Rejecting or Rejoicing?

“He was despised and rejected by men…” Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)

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Lord, on this day of Thanksgiving,

Are You speaking to me?

Have I “rejected” or “refused”

for fear or shame?

Is my heart set on “man?”

Am I “despising” Your beauty?

Forgive me Lord. 

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I study a lot from the Concordance.

When I am questioning;

Inquiring of knowledge;

Thinking;

Searching deep;

A “word” will surface

In my spirit.

Turning to the Concordance,

Going to the

First mention (of the word in Scripture)

Often times,

Seeing if Jesus,

Himself,

Used the “word”.

(Although I know

All Scripture is God breathed)

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This morning

 between a

Thankful heart, and

Questioning if

I too was

“rejecting” the

Plans He has for my “heart?”

I went looking for the word

“Rejected.”

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Oh yes, there are

Multiple lines of

“rejected,”

(approximately 30 times)

But at the end,

Right after the

After the last,

“rejected”,

Starting fresh is

The Word,

REJOICE!

 

(Abundant lines of 190 plus!

Not counting rejoices; rejoiceth; and rejoicing)

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 Lv. 23:40  “…shall rejoice before the LORD your God…”

Dt. 12:7  “…shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand…”

Dt. 12:12 “…shall rejoice before the LORD your God…”

 

He spoke softy,

“Because My Son was

“despised and rejected”

You are

 Forgiven and

Loved.”

And you

“ …shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand…”

 

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My Shepherd’s protection on my path in life!

On this day of Thanksgiving,

I thank You LORD for

Your tender mercy

Of lovingkindness,

Forgiveness, and

Grace.

 

Gently speaking and

Guiding with Your

Wisdom and Word.

Let me not

“reject”

All the good plans

You have for my life,

or the work of

Your Son’s hands.

Let me

“Rejoice!”

Before You always

For You are my God

And I trust in Your

Protection on my

Path in life,

As I follow

Your Son,

Jesus Christ

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“But let all those rejoice

Who put their trust in You;

Let them ever shout for joy,

Because You defend them;

Let those also who

love Your

Name

Be joyful in You.”

Psalm 5:11 (NKJV)

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us Rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

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It’s All About a “Hug” in Elementary – “Questions Handled”

An incident ensued in the Elementary bathroom.

Two students were brought to the

Principal’s office for questioning.

 Conflicting stories were given

by both eight year old girls.

The Principal requested another girl

from the Second grade to come

to the Office concerning

the “horse play.”  

 

Over the intercom to the classroom,

the Second grade teacher was asked

to send her student to the Office.

 

Not knowing the circumstances of the request,

the reluctant child walked towards the Office

unsure if she was facing pending doom

from the unexpected summons.  

 

Miss Cheryl, the teacher assistance on duty,

attempted to assure the hesitant girl

she was NOT in trouble.

“Shelby, Mrs. Ryan

just wants to ask you a few questions.”

 

Shelby, relieved at hearing

this unexpected good news,

enthusiastically

threw her jubilant hands

up into the air

loudly exclaiming,   

“Questions I can handle! Trouble No!”

 

Spoken with the truth of a child!

 Isn’t this how we all feel on any given day!

Questions yes, trouble no!

 

Thank you for the “Hug” Shelby,

you made us laugh

in the most elementary way!

Round and round they go…Another day to play in Elementary!

 

 

Disclaimer:

The names have been changed to protect the innocent!

More than the Watchmen in the Morning…we wait.

“More than the watchmen

In the morning,

More than the watchmen

In the morning.” Psalm 130:6

We wait.

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Our pending trip to Jerusalem

Has been put on hold.

Not for fear of

Worldwide events,

but for

The health of one

so very dear.

Our travel “guide,”

who with her husband,

has faithfully taken pilgrims

To the Holy Land

for over the

Past 50 years. 

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Stopping,

Pausing,

waiting in Him

Who Loves us.

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“We wait in Your Goodness

To restore.

We wait in Your Kindness

To reveal.

We wait in Your Patience

To endure.

We wait in Your Faithfulness

To receive.

We wait in Your Gentleness

To heal.

We wait in Your Peace

As our Joy.

We wait in Your Love

For by this we know,

Your Promises are Truthful

For Your Word

Tells us so.”

Poem by denisebalog

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“If we live by the Spirit,

Let us also keep in step

With the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:25 (ESV) 

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We wait for You to open the gate.
“More than the watchmen in the morning,
more than the watchmen in the morning.
My soul waits for the LORD.” Psalm 130

So here we are

At the gate of today,

Lifting up Your name,

And continue to

Pray.

Open the door

That we may enter in;

Your courts of

Thanksgiving

Is where we begin!

Amen!!

Looking for Peace is Illuminated

As I thought about what profile photo

would best replace the red, white and blue flag

in support of France on my personal Facebook wall,

this photo, taken on Mount Carmel,

was tucked away inside my Israel 2014 trip file.

Looking up the place in Scripture,

it is the site where Elijah confronts

Ahab and the 400 prophets.

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After posting,

I glanced down the page,

and this verse was “illuminated”.

“How long will you go limping

between two different opinions?”

If the LORD is God, follow Him…”

1 Kings 18:21

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Yes, in the midst of so much turmoil

and world conflict,

His Word continues to offer peace and direction.

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“…and the God Who

answers by fire,

He is God.”

1 Kings 18:24

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The “fire” is the “shadow” of

The Holy Spirit.

And I choose NOT to go

“Limping between two different opinions,”

The LORD is God

and I will follow Him.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

As a Sparrow – Singing His Praise!

“Today I’m a sparrow;

“Neither reaping or sowing”

But yet!

My Father in heaven

Feeds me;

Cares for me;

Knows every

Count of feather

on my head;

And covers me

With His love.

 

“Are you not worth more

Than one of these to your

Heavenly Father

Who loves you.”

 

Yes,

Cut off from the flock;

Recovering,

My Father sends one of

His little sparrows

To land outside

My window’s view.

Reminding me from

Heaven’s realm,

“I Love you!”

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“Even the sparrow finds a home,

And the swallow a nest for herself,

Where she may lay her young,

At Your altars,

O Lord of hosts,

My King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell

In Your house,

Every singing Your praise!”

From the Psalm

-My Soul Longs for

The Courts of the LORD-

Psalm 84:3&4 (ESV)

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Jesus said,

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

And not one of them will fall to the ground

Apart from Your Father.

But even the hairs on your head

Are all numbered.

Fear not, therefore,

You are of more value

Than many sparrows.”

Matthew 10:29-31 (ESV)

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On a personal note

 – missing fellowship

with my Church family

 as I recover from what seems

 as a self-induced,

sever sinus infection.

 But yet, I will sing His praise!

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Photo captured of sparrows

making their nest in

the Wailing Wall

in Jerusalem – February 2011

Not All Poems, and Pros in Quietness

It’s not all poems and pros each morning.

This is how the Word strengthens

and encourages me for the coming day.

I pray you would be blessed,

and encouraged in His

surrounding quietness

and peace.

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This morning I struggled

to find my way to the coffee

and peace in the day.

The ‘Jesus Calling” devotional

offered the words,

“in quietness and in trust

shall be your strength”

from Isaiah 30:15.

Prompting the search for “quietness”.

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Finding several Scriptures

with the word “quietness”

but only once

mentioned with the definition

from 1 Chronicles 22:9.

A masculine noun from

the very word of “Shalom”

or “peace”.

David is speaking

to his son Solomon.

Giving Solomon

the promise of God

for his life.

His kingdom would have peace

for 40 years.

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“Behold, a son shall be born to you

who shall be a man of rest.

I will give him rest from

all his surroundings enemies.

For his name shall be Solomon,

and I will give peace

and quietness to Israel

in his days.” 1 Chronicles 22:9 (ESV)

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Quietness – #8253 – shetqet

– tranquility – peace – rest.

The Hebrew letters spell:

 

 

Sheen – the smile to know

Koof – in the back of your head

Tet – the surrounding Peace of the Son Who loves you!

 

 

I chuckled, for reading on,

David tells his son, Solomon,

in verse 16 to

“Arise and work!”

The LORD be with you!”

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May the LORD be with each of you today

as we “Arise and work!”

Knowing we are surrounded

by the Peace of our Prince

Jesus

for His Kingdom work!

blessings,

denise

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ps: photo of the 21st Hebrew letter “sheen”

Smile of Peace over the City of Jerusalem

captured – March 2014

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Sheen – 21st letter – Do you see the “smile” or “teeth”?

Reysh – 20th letter – Head (of a person). Can you see the flip of his hair or cap?

Tet – the 9th Hebrew letter. Word picture for ‘surround.”

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For more visual pictures of the Hebrew letters,

see the menu for Hebrew Alphabet Chart.

Koof – the back of the head in Jerusalem. Shalom!

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JESUS CALLING

Devotional by Sarah Young