If you got a prayer poke from me; Friday the 25th

I prayed for you today from Deuteronomy 1:30-31
The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.' NKJ

I ask that the eyes of your heart be open and that you know what God is letting you see. Where ever you go, our LORD is one step ahead of you, you are never alone. In those moments today that your soul feels weary, ready to fall to the temptations that seems easier to play with then to resist, know that YHVH our God is fighting the unseen battle for your soul. He has fought for your heart when you were a slave of sin, he fights for you now in the wilderness. He delights in righteousness and knows how difficult that walk is. But in Y'shua who came to live a life that physical eyes could see, in the love and sympathetic heart of the Son of God, you will find the strength you desire to stand firm, living just this moment pleasing to Him, ready to take another step.

The LORD is taking you somewhere special, life is not pointless even in the dreary moments. He is leading you to a place of Joy, of rest. Press forward. And know that when the day is overwhelming, He carries you.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Smells like love

Freshly bathed babies, my husband right out of the shower, Crest toothpaste, Mennen aftershave and a wool suit, waffles. Each of these smells like love to me. Each is attached to a strong memory. The babies and the husband probably do not need explanation. The smell of waffles came from my mom's kitchen when I was a nasty, cranky teen who absolutely did not want anyone coming to my door singing "it's time to get up". The suit, toothpaste and aftershave were my dad coming to kiss me good-by in the early morning before he went to work (when I was still little enough to kiss).



For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;2 Corinthians 2:15 NASU

Those who have come to repentance and salvation by faith through the grace of the Messiah smell like love to YHVH. A mother can breathe in the scent of her baby and feel warmth in her heart. I suspect YVHA reacts to us and our scent of Messiah in some similar way. When Paul wrote this word, he spoke of a scent that is an offering to the Emperor. We are privileged to bring an offering to our Lord, we are the offering. Washed in the blood of his only begotten son. But to the world, even to the religious of the world we smell like death. They are repulsed by the faith we stand on. We cannot live in shock because of the world's rejection. We live in the joy of God and trust the world to our all loving and conquering Abba.

If you received a Prayer Poke from me today (September 22, 2009) then today I prayed for you to walk in confidence before our LORD knowing that it is not your strength or endurance that pleases God but the scent of the Wind, the Spirit of God, given to you because of the blood of His Son, grace through faith it is not of yourself. Live in the strength of that today. Stop striving to live a moral ethical life, the kind of life directed by the world, but instead, I pray that you live in the grace of Messiah, with your words of praise, your scent of life carried on the wind of the Spirit to the throne of glory, walking in the footsteps of Y'shua.

While reading the Word this morning, looking for a passage that was teasing me, I looked up "pleased" in the concordance. I was somewhat shocked to see the difference between what pleases the Father and what pleases men. Just from the New Testament, YHVH is pleased by what he loves. He loves his Son and before the Son does anything, The Father announces that he is pleased with him (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22)

Before Y'shua went to the cross, YHVH again told those who were with him that He was well pleased with the Son (Matthew 17:5)

Men are pleased with what they see, with getting what they think they want. Herod was pleased to the point of foolishness with his niece's dance (Matthew 14:16, Mark 6:22). Herod was again pleased when he finally got to meet Y'shua because he hoped to be entertained by Him (Luke 23:8)

It seems that God is pleased by faith. Faith is standing firm on the word of God, a trust that the Word is our only sure footing. Men are pleased with what others do for them, give to them. I think that is why we often think that we must "do" for God. But that is not how we please God. Living by faith is what pleases Him. Live today.

The Cross and I

By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you… 2 Corinthians 10:1a NIV

Samuel proclaimed that we speak to hearts, "not by might, nor by power, but by (the) Spirit" John said the same thing in his gospel (1:13) It seems that nothing good or lasting is accomplished by the harshness of "my way" I heard from one of my student's moms that her daughter was in tears over a report she worked hard on and I was harsh, thinking it was not all her own work. I pound out dozens of notes a day to students and I pounded this one out to this sweet girl with only what I want and what I thought I was seeing. I saw wrong. She has been on my mind all weekend, but only this morning did she move to my heart, as an offering to my LORD.

Long ago, as a babe in Messiah, I learned that when I am confronting (or confronted) someone, that I should take a moment to draw a capital "I" with my toe in the sand (the idea came from an African missionary, I am not often barefoot or in the sand, but you get my point). Then, before I speak, "cross" out the "I", make sure that the Spirit of God is able to speak through me. Amy Carmichael said much the same thing, "…let the gentleness and self forgetfulness of the Lord speak through me…" when tempted to be harsh, a follower of rules, when insisting on something that is hard, or that calls for creativity that a student just isn't feeling (wanting more to get out of that chair and into the sunshine with friends… they are children after all). When I am misunderstood, when there is unfairness, stubbornness, misunderstanding of any kind, I want to remember to "cross out the I" and let Y'shua speak (often it is actually me who needs ears to hear, not the soul standing before me).

Draw me near dear Lord, Let me remember to take up my cross and to let you live through me, even as I follow you.

If you were poked on facebook today (9-20)

Y'shua you are the firm place for my feet. Your way, your path is not the way I might choose (it is so steep, so narrow and hard when I look at it instead of you), but yours is the way of life, the way of love that pours out instead of just sucking in. YHVH I pray for my beloved friends that today they would be able to gush with love because they have been filled to the point where they must nearly burst with your love. Father life can scheme to pull us down, to cloud your glory with dark pain in our soul, wounds and words can turn my eyes to my little scars instead of to the wounded feet that walk the path before me; to excuse my shrinking back on the path with pity for my pain, exposing me to the scheme of the roaring lion. Let us encourage each other today, to point to the pierced hand that reaches to us, knowing we have the eyes of love and His helping, wounded hand reaching out to us. You are not so far away after all. May my dear friends press on today, in the strength of joy, and hope, and yes, in confident faith. Standing alone in the company of those who believe and gaze back with confidence at Him Who is soon returning. Hebrews 10:35-39

Behold; the window to heaven

And behold...


As a Bible student I have some verbal markers or clues that cause me to pause and pay extra attention to what is being communicated. One of those markers is the word "behold". In Greek the word is idou but in Hebrew, my current passion, the word comes from the pictograph hei.

Hei is the letter of revelation. It is an open window into heaven. Most of the time the word behold reminds me to pause and consider what is happening in a passage. It tells me that following whatever circumstances I have just read, YHVH is about to do something that breaths life into the understanding of men.

The modern Hebrew letter hei looks rather like a shack with a window, a window to heaven. It is formed of a dalat which pictures brokenness and need, and the letter yod, a hand from YHVH, so it is taught that hei is, for the believer, an opening of the heart for the Spirit of YHVH to indwell us. It shows the need of the heart to return to God by the power of the Spirit.

We are then left with a choice to repent and choose God or to continue on the path we were on.

Daily Light July 15

Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Bless the LORD, you his angels, might in strength, who preform His Word, obeying the voice of His Word! Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. -I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart. -He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Thy will be done."

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. -For not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. -If you know these things, you are blessed if your do them. -Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Matt 6:10, Ps 103:20-21, John 6:38, Ps 40:8, Matt 26:42, 7:21, Rom 2:13, John 13:17, James 4:17 NAS

On Being Prolife

While in Sunday school this morning, the subject of abortion and a Pro-life stand came up as a side issue. All the usual words about the right of the child. All words that I deeply and whole heartedly agree with. But sitting there in my Sunday school class, surrounded by like minded friends, it occurred to me that the church is allowing the world to lead the discussion, even in our private, one-sided talks.

Does a prolife stand start with a crisis pregnancy?
It is my view that by the time a woman has a crisis pregnancy, many life affirming principals have already been violated. The question of choose life or choose death is almost an afterthought to the sin that has lead to this crisis. I know this might be a little bit uncomfortable, but for me, being prolife is not about the fetus or an unwed mother. And it isn’t about the ability to finance a child.

I have never tried to nail down just how I explain what I believe. Before I start, I want to say that Jesus accepts us right where we are. The debt of our sin has been paid. The pain of the sin that was committed against us will be exchanged for the comfort of His own Holy Spirit if only we are willing to accept that by acknowledging His Lordship of our life by faith. (Send me a note if you want to know more)

My world view says that being prolife means one man who keeps his vow of marriage to one woman for as long as they both shall live. Being prolife also means that you walk away from violence. It means that mothers and fathers put their spouse above the children that they have. I do not know just how a man’s heart works, but I know that there is something about becoming a mother that changed my whole life. Not only would I have been willing to give a kidney for my child, I would give my heart, step in front of a charging bear, or just put their needs before my own. I knew love before I became a mother, but I did not know the love that would give up everything for someone else.

Being prolife means that I love my husband with a greater love then the love that I have for my child. Why? Because my children need me to love my husband to grow up with a healthy understanding of true love. They should not feel the emptiness that drives so many to “hook up” and give away what is meant to be kept until marriage vows are said.

Being prolife means that we are careful with our daughters not assuming that others can be trusted with our little girls. There are predators in the neighborhood and they target our little girls.

Being prolife means that we protect the eyes of our sons. I know that I failed my sons in this area. It isn’t just from movies and porn. All it took was a pretty girl holding a Thrush Muffler in a car magazine to make my sons sit up and pay attention. Three times in the Song of Solomon it says to not arouse or awaken love before the proper time. (SOS 2:7, 3:5 and 8:4). Because it is addressed to “the daughters…” it may be easy to believe that this is for girls. But I say that this is also for our sons. Protecting their eyes is not just about dictating what a woman can wear. It is about NOT encouraging our daughters with positive feed back for looking sexy (they look desirable even in school uniforms) but about teaching our sons to protect their eyes, to see a woman instead of a possible hook-up. How can we do that unless their dads honor their vows to their wives, putting each other before all else.

Unexpected pregnancies happen. Mother and child need loving support (mom will have enough fear and condemnation for herself without our help). I would hang from the chandelier to support mom in a choice for life. But lets not let the world lead the discussion, I want to talk of prolife in how I live and teach my children BEFORE there is a crisis.