Deep Calls Unto Deep

     I finally submitted Deep Calls Unto Deep - How to respond to the Passionate Love of God to the publisher this week.  It is about the Song of Songs in the Bible, a book that intrigues most Christians with it's love story and evocative language, but leaves them with the question, "Why is this book in the Bible?"
     I believe most teachers avoid teaching on The Song because they really don't know quite what to do with it, afraid of offending some in their congregations, or dulling down the language and meaning so much that it becomes a misunderstood story. The truth is that the Song of Songs is the picture of the greatest love story there has ever been.  It is the love story of God and His people.
     This week I read an article in our local Ahwatukee Foothills News insert for seniors written by  Rabbi Dean Shapiro, spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Tempe,AZ, entitled the Gift of Torah. The title intrigued me and I was thrilled to read this passage.  "The Torah is the symbol of the love shared between God and the Jewish people.  Because Shavuot marks the night that symbol was given, the Kabbalists taught that it is our marriage night as well. We study into the night to achieve a mystical union with God. Just as Ruth bound herself to Naomi and her tribe, so do we bind ourselves, over and over again, to our God and our Torah".
     The rabbis and ancient Jewish leaders have understood this love story for centuries. That is why it is in The Old Testament of our Bible today. Continuing the revelation in The New Testament, Jesus is quickly recognized as the Bridegroom who has come for His bride.

     Being a person who learns best pictorially, I have to see it first.  I am a born romantic and need to get involved with the story. For me, the history of a place or event makes so much more sense when I can insert myself into that situation. 
     For example, learning about a place like Ephesus cannot compare to walking down a 2100 years old Roman boulevard with parts of marble pillars lining the street, a colossal Roman building around the corner, and coming upon an ancient marketplace now covered over with grass and weeds.  I can almost hear the sounds of people shopping, children playing, and soldiers clomping down the street while people scatter to get out of their path. I listen for Paul, the apostle, standing somewhere is this large city center, gathering a crowd as he preaches the Good News. I read a part of his book to the Ephesians as I stand here.  I now am in that crowd.

     That's how I see the Song of Songs.  A collection of conversations that give us a picture of a growing, responding, hesitant love is painted on the pages of this book.  A young woman learning to love the love of her life.  But that's only part of the story.  The other part of it is the royal lover, who gently teaches her of his love for her and what their marriage-covenant will produce. 
     Without the vibrant and sometimes erotic descriptions, I cannot really grasp the scene.  Jesus uses this same teaching technique over and over...speaking in parables, using the vernacular and local life experiences of his characters to teach an eternal lesson. He paints a picture for us...places us in the scene.  I guess it's my artistic nature that responds so passionately to these scenes.  I RELATE.  I CAN FEEL THE EMOTION.  I RESPOND WITH EMOTION.  I OWN IT!

     That's why I wrote this Bible Study.  I didn't want to interpret every one of the word descriptions

and dull down their impact. Yes, as in Jesus' parables, there are deep lessons in these word pictures. The words are a poetic vehicle, not meant to be sexual, but to arouse our passionate love, to fire up our heart to produce powerful fruit. I want to have my emotions aroused.  I want to feel God's love for me.  I want to respond to that love emotionally, as well as spiritually.  I want to love Him with a passion so great that I will do anything for Him...even give Him my whole life.  Then maybe my life will accomplish something really special and important...for the Kingdom of God.

Urgent...Tomorrow is National Day of Prayer

     I know you are busy.....so am I.
          I know you pray.....so do I.
                I know you care.....so do I.
But do we care enough to take at least 30 minutes tomorrow, May 7, 2015, to pray for our country?

If you want to go on line and join others, www.PresidentialPrayerTeam.org/ndp, is one choice.
      You can also google National Day of Prayer and join many other organizations.

If your church is holding a service, please sacrifice the time to attend.

If those are not good options for you, join me.  I plan to spend an hour from 1pm to 2pm MST.

If you don't know what to pray for, turn on the news tonight, read the paper, or go online to the    headlines.  Everywhere we look, there are things we need to place before the Lord.
      
He is the only solution....the only resolution  (the words from a worship song I know).
Start with the Lord's Prayer, and let the Holy Spirit quide you to amplify each of it's sentences.
Or start with Psalm 40, and read through several of them, and add the issues that come to your mind to those of David.

The important thing is that we pray
      with a humble and repentant heart
             with faith and a believing mind
                     with sincerity and pure motives
                           with thanks giving.....knowing He has heard and PROMISES to answer.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ( Phillipians 4: 6-7)

Chaos

     Do you sometimes feel that our country, yes, and the world are in chaos?  Well this is one of those days for me!
     Today the supreme court is deciding whether the centuries old definition of marriage should be changed to accommodate same sex marriage.  What's wrong here? I've had wonderful gay friends, but I never expected to have a major cultural tradition, let alone my personal Christian belief, demolished.....why?
     Today, I'm watching the riots in Baltimore.  Masses of police, National Guard units, and other law enforcement have come in to quell the lawless thugs who have destroyed their community in the guise of a protest against unjust treatment  by the police that resulted in a prisoner found dead in their custody.  There's no doubt the protest has real merit, but these thugs looted, set community services and improvements on fire, then cut the fire hoses in defiance as the outmanned police stood by trying to at least prevent harm to people.
      Just as you can, I can list a multitude of other major hits to my Christian world view.  That's most likely how people felt in 30 A.D. when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, especially when they saw a great crowd following this Holy Man being led to His crucifixion crushing all their hopes for a Messiah that would set things right.
      One thing is different, though.  We hold that Hope in our hands, our hearts, our very lives.  Why, because this Man, Jesus Christ, gave us the key to peace.   PRAYER in the Name of Jesus!
    
     As so many Christians have, I am lately compelled to my knees, on almost a daily basis, to pray for The Church, my country, and the world in crisis.  I'm praying for:
       The Church......The Church, the Body of Christ, is the holder of the LIGHT (Matthew 5:13 - 16).
However, what is the state of  The Church in America?  If you are hearing what the Holy Spirit is telling me, we need to pray for her.  Pray that she will be delivered from the things of this world (both material and spiritual) that are like rotten apples in a redeemed soul.     
     The Church......the hundreds of modern-day martyrs who are suffering from the extremist Islamic  terrorists all over the world, their families, their local churches who are under attack.
     America....that God will have mercy on us and give us, as His Church here, another chance to be a light in the world.  We can repent for our past apathy, pray for change, and get informed so that we can vote for godly and men and women who are culturally sensitive to the Judeo-Christian ethics as they are raised up and run for office.
      The African American community in this country.....that these communities where poverty and crime are rampant, leading to hopelessness, might be healed by a sovereign move of God.  There has to be local leaders from local churches that will teach the Christian values of traditional families who take responsibility for their children.  There must be encouragers from those Blacks who have been successful who will work with the young men and women who want a chance to succeed.  These and so many other elements, needing wisdom and enablement, must be prayed for by their fellow Americans who believe there is power in the Name of Jesus.

     There is so much more I could sermonize on in this serious entry today, but you are not ignorant of these things, I'm sure.  All I can do is join with you as you, too, pray... as you, too, commit to give up some time from your personal plans and pray each day.  Yes, I still have a quiet time most days for personal devotions, but the Holy Spirit has pressed me to take some additional time during my evening relaxation in front of the TV set watching a favorite series.  Thank God for DVR's so that I can record and go back to the show I missed....a gift of grace from my Beloved.
     There's one thing I know for sure.  Jesus, Himself, promises that these prayers will be heard and that they will be answered....because they bear His Name....the Name which causes the demons in Hell to shudder because He has already defeated them.  This Name is the stamp of Guarantee!

Giftings

     I've been thinking of gifts lately...not new jewelry, or a new jacket, or even a gift card. For instance, at my watercolor class, Saturday, I gave two students the same subject to paint... a beautiful hot pink hibiscus blossom.  I gave them step-by-step instructions and watched their progress.  It was not long before I realized that each would create a totally different painting.  However, each painting was beautiful...the kind that makes a teacher speak out, "Oh, I'm so proud of you both. These are each so gorgeous!" 
     Both students have a lot of artistic talent,  but both have very different personalities.  One is very careful, disciplined, and conscientious.  The other student is much more a free spirit.  And these characteristics were so obvious in their paintings.  The instructions and subject were the same, but the painter was true to who she is.
     Later, when I settled down after dinner, I tuned into a PBS Masterpiece Classic, Mark Morris Dance Group. It was not a traditional ballet. The costumes' woodsy color scheme was soft and muted and very pleasing to the eye, fitting the choreographer's conception of  the story of mankind.     
     The 30 or so dancers sometimes moved together and in unison, sometimes in groups, large and small, mirroring another group, and sometime a lone dancer told a story for a few moments.  The choreography was so ingenious and captivating that even though I wasn't sure about the story, I loved watching the movement of the incredibly talented dancers.
     And, if you're still with me, I want to share with you the revelation about gifts that I received as I watched ....spiritual gifts, that is. 
     First of all, our Creator designed us all to be unique and beautiful in His eyes. You need only to look around you to verify that.  However, we learn in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit also has gifts...spiritual gifts... for us as believers. And that's where my two artistic events on Saturday come in. 
      They showed me how, just as a good instructor or director or choreographer leads and guides the many talents of his artists or dancers to portray the vision of the composer or creator, the  Lord takes us each, equips us with unique giftings that will express His eternal plans. He allows our individual gifts  and talents  to express themselves through the uniqueness of who we are. The Holy Spirit is the director, carefully guiding us to fulfill the Master's plans.
     And that is what means so much to me.  I can be His bride....unique in who I am and in my gifts, and still, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I am His Bride...the corporate Body of Christ.  The dancers all have the same music, the same picture to present to the audience, but each must carefully follow the director in order to complete accurately the vision of the composer/choreographer.
      Whether our gift is teaching, serving, healing, hospitality, administration, leadership, or any one of a number of others, we must yield to the guidance of the Lord and His Spirit to learn how to use these gifts.  He wants to use them through our personality, our abilities, and our unique personage, making us each His "special one".  However, at the same time, He fits our uniqueness into the totality of His plan for His Creation... His eternal ballet.
     It will be a wonder to behold when we get to heaven and see the whole picture.  I can't wait!

New Beginnings

        Yesterday was Easter and what a glorious Arizona day if was!. After church, I joined my son and his family in the car as we drove to a friend's for a scrumptious Easter dinner in their beautiful back patio.  But the highlight for me was my son's question in the car.  "Mom, do you want to hear Handel's Hallelujah Chorus?'  I said, "Sure!"  And his wife fiddled around with her Iphone and he punched in some things on the car's fancy dashboard, and then at almost full volume, the glorious strains of the classic masterpiece of praise for the Resurrection filled our journey.  My daughter-in-law's mother opened her window a few inches so that the music could be heard by all who were walking or bicycling nearby.  We were all singing as the last strains caused us to want to stand and wildly applaud.....which of course doesn't work real well in a car.
      I was transported to the heavenlies as I sang along and, as it finally ended, I asked my son if he remembered that I always played that on Easter morning when he was growing up. He said, "Not really."  However, I knew his spirit remembered, prompting him to play this incredible piece for us on this Easter day.
       How often we don't know how vital our efforts to build a foundation of spiritual truths into our family are. It may be years from now, but each stone we place is not forgotten by the Lord.  And regardless of the immediate response, I believe He sets them with the mortor of His Spirit into those for whom they were intended. Those stones are permanent and living with the Life of the Holy Spirit. I, like you, am still waiting for dear ones to hear the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit as He draws them into the Truth of the Gospel and the Life and the Way.  Easter is a wonderful time to remember the faithfulness of God.
       So, I am taking this season of New Beginnings to be more consistent in my postings.  The Holy Spirit has been nudging me, also.  For my followers, I apologize for the gap in postings.  No really great excuse, just busy-ness with three watercolor classes I teach, double knee replacement, and other priorities that cause me to be lax in staying up on all the new ways to involve myself in social media.  But if you'll give me a second chance, I promise to be consistent.  I believe our Jesus has some things to say through this humble writer.

Photos of the British Isles

Read the posting that follows this one(these pictures) to find out where these were taken.

June contrasts

     Well, it is 115 degrees outside right now, and I have resigned myself to the next three months of staying housebound after noon each day and a huge AC bill each month.  This is a good time to get caught up on my writing, my art and other indoor activities.  The neighborhood pool is still just cool enough to be worth the walk, and I enjoy doing my water aerobics to the sounds of worhip music being piped into my ears by tiny earbuds attached to the IPOD securely anchored in my hat's headband.  A couple of foam noodles under my arms assure me that my head will stay dry and not ruin one of my most treasured possessions.
     I read an article this week in the latest Charisma Magazine written by Misty Edwards, my favorite worship music artist.  You can go online and read the article as well as others by Kari Jobe and Paul Baloche, among others.  Misty writes about combining prayer and intercession within our musical worship. After all, powerful worship is truly a dialogue with our wonderful God...we tell him in our songs how much we love Him; we sing of His awesome and all powerful attributes and how they empower us. We are hearing His Word speaking to us.  We are praying! 
     Why not take this time of intense focus and faith to intercede with prayers that agree with this empowerment?  For instance, yesterday in our church corporate worship, we sang about the power in Jesus' Name and His mighty deeds on earth.  We sang of His holiness and His all powerful majesty.  As our worship rose in repeated crescendos, I found myself interceding for two or three people whom I could see in the congregation. I spoke out the Name of Jesus over the strongholds that I know are keeping these people or members of their family from responding to the love and truth that Jesus offers them.  I knew these prayers were effective and would be answered.  After the service, I spoke to others who also had been led to pray during the worhip. It's also one of the most enjoyable ways to pray during our own personal times of fellowship with the Lord.
      I just returned from an absolutely wonderful  trip to England and the British Isles. After spending three days with my pen pal of sixty years  and her husband who live an hour north of London in a quaint little town with 1000 year old churches and thatched roof houses, I met my son, Scott and his family at Harwich to board a 10 day cruise to Normandy, France, the British island of Guernsey,  then three Irish ports and two Scottish ports, along with Liverpool. 
     We spent a day in Dublin, visiting Trinity University where we saw the forth century originals of the gospels (hand written and illustrated by monks), ate fish and chips, rode the off and on bus that gives a tour of the city and had dinner with my daughter-in-law's relatives at a local pub with live musicians jammin' the old Irish favorites.  In Scotland, we toured Inverary Castle after a breathtaking drive along Loch Loman.  The castle was a filming site of some the the Downton Abbey PBS series.
     We also drove to Loch Ness at the next port (home of Nessy, the mysterious monster), a very beautiful huge lake. The ruins of a tenth century castle sits on a natural promentory and the Visitor's center explains the centuries of battles between the original Celts, the Vikings, the Normans, and the British.  With all the spectacular beauty, there is a melencholy in the Irish music and Scotish bagpipes that is really haunting.
     In addition to the spectacular beauty of these kelly green Isles spackled with wild rhododendrums, bluebells and  yelllow rape along the roads everywhere, homes and buildings in the towns sported hanging baskets overflowing with huge pansies, petunias and lobelia.  I loved the sheep in many of the fields that are separated not by fences but by green hedges or low stone walls and the friendly  people we met everywhere.  The only thing I did not love were the hundreds of steps I climbed up and down countless times each day.
     This story would not be complete without telling you of the joy I found sharing a stateroom with my two fifteen year old grandchildren.  I'm serious!  Yes, they were normal teenagers, didn't want to be with us much of the time, and found their own friends quickly onboard the Celebrity Infinity ship.  But we had fun sharing the room, and I had a few precious private hours with each of them.
     I'm so grateful for not only the opportunity (a gift from Scott and Mary) to take this trip, but to be with my son, his wonderful wife, and the kids.  They are a delightful and funloving family. God has truly answered so many of my prayers and concerns, especially for my grandchildren. I am so blessed.
     I leave you with this beautiful verse that was noted today in my favorite devotional, Jesus is Calling.

The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.

The High God surrounds him all day long

and dwells between his shoulders.

Dueteronomy 33:12