Trust and Live

The Most High God chose to leave the glorious realm of heaven to live like the dust of the earth, to live as a human, enduring all the difficulties, joys, sorrows, and trials of this life. He had mountaintop experiences and valley experiences. He experienced slander from his enemies and betrayal from his friends and family. He was bullied, ridiculed, laughed at, beaten, stripped, humiliated, tortured and finally killed.

His friends and followers were left feeling confused and hopeless. Their greatest hopes and dreams had been ripped to shreds, their faith stretched so thin it threatened to break at any second. They were left with questions. "Wasn't this the King we had been waiting for?" "How could we have been wrong?" "Did we miss something along the way?" "What do we do now?" "I guess we go back to fishing." "What's left?" "Why?"

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways  higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

Because He loves us...
His life on earth was to identify with us.
His death was the punishment that we deserved for all of our sins, past, present, and future.
But the Power of God could not be contained in death. He defeated death and rose again to life, real life, so that we could live with Him forever in Heaven.

Trust in Jesus Christ ... and live.

Sunday is Resurrection Day. It is the celebration of the day that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, defeated death and sin and it's hold over you and me. I hope you have a wonderful celebration of our Risen Savior.

My oldest grand-daughter has chosen to Trust Jesus with her life and will be baptized on Resurrection Day.

 Join me at Titus 2 in Action today...

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Shalom

I'm so enjoying Yahweh-Shalom this week so I want to share the Peace.





"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Jehovah-Shalom, Yahweh-Shalom, The LORD is Peace

Studying the Names of God with Yolanda at Joy Comes in the Morning from the book LORD, I Want to Know You by Kay Arthur. I am also studying from the book Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler. I would like to add that I am just loving this study. With every Name that I learn, I am drawing closer to God and learning so much about His character. If you have never done a study on the Names of God I highly recommend it.

In Judges 6 we find that the Israelites were still doing evil in God's sight so He turned them over the the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites so oppressed and impoverished the Israelites, destroying everything that they had so they hid out in caves and began calling out to God for help. We meet Gideon hiding out in a winepress to thresh wheat to keep it from the Midianites. An angel of the LORD shows up and commissions Gideon to strike down the Midianites with the assurance that the LORD will be with him.

So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Judges 6:24 (emphasis mine)

This is the first use of the Name Yahweh-Shalom in the Bible. When we think of peace we usually think of tranquility, serenity, and harmony with others, but as Kay pointed out, the Hebrew word Shalom takes the meaning to a deeper level. At it's root, Shalom means to be whole. The relationship is one of harmony and wholeness. It carries the idea of completeness, perfection, safety and wellness. According to Vines shalom as a harmonious state of the soul and mind encourages the development of the faculties and powers. The state of being at ease is experienced both externally and internally. This is a peace that is beyond our comprehension and it comes from living in harmony with Yahweh. Yahweh-Shalom is the source of all peace so it makes sense that His Son is called the Prince of Peace.

This study came at just the right time for me as I have been filled with much tension and anxiety lately but through this study I found Yahweh-Shalom again, and the peace that He offers in the midst of any circumstances.

Shalom my friends~











"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Jehovah-Mekoddishkem, The LORD Who Sanctifies You

Still joining Yolanda at Joy Comes in the Morning in our study of the Names of God from Kay Arthur's book LORD I Want To Know You. Ann Spangler does not mention this Name in her book Praying the Names of God.

Okay so the week is almost over and I'm just now getting this posted. My back has been out for almost two weeks and I haven't been able to do much but lay around. I'm so tired of laying around, not to mention all the other problems this is creating for me. I appreciate your prayers.

¹² And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³ “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. ¹⁴ You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”
¹⁸ And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Exodus 31:12-18 (emphasis mine)

 The word sanctify means to set apart or make holy. The Name Jehovah-Mekoddishkem comes from Exodus 31:13 as noted above. Jehovah referred to Himself by this Name when He gave Moses the command to keep the Sabbath. I never noticed before that Jehovah spells out the purpose for keeping the Sabbath here. It is to remember that in the same way that He made the Sabbath holy or set apart to the Israelites, He also made His People holy and set apart to Himself.

This was a reminder of His covenant promise that He is the One who sanctifies us. It is not of our own doing but it is worked out through our cooperative obedience to Him just as the Israelites were required to keep the Sabbath. As a matter of fact it's interesting to note that it was as Jehovah was giving the first laws (10 commandments) to Moses that He made Himself known as Jehovah-Mekoddishkem.

 ⁷ "Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. ⁸ Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy." ^[a]  Leviticus 20:7-8
Footnotes: a: Leviticus 20:8 Or who sanctifies you ; or who sets you apart as holy

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Jesus, Friend to Children

I'm fairly new at the church I'm attending having been there only about four months. As many of you know, I bring my three grand-daughters to church with me most every Sunday. At our previous church my oldest grand-daughter Word Girl went to a kids worship while I went to adult worship with both of my littlest grand-daughters. At our new church the two little ones go to their own kids worship and Word Girl comes with me to adult worship.

One day as we walked into worship we were met by a lady I had gotten to know a little who stopped to say hello. Almost immediately she introduced herself to Word Girl and began a friendly conversation with her. After a few minutes we said our goodbyes and Word Girl and I went to go take our seats. She had a big grin on her face and felt like she had just found a new friend.

Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there. Matthew 19:13-15

The word rebuke is defined "to express sharp, stern disapproval of; to criticize sharply; reprove; reprimand."

People were always trying to get to Jesus to be healed, to ask a question, even just to get a look at Him as Zacchaeus the tax collector was doing when he climbed a tree. Yet when parents tried to bring their children to Jesus to touch them, bless them or pray over them, the disciples were very put out. Jesus not only loved children but he paid attention to them. I imagine when the children were brought to Jesus He squatted down to their height, looked straight into their eyes with a big smile on His face and talked with them. He probably asked them their name, their age, and what they liked to do. I'm sure He listened to them with great interest in what they said and after He prayed for them He probably hugged them or jostled their hair.

The Bible doesn't give us all the details but no doubt, He met them at their point of need just like He did with everyone else, and I'm sure those kids left Him with a big grin on their face and feeling like they had just found a new friend.

We all need a little attention sometimes. Children are often overlooked in a crowd of adults even at church. When you are in church next time and they tell you to greet the people near you, see if there is a child nearby that you can talk to. Maybe you will make them feel like they found a friend, and it just might make an impact on them for life.

"Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me." Matthew 18:5

Meet me at Titus 2 in Action ...

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Jehovah-Nissi, Yahweh-Nissi, The LORD is My Banner

Studying the Names of God with Yolanda at Joy Comes in the Morning from the book LORD, I Want to Know You by Kay Arthur. I am also studying from the book Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler.

A banner is a symbol of identification. Unlike flags, ancient banners were usually emblems made of wood or metal that attached to the top of a staff or pole. It contained symbols that represented the ideals of whoever carried it so it aroused devotion to a nation, cause, or leader. A banner was generally a point of gathering for troops before a battle or announcement of victory after a battle was won, and it was carried, raised high before troops as they went out to battle.

8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."

 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

 15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16 He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."  Exodus 17:8-16

This was the first battle that the Israelites faced after leaving Egypt. Kay taught us in a previous chapter that the first time one of the Names of God is used in the Bible is significant. I also learned in my Sunday school class this last week as we prepare to study Genesis, that the first time an event occurs is also significant. Isn't it just awesome the way God planned and organized the details of the Bible? Even in ways that are not at first obvious.

The Amalekites are a symbol of all the forces that oppose God, the spiritual battles that we continually face. Kay focused heavily on the battle we have with our flesh, of choosing to die to self. As we have been studying I have noticed that all of the Names and events where they first occur, point to Jesus in some way. In this case we see Jesus as our Banner. He is the One who was lifted up on the cross to defeat our spiritual enemy.

Notice in verse 14 it says Yahweh will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Then in verse 16 it says Yahweh will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation. Under the Banner of Jesus we have victory over the enemy even though he keeps forming attacks against us. Whether we are going through a physical battle or a spiritual battle, Jehovah-Nissi promises to be at war with our enemies.

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Psalm 35:1

...His banner over me is love. Song of Solomon 2:4

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Thankful Thursday - March 11, 2010

Sonya at Truth for the Journey has passed the mantle of leading Thankful Thursdays on to Greg at Greg's General Store. Sonya was a wonderful leader for this meme and I have to say she couldn't have picked a better person to take on this role. So today I join Greg and all his followers for Thankful Thursday.

I am thankful that God led me to reconnect with my Jr High friend at this time and that He has a plan and a purpose for this.

I am thanful for all you sweet bloggy friends who have prayed for my friend and for me. It means so much to me.

I am thanful for the home that God has given me. I think about the people who are homeless and without a roof over their heads and my heart really goes out to them.

I am thankful for my SUV that God picked out for me several years ago. I had been praying for a passenger vehicle for a little while so that I could more easily, and safely  carry my sweet little cargo of grand-girls around but I never dreamed of anything like this SUV. It is exceedingly, abundantly above what I asked for or imagined.

I am thankful that I only have two payments left on the SUV and that debt will be gone. Yay!

I am thankful for the work that God has given, and that He uses me to touch other's lives like He does.

I am thankful that my bloggy friends still come by to visit me even though I haven't had much time to blog visit lately. I hope to improve on that soon.

Thank you LORD that you are my Yahweh-Yireh, that you will never leave me or forsake me, and that your love is everlasting. You are my all in all and I praise and worship you with all my heart. ~ In Jesus Name, Amen

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

The Names of God and Other Stuff

Kay took a break this week and reviewed what we have learned up to this point and the timing was perfect for me because I'm feeling a bit under the weather and writing a post takes a lot out of me sometimes. ☺ Next week we will look at Jehovah-Nissi.

Today is a dear bloggy friend's birthday. Please stop by her place and wish her a ♫Happy Birthday♪.

Last week I connected with someone who was my best friend in Jr High. Our friendship had ended on a bad note and I have always wanted to apologize to her but was never able to connect with her. Over the years I have sometimes Googled her name or searched for her on Facebook but nothing. Her name is not too unique even though she is wonderfully unique. So last week I decided to check Facebook again and prayed that God would let me find her so I could apologize. I found her almost immediately.

I sent her a message with my apology and we have been messaging our life stories back and forth since then. The first thing she told me was that she had started radiation treatment for breast cancer that very day. We seem to have reconnected at a level of openness that we had way back then, as we are pretty open books with each other right now. I hope it continues, she is one of the very few people from my past that I have wanted to reconnect with. She is not a Christian and I have been praying to Jehovah-Rapha for her physical healing as well as her spiritual healing. Very quickly in the course of our conversations God provided an opportunity for me to share my worst sins and how and why I fell in love with Christ and gave my life to Him.

I am sure that God arranged for us to connect now and that He is working in this to speak to her. Would you please pray with me for her healing and that she would hear God speaking to her heart? Also that God would continue to guide the conversation. I won't give her name but initials are GR. ...Thanks!

I promised a post looking at the Scriptures as compared to Peterson's book The Message and will follow through with that soon. It's been busy and I really need the income. I would really appreciate your prayers for my finances and direction too if you wouldn't mind.

Enjoy your week! ☺





"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Teaching Them How To Pray

Have you ever sat down to a meal with someone who asked their child to lead in giving thanks and the prayer was spoken so fast that you didn't even hear it? Did you ever do that when you were a child? Did you have a specific prayer that you said at every meal or when you went to bed? I did a Google search on children's prayers and was surprised at how many little poem type prayers for children there were. Here are a few examples you may be familiar with.

Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.

---

God is great,
God is good.
And we thank Him
For our food. Amen.

---

Lord, Bless this bunch, while we munch our lunch. Amen.

---

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take
God bless our family and our friends.

---

(And the politically correct version.)

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
May angels watch me
through the night and
wake me with the morning light.

While these are cute, amusing, and poetic little prayers, they miss the mark of what prayer actually is. Prayer is talking with God. It is relational not religious. When we teach our children to pray a memorized prayer that was written by someone else, it becomes a set of words that can be recited at the speed of light without a thought. It's important to teach even the littlest child to talk to God from their own heart.

As adults we should also participate in the prayer and not always let the child take the lead. We are the ones who need to model prayer to our children and grand children. Jesus modeled prayer for us in Matthew 6.

"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  Matthew 6:9-13

In the same way, we need to model prayer with elements of praise and adoration for God, prayer for God's Kingdom and His will to reign on earth, requests for our provision, forgiveness for our sins and for those who have wronged us, for protection against temptation and against Satan. Not that all of these elements need to be included in every prayer but that they all are frequently modeled in our prayer life. In doing this we will teach our children how to develop relational prayer with God, and as we listen to them pray we will also gain insight into their hearts.

Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. Psalm 54:2

...but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Psalm 66:19

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Matthew 6:7

I am at Titus 2 in Action today. Please join me there.

"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Jehovah-Rapha, Yahweh-Rophe, The LORD Who Heals

Studying the Names of God with Yolanda at Joy Comes in the Morning from the book LORD, I Want to Know You by Kay Arthur. I am also studying from the book Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler. I'm a day late in getting this posted this week.

The Name Jehovah-Rapha is first used in Exodus 15:26 by God as He identifies Himself as the healer of His people. The word rapha means heal, cure, restore, or make whole.

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.” Exodus 15:22-26 (emphasis mine)

The word Marah literally means bitter. I found it interesting that it was only three days after experiencing the incredible miracle of God's parting the Red Sea, that the Israelites were bitter in spirit and complaining against Moses who was following God's direction. There is a connection made between this account and what Jesus did for us on the cross. The word bitter used to describe the water is an indication that the water didn't just taste bad but was likely in an unhealthy state which is why the people couldn't drink it. In the same manner our souls are in an unhealthy state in need of purifying before we are followers of Christ. The tree that God instructed Moses to cast into the water is symbolic of the tree that Jesus was nailed to. In His death, Jesus overpowered the bitterness of sin, and in being made alive again, He became sweet, living water for all who seek Him. This is the spiritual healing that is associated with the Name Jehovah-Rapha.

Whether physical, emotional, or spiritual healing is needed we should always seek healing from Jehovah-Rapha first. Whether for an individual or for a nation, healing comes from Jehovah-Rapha.

In the latter part of these verses, just before God identifies Himself as Jehovah-Rapha, He states the responsibility of His people that will bring the blessing or promise associated with this Name. There is a connection between obedience to God and healing. The nation of Israel was to trust God for their healing as they walked in obedience to His word.

Just as we have rules for our children, God gives us commands to protect us. We can look at many of the laws God gave the Israelites and see that He as instructing them as a physician would to prevent and heal illnesses. Many laws for cleansing and quarantines were put in place by God for their physical health.

Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Leviticus 15:11

If the spot on his skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to put the infected person in isolation for seven days. Leviticus 13:4

During Christ's life on earth He healed many people of physical illness and disease, but his Healing did not stop at the physical. When He healed His purpose was always to bring healing to the soul as well as the body.

Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." Matthew 9:2

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” John 5:14

This does not mean that all disease is a result of sin, as pointed out in the case of the blind man in John 9, but it does show there is a connection that God wants us to be aware of.

What is one way the Name Jehovah-Rapha speaks to my heart?

There is far too much for me to go into all the ways this Name speaks to me but one of the ways is in the way I as an individual have an impact on the health of the nation. If Jehovah-Rapha promises to heal His People of disease when we walk in obedience to Him, then when our nation is full of moral filth and evil, diseases of the spirit, I have to look at me, His People and sincerely ask Him to search my heart, show me my sins, and help me to turn away from them.

What is one way the Name Jehovah-Rapha speaks to your heart?









"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou