"Isaiah 32: 1-2 - "You Got The Right Stuff"

                                           "Isaiah 32: 1-2 - "You've got The Right Stuff"

   It's a slow-starting Saturday morning. Late nights all this week, and too many 5 am wake ups. Today is one of those days, when the sun is peaking through the curtains, and the day promises a fruitfulness of purpose, and I am needing to connect with Papa before I do much else. Sometimes, it's not the loud sounds where God is calling you to sit with Him, it's the subtle singing of a hummingbird or kids playing next door, where you most easily find God. He is more in the everyday stuff of life than you can ever imagine. And the colors of my life are at best, a muted grey, without the splash of fuchsia and violet He throws into my imagination. I can't live well, when I can't feel, see, touch and know Him, in the simple 5-minute connect each new day brings. It's like I can hear Him strumming His thoughts into me, like a jazz musician who has played all night long in a New Orleans honky-tonk. The feel of the previous night's dancing is still in the room, you can smell some old cigars still wafting in the air, the never-slept musicians still can't put their pics down, and you just know that everyone had a great time last night. You can feel the life that was lived in that room last night as if the walls remember the fun. That is how He feels to me today. I feel God wanting to be here, and make His presence known. He feels sweet today, like He is waiting to say something rich.


  He is strumming His vibes on His guitar, and He wants me to catch His melody. That is how easy it is to be with God. You just have to learn to recognize His voice, and listen. Like any art form, in time, your Spirit can catch a whiff of what His Spirit is thinking, and like any really great friendship that has been cultivated over time, you start to feel and think and know what is on His heart. I would not trade anything, anywhere, at any time, for any price, to ever lose this. I can live without a lot of things, but I cannot live without His presence. It would be worse than death to me, if I lost this presence that is better than life.

  I think about last night. I drove a friend home from a Chanukah party late last night, and on that long ride home (and naturally, despite the talking smart phone -which can be pretty dumb at times if you ask me), we still got a lost (just for 20 minutes). I start laughing in the car picturing Ben in heaven probably rolling over laughing somewhere and shaking his head "I can't believe she still hasn't used her navigator or map. She hasn't programmed it yet". We talk about a lot of things - mostly, the shared experiences we have gone through in both losing our spouses, suddenly within 7 weeks."  We have come through by God's grace, both of us, and are weathering life's challenges, knowing it is only the grace God has put in us, and the day by day dependence on Him, that will see us out of this maze and into the clearing, what we now call 'our new normal'. See, nothing is ever really the 'old' normal again when life shakes up the mix and you have to re-define and re-learn and re-engage and re-start and re-boot it all. You don't know where he ended and you began, because you were one. And now you begin again. Every day is different. But it's okay. Because our Father has a plan. And all of God's plans and purposes are good, even when life is hard and violent and sharp. God is sweet, and His sweetness only gets more tender in time. You will know that if you ever need to find that out. You find out how deliciously sweet is His presence and care for you when you need it most.

 This morning, as I sit with my Messiah, I think about the husband, parents, friends, and friends in the Lord that have graced my life. Some of my dearest friends in life have come through, as they say, hell and high water, this past year or two. A good friend from back home of more than 20 years, who was with me when I met Ben years ago, and laughed and danced with us at our wedding, she buried her daughter to cancer just 2 years ago. She and her husband cared for, loved, fed and bathed their beloved daughter, and cared for her children, as she departed for glory. No parent should ever have to bury a child, and yet it happens. I think today of a dear, dear friends in the Lord, whose own adult child is fighting for his life in a hospital 2 hours north of here. In the midst of living their life, taking care of everyone, a freak and sudden illness strikes their son, and now they sit and wait by his bedside, and trust the Great Physician to lay His Healing Hands upon their son. We never are, nor can we ever be, truly prepared for those epic moments that steal away our breathe, shock our senses, or bring us to our knees. But, we can make it through and even beyond, when we know we are in the Lord's care, and He has answers, ways, plans and purposes we will never fully understand on this earth. And mostly, we just need to be loved well by those who care for us the most.

 I think today of my (late) father, Victor. What a man he was! Not that we spoke like a King (he didn't). His colorful language, often was peppered with the best one-liners this side of the Catskills. He was a hard working-man, 2 jobs, hard labor, and never complained, went to work, sick or tired. But man, did he ever have a way with words (I think I get that from him). His observational humor was unlike anyone else I ever knew. We'd be in the car going somewhere, and the old guy in the car in front of us, who was daydreaming  as the light turned green, would have everyone honking and people yelling epithets out the window, and  Dad would look over at us kids (his captive audience) and shake his head and say "I bet the guy doesn't even know what year it is. He probably doesn't even know he is living. We should wake him up". Dad had a million of them. Never rehearsed, never planned. But what I remember most about Dad, was that he was always there. His word was his word. If he said he would be there at 2:07 sharp to pick you up, by golly, you'd better be standing there on the street corner there at 2:07 and be ready. Now my sister (who is in heaven now) and I, well, Dad used to say we might be late for our own funeral's. When my Dad was frustrated he would hum, and Viki and I had Dad humming a lot growing up. HHHHHhhhhhmm. He would just shake his head and look at us and say "I'm glad I wasn't handcuffed to a ghost and hanging by my neck at 2:07, or I'd be dead now". It was his own brand of humor, and all of us in the family, we got it. We got him. But Dad always had the Right Stuff.  He kept his word. Always. He was there for his family. Always. He did what he said he was going to do, and he protected, loved and worked hard for us. The bills were paid, food was on the table, and we were warm. I have seen a lot of things in my years on earth, and when I was younger, I had been courted by some charming men. But none of it meant as much to me as a  man who keeps his promises, and protects those he loves. A faithful heart is the best part of a man, to me.

  Ben had that same quality. He protected his wife, his family, their name, their honor, his friends, and even his pets. He 'covered' us all with a blanket of hope: I am there for you, I will always be there for you. Day or night, you can count on me. Forget the flash in the pans, they will pass. It's funny, not long after we married, Ben was looking at a box of old pictures, and I heard him give out a 'whoa' when he saw me in my 20's. Youth and beauty are more obvious than wisdom [in anyone under 30]. Ben said 'honey, can you look like that again'. I then showed him a picture of himself with hair, and replied 'only if you can too. We will both be spending money for plastic surgery'. We laughed and realized we really were happy, just the way we were. We had 'the right stuff'. (And truth be told, his head with less hair on it than 20 years earlier was far more attractive to me now, because I knew the brains and zest for life inside that head which made him unique). Ben used to tell me his (Dutch-Jewish) mother would say to him as a young boy "Allemaal Hersens" ('all brains' and then pat his head).  And I never knew a man who had so many wonderful dreams, inventions, hopes and ambitions and just sheer joy, the joy of living, going on at one time, inside of him. What made him wonderful was who he had become, and if time had to march on or steal a few hair shafts to get him to that place, oh well, so be it. What counts is what lasts, that is what I call 'the Right Stuff". Real friends, who will be there for you and with you come what may; that's the Right Stuff.  Faithful spouses and faithful parents and faithful friends, there is nothing to compare to this. "See, a King will reign with righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the the wind, and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert, and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." Is. 32:1-2

 For me, the non-sequitur of youth; is that at 20 or 30, you want to keep your looks and your strength, but you want to know what only those who have lived long, and hard and well, can know. Just like the Latin phrase 'non-sequitur' (meaning 'it does not follow') - the conclusion will never follow the premise. There are some things you can only know by living through them. Like that 1983 movie that Ben so loved 'The Right Stuff', which honored the U.S. Mercury 7 Astronauts, Ben used to tell me he couldn't wait to get to space, and if he had a chance, he would want to go. When the talk of civilians possibly taking space travels had come up, discussed by the Richard Branson types of inventors and adventurous explorers, Ben once asked me if I wanted to go into space with him. 'Ya gotta be kidding honey, I don't even want to get on the DC Beltway with you'  ha ha. I would say, I'll wait till the rapture (Mt. 24:30-36) till I take my first space-flight. I know who'll be driving  (the Son of God and and the Holy Spirit) and I know where I'm going I don't have to worry about making it back. [Well, my beloved, you have a view from heaven now that is beyond your wildest dreams now]. You had the Right Stuff.

 

"His Words will take you to your finish line".

 "His Words will take you to your finish line"    Out of the gate - to the end of the race"

'Ktiva'  said Max (the young Jewish man in hiding) to young Liesel Meminger (played by Sophie NElisse), in "The Book Thief". "Write". He wanted Sophie to write. That would become her tool of survival, her means to endure, her mental and emotional means of escape. Words and books became everything to her, and as the story unfolds, she risks it all for these words. As Max, the Jew hiding in the basement of Sophie's foster parents home, hands the young girl a book he made with blank pages, he wants her to Ktiva (write) her words, on these pages. This is Hitler's Germany, and as dark as the times are, what shines is the courage of this young girl, who risks everything, to read, to dream and to hope. The sweet relationship between the foster father Hans, (played by Geoffrey Rush), and the orphaned girl he and his wife take in in this World War 11 drama is worth seeing. A good movie or book shows us the power that words can impart.

 There is a picture that I had made for my husband when he was stationed overseas. It perfectly stated what had happened to us both in six months time. The words are from the poet/writer John Donne, and they are: "More than kisses, letters mingle souls". I put those words against a picture of a harvest, a man tilling the soil, facing the sun. That little framed picture traveled everywhere we lived, and hung up in every bedroom. It said it all, and still hangs on the bedroom wall. It was really words that bound us together, more than dreams, more than hopes, more than plans. It was the words we shared that told us who we were, and what we might become. Words have power. They can impart life or death, hope or defeat. Words can create out of nothing. God's words created everything from nothing, and we are made in His image. If we only knew how powerful a tool a carefully spoken word can be, we might be more careful to choose them wisely.

 We know God takes words very seriously. It was His words which made covenants with people, it was His words which declared blessings over His creation.(Genesis 1).  It was His words that instilled identity in a people, and carved out boundaries and geographies for them. It was His words which encouraged, taught and instructed His Kings, His prophets, and His sages.(Matthew 4:4).  It was His words which lifted the lowly, gave strength to the weak, and gave hope to the dying. It was His words which called His Son's body out of a grave and made Him the first-fruit of all who would believe they too could live forever in glory. (1st Corinthians 15:20). Now, if we can only believe that our words can have that Dunamis power of God, what might we see happen in our lifetime. Referencing again the movie above, the young girl Liesel found a strength in words, both written and spoken, that was greater than what she could see with her eyes. Although it is our five senses that take in what we know to be true of this world; there is so much we would know if we could live deeper than the nose on our face and the eyes in our socket. What if, just what if, we listen to the voice of God within, when He speaks with words, into our spirit, and believe for what we do not see, and cannot perceive with the naked eye? Isn't this what Jesus (Yeshua) was referring to when He said "the Kingdom (all that is possible and good and true) is within"? (Luke 17:21). When Jesus said "if you would only believe" (Mark 9:23)...just what was it, and is it, that He is asking us to believe? I believe He is asking us to believe what the Spirit of God is speaking to our spirit today. He is not asking you to believe for someone else ability to hear God for you, or someone else to show God to to you, He is asking you to believe that He can and does and will reveal Himself to you, if you will only believe.

  In my years walking this terra-firma, I have come to accept and have made peace with who and what I am, and what I am not. I know my strengths as well as my weaknesses, and trust me, it's good to be well- acquainted with both. It will keep you grounded and balanced. You will not think too highly or too badly of yourself when you see what you really are. You will have a honest understanding of the fabric of your soul, and you will really know what you are, because God will show you who you are.  When you have nothing to lose, you lose the fear of saving face. I know when I was a young woman in college,  I couldn't decide on which man to marry (I decided to wait), which career path to take (I had quite a few), or which road to take. I always seemed to take the road that was harder or longer, and often I was on that path by myself.  I paid for my life and education by no less than several part-time jobs at once: but the best job I ever had which taught me more about people than anything else was waiting tables. I learned more about life by taking care of peoples basic needs (hunger and thirst and loneliness) than any other job. If you can handle a busy restaurant and can put up with the good, the bad and the ugly, you can handle life. I learned more by feeding hungry people than I ever did on a stage.All in all, when I look back on those years, I almost have to laugh. Could have saved a lot of time and money, and it might have been easier, had I just done it God's way the first time. But I was stubborn. God is used to dealing with stubborn and impetuous people, and He has a way of drawing them to Himself like no one else can. Those who have a strong will that needs to be bent are God's ace in the hole for troubled times. God specializes in taming wild stallions and filly's just as He can tame a wild soul. You can say that the Lord tamed and trained this race horse, and now I can run the race for God with speed and strength, because His bit and his reigns have been stronger than mine. How much time do we need to really believe all of God's words to us? The time left for this world is shorter than when I grew up. It isn't just your life or my life at stake anymore, there will be those who God will join alongside of us, those who may come after us, who need what we have been through, so they can finish their race. That's the purpose of the struggle, not only to shape us, but to leave something behind for others. I know all this because of words. His Words to me. Spoken in private. Whispered to my spirit. His words trained and broke me, and then they healed me and rebuilt me. This is the power of God's words. Never forget what He says to you. It will be the one true thing that keeps you going and will take to your finish line.

"This last year taught me what time was really all about"

                                              'This last year taught me what time is really all about"

  Sometimes, it feels as if we are Alice in Wonderland, and we never really know what time it is. Like the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, and Alice, we all are stuck at 6:00 p.m. But we know in our hearts it is really later than that. But how late, really.  (Remember that catchy tune from 3 Dog Night in the 70's) "Does anyone really know what time is it:, does anyone really care". Well I tell you, God knows what time it is. And God really does care. What time is it really on God's clock for our lives? Do you want to know?

  We are forever changed as the events and passages of time carve their wisdom, their pain, and their seasons into our soul. As Lewis Carroll wrote in (Alice in Wonderland), "I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."  I know I can't go back to yesterday's for any other reason than a school lesson. I can look back to 3, 5, 10, 20, 30 years ago, and I can see with astute acuity what I could not perceive then. I didn't know life or the way time would carve out a melancholy yet hauntingly beautiful canvass on which the Creator would stop by to paint, into my soul. How can you know at 25 what you know deeply at 50? Even in a year's time, what I have learned since my beloved Ben went to be with the Lord has changed me. The death of a husband, sister, extended relatives and friends in a year's time has changed me. It was as if a magnifying glass was put to my soul, and suddenly, I could see, the flaws,. the imperfections, the wounds, the unfinished business of living, in both words and deed, with a clarity that was at the same time: fearful yet beautifully truthful, all at the same time. 'Suddenlies' have a way of doing that to us. 'Suddenlies' change us. I remember, a little more than a year since my husband's passing, the times he asked me to lie aside of him and watch a favorite football game, or watch a favorite movie for the umpteenth time. Uugh, I used to think. No, I don't want to watch this movie for the 50th time. I have more important things to do, I would think to myself. Now, I realize, nothing was more important than to share that moment in time with a man who so deeply loved and cherished me, and all he wanted was my time. I cherished and loved him too, but as we all do, we think we have all the time in the world, for this or that, or later we'll do, say, this or that. But sometimes, later never comes. This last year taught me that. I have forgiven myself for being human. You have to. Or you will lose your sanity, your soul. your perspective. If you expect yourself to be more than human (superhuman fatalism) you can't last the test of grace. I know that I know that Ben knew I deeply loved him, and, when God took him to heaven, I know the Lord showed him how much he was loved by us all, his family. That is enough. What can you add to perfection? 

  This last year, I think, how petty it was of me to get annoyed with a sister who could go on and on and on about some silly or mundane thing, or kvetch so about things which mattered little. My beautiful sister was sick for a long time. The illness that took her like in 2012 had a dual purpose: I see now that it also arrested my selfishness in the same year: little did I know that her death would cause me to see how selfish I really was, in ways that I could not see until confronted by the sudden loss of her. Most would say "but Liz, you're only human'. You can only take, listen to, hear so much. You have nothing to feel ashamed of, or guilty for. And technically, that may be true. But spiritually (where God lives - which is in the heart and soul of a person) - I knew I could have loved more, listened more, been a little more patient, a little more forgiving. But it was easier to dismiss as I can't take one more email, another phone call, another this or that. We all have our days when we don't have the extra grace for someone else, it is all we can do to take care of ourselves to get through hat day. This is not a guilt trip - it's a honesty trip. As I sit at this PC at Thanksgiving 2013 - and my family has just left for that long drive back home, and the food is put away, the dishes are done, and I am thinking about the intense quietness of the room after the lives I shared my growing up with have left this room, I am struck by how we really enter this world alone, and leave alone. My husband was on the ER gurney, and my sister died alone in the bedroom down the hall, and for those few seconds, I could not save them. But God was there. His angels were there. Was anyone more really needed than Him? After all, if God is not enough, what in God's name do we think we have to offer?

  I chuckle when I sit in my lovely living room, and I remember when Ben would look at the clock on the hutch and it said "6:05" and the clock on the wall said "6:15" and the kitchen clock read "6:25". I can still hear him saying..."for crying out loud, I feel like Alice in Wonderland in here. What time is it really"?
I hadn't reset any clocks, for some reason, even the best clocks I could buy, would skip a beat or minutes here and there. Only the Atomic Clock upstairs kept that mean Greenwich time, and it was accurate. Ben was a man who hated 2 things in life: only 2 things I can think of. He hated being late, and he hated getting lost. (Both of which are two areas which have been a perpetual nemesis for me). Well, I know in the final analysis, Ben conquered both. He was on-time and ready for his departure from earth to heaven, he was ready physically and spiritually. And I know that his compass was accurate: I know that there were angels in the Emergency Room that night as they came to escort  my beloved to his eternal home. I know, because I was there, and I know what I saw, what I heard, what God spoke to me, and what I will forever know.
The two most important things to Ben, he did well. He was on time, and in the right place, and at the right time.
 
 When our 'time' is over, what will be said of us? Will we have been 'on time' for our generation, our family, our loved ones, our calling, our time on this place of earth. I hope so. And I pray I will end up being at the right place, at the right time. If we can do those two things well, we have done a lot. We will finish well.

Out of Edom and Bozrah crimson-stained "I'm Coming Back for my Tribes"

Out of Edom and Bozrah crimson-stained "I'm Coming Back for my Tribes"

  It's 2 days before Thanksgiving, 2013. Waking up to be thankful my family are on their way on the long drive to Delaware. It has been a strange year; more of my family and extended family is in eternity celebrating this year, than was last. I am grateful for those I have still here with me. I sip my morning brew, pet the cat, and am so grateful I have come through this year. Intact. Whole. Grateful. Hopeful. I don't know what 2014 will bring, but I am in very good hands. Allstate may be the 'good hands people'...but I've got Yahweh; He's got the universe in His hands. We'll be alright people, I think to myself, if we only remember to whom we belong. A song rises up within me, and Isaiah 63 (that familiar passage God has spoken to me about so often) is on my mind. "Lord, are you trying to tell me something"?

 As I flip through the pages of the bible, I am always struck by the strength of the prophets words. The God of Israel did not cause Isaiah to write impotent phrases, He called Isaiah to pounce upon the verbs and noun, to make a point. "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the peoples, there was no one with me" (verse 3, Complete Jewish Bible) . And verse 5 "Therefore my own arm brought me salvation, and my own fury upheld me". Read all of Isaiah 63 sometime, and you will see the passion and fury and intensity and power of God's thoughts toward Israel, toward those who rejected Him, toward the people He loved and felt abandoned by, yet a stirring jealousy of protection and safety toward them. You can tell what's been on God's mind and heart for centuries, as He pleads, cries out, years for, punished and finally redeemed a people, and their generations after them, all through the words of Isaiah. There is no mistaking how God views this people, their descendants, from Moses to now, as He recounts what He has and will do to them, and through them, and for them. Now, here is the mystery of this passionate chapter: God is telling us a 'Ancestry-DNA' mystery here - He tells us about the scattered remnant of His people, and we are part of the Isaiah 63 story. We are going to see one day, who (in our ancestral line) came before us, and one day (in His courts in the days to come) we will see a pattern of spiritual and natural legacy where our bloodlines came from. You are more related to Yeshua, the King of the Jews, than you ever knew. He really is your brother, this King of the Jews, this Chief Cornerstone and Capstone, this High Priest (Kohen Gadol).

    My eyes see verse Is. 63 verse 17 as if I were reading this for the first time. "Adonai, why do you let us wander far from your ways and harden our hearts, so that we do not fear you? Return, for the sake of your servants, the tribes who are your possession. Your holy people held your sanctuary for such a short time before our adversaries trampled it down. For so long, we have been like those you never ruled, like those who were not called by your name!"   The Lord opened my eyes - the 'tribes who are your possession'. I flashback to the many conversations my dear friend 'loves the Word' and I have had this last year, many late hours at the diner, talking about what we have been discovering through Ancestry and on-line searches. It is mind blowing to discover you are from Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewry and can trace lineages back to family crests, last names, and genealogy. (This is not a plug for any on-line sites, I'm just sharing the journey the Lord put us on). My friend "loves His Word' has an amazing gift at the computer and for investigating just about anything. *(To respect her identity, I will refer to her as 'loves the Word', which she does, and not use her real name).. She is the only person I know who can spend a day at the laptop and trace herself back to Adam and Eve. No, I am not kidding. The Lord has gifted her to discover things. Only person I know who has (with historical documentation, charts, land grants, birth and death records) her whole family line, neatly bound in a book to gift to her family, so they know their 'roots' both spiritual and physical. She can do in a weekend what would take others months to find out. Now that's what I call a gift from God. I am not so swift at this, in fact, I needed her help to help me find me in cyberspace. LOL. I remember working at the PC one day and she calls me, and says 'Liz, your people are from here and there....you are Jewish girlfriend'. Suddenly I remember something the Lord told me while driving on Interstate 81, back from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in 1990, where I used to work. "Liz, you are a Jew", I heard Him say one day on that long stretch of road, sandwiched in on all sides by big Semi's. A long drive and much to think about. "Me"? A Jew?  I used to think God had me confused with someone else.  I mean, my grandparents came over on the slow boat from Czechoslovakia and and Scotland and Wales.Over 130 years ago. Didn't have any records, didn't know much about them except a little here and there. Was told I came from a long line of Catholics and some Protestants, from what they knew. But who knew? Well, God knew. Why is this even important to know, you may wonder. Because I am seeing that 'knowing where we came from' and knowing our 'spiritual' as well as physical roots, has a lot to do with knowing where we are meant to go. Suddenly, things about yourself (they way you operate, the way you think, the stirrings within you, they make sense. Suddenly, you start to get it).

 I want to stress here that the 'most important' root we all need is to be 'grafted in' to the Branch of David (Jesus), as the Word says, we are 'adopted' all of us into Messiah (Ephesians 1:5).  Being born Jewish or being born Polish or Greek or Italian or anything else does not guarantee exclusivity, or immediate Club Membership into Heaven's Elite Frequent Flyer Program. Just as the Israelites used to brag to Jesus that they were 'sons of Abraham', He had some strong words for them then about their 'righteousness' being as filthy rags. And yet God does say to the woman who wanted some morsels of bread (Mt. 15:22-28) that there was a specific purpose for which He came, and that His own people had a 'specific' calling and destiny to the nations. Yeshua was not being cruel or disrespectful here, he was giving a plan of origination and specificity. God is all about destiny. Of nations, tribes, and family. The DNA in our bloodlines is very important to God. The more you find out about your past, the more you can see your future. There were prayers prayed generations back you never knew about, but it has a lot to do with your family tree coming to know their heritage. One day, I suppose, in God's heaven, we will meet and know those (who died in faith) who went before us, and we will all have a family reunion that is beyond our wildest dreams. But for now, on this earth, the most important thing we can do is to connect with God through the bloodline that is on the mercy seat of heaven, the blood that the Son of God spilled out for us. [Is. 63:3] "and I stained all my clothing (garments)". Jesus was telling us here, hundreds of years before He came to earth to die, that His blood would be poured out for us. That is your DNA inheritance - you were already bought with a price. A price no one but God Himself could pay.  Jesus was stained with blood, every part of him, every part of His garment, His literal DNA went into the earth, the planet He made, to redeem all the family bloodlines of man. His DNA is still on the mercy seat, and it is our ancestral covenant, spiritual and natural. When God talks about ' the tribes' - know He has scattered us, the many tribes of Israel, all the clans and people-groups  into every nation and continent. He is redeeming us, and that is why many are 'hungry' for Messianic things and hungry to know about Jewish things at this time in history: God has ordained it is the time when discover who we really are.

  So what do you want to know about yourself? Ask the Lord. He will show you. He has already redeemed the nation you came out of, the mother who bore you and the Father whose seed you are, He has gone back into your family line and cleansed it. He has offered this Covenant to you and me, He has shown us in His words, and given us the gospels to know how to break curses, cleanse the blood lines, redeem family trees and ties. You can be the conduit for intercessory prayer in your family tree to Galatians 3:13 - Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree. Check out these verses below. These are just some of the verses in the Word that show us we have the power to pray, declare and believe and receive generational blessings for ourselves and our bloodlines. What are you waiting for God to do for you? He has already given you [through the atoning work of the Messiah] the authority and power to break the curse! You can be a fishing net for your family tree to pray them into the Kingdom. Go for it! Your 'tribe' is counting on you. God is waiting for you.

Proverbs 26:2  Jeremiah 17:5  Deuteronomy 28:1-68 James 5:16  Numbers 14:18 Ephesians 6:12
Revelation 22:3   Ephesians 4:27  Galatians 3:13-14  Deuteronomy 5:9  Genesis 12:3  2 Corinthians 5:17 Proverbs 18:21  Romans 5:12  Psalms 103:1-22  1 John 1:9  Mark 16:9-20  Deuteronomy 28:15-68  Deuteronomy 28:20  Galatians 1:8  Romans 9:3  Proverbs 28:27    Exodus 34:7

  "The 2:30 a.m. Visitor   God wants you to know He is crazy about you

  It happened again last night. It is Sunday, November 24th, nearing midnight. I plan on getting some good sleep and begin my workday fresh tomorrow at 6:00 am. But before I turned out the lights, I had this strong desire to worship the Lord in dance, inparticular, the V'ahavta prayer by Messianic Psalmist Marty Goetz. This prayer is taken from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37. It is the hallmark of the Jewish tenets of faith, and Jesus (Yeshua) said it is the greatest commandment to 'love your God with all your heart, and soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself'. As I dance before the Lord, with my eyes closed, I can tell there is a spectrum of color and a bright lightness in the room. I can feel God watching me. I know that sounds weird, but I don't know how else to say it. There is a strong sense of quiet awe: I turn the CD off, and I get into bed, and I know for certain, I am not alone in this room. Like a favorite cologne whose scent you can't forget, this presence floods my spirit with the awareness that the Rose of Sharon (Song of Songs 2:1) has entered this place. I can't even move. I don't know if I should pray, or just lie still. This strong scent of majesty has entered this place, and I don't know what to do. I don;t know how long I lay motionless like this. I just couldn't move. So I wait. I listen. I say nothing. I don't move a muscle. And then, I feel a wet teardrop on my face. It wasn't my tear that hit my face; it was the Lord's. This is all true what I write, not one word here is imagined. This happened as I said. I then heard the Lord (in my spirit, for He speaks to our 'spirit in truth' - that is the worship He is looking for) say some things to me, which are not important to relay here. It was personal. It was precious. It brought life. He did let me know that He has waited my whole life, yes, all these years, to bring me to this place. I was not ready before. I thought I was, but I wasn't. Grace had not finished her work. There were bits of me that the Potter had to smash on the wheel where He molds the clay. I could not have stood in that pain before. I would not have lasted. I was not ready. I had not suffered enough, nor been broken enough, for Him to speak to me like this. Suffering is the only true measure of exchange that is sufficient payment for the grace which is to follow. 

  I remembered that only months ago, the Lord asked me one night, as I was crying out to Him, "WHY LORD" ...what had I not done to save ____, what could I have done. There are always why's in a soul that has not yet seen what the fire of God's plans will do. God's fire burns out the dross. I remember only months ago He asked me "Liz, how much do you trust me". I knew He wasn't asking because He didn't know the answer. He was asking to show me my heart. Did I trust Him when nothing makes sense anymore? Now I see His plan. It is beyond my comprehension to take this in. It is so beautiful. I see Him smash to pieces all the plans of the enemy. What seemed like loss is really gain. What seemed like judgment is really mercy. He has not only redeemed me, He has re-dressed me and repackaged me into something better than I was before. Loss takes you to a depth of compassion that is breathtaking. Sorrow catapults you to a place of joy that is sublime. The Beatitudes (Mt. 5) mean more to me now than ever, because I know how poor in spirit I really am. The more of yourself you lose, the more of Him you can take in. I am not ashamed of gospel of Christ, it is the true power of salvation.  (Romans 1:16) If being so desperately in need of His presence is what welcomed Him through the doorpost of my home at 2:30 a.m. last night, then I am thrilled to be this needy. I know this for certain, my faith life can never go back to business-as-usual. I have tasted the thrilling kiss of a Messiah who is waiting for a bride, and I can never go back to who I was before.

     Maybe it's the desperateness of life's situations that bring us to a place where we are emptied of our own ways, plans and schemes to rescue our own life, that grace does her finest work. I know I have come through a season of my life where I have delivered a man-child in prayer (Revelation 12). The man-child The Book of Revelation speaks of is the remnant bride, who has come through the wilderness, the tough seasons of life, and weathered the storms. Only God Himself can keep us in the storm. Prayer and passion for a God we cannot see, but a Son we cannot live without is what births the man-child in us. What the Spirit of God is looking for - what He wants more than anything else, is true sons and daughters, and a true bride. He is hungry to feed the hungry hearts. He is thirsting to satisfy parched lips. "Let all who are thirsty, come" He says. He is looking hard for those who know they are nothing without Him, and who have come to the end of it all, and realize, if He isn't with me, I am not going. If He isn't in this, I don't want it. It is knowing we are miserable and unfulfilled and our lives won't be worth living anymore, unless His beauty, His presence, His love, shows up in us. The old wineskin just won't cut it anymore. We have been ripped, torn, stretched and molded beyond what we could bare, and we (our flesh) hated every minute of it: but now we see the Potter, the garment maker, He knew what He was doing all along. He purposely tried to kill us, and He succeeded. And how wonderful it is to be dead to what was. He now resurrects us to a new us: the presence and scent and cologne of God poured into us makes us smell like heaven: we carry His presence and it is beautiful to behold.

  I don't know how long He stayed. I don't remember when He left. I only know the next 2 hours (until the alarm went off) I felt like I was being held in still motion. It was the most tranquil and euphoric feeling that has no words. I am aware of a sensation that I can only describe as if I had slept in a tub of liquid love: if this is the Peace of God, I can't get enough. Surely, the Tzar Shalom (Prince of Peace) had to be here last night. What else could it be? I don't know how I can taste any more and still function. I am like the lovesick bride in Song of Solomon. This was so worth the wait. I get my thoughts in order, get dressed and out the door. I need to drop my car off at the mechanic for a tune-up. I arrive at the garage at 8 a.m. I look at the people in the garage and can literally feel God's love for them. I think to myself  'if they only knew....if they only knew God was crazy about them". If they could feel what I am feeling right now, they would just melt. And I say a silent prayer in my heart that they will. Somehow. Someway, when the time is right, their soul will be flooded too. God prepares us to receive Him in waves. You can't throw an infant into the ocean and expect them not to drown: you can't run into God and live unless His spirit is doing the work of grace to make you able to stand in His love. Love has a rhythm and measure to it. It is like a dance. When all the moves are right, and the tempo is pitch perfect, and everything works in sync, it is beautiful to watch. God's love is like that. He meets us where we live, where we are, and He works from there. And I know a whole mess of people are about to experience this oozing tsunami of love from heaven. Even as I write this blog, I hear in my ear the Lord tell me 'It's Time". It's time for my people to get their bridal raiment on. I am coming to love them. I am coming to dress them for my Son. I will pour myself into all who want to taste and see that I am a good God. Get ready". I know that I cannot live without this love. I have tasted something so sweet, that dead works and religion will never do it for me again. So, if you remember the lyrics to that great OJay's song form the 70's. "Love Train', I am inviting you to 'get aboard that love train'. The conductor will soon be pulling into your station, and He wants you on board.

"Gravity" The Movie, The 50th Anniversary of JFK, and the Navy Hymn - Peeking from God's Space Station

 "Gravity"  The Movie,  The 50th Anniversary of JFK,  and the Navy Hymn

A peek from God's Space Station

From Psalm 8:3-6:

³ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.   KJV

   Friends called today to invite me to a good movie playing in Salisbury, and I couldn't make the matinee time. I was at the computer working on a project all morning, and at 1:45 pm, there was no way I could make the 45 minute drive in 10 minutes, no matter how I winded through those back roads. Oh drats. And I had earlier wanted to join my friends for their afternoon Torah study. I really love Saturday's again. Couldn't make it there in time either. The bleak has turned a rosy color again, and weekends are feeling better than they had in a year. So I decided to finish my work, and then realized as the cats were rubbing against my leg for lunch. Hey you guys, all I had was coffee at 7 a.m., and you are hungry again. In feeding them, I thought I better feed me too, but found nothing in the frig worth microwaving or making. Boring. Maybe I'll head out to Panero's in Rehoboth, they have the best soups. That will be good after hitting my new favorite place to race walk, the Lewes Ferry terminal station and surrounding parks. It is a very brisk but sunny day, a perfect Shabbat. You can talk to the Lord, and even sing, and no one is around to see or hear you if you are far enough out on the dock. Besides, if people see your lips move, and you cover your head with a hat, they just think you are on bluetooth (whereas years ago they just thought you were crazy :). Only the birds heard me today, and they didn't seem to notice I was terribly off-key. They were circling figure 8's overhead, and I saw a boat go out and a Ferry come in. I was a water-baby all my life, in the water, on the water, every chance I got. I never tired of the waves. I never tire of what the sea suggests: a hidden life, the mystery of creation, and a sense of life and calmness, anytime I am by a port or sea. I can't even hear the Navy Hymn without getting all choked up. But I never expected to take myself to a movie today.

  Whenever Ben and I would hear "Eternal Father Strong to Save" (the navy Hymn), the words would move us. Here's the words to just the first verse:

"Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea".

  My God, we are all in peril on the sea of life. Every day could spell disaster or glory, blessing or demise. We do not know how the day will end when we begin it. Sudden deaths of friends and loved ones have a way making you aware of your absolute inability to save yourself, much less anyone else.

  The news channels have been running some good documentaries on the life of this nations 35th President, John F. Kennedy. Like most of us who were alive in 1963, I remember exactly where I was the day Kennedy was shot: I was in the third grade. Catholic School. I remember an announcement coming over the PA system and the Principal, who voice was shaky, announced the President was shot, and prayers were said over the PA system (yes, you could actually pray in the schools back then). I remember them announcing dismissal and we were sent home. I remember walking into the kitchen (my dad was at work) and my mom seemed different. Her eyes were wet: she had been crying. I still didn't understand what all this wa about: I was only 8 years old. I didn't really understand the scope of the history that was unfolding at that  time:. But I will always remember going out to the playground out back and swinging and thinking 'today feels sad, what is happening'. I was keenly aware that all the grown-ups were acting strange and sad. This is what it feels like to be living through history and not know the impact one event has that can change the world. Only as an adult did I appreciate the power of his courage, the man Kennedy. He spearheaded the Space race without apology. And this weekend marks the 50th anniversary of this mans death. And the Space movie 'Gravity' does the space race justice as well. So, on my way from Panero's, I see the Midway Marquee which announces 'GRAVITY'. Hhmmm. Well, I'm here. No time like the present. I go for it.

  So I', standing at the movie window, and the woman asks me if I want the 3-D Imax ticket or the regular one. Well, when asked like that, you know the latter (regular viewing) just has to be a dud, so of course I say '3-D'. I ask her what's a 3-D movie like (as the last one I saw was with my husband (then fiance') in Las Vegas when he proposed. (more on that later). So She says to me.."You know, a lady saw that in 3-D the other day and threw-up. You maybe just want to watch it on a regular screen".  Eeewww. How charming you are, I think to myself. I may regret this, but just give me that dang 3-D ticket.   

 Well, I am not going to do a 'spoiler alert' here, so if you want to see the movie, I recommend it. Time-Warner Productions is not paying me to endorse this, I promise you that. But for my 2 cents, Sandra Bullock (as Dr. Ryan Stone) and George Clooney (as the veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky) did a great job. I wont give away the plot, but I will tell you that when I put those 3-D glasses on, and the movie started, I blurted FAR OUT and hoped no one heard me. The special effects alone are worth the price of admission. When satellite space debris hurls Clooney through space, I nearly jumped out of my seat: I thought Clooney was going to land on my lap. (well, at least in the movies anything is possible, LOL). This movie made it easy to imagine the same sensations (panic, fear, oxygen deprivation, hope, joy, and finally insurmountable determination and courage) that it takes to keep on keeping on. Even when all hope is gone. A good movie can be a metaphor for life: we all have, and will have, those moments in life when it doesn't make sense to go on, when it would be easier to just quit, or at least, not try so hard. I mean, why struggle. For me, this movie reminded me how much faith is like this: we always will have a struggle, there will always be obstacles, but the end-game is to conquer ourselves! Conquering space is really all about conquering our fears. And who doesn't fear the unknown. Am I too old? Am I too young? Am I still smart enough, able to do this job, you name it, we all have those insecurities. Am I, can I, will I. There is not one of us who doesn't have those internal questions from time to time. Conquering the sea is about conquering all those demons and fears we try to quench down, but that arise again. Even though our life's journey seems to have unfixed coordinates in space - no absolute road map to tell us exactly what career to take, who to marry, when to build, when to birth), we are still given value and functions that guide us into a perfect destiny. The mathematics behind God's genius is that He allows us to choose: and in choosing Him to guide us, we are always on course. Because Our Eternal Father is always strong to save".

So this is this unpaid movie reviewer's thoughts. Go see the movie. If nothing else, you will enjoy the good acting, special effects, and by all means, do the 3-D thing. It's a hoot. And you might be surprised what you learn about yourself in the process. Although there was only one reference to prayer mentioned (when Bullock's character thinks she is about to die and realizes she doesn't know how to pray), the movie has plenty of alliteration. You will know the hidden meaning behind the plot. Yenta says: Go have some fun.

Addendum: Ok. I know you want to know. My other only 3-D movie was with Ben in 1997. Here's the scoop. Before he was my husband, Ben flew to Vegas from overseas (he was Army Veterinary Officer stationed on the prettiest island on the Pacific Theatre of our US forces, Okinawa). He flew to Vegas to attend a Vet conference, and asked me if I could take a few days off from work and fly out there (from Pennsylvania) and spend some time there with him. We had met 6 months earlier at a conference ourselves, and had talked, written, Instant messaged and basically made the phone company rich in those 6 months. But it was the best money we ever spent, and we both knew it. Dating long distance was the sweetest thing. You really get to know someone's heart when you cant be distracted by someone's face or anything you can see or well, you know....we do have five working senses. I remember the day before he proposed on the top of the tallest spinning restaurant I ever saw, on bended knee, with the military stance, he asked me if I would PLEASE PLEASE go on this Star Trek 3-D holographic ride experience with him. (aw, you thought it was something else I was going to say, haha). Yes, he asked that too! Would I marry him. Well, you know the answer to that. The big Trek convention was in town (and he later confessed to me he purposely booked this Vet gig now because he couldn't get Star Trek TV on the Officers base where he lived, and was Trek deprived), so he wanted to see this Vegas Trek Experience. A big 'Trekkie' venue - large hotel, made into a space ship experience. I  remember thinking to myself  'Dear God, what have I just gotten myself into". Am I now engaged to a Trekkie? Help!  Little did I know then, that the worlds' engineers, scientists, doctors, and even former astronauts grew up on these this show, and their many spinoffs. OK, for all of you Gene Roddenberry fans, don't get me started here. I know he was a visionary already! Heard it 1000 times.

     But, I found out I loved 3-D. It was a blast, and seeing Ben that excited sealed it for me. He was so happy he almost squealed with delight when we were on the elevator alone after 4 3-D Star Trek space rides. I will never forget the look on his face that night. Or how good his future looked. He said it all with his eyes and his smile. He sealed the proposal with a kiss in the elevator (that I still hope wasn't on tape at the security desk's camera). It was that good. That's how I knew. That old Betty Everett song from yesteryear "It's in his Kiss" really is true. It really was in his kiss. After that kiss, I let him talk me into dinner at the Trek themed restaurant. Weird little actors in tights running around, and women in Trek couture, and Ben wanting to take a picture of me sitting on the lap- of the little green trek character with big ears, whose thing was he liked to have his ears rubbed. (forget his name, but you diehard fans will remember it). Thank God that was before Facebook or everyone having a camera phone! Was it all worth it? A thousand times yes. I would do it all over again. That's my memory now, and I'm taking it into space with me. That's my personal space station.

    

Don't bury the God in you - let Him out of the box and into your in-box

Don’t bury the God in you – let Him out of the box and into your in-box

       It’s interesting how the times we live in shape us are we really are. Had I lived 200 years ago (no phone, internet, cable, cars), my relationship with others, and God, would be different. We experience who we really are, often by the times we were born into, and the seasons of our lives. If we doubt this, consider God could have plopped you down from space into a covered wagon in Daniel Boone days, or you could have been on a pirate ship crossing the Caribbean. But you did not. You were born “for such a time as this”. This evening at Shabbat, the woman sharing the harmony (parashot or portions section) shared a bit about one of her favorite writers, Oswald Chambers. There are many such ‘fathers’ of the faith, and they have a lot of wisdom to impart. But I couldn’t help but think as I listened, how would Oswald have looked at life had he had trains and planes and internet and blogs and cell phones at his disposal for communiqué? Even more, we know from accounts of the man, Chambers was said to be so humble he did not think it worthy (or perhaps his personal memos to God were too personal, or he thought it prideful to share them with the world, who knows), but his wife saved his writings, and now the world is blessed because of it. I know of few people anymore who aren’t ‘on-line’ and how many pastors or rabbi’s prepare a message without a IPad or PC. I mean, we can live without all these devises, we certainly did at one time. But how much more accessible are we to each other, and to information, and relationships, because of it. I for one, know that for many years, I resisted being ‘on-line’ cause I thought it meant more work, more necessity to reply to everyone, everywhere who emailed me, asked me a question, or needed something. Little did I know what an invaluable tool these devices could be, provided we know when to put the lid on it, and cap it. Everything has a boiling point and place where you need to say, I go this far, and no more. For me, when the in-box is full at page three, I unplug, pet the cat, grab a latte, and say I’m done for now.   So what does this have to do with God, Buried Treasure, and letting God out of His box and into your in-box: everything!

    As we know we are all created in God’s image, unique, no two people alike, we can imagine we will never know the fullness of His glory, how could it be known? We can experience Him, we can love Him, and we can recognize Him in ourselves and others, but we can’t put God in a box in our little pocket. How can you fit the wind in your sleeve? The God in Oswald Chambers, John Wesley, John the Baptist, Billy Graham, to name a few, is awesome. Look at how God has used them in this world for His purposes. And we are to give credit where credit is due, God wants us to see Him in others. He is foremost a God of relationship and wonder. Yet, to contrast, I see God in the struggling poet who is eeeking out a living working on the docks at the river, although everyone things he has lost his marbles because he has turned down the money and benefits of security, his soul burns with truths that will not let him rest. That ‘holy unrest’ is God. I see God in the young actors on a Broadway stage, though it appears they want the more exciting perks of life, many are hungry for a truth and understanding within themselves they don’t understand. That is why they crave the arts: they long for things only sages think on. I see God in the beaten down mom and dad who are struggling to figure out how to put food on the table, and are all too human to take time to cultivate their innate divinity: they don’t have time for fancy words and sermons, they work 12 hours a day, they want a cold beer and a warm heart at the end of a day. This doesn’t make them evil; it makes them human. They just want to unwind and be with their family and friends. Just as too much carnality and flesh can corrupt a pure transcendent work of the spirit of grace, so too, can a spirit of religion and legalism snuff the life out of grace.

   I think many more would run to enter the Kingdom of God if we could be more like our Messiah who told Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) to get out of that tree, I'm coming to your place for dinner. Jesus became a friend to sinners, yet he never sinned. I know, I know. None of us are there yet. None of us are nor will ever be (in this life and in this body) that perfected or beyond being changed (for the worse) into what we have left behind. But that is no reason not to be willing to get gut level real with people and meet them in their city, in their neighborhood, on their terms, where they live, so we can show them where we live: in a Kingdom not made with human hands. The reason that the harvest is not yet full is that many have not seen how beautiful, how fair and how lovely our King really is (Song of Solomon 5:10).  There has been a linear and generational dis-connect here: for 2,000 years we have somehow failed to convey the glorious beauty of this King. God could use robots or angels to preach the angels: but He prefers dust and ashes: you and me. Oh God help us all to show this world how lovely you really are.

  I think had I been born in a different time I would have considered a rebel, or been labeled with some adjective which branded me different or not one to fit in with the crowd. The status quo of conventional religiosity never did fit me well, though I learned how to fit in when I had to. I see God buried in real people, with real problems, real dreams, real lives, real everything. Not everyone has a perfect life, living in the suburbs, same job since 22, married to the high school sweetheart, with 2 kids and a SUV in the driveway. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But God is so much bigger than that. He is a real God who loves real people with real lives and real dilemmas. God is a God of every shape, size and color life you can imagine. Don’t for goodness sake, bury who you are, to fit into something that will never satisfy your soul. Many poets, prophets, engineers, inventors, teachers, preachers are buried in graves across the world whose words we will never hear, whose words will never change us, because they buried their talents to acquiesce to the culture of the day, or the mindset of the times. Yes, it is good to know the times in which you live, but more importantly, we must live our lives in the time we are put into. Ask God, He will show you who you are: from the inside out. I think we serve and honor God best when we allow Him to show up in us, and refuse to bury what the Spirit of God put in us. Don’t expect everyone to understand. How can someone else know what only God knows?  Let it be enough that your heavenly Father understands. No one is served in humanity by false humility or a blatant pride: true humility is knowing who you are in Christ and being what God made you to be. It is what Christ said is the greatest commandment “Love you neighbor as yourself”. You can’t love others unless you let yourself be loved by God. You can’t give away what you don’t have, and you can’t love others until you really see what God put inside of you. God wants to come out of your eyes and hands and mouth to others: don’t box God in when He wants to live – from the inside out. The Kingdom of God is within.

 

"You're like a Rose"

   What is it about pets and small children in the middle of the night, that we willfully engage their whims, go without sleep - and do it all over the next day. Is it because they are helpless without us, and we are compelled to answer their cry for food or comfort? Whatever it is, my 'Merci-boy' decided he wanted me to scratch him under his chin, (yes I am the cat-staff in this house), and he would not leave me alone until I met his feline demands. Some days I wonder...just who was given dominion over whom. And yet I love him too much to deny him. Those huge green eyes, that purr that sound like a Stanley Steemer, nuzzling me as if I were gone for weeks, what can I do? I love him too much to ignore him. And life is like this at its' best.

 I hear the garbage trucks outside on their morning round, and the birds chirping a round of hi-5's to their feathered friends, now that I am awake, good time to check in with Papa. I love my Papa. No one like my Papa. Over the years, I have discovered, there is nothing you can't say to Papa God. He already knows it all, but He loves to hear us, discover for ourselves, who we really are, in Him. That's the joy and wonder of being alive. So I reflect on this last year of my life. 2013 started out so bleak. My husband, the love of my life, has just passed away, some family members and friends had suddenly passed away also. Other very difficult events, all culminated into a vortex of tears, and I spent the first few months of 2013 feeling as if I were sucker-punched in the gut. Most days felt like I was in a surreal dream. A grey fog, not knowing who I was anymore, what happened to my life, and where was I going. I tell Papa how amazed I am that as 2013 draws to a close next month, I am utterly amazed at how He has healed my heart. He really has. I will end this year doing what my sweet Benjamin so much wanted to do: have a party, a house blessing, friends over, say some prayers, laugh, dance, eat, all the good Jewish things one day to celebrate life and the blessing of a house and a new start. He so much wanted to enjoy the fruits of his labor. And I will rejoice for him and with him, with our 'mishpochah' (family of friends in God) in this living room, just weeks away. I know in my heart and soul that heaven's portals will be open that day, and although I won't be able to see (except by faith), I know that my loved ones in heaven will be smiling down on that day. And enjoying the day with us.

  I tell Papa how I notice our soul never really changes. I mean, we get older. Time and experience, they change us. But I am still the same girl I was at 23. I still have that same romantic outlook on life. I am a realistic person, I don't live in a dream world, I work hard, pay bills, am a news junkie, and keenly aware of the events of the day. I am a romantic soul in that I see the endless possibilities of a thing,and I hear God in the nuances of life that most people mistake for coincidence. I can see the unseen world in my spirit, so I am basically living on 2 planes at a given time. That is what it means to 'walk in the spirit'.  I am 'emotionally' honest (which is hard for some, I know, because most people really do not want to be that 'transparent'). But really, when you know you are loved by God, deeply loved, and you know you are safe in Papa's heart, what really, is there to be afraid of? Come on, are you afraid people will misunderstand you? News flash - they already do. Are you worried about what people will think of you? News flash - some will never 'get you' and others will try to change you to fit their schematica of life. It's no big deal really. Just be who you are. Be who God made you to be. You'll be so much happier. Took me many years to finally understand that. Of all the incredible things about my husband that I loved, I loved that he loved me for who I was. He didn't try to change me. He allowed me to be me. He was the only one who could call me "Lizzie" (my childhood nickname) and get away with it.    But it's the way he said "Lizzie, honey, come over here" and I would lay down aside of him while he watched the Ravens or Orioles on tv, he would scratch my back, the anxiety of the day would melt away, and we would get into a laughing fit. Nothing is better in this world than to be totally accepted and totally loved. Once you have been loved like that, nothing less than that can come close. At it's essence, a satisfying marriage, or a great friendship, parallels in this life just a taste of what being loved by God is meant to be about. God gives us these relationships so we can have a clue of what awaits us in the life to come, and to experience the joy of His love now. Don't refuse a pure love when it comes your way - for God hides Himself often in the unexpected, the unexplained and the unplanned moments of life. Don't tell God your plans for your life, allow Him to show you His. His are better.

 Some mornings all I can do is lay in bed and the tears flow. But the tears are the tears of tenderness and longing, for I feel, smell, sense, and taste how desperately God wants this world to know His Son. He wants this world to know He is coming back soon. I am becoming more and more aware that the Song of Solomon (a metaphor for Christ (the heavenly bridegroom) is calling the bride to 'get ready'. The wedding feast is almost ready. So many are not even dressed for the event, let alone replied to their RSVP. So as I end my time with Papa today, I can't put two words together to make a prayer: All I can do is taste the tears running down my check and tell Him how much I love Him and need Him. There is a sound within me that only the Spirit of God knows: it is the longing to love and be loved by this God who made me. And a renewed sense of life as well, for I know I have much love to give in the days ahead. The sun is starting to peek through the curtains;  I ask my Papa is there anything He wants to say to me today. I hear the words of my (late) father-in-law, Ernest H. Cassutto, (who was a composer and musician pre-WW11 Nazi era). Ernest wrote many wonderful songs, one of which, Ben used to sing to me in long car rides or on trips. I hear my Papa sing these words, in the original melody, to me,  from Ernest's song "You're Like A Rose"....

"Oh, I have now words to tell how sweet you are! 

You're just like a rose in sunny spring!

When I look at you and when I hear your voice,

It's just as if I hear the sweetest music in my dreams.

Oh, I have no words to tell how sweet you are!

Kiss me now and say you love me too.

Then I am the happiest in the world.

   A love song from God. (I wonder if Ernest and Ben heard God sing that this morning from His courts).

 

 

17 November 2013 BLOG            Lightbeacon Ministries & Services    

“7 Minutes on the clock: The Voice of Psalm 83, Isaiah 24 and Isaiah 63”

            It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord uses things in the natural, seen world to reveal what is happening directly above us in the heavens. The blog today is called THE VOICE and I know there is TV show by the same name. Well, there is A VOICE that is speaking from above us, and this voice is speaking ‘through everything in the earth that can be shaken’, in our atmosphere, weather patterns, governments, and nations. Many places in scripture show the Lord, in the last days which we are in, will shake everything that ‘can’ be shaken. That’s an inclusive word: everything means peoples, places and things. In fact, the only thing that won’t be shaken is the Lord’s Kingdom, which is immovable and everlasting. And those who belong to the King, those who belong the Lord, will not be moved. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29).

            One day this week, I woke up with the words “Isaiah 24’ across my mind, and I couldn’t shake the feeling it was a ‘now’ word. From Isaiah 24, I read “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. ⁵ The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.⁶ Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.” God is a God of eternal things: when He made a covenant with a man or a nation, He swore by His own Name. The power of all creation and eternity, the eternal VOICE is able to back up His power with action. An undefined sadness was within me, and I knew there were epic days ahead for America, depending on what ways the Congress and Senate vote. Here am I, born on the 4^th of July. I am a real live Independence baby. I love my nation. Yet I cringe to think that we (political powers and ideologues who sway the tide of hand in the State Department and Department of Defense), don’t realize how critically vital it is to stand with Israel. America is a republic, operating in a democratic mode of action. Israel is a theocracy, moving in a similar way. To the Western World, and the Middle East, there are really only 2 nations who very tenants bore the truths of the COVENANT and everlasting ORDINANCES into the script of their existence. The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence have, at its very soul the Torah and the Commandments of God written into the Legislative, Executive and Judicial system. America’s very existence is linked with Israel; spiritually, culturally, and legislatively. 

            This same week, I couldn’t get Isaiah 63 out of my mind. Isaiah 63 “Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor,striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.”  ² Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?  “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. ⁴ It was for me the day of vengeance; the year for me to redeem had come. ⁵ I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me,and my own wrath sustained me. ⁶ I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.”  I heard that familiar Voice I know. The Lord is saying to us all “No one but me is going to be able to take you through this time in history. No one is going to save any nation, save any family, save any hope, except those who hope in the Lord”. No one but the one who was bloodied and emptied on a execution stake (the cross) is going to take us through and out to the other side. The winepress (the pressing of the Spirit of God into the souls of men and nations) is wringing us out, like a wet dishtowel. Israel is being wrung out: no one is there to help her or save her, but her God. America is next in line. 

            This morning as I was waking up, Psalm 83 came to my mind. Psalm 83 is a prophetic foreshadowing showing the Confederate nations (Arab nations) who are poised to strike at the heart of Israel. Although the names of these nations are centuries old – (Magog, Gog, Persia etc); we can see in modern day  Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya,  the same sons of Esau (Ishmael) who hated the sons of Isaac (Israel) then, that same spirit of jealousy and wildness, is still operating in the middle east today. Esther had Haman who wanted her dead, and Israel today has Hamas out for blood. But just as Haman hung on the very galley he had set for Esther, Hamas will be hung out to dry today. There will be a Arab – Israeli war in the Middle East, Psalm 83 shows this.  What does all this mean, and what will it lead to? The pages of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, (the prophets of Haftorah), the pages of the Torah (first 5 books of Moses), give us more than a clue: Israel is in perilous times, and all those who stand with her are wise (Genesis 12 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing - I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” And God stills says to Israel, all her people, all her tribes scattered throughout the nations, the DNA of man, in all family lines, to all those who align themselves with the God of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord, the Lord of Hosts says” In Deuteronomy28: ⁷  The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.”

            As in the fight for the nation in 1948, as in the 6 days war in 1967, and in the Yom Kippur fight, even now, in 2013, the Lord will again send out His heavenly hosts, with Michael, the great prince (archangel) over Israel, and all who come at Israel with one sword will run with 7 angels chasing them. I tell you, the Mighty Elohim, the God of Israel, is going to Show up, and Show Himself as the Lord over this Land. It was deeded to Israel by God Himself. It is the City of the Great King: the Son of God will come back and rule and reign there. Better watch out: God is pulling out His heavenly arsenal; and it will be a quick defeat for those who curse, hate and revile the souls of Israel. Seven is the number of completion, and God is soon to complete Israel’s deliverance in a earth-moving way. Even Spielberg and George Lucas couldn’t write a script like this. The animation and special effects are coming out of heaven’s theatre, and you will see it.  Let us pray for Israel, her heart to turn toward the Son of God. Proverbs 30:4 “Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has cupped the wind in the palms of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? From the Complete Jewish Bible  Psalm 2: 7-8 “I will proclaim the decree: Adonai said to me,‘You are my son; today I became your father.⁸ Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance.” Israel: Your Father is waiting for you to make Shalom with His Son, your brother, Yeshua.   / EAC./11/17/13

HaTikvah ("The Hope")        Israel's National Anthem     “As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart, With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion, Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:  To be a free people in our land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”