It was on this day in 1927 that the Israeli city of Netanyah was named after the New York philanthropist, Nathan Strauss. Strauss was a co-owner of Macy’s Department Store in New York with his brother, Isidor. Sadly, the latter Strauss perished on the Titanic along with his wife, Ida.
If you have ever journeyed to Israel and landed in Tel Aviv, then there is a good chance you have traveled the coastal road that runs from Tel Aviv to Haifa and that would have taken you through the city of Netanyah, which literally means “God gave.”
The history of this day strikes a personal chord with me because it was in this city that my friend, Amnon Shor, was born. Amnon was raised among a family of rabbis, but at an early point in his life, came to believe that Yeshua was the Messiah. He later moved to the United States and began traveling and ministering from his very unique perspective. I first met him in the early ‘90s and was fascinated by his understanding of Scripture from a Hebraic point of view. For instance, he was the first one to alert me to the fact that there was a lot more to the Hebrew language than what I had ever considered before.
Much of what he shared about the Hebrew origins of the faith fascinated me and inspired me to go further into the Hebrew language and Hebraic lifestyle demonstrated in Yeshua’s ministry. Well, one thing leads to another and I ended up writing a booklet about how the Messiah is revealed in Genesis 1:1. In time, Perry read that booklet and asked me to help him with some research related to Hebraic things and, as they say, the rest is history.
The point is this: what we say and do can have a tremendous impact on someone else’s life – you never know just who is listening and observing. Everything we say and do has the potential to bring about wonderful results in a life which, in turn, can affect the lives of many others. On the other hand, what we say and do has the same potential to bring about negative results. Solomon addressed this issue when he wrote:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)
There is great power in our words that can be used for good or for evil. What we say and do has the potential to greatly impact a person’s life in such a way that it might change the lives of thousands more. It behooves, then, to attain the wisdom that comes from on High and to share that wisdom with discretion and compassion with those we have led to by the Spirit of God. When we are guided by the Spirit of Truth, He will direct us as to what we are to say and not say: when not to say it and when to remain silent. It is good to keep in mind that, just because we have the right to say something doesn’t always mean that it’s right to say it. Again, we all need to be led of the Spirit to know what to say and when to say it, because you never know who might be listening.
Shalom.
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