Soothing Words

I was in conversation with God and I was reflecting on tough issues in our emails and face-to-face conversations, and my heart ached.  I could not imagine everyday-life situations without knowing Christ as my Lord and personal Savior. Everyday life has enough challenges, let alone those mountains and valleys we sometimes face.

I spontaneously burst out to the Heavens “To know you is to love you Lord.” Suddenly a whisper came back “you know me by loving me.”  What beautiful soothing words.

In looking for a song of worship in which to dwell for awhile I found the labor of love below.

I recommend the following: listen to the words and sing along with this beautiful song unto the Lord. Then listen to it again, and lose yourself in the stars and let your spirit float in worship, breathe with the song and let your soul touch the melody. 

May this soothe your troubled mind and spark the peace in your heart that only comes from up above. His light cancels the darkness, his love casts out all fear. This is for you my friend.

Michelle Tumes – Lovely from ChineseLoveSong

 

 You’re the sweet dreams that soothe me
When I can’t fall asleep
You’re the field in the middle of the city
When I’m rushing by at the speed of light
You’re the strong resolution when I find no peace
You’re the church bells ringing in the evening
When all is quiet You whisper comfort
That lifts my heart
I get so weak

Chorus:
Ooh You’re lovely, lovely
You’re the center of my universe
A thousand times I look around me and I find
Ooh You’re lovely, lovely
You’re the center of my universe
A million ways could not explain
You’re lovely

You’re the soft words that touch me
When I just can’t speak
You’re the breeze on the ocean in the morning
Reminding me to greet the day
You’re the flowers I remember seeing in Italy
Colors through a golden haze
Bright and radiant, soft and fragrant
In the noon day sun, it makes me sing

chorus

I understand there may be grief
And there may be pain
But I’m aware You blind the darkness
With Who You are

Because…

Interactive Love…

I witnessed something beautiful last week. It was in the middle of Worship at Church. You could feel the presence of the Almighty enthroned in that room as Nadja led us in Worship. The atmosphere was charged with love.

Ever so softly, I felt a wisp like sensation across my hair, and I opened my eyes to see Melinda. She was lost in worship as she danced across our meeting place with the banner or streamer twirling around her.  It was as if angels danced with her, and I could see the flow of love from her Father to her, and from her to her Father. What a beautiful expression of love. There was joy and intimacy.  There was no doubt, this was an expression of Mark 12:30 (KJV) – “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

Can you just imagine, what it does to our Father’s heart when we completely lose ourselves in Worship, showing and telling God what he means to us. What His love causes in us? What His loves stirs up in us? It is indescribable how much broader and deeper interactive love can be.

Maintaining a relationship with God requires communication on the heart level, not just mouth piece worship. A stable relationship does not just take, take, ask, ask and take, take, without reciprocating? God yearns and waits for us to touch His Heart. He is blessed by our greeting Him each morning and whispering sweet words to Him as we fall asleep.

Psalm 149 verses 1 – 5 reads:

1 Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. 2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. 4 For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. 5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

As we read our Bibles, we come to understand that dance was an expression of prayer and praise. Do you think it irreverent to be exuberant?  King David danced before the Ark of the Covenant you know.

As we come to know the attributes and the Character of God, He develops into the object of our Love, and that Love grows day by day.

Dear friends, may you too praise and worship and dance with the angels as you express your love to God our Father and to Jesus our Redeemer.

JESUS, WE ENTHRONE YOU from aben2u

 

I Will Dance, Phil Driscoll from beanscot

Singing Melody – I Can Only Imagine (2009 – Official Video)

from SingingMelodyJM

Peculiar People

I had this post on hold, until now. I have several posts on which I am working. I feel inspired to write on one subject, and then something unfolds unexpectedly in my spirit while reading the Word of God. I go back and forth, back and forth, going off on an excursion of words and thoughts, until the Holy Spirit gives me the nod to post.

This is such a post, as I have been exploring worship, holiness and the anointing. All of this was fueled while studying the Books of Esther and Ruth.  Here is what I gathered on reading up on the High Priest.  Remember we accessed the Holy Place when the Veil was torn, and we were given a glimpse behind the curtain. 

According to the Bible, the first High Priest (Kohen Gadol in Hebrew) was Aaron, the brother of Moses, and he was appointed by God.  It was an appointment for life. Well for a minute my mind runs away with the thought of what it means to be appointed to a place of position by God.  Did you catch that the blessing of honor extended down from generation to generation in his own line? Wow that is a whole posting on its own. I urge you to dwell on that concept.

I must interject though that because of sin, the Office of the High priest was passed to another, and his generation (1 Samuel Chapters 2 and 3). Begin to praise God for blessings which you see have been handed down from generation to generation in your line. The Office of High Priest changed, such that in the time of the New Testament, The Sanhedrin alone would appoint the High Priest.

Well, we first meet Aaron in Exodus Chapter 4, when God called Moses to lead his people out of Israel. This is what happened:

 ¹⁰And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

 ¹¹And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

 ¹²Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

 ¹³And he said, O my LORD, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

 ¹⁴And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

 ¹⁵And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

Did you catch that? Aaron was also a witness in the silences. Throughout the account, God speaks to Moses and Aaron. See the following search: http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=Aaron&version1=9&searchtype=all

Exodus 28 verses 1 to 3 speak to us of the Garments of Aaron as High Priest, and it reads: …and you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for dignity and for beauty” (Exodus 28:2).

Exodus 28, Exodus 39 and Leviticus 8 detail the garments, and described as:

• Breeches — Linen pants (Breeches) which reached from the waist down to the knees “to cover the nakedness.”
• Tunic — made of pure linen to cover the entire body from the neck down to the feet and long sleeves – the High Priest tunic had embroidery
• Sash – made of fine linen with emboidery (with colors of blue, purple and scarlet – same colors in the Tabernacle) for the High Priest, while the priests wore white twined linen sashes
• Turban – the High Priest turban was larger than that of the priests. It is described as a flat-top turban with a golden plate (crown) with words Holiness to the Lord (inscribed); while the turban for the priests was in the shape of a cone also with a golden plate and inscribed words
• Robe of the Ephod which was a purple garment with no sleeves and which had a fringed hem with small golden bells and pomengranate (alternating) tassels shapes in blue, purple and scarlet
• Ephod – an apron or vest with two onyx stones on the shoulders with the engraved names of the tribes of Israel, six on each side
• Breastplate – in the shape of a square had twleve gems (sardius (ruby), topaz, carbuncle (garnet), emerald, sapphire, diamond, jacinth, agate, amethyst, beryl, onyx, and jasper) (four rows of three) with engraved names with each one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and a pocket containing the Urim and Thummim (signifying light and perfection)

 

According to – http://www.instonebrewer.com/bpg2009/Pictures/Jewishp.htm

 

 I have the Hebrew Word Kiddush literally meaning “sanctification” (Holiness to the Lord as the High Priest) and is also a prayer. See http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Shabbat/Kiddush/

kiddush.html

Let’s look at what 1 Peter 2:9 says (KJV) –

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

What a privilege to be chosen.  Chosen to be Holy. Chosen to come before God’s presence. He has called us as his chosen generation to show others the “peucliar people “ we are, the set apart people to show forth his praises.  Right where you are, in whatever ministry, to your neighbor, to your boss, you and I are chosen.  I think I will dwell “in” that concept for awhile. 

Holiness from wcanderson1

 

When I Look Into Your Holiness from wendellc93

Hagevurah (The Power)…

As I was in prayer and worship my spirit began to bubble up and recite the Names of God, and soon moved on to the Names of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and attributes as well. Since there are infinite Names, I am sure you can add your own to this list.  I pray that in those moments when life overwhelms you that you might come before His presence and call His Name.

God

Yahweh                        Abba Father                Elohim                                                 

God of Israel               Almighty God                A strength in my distress

Ancient of Days            The Great I AM            A shelter for me

Everlasting Father        Father of Glory           

Immanuel                      Great Physician

Elohim Chayim (Living God)

El Elyon (The Most High God)

Hagevurah (The Power)

Avinu (Our Father)

Bara (Creator)

El Gibhor (Mighty)

Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father, Our King)

El Berith (God of Covenant)                 

Jehovah Jireh (Our Provider)

Avi-’ad (Everlasting Father)

Jehovah Rapha (The Lord that Healeth)

Avi-Khol (Father of All  )

Jehovah Nissi (The Lord Our Banner)

Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Our Peace)

Jehovah Ra-ah (the Lord my shepherd)

Jesus

Alpha and Omega          Christ Jesus                 Author and finisher of our faith

Bread of life                Jesus of Nazareth        Desire of all nations

Anointed One                My hiding place                        High priest                  

My King                        King of glory                Heir of all things

Shepherd                      My rock                        The Chief Corner Stone

Immanuel                      Faithful and True         Advocate with the Father

King of the Jews          Lamb of God                 Lion of the tribe of Judah

My hope                        Faithful witness            My deliverer

Redeemer                     The bridegroom            The Just One

The last Adam               Son of God                   Son of man

My portion                    Son of David                Fountain of Living Waters

Prince                           Savior                          Yeshua

Holy Spirit

Counselor                     Spirit of God                Spirit of holiness

Spirit of truth              Comforter                     Baptizer

Ruach HaKadosh           Holy Ghost                    Pneuma Theos

Jesus, Name Above All Names from crcworship

 

Names of God Countdown – Shine by: Matt Redman from Creationcentral

 

You Are Holy (Prince of Peace) by Michael W. Smith (Lyrics) from codywis

 

“His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful” – Carroll Roberson from aflame4God

 

Names of God from qendra2005

Avalon – El Shaddai from remboy14

  

The Human Condition

 

I struggled with this post. The Lord repeated “dabar” (Hebrew) meaning to “speak.”  So I will “speak” here what is in my heart.

My spirit grieves for Michael Jackson. Is that a surprising statement from a born again Christian? To admit that a born again believer is affected by the death of someone so adored by the world. No, it is not, Not when you see him through our Father’s eyes and with our Father’s heart. The Holy Spirit showed me the Words in Hebrew “Ayin” meaning “eye” and “Lev” meaning “heart.”

The moment my brother called me to share with my sister and myself that Michael Jackson had passed, I felt a deep sadness. A part of it was sadness for one of my generation, for someone who was a childhood friend in our living room. Someone who was so familiar to the World that we referred to him only as Michael.

Then there is the sadness in my spirit. I was sharing with my sister and my mom that I could not shake this sadness in my spirit. By Friday of last week, I knew I was to share something here. I struggled with it, not knowing what perspective I could share from.

I sat at the computer many times, and attempted to share something, anything, but nothing. Then this morning, on the day of his memorial, The Lord repeated “dabar” (Hebrew) meaning to “speak.”

One has only to watch the local and national news to see the impact Michael Jackson made on several generations. My spirit grieves for the sadness in Michael, and his pursuit to be loved, and the loss of his God-given talents. My spirit grieves for the creative spirit in him that could have been used more for God’s glory.

God purposed Christians in significant positions in Michael’s life to share His Word, His message of agape love with him. Should the Lord places you in high places, according to the World’s view, don’t forget the message.  You could be the last messenger in that person’s life.  But we don’t have to be in high places, because that homeless person needs to know the power of God’s love too, and His redeeming message. 

Michael had to have had a glimpse of the Father’s heart in order to write the words to “Heal the World” and ‘Will you be there”.

Is Michael in heaven?  I don’t know. There will be many in heaven who we do not think will be there, and we will see them. I am not here to dispute the matter.  My purpose is to question, starting with myself:

How many cry out like this, wanting and needing love and compassion? The world needs compassion for the human condition. How many times have we been quick to judge others, and yet looked away when someone in need reached out.

I will never forget the words of a homeless person who was interviewed. He said that which hurt him the most was that people seemed to look right through him.  He missed having someone look him in the eye or offer him a smile.  We must look for opportunities, God places them in our lives everyday.  There are people hungry for more than food to fill their stomach; they are hungry for love and compassion.  Lord, let it begin with me.

Finally, heed the words; look at the man in the mirror. Do you like what you see? You know God knows that person you see in the mirror. God can make the change, and God can make the difference.

I share the following words with you:

Nuwach (Strong’s Number 05118) meaning resting place

Taleh (Strong’s Number 02924) meaning lamb (noun masculine)

Zamar (Strong’s Number 2167) meaning to sing, to make music, sing praise  

Twenty-first Time by Monk and Neagle from JPM72396

Jeremy Camp – There will be a day from madsim2254

 

Araneide

The scientific name of spiders is Araneide. (http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_spiders/ScientificPage.htm)

Have I shared that I am terribly afraid of creepy crawlies?  Spiders qualify. Every morning, when I go out the front porch to walk Kiki and Dolly, there are Spider Webs draped across the area where the first step to go down is, and every morning I walk right into them. You should see me do the “escape dance”. I feel so foolish afterward, and check to see if any neighbors were witness to this silliness. 

Every morning I vow to check for spiders, but in my hurry, I forget and walk right into the webs. On this morning, I had a talk to the Lord about Spiders, and the need for having them in my own little corner of the world.

On this morning, as I prayed for deliverance from spiders, the Lord reminded me they were necessary. “Consider the spider” the Lord repeated. I hate spiders Lord, I despise them, and I don’t want to know about spiders.  The only spider I have liked is Charlotte (from “Charlotte’s Web.” )  My family knows my fear of spiders. They have witnessed me stop in my tracks, and zoom in on a spider across the room in a dark corner. I can perceive spiders and bugs.  I can almost hear them and feel them. AND spiders, and bugs, KNOW this, they will hunt me down, and terrorize me. HONEST!

Therefore you can imagine, I was reluctant to ‘consider the spider.”  So, I went to the Bible. “Show me the Spider Lord.”  I then used the verses I had found, and searched the web.  Here is what I found:

The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the spider’s web or house (Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked by Isaiah that they “weave the spider’s web” (59:5), i.e., their works and designs are, like the spider’s web, vain and useless. The Hebrew word here used is ‘akkabish, “a swift weaver.” From: http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/spider.html

Proverbs 30:24-28 (KJV) – There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:   The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.

The following was in an email that was forwarded to me, and I remembered it from having received it before. So let me share it with you:

Anonymous - During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, “Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen.”  After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one..” Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.  “Ha, he thought. “What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. “Lord, forgive me,” prayed the young man. “I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.”

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, “In God we will have success!” [Nehemiah 2:20]

Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always. Just speak His name through Jesus His son, and you will see His great power and love for you.  – Source Unknown

I also found the following on “you tube.”  So, the next time, I walk into a spider web, and do the “escape dance”, I will think of it as “walking into one of God’s miracles.”   I’ll tell you right now, it is going to be a challenge, but I will try to change my perspective, unless the spider web which has draped it self over me, actually has a “creature” in it. If that should happen you will probably hear me claming the Blood of Jesus, as I run across the front yard.

Miraculous Web Of Spiders Challenge Evolution from HighFlyingDutchman

 

A Witness in the Silence…

The Lord awakened me last night.

I want to share something with you. An observation really. Many of you know what it feels like to be awakened by the Holy Spirit at night, or hear the Lord’s call to awaken. You know exactly what I mean, when I say the Lord awakened me.

I rose up, ready to listen as to who needed intercession. Usually I sit at the side of my bed, and wait to hear. Nothing came. So I went to the living room, and sat in the “waiting chair” as I call it. Nothing. Since I was sleepy, I went down the “usual suspect” list, and I did not feel any prompting of the Spirit.  Nothing.  I walked around the house and checked the doors and windows, and prayed.  Nothing. I drank a glass of water, and headed for bed.

I stopped to check my sleeping mother, to see if her breathing was alright, and if she was covered and away from the edge of the bed.

As I turned away I almost missed it. I was intrigued. I was witnessing something my mother had often shared with my sister and me. She often told us, how she through the years had dreamt that she was flying in the air. She would relate these dreams with excitement and joy.

I sat down and watched my mother’s legs, as she lay in a supine position (face-up in bed), with her legs slightly raised up off the bed. The wonder of it all is that since her left hip fractures, arthritis, and age, she is unable to lift her legs up off the mattress without assistance. I know this because my sister and I help her with her therapeutic exercises. Her legs are too weak to lift off the mattress, but here she was in her sleep, legs slightly lifted.

And then it happened ! Her toes began to wiggle, and flutter, like wings, and then I saw her feet slightly turn to the left, and then maneuver smoothly to the right. I thought to myself, “she must be soaring through the sky with those maneuvers.”

 I watched her face. She had a peaceful look and a slight smile on her lips. Soon her fingers were fluttering, as well as her toes.  “She must need extra oomph” I thought to myself, as she climbed higher and higher.

 As she continued fluttering her toes and fingers, I thought of the stories she had told us, and then I realized she had been retelling the Psalms or biblical passages from Revelations, Isaiah, Daniel and Genesis. 

“Well shut my mouth”, I said to myself (feeling more like Gomer Pyle, “Shazam”), as I clearly recalled the times she had described God’s creation as colorfully intense, with waters that seemed to be living and as fountains, or the crystal waters over which she had soared. I remembered how she had described the trees whose deep green branches extended into the sky in open worship.  She would often encounter a black as black can be huge raging bull, which would pursue her, and as soon as she called out, a Shepherd would appear and rescue her. Other times, a mighty Lion would roar. She told me that the secret was to “call out”, and she would get so frustrated in her dream, because she would not call out, until the last moment. Sound familiar?

How about the time, she perceived evil (in the form of men), pursuing her, and she lifted her feet, and fluttered her toes, and she flew over the dark valley, and the twisted winding road below. She soared higher and higher until she arrived at a beautiful garden where an elegant table was set for many. I recognized Psalm 23.

There was another time she described how she was flying under the wings of a huge eagle, whose wing span stretched across the heavens.  Suddenly a huge hand covered her fluttering toes, so she would not hurt them against the stony mountains. She finally arrived safely to a fortress high above the clouds. The Lord showed me this was Psalm 91.

As I watched her, and recalled other descriptions she had shared, I began to recognize the tree from Psalm 1, and then from Psalm 3 the time she was in a battle, but covered with a shield, and was so tired that she lay down to rest in the middle of the battle, and then got up again refreshed without being harmed. I remembered now, how she had dodged the arrows in Psalm 11 and flown straight up to the face of God.  She tiptoed her way through Psalm 57.

I cried with a humble heart, realizing now the preciousness of what my mother had so often shared, and I had taken so lightly, even dismissed as a fanciful dream. As I contemplated my mother who was sleeping soundly, I looked over her pain racked body, and those legs and feet which require assistance and the use of a walker, and sometimes a wheelchair, those arms which she has trouble extending or holding up for long, and the fingers slightly bent with arthritis.  I had to praise the Lord, because He was allowing her in her dreams to “leap upon high places” with “hinds feet” (Psalm 18) and “soar” under the “wing” of the Almighty while singing (Psalm 63).  All things are possible in her dreams, and she regains the strength in her limbs.

How many things have I missed by not stopping to observe and to listen?  My mother’s dreams testify of the love of her Lord.  Her night prayers turn into songs that elevate her spirit before the throne of God. 

The Lord granted me the privilege to observe. As I worship, the following song leaps into my mind, and I share it with you, as ‘a witness in the silence.”  As a side note, as I sit down to write this post, my mother’s hands are extended out as if in worship, and her toes are still fluttering. I wonder which divine place she is visiting tonight?  Sweet dreams, mom.

Testify to Love from worshipgod2008

 

 Testify To Love Lyrics

All the colors of the rainbow
All of voices of the wind
Every dream that reaches out
That reaches out to find where love begins
Every word of every story
Every star in every sky
Every corner of creation lives to testify
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I’ll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
From the mountains to the valleys
From the rivers to the sea
Every hand that reaches out
Every hand that reaches out to offer peace
Every simple act of mercy
Every step to kingdom come
All the Hope in every heart will speak what love has done.

Levanto Mis Manos from unangeldeamor

Hoshi’ana

The  following is from a dear “e-friend in Christ”, Donna Diorio, who is one of many who have poured into my life.  Please support her ministry in any way the Lord may lead you. Please visit her ministry sites noted below.

Hoshi’ana

Posted Monday, June 22, 2009  by Donna Diorio, IsraelWatcher at Fruit of the Fig Tree blog

Sunday before last I sat listening to a pastor talk about his walk with the Lord and marveled over the many ways our experiences were similar.

We both came to the Lord as children in Baptist churches, then in the same year – 1982 – both of us entered into another experience that radically changed our walk. As he put it, ‘I can’t explain what happened; all I know is, “I was blind and now I see.”

That’s what happened to me, too, when I was introduced to the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). The Word of God came alive to me. Suddenly I could actually understand what I was reading!

I had to laugh listening to this pastor’s story because we also shared the experience of having difficulty receiving our prayer language – praying in the Spirit, or praying in other tongues. He said it took him about six months after receiving the baptism of the Spirit before his prayer language finally broke through.

For me it was more like three months, but I was just as perplexed and frustrated as it sounds like he was. We were both open to receiving and really, as Baptists we had never even been taught against speaking in tongues, so we didn’t have to battle through any preconceived notions. Like him – and he was a pastor’s son – we just had never heard about praying in the Spirit or “tongues” at all.

Like him, I really wanted my prayer language, but it didn’t matter how many times people prayed for us, there was something going on that just blocked that release. He speculated that maybe it was his logical male thinking processes that blocked the flow, because he liked to have everything figured out mentally. Maybe. I can certainly relate to that approach to things in my life too.

Whatever it was that blocked the flow, it certainly wasn’t anything I did when my prayer language finally began to flow. I remember distinctly sitting at the drawing board in my bedroom doing some art project while listening to a praise tape when suddenly my prayer language just bubbled up within me and poured out of my mouth. It was a language I didn’t know and words I’d never heard. My prayer language came pouring out when I wasn’t even thinking about it and – WOW! – I was so excited. It was joy unspeakable.

This Saturday I attended Shabbat worship at a local Messianic Jewish congregation. It was my first time to attend their worship services but we sang the familiar songs of worship to the Lord that I have enjoyed over the past almost two decades in the Messianic Jewish movement.

I am always moved by the reverence of Messianic worship; it is a holy reverence. Very pure.

We began to sing a song, Holy, which I have since found out was composed by Christian inspirational composer Grayson Warren Brown, which goes,

    “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
    heaven and earth are full of your glory.
    Hoshi’ana! Hoshi’ana! In the highest.”

In Messianic circles, we sing the Hebrew “Hoshi’ana” instead of the transliteration “Hosanna” found in the passage of Matthew 21 that this wonderful praise hymn is based on. 

As we were singing the chorus above, that’s when I remembered that when I got in my prayer language back in 1982, in the first string of words that was the word “Hoshiana”.

I remember it so clearly because I was so excited about finally receiving my prayer language that I immediately wrote down the words phonetically, “So I wouldn’t forget them.” I had no idea that the word was a Hebrew word or what it meant, only that it was a beautiful word to my ears – like the word “ocean” only, o-she-ana.

It was many years later before I realized it was a Hebrew word, and it is not until now that realize there was surely significance to this being a first word in my prayer language. It is the only word in that first string of words in my prayer language that I can remember 27 years later. It is still a word that bubbles forth at times when I am speaking in my prayer language.

In the Hebrew “hoshi a na” means “save us!” – it is a salvation that is understood to come through the Messiah. In Psalm 118, a prayer that is recited on the last day of the Feast of Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles – a feast in part that is symbolic of the indwelling of the Spirit in the Body of Messiah), “hoshi’ana” is the cry of Israel for the promised Messiah to deliver them, to fulfill salvation for them as a nation.

Psalm 118: 25-26
(Hoshi’ana) Save now, I pray, O LORD;
O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
Notice that the same words follow (“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”) that the crowd proclaimed to Jesus in what is known as His “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem:

    Matthew 21:
    5 “Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.”

    6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

    8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

    10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Isaiah 21:11 and Zechariah 9:9 are prophecies that were fulfilled in the exact words of the cries of the multitudes as Yeshua entered Jerusalem before His last Passover.

“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Surely your salvation (yesha) is coming; Isaiah 62:11

Even His name – Yeshua – is based on the Hebrew root word, yesha, which means “salvation.” Isaiah refers to the Messiah as “salvation” and Zechariah refers to Him as Israel’s “king.”

Zechariah prophesies, (9:9)
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Just before He ascended into heaven before the very eyes of his disciples they asked Him, Acts 1:6-8,
“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Some have found fault with the disciples asking Jesus when He would restore the kingdom to Israel as if it were an inappropriate question, but the truth is this was a perfectly appropriate expectation for His Jewish disciples to have. For their expectation was for the promise, for Israel’s hope in the LORD. It was the Messianic expectation of the Son of David who would be Israel’s deliverer and salvation.

Jesus did not rebuke them for expecting the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, answering them that the timing or season for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel was the Father’s business. Not their business to know, but their business was to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to become witnesses for Him.

In Matthew 23:37, Yeshua speaks to the crowd gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover, saying

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”

In this statement Jesus is saying that there is a time when Israel, in numbers large enough to be considered a corporate cry, will say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” It will mark the official season that the Father will “restore the kingdom to Israel.”

This is what we are all pressing into, the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven and Jesus is saying that Israel will surely be included in that kingdom. It is the reason Isaiah 62 is a prophecy so close to the heart of every Messianic Jew and every Christian whom God has stirred with heart for the Jewish people to come to the knowledge of their own Messiah.

    Isaiah 62

    1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,
    And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
    Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
    And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
    2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,
    And all kings your glory.
    You shall be called by a new name,
    Which the mouth of the LORD will name.
    3 You shall also be a crown of glory
    In the hand of the LORD,
    And a royal diadem
    In the hand of your God.
    4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
    Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;
    But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
    For the LORD delights in you,
    And your land shall be married.
    5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
    So shall your sons marry you;
    And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
    So shall your God rejoice over you.
    6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
    They shall never hold their peace day or night.
    You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent,
    7 And give Him no rest till He establishes
    And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
    8 The LORD has sworn by His right hand
    And by the arm of His strength:
    “Surely I will no longer give your grain
    As food for your enemies;
    And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine,
    For which you have labored.
    9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it,
    And praise the LORD;
    Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.”
    10 Go through,
    Go through the gates!
    Prepare the way for the people;
    Build up,
    Build up the highway!
    Take out the stones,
    Lift up a banner for the peoples!
    11 Indeed the LORD has proclaimed
    To the end of the world:
    “Say to the daughter of Zion,
    ‘Surely your salvation is coming;
    Behold, His reward is with Him,
    And His work before Him.’”
    12 And they shall call them The Holy People,
    The Redeemed of the LORD;
    And you shall be called Sought Out,
    A City Not Forsaken.

Permission granted to forward or republish this writing providing
author’s name and www.israelprayer.com are included.

- Donna Diorio
www.israelprayer.com Serving the Israeli Body of Messiah

My Israel Blogs:

If your weekly Arrows from Zion email does not come in, check online!
at Israel Prayer Dot Com  Arrows from Zion (headline points only) posted each Wednesday
      http://israelprayerdotcom.blogspot.com/

Israel Watcher – A Second Opinion    Mostly political or current events commentary
      http://israelwatcherasecondopinion.blogspot.com/

Fruit of the Fig Tree   Spiritual insights 
         http://figtreefruit-israelwatcher.blogspot.com/

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Stretches of Sand

There are hurting people. I have received emails in the last month, and spoken to people who are hurting. I have been with others who could not even give voice to their hurt. They did not have to, the hurt was in their eyes, their voice, their slumped shoulders, and heart.

I have been interceding for people, calling their name out before the Lord. I ask him to hear their prayer in the those long “stretches of sand”, their personal deserts, their place of distress.

I am reminded of the desolate places like the cave (1 Samuel 22) where David hid away or the desert (1 Samuel 25), or the brook where Elijah found himself (1 Kings 17), or the jail (King’s Prison) in which Joseph was (Genesis 39:20).

But let’s take a second look, what did David do while in the cave? He sharpened his weapons and considered his options. He fortified his camp. He built up supporters.

What did Elijah do? He fortified his body. He ate bread in the morning, and in the evening, and drank from the brook.  He had holy provision.  We too can eat and drink of the Word in our place of distress, it is Holy provision. 

What did Joseph do? He took care of the prisoners. He looked away from his own bondage, and served others.  He listened to their dreams.

Maybe you feel isolation in your life right now. Is it from friends, family or church, or from sickness?  Is there disappointment? Has hope dwindled? Are people questioning your integrity, your very sanity, or your courage? Do you hear whispers, “can that person possibly pick themselves up?” If you recall in one of the post’s in April 27, 2009, under the ‘Pressed Reporter”, I wrote about the feet in the sand.  Well, as I have prayed for those hurting, that picture in my mind and the sound of shuffling are so present, and I know God is carrying each one of us through. Through the whispers, through the defeat, through the dishonor, through the sandstorm, and into an oasis of rest and refershment.

But wait, David had a “band of brothers” and he formed a mighty force out of that desolate place. 

Elijah was not alone, God told him, (1 Kings 19:18 NIV) – “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel–all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

It shows us a picture that even while we are in our low place, God is bringing together our supporters, and those who will bless us, those who will go into battle for us.

Daniel formed divine connections in his lowest moments. Look around the desolate place, find the glimmer of light, and follow it, hold fast, and make your way out of your “desert”

It is during these ‘stretches of sand” that our fiber is strengthened and our character is molded.  This isolation is a place of preparedness. It is a place to depend solely on God.

As I pray for those I am aware of being in a hurting place, I ask the Lord to please visit you in that place, the place you find yourself. I have the Word “Makom” meaning a name of God meaning “place”. May your hearts rest assured that “He” is in that “place” with you and is bringing you through.

Let’s look back at I kings 19:10-15 God asks Elijah twice: ”What doest thou here?” NIV version reads – What are you doing here, Elijah?” God told him “Go back the way you came…(I kings 19:15). Don’t stay in the cave or desert, don’t stay by the brook, don’t stay in isolation in a jail of your making.  The last thing I want to remind you of is found in 1Samuel 22:5 (NIV) – “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart and go to the land of Judah.’”  Put your praise on.  – Judah means praise. Ps 50:23 (NIV)  He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”  Go back the way you came. Powerful words.  Yes, friend, go back the way you came, to that place you first found Jesus, to that place you first found joy.  Amen.  Andre Crouch’s song says it this way…

Take me back, take me back dear Lord
To the place where I first received you.
Take me back, take me back dear Lord where I
First believed.

 I feel that I’m so far from you Lord
But still I hear you calling me
Those simple things that I once knew,
The memories are drawing me.

I must confess, Lord I’ve been blessed
But yet my soul’s not satisfied.
Renew my faith, restore my joy
And dry my weeping eyes.

I tried so hard,
To make it all alone.
I need your help
Just to make it home.

Andrae Crouch “Take Me Back” from TrotOut

As I was ending this post, I heard this song, and it said it all. Be encouraged, dear one.

You Are My Hiding Place/As The Deer from michelle2chat

013. Desert Song – Hillsong 2008 w/z Lyrics and Chords  stephb280784

You Never Let Go – song by Matt Redman kalilahka2007

Clinging to the cross from tinx2000

 

AVOT: Patriarchs

It is Saturday, and tomorrow is Sunday, June 21, 2009 – Father’s Day.  I busied myself while waiting for a Word from God.  Literally a Word.  The Word “Avot” rings out in my head.  I immediately know that this must be a word related to Father’s since I have been asking the Lord as to what I was to share, here, on Father’s day.

I stop straightening the linen closet, and check the references. Yep. There it is.

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/Daily_Prayers/

Shemoneh_Esrei/Avot/avot.html

shows “Avot” Patriarchs

According to:

http://www.answers.com/topic/avot-1

and

Encyclopedia of Judaism. The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. Copyright © 1989, 2002 by G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House, Ltd. All rights reserved

‘Avot” is:

“It is a collection of rabbinic sayings and maxims which emphasize the importance of wise counsel, Torah study, and religious observance in Jewish life.”

According to:

http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/a.htm

“Avot” – the group of “forefathers,” or “Founding Fathers,” of the Jewish people.  

Hmmm.. wise counsel from father’s.  The following comes to mind:

My father was a carpenter. My father would run his hands across the grain of wooden furniture. He would stop to admire the grain, and wonder what caused its formation. He would tell me to stop and appreciate the grain in the wood in the dining room table.  The grain in the wood was a telltale sign of the strength of the wood.

From what I remember, the grain illustrates how every time the tree encountered some sort of storm “altering” situation, a new pattern emerged, thus strengthening the tree.  My dad also told me that the grain of the wood determines how straight the tree grows. I remember him showing me “twisted” growth, where the tree shot off to the right or to the left. I remember how he illustrated that a “knot” in the wood looks attractive, but it is really the weakest area of the tree, where a break can happen. Looking back I can see “the signposts” from a Christian perspective.

My father would lament that furniture was not made like it was in the “old days.”  He commented how the company he worked for had him apply wood grain “stain” instead, and how he did his best to emulate the true pattern of grain.

My father was a quiet man. Not a man of many words, but he was warm-hearted nonetheless. He lived by example, not by many words. The lesson shared above is from a man who in my growing years I watched come home limping and quietly go to his room, and tend to his bleeding ulcers on his legs. My sister Mary Lou was his little nurse, and would dutifully hold the tape and gauze while he cut new dressings for his wounds.  I also think about the thick yellowish calluses on his hands as he would lean on the table asking about our day.  I remember the slow tired smile at the end of the day.  As I look back, I see the strength in the pattern of his “grain.”

Have you noticed that trees are mentioned many times in the Bible.  There are all kinds of trees and illustrations to do a study. (http://www.bible-topics.com/Trees.html)

Let us stop to appreciate the grain of our tree stock, our fathers, and our patriarchs. Above all, let us strive to emulate the pattern set to us by our heavenly father.

God the Father patterned each tree, that its grain be strong, to whether the storms, to be a shelter.  There was a tree that to this day, has brought shelter to many a soul, for that tree bore Jesus Christ on its grain.  God had to love that tree and see it grow strong, and give it pattern, and in doing so, give his most beloved Son, Jesus, up to the tree, the old rugged cross.

He Grew A tree from WorshipinPoetry

I stop to contemplate the word “Patriarch:

Pa”tri*arch – lineage, especially on the father’s side, race; father, a leader, chief; to lead, rule.  From: Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

As I consider, the word Patriarch, I remember memorable leaders and fathers in my family circle.

1986 and 1987 were difficult years for our families. My father had been diagnosed with cancer. He lived through December 1987. My cousin Julie and her children lost a husband and father, Arthur in April of 1986. The next year my Aunt and cousins in San Diego lost a father and husband, my uncle Salvador in April of 1987. My sister-in-law, Linda, lost her dad in June of 1987, while he was visiting here on Father’s Day in Southern California from Wisconsin. My dad passed on in December 2007.

They were our Patriarchs. These men were so much a part of our lives, and continue in our hearts these many years. I celebrate their memory. I celebrate the legacy of their families. Look for the “strength” (grain) pattern in your father’s and how God’s love is reflected through them. Stop and appreciate them, not only by word, but from the heart.

Patriarchs are like the grain of wood, in who families find their strength, and the rings in the grain, are fortified as they unite under one head.  The center of the grain is the strongest, as it should be with the Patriarchs, (the leaders) in our families, the center of our connection.  There might be a knot in our family trees, you know the place. The place where there was twisted growth, and the pattern wanted to shoot off to the left or grow downward, but then strength from the “core” overtook the wayward, and breaking occurred to allow for “correction” and strengthening.  

In this day and age, we hear the word Patriarch used mainly in the Bible, when it speaks to us of the great men of faith. I hear you, yes, they were men of faith who had their weak moments, their trials, their own journeys, but in coming through, their descendents came through too, and the blessing was extended down.  We only have to look to them to see that they were the center of their families, the respected heads, and when the family honored their Patriarchs, when they actually took time for a relationship, all sorts of blessings and connections were promised to them.  If your earthly father relationship is broken, then connect.  Let it be you that makes a difference in the grain, you and yours will be blessed.  If your heavenly relationship with the Father is broken, then connect. Your blessing will be great.

Take time to think about it. Abraham, Jacob, Job, and David went through journeys and trials, in which they learned the depth of what it means to call on God.  The ones I mentioned here, had children, and if we read back to their stories, we can appreciate the strengthening of their “grain.” 

And to the Supreme Dad of Fatherhood, God our Father, who has privileged us with the gift of being his children.  2 Corinthians 6:18 reads: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.”  Abba, Father, God the Father.

I share the following labors of love:

The Father’s Song by Matt Redman from Muis0260

From The Father’s Heart – 365Promises.com FROM fatherheart

The Father’s Love from RickJadin

Our Father from bluegrifter

Amy Grant – Our Father’s Eyes from bpentium