So Captivating He is
Captivate:
1.to attract and hold the attention or interest of, as by beauty or excellence; enchant
2.to attract and hold somebody's attention by charm or other pleasing or irresistible features
ENJOY… take some time and embrace these words.
“O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.”
“Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring. By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne.”
“Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe; Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?” O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord."
“Children, go where I send thee, How shall I send thee? I'm gonna send thee one by one
One for the little bitty - baby Born, born, born in Bethlehem.”
“Silent night, holy night! Wondrous star, lend thy light! With the angels let us sing
Alleluia to our King! Christ the Saviour is here, Jesus the Saviour is here!”
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.”
“Hark the herald angels sing, ‘Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled’ Joyful, all ye nations rise Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim: ‘Christ is born in Bethlehem’ Hark! The herald angels sing "Glory to the newborn King!"
“Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian, fear: for sinners here, The silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through, The Cross be borne, for me, for you. Hail, hail, the Word made flesh, The Babe, the Son of Mary!”
“A throne in a manger, the cross in a cradle, The hidden revealing this glorious plan;
A child who would suffer, A child who would conquer, The sins of every woman, the sins of every man.”
“We beheld—it is no fable— God incarnate, King of bliss, Swathed and cradled in a stable, And the angel strain was this: Gloria, in excelsis Deo! Gloria, in excelsis Deo!”
“Said the king to the people everywhere, Listen to what I say; Pray for peace, people everywhere! Listen to what I say The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night, He will bring us goodness and light; He will bring us goodness and light.”
“Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord, That hath made heaven And earth of naught And with His blood Mankind hath bought. Noel Noel Noel Noel! Born is the King of Israel!”
“Of His government, There will be no end; He'll establish it with His righteousness
He shall reign on David's throne, And His name shall be from this day on; Wonderful, Counselor, Everlasting Father.”
“Mortals, join the mighty chorus, Which the morning stars began; Father love is reigning o'er us, Brother love binds man to man; Ever singing, march we onward, Victors in the midst of strife, Joyful music lifts us Sonward; In the triumph song of life. We sing in Jubilation, adoration to a joyful King, You are spinning and You are singing, Zealous love over all Your children.”
“Made perfect first in love, And sanctified by grace, We shall from earth remove,
And see His glorious face: His love shall then be fully showed, And man shall all be lost in God.”
“With my substance will I honor My Redeemer and my Lord; Were ten thousand worlds my manor, All were nothing to His Word: While the heralds of salvation His abounding grace proclaim, Let His friends, of every station, Gladly join to spread His fame.”
“Sing we all Noel, the gladsome tidings bring Lift our God on high as His praises now we sing. Sing we all Noel, our hearts with love aflame Praising Christ our Savour, we bless His holy name.”
“He made me a watchman Upon the city wall, And if I am a Christian, I am the least of all. Go, Tell It On The Mountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, Tell It On The Mountain That Jesus Christ is born.”
“Though the cold grows stronger, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Though the world loves night, Yet the days grow longer, Alleluya, Alleluya, Alleluya, Chris is born our Light. Now the Dial's type is learnt, Burns the Bush that is not burnt: War and strife are done; God and man are one.”
“Now to the Lord sing praises, All you within this place, And with true love and brotherhood Each other now embrace; This holy tide of Christmas All other doth deface. O tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy.”
“Jesu, joy of man's desiring, Holy wisdom, love most bright. Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring , Soar to uncreated light. Word of God, our flesh that fashioned With the fire of life impassioned, Striving still to Truth unknown, Soaring, dying 'round Thy throne.”
“He rules the world with truth and grace, And gives to nations proof The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love; And wonders of His love; And wonders, wonders of His love.”
“Truly He taught us To love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break For the slave is our brother And in His name All oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in Grateful chorus raise we, Let all within us Praise His holy name!
Christ is the Lord, Oh praise His name forever, His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim
His pow'r and glory Evermore proclaim.”
“Beautiful Star the hope of rest For the redeemed, the good and the blessed; Yonder in glory when the crown is won, Jesus is now that star divine, Brighter and brighter He will shine, Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shine on. Oh Beautiful Star (Beautiful, Beautiful Star)
Of Bethlehem (Star of Bethlehem) Shine upon us until the glory dawns, Give us the light to light the way, Unto the land of perfect day; Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shine on.”
I am captivated by Jesus Christ. I remain captivated by what He accomplished when He came to Earth as a baby. There are no words better than the ones written above to describe this season.
Most of the lyrics above are the ones toward the end; the ones we don’t always get to, or aren’t paying attention to by the time we get there. I found hidden joys and treasures at the bottom of Christmas carols and hymns.
I know it is no coincidence that ‘captivate’ was the last word on my list. I pray that these lyrics and this Baby captivate you this season and this year.
“Holy Jesus, every day Keep us in the narrow way; And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds Thy glory hide.”
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Impressed
1 a: to apply with pressure so as to imprint
b: to produce (as a mark) by pressure
c: to mark by or as if by pressure or stamping2 a: to produce a vivid impression of
b: to affect especially forcibly or deeply: gain the admiration or interest of
(Before I get started, I just want to state, for the record, that God’s timing is His own. I have been trying to force this blog entry for days and days, and there was nothing. Obviously because God had something else on His mind.)
When I found that the next word on my list to blog about was ‘impress’ a few connotations came to mind; to be wowed by something, or even to be amazed by an action. So I thought, ‘Okay. Easy enough to be impressed by God. I can write about that.’
However, the Merriam-Webster definition threw a wrench in my thought process; specifically the first three definitions. It did not cross my mind that to be impressed is to be imprinted upon. I must say, that is a much bigger and better definition than I had been prepared to write about.
It is hard to impress a teenager; in any sense of the word. In this world of almost instant gratification and sensory overload, it is challenging, if not virtually impossible, to make a vivid impression on a teen. And to imprint a lasting mark upon the life of a teen, especially a high-risk teen, takes an enormous amount of patience and gentle pressure.
We had our Fall camp at Timber Bay this weekend for the high school kids, about 75 in all. Of the six girls I took up, I have been working with five of them for three years now. At times they have all given me moments of incredibly great joy, and incredibly great frustration.
These kids at camp do not have an easy life. Some are in foster care; some are with just one parent. Some are abused, most are poor, and all are searching for something. Some will find their something in sex, some in drugs, some in crime. For those of us that work in this environment, our hope is that they find their something in Jesus Christ.
So at our camps, we attempt to present Jesus in a straight-forward way that will impact these desensitized teens in order to break through their tough exteriors. We employ loud music, videos and fun games to keep things moving and interesting. We also employ lots of truth.
“You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2.1
This weekend at camp started out the same as most other camps I have taken these kids to. We had some worship music, followed by a short chapel. The chapel was moving, I have to say. A man, acting as though he was a Roman cross builder, performed a skit about building Jesus’ cross. He spoke about how different Jesus was from the common prisoner who he normally saw crucified. As he spoke, he was actually chopping divots into the wood with a maul. As the chips of wood flew through the air, he spoke about the words and actions of Jesus. After he had placed the two beams of the cross together, he took gigantic spikes out and proceeded to hammer them into the place where Jesus’ hands and feet would have been placed. The maul and the spikes produced sparks when he pounded on them. After the chapel was over, we took our kids back to our cabins and talked about what we had just witnessed. It was a productive conversation and we ended the night on a good note.
The next day we started again. This time we watched a video by a Christian band called Casting Crowns. The song is entitled ‘Slow Fade,’ and it’s about how huge sin progresses from small indiscretions. Then, when we went back to our cabins, we all wrote down our sins on a small piece of yellow paper. The girls struggled with this, but as girls will do, as they shared their papers with each other, they came up with more ideas to write down. As they trust me, they shared their papers with me. Some of the sins were sex, abortion, swearing, cutting, trying to get pregnant, hating God (past sin not repented of), envy and drinking and smoking.
I made no judgments. There is nothing I can accomplish from condemnation except alienation. They know what I have done in my past and my remorse over it. They also know where I stand on all those issues now and what I want for their lives. Great results come from a lot of time, patience and Christ.
Later that night we had another chapel. We sang some songs and then watched a video with just a short portion of The Passion of the Christ. The portion was of Mary Magdalene being forgiven by Jesus, and then Jesus being hammered to the cross and being tossed about on it, with Mary watching in horror. Then, the kids were invited to bring their little yellow paper of sins and nail them to the cross that had been made the night before.
There were a lot of tears from my girls. They have never seen the movie, and so it caught their attention, seeing Jesus all bloody and bruised; hanging there. Walking up to the cross and pounding a nail into it had a great impact. I hung back, watching them. When they returned, they asked me if I was going to go up and nail my sins to the cross. I told them that no other adult leader had gone up so I did not think I was going to. They were not having any of that excuse. I am their leader and as they say, their mom, and they were going to walk me up there to nail my sins into the cross. I had tears in my eyes from their love for me and how gracious God has been to me. Incidentally, after I walked up there, ten other leaders followed my lead.
After everyone had nailed their sins, the leader took them all down and placed them into a container, where he poured symbolic blood over them all. We went back to the cabins in silence, a deep awe and reverence covering the kids.
We talked about the truth that our sins were truly washed away by those sins. Some of the girls were unconvinced that their sins were actually gone until I showed them the scripture verses about re-crucifying Christ by not accepting His forgiveness. Then, one of the girls asked me if I could go with her back to the lodge so she could give her life to Christ under the cross. She cried, I cried. I prayed, she prayed. The angels rejoiced and everyone at the camp rejoiced.
That was my weekend. All of my girls were impressed by Christ. Impressed with His death, impressed with His life. They impressed their sins on His cross and He impressed their hearts with His forgiveness. On at least one heart, He impressed His own image. On other hearts, He refreshed His image with a new imprint. He impressed me with how much He actually loves us, as He continually does.
He impressed upon me the fact that His message is eternally simple, yet eternally consequential.
“I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” – 1 Corinthians 2.3
1 a: to apply with pressure so as to imprint
b: to produce (as a mark) by pressure
c: to mark by or as if by pressure or stamping2 a: to produce a vivid impression of
b: to affect especially forcibly or deeply: gain the admiration or interest of
(Before I get started, I just want to state, for the record, that God’s timing is His own. I have been trying to force this blog entry for days and days, and there was nothing. Obviously because God had something else on His mind.)
When I found that the next word on my list to blog about was ‘impress’ a few connotations came to mind; to be wowed by something, or even to be amazed by an action. So I thought, ‘Okay. Easy enough to be impressed by God. I can write about that.’
However, the Merriam-Webster definition threw a wrench in my thought process; specifically the first three definitions. It did not cross my mind that to be impressed is to be imprinted upon. I must say, that is a much bigger and better definition than I had been prepared to write about.
It is hard to impress a teenager; in any sense of the word. In this world of almost instant gratification and sensory overload, it is challenging, if not virtually impossible, to make a vivid impression on a teen. And to imprint a lasting mark upon the life of a teen, especially a high-risk teen, takes an enormous amount of patience and gentle pressure.
We had our Fall camp at Timber Bay this weekend for the high school kids, about 75 in all. Of the six girls I took up, I have been working with five of them for three years now. At times they have all given me moments of incredibly great joy, and incredibly great frustration.
These kids at camp do not have an easy life. Some are in foster care; some are with just one parent. Some are abused, most are poor, and all are searching for something. Some will find their something in sex, some in drugs, some in crime. For those of us that work in this environment, our hope is that they find their something in Jesus Christ.
So at our camps, we attempt to present Jesus in a straight-forward way that will impact these desensitized teens in order to break through their tough exteriors. We employ loud music, videos and fun games to keep things moving and interesting. We also employ lots of truth.
“You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2.1
This weekend at camp started out the same as most other camps I have taken these kids to. We had some worship music, followed by a short chapel. The chapel was moving, I have to say. A man, acting as though he was a Roman cross builder, performed a skit about building Jesus’ cross. He spoke about how different Jesus was from the common prisoner who he normally saw crucified. As he spoke, he was actually chopping divots into the wood with a maul. As the chips of wood flew through the air, he spoke about the words and actions of Jesus. After he had placed the two beams of the cross together, he took gigantic spikes out and proceeded to hammer them into the place where Jesus’ hands and feet would have been placed. The maul and the spikes produced sparks when he pounded on them. After the chapel was over, we took our kids back to our cabins and talked about what we had just witnessed. It was a productive conversation and we ended the night on a good note.
The next day we started again. This time we watched a video by a Christian band called Casting Crowns. The song is entitled ‘Slow Fade,’ and it’s about how huge sin progresses from small indiscretions. Then, when we went back to our cabins, we all wrote down our sins on a small piece of yellow paper. The girls struggled with this, but as girls will do, as they shared their papers with each other, they came up with more ideas to write down. As they trust me, they shared their papers with me. Some of the sins were sex, abortion, swearing, cutting, trying to get pregnant, hating God (past sin not repented of), envy and drinking and smoking.
I made no judgments. There is nothing I can accomplish from condemnation except alienation. They know what I have done in my past and my remorse over it. They also know where I stand on all those issues now and what I want for their lives. Great results come from a lot of time, patience and Christ.
Later that night we had another chapel. We sang some songs and then watched a video with just a short portion of The Passion of the Christ. The portion was of Mary Magdalene being forgiven by Jesus, and then Jesus being hammered to the cross and being tossed about on it, with Mary watching in horror. Then, the kids were invited to bring their little yellow paper of sins and nail them to the cross that had been made the night before.
There were a lot of tears from my girls. They have never seen the movie, and so it caught their attention, seeing Jesus all bloody and bruised; hanging there. Walking up to the cross and pounding a nail into it had a great impact. I hung back, watching them. When they returned, they asked me if I was going to go up and nail my sins to the cross. I told them that no other adult leader had gone up so I did not think I was going to. They were not having any of that excuse. I am their leader and as they say, their mom, and they were going to walk me up there to nail my sins into the cross. I had tears in my eyes from their love for me and how gracious God has been to me. Incidentally, after I walked up there, ten other leaders followed my lead.
After everyone had nailed their sins, the leader took them all down and placed them into a container, where he poured symbolic blood over them all. We went back to the cabins in silence, a deep awe and reverence covering the kids.
We talked about the truth that our sins were truly washed away by those sins. Some of the girls were unconvinced that their sins were actually gone until I showed them the scripture verses about re-crucifying Christ by not accepting His forgiveness. Then, one of the girls asked me if I could go with her back to the lodge so she could give her life to Christ under the cross. She cried, I cried. I prayed, she prayed. The angels rejoiced and everyone at the camp rejoiced.
That was my weekend. All of my girls were impressed by Christ. Impressed with His death, impressed with His life. They impressed their sins on His cross and He impressed their hearts with His forgiveness. On at least one heart, He impressed His own image. On other hearts, He refreshed His image with a new imprint. He impressed me with how much He actually loves us, as He continually does.
He impressed upon me the fact that His message is eternally simple, yet eternally consequential.
“I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” – 1 Corinthians 2.3
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A Devestating Release
1. To lay waste; render desolate
2: To overwhelm
It is a fair statement that when Jesus Christ to a hold of my life, He devastated me. What I have written about my life bears repeating. My life was in utter shambles. I was living only for myself, despite having a fiancé and two children. Drugs, depression and despondency were the rulers of my life.
It also bears repeating the action that caused me to turn my life over to Jesus. I was in a Catholic church (I was a Catholic in name only) because something had led me there. The priest, in an uncommon sermon, was talking about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. My prayer after his sermon, thought with a faith much smaller than a mustard seed, was; “Ok Lord, if You think You can do better with my life than I have, go ahead. I’ll take all those fruits, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5.22-23). I especially needed an extra dose of faithfulness and self-control.
That was it. There was no rejoicing (that I could see). There was no party (on earth). I just happened to surrender my life to someone who would totally transform me forever and ever Amen.
So, here I am, seven and a half years later. A Christian who at best feels lukewarm most days. I continually ask myself and others, what am I doing wrong? What can I do to make things better? In no particular order I have attempted to-pray more, repent more, give more, avoid more, read more, and listen to worship music more. Every said attempt lasts for a little while and then I return back to the place I was.
My best friend told me that she struggles sometimes and God reminds her to, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46.10) My response, How still do I need to be?
See, my life has been such that I have needed to do things if I wanted to succeed in life. If I wanted to make it to college, I had to push myself. If I wanted a career, I had to make things happen. If I wanted to get off hard drugs, I had to stop. Life was not a spectator sport for me, and thus, neither should be the act of being a better Christian.
Having these thoughts for a while now, I attended a class on “Freedom in Christ.” It is a program designed to break all of the strongholds and lies a person has learned or believed and essentially re-program their lives in a new direction.
There are seven steps. They consist of removing any non-Christian spiritual experiences, learning truth from deception, forgiving, submitting, breaking bondage, being humble rather than prideful and breaking ancestral bondage.
Now, I am in no way discrediting this method of ‘freedom.’ I know that it has worked for many, many people and it breaks chains that people have been carrying around with them their whole lives.
However, for me, it would be another way of attempting to control my relationship with Jesus Christ. I already struggle with trying to get Him to love me more, and these would amount to being a series of hoops to jump through in order to accomplish that goal. I would be ‘going through the motions,’ hoping that the end result would be a better, more fulfilling relationship with God.
I left the seminar with my head in shambles. These were the reasons I was failing at Christianity. These were the reason I felt held in place. I could do something about it!
Oh, so wrong. Sure, there are probably some things that I need to repent of, some spiritual skeletons that need to be aired out. But if I have truly turned my life over to Christ, will He not help with that in His good time if I simply ask for His help? That is what I have been loathe to do.
It all became clearer to me when my friend showed me a video. It is by the author of a book entitled, “TrueFaced.” I had read the book several years ago, but apparently I had not been ready for that truth then. I am now.
In the book and video he speaks of two rooms, The Room of Good Intentions and The Room of Grace. The names should explain what they hold. Good Intentions has the people that are like I was, constantly striving to put on a good face for Jesus, to always promise Him that we’ll try harder. Grace was the room where we realize that we are sinners in need of help, but realizing that God loved us when He sought us, and that we need only to make the effort of resting in His love and pleasure in us and trusting Him to work on our sin together.
Since I have been devastated by Jesus so many years ago, I have wanted to make Him proud of me and worthy of the name He gave to me. I failed to realize that He has taken me as is. The enemy has tried to devastate me by believing I could never be good enough to warrant Jesus’ love as is.
So, as in all things, I have a choice. To continue with my personal status quo-spinning in ever-widening circles trying to get closer to a God who is already here, or falling into His arms and trusting that we can get through all of this together.
‘How still’ is still enough to feel Him all around me and coursing through my veins and realizing that He trusts me with His name because He made me and He will not let me fail. I can force myself to fail, but in Him, I cannot. He trusts me with His name because He’s crazy about me. If He can trust me with His name, can I not trust Him with our relationship?
Paul could not lovingly admonish me any better:
“Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up! Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you?” Galatians 3.2-5
1. To lay waste; render desolate
2: To overwhelm
It is a fair statement that when Jesus Christ to a hold of my life, He devastated me. What I have written about my life bears repeating. My life was in utter shambles. I was living only for myself, despite having a fiancé and two children. Drugs, depression and despondency were the rulers of my life.
It also bears repeating the action that caused me to turn my life over to Jesus. I was in a Catholic church (I was a Catholic in name only) because something had led me there. The priest, in an uncommon sermon, was talking about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. My prayer after his sermon, thought with a faith much smaller than a mustard seed, was; “Ok Lord, if You think You can do better with my life than I have, go ahead. I’ll take all those fruits, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5.22-23). I especially needed an extra dose of faithfulness and self-control.
That was it. There was no rejoicing (that I could see). There was no party (on earth). I just happened to surrender my life to someone who would totally transform me forever and ever Amen.
So, here I am, seven and a half years later. A Christian who at best feels lukewarm most days. I continually ask myself and others, what am I doing wrong? What can I do to make things better? In no particular order I have attempted to-pray more, repent more, give more, avoid more, read more, and listen to worship music more. Every said attempt lasts for a little while and then I return back to the place I was.
My best friend told me that she struggles sometimes and God reminds her to, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46.10) My response, How still do I need to be?
See, my life has been such that I have needed to do things if I wanted to succeed in life. If I wanted to make it to college, I had to push myself. If I wanted a career, I had to make things happen. If I wanted to get off hard drugs, I had to stop. Life was not a spectator sport for me, and thus, neither should be the act of being a better Christian.
Having these thoughts for a while now, I attended a class on “Freedom in Christ.” It is a program designed to break all of the strongholds and lies a person has learned or believed and essentially re-program their lives in a new direction.
There are seven steps. They consist of removing any non-Christian spiritual experiences, learning truth from deception, forgiving, submitting, breaking bondage, being humble rather than prideful and breaking ancestral bondage.
Now, I am in no way discrediting this method of ‘freedom.’ I know that it has worked for many, many people and it breaks chains that people have been carrying around with them their whole lives.
However, for me, it would be another way of attempting to control my relationship with Jesus Christ. I already struggle with trying to get Him to love me more, and these would amount to being a series of hoops to jump through in order to accomplish that goal. I would be ‘going through the motions,’ hoping that the end result would be a better, more fulfilling relationship with God.
I left the seminar with my head in shambles. These were the reasons I was failing at Christianity. These were the reason I felt held in place. I could do something about it!
Oh, so wrong. Sure, there are probably some things that I need to repent of, some spiritual skeletons that need to be aired out. But if I have truly turned my life over to Christ, will He not help with that in His good time if I simply ask for His help? That is what I have been loathe to do.
It all became clearer to me when my friend showed me a video. It is by the author of a book entitled, “TrueFaced.” I had read the book several years ago, but apparently I had not been ready for that truth then. I am now.
In the book and video he speaks of two rooms, The Room of Good Intentions and The Room of Grace. The names should explain what they hold. Good Intentions has the people that are like I was, constantly striving to put on a good face for Jesus, to always promise Him that we’ll try harder. Grace was the room where we realize that we are sinners in need of help, but realizing that God loved us when He sought us, and that we need only to make the effort of resting in His love and pleasure in us and trusting Him to work on our sin together.
Since I have been devastated by Jesus so many years ago, I have wanted to make Him proud of me and worthy of the name He gave to me. I failed to realize that He has taken me as is. The enemy has tried to devastate me by believing I could never be good enough to warrant Jesus’ love as is.
So, as in all things, I have a choice. To continue with my personal status quo-spinning in ever-widening circles trying to get closer to a God who is already here, or falling into His arms and trusting that we can get through all of this together.
‘How still’ is still enough to feel Him all around me and coursing through my veins and realizing that He trusts me with His name because He made me and He will not let me fail. I can force myself to fail, but in Him, I cannot. He trusts me with His name because He’s crazy about me. If He can trust me with His name, can I not trust Him with our relationship?
Paul could not lovingly admonish me any better:
“Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up! Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you?” Galatians 3.2-5
Friday, July 24, 2009
Murmuring to myself
1: a half-suppressed or muttered complaint: grumbling
2 a: a low indistinct but often continuous sound b: a soft or gentle utterance
3: an atypical sound of the heart typically indicating a functional or structural abnormality
I am not going to do any research to write this blog tonight. I am going to write this from the heart, from which I have been hearing atypical sounds.
No, I am not having heart trouble; at least not heart trouble that requires a doctor. Rather, I am having heart troubles trying to reconcile two sides of myself that at first glance appear to be diametrically opposed.
A good friend said something to me today that has been resonating in my head and heart since she said it. I had said to her that I thought I was destined to work in food service for the rest of my life. I made that comment because I had went on a job interview the week prior for a food service position. I was again in a desperate search to find anything to get me out of the janitor profession I have found myself in for the past four years. As I had been in food service since the age of fourteen, it seemed like a logical choice to return to the scene of the crime as it were and fulfill my destiny.
It was not to be. I did not get the job, and again found myself with toilet brush in hand. This is where the friend appeared with sage words for my broken heart. She said that when she heard me say that food service was my destiny, she thought otherwise. She said that she had always thought that writing was my destiny.
Her statement caused me to pause. Immediately my brain began to race on the track it has been on for years. Every single aptitude test, every personality test, every person I have met has come to the same conclusion; that I should be a writer. (If this is your first time reading my blog, try some other selections that perhaps could back up said claim. This may be gibberish.)
The funny thing? I know all of this. I hear God tell me to buckle down and write ALL THE TIME. However, I come up with objections to His prompting all the time as well. ‘In this economy, who can afford to buy a book?’ ‘I don’t deal well with rejection,’ ‘What would possess people to read what I have to write?’ and most importantly, ‘What would I write about?’
That last question is what is causing the heart murmur. For starters, God has written a remarkable story of His grace and mercy with my life. (See prior blog postings for details.) Secondly, I have two passions in life, both of which I have come to believe are fueled by God. My first passion is Jesus. My life for the past nine years has been spent getting to know Him, worshipping Him, and continually praising Him. He has given me a desire to introduce Him to people who would otherwise feel left out of ‘traditional’ Christianity.
My second passion is politics. Now the word politics is a mouthful of a word that conjures up many ideas, thoughts and yes, even prejudices. I am well aware of that, and yet the passion persists. I reflect on a passage from the Talmud, “God made people because God loves stories.”
I reflect on what the psalmist had to say about idols, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them.” Psalm 135: 15-18
I reflect on what Russian writer and poet Boris Pasternak wrote, “It is not revolutions and upheavals that clear the road to new and better days, but someone’s soul inspired and ablaze.”
I have been attempting to reconcile my two passions for a while now. I have struggled to remove myself from the political landscape, only to fail miserably. Instead, I have been tempering politics with a healthy and steady dose of Jesus. Thus enters the final murmuring.
I hear Jesus in the nightly news. I hear His truths and message unwittingly mixed into commentaries and speeches. I also hear His truths being distorted by people who would call His message old or intolerant.
So, how many people are being led astray by politics in these shortened and increasingly evil days? How many people hear the news and the politicians speak and despair?
Personally, I think it would be irresponsible to ignore what is going on in the world and continually focus inward. We all need to know the truth that is being spoken, and the truth that is hiding behind the lies.
Finally, I reflect on some things that Jesus said to His disciples as He was preparing to be crucified. He told them some things to focus on how life would be after He left them.
"If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” John 14.15-17
I like the way The Message version of the Bible phrases these next verses:
"Judas (not Iscariot) said, "Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?" "Because a loveless world," said Jesus, "is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him - we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn't mine. It's the message of the Father who sent me. John 14.22-24
"I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.” John 14.27
Jesus tells those of us who believe that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. He tells us that the world at large cannot receive Him because it does not recognize Him. He tells us that our loveless world is a sightless world. He tells us that our peace is not as the ‘peace’ the world provides.
And so it goes. I find myself not grumbling as one of the definitions for murmur lists, but rather listening to the soft and gentle utterances I am hearing, and sharing them with whoever chooses to listen.
“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.
You must teach these things and encourage your people to do them, correcting them when necessary. You have the authority to do this, so don't let anyone ignore you or disregard what you say.” Titus 2.11-14
1: a half-suppressed or muttered complaint: grumbling
2 a: a low indistinct but often continuous sound b: a soft or gentle utterance
3: an atypical sound of the heart typically indicating a functional or structural abnormality
I am not going to do any research to write this blog tonight. I am going to write this from the heart, from which I have been hearing atypical sounds.
No, I am not having heart trouble; at least not heart trouble that requires a doctor. Rather, I am having heart troubles trying to reconcile two sides of myself that at first glance appear to be diametrically opposed.
A good friend said something to me today that has been resonating in my head and heart since she said it. I had said to her that I thought I was destined to work in food service for the rest of my life. I made that comment because I had went on a job interview the week prior for a food service position. I was again in a desperate search to find anything to get me out of the janitor profession I have found myself in for the past four years. As I had been in food service since the age of fourteen, it seemed like a logical choice to return to the scene of the crime as it were and fulfill my destiny.
It was not to be. I did not get the job, and again found myself with toilet brush in hand. This is where the friend appeared with sage words for my broken heart. She said that when she heard me say that food service was my destiny, she thought otherwise. She said that she had always thought that writing was my destiny.
Her statement caused me to pause. Immediately my brain began to race on the track it has been on for years. Every single aptitude test, every personality test, every person I have met has come to the same conclusion; that I should be a writer. (If this is your first time reading my blog, try some other selections that perhaps could back up said claim. This may be gibberish.)
The funny thing? I know all of this. I hear God tell me to buckle down and write ALL THE TIME. However, I come up with objections to His prompting all the time as well. ‘In this economy, who can afford to buy a book?’ ‘I don’t deal well with rejection,’ ‘What would possess people to read what I have to write?’ and most importantly, ‘What would I write about?’
That last question is what is causing the heart murmur. For starters, God has written a remarkable story of His grace and mercy with my life. (See prior blog postings for details.) Secondly, I have two passions in life, both of which I have come to believe are fueled by God. My first passion is Jesus. My life for the past nine years has been spent getting to know Him, worshipping Him, and continually praising Him. He has given me a desire to introduce Him to people who would otherwise feel left out of ‘traditional’ Christianity.
My second passion is politics. Now the word politics is a mouthful of a word that conjures up many ideas, thoughts and yes, even prejudices. I am well aware of that, and yet the passion persists. I reflect on a passage from the Talmud, “God made people because God loves stories.”
I reflect on what the psalmist had to say about idols, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them.” Psalm 135: 15-18
I reflect on what Russian writer and poet Boris Pasternak wrote, “It is not revolutions and upheavals that clear the road to new and better days, but someone’s soul inspired and ablaze.”
I have been attempting to reconcile my two passions for a while now. I have struggled to remove myself from the political landscape, only to fail miserably. Instead, I have been tempering politics with a healthy and steady dose of Jesus. Thus enters the final murmuring.
I hear Jesus in the nightly news. I hear His truths and message unwittingly mixed into commentaries and speeches. I also hear His truths being distorted by people who would call His message old or intolerant.
So, how many people are being led astray by politics in these shortened and increasingly evil days? How many people hear the news and the politicians speak and despair?
Personally, I think it would be irresponsible to ignore what is going on in the world and continually focus inward. We all need to know the truth that is being spoken, and the truth that is hiding behind the lies.
Finally, I reflect on some things that Jesus said to His disciples as He was preparing to be crucified. He told them some things to focus on how life would be after He left them.
"If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” John 14.15-17
I like the way The Message version of the Bible phrases these next verses:
"Judas (not Iscariot) said, "Master, why is it that you are about to make yourself plain to us but not to the world?" "Because a loveless world," said Jesus, "is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him - we'll move right into the neighborhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn't mine. It's the message of the Father who sent me. John 14.22-24
"I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.” John 14.27
Jesus tells those of us who believe that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. He tells us that the world at large cannot receive Him because it does not recognize Him. He tells us that our loveless world is a sightless world. He tells us that our peace is not as the ‘peace’ the world provides.
And so it goes. I find myself not grumbling as one of the definitions for murmur lists, but rather listening to the soft and gentle utterances I am hearing, and sharing them with whoever chooses to listen.
“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.
You must teach these things and encourage your people to do them, correcting them when necessary. You have the authority to do this, so don't let anyone ignore you or disregard what you say.” Titus 2.11-14
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Shout to the Lord
1: to utter a sudden loud cry
2: to command attention as if by shouting
3: to utter in a loud voice
There have been a lot of things shouting for my attention lately. In fact, all of the shouting has distracted me to the point of paralysis; I haven’t been able to blog in three months! (Thanks gentle friend for the reminder) I feel like I’ve been taking in news and messages from all sides, and unable to stop and process, or ponder what all of this news means to my life. Be prepared, this is going to be a big one.
I have been busy dealing with my own family. My daughter, who is in middle school (sheesh), is dealing with common middle school crises. She is a good girl, but not impervious to the immorality that seems to confront her far too often. She has serious questions that shout at me and I need to take to prayer in order to answer. In addition, I have to make sure my husband is taken care of and my son is growing up to be a good, decent young man.
I have a ministry that I work for; Timber Bay. There I minister for, pray for, and worry about ten young ladies that need love, care and Jesus. Their problems, which are very serious, shout at me for immediate attention. I slowly feed them the milk of the Gospel, praying fervently that God uses my words to reach their fragile hearts.
I listen to a daily radio talk show that discusses world events and where we seem to be headed. Fortunately, or unfortunately for me, the commentator is an extensive reader, as am I. Because I find his show so accurate and fascinating, I tend to read all of his suggestions. I just finished Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which is 1069 pages. It took me a week to complete the work.
And then there is the world news. I am completely and utterly addicted to Fox News and biblical prophecy. Both of those make for a daunting combination. I am convinced that Jesus will return soon, and each news headline reaffirms that on a daily basis. A small example:
Over 100,000 Certificates of De-Baptism have been downloaded from a Secular Society website. Said the President of the organization, "The growing amount of interest in the concept of de-baptism indicates that people are not just indifferent to religion, but are actually becoming quite hostile to it."
Stories about Israel are all over the news; “US says Jerusalem to be Capital of Palestine.” “Iran tests a missile that can reach Israel,” “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not stand for Iran provocation.” “Scotland to boycott Israel.” I could go on and on for pages about this subject.
Add to this equation the President, the economy, the environment, the declining birthrate, the radical decisions made by our government and I have a lot of things shouting for my attention.
“So, Romans 323 girl, where is God in this mess?’ Good question.
I know Jesus Christ. I met Him when my life was at the very worst point it could sink to. I was literally at the end of my rope and losing my grip. He saved me; He dusted me off and raised me up. I know Jesus Christ.
Jesus lost my attention lately. Jesus isn’t shouting for me to look at Him, to see what new things He’s doing. He doesn’t shout when I hear my children praying to Him, singing Him songs of worship, squealing with delight over the sunset He’s created. He doesn’t shout when He answers the prayers of my Timber Bay girls, when He shows up in their lives, when His word finally resonates in their hearts. He doesn’t shout when a plump red strawberry peeks its head out in my garden.
And why should He? He is the Author and Creator of all these things. I know that. It’s so frightfully easy to forget sometimes. I forget that He doesn’t need to shout. He’s God.
Don’t misunderstand me, I know Jesus can shout. He shouted with all He had on Calvary’s Hill, didn’t he? Without hardly saying a word.
He shouldn’t have to shout to get my attention now. He captured it that day six years ago when He changed my life.
Everyone who proclaims Christ as their Lord and Savior knows some simple truths. God is in control of all these situations. He is going to return to get us when it’s time. He loves us and holds us in His hands, no matter what the conditions appear to be at that moment. He hears us when we pray and cries when we cry.
When Jesus was wooing me, He led me to the Parable of the Great Banquet. It spoke to my heart; because I was one of the crippled, the poor; crippled in the heart, poor in Spirit. I think this Parable can be analogous to the disinterest I have been suffering from lately. I have found excuses in the shouting clatter to ignore the only One who can truly invite me to sit with Him. I have to remember that I was someone in an alley that He was interested in inviting to feast. From Luke 14.15-23:
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
“‘Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.
I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
But I’ll leave these thoughts with one more thought from the only words that truly have eternal value; one day Jesus will come shouting, and no one will miss it. It will be another invitation to feast. From Revelation 19.6-9
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."
Then the angel said to me, Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' “And he added, "These are the true words of God."
Heaven awaits us! For those who believe, He is coming! These are the only things worth shouting for, and I know it. Jesus Christ deserves to be front and center of my life every day for the rest of eternity! Good words, if I can remember them. What I need to do is to listen for Jesus’ silent shouts; in my children, in the skyline, in my garden, in my Spirit. That is the food that needs to sustain me until I get to the feast.
1: to utter a sudden loud cry
2: to command attention as if by shouting
3: to utter in a loud voice
There have been a lot of things shouting for my attention lately. In fact, all of the shouting has distracted me to the point of paralysis; I haven’t been able to blog in three months! (Thanks gentle friend for the reminder) I feel like I’ve been taking in news and messages from all sides, and unable to stop and process, or ponder what all of this news means to my life. Be prepared, this is going to be a big one.
I have been busy dealing with my own family. My daughter, who is in middle school (sheesh), is dealing with common middle school crises. She is a good girl, but not impervious to the immorality that seems to confront her far too often. She has serious questions that shout at me and I need to take to prayer in order to answer. In addition, I have to make sure my husband is taken care of and my son is growing up to be a good, decent young man.
I have a ministry that I work for; Timber Bay. There I minister for, pray for, and worry about ten young ladies that need love, care and Jesus. Their problems, which are very serious, shout at me for immediate attention. I slowly feed them the milk of the Gospel, praying fervently that God uses my words to reach their fragile hearts.
I listen to a daily radio talk show that discusses world events and where we seem to be headed. Fortunately, or unfortunately for me, the commentator is an extensive reader, as am I. Because I find his show so accurate and fascinating, I tend to read all of his suggestions. I just finished Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which is 1069 pages. It took me a week to complete the work.
And then there is the world news. I am completely and utterly addicted to Fox News and biblical prophecy. Both of those make for a daunting combination. I am convinced that Jesus will return soon, and each news headline reaffirms that on a daily basis. A small example:
Over 100,000 Certificates of De-Baptism have been downloaded from a Secular Society website. Said the President of the organization, "The growing amount of interest in the concept of de-baptism indicates that people are not just indifferent to religion, but are actually becoming quite hostile to it."
Stories about Israel are all over the news; “US says Jerusalem to be Capital of Palestine.” “Iran tests a missile that can reach Israel,” “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not stand for Iran provocation.” “Scotland to boycott Israel.” I could go on and on for pages about this subject.
Add to this equation the President, the economy, the environment, the declining birthrate, the radical decisions made by our government and I have a lot of things shouting for my attention.
“So, Romans 323 girl, where is God in this mess?’ Good question.
I know Jesus Christ. I met Him when my life was at the very worst point it could sink to. I was literally at the end of my rope and losing my grip. He saved me; He dusted me off and raised me up. I know Jesus Christ.
Jesus lost my attention lately. Jesus isn’t shouting for me to look at Him, to see what new things He’s doing. He doesn’t shout when I hear my children praying to Him, singing Him songs of worship, squealing with delight over the sunset He’s created. He doesn’t shout when He answers the prayers of my Timber Bay girls, when He shows up in their lives, when His word finally resonates in their hearts. He doesn’t shout when a plump red strawberry peeks its head out in my garden.
And why should He? He is the Author and Creator of all these things. I know that. It’s so frightfully easy to forget sometimes. I forget that He doesn’t need to shout. He’s God.
Don’t misunderstand me, I know Jesus can shout. He shouted with all He had on Calvary’s Hill, didn’t he? Without hardly saying a word.
He shouldn’t have to shout to get my attention now. He captured it that day six years ago when He changed my life.
Everyone who proclaims Christ as their Lord and Savior knows some simple truths. God is in control of all these situations. He is going to return to get us when it’s time. He loves us and holds us in His hands, no matter what the conditions appear to be at that moment. He hears us when we pray and cries when we cry.
When Jesus was wooing me, He led me to the Parable of the Great Banquet. It spoke to my heart; because I was one of the crippled, the poor; crippled in the heart, poor in Spirit. I think this Parable can be analogous to the disinterest I have been suffering from lately. I have found excuses in the shouting clatter to ignore the only One who can truly invite me to sit with Him. I have to remember that I was someone in an alley that He was interested in inviting to feast. From Luke 14.15-23:
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
“‘Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.
I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
But I’ll leave these thoughts with one more thought from the only words that truly have eternal value; one day Jesus will come shouting, and no one will miss it. It will be another invitation to feast. From Revelation 19.6-9
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."
Then the angel said to me, Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' “And he added, "These are the true words of God."
Heaven awaits us! For those who believe, He is coming! These are the only things worth shouting for, and I know it. Jesus Christ deserves to be front and center of my life every day for the rest of eternity! Good words, if I can remember them. What I need to do is to listen for Jesus’ silent shouts; in my children, in the skyline, in my garden, in my Spirit. That is the food that needs to sustain me until I get to the feast.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
"Nishmat kol chai tivarech et SHIMCHA."
(The breathing of all life praises your Name)
Whisper:
To speak with soft, hushed sounds, using the breath, lips, etc., but with no vibration of the vocal cords.
To produce utterance substituting breath for phonation.
To talk softly and privately.
(of trees, water, breezes, etc) To make a soft, rustling sound
It has taken me a long time to get around to writing about this word. I am not one who whispers much, so tailoring a ‘message’ around the word is a challenge. Never one to walk away from a challenge, I have shut up long enough to hear God speak.
YHWH, the original name of our Lord, spoken first to Moses in Exodus 3.15, “This is my Name forever and this is my memorial, the Name by which I am to be remembered by, from generation to generation for all generations."
It is impossible to speak the Word. With no vowels, nothing to form a word around with your mouth, the best one can do is breathe the name of the Lord. It’s not a name formed from English, Hebrew, Greek, or Arab. Rather, it is in a breath, which is a universal language of all living creatures.
Spoken most eloquently by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, “It is unpronounceable in my view not because we are forbidden to pronounce it, but because if one tries to do so, pronouncing these four strange letters (semi-vowels, semi-consonants; linguists call them aspirate consonants) WITHOUT any vowels, one simply breathes. The real Name is BEYOND pronunciation, unless you consider breathing pronunciation.”
Our Heavenly Father has a proper name, which is used 6823 times in the Old Testament, which cannot be shouted. His name speaks for itself without a need for exclamation. His renown is all the exclamation that is needed.
Those familiar with the Bible know the story of Elijah Elijah is feeling worthless and that the work he has done for the Lord was in vain. The Lord tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain because the Lord is about to pass by. A mighty wind passes by, but the Lord is not in the wind. A great earthquake comes, but the Lord is not in the earthquake. A fire appears, but the Lord is not in the fire. Then, a gentle blowing arrives, and the Lord is there.
The beauty of this story is that the Lord could have chosen to appear in all the mighty ways detailed, but He chose to show His glory in a gentle wind. He was the whisper of the wind through the trees.
Now, taking these things into consideration, do I really want the Lord to speak to me? I find myself surrounded by noise constantly. My husband and children speak to me, taking much of my attention. The television and radio occupy my eardrums, the computer my eyes and my brain. I find it almost unsettling to spend too much time in quiet. I justify it by telling myself I am great at multi-tasking, which is true to a point. But if the Lord will not shout…
Some people do not have this struggle, to which I am envious. However, for those people, and for myself if I discipline myself to the quiet, there are still some factors to consider:
Am I emotionally prepared to hear from the Lord? Will I be able to know it is Him? Am I ready for what He may have to say to me? Will I be interjecting my own thoughts and opinions into what I hear? Can I stand to hear the Truth?
Am I physically prepared to hear from the Lord? That may seem odd, but am I able to focus on clearing my head, not to ever leave it open and vulnerable, but in a place where I can meditate on the Lord alone? Can I calm down my hectic state long enough to wait on the Lord, rather than carving out an allotted time for Him?
Finally, am I spiritually prepared to hear from the Lord? Do I know His word well enough to know if what I am hearing is Truth? Again, can I recognize Him and not interject my own thoughts and call them His? Will I be able to handle it?
Perhaps I am alone on this, and everyone else has this figured out, but I think otherwise. If more of us were attuned to the Lord’s voice, we would be able to speak out more ourselves in the pure confidence He would be giving us. I know on the few occurrences I have heard from the Lord, it has been amazing and true. It is my fault I do not do it more.
I know if we were to hear from the Lord, we would be able to speak out against the horrid blaspheme going on in the media and on the streets these days. It is impossible not to hear our new president being called ‘the savior’ and ‘the messiah.’ It should and does send our spirits into utter revulsion. We know we have only one Savior and one Messiah, and it is certainly not our president. If we are the body, what are we doing?
It is being said on a daily basis that the president will rescue not only the country, but the world. He will bring peace, prosperity, love. All we have to do is watch, support and obey. And I do not consider any of that to be an exaggeration. Read the paper, watch the news. Listen to the radio.
I think it is high time for us to tune into the whispers of YHWH. He may be starting to reveal Himself in high definition to non-believers, but I believe He has something to whisper to His children now. The Hebrew word ‘meditate’ means to mumble whisper or reflect aloud. That sounds like the perfect conversation to have with our YHWH.
“My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.” Ezekiel 39.7
“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another. Listen to me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.” Isaiah 48.10-12
“Then those who feared Yahweh spoke with one another; Yahweh heeded and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared Yahweh and thought on his name.” Malachi 3.16
(The breathing of all life praises your Name)
Whisper:
To speak with soft, hushed sounds, using the breath, lips, etc., but with no vibration of the vocal cords.
To produce utterance substituting breath for phonation.
To talk softly and privately.
(of trees, water, breezes, etc) To make a soft, rustling sound
It has taken me a long time to get around to writing about this word. I am not one who whispers much, so tailoring a ‘message’ around the word is a challenge. Never one to walk away from a challenge, I have shut up long enough to hear God speak.
YHWH, the original name of our Lord, spoken first to Moses in Exodus 3.15, “This is my Name forever and this is my memorial, the Name by which I am to be remembered by, from generation to generation for all generations."
It is impossible to speak the Word. With no vowels, nothing to form a word around with your mouth, the best one can do is breathe the name of the Lord. It’s not a name formed from English, Hebrew, Greek, or Arab. Rather, it is in a breath, which is a universal language of all living creatures.
Spoken most eloquently by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, “It is unpronounceable in my view not because we are forbidden to pronounce it, but because if one tries to do so, pronouncing these four strange letters (semi-vowels, semi-consonants; linguists call them aspirate consonants) WITHOUT any vowels, one simply breathes. The real Name is BEYOND pronunciation, unless you consider breathing pronunciation.”
Our Heavenly Father has a proper name, which is used 6823 times in the Old Testament, which cannot be shouted. His name speaks for itself without a need for exclamation. His renown is all the exclamation that is needed.
Those familiar with the Bible know the story of Elijah Elijah is feeling worthless and that the work he has done for the Lord was in vain. The Lord tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain because the Lord is about to pass by. A mighty wind passes by, but the Lord is not in the wind. A great earthquake comes, but the Lord is not in the earthquake. A fire appears, but the Lord is not in the fire. Then, a gentle blowing arrives, and the Lord is there.
The beauty of this story is that the Lord could have chosen to appear in all the mighty ways detailed, but He chose to show His glory in a gentle wind. He was the whisper of the wind through the trees.
Now, taking these things into consideration, do I really want the Lord to speak to me? I find myself surrounded by noise constantly. My husband and children speak to me, taking much of my attention. The television and radio occupy my eardrums, the computer my eyes and my brain. I find it almost unsettling to spend too much time in quiet. I justify it by telling myself I am great at multi-tasking, which is true to a point. But if the Lord will not shout…
Some people do not have this struggle, to which I am envious. However, for those people, and for myself if I discipline myself to the quiet, there are still some factors to consider:
Am I emotionally prepared to hear from the Lord? Will I be able to know it is Him? Am I ready for what He may have to say to me? Will I be interjecting my own thoughts and opinions into what I hear? Can I stand to hear the Truth?
Am I physically prepared to hear from the Lord? That may seem odd, but am I able to focus on clearing my head, not to ever leave it open and vulnerable, but in a place where I can meditate on the Lord alone? Can I calm down my hectic state long enough to wait on the Lord, rather than carving out an allotted time for Him?
Finally, am I spiritually prepared to hear from the Lord? Do I know His word well enough to know if what I am hearing is Truth? Again, can I recognize Him and not interject my own thoughts and call them His? Will I be able to handle it?
Perhaps I am alone on this, and everyone else has this figured out, but I think otherwise. If more of us were attuned to the Lord’s voice, we would be able to speak out more ourselves in the pure confidence He would be giving us. I know on the few occurrences I have heard from the Lord, it has been amazing and true. It is my fault I do not do it more.
I know if we were to hear from the Lord, we would be able to speak out against the horrid blaspheme going on in the media and on the streets these days. It is impossible not to hear our new president being called ‘the savior’ and ‘the messiah.’ It should and does send our spirits into utter revulsion. We know we have only one Savior and one Messiah, and it is certainly not our president. If we are the body, what are we doing?
It is being said on a daily basis that the president will rescue not only the country, but the world. He will bring peace, prosperity, love. All we have to do is watch, support and obey. And I do not consider any of that to be an exaggeration. Read the paper, watch the news. Listen to the radio.
I think it is high time for us to tune into the whispers of YHWH. He may be starting to reveal Himself in high definition to non-believers, but I believe He has something to whisper to His children now. The Hebrew word ‘meditate’ means to mumble whisper or reflect aloud. That sounds like the perfect conversation to have with our YHWH.
“My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.” Ezekiel 39.7
“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another. Listen to me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.” Isaiah 48.10-12
“Then those who feared Yahweh spoke with one another; Yahweh heeded and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared Yahweh and thought on his name.” Malachi 3.16
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