DREAMS AND VISIONS
June 20, 2017
Growing In Trust Pt. 2
June 20, 2017
SELAH – (To Pause and Calmly Think About That) – Poetry
June 13, 2017
Do we take the time to just “Selah”
To rest in the moment
To ponder the sky
To treasure the moment
The richness therein
We could just sit for hours
Much better than zen
To sit and to think
Meditate where we are
The blessings in life
What has brought us this far
Or do we allow
Our thoughts to be sold
Down the river of doubt
Where darkness takes hold
Do we surround ourselves
With radical noise
Music, T.V.
Or technologies toys
We are being so robbed
We do it ourselves
Let society dominate
It comes in so stealth
The heart of Creator
Cries out loud
All the beauty He’s made
Treasures to be found
Ignored and bypassed
For something much less
The splendor of creation
Under the rug it gets swept
Don’t let technology
Become your God
Forgetting who made you
Forgetting His love
Stop and “Selah”
You can choose to awake
Don’t be swept down the river
Of His Wonders partake
copyright Jean Chamblee 2010
Question: “What does selah mean in the Bible?”
Answer: The word selah is found in two books of the Bible, but is most prevalent in the Psalms, where it appears 71 times. It also appears three times in the third chapter of the minor prophet Habakkuk.
There is a great deal of uncertainty about the meaning of selah. Most versions of the Bible do not attempt to translate selah but simply transliterate the word straight from the Hebrew. The Septuagint translated the word as “daplasma” (“a division”). Well-meaning Bible scholars disagree on the definition of selah and on its root word, but since God has ordained that it be included in His Word, we should make an effort to find out, as best we can, the meaning.
One possible Hebrew word related to selah is calah, which means “to hang” or “to measure or weigh in the balances.” Referring to wisdom, Job says, “The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold” (Job 28:19). The word translated “valued” in this verse is the Hebrew calah. Here Job is saying that wisdom is beyond comparing against even jewels, and when weighed in the balance against wisdom, the finest jewels cannot equal its value.
Selah is also thought to be rendered from two Hebrew words: s_lah, “to praise”; and s_lal, “to lift up.” Another commentator believes it comes from salah, “to pause.” From salah comes the belief that selah is a musical notation signifying a rest to the singers and/or instrumentalists who performed the psalms. If this is true, then each time selah appears in a psalm, the musicians paused, perhaps to take a breath or to sing a cappella or let the instruments play alone. Perhaps they were pausing to praise the One about whom the song was speaking, perhaps even lifting their hands in worship. This theory would encompass all these meanings—“praise,” “lift up,” and “pause.” When we consider the three verses in Habakkuk, we also see how selah could mean “to pause and praise.” Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3 inspires the reader to pause and praise God for His mercy, power, sustaining grace, and sufficiency.
Perhaps the best way to think of selah is a combination of all these meanings. The Amplified Bible adds “pause and calmly think about that” to each verse where selah appears. When we see the word selah in a psalm or in Habakkuk 3, we should pause to carefully weigh the meaning of what we have just read or heard, lifting up our hearts in praise to God for His great truths. “All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name. Selah!” (Psalm 66:4).
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
June 12, 2017
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Sometimes those who have suffered the most, have the most to give.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
DEEP WATERS
Don’t be afraid of deep waters, my love
This journey’s been sent from heaven above
It is at Gethsemane you are purified
In ways you can’t see, so don’t try to hide
Lay it all bare, at the foot of the cross
Let His word cleanse you as you follow it’s path
Clinging to truth, let all else pass away
Let it burn up, it’s not meant to stay
Deep into the waters you go
Let Him enter in to the depths of your soul
Stirring up places where pain still remains
Let Him expose them and pour healing rain
copyright 2017 Jean Chamblee
Bit And Bridle -Poetry
June 10, 2017
BIT AND BRIDLE
Hear I am a stubborn one
I don’t understand the Holy One
Resisting is not what I should be doing
He cares enough to show how I should be going
Bit and Bridle He must put on me
Until I can trust Him and it’s safe to be free
My loving Father is looking out for me
I know we will laugh at all my silly misdeeds
I hope to outgrow this uncomfortable need
With instincts so good that I don’t need a lead
Following His voice and knowing it’s so
I can trust Him completely and His way I will go.
copyright 2017 Jean Chamblee
Ha ha….I love this scripture. I’ve spent my time with a bit and bridle! Hopefully no more! But I love the “visual” of this Psalm
Psalm 32:8-9 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.
What Is Missing When Vacation Brings No Rest?
June 6, 2017
It is not in me. (Job 28: 14)
I remember saying one summer, “What I really need is a trip to the ocean.” So I went to the beach, but the ocean seemed to say, “It is not in me!” The ocean did not do for me what I thought it would. Then I said, “Perhaps the mountains will provide the rest I need.” I went to the mountains, and when I awoke the first morning, I gazed at the magnificent mountain I had so longed to see. But the sight did not satisfy, and the mountain said, “It is not in me!”
What I really needed was the deep ocean of God’s love, and the high mountains of His truth within me. His wisdom had depths and heights that neither the ocean nor the mountains could contain and that could not be compared with jewels, gold, or precious stones. Christ is wisdom and He is our deepest need. Our inner restlessness can only be pacified by the revelation of His eternal friendship and love for us.
~ Margaret Bottome “Streams In The Desert” Aug. 26
Matthew 11:28
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
REFRSHING RAIN
God, He loves you so very much
He wants you to come to Him
So He can fill your cup
The cup of your soul cannot be satisfied
Only in the spirit where His love for you abides
No longer chase the earthly things
For what cannot be attained
Only In our Father can come refreshing rain.
by Jean Chamblee 2017
God’s Thoughts On Prayer
June 4, 2017
Prayer
Matthew 6:5-14 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
God LOVES Honesty – It’s as simple as that!
May 24, 2017
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
May 23, 2017
So today I read a scripture that just hit me like a rock and went to the core of my being. It is written that His word is a “lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”. It shines into our lives and souls and shows us what we need to see. I am grateful, even when it hurts at first. Kind of like a splinter. You know it must come out before the infection can heal.
The scripture I read is this:
Matthew 6:25-27 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
And it echoes at the end…… 30….O you of little faith?
Those incredible words……DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE! As God’s word shined on that, I realized how far off the mark I have been. Have I been worrying about my life? YES, YES, YES! I am guilty, but I don’t want to be and I don’t have to be.
Can we really take God at His word? I did not realize how much I had been weighed down by worry. Yes, it is easy to walk around and think that you trust in God and for most of us we have areas that we are good at. I trust Him for many things, but as I read these words the lights came on and I could see how much fear had gripped my heart in certain areas. And I want out of it! I could see how I have let so much slip. I used to live by faith so much more, but somewhere along the line I began to trust in man, in natural things, it was easier to look for natural easily available solutions than to look to God to meet my needs and to look to God first in prayer before turning to something or someone else. To actually believe that He would take care of the problem for me.
I’ve always liked the fact that the Bible tells us that if we would “judge ourselves” we would not be judged. So even though it smarts for me to admit that I have slipped pretty far in this area of trusting God and actually doing away with worry. I want to read that again….
Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life….”
I want to walk in that. God has never said something that we could not do with His help and grace. I feel like I need to go through my life like weeding a garden and hunt down the “worry” weeds and pull them out. I am asking God to help me do this and I hope in some ways this will be a blessing to you.
It is written James 5:16 “ Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
There is so much in the word that we actually don’t “do” anymore, but I hope this is a spark. As I have been honest about my shortcomings I hope that you will pray for me, yourself and others. We are a body meant to be a part of each other for good. To reflect Christ. To be “doers of the word and not hearers only”.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. God bless you and I pray you have a great day.
