Unless otherwise indicated, the collection of scriptures found in Food for Thought are quoted from the Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures (The Old Testament) pub. by, the Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1988; and the Jewish New Testament, translated by David H. Stern, pub. by Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, MD, 1994.

~ Meditations ~
~ From the Word of God ~
(Meditations are meant to be
pondered carefully.)

— What Is Truth? —

      “Yeshua said, ‘I AM the Way - and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.’”
(John 14:6)

      “‘I came from the Father and have come into the world... ’“
(John 16:28)

— The Bridegroom Must Depart —

      “‘Don’t let yourselves be disturbed. Trust in God and trust in me. In my Father’s house are many places to live. If there weren’t, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you. Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also.’”
(John 14:1-3)

      “‘Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love -- just as I have kept my Fathefs commands and stay in his love.”’
(John 15:9-10)

      “‘In a little while, you will see me no more; then, a little while later, you will see me.”’
(John 16:16)

— When Will He Return? —

      “... you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people are saying, ‘Everything is so peaceful and secure,’ then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.
      “But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness, so let’s not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet. For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up --just as you are doing.”
(I Thessalonians 5:1-11)

— In the Meantime —

      “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are working hard among you, those who are guiding you in the Lord and confronting you in order to help you change. Treat them with the highest regard and love because of the work they are doing. Live at peace among yourselves; but we urge you, brothers, to confront those who are lazy, your aim being to help them change, to encourage the timid, to assist the weak, and to be patient with everyone.
      “See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone.
      “Always be joyful. Pray regularly. In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua.
      “Don’t quench the Spirit, don’t despise inspired messages. But do test everything -- hold onto what is good, but keep away from every form of evil.”
(I Thessalonians 5:11-22)

      (For:) “What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner, without giving in to lustful desires, like the pagans who don’t know God. No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things... For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, (Holy Spirit) which is his.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

      “Therefore, submit to God. Moreover, take a stand against the Adversary, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and he will come close to you.. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
      Brothers, stop speaking against each other! Whoever speaks against a brother or judges a brother is speaking against Torah and judging Torah. And if you judge Torah, you are not a doer of what Torah says, but a judge. There is but one Giver of Torah; he is also the Judge, with the power to deliver and to destroy. Who do you think you are, judging your fellow human being?”
(James 4:7-8, 10-12)

      “...if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault -- but privately, just between the two of you.”
(Matthew 18:15)

      “... you should know that whoever tums a sinner from his wandering path will save him from death and cover many sins.”
(James 5:20)

— Offer/Accept Forgiveness —

      “...if someone has been a cause of pain... the punishment already imposed on him by the majority is sufficient, so that now you should do the opposite --forgive him, encourage him, comfort him. Otherwise such a person might be swallowed up in overwhelming depression.”
(2 Corinthians 2:5-7)

      “...Kefa (Peter) came up and said to him (Yeshua)... ‘Rabbi, how often can my brother sin against me and I have to forgive him? As many as seven times?’ ‘No not seven times,’ answered Yeshua, ‘but seventy times seven! Because of this, the Kingdom of Heaven may be compared with a king who decided to settle accounts with his deputies. Right away they brought forward a man who owed him many millions, and since he couldn’t pay, his master ordered that he, his wife, his children and all his possessions be sold to pay the debt. But the servant fell down before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.” So out of pity for him, the master let him go and forgave the debt.
      “‘But as that servant was leaving, he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him some tiny sum. He grabbed him and began to choke him, crying, “Pay back what you owe me!” His fellow servant fell before him and begged, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.” But he refused; instead, he had him thrown in jail until he should repay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed; and they went and told their maser everything that had taken place. Then the master summoned his servant and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt just because you begged me to do it. Shouldn’t you have had pity on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” And in anger his master turned him over to the jailers for punishment until he paid back everything he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat you, unless you each forgive your brother from your hearts.”’
(Matthew 18:21-35)

      Therefore: “Be mindful of the Teaching of My servant Moses, whom I charged at Horeb with laws and rules for all Israel.”
(Mal. 3:22 [4:4])

      “For the goal at which the Torah aims is the Messiah, who offers righteousness to everyone who trusts. For Moshe writes about the righteousness grounded in the Torah that the person who does these things will attain life through them. Moreover, the righteousness grounded in trusting says:

..The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” -

that is, the word about trust which we proclaim, namely, that if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be delivered. For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgment and thus continues toward deliverance. For the passage quoted says that everyone who rests his trust on him will not be humiliated. That means that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile -- Adonai is the same for everyone, rich toward everyone who calls on him, since everyone who calls on the name of Adonai will bo delivered.”
(Romans 10:4-6, 8-13)

      “So welcome each other, just as the Messiah has welcomed you into God’s glory. For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the Jewish people in order to show God’s truthfulness by making good his promises to the Patriarchs, and in order to show his mercy by causing the Gentiles to glorify God --as it is written in the Tanakh,

‘Because of this I will acknowledge you among the Gentiles
and sing praise to your name.

And again it says,

‘Gentiles, rejoice with his people.’

And again,

‘Praise Adonai, all Gentiles!
Let all peoples praise him!’

And again, Yesha’yahu (Isaiah) says,

‘The root of Yishai (Jesse) will come,
he who arises to rule Gentiles;
Gentiles will put their hope in him.”’
(Romans 15:7-12)

“...as the Tanakh puts it,

‘Those who have not been told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”
(Romans 15:21)

      “For God has shut up all mankind together in disobedience, in order that he might show mercy to all.”
(Romans 11:32)

— A Treasured Possession —

      “... and a scroll of remembrance has been written at His behest concerning those who revere the LORD and esteem His name. And on the day that I am preparing, said the LORD of Hosts, they shall be My treasured possession... And you shall come to see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him who has served the LORD and him who has not served Him.”
(Mal. 3:16-1 8)

      (For:) “‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the workers on a wage of one denarius, [the standard daily wage,] he sent them off to his vineyard. Then, on going out at about nine in the morning, he saw more men standing around in the market-square doing nothing, and said to them, “You go to the vineyard too - I’ll pay you a fair wage.” So they went. At noon, and again around three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. About an hour before sundown, he went out, found still others standing around, and asked them, “Why have you been standing here all day, doing nothing?” They said to him, “Because no one hired us.” “You too,” he told them, “go to the vineyard.”
      “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foremen, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and ending with the first.” The workers who came an hour before sunset each received a denarius, so the workers who came first expected they would get more, but each of them also received just a denanus. On receiving their wages, they began grumbling to the farmer, “These latecomers have worked only one hour, while we have borne the brunt of the day’s work in the hot sun, yet you have put them on an equal footing with us!” But he answered one of them, “Look, friend, I’m not being unfair with you. Didn’t you agree to work today for a denarius? Now take your pay and go! I choose to give the last worker as much as I’m giving you. Haven’t I the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” Thus the last ones will be first and the first last.”’
(Matthew 20:1-16)

      Baruch Hashem!
      (Blessed be the Name!)

      “May God, the source of hope, fill you completely with joy and shalom as you continue trusting, so that by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh you may overflow with hope.” (Romans 15:13)

            SAW