The Fruits of Worrying!

Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man asked upon seeing him, “What are you going to do?” “I'm going to take 100 people,” Death replied. Why, that’s horrible!” the man said. “That's the way it is.” Death said. “That's what I do.”

The man hurried to warn everyone he could about Death's plan. As evening fell, he met Death again, “You told me you were going to take 100 people,” the man said, “Why did 1,000 die?”

“I kept my word,” Death responded. “I only took 100 people, worry took the others.” Worry is, and always will be, a fatal disease of the Heart, for its beginning signals the end of faith! Worry intrudes on God's compassionate ability to provide. Remember, when we allow our problems to overshadow God's promises, we unknowingly doom ourselves to defeat, a destructive sense of defeat that was never part of God's eternal plan.

Life is full of many concerns stemming from the absence of certainty and control over our future. While we can never be completely free from worry, the Bible guides us on how to minimize worry and anxiety in our lives:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Believers are commanded to pray about life’s worries. These prayers are to be more than requests for favorable answers they are to include thanksgiving and praise along with our needs. Praying in this way reminds us of the many blessings God continually gives us whether we ask or not. Our prayers also remind us of God's great love for us and that He knows and does what is best for us. So simply let go and let God be God.

REMEMBER: WORRYING DOESN’T SOLVE ANYTHING, INSTEAD IT HURTS EVERYTHING. Release the regrets of yesterday, refuse the fears of tomorrow and receive instead, the peace of today. Live this way through faith and trust, and be eternally blessed.

As a Christian, How Much Do You Know About What Jews Believe?

“The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God’s Covenant with Abram (Genesis 12:1-3, NIV)

When learning about a religion one of the first questions people should ask is: What do members of that religion believe?

The first point to consider in any discussion on the beliefs of a particular religion is attempting to define in some way the group being referenced. Dictionary definitions of a “Jew” include “a member of the tribe of Judah,” “an Israelite,” “a member of a nation existing in Palestine from the 6th century B.C. to the 1st century A.D.,” “a person belonging to a continuation through descent or conversion of the ancient Jewish people,” and “one whose religion is Judaism.”

Although it is difficult, if not impossible, to capture the beliefs of every single member of a faith, usually there are overarching codes of belief that most members of the group adhere to in some form or fashion. The same can be said of Judaism.

Friends, answering the question: “What do Jews believe”, is a far more difficult question than you might expect. Judaism has no singularly focused set of beliefs or specific sets of principles that one must hold in order to be a Jew. There are though a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that one is expected to uphold in order to be said to be in agreement or harmony with the Jewish faith. However, unlike most denominations within the Christian faith tradition, the Jewish community has never developed any one binding catechism.

The fundamental principles of Judaism are:

■There is a single, all-powerful God, who created the universe and everything in it
■God has a special relationship with the Jewish people, cemented by the covenant that God made with Moses on Mount Sinai, 3500 years ago.
■The Jewish place of worship is called a Synagogue.
■The religious leader of a Jewish community is called a Rabbi. Unlike leaders in many other faiths, a rabbi is not a priest and has no special religious status.
■The Jewish holy day, or Sabbath, starts at sunset on Friday and continues until sunset on Saturday. During the Sabbath, observant Jews will do nothing that might be counted as work. Among the things that they can't do are driving and cooking.
■The Torah or Hebrew Bible (which Christians call the Old Testament), and particularly the first 5 books.
■At least one copy of the Torah, in Hebrew, is kept in every synagogue in the form of a hand-written parchment scroll.
■The Talmud, a compendium of law and commentary on the Torah applying it to life in later and changed circumstances.
■The symbol of Judaism is the Magen (shield) of David, which is often called the Star of David

Yet, it is clear the Jewish people share in a unifying belief in one God who is the creator and lord of the universe. They also believe God has a special relationship – the covenant – with the Jewish people. If they are faithful to God’s laws he will promise them a perfect world in the future and they look forward to the coming of the Messiah, a great leader from God, who will bring a time of peace, fruitfulness and security to the whole world.

A number of expressions of Jewish beliefs have also appeared, though there is some dispute over how many “basic commandments” of faith there are. Rabbi Joseph Albo, for instance, in “Sefer Ha-Ikkarim” counts three principles of faith, while “Maimonides/Rambam” lists thirteen.

The closest that anyone has ever come to creating a widely-accepted list of Jewish beliefs is Rambam's thirteen principles of faith. Rambam identifies thirteen key principles/commandments of faith, which he thought were the minimum requirements of Jewish belief that G-d gave to the Jewish people in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible).


1.G-d exists
2.G-d is one and unique
3.G-d is incorporeal
4.G-d is eternal
5.Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other
6.The words of the prophets are true
7.Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets
8.The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses
9.There will be no other Torah
10. G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
12.The Messiah will come
13.The dead will be resurrected
■Please note all references to the Almighty by name (G-d) in this Note will adhere to Jewish tradition.

As you can see, these are very basic and general principles. Nonetheless, as basic as these principles appear to be, the requirement for believing each one of them has been disputed within the Jewish community, at one time or another throughout history. Liberal movements within Judaism even dispute the validity of many of the principles cited here.

Again, unlike Christianity and Islam, Judaism has no official creed or universal doctrinal requirements for membership. In general, a person can be considered "Jewish" whether he adheres to a complete system of beliefs about God and the afterlife, holds only a few simple beliefs that give meaning to ritual, or even (at least in liberal Judaism) does not believe in God at all. This diversity in Jewish belief arises in part because actions (good deeds and obedience to G-d’s 613 commandments contained in the Torah, the mitzvoth) - not beliefs, are the most important aspect of Jewish religious life. In addition, the term "Jewish" can be used to describe a race and a culture rather than a religion, so some who identify themselves as Jewish may have little interest in the beliefs and practices associated with the religion of Judaism.

Clearly, in Judaism, one’s actions are far more important than one's beliefs, though there most certainly is a place for belief within Judaism. Judaism focuses on relationships: the relationship between G-d and mankind, between G-d and the Jewish people, between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and between human beings. Hebrew Scripture tells the story of the development of these relationships, from the time of creation, through the creation of the relationship between G-d and Abraham, to the creation of the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people, and forward.

The Hebrew Scriptures also specify the shared obligations created by these relationships, though various movements of Judaism disagree about the nature of these obligations. Some denominations within Judaism say they are absolute, unchanging laws from G-d (Orthodox Movement); some say they are laws from G-d that change and evolve over time (Conservative Movement); some say that they are guidelines that you can choose whether or not to follow (Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanistic Movements).

Although Christianity and Judaism continue to share deep historical roots, clearly these two major religions of the 21st century moved away from each other during the first centuries after the death of Jesus. Judaism places emphasis on actions that focus primary questions on how to respond to the eternal covenant G-d made with Israelites and new converts, as recorded in the five books of the Torah, the Oral Torah contained in the Talmud, and other writings given by Moses. Christianity, since the First Council of Nicaea 325 A.D. , has placed the emphasis on “correct belief”, with some Protestant denominations have gone so far as to claim human actions are irrelevant, based upon the doctrine of Sola fide (Latin: by faith alone). Simply put, as Christians we achieve “OUR” salvation (the Heavenly Kingdom of God) through accepting “Jesus the Christ” as “OUR” Lord and personal Savior.