Bugsy Siegel And The Holy Gamblers

Saturday, August 28, 2021

I don't picture gangsters as being Jewish. But Benjamin Siegel, or 'Bugsy Siegel', was a Jewish gangster from NY. He got the idea to invest massive amounts of underworld money into building a gambling casino in the barren desert of Las Vegas. It failed, and his underworld investors had him killed because of it. But in the process, Bugsy Siegel opened the way for the multibillion-dollar gambling industry of Las Vegas. That kind of gambling destroys lives. But, there is a type of gambling that's Biblical and Jewish. When you step out in faith and follow righteousness no matter the odds, you are taking a holy risk. The Bible is filled with Jewish gamblers - Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah, Peter, and Paul. Abraham gambled on a Promised Land, Moses gambled on a burning bush, Jeremiah gambled on the Word of the LORD, Peter gambled on Messiah's power to keep him above the water, and Paul gambled on the Gospel. They gambled everything on God. As a believer, you have to take risks and go against the world's odds. Put everything on God. For every gamble on God, is actually the only sure bet.

From Message #580 - Risky Business