I recently officiated at a funeral with Military Honors. The young men and women who have this duty are so respectful, not just of the family, but of the flag.

While many young ones today might not know it, there is a special way that a flag is folded. And, when the bugler from the Military Honor Guard plays taps, he does not do what so many do when they sing the National Anthem before a ballgame. He just plays the notes as they were written — sweet, pure and simple. And, the Honor Guard doesn’t look for any praise from the people in attendance. Instead, the head of their detail will bend down on one knee and present the flag to the widow or widower and thank them for their spouse’s service to this country.

Oh, and one more thing, when it is a “lifer” or an officer who passed away, there is yet another ritual that occurs during the Military Honors… the rifle salute. I don’t know if you have ever been at a funeral that has had this or not; but I can tell you this, I have been at several, and to this day, whenever those shots are fired, something inside me jumps and, pretty much everyone at the service jumps or shakes, as they did not realize just how piercing the sound of those rifles was going to be. The other day I found out that those who have served in uniform still cringe when they hear such a loud explosion as well. I shudder to think what goes through their head, let alone what goes through the head of a veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

So, it was with much amazement that I had the thrill of attending the Founders’ Days celebration on beautiful Deerfield Beach. I was there the night of the fireworks display, and it was during that display that I again felt so blessed to be a part of this great country. It wasn’t just that the weather was perfect. It wasn’t just the beauty of the fireworks that brought an array of dazzling colors into the clear night’s sky. It was the loud bangs that came as those fireworks lit up the night. Some of those explosions were so loud that people screamed in momentary fear. But, right after that, we laughed in pure delight as we realized how blessed we were. You see, we all came together in peace that night. We didn’t feel threatened. We didn’t worry if the explosions were (as so many others in foreign lands deal with on a regular basis) an attack on sunny South Florida. Imagine so many people (and there was a huge crowd) able to come together in peace and enjoy the sights and sounds of the evening.

“Hine Mah Tov U’manaim Shevet Achim Gam Yachad.” (“Oh how good and how pleasant it is, when people can dwell together in peace.”)

On the beach, you see all ages and all ethnic groups; and talk about blessings, people were even courteous as they searched for a parking space in The Cove … and, that is indeed a miracle. The Founders would have been proud. Let’s keep the miracle(s) going.

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

Have you ever heard of the term “tough love?”  People will say, “I think that person needs some tough love.” There is a new saying that is true that I heard the other day, and I think it’s the opposite of that term because “love is tough.”

Valentine’s Day just passed, and it is easy to love on special occasions like that. However, there are still many days left out of the year where some days are easy to show love, and some days, we have to work hard at showing love to others. How about showing someone love who doesn’t love you back or even someone who may not treat you the way you believe you deserve to be treated.

COLOSSIANS 3:14

14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

NLT

When we clothe ourselves with love, as this verse says, then love is all over us. Love should be a big part of our lives. Love is something meant to be expressed, not something to be kept a secret. It seems like people even have a hard time saying “I love you” when we should say it all the time, and we should also show it all the time. It is tough sometimes, but it is not impossible.

1 PETER 4:8

8 Above all things, have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].

AMP

I must say that this verse is very hard to live out without God’s help. We have to understand that we need God’s help to love others in the same way that He loves us.  We always want to put conditions on love, but God does not do that to us. We speak with our actions and say I will love you if you do this for me, treat me this way, or buy me this, etc. God does not work on the point system and neither should we. God tells us to love others, period. There are no conditions on that love. God does not say love someone if they (fill in your own blank). God says love each other, and if God tells us to, then we must be able to do it. Love is so many things, but it is not conditional. Let’s look at what love is.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud

5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

NLT

Love gives us the ability to be sensitive to the needs, hurts and desires of others and also to feel with them and experience the world from their perspective. Love gives us the ability to give with no conditions or expectations. Love builds up and encourages; it is determining what is best for someone and doing it. Pray and ask God to help you love the way He loves and He will help you. I LOVE YOU!

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church

Rabbi Erin Glazer, of Westfield, NJ, used to lead services at the Hebrew Association of the Deaf in Manhattan. The Rabbi points out that the Siddur (prayer book) that they use has translations with more meaning to those who cannot use their ears. Think about that for a moment; if you can’t hear, then what do the words, “Hear, Oh Israel” mean to you?

So, they took out the word “Hear” and inserted the words “Pay attention.” While I think that was a great switch, the sad part is that most of us who are able to hear simply don’t pay enough attention. We don’t pay attention to the prayer and we don’t pay attention to the Mitzvot. Sadly, there are far too many times we are guilty of being as hard-hearted as Pharaoh.

If I have your ear, if you are paying attention, let me teach you a lesson using opposites. What is the opposite of paying attention? Believe it or not, the opposite of paying attention is being inattentive … or in a state of inattention. Inattention refers to someone who is inconsiderate or unconcerned, as in, they don’t really give a “you know what” about anyone else. They see someone who is hungry and they could care less as long as they have food for themselves. They see someone who is cold and they could care less, as long as they have a coat or a blanket themselves.

And get this, which is what makes the words “Pay attention” such a perfect fit to the Shema — to be inattentive means “to turn a deaf ear.” Wow, that is exactly what we are talking about here.

Moshe Rabbenu gives us the laws of the Torah and we respond in unison, “We will do and we will … pay attention.” If we start by saying that we will do it, then why do we have to add we will pay attention? Let me go back to the example of someone who is deaf for a moment. How does someone who cannot hear know when someone is calling? How does someone who is deaf avoid being hit by a car that is speeding down the street? How does someone who is deaf know such simple things?

That’s right, they pay attention. They pay attention to a flashing light. They pay attention to what is around them. In some ways, a deaf person pays more attention to the world around them than many of us do. So to heed the commandments, we must pay attention. We must be ever-alert to the cries of those in need. We must be ever-watchful for signs of where we are needed, of places where we have the opportunity to be of help; and then, we must be willing to attend to those who are in need.

Heed the Shema my friends. Pay attention and attend to those in need. Pay attention. Are you listening?

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

Life is not easy!  I have heard that many times, but I must say that life is not hard either. Life is just different — different battles, different obstacles and different hurdles. I think life is great. Is life great or what? Life is exciting and wonderful because it is so different and adventurous.  Tests and trials we face in life are only temporary, but the things we learn from the tests and trials will last forever. Do we face obstacles in life? Yes!  Do we have battles that we face in life?  Yes! Then why is life so great? Life is great because we win, and I love to win. These are the things that make us stronger and better. These are the things that make us winners and not quitters.

2 TIMOTHY 2:5

5 And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.

NLT

If we want to win, we have to play by God’s rules and not by our own rules. We must work and train hard because you can’t cheat or you will lose. Do we look at and focus on the size of the obstacles in our lives or do we focus on the power of our God?

JAMES 1:5

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

NLT

We have an advantage that, if we need help with something, we can ask God for the wisdom we need and He will give it. But, will we listen to what God has to say? Will we learn wisdom without experiences, tests and trials? David said that God delivered him from the lion and the bear. Remember that, whatever we are facing, our God is bigger and stronger than anything or anyone. If God has changed us from the inside out, then life cannot squeeze us from the outside in. We may be knocked down every once in a while, but we will never be knocked out.

We must guard against self-sufficiency. When God gets no credit, success makes people self-sufficient (I don’t need anything or anyone) and this leads to spiritual poverty. We need to put ourselves in a spiritual time-out every day in order to spend time with God because time-out is better than burn-out, and without God, we definitely will burn out. We are in a marathon and not a sprint, and our goal should be to endure and not to burn out. Who renews our strength every day — the job, our paycheck or God?

1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us that, “Bad company corrupts good character.” Who or what is impacting our morals and our children’s morals? Just because someone says they are a Christian does not mean they are a positive influence on your life or your families’ lives.  Stay away from bad company and instill God into your life and into your children. Character is who you are when no one is watching. Bad company does not pull us in a different direction, it pulls us down. Every time you try to back track, you will get side tracked. Life is great. We win.  Don’t quit, give up or give in!

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church

A dear friend of mine recently learned that her sister was diagnosed with cancer. My friend has her own health issues and she has plenty of other tsouris (problems) going on in her life. But, when she heard about her little sister’s ills, that became her focus. She did everything she could think of for her — she called, she texted, she researched, she planned a trip to see her just so she could hold her hand.

Many people who know her might have thought that she had a huge weight to bear, but as I watched I couldn’t help but think of that famous song title “He ain’t heavy … he’s my brother.” Do you know the story behind those words? Back near the beginnings of WW2, there was a magazine called The Messenger. A priest happened to be reading that magazine and came across a picture of a boy carrying a younger lad on his back and the caption read, “He ain’t heavy Mr., he’s my brother.”

The Priest was none other than Father Flanagan, the founder of Boy’s Town, who changed it just a tad and used it as the catch phrase for his mission.

Why did that phrase touch him so much? Because, years earlier, Boys Town had a lad who had difficulty walking and the other boys would take turns giving him rides on their backs.

I am blessed with two amazing brothers. I hope that, even in the midst of what my friend’s baby sister is going through, that she knows how blessed she is with such an incredible big sister. Sadly, too many people have distanced themselves from their siblings. They have let petty differences get in the way of the love.

Let me share a story with you about two brothers. It is a true story. There is a three-year age difference between the boys — the elder one 13, the younger 10.

I can assure you that, like any other siblings, they had times they got angry with each other, they had times they fought, and they had times they pointed the finger of blame at the other. But they were brothers, and there was a great connection, a great love between them. In the middle of January of this year, they were in the car with their mother on a drive through the streets of Australia when they and their car were swept away by the raging waters of a flood. The three of them were struggling for their very lives. A heroic rescuer dove into the waters to save them and the first one he came to was Jordan, the older of the two boys. He reached him with a rope and this little child of G-d, this Bar Mitzvah-age boy, shouted out, “Save my brother first.” And, indeed, the good news is that his baby brother, Blake, was saved. The sad news is that Jordan and their mother’s lives were lost in the flood. But, there is more to the story. You should know that Jordan never learned to swim. He happened to have a terrible phobia; he was terrified of water. And yet, in order to save his brother, he faced his greatest fear. Many of you might be thinking, wow, I wish I had a brother like that. How much holier it would be if you took the time to think, “Wow, I wish I were a brother or sister like that” and then go and be one.

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

By Pastor Tony Guadagnino, Christian Love Fellowship Church

Soap  has  the  power  to  clean  you  and  remove  dirt  from  your  body.  Inside  the box or wrapper is  a  bar  of  soap  that  contains  the  chemicals  needed  to  clean  your  body, but  as  long  as they  remain  in  their box or  wrapper, they  are  useless.  For you to release the power of the soap to clean your body, you have to actually open it and use it. God’s Word is exactly like that; you actually have to open it and use it in order for it to work.

God’s Word has the power to change and transform your life.  It  has  the  power to change  your  life  completely, but  as  long  as  it  sits  unopened,  that  power  can  never  be   released. God’s  Word  is  living and active and  able to change  your  life, but  in order to release  the power, you need  to apply  it. To release  the  power  of  God’s  Word,  you  need  to  open  it  up  and  read  it. Even more important, you need to apply it to your life. Soap is faithful to cleanse us, just as God’s Word is faithful to cleanse us. I am so glad that God loves you and me enough not just to ask us to do the right thing, but actually to help us do the right thing.

Joshua 1:8-9

8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night, so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

9 This is my command — be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

NLT

The first thing we should do with the Bible is read, study and think about It. The thing we need to do is crack open the cover. Sometimes, that’s the toughest thing to do (to actually get started). We should, according to the scripture above, study the book continuously. We should try hard to read it every day by finding a translation to read that helps us understand what it means.  We need to think about what it says, and ask the question, “What does it mean for my life?” As you spend time reading the Bible, It will begin to change the way you think. As it changes the way you think, It will begin to change the things you say and do.  It will help you begin to see things through God’s viewpoint and not your own.

James 1:22

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

NLT

There is more than just reading, more than just reflecting and more than just remembering the Bible — we need to put into action what we find within the pages. Like soap, the power of God’s Word is only released when we apply what we are reading.  We must do what It says. If we are going to spend time reading and studying God’s Word, then it would be silly for us to not do the things we are learning. The same way soap cleans us is the same way that God’s Word will come and help us to be clean and holy.

I have two wonderful brothers, but they live far away. I am so thankful that we talk to each other on the phone each and every day. But I wonder what it would be like if we didn’t talk for a week, a month or a year … or, worse yet, for many years.

Well, that’s exactly what we find in the Torah. Jacob and Esau have not seen nor spoken to each other for many years. Oh, and let me remind you that when they parted company years before, one threatened to kill the other.

I am the baby in my family. My brothers and I are as different as night and day.

Then again, as different as we are, there are parts of us that are so similar, we may as well have been twins. I am blessed that even if my brothers get angry at me, it does not lead to one of them wanting to kill me … at least, not that I know of.

As the baby brother, I used to hate all the hand-me-down clothes. I used to hate trying to live up to my brothers’ reputations. Year after year, on the first day of school, my new teachers would tell me how thrilled they were to have another Ezring in their class. They would tell me how brilliant, how helpful, how studious my brothers were. Oy, were they in for a disappointment.

For years, I tried to be like my brothers and then, thank G-d, the day came when I realized that I am not them. I am me! (at least, I think I’m me).

By the time my brothers left for college, they were so dear to me that I cried. I was alone. Most of you have experienced being alone. There are times that it seems like a huge blessing, but there are also times when it feels like a curse.

Sometimes, when I am alone, my brain starts to go around in circles. I think too much. Sometimes I even get into arguments with myself, which brings us to Jacob and his famous wrestling match with an angel. But, if you look at the wording carefully, you’ll find that Jacob was alone.

Well, if he was alone, who exactly is he wrestling with? It says that he wrestled until daybreak so, perhaps, he was having one of those nights where something was weighing heavily on his mind and an internal battle ensued.

So, how does he hurt his hip? Okay, that’s a fair question. Of course, I have had times that I have thrown my hip or my back out of whack from all the tossing and turning I do at night.

Then again, there is a wonderful idiom we have had for many years now in which we refer to someone who is trying to fit in with the current fads as being “hip”.

While someone else has taken credit for the lyrics, it wouldn’t surprise me if, upon waking up from his dream, Jacob was the first to come up with the song, “Oh the hip bones connected to the thigh bone … the thigh bones connected to the knee bone … Oh, didn’t it rain.”

Jacob limps and realizes how very important each and every bone is. He sees how one relies on the other for its next step. And then, in the midst of the reading, we find that Jacob goes back to retrieve some small earthenware jugs. I suspect that those little jugs were fragile and it would not take much for one of them to break. The same is true of our relationships with others. Just as one needs to handle a small earthenware jug with care, one must also remember to handle their brothers and sisters with tender loving care.

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

Stop! Do not do it! Please do not make a New Year’s resolution. New Year’s resolutions do not last and we typically do not follow through with them. Almost half of Americans make a New Year’s resolution and only 8 percent of them actually keep them. New Year’s resolutions are really a waste of time and something not really intended to be permanent. If we truly want to change anything in our lives to make things better, we would be better off asking God to help us change the way we think.

ROMANS 12:1-2

1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?

2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

NLT

We will have much better success if we allow God, through the Bible, to begin to change the way we think by renewing our minds. The word renewing in this verse means there is a “constant action taking place” that never stops. God is always working on us to help change the way we think. It is not just a onetime quick fix; it is something that takes place repeatedly. We give ourselves to God once, but we need to transform and renew our minds constantly.

In 2 Kings Chapters 22 and 23, we read that King Josiah was a man who sought after God. However, his life changed when God’s Word was rediscovered. He called the people to a renewed covenant before God (see 2 Kings 23:3). God moved through Josiah to crush the wickedness of his country like a hurricane crumbles houses as if they were made out of toothpicks.

If we want to be successful on a new diet or getting rid of a bad habit that we have, then we really need God to help us. The best thing for us to do is develop new habits in our lives, so we receive the desired results we are looking to get. Making a New Year’s resolution is us thinking there is always a way out, or it is OK if we fail. However, allowing God to change the way we think is the beginning of us starting something new that we are going to be doing for the rest of our lives. In order for us to change things in our lives, we have to change the way we live our lives. In order to change the way we live our lives, we have to change the way we think. In order for us to change the way we think, we need God to help us make our changes permanent and not temporary.

Please do not make a New Year’s resolution. Instead, allow God to change the way you think for results that last a lifetime.

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church