Week 7 ~ Day 4

GROWING THROUGH PRAYER (A 'LOVING GOD GREATLY' BIBLE STUDY)

February 25, 2016

Week 7 ~ Day 4

Read: 1 Kings 18: 20-39

SOAP: 1 Kings 18:38-39

S:

“Then the fire of YHVH fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, “YHVH, he is Elohim; YHVH, he is Elohim”

O&A:

This passage really makes me think of Joshua 24:15 “Choose you this day whom you will serve.”

“If it seem evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amori, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve YHVH/the LORD.”

Abba not only consumed the offering, but every thing around it!  Even the stones, which, I mean, STONES.  Stones generally don’t burn.  He is an all-consuming fire!

“Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of YHVH your Elohim, which he made with you, and make you an engraved image in the form of anything which YHVH your Elohim has forbidden you. For YHVH your Elohim is a devouring fire, a jealous El.”

This was no ordinary fire that Abba sent down.  When the prophets of ba’al were calling on their god/mighty one, and they weren’t answered, Eliyah/Elijah called on Elohim, creator of the Universe, and YHVH and said, “YHVH, the God of Avraham, of Yitzchak, and of Yisra'el, let it be known this day that you are God in Yisra'el, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, YHVH, hear me, that this people may know that you, YHVH, are Elohim/God, and that you have turned their heart back again.” 

(Side note here: It’s important to point out that Eliyah/Elijah called out to the NAME of the Father, YHVH, and not LORD, because the prophets of Ba’al (which I normally won’t speak out loud) were calling out to THEIR lord – ba’al means lord, so Eliyah was making it absolutely clear WHO he was calling out to, and designating the might and awesomeness of YHVH!) 

I have not yet seen a fire that consumed stone, and ash. When we lived in Louisiana, we used to burn our leaves, because with an acre of trees, you get a lot of leaves.  My husband and sons would make a ring of rocks and stones to contain the fire, and in our several years of living there and doing that, not one single time did the fire ever consume the rocks and stones.  It once got so high that the heat scorched some leaves up high on a tree (don’t tell my mom!), but even with that kind of heat, the stones and rocks stayed intact.

All of this brings to mind how Abba wants to fully and totally consume us.  Completely giving myself to Him involves every aspect of my life.  How can I be on fire for Him if I won’t allow Him to consume every facet of my life?  If I won’t allow Him to burn off the things that don’t bring Him glory, or won’t testify to His greatness?  He wants to show Himself mighty and great so that others will fall down, like these prophets, and cry out, “YHVH, he is Elohim; YHVH, he is Elohim!”

P:

Abba, You are an all-consuming fire!  Consume everything in me that is not of You, to be a testimony to those who are worshipping at the altars of other mighty ones, so that all will fall down and cry out that YOU, YHVH, are Elohim!   Let me not forget the covenant that You and I have with each other!  Let me not bow down to any master that is not You.  Abba, this day I choose You, and I choose to serve You – there is no Elohim like You.  I pray that I’m not alone in choosing You. 

The Torah portion we’re reading this week is when You became angry with the children of Israel, ben Y’Israel, for making the golden calf, and bowing down to it, and I feel like this ties in so closely to this passage today.  Abba, forgive me for putting things before You, and help me to keep You in the forefront of my mind, and be the totality of all that I am.  YHVH, You are Elohim!  I pray, Abba, that You will be with those who are dealing with the aftermath of the severe weather we had in places here in the U.S., and I pray that even while their homes, businesses, life, may look to be in total chaos, that they will reach out to You for Your peace.  Not just in the U.S., Abba, because You speak every language, and You know every custom, and every culture.  I just have hope, Abba, for You to be glorified worldwide, and I have hope that knees will make contact with ground in the act of worship and prayer across the globe, and that all that have breath will praise Your name!  In Yeshua’s name, Amein.

#‎LoveGodGreatly‬ 

Week 7 ~ Day 1

GROWING THROUGH PRAYER (A 'LOVING GOD GREATLY' BIBLE STUDY)

February 22, 2016

Week 7 ~ Day 1

Read:  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

SOAP: 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

S:

“Concerning this thing, I begged Adonai three times that it might depart from me.  He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Messiah may rest on me.”

O&A:

Today is a living testimony to not being able to do things in my own strength.

I’ve been trying so hard to 'gird up' today and get some things (cleaning and organizing, finishing up my Bible study) done, but finding myself unable in my own strength. Abba loves when we come to Him and tell Him how we are incapable, so that He may be our strength and our ability, and He will be glorified in the outcome, and even in the midst.

One of the things that really stood out to me is that he asked 3 times... same number of times Yeshua asked Abba if 'this cup' could pass from him.

Strength: ability, power, mighty work

Perfected: duty of testifying; in the affliction of calamities – everything has been accomplished which by the appointment of the Father as revealed in the Scriptures; must do and bear – made perfect

Weakness: the mental states in which this weakness manifests itself – want of strength: weakness, infirmity

Gladly: with pleasure, sweetly

Will rather: choose; more willingly, more readily

Glory: glory in YHVH; the knowledge of YHVH, intimacy with him, his favors, etc.

Take pleasure in: weaknesses, injuries, necessities, persecutions, distresses à for Messiah’s sake

<<When we empty our cup of our weaknesses, Abba is filling it up with His strength >>

Abba has to bring us to a place of weakness so He can be our strength… His strength on display.

Yes, this is the thought process I go through as I listen to Abba and I meditate on and in His word.  My first reaction is that it’s madness!  Choose to glory in my weakness??  In my pain??  My pain HURTS!!  I’m pretty sure your pains hurt, too, because they’re, well, pain.  His ability (His power) is accomplished in the ‘want of strength’ that we exhibit.  But to choose WITH PLEASURE… Oy vey.  This is definitely a testimony to our Heavenly Father, because we (unless it’s just me) tend to get caught up in what we’re going through, whether it’s pain, injury, depression, humiliation, false witness (for Messiah’s sake), etc.  No matter what the circumstance, we should ‘gladly rather glory in YHVH’.

Our answer is not always “yes, My child”.  Sometimes we are given a definite “No”, and sometimes we must wait.  So do we drop down in a tantrum?  Pout with our arms crossed over our chest?  (That’s my signature move there, btw.)  Do we hold our breath and wait for Abba to give in?  Maybe we try to manipulate Him, or coerce Him, or convince Him?  He wants us instead to glory in Him; He wants us to recognize that His grace is sufficient in all circumstances.  He wants the intimacy of our relationship with Him to cover us in Messiah, to fill us with Messiah, so that we won’t boast of what we were able to do of our own strength, but boast of/glory in the strength, might, and magnificence of YHVH. 

“The answer to the prayer was not compliance with its petition, but the gift of strength to bear and to endure.” (Ellicott’s commentary)

P:

Oh, my Abba.  You are always on time, and Your word is like an arrow - straight to the target.  You knew last night when I began to read the verses for today that I was going to have to call on You yet again.  You began to sustain me before I knew what need I had of You for this day.  I am weak, Abba.  My mind is more susceptible to defeat when I am in pain, and my spirit feels cast-down the more my body aches, but oh my Abba!  You sustain me!  You lift me up - mind, body and spirit, and I thank You.  You are mighty and worthy of all praise!  I pray that all who feel cast-down in spirit, all who hear voices of defeat, all who carry heavy burdens that are not their own, would cry out to You, Abba, in Yeshua’s name, they would be able to rest in You, and find shalom/peace in Your word.  Abba, I choose this day to glory in You over my pain, and glory in You over my circumstances of weakness, so that You would be lifted up, and the power of Messiah would be made manifest for all who see.

In Yeshua’s name, Amein.

#‎LoveGodGreatly‬ 

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It hurts my heart to see people lambast their spouse. Publicly, no less.

If we understand that as you love your dad (Scripture uses the example of your brother - 1 John 4:20) who you do see here on Earth, you will love your Father in the shamayim/heaven whom you don't see; what then does it say about how we treat, respect, and love our husband here on the earth, whom we do see...? Will we love, honor, and respect our Bridegroom, whom we don't yet see?

Week 6 ~ Day 5

GROWING THROUGH PRAYER (A 'LOVING GOD GREATLY' BIBLE STUDY)

February 19, 2016

Week 6 ~ Day 5

Read:  Romans 8:26-27

SOAP: Romans 8:27

S:

“He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit's mind, because he makes intercession for the holy ones according to God.”

O&A:

Who searches the hearts?  Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it? I, YHVH, search the heart, I try the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

“The  heart  is  crooked^r  above  all,  and desperately sick – who shall know it?

“I, YHVH, search the heart, I try the kidneys, and give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (The Scriptures)

As usual, Abba brings things from my life to my mind as I read His word.  Verse 26 mentions ‘groanings that can’t be uttered”, which is understood as ‘groaning, or a sigh’.  Have you ever been so overwhelmed that you had no words, and could only  (sigh)?  Of course I had to go to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary. 

SIGH, verb intransitive To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual and immediately expel it; to suffer a single deep respiration. He sighed deeply in his spirit. 

SIGH, verb transitive

1. To lament; to mourn. Ages to come and men unborn Shall bless her name and sigh her fate.

2. To express by sighs. The gentle swain-sighs back her grief.

SIGH, noun A single deep respiration; a long breath; the inhaling of larger quantity of air than usual, and the sudden emission of it. This is an effort of nature to dilate the lungs and give vigor to the circulation of the blood, when the action of the heart and arteries is languid from grief, depression of spirits, weakness or want of exercise. Hence sighs are indications of grief of debility.

(Begin story portion of today's edition in 3,2,1...)

A few years ago, it was discovered that our eldest son has a cyst on his brain.  Apparently, it’s been there since birth, but up until the day he got hit in the head with our metal front door (he was going out, little brother was coming in – door flies open as he is leaning in to pull it open – collided with his noggin), we had no reason to take a digital peek at his brain.  That night was one of the nights that the Ruach/Spirit interceded for me, because I had no words.  At all.  We didn’t know if he was going to need surgery, all we knew was there was something on his brain.  (It’s called an arachnoid cyst, and it’s in the left temporal area of his brain.)  He didn’t need surgery, praise YHVH!, although we do have to monitor it, and him, make sure it doesn’t get bigger, doesn’t start exhibiting signs or symptoms, etc.

Also a few years ago, our youngest had his tonsils and adenoids taken out.  Standard procedure, they said.  Will heal right up, they said.  In the recovery room, he looked so pale.  I kept asking the nurses about the little bits of bright blood I was seeing on his pillow, spraying out like a mist when he coughed.  I asked questions about everything, because he didn’t seem to be doing too well.  I was relentless in asking the nurses to check his throat.  They did and said they would page the Dr.  He came in, and without examining my son, said that a little bit of blood was okay, no need to worry.  I raised my voice a bit and firmly asked him to look in my son’s throat, and he did, and immediately jumped into action, calling out orders to get him back in the OR STAT, page anesthesiology, etc.  As soon as he walked out, my son opened his mouth, and blood started pouring out of his mouth and nose.  He was terrified, and so were we!  He desperately cried out, “I love you Momma!  I love you Daddy and Nate!” (He told me later that he thought he was dying.)  And with his blood all over my hands, they wheeled him out, back to the OR.  They had to pump blood out of his stomach from where it kept draining, because he had a major bleed going in the back of his throat that was almost not visible.  He was in the OR longer to fix that than he was for the initial 'standard' procedure.  I praise our Father, because He totally orchestrated the way everything came into alignment with the medical and OR team.  Again, there were no words.  I had no strong prayers, just crying out for my son.  The Ruach/Spirit interceded for me.

(Story time has come to a close.) 

Abba sends the Spirit, ministers by the Spirit, so of course He knows the mind of the Spirit.  The Spirit can only do these things according to the will of YHVH.  Sometimes we have NO IDEA what to pray for, or how to pray what is in our heart, in our mind, in our Spirit.  Sometimes we are so weak physically, emotionally, spiritually, or feel detached from a situation, or are even so deep in a situation that we can’t see the past the end of our nose to know what to pray!  This is an awesome time (and way) for the Spirit to intercede for us, to communicate with our Father on our behalf.  Maybe it’s just me, but it’s almost like an auto-drive, if that makes sense..?  We can communicate through our tears, through our cries, through the sighing and groaning, and let the Spirit speak to Abba while we let it out.

P:

Abba, I thank You for supplying us with a multitude of ways to communicate with You, to commune with You, to honor You, to lean on You, and to love You.  Thank You for being with me in the good, the bad, the ugly, and the mucky times, and for loving me into the person I am today, and the person You will grow me into tomorrow.  Thank You for being the same, for not changing on me as I get to know You.  Help me to be like water, ready to flow where and how You move me.  I am so thankful that You are the know-er, and the try-er of my heart, and not I, so that I wouldn’t be deceived of myself. 

Help me to remember that I don’t need the perfect words, or put-together thoughts in order to speak to You or to call on You. 

Thank You even right now!  I can’t get what’s in my head and in my heart out in words, but You know, even if I don’t.  Your Ruach haKodesh/Holy Spirit is interceding for Your children all around the world, even at this moment, and that is just incredible to me.  There is none like You, and I bless You, my King.  Baruch ata YHVH Eloheinu!  I bless You, YHVH!  Melek ha olam!  King of the Universe!  In Yeshua’s name, Amein!

#‎LoveGodGreatly‬