Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Shalom,

The Scriptures I want to share with you today are from the Book of Psalms. The Psalms (Hebrew : TeHillim=Praises) are a living testimony of God's people as a nation (Israel) and as individuals. They reflect the hardships and struggles of life, and how the people conquered despair through faith in the living God. We find a reference to that concerning David:

1 Sam 30:6 (KJV)
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

I believe that David used the Psalms to remind himself of the faithfulness of God to His people and His promises. Today we want to look at :

Ps 103:1-5 (KJV)
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Amplified Bible gives a clearer picture of these verses:

Psalm 103[A Psalm] of David.
1 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits--3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,4Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercy;5Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's [strong, overcoming, soaring]!

He IS the God who has done all of these things for you! As you study and meditate on the Word of God, you will begin to realize all that the Lord has provided for you. When that becomes REAL to you, you won't be able to stop the praises from flowing!

Have a great, blessed day filled with praises of thanksgiving for Who He is and for all He's done!

Shalom in Him!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Shalom,

It's hard to believe that I began this blog almost 1 1/2 years ago! My Pastor advised me to bring back some of the previous posts so I am going to be doing that in the coming days. Here is a repost of the very first one on this Truth blog:


Shalom!

By way of explanation, I want to share with you something that a precious sister in the Lord posted on her blog a few months ago:

The meaning of the word "Shalom"By David Silver
The Hebrew word SHALOM is understood around the world to mean peace. But peace is only one small part of the meaning of the word SHALOM. Here in Israel, even though we don't have much in the way of peace, we use the word SHALOM on a daily basis. We use it to greet people with, and we use it to bid farewell to people. However, SHALOM means much more than peace, hello or goodbye.

Strong's Concordance 7965 - Hebrew Shalom ..... A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.

Shalom comes from the root verb Shalam meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word Shelem means to pay for, and Shulam means to be fully paid.

Sar SHALOM (Prince of Peace) is one of the descriptive names the Bible uses to indicate the ministry and personality of the Messiah: Isaiah 9:6 - The Son of God is completely perfect in all things.

So in essence, when you speak out the word SHALOM - you are not only proclaiming peace, but all the above meanings of the word over that person - that's a mighty blessing!!!

Remember what the word of God says - "there is life or death in the power of the tongue".

We recently heard someone on a Christian TV program say: "No wonder the Jewish people are so blessed, because every time they say Shalom to one another, they are also allowing the full meaning (see above) of SHALOM to be pronounced over them. He humorously proceeded to say that this greeting word would be much more beneficial to the American people if they greeted each other with SHALOM instead of their usual "Hi" or "Howdy" greeting. As Josie and I adapted to life in Israel, we adapted to the SHALOM habit over the "Hi" habit....As Messianic Jews, we are called to bless you and we take that very seriously, by praying for you and by greeting you with SHALOM. Therefore, from now on, when we or someone says SHALOM to you, you should receive it as a tremendous blessing. And bless them back with a hearty SHALOM!

Numbers 6:24-26: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His face upon you and give you SHALOM. In the name of SAR SHALOM - the Prince of Peace.

(The above was borrowed from OUT of ZION Ministries.)


So say Shalom to everyone you want to bless today! You will really be a blessing to them!

Shalom in Him!