5 October 2008

Leviticus 16:1-34

October 9 is Yom Kippur, one of the Holiest of the High Holy Days of the Jews which we remember. Our Lesson from Leviticus explains the preparations which the high priest had to make in order to offer the offering for the sins of the people. First he had to wash, a symbol of purity. Then he had to put on the special clothes reserved to the high priest (clothing indicates our deeds). Afterwards, he had to have a sacrifice to pay for his own sins. Then and only then could he enter into the Holy of Holies and sacrifice for the sins of the peoples, which he did by sprinkling blood on the cover of the ark of the covenant. Note even then, he had a rope tied to his foot just in case. The hem of his robe had bells. If the bells stopped ringing, they knew the High Priest had been struck dead for his sins and was pulled out.

Jesus, by his death on the cross finished this sacrifice for ever. Jesus was without sin, so no need to wash, or even sacrifice. He was perfect man, without sin, so he needed no magnificent clothing to symbolize his good deeds, all his deeds were good. Through his goodness and perfection, he was able to enter into that Holy Place, of which the Holy of Holies was only the palest of shadows. Instead of offering the blood of a lamb, he offered his own blood to cover the mercy seat, once and for all, to cover our sins for ever.

The Jews wore white on this day, so symbolize they were clean of sin. The same in days gone past, Christians would don a white garment after their baptism, and wear it for fifty days to remind them that Jesus had paid for their sins and they were cleansed indeed. Another custom that the Jews and my family practice, we go to the river and through breadcrumbs on the water, and watch the river carry them away, as Jesus carried our sins and the punishment for them away from us.

The ninth of this year, and every Friday is good to remember that Jesus, through his life and his death on the cross, provided for us a way to enter into God’s presence. Join with me fasting on this day, so that we may join Jesus in his sufferings so as to remember the wonders he did for us.

Shalom b’Yeshua haMoshiach
+Mar Michael Abportus
Pastor Congregation Benim Avraham
mjthannisch@sbcglobal.net
281-867-9081

Rosh Hashanah

What Does the Shofar Say

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Awake, sleepers arise!
Don’t be like sheep, so sound asleep,
Letting the wolf in the door, to destroy, corrupt and more.
He’s in the music, promoting drugs,
He’s on TV promoting sex and rebellion,
He’s in the school teaching one to be a hellion.
Parents, do you love your children,
Then teach them, teach them.
At their rising, at their sitting,
Going out, coming in, at their eating,
Jesus Christ is Lord, He died for you, and many more,
And expects to be your Lord.

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Awake, sleepers arise!
Don’t be like sheep, so sound asleep,
False shepherds abound misleading the sheep,
Saying science, psychology is King.
If it feels good do it, if it hurts no-one, ‘tis not a sin, or so they sing.
Jesus is not Lord, he’s just one way, of which there are many more.
Stand up O sheep, flee from such shepherds, For at that last day, they shall flee, or
Be astounded, upon finding resurrection is true,
But alas they are blue,
For never having known Jesus, they have condemned themselves,
And those who followed them to a future so bleak,
That to think upon makes me weak

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Ti ra! Ti ra! Arise, charge, ‘tis time to fight the good fight,
‘tis time to show the adversary our might.
Put on the Gospel Armour, refrain from retreating,
It is time to gain souls, it is time to gain kings,
It is time to show the world our Lord and King.
We have been asleep, allowing Satan his will
And we have had to pay the bill.
The time is over, Satin take cover,
For the church is called to be on the move.
Blow the shofar, blow the trumpet, Good Christians, ATTACK!
You are the mighty hosts of the Lord, armed with his Spirit and Word,
The battle is yours, the war is the Lord’s.

Sunday: 28 September 2008

I have been slack in my duty, but it is time to get to work. I apologise for my sloth, and not making time. Hurricane Ike has been part of the more recent inactivity (we were without light for a wee bit), and hurricane Ike suggests the topic.

We have discussed disasters before, and I hope that everyone is clear on what the Tanakh says about such things. God does judge the nations. Let their be no doubt about it, God does judge, and their will be a judgment day in the future.

But let us look at hurricanes and related problems. First, let us be aware, many who lost out to the hurricane, lost through their own lack of forsight. For some strange reason, more people live on the coast here than did at the time of the last major hurricane some 25 years ago. Do we not learn from mistakes made in the past. Remember what George Santayana said many years ago, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Anyway, we can divide those affected by the hurricane into several groups.

1) Those killed by the hurricane: Now were these people any more evil than any others around them? Of course not. They just refused to believe that the storm was going to be as bad as it was, and paid the price. This is just like the Christian who dabbles in sin, and thinks they won't get burned. Let us pay attention. The Bible warns us about sin. Christian pastors who dabble in sin, are invarialbley found out, and eventually come tumbling down. Let us not be foolish, but let us be sensible

2)Those who lost everything: Again, just as we don't dabble with nature, let us not dabble in sin. It is dangerous. Anytime we begin any work, whether buying or building a house, or a new spiritual venture, we should ask God, and we should ask other Christians, and we should investigate. God does not guarantee to protect us if we do wrong or silly things. On the other hand, I saw a home right between two destroyed homes. It had flood damage, but was intact. The owner made sure he had built his house on a rock. It was solid with good foundations and straps. There was damage, but not disaster. If we live in areas of spiritual danger, we need to be prepared, by standing firm on the Rock (Yeshua) and living by his word.

3) Those who had flood damage: Here we have a divided group. Our neighbout had flood damage from rain. The owners of her house did not have the roof fixed, so she suffered. Other people had flood damge, but it was minor. Othters lost most everything in the house. Some lost it from ignorance. I talked to one lady who owned a house my parents owned some forty-one years previously. She told me it had never flooded before, and I corrected her on that. It flooded during hurricane Carla, in 1961, a storm I remember well. Others lost nothing to flood damage. There houses were on stilts or elevated in some way. What do we learn? Some people suffer from their own sins, while others suffer from the sins of others. Remember sin, is like a rock thrown in a pond. The ripples go out to the edge, such is the effect of sin. I might add, in our house we moved everthing important to the second floor, just in case.

4)Those who were inconventienced: Some of us think we have to have electricity, telephone, internte to survive. Its just not so. We were briefly without power, (four days) and others have been out two weeks. The good Lord sent us real fall weather (something that rarely hits the Texas Coast before October) and the A/C wasn't needed. We cooked on the grill, kept ice in the freezer, and survived without telephone, electricity or internet. Here in the US, we do not like to be inconvenienced. It is sad, but one of the main reasons we do not follow God, is it is inconvenient. Inconvenient to go help our neighbour. Inconvenient to go help out at the homeless mission, inconvenient to talk to others about the Messiah. We need to learn how to rejoice and be thankful for the good things we have. I can tell you, I was truly thankful when I drove up to my house and found very little damage, after being told I couldn't get to my house because the moving water was too dangerous to go through. We also need to learn to tell others what God has done and is doing for us and in our lives. God promises we will be blessed. He does not promise us earthly riches, but heavenly riches, and we should share those riches with all the world.

As John Heywood has told us, "It is truly an ill wind which blows nobody any good," there were some good things that came out of Ike. On a personal note, I am no longer worried about a storm surge, because I observed houses similar to mine and how they stood up (we'll still move stuff upstairs). I can deal with repairs. On a more universal note, no lights, no phone, problems and difficulties have led to neighbours acting like neighbours to each other, which is truly a blessing in this land where few people have time for one another. I have spent more time visiting and doing other things with neighbours and getting to know them. There have been more opportunities to reach out and show God's love, especially as a pastor, being there to listen.

May God grant you shalom,

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthannisch@sbcglobal.net
281-867-9081

25 November 2007

Isaiah 6:1-8:
In the year that King Uzzi'ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory." And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven." And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

This week lesson manages to sum up some very important tenets of Christianity, and well needs examination. To begin with, the lesson gives us a specific time in history, the year King Uzziah died, roughly 736-732 B.C. Isaiah, probably during a worship service sees the Lord. He is high, and lifted up and his train fills the temple. My Bible gives, hem, and the indication is that the Lord’s deeds and presence fill the temple and creation. The Seraphim were flying about, with two wings to cover their faces, because they were not worthy to look upon the Lord, two to cover their feet, because they were not worthy to stand in the Lord’s presence (and I know others interpret this differently, but this is my reading of it) and two wings to fly. They call one to another, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts and the whole earth is full of his glory. The complete Jewish Bible renders this, “More holy than the holiest holiness,” while the scriptures gives us, “Set apart, set apart, set apart is YHWH of hosts.” The angels are crying, and Isaiah is given to understand that YHWH is wholly other, he is not man, nor anything that we could understand aside from his revelation to us. He is completely set apart from us, yet Isaiah sees him in his holiness.


Isaiah cries out, “Woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips.” Isaiah has come to a realization. His worship, expressed primarily through his lips is totally inadequate for a holy God. Even worse, he lives among a people who are of unclean lips, that is a people who do not truly worship the Lord, that is they worship with their lips, but not with their lives (to take off from the General Thanksgiving of Anglican use). A Holy God requires worship that is Holy from people who are Holy. In other words Isaiah realizes that for his sin he (and the people) are completely unworthy to worship a Holy God, and can do nothing about it. God sends a Seraph to Isaiah, who takes a hot coal off of the altar of incense, and he touches it to Isaiah’s lips. In other words, only God can cleanse us of our sin, and that cleansing might not always be pleasant (a hot coal pressed against my lips sounds like no fun at all).


After Isaiah has been purified from his sin, the Lord asks, “Whom should I send, who will go for us,” and Isaiah answers the call, “here am I, send me.” When God cleanses us from our sins, it is to a purpose. We are sent as a result of our call. Remember when Peter’s mother-in-law is healed. She gets up and serves them. When Paul has his Damascus Road experience, he goes to preach the Gospel. Today we have a bunch of namby pamby Christians who do nothing. Every one of us has a call on his or her life. That call might be to preach the Gospel (of course we are all called to share the good news in one way or another.) It might be we are to change society, as Wilbur Wilberforce made it his life’s work to stop slavery and reform the manners of the British Empire. It might be just to say something nice to someone, or being a good influence.


So confess that sin to God, allow him to cleanse you from your sin and get to work.


Mar Michael Abportus, OSL
mjthannisch@sbcglobal.net

King David's Sons

King David’s Sons

II Samuel 13:1-19:43

The Tanach teaches us in many things. First, it is the history of Salvation and our need for a saviour. In addition, it lays out the spiritual rules by which we must live. It also specifically defines sin for us, and shows us how we must live.

The tragedy of David and his children is one that parents everywhere must take into account, so that we do not repeat the errors of King David. David, was to say the least, overindulgent of his children. When Amnom rapes his sister Tamar, David as king is obliged to enforce the law, but chooses not to do so. As a consequence, Absalom, takes justice into his own hands and does his brother in. David again does nothing, and Absalom conspires to take over the kingdom.

When Absalom is defeated, David nearly loses the kingdom again over his grief for Absalom. David in other words elevated his children to an undeserved height. Jesus tells us that we must love God above parents and children, but all too frequently, we like David, out children above God. When David allows Amnom to get away with raping his sister, David loses the respect of his family. David as father and David as King is obliged to enforce the rules. He does not because he loves his son, turning lose events which will eventually destroy the Kingdom.

The Bible tells us we are to honour our parents, and wives are to respect their husbands. The two are linked together. If the oldest child is allowed to disrespect the father, then it will follow through unless the cycle is broken. Unfortunately many women love their children more than their husbands, and if they see a conflict between their children and their husband, the child will win out, to the heartbreak of the husband, who then must live in an untenable position. (but even if the wife does not respect him or does not encourage the children to respect him, he is still bound by his marriage vows. The Christian partner is held to the higher standard, and his suffering will make him a stronger person). This is why it is so important to make sure that when you marry, that your spouse is a Christian as well (this is one of the commandments for Christians in the New Testament), and it really helps that the Christian maturity levels are similar. Sometimes people can be fooled. That is why year long engagements are a good idea.

So how to avoid familial conflicts: Before even getting married, the couple should make sure they are on the same page as to expectations of the children’s behaviour, whether any children are there or not. Depending on the culture, maturity etc., the wife may think that the children are not subject to the husband (especially if she has children from a prior marriage.) If this is your wife to be’s thought, go find someone else. Children living in a house are subject to their parents until they leave the house (note I did not say until they are eighteen or twenty –one.) If the child is over seventeen and feels that he or she does not fall under parental authority, then they should leave the house. A mother’s (or father’s) insistence that the child should stay only brings problems into the household, and the other children will be affected.

Another obstacle to watch for is the parent who desires peace at any price. Maybe this was David’s problem. He did not want to confront Amnon or Absalom, and he thought it was best to let the dead dog lie. True peace is not not yelling, or not having problems. True peace comes from subjecting our thoughts and actions to Christ. If problems are ignored in order to prevent a disagreeable discussion, then there is no real peace. It is a lie. Do we remember Neville Chamberlaine? He told the world that there would be peace in our time! How wrong he was. World War II was just around the corner. The same thing happens in families when we as Chamberlaine and Atlee seek peace at any price. Is your child on drugs? Your spouse looking at pornography on the Internet? Other unresolved problems? They must be brought out into the light of Christ’s truth, dealt with and resolved.

It is especially important to resolve problems in marriage. Marriage is the icon of Christ’s relationship with the church. The man must love his wife, being ready even to die for her and her salvation. The woman must respect her husband, and teach the children as well. The Bible words it like this for a reason, because God understands the difference between men and women much better than we do. If a wife does not give her husband respect or teaches the children not to respect their father (usually subconsciously) it tears the man down. Men have this need to be respected by their wives and children. If a man does not love his wife, it tears her down, for a woman needs to know that she is loved in a way that is not necessary for a man. Children who do not see the love/respect relationship in their parents have a more difficult time relating to Jesus Christ. Children who do see that relationship acted out have a much easier time relating to God (and their future spouses I might add).

Another thing to note, and the New Testament hints at this, when we live according to God’s rules, we do receive blessings. Where the man truly loves his wife, and where the wife truly honours the husband, the children are much more likely to grow up well adjusted. Where this love and honour are missing, children are much more likely to go wrong.

If these relationships are well established, then it easy for parents to get together on raising their children. This is of extreme importance as the children are the future of the church. Many children today, especially in the USA and Latin America lack the basic skills necessary to become good Christians. There reasons f or this, is boys are not learning to love their future wives. IF anything they are deciding not to marry or have children because in having children, they will not be able to buy the things they want and think they need. Girls are being taught in many ways, that men are not worth respecting. All think of marriage as an easily revocable contract instead of a life time commitment. Discipline is a four letter word, and those parents who attempt to teach self discipline are undermined by the great majority who do not teach it. If it feels good do it, seems to be the ideal for today.

So read the Tanach carefully. It is just as important as the New Testament in what we can learn about living, maybe more so, in what it shows through negative examples, especially in the lives of David, Abraham, Joseph and others. The keys to the kingdom are found here.

Shalom b'Yeshua haMoshiach,


+Mar Michael Abportus.
mjthannisch@sbcglobal.net

Yom Kippur 2007

Yom Kippur is upon us. It begins this coming Friday night at sunset. While Jesus very deliberately related his Crucifixion to the Passover, other signs can link his death to the feast of Atonement.

To begin, the feast of the atonement takes place shortly after the Jewish New Year, the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hoshanah. Good Jews reflect on their lives and seek to improve them, during the time in between. Yom Kippur is the only celebration in the Torah upon which it is commanded to fast, in sorrow for our sins. Along with the normal offerings, there are two goats. One has the sins of the people confessed over him, and he is sent out to the desert to the demons. (We might recall that Jesus too faced the devil in the desert and defeated him) The second is sacrificed for the sins of the people, but first the priest must sacrifice for his own sin. It is dramatic. The hem of the High Priests robes have little golden bells. A rope is attached to his leg. If the bells stop ringing, God has struck him dead, and he is pulled out with the rope.

The priest is aware of this, and aware that two of Aaron's sons were struck dead for offering incense to God in an unauthorised manner. A day of great solemnity. Incense is offered over the altar, which is then sprinkled with blood. The High Priest, leaves, washes and changes his clothes, confesses the sins over the second goat and sends it to the desert.

It is the day of Atonement, when God forgives Israel their sins. Now St. Paul tells us, that with the one, full and perfect sacrifice of Jesus, there is no further need for sacrifices. Jesus has paid the full price. But the Gospels speak in a more eloquent way. As Jesus dies, the curtain separating the holy of ho lies from the holy place rips in half. This shows the end of the sacrificial system (after all the Holy of Holies was empty, had been since the time of Jeremiah), but more importantly, it shows that we no longer need an intermediary to enter into the presence of the living God. The blood of Jesus has paid the price once and for all. Amateur archaeologist Ron Wyatt even claims that the Ark of the covenant was in a cave under where Jesus was crucified and that the blood of Jesus fell on the Ark as the blood of the lamb did in days of old. If this is true it shows how wonderfully God planns things.

But we are reminded, not one of us, no not one deserves to enter into the presence of God. Before a just Lord we all merit the death sentence, and there is nothing we can do on our own to merit life. It takes the blood of Jesus, and nothing but the blood of Jesus, as the old song says. So as we approach the day of atonement, let us remember the final day of atonemement, when the true lamb of God shed his blood for you and me, that we could enter into the presense of the Father. And let us cry Father, but let us too aknowledge him as LORD.

+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthannisch@sbcglobal.net
281-867-9081

Rosh Hashanah 2007

Happy New Year to all. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Trumpets begin this coming Friday evening with the sound of the Shofar (a ram’s horn). According to the Jewish way of reckoning, the original new year was the day that God made man (and woman) 5767 years ago. It is a day for rejoicing, but it is also a day for thought and reflection.

First, let us remember, on this day, God made man in his image. To be made in the image of God means in part, we are co-creators with him. We are at our most God like when we are creating with him, whether a book, a concert, a nice dinner etc., especially when the creation is made in his honour To be made in the image of God also means we are capable of reason, that we are not slaves of instinct as animals are. Also to be made in the image of God means that we are capable of having a relationship with us, which is what he created us for.

The problem was that Adam and Havah threw all of this away. Adam was a Lord, or steward over the earth and sea, but threw this away when he ate the fruit. Creation, which had been his servant and responsibility became his enemy. No longer did he just work the Garden, but was to eat by the sweat of his brow. He also lost his relationship with God and his wife. The Torah tells how the result of sin spread over all the earth.

But lest we blame all our problems on Adam and Havah, let us remember that the story of Adam (man) is the story of all men. We want to become like God’s and make our own decisions. We forget that to break spiritual laws, have just as much result as breaking physical laws. Just as jumping off a ten story building will result in a fall and death, so do breaking the moral code of the Bible result in a fall and death, sometimes physical, but most certainly spiritual. The rapid spread AIDS in certain countries is related to homosexuality. In Africa it is related to marital infidelity. In New York, a large portion of the epidemic was related to drug use. We could spend days on this topic, but suffice it to say, when we truly learn to obey God in moral matters (and of course we cannot obey relying on our own strength. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us in this, and give us strength as well), then we will come much closer to living as God intended Adam and Havah to live.

So let us reflect this Saturday on how well we follow Adam and Havah. Do we want to be like “gods” as Satan tempted them, or do we wish to walk with our Lord day by day. What can we do to join him in creation? How can we follow Him so others see him in us, and come to know the Lord?

Please reflect in these Holy Days, (the 10 days after Rosh Hashanah) and join with me in the fast of Yom Kippur.

Some customs to know: The trumpet (shofar) is blown on Rosh Hashanah. Round bread is eaten to symbolize the cycle of the year. Bread and apples are eaten with honey that we may have a sweet year. Pockets are emptied out to show we are making a new start. One of my favourites, we drop bread crumbs in the water (symbolizing God carrying our sins away) while saying God will separate us as far from our sins and the east is separated from the west.

A poem for your reflection:

What Does the Shofar Say?

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Awake, sleepers arise!
Don’t be like sheep, so sound asleep,
Letting the wolf in the door, to destroy, corrupt and more.
He’s in the music, promoting drugs,
He’s on TV promoting sex and rebellion,
He’s in the school teaching one to be a hellion.
Parents, do you love your children,
Then teach them, teach them.
At their rising, at their sitting,
Going out, coming in, at their eating,
Jesus Christ is Lord, He died for you, and many more,
And expects to be your Lord.

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Awake, sleepers arise!
Don’t be like sheep, so sound asleep,
False shepherds abound misleading the sheep,
Saying science, psychology is King.
If it feels good do it, if it hurts no-one, ‘tis not a sin, or so they sing.
Jesus is not Lord, he’s just one way, of which there are many more.
Stand up O sheep, flee from such shepherds, For at that last day, they shall flee, or
Be astounded, upon finding resurrection is true,
But alas they are blue,
For never having known Jesus, they have condemned themselves,
And those who followed them to a future so bleak,
That to think upon makes me weak

Listen to the sound of the Shofar, this Rosh Hashanah day,
What is it, what does the Shofar say?
Ti ra! Ti ra! Arise, charge, ‘tis time to fight the good fight,
‘tis time to show the adversary our might.
Put on the Gospel Armour, refrain from retreating,
It is time to gain souls, it is time to gain kings,
It is time to show the world our Lord and King.
We have been asleep, allowing Satin his will
And we have had to pay the bill.
The time is over, Satin take cover,
For the church is called to be on the move.
Blow the shofar, blow the trumpet, Good Christians, ATTACK!
You are the mighty hosts of the Lord, armed with his Spirit and Word,
The battle is yours, the war is the Lord’s.

Shalom b'Yeshuah haMoshich

Mar Michael Abportus