Love

 

Prayer Shawl

Being able to attend the chapel services here has been pivotal for me in my life here.  If I remember correctly, they started back up having services here at Eden in October.  I had forgotten how good it was to sit and listen to someone teach the Word of God.

In November, Chaplain Conklin taught about the Jewish prayer shawl.  She had one with her as an illustration and it was beautiful.  So, I did a little bit of study on it myself and found that it has a lot of correlation to our spiritual life.

In Numbers 15:38-41, God instructs Moses to have everyone make fringes on the border of their garments.  This border would be made of blue string or twine.  This fringe on their garment, or what we would call a prayer shawl, represents God’s word.  Verses 39-40 says that “it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”  

It was a reminder of God’s 613 commandments of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, that He had given them to follow.

This garment was a long, narrow piece of cloth that one would wear over their shoulders.  They would use this to cover their heads while they prayed, using it as a prayer closet for protection.  They would wear this on their shoulders most of the rest of the time.

In Deuteronomy 32:11, Moses is describing to us how God shows His love and protection to His people.  He says, “As an eagle stirs up her nest, flutters over her young, spreading abroad her wings, takes them, bears them on her wings”.  

The second time that the word “wings” is used here, the Hebrew word that’s translated as wings is “ebrah” which just means feather or wing that a bird uses to fly.  But the Hebrew word that is translated into wings the first time is different.  It’s “kanaph” which is an edge or an extremity of a bird or an army that is used for protection.

This Hebrew word kanaph is translated into wings 75 times in the Old Testament.  I won’t go into all 75 times because y’all don’t have that kind of time.  I do, but you don’t 😊.  So, here are just a few of them:

 

-In Psalm 61:4 David says, “I will abide in thy tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.  Selah.”  The covert is the covering and protection that His wings provide.  The wings of God is a picture of God’s word, just as the wings of the prayer shawl represents the Word of God.

-In Psalm 36:7 David tells us how excellent God’s loving kindness is when we “trust under the shadow of (His) wings”.  In verses 8-9 David says, “They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and they shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.”  David trusts fully in the Word of God!  His writing shows his faith in action.  It’s as if he has fully immersed his life into the Word of God.  The Word of God is light. (John 1)

David said in Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”.  Then Solomon tells us “for the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life”.

So in Psalm 36:7-9, David says that while we hide in the shadow of protection that God’s word provides for us, His word gives us light.  The shadow is not darkness to us, but it’s a shadow that prevents our enemy from approaching us.

-The third passage is Psalm 57:1, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”

There are many promises of God in the Bible. 

The most important promise to me is the promise of an eternal home in heaven because my faith for salvation and forgiveness of sins is upon the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17, 5:24, 14:1-3, 1 John 5:13)

In Psalm 57:1 we can see a few promises of God.  First, I want to point to a promise that seems negative, that there will be calamities.  

In John 16:33 Jesus tells his disciples, “…In the world ye shall have tribulation: be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”  In this world, and in this sinful body, we will always have troubling circumstances.

The Crabb Family sings a song called “Through the Fire”.  It says, “He never promised that your cross would not get heavy, and the hill would not be hard to climb”.

This is where His other promises come in.  He promises that He will show mercy to those who trust in Him.  Mercy is us not receiving the punishment that we’ve earned by breaking a rule or law.

In prison, it’s common to hear inmates talking about applying for clemency.  On his way out of office, President Trump gave clemency to quite a few people as is tradition for a President to do on their way out.

Mercy is receiving a pardon instead of a punishment.

Grace is receiving the unearned favor of God.

Mercy and grace go hand in hand when we’re dealing with God.  Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

Putting our trust in God’s word provides us with mercy and grace.  

I love that; instead of receiving something negative, God doesn’t just put us back to zero, but He gives us an increase.  Mercy and grace is of God.

He promises to provide us with protection.  This promised protection is not against any physical issues but is a spiritual matter.  This is a protection against our #1 enemy, Satan and his angels.

Satan is not a scary red horned, pitchfork carrying demon.  He can be a beautiful angel of light.  2 Corinthians 11:14 says, “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light”.  He is a great counterfeiter of God.  

He is a master of making the ungodly seem godly.  

Verse 15 of 2 Corinthians 11 says, “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to his works”. 

Jesus tells us about how good Satan is at deciet in Matthew 13:24-30.  

He tells the story of a man who planted good wheat in his field but then his enemy came in at night and planted tares, which is an unfruitful weed that looks just like wheat until it is harvested.  His servants wanted to go and remove the tares, but the man told them that they will be separated out in the harvest.  Satan is good at distracting us from God’s order in our life with what we think we should be doing rather than waiting for God to lead us.

Satan is also a musical angel, as we see in Ezekiel 28:13 – “…the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou was created”.  And then in verse 17 we see that he is a beautiful angel. “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou has corrupted thy wisdom by reason of brightness”.

Our enemy is too strong for us to defeat on our own.  When we rely on ourselves to overcome our lusts (of the flesh and of the eyes, greed, pride, selfishness, foolishness) we will undoubtedly fall.

Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us on how to avoid falling into the traps that are set for us and how to keep us on the right path.  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”  “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

James 4:7-8 tells us to “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.”  Our only defense against Satan is to come in close to God.  

Micah tells us in simple terms how to accomplish this in 6:8: “He has shown thee, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”  

There is protection from our enemy.

Going back to Psalm 57:1, there is a promise that the “calamities” in our life are temporary. 

The complexity of emotions that I have had and that I still have, I don’t know if I can ever express in a way that anyone who has never been in my position could understand.  I know that the reverse is true as well, I hope to never have to understand what it’s like to have a loved one in prison.  

The ups and downs are rough, but they are double for me knowing that I put my family in the position they are in with me.  Yet, God provides comfort to all of us - as it says in 2 Corinthians 1:4,  God "who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God". 

I still have peace most of the time right now, but it has not always been that way.

One phrase that I repeat to myself a lot is, “This is only temporary.  Someday, I’ll get out.”  Granted, it’s a long temporary, but it will come to an end eventually. 

No matter if you’re locked up or free, calamities happen daily.  Whether they’re tiny or massive, we will always have troubles in life.  But each one is only temporary, it will not last forever. 

First of all, once this life is over our troubles in this flesh will be over.  The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17-5:8 tells us that our “light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.  In verse 4:18 he tells us to focus on the unseen rather than the seen (our calamities) because “things which are seen are temporal”.  

They rise up and then go away. 

In verse 5:1 he says that this tabernacle, or temporary body, will dissolve but we have an eternal body waiting for us.  And finally in verse 5:8 we see that awesome truth and promise that when we (born-again believers) die, or leave this body, we will be with God!  I love how Paul puts it, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord”.

Not only will our current circumstances change in eternity, but they also change daily, monthly, and annually.  It’s like riding a really long rollercoaster, lol.  There are ups, downs, in betweens, tunnels, and even loopity loops.  

The trick to riding life’s rollercoaster is found in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

The trick is to have contentment no matter where you are on that rollercoaster.  In my opinion, seeking shelter under the shadow of His wings is having contentment until the calamity passes.

One more passage to look at is Mark 5:25-34.  Here we find a woman who has had “an issue of blood” for twelve years.  This means that she would have been considered unclean for those 12 years.  She heard about Jesus and decided to step out and seek the healing that only He provides, as she had already tried the physicians, spending all of her money.  

She reached out and touched His garment and was immediately healed.  She had already reasoned that if she “may touch but his clothes” that she would be made whole.  I believe that it went beyond just touching his clothes, but actually touching the hem of His garment. 

In Matthew 14:34-36 we see a multitude seek Him out in order to touch that hem so that they could be made whole.  I believe that hem is the fringe of His shawl that represents the healing, protecting wing/Word of God.

For me, this means so much.  After my arrest, the reality set in after about two days.  The first two days were so chaotic that I didn’t have time to really comprehend any of it.  It was on Friday the 13th of December 2019, sitting in the seg cell in Mansfield when the reality hit that my life as I knew it was over. 

The climb out of that pit has been hard, but well worth it.  There were three times in the next two weeks that fueled the first few steps for me.

The first was the calls I made to my parents who offered unconditional love and forgiveness.  The second was the first letter that I received; it was from one of my sisters.  I underlined a certain portion of that letter and I sent it home to save it, as she offered unconditional love and forgiveness, and told me that my sin would not define me in their eyes, that I was still the same man that they always knew me as.  And the third was a conversation that I had on Christmas with someone who had more to be offended by than almost anyone else.  They offered unconditional love and forgiveness. 

Do you notice a pattern?  Unconditional love and forgiveness.  That is what God’s word provides for us, unconditional love and forgiveness.

I have experienced what I believe to be supernatural, miraculous, forgiveness.  I have been made whole by simply trusting in the wing of God, the hem of his garment, the Word of God. 

Growing in the Lord is absolutely a process.  I’ve recently found a program called Celebrate Recovery and it is helping me a lot.  It outlines a great process in which we can examine ourselves using the Word of God and we can make adjustments in our life according to the Word.  Would you believe it if I told you that it all revolves around Godly grace, mercy, honesty, and forgiveness?

I will finish with a great passage from Psalm 19 –

(7) “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

(8) “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

(9) “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous all together.” 

(10) “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

(11) “Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in the keeping of them there is great reward.”

I love y’all!

Book Journal - Harry Potter 3-7

I have finished reading the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.  These books were very well written and are relatively long.  

“The Order of the Phoenix” is 870 pages if I remember right.

The third book is called “The Prisoner of Azkaban”.  It’s about a murderer named Sirius Black who escapes Azkaban which is a prison for convicted wizards and other magical people.  The prison is guarded by the dementors which are creatures who steal and feed on human joy.  They are mostly controlled by the Ministry of Magic to guard Azkaban as well as Hogwarts during this book. 

It is suspected that Sirius is after Harry Potter, so Hogwarts receives the extra protection of the dementors.  Harry and company must now add trying to stay safe from a murderer as well as the dementors.

It’s a lot of fun reading about how they get through their school year.  Tensions grow between Harry and Hermoine, Ron, and their classmate Draco Malfoy as well as Professor Snape.

It was sometime during this book that I suspected that Snape is not as evil as he seems.  This is only due to the amount of trust that Dumbledor puts in him.

This book, just as each of the other books, ends with unseen twists and is once again building to the unavoidable war with Voldemort.

 

The fourth book, “The Goblet of Fire” is a lot of fun and was great to read too.  We are introduced to students from other countries as they gather for the Triwizard tournament.  Harry and his friends are one year too young to enter, but somehow Harry’s name gets passed to the magical defenses of the Goblet of Fire and it chooses him as one of the champions to compete in the tournament.  Harry has to battle dragons, survive under water and rescue hostages from the merpeople.

This book takes the story into a darker plot twist and we also see one of the main characters lose their life to an evil madman.

 

The fifth book is “The Order of the Phoenix”.  Now that Lord Voldemort is back, a resistance is reforming.  Harry and his friends now face ridicule and humiliation from the media and most of their school for believing that Voldemort is back. 

Dumbledore seems to be pushing Harry away, and frustrations boil over as Harry faces his future of having to someday battle Voldemort and his army.

This book continues the descent into darkness as evil continues to rise and starts its control over much of the magic world. 

The final battle of the book reveals a lot.  Harry finally faces his inner demons and also loses another close friend to an evil murderer.  But now alliances are formed, and Harry begins to build his own army. 

Through each book, Harry’s mysterious past comes to light a little more.  We get to see Harry and his friends grow up and come of age.  In this book, Harry figures out that girls exist, and he has his first relationship.  I’m not approving of the girl, but that’s because I’m rooting for someone else!

 

The sixth book is “The Half-Blood Prince”.  Now we find Harry having to have private lessons with his least favorite professor, Professor Snape.  He must learn to close his mind to Voldemort before Voldemort figures out a way to use their connection against him again.

Snape has finally been given his dream job as the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher.  Because Snape is no longer over the Potions class and because Potter has some help from notes that are in his used Potions textbook, he is now excelling in the class.  The notes were written in the text book years earlier by a very smart but mysterious student who referred to himself as "the half-blood prince".

Harry and Dumbledore bond while Potter receives one on one training from the headmaster.  Once Harry is ready and he completes a task, the headmaster confides in him how Voldemort can finally be defeated.  They are even able to go on a mission together which turns out to be what seems like a horrible turn of events. 

Harry finally starts to get close to who I think he should be with, but (spoiler alert!) the book ends with him still being single.

By the end of this book, my guess about Snape seems to be resolved, but I’m not telling you if I’m right or wrong though 😊.  You should read it!  And, once again a main character and one of Harry’s closest friends meets their end at the hand of evil….or did they?

 

The seventh and final book is called “The Deathly Hallows”.  After an attack from Voldemort’s army, Harry and his friends have to flee.  Now, separated from the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry and those he trusts must find their own way to figure out how to defeat Voldemort.

Everything goes wrong for so long before anything goes right.  Evil has taken over the whole world.  Magical people as well as muggles are being killed or kidnapped every day as they build their kingdoms. 

Many more main characters lose their lives as Harry has to figure out on his own the sacrifices that he has to make in order to take down Voldemort.

The final battle of this story is epic!  I can’t wait to see it played out in the movie.

 

The way that J.K. Rowling captures the imagination is great.  I’m usually good at predicting endings and spotting clues, but she is very good at creating unforeseeable plot twists all while answering questions and resolving most of the issues.

I will not give away the ending or even give you clues as to how it all goes, but it’s good.  The only question I have is….what was with the weird baby-like creature in the last book and why didn’t Dumbledore explain it to Harry?

UPDATE: I did figure out the answer to this question, but I won't spoil anything by revealing the answer!

Once I finished the Harry Potter series, I started on a new series called Quantum Prophecy.  It’s a nine-book series which follows young superheroes as they battle against super villains.  After I read the first book, I was not impressed at all, but then I noticed the “ages 9-11” on it, LOL.  I plan on eventually finishing the series and once I’m done, I’ll write about it.  If you have pre-teens, it will fun for them. 

Love y’all!

Love