Why are we afraid of the prophetic?

   For many decades now, I have had a healthy fear of anything that smacks of ‘New Age,’ of ‘small s’ spiritual’ things, of what I saw as ‘wacky’ teaching, of sensationalism related to Christianity, or any form of idolatry. However, I have learned over the last decade of my faith that I have prejudged some Biblical truths as false teaching without in-depth study or even stopping to ask God what He thinks.. Some of it, God has shown me, is from my zeal for His truth, but some has been from intellectual arrogance and reliance on my own human judgment.

   Questions like, “How could this ever take place? “How could this possibly be true? Comments like “That’s ridiculous!” Declarations like, “God just doesn’t do that today!” Or…”who do they think they are, proclaiming themselves prophets?” I am ashamed to say these have been in my mind even if they haven’t come out of my mouth. God has humbled me many times in my life, so I thankfully am used to repenting and asking Him where I have gone wrong. 

   I have believed in and experienced the gifts of the Spirit since 1979. I have believed they were for today, not just to ‘get the church going’ at its inception. Yet somehow, it never occurred to me that God was still anointing people in the office of prophet, not just in Old Testament days. I believed in individual prophetic words, as described in Corinthians. I believed in aforesaid gifs of wisdom and knowledge. But it never entered my head that God was still speaking through specially anointed individuals in the 21st century. Yet why would Holy Spirit suddenly stop communicating in this way? Yes, we can each hear from Him individually, but in the same way that He has specially anointed certain people for healing, for deliverance ministry, for words of knowledge, etc., He has continued to choose people to speak to the Body as a whole. I have come to be so very grateful for these prophets ‘for such a time as this’ when God is doing unprecedented mighty works in the world, like bringing ‘epic revival’ and ‘a billion soul harvest’ and has called us to be a part of it. It is only relatively recently in the history of the church that we have had the technology to join together as a world-wide Body and agree in prayer and decree that His specific will for these times be done. Now it is happening…across denominations and nations.

   We musn’t relegate this powerful ministry to the bathtub of current false teachings. We must, indeed, check prophecies with His Word as the plumb line of truth and ask God for discernment. However, we must not reject them in a knee-jerk reaction of our ‘higher spiritual understanding, as I have seen many do.

   So, let’s take a look at some examples of what the Word says about prophecy and it’s ministry::

“ Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning]. —1Thessalonians 5:20 

Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit.   —1 Thessalonians 5:19 

To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; 9 to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues. —1 Cor 12:8-10

“And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.” 1 Cor 12:28

17 

Occupation

    

   Many of you know well of the time when Daniel prayed fervently for his people near the end of their exile to Babylon* (Daniel 10). Nothing seemed to be happening in response to his prayers and fasting, until finally Gabriel appeared before him and told him how God had responded immediately to Daniel’s prayers before he had even finished speaking, but demonic intervention had waylaid his arrival. 

   This morning as I was rereading this section of Daniel, I heard God promoting me to stop and see something new. In this passage. The word occupation came strongly to mind. Gabriel was kept occupied by the enemy so he couldn’t get to Daniel. Holy Spirit pointed out to me that the enemy of our souls does the same thing today in our minds and in our lives. If he can keep us otherwise occupied and distracted from connecting with Him, we won’t hear His messages of direction and encouragement or receive the strengthening He is sending us. 

   It isn’t that He hasn’t immediately responded to our prayers. His help has gone forth, but we haven’t put ourselves in battle position to receive it. Yes, thankfully we have angels to help us, but we must do battle, also, in order to receive what the Father wants us to have.

   Sometimes this means, in addition to intercession, the putting aside of various activities, entertainment, all-consuming worry, self-pity, lack of trust, or the demand to understand….to have answers to the ‘whys’. Occupation can take so many forms. The Lord wants us aware that these can all be ‘spiritual battles in the heavenlies’. We must treat them as such and fight accordingly, knowing that He is on our side. He doesn’t want us to be passive victims of attacks masquerading as busyness, soundbites, escapism, or simple distractions. Our very lifeblood, our very breath come from our connection with and trust in The Lover of our Souls. 

   He has also given us authority to fight powerfully, to fight effectively, and to win. To stand up, to decree, to declare what His Word says. Yes! But also to be still and commune with Him. To speak to Him of our abiding trust and love, and even more, to listen. I know this word just now was for me, but I share it because it may well speak to you, also.

   Yes, “the battle belongs to Him,” but it also belongs to us. Let’s ponder our part and not find ourselves passive victims by being ‘otherwise occupied’.  Let’s make it our first priority to be occupied by Him.

+++++++++++

 “You man so greatly loved, don’t be afraid. Shalom to you; and be strong, yes, truly strong.” His speaking to me strengthened me, and I said, “My lord, keep speaking; because you’ve given me strength.” —Daniel 10: 19

“Don’t be afraid, Dani’el; because since the first day that you determined to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard; and I have come because of what you said. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia prevented me from coming for twenty-one days; but Mikha’el, one of the chief princes, came to assist me; so that I was no longer needed there with the kings of Persia. —Daniel 10: 12-13

“Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world..”** [1John 4:4]

“For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” Ephesians 6:12 

+++++++

+after the Persian takeover from the Babylonians

Perplexed in Advent

    

   What would it have been like, 9 months pregnant, bouncing on the back of a donkey for days, only to find there was nowhere to lay your head, not to mention give birth? Or for Joseph, charged with protecting the Savior of the World, as well as His human mother, and yet at a total loss for how to do so? We know the rest of the story. They didn’t. “No worries, Joseph,” we say. “Help is on the way!” [“What are you afraid of, Moses? That sea is going to stand up and separate any second now!”] But they could only stand still, trusting and waiting for deliverance. And that is precisely what they awaited….in fact what we all awaited in this birth.

   You and I may at this very moment have worries, disappointments, griefs, fears, or frustrations swirling through our heads. Yet It never ceases to stop me short in Advent…..never ceases to put circumstances, disappointments, joys, longings, thanksgivings, mistakes, and concerns of all kinds in the perspective of eternity. Not just ‘the sweet by and by’ of someday in heaven, but now’s eternity. That is where our true Shalom lies………entrusted to the Trustworthy One, the one and only Three-in-One. Knowing He knows the end of every story and has already prepared an Abigail for us. Wise men are already heading our way with provision. Seas are ready to stand up at His command.. He’s about to give angelic direction for our protection. All we need do is listen, receive, and obey.. Though we may be clueless about how things will play out, our ABBA is not. Trusting Him goes hand-in-hand with doing what we best understand of His will for us at the moment. Our ‘faith of a child’ warms His heart.

   I am fond of the following passage from one of my favorite Max Lucado books, In the Grip of Grace: 

“Stepping from the throne, he removed his robe of light and wrapped himself in skin: pigmented, human skin. The light of the universe entered a dark, wet womb. He whom angels worship nestled himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into a cold night, and then slept on cow’s hay.

Mary didn’t know whether to give him milk or give him praise, but she gave him both since he was, as near as she could figure, hungry and holy. Joseph didn’t know whether to call him Junior or Father. But in the end he called him Jesus, since that’s what the angel had said and since he didn’t have the faintest idea what to name a God he could cradle in his arms . .” .

*****

“For only a God could create a plan this mad. Only a Creator beyond the fence of logic could offer such a gift of love. What man can’t do, God does. So, when it comes to goodies and candy, cherub cheeks and red noses, go to the North Pole. But when it comes to eternity, forgiveness, purpose, and truth, go to the manger. Kneel with the shepherds. Worship the God who dared to do what man dared not dream. “

——-And the Angels Were Silent, Max Lucado

 ***

“This isn’t the way I planned it, God. Not at all. My child being born in a stable? This isn’t the way I thought it would be. A cave with sheep and donkeys, hay and straw? My wife giving birth with only the stars to hear her pain? This isn’t at all what I imagined. No, I imagined family. I imagined grandmothers. I imagined neighbors clustered outside the door and friends standing at my side. I imagined the house erupting with the first cry of the infant. Slaps on the back. Loud laughter. Jubilation. That’s how I thought it would be. The midwife would hand me my child, and all the people would applaud. Mary would rest and we would celebrate. All of Nazareth would celebrate. But now. Now look. Nazareth is five days’ journey away. And here we are in a . . . in a sheep pasture. Who will celebrate with us? The sheep? The shepherds? The stars? This doesn’t seem right. What kind of husband am I? I provide no midwife to aid my wife. No bed to rest her back. Her pillow is a blanket from my donkey. My house for her is a shed of hay and straw. The smell is bad, the animals are loud. Why, I even smell like a shepherd myself. Did I miss something? Did I, God?     

—Max Lucado, Cure for the Common Life and He Still Moves Stones  

***

“I could not comprehend God’s plan, but my understanding was not essential. My obedience was.” —-Gabriel, from An Angel’s Story; Max Lucado

***

“…why would you say, “Yahweh isn’t paying attention to my situation. He has lost all interest in what happens to me.?” Isaiah 40: 27

“…Yahweh….is never puzzled over what to do! He empowers the feeble and infuses the powerless with increasing strength” Ibid  29

***

May the rest of your Advent season be a tender, obedient, and trusting one.

Julie

Breath of Heaven:  

https://youtu.be/TOQRtYYERGo?si=wUd_DdOS3PGth-On

Mary, Did You Know?   https://youtu.be/trW_lD9sBt0?si=JpDYwYHdpEF6jABg

The Signet Ring

  

   I was recently reading in Tim Sheet’s book, Planting the Heavens, about the concept of the signet ring:

   Tim: “In those days, the king would wear a very special ring upon his hand—a signet ring. The seal of the king’s kingdom was engraved on the face of the ring. It was a governing ring. When important documents were brought to the king, he would stamp the document with it, leaving behind the seal of his kingdom. He would press his seal on it….”

   Julie: When I read this, I immediately saw a picture of God handing me His ring and saying, “I am giving this to you so that you can represent me on the earth.” I put the huge, heavy ring on my finger, and it spun around, looking as if I was trying to wear my dad’s ring (which indeed I was). I had to hold it on with my other hand. How ridiculous it looked. I was like a kid in a costume. But my Father said, “You’ll grow into it.”

   The complex symbol extending from the top of the ring stood ready for imprinting His authority on any document or impressionable object. Even on an open heart. But I said, “You can’t entrust me with this!,” 

   “Indeed I can,” He countered. “You are to boldly represent Me not only in speaking My Words but with My heart.”

   An image from the movie of Prince Caspian (from The Chronicles of Narnia) suddenly appeared in my mind. Lucy, the youngest of the children, walks out on a bridge, which the huge enemy army is about to storm. She carries only a tiny dagger. The enemy leader stops abruptly in consternation and then in derision, rather like Goliath at the sight of the scrappy, scrawny David. What is this ridiculousness? However, slowly appearing behind Lucy is the great Lion, Aslan. Ahhh….

   Despite how insignificant Lucy first appeared, she stood on that bridge in the authority of the King, the Lion of Judah. As do we when, as ambassadors of the King of Kings, we declare and decree His Will from His Word,  from His true heart. He wants us to represent Him. He has chosen to partner with us. (See The Huddle* post.) He wants us to represent Him sincerely. Represent Him well. Represent Him in truth. 

   More from Tim:

   “The Hebrew idea is that words do the same thing. They leave impressions and they seal God’s words. God’s words are always right words. When we meditate upon God’s Word, when we roll it around and around in our minds until we are renewed by what He said, it begins to penetrate our hearts and our spirits. God’s Word leaves an impression. It leaves its seal in us. Then out of our hearts, Jesus said, our mouths speak and agree with the impression God’s Word has left there. The right words will be forcible and change situations, activating the promises of God and stamping the seal of God’s promise on the problem.”

   Julie: To the world, we may appear to be too young, too old, too simple-minded, too insignificant. We certainly don't feel dressed for the task. But Elohim begs to differ. We are just the kind through whom He loves to work. (I seem to remember a young girl, a poor carpenter, and an animal feeding trough…as well as some uneducated fishermen.) Yet we need to do what He asks of us with the confidence and authority only He can give. No wimpy, half-hearted prayers and declarations allowed. No qualified, uncertain, pathetic whimperings and whinings. Rather, bold declarations of our King’s will and intentions. We say what He says. We decree what He commands. We speak what He desires done, as an accomplished fact, as any great ambassador would. We’ve known Him well and long. We know His will.  We are growing in the knowledge of His heart. We double-check our understanding of these things against His Word, both Logos and Rhema. Then we speak it with the authority He has given us.****

Our qualifications are these:

• a belief and trust in His power and saving grace, 
• a willingness to partner with Elohim, the Creator and Sustainer of the Cosmos,
• a sincere desire to see His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, 
• a will to serve Him, 
• a continuing deep-dive knowledge of His Word
• a sincere love for Him, in all three of His Persons:  Elohim, Yeshua, and Ruah Hakodesh….Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit

   It is not arrogance in which we represent Him, but humility. We represent Him In the desire to please Him, to respond to and obey Him. To commit to taking whatever time is required to speak forth, to decree, to bring life out of dead bones, light from darkness, truth instead of deception. 

   The church on the whole has abnegated its responsibility to preach and teach a huge portion of these truths from the Bible, from testaments both new and old, for fear of stirring up controversy and in trying to keep people comfortable and happy. However, Jesus didn’t say we are meant to be comfortable, did He? He does want us to have ‘life abundant,’ but He also said He didn’t come to bring peace, but rather a sword.****

  Are we adrift** in comfort without facing challenges to grow in wisdom, word, and action? Are we ignoring Holy Spirit’s proddings to MOVE? Yes, let’s enjoy the life abundant He desires for us, but let us also examine what our Father would have us be up and doing, believing and SPEAKING in His Name.

   If any of you are gardeners, you will especially love this book, which is full of analogies on the theme of planting and growing things. In this case, for our families, for our nation, and for the Kingdom of God. Let’s plunge our hands in the earth, wearing God’s signet ring, and become the Master Gardener’s ambassadors.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*The Huddle: https://tennyandi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-huddle.html

**Adrift: https://tennyandi.blogspot.com/2025/08/adrift.html

***Luke 12:51

“You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways. —Job 22:28.  AMP

“Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” —Proverbs 18:21

“For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. —1Corinthians 2:16

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth [a]must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth [b]must be what is already loosed in heaven.” —Matthew 16:19

****Jesus replied, “Have faith in God [constantly]. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will]. Mark 11:22-

   Tim: “If you are born again, this statement [above] is about you. It is also a timeless word because it is an eternal word—-it will always be true. So this verse is for you right now. Do not dispensationalize this. You are one of the “whosoevers” who can command mountains to be moved. You may not feel like it, you may not think so, you may not believe this, you may never put this promise into practice, but it is a word for all heirs and it is potential Christian living for everyone who believes it.”……. 

Later he says, “I began to see faith as a seed that could grow and meet the challenge of a mountain.”  “You move mountains by faith that is maintained, nurtured, and guarded. Faith grows to maturity and produces what is decreed. You change circumstances and situations, not by a faith that is moved by what it sees or how it feels, but by a faith that is moved by the Word of the Living God.” 

+++++++++++++++

More from Tim on Mark 11: “Jesus said it, so God definitely meant for you to know this. This was not a slip of the tongue or a divine oops. He wants you to rule and reign with Him (see Rom. 5:17). He wants you releasing authority language, you exercising your dominion as an heir, and understanding that in His name you can summon to you what does not exist yet. You can also command things to go from you that do exist. You are authorized to use authority language. Mountain, go there and go there now. Hindrance, get away from me.”

+++++++++++

“Tim: “In Romans 5:17, the Apostle Paul said that we are to reign in life through Jesus Christ. Clearly, God wanted the earth filled with those made in His image who would bring the earth under the influence of His Kingdom. He wanted His sons and His daughters ruling with Him, walking in right relationship with Him and exercising their delegated authority on the earth.. Earth, not some spiritual dimension only. Not something in the heavens only. It’s vital that we understand what is being said here because we are losing the soul of a nation due to lack of understanding” — Tim Sheets, Planting the Heavens

++++++++++

Interested in more? 

““We can plant words filled with life—-words that when believed, decreed, and acted upon become the very thing they describe. Word seeds have the innate ability to become what they are describing. They are seeds releasing their inner codes to reproduce in the soil in which they are planted.”  “What possibilities has God given to man? What opportunities has He given us when we understand the principle that words are seeds? Plant words of life. Plant them in the heavens. Plant them on the earth. Plant them in your life, business, and children. Plant purpose-filled seeds.” —Tim Sheets

+++++++++

I also found this research very interesting: 

“ Dr. Cho spoke to us on a fascinating topic. He had recently met with a neurosurgeon who was explaining to him new breakthroughs they had discovered concerning the mind and the power of words. The neurosurgeon told him that they had discovered that the speech center of the brain affects all the other parts of the body. It even helps control the nervous system of an individual. Words affect you. The doctor said that human beings can manipulate their entire bodies by simply speaking and declaring words. He gave some examples and said that if someone keeps saying, “I’m weak and insignificant,” every cell in the body receives the message, “It’s time to be weak.” The entire nervous system and all of the cells begin to prepare themselves to become weak because that is what was communicated from central control and that’s what happens. They begin to adjust their attitude for weakness and weakness actually begins to flow throughout the body. If someone says, “I’m a nobody. I just don’t have any abilities,” their entire being receives the message that they are a nobody and have no ability. So they don’t act properly; they don’t respond to situations like they could because they think they’re a nobody. When things happen in their life they say, “I can’t handle this. I’m a nobody.” Their entire being begins to submit to the words they have declared and live out wrong words.” —-Tim, ibid

Woooooh, that’s life-changing ‘scientific’ knowledge.’ 

++++++

 

Keep Swimming

   

   Remember Dorie from “Finding Nemo”? Such a loveable fish. The older I get, the more I am identifying with her short term memory issues. God brought her to mind this morning as He spoke to me about being free from anxiety in my daily life. 

   My sisters and I are sometimes attacked by what psychologists call “free-floating anxiety.” We all know the definition of anxiety in general, but with this type, there is no reason to be anxious, no circumstance in particular causing concern. There is just this sense that there is something wrong, that we are not doing all we should be doing, that we aren’t keeping up with needs or necessities somewhere, somehow. It’s almost as if we are reaching out and searching for what we should be concerned about.

   This, of course, is the exact opposite of how our Father wants us to live. He knows us inside out…our struggles, our vulnerabilities, our hearts’ desires. He longs for us to live in the Shalom of the abundant life He suffered and died for us to have. Anxiety, worry, and fretfulness are not part of His plan for us.

   Lately, in my retired state, I have become aware of my underlying concern that I am spending my life the way He wants me to. Am I wasting the gift of time He has given me? Am I fulfilling the destiny and meeting the divine appointments He has planned for me? Am I leaving untapped some of the. gifts He placed in me before I was born?  Are there people whose lives He wants me to touch that I am too lazy or too uncomfortable to pursue? Will He speak over me when I come Home to Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Sometimes I feel like Dorie that I need to “just keep swimming,” but maybe even harder.

   He knows my heart and those of all His children. He is merciful and forgiving and full of lovingkindness. This I know. That is the very reason I want to please Him by the way I live my life. This morning, because He always reads my heart, He told me (as best I can record: “I love you. Don’t fret. I will show you (and remind you ha ha^) what to do. Flow in the river of My grace. You don’t need to do laps. Settle into My grace and float on your back. I will keep you buoyant. Your head will not go under water. It is panic and anxiety that can lead to drowning.”

   Have you ever felt that you were “not enough”? Are you, too, sometimes attacked by “free-floating” anxiety or awash in the sense that you aren’t doing enough, that you must keep swimming harder to please others…or, more, importantly, your Heavenly Father? 

   Turn over on your back and float in His grace. Keep your ear attuned to Him. He won’t allow your head to go under water. You will find the true Shalom of His abundant life. There, floating peacefully on your back, look up.

*********

• Here is one of my drawings for God from my journal from 2020. No fair making fun of my ‘art.’  

• For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].  —John 1:16 AMP
• 
  
• Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb —Revelation 22:1

• Ezekiel 47 also describes the river flowing from under the throne of God

• “To “drink deeply” of the Spirit is the same as receiving his power and gifts until rivers of living water flow from the inside of us. See John 3:34; 7:37.” —Brian Simmons, TPT note from 1. Corinthians p-12-13
• 
  
• ^I have difficulty, sometimes, recording the chuckle or outright laughter I hear from Him. He is also a great punster. (To remind ‘Dorie’ is worth a guffaw.)
  

Overboard: Is it fear or wisdom?

   

  A friend recently shared her dream with me. (I am deliberately keeping any identities vague.) She and a loved one were on a cruise, but the ship was traveling not in a warm climate but in a colder one, with waves fomenting around them. Somehow (as one can in dreams) they were high on the ship above these waters, almost as if in a crow’s nest of a sailing ship.  Her loved one was wearing a backpack 🎒 chocked full, which she suddenly removed from her shoulders and hurled into the churning sea. In the dream, my friend was at first totally aghast, because the backpack’s contents had included a large number of provisions. However, she then began to wonder….

   As soon as she described the dream, I knew the hurling of the backpack was a good thing, despite the provisions it carried. I knew that backpacks often represent burdens weighing us down. But provisions? How do they fit in the picture?

   Obvious candidates for burdens include: unforgiveness, hurts, offenses, financial worries, concerns about our families, health issues, anxieties about the future, unshakable guilt, old mistakes and outright sins. We could all generate a list of more backpack items which need to be thrown overboard to free us from their weight. We know the Lord does not want us carrying these things wherever we go, especially since He suffered so to deliver us from them. 

   But back to my question: why “provisions”? Aren’t they good? Doesn’t God promise to provide for us? Doesn’t He declare Himself our Yahweh Yireh?* Yes, indeed! However, suddenly it hit me that we don’t carry His provision around on our backs. He is our ongoing  Provider. Are the provisions we’re lugging around on our own shoulders jammed in there out of fear that He won’t provide? Is the rock of anxiety in our packs, for example, our reason for trying to supply our own protection from loss? Ouch, Lord. Do we ‘hedge our bets’ just in case You don’t come through? Like Sarah+, do we try with our own human solutions to make Your Word come to pass? Help You along a bit since things might not take place as You said? 

  I know He wants us to be good stewards of what He has given us++, to ‘be wise as serpents and innocent as doves’, to plan ahead and not to be spendthrifts, to refrain from wasting what He is providing for us. He wants us to work hard ‘as unto Him’ in our jobs. Yet we are to do these things not out of fear but out of heeding His Scriptural truth for us, out of our thankfulness and duty to be responsible in using His gifts. 

   When we truly examine our hearts, what motivates us to carry around our own provision on our backs, whether comprised of our own solutions, our own ‘bootstraps,’ our own righteousness, our own wealth, the filling of our own barns+++? 

   Is it fear that God will disappoint us, that His Word (Logos or Rhema) is not reliable, that it might indeed ‘come back void,’? That He may love others that way but us, not so much? Do we in our heart of hearts trust more in the non-Biblical adage that ‘God helps those who help themselves’ than we do in Jesus’ promises regarding the lilies and the sparrows or the loaves and fishes? Yes, we offer our little fishes and some paltry loaves of bread, and He does not sneer at them.. He’s delighted with our offering. But we both know it is He that feeds us, body and soul.

   Let’s ask Him to show us if we have in our packs things of which we may be unaware, things which need to be not just tossed but hurled overboard. These may even be  as subtle as our backup provisions, cleverly disguised as proverbial wisdom. 

   Go ahead and hurl that thing, Feel the lightness on your shoulders and the wind in your hair!

******************

+Genesis 16

++Matthew 25

+++Luke 12

++++Matthew 6

*Genesis 22:4 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

*Colossians 3: 23-24Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Rendered

 

   Recently, in response to one of my prayers, the Lord said the following: “I will continue to prompt you, never fear. I will also transmit, transport, and render. Tenderly render.

   “What do you mean?” I asked Him. (Not an infrequent question on my part). He responded by telling me to look it up. (LOL God never stops being a parent.) I knew the words render and rendering as related to making a model or depiction of a design, as well aa its meaning of ‘giving to.’ (“Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”+). Beyond that, i had no idea how many other meanings there were for the word. Here is what I found for render (verb):

• To make; to cause to be or become
• To do, perform
• To furnish, provide……afford, contribute, supply, give
• To exhibit or show….including obedience, attention
• To present for consideration, approval, payment, action
• To return, to make a payment, as by a tenant to a superior
• To pay as due (tax, tribute)
• To deliver formally or officially; to hand down
• To translate into another language
• To represent, to depict, as in a painting

   Immediately, the thought occurred to me: “Lord, if You are ‘tenderly rendering’ so much to and for me (and to all those who put their trust in You), what am I tenderly rendering back to You?” Am I ‘showing obedience and attention’? Am I ‘representing’ You well?

   “Explain more about what You meant by tenderly rendering me and then how I can better render what will make. you happy in return? I look at the dictionary list and  realize the distinction between formally giving you Your ‘just due,’ out of obligation, versus tenderly desiring to respond in love to what You are creating out of my life. 

   I see Your Artist’s hands at work, molding the lumpy, awkward parts of my personality, my actions, my disappointments, and my failures. Massaging them in with the happier more joyful, fruit-bearing parts.. Tenderly sculpting, scraping off bits here and there which need to be removed, smoothing out the rough places. Lovingly turning my aging struggles and my lifetime of experiences into someone who can tenderly partner with You according to Your plans in rendering others. Others who will render unto You the love and fruitfulness You deserve and who desire to see more of Your form and beauty manifested in their lives. Are there relationships for me to form, mentoring to humbly provide, mothering to do, targeted, surgical prayers to offer, unconditional love and encouragement to lavish?

  I looked again at the definitions:

Meaning 1: “To make, to cause to be or become.” 

Meaning 2: “To do, to perform.” 

Meaning 3: To supply, furnish, provide.”

   You, Lord, are the Renderer. You do the work. You provide and cause and perform. Our part is to be willing, to be surrendered. All the while You continue the sometimes painful process in us, the beauty of others is being enhanced. If we’re operating in the fruit and gifts of Your Holy Spirit, no one else knows but You. Despite how we may  sometimes feel about our lack of usefulness (including some of us in our senior years), You are never at a loss. You say, “I can work with this!” You don’t set us aside, broken. Even when we make mistakes, are too lazy to obey You, or temporarily grieve You, Your creative juices still flowto create ‘beauty from ashes.’+ You rub Your hands together with glee and declare, “My child, there is so much more to come! Give yourself to me every day for continual rendering, that I may sculpt and paint your life, as more and more of Who I Am is manifested through you: My light, My Shalom, My creativity, My joy, My forgiveness,, My Agape love.. Until one day I take My  unique rendering of you Home with Me, where your fuller, more beautiful life will truly begin. And while you’re at it, let your continually rendered self encourage as many others as possible along the way, that they will one day rejoice with you There.

**********

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. — Ephesians 2:10

+Matthew 22:21

+Isaiah 61:3

If you missed my two “No Greater” posts, you might want to go back and read those: February 14 (No greater love…) and February 19 (No greater creativity…”.)

 *To find earlier posts: If you’re on a phone, click ‘see Web version’ at the bottom of the post, or open my blog on a computer or tablet. All posts since 2015 are listed on the right at Tennyandi.blogspot.com)

An ‘oldie but a goodie’ from the very early days of contemporary worship:

https://youtu.be/MneanjtBRns?si=DlrrKrtKQXd2Ev1U

 

When it’s never TMI

  

       I am continuing to slowly work my way through “The Names of God” book* by Ann Spangler. I arrived today at Philos, “Friend” or “Relative.” It never fails to astound me that Yeshua calls those who believe, obey, and trust in Him, friends. He is after all Creator and King of the Cosmos. I know He loves us deeply, but friends? This condescension+ is almost too great for me to grasp, yet I rejoice in it. 

   This morning I began a list of what a relationship with a close friend is like. (Jesus is not just an ‘acquaintance’.) As I did, I compared each aspect to my current interactions with Him. Yes, He is my trusted Savior and Lord, but in what ways, if any, is He truly my closest friend? Here is what I came up with so far as characteristic of a close friendship:

• I share my foibles
• I share funny stories, mostly at my own expense
• I share my deepest hopes and fears (the kind I wouldn’t tell others)
• I share my disappointments, without explaining that I know I shouldn’t feel the way I do
• I don’t keep things back from sheer embarrassment or TMI
• I share my true self without fear of judgment, criticism or rejection
• I ask for prayer, for guidance, for discernment 
• I ask my friend about what she is going through and how I can pray for her. I listen to her hopes, fears, and funny stories. I reciprocate all of the above.
• It is not a one-sided relationship, with her doing all the listening, all the caring, all the carrying of my burdens.
• I want to know what is on her heart, not just have her listen to mine. (I have experienced ‘friendships’ like the latter.)

   As I ran the lyrics to the hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus through my mind, I began to ponder if the song accurately described a close friendship. Are there aspects missing in this wonderful hymn?

1. 
   
2. What a friend we have in Jesus,
   All our sins and griefs to bear!
   What a privilege to carry
   Everything to God in prayer!
   Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
   Oh, what needless pain we bear,
   All because we do not carry
   Everything to God in prayer!
3. Have we trials and temptations?
   Is there trouble anywhere?
   We should never be discouraged—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Can we find a friend so faithful,
   Who will all our sorrows share?
   Jesus knows our every weakness;
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
4. Are we weak and heavy-laden,
   Cumbered with a load of care?
   Precious Savior, still our refuge—
   Take it to the Lord in prayer.
   Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
   Take it to the Lord in prayer!
   In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
   Thou wilt find a solace there.
5. Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
   Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
   May we ever, Lord, be bringing
   All to Thee in earnest prayer.
   Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
   There will be no need for prayer—
   Rapture, praise, and endless worship
   Will be our sweet portion there.
6. —lyrics, Joseph Scriven; tune: Charles Converse
7.   Beautiful, right? True, right? But Is our friendship with Yeshua (in fact, with the whole of the Trinity) reciprocal? Do we ask Him what is on His heart, what He wants us to pray for, declare, and decree? Are we truly partnering with Him for His will to be done? Do we pray for those He loves, listening for His prompts? (Obeying His prompts even when we don’t want to) Do we do so in the same way in which we pray for those on the hearts of our close human friends? Do our hearts hurt and celebrate when His does? Do we mourn when He mourns and rejoice when He rejoices?** Reach out to help someone for whom He is concerned? Or is our ‘friendship’ with Him more one-sided? Do we share our needs, give him our burdens, and then turn and walk on with our own lives and agendas, checking back in from time to see if our prayers have been properly addressed?
8.    I know I am guilty of this sometimes. But I don’t want to be that kind of ‘friend’. I want to be a close friend ‘who sticks closer than a brother.’ One who is willing to lay down her life for her Friend. One who is as concerned for what is on His heart as for what is on hers. Maybe more.
9.    I love sharing all the funny things with Yeshua, as well as the heart-wrenching ones…and the ones that would be TMI for anyone else. He knows it all anyway, but we laugh and cry together about them. I know He holds my tears in a bottle***,  as well as giving me the kind of belly laughs that ‘do good like medicine.’ I want it all with Him. I want Him to say when I see Him in person, “Truly, you have been My close friend. Welcome Home and know Me even better.”
10. **************
11. *See post “When it’s ok to be gluttonous” from April 15, 2025
12. + condescension’s original meaning: to “voluntarily waive ceremony or dignity proper to one's superior position or rank and willingly assume equality with inferiors”….”make gracious allowance for human frailty”
13. ** “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. —Romans 12:15
14. 
    8 ***”You number my wanderings;
    Put my tears into Your bottle;
    Are they not in Your book?”  —Psalm 56:8
15. “It is almost unimaginable that the Creator of the entire universe, Almighty God HIMSELF, invites and even encourages us to come and commune ans communicate with Him.” —Bobby Corner 
16. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” —John 15:13-15
17. “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” —Proverbs 18:24
18. “Perfume and incense make the heart glad, but the sweetness of a friend is a fragrant forest.” —Proverbs 27:9
19. “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house.” —Job 29:4
    “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” —Proverbs 17:9
    
    22 “ A happy heart is good medicine,
        but low spirits sap one’s strength —Proverbs 17:22
    From Ann Spangler, author of The Names of God : “Confess any complacency toward those who are lost. Ask Jesus to assign your heart with His purposes.”
20. Related words: to Philos: Phileo: “to love”; Philema: “to kiss” 
21. Jadon Lavik singing What a Friend We Have in Jesus:
22. https://youtu.be/5XsXYTWVdGE?si=
23. 
    
24.