I am the apple of my Father’s eye I am sweet, overflowing, and beautiful I am protected by His hand and opened wide to let in light Given out to bring hope, I am useful Thoughts for the Day Genesis 1:22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Did you ever notice that there are only two things that God blesses and commands to multiply? It’s true. He blesses the creatures in the sea and the birds of the air, and He blesses the man and the woman. I think it’s interesting that He doesn’t bless the animals on the land or anything else that He created. I wonder why this is? Maybe because the creatures of the sea and the birds were intended to be food and therefore needed to be plentiful. I don’t know, but it’s kind of interesting.
I am silver refined in the fire I am shaped, I am hammered on the anvil of God I am slowly releasing the muck and the mire Each day that I wait I grow less and less flawed. I am a song in the blackest darkness A soft note of hope in the cold of the night I am a melody written by His hand A gentle harmony in the midst of the fight. Anthem Pt 2 I think it’s kind of funny that my mother-in-law sent me and my husband a list of 60-odd things that we are in Christ (from a woman they’ve been working with) the day before I wrote Anthem Pt 1. I guess God wants me to remember these things, too. My necklace is silver (the chain is), sort of. It’s kind of that silver that you get after it’s been in the shower a million times. But anyway, it holds the charm with the pearl. A long time ago (it seems) a dearly missed friend told me that I was a Psalmist. I really miss her wisdom and counsel. Her words have echoed in my mind for a long time. I’m not sure what a Psalmist is or what a Psalmist does. It seems that God is calling my husband into a difficult ministry; I hope that being a Psalmist is a way to support him as he prays to set the captives free! Other Notes In Genesis 1:3-4 did you ever notice that God created the light and the darkness (as well as the earth, plants, water, etc.) long before He created the sun and the moon and the stars? Those things didn’t get created until the 4th day! The light that God created was enough to make plants grow and to separate the waters. The sun and moon and stars were signs to mark seasons, and kind of as an afterthought to give the earth light. The light was already there. I wonder, if the sun and moon and stars weren’t there, would there still be light? I guess, short of God restructuring gravity, the tides would get really messed up… but what’s a small detail like that when He can speak and all of creation springs from His breath?
I am formed of sand and struggle I am smoothed by raging seas I am a pearl of great value As I become what He wants me to be. I bought a cheap necklace with a pearl charm at Wal-Mart a while back, and I was thinking about some of the reasons I bought it. The main one was to remind me that I am of value to my creator. But, He is also a pearl of great value. Perhaps He is echoed in my life after all.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. This verse is really cool in Hebrew. It says that the earth was unreality and emptiness and the dark was over the face of the abyss. And the wind/breath/spirit of the Most Holy relaxed/brooded over the face of the waters. I think it’s kind of cool how the earth was unreality and nothingness. I think abyss gives a much better idea of just how fast the nothingness was. The word we used for moved over the waters actually means to relax, to flutter, or to brood. I can imagine God relaxing and thinking about all He is about to create, to begin, to unleash, and ultimately, to die for and to finish. What a monumental moment! To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour. William Blake “To See a World…” Stanza 1.
Psalm 91:15-16 He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see my salvation. Want to hear something cool? Do you know that the word for salvation is yeshua? Yup, the name of the Son of God literally means salvation! I’m a teacher, and I’ve taught some students with some really unusual names… The name Salvation would have been one of them. Imagine Mary calling Him for dinner, “Salvation! Salvation, it’s time for dinner!” But in this context of this verse, it’s pretty neat, too. We can look back with hindsight and see all he different implications of seeing His Yeshua – His salvation for us. I also think it’s neat to see the things that God does for me: He answers, He’s there, He rescues, He honors, He satisfies, He reveals. I have to call on Him. Sounds like His part of the deal is much more extensive, yet how often do I forget to call? And God is faithful to answer me, to be with me, to rescue me from the midst of the storm, to honor me (this is a little mind boggling), to satisfy me, to reveal His Truth and His Light and His Way – Yeshua. That’s pretty incredible! And I all He asks me to do is call!
Psalm 91:11-12 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. There are a couple of interesting things to notice. First, it’s not just one angel, a “Guardian Angel” that watches over us. There are many angels given charge of each of us. Considering some of the crazy things my family’s been going through, I think we’ve certainly kept those angels busy! And if they’ve been keeping us from hitting the big stones, then man! They must have been horrible, because the small stones are causing enough havoc on their own! Much of the battle has hit home lately as we’ve dealt with the spiritual issues of our past and present. Even though there isn’t a ton of reference to it in the Bible, it’s certainly there. Of course, there isn’t technology in the Bible and it’s there, too… Oh, and this is the verse that is used against Yeshua when He is tempted in the wilderness.
Psalm 91:5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; This is an interesting verse. I ended up at Biblos.com because I thought it was interesting that it said the terror. There were a bunch of commentaries there that were pretty cool! Little kids develop a fear of the dark, maybe in response to a scary movie or story. They may fear monsters under the bed, but adults fear the things that sneak up – like fire, sickness, attackers, etc. And during the day, apparently sickness is often called God’s arrows. Other Jewish scholars interpret this to be like an angel of death. We can see these arrows, yet they fly swift and true. Sometimes they are calamity, other times illness. Yet, if I stay sheltered under God’s protection, I don’t need to be afraid. He directs the arrows where He pleases, and He can see into the darkest of nights. It doesn’t mean I won’t ever face these things, but under His wings He controls how big they get and the results of them. The arrow that flies may strike me, and I may die, but because it is sent by God and directed by Him, then it is not senseless or purposeless. In that, there is hope. To read more of these commentaries (which probably express the point better), head to Biblos.com.