Sabbath Angels

Shalom Aleichem, translates literally, “peace be upon you” and is both a traditional Jewish greeting and the title of a poem commonly sung at the beginning of the Friday night Shabbat meal, although it originated with Kabbalists*, it is traditionally sung,sometimes with four verses of five.

The story is that before the Sabbath meal, two angels, visit your house to see that your table is prepared. If it is the good angel pronounces peace and the bad one has to amen it. And it works in reverse as well. Although believers are not celebrating the Sabbath, Friday night to Saturday night, and going to church on Sunday, there are many traditions and roots to Judaism that are both just interesting and applicable, like sitting down to Sunday dinner. The blessing an peace, though that may not actually happen every week as we go out to dinner.

It is really not unlike a good and bad angel on each shoulder, one drawing you God the other to be wicked. That might appear cartoonish or fantastical to intelligent people, still the spiritual world exists. And we should be walking through it and overcoming it. Which one are we listening to?

As I said, I study Hebrew, but I don’t necessarily celebrate anything. The Jewish new Year is next month and before that is the forty days of Teshuvah, turning back to God. Not a bad idea, to start listening to Him. We should know the voice of the Lord, above all others. A blogger friend photographed a baby bird in Alaska, it could hear its father through all the noise of the other birds, should we be that way, and sometimes birds are represented as both good and bad in the Bible, so we should Him above all voices good or evil.

After all He prepares a table for us in the presences of our enemies and anoints us with the oil of the Spirit. There are teachings to avoid and Jesus helps us discern. Kabbalah, New Age, mysticism, and yet there can be a some truth in there, tainted by the enemy deception and lies.

There is true beauty in the fact that He fulfilled the law and the prophets and is bringing us to His banqueting table, and He, Himself, said He left us His peace. John 14:27. That’s even better than having an angel pronounces over you. Let Jesus speak His peace over you, in fact, ask Him to.

Remember how the disciples, were to speak peace over a house, and leave if they did not receive it. Our hearts are His home, let Him speak and receive it.

The full text of Shalom Aleichem is as follows:

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת‏‏ מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Peace be with you, ministering angels, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

בּוֹאֲכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Come in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

בָּרְכוּנִי לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאָכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Bless me with peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

צֵאתְכֶם לְשָׁלוֹם מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁלוֹם מַלְאָכֵי עֶלְיוֹן

Go in peace, messengers of peace, messengers of the Most High,

מִמֶּלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא

Messengers of the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

http://www.sarahgeringer.com/linkups/ Some August links are missing but here’s my list.

 

Talking Angels

We are still talking angels as we move into September and finish a Summer of Angels. So I thought I would go ahead and recap a lot of the verses we have already gone through. It is always  good to restudy and rethink our thoughts on what we have learned. We keep God’s Word in front of us and in our hearts.

Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Exodus 23:30

Angels encamp round about those who fear Him and delivers them, Psalm 34:7

He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wing, you shall take refuge. Psalm 91:4

He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11

My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king. Daniel 6:22

Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. Matthew  18:10

And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. ( Jesus ) Luke 22:43

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Hebrews 1:14

For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? Hebrews 1:5

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. Revelation 8:10

And of course, angels are all through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. So many of the patriarch encountered them, including the Angel of the Lord, who in many instances is a preincarnate Christ.

We’ll talk more about angels, but if you have missed anything or just want to see some paintings or cherubs God back through our Summer of Angels on FB.

Jules Cyrille Cavé (French, 1859-1940), “L’ange pensif” / The Thinking Angel

God Keeps Tears

 

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8

God not only keeps tears, He has a memory book. Who knew God was into such things. I always like scrapbooking and journaling and ephemera, I’m working on my new blog with a Victorian theme, Writers and Roses. God loves women, He is the strong Fatherly type but had to create both men and women to express His nature.

And though women are more given to tears, men certainly should have no shame, when it comes to believing in a loving God who i our light and salvation, who gave His only beloved Son to die for us a cruel death, and purchase or rather redeem us. He gives grace upon grace, doesn’t He? John 1:16.

I like pretty bottles too, I had an old fashioned perfume bottle but it got broken. I have a small vintage Avon one and my mother bought me a pretty purple one. Tear bottles make nice gifts. And be sure to include the verse. Not that we want people to be in tears, like the verse says, He keeps track of our sorrows, and some versions say wanderings. How we must wander far from Him to get into grief and sorrow for He is our peace.

And it’s not a condemning statement, you can be close to Him and shed tears. It is just that we are like sheep wander of into worry and fear, sometimes. And so many things can grieve a heart. And even anger can well into tears and that is a good release. Never let emotions deceive you or destroy your walk with God. It is easy for emotions to manifest in other ways, and the enemy will be happy to attach a spirit to them and keep you in bondage.

The Holy Spirit is who we want to lead us and who to follow. He is our teacher, and He will not leave us. You know I’m sure if God counts stars, He can tears. I’d hate to know how many I have shed but I know that have set me free and perhaps others as well in prayer.

We have been talking about angels and tears. Angels are moving in and out of our lives like Jacob’s ladder or perhaps on heavenly stairs. And perhaps one of their tasks is to gather the tears of believers, and of God’s creatures. God doesn’t have love, He is love. And He keeps track of us and our tears are in a bottle.

Rebecca Jones / public domain

Angels and Children

I just had to write this post today, I know we are losing children to the enemy. There are far too many suicides from bullying, and not only by students but by parents. Yes, parents!

Parents are ignorant of the enemy’s devices. And don’t stop reading please, I’m speaking the truth in love. Sure, he can use television, movies and video games, but the Holy Spirit is much greater and is the teacher. He will teach children and they will have great peace.

I know people have difficult children, a lot of them are overmedicated, some, like a few I have been helping lately have come out of homes with domestic violence, drug abuse, neglect, worse.

I have not been able to help my mother foster more, because I have just been too tired. The labels we put on them are intense. They pick up adult worries and behaviors. They worry, they fear, and they lose hope.

They worry about money, having enough to eat, school, fitting in, standing out, being pretty enough, smart enough, good enough. They have so much to learn and often do not have the solid and firm faith founded on the love of Christ.

We are familiar with the verse that angels behold the Father’s face in relation to little ones, that is more than children, it is us as well as God’s children. I grew up thinking that there was an age of accountability.  I’m not so sure of that, though Jews celebrate a coming of age at thirteen, Bar Mitzvah’s and Bat Mitsvah’s. Thirteen isn’t grown. It’s silly, stupid and awkward. The cool girls and the mean, the bad boys and the bashful. They are growing up or being forced to grow up too soon.

All I’m asking of you today is for you to pray for them, read the verses that apply to children, rethink your parenting, and if you have adopted or foster, God bless you. The social worker at a meeting my mother was attending told her they had so many and were getting more and more, drug abuse is costing a generation of souls. Revelation say that is something the damned are not repentant of, as well as murders and other things.

I want to pray for you today for you to hear the Holy Spirit clearly,  discern the enemy’s deception, and I pray children are taught of and by the Lord and not just about Him, and for their peace to be great, calming, tangible. I am asking Him to charge more angels on their behalf.

God looks at His children with love, and all children. Over the past few years, I have seen them go through a list of medications, bounce off the wall, be prayed for, laid hands on and even spoken in tongues over, and still need more counseling, wind up in jail, drug addicted, fathering more children, be involved in domestic violence, not having learned  the love of Christ, perhaps not even receiving it.

I know not all people will receive Him as Lord, and like the ones I  mentioned they may have been saved and chosen not to walk in His ways, for whatever reason, they choose to believe the lies and go astray, but how many are never saved at all?

I just had to write this, because this morning I heard a little girl screaming I hate myself over and over, she had to go on off to school but this afternoon, I had a long talk with her looked her in the eye, and told her how much Jesus loved her, I also had to tell her about her family situation, because she knows. I just wish her family had. How do you inflict that children? Evil exists, but Jesus will not lose one soul that belongs to Him, children need hope, and should not be without it.

It is time to listen to the children and what they are saying and wacht what we do, even in discussing their situations. It’s time to stand in the gap, as Jesus stands with us, the enemy doesn’t have a chance in hell and I for one would not want to see one child lost to Him forever, is there an age, when do people lose their souls?

I know God gives everyone, every possible chance, even on their deathbeds. But I have talked with addicts, who lie about drug abuse, their brains are fried, their is no reasoning with them, they are not doing anything wrong, they will even profess Christ and say they pray for people while obviously under the influence. I am not to judge if people are saved, except righteously, Jesus says you know them by their fruit. Ithink a lot of people are deceiving themselves and destroying their children.

And unfortunately, there could be a flip side to that that some have already lost, sold or given away their souls, let’s reach who we can. we spend a lot of time in prayer for lost souls, lets remember to pray for believers as well.

If you are believer, I would ask you to please tell at least one child simply this today, Jesus loves you and angels are watching over you.

 

 

 

Peter’s Bitter Tears

While we are studying angels and tears this last week of August we must not forget Simon Peter. Peter was a fisherman called by Jesus, and we see his life and he is a great example for us all. He was, headstrong and yet heartbroken after the denial of Christ as He had prophesied.

Angels and no doubt tears were a part of his life. He swore, he struggled and he repented with bitter tears. The sad part is that he was right there with Jesus. When he wanted Jesus to become a ruler, he was rebuked by Jesus, who told the devil to get behind Him. By the way, he can get behind me too, because Jesus is beside me. But he also proclaimed Him the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One.

Peter didn’t arrive at that by Himself, it was God given. He was inspired. Peter was warned too, by Jesus, Himself that the devil wanted him, even more than Job, He is telling you face to face, Peter. You are going to be sifted. The devil wants you out of the picture more or less. Now, I studied this, and I’m still studying it. Peter had been breathed on, but he may not have spoken in tongues and operated in spiritual gifts, Jesus gives Paul more revelation on that.

We are told to follow love and desire spiritual gifts. If we follow, truly follow Jesus and not just what people say about Him, we are following love. And now we have what most people in the Bible did not, the Holy Spirit in us to teach us. H’e only came upon  people before Pentecost.

Peter, though well meaning, was self righteous, and self absorbed, but I am not judging him at all. In fact, his story has benefited me on many an occasion, I have been sifted, I thought I was in control, insert laughing and crying emojis, right? God is, and He as protected me from many faux pas, and foolish people and their pride. Mine was humbled and I was proud of Jesus and what He had done for me.

And fear is always a factor, letting the devil in, but I don’t think that Peter was all that afraid of being killed by the Romans, he kept telling Jesus he would  not betray Him and even cut off an ear from Malchus in the garden. Was it that He was with Jesus and was not afraid?  Had Jesus not healed the ear, he surely would have been arrested. Did he think he had something to prove? By now it was clear Judas was the traitor, but Peter still had been told he would deny Jesus not once but three times before dawn.

And he did, and even to a woman. Now, he probably was afraid. There is a movie I have seen where Jesus looks at him at the third betrayal, that is enough to drive Peter to his bitter tears. Imagine seeing the Lord, in a crown of thorns, beaten and bloodied, glance at you, as you deny Him.

Peter did recover and was always a chosen man of God, it was always Peter, James and John who were with Him most. He never took Judas to raise the dead or at least it is not recorded. Jesus forgave and restored Peter, privately, and asked him also three times to feed his sheep and lambs. While Jesus love was agape, Peter was still at phileo, friend love. But Jesus met him there as He will us as we grow and shed our tears. And angels are charged over us.

While the fallen one pursued Peter, the Prince of Peace pursued him more, and a angel would even rescue him from prison, though he and his wife were eventually martyred under Nero. We can’t be too hard on Peter, could we have done any better? Do we betray or deny Jesus? I can’t look away from love, and He was even calling Judas friend, as He was betrayed with a kiss.

Judas was the one who sentenced and condemned himself, his tears were bitter. Could he have repented? Perhaps. Some say the only difference was that Peter took his troubles back to Jesus, and Judas to the grave. It is time to look at our closeness and profession of Christ, we do not want to weep Peter’s tears.

Mary’s Tears

Mary of Bethany is one of my favorite stories, she has been confused with Mary Magdalene, a a sinful woman, but Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus anointed the Lord for burial. It was she who poured the fragrance from the alabaster box upon Jesus. It was she who washed His feet and dried them with hair.

No doubt, Mary Magdalene cried her share of tears, and we can’t even begin to imagine the heart of His mother, Mary. She must have had bottles of tears in heaven. Angels and tears are on my heart these past few days, how they ministered to Jesus, no doubt they gathered His tears as well, and we are the beneficiaries of those tears, the heirs of salvation.

While angels may indeed collect the tears of the saints and even the repentant sinner, the tears that are precious to God are a built in mechanism to release our frustration, and fears to Him.

Basal tears are protection for the eyes, from dust and other elements, they keep the corneal well lubricated, I hate having dry eyes, I keep eye drops handy. Crying tears from onions would be reflex tears, one of the three types of tears. Psychic tears as they are called are from emotions. I am leaving a link for you to see how different tears look and a microscope, you can see the difference.

Tears of grief, look broken.  Tears from laughter look like paint tossed  on a canvas, if they were colored, they would explode with joyous reds and blues, purples. And they might even sparkle.

Mary’s sorrow at her sin was evident, but she had repented. This sorrow was grief that He would give His life not only for her, but all of us, even His mother Mary, and all of them.

She sat at His feet and listened to the one needful thing, His words. And in spite of the religious leaders and the traitor, Judas. She made her way to Simon’s house. He wasn’t a leper anymore.  Pushing her way to a reclining Jesus, who was at  rest, and even peace with His destiny, she broke the bottle and wept.  She did what no one else had, to wash His feet, as was the custom upon entering a house.

There are so many layers, beautiful ones to this story. When we weep tears of sincere repentance, holy tears as we believe His promises, we are in essence breaking our bottles at His feet, but we are not anointing Him for burial, oh no, He will  never die again. Instead, we are allowing Him to heal and restore, even resurrect us.

We produce thirty gallons a year, I know many of those I pour out of my alabaster box at the feet of Jesus.

Kati / pexels

https://gizmodo.com/tears-of-joy-and-tears-of-sadness-look-different-under-1468602557

Heaven’s Tears

Psalm 26:3, says if you sow in tears, you will reap joy. A lot of people cry about a lot of things and for a lot of reasons. Some tears will be false and manipulative, even insincere, but God knows hearts.

I have seen people cry to get their way, like children and others almost like they have to. And men don’t usually cry, but Joseph did and of course,Jesus did. Personally, I didn’t cry for a long time, trying to be strong in faith, that was a mistake.

Emotional tears are what a lot of people cry, and you shouldn’t  cry so much as to be overly emotional, you can cave in and give yourself over to grief, that is not good. I know that first hand, God will help you discern.

But I cried, after hearing a prayer, and it flooded a release of pain and anguish. It even required more prayer. More tears. I have learned not cry over spilled milk as the saying goes, not over some silly remarks.

Yet, my tears are are deep, from the other evening they were over much deeper hurts, the way some people are treating others and the way they are being used by the enemy of our soul, it is really harming them. I pray intercession, sometimes there are tears.

Like Jesus wept, so do we when our hearts are hurting and broken, and when we pour out our souls on the altar of His grace, when we sow in tears, we will one day reap in joy, and He will we them all away. Angels may gather them but He stops them, angels are all around gathering tears and hearts to Him, but He is the only one worthy, and He will end the tears of the righteous.

It may be raining tears around the world as suffering is a part of life. God does give a free will and as long as people are not following Him they will continue to inflict pain, and I pray His mercy drops like the rain but also that as the tears pour, His joy will stir in us.

He is our joy and our peace, and He would not have us grieving and blocking His joy, not grieve the Spirit with sin and hindering His work in us and others. So as the rain pours and so do tears, He is sending angels into it and they are charged with working for us, His tears watered our souls from a garden and the cross.

And now our tears water the prayers we pray over ourselves and others. They are like seeds in a garden  and will have to come up roses with Jesus and joy.

Josh Hild / pexels

Angels, Roses, and Rain

Angels, roses and rain. Three of my favorite things, though it is a line from a sad old country music song. It actually says angels cry roses and rain. I doubt that is true, angels are not emotional like people, they do the will of God, and still it is a nice imagery.

The one who actually wept was our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Though it says He wept at the tomb of Lazarus, and over Jerusalem, and the shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept. John 11:35, you can be sure Jesus wept more than that during His time on earth.

So, if anyone could cry roses and rain, it would be Jesus. And He is still there making intercession for us. And the Holy Spirit prays for us when we don’t know how, even with moaning and groaning that can be expressed or uttered in words, it is the deepest for of prayer and love and love is the greatest gift of all.

Love is a more excellent way, it is above and exceeds spiritual gifts. Even though we are to follow love and desire spiritual gifts, in effect, follow Jesus and walk in the Spirit. Surely, the Rose of Sharon shed tears before raising His friend Lazarus, and who was there but Mary, and she anointed Him for burial and wept.

He cried over Jerusalem wanting to gather them in but they refused, though He would cover them with healing wings, they would choose to crucify Him instead. And yet, He loved them. And still does.

Jesus knows about forgiveness and He is the epitome of His Father’s love. Weeping can last more than a night but there is joy in the morning and in the light of His pure love. I wanted to revisit the role of tears this week, ours, His.

Surely, He has experienced everything we do and know our hearts intimately. He turned water to wine, and will tear to joy, beauty comes from the sorrowful ashes as the Spirit burns away, the temporal, the vain, the things that are of the flesh and not of the Spirit. It will cause tears as we shed our old selves and turn from the ways of the world, we learn to  walk in His ways that are higher than ours and think His higher thoughts.

If anybody knows tears, it is Jesus, and roses and rain are there to remind us of His tears and Jesus. And angels well, they aren’t crying, but desire to look into our salvation. Just thinking of angels, roses and rain.  photo pexels

Please enjoy my Pinterest board, I have and will add links to other blog posts on tears, I know soon He will wipe them away.

Angels of God

I have to let you in on something. I write a lot about angels. Poetry, stories and of course Bible studies. Recently, I had a post about stars on a fellow bloggers sight, She describes my writing as whimsical.

I suppose it is. But angels are very real, I know this week already some ways that have protected people, I get a lot of prayer requests, and sometimes I hear reports back. And I know they are out working bringing His benefits to believers, and making efforts to bring people to the saving grace of Christ.

I like to just think about all the things they could be doing, it is not out of reach that they sing with birds or chase butterflies. The probably push aside the clouds and blanket the night with stars as my post said.

They wrap comforting wings around you whether you know it or not, they might even sing you to sleep gently through your tears,  I have had nights like that and I’m sure you have to.

So knowing God and His angels are there is a great comfort, feeling His love is wonderful, embracing His grace, empowering. He has our tears and keeps them in a bottle, maybe angels collect them.

And I have to do is believe, to be still and know He is God. Psalm 46:10. And while they may drop  feathers or pennies from heaven to make us smile, they are not merely flights of fantasy or fiction, they take wing on the wind of His Spirit and fly high to the face of God, Himself and are charge with our protection.

Whimsical, is a great description, fanciful or even carefree would describe my thoughts on angels, and I know very little about them compared to what the Father does. I just want you to know that they are neither fairy tale nor fantasy, imagination or mere muse, they are real and powerful beings created by God to act on His words, that is why we want our prayers to agree with His will, and while many experience His mercy only, others will come to know His perfect will and walk in the Spirit, side by side with the angels, seen or unseen.

I have learned to take nothing for granted, people who have suffered and overcome a traumatic injury will understand or some who have had an near death experience. You are happy you can bathe yourself, go for a walk, or even take out the trash.

I am thankful for every breath and every step, and I am always grateful for I know I have seen His angelic deliverance many times, you love more deeply, hug a little tighter, value time and life all the more, your prayers are more blessed and you look at things with a different point of view. You might even get whimsical.

Seriously though, God is in control, let Him take charge and charge His angels. Here’s a link to my other post.  Thanks again, Marva.

Wish Upon a Star and Bask in God’s Glory

Restful Angels

I read all the time about how women are just so wrapped up with their lives. I t does appear to be a daunting task to get everything done. I have been at it today myself, the trash, laundry and now dishes are piling, so I know.

I linked up with several blogs and lots of other things that just have to be done and here I I’m writing about rest, and what is so great about it. I’m not even tired because i know how to rest now.

Hebrews 4 rest eluded me for years. every minute of the day was accounted for , even if was going to rest, I allowed the guilt and shame to enter in, and would end up doing and doing for others, I couldn’t sleep, now I can even nap. I had to give it to Him, I can’t do anything without Him. I really can’t.

Don’t let  critical and condemning spirit from others get you to not being a good enough Christian. God can do more when you rest in Him. You will go crazy trying to be God. We’re just not that omnipotent, no matter our gifts. And angels are to minister to us.

I believe angels are a part of rest because they are always with the Holy Spirit. Often, I hear that little, ” You’ve done enough. ” or simply, ” Rest. ” I know now when to call it quits, even if I would love to write all night.

May restful angels follow you and help you to rest. And here are a few verses. I’m for easy and light. So let’s listen, and rest.

to the children of Israel…..”This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. Psalm 62:5 NIV

And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. Matthew 10:13

Although this is for the disciples as they visit, we are His house, the temple His Spirit resides in, get rid of the den of thieves and robbers, worry, fear and anxiety and be a house of peace. Pray in the Spirit, or ask Him to pray for you.

Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. Hebrews 4:1

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31, even Jesus rested.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently on Him. Psalm 37:7