How important am I?

How important am I? A question I think almost every person has asked at least once.

One answer is in the story of a man with a single note in each front pocket of his pants. In the right pocket, the note reads "I am nothing but dust and ashes"
And in the left pocket the note reads "For ME the world was created." When he is full of his own importance he reads the Right Pocket. When he is down and troubled he reads the Left. In this way he finds balance in his life. --the proof of the true is in what follows.

I do not mean to sound condescending or smug about what I will attempt to explain as my answer for each of us, but I pray that I have it right and that you can understand the answer.

Foundation, really needed to build any understanding.

1) I am a speck of dust on a ball 24,667.38674242424 miles circumference at the equator. Traveling on the ball at approximately 1,028 mph, which travels 587,542,595.52 miles a year in its obit of the sun, which is approximately 93,000,000 miles to the surface of our star.

2) As of today, earth's population is an estimated to be numbered at 7.063 billion by the United States Census Bureau (USCB)(wikipedia).

3) A star is 24,559,659,090,909.09 miles away, named Proxima Centauri, whixh is the next closest star to our own. http://heasarc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/nearest_star_info.html

4) Man has estimated the size of the universe as: The region visible from Earth (the observable Universe) is a sphere with a radius of about 47 billion light years(wikipedia) --The next closest star to us is 4.5 light years away.

I am still a tiny speck on a particle traveling through this estimated vast distance and space, . . . . and yet I know the creator of all of this Knows ME and everyone of US --intimately.

One explanation of a connection we have with GOD is from Gensis 2:4) These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. 5) No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground; 6) but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.7) Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. [Translation is JPS 1917]

In this quotation we can see that creation was ready to begin growing and producing, yet it was not started because "there was not a man to till the ground",a gardener if you will, so the earth waited for US. When we or the first man was created from the dust, there LORD GOD "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" and the man became a "Living Soul'. It is that Breath of GOD or SOUL that is the most important connection with GOD. Through this connect, I believe that if for no other reason GOD knows everything about each of US. No matter where you on the earth, in it or above it. . . . GOD knows everything about me. I can not lie to GOD because I am truly KNOWN. What ever I have done, am doing or will do, the GOD of Abraham, GOD of Isaac and GOD of Jacob, that GOD sustains me and allows me to return to HIM if I am willing to stop doing that which is against HIS LAW and TEACHING.

Proofs: 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. . . . 20) The soul that sinneth, it shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father with him, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son with him; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21) But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22) None of his transgressions that he hath committed shall be remembered against him; for his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. This is great news for all of US, that we can return to GOD.

Now comes the WARNING!

Ezekiel 18:24) But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he hath done shall be remembered; for his trespass that he trespassed, and for his sin that he hath sinned, for them shall he die. 30) Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so shall they not be a stumblingblock of iniquity unto you. 32) For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD; wherefore turn yourselves, and live.

I know that I have taken pieces of text to present answers and evidence to support my observations. I have done this to demonstrate evidence to support my conclusions, and yet I truly encourage you to read the complete Chapters, Books and YES the FULL Tanach (a.k.a. OLD Testament) the more you read to seek understanding the More YOU WILL UNDERSTAND and KNOW.

My Intent here is to demonstrate that YOU are important to the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.. All were created by design and for a definite outcome, of which WE cannot fully understand creation, our purpose or the CREATOR. We still continue to discover layers of wisdom and power, of which we have only scratched the smallest part.

It is great for me to know that while I am so small, I am known, desired and blessed by My Creator. I know that you can and should know this also.

May the GOD of Israel bless you and keep you in HIS care.

Okay, So Really How important am I?  The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth did not create anything that was a waste. Even an ANT plays its part in the universe, while the ant seams small and insignificant, a single ant can bite at the exact moment required to change the current thoughts of the one bitten, which would change something else and that something else changes, . . . .  Timing in the Tanach makes all of the difference every time. Moses, Cain, Noah, Abram(Abraham), Isaac, Samuel, David son of Jesse. In fact every person and every action is required in the correct sequence, at exactly the right time and with the correct observers.

How important are you? You have a definite purpose and value. One for which you are required to make all of the perfect choices and actions. Your choice to do or not to do is still yours to make and do. Maybe you should make the best choice you can. If all you do is hold space(in the universe) or just breath, you choice and your actions are known, and require you to do them. It's a Wonderful Life is a movie that make a nice attempt to demonstrate the value of a life, any life.

In terms of human ideas, "the law of conservation of energy, first formulated in the nineteenth century, is a law of physics. It states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over time. The total energy is said to be conserved over time. For an isolated system, this law means that energy can change its location within the system, and that it can change form within the system, for instance chemical energy can become kinetic energy, but that energy can be neither created nor destroyed." --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy



Yaakov

“So what does GOD want from me?”

 A friend recently inquired of me, “So what does GOD want from me?”

Shortest answer is: “He wants us to choose HIM”! 

Now Wait, wait just a minute. That answer was really short, but was it accurate?

We will come back top that in a little while.

My second answer comes from Isaiah 56: א  כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, שִׁמְרוּ מִשְׁפָּט

וַעֲשׂוּ צְדָקָה:  כִּי-קְרוֹבָה יְשׁוּעָתִי לָבוֹא, וְצִדְקָתִי לְהִגָּלוֹת.     

1 Thus saith the LORD: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come, and My favour to be revealed.

ב  אַשְׁרֵי אֱנוֹשׁ יַעֲשֶׂה-זֹּאת, וּבֶן-אָדָם יַחֲזִיק בָּהּ--שֹׁמֵר שַׁבָּת מֵחַלְּלוֹ, וְשֹׁמֵר יָדוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת כָּל-רָע.  {ס}      

2 Happy is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast by it: that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

That was a little more meat in the answer, still it is True.

The protracted answer is:

Initial explanation, we must personally choose GOD or Not(choose anything other than GOD). Alternate explanation, we do as GOD has said to do, hence we are for GOD, or we are against GOD and refuse to do as GOD commanded to be done.

Consequence stated by GOD: Exodus 32: 31) And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said: 'Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them a god of gold. 32) Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.' 33)  And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. –Death of the SOUL, the soul is marked for death the moment of sin. Only you mark your soul with SIN and death, only GOD can remove the mark. Hence the saying, the wage of sin is death, it only takes one sin.  

Isaiah 56: א  כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, שִׁמְרוּ מִשְׁפָּט

וַעֲשׂוּ צְדָקָה:  כִּי-קְרוֹבָה יְשׁוּעָתִי לָבוֹא, וְצִדְקָתִי לְהִגָּלוֹת.          

1) Thus saith the LORD: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come, and My favour to be revealed.

ב  אַשְׁרֵי אֱנוֹשׁ יַעֲשֶׂה-זֹּאת, וּבֶן-אָדָם יַחֲזִיק בָּהּ--שֹׁמֵר שַׁבָּת מֵחַלְּלוֹ, וְשֹׁמֵר יָדוֹ מֵעֲשׂוֹת כָּל-רָע.  {ס}             

2) Happy is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast by it: that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

The basic parts of those two verses are in my mind, to execute justice(According to Writings of Moses) and be righteous { Both of these require that you KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT to do and Doing It YOURSELF(Righteousness), while Justice is performing Righteously when dealing with all others. Add to that verse 2) above, Keep the Sabbath(Do Not Profane It) and Keep your hands from doing any evil(Self restraint so that the hands are not allowed to act without the Heart and Mind ruling over your hands.)

When we have chosen poorly, we are to Return to GOD, Repent and Strive Diligently to Follow GOD, examples:

Deuteronomy 30: [Note:: This chapter is very interesting, in that I have found, that in the Torah(Five Books of Moses) everything of importance, which we are to observe and diligently follow is presented at least twice. Here we have many repeats in various styles, return unto GOD; follow HIS LAW; with all of your heart; with all of your soul;]

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;

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

10) if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy 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 thee this day life and good, and death and evil,16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances; then thou shalt live and multiply, and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou 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.

[Leviticus 26: 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.]

[Jeremiah 3:12  . . . . I will not frown upon you; for I am merciful, saith the LORD, I will not bear grudge for ever.

13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every leafy tree, and ye have not hearkened to My voice, saith the LORD.]

I will bring this one to a close, but not before “He wants us to choose HIM”! ; giving two examples of Not Choosing GOD, and the results.

Adam in the Garden of Eden, while GOD Spoke with Adam in the Garden and yet Adam did what Eve said and ate thereby choosing Eve over GOD. The text Genesis 3: 17 …. 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee’ Adam chose Eve against GOD, result: the ground was cursed.

Another similar event is Moses at the Waters of Strife where he struck the rock. GOD’s complaint is: Numbers 20: 12 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron: 'Because ye believed not in Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, . . . .’  First, the word for “Believed or Believe” more correctly translated should be “Trust or Trusted”, where in my research Trust and Believe are evidence based words. In this discussion both Adam and Moses had direct communications with GOD, and both had evidence that GOD Watched over them, provide for them and for Moses, GOD always defended Moses against those against him. This defense was not needed for Adam. In this even Moses allowed his frustration and pain to overwhelm him instead of remembering that GOD was with him, he raged against the Israelites and forgot GOD for a moment, thereby taking glory from GOD for himself. Although, I see that Moses did not intend taking glory from GOD before the Children of Israel, it did happen and was a great sin on Moses’ part. Moses should have TRUSTED GOD!

There is no lack of examples, but to restrain myself from overloading the reader, I close with that. If you have questions or comments, please let me know.  Thank you.

p.s. I put in the Hebrew for those that can read/understand it properly. Both the Hebrew and the quoted text here will be from http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1056.htm which is a JPS 1917 translation – very similar to the King James Translation.

Prayers --a commentary

Prayers --a commentary

by yaakov » Sep 23rd, '12, 09:50
Today is Sunday 23 Sep 2012, Yom Kippur starts on Tuesday at Sun down, a.k.a. The Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16:29) And it shall be a statute for ever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourneth among you. 30) For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD. 31) It is a sabbath of solemn rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; it is a statute for ever. . . .

This is the season to search your actions and seek forgiveness from everyone you have wronged. Along with seeking forgiveness from G-D we also ask for Blessings like Peace, Safety, A Good Life, and so on and so forth.

One problem which comes to my mind is that: We ask G-D for these based on lines from the Tanach(also referred Old Testament by those using the King James Bible) and do not concern ourselves with either what we must do First or what will happen to us and the World First: an example is "nation shall not lift up sword against nation", this is from Isaiah 2:4 And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. What must happen First Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. My point here is that when taken out of context a line can sound Great, however, there is always a price to be paid prior to receiving such a blessing. When we pray for one without thought of what we ask --we will suffer at our own request. Another concern I have in this is: Why must we, individually or as a whole suffer because we refuse to accept the Living G-D of Israel and his Teachings. Is seems that we Will Go Through the "End of Days"(EOD) events simply because we refuse to accept G-D, the EOD will simply remove from the earth all of those that "Will not acknowledge G-D and His Teachings". Here is is good to remember that Hash'm (the G-D of our Fathers, Abraham, Issac and Jacob) tells the End at the Beginning, so that you will know--that G-D is. Isaiah here is a perfect example, The Writings start with the End of Days, then say what is, and what will come and why, then ends with the End of Days --Very Interesting to me.

My Hashe'm bless you with the perfect Blessings HE has for you. ---Yaakov

P.S. If I have offended you or hurt you, to cause you pain in any way and for my writing style which is not good - please forgive me --Yaakov

Isaiah 29, Understanding

Isaiah 29 – A set of Prophecies

1 Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add ye year to year, let the feasts come round!

Ariel = Lion of G!D, and are David camped. Add ye year to year, … Over time or years will pass maybe In The Future...

ב וַהֲצִיקוֹתִי, לַאֲרִיאֵל; וְהָיְתָה תַאֲנִיָּה וַאֲנִיָּה, וְהָיְתָה לִּי כַּאֲרִיאֵל. 2 Then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and moaning; and she shall be unto Me as a hearth of God.

In The Future I will distress the City Ariel and she will be to me Ariel(Lion of G!D) –The translations of some sections is poorly done, and when looking in various Tanachs you will see this pointed out. I am using MY Understanding of these texts to clarify the prophecies as I understand them. “hearth of G!D” literally reads “Will be Ariel” in the hebrew above. This I translate as “Will be the Lion of G!D” as the name says. So who is the “Lion of G!D”? --At the end.

Chaf Lamed Hay –Genesis 18:21 Destruction?

Chaf Lamed Hay –Genesis 18:21, This has been translated Destruction or Altogether or completed or . . . . I think you get the idea about the word in general. The issue is in specific. This verse in question with the leading verse 20, reads as:

[20 And the LORD said: 'Verily, the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and, verily, their sin is exceeding grievous. 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.'] JPS 1917, reads the same in 1999 version.

Some translation like the Art Scroll -Stone Edition Tanach, adds the words “then Destruction” following the “come unto Me;”.

O.k. big deal, some people think there should be “Destruction” in this verse. Why does it matter?

That is the real question, “Why does it matter?”. I tell you that for the majority of people in the world it does not matter at all. It does matter to me and apparently it matters to some translators. I can not speak for them, only for me and maybe you will find some value in this also.