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.
PopEYE, Olive, and a Widows Oil Read Post »
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!
I Agree With Oliver, It’s A Damn Shame Read Post »
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?
“I see,” Said the Blind Man Read Post »
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.
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.
Joseph’s Four Coats and David’s Three Anointing’s Read Post »
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.
The Prophet Nathan Calling, An Anointing to Address Authority Read Post »
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).
The Glass Blower, The Lamp Worker and The Crucible Read Post »
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.
Leadership and Bare Buttocks, “Hine Ma Tov” Read Post »
