Late in life I became a TV producer. An ancient Greek philosopher explained the cause. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” There were 24 TV stations waiting to broadcast my CrossTalk TV programs. My choice was to keep them waiting or become a TV producer. Lights, camera, action!
It was all in the kitchen–I mean the lights and the camera. The action was in the family room with a bed sheet hung on the wall behind my desk. We only had one camera so I had to do each program several times to make it look like a professional multi-camera broadcast production. The follow-up shot was framed closer to the living room so we had a good camera angle for the “2nd camera.” Repeats for close-ups and cover shots enabled post-production fixes that seemed to be perpetual problems.
After getting the program “in the can,” it was time to migrate upstairs to the guest bedroom where the edit system was cranked up. The bad takes were edited out. The multiple camera shots were edited together. The bells & whistles were added for professional flair and artistic emphasis. And then the program was dubbed to a broadcast master and shipped out to the satellite. From there the show was up-linked across America and down-linked to the 24 TV broadcast affiliates airing our weekly programs.
My son Caleb was still in High School and he delivered pizzas when he wasn’t volunteering as our camera-man/production manager/chief engineer. CrossTalk was a true father/son project. It was just the two of us until his younger brother Joshua joined up as Caleb’s understudy. Believe it or not, we learned to operate an international television & radio ministry. My wife said I could so I knew I had heard from God! (And without the tireless help of our wives CrossTalk would be impossible.) We are still just a very small family operation with one part-time employee. We hope God will provide some additional volunteers or funds for a staff. But we are not worried and we are not weary. When the Lord calls, He also equips. He has enabled us to do all that is required and He has provided all that we need to achieve everything that will please Him. That is God’s way! And it is a blessing to work with family.
I want to tell you about another ancient father/son team. They set out to perform an amazing history-making project. King David desperately wanted to build a Temple where the God of Israel would be worshipped. The project was the will of God, but King David’s timing was wrong. God did not allow David to construct the Temple. Perhaps it was because David had killed thousands of enemy soldiers. Maybe it was due to his guilt for having the godly husband of his mistress killed. For reasons known best to God, the task was given to David’s son, King Solomon. David had brought the Ark to Jerusalem. David also invested an enormous inventory of building materials into the project. Before he died, David mounted a successful funding-raising campaign to make sure that sufficient resources were at his son’s disposal to complete the task. When Solomon became King, the Temple was built to honor God and to complete the dream of his father.
The incredible details of the construction preserved in Scripture are inspiring. But the highlight of the chronicle came after everything was done and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. For it was after that glorious event that Solomon called a solemn assembly. Bold prayers were declared. The people of God responded to the presence of God by humbling themselves and making sacrifices to honor the Lord.
It seems off, but it was at that holy moment that God warned about a future time when He would shut up the heavens and send pestilence and judgment on the nation. God knew that His children would someday turn away. The Lord understood that we would forsake His laws and despise His guidance. A future time was destined when we would become so wise in our own conceit that we would pursue our will in rebellion against God’s will. But God did not leave His people hopeless. He declared a message for all of us to hold in our hearts for such a time as this. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land ” (2Chronicles 7:14).
Our nation has turned away from God. We must return. We must repent! Please join me and the members of the National Religious Broadcaster’s (NRB) in praying for America. Learn about the simple IF MY PEOPLE prayer challenge at www.ifmypeopleprayusa.org Pray for America during the 40 days beginning September 1, 2010. May God bless America!
Til next time, have a bloggin’-good day in the Messiah!
Shalom,
Randy Weiss
www.crosstalk.org
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the Christian who prayed and asked how long a million years was to God? The Lord promptly answered, “A second.” Moved by the immediate response, the Christian asked, how much is a million dollars to God? Without hesitation, the Lord replied, “A penny.” The Christian then asked in perfect faith, “Lord will you give me a penny?” God chuckled and told the believer, “Sure—in just a second.”
God’s ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts; His schedule transcends our timeline. He is eternal and His plans are not limited to what we can achieve in our daytime hours, our productive years, or even our earthly lifespan. His purposes go beyond our shelf-life. The plans of God can even cross generations.
In my father’s generation, it was often difficult for Jewish immigrants to find employment in America. That was why Jewish people often went into business for themselves. For many, it was the only way they could make a living and help bring our relatives over from the “old country.” It was also the only way to create employment for other family members who needed help. The government was not expected to support Jewish immigrants. The obligation was understood by all to be shared by responsible loved ones. Therefore, my father learned to clean meat blocks as a child and became a butcher as a young man. He learned his trade at a little store owned by an uncle.
Later, my Dad became a decorated war hero having served as a brave combat Ranger from 1939-1945. He was a proud member of the team known as “The Devil’s Brigade.” These revered Special Service Forces were identified as the Black Devils and became the forerunners to the Green Berets. Yet after WWII, his options were very limited. No bank would lend him money. But he was able to get a very small loan from another uncle. With that small stake, my Dad opened a little Mom/Pop grocery store in Gary, Indiana. I was literally born into the business as my mother’s water broke while she was running a cash register. In 1968 he fired me because I refused to cut my hair. I swore I would never go back into the grocery business. Yet, since early 1975, I have been a grocer. My operation is very different than my father’s but it is certainly based on what I learned working with my Dad.
This motif is common among Jewish families. The concept goes all the way back to the Bible. Many traditions, trades, and teachings were passed along from father to son. The truths of God were also supposed to be instructions passed down to every generation. In Hebrew, the terminology is “LaDor VaDor—from generation to generation.” Each generation is obligated to teach the next so that the important things are never forgotten.
It is often said that, “life is short.” Therefore, we should start early and work late to prepare the next generation. Yet some believe it is already too late for the next generation. The economy is too bad. World politics are too strained. There are too many wars. Some have given up hope. Life is short and full of blisters. But if our hope is in God, we can find rest and peace.
It is not time to give up. It is time to pray. I will cite a famous biblical promise once again to bring it to your memory. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land ” (2 Chronicles 7:14). As I mentioned previously, this is the focus of the National Religious Broadcaster’s (NRB) prayer emphasis that I have chosen to join and endorse. I want to ask you to pray for America during the 40 days beginning September 1, 2010. America needs prayer. It might be the most patriotic thing we can do. Pray for America–we need God!
Next time I want to explain a bit about the origin of this biblical text and discuss a father/son team from the Bible. Remember, God does not cut His plans short. He finishes what he starts. Sometimes it takes more than one generation. What will we pass to the next?
Til next time, have a bloggin’-good day in the Messiah!
Shalom,
Randy Weiss
I love America! My father sailed to America from a land where Jews were soon to be huddled into cattle cars and exterminated. This nation welcomed a poor Jewish family who escaped hatred, persecution, and murder. The brief respite between the pogroms and the Nazis enabled many thousands of Eastern European Jews a unique chance to pursue freedom and opportunity in this great nation. I am a beneficiary of America’s greatness and an immigrant’s hope. I love America—America gave me life.
America is still a land of hope and I believe it is still the greatest nation on earth. The American people have blended into a strong mixture of races, cultures, and destinies that have been forged in the crucible of tyranny and purified in the pursuit of freedom. We share the hope of better tomorrows through hard work and perseverance today. Yet many Americans are losing hope. Opportunity seems to be escaping. Our problems appear to be overwhelming. For some Americans, the future seems filled with desperation. Terror has invaded our national consciousness. Our enemies seek to destroy us from within and without.
If we are wise, our biggest concern should not be our loss of money, power, or influence in the world. Rather, our greatest loss has been the wholesale forsaking of righteousness.
It is for this reason that I am appealing to my readers to join me in prayer.
As a member of the National Religious Broadcasters, we are agreeing to pray for 40 days, beginning September 1, 2010. Our focus will be very simple. We will pray for America. This is not political. It is spiritual.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2nd Chronicles 7:14).
Will you join us? I will have more about this in upcoming blogs.
Til next time, have a bloggin’-good day in the Messiah!
Shalom,
Randy Weiss
I trust we all had a nice Fourth of July. What did we actually celebrate? In a nutshell . . . freedom! As some of you might know, I had produced a TV special to honor the event titled “Our Divine Right of Freedom.” I will add a link later this week to the material in case you might enjoy the information. Our ministry taught about the incredible Jewish connections to the experimental nation conceived in the belief that freedom comes from God. As John Adams said, “liberties are not the grants of princes and parliaments.” Freedom is not a privilege conveyed by a man or a government. Freedom is a gift from God.
Nevertheless, I did not watch my TV program or anyone else’s. My wife barbecued some chicken and then we went to the nearest local fireworks display. We carried our fold-up chairs and arrived quite early to locate a nice spot for enjoying the event. I brought some electronic reading materials to pass the time until the sky lit up with man made thunder & lightning.
An unintended consequence of my short reading was conviction. I will quote one small section to see if it has the same impact on you. “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?”
We all have heard the story of how to boil a frog. If he is thrown into a pot of boiling water, a frog will immediately jump out. But if he is placed in a pot of comfortable water, and the heat added slowly, a frog can be boiled while acclimating himself to the slowly increasing water temperature until it is too late. I have never tried this on a frog but I am forced to wonder if we might find ourselves in hot water? My life is comfortable and I enjoy peace. At what temperature would I be willing to jump from the water? I don’t know.
The convicting words quoted above were from the famous “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” speech of the patriot named Patrick Henry. He was concerned that most Americans seemed willing to accept the dangerous growth of enemy powers on our own shores. He was asking the citizens of his colony (Virginia) to join arms and defend their freedom from those who would bring oppression.
A very small majority of those in attendance at St. John’s Church voted with Patrick Henry and Virginia joined the American Revolution.
We live in a different age and face different challenges. But freedom is still a gift from God. However, those who enjoy freedom must do so with vigilance. To that end, I believe we must pray that our freedoms be protected and our nation turn back to God and away from the belief that any government can provide what we need for the future. Because I love America, I want to ask all Americans to join me in returning to a most well known biblical mandate of 2nd Chronicles 7:14.
IF MY PEOPLE . . .
Til next time, have a bloggin’-good day in the Messiah!
Shalom,
Randy Weiss
My wife bought me a new Taylor 814CE in December. The guitar (not the player) is amazing. It plays so easily that it writes it’s own music for me. I told the guitar to write a love song for my wife. The guitar misunderstood and generated a new worship song.
