You Should Know This and Understand This:

You Should Know This and Understand This:

This link is to the JPS 1917 version Tanakh .

First, THERE IS, AWAYS WAS AND WILL ONLY BE ONE GOD, and each of of us is required to choose and the choice is completely personal, you are either for GOD or against GOD(anything other than GOD is against GOD). You have the Freedom and the Consequences to chose GOD or Not god, the is the Freedom that The MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE has given each of us.

Second, what it means to choose: when we do as GOD has said to do (Find Laws, Explanations and Teachings in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy--they do not change,) we are for GOD, or we are against GOD by doing anything else.

All that follows from here is evidence of support for the choice You must make, NOW before the chance to change is gone.

Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, [Here we have repeated in various styles, return unto Hashe'm; follow HIS LAW; with all of your heart; with all of your soul;]

Deuteronomy 30:

2) and shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this day, you and your children with all your heart, and with all your soul;

8) And you shalt return and hearken to the voice of the LORD, and do all His commandments which I command you this day.

10) if you will hearken to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.

15) See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil,16 in that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances; then you will live and multiply, and the LORD your God shall bless you in the land whither you goest in to possess it.

19) I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; 20) to love the LORD thy God, to hearken to His voice, and to cleave unto Him; for that is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Isaiah 3:10 Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for the work of his hands shall be done to him.

Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel, and full of wrath and fierce anger; to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it, 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine 11 And I will visit upon the world their evil, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants.

Ezekiel 9:4 And the LORD said unto him: 'Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof.' 5 And to the others He said in my hearing: 'Go ye through the city after him, and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; 6 slay utterly the old man, the young man and the maiden, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.' Then they began at the elders that were before the house. 7 And He said unto them: 'Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain; go ye forth.' And they went forth, and smote in the city. 8 And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said: 'Ah Lord GOD! wilt Thou destroy all the residue of Israel in Thy pouring out of Thy fury upon Jerusalem?' 9 Then said He unto me: 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of wresting of judgment; for they say: The LORD hath forsaken the land, and the LORD seeth not. 10 And as for Me also, Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will bring their way upon their head.'

Ezekiel 18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD; and not rather that he should return from his ways, and live?

Jeremiah 4:1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, yea, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thy detestable things out of My sight, and wilt not waver; 2 And wilt swear: 'As the LORD liveth' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him, and in Him shall they glory. {S}

Jeremiah 5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her.

Jeremiah 6: 16 Thus saith the LORD: stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said: 'We will not walk therein.' 17 And I set watchmen over you: 'Attend to the sound of the horn', but they said: 'We will not attend.' 18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is against them. 19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not attended unto My words, and as for My teaching, they have rejected it.

Jeremiah 7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying: 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, are these.' 5 Nay, but if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbour; 6 if ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt; 7 then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Jeremiah 8:10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall possess them; for from the least even unto the greatest every one is greedy for gain, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 11 And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people lightly, saying: 'Peace, peace', when there is no peace. 12 They shall be put to shame because they have committed abomination; yea, they are not at all ashamed, neither know they how to blush; therefore shall they fall among them that fall, in the time of their visitation they shall stumble, saith the LORD. {P}
Jeremiah 9:23 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth, and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD who exercise mercy, justice, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the LORD. {S}

Jeremiah 17: 5 Thus saith the LORD: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a tamarisk in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose trust the LORD is.

Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

Jeremiah 21:14 And I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD

The Torah (Five books of Moses --Leviticus 26:46 These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.) and

The Tanakh (Torah, Prophets and Writings) contain the LAW, GOD'S COMPLAINT AGAINST MAN and HOW TO RETURN to RIGHTEOUSNESS and the history giving evidence of the relationship between the ALMIGHTY and man.

You can change your life, your soul and by your change, maybe others you know and those you do not, will choose to change their life. FIRST YOU MUST SEEK THE ONLY LIVING GOD, The GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, there is no other help or Salvation.

Yaakov

http://ask-james.com/wordpress1/?p=140

Why Do You Cry Unto Me?

Why do you cry unto me?

Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.
16 And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground.

This is another WOW, moment for me. The LORD is not speaking to the Hebrews, but to Moses. Moses has just told the Hebrews: Exodus 14:13 And Moses said unto the people: 'Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you to-day; for whereas ye have seen the Egyptians to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 The LORD will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.' .

I am ahead of myself. Let me catch you up to this event. Moses and the Children of Israel(Hebrews) have been marching from Egypt and are currently between two hills and facing the Sea of Reeds. Behind them is a pillar of fire keeping Pharaoh and his army at a distance. The Hebrews were the slaves of Egypt for years and for the most part, they had become comfortable with that situation.

This is not an uncommon behavior for the Hebrews or most people in history or even today in the year 2014 secular calendar. Those that Truly Oppress others people, count on this behavior. So Moses is trying to calm them down in verses 13 and 14.

You caught up now. I will move on to the ''Wherefore criest . . . .' portion. This 'Wherefore criest thou unto Me?' is another passage that needs a closer look.

Those comments which I have found make a number of assumptions about Moses praying and crying about the situation. I do not find where this has any validity in the Torah as an assumption. I have seen where Moses is frustrated and not actually desiring to take on this terrible task with a 'Stiff Necked People', this often makes me wonder why GOD puts up with US.

Questions: 1) Doesn't this say that Moses should know what to do next?
2) Were there instructions about this prior to this point in the story?
3) What does this mean then?

My answer: Moses is being tested. I will explain this way, Moses has just performed at least 12 miracles including Staff to Snake and health hand to disease and back again to healthy. As a result of these miracles, a mighty nations has lost many lives, flocks, property, wealth and glory in the view of the nations that had dealings with Egypt. This is truly a demonstration of Great Power and reputation. A lessor person would probably forget that it is the MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE that is performing these deeds and think that 'I have the power' to do and say what will be. Moses does not demonstrate the willingness to assume the credit for any of this Glory. Moses is the perfect Prophet in that he speaks and does only what the LORD tells him. In fact the only time that Moses does not remember this, Moses gets punished, see (Numbers 20).

Deuteronomy 18:20 But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.

Moses does not assume that he can or should do anything that he has not been directed to do. In this test Moses Passes again.

Yaakov

http://ask-james.com/wordpress1/?p=136

GOD is the Ultimate Conservative.

GOD is the Ultimate Conservative in that:

Conservative definition:

Adjective:  1 holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation., typically in relation to politics or religion.

Noun:   1 a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.
Parts in italics are political or religious do not add to this understanding.

HIS Rules, Laws and Teachings, DO NOT CHANGE.

HIS JUDGEMENT IS: do what is right or you are wrong.

How do you know what is RIGHT, HE TOLD US BY THE WRITINGS OF MOSES. --THEY HAVE NOT CHANGED. The best place to start is with Exodus 20:1 and continue until Exodus 24:1, This is the Covenant made at Sinai.

Ezekiel 33:12 And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people: The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not stumble thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.
13 When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, for it shall he die.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked: Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back that which he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him; he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

Can you tell GOD that you are sorry and that will be enough? NO Ezekiel 33:14.... do that which is lawful and right;.......   You must demonstrate(DO) that you have STOPPED your evil and have chosen LIFE.

Know this and understand, HIS Laws have never changed, and therefore are as if YOU were at Sinai receiving them as you read the Hebrew, written on the parchment between the two sticks. You don't have a TORAH and/or don't read Hebrew? Try this as a place to start:  http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0220.htm

Do you have questions? Ask me.  Yaakov@ask-james.com , after more than 50 years I am still learning the TRUTH.


Yaakov

http://ask-james.com/wordpress1/?p=128

Regret ---You Need It, Get some.

Regret, what is it for?
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http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regret
1re·gret
verb \ri-ˈgret\
: to feel sad or sorry about (something that you did or did not do) : to have regrets about (something)
—used formally and in writing to express sad feelings about something that is disappointing or unpleasant.
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Can there be any hope in seeking forgiveness for wrongs I may have done, if I am unwilling to regret in my life? making improvement in the world, your life or your soul.

I observe that many of us refuse to have regret over what we have done. We refuse to review our actions and decisions because we must then regret what "I, myself have done". This refusal to regret aids in the desire to find someone, anyone else to blame for what happens as long as it is not they that are responsible(breaking the law - Leviticus 19:11 Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another.). Precisely this done so that they are not wrong, and must declare the actions or thought of others wrong. In the opposite direction, they are always willing to accept credit for good. The rules that they live by must be changing and flexible, so that they can continue to be on the positive side and not be wrong.

This cannot function in the world except for a short time, the result is always destruction. The destruction starts with a group of leaders of people, creating a society that crumbles(someone else is to blame), which causes shortages for the people over time: in work, self-regard, homes, family values collapse, families collapse, moral decay, personal health declines, food and water shortages and death of the masses. A disaster for the people of the earth. But, it changes nothing when personal accountability does not include truthfulness, honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, . . . . You cannot change when you are not responsible.

Jeremiah 6:18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is against them. 19  Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not attended unto My words, and as for My teaching, they have rejected it.

More evidence of the need for regret:

Deuteronomy 30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt bethink thyself among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2 and shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and hearken to His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; . . . .

Leviticus 26:38 And ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. 40 And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their treachery which they committed against Me, and also that they have walked contrary unto Me. 41 I also will walk contrary unto them, and bring them into the land of their enemies; if then perchance their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then be paid the punishment of their iniquity; 42 then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Jeremiah 3:13 only acknowledge thine iniquity, . . . .

Jeremiah 14:20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, even the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against Thee.

Hosea 5:15 I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their guilt, and seek My face; in their trouble they will seek Me earnestly

Isaiah 63:8 For He said: 'Surely, they are My people, children that will not deal falsely'; so He was their Saviour.

Consider truthfully where you stand according to the Writings of Moses(Leviticus 26:46 These are the statutes and ordinances and laws, which the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.)

Yaakov

Tanahk or Bible

Torah and Sexuality -abbreviated

I have been ask to write about what the Torah says regarding homosexuality. This is a Fiery Topic anymore, what with political correctness and pushing against anyone that speaks out on the subject.

So I must start by saying, that I am aware of only ONE GOD, THE LIVING GOD OF ISRAEL; the GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Isaac and the GOD of Jacob; and to the point MY GOD. I am concerned with keeping HIS LAWS and TEACHING, because HE is the JUDGE of my actions and my defense. It is HIS LAWS that I write about. As such I find No Defensible, in favor of those acts in all of the Tanakh(Old Testament) or in the Writings of Moses(TORAH). The discussion of what is permissible is in those places. This is THE CREATOR OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH's Laws, Rules and Instructions.

Let us begin with the most direct source.(Torah)

Leviticus Chapter 18, describes how a man may have sex and with whom. It is only at the end of the chapter, we are emphatically told how important these are to GOD and Ourselves by way of the consequences, for not following them.

Leviticus 18:29 For whosoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall be cut off from among their people.  30 Therefore shall ye keep My charge, that ye do not any of these abominable customs, which were done before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.
There is of course, many arguments which people, wiser and less wise have made over 4,000 years, for and against their own opinion or that of another person's opinion. For my part, I know that every decision I make effects my soul and my affect those that have come in contact with me. Because of all of this I am bound to the LAW GIVEN BY MY GOD written in the Five Books of Moses.

There are two notes(attention grabbers) I would like to present now.

The First note: Whatever our position in this world, whether male or female; young or old; tall or short; dark skin or light skin; hairy or bald; over sexed or under sexed; angry at everything or easily self-controlled; each person is required to control themselves and their urges. By controlling ourselves and our urges, and keeping the ALMIGHTY'S LAWS AND TEACHINGS, we stop act as animals made from the dirt and begin to show that part of GOD which is not of this earth or universe, known as the SOUL. The Soul is you "True Value" in and out of this Universe, and so your value may continue far beyond the end of the earth. If you chose wisely!

Second note: It is Genesis 1:26  "And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Your Soul is in the form of the CREATOR OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. The start of this realization, which for me has been coming for a very long time, is due to phrases like: Leviticus 19:2 . . . ."Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy." ; Leviticus 18:30 . . . "defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God."; Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die."; Exodus 32:33 "And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book."

My point on this is: We, including Me are always so concerned with what is going on Now, with how I feel, what do I want, etc, . . . That we forget that our dirt is a very temporary thing, only blink of the eye -- type of existence and that the thing which has the greatest potential, cannot be seen or measured or marked by anyone else, and is prized far beyond our understanding by our CREATOR is my SOUL and your SOUL. More on this at another time.

Yaakov
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