Restoration

for God Who protects and rescues us are You; for God, the gracious and compassionate King, are You. Siddur, Maariv for Weekdays, Shema and Its Blessings, p. 291. Protects and Rescues – “Being obedient does not require understanding God’s reasoning.”[1] Yes, that’s so true. Frankly, I don’t understand God at all. I don’t understand how…

A Call to Arms

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Psalm 28:7 NASB Helped – So you’re up against it. That old feeling of helplessness, abandonment, anxiety, fear, worthlessness is back again. You thought you’d overcome it, but then something happened. Something you didn’t expect, weren’t prepared for. And suddenly you’re that little…

Imagine That

but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NASB Have not entered – Another disappointing day. Another round of the routine. Another onerous obligation….

A Corrected Beatitude

“Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.” Psalm 142:6 NASB Persecutors – “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness.” That familiar phrase found in the teaching of Yeshua in Matthew, chapter five, should have…

In the Shadows

Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man, Psalm 71:4 NASB Rescue me – Rescue is a very practical experience. It isn’t to be found in the next world. There is little point in waiting to die so that you can…

Are You Listening?

and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord,
 And He answered me.
 I cried for help from the depth of Sheol;
 You heard my voice.”  Jonah 2:2 NASB Depth of Sheol – I’ve been there. Jonah and I apparently took the same escape plan. We ended up in Sheol – the…

Lost

Lead me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are the God of my rescue.  In You do I hope every day.  Psalm 25:5  Robert Alter translation Rescue – When Michael W. Smith sings, “I’m lost without You,” I don’t think he has Torah in mind.  But he should.  Our popular Christian culture is…

Get a Grip

Yet I was always with You, You grasped my right hand.  Psalm 73:23 (Robert Alter translation) Grasped – Does Asaph reach out and grab hold of God?  No, he doesn’t.  When you and I are in the midst of herd mentality, when we are caught in group-think, when we act by addictive instinct, we can’t…

Hebrew Salvation

Return, O LORD, rescue my soul, save me because of Your lovingkindness.  Psalm 6:4 NASB Rescue – The word translated “rescue” in this verse is halats.  In its various forms it can mean “to draw away, to take off, to withdraw, to plunder.”  It means “to rescue” only in one form found only in the…