Tag Archives: God

Urim and Thummim: Part Two

25 Friday Mar 2011

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"Kirche Gröben" (big church), Brande...

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For those unfamiliar with the Urim and Thummim, I was thinking that a little background might help.

Urim comes from the Hebrew uwriym, which is the plural of uwr, meaning light, flame, or fire.  Uwr is from the root word owr, which means:  ‘to be or to make luminous; break of day; to give or show light; to be enlightened; to shine, or to set on fire.’

Urim literally means lights.

Thummim is from the Hebrew Tummiym, which is the plural of tom, meaning: ‘completeness; innocence; integrity; perfect, or uprightness.’  Tom is derived from the root word tamam, which means: ‘to complete in a [positive or negative] sense; to be perfect.’

Thummim literally means perfections or complete truth.

The words are translated various ways in different versions of scripture:  ‘Lights and Perfections’ ‘Light and Truth’ ‘Manifestation and Truth’ and ‘The Sacred Lots.’

The Urim and Thummim represent counsel, guidance [to determine order of priests] decisions, to receive answers.  The use of them were a right of the priesthood, to give counsel and direction from God.  They also represent judgement.

(See Exodus 28:30)

Great is Thy Faithfulness

08 Tuesday Mar 2011

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Elijah Is Nourished by an Angel (1Kings 19:1-21)

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But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  Psalm 13:5

It’s difficult to imagine a life without trials.  Friends fail, relationships end, bills pile up and there is no end in sight. But God...has declared that He will never leave or forsake us;  will not leave us in the pit of despair, and will actually come into that pit, and get us. Even if it is a pit of our own making, whether through lack of wisdom, or deliberate choice.  He rescues us- not because we’re perfect, or successful, or good, but because we are His.  And because He does see the end from the beginning, He never gives up on us, even when we’ve given up, and, like Elijah, curl up under a tree and pray to die.  Battles won in the past recede into dim memories when new enemies appear on the horizon.  Thank God we don’t have to fight the new battles in our own strength.  Really, literally, Thank God.

05 Friday Nov 2010

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“The healthy christian is not necessarily the extrovert, ebullient Christian, but the Christian who has a sense of God’s presence stamped deep on his soul; who trembles at God’s Word; who lets it dwell in him richly by constant meditation upon it, and who tests and reforms his life daily in response to it.”        J.I. Packer

I picture the Human soul as a model of the temple of God;  We have the outer court- our physical bodies- that come into direct contact with the world; where people come in and out freely, with little need for protocol or permission.  Our soul is like the inner court; and few people are allowed (or should be allowed) into the inner court without care, wisdom, and discernment.   And then there is the Holy of Holies- our spirit- where we go before God and God alone.  Nobody- not  even those who are intimate, and dear to us, can go into this sacred place.  It is for us alone, and God.

Stability

30 Saturday Oct 2010

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“And there shall be stability in your times, and abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His.”              Isaiah 33:6

What is stability?  It is defined as “the strength to stand or endure”.  To be stable is to be “fixed, steadfast, and firmly established, steady in purpose; firm in resolution.”

One of the definitions I like is “designed so as to develop forces that restore the original condition when disturbed from a condition of equilibrium or steady motion.”  (Webster’s)

No matter what happens in our lives, the Word assures us that we can be restored to a place of stability; that we can have an unshakable peace in the midst of any storm or trial, and that everything will work out for our good.  God is in control.  It helps if we have already developed a habit of reading, studying, and turning to God, because then we have a place to be restored to.  We may have momentary  feelings of fear, doubt and insecurity, but if we have learned to go to God, and turn to the Word as our source of help, we can develop an atmosphere of stability in our homes that will help not only ourselves, but others.  There is something comforting about a person who remains calm and undisturbed in any circumstance.

Even though Isaiah 33 is referring to the Millennium to come, I believe that we can know the reality of having stability in our personal lives today.   The Word of God assures us that we can have a place of rest and safety within us, no matter what is going on around us.  We have to learn to live from the inside out; to develop a habit of perpetual peace and trust in God, and then reflect that to those in the world around us.  In that way, we become a beacon of light, leading others to trust in God.  In the midst of chaos, we can be stable, fixed, and unshaken; rooted and grounded in the Word of God.

“Thank you, heavenly Father, for the ways You guard, surround and protect us.  Thank you for the assurance of Your help and wisdom.  Help us to remain stable and confident in You, trusting in your goodness and your great love for us.”

Speaking the Truth in Love

20 Wednesday Oct 2010

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the Stainned Gless of depicting the Holy Spirit.

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Truth should always be spoken in love.  Sometimes our intentions are misunderstood, and sometimes we do not understand our own motives for saying things.  Spiritual maturity is about being able to hear what someone is saying, and sifting it through the truth we know about ourselves, and then asking the Holy Spirit to reveal what we don’t know.  God is not out to humiliate, or embarrass us. We have to learn to take these situations and lay them out before the Lord and admit that we don’t know what to do.  Words that are spoken cannot be unspoken.  The most difficult thing to do is to go back and say “I’m sorry”.   When we have reacted by over-spiritualizing something, it’s even more difficult.  Most of the time we’re not being attacked  by demons, but by consequences.  A hard thing to admit, when our reputations are at stake.  Sometimes, truth hurts.  But healing is not possible unless truth is spoken in love.  This is the value in counseling.  If someone has known a great deal of harshness and unkindness in their life, it can be a tremendously restorative experience to have a person who treats you with love and respect.  A good counselor models the love of God to their clients, and teaches by example what grace and mercy look like in relationship.

So, where does that leave us?  For starters, let’s be gentle, kind, and forgiving with each other.  In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul encouraged the new believers to speak the truth in love, for the express purpose of becoming more like Christ.  He said:  “Then we will no longer be immature like children.”  When we have a problem with another believer, we should go to them privately, and speak to them in a way that encourages growth and healing.  Children react defensively.  Not every situation is a ‘win-win’ situation, and contrary to popular opinion, this shouldn’t be our goal.  Love is.   Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is let go of your need to be right;  to say, “You know what, I’ve hurt you, and I didn’t mean to.  I’m so sorry.  What can I do to make this right?”  Think of how many problems in the church could be avoided if love was our primary goal.  Right thinking may be accomplished by Truth alone, but no true soul healing occurs without love, in or outside of the church.

“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”  -Ephesians 4:15 NLT

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“In Quietness and Confidence Shall be Your Strength…”

11 Monday Oct 2010

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Being a single parent is hard.  Being a divorced woman in the church is equally hard.  Some of the things said about you are laughable, some decidedly not.  All of it makes the whole experience as exhausting as being in an abusive marriage in the first place.

Most of what we go through, we will go through alone.  Private pain is exactly that- private.  There are some places even those who love us cannot go with us; sometimes we have to pull away from all of the other voices and wait to hear from God.  It is so important to know how to hear the voice of God for ourselves, or we will be easily deceived and led astray. Deception can so mirror truth that without a sure knowledge of the Word of God, we become confused and unsure of whose voice to follow.

Only God truly sees and knows what we go through, how we think, and why we do what we do.  The best counselor cannot go home with us; doesn’t see the myriad struggles we face, or hear the crying we do when there is no one there.  Only God.  But always, God.

The Light that Shineth in Darkness…

28 Tuesday Sep 2010

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For the first time since the end of my marriage, I have had a chance to stop and examine everything that has happened over the last ten years.  None of this is what I wanted, or expected, but God has been faithful, and everything the enemy meant for destruction, God has used for good.  I never expected to be a single-parent; but I also could not have foreseen having an Associate’s degree, or a Bachelor’s degree.  For the first time, I have the freedom to write, teach, counsel and mentor women to my heart’s content.  There has been a great deal of pain and grief, but there is a light at the end that shines brighter and brighter, and the path is beginning to open up to possibilities that were unimaginable ten years ago, or even five years ago.  God never wastes anything; He takes all of it- the good and the bad- and uses it for His intended purpose, and the light that shines out of the darkness is all the brighter for the fire.  And the treasure that comes forth is the light of lives changed, and restored beyond all that we could ask or think.

“…but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…” Philippians 3:13

17 Wednesday Mar 2010

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The enemy always attacks a birth and a death.  If God is ‘birthing’ something in you, know that the enemy will do whatever he can to distract, discourage, defeat, and disarm you.  The enemy is strategic, and so you should be when it comes to protecting that which is growing and maturing inside of you.

A death for the Christian is always a new beginning- and this is why satan attacks  whatever dreams, hopes, and plans we abandon, or die to, in order to give all that we are, have, and hope to be to God.  We have a tendency to cling and hold tightly to that which is dead, or dying in our lives; the permanence of letting go causes grief, depression, and soul-pain beyond that which we feel we can bear.

But, as my daughter pointed out to me awhile ago, “you can’t go forward if you’re always looking backwards!” Be honest with God- ask for His help; letting go emotionally is a process.  So is emotional healing.  It happens over time, not overnight.

So, what are you holding on to?  What is God asking you to let go of?

Welcome To My Blog

02 Tuesday Mar 2010

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Garden Path

Well, here it is:  the end of an old beginning, and the beginning of a new ending. I’m not exactly sure where this blog will go, or how it’s going to turn out,  but we’ll see where it leads.  I’m sure this will change and evolve over time, and as long as I get to write, it will be fun, even if no one ever reads it!  I pray that people are blessed and encouraged, and that they find hope and strength for their journey. I have a lot of ideas, but I will have to learn as I go along.  I will welcome any helpful comments or suggestions, as I’m fairly computer illiterate!  God bless and keep you.

Stacey