Why Can't I Walk On Water

I sat on the edge of the pool with my 9-year old feet over the edge my toes barely touching the water and I was praying.  I wasn’t praying for a new toy, or shiny bauble, or family problems, or good test grades, oh no, my prayer was for something easy.  It was easy because God had done it before. I quite simply wanted to walk on water.   I had heard about the story of Peter doing it in Sunday School. So I figured if God could do it for Peter of course God to do that for me.  Right then and right there.

That is what I understood about prayer at 9 years old. First, you ask God for anything and he would grant your request.  Second, God would only do this if you had enough faith that he was able.  You had to do your part and believe.  So I sat on the side of that pool.  I summoned up all the faith I could manage like I was pulling it from all the cells of my body into one central point and offering it up to God like a sacrifice.  I stood up on the edge of the pool.  I took that first step, completely expecting to walk across to the other side. And…. Well you already know what happened!

For me, that was the first time that my faith wavered in prayer and I discovered doubt as a child.  As I sank beneath the waters of the pool, I was truly shocked!  After all, I asked; I should have been given at least a few steps . I sought; I should have found. I knocked; God should have opened the door.  My child faith was cracked that day and since then that tiny crack grew wider as I became frustrated over unanswered prayers.

As I matured in earth years and in spiritual years my faith also matured and I learned more about prayer.  I learned that asking, seeking, and knocking still must be within the will of God to which I must humbly submit and trust.  I learned that God isn’t a magic-wish-granting genie who pulls little pool-side miracles out upon your asking.  I learned that you cannot summon faith it has to be grown, and nurtured over time.  I learned that my God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent and he DOES hear and answer all of our prayers, who says his answer has to be “yes”, or “ exactly as you want it.”  

I have also learned that I have more to learn about prayer.

Take The Bait

(originally published in 2011)

How do you feel about someone "fishing for compliments"? I dare say most of us humans go on this fishing trip many times in our lives. I know I'm guilty of loading up the tackle box with the best lures and bait. I also fish in familiar waters, like family and close friends, where a catch is pretty much a sure thing. Yet even though I take these fishing trips, I am ashamed to admit I disliked it when someone went fishing for compliments with me. I simply didn't take the bait; especially if it is someone who is so insecure they do it all the time. This summer I was greatly convicted in my soul about this attitude. God has shown me that it is an area where I lack grace toward others.

I Balanced It ALL

“I balanced all, brought all to mind, the years to come seemed waste of breath, a waste of breath the years behind, in balance with this life, this death.” – William Butler Yeats

This quote is so depressing. Yeats was looking at all of his life trying to weigh it in the balance, every year of the past to every year of the future and he saw no balance was achieved and his life seemed such a waste.

Perhaps pondering whether the years of a whole life are in balance is a preposterous thing to do but don’t we often wonder whether or not our whole life is in balance. 

Balancing it all is impossible. 

Balancing it all is impossible. I said it again just in case you missed it. Even if you are trying to balance only all the activities in a day, this cannot be done to a soul’s satisfaction only to a soul’s empty want. That is what caused Yeat’s consternation. The sum of days, turned to the sum of years and all that was done before and left to be done could not be balanced. This is because balance isn’t about external happenings or activities, Too many times we confuse balance with a balancing act, like juggling. 

Balance is a state of being.

Balance is symmetry, poise, and equity.

Balance is the epicenter of opposing forces. 

Balance is not an act. 

Balance is an art. And living a life in balance is an art form to which I am just a novice.

Perfect Balance

The Perfect Balance

I wrote the following prayer while in the hospital on July 25, 2012. The group leader’s lecture was on Yin Yang and how most people mistakenly believe that the darkness represents bad attributes, but there are no moral good or bad associated to the philosophy. He taught that there is balance in the tension. This meant to me that without darkness, light cannot shine. As my thoughts allowed the love of God to drip into my soul, I owned this philosophy within the paradigm of my own faith, and this prayer sprang forth.

Where there is darkness – Lord shed your light.

Where the light is too bright – Lord give me the shade of your peace.
Where I am hard and stubborn- Lord soften my stony heart. 

Where I am too soft, yielding too easy – Lord, make me courageous through your strength.
Where my world becomes so big it spins out of control – Lord let me find comfort in your ways.

Where my life feels so small, I am confined and trapped in my own existence -Lord, remind me that you are

INFINITE

and within that EXPANSE

I find PURPOSE.

Healthy Thinking

Healthy Thinking

Ever since Norman Vincent Peale wrote The Power Of P

ositive Thinking most of society began to understand more about the power of our thoughts to affect not just our emotional state and health but also our success, realization of goals and who knows, maybe even world peace. Thanks to Mr. Peale, other authors and science we know for certain that HOW we think really does matter. After all our emotions, health, success, goals…and world peace are important things. For myself “positive thinking” sounds so cliche and so 1990’s. Instead I’ve been working on “Healthy Thinking”.

The difference is that trying to think positively or find a morsel of the positive to think about when the law of nature is that life is going to beat you up, a lot, is unrealistic. It is normal and healthy to have negative thoughts, to feel sad, angry, frustrated and helpless when the circumstances are there to cause those feelings and thoughts. However, you can develop some habits of Healthy Thinking that gives you some balance in your life. Healthy Thinking means that you can look at the whole situation –positive, negative, neutral — and come to a conclusion that makes sense rather than cause greater anxiety. It allows you to look at your life in a balanced way.

To develop Healthy Thinking is a three pronged approach. First, address your self-image. Second, develop a greater sense of gratitude. Third, decrease anxiety by recognizing “thinking traps” and tools to deal with them.

This little blog post could turn into a book so I’ll just let you know the habits I incorporate for myself and perhaps give you some things to ponder for yourself.

Self Image

What are 3 things that you love about yourself? If you can think of more than 3 then awesome! If you think of more than 10, Self Image probably isn’t an issue for you. If you are having a hard time thinking of 3 make it simple, perhaps the color of your hair or your smile. Those 3 things are your affirmations. Every morning, look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself 3 times I love you because _________. and fill in the blank with an affirmation.

The next thing is to start to recognize if you treat yourself as well as you treat other people. How many offenses have others done that you think nothing of but you will mentally beat yourself up over the very same thing? How harshly do you judge yourself versus how you judge others? When you find yourself in self-flagellation mode because you forgot to send that Thank You note ask yourself if your friend or relative forgot to send you one, would you forgive them. Then for heaven sake, forgive yourself.

Gratitude

I used to just think having an “attitude of gratitude” was making sure when I prayed and journal-ed I listed the things I was thankful for. Then I started to realize that it really had to do more with balance (as usual in my life). If there were a scale and on one side were all the things I were grateful for and on the other side were all the things I were frustrated with, complained about, etc. which side of the scale would tip heavier. That’s when I realized that I needed to balance that scale. So I’ve been working on that. Otherwise, my thoughts are not on gratitude, my thoughts are on the things on the other side of that scale. That’s not Healthy Thinking at all.

Anxiety

One of the largest causes of anxiety are what therapists call thinking traps. My 2 biggest thinking traps are: 1. LABELING – Thinking or saying negative things about myself that I would not say or think about others. The habit of daily affirmations really help with this one. So does not isolating myself. Being around my friends and family. They affirm me just with a smile and hug sometimes. 2. SHOULD STATEMENT – Telling yourself how you should or must act. I should be able to xxxxxxx. It’s an expectation that I put on myself, usually unrealistic but also, just as insidious, untimely. So when I’m thinking this way, I ask myself why should I be doing that? I’m still working on this one too.

A chronic illness can zap you from every angle and striving after Healthy Thinking is one of the best medicines in my medicine cabinet. The Bible says we can take our thoughts captive. It also says that through Christ we have the power to renew our minds. That is powerful, healing, and can bring world peace.

1- Introducing YHWH

The Names of God

I. Introduction – How names were different in ancient Hebrew culture than modern US culture

Q. Write down the top baby names of the decade you were born?

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/index.html

Names in our culture shift according to what is popular and most people want to name their children something that is on trend but slightly unique. Unless you are a Celebrity then you might get some very strange names. Like Moon Unit Zappa or North West.

2-The Names of GOD in Psalm 23

You will need your Bible.  I did not type the verses out.

With the exception of Jehovah RA-AH (The LORD is my shepherd) the Jehovah titles are not in the original language of the Psalm rather inferred from the context. This is a good way to practice applying the names and titles of God to everyday life.

3-Jehovah Nissi The Lord Is My Banner

A survey of Exodus 17:8-16

Open your Bible to Exodus 17

v. 8 Amalek was the _Grandson of _Esau_ which made the Amalekites natural blood enemies.

Esau and Jacob were twins. Their story is told in Genesis. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of bean soup. As a result they separated paths. Jacob later became the founding father of Israel. His name was changed to Israel. Each of his 12 sons became the father of a tribe of all the Jewish nation we know now. Jacob and Esau later reconciled but the Amalek must not have shared in his grandfather’s feelings. His nomadic tribe made their living off of raiding settlements and commentaries say they killed for pleasure. When the Israelites became a target, they remained in Amalek’s sites and in Exodus 17:8-16 the Amalekites will be in a battle that changes history.

4-Jehovah Shalom

As with each of the names, or titles of God, Jehovah Shalom was ascribed by a human being who had an amazing, life altering experience with the creator. The name of the man who ascribed "Shalom" to Jehovah was Gideon. Most understand that "Shalom" means peace, but in actuality it has a much deeper meaning than just that one word can hold.

Numbers From A Sky View

Wah! Wah! Wah! Complain, Complain, Complain.... This is all the Israelites seemed to be doing on their trek to freedom to a "promised land". Yet with this enticing destination in mind they automatically began complaining about EVERYTHING. Complaints are not necessarily bad, in and of themselves. If an egregious situation occurs complaining through the proper chancels can bring positive results.

Soul Winter

Soul Winter
originally posted in 2007

A gray sky looming, overshadowing

Grass with a futile existence sitting brown - useless

Spent crops taking up space

Dried up vegetation waiting - ineffective

Fruitless trees swaying with barren dismal branches

Reaching out for hope

Looming, overshadowing, futile existence

Spent yet taking up space

Dried up, sitting and waiting - ineffective

Fruitless, swaying and dismal

Reaching out for hope

It's a snow day. The kids and I are home enjoying the warmth of each other and our home.

One Frustrated Nut

originally posted in 2007

I've been battling Meniere's Disease for about 7 years. I thought it had the best of me last year, but a surgery performed in June took care of the rotational vertigo and I've been able to function again.

However, beginning in January of this year I've had attack after attack.

Swirl

The Swirl 

A wide vortex to take you a long for the ride.

You get sucked in and at first it's just a nice little spin

But the swirl gets tighter

closer

closing in

you're stuck

there's no escape

tighter and tighter the vortex squeezes you

where is it leading

it gets smaller and smaller as it continues to spiral

spiraling smaller and smaller to infinitesimal nothingness

spiral out of control

no control of life

no fun

no point

no thing

The Oak Tree

The Oak Tree

original post 2007

A Message Of Encouragement From My Daughter-in-Law

A mighty wind blew night and day

It stole the oak tree's leaves away,

Scattered Musings Of A Restless Mind

originally published in 2008

Any fellow insomnia sufferer will tell you what keeps them awake is not being able to turn off your thoughts. Just for kicks, I'm recording here my "Scattered Musings Of A Restless Mind" with hope it will help me sleep.

Father's Day June 2011

Proverbs 4 - Father's Instruction

Prov 4:1 (niv) Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;
pay attention and gain understanding.

This chapter in Proverbs has grabbed my heart. Because of a non-terminal (Praises) disease I am disabled from working and many other important things in my life. This is a big deal for me, probably a bigger deal than it should be! (I am human, therefore the need to fuel ego.) Though I try to tell my self that I am "humble", I have somehow distorted that into a false definition; i.e. "The more I can achieve, the better I am."

This Year I Resolve Not To Resolve

Each year, as has been my habit, I find a meditative space,to reflect on the past year and strive to make greater Kingdom impact in the next 12 months. However, this year, I just couldn't do it!

I had to ask myself was I slothful, greedy, lustful, mean-spirited, covetous, or in anyway a generalized slob in need of a time of regret and mustering within myself the ability to change these morose behaviors. TRUTH! I am 100%-full blown-human-being.

The DO-NOTS DID NOT - Leviticus 18

Chapter 18 of Leviticus is one of the chapters that contains lots of "DO-NOT" lists. This particular chapter is regarding sexual relations and should certainly be labeled "readers discretion strongly advised". Whew! Racy stuff!

The list makes for an interesting read, but it isn't what grabbed my focus. For me Leviticus 18:5 jumped out of the page and caught my attention.

Roadkill

There is a Roadkill clause in the Levitical Law. It is found in Levitucus 17:15.

The Life Is In The Blood And Face To Face Questions

Leviticus 17:11b It is the blood that makes atonement of one's life
Leviticus 17:14a because the life of every creature is its blood

When I ask myself the question, "Why did Jesus have to die?" or "Why did Jesus have to suffer such a gruesome death?" the above versus give the answer. The blood that ripples through us with each heartbeat carries our very life, our very existence. The blood brings life and sustains life.

Leviticus 16 - General Observations

Observations
Leviticus 16 is full of treasure. One day I need to go back and give it more consideration and thought. So I listed the following observations to noodle on.

Atonement - Leviticus 16

In this chapter of Leviticus the Jews were introduced to the instructions for Atonement. Later in history this day became known as the "Day of Atonement" or Yom Kippur. It is still celebrated today. This chapter lays out for us the very beginnings of this great day. For the Jew this day is still practiced and is still necessary because they do not believe their Messiah has come. For Christians, Jesus has fulfilled the requirements of this day and its practice is no longer required. Atonement is complete in Jesus.

Among Them - Leviticus 15

You can just imagine my excitement when looking at the heading of Leviticus 15, “Discharges Causing Uncleanness”. Wow! I just couldn’t wait to read all about it. Ew! As in typical Levitical style there are no punches pulled or words couched in flowery language regarding such a sensitive subject. The law is laid out matter-of-fact with definitions of the various bodily fluids, the time of uncleanness and typical instructions for rectifying this state. Also, as is typical, the law is very practical and just plain common sense.

I Saw God In Mildew And Boils - Leviticus 14

There is a rhythm to this chapter. There is a cleansing ritual, followed by a guilt offering, followed by anointing. I’m not sure if this rhythm will be repeated in the rest of Leviticus, but it is obviously fixed in chapter 14. I believe I am seeing three separate ministries of God at work here. In fact, I dare to say I see three separate persons of God at hand. The cleansing ritual is indicative of the Father. The guilt offering reminds me of the atonement work of Christ. The anointing with oil represents the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Pure And Clean - Leviticus 14

Psalm 51:7

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Reading through Leviticus 14 can be a fairly dry exercise. It's certainly not overtly relevant and only somewhat intriguing. (As is the case with most of the chapters in Leviticus.) But when you look closely there are some insights to be gained.

A new type of sacrifice is introduced in this chapter.

More Than Skin Deep - Leviticus 13

There are many practical guidelines for skin diseases and mold/mildew in Leviticus 13 that ensured both the individual's health and the health of the community. If a person had a sore on their head they had to shave their head. This makes sense if the sore was from lice. Someone with an infectious disease was isolated from the community; thus instituting a quarantine protecting the community from disease. If there is mold or mildew found in clothing the clothing is either destroyed or the mold cut out to prevent further contamination.  Leviticus 13 is filled with practical guidelines for the care of skin and clothing.

What's interesting to me in this chapter is the role of the Priest. The Priest had to act as the doctor.

8 Verses And A Lifetime Of Lessons - Leviticus 12

Leviticus 12 is a very short chapter with 8 little verses all pertaining to the “ceremonial” uncleanliness of a woman after childbirth. So I figured this will be a quick blog update. WRONG! It’s taken me so long to update my blog on this chapter because the more I began to meditate and noodle, it became more and more intriguing and now I have so much to say about these 8 verses, this posting is quite long...so to the few of you who read my nutty, acorny, thoughts, Thank You in advance for hanging in until the end.

Ready For Worship - Leviticus 11

The instructions for the people given in chapter 11 of Leviticus are all regarding what they can and cannot eat. If they were to touch certain carcasses then they would be ceremonial unclean and unable to worship in the temple until the proper cleansing rituals. This is just yet another lesson to these people of the holiness of God.

Leviticus 11:44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy.

I've read or heard somewhere that some of the guidelines for what was considered clean to eat and what was considered unclean had health benefits to the nation and prevented disease. I don't know how true that is. But what is obvious, is that God wanted his people to be unique amongst all the nations surrounding them. He wanted them set apart, consecrated and holy.

Four Sons Of Aaron And One Holy God - Leviticus 10

As I stated in my previous posting, the picture of God I see in Leviticus 10 is difficult for me to reconcile to my understanding of my gracious and loving Father. But I think a helpful thing is for me to remember that there truly is only ONE WAY to God. On this side of the cross it is through Jesus, but in the legalistic era of Leviticus the way to God was through rituals and commands handed down by God, himself, to Moses.

One Way - Leviticus 10

Leviticus 10:10
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean.

If there is a key verse for the book of Leviticus the above verse would be it. In fact, if there were a key verse for Christian living, this verse would be a good candidate.

The Glory Of The Lord - Leviticus 9

Leviticus 9:6 Then Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."

Leviticus 9:24 Fire, came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down.

This section of scripture is interesting to me. The chapter explains the ritual sacrifices that followed the priests' ordination ceremony. It was out of obedience in the ritual that resulted in God's glory being revealed to the people in such a powerful way. The people were used to God's glory being in fire. His presence was with them as a pillar of fire at night. But this fire was different. A whole new system was being established where the people could get closer to God.

Ordination - You Are Acceptable Leviticus 8

As a pastor’s kid I was able to witness my dad’s ordination ceremony. It was sort of like a graduation type thing where the church leaders of the denomination declared him as suitable and validated his call by God. It was nice, we had cake. "Hey now", I was little.  The Levitical priests ordination was radically different.  They surely didn't have cake!

Leviticus 8 gives you a glimpse of a completely different ordination ceremony. Moses says to Aaron that you and all your sons are now special people called priests and you will be the only ones suitable to talk to God. You are responsible for making sure that the sins of the nation are atoned for. You have to slaughter animals, drain blood, burn fat, and wave animal parts around in the air. You have to eat portions what the people give you, because if you don’t eat it all, well then the people’s offering is in vain and not acceptable. This is your job from now on. But don’t worry; you’ll get paid in grain and livestock. Oh, and so the people will know that this is now your responsibility we’re going to have this big ordination ceremony. You’ll get to wear really cool clothes. We’ll slaughter a bull, a ram, a lamb and eat some flat bread with no yeast. There’s just this one part of the ceremony where I’m going to put blood on your right ear lobe, your right thumb, your right big toe and sprinkle blood on your clothes, but I’m sure you won’t mind. Then you have to go to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days and eat all this stuff we burned. If you leave before the seven days or don’t eat it all,...well...you’ll die. It’s what the Lord told me to do with you and your family, so I’m sure there’s no problem. Sound good? Aren’t you excited! Great, let’s do it!

Pure - Leviticus 7

I really hate the lighting in the restrooms at work. The bright, white fluorescence shows every little wrinkle, age spot, freckle and blemish on my face. The brighter the light, the more is revealed. The same is true with God. The brightness of his holiness illuminates my blemished, all too human heart.

Keep The Flame Burning

Leviticus 6:13 "The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out"

Exodus 29:42-43 "For the genertions to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. There I will meet you and speak to you; ...and the place will be consecrated by my glory"

Set my heart on fire.
Consume my shame.
Burn away the fear.
Ignite the passion that loiters within.
Meet me.
Speak to me.
Make me holy by the blaze of your glory
And keep the flame burning.
Forever.

~@w

Grain Offerings...Shhh Don't Tell Anyone Leviticus 6

The offerings were voluntary, costly and given "in memoriam" -- It almost makes me wish when I go to God I could give him something as a "Thank You" as I remember his goodness. I know I give him praise, my heart, etc. but the idea of a tangible thing being brought as a thank you gift is appealing to me.

The Cost Of Sin - Leviticus 1

I've been walking through the book of Leviticus. People much smarter than me have studied the pages of this book, but I'm purposely just going through it on my own. ...just me and the Holy Spirit.

The first chapter has floored me. This chapter is about sin offerings. The sacrifices mentioned are voluntary, burnt offerings given for the forgiveness of sin. As I read, I'm gripped by the cost of sin. I tried to imagine what it would be like to take a valued animal from my herd, kill it, skin it, cut it apart and watch it burn. It would be a gory, bloody, sad process.

A Sacrifice Story

Think of this...I announce to my family I'm going to temple and I go through the herd and select the prize bull. It's obvious to them now that I have sinned, in a big way, and my restoration to God is going to cost the entire family and perhaps even the next generation. I don't have to do this. The burnt offering is a voluntary offering. So I need to convince the family that my sin has caused a great enough separation between myself and God that the cost to the family is warranted and necessary.

What Is This Fellowship Experiment And Do I Want To Be Experimented On? by Anita Wilson

The Fellowship Experiment (theFX) is a 6 week Bible study, Sunday evenings 6:00 pm, beginning August 16th, 2015 through September 27th, 2015 at Brian and Sandy Durnell's home.  The study will focus on the plural Hebrew names of God.  The first week we will talk about the great "I Am" , Jehovah".  The remaining five weeks we will look at the Old Testament and see how the name of God is used in such a worshipful way by saying WHO he is with WHAT he does. ( For example.  Jehovah Jirah  Means The LORD who provides.)  Names had such deep meaning to ancient Hebrews!

But wait there is more.... 



The Fellowship Experiment (theFX) came about through a prompting of the Holy Spirit on my heart. A few weeks ago my senior pastor delivered a message entitled "A Holy Ambition".  It was about young King Josiah's reign and how he kept making decisions for God as he continued to mature in his role as King.  The pastor challenged the congregation to pay attention to what God may be challenging us to do and to take some ambition to do it.  And right then and there the Holy Spirit started nudging and poking at my heart.  That night I had a dream about a verse in the Bible.  When I woke from that dream, it was a very strong call on my heart to do a 6 week Bible study formatted on that verse.

I was thinking ,"wow!  I haven't led anything or taught anything for over 6 years......"but I knew I had to be faithful.  I've been taking baby steps for the last 2 years since attending Heritage and this was, well, not a baby step.

I didn't know where the verse I dreamed  of was until I went to THE GOOGLE.  The verse is I Corinthians 14:26.  From verse 26 to the end of the chapter Paul is instructing the Corinthians to conduct orderly worship services, but theFX is loosely based on just verse 26.  In this verse Paul begins the orderly worship instructions by stating that when you gather together everyone has a hymn, or word of instruction, or revelation, or a tongue with corresponding interpretation to share it for the purpose of strengthening the church (each other).

Here is how The Fellowship Experiment (theFX) will work, and I'm sure you will want to be a part of it.... Each week the format of our time together will be based on what each person brings to the group time to share - a song, poem, scripture, testimony, journal entry, etc.  To help engender sharing each person will have 2 assignments every week:

1. Pay attention to how God has revealed himself to you during the week
2. Take efforts to advance the Kingdom Of God in some fashion (share the gospel, spread kindness, joy, service or sacrifice.)

It is my thought if we live the week with these 2 things in mind we will come together on Sunday evenings with an abundance of things to share together.

We will also pray out loud together and in a prayer posture of your choice. This may stretch some people.  We aren't used to having our voices heard by others, but this an experiment, remember.

We will also spend time in Scripture, as explained above. My father, a retired pastor, and I will be tag teaming the teaching.

At the end of the 6 weeks.  We will evaluate to see if we want the experiment to continue.

I'm excited about theFX.  I hope you are too!!!!  Feel free to invite someone.  If we crowd out Sandy and Brian's house, I'm sure we will figure it out.

Please email me or Facebook me with any questions.  You can call me too, but if you know me at all, you know that is the most unreliable way to get in touch with me....

God bless you all
Anita Wilson

I Missed The Experiment What Can I Do? What CAN I Do?

Don't despair!  You did miss out on the fellowship part  BUT All the Bible studies are right here. Following are some suggestions on different ways to utilize these studies. You could take the big dive grab your Bible start at Lesson 1 and go through Lesson 7. But in case you are looking for some other ways here a a few suggestions:

• Read "What This Fellowship Experiment Is..." and start a group of your own. Feel free to pirate my concept for your own Fellowship Experiment and use without permission every word of the Bible studies myself and Pastor Sam placed on this blog. 
• Quick Study  
• Lesson 2 - "Discovering the Names of God In Psalm 23" provides you with a list of synopsis of 8 names/titles of God that can be found in the famous Psalm. The first, Jehovah Ra'ah - The Lord Is My Shepherd is a direct translation the other 7 are extrapolated and applied by the meaning of the verses as a form of introduction.
• Lesson 3 - "Introducing more Names and Titles of our LORD" is a simple listing of 15 titles of God and the scriptures their direct translations are found in.
• Targeted Studies:
• Jehovah and the tetragrammaton YHWH - Lesson 1
• Jehovah Rapha  The Lord That Heals - Lesson 4
• Jehovah Nissi The Lord Is My Banner - Lesson 5
• Jehovah Mekkodishkom I AM the Lord who sanctifies you. - Lesson 6
• Jehovah Shalom The Lord Is Peace - Lesson 7

My contact information is on this site. The best way is a text message.  You can also comment on this post.  God Bless you in this grand experiment of Life in Christ.

Anita

7- Jehovah Shalom (The LORD is peace) by Anita Wilson

Jehovah Shalom


As with each of the names, or titles of God, Jehovah Shalom was ascribed by a human being who had an amazing, life altering experience with the creator.  The name of the man who ascribed "Shalom" to Jehovah was Gideon. Most understand that "Shalom" means peace, but in actuality it has a much deeper meaning than just that one word can hold.  


As we dive into this story in Judges 6 we will discover this meaning and find out about the beginning of the journey of a mighty warrior when God calls him to his very first assignment.

We will go through Judges 6:1-24 in sections of verses as we lead ourselves to the name Jehovah-Shalom.

*V1  Again The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

AGAIN! It seems Israel cannot break this pattern of "doing evil in the sight of the LORD".  If you are familiar to this story you think of this evil as complaining or being ungrateful.  They were doing so much more than that. But how about God calling them a nation of prostitutes as he does in a contemporary piece of scripture. That's how God actually felt. Their continued worship of other gods. Their continued breaking of the very first commandment made God feel like the children he loved were prostituting themselves instead of prostrating themselves in worship.

In v1 we see that God had just let them reap what they had sewed by giving them over to the hands of the Midianites. Later in the chapter we will read that the Midianites and others were completely decimating the nation of Israel. Stealing all their harvest, livestock, any livelihood they could.  The Israelites were hiding in caves.

Years earlier, though, Israel almost destroyed the Midianites during their wandering years.  In fact they were supposed to completely destroy them.  

Numbers 31:31 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

3 So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord’s vengeance on them. 4 Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” 5 So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. 6 Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.

7 They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. 10 They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. 11 They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, 12 and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.

13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.

15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

19 “Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives. 20 Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.”

I placed the entire section here to show the magnitude of the commands that God gave to Israel in regards to the Midianites. I never fully understand this type of vengence. I think it is we simply live in a much safer world now than 4,000 or so years ago. It was a cut throat, get them before they get you kind of life.  But I am in awe of God and how he protects his children.  I'm pretty glad I'm one of his beloved.

It's a long passage to read but it makes a significant point.  It seems the nation was obedient to God's command. However, if certain individual citizens were not obedient to these difficult commands of God, was the nation truly obedient? I wonder why years later the Midianites are so powerful? IF God's instructions were followed by everyone years earlier there would be NO MIDIANITES left and Israel would not be experiencing this terrible problem AGAIN.

*V2-6 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the cropsall the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.

This is what I referred to earlier, the extreme oppression, hiding any place for safety, invasion, ruining their crops, not sparing any living thing...ravaged...impoverished...without hope for 7 years.  The Midianites are mentioned in the first verse but here we see that it was all nomadic tribes. They all survived off ravishing settlements the Midianites and Amalekites had reason to secure revenge against Israel.


The most significant thing about v6 is the last line 

"they cried out to the Lord for help"


*V7-10 7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, 8 he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, ‘I am theLord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

Here we see the immediate grace and mercy of our God.  They finally turned to their true God and cried for help and immediately God sends a prophet.  Today we have the Holy Spirit and scripture to hear God's voice but in Old Testament times God used men in the office of Prophet who would directly deliver God's word to people.  

This prophet was a human man who went directly to the people.  Later we will see an "angel of the LORD" that talks to Gideon.  This is a different being from the prophet we read about in these verses.  The prophet's message was reminding the nation of their sin.  What was it? They were worshiping the gods of the Amorites.

The highest deity of the Ammorites was Ba'al.  Ba'al required sacrifices of food, all types of food.  God also required sacrifices of food as well.  They were ritualistically still sacrificing but to the wrong god.  Interestingly enough it was their food that was being ravaged.  You can give and give and give, but if energy is given to the wrong thing the gift is absolutely useless and there is not power in the sacrifice.

*V11-12 11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Here we see a second helper in response to Israel's cry for help. This helper is called "The angel of the LORD".  This title is repeated often in the Old Testament and most theologians agree that this is an appearance of the second person of the Trinity before he became flesh; Jesus.  The Greek term for this is called a Theophanes.  So God himself  showed up to talk to one individual, Gideon.

Gideon was found threshing wheat in a wine press, hiding from the Midianites to protect the food. A wine press was a hole in the ground and threshing wheat in a hole would be quite uncomfortable.  Separating the wheat from the chaff in a hole would be very dusty, so I imagine Gideon came up for air and met the "Angel of the LORD" in the garden who informed this young farmer that he was a mighty warrior.

*V13 13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now theLord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Gideon was expecting some mighty miracles to be happening, like all the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the people who died touching the Ark of the Covenant... Why Lord? He asked.  He was wanting God to just do his thing.  Perform some big miracle and BAM it would all be over. Gideon never put it together that it was Moses' obedience that was the instrument  and Moses' body that was the vehicle of those miracles.  The Angel of the LORD was saying "you-Mighty Warrior" because God needs another instrument, another vehicle, another deliverer.

Here comes my favorite line in this scripture...

*V14 14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

The LORD told Gideon to "Go in the strength you have".  Wow there is more than one way to think about that.  Gideon what is the strength you have?  Your own abilities, gifts, talents and strengths.  NO!   Gideon the strength you have is all the power of the creator of the universe, because he is sending you and he is riding shotgun.

Friend what strength do you have? We have the very power of his Resurrection! Have you ever thought about that? The Holy Spirit actually resides within us. He doesn't ride shotgun anymore.  So God calls you GO WITH THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE!  He wouldn't make a mistake.  He doesn't call the unqualified, He qualifies the called.

*V15-16 15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” 17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18 Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

19 Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah[a] of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

As most of the Bible people we read about when they are called, Gideon was not real confident that he was the right guy.  The LORD said I'll be with you and you will have complete success.  But Gideon's faith needed some support after all it would have been since he was a child that he and his family had worshiped the one true God, if they did at all.

Even though Gideon was assured again that the Angel of the LORD would be with him he needed proof that he was the man for the job; that he was the "mighty warrior".  It is interesting that the proof he brought was an offering.  He had seen Israelites offer precious food of a starving people at the feet of statues of Ba'al just to see it rot.  Gideon wanted to see if this was really the one true God.  What would HE do with a sacrifice?  Would it be a waste of time, resources and energy? Would it even be appreciated? So Gdeon prepared an offering. I assume remembering best he could from his childhood years, because it wasn't exactly right...

*V20-22 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. 22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

As you can see Gideon made mistakes and added broth and since there was broth, well that means he also cooked the meat. However, the Angel of the LORD was patient and gave Gideon instructions on how to properly worship God through sacrifice.  It is quite apparent Gideon had no idea what to do.  He's just standing there with a pot of goat stew and some bread in front of the Angel.  If you sacrifice to Ba'al you put it at his feet.  Gideon probably figured he would just hand it over.  

Knowing this you can see so much tenderness, patience and grace in the Angel's actions.  Gideon really screwed it up.  Wrong kind of goat.  The goat? He didn't bring it live. Nope. He skinned it, butchered it and cooked it.  He brought along the gravy. He got the bread right though.  Gideon tried very hard.  He did his best in procuring the food.  It was a true sacrifice considering he butchered a goat. It could have been his family's dinner that night.  But the Angel of the LORD simply waited patiently.  The Angel of the LORD never pointed out any part of the sacrifice that was wrong.  He did nothing to indicate that Gideon should have known what to do next.  How wonderful our God is! We can screw up something as big as a sacrifice but he knows our hearts and he is gentle and kind.

Then when the Angel of the LORD touched the sacrifice with the staff and it was consumed by fire the Angel of the LORD disappeared.  At that moment, Gideon realized he was in the presence of the one true Sovereign Lord. Unlike Ba'a'l, this was no lifeless false god. This Sovereign Lord was loving and had real power to accept a sacrifice. Every time Gideon saw Ba'al he certainly couldn't talk to him.  He had no power to indicate he accepted the sacrifices. They always just sat there...wasted food.  One thing for sure there was no life in those carved eyes... that always stared off into the distance never looking at his worshipers No! this was Jehovah who has mercy and power and Gideon had just seen him face to face. He had looked him in the eyes and saw reality, and his faith grew.

To be in the presence of God is no small thing.  Every instance is marked by fear.  I feel it would be not a horrifying fear, but a reverent-awe-filled-I'm so small fear.  I can't wait to experience this fear for myself!

*V23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

God is now speaking directly to Gideon here.  Remember the Angel of the LORD disappeared.  The first word God says to him is "Peace".  I can imagine Gideon's emotions being like a storm and God, speaking into it saying "Peace, be still".  Notice that God points out the one fear that Gideon has that is holding him back. God says to him "You will not die" . Gideon wasn't afraid that he had never led an army before, or he would be needed to work the farm, or he would have the right skills, his greatest fear was....death.

Gideon found his faith again through his experience with the Angel of the LORD. Gideon's fear of death was conquered during a talk with God. Those experiences brought so much Peace to him he wanted to memorialize this occasion by building an altar. Which is an interesting and perfect memorial to choose. It's a place to do a proper sacrifice. Once completed he named it Jehovah Shalom, The Lord Is Peace.  

More About Shalom

Shalom has evolved culturally since Gideon's day into a greeting. Perhaps it was because it was the first word God said to Gideon? But it is not just a simple substitute for Hello.  It is also not just phrase saying "peace to you".  Because of this story in Judges 6 Shalom actually means "Peace to you, may all be as God designed it to be."    

*If the Midianites were completely destroyed as God designed Israel would not be hiding and starving.
*If Israel had obeyed the first commandment, "You shall have no other Gods before me." as God designed, they would not be in this predicament.
*Because Israel turned to God in sincere prayer he immediately responded, as God designed it, with mercy, grace and a plan, 
*Gideon obeyed, trusted, had faith and as God designed it, he became a mighty warrior who would lead the way to free the people.

God has specific designs for us how we should live our lives. These are not rules to make us pious or dampen our lifestyle but to make us happy, connected to our creator, better to each other, more content....how about this...a well spring of water bubbling up into everlasting life....joy unspeakable and full of glory....God is able to do more than you can imagine.  

If there is an area in your life that is causing you a great deal of pain, it is likely because you did not follow God's design. We all foul it up like Gideon's sacrifice. God is patient, gracious and he knows how to build just the right exit ramps in his design to get us back on track.

I would like to help if I can. I can at send you relevant scripture, pray for you and recommend other reading resources.

So what goat gravy did you have to pour out?
Hurting relationship?  God has a design for that.
Dating?  God has a design for that.
Addiction? God has a design for that.
Chronic illness? God has a design for that.

Just think of the PEACE that you would have if ALL in your life was just as Jehovah Shalom has designed it to be.

Anita Wilson