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In Matthew, we read about Jesus entering the house of the synagogue leader. He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd and commanded, “Go away; the girl is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at Him. After putting the crowd outside, He went in, took the girl by the hand, and she rose. All the mockers and scorners need to be removed from the room. All negative voices that speak death over your life or the life of your dreams must be eliminated. Shut the door!
Beethoven was born December 17, 1770. His date of birth fell on the 7th day of Chanukah (Hanukkah) in the Hebrew month of Kislev. In John Chapter 10, we read about Yeshua showing up for this Festival of Lights. Although Hanukkah always begins on the 25th day of Kislev, that date can fall anywhere between late November and late December on the Gregorian calendar. Beethoven’s birth, name, and deafness all orchestrate a melody. And just like the celebration of Hanukkah, Beethoven shone his light in the darkness. Though he became deaf, his spirit man could hear music inside his soul. “The name Kislev derives from the Hebrew word kesel (כֶּסֶל). In Hebrew, the word for kidney is also kesel (כֶּסֶל).”
Let’s be Wise as serpents and Harmless as doves. And let’s listen to others who may dispute what we know, weighing the scales of justice with good eyes and ears ready to hear what the Ruach has to speak through another soul we may deem less than.
Our King emptied himself. The Messiah was not God disguised as a man. He was a servant obeying His Father unto death.
Do nothing at all through selfishness or self-conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each one should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Although Leviathan is a mythological creature, his characteristics in the Book of Job mimic the seven deadly sins in Proverbs 6:16-19. Haughty eyes–A lying tongue–Hands that shed innocent blood–A heart that plots wicked schemes–Feet that run to evil–A false witness who spouts lies–One who stirs up strife among brothers.
Tekoa unveils David’s patience, military tactics, and wisdom as the Holy One allows the spirits working through Saul to prepare David for kingship. If you have been under significant attacks, if people are twisting your words and misconstruing your deeds, this book is a must listen– ideal for book clubs and study groups. Each chapter conveniently closes with a question review page to facilitate discussion.
For those of you who went camping for a week, I hope you had a wonderful time. There is nothing like a warm beverage and a campfire, and there is also nothing like a beach gathering. Being outside and unplugged with friends and family is the way to go if you can do it. Also, practicing self-love, self-care, and, of course, a good book. Wink, wink.
This month, we gave away almost 1,000 free Polishing Jades. We pray that every broken woman trying to flee abuse or needing strength to see her worth is blessed by Jade!
Polishing Jade is a Christian novel that is centered around a woman’s journey through faith, healing, and transformation. Jade Gentry is a shy introvert with an old soul and an abusive, alcoholic father. One night after a loud poker party, a drunken friend of Jade’s father sneaks into her room and commits an unthinkable act. Scared and afraid, Jade seeks shelter at Taylor’s General Store, where her friend Dillon, a young African American store clerk, works. Jade confides in him about the assault and longs for him to protect her and cover the pain, but in the 1960s rural Mississippi, such friendships could cost them their lives.
Tekoa Manning joins Laura Lee on HNR to share her testimony and an encouraging word. You don’t want to miss this interview.
According to the sages and Josephus, Obadiah was given the gift of prophecy due to his care of the prophets. His wife, after his death, was left with nothing. Obadiah had spent all his money and borrowed money from King Ahab to feed God’s mouthpieces. 100 prophets he had hidden in caves by 50.
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin” (I Peter 4:1).
Let’s stop here and meditate on what it may look like to “ARM” ourselves. It has obvious military undertones. This walk, at times, is a battle. Be armed. Be ready. Be of sound mind. Suffering is part of our walk. However, when many go through suffering, they tend to blame this on satan and cannot see at times clearly what is actually going on and also why a deeper work is happening in our person. In my book The Spirit of Leviathan, I use a person in a casket as an example of our flesh man getting under control.
How often have you read the verses above from Haggai and thought, I’m sowing much but not seeing the fruit? I feed on His Word and attend church/assembly and gatherings, but I’m never satiated. My spiritual garments aren’t lighting the wick of my lamp and igniting a flame to warm others. Or I’m earning wages at my job but can barely keep my head above water.
It was 2009, a Friday night prayer meeting at a chapel. I sit in the back alone. I am single now. The evangelist ends the prayer meeting with a call for those needing prayer. I walk up to the front, cane in hand. There are about ten of us lined up across the floor. The man has a bottle of anointing oil, and one by one, he is anointing people’s heads and praying for each one. He begins to prophesy over a few, and then he gets to me. He does the same thing he has done to everyone else but then stops. “Hmm, God wants me to anoint your hands. He has a work for you involving healing.”
Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. ECC 10:1
A little folly. How much trouble can one get into by mixing a little folly—a little stupidity? A lot! And once it’s mixed in, everything is spoiled. Does this folly come from a lack of hearing? Shema. Hearing and obedience. Who do we listen to most intently? Do we lack a keen ear for those we interact with daily?
Numerous issues with people and situations can evoke emotions. But if we let our emotions get the best of us, we are not in control of our person. When situations, conflicts, and things out of our control cause us to react, we need to ask ourselves what we are feeling and why is it taking over our ability to have peace. If traffic is causing us to become anxious, riding on the bumper in front of us, swearing or becoming angry, there is much more going on than an absentminded driver in front of us.
We often wait patiently for certain things to transpire or come to pass. Unfortunately, at times, the things we hope for, long for, and cry out to the Holy One for do not materialize or happen when we feel they should. Occasionally, they do not happen at all. Sometimes, God withholds the desire of our hearts until we are mature enough to handle them, and other times, he waits until the circumstances are like Lazarus, a stinking, rotting mess.
Most of us have things hidden underneath sheets that need massaged, sanded, anointed, pruned and moistened by His Spirit. When these hidden things are exposed, we feel vulnerable. Yeshua washed feet….
A prophet is met with death in the womb or shortly after. It may be a breach, uterine rupture, or strangulation by cord. Either way, some form of difficulty usually occurs before birth or afterward. The prophet is at times unloved in the womb, rejected before even exiting the ramp. Once the prophet meets his assigned family, he never feels truly a part of it, although he does love them deeply, he is a misfit. The prophet, at any time, may abruptly be told to leave his family, homeland, or flee for his life. He is mostly without a mother or father, and even if found to be a goodly child by his mother, he is then hunted by an outside power, whether Pharaoh or Herod or some other demonic force.
Stephanie invited me on her podcast. How lovely of her. Here is a description of her about page in case you would like to explore more of her guests. :
Introduction: Are you a Christian who wants to go deeper into the roots of your faith? In this weekly podcast, your host Stephanie Pavlantos will explore the Hebraic significance of Scripture with teachers and scholars while providing a deeper understanding of Jesus, the Torah, and the Old and New Testaments. We will help you understand Scripture’s meaning through the Hebrew language, culture, and history.
Yeshua said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 18)
How do you become like a child, Job? How do you answer who made a storehouse for the rain? Who created the oceans– the horse? Oh, we know all about our knowledge, but like Job scraping sores with pottery, we lay in ashes and are called to stand up like a man and answer Him!
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge? Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know!” (Job 38:1-5).
Surely we know… (sarcasm)
Every so often, and especially the older I get, I try to remember being a child. What my childhood experiences were like. How my lifespan has brought me to this moment and all my experiences, and people who have helped mold and shape me into the person I am, and its surreal to be in that moment knowing that you are alive.
In Hebrew, the word Laver is kiyowr. It is the word for purification and also furnace. The Word washes us. We wash in Living Water. We peer into the mirror and see our reflection, but what is the significance of feet and water? Walking on water? Living Water that flows out of us.
Concerning depression one person stated,
“As the light begins to intensify, so does my misery, and I wonder how it is possible to hurt so much when nothing is wrong.” …
When a person is draped in darkness, no amount of music, laughter, words, or ability to feel hope can penetrate the dark veil many are cloaked in.
What does depression feel like? You don’t want to live, but you don’t want to die. You don’t want to talk to anyone, but you feel very lonely. You wake up in the morning and simply wait for the night to come. – Unknown
4-year-old Emmitt Dean has an unruly dinosaur in his backyard, but only Emmitt can see it. The dinosaur eats his dog’s food and pears from their tree. The dinosaur even attempts to drive the lawn tractor. What if he steals the car or hurts Emmitt’s baby brother, Mason?
Frustrated from warning his parents that the dinosaur is into mischief and could be dangerous, Emmitt grabs his sword to protect his family, and all hilarity ensues.
Emmitt’s Dinosaur is a rhyming book in the spirit of Dr. Seuss.
Perfect for children ages 4 to 8.
I remember a time, when every time I read the Bible, it was predominantly to hear from Him— My Savior, my Redeemer—the glory and lifter of my head. It was personal. It was first love. A time Before Strong’s…
The story of Joseph in Genesis 37 is full of symbols. Why does Joseph wear so many coats and get thrown into pits (plural?) Clothing is important. Our clothing says something about us…
At times, Prophets see things they wish they had never seen. They hear words that terrorize them. What the prophets of old saw and knew was more than they could bear. They called it the burden of the word…
For the Komondor to learn obedience and become a faithful friend, they need much training. These dogs love to keep their eyes on their owners (we need our eyes on Messiah) and are loyal if they are trained early, but some of the dogs who were not cared for or trained properly attacked the ones they were supposed to be protecting–the sheep and their owner.
What are the root Causes and how to react when dealing with these abusers? “With emotional abuse, the insults, insinuations, criticism, and accusations slowly eat away at the victim’s self-esteem until he or she is incapable of judging a situation realistically. He or she may begin to believe that there is something wrong with them
While researching, I found under the genealogy of Benjamin a man named Shaharaim, whose name means two eclipses— double darkness.
The prophets describe the day of the Lord as a day of darkness and no light. “Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness and not light, even gloom with no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:20).
One of my favorite stories is found in the Book of Acts. Yeshua’s apostles were beaten, chained, and in prison—a dungeon of darkness. What do they do? Woe is me? Blame it on the devil? Complain about their bloody backs, injustice, slander the oppressors? We don’t read about that. What we read is that they sang praises.
The preacher man says it’s the end of time, and the Mississippi River is going dry. The interest is up, and the stock markets down
And you only get mugged if you go downtown.
Nothing has changed much. Except you don’t have to be downtown to get mugged, raped, murdered, or snatched into the biggest form of slavery today—sex trafficking.
And Bonnie (Tekoa) Manning and all that she did, all her past with her sins, her shame, wrong choices, and bad mistakes, the date of her rebirth, her good and the beauty she brought, yes, it’s all there.
“The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass.” (Isaiah 40:7).
And what I’ve found in my own life and some of these people is a strange healing takes place. Healing most don’t discuss. It involves Gratitude for tiny things that go unnoticed by others. Things like belching, passing gas, a regular bowl movement, and a gut calm for a few hours. Healing from pride and arrogance happens for some if bitterness, sorrow, and anger at God do not take root.
On Monday this week, I heard, “Today is the Sabbath.” My mind tried to compute what the Father was telling me. My logical mind said, No, today is not Saturday or Shabbat. Today is not a New Moon. Today is Monday. I’m aware that the days of the week in Hebrew are conveniently named “first day,” “second day,” etc., with the 7th day named “Shabbat.” What is Saturday—Shabbat? If you keep Sunday, ask yourself the same question.
I can remember sitting in the welfare department watching women come in dressed in designer clothing, brand-new cell phones, manicured nails, etc. I wondered why they were there. It didn’t take me long to hear stories when I inquired about how they could afford such and such. One woman told me that she lied to the government and acted like a single mom but lived with her boyfriend, who had a job back in the 90s, making over 20 an hour. She wanted to give me tips on how to get more “ fudge rounds.”
Oliver Anthony said I’m no musician. I can’t play guitar well. I sing okay. I’m a factory worker who has struggled with addiction. But when he said he wished politicians would look after minors and not just some minors on an island somewhere, he called out Jeffrey Epstein and a whole host of men in government who got on Jeff’s private jet to visit the island. Bill Clinton went 26 times, and many men in positions of authority had their time cuddling up with this snake. Oliver, like Amos, called these men out!
Many times, the children of Israel were sick or even died due to complaining and bitterness in the wilderness. Snakes sent from Adonai bit them, and the quail they requested came up through their nostrils; the earth even swallowed some: “The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died” (Numbers 21:6, KJV). Miriam spoke against Moses, and the Lord struck her with leprosy, and then Moses begged Adonai to restore her, and He did. Yes, repeatedly, sickness was caused by sin. However, we know this is not always the case. For instance, look at Job and all his troubles.
“We are all wounded. But wounds are necessary for his healing light to enter into our beings. Without wounds and failure and frustrations and defeats, there will be no opening for his brilliance to tickle in and invade our lives. Failures in life are courses with very high tuition fees, so I don’t cut classes and miss my lessons: on humility, on patience, on hope, on asking others for help, on listening to God, on trying again and again and again.”
― Bo Sanchez,
One thing I’ve learned about objects, whether it’s a 25-cent bouncy ball that needs to be returned to its rightful owner or an antique, they either have a story or they don’t. Handling estates and death is never easy. And sometimes an item dear to you is also special to someone else. Unbeknownst to me, my dad’s sweater was one of those items. I had no idea someone else had their own story. That meant someone else loved my dad very much. It’s funny how objects can be sentimental and mean something to us, but will they mean anything 50 years later? Or even 20? Possibly not.
Satan Unmasked examines passages of scriptures concerning Satan and the origins of how he evolved into doctrines and belief systems, taking on many different forms as the embodiment of evil. In Christianity, Satan has developed into God’s adversary, a fallen angel. However, in Psalms and the Book of Job, Satan is likened to a prosecuting attorney in the Heavenly Court.
Satan Unmasked is Book One of a four-part series concerning doctrines that have crept into our theology. Book Two, Spirits Unveiled, examines angelic beings and the spiritual realm, followed by Books Three and Four regarding salvation, tithing, the role of women, generational issues, etc. Read the entire series Unmasking the Unseen to examine doctrines that have evolved.
While visiting last week, my oldest son told me he bought my new release, Satan Unmasked, and started reading it. He said, “Mom your book, with all its references and scriptures, made me want to read my Bible. I’ve read through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges, and I’m starting Ruth now.”
This is one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received. My heart could not contain my feelings. Who am I? A flower quickly fading.
Eli’s sons thought they could carry His Holy Ark and use it as a means of protection, but they had profaned Holy things. What a fearful place to be in. We can mix the holy with the profane. We can become calloused and numb, not even knowing that we would rather be intimate with a harlot than Adonai, or watch our sons do unthinkable things without putting them outside of the camp.
What is enmeshment? Enmeshment is a term coined by family therapist Salvador Minuchin to describe a relationship pattern in which personal boundaries are unclear or nonexistent. This means the people involved are emotionally fused or dependent on each other and cannot function independently or have separate identities. Enmeshment can happen in families or other relationships.[1]
Many times, a manipulative person in control often vows not to budge. They are pitting people against each other to make one of them look bad. Usually, the person has low self-esteem or fears losing their power in a relationship, be it friendship, leadership, or family role. Their fear of going unnoticed, being wrong or forgotten, or unloved causes chaos. Their wounds, rejection, egos, or low self-worth must be healed. However, in covert narcissism, the person usually knows exactly what they are doing. Some may even enjoy it— hoping they destroy any threats that get in their way of attention and esteem
There is a long history of people sitting by wells in the Bible or in need of water. Moses sat by a well, watered Jethro’s sheep, and drove away the cruel shepherds from Jethro’s seven daughters.
Abraham’s servant goes to a well searching for a bride for his master and sees Rebecca:
So the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jar. “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink.”
In Genesis 21, Hagar has been sent away with her son, and after a while, she runs out of water and can’t bear to watch her son die of thirst, but God directs her to a well. Yahweh knows where all the water on the earth is.
Spirits Unveiled is an in-depth study of angelic beings, ghosts, and demonic entities and the deliverance from such spirits.
I address key passages misinterpreted over time, leading to theological confusion concerning fallen angelic beings, and begs the reader to reevaluate the question. “Can angels’ sin?” Are celestial beings chained in everlasting darkness, according to I Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6, or is this referring to rebellious men?
Spirits Unveiled brings correction to tactics used in the deliverance ministry that are harmful to sheep, while shedding light on demons, deliverance, and how Hellenism, Greek thought, and the exile to Babylon affected ancient Judaism concerning spirits.
Passive aggression is complicated speech riddled with hidden jabs or sarcasm that often comes across as covert or cloaked in hidden emotions. The person lacks communication skills to address their true feelings. Passive aggressive people can be good at giving the silent treatment if their egos are bruised or, worse, Ghost you. This is punishment, and often the person on the receiving end has no idea what they have done. There’s a difference between healthy boundaries and ghosting people. We must be careful to check which one we are doing and how we feel when it’s done to us.
Constant reassurance seeking. Do you love me? Are you mad at me?
Feeling responsible for problem-solving.
You can’t say “no.”
You need to avoid conflict. Do you worry about asserting boundaries?
Do you say and do things you usually wouldn’t do around certain people due to fear.
Somewhere in your life, there’s probably a martyr martyring herself right now. She’s that friend, parent, spouse, co-worker, roommate, etc., who makes sure you know she’s sacrificing—for you and for the good of everyone but her. Those with martyr syndrome suffer out loud, in full display. The martyr is committed to being the one who doesn’t get to be happy, who doesn’t get what everyone else gets. The martyr always has a reason why he can’t let you help him… you’ll do it wrong, and then he’ll have to redo it; it’s just easier if he does it; he’s already started; he doesn’t really mind, blah blah blah. But the point is, it’s not possible, now or really ever, to let you take the burden off of him.[2]
Money is something we all deal with, and most of us wish we had more of it. My grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression. Years later, my grandmother was still counting her pennies, washing out her pantyhose, mending socks and shirts, gardening, canning, and not wasting anything. Every dollar and cent was accounted for. Today we have become more wasteful. We may have excessive spending, spoiling others and ourselves. Balance is needed. We even have a reality show called hoarders.
The Bible speaks of people who wear pride like jewelry. An adornment of pride– sparkling jewels, but these are not jewels given by the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. No, this adornment brings destruction.
Psalm 73:6: They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. Psalm 73:6, CSB: Therefore, pride is their necklace, and violence covers them like a garment.
Righteous Job had a different attire and clothed himself in robes of righteousness.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. Job 29:14.
One thing I noticed and have noticed about us humans is we can be so sure of ourselves and our knowledge that we think we know, and if we receive attention, accolades, and applause for it, we can become pompous. A head too big to fit through a door. Puffed up.
A moment in time—a “Then suddenly”—a lifetime of moments has just occurred in Joseph’s life and his brothers within a matter of minutes. Joseph has been validated, vindicated, and he has forgiven. Joseph feels as if he has sprung forth from a sheath. Like his mother’s identity stolen from her on her wedding night, his identity has been hidden for so long behind a mask, but now he knows exactly who he is.
Joseph knows the Egyptian sun god Ra has no power over the dry, cracked earth, nor does he look to Neir, the god of wisdom from which his wife, Asenath, is named–a wife given to him after years of loneliness and grief. Asenath is lovely to behold and interested in the God of His Father, Jacob, but at times still clings to the many gods of Egypt.
Joseph slips on his leather sandals and paces past terracotta pots and serving tables surrounded by guards. Back and forth, he paces, replaying the words he’s rehearsing in his head. It’s a dialogue of what he will say and do next concerning his brothers.
Five is the number of grace and the scrolls of the Torah (the 1st five books of the Bible). Joseph is storing up more than grain as a precursor for Yeshua. Benjamin’s portion was five times more than his brothers’. The feasts affiliated with the Messiah’s return is the 5th one, the Feasts of Trumpets or Yom Teruah. This feast occurs in the 7th month of the Hebrew Calendar.
You take a deep breath and enter and are instantly greeted with “Shabbat Shalom!” You mouth an almost silent “hello.” And walk with head down to the back of the assembly. Shofars start blaring, and prayers are being said in Hebrew, then English. People are turning to face in a direction. Meanwhile, you are frozen with two left feet. You make a note to look up the word “Shema” and oneg, because people keep inviting you to come after the service to oneg– whatever oneg is?
James 5 says, “If he committed sins,” not if he or his father or his grandfather. No instructions to break generational curses. I am not entirely against generational traits, personalities, hereditary diseases or even spiritual issues, but many things affect each individual situation.
Eli, the high priest, was righteous, but his sons were bent on evil. They were not wicked because of a generational curse, but scriptures suggest that Eli did not discipline them:
In my teaching today, Jacob is meeting his brother Esau. It’s been over 20 years. That’s a long time not to speak to a sibling. There are times when we leave people for seasons. Having a brother or sister who is a twin and shared the womb must be unique. We often see identical twins and hear stories of how bonded they are, but Jacob and Esau were said to be two different nations. They were fraternal and looked drastically different–one was hairy wearing a fur coat and one smooth skinned.
Everyone has a story and something they are battling. I know this. I have one friend who has been in the hospital for 20 days now. Many are reaching out with prayer needs. So many people in the Body of Messiah are suffering but don’t want to speak about it. I have decided to talk more about my journey with transparency.
All of these 20 years of turmoil will lead to wrestling. He is rolling in dust and dirt, weeping, crying out, and telling the Father about all his trickery, his pain, sorrow, burdens, and the loss of his family back home. Have you ever felt like Jacob? A black sheep. When I divorced my first husband I bought a CD, Jim Croce’s greatest hits, but there was one song on the album I needed to hear. “I got a Name.” I played that song over and over in my car and cried. For 14 years, I had traded my maiden name, but the Father was reminding me that I had a name, and He would give me a new name and a new identity.
I began to reminisce over a book my realtor gave me as a parting gift, “Eyes to See” by Joyce Cordell. Interestingly, in the partially fictional tale of Levi, a tax collector who meets the Messiah, the blind man at the temple gate has keen eyesight and can tell when Levi is downcast by his voice and the way he shuffles his feet. Sometimes we can see with our ears.
Covid is not prejudice. Covid doesn’t care about our skin color, education, Biblical knowledge, or the size of our bank account. Some of the most righteous, holy people, whether in leadership or among friends and family have gotten covid, and some have died regardless of their walk–regardless of their age or health or religion. And the Creator of the heavens and the earth is not unaware.
This colossal epic failure of a test is what makes Peter become humble and ready to die for the sake of the gospel. And die he did, Peter was crucified upside down. We must feel what our Messiah felt. We fellowship in His sufferings. We forgive those who hurt us, and hopefully, they forgive us.
Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
There are 3 basic types of people you will interact with. The first group is the confidant. You’ll have very few of them. Confidants are those people in your life that love you unconditionally. They are into you. Whether you are up or down, right or wrong, they are into you. They are in it for the long haul. You get in trouble; they’ll get in trouble with you. They’ll come see you in the jailhouse. They’ll get you out of the crack house. You can open up and share anything with them. You’ll never inherit your kingdom until you find your confidant. You can’t be David until you find your Jonathan.
How many traditions do we see our Messiah keeping? Plenty, but what happens when we begin to use the traditions as a tool for control or even truth. I think its good to know why we do the things we do. I never knew why I kept Easter or what tithes and offerings were or why I just went to ‘church’ every Sunday. I just did what I was raised to do. When a person starts looking into the roots of their faith or making changes due to teachings, I think its good to know when the tradition started and who came up with it.
How many traditions do we see our Messiah keeping? Plenty, but what happens when we begin to use the traditions as a tool for control or even truth. I think its good to know why we do the things we do. I never knew why I kept Easter or what tithes and offerings were or why I just went to ‘church’ every Sunday. I just did what I was raised to do. When a person starts looking into the roots of their faith or making changes due to teachings, I think its good to know when the tradition started and who came up with it.
I glanced at her backpack on wheels with its Jesus stickers and hearts and pondered her idiosyncrasies. She had never married or had children. One by one, I watched people scurry away from her. Suddenly, they were in need of using the restroom or began to gather into another area by the coffee machine, but Abba whispered to me at that moment—”see her.” Tekoa, do you want to be with the elite? Love my sheep with all the love and even more than you have for these you are looking up to—these who are impressed by Biblical knowledge—these who have asked you to speak on Thursday night– because Tekoa, I am not impressed.” Heart conditions.
My last blog titled Madmen showcased the prophet Elisha, Jehu, and Hazael. This blog is a bit of a contranym concerning life and death and the most sacred place of all, the womb. We will begin with darkness and then go to the light.
In II Kings 15, we have a king who rips the unborn from the womb. Ironically, this King’s name means “consoling—comforter.”
At that time, Menahem (Comforter) sacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on because they did not open it to him. Therefore he sacked it, and he ripped open all the women in it who were pregnant. (II Kings 15:16).
A rugged prophet is standing before Hazael, weeping. It does not matter if the king has sent 40 camels laden with gifts. Hazael thinks he is only standing in front of this man to get one answer for King Ben-hadad. Hazael, like all of us, if we were in his position, becomes quite uncomfortable to see such a man stand and weep–a man with a hairy mantle and a voice that pierces the soul. The passage states, “Elisha stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael felt ashamed. Then the man of God began to weep.” When Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?” he answered him in this manner:
Because I know the evil that you will inflict on the men of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, their young men you will slay with the sword, their little ones you will dash into pieces, and their pregnant ones you will rip open.
–II Kings 8:12, TLV
There is a woman who lost her eye as a child. In middle school, she was called third eye. By eight, her left eye was removed. By nine, she had a prosthetic eye. At 12, her ballet coach transformed her handicap into a strength, and by 19, she was teaching cardiac surgery. Her name is Katarina Stephan. I touch on this story because I feel like many times, we have eyes to see but do not see. And what are we missing while we go about our daily lives? Driving across town to an appointment, inspecting fruit at the supermarket, doing dishes, talking on the phone, etc. What are we not seeing that is right in front of us? How many times did it take for someone to mention Sabbath or feasts days before we looked at them with one eye, our 3rd one?
Rhett Butler pays a pretty penny to have Scarlett dance with him.
“150 dollars in gold for Mrs. Charles Hamilton!”
The crowd is stunned. Mouths gasped open as elderly women fan themselves and grab smelling salts.
Widows don’t dance with men. Widows mourn. They wear dark colors and go about with their heads bowed, but not Katie Scarlett. She is ready to dance a hundred steps.
“She’ll never agree to it,” the auctioneer bellows.
“Oh, yes, I will!” she screamed.
“I am going to dance, and dance! Why I wouldn’t mind dancing with Abe Lincoln himself.”
But a true widow, a woman who loved her husband, and knew him intimately, year after year, becoming more and more one with him, would have found no dance in her feet. No joy or gleam in her eyes. Her sorrow could not be exchanged for gold or dancing with the most handsome man in the room.
Every generation has to prepare for a King. Every bride has her day when the whole gathering stands and in awe sees her beauty. Our beauty comes from obedience. Our beauty comes from death. Our beauty comes from humility. Our beauty comes when we are as Ruth, and we leave everything to follow Him. His Bride is wearing her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10–I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Cheri Fox shares her testimonies and humble experiences of how God led her to Malawi to be a missionary!
Have you ever wondered how all the graves will open? Not when, but how? Will we come up out of the sea—the earth—an urn? Even the people who sharks have eaten? The graves will open on “that day.” Bodies shipwrecked at sea—bodies waiting in pine boxes under the earth—and ash remains tucked inside urns will all give up their dead. When studying resurrection, consider the Luz bone, which cannot be crushed, burned, or destroyed. The Father presents Ezekiel with a question concerning bones:
There is an 18th-century London legend of a clock that struck thirteen times and saved a man’s life. The story goes that St Paul’s Cathedral clock on one occasion struck thirteen bongs of the bell at midnight, with the result of saving the life of a soldier accused of sleeping at his post. An obituary notice of a John Hatfield that appeared in the Public Advertiser a few days after his death states that a soldier in the time of William III and Mary II was tried by a court-martial on a charge of having fallen asleep when on duty upon the terrace at Windsor. It goes on to say that he categorically denied the charge against him. He swore as a proof of his having been awake at the time that he heard St Paul’s Cathedral clock strike thirteen. . .
Your servant could go with the king only a short distance past the Jordan; why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” (II Samuel 19:34-37).
He can no longer discern what is good and what is not.
He can no longer taste.
He can no longer hear the voice of singing.
Barzillai sends his servant—his son ChimHam instead. Chimham means to thirst, pinning, and having a great desire. “The verb כמה (kama) means to thirst but specifically expresses a desire for liquidity in the exchange of knowledge and wisdom (rather than the light of wisdom itself, or the eventual productivity that results from having wisdom).
When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison.” (Acts 12:12-17).
When my children were small, we rented a humble house in a subdivision. One night, one of my sons knocked a lamp over that had no shade, and it fell on the comforter. The light bulb smoldered and caught fire. I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to the scent of smoke and was thankful to find all three sons asleep in front of the television. I shut the door to the burning bedroom, grabbed them, and took them outside to my mini van. Then called the fire department and proceeded to snatch my Bible and a photo album close by. When we exit a place, and we have little time, we grab our most treasured possessions.
Moses grabbed bones!
I want to share a wonderful comparison of the anointing and journey of Joseph and David and ask you to think about your own life. Joseph was given 4 coats. These had intricate meanings. David, too, was given articles, including a coat.
David was anointed three times. Both Joseph and David experienced similar journeys concerning hatred, humility, crushing, and maturity in order to receive the final mantle and the oil once they were mature enough for their assignments and prepared for Leadership.
How do you build someone that has no concern for money? No regard for titles? No affection for the esteem of man? You strip them of everything they own. You cause them to live by a brook and let ravens feed them. You send them to a widow with a few drops of oil and a handful of flour.
You leave them naked and bare, and they see all the material as refuse worthless.
At the end of this blog, you will find a list of around 20 different fasts mentioned in the Bible and the purpose and outcome of these.
What is a Nathan calling/ anointing, and what would it look like for today? Nathan had a specific, distinctive, prophetic anointing. The Nathan type anointing has the ability to expose leadership, pride, coldness, rebellion, and lead the body and those in leadership to repentance. It opens the eyes of the people who have lost their first love to return to the Father. Nathan was the prophet assigned to King David. About a year went by after David’s sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the killing of her husband. Nathan is sent to David with a parable.
When Paul says that God has given us a spirit of discipline, he does not mean that God enables us to study better or to eat less, or to exercise more. Paul is speaking as a Hebrew. God gives us a spirit that reveals right behavior, correct moral discernment, and necessary chastisement. God shapes how we live and what we do, not just what we think. God’s gift is behavioral alignment and correction. A sound mind is seen in the hands and feet of obedience.” Dr. Skip Moen
The aged Joshua stepped carefully to the first oven with his ancient tools. He wore steel-toed boots and protective glasses. Synthetic garments cannot be worn here because anything made of false fibers will melt. The heat from the oven warms Joshua’s face as he continues spinning the metal rod in a circular motion. He has great vision for his work and can foresee the finished masterpiece before he ever breathes upon it.
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5).
What could a disturbing story in II Samuel have to do with a Psalm on unity? One has oil dripping down the beard and covering the skirts of Aaron; the other has skirts cut to bare David’s servant’s nakedness. The king’s servants had their beards shaved half off in disgrace. Have you ever lifted your brother or sister’s skirt to peek under it? Have you ever cut off half of a person’s honor or damaged their character? Just half.
I missed the life we had before the sickness came. Just when I thought it could not get any worse, my husband entered our small bathroom and ripped the shower curtain back. He began to yell and curse with bulging eyes and throbbing temples. I felt like death, and my words slurred when I spoke to him. His eyes glazed over my body that had become overweight and flabby. He continued to yell while I sobbed, and like a scene from the Garden, I tried to cover my nakedness.
A year later, after much healing, I noticed a friend’s controlling and defensive behavior towards me. She seemed to yell at me a lot when things were taken wrong. As I pondered the snapping issue, I heard this message in my spirit — “If a dog has been abused, it may snap at you.” Oh, my, revelation into the healing of the soul! So, I did what any other certified googleologist would; I googled it. “How to care for an abused pet.”
Some of us have a point on a map, a calendar, a datebook locked in our brain, and we can tell you the exact moment of the car wreck, the diagnosis, or our child that died before it ever learned to talk or even before it exited the womb. There is a moment in time where we look back at the shattered glass, the addiction, the iron bars, the chemo, the foreclosure, the divorce papers, the bruises, the rape, the welfare department, the mental break down, or the charade of pretending to be put together when we were one button shy of falling apart!
Wounds and pain are funny things. Wounds have layers, smells, and degrees of infection and pus. Our sores can be covered up with a Band-Aid or douched in ointments, but if they keep getting infected, they never heal up to become scars. How do we deal with the people, situations, and traumas that have hurt us to the point we need an ostomy nurse?
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus replied: Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:2).
“For thou hast possessed my kidneys: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13 JB. “I shall bless Lord Jehovah who counsels me and my kidneys teach me in the nights.” Psalm 16:7 AB.
I’m five or six years old, and it hurts to breathe. I’m feverish. The doctor puts his stethoscope on my chest and tells me to take a deep breaths, which is difficult. He removes his lighted earpiece and looks deep into my ear canal. He asked me if my ears hurt. I answer in shallow rasps. As he peers, he says something to me that today seems humorous. He says, “What have you been planting in there, corn or potatoes?” I sink down and become embarrassed that I have dirty ears. Forget that I’m dying. Not really, but you get the gist of the situation.
I was ashamed that I wasn’t clean. Of course, as I type this, I realize I have often had dirty ears
When David searched for Jonathan’s son, and brought him to the palace, and placed him at his table, the King’s table covered his twisted legs that wouldn’t work right. The king’s table hid all his infirmities. He was under the shade of that table, and he was fed delicacies. One day, Mephibosheth went from thinking he was a dead dog to eating at the king’s table. What a remarkable thing David did. He was showing kindness to the seed of his enemy