Archive for September, 2008

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Vayelech 5768 – Fear Is Contageous

Sunday, September 28th, 2008

Deu 31:1  And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
Deu 31:2  And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
Deu 31:3  The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.
Deu 31:4  And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.
Deu 31:5  And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.
Deu 31:6  Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Deu 31:7  And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
Deu 31:8  And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

First, Moses told the entire nation of Israel not to fear, to know that God would be fighting with them. Then he took Joshua aside and told him the same thing.

God does not allow a fearful man to fight in his army because fear is contagious. If one man runs, the man next to him might run as well. And if the fear a soldier on the line is dangerous, how much more is the fear of a general? If Joshua showed fear after hearing God’s promises, it would sweep through the ranks like wind.

Fortunately, faith is also contageous. It is doubly important that leaders lead in faith and not in fear. If he stands strong, his men will stand strong. If he runs, then his men will run.

Fear not, neither be dismayed. Do what is right, and God will take care of the consequences. He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.

Posted in Leadership, Parsha 52 - Vayelekh, Theology, Torah | 1 Comment »

A Gimmick That Actually Works?

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Want Better Mileage? Simple Device Which Uses Electrical Field Could Boost Gas Efficiency Up To 20%
ScienceDaily (2008-09-26) — A simple device which attaches to a vehicles fuel line near the fuel injector and creates an electrical field could boost gas efficiency as much as 20 percent. … > read full article

You hear about so many “cost saving” gadgets that turn out to be scams that it’s hard not to be skeptical when you hear about yet another one. Science Daily published this article, so it must be true! :-/

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Nitzavim 5768 – The Rules of the House

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Deu 29:14  Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;
Deu 29:15  But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:
Deu 29:16  (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;
Deu 29:17  And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)
Deu 29:18  Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;
Deu 29:19  And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
Deu 29:20  The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.
Deu 29:21  And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:

If you want to live in God’s house, then you should live by God’s rules. Or are only the physical descendants of Abraham to be counted as Abraham’s children? Paul said otherwise: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” God said that he would not replace Israel when she strayed, but restore her. (“Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation…?” Deu 4:34) Those of us who would join with Israel in serving God are not separate nation or a replacement people. We are joined with Israel in covenant, for the covenants of the Messiah are with one nation only. We are “him that is not here with us this day.”

I am not saying that either redemption or perfection is by works. You are saved by your faith in God’s mercy. Yeshua covers your imperfections so that the Father sees you through his perfection. He knows that you will never be perfect on your own and doesn’t expect you to be. However, that is not a license to do whatever you want. How many times have you heard a self-professing Christian or “spiritual” person say, “I don’t have to follow all those rules. God knows my heart.” Unfortunately for those people, he does know their hearts. If you have heard God’s laws and still say you can live as you please, God will remove you from his people, subjecting you to all the curses brought by disobedience. Over and over again the apostles warned that licentiousness will destroy you. God didn’t give us his laws to enslave us, but to protect us from our lack of understanding and from our evil inclinations. Your heart and mind are to be conformed to God’s laws, not the other way around.

Posted in Keeping Torah, Parsha 51 - Nitzavim, Theology, Torah | Comments Off

VMWare Brass

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

VMWare allowed their main competitors (Citrix, Microsoft, and Sun) to set up exhibits at last week’s VMWorld 2008. Apparently, they’ve done that every year. It shows they’re confident in their product, and it provides serious incentive to stay on top of their game. Competition is good for the customer, the technology, and for the competitor who is willing to do the hard work to compete.

Microsoft could learn something from VMWare.

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Vantage Point

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

I just watched Vantage Point with Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, and Forest Whitaker. Good movie, but not in my top ten. I was expecting it to show various witnesses to an assassination attempt tell their stories after the fact. Actually, it was a reshowing of the same events several times from each of the witnesses’ perspectives as if in real time. It was a little slow at times, and there wasn’t a lot of acting going on, which somehow seems like a contradiction. There also wasn’t a lot of cussing, no nudity, and it’s generally safe to watch with your parents and your kids. Quaid and Whitaker have always been among my favorite actors.

Posted in Movies | 2 Comments »

By the Numbers

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

B’midbar is in the mail to my editor. And only three months late, too! At this rate, I’ll be done before the end of the century.

Posted in Books | 2 Comments »

Ki Tavo 5768 – Let There Be Levity

Friday, September 19th, 2008

I was discussing the derth of close American communities with a good friend recently, so this passage jumped out at me.

Deu 26:1-15  …And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow…I have not eaten thereof in my mourning…

Worship is normally a community event, and tithing is no different. This third-year tithe is not meant to be a burden, but an occassion for feasting and entertaining. It was given directly to the local Levites, the landless, widows, and orphans who were all invited to a huge party for that purpose.

“Good fences make good neighbours,” wrote Robert Frost, alluding to the value of common labor. He was right, but never forget the value of common merrymaking. Good parties make good neighbors too.

Posted in Keeping Torah, Parsha 50 - Ki Tavo, Theology, Torah | Comments Off

Emphasis on “Test”

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

If you want to stress test new server hardware, I suggest you do it in a test environment, not as part of a production cluster.

Trust me. That’s a bad idea.

Posted in Computers | Comments Off

Your Brain on Your Brain

Sunday, September 14th, 2008

David Coppedge has a great article re recent research on the design of the mind: Turing Test Stands: Your Brain Outperforms Computers.

Posted in Science, Theology | Comments Off

Leadership 100, Final Review

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

The long and short of it is…don’t gossip. Don’t talk to your subordinates about your peers or superiors. Don’t talk to your peers about your subordinates, your superiors, or your other peers. Don’t talk to your superiors about their peers or about anyone else unless they really need to know about it.

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