Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Week in Review



What an incredible week this has been!!

Meteors zipped across the skies over Mexico, Chile, Scotland, Ireland, England, Cuba, USA, China and in Russia where one hurt over 1000 people.

The Carnival cruise ship “Triumph” had a fire on board and subsequently drifted without power, running water or hygienic services for over a week. Several passengers literally kissed the earth when they finally made landfall.

For the first time in six centuries the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict, resigned. At first we heard stories of his heart condition and blindness. Then we heard stories of EU nations wanting to arrest him for the child molestation scandals during his time as Pope.

Women praying at the Kotel, also known as the Wailing Wall which is considered to be a remnant of the Second Temple, have been arrested for praying in tallitot (prayer shawls) and tefillin (phylacteries).

Horse meat DNA has been found in European Burger King Whoppers and in butcher shops in Great Britain.

North Korean officials have claimed a successful atomic bomb development and detonation. The Iranians, who are close allies of North Korea, went there for a look-see. I imagine there was ice cream and cake afterwards.

Over thirty earthquakes over magnitude 5 have hit this week; Russia, the Phillipines and New Zealand being the hardest hit with magnitudes over 6.1.

Approximately 315 murders were committed in the US.

American leadership continues to play the blame-game amongst themselves while hundreds of thousands of our fellow countrymen go without necessities. Let's hear it for those $20 million dollar vacations with golf lessons by Tiger Woods. and let's not forget the salary increases for the same group of people ... who will continue to get their salaries for the rest of their lives. No, I'm not kidding.

And that is all in this past week.

Taken individually, any one of these things is a mere blip on the radar screen of life. Taken together, and in such close proximity, now we're talking about the need for being alert. Like labor pains increasing in frequency, duration and magnitude, things are starting to 'heat up'. Unfortunately, there is no epidural for life. We have to go through it all: Good times, not so good times and horrible times are all part of the mix. Like an old friend who passed away about 20 years ago used to say, “It takes the bitter to appreciate the sweet.”

King David, who penned a majority of the Psalms, had seen quite a bit in his 70 years.  The Psalms recount his days of triumph and his times of grinding defeat. But he always had hope for tomorrow. He always asked YHVH for and trusted YHVH for better days ahead, days when he would look in triumph at his enemies. King David had confidence in his King, YHVH ... and so must we.

The very same things could be written about Moshe. He too, experienced the soaring victories and the crushing defeats. He saw the Creator of all face-to-face, yet never lived in the promised land. During his time as leader of the Israelites, he experienced victory over the Amalakites, he saw Aharon's rod bud and send forth flowers and ripe almonds in a single night; he saw the ground open up to swallow Korach and his followers; he saw water gush forth from a rock and bring life giving water to two million people. And yet, with all he saw and accomplished, he was humble enough to pray and intercede for those who made his life a misery.

So where am I going with this news recap and mini-biographies of David and Moshe? Right here, to Psalm 91.

Psa 91:1 You who live in the shelter of `Elyon, who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,
2 who say to YHVH, "My refuge! My fortress! My God, in whom I trust!" -
3 he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter and from the plague of calamities;
4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his truth is a shield and protection.
5 You will not fear the terrors of night or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the plague that roams in the dark, or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it won't come near you.
8 Only keep your eyes open, and you will see how the wicked are punished.
9 For you have made YHVH, the Most High, who is my refuge, your dwelling-place.
10 No disaster will happen to you, no calamity will come near your tent;
11 for he will order his angels to care for you and guard you wherever you go.
12 They will carry you in their hands, so that you won't trip on a stone.
13 You will tread down lions and snakes, young lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.
14 "Because he loves me, I will rescue him; because he knows my name, I will protect him.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble. I will extricate him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life and show him my salvation."



For the rest of our days, be they long or short, we will see terrors that fly by night and arrows that fly by day. We will see plagues; we will see those we know, dropping – either physically or spiritually; we will see ourselves rescued, protected and extricated from calamities. We will see long lives, blessed with honor. We will see Yah's salvation, if only we would live in His shelter (in Hebrew makhaseh [Strong's H4268] an extension of khasah [H2620] a place one flees to for protection; a place of hope, refuge and trust). Go there. Stay there.


And give no thought to tomorrow. Today has trouble enough already.


Shalom b'shem Sar Shalom / Peace in the Name of the Prince of Peace,

yocheved

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Getting Our Prayers Heard




It seems the more I think about prayer, talk about prayer, read about prayer, meditate about prayer, the more I hear about prayer and how to pray. When I was a child, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I was raised in a Catholic home. My concept of prayer was very different then. Although I don't remember it being said or taught overtly, I got the impression that the words of my heart were just not good enough for “God” and that I had to pray what I now think of as “formula prayers”. If you had a similar background or history, you know what I mean: The “Our Father,” the “Hail Mary,” and the “Glory Be.” The Our Father, more popularly known as the Lord's Prayer or the Disciples Prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13, when Messiah Y'shua's disciples asked Him how to pray. The “Hail Mary” has its roots in Luke 1:28 and 1:42 plus some additions deemed suitable by various popes along the way. And the “Glory Be” started with the simple praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the early 300s CE. In 529 CE, the rest of the prayer was added. And so, I was left with the impression that my own words were not good enough and that any matter for prayer needed to be “Hail Mary'ed” into submission. In my youthful mind, tough issues required the rosary, the repeated repetition of all three of the above prayers.

We grow. We learn.

My convictions are much different now. David said in Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in your presence, YHVH, my Rock and Redeemer.” YHVH's interested in what I THINK?!?! He's interested in what I have TO SAY?!?! I have a chance of what I think and what I say being ACCEPTABLE to the Creator of the Universe?!?! Astounding!!! I don't even fare so well with a good portion of my family who see me as the universal definition for the term “fruitcake.”

But now, since I know I have a chance to be accepted by YHVH, how can I approach the throne of my Creator? I love Psalm 15 for its clear instruction:
Oh, YHVH, who shall sojourn in Your Tent? Who shall tabernacle on Your holy mountain? He who is walking flawlessly and effecting righteousness; he who is speaking truth in his heart. He has not vilified with his tongue; he has done no evil to his associate and has borne no reproach against the one near him. Despised in his eyes is the reprobate, yet he glorifies those fearing YHVH. He makes an oath and does not change, [even if] it hurts. He has neither lent his money at interest or taken a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall not fall at any time.

Proverbs 28:9 is FAR more blunt:
If a person will not listen to Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.”
Every fiber of our being cries out “NO!” “Unfair” and we ask, “What about the sacrifice of Messiah?” Beloved, the potency of Messiah's sacrifice for us is dependent on our obedience to Torah. Y'shua HIMSELF said that the situation existed where He could say (Mat. 7:23), “'I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!' for He said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep my commands.” Even as late as the Book of Revelation (written in 96 CE for our time) Y'shua is still pleading with those that say they follow Him, “As for me, I rebuke and discipline everyone I love; so exert yourselves, and turn from your sins!” (Rev. 3:19) My point is that to fully connect with YHVH, even through the atoning sacrifice of Messiah Y'shua, we must turn from and avoid sin. We can't live wanton lives and expect our prayers to be heard.

So, in a nutshell, here's the plan: When we approach our Father in prayer, first make sure there are no impediments, that nothing stands in the way of our prayers getting heard. Thus, every prayer should start with thoughts and words of repentance. On any given day, anyone who is human has stuff for which to repent. Whether it was just a pen that followed us home from work or we rolled our eyes at our spouse, we need to clear the way to the Throne of YHVH. Next, having thoughts and speaking words of thanksgiving is in order. Most of the time we go running to the Throne with a shopping list of needs, as if our Creator was some sort of blessing 'Dispense-O-Matic'. If we had focused on what YHVH has already done, we just might see that the need we think we have is already taken care of. (Don't worry, I've got more fingers pointing back at me than will ever be pointed at you.) And while we're sharing our needs with our Father, let us not forget that HE KNOWS our condition FAR BETTER than we do. We just see our current circumstance, He knows the cause and His intention for the outcome. He knows the end from the beginning. That is why praying for OUR intention may not be the best thing to do. Case in point, had Hezikiah died when YHVH wanted him to, he would have never seen the destruction of his kingdom. He wanted to live, and so he did. If we pray for our Father's will to be done and for us to have the grace to accept and understand His will, we are maturing in our walk with Him. We are building our TRUST in Him as our Father and Sovereign. He says in Jeremiah 29:11-13, “11 For I know what plans I have in mind for you,' says YHVH,'plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future. 12 When you call to me and pray to me, I will listen to you. 13 When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me wholeheartedly”

And TRUST is probably the best thing to do in order to get our prayers heard, for we must come to Him like little children, trusting in expectant hope with thanksgiving.

Shalom b'shem Sar Shalom / Peace in the Name of the Prince of Peace
yocheved