THE REVELATION OF OUR OWN MORTALITY....Where does it lead us?

written by Michelle Gold, 9-11-2012
Based on 1 Peter 1:24 and 25

“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.

When people have a revelation of their own mortality, we begin to seek more deeply those things which are eternal…something more lasting and more meaningful.
This morning, the early morning news showed the twin towers going up in smoke. I was there that day. Well not there in the buildings but just 30 blocks away in New York City. I was at my singing lesson and then scurrying thru the streets over to Joe's office to see if he was safe. He was.

But Joe and I felt an enormous hole in our hearts that day as if smoke went up in our hearts. We watched something GLORIOUS & seemingly unmovable and unshakable - the twin towers, go up into flames and smoke. We saw friends and friends of friends leave this life in moments. We felt heavenly tears falling from the sky.
It was the evil of this world, it was one of the greatest tragedies I had ever seen.

Joe and I offered blood at the hospital but were turned away so instead we hit the streets to talk to strangers about the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, who sent the Messiah to die for us so we could have everlasting life…the God who could bring comfort to their hearts. I felt like I wish I could have done much more but being in such shock, I wasn't sure what else to do at the time. I lost a very close friend and friends of friends.

Like the Titanic or much worse, something glorious, something seemingly unshakable WENT DOWN.

The message of hope and healing today?

1. Let us mourn with those who mourn and pray deeply for the families who lost loved ones. This is what the Lord Himself has asked of us. If you lost someone, please know I and praying deeply for you today and mourn with you.

2. Let us be wholeheartedly drawn to a loving relationship with our Heavenly Father as a child runs into his/her daddy's arms. Recoginzing our own mortality will lead us to reach for God who longs to be the lover of our soul. When buildings fall, when loved ones are lost and gone, when hurts run too deep to put into words, we have a powerful love pouring down from the heavenliness which does not fail us. In addition to love, we have the promise of a far greater life than this when we die- a perfect life where there are no more tears and no more suffering. (John 14:6 and the Book of Revelation, chapter 21)

3. Let us become people of healing ACTION. In Hebrew and in the Jewish tradition, we say "Tikkun Olam"- referring to our unquestionable responsibility to repair the world. A pastor friend of mine reminded me of the story of the little boy in the Bible who had very little to give…his measly lunch!!! But the Lord was able to multiply it and feed the multitudes.

With the little that we have to give; a kind word, a loving tone, an unexpected gift, a heartfelt loving prayer for a friend, a dinner invitation to a lonely soul, a song, dance or artistic work with a healing message, we can bring reparation to the world. Though it sounds idealistic, we must believe that it is not. We must believe that we can be a light for those who stand or sit in darkness.

MY PRAYERS BE WITH THE FAMILIES OF THOSE LOST IN 9-11

BUT AM I WORTH IT?

My emotions are bursting as I type, not knowing what to say or how to express myself. But I am passionatly aware that the enemy of my soul has tried to trick me more than once into thinking I am not worth it. There have been times that even though my BRAIN says, I am loved and I am crowned with splendor by God, I fear I am not worth one thought, one friendship, one heart. "Give up live ministry performance!" the voice says. "No one cares about your message & your existance," the voice says.

But then I recall the voice of my God, the voice of my mother and the voice of my husband and mentor Joe Franco. All three of these voices have  been powerful influences in my life. All three of these have spoken (to me or about me) with greatness of attitude and overwhelming excitment about my future. The Word of God in the Jewish Scriptures (book of Jeremiah) says that God has plans to prosper me and you. There are tons of beautiful scriptures about how I am (and you are also) a crown of splendor in God's mighty hand and how when we believe in Him, we become a royal priesthood, a holy nation...ROYALTY!!!

I try therpay on myself. "SNAP OUT OF THIS," my heart yells at me. "None of us feels we are worth much at all until the Lord comes along and shows us our value is in Him." A more gentle kind of therapy follows. I imagine how I would react if my own daughter told me she doesnt feel worth anything. Oh my goodness and if SHE said she wasnt worth it to ME, I would utterly embrace her. I would look her in the eyes and with every bit of ferver within me, I would tell her that her feelings are not facts. I would tell her she is worth more than the moon and the stars to me.

So what do we do with our twisted minds? How do we tame the thoughts which turn us away from God's will and from loving ourselves? We MUST surround ourselves with praiseworthy friends who lift us up, music which lifts us up and the Word of God. We MUST pray & let God heal us. We can do that now.

LET'S PRAY TOGETHER:
Father forgive me for thinking I am not worth it. You made me and I dont mean to insult your beautiful works. You said in Psalm 145 that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Help me to love and value myself each day no matter what I do or dont do and no matter what others say or don't say. Lord, love me and teach me how to love myself as you do.
Love, your princess, Michelle Gold

Inspired by this article: http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/what-am-i-worth-faq.htm

Most radical thing I ever wrote...Is the body of Messiah relevant today?

This is the most radical article I have ever written. If you are a pastor reading this or a Rabbi reading this, this article may not be for you. You might be filled with love and care already & have no issues here. So then please disregard this and help me pray for others.

Numbness of heart, burn out, apathy, Acadia, compassion fatigue...these are words which come to mind when one thinks of some present day leaders who have been out there a long time giving their everything to heal the souls of man through the power of God and much dedication. Sadly, The great Worship Leader, the phenomenal Pastor, the great Missionary or Musician-ary can often relate to the above feelings and it has caused a dilemma in the body of Messiah or the church today.

I am writing because I feel it is a problem worth solving that few have the freedom to show they care these days, even the best of us leaders. Lord knows I have felt this way at points of my ministry and bringing it to God in truth, He has healed me, filled me and given me His heart again which cries out for his people like a mother to the motherless.

But the lack of freedom to care makes it impossible for The church to  become more relevant to the spiritually starving world. I think I have seen the solution for some time taught to me by my favorite pastor, Pastor Alex in NY. Though not perfect, his life goal as a leader is to show he cares. The motto of the church is "the church that cares." Many have walked in off the streets and have found the love they were looking for. This love has lead them to the Lord and to salvation. What these folks felt was real and lasting. They weren't just numbers, they were people who were cared about.

 Having NOT been raised in a church or congregation, I have a keen sense of awareness for what the world is looking for and why they are NOT finding church relevant in their lives. I want to write this to cry out to my friends in ministry. We might feel we are doing just fine keeping hurting people at a safe distance, but often times, we are all guilty! We MUST ask God to fill us like never before with much much more compassion, HIS Compassion, HIS HEART for the lost and hurting.

We must find listening ears to hear people's problems and take time to pray with them even if that time is limited, we must make room in our schedules for those in need.Too many people feel (and I have too often felt) they are just numbers- "FRIENDS" on facebook or "LIKED" in business, loved only until recruited. We all know all that love is not deep and it doesn't heal wounded hearts and equip people for great works. Let's ask God to make us more available and to make us to care even more than we did before!

If we don't truly love like Jesus or Yeshua loves, everything to God is a clanging gong or symbol...noise to His ears. And I don't wanna be noise. I want to be a sweet sound.

This dilemma of lack of time or ability to show we care hits the best of us. Some Pastors and leaders, when they first started out, treasured every moment with a person in need, counseling them and praying with them.  All the sudden, Their needed and hired workers to delegate small tasks to are not present. Leaders become overworked and too busy. No one volunteers so the leaders are spending time "waiting tables" like the dilemma story in the Bible where the disciples were not able to do their best serving God and His people because of mundane tasks which overwhelmed them.

Solution #1:
We need volunteers and workers to back all these great pastors and Rabbis!  Who will go? Who will "wait tables" so pastors can spend time on the phone with the hurting in these last days when people are selling their blood to pay for food and dad's cant afford health insurance for their families?

Solution #2:
It is my strong conviction that congregations and churches need to catch the vision again of small groups implemented the right way. I have seen small groups work wonders and change lives. The Pastor cant do everything! Just like in the book of Exodus when Moses' Dad was told to divide the people into small groups and appoint leaders over them all, we are in dire need of this model today.

If we get into small groups of 10 or 15 with loving trained leaders who can call us when things go wrong and pray with us and encourage us, people will be honestly cared about. When the sheep are fed and blessed, they will bring in more sheep and the congregations will grow.

Yes, it's a risk to bring in other leaders. But done right with good training, it could be the best thing that ever happened to your ministry. It's the model God himself provided so how can you go wrong? As with any relationships, there is risk but when true loves comes in, revival begins.

Isn't church or congregation good just the way it is? doesn't church and congregation still provide a place for us to be encouraged? Absolutely! It's like a giant pep rally! The Bible commands we do not forsake the gathering together. At times, I have been in the worst of moods and walked out of services feeling like with God's power, I can conquer all.

But bottom line, I cannot walk in the full power of God if I am not fully supported during my daily week. I need a small group with a leader who can talk for 5 minutes and or pray if I have a need. Most people would attend church or congregation if they could find a person or leader who truly cares like that. And many do find it bless the Lord.  But A pastor or leader of a 100 person congregation or more probably will not have time for me.

Solution #3: I also propose one more thing. Having been through years of therapy- for those who know my story- I have found amazing help in the 12 step program and because of what I learned, I know how to listen to a person's issues without judging and provide possible options for them based on my own experience (not as much experience as you probably have since I am only 36 years old but I try)

You'd be surpised how many times I called a leader for counsel and they just told me to get over it or they forgot to pray with me. No options offered there or discussions of what my values or needs were. Other leaders have been AWESOME, guiding me into my true destiny with love by sharing their experience and offering options.

Why shouldn't leaders be trained in how to share their experience, strength and hope and give options to  folks who need counsel? Or if not, why shouldn't every church have a counseling staff if not the Pastor?  Al anon 12 step program can train a person for free on how to counsel though they never claim to do so. or somebody could create a training program for leaders to equip them on how to counsel. This would make the church /the body of Messiah SO MUCH More relevant today.

Not to say people cannot give and bless others when they are hurting. I have seen many give and share and bless even while in pain. I am just proposing- wouldn't the church and body of Messiah be 100 percent more effective and powerful if we could minister to each individual like so? Just imagine what we could do together in His name? Imagine how much more the Ruach Ha Kodesh (spirit of God) could move if we settled some of our issues and problems and became more available to serve others...

What do you think? Love to hear your opinion

Goodbye Death, Hello life! La Chaim!

"A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. 10 Paul went down, and fell upon him, and embracing him said, “Don’t be troubled, for his life is in him.” (The World English Bible Messianic Version)

Lately, I have felt doomy and gloomy allowing negative thoughts to convince me of their worth. The thoughts say, "This cold you have will just never go away," "you will never get ahead financially," you are stuck at your current weight and you might as well just continue not thinking about it, "you try to get close to God but He is going to feel far away for the rest of your life."

If you are reading this and you have these thoughts too, let's stand against the itty bitty hogwash committees in our heads and call the evil one a liar! Yes, the evil entity (whom I believe is called ha satan in Hebrew) who seeks to destroy our very lives. This evil being seeks to strip us of hope for our future and of our faith.

The most memorable scripture I have heard which also comes alive to me now is about FAITH. Faith is being SURE of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Knowing this, our feelings and thoughts have NO POWER over you and over me today. It's healthy to acknowledge them and maybe pat yourself on the back like a child and validate yourself (eg- "I know you feel that way and I understand why you feel so down)

BUT BUT BUT, God reminds us in this story from scripture above, that there is no need to be troubled because "LIFE IS IN HIM!" I lay my hands upon my head and my heart one at a time and I now prolaim life. WIll you join me? I say, "I refuse to be troubled, LIFE IS IN ME!" The God who has the power to GIVE LIFE loves me and you. The Messiah who rose from the grave and defeated death LIVES in us when we believe. His LIFE is in us. He breathes in us. HIs confidence, hope, determination and strength to go forward in faith LIVES in us.

So today, as in my Jewish traditions of old, I thank the almighty One for life- not just physical life but life in my heart and in my mind, I proclaim it and relinquish all thoughts and feelings which bring me to the grave of despair. TO LIFE! I say, "La Chaim!"

I pray you are encouraged today with me by this scripture and inspiration.
Are you celebrating life today? If not, invite Yeshua into your heart and He will fill you with rivers of living water and give you life. He said Come onto me all you who are weary...

Love you!
michelle gold

IS SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL DWINDLING IN THIS GENERATION?

Recently I read a very heart stirring article by Mitch Glaser, head of Chosen People Ministries, one of the greatest Jewish outreach ministries in the world. The article posed a question about the dwindling support for Israel in our current generation. Here is my response pasted from his blog page. Love to hear your thoughts...

"Thank you Mitch for your sharing about such a vital topic. I can tell you that for many years, though proud to be a little Jewish girl from Brooklyn, I was not even aware of how important it is to support Israel.

I was raised to think of Israel as a state and not as a people, my people. I was even raised to resent that Israel could need or require more support than Jews anywhere else in the world. Besides, my Dad would tell me about all the Jewish people on Kings hwy in Brooklyn and in Russia- they needed my “support” or so he taught me there was nothing different about Israel.

But I know now that there is. What changed my heart towards Israel is this. My friend Byron Spradlin said to me, Michelle, if you don’t go (and help the Jewish people) who else will? That day I realized that I was called as a Jewish woman like Esther to bring salvation to my people, for such a time as this.

I came to realize that though there are Jewish people all over the world, that most of my Jewish PEOPLE live in the land of Israel. It then dawned on me that the land is vital because our people are the heartbeat of God. (as stated in Romans 10 when Paul expressed his desire to see my people saved) God longs for us.

I have a deep love and support for Israel like never before. Yes, some might argue that supporting Israel is a political thing and that the topic should stay out of the church. But the Lord has shown me, the contrary. Israel is His people, that’s a spiritual topic. Supporting Israel is part of the great commission. I feel like God is saying to the church today, “If you love my people, you’ll protect their land.”

michelle gold
http://www.michellegold.com
Music described as Celine Dion & Beyonce meet Yeshua Jesus in Jerusalem.

Pasted from the Blog of Dr. Mitch Glaser
Hear related Song, "Shalom" at official michellegold blog page. Scroll down to"download mp3."