Isaiah 58:12

We had our annual synagogue business meeting this past Sunday.  Although such meetings tend to be dry by nature, I have to confess that this one seemed to go pretty well, generally speaking.  Among other things, we voted to move our Erev Shabbat (Friday evening) service time to 8:00 pm, allowing people more time to get home from work and take care of their families before service begins.  We still plan on ending no later than 9:30 pm.  

Also at this meeting I introduced the theme I believe God has given us for 2011.  This year we are to focus on "repairing the breach and restoring paths to rest in" as found in Isaiah 58:12.  What does this mean? 

 A breach is a hole.  Well, it's more than a hole.  It's a violation.  A breach is an unhealthy, unintended break in the integrity of a wall.  There are healthy, intended breaks in walls.  We call these doors and windows.  But when a break occurs where there should be none, this is trouble.  Breaches let in the unwelcome rain and wind.  Breaches can let in bugs and pests of all kinds.  Thinking of walls that used to surround cities, breaches can even let in the enemy and result in the fall of an entire society.  

 To restore a breach means to return to the original foundation, the strong, immovable foundation, laid by Sacred Hands.  To restore a breach means to build upon this foundation with stones that will be able to endure the offense of the seasons and the assault of the enemy.  These stones must be excavated from the earth, chiseled and shaped, and laid in place with much forethought and care.  It requires planning, patience, persistence, and people.

Ah, there's the clincher!  People!  This wall cannot be made by one or two people alone.  If it is to be a strong bastion, a fortress that will resist all that will eventually come against it, it will require a coordinated, prayer-saturated, hard-headed, soft-hearted group of men and women and youth who are willing to work together, forgive each other, and roll-up their collective sleeves.  This effort, to be successful, will need to be supervised by God, led by His Spirit, and coordinated by His appointed leadership.  It will require, from everyone, humility, courage, and LOTS of grace!  The task that lay before us is for neither the weak-hearted nor for those who can't quite seem to make a commitment.

The question before us now is:  can we do it?  Can we pull together and meet this call?  I believe so.  The deeper question is, do you?

On my next blog I'll talk about what it means to "restore paths to rest in".  If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me at phillyrabbi@gmail.com.  Shalom!

And it's raining, and it's raining . . . .

I've noticed something.  Ever since I've started to focus more on prayer and personal brokenness before the Lord something extraordinary, though not quite surprising, has happened:

All hell has broken loose.

I'm not talking about going through a "rough patch" in my life.  I'm talking about literally the demonic forces of the devil rising against me.

They say misery loves company so I hope you will forgive me as I indulge in a litany of events that have come against my family and ministry in the past thirty days:

- Pipe busted in the synagogue fellowship hall, ruining walls and carpet
- Pipe busted under the house where we live, spewing sewage and mud into the house
- Our personal laptop computer died, the very computer we use to broadcast ministry via the Internet
- Our refrigerator at home died, requiring costly repairs which drained our personal account
- My daughter has had a significant and dramatic increase in seizure activity.  She suffers from epilepsy.
- And there's more which time does not permit me to list here.

Please don't misunderstand me.  I am not a superstitious person and I do not look for a demon under every doily.  I have, however, noted an interesting pattern of events in my life since I started to draw closer to the Lord. 

I believe that the devil is remarkably predictable and, if it weren't so painful, his actions and behavior would be almost laughable.  Of course!    I should have expected this and, with God's wisdom, prepared for it!  Of course the devil will attack when we try to draw closer to God!  Of course Satan will try to distract and discourage when we turn our hearts and minds to prayer!  Of course the enemy of our souls will try to bring depression and despair when we lift our spirits to heaven!  Of course!

Why?

Because there is no greater expression of power for a believer on this earth than prayer.  Prayer unleashes God's Spirit.  Prayer brings reformation of our hearts and revival to our congregations.  Prayer strengthens our spirits and deepens our communion with our Creator.  Pray, true prayer, is the single fiercest force we as God's people have against Satan and his angels in this world.  This is why the devil resists us with such tenacity for, while we as God's people may be nonchalant and non-committed in prayer, the devil understands the true power of prayer and trembles!  This is why he begins to rise against us with all that is in his unholy arsenal, because he's scared!

What should be our response when things in our lives begin to fall apart?  Pray!  Storm the gates of Heaven with our supplications!  Intercede on behalf of God's people and those who do not yet know Him!  There is a reason this is called a war, because it is!  Fight!  Dearly beloved, fight with all you're worth!  Don't allow discouragement or cynicism to rob you of prayer!  Repent and pray!  Lift your head from your discouragement and pray!  Mourn and weep before the Lord and pray!  Rejoice before the God of Abraham and pray!  When the sun shines, pray!  When the rain falls, pray!  When you seem to get no answer, pray!  When God feels a million miles away, pray!  Without ceasing, pray (I Thessalonians 5:17) for then and only then will we begin to know a deeper measure of God's power and freedom.

Pray!

When it rains . . . .

A few weeks ago I was doing laundry at home (yes, I help my wife with the laundry. So lives the 21st century man). When the washing machine started draining, a pungent odor began to assail my nose, a combination of wet earth and sewage. A quick inspection revealed this thick stew bubbling up into the bathtub and kitchen sink. Indeed, from that point on, every time we tried to do the laundry, this foul fountain would reappear, filling the house with it's damp stench. After bringing out a plumber we were told that the source of our problem was a busted drainage pipe under the slab foundation of the house. Even as he spoke on and on in complex plumbing jargon that I barely understood, a sense of panic began to rise in me. "This sounds expensive." I thought to myself. My mind began to wander along these lines when I snapped back into reality with his words "$15,000-$30,000".

What?

Please understand that my family and I live in a small residence attached to the synagogue where I serve. I immediately called the synagogue insurance company. "I'm sorry Rabbi Fuller but we don't cover plumbing problems outside of the building which includes things under the foundation." Panic time again.

A few days later I was walking into the synagogue when I was greeted by undulating waves of water gently flowing out of the fellowship room, through the hallway and into the foyer where the sixth great lake was rapidly forming. The culprit ended up being a blown pipe which, after much wrestling with the powerful spray and fumbling with a shut-off valve, I was able to turn off. I rushed out and borrowed a large wet-vac from a friend and, while my wife was trying to suck Lake Michigan into a plastic barrel, I was once again on the phone with our insurance company. Turns out they WILL cover this one.

When things like this go wrong, there is a temptation for us to turn to God and ask "why". God is all-powerful, right? He could make the pipes in our aging building work just fine if He so desires. Yet, instead of Divine intervention we immediately assume Divine neglect. I don't believe that such an assumption is fair. We so frequently cry out to God for justice when it is often us who are guilty of being unfair to God. When the sun is shining on our lives we casually thank God and go our way. When a little rain falls (or stinky water flows) we rapidly point our finger at Him and wonder why He hasn't been doing what we perceive to be His job.

God is God. He is not as interested in our comfort as He is in our completion.  He is truly in charge of all things and if we are experiencing challenges of any kind it would behoove us to remember that there is a reason for the suffering not the least of which is to provide us an opportunity to grow in Him. True, such knowledge may be of little comfort, but it is truth nonetheless. It's also good to know that the rain never falls forever. Eventually, the sun will come out and the clean-up begins. Thank You, God.

Now, I hope you'll excuse me. I have some cleaning to do.