this week on the USS Intrepid in New York City. Read the whole article here. In short there is a retelling of the testy telephone conversation in late January and the iconoclastic diplomatic behaviour of the neo-president, and some recommendations by Alan Dupont, staff writer.

He says, "Turnbull should pursue three objectives in his meeting with the US President: he should add his voice to those of other US allies urging Trump to play a constructive leadership role internationally; he should try to imbue the President with a deeper ­appreciation of the value of alliances in general and the Australia-US alliance in particular; and he should support a US accommodation with China that minimises the possibility of a full-blown conflict in Asia but pushes back against Chinese adventurism in the South China Sea."

On the ABC-TV Breakfast show this morning, the 'testy' call was described as "rocky' and "robust.' The presenters interviewed Professor James Curran. His bio reads like an academic champion. "Curran is a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute and Professor of History at the University of Sydney and a Research Associate at the United States Studies Centre. His most recent book is Unholy Fury: Whitlam and Nixon at War (2015). A former analyst with the Office of National Assessments, Curran was a Fulbright Scholar at Georgetown University and in 2013 held the Chair of Australian History at University College Dublin."

I liked his evaluation of the meeting to come. He mentioned the site on the Intrepid as iconic, a warship in NYC, not a meeting in the White House nor at Mar-a-Lago, which he says is "a step down in protocol terms." His take on the meeting is one which will "showcase a defense relationship" from the past. He doesn't anticipate any grand announcements. Curran mentioned the last time a sitting Prime Minister and US president met on a watercraft was President Lyndon Baines Johnson meeting in May, 1968 with Prime Minister John Gorton. Aboard the Sequoia, the two men couldn't hear each other over the sounds of the engine on the yacht as it chugged up the Potomac River in DC. Curran says it's "altogether fitting and proper" for allies to remember the past, shared struggles and sacrifices. But his assessment is that this alliance is "anchored in memory, moored to memory" with "rhetoric and imagery that is awash in sentimentality" but not doing the "hard thinking about what China's rise" means for us, and appears to be an alliance which is "cruising in its own sea of complacency and nostalgia."

What about the TPP? We shall see. Is it only the past we honour, or will there be a consideration as Curran says, of "the broader US/ Asian regional posture." We in Australia are hopeful.

I liked the whole conversation and thought to share it with our followers. The meeting itself is worth considering, but beyond that one, what is the purpose of your meeting with those with whom you will meet this week, or even today? Is it merely a photo op? Is it for the purpose of history and sentimentality? Is it to produce something worthwhile and ongoing?

So, when you go to work this week, as I've already started on our Sunday yesterday, will your going be productive? Will your meet-ups with folks at the trivia night at the local pub be nostalgic or future-looking? Will there be significance to much of what you do today and this week? That's a consideration that is well worth your evaluation. To that, we call you.

Let's make the best of life today. 14 times in the Gospels, 7 times in the book of Acts and 8 times in the rest of the Newer Testament, the word "today" is used. Overall in the entire Bible, it's 190 times! Let's make the best of today. Let's hear Him today and do His will. Let's not let church be a 'photo op' of us with the Almighty.

"For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.” (Psa. 95.7-11)

Today. Seems a good day to make right with God. And your fellows. Are we good?

The Good, the Bad, and the Unleavened and Confusion

The article by Aaron Lewin is a great read. We published it a bit early, and as it is now April, we have to share it with you again. Don't miss it this time.

Click on this hyperlink to read the article on The Good, the Bad, and the Unleavened. Thank you.

Happy Passover to our Jewish mates, Happy Easter / Resurrection Day to our Christian followers. We are not sure how pastel painted eggs became the rage about a holiday that notes the death of its hero, but apparently someone thought it a good idea.

Some things are just confusing. Is this an exit, or is it not?

What about these memes I found:

or
this one:

Confusion seems to be a regular feature in many lives. We often hear that, when we mention that we are Jewish people who believe in Jesus. WHAT? They want to know which side of the fence we really are on. They ask, "OK, fine, but do you attend church or shule?" As if being a Jew for Jesus is out of bounds for them. Therefore it has to be for us. But it isn't, is it?

After all, the Jewish prophets predicted a messiah would come. And it's recorded in the Jewish Scriptures (Holy Bible). So Jews told each other that when the messiah would come, things would be different. Not that we would or even could become non-Jews. By following the Jewish messiah foretold in the Jewish Scriptures, we are actually the most Jewish people out there!

Empty and filling: life lessons abundant

In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump is filling up his cabinet, his inner sanctum of strategic advisers, whom he will deploy to accomplish his wide-ranging agendas. Some serious Washington insiders are listed and there are more to come. Back in October, cartoonist Ben Garrison set in the American mind this cartoon of 'draining the swamp.'

The promises of P-E Trump include the removing of things unpopular in Washington, DC, and especially what might be titled 'swamp' but many are wondering if the choices of insiders like Steven Mnuchin. (Steven Mnuchin, a hedge fund manager and former Goldman Sachs executive, is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Treasury secretary) What about Tom Price (HHS), and Elaine Chao (Transportation)? More about each as they come along here on Vox . They seem to be insiders from the swamp.

Here in Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) is set to reshuffle his front bench, as close to the US Cabinet as he can get. Here's a write up The New Daily reporting. We could see Attorney-General George Brandis removed, and we could see a return to the front bench of former PM Tony Abbott.

I read a Bible verse last month that spoke to me deeply. It was a saying of Yeshua, whom some call Jesus. The setting was the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (Tabernacles) and the great Water Pouring ceremony took place on the heights of Jerusalem. There are many meanings to that situation of course, but the words themselves are powerful. Yeshua said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7.37-38) The scene involved water being poured out at the Temple (destroyed in 70, 40 years later) by the High Priest. Here is the encyclopedia entry on water pouring.

Each end of Sukkot featured this water pouring. It was also the day of the beginning of the rainy season in Israel. This is significant this year, as the bush fires all over Israel, were started by arsonists-enemies of the Jewish people. If the rain were flowing, the fires would be minimized. But of interest to me is that at the beginning of the rainy season, the priests would pour out the remaining reservoir. It was a statement of faith; it represented the belief of the Jewish people that God would provide (a major theme of Tabernacles). Emptying the reservoir gives opportunity for the Lord of life to fill it with new waters.

As December returns tomorrow here in Sydney, and many friends and colleagues join me to share Messiah's message of love on the streets, we are hopeful to find empty folks, that is, those who admit they are empty, and thirsty for life, for love, for God in their life. If people admit to needs, then God can supply. Here's the video from Israel
Admit you are empty.
Ask God to fill you.

After the election...and a football game

Donald Trump will be the president of the US beginning on 20 January next year. Full disclosure: I was not a Trump fan ever, whether as a politician or even as a person. Still, he will be my president come 20 January. These are realities. I will not speak against him as our president. I will continue to pray for him as the Apostle Paul taught in his letter to young Timothy. "Pray for all in authority," was the instruction and I will comply.

A week ago the Seattle Seahawks played a grueling anyone-can-win football match against the Buffalo Bills. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, a lot of sledging (Yanks, that is Aussie-speak for trash talk), and much involvement by the 12th man, the Seattle fans in the stadium. The announcers on the television took issue with a defenseman, the cornerback Richard Sherman, and the Bills' coach Rex Ryan even called the decision by the referees 'ridiculous' when Sherman ran into the kicker for the Bills near the end of the first half.

After the game ended, the ESPN sportscaster, Lisa Salters, interviewed Richard both about 'that play' and about the demeanor of both teams after the game ended. The brutal manner on the field ended, and the opponents generally were high-fiving and embracing each other. He basically answered her that football is a leave it all out on the field activity, and then people matter more. NY Upstate reported here , "At the end of the interview, Salters asked Sherman how the two teams could get together after such a hard fought game. Sherman cited that during the game it's a dog fight, but at the end the teams should get together. The cornerback made a point to mention a few Bills players did not stick around postgame.

"Some of their players went in the locker room. They were talking a lot of mess, but they didn't want to see it at the end. Those are the opposite of competitors. Competitors come out and they shake it up after a game like that."

Consider this quote from Hillary Clinton's concession speech after the US elections last week. "Last night, I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.
But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together, this vast, diverse, creative, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life."

Was this the man about whom she said so many dastardly things?

What about Donald's remarks about Hillary after she rang him to congratulate him on his electoral college victory. "I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she — she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country."

What? Is that the same person who fought so hard to dominate whom he called her 'crooked' and a 'liar' and dozens of other epithets?

Maybe this commentary about both football and elections says the same thing. Sherman says "Competitors come out and they shake it up after a game like that." And that's certainly the spirit the US needs in these days after the election. We need one another. We need to stop name-calling, stop the bullying, stop the hostility-- let's work together to make the world a better place. A dream? Nope-- the way forward is filled with hope and opportunities, and dangers. May we be gracious to each other, now and in 3 and a half years.

Donald Trump: The first 3rd party winner

Let me first join in with both Hillary and Donald in their defeat/victory speeches on Election Night/ Day and wish the disunity would stop. Americans need to get beyond the hatred and strife which characterized the last 18 months of the circus of the elections. That is a base of reality which I will again mention at the end of this blog.

Over the course of months I watched, albeit from afar, the horse race which was the US elections this year. It was easy to get some updates almost hourly, certainly daily, on the big race for president. Hundreds of other contests were decided on Tuesday this week, of course, including local propositions and senators and congress people, but all eyes seemed to be on the two main candidates, determined by the longer-than-ever primary season and the rubber stamping national conventions. And by now, informed people know that Donald J Trump is the president-elect. He will assume command on 20 January as is the national custom at his inauguration.

I wrote the other day about the Bradley effect and how the pollsters got it so wrong, but today my thoughts go to the idea of a third party. So many of my contacts in the US (I've lived in Australia for 18 years) were polarized in support of, or fierce opposition to, either of the major candidates, Secretary Clinton or Mr Trump. I found a few, rare individuals who were supportive of a candidate and who were not strident. So much hostility; so little grace.

To be sure, there were those undecideds who seriously were stuck between what many called the two evils. Some said, "Better the devil we know than the devil we don't know." Some couldn't get beyond Benghazi or tens of thousands of chattering emails. Some could not accede to a man who guaranteed his genitals were of significant size and who demeaned others like a schoolyard bully. Back and forth the mudslinging continued. It was genuinely ugly and for me as an American in Australia (or wherever I traveled) and so embarrassing. But wait, let's go back a bit.

Some of my strident friends couldn't support Hillary because she was pro-abortion, even to the end of a pregnancy, as she said, if the life of the mother were at risk. They didn't voice the same concern when Donald said, “I'm pro-life, but with the caveats. It's-- Life of the mother (very important), incest and rape,” Trump said. Donald also said, ‘You have bad researchers’: when Bill O’Reilly questioned him on Planned Parenthood TheBlaze - Sep 9, 2015. In 1999, Trump stated to the Associated Press, “I believe it (abortion) is a personal decision that should be left to the women and their doctors.” OK, so he has changed his mind since then. People do that. And I'm glad he did, but I wonder, is he as dyed in the wool Republican as some think?

Read this report this week from Business Report on Donald and women's health issues.

The Donald promised to release his tax returns like every candidate of modern times. He didn't. He did say, "In terms of taxes, “I know people making a tremendous amount of money and paying virtually no taxes, and I think it's unfair.” But we don't know about his own record.

OK, as a businessman who has declared bankruptcy any number of times, do we want him to run the largest economy in the world? Too late now to ask that question, but some were thinking that.

His sexual exploits were another embarrassing theme throughout the final days. Women lined up to declare their being assaulted by him; video tapes from years ago revealed a person who was not the picture the Republicans would want, and especially for the evangelical Christians who didn't share those values. Yet 82% of evangelicals voted for him. Values aside, they voted party.

Many voted for him because they liked the platform of the Republican party which included a recognition of Christianity and prayer in school, an overturning of Roe v Wade, a lowering of corporate tax threshholds, etc. The platform called for a recognition of the rights of the unborn under the 14th Amendment. The platform calls for Keystone to be finished. You get it, it's a comprehensive exercise of classic conservative values and such.

I'm saying all this to say that I think Donald used the Republican party as his own and would have gladly renamed a new one the Trump Party if he needed to leave. I think Donald well represents what would have been a third-party if Cruz or Rubio, or any of the other 16 candidates for the nomination of the Republican party had won. I worry that Donald is the George Wallace of our day. Mind you, I acknowledge that he won and that he is to be our 45th president. I get that. And I support our process of elections and will pray for him to be good at being our next president.

Still I aver that he's the consummate third-party candidate. Forget Tea Party or Ross Perot, forget how Perot knocked Clinton into the White House. I may be wrong, but I think Donald J Trump is the real 3rd-party person of this election. He is as Republican today as he can be, but what will he be tomorrow? His erratic personality, and self-importance, and declaration that he could stand in the middle of Times Square with a gun and shoot someone and get away with it-- it's so non-Republican. His unwillingness throughout the primaries to listen to his handlers/ advisors was clearly displayed. People loved that he was non-PC. In fact he was anti-PC. He was a loose cannon. He could say to anyone at anytime that they were less, they were of little importance, they were insignificant. He propped himself up by knocking others down. Whether it was Ted Cruz or Ari Fleischer, Megyn Kelly or John McCain, Rand Paul, or anyone who challenged him. That's not Republican; that's not even American. That's self-consumed and classic misanthropic behaviour. I express my worry. It is not disdain; it is not disapproval of the process. It is worry and anxiety about the person.

I think people voted the party, even though the party had been coopted by the classic outsider. He boasted of his outside-ness. He is the first president-elect never to have held a governmental or military position. Yet, he is as sharp a politician as there is.

And thus I will pray. And hope. And challenge Americans to get beyond the hatred and strife which characterized the last 18 months and join together to make the world a better place with better people performing better acts. And that prayer should not be for a bullet to strike Mr Trump. It should be as the apostle Paul wrote to his mate Timothy what should be a wonderful guide for us in these days of putting aside the hostility, "I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Messiah Yeshua, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension." (1 Timothy 2.1-8)

The Bradley effect and President-elect Trump

Donald J. Trump is going to be the 45th president of the USA. This was a shock to many, but not to the 37 million Americans who voted for him and Mike Pence, his running mate. He made promises over the last 18 months during his campaigns and even in his acceptance speech given in New York City at 7 pm Sydney time, which is about 3 am along the US East Coast. He promised to double growth in no set time. Will he build a wall between the US and Mexico? Will he practice what he preached about 'all Americans' and move from businessman to TV personality, to candidate, to statesman? Only time will tell.

The map of the vote (and the headline) on the New York Times website is fascinating.

Donald turned many historically blue states into bright red. He rode the waves of 'change' and 'anti-Establishment' all the way to the White House where he will find his oval office in less than 80 days. Americans are frustrated; let's see if this turns out better.

During the introduction of Mr Trump by Gov Pence, I did note that Pence's son's fiance Sarah was less than enthusiastic about comments about the president-elect. See the first few minutes of this CNN video online here

But I'm sure she'll come around in due course.

With all that now behind us, what awaits us? A Bible verse kept coming to mind today, as pundits spoke about the hidden Trump voters, those with a real desire for change, but who couldn't answer as such in polls before the election day. "For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light." (Yeshua recorded in the Gospel of Luke 8:17) Secret agendas are never completely secret. Hidden ideas eventually come out. Yeshua, that is Jesus, explained it this way. Everything will come out. Be sure of that.

The Bradley effect is a theory concerning observed discrepancies between voter opinion polls and election outcomes in some US elections where a white candidate and a non-white candidate run against each other. The theory proposes that some voters who intend to vote for the white candidate would tell pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for the non-white candidate. It was named after Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who is black, who lost the 1982 California governor's race despite being ahead in voter polls going into the elections.

The Bradley effect suggests that the inaccurate polls were skewed by the phenomenon of social desirability bias. Specifically, some white voters give inaccurate polling responses for fear that, by stating their true preference, they will open themselves to criticism of racial motivation. Members of the public may feel under pressure to provide an answer that is seen to be more publicly acceptable, or politically correct. The reluctance to give accurate polling answers has sometimes extended to post-election exit polls as well. The race of the pollster conducting the interview may factor into voters' answers.

Look, I've tried to slip through some things. I've tried to hide my own wrong activities and I've been caught. And although at the moment I hated being caught, the reality is that I love the freedom of exposure. The reality train is a much smoother ride than one where one has to lie and cheat and duck and cleverly re-invent story.

So now we wait and see. What Donald said or what he will say and what he will do. Let's hope he does what he said in tonight's speech, "I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I've said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family. It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will."

Hope, where is it? A Yom Kippur message

G’mar Chatimah Tovah. May you be inscribed and sealed at the end for good. That’s one of the best greetings on this holiday. Of course, when I grew up the greeting was “good yontif.” And then we wish each other an easy fast. And a common reply as we ponder not eating for 25 hours is “I hope so!” Everyone from Desmond Tutu to Albert Einstein to another 10,000 quick find entries has a comment about the idea of hope. Mumford and Sons, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, John Longmire and Jason Day…everyone has a hope and a dream and a quote on Wikipedia, or so it seems.

Ask for a quote on emotion or Sydney Swans, or a quote on wisteria or bottle brushes and you will find hundreds, but type in ‘hope’ and this request will garner 10,000 before I can even finish clicking my computer’s “Find” button. Here’s one: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Martin Luther King, Jr. And another from the wife of the current US president, “You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” -Michelle Obama.

On Sunday I sat with some friends in Collaroy and learned that one of them was working on her Ph.D. in clinical psychology on the theme of ‘hope.’ This seriously excited me. And my excitement added to her excitement. She wanted to know my definition of hope. Hmm, I don’t know that I’ve ever really processed a singular definition of that. So I tried. And failed miserably. I know it’s a concept for a future. I know it’s related to faith, but is somehow distinct from it. Let me ask you—how would you define the word ‘hope?’

John Piper gave a sermon 30 years ago in which he wrote this, “Richard Sibbes, one of the great old Puritan preachers of Cambridge who died in 1635, wrote a whole book (175 pages) on Psalm 42:5. He was called “the sweet dropper” because of how much confidence and joy his sermons caused. He called his book The Soul’s Conflict with Itself, because in Psalm 42:5 that is exactly what you have, the soul arguing with itself, preaching to itself. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God!”

Hoping in God does not come naturally for sinners like us. We must preach it to ourselves, and preach diligently and forcefully, or we will give way to a downcast and disquieted spirit.” (http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/what-is-hope) In this sermon Piper says that the English term “hope” is used in three senses:
1) a desire for something good in the future,
2) the thing in the future that we desire, and
3) the basis or reason for thinking that our desire may indeed be fulfilled.

All of these seem to include a bit of uncertainty. And I tried to share this with my mate on Sunday. But biblical hope is fixed, like an anchor for our soul (Hebrews 6.19), like a helmet which is sure, and that guarded a Roman soldier in First Century Judea (1 Thessalonians 5.8). Piper says biblical hope is “A confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.”

I like that. And I agree with that. Confidence because it WILL come to pass. That’s good hope. That’s biblical hope. During the last 15 months I’ve been watching albeit from afar the activity of the US presidential election process. For months candidates try to line up endorsements and gather funds enough to last the distance. They seek to gather friends who actually might end up opposing them and their posturing and jockeying is a marvel to behold.

At the end of last year the actual voting in the primary season began. It’s rather like our finals series in footy. Some candidates were eliminated in the opening contests and thus were out by February, while others lasted a bit longer. Now we are down to two major party candidates and two lesser knowns.

And many are hitching their wagons to the candidacy of one or the other. That’s what they call ‘hope’ but for me it’s just wishful thinking. As we have seen with the plebiscite or the greyhound races, with the GST or immigration policies, what may seem likely might end up tossed aside, as politics is more like a horserace than some would like to admit. Think Melbourne Cup.

Tonight begins Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. And tonight we have sung and prayed, confessed and admitted fault. We have apologized to God for many things. Let’s talk about the idea of apology for a while. The definition is either:
1) a formal expression of regret at being unable to attend a meeting or social function.
2)
a very poor or inadequate example of or an excuse for, inadequate example of, poor imitation of, poor substitute for, pale shadow of, mockery of, caricature of "a dire apology for a decent flat"

I am thinking of Mr. Trump’s apology on Friday last week. He said this, “If I have offended anyone, I’m sorry.” This might be best characterized as a non-apology.

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee offered Fox 13 this observation: "That was an apology for getting caught. That was not an apology for the behavior."

The Huffington Post’s Paige Lavender, who is a Senior Political Editor, wrote, “While some were surprised that Trump had issued his “first apology,” many on Twitter noted that he didn’t actually apologize for his comments, which could be interpreted as the Republican presidential nominee encouraging sexual assault.

Huffington

Rather, Trump said he was sorry some people had taken offense ― not for being offensive.”

I remember televangelist Jimmy Swaggart’s confession “I have sinned” when he was caught out in 1987 with a prostitute.

And I think of Deborah Levi’s four theses on apologies:
Deborah Levi offers the following possibilities:
1) Tactical apology—when a person accused of wrongdoing offers an apology that is rhetorical and strategic—and not necessary heartfelt
2) Explanation apology—when a person accused of wrongdoing offers an apology that is merely a gesture that is meant to counter an accusation of wrongdoing. In fact, it may be used to defend the actions of the accused
3) Formalistic apology—when a person accused of wrongdoing offers an apology after being admonished to do so by an authority figure—who may also be the individual who suffered the wrongdoing
4) Happy ending apology—when a person accused of wrongdoing fully acknowledges responsibility for the wrongdoing and is genuinely remorseful

So let me ask… what is Yom Kippur for you? What kind of apology do we offer tonight? Have we really sinned in all those ways for which we said, “May it be Your will, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, to forgive all our sins, to pardon all our iniquities, and to grant us atonement for all our transgressions.”

Did you repent? Will you repent yet?

You might say, “But I didn’t sin as badly as Donald Trump.” Or you say, “I don’t believe God cares enough about me to even notice me” or you might say, “I repented last year; that ought to be enough.” Look, you can say anything you want, and you can make God to be your servant or to be your judge or you can be his judge by saying, “Nothing changes in the world when people pray.” Each of us has to deal with our own apology and our own hope in response to who we think God actually is.

Listen to this from the aforementioned Psalm, Psalm 42.

“My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
The psalmist is saying, “when people insult me, when they taunt me about faith and my religion, that it makes me really sad. And that sadness sometimes makes me feel like giving up.” So the psalmist says.

Look what follows in verses 6-7: “O my God, my soul is in despair within me; therefore I remember Thee from the land of the Jordan, and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the sound of Thy waterfalls.” No matter where the psalmist finds himself, in the midst of his despair, he decides to remember the Lord, and to call upon His name. That is a function of hope. Finding the USB stick or looking at the words on our doorposts, listening to a faith-filled song or hymn… all of these are useful to remind ourselves of the One who bought us and gives us eternity.

Then finally for the 2nd time in verse 11 (and there will be one more reminder/ chorus in chapter 43), we read, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance, and my God.” The psalmist concludes his aches, his hopelessness, his wondering with a challenge to his own soul. He says to himself, “Hey, it’s bad, but there’s something much worse. It’s the despair of being alone, far from God, and away from His personal attention. The sons of Korach who wrote this particular psalm are saying that their countenance is fallen, but God will raise their heads. Things may look bleak but without God they are bleaker still.
Hope, that’s the ticket. Hope in the living God who will make all things better and for His purposes.

And this is not only for us Jewish people. When God will send His servant, His messiah, listen to what Isaiah predicts will happen.
“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed, Until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.” (Isaiah 42.1-4)

Let me ask you, Who are the coastlands? Matthew answers that question in his biography of Yeshua in chapter 12, “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.” (.21)

So whether you are like me, a Jew, tonight here at our Kol Nidre service, or you are a Gentile, even watching on the internet on Facebook Live, either live or later on our video channel, even on YouTube, this word is true. God wants to give you hope. And our biggest battle is often inside our own head and heart. We know ourselves, and we know the depth or the shallowness of our own apologies. We know we are not the most authentic believer out there. We have failed. We have sinned. And then we say, “Wait, I’m a believer. I’ve been a believer for decades. How could I have fallen so far? How could God even begin to consider forgiving me?”

Here’s the deal. Grace and hope are sisters in the same family. Without grace, you are right to beg the default position of failure. You have failed God; you will fail Him again next year. Maybe with different sins, but you will fail again. That’s not an excuse to carry on. It’s the reality of our humanness. AND YET…

God wants to give us hope. Real hope. Not hope with uncertainty. But biblical hope. Assurance. The reality of a confidence in the Almighty that is not braggadocio nor false humility. It’s about knowing who He is, and what He has done, and what He will do on our behalf.

Listen to this from Rabbi Saul of Tarsus, in his letter to the Roman believers, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Thanks be to God, amen?

What does not disappoint? Hope. Why? Because of God’s awesome love poured out into us by the Holy Spirit. We have His Spirit. He loves us. We are His. Hallelujah!

God wants to give us hope. And on that you can bank your apology and your Final Prayers tonight. In a few minutes we will hear the sounds of the shofar blast. And remember, we heard it 100 times on Rosh Hashanah. That introduced us to the 10 days of Awe. Now we will conclude them. And with the conclusion we are not wishful thinking about the Almighty. We are serious that He has forgiven us in Yeshua. And we are justified, that is, declared righteous, just as if we’d never sinned, because of our faith in the death of Messiah, the love of God poured out on a Roman cross, to give us all eternal life.

No wonder when the shofar sounds, the long t’kiah g’dolah, we will shout Hallelujah and we will rejoice. We are forgiven! If you have never received Yeshua as your messiah; if you have never professed faith in Him publicly, then why not do that right here and right now? You might be watching in the privacy of your apartment or on a public computer. No matter where you are, or who you are, you might even be running for state government, or be a candidate for US president—real hope is not mixed with any uncertainty. God sent His only Son to earth, to live and teach, and then to die on a cross to grant us justification, to forgive our sins, and to bring us to Himself. Say “Yes” to Yeshua now. Invite Him to be Lord of your life. Agree with Him that you are a sinner and that He alone can save you. That will give you a hope which will never disappoint. Now and forever.

If you want some words to say, try these, “Father in the name of Yeshua, I’m sorry. Really sorry for my sins. I don’t deserve your love. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but those who believe in you say you want to forgive me and be in relationship with me. So I receive your love and grace. I believe Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah and Lord of life. I acknowledge His grace and want His help to walk this out, tonight and from now on. Thank you for saving me. Thanks for your love. Amen.”

Under construction (not this blog)

Major cities, even lesser cities, are experiencing the pain and discomfort of road closures, of widening current avenues, and making our paths from point A to point B that much easier. But in the meantime, it's not easier. Nothing about construction zones is easy.

Not only on roads and bridges, but on rooftops and building sites across the country, the tough have to keep getting tough and climbing on ridiculous angles, helping shape the architecture of the next quarter-century.

24 hours from now, I will be gathering with Jewish people in Bondi here in Sydney. And it will be time to hear Kol Nidre and to enter into the 24 hours of the Day of Atonement (See Leviticus chapters 16, 17 and 23 for more infoamtion) This is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, a day to reflect on our sins and God's awesome love and desire to forgive us. Does He? How do we appropriate this?

Of course, to be repaired on your roof, your roadway, or your reprobate mind, you have to admit a need first. No repairman comes to the roadside unless he's called. No Maytag repairman comes to fix your washing machine unless you ring the phone number. We have to be humble enough to make the call, and wait, and watch the repair take place.

If that describes you; if you are at that point in your life when you need to admit a desire for a fix, for a serious repair job, then now is the time to call on God. Now is the time to ask for His help. Your name doesn't have to be Trump or Roethlisberger, you can be a Smith or Mendelsohn or Chang. God loves everyone and wants to give us each eternal life.

You have to admit your need, and come under His care. Admit you are Under Construction. That's the safest and best place to be! Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty let him come to Me and drink, and out of his belly will flow rivers of living water." (John 7)

and again John quoted Yeshua (Jesus' Hebrew name) who said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (3.16). Jesus is the real answer to the disrepair in our lives.

G'mar chatimah tovah.

Photo credit: By the author. All construction photos are here

End of an era

The sun is setting today, Sunday 2 October 2016. I'm in my lounge room thinking about Grand Finals and another beautiful day in Sydney. The Jewish people worldwide are gathering, many in family homes, and others in synagogues; most are dismissing the new year 5777 as 'just another day' and needing no relevant consideration. Eras do come and eras go; what we do with them, and with our lives as we consider what lies ahead... well that is what makes us rational, thinking people.

The Western Bulldogs claimed their first premiership since 1954 after defeating the Sydney Swans by 22 points in the AFL grand final at the MCG on Saturday. And in a short while either the Cronulla Sharks (also waiting for 50 years without a premiership) or the Melbourne Storm (in their 500th game) will claim the Grand Final flag in National Rugby League (NRL) championship being played at ANZ Stadium in Sydney's Homebush.

Eras come and eras go. I watched the German tennis great Angelique Kerber take out Serena Williams in the final grand slam of the year in New York's Arthur Ashe stadium in August. February 17, 2013 was the last time Serena Williams was not ranked No. 1 in the world in women’s tennis. After the US Open she relinquished that throne for the first time in 186 weeks.

Around baseball in the US, David Ortiz is farewelling each stadium in which he plays his final season. Like Derek Jeter in 2014, and so many others before him, his era in Boston with the Red Sox is ending in honour parades, accolades and historic applause throughout the Major League.

The Republicans in the US are hoping that their presidential candidate Donald Trump will be able to end the era of US President Barack Obama and level his chosen successor Hillary Rodham Clinton in a finals flurry on Tuesday 8 November. The election seems to be just around the corner and we are hoping so, since the process involving jockeying and positioning and finally the primaries which began only about 10 months ago seems interminable.

Eras come and eras go. As do fashions. As do blogs. As do years. Tonight ends 5776, the Jewish year in which we saw the end of the blood moons razzle-dazzle, and the shemitah noises. What else happened the last 12 months? A stabbing and car-ramming epidemic in Israel that some called a third intifada was among the most dominant Jewish stories of the past year. But 5776 was also notable for the release of spy Jonathan Pollard after 30 years in prison, the communal fallout from the Iran nuclear deal, a historic (and unfinished) agreement on egalitarian worship at the Western Wall and continuing clashes between pro-Israel students and the BDS movement on college campuses.

More events: Pope Francis meets Jewish leaders in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of the Nostra Aetate, the landmark declaration that rejected collective Jewish guilt for the killing of Christ and paved the way for improved Jewish-Catholic relations. In the meeting in St. Peter's Square, Francis declares: "Yes to the rediscovery of the Jewish roots of Christianity. No to anti-Semitism.” Also The United Nations recognised Yom Kippur as an official holiday. Sen. Bernie Sanders won several primaries including his first one, the New Hampshire primary, becoming the first Jewish candidate in American history to win a presidential primary.

End of life is really end of an era as since last Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year) these Jews died: Fyvush Finkel, an Emmy Award-winning actor, Shimon Peres, the former Prime Minister and President of Israel, Gary Shandling, Esther Jungreis, a pioneer in the Jewish outreach movement, and Gene Wilder.

Last year as Rosh Hashanah approached, author Sandra Teplinsky wrote in Charisma Magazine, "At this season of tetrad blood moons, a completed Shemitah, and exponentially escalating sin, of this we can be sure: God is trumpeting a love call to give heed to Him and His ways. To those who respond, He will give grace to receive new grace. He will empower them to boldly withstand and shift some of the ways of the world in the year ahead. Kingdom conflict will intensify, as the Scriptures say it must. But that's because the King Himself is coming. My prayer is that in 5776 He'll come powerfully through each of us. This year, may the shofar's trumpet draw you deeper into His kingdom goodness and glory!"

That was Sandra's word last year. Every era has a beginning; every era has an ending. What will you do with 5777? What will you do in your era? Will you live your life for the living God? Will you consider how to make the world a better place this year, this week, tonight?

Will you get to know the Lord? Will you?

Not reading... therefore... US primaries?

This article "don't read" from 9 March is scary. The clarity of the diminishing of the reading, not the capacity to read, but actual reading itself, brings to light so much about the Republican race for the White House and other locations in the US elections. I've been wondering, since I have not met a single Trump supporter, not one, and yet I've been in many places in the US since September last year. Why are there so many people voting for the Donald, people who should know better. He's not a "very good Christian' as he said in the papal criticism. In fact, I've never met a very good Christian who alleges that of themselves as Donald did. On top of that he's a misogynist in speaking about any of his wives, or Megan Kelly or so many women not only in politics, but just about anyone female.

Honestly I don't get it.

I am embarrassed that he demeans people relentlessly, like Marco Rubio whom the Donald calls "Little Marco." Who cares about Rubio's size? All short people should fight against Trump if that's the way he feels about all short people. Then he patronises people. On the CNN debate with the Telemundo woman (Maria Celeste Arraras), he said some ridiculous things about those he opposed, then said in a moment of pandering, "I love those people". His use of 'love' reminds me of something else out of Las Vegan and Atlantic City. Please.
That night last month, he told Arraras " First of all, I don't believe anything Telemundo says." It goes on:
ARRASAS: For the record, you have said publicly that you loved Telemundo in the past. But it is not just a Telemundo poll. We have...
TRUMP: I love them. I love them.
ARRASAS: All right. Well, it's not the only poll.
TRUMP: They're fine. Do you know what? They're fine."

How about just saying, "Please vote for me. I'll do or say anything to get elected." That makes it very clear, doesn't it? And if someone doesn't read the fine print, or any print for that matter, but gets caught up in the emotion, in the applause-o-meters and the polls and the media hype, it's just terrible. Not that I'm a Republican. But if I were, I'd never vote for Trump. Oh, unless I wanted to have him run against my candidate, then he would get in, and ours would win easily.

But in this season of un-intelligent conversation and debating, of emoticons and 140 character thinking, that this allegation about the Supreme Court by Ted Cruz of Mr Trump went almost unnoticed, "interesting now that Donald promises that he will appoint justices who -- who will defend religious liberty, but this is a man who, for 40 years, has given money to Jimmy Carter, to Joe Biden, to Hillary Clinton, to Chuck Schumer, to Harry Reid. Nobody who supports far-left liberal Democrats who are fighting for judicial activists can possibly care about having principled constitutionalists on the court."

Rubio had issues with the Donald in previous contests, but seemed to relax those tonight in the CNN Republican debate in Florida. What (didn't) get into him? Remember this from that same debate about the removal of Obamacare and alternate plans during the debate in Texas?

"BASH: ... Can you be a little specific...
TRUMP: ... competition...
RUBIO: ... He's done it again.
TRUMP: There is going to be competition among all of the states, and the insurance companies. They're going to have many, many different plans.
BASH: Is there anything else you would like to add to that...
TRUMP: No, there's nothing to add.
TRUMP: What is to add?

See, a reader would understand. An emotionalist would be cheering and thumping and waving his banner. A reader would say, "Wait a minute, mister, what's your plan?" And the silence would be deafening.

So what's it like in your world? I'm not really asking your political preferences. Although if you want to share those, fine. For me the issue is-- "Who are those people who are raising their hands to the Donald and casting their votes for him?" I may have found the answer to those real questions.

And it's not a pretty answer.