American Torah

Wealth adds many friends, But the poor is separated from his friend. Proverbs 19:4 Wealth doesn't make anyone a better or worse person. It's a useful tool that can be used for the good of family, community, and Kingdom. Be wary of anyone who would treat you differently because of wealth, either theirs or yours. From Jay Carper at http://www.AmericanTorah.com

Proverbs 3:31-32. God hates the man of violence, but what makes a man "of violence"? From Jay Carper at American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com)

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. Proverbs 18:17 It's easy to believe the first thing we hear about a topic, especially when it comes from a source we believe to be authoritative, like a pastor, professor, or media outlet, but it's almost always better to wait until you hear every side of a story before deciding what is true. Be especially wary of people who try to prevent you from hearing the other side. From Jay Carper at American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com).

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. Matthew 5:13 Salt is salt. The only way it can lose its saltiness is if it becomes NOT salt, like sodium chlorite, a highly toxic chemical, instead of sodium chloride. But salt can also become useless by being defiled by blood or other impurities. Since Yeshua was talking to his disciples and not to unbelievers, there is a very important lesson in this for us: Don't become a toxic or defiling substance in the Body of Christ or his immune system will toss you out eventually. From Jay Carper at American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://paypal.me/JayCarper. Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Follow me on Parler at https://parler.com/profile/JayCarper/ Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

Proverbs 27:7 says "One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet." A counterintuitive truth is that a life with too much sweet becomes bitter, but a life with a little bitter becomes sweeter. People are resilient. They tend to adapt and become accustomed to whatever circumstances life puts them in. Because of this, a life of too much ease creates weak men. If you want to be happy, strong, and able to withstand whatever curve balls come your way, you're better off seeking out challenges and hardships in measured, controlled doses before truly hard times come and knock you on your backside.

So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Matthew 24:15-16 ESV Yeshua said that, when we see the Abomination of Desolation prophesied in Daniel 11:31, those in Judea should immediately flee to the mountains, that the greatest tribulation mankind has ever seen is about to begin. There are four general ways to interpret all Biblical prohecy, but only one of them fits what Yeshua said in this chapter. The skeptic says all prophecy is fake and the gospels were written after-the-fact. The preterist says these prophecies were fulfilled by Titus in 70 AD. The futurist says these prophecies will be fulfilled at some future date. However, a cyclical understanding of prophecy shows that the preterist and the futurist are both partially correct. Antiochus partially fulfilled Daniel's prophecy around 168 BC and Titus partially fulfilled Yeshua's prophecy in 70 AD, but a worse tyrant will inaugurate a much worse period of tribulation when he blasphemes God's Tabernacle at some point in the future. Keep watching, because the future is history squared! From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://social.ttn.place/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!” As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth. The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. Proverbs 26:13-16 What we think of as laziness is a behavior or a pattern of behaviors and rarely a character trait in itself. This passage describes several potential sources of lazy behavior: -Fear -Comfort -Health -Pride All of these problems have solutions or at least tools to help manage them. The solution to most laziness is to identify and address the root causes and then adjust your expectations of the world through experience and faith in your Creator's plan. From Jay Carper at American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com).

Judah wasn't able to drive all of the Canaanites from their territory in the time of Joshua. They had to wait for David, a foreshadowing of Messiah, to remove the stain of the Jebusites from Jerusalem. From Jay Carper at http://www.AmericanTorah.com

Matthew 23:1-12 What did Yeshua mean when he said "do and observe whatever the Pharisees tell you"? What did he mean about heavy burdens too hard for people's shoulders? Or not being called teacher and father? Keep in mind that Yeshua used a lot of hyperbole in his sermons in order to make rhetorical points and that he never contradicted the Law of Moses or else he couldn't have been the Messiah. From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com). This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal. Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Follow me on Twitter: https://jaycarper.com/twitter Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

There are times when it is OK to lie, according to the Bible, but those times are rare exceptions. Honesty is almost always better! Proverbs 1:10-19 From Jay Carper at http://www.AmericanTorah.com

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1 A "good name" doesn't have anything to do with what's printed on your birth certificate. You can choose a good name by behaving in ways that enhance your reputation as a representative of YHVH, and thereby honoring HIS name too. From Jay Carper at American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com)

Do you ever know that you have work to do but just can't make yourself do it? Like the whole world is weighing down on you, keeping your butt in your chair? Yeah, me too. In this video on Proverbs 6:6-11, I talk about that feeling and one strategy for defeating it. From Jay Carper at http://www.AmericanTorah.com You can get Mel Robbins' book The 5 Second Rule at Libro FM. Sign up for an account here FIRST so that you can get 2 books for the price of 1 in your first month: https://libro.fm/redeem/americantorah. Then get the audiobook here: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781982776466. And a video from Mel Robbins on the same topic: https://youtu.be/dggCdoTYhDY Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper

Social Justice vs God's Justice Universities, entertainers, and HR departments relentlessly push the ideas of social justice. There are daily riots and political demonstrations in favor of social justice. Black Lives Matter riots, gay pride parades, women's rights marches…. Everyone is talking about justice, but does anyone know what it is? Moses said that God's ways are justice and Torah commands us to pursue justice in all matters, so it is vitally important that we understand it. Fortunately, God has also given us a tool to help us understand exactly what justice is and how to apply it to our lives: the Torah itself. Proverbs 28:4-5 says that people who hate God's Law will tend to side with the wicked, that evil men (those who hate God's Law) do not understand justice. Those who seek YHVH, in other words, those who study his instructions and seek to live by them, understand justice completely. Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely. Proverbs 28:4-5 From Jay Carper at American Torah, http://www.AmericanTorah.com. Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Parler at https://parler.com/profile/JayCarper/

In Joshua 22:7-9, Joshua sends the half-tribe of Manasseh back to their land on the east side of the Jordan with a blessing and much material wealth. Does the Bible teach that wealth is a curse or a blessing? Maybe a little of both. From Jay Carper at American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com). Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Parler at https://parler.com/profile/JayCarper/

Solomon wrote "To everything there is a season a time for every purpose under heaven". This applies in war and peace, in business and marketing, and also in evangelism. From American Torah at http://www.AmericanTorah.com Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Parler at https://parler.com/profile/JayCarper/ Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

Everyone has a dark side. A wise man thinks before he lets it out, but the wicked let their evil inclinations control their words and deeds. The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. Proverbs 15:28 ESV

A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity. Proverbs 17:20 We interpret the world through the lens of our own heart. If you have deceit, anger, or hatred in your heart, then that's what you're going to see in the people around you. Mark 7:15, Titus 1:15, Romans 12:2 From Jay Carper at American Torah, http://www.AmericanTorah.com.

In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23 ESV This proverb has a physical and a spiritual application. In both cases action is better than talk. From Jay Carper at http://www.AmericanTorah.com.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4 ESV Real life is messy. If you're going to accomplish anything worthwhile, you have to learn to be okay with rough edges. From Jay Carper at American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com).

Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing. Proverbs 20:4 Every overnight success is the product of years of planning and hard work. We plow the fields at a time when there's no hope of growth. We plant seeds at a time when there's no hope of harvest. Only after months of hard work do we reap any rewards for our labors. So why do we bother plowing in the first place? Because YHVH is a God of order, patterns, and covenants. We work hard today with no expectation of immediate rewards--or even rewards in this lifetime--because God has created a world in which even an atheist can have faith that one thing inevitably follows another. See also Luke 14:27-33. From Jay Carper at http://www.AmericanTorah.com.

Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble. By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might. For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 24:1-6 The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. Deuteronomy 7:22-23 Empires rise and fall, but the empires that last for centuries are those that took centuries to build. If you allow your emotions to dictate your decisions, you will act rashly and violently, and you will enslave yourself to your emotions. However, if you exercise self-control in all things and use your emotions as tools rather than allowing them to use you, your conquests will come through judicious and wise action, and your gains will last. Violence and war have their place, but that place is rare and of limited scope.

The Book of Proverbs repeatedly says to listen to the advice of your parents. The fifth commandment says to honor your parents for a long life. Paul repeats this promise in the New Testament. But what does it actually mean? And how does listening to your parents improve or lengthen your life? What if you have terrible, cruel parents? From Jay Carper at http://www.AmericanTorah.com. Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 This passage is loaded with meaning and controversy. For example, Yeshua in the Jordan Valley connects with Moses on Mt Sinai, and Trinitarians and unitarians both use it to support their theology. The anatomy of God is hinted at throughout Scripture, but never directly discussed. I don't think "YHWH is one" is relevant, because both sides agree on that and it isn't talking about God's anatomy. Most of the passages that fuel the Trinitarian vs Unitarian debate can be reasonably interpreted to favor either side. Matthew 3:16-17, for example, shows Father, Son, and Spirit in three forms in the same place and time, but that's only evidence for one side or the other if you presuppose your own conclusions. I don't cover every aspect of the Trinitarian controversy in this video, but I hit some of the most prominent, relevant passages and then tell why I think the whole controversy is overblown. From Jay Carper at American Torah, http://www.AmericanTorah.com. Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://www.thetorahnetwork.com/jaycarper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Follow me on Parler at https://parler.com/profile/JayCarper/ Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/

Most of us are comfortable praying for healing or a new job--sometimes even a reasonable parking space--but we're comfortable with these prayers because if we don't get what we ask for, then maybe it just wasn't God's will. It gets a little dicier when we start asking God open ended questions, like "What do I do now?" in a really difficult personal situation. When we do send a prayer like that, we might read the Bible and meditate, but how seriously do we expect God to answer? I am convinced that God wants to talk to us. Moses and Paul both said that they desired all of God's people to prophesy, which is to be a conduit for messages directly from God. But how are we to prophesy if we never hear God's voice? One of the defining characteristics of Shavuot (aka Pentecost) is direct communication between God and people. I think we can learn something about God's instructions to Israel and the Apostles before this great feast day about preparing ourselves to hear his voice.

The Gibeonites in Joshua 9 appeared to be humble and submissive, but were they really? The enemy always uses deception when he can't get his way more directly. From American Torah (http://www.AmericanTorah.com) Follow me on Gab at https://gab.com/carper Add me as a contact on MeWe at https://mewe.com/i/jaycarper Follow me on Parler at https://parler.com/profile/JayCarper/ Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/americantorah/