Chapter 1: Introduction to commandment

Amen. [clears throat] Thank you Paul. Thank you Paul. So as Paul had mentioned and as you guys uh know uh the topic of uh today’s meeting is the second greatest commandment. I wanted to provide some context here. I do have some scriptures that I’ll be sharing later on. I apologize in advance that I don’t have slides um but I’ll be reading them uh first to share to provide some context on the scripture that was referenced in the title uh Matthew 22 36-4 it reads teacher which is the great commandment in the law Jesus said to him you shall love the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind this is the first and great commandment and the second is like it you shall Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. And so, as

we know, Jesus obviously came, preached only Torah, followed the Torah, lived the Torah, is the Torah, the living incarnation uh of the word in the flesh. And he references in this scripture. He didn’t come to obviously start anything new, but referencing in the scripture a commandment from the Torah. Something that uh not everybody is maybe aware of the fact that it is from the Torah because it’s not part of the ten commandments which most of the people are aware of. But this second commandment that Jesus is referencing, as many of you may know, is from Leviticus 19:1 18 where it says, “You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” So, this second greatest commandment is going to be the topic of our conversation uh

today. As I said, uh Glenn and I will be providing some uh some context, some scriptures for conversation and thought, and then we’ll open it up. I’ll help facilitate the conversation amongst us all to be able to uh encourage and and sharpen one another. So, let me pass it over to uh Glenn to provide us a little bit more understanding on the scripture and what we’ll be talking about today.

Chapter 2: Parables of mercy and judgment

Well, good morning everybody. Shabbat shalom. So glad to see all your smiling faces. the the scriptures that we’re going to pull from today. Everybody probably knows them by heart, but I want to read them even though we know them uh just to set a foundation because you would think that this is like a pretty easy easy question to answer, but I want to pose it in a way that that uh we can learn from each other and we we can listen to your opinions on how to manage this great commandment. So, I’m going to start in Luke 10 and verse 25. This is the parable of the Good Samaritan. And I’m going to read it quickly because I know that you guys are all very familiar with it. Verse 25 says, “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him,

saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And he said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” And so he answered and said, “You shall love Yehovah your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered rightly. Do this and you will live.” But he wanting to justify himself self said to Jesus, “Who’s my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among the thieves who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, a certain priest came down the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a

Levite, when he arrived at the place, he came and looked and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set him on his own animal, and brought him to an end, and took care of him. On the next day when he departed, he took out two dinari and gave them to the inkeeper and said to him, “Take care of him, and whatever more of these men, when I come again, I’ll repay you.” So which of these do you think was the neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? And then he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” Now, brethren, I want to turn over to um Matthew 25.

And somebody mentioned this in our earlier conversation, but Matthew 25 is when the Son of Man will judge the nations. We’re going to look at verse 31, and then we’ll talk context here. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. He’ll set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. And then the king will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was

thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him saying,”Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in? Or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?” And the king will answer and say to them, “Assuredly I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these of my brethren, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those on the left hand, “Depart from me. You cursed into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was

hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not take me in. Naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison, you did not visit me. Then they will also they also will answer him saying,”Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?” And he will answer them, saying, “Assuredly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” So, brethren, we can we can see from this that

Chapter 3: Challenges of helping others

Christ says that we’re judged by how we treat each other, by how we help each other. Now, where I live, we I live near a freeway a few blocks away, and we’ve got a lot of homeless beggars. And I’ve lived here for a long time, so I’ve seen the same people. Um, they work in groups and, you know, they swap corners and everything, but they don’t want to be in shelters. They want to do what they’re doing. I have a friend of mine that runs a um a Protestant missionary for the homeless and uh most of them uh you know where uh this family serves some people. They’re all drug addicts and you know they don’t want to be in a shelter. They want to you know do what do what they’re doing. [snorts] Um so it’s a real problem. You know it’s kind of like having a straight cat. you’ve got empathy for the cat, but

if you feed the cat, then you end up with with a u a bunch of cats. If you supply the needs to the to the pan handlers, you get an encampment in your backyard. So the um the question I got a couple of questions that we can do is how do we apply this? When do we apply this? When have you had the opportunity to be a Good Samaritan? And when and and what what kind of judgment are you using to say when when is that appropriate? When is that inappropriate? When is um helping people not really helping people? So, it’s kind of a complicated issue because there’s so much need out there. Boy, look at all those hands raised. It’s amazing, Glenn. I think one of the first things that I was convicted of when considering this was um just the number of times

that you see somebody standing on the side of the road and are or just along your along your daily journey, you see people that are less fortunate than you and it’s obvious that they are. I’m not talking about the ones where you have to wonder, are they making a living panhandling? But um and even then, you know, there there’s a level of conviction that goes with that that we’re called to serve into those uh even though it may not necessarily be financially, but to to talk to them and be that light to them and example uh that cuz we don’t know, you know, I in my journey, I’ve had uh conversations where the discussion was, well, what about somebody that you know, you have concerns that they’re a drug addict, and if you try to help them financially, uh you know, they’re going to go off and either buy booze or or

drugs. And uh I don’t know that we’re called to care about that. We’re called to serve. You know, we we have to uphold our obligation and be the example and just trust that there’s a seed planted in our actions that he will bring to life. We’re not responsible for that. We’re responsible. That is um that you’re you’re absolutely right. And I don’t want to take away from what you’ve said, but I just want to the the fact is is when we supply the needs of these people, we bring them into our neighborhood and we’re not we’re we’re creating a safety concern for the houses around that neighborhood. Um, and I didn’t realize that. I used to I used to have a stack of fives in my in my glove box and and I would hand them

out uh until I I until the the level of theft went up in our neighborhood and the security of our kids walking to and from school was really coming into play. And I go, “Okay, well, you know, I’m not serving my neighbor by, you know, feeding this problem over here.” So, I I’ll just throw that out there because it is more complicated. There’s more things to consider um than you might first think and I I I can appreciate that. And I don’t think it’s necessarily I don’t think money is always the answer. I think sometimes spending time and having that conversation and the dialogue and and that to me is more fruitful than, you know, using your example, handing them a $5 bill, you know, uh that’ll get them so far. Maybe maybe you escort them to a store and buy them food and have a conversation and witness rather than, you know, passively, you know, here you

go and then you drive on and there’s no witness. So with that, I’ll let somebody else take the rates. Thank you, Richard. Luke Landis, sure. Well, it’s a to to add to that, and I I’ve always just kind of had a simple a simple philosophy with people who I think they I think the general term is panhandling, maybe would be the word. Um, listen, I’m I’m I’m trying to help somebody. My intentions are absolutely good. what they do with the money is not on me. And um you know, I’ve actually and I’m not saying this to I’m pat myself on the back, but I’ve actually gone to a homeless encampment and I actually uh I asked if I could film there and I did a face, this was many years ago, I did a Facebook live just to create awareness that not everybody who are in these encampments are drug addicts. Um I

wanted to share their story and it was really cool what happened. um if I could just other people in the community u met with me and we put together care packages of things that we knew that they needed um toothpaste, deodorant, stuff like that and you know we were a able to share the gospel with them and um so to answer your question I don’t know I think it it’s it’s a hard issue and that’s all it is. It’s just purely heart issue. You know, I think if we’re we’re trying to do take and show love to our brothers and sisters by doing these things, I don’t think I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. And they’re not coming into my they’re not coming into my neighborhood. I’m going to theirs. Yeah. Thanks for sharing, Luke. I think that uh both you and and Richard mentioned and it’s that refers back to the scripture that that Glenn had uh um

shared earlier and that is you know sometimes giving the money is is the easy solution but in the Bible specifically Jesus was talking about feeding them and clothing them right meeting their physical needs um that is something that you know you have somewhat control if that’s your concern about what they would do with with the with the support and assistance, you know, that that is something, you know, hopefully that especially when it comes to food and drink and clothing that they will be able to utilize uh themselves. And so uh that may alleviate some of the concerns or the the um issues that Glenn had uh brought up. Let’s continue with Angel.

Chapter 4: Mindset of poverty and giving

It’s kind of a a very broad and large subject today because you know on the other end you know now of course we know that we can’t always there’s there’s always something to give um but financially you can’t always you know open up your pockets but um my mindset that is okay. You’re doing two things when you’re giving. You’re not only giving to that person, but you’re also giving to the Lord. It’s as though you handed it handing handed what he loaned you right back to him. Uh and so like in that second part of the passage, he said, “When I was sick, you visited me. When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me.” Mhm. Um, so I I hear a lot of people and I had a conversation yesterday with a gentleman and he had said, you know, if they’re

not going to work, you know, I’m not going to help them, blah, blah, blah. And I said, “Well, you know,” I said, “You know what? We’ve got to understand is that we were given mercy and and in return, we’re to give mercy.” And so I guess my main thing is if you can’t look at it in any other way, look at it as though you’re giving back to him what he so richly blessed you with. Um, and it and you’re right, it does not have to be uh money. It could be food. It could be a kind word. Um, Definitely the gospel that’s lifesaving. Uh so that’s my two cents. Amen. Thank you, Angel David Barrow. Hey. Hey shalom. Um shalom. There’s a great series called um when helping hurts. And I mean no offense by

this anybody, but 99% of the time money is never the answer. Um, poverty is not a um material issue. Poverty is a mindset. It’s a it’s an emotion. It’s like a um it’s like it’s almost like a disease. It’s from broken relationships and um especially relationships with God. And when these people feel that they have no purpose in life and when they feel that they have no nothing to offer anybody, they go into a depression. And it’s really hard to target what’s causing that. Um, we belong to a we we’re partners with a place a ministry in Africa that we go to. And what we what we did there is we built a training center to teach people agriculture and to teach people how to create small businesses that um benefit their villages. But we you cannot give them money and you cannot give them um materialistic items because it never ever one time solves the issue.

It’s it’s just a handout and it and sometimes you just become an enabler. But that being said, just because, you know, these people that we see here in America are on drugs or they’re, you know, drunk or whatever they’re doing, it does not mean that they don’t deserve to eat or to be warm or to have a drink of water on a hot day. Um, and so essentially, I guess what we try to do is we try to provide them with if if we see that they’re hungry, we we’ll bring them food, but you can’t really give them money because they’ll just And that was essentially the reason that we had left here in America and started traveling over there because it’s just a different mindset. We would hand out food and we would hand out water and we would do these things here,

but it was always just like a kind of a look of disappointment that it’s not cigarettes or that’s not a fifth of alcohol or that, you know, it’s not something physically beneficial to them from a standpoint of money. It’s very strange. Um, I would just recommend that people watch that. It’s it’s a really good series just about missionary work and the mentality that goes into poverty. Here in the West, we have every comfort imaginable. Um, but when you go overseas and you see people with nothing, poverty doesn’t come from them having nothing. It comes from a lack of of worthfulness. They feel worthless. They feel that they have nothing to offer anybody. So, yeah, just Amen. David, I I would just add that the Good Samaritan was not helping a chronically homeless person. Okay, good point, Emily. Shabbat shalom, everyone.

Shalom. So, what you just said, Glenn, um about the Good Samaritan, I’ll just touch on that really quickly first. Um it brings about the question of who is my neighbor which is what he asked and you know studying out that Good Samaritan parable um it does bring into question who is that person and is it talking about just anyone or is it talking about you know it’s a it’s not just a surface level helping someone there’s deep meaning because there’s the priest there’s the Levite there’s the Samaritan which you know they were all brothers. Um and so anyway, moving past that cuz I have sometimes just wanted to do a total deep dive into all these you know words of you know who truly is my neighbor. Um, and then when you said, you know, in Matthew 25:31, you know, helping um, whoever helps the

least of these my brethren, is it talking about everybody or is it talking about my brethren? You know, and Jesus said, “Who is my mother and brother and sister? Those who do do the will of my father in heaven, those are my brethren.” And I’m not trying to say don’t help people that aren’t in the faith, but it does bring into question where should we be focusing our help. You know, you will love them by their love for one another. And um you know I’ve really struggled sometimes um try not to get emotional but it’s like with I want I’m I want to be a cheerful giver but father show me where you know it’s like I don’t just want to throw my money everywhere and be supporting things that aren’t exalting his name. I don’t want to support things that are supporting a false gospel or a partial

gospel. You know, I was for a while supporting this um ministry in India because they said they fed the orphans, right? I thought, “Oh, I want to support orphans orphans. Jesus told us to do that.” However, come to find out it wasn’t orphans. And then come to find out it’s a false gospel and then come to find out he’s telling everyone merry Christmas. I’m like what? So I, you know, it’s like why do I want to support that message? Okay, yeah, he may be feeding some kids that are in a poverty situation, but there’s so many places that I can focus my giving. And we got 2.2 2 billion Christians in the world, you know, let them support these false gospel ministries. And that’s just my personal opinion. I know that’s kind of harsh, [laughter] but

very, very interesting point and very interesting perspective that you bring up, Emily. We’ll see you if there’s any other comments in that direction. Sean, good morning everybody. Shabbat shalom.

Chapter 5: Ministering to the community

Um, shalom. as as the he was uh Glenn was reading the scriptures, you know, it just kind of hit me um and just going through these passages and and about the Good Samaritan and I don’t always look at it as, you know, I look at it more from a spiritual level as well too, right? So, it’s like it’s not always talking about the homeless and and these people. It’s like we have people living next door that need food and need clothing and you know it’s like our communities um we don’t always have to go to the homeless shelter or someplace down the road to you know to minister and provide that that guidance you know um I know some others in our fellowship might be going I’m you know I’m unemployed right now and and that’s fine I that doesn’t mean I’m poor right so we we say certain things and it it puts certain things in

people’s heads to think that we’re a certain way or or we’re dealing with things in a certain way. I’m we’re um very very blessed, you know, as I go through um kind of dealing with those things in my life, but I want and it’s like talking with Lori, I want to continue to give, want to continue to minister to others and and to reach out and um you know, and just working with our with the church community that was with before, it’s like you I felt like I was pigeonhold into doing things a lot of times. seems to do, you know, and it’s we’re always ministering to people wherever we go. So, and whenever I talked to my pastor before, he it’s like I I said, “I’m always doing this. I’m always ministering.” And and I don’t think he understand what I was saying.

Um because he just wanted me to I felt like go to minister to these people right here in this group. Um you know, and again, it I’ll I’ll do that because that’s what I always do, but it’s much greater. It’s everybody that I come in contact with you know, each and every day just to to share, you know, um and and when Glenn was um talking through, you know, just with the it’s like the people that I don’t I don’t know. I’m kind of reading through this. I’ve I’ve um listened to a couple other um uh podcasts, I guess you’d say, or YouTube groups that, you know, when we’re talking about the people that I’m a believer. I should be doing these things, but I don’t always do those things. But there’s also people that

believe or at least think they’re believers. They do all those things. They’re great people. They they minister. So, I’m kind of working through that as well. um just because you’re good and take care of things, there’s there’s things missing there. You you may not be saved. Um you know, I’m not going to be the judge of that. Um but we’re known by our fruits, right? And so I’m kind of working through that as well as we, you know, there was two groups of people I feel like he was talking in in the scripture there, you know, and and prophetically it’s like at the end, you know, when when Yeshua returns, it’s like are those people that did, you know, maybe they don’t accept the mark of the beast or whatever. do they still do they have an opportunity to

come to Christ during that time um during the you know that millennial reign at that time. So again I’m just kind of working through these things um and so just kind of some of my thoughts there as we we go through and discuss this topic. Thank you. Yeah I’m I’m working through some of this too Sean. Aren’t we all? Aren’t we all? And thank you for bringing that up that there is a journey, right? And there is there are expectations that are set before us, but we are all working through them trying to understand exactly how they apply to us, how we can apply them uh ultimately with the goal of of glorifying God and then uh so uh serving as a light to those that are around us. So thank you for sharing that Chris.

Shalom. Yeah, this is this is a good question and it’s probably a controversial one in and just the faith in general because a lot I think there’s a big misunderstanding of of a lot of it. So like when you look through Proverbs you see kind of a you see a a difference of opinion on different things where there’s people who are unwilling to work and then there’s those that are that are unable to work and I think they kind of get confused sometimes. You got like Proverbs where it says like whoever is slack in his work is a brother ofuh to him who destroys. And then uh a little sleep a little slumber and poverty will come upon you like a robber. But then you also have Proverbs where it’s like who is whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in

your power to do it. So you see this clear distinction of like who who’s being lazy versus who just can’t help themselves. And kind of where we play that role. Um sometimes people use Paul’s um when he says whoever’s unwilling to work let them let them not eat. And people use that as like oh we shouldn’t be helping the poor because they’re um they’re not working so they shouldn’t eat. But it’s important that you realize that he says who’s whoever is unwilling to work, not whoever is unable to work. And it’s just it’s a common theme where laziness is rebuked and then poverty is is condemned or isn’t condemned. Um, and I think that’s the point of the Good Samaritan is like be be a helping individual to the people who can’t help themselves, but like not necessarily condemn, but rebuke those who are just lazy and unwilling to

do the work themselves. Um, and and being able to discern that maybe maybe you can’t always, especially with people who are panhandling. Maybe they really are in need and they don’t know what else to do. Um, I think that comes down to a little bit of discernment on figuring out how we can still engage these people and help them out in life. Um, without necessarily giving them something, uh, any more than advice or trying to light a fighter under their bud or something like that. That’s just kind of like my thought process on it. But thanks for sharing, Chris. Uh Paul Paul the Lord. Just going back to um the Good Samaritan parable in uh Luke. Uh it seems to me that the um the Levite and the priest would have been ritually unclean and

therefore be unable to perform their temple service [snorts] in their occupations if they had helped the um the wounded man and the the Samaritan was not under those occupational restrictions. So there is that to um consider. Um, but I think the mo most important thing that Yeshua was pointing out was um the priest and the Levite were um working under the assumption of the letter of the law and the Samaritan was working under the assumption or of um the spirit of the law. even though the Samaritans were kind of a synchronistic um belief system at the time. So that’s just what I’m my little two cents. Whether it’s worth any um kind of uh applicability today maybe goes to discernment um as to where we are to um focus our our time, energy and uh financial

resources as well. So that’s that’s just for me. Thanks.

Chapter 6: Personal acts of service

Great. I’ve got a story to share, David, if it’s a good time. Sure. Go ahead. Yeah. Uh, Sunday before last, a friend of mine uh was walking her dogs and we had this big ice storm here and she slipped and she lives alone with her dogs. She slipped and she broke her leg and and uh so she was screaming and some neighbors came out and they called an ambulance and she called me and told me what happened. She at that point she wasn’t in a lot of pain cuz she was in shock but she told me what happened and [snorts] wanted a neighbor was going to go stick the dogs inside. wanted me to go over there and and you know uh close up her house. And um so I did that. I ran over there, closed up her house, then uh drove over to the ER and was with her there as she

was screaming through, you know, this enormous pain. They were giving her all kind of pain medicine, but it it really wasn’t helping. Uh [snorts] they finally knocked her out and um u kind of lined up her leg and wrapped it. Uh but they knew that she was going to after x-rays, they knew she was going to have to have surgery. So that was on a Sunday night. So she uh surgery was scheduled for Tuesday. Well, uh dogs can’t live alone in her house. So, uh, I became a a doggy daddy and I went picked up her dogs, took them to my house, and, uh, they they spent, uh, two weeks with me. U, these these were, uh, you talk about a sacrifice, guys. These are little bitty Rugrat dogs, but they’re used to sleeping in bed. Not their bed, but the human bed.

[snorts] And if they don’t get their way, then they uh scratch, squeal, make all kind of noise. You know, it’s like, okay, now I’m I’ve got two bed partners who want to snuggle all night long. [snorts] Well, to complicate this, uh this lady’s name is Tracy. Uh Tracy was closing on a house and uh there was due to close on a house and then was due to move the following week and she’s got a broken leg and she’s in a lot of pain. And so for the next week and a half to two weeks, I was uh at the hospital every day bringing stuff, whatever, you know, she needed co helping coordinate the move, helping coordinate getting her house packed up and basically put had the opportunity to put my life on hold uh for this period of time. Uh, luckily, you know, I’ I’ve got a business and

I’ve got good people to to um, you know, cover me. So, I did that. But after uh, we got her moved last Thursday and uh, you know, in into her house. She was in an apartment and you know, her dogs had to be taken for a walk. Well, now she got into a house when she’s got a yard, [snorts] but she she moved about uh she moved down to Houston. I live in Dallas. Um and so it it after this was over, guys, I was exhausted. I mean, it’s like I need to sleep for 12 hours, two or three days in a row cuz I am just, you know, I’m 73 years old and here I am moving somebody. Um, so it was it was, you know, it was rough, but when the dust settles, I got to tell you, it

it added a level of meaning to my life to be able to help and be able to serve and uh be able to pull off a feat that at the beginning seemed that impossible. So, her leg, she got the surgery full of screws and splints and all that kind of stuff, learning how to deal with the wheelchair. Uh, but we got her moved. It went well. We got our house closed. We got her moved. We got her packed. We got everything. And it it took a team. It took a we had a couple people from her church that came over and helped pack. But man, what a blessing it was to have that opportunity. [clears throat]

Chapter 7: Biblical definition of love

Glenn, thanks for sharing. And I think, you know, this goes uh hand inhand with some of the other comments that were made earlier that loving one another as as Jesus commands us, as the Torah commands us, is not only limited to, you know, like we said, physical needs, um money in that particular case, but definitely acts of service, right? There’s a lot of different ways to love one another. I want to share a few scriptures here when it comes to that. just to kind of potentially broaden the conversation a little bit and kind of uh uh you know expand a little bit more on our conversation of what does it mean to love one another, right? Or to love your neighbor. We talked earlier, Glenn brought up who [clears throat] is your neighbor and trying to focus on the different people that maybe we should be focusing on. I want to talk a little bit

about what loving your neighbor actually looks like. uh and so in that context I want to share a few scriptures here uh definition of love or you know agape love as as many of you know and again apologize that we don’t have these to share on the screen 1 Corinthians 13 starting at verse 4 and I’ll read those it says and this is the New King James Version love suffers long and is kind does not envy love does not parade itself it is is not puffed up. Does not behave rudely. Does not seek its own. Is not provoked. Thinks no evil. Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies that will fail, whether there are tongues that will cease, whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. Romans 12 is another

uh dimension or or definition with respect to, you know, godly love. Let love be without hypocrisy. Romans 12:9, abhore what is evil, cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor, giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. So there’s a lot of different elements and dimension to this whole concept of love. And so when we are called to love one another, again, there’s different ways that we can do that and different uh uh ways that we can impact other people. Um scripture that was brought up earlier, I think it was Emily that brought it up, John 13:34 and 35. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have

loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. Loving one another and serving one another sets us apart. It serves as a way to distinguish those who are following truly following Jesus who are his disciples uh and those that are not. And so, uh, again, this is, uh, you know, to to to Glenn’s, uh, great example, uh, again, this is a great example of something that would not be common or the amount of effort and sacrifice that him and his team uh, the other people that supported him and and uh, and Tracy uh, is something that sets him apart. It helps them to shine in this world and ultimately glorifies God. Uh, another example of love, right? again loving your neighbor or loving one another uh

is uh the call to love your spouse for those who are married. uh specifically uh talking here about the husbands uh in Ephesians 5:25 it says husband love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word and he might present her to himself a glorious church not having a spot or wrinkle on or any such things but that she should be holy and without blemish so that husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. So again, another example of loving someone other than yourself, loving them as yourself, right? What does that mean? What is the amount uh uh what does that love look like? And and finally, again, something that I think Lori had mentioned, the call to love your enemies. Uh, Matthew 5:43-48.

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the heaven and on the good, and sends rain on the on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore, you shall be perfect just as your father in heaven is perfect. And again, the point here that I’m kind of gleaning out of this is

is is that your love should be set apart from the way that the quote unquote world loves, that the tax collectors love or anybody else that loves, right? We need to love in a way that, you know, as Glenn provided a great example, that is sacrificial, that there is a personal sacrifice and quote unquote personal cost, whether it’s monetary and time and talent. That is what true love is and that is what true uh service to one another is. So I wanted to share these additional uh scriptures here and potentially open it up again on your thoughts on these particular things. How uh maybe are are some ways that you have uh put some of these things into practice maybe struggles or challenges that you have things that you’re working on to u become uh more like this call that Yeshua calls us to be. Luke Landis.

Chapter 8: Struggles in loving neighbors

Oh, this one’s a tough one. This one’s probably the hardest one. Um because when I’m in my flesh, especially at the older I get, is really hard to love other people in the fact that it seems like this day and age, people have gotten dumber, people have gotten more confrontational, people have just gotten angrier and and and way more sinful. So in my flesh, it’s just like ah they drive me absolutely nuts. But the way I feel that I am called to love my neighbor, love these people, is to tell them the truth. Um even if it’s hard for them to hear, um we we have to share the truth with them. Um we are called to share the truth. What they do with it, again, that’s between them and our father. But and it’s so hard because I I’m still a human being and I’m still incredibly faulty.

You know what I mean? And I like I said, as I get older, I sometimes I just want to slap people. I’m sorry. That’s not very [laughter] but that’s I mean that’s the honest truth. And to fight that urge is really really difficult and it’s something I’m batt I battle. I I I battle with it every day. But we don’t stop telling people the truth and and unfortunately for me, I’m very blunt and it it gets me into a lot of trouble because I just am very straightforward with people because I want to be I want people to be straightforward with me, you know, and and so that is something that absolutely 100% I’m having to have to work on and it’s a battle every day. That’s all I got to say and thank you Luke for sharing and be open with that struggle which I’m I’m

sure that a lot of us uh encounter that kind of a a struggle. Um so thank you for sharing Luke uh Luke Kender. Hey, David. Shabbat shalom and Glennal and Mitch Pan. Um, yeah, Luke, I get you. Believe me. Uh I [clears throat] you know we were talking earlier about you know coming out of other faiths and starting to walk in Torah as to the best of our ability as we learn as to do as we go to do it as we learn to and go with it. [clears throat] Um, you know, before I came into this walk, I was all about me. I mean, all about me. If it if it didn’t benefit me in some way, I pretty much had nothing to do with it. When I came to the foot of the cross and I realized how I had been living my

life, I I mean I cried for a good week, you know, just balling at just how wretched I truly was then and still am. But how wretched I really was. And I think the definition of love is to be absent of self. is to want to do for others before myself. Um, like we’re we’re talking about [clears throat] um helping your neighbor, love your neighbor as yourself. And like, you know, Luke said, I wield my honesty like a blunt instrument, you know, and people get hurt sometimes because I don’t have a whole mess of filters to to to wash my words through. Um, I I speak off the cuff most of the time and it’s gotten me in a lot of it’s it’s definitely been something that I’ve had to work on uh to choose my words more carefully so as not to offend.

Um but [sighs] I think when we are to love our neighbor as ourself, it is to put that person before my own needs. Um I’ve given away my last dollar many many times um over the last couple of years. uh just because there was a you know a guy on the corner and you know and I when before I give money to somebody I like try to strike up a conversation try to get a handle on you know how they got there you know just ask them who they are how they got where they are you know what are their needs you know and but I feel that the best way I can serve my neighbor is by using the the gifts that God gave me. I’m a contractor and I do as much free work for people as I possibly can. And I have two prices. I

have prices for brothers and sisters in Yeshua. And I have prices for the secular world. Prices for the secular world. If you know, if there’s a job and I meet a client and I don’t particularly like that person and I don’t want to work for them, I’ll double triple the price. And if they bite, okay, then I’ll do the job. But, um, for people at at my co my local congregation, you know, I charge the bare minimum, just the bare minimum, so I could, you know, just I don’t know. I I I used to have a big love of money that I have been absolved of and I am so grateful for that. I I don’t not looking to stockpile my bank account anymore or my IRA or live in the big house, you know, none of those things appeal to me anymore at all and I am so grateful for that.

Um, but you know, I I have I I know all of us have stories of how we’ve we’ve helped, you know, homeless and neighbors and put ourselves out on others behalf. And I think that’s what sets us apart. But I think the important thing is to do all things in his name instead of just doing it to be a good person and to benefit society so I can get a pat on the back but doing it to bring honor and glory to his name I think is the foundation of our faith. So anyway that’s enough admit. Thank you. Amen. Thank you, Luke. Some great points there with respect to sacrificial

Chapter 9: Defining neighbor and brother

giving, using the various talents that God gave us in order to serve one another. Uh, and also the motive behind our love, right? He’s ensuring that we are doing that in order to glorify God ultimately through this all. So, amen. Richard, yeah, I just wanted to touch on something that Luke said. I think he he brushed up against uh going back to the original passage uh about the Samaritan, the the the Good Samaritan. Uh he picked up the guy that was downtrodden. He cleaned and cared for the person that was downtrodden. The money went to the keeper of the end. It never went to the person that was injured. So again I go back to the relationship and the care and concern for the person that was downtrodden and I saw uh you know Asaf mentioning he lives in an Islamic country and asking do is it just the

brothers or is it you know people who are not in the faith and our witnesses to people who are not in the faith because if you recall the Samaritan was looked down upon by the Pharisees. So you’re already crossing political boundaries and religious boundaries just in that parable uh to reach out to those in need. So again I go back to it’s about the relationship. It’s about the intentional care uh for another human being uh despite the differences and then trusting like you know in the parable of the sewer. We are not the swer. We are the soil. Some of us are rocky. Some of us are thorny. Some of us are hard and dry and some of us are good. And whenever the spirit decides to sew seeds, it’s up to the individual uh whether or not the soil has been tilled

and prepared and and whether you’re going to to fertilize. And I I I ask you to think about what is fertilizer. [laughter] You got to fertilize that soil to help help grow stuff. [snorts] So, that means you’re going to walk through some some mess in order to produce a field that is is abundant. Uh, and it’s not just you. It’s all of the people around you that that are growing that that creates a fruitful field instead of an individual stalk with their leaves and fruit that has worms in it. So, thank you, Richard, for sharing that. Uh, Jared, you’re right. Hey, good morning everybody. I just uh I saw in the chat where it always seems to come up where we struggle with sharing to our families and there’s a lot of frustration and trying to get people to see what we have been what our eyes have been open to. And I just wanted to share

a bright spot with y’all this week. Um probably three or four months ago, I had the chance to share with someone on Facebook. I had made a post. It was about the dietary laws. And uh that always seems to get a lot of controversy in the comments from people that I know. And somebody got on there and we went back and forth. And I always try to respond, you know, with scripture in context. And when that conversation ended in the comments, I didn’t really think anything of it. But probably about a week ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and that guy, he was he [clears throat] was on my mind and on my heart. I didn’t know why. And I said a prayer for him. And uh I went I didn’t think about it after that. And y’all,

yesterday he sent me a message on Facebook asking if he could ask me a Bible question and we got into a really good conversation. He said after reading his Bible, it was the Sabbath that jumped out to him that he realized that fourth commandment um that it was still there, that it hadn’t changed and that he hadn’t been honoring it. And we had a very fruitful conversation. And I I just want to when you get a chance to shed some share some light, I feel like you have to. So, I just want to encourage y’all. It’s like several of y’all have said, it’s about relationship. It’s not about what you know or what you believe. They got to know who you are and how you care about them and who you are as a person before they’re ever going to listen to what you’re saying. So, just want to encourage y’all. I love being here. Love you guys.

Amen. Thank you, Jared. That’s great news. Very exciting. Uh, and a great example of what it means to be just, you know, sewing and planting seeds, right? And and then watering it. And that’s pretty much our role. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing. We’re supposed to be sharing what God had shared with us, what what our eyes have been open to and sharing it with one another and then trusting that God, the Holy Spirit will walk uh through that in the hearts of people and at the right time uh and prayerfully their hearts will be ready to receive that message. So, amen. Thanks again Jared for sharing that. Allan in Alabama. Hey, Shabbat shalom everyone. Thank you David. Shalom. Um so I was just really thinking about something that Emily brought up earlier. Um and you and the passage I guess are that we’re studying the Leviticus 19:18.

Uh is is is he really teaching universal humanitarianism there or is this covenant love? Um, neighbor is described in Leviticus 19:18 as the sons of your people. Uh, sojourer is addressed uh, I guess seven or eight verses later in Leviticus 19:34. So, it seems to me that Torah makes a distinction between these two groups of people. And then how do we reconcile that with passages like in Galatians where it talks about especially those of the household of faith or in Matthew uh the least of these my brothers. uh you know, brother is defined and neighbor is defined uh by scripture. And are we are we letting scripture define those terms and are we walking within that definition or are we assuming modern assumptions? Um because our witness is to the nations on on doesn’t doesn’t it say that

the nations will ask who are these people that have such a great Elohim and such great laws that they’re given to them? You know, when we went when Israel went into the land, they weren’t called to make all of the Canaanites Israelites. They were called not to become like the Canaanites. Uh so I I just I just wanted to hear some thoughts on that. Thank you so much. And and I I just love being here. Glenn, any thoughts on that? No, not really. That’s that’s pretty deep stuff. No. No short comments, right? No, no, very very uh very interesting observations or a different perspective on it. Uh Alan and I think it did talk about earlier and and back to the original question is who is our neighbor, right? Is it like you said everybody around us? I think that, you know, and just just to put out there,

I believe that, you know, we’re not in a position, I’m not in a position to know it all and to to be in a position to judge whether someone is a brother or not, is someone is following or not? Especially a lot of these people that I just meet in the street, right? Does that mean that I they need to pre-qualify in order for me to give them love and support? Uh do I have to build this long-term relationship until I can actually be sure that they are my brother and and sister following on the same path uh before I offer them any type of love and and support? And I think that that might be challenging uh if we went down that that path. Um and so you know I think that again this is my personal opinion with respect to comments that were made earlier. I think

we sew right and the sew and the seeds just like in the parable of the sewer. We’re scattering seeds. Some of it falls on hard on hard soil. Some of it falls on soil that has uh um thorns and some of it falls on good soil. Right? But that’s our job is to scatter the seeds and then allow uh God uh and Yeshua to work through that. But uh Amen for definitely uh uh good discussion or something to to ponder further. Yeah, I think coming up in a few uh and and he’s probably got some comments on that I can’t wait to hear. Sure.

Chapter 10: Conclusion and closing thoughts

But I I just want to point out the scripture we quoted in Matthew 25. Christ used the term the least of these and so we that’s the filter is who who is the least of these because you did not do it to the least of these 1 hour, 1 second Jeff Jeff and Bri 1 hour, 9 seconds or Bri Shabbat my husband let me turn the camera okay I didn’t know yes didn’t know Who’s who’s up for it? [clears throat] Go ahead. 1 hour, 17 seconds Okay. So, if you guys don’t mind, these are such great shares. Would it be okay if I go ahead and read Leviticus 19, but read 15-18? Would that be all right? 1 hour, 28 seconds Sure. Go ahead. 1 hour, 29 seconds Um, so ye shall do no judge. Um, you shall do no unrighteousness in judgment.

1 hour, 36 seconds Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. Thou shalt not go up 1 hour, 44 seconds and down as a tailbearer among thy people, neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor. I am Yah. 1 hour, 51 seconds Thou shalt not hate. Some translations say fellow Israelite, but this translation says, “Thou shalt not hate 1 hour, 58 seconds thy brother in thine heart. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am Yah.” Okay. So, um in the past I was just really ruthless with especially my fellow um Christian brothers and

sisters. And it’s been a really hard change for me to go from in my old life working with uh patients in the medical field. I would see 10 15 patients a day and being such a people pleaser and going from communicating with people in that regard to now having the father like just change my heart into not being a respector of persons has been very difficult for me because I went from communicating with people in the world in one way to like communicating in a totally different way that’s totally uncomfortable for me because I used to not speak up and I also have a past of like abuse and trauma. So people pleasing was my thing and fixing and all of these things. So now it’s like when it says you shall do no unrighteousness and judgment. You always hear people say

don’t judge me only God can judge me this and that. And while that’s true only God has the true judgment and only God can condemn us too. Um, it says that we shall judge them in righteousness, though. And when I look at that, I’m like, what does what does that mean? Well, to me, it’s like the only form of judgment that I should be executing is based on his commandments alone, not my opinion, not um anything else. And um where’s the other one? Hate uh rebuke thy neighbor. So, I see like a a problem in the body, too, where like people have a really hard time taking correction, but they also have a hard time giving correction. And I’m not immune to it. I struggle with this big time. But I think that when we look at this as a whole,

it’s difficult because people get so offended so easily. And there’s a psalm in Psalm 119. It says um I think it’s 165. My memory might be wrong, but it says, you know, those who love the father’s law, they shall not be offended. And so I’m having to work hard on letting go of offenses immediately when they come up. And I think there’s a difference between being offended and being like um like with righteous anger, like having your feelings hurt. Um and I think our feelings matter, but we also have to be careful that we’re not it’s so easy. It’s so easy to slip into a respector of persons, especially when it’s with your own family members that you love. Like I’ve had to really work on this. Like I’ll give an example. I have, you know, family members that are in the LGBT, you know, the alphabet community and I’ve had to say some hard things to them. And

I say it in love, though. I say, you know, I I don’t treat them any differently. I’m not going to, you know, but we have to tell the truth. And that can be really hard. Like it’s gut-wrenching, you know, but I think that’s a good point, too. Like, is there a difference between neighbor and fellow Israelite? That’s a good point that was brought up. Um, I think I had more to share, but I get so nervous with public speaking, so my hands are sweating. Great. One last thing, and I wanted to save this for the end because I didn’t want to get emotional, but this is part of like my love. Um, and I’m not playing favoritism here at all, but um, Glenn, you remind me so much of my grandfather, who I love so much. He passed away when I was 16, and he was he was actually a pastor. And there’s so many questions that I would ask him if he’s still

alive, but I wanted to show a picture of him because you even look like him. [laughter] I don’t know if you guys can see. Can you guys see it? Yes, we do. [laughter] I just wanted to give some love to Glenn because just seeing your face in here brings me so much comfort. That’s Amen. Seeing his face and hearing his words. Amen. We are all blessed by that. And thanks for sharing Brie so vulnerably. Um yeah I think the and and several people have shared here earlier that whole element of of sharing the truth speaking the truth to others. It is our responsibility to share that. Yet also uh it is very clear in the Bible that we need to speak the truth in love and we need to balance grace and truth right which Jesus was was the example of that right and some of us tend more towards the grace others [snorts] more towards

the quote unquote truth uh and we need to continue on our journey and in refining ourselves uh to to find that that right balance that ultimately allows us to be effective and productive. Right? That’s the bottom line. That’s what we want to do. When we share, when we put the word out there, granted the word will not come out empty. If we stick to the word of God, then it will do the work for us. Unfortunately, a lot of times we add on to the word and then in some cases reduce the effectiveness of it. Uh and that that’s another area that we need to uh to grow in is just to let the word do its work. Uh but all that to say again is is continuing to grow in our uh sense uh of mercy in in uh um seasoning

our our speech with with salt and and finding that right balance of of grace and truth and speaking the truth and love. So amen. Uh Luke, I’m gonna allow Samuel to share since you’ve already shared earlier and then if we have some additional time, I’ll I’ll allow you to jump back in again. Samuel, brother, welcome. Shabbat shalom, welcome back, brother David. It’s good to see your face. Good to see that you’re doing well. All praises to the most high Yah. Um Elder Glenn, it’s wonderful to see you. Shabbat shalom, Mish Paka. I’m going to start with um addressing brother Allan’s question and this is the way I look at it with respect to my reading of Torah my reading of Tanakh and the brick kadesha my brother and my sister my family when it comes to this walk is defined by

covenant do you recognize Yeshua Hamashiach as master and king and do you guard our Torah. There is no one side or the other side. If you do not hold to Yeshua Hamashiach as king and master and if you do not guard the Torah, you are not my brother and you are not my sister. Now, I have a biological mother and I have biological siblings. But when it comes to the walk itself, when it comes to what the Torah is is addressing, what Messiah is addressing, that is defined by whether or not you are a part of the covenant. Point blank. Period. So you you you can’t say, “I’m a gentile believer. I get to eat pork. I get to go to Sunday service. Um I can do as I please and I can just expect forgiveness for whatever I do.” You can be within the the

takenote of Judaism and not accept Yeshua Hamashiach as as master and and king and consider yourself my brother. Yes, you are a fellow human. Yes, you are a son of Adam, especially if if you are subject to reason and if you conduct yourself as if you have sins, but you are not a son or daughter of the living Elohim. if you are not within the covenant and covenant is clearly defined. Um I I heard what brother Maxwell was was saying. I would only say that if you if you look at what the Apostle Paul said in one of his epistles, he said one sws the other waters to the father goes the increase. So yes, we do sew the seeds with what we spread with our word, which is the testimony of Yeshua Hamashiach and the instructions that are given to us in Torah. Yes, we are seedcasters.

We are seedcasters. But the set but the set aart spirit is what determines whether or not a person who is receptive to the word is that fertile soil and whether it’s going to take root and grow or if the the thistles and the weeds are going to strangle it out before it has a chance to really blossom. Because it all comes down to whether or not a person is going to be willing to walk the narrow path without deviation. Who is my neighbor? I mean, we’re we’re looking at this thing in the diaspora. We’re looking at it within the scattering. So, at the time that these instructions were given, you’re talking about people who live together in the land or people who live together in community. So, your neighbor was going to be someone who also walked in Torah. your neighbor was going to be someone who

held to the covenant to varying degrees of success probably. But when when the master sent out the the 70 with the instructions that you know when you go to a house eat what they offer you, it wasn’t because they were going to be offering pork sausages. It wasn’t because they were going to be offering things that had been offered to idols. They were going out to to individuals who were also walking in covenant, but they had not received the good news that the Messiah had come. Another thing to consider when we talk about giving, when we’re talking about charity, when we’re talking about arms, we’re dealing with a completely different situation than when the instructions were given. Because the whole point was that we are dealing with agriculture. We’re dealing with land. We have an aotment of land. We are

growing gardens. We’re feeding ourselves. And what are the instructions when it comes to the gardens? You’re not to glean the corners of the garden. that to be left for those who are in poverty, for the widows, for the orphans, and for the stranger, those who are outside the covenant, but are within the bounds of our gates. So, how does that apply now? Because it’s not like we’re we’re dealing with land aotments and farming. We’re talking about people who have jobs or pro possibly businesses. And we’re not talking about crops that we can take and offer to the most high and share with each other and eat ourselves. We’re dealing in currency. So, how do you take the principle of what Torah is telling us and apply it to today? How do we do it? That’s what we have to really think through.

That’s the the the the issue because Messiah said the poor will be with you always. And when Paul said if if when when it when you hear something like you don’t work, you don’t eat, the assumption is that you have employment or you have soil to till you can grow your own food. If you’re in a concrete jungle, where is that possibility? Where is it? It’s not there. Now, you may choose to buy food and to provide food. That’s perfectly fine. You have to operate within the wisdom of the ruach in terms of how you’re dealing with this. And there are certain considerations you have to have within our current context, but there’s absolutely no question that we’re supposed to give. And how is anyone going to be receptive to the to the good news if they’re starving? Which is why

at the sermon on the mount at the time before when when Messiah was was getting ready to to to preach, he fed the masses. You feel their belly first, then they’re receptive to hearing. You can’t hear much when you’re hungry, not when you’re starving or suffering. And then I’ll leave with this. Who does the sun shine on? Who does the wind blow for? Who’s receiving air? Who receives rain? What impediments does the father place on humanity that says if you don’t use what I give you wisely then you don’t get it at all? That’s not how it works. We’re all given sun. We’re all given rain. We’re all given air. And then it’s dependent upon us in terms of what we do with it. I understand that you don’t want to give money to an alcoholic. You don’t want to give money to a drug addict because they may use it for um a a destructive habit.

You you want to avoid strengthening the hand of evil. I get that. But how many people have a a Netflix account and are paying $20, $30 a month for Netflix? You don’t think you’re strengthening the hand of evil there? How many of subscriptions to Amazon and the wickedness that they do? You’re not strengthening the hand of evil there. You think you could just strengthen the hand of evil because you give a couple of dollars to someone who’s a drug addict. Once you give it to them, they have the choice on whether or not they’re going to eat or just use it for something that’s completely ridiculous or useless. But you give because you are supposed to give. To whom much is given, much is required. You give and then it’s upon them whether or not they’re going to use it properly or if they’re going to abuse it. Just

like we can either use the sun that is given to us, the time that is given to us, the air that is given to us, the rain that is given to us with wisdom, or if we’re going to squander it. It’s not that hard. It is not give. You know, there was a time back in the time of Messiah, if someone was actually decrepit, unable to to to work, they had a cloak. It was a cloak that they had to wear in order to be able to receive arms. Now, we have something like that now with respect to SSI or SSDI. You know, there’s very stipulations that are out there. If people aren’t able to work, then they’re able to get some type of help. But what I’m going to ask you brothers, what what happens when we move

from physical currency to digital currency? What happens when you have more and more employment opportunities taken away because of automation, because of AI, because of AI agents? What happens then? Think it through, brothers and sisters. Amen. Thank you, Samuel, for your uh thoughts as usual. We’re always blessed by them. A lot of great points uh for further pondering and and and study and prayer. Uh but again, I I agree with you that um I don’t know that we’re in a position to be able to quotequote judge in advance um who we give to or the way we give. we should just we’re just commanded to give and that it’s up to them and up to God and how that gift is being used. Amen. Luke, back to you if you still have something to share. Yeah, just really quick, uh, like Glenn was saying, you

know, uh, when he helped, uh, his neighbor and the amount of labor that was involved and all the all the things that he mentioned, you know, I get so much more out of giving than I think the receiver gets. And it happens every single time. Every time. And I just a quick real quick story. There was a woman in my town. I was driving. It was 7:00 at night. It was February like two years ago. And she didn’t look homeless, but she had a cardboard sign and there was writing on it, but it was too small to see and it was dark. And she, you know, she was obviously asking for money. She was standing in corner at the light. And I rolled down my window and I handed her a $20 bill. Was the only money I had. And I handed it to her like it it was [clears throat] almost like supernatural the way this

happened. And I handed her the money and she’s like, “Oh my god.” She’s like, “I’ve been standing here for like a half an hour and not” and nobody’s given me anything. And she goes, “I need it for my eye medication.” [snorts] And she goes, “This is it. This is all I need.” And I’m like, “Where are you going to go to get your eye medication?” And she’s like, “Oh, you know, over here, you know, like 10 blocks away.” I’m like, “Do you want to ride?” She was like, “Yes.” She gets in the car, she’s crying, I start crying because I was like, you know, I just And then I drove her home afterwards and I and I I have these cards that I give out. I don’t know if you can see that, but uh No, you can’t. But it’s a it’s Matthew 8 18:20.

For where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am. There I am with them. and it’s got my name on it and my telephone number and it says 247 underneath. And whenever I give somebody money, depending on the person, I’ll give them one of those cards and if they have any questions and a lot of times I’ll hand out Bibles, you know, I have these little compact Bibles that I give out. Um, but they’re large print, easy to read. I put Bible tabs in them so they can navigate it easily. [snorts] But that’s just one story. And I I get so much more out of giving. And I I am I am so grateful every time I get to give. And as part of my daily uh morning Shma is I I say, “Father, just give me an

opportunity to show your glory and bring honor to your name today. Put somebody in my path.” And that’s part of my morning prayer. But anyway, I just wanted to throw that out there. Thank you. Yeah, I I want to give you a check mark on that. U that’s a good lesson, Luke, is is that we should be praying for opportunities. Opportunities can be right under our nose, but if we’re not looking for them, we’re not going to see them. And so praying for for opportunities and also praying for discernments because when to get involved and when it’s best not to get involved. We’ve got to be led by the spirit and some you know we we don’t want to uh do people harm. We don’t want I don’t want to do harm to my nextdoor neighbor

by attracting homeless to this neighborhood. And yet I don’t want to be callous and ignore the needs of others. Uh so it it it takes discernment, prayer, but I you know when Tracy called me up and said she, you know, she had broken her leg going to the hospital, needed me to start helping her, what went through my mind immediately is that that wasn’t exciting for me. So I was thinking, okay, well, this is something I got to do. Uh, and and I did it. But it was only after the whole project was finished that I really was grateful for that opportunity. And I realized just how precious it was to make to make a difference for other people. Um, we don’t have those opportunities every day. So, uh, we need to recognize them as as just how

precious they are. It’s an opportunity for us even though it may knock on our door is a big pain in the butt, it’s really an opportunity uh to, you know, to to have a sense of mission, have a sense of fulfillment. And it’s, you know, every opportunity is a gift from Yehovah. and Glenn, thank you. Thank you Luke for sharing also um obviously great examples of of you know biblical concept concept of he who refreshes others himself will be refreshed and I’m [snorts] I’m encouraged by the fact and Glenn you shared also from your experience what it caused you and the feeling that you felt of refreshment and encouragement through uh supporting and and and helping someone else and I think that that is definitely a blessing from God that comes with it. That being said, there are also we also need to be aware of the

fact that many times we may give and we don’t know what the impact is going to be and we that shouldn’t stop us from wanting to give. It shouldn’t be like oh I want to give so that I may be refreshed right I’m giving because I’m commanded to give and if I you know live or get the opportunity to see the impact of my giving on someone then amen for that but if not we just need to trust that it’s out there uh and to trust that that God uh will do with it and and the person will do with it as as they see fit. So amen think we’re at uh coming up on time. Thank you so much everyone for attending and spending your Shabbat morning, afternoon, and evening with us. It’s been a blessing to be with uh uh all of you again uh this morning. I pray that uh you will enjoy the rest of your

Sabbath and we will see you again next week. We love you guys. Shabbat shalom. Shabbat shalom shalom. Thank you everyone. Shabbat shalom. Shalom. Shalom. Shalom. Okay.