His promise - perfect for Tabernacles

What does the Shofar teach us? Plus a video of a shofar call!

I have been posting a little on my facebook page about the Feast of Tabernacles. Here I am recreating a post I did for today - I am just captured by the depth and layers of symbolism in the Jewish Feasts of the Lord and how they apply to our Christian walk!  Read on to find out more about the shofar...

(image found on Google)

AWAKE. RETURN. SEEK.

AWAKE:
The blast called "teru'ah," nine staccato blasts, is the "alarm" sound meant to wake us up!

This idea was stated in the New Testament writing: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Messiah will shine on you" (Eph. 5:13-14). This theme of "awakening from sleep" is used elsewhere in the Scriptures (e.g., John 11:11, Rom. 13:11, 1 Thess. 5:6, Dan. 12:1-2, Psalm 78:65, etc.).

RETURN:
Because the shofar is curved in appearance, we are reminded that this is the preferred posture of God's people. We are not to arrogantly rely on our own wisdom or to think we can correct our spirit to align with our Father. Instead, we are to take the humble stance of the shofar; that is, to be curved or bowed in submission to what God would tell us.

SEEK:
Rosh HaShanah is a time to take an honest look into our spirits to make sure we are aligned with our Father's plan for us. The curve of the shofar tells us that the only way to find God's best is to bend our will to his will.

The sound of the shofar calls us to return to the LORD and seek His face. And since finding God is our greatest joy, King David rightly wrote:

Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! 
(Psalms 89:15 [16] NKJV)

To Bless...

Look for someone to bless today -
a co-worker
a child
your spouse
your parents

It can be just a word of love or encouragement...be Jesus' hands, feet, voice, and heart!

7 points about the "perfection" of imperfection...

I love the feel of weathered wood, aged patina on metal, summer grasses drying in the fall - spent flower heads that have released their petals and seeds - 

All speaks of being well loved, worn out because of use, a favorite, a comfort, soft and beautiful...

That is the "perfect" of the imperfect -

The marks of being loved well

of being spent in service to one person who appreciated the presence of the thing loved...

This is why perfectionism is a trap - how can one be loved if perfect is the goal?

When Jesus calls us to be perfect 

He is calling us to let Him abide in our heart;

to let go of fear;

to not adhere to some system of rules;

but

to let love rule

to let love make us weathered, used, aged and spent

in being His hands and feet...

 because

He has already done everything that is needed to BE perfect - 

we cannot possibly add anything to what He has already done...

we must allow our imperfect selves to love and be loved by 

other imperfect ones...

This is the "perfection" of "imperfect"!

Peace! Be Still! What Does God's Peace Look Like? It might not be what you think....

 Peace!  Be Still!  It was the command the Jesus gave to the elements when His disciples became afraid of the gale surrounding them...

He asked them what they were afraid of...
He asked if they still had no faith...

Is your faith in Him?

Or in your "faith" (thoughts, beliefs) about Him?

If your faith is in your "faith", you can only grow to the point that your own thoughts and beliefs can take you.

But if your faith is in HIM - He can take you beyond your wildest imaginations!

I am here to say, that after this experience, their faith in Him grew!

They became convinced:
  - of His love for them,
  - of His heart of compassion for all of mankind,
  - of His desire to do His Father's will
  - of their ultimate good always being His motivation for action 

  - of a purpose and calling from Him
  - of guaranteed uncertainty
  - of a life full of opportunities as they pursued all these things...


        ...of His steady, loving presence no matter where this adventure took them all...

And that is where the true peace of God begins...

...Faith in His loving presence that is working all things out for our good...

Cultivate Quiet...

Every kind of creative work demands solitude, and being alone, constructively alone, is a prerequisite for every phase of the creative process.” 

~ Barbara Powell

God calls you...unique

13For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Hope...

Hope is the fuel of faith...you can inspire others if you offer hope...
what are you offering today?

The Soldier's Prayer

I've posted this prayer on a similar background before, but I redid it, and this warrior call just keeps reverberating in me...so hope it blesses you...fires you up this weekend!

Blessings,
Cindy

His Peace...

Just a quick thought - someone might need to hear this today! 

{ Please share } 

The Joy of the Lord = Strength...strength series #12

What is the strength we are talking about? What is it that we need to hang on to when life's storms have hit hard, when we are afraid, when the breaking has left us weak and grasping...when we need amnesty from our own choices?  It is a strength beyond our own...and joy isn't even on our radar.  In fact joy seems to be reserved for lighter times - for the delight in watching children grow, or two lives being joined in marriage, or celebrating blessings.  In a storm, we need toughness, determination, ingenuity, sweat and tears to make it through...we may need more help, armor to put over our vulnerabilities, a champion, a protector.  We need:

 

Strength

A strong or fortified place, a defense, a fortress;

a place or means of safety, protection, refuge, harbour, stronghold.

This "Joy of the Lord" is a unique joy...it is His joy, something we can only have through Him. It is beyond human achievement; above even the sweetest life events.

The following is a repost from something I wrote in January of last year {you can read it here}.  This use of joy is only in three verses of Scripture - Nehemiah 8:10, I Chronicles 16:27 and Ezra 6:16.  Each of these passages has to do with a dedication of the house of God.  Joy is found in the house of God, where His Presence is...and while this was an actual physical place in Old Testament times, it is our very own heart that is now, the house of the Lord, where He dwells...incredible!

Joy.

  spelled in Hebrew - chedvah: 

  (with very brief definitions):

 cheit - a (protecting) fence, an inner room

dalet - door

vav - a nail, peg (that holds or anchors)

hey - behold, breath of God 

 And so I now have my own definition of joy;

the joy that equals strength:

So, simply said, true joy comes by first, life - new life, God's life (cheit), protected by God's presence... then comes the door (dalet), the entrance to that life, through Jesus... And it is when our earthly life is "hooked" or nailed together with God (vav), that our lives are made solid and secure... and our lives are infused with His breath (hey), His Presence within our hearts. 

My heart and my life can become the fragrance of His breath to others. 

True joy is when I become the temple of God.  The joy of the Lord is when I become His temple, His Spirit residing within...and that is the source of my strength as well...His Presence in me...

Strength and dignity are her clothing...strength series #11

All the striations of strength:

splendor

majesty

honor 

glory

might

power

protection

refuge

All the facets of dignity:

ornament

splendor

majesty

honor

glory

adorning

decoration

holy ornaments 

These are the garments that clothe 

the woman who has made her home, her resting place, 

in the arms of the Almighty.

The very words used to describe the Lord

have become her clothing as well...

and not just a single layer

but a double portion!

This is the woman whose identity has become "hidden" in the Lord,

who has allowed the fiery trials to bring forth character purified as gold...

who has been squeezed and pressed until the image of her Creator is clearly visible...

and who radiates His attributes as jewels reflect light... 

We are hidden, yet He reveals us to the world in glorious splendor...

May this be YOUR testimony today! 

{no wonder she smiles at her future!!}

3 rings of growth God begins in us in times of testing..strengthen series #10

Psalm 84 has long been a favorite for me. The image of the swallow building her nest at His altar invokes peace and trust - but there is more in this power packed group of verses...

No one knows for sure who the author of the psalm is, or the exact time it was written, but many scholars believe as Spurgeon:

...it exhales to us a Davidic perfume, it smells of the mountain heather and the lone places of the wilderness, where King David must have often lodged.

 In verse 6, the psalmist refers to a place called "the valley of Baca".  By using this word, "baca", the author is actually engaging in a little word play.  It means weeping, and is also a reference to a type of balsam or mulberry tree which creates the essence of tears as the sap drips from the trunk and solidifies  into a tear shape.  There are several possible literal locations for this valley.   As a poetic reference however, it could refer to any (or all) of the times when David was faced with incredible events and hardship, including the events from here!   And who of us have not travelled through our own "valleys of Baca"? 

Three verses in Psalm 84 reflect the "rings of growth" that are accomplished in "the valley of Baca", the times of testing.  Let's look at them:

5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
            In whose heart are the highways to Zion!

      6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
            The early rain also covers it with blessings.

      7 They go from strength to strength,
            Every one of them appears before God in Zion.

Zion refers to the act of worship (scroll to the bottom for a little documentation about this).  It can be both literal or figurative, and in either case, the use of the word refers to a heart attitude...that of worship.  So the place that worship holds in our heart is directly related to how we face a test/trial! {click to tweet}.

These are the "rings of growth":

 from strength to strength

Psalm 84:7

 

from faith to faith

Psalm 84:6; Romans 1:17

 

from glory to glory

Psalms 84:5; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

In my last post we explored the receiving of strength, so I won't expound anymore here.

When we step out after receiving strength, and see His work on our behalf, our valley of weeping does transform into life giving springs of water.  That is when our faith grows stronger, and we are moved "from faith to faith".  And as faith grows, we lean in closer to Him.

As the transformation continues, through strength, through faith...our inward being develops "paths to Zion"...a pathway* towards Him, created as we continue to choose to "tie ourselves to Him" and behold Him through worship!   And that is the place of being transformed from glory to glory!  Like Moses' face that shone after spending time in the Lord's Presence, our hearts, our words, our actions and our motives absorb and reflect more and more of Him and His ways.  In this, the reflecting of His glory, others can be sparked to hope in their trials as they observe His comfort in yours.

(Remember too, that Hebrew thought is circular - it spirals...it isn't a direct progression strength, then faith, then glory...all are connected, all will grow simultaneously, but you will notice one or another more at any given time...)

May the sureness of His hand forming 

strength, faith, and glory

sustain you this day...  

 

Documentation about Zion 
The City of Zion and Mount Zion are really synonymous.  It is a reference to the literal location of the Tabernacle when King David brought it to Jerusalem.  The area where it was placed and where the people of Israel came into the Presence of God was on Mount Moriah, the eventual home of Solomon's Temple.  Since worship is the central activity of the Tabernacle and Temple, Zion has come to be a reference to a place of worship.  In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews uses the term to make a point about the difference between law and grace.  Of course, David always knew it was the heart of worship that mattered - the location of worship was always, ever, wherever he was...and so it is for us as well!

*  Even a neural pathway develops as certain actions are repeated! Research here, here and here.

Anatomy of a crisis - 8 things you can do when disaster finds where you live...strength series #9

I love the hope contained in this part of Scripture...faced with an incredible blow, David and his warriors have just wept until they had no strength left (imagine - the mightiest army that you can think of, one that God is showing Himself mighty and that He is with them as they fight - being overcome with such intense emotion...).

Loss and brokenness abounds in a fallen world.  One can move from awesome victory to an emotional blow that sends us to our knees in despair in a matter of hours; minutes; even seconds...consider:

- The families of the commuter jet just shot down this past week...
- The couple mourning their baby who lived only a couple of hours, and the only photos they have to
   remember her by show a constellation of tubes and medical equipment...
- Children neglected by addicted parents...
- Teenagers running away from abuse, only to find more...
- Older people on a fixed income unable to rally in a faltering economy....
- Men and women trying to live and carve a life of blessing when their own past would have
   determined a life full of curses....
- And even if our lives have been relatively good, blessed, redeemed - we have been touched with the
   pain that has wracked others, and if we are walking with our Savior (who has been touched with all
   the pain that humans have experienced) we share the burden with our brothers and sisters around
   the world.

And when the emotional tidal wave is spent - we need help to know what to do next.

David shows us what is the only reasonable next step:

before he was king, 

before he had brought the ark of the Presence of God to the city of Zion,

before the nation of Israel knew he was a hero...
while he was an outcast,
while he was living in the "in between" place,

but while he was developing the character that resulted in God declaring
he was "a man after My own heart" - 

 he strengthens himself in the Lord.

The word "strengthen" here means "to become strong".  It isn't that the person was already strong, and flexed those great muscles.  We know David was in a place of great weakness...and he became strong again because he did something that no one else in camp was doing...he tied himself fast, bound himself strongly to Jehovah Elohim.   

When he was tied in knots with emotion, 

he tied himself to the Creator of the universe.  

David was persistent, held fast, earnest, constant, confirmed, established, and recovered his strength as he girded himself with what he knew of God.  Did this exchange take place in an instant, or over a period of hours, even a day?  We do not know.  But we do know that Elohim is the name of God in its plural form, so we know David focused on attributes and aspects of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit until his soul was settled, until he could rest in the provision of God that would meet his present need, until He knew God was still with him.  He reminded himself of all the promises, all the power, all the plans that he knew was true from his relationship with God, and as God's strength flowed into him, he recovered his senses, finally regaining the ability to inquire and to hear Him on what his next action might be...(verses 7-8).  The rest of the story shows God's intervention in bringing back his family and the families of all the men.  {Truly in the ranks of a really great action-adventure + a little romance novel}.

So how does this tying to God happen in our own lives?

1.  We must have a relationship with Him, and

2.  Recognize that He deeply desires a relationship with us.  When we believe this, we begin to view Him through a filter of His unconditional love, which can eradicate false images that might keep us at a distance from Him and His help for us.

3.  It helps to know some of the general promises of God.  Here are a few to get you started:
     - Jeremiah 29:11
     - Romans 8:1, 31-39
     - Deuteronomy 31:6
     - Jeremiah 31:3
     - Zephaniah 3:17
     - 1 Corinthians 10:13
     - John 14:15-18

4.  Remind yourself of personal prayers He has answered, or the answered prayers of people you
    know or fellow church members (if applicable).  Meditate on James 5:17.

5.  Remind yourself of stories in the Bible in which God showed Himself strong for His people...

6.  Sing/listen to songs of praise and worship - David was a worshipper from before the time he was anointed to be king.  I believe it is safe to say that he had a habit of worship.  The music you need may or may not be what is playing on contemporary Christian radio stations, but the qualitites that mark the worship that is warfare usually a) focuses on God and His character,b) is based on Scripture, and c) contains a message of hope.  Gateway Worship and Hillsong are two church/music ministries that are current and always fall into this category.

7.  Practice listening prayer.  Don't just pour your heart out (though that may need to be the first portion of your prayer!) but quiet your soul and listen for the voice of the Spirit.  Meditate on Psalm 131, it is only 3, yet powerful, verses long...write down what you hear...

8.  Finally, and perhaps the most difficult, is take action on what He tells you to do...whatever it is.  This will most certainly stretch and grow your faith.  It will give you a testimony to share His faithfulness with others.  It will assure you of His love for you as you walk with Him to address what has happened.

Have you been strengthened in the Lord before?

Are you in an experience requiring that you strengthen yourself in the Lord currently?

Leave a comment, let me know - I would love to help in praying for you...

Be My Strength and My Song...strength series #8

I am really liking how all the colors pop and blend together + I found this wonderful music brush (get a similar free one here) in my collection that placed notes riotously over the page...

This series about the Lord giving us His strength and resulting threads of connection have revealed some interesting relationships:

...His strength is connected to our joy...

...relying on our own strength results in bondage to the flesh and wilderness experiences...

...admitting weaknesses, examining vulnerabilities (not denying them) - takes true courage...

...Humility leads us to His strength...

I look forward to sharing these discoveries at the end of this series!

Wait on Him...Strength Series #7

This verse is a foundational verse for my husband and I...I love how the eagle's wings look!

The Strength of His People - He is enough...#6 in the strength series

From Psalm 28:8 - it made me ask, "Who are you trusting for strength?"

Does He ask me to develop my strength, or to rest in His?  Perhaps both?

But perhaps developing MY strength doesn't mean doing some sort of spiritual workout (I've tried that - it is a hopeless place!)  The internal "task masters" are never satisfied; yet I must find a way to "master", to overcome, them.  A person's true strength grows in direct proportion to his reliance on the Lord.  I need to continually decrease my trust in the "arm of the flesh" in order that there is more space for the "arm of the Lord" in my life!

Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  Isaiah 53:1

In every situation, Jesus is enough. I can agree with the task masters, I am never enough...but He is!

When I gain His perspective, I trust that His way, His power, His nature - is enough.

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." 

Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, 

so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

His grace is freely given, available to all...it is really a matter of receiving it and learning to walk in it daily...that is how He becomes the strength of His people!

Strength and Joy are Found in His Dwelling Place...strength series #5

This statement really does cause a "Selah" moment!

Warrior Heart....#4 in the "strength" series

The Lord is My Strength...#1, #2 and #3 in the strength series

 A little work I did this weekend...
I've been doing a study on the strength of the Lord and all its facets...I am loving what I am finding!
The art work is really on pure white backgrounds - (Blogger must have some automatic feature that changes the color ever so slightly so that it doesn't blend into the background... )