Steven Garofalo
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DON’T ALLOW YOUR SPIRIT TO BE BROKEN (Exodus 5:9)
By Steven Garofalo, April 17, 2023 (Copyright 2023)
April 17, 2023

In Exodus 5:9, the Bible tells us, “Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of THEIR BROKEN SPIRIT and harsh slavery”.

When I was on a missions trip to Romania in the 1990’s just a few years after communism had fallen, I was taken to what they called “an old age home”. In truth, this facility was filled with the mentally disabled, the elderly and any other person the government deemed necessary. We went there to sing worship songs and minister to them, but what I experienced was something I had never seen, heard about or experienced in my life. When I looked into the eyes of the people we were singing to and worshiping with (they didn’t really sing), as I looked into their eyes, figuratively speaking, I could see through them. I don’t know how to explain it any better than that. I express this very disturbing and eerie thing to Pat who was our full time missionary on the ground. Pat explained why this was the case.

Pat said that these people would have been young Christian children when the “Socialist Republic of Romania”, which existed already as a Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist state was formalized. It lasted from 1947-1989. At first, Romanias post-war resources were drained by the “SovRoms”,new tax-exempt Soviet-Romanian COMPANIES  that allowed the Soviet Union to control Romania’s major source of income. Another drain was the WAR REPARATIONS paid to Soviet Union. We hear a lot about government-corporate partnerships and reparations much the same today-don’t we?

In the 1950’s, the Romania’s communist government began to assert more independence, leading to the withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Romania by 1958. In June of 1948, all banks and large businesses were nationalized. As we speak, the USA is in the process of consolidating over 4000 small and medium banks into a handful of the largest banks that are under heavy government regulation. Nothing has changed since Moses or the Romanian communist regime’s day.

Nicolas Ceausescu (who was eventually the leader caught and put to death in 1989 in their revolution) was General Secretary of the Communist Party in (1965) became President in 1974. This is the general history reported to the general public worldwide. Pat told me from the inside what really happened, but was not widely reported in that the communist government came to many of the homes of the people sitting in front of us, told them to gather all they could carry on their backs, and leave all the rest of their possessions at home. Those possessions would then be confiscated and their homes inhabited by communist military and government personell. The government would eventually build large apartment buildings made of cinder blocks called “Blocks”. I stayed in a “Block” for 9 days while I was in Romania.

When I kept pushing Pat for an answer as to why these people were literally-spiritually empty, Pat finally said to me, “Steve, they are empty because their SPIRIT WAS BROKEN. When the communists came in and took all they had and left them helpless, they did not rely on their faith in God, but instead assumed a helpless position void of God’s plan, strength, promises, protection and provision. As a result, as Pat said, their spirit as “BROKEN”. Pat  went further in comparing Romania to Poland in that Poland suffered terribly, but the people united with one another, and they clung to God, family. As a result, despite all the damage and death, the communist government was ultimately unable to break their spirit.

As I was reading Exodus 6 in my daily reading, it occurred to me that a “broken spirit” is about the worst thing that can happen to anyone, because it incapacitates that person, community and nation from rebuilding or even living with any goals, purpose or meaning. As a result, people perish into a sea of helplessness and nothingness. In Exodus 5, Moses wrote about the Pharaoh who did pretty much the same thing to the Israelites that the Soviet-Romanian communist party did to the Romania people.

In the Bible, Moses went to Pharaoh as God commanded him to do and demanded that he, Pharaoh let the Israelites free to worship in the wilderness for three days. As a result, Pharaoh took their “hay” (necessary for making bricks) away and demanded the Israelites work much harder in having to go out and pick up hay stubble to make the bricks to begin with. This task was impossible to do at the same productive rate prior to the hay being taken away. In other words, the repressive government stripped the people of their ability to make bricks but demanded they continue to do so at the same rate. Pharaoh unnecessarily punished the Israelites because Moses did as God commanded him to do in telling Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free.

This is what Exodus 6:9 says, “I am the LORD.” Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listend to Moses because of their BROKEN SPIRIT and harsh slavery”. What had happened is that with renewed vigor, Moses returned to his people with God’s words, but the burden of their oppression caused them “not to listen”. Tragically they forgot their initial response to Moses and Aaron in 4:31. A broken spirit forgets the ultimate hope we have in our almighty God.

My devotional encouragement to you today is simply to provide you with some history of past in light of the present. What we are experiencing today is nothing new. Romania has made a strong come back and Israel has been made into a major state with the second highest innovation rate, second only to the United States.

In closing, I want to ask you to do one thing. That one thing is to pray daily that your spirit not be broken with the strength and hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. The truth of where we are at must be looked at with a toughness of spirit reliant upon our Lord Jesus Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is necessary to toughen our resolve or we will shutter at every little news story that slips through our filter of protected joy in life.

In closing, write down Psalm 34:18 and post it on your desk. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”.  Let that be a reminder to keep your spirit strong and unbroken! The great news is that though you may feel defeated at times, God is closer than you realize. He is always with you, and can heal your heart, the church and our nation. We will look very different than we do today in just a few short years. But we can come out of this better than when we started…if we will just depend on God and not allow our spirit to be broken.

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When I was in seminary, the question was raised as to if pets or animals in general go to heaven. Our professor, Dr. Norman Geisler said this: “Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the Cross for the human race, not animals.” I was working out at the gym one day when one of the regulars, who had just moved to Charlotte, NC from California told me that one of her beloved dogs died; and would that dog go to heaven. I have her the same answer. But, was that the whole story? That’s what we are going to look at today.

In a peace by Michael Housman, Founder of GotQuestions.Org, Housman wrote that “The BIble does not give any explicit teaching on whether pets or animals in general have souls, or spirits, or whether pets and other animals will be in heaven.

His answer was short but the animals not having souls maybe up for debate.

We can use general biblical principles to develop some clarity on the subject though Housman wrote. The Bible states that both man (Genesis 2:7) and animals (Genesis 1:30; 6:17; 7:15 and 22) have the “BREATH OF LIFE” that is, both man and animals are living beings. Furthermore, the primary difference between human beings and animals is that humanity is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), while animals are not.

Being made in the image and likeness of God means that human beings are like God in some ways; they are capable of spirituality; they have a mind, emotion, and “will”; and part of their “being” continues after death.

If pets and other animals do have a “soul” (or spirit or immaterial aspect), it must therefore be of a different and lesser “quality”. This difference possibly means that pets and other animal “souls”  do not continue in existence after death.

Another factor to consider regarding whether pets will be in heaven is that animals are a port of God’s creative process in Genesis. God created the animals and said they were good (Genesis 1:25). Therefore, there is no reason why there could not be pets and animals on the NEW EARTH as described in (Revelation 21:1). 

In the end, there will most definitely be animals during the millennial kingdom (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25). It is impossible to say definitely whether some animals of these animals might be the pets we had here on earth. We do know that God is just and that when we get to heaven, we will find ourselves in complete agreement with His decision on this issue, whatever that turns out to be.

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Until next time, I’m your host Steven Garofalo, and this is your reason for truth for today.

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AN ETHICAL ECONOMY IS GOOD FOR ALL
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Government corruption comes to the advantage of a few-but at the expense of many if not all the rest of society. Today, I am going to show you through Ecclesiastes 5:8-9 that vanity and wealth, if not kept accountable, will devour one’s honor and the honor or the nation in whole. Let’s get started.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor is an interesting subject in light of wealth, corruption, and the human heart. This subject effects many things, including what makes a good economy. 

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verses eight to nine, Solomon says the following:

Ecclesiastes 5:8-9
“8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.”

COMMENTARY: There are two things king Solomon is saying here within the theme of the vanity of WEALTH and HONOR. Wealth and honor are two different things, as one can have wealth with or without honor or honor with or without wealth. That being said, let’s look at verses 8 and 9 independently to see the simple message God provides us today through Solomon.

BREAK DOWN
Ecclesiastes 5:8-9

THE ABUSE OF AUTHORITY & WEALTH
 “8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them." 

COMMENTARY: Verse 8 clearly illustrates that there is a corruption at every level of government, with higher level oppressors plundering the equally oppressive lower-level magistrates. This perhaps explains the st state of America and the world. With blackmail running. Rampant and the public sector unchecked, they have been robbing the everyday citizen of their hard earned money. As a result, the system became insulated and division between the haves and have nots became more defined. When the high level government officials rob and abuse those below them, someone above that person robs and abuses the higher level person himself.

In America, where we print money out of thin air for the world, in this short period of history, there is little need to plunder those under one authority because there is so much to steal that those in authority can simply pay them off or blackmail them; whichever is most convenient. Either way, Solomon makes abundantly clear that when there is nobody minding the ship, evil perpetuates to the point of overtaking the government in whole. As a result, we end up with a 2024 government, riddles with corruption, immorality, blackmail, lawlessness, and all other things evil due to the lack of God-ness which equates to “goodness”. 

Economically speaking, when this happens to a country, its own economy begins to decline into debt due to their insatiable desire and emotional need for more money and resources. When resources are stripped and money is squandered, the elite few are smart enough to collect those resources and money and we end up with a U.S. Stock Market where only 5% holds up to 80%  of the entire market wealth. 

WHAT IS THE ANSWER?
The answer and solution is to keep to return to the system we created in the first place which is free market capitalism that allows those who desire to work hard, to have a fair chance at success, making money and turning a fair profit. This is called “honor for everyone”.

HONOR FOR EVERYONE
"9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.”

CONCLUSION:

Government corruption comes to the advantage of a few-but at the expense of many if not all the rest of society. Vanity and wealth, if not kept accountable, devours one’s honor and the honor or the nation in whole. Solomon (Qohelet) considered goverment to be frustrating becuase it was a necessary evil, something deply flawed but indespsnsible. On the one hand people sould "not be shocked" when they see OPPRESSION and injustice in a governmental province (v.8). After all, bloated government bureaucracy tends to frustrate justice (v.8b). On the other hand, government has it advantages (v.9). Many hold to the belief that this verse continues the negeative assessment of government. Others see this passage better understood more positively since it fits with Qohelet's normal pattern of "on the one hand, on the other.." way of teaching. 

Even a corrupt government is better than anarchy, which devastates a country, it's culture and in Solomon's time, an agrarian economy that would lead to starvation. Keeping to God's ways is the only solution to man's sinful nature; especially in governmental rule. In the end, a king who devotes himself to developing the resources of the land ushers in a systems that brings the opportunity for profit to all, not just the corrupt few.

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SOLA SCRIPTURA
A Protestant & Catholic View Comparison

I grew up Catholic and now go to a Protestant or non-Catholic church in Charlotte, NC. Michael Houdmann, Founder and CEO of GotQuestions.Org writes that a major difference between the two boils down to believing in the Bible alone as God's word verses believing that God's word plus man's input as the divine inspired word of God.

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A major difference is the issue of sufficiency and authority of Scripture. While Protestants believe that the Bible alone is the source of God's special revelation to mankind, it also speaks to everything we need to understand as necessary for our salvation from sin.

Protestants view the Bible as the STANDARD for Christian morality and ethics which governs our behavior. This is called sola scripture and is one of the five Solas in Christianity. (Solas meaning "alone" in Latin. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 makes clear that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (ESV).

WHAT DO CATHOLICS BELIEVE?

Catholics do not believe in sola scriptura hence do not believe that the Bible alone is sufficient. They see both the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic tradition as equally authoritative and binding on the Christian. While not all Catholics hold to doctrines such as purgatory, praying to the saints, worship or veneration of Mary, etc., the Catholic doctrine hold to them even though they have little or no mention or basis in the Bible. In truth, these doctrines are based on Roman Catholic traditions based on the Catholic Church's insistence that the Bible and tradition are equal in authority. The problem with this is that it undermines the sufficiency, authority, and completeness of the Bible. The view of Scripture is at the root of many, if not all, of the differences between Catholics and Protestants.

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