Awaiting The Return of the King on Zion

I often wonder during the pre messianic times in Judea the expectation among the people from the poor masses of people (who were considered rubble) to the Rabbis there was a fervent expectancy of His coming. Have we lost that today? Where is our passion? Where is that eager expectancy?....The time is near...for The Return of the King on Zion.

I love this ancient Jewish song called 'Adon Olam' which talks about the LORD's reign on the Universe and sings praises to His name. Here is the transliteration and translation in Hebrew and English.

Adon olam asher malakh
Be-terem kol yetzir nivra
Le-et na'asa be-cheftzo kol
Azai melekh shemo nikra

Ve-acharei kikholot ha-roi
Levado yimlokh nora
Ve-hu haya ve -hu hove
Ve-hu yihiye be-tifara

Lord of the Universe,
He reigned before creations,
teeming birth;
erst when His fiat
all ordained acknowledged King
Supreme on earth
and, when these worlds
shall pass away
He shall still govern,
sole sublime who was,
Who is and will be aye,
All Glorious to the end of time.

Blessings & Shalom

SK

Gazing upon His face for the Middle East

Mine is a a Jewish heart and I love the heart of God towards His first born, His bride. According to Romans 12 the Jewish people will be redeemed by His saving hand. The middle eastern problem seems to get worse day by day with no human plan attempting to find a solution. I firmly believe until the hand of Yeshua is upon the problem and till He ascends His throne in Jerusalem the unity of His people with the grafted branches of gentiles and Arabs into the vine will not happen.
Let us look and gaze upon His face so that His return on Zion comes quickly.

The music in the video is from a song titled Isaiah 61 by Matt Maher (who you can find on iTunes). The text in the video is taken from Isaiah 1 and 41. The painting of Jesus is from a local artist named Kevin Sparks.I am using this resource in the attempt to bring good news in the more hopeful frame of the Kingdom of God.




Shalom and Blessings,

SK

Jesus Commands my Destiny

OK I am going to try my hand at embedding videos, since so much of video material is becoming so popular on blogosphere. I love this hymn as I ponder on His Amazing Love and the price He paid so my life could be lived in Him and for Him.

Are you in the Dance?

Recently a close friend of mine gave me a symbolism from the movie 'Shall we dance'. It has struck a chord with my heart and resonates a deep emotion in the relationship each one of us has when you are in intimacy with God.

A scene in the movie shows JLo the actress in a stance with Richard Gere stretching out her body backwards and letting herself completely be held by him. The only way she could be in this stretched out position was to completely be in the strength of her dancing partner holding her. And the only way she could get back up was to be lifted up by her dancing partner holding her.

Oh! what a picture. God wants you and me to be in that position or stance many a times in the dance of life. A complete surrender of letting go and being in rest and at the same the vulnerability of a dangerous exposure that you can't get back up without his help in raising you up. The music, beat, the high and the low moments of this dance all have their importance but those moments of surrender, meekness and experiencing the healing touch, His precious hands holding you are the key moments of growth.

So are you in the dance? If so, what stance are you in? The One who dances with and over you is always in control.


Blessings and Shalom,

In The Presence Of Friend And King

Thank you O Lord for calling me a friend,
Thank you my Savior for being my best friend,
Even though you are the Most High King, yet scarcely I understand:
You have called me friend,
O LORD, let your friendly counsel be on all my dwelling,
O Awesome King let your friendly counsel be on my tents in the same way
And even more like your friendly counsel was upon the tents of Abraham, Jacob, and Job.
Being in friendship with you is loving you.
You reveal your secrets and wisdom to the ones you love
O LORD, let your presence come, your presence alone make my dwelling places beautiful.
O King of Kings there is a longing, your friend is asking you for
Your manifest presence to be always be near my tent, Like Moses said, I do not want to go
Without your presence, what will differentiate me and my family from the nations,
We do not want to move without your presence going with us, without your presence surrounding us,
Your presence is my place of habitation and I want you to be my habitation forever O LORD, my rock.

O Loving Friend, I trust in you, O Holy One, thank you for making me holy by your blood,
Come and dwell once again forever, for with your presence comes rest so sweet,
Comes abiding in you, being in you, being a fruitful branch deep in Christ the eternal vine,
Your presence brings your glory in my home, in my household,
O LORD let your servant whom you have called friend, always know, in my inner heart,
In my inner core, in my every being the holy fear, the holy reverence of my KING,
And at the same time enjoy the freedom of friendship; enjoy the freedom of being in love with you,
Yes LORD! This is not just a desire, but reason of my life, created to be yours alone,
Thank you LORD, my King for making me a friend.
Thank you LORD, my King for inviting me in the precious communion of your love,
To enjoy the communion within the communion, the best place to be in awe and love.
Oh what love ravishing my soul, satisfying more than any earthly satisfaction.
Cups, Jars and vessels, my temple overflowing with your presence,
Lying in a heavenly meadow of rest and solitude, Shalom of Yeshua surrounding
Filled, filled and filled in your presence,
Overflowing, loving, loving, loving, I love your presence Friend and My King.

Singing

Singing from the rooftops for the glory of His name,
Shouting joys & jubilations at the top of our voice,
Dancing, rejoicing, with lips of adulation all for His glorious fame,
As He rides on His white stallion, amidst the sea of praising noise.
His robe dipped in blood, garments full with shining light, star of Zion
The King of every King, LORD of Lords, God's Son, the Perfect choice.

Son of David, in the days of old,
You rode humbly on a donkey as palm leaves and clothes covered your path,
Amongst the praises of your people, you set eyes for victory yet untold,
Lamb of God slain, redemption complete, satisfying Father's wrath,
Bearing every sin and shame, giving man hope so bold,
To live at your side, created to love you, a bride to be your match.

Now again, battling your foes and enemies, O Glorious One,
Conquering King of heaven and earth, blazing consuming fire,
As you ascend the city on a hill, singing we come, our Victor has won
Lion of Judah, Lord of Hosts, as the gates of Zion open, our hearts are set afire
For the King of Glory to come in, with His Holiness we still are undone,
Sitting on your throne you sing and ask your bride to arise and come.

Longing

As I survey the life that has passed,
And beckon the future that awaits,
All worldly treasures, trappings and triumphs,
Remind now; this is not what I was made for,
The heart's been left with this divine ache,
Fashioned and formed as an artery of old by the good great Lord.
Pulsating time and again, stirring the holy pining.

Mundane hours of existence go by,
The twitch of pain surges into longing,
For His presence and for secrets of His heart,
Longing so much to be in a better place
Far more pleasant and beautiful than these dry parched lands.
Where Creator Father rules and resides,
His light illuminates the very aching heart so wild.

Tragedies and life's lowest pits,
Conflagrating the search and longing as a forest fire,
That stops at nothing, turning where the wind takes it,
Knowing, tranquility and rest is almost near,
The sweet desire to quench the thirsty soul,
In Him everything then will be still, Lifter of every sorrow,
Bridegroom of heaven, the bride awaits your rescue.

In life's electrifying moments of earthly glory,
The anguish annoyance lingers again, oh this eternal longing
To be home with the maker of this heart,
Sitting on His lap and reveling in His delight
Ever yearning to leave this earthly tent
But yet living with this longing, the age-old aching
Will only end in His presence when we meet face to face.

Victory

On the Hill stood the cross of my Savior,
Standing high above all idols, cities and nations,
Higher than hills and mountains
My LORD gained the victory,
El Elyon is His name

Blessed am I to come down at the foot of the cross,
Bowing down to Hashem of all humanity,
Who won the vitctory by His blood on that death tree,
So now I sing in awe and exaltation,
El Olam is His name.

On every mountain I tread and every valley I conquer,
The Giants I topple by the triumph of your cross,
I cast now every crown to my Savior King,
Redemption & victory complete covered by His Blood,
I proclaim praise for El Shaddai is His name

Linger

As Moses went up to meet with God and receive instruction,
A young man lingered at the foot of the mountain,
Away from family and friends, he chose to linger where God was near,
Dreaming, cherishing how awesome to be in His presence,
To talk like a man to his closet friend;
Joshua wondered in amazement: I want what Moses has; so I will linger at the foot of this mount.

Away from revelry and comforts of tent and camp,
A young man lingered outside the Tent of Meeting,
Waiting upon his God and leader as they communed like friends of old,
Dreaming, cherishing, yearning how awesome to be in His presence,
To talk to God, Maker of all;
Joshua wondered in amazement: I want what Moses has; so I will linger around this holy Tent of Meeting.

To be in His presence is answer to all cries,
As Joshua lingered, I too will linger at the door posts of Yahweh;
When He comes down on a mountain top or in the house of our sweet meeting
Dreaming, cherishing, yearning, believing how awesome it is to be in His presence,
To talk to my King in the pillar of fire;
I wonder in amazement: I want what old Mosey and Joshua had; so I will linger a little longer strengthening my heart, becoming more stronger.

To be in Almighty's presence is Joy so unexplainable,
May there be many a young men to linger and long for His cover and be a blessing to generations,
Be it in the calm and peace of life or in the heat of a heavy battle,
Dreaming, cherishing, yearning, believing, knowing, how awesome it is be in His presence,
To talk to the Lord of Hosts, Lord of the armies of Israel,
I wonder in amazement: I want what old Mosey and Joshua had; so I will linger in His presence all the more.

Covered in the dust of the Rabbi

In my last post I mentioned a couple of blessings that came away with me, one of which was the blessing of being covered in the dust of the Rabbi. This one came from a DVD clip a brother shared from Nooma a group that is specializing in giving messages through short movie presentations. Anyway the revelation that came to me understanding the Jewish culture of that time is the weight of the words of Jesus "Come Follow Me".

Let me delve in more and explain. In the Jewish culture of Jesus's time the highest and the most honored position in their society was that of a Rabbi. A Jewish boy when he is five years old enters into their educational system where he learns to recite/commit to memory the law (the first five books of the Torah) it lasted 5 years of training called the Beit Sefer. This means by the age of ten the student learnt by heart the books from Genesis to Deuteronomy. From here the best of the best went into Beit Talmud where they learn interpretation of the law, study the prophets, and essentially commit to memory the rest of the books from Judges to Malachi. Now if they are among the elite of the elite or the best of the best of the best they will try and find a Rabbi who will accept them as a student to study under him. Now remember this was a very special position of honor in the Jewish society and culture of the time. The Rabbi would essentially interview the prospective student ask him questions of the law, his relationship with God and if he felt that the student has the cut in him to bear his yoke and become like him he will tell him to come and follow him or else send him away to follow the family trade the student was pursuing. The accepted pupil enters the Beit Midrash where he leaves his synagogue, village and family to study under this Rabbi. The pursuit was not to just be a master of the law and an good member of the priesthood but to be like his master.

In the gospel of Mathew 14:27-31 the following conversation takes place between Jesus and Peter when the disciples see Him walking on water :

27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Peter is asking Jesus to command him to 'Come'. Peter wants to become like his Rabbi. Now this is the point of revelation, this is the same radical Rabbi who went through the Jewish educational system, walks down the banks of Galilee and commands the fishermen, 'Come Follow Me'. The fishermen drop everything immediately and follow this Rabbi. Ever wondered why they dropped everything to follow this Rabbi. The cultural perspective discussed above gives you a glimpse into that answer. Ever wondered why this Rabbi called the fishermen who did not make it to the best of the best of the best cut? The answer is this Rabbi believed that they could become like Him. It is this perspective that blows me away that our Lord Jesus believes in us and when He says 'Come Follow Me' He believes that we can follow Him, not only do that but become like Him. He promises us His Holy Spirit, He believes that we can do it.

So the blessing 'May you believe in Him who believes in you. May we be transformed from glory to glory as the scripture says and May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi'

Shalom

Oh What a week!!!

Oh what a week !!!! God is so so so Good ..Praises to the Almighty One of Israel...There is no one like you Lord.

This weekend I spent three days with 15 men (a strong band of brothers) worshipping, loving and waiting on our King. The presence of the Lord was so sweet in Keystone a ski resort nestled in the mountains north of Colorado Springs as we worshipped and basked in His presence, I felt very strongly the light of His presence coming down on the mountains. The hills were lighted, and the glow of His joy filled every heart that was hungering and thirsting in our group.

I want to share a couple of things that I came away with, I will elaborate these points in my later posts:

1. I want to be with my Jesus, my King and my Lord
2. I want to be covered in the dust of my Rabbi, Jesus
3. I want to go where He tells me to go
4. I want to say things that He says
5. I want to live in the Holy Fear of my Lord all the days of my life

May these desires be your own too, more than that may the desire's of our Lord Yeshua be your own.

Shalom and Shallu Shalom Yerushalim

Blessings,

All About You

I want everything in me to be all about you O Lord,
All about you will make my offering complete,
When its all about you, will then my obedience be complete.
So come Spirit aglow the fire as I wait on you my Lord.

As a handmaiden waits for her master, for mercy & providence,
So does your servant wait till your hand of deliverance is nigh,
Come then as in the ancient of days, bring your redemption near,
Make my heart rejoice and thankful for all that your hand provideth.

When will this struggle be over, to see my foe subdued by your mighty hand,
For Lord, Here I am to fulfill what I am called for, for this generation,
So, I finish my race strong and gallant to be a blessing to all,
And receive from you the crown and be seated at thy right hand.

Lord so purpose thy desire in my heart, and make that desire all about You.

‘Yearning Eyes’

As she fed at mother’s bosom,
Held by the Love more than the world can give,
She heard the footsteps as they thumped upwards to her room.
In expectation of her Papa, she looked up,
To see another part, of the joy of her world.

Everything secure, everything at peace,
She hugged back at mother’s chest for her feed,
A second or two she conjures desire to see her dad,
With questioning glance to see if he is here at all,
Her World at Peace, she clings back to mamma for her nosh.

For few seconds later she decides to try again, the game she loves,
But little did the Princess know, Papa left the room a minute ago,
Ha, she thought in her little mind, he must have gone downstairs,
But I am sure He will be back to wait upon me for the joy I give,
A minute seemed long, she turned up to look around, where’s Papa gone?

She continued not once, not twice at least thrice,
Makes me think and wonder of our search for our Heavenly Father,
The desire to see Him in our life, standing ever present,
With His strong hands, With His Smile, With His delighting in us.
Even when not seen, He still stands as security of our home, of our world.

So little daughter, Papa thanks for the lesson you have taught,
Through your yearning eyes, you let me know,
My Father’s there to ensure my world is safe and secure.
So little one, know that, I am here for you,
Every time you turn to see Papa, you will know your world is safe and sound.

I am in Love with You

This surge of passion I cannot contain,
Because Lord I am in love with you, I am in love with you,
This is your doing,
I am smitten like a wondrous youth falling in love;
For the first time with a maiden,
Or like a virgin dreaming about her lover all day long.

Your love O Lord what draws me everyday,
Filling my heart with
This passion of purity,
This passion of Love,
Passion of who you are.
I read and meditate everyday about you;

Sometime dreaming,Sometime in trance,
But Oh All the time in your awe,
Of what you said, of what you did,
Of how you responded, the way taught,
The way you looked,
O Lord I am in love with you.

It's a wonder to me that though you loved me first,
You are still in love with me,
And that Your love is umpteen times,
More than my love for you.
Will I even get close? But till then...
Oh Lord I love you again - for loving me so.

SK

Oh Lovely One!

These days I am being immensely blessed by the Gospels and it seems what our Lord Jesus spoke and taught is sinking in deep at new levels in my heart with new prespectives of what the Holy Spirit is showing me to yearn for and live accordingly. This has specially happend in the light and weight of the knowledge of what Lord Jesus spoke "I have not come to condemn or judge the world but to save it, but my words which I have spoken will judge you in the last day" (NLT). I don't remember the exact chapter and verse but you get the gist.

The deep realization of what the Lord said is plain.... On the Judgement day we as believers already know the basis of His judgement ...it's all going to be based upon all the words He has spoken. This led me to the thinking that apart from knowing all scripture and theology of our faith (which is good to know) if we just live by the words that He has spoken we are the inheritors of what He says..."Great will be the reward of those who have obeyed my words" (the words that He has spoken).

As I read about Him the Holy Spirit is just surging in me new waves and passions of Love for Him, what He did, what He spoke, How He responded, His Compassion, His mercy, His forgivness, His amazement, His Joy, His mourning, His hurting the list will go on. As I read through the different situations in the Lord's ministry...I have observed there are specially three or four kinds (maybe even more) of people that respond in differnt ways to Him.The mains one's are enumerated below:

1. The one's that will....Love Him and make Him the Lord of their lives (total change, transformed homes, transformed lives e.g.'s Zachhaeus, Mathew, the Immoral Woman, Cenutruion, the Samaritan woman)
2. The one's taht will....Hate Him and are altogether against Him (Pharisee's)
3. The one's who are lukewarm (no reactions...closely observe some people who were healed e.g....ten lepers who got the miracle didnt come back to glorify God...using God as a means)
4. The one's who completely miss His presence and fail to respond.

So What's our decision today?

O Lovely one, Oh Lord come on in ...you are welcome here...in the temple of my Heart ...BE MY KING AND MY LORD and let me love you and fear you like King David did so you can tell me ...I am the man after your own heart.

Jesus: Unique in all the World

Our Lord is unmatched in history nobody equals Him or even comes closer. I read this in one of the Devotions from Our Daily Bread ....thought I might share it here...its life giving:

Jesus Christ is:

Unique in Substance: He alone is both God and man (John 10:30)
Unique in Prophecy: No other leader's life was foretold so clearly and accurately (Micah 5:2)
Unique in mission:Jesus alone came to save us from our sins (Mathew 1:21)
Unique in birth:Only Jesus was born of a Virgin (Mathew 1:23)
Unique in ability: No one but Jesus has the power to forgive sins(Mark 2:10)
Unique in position: No one else is equal with God
Unique in reign:Only Jesus reigns forever (Hebrews 1:8)
Unique in Kingship: Jesus alone is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16)

Have a Blessed and a Grace filled day.

SK

Our New Home

God is good and He is good all the times.

Last month has been really really hectic and the big news from this slice of heaven is God has given us a new home. We have moved again...and we bless our Father back in praises for enlarging our territory in all fronts. So here it is Home Sweet Home.

Have a look ...Praise God and Bless our Home.

How Awesome Is this Place!

At my workplace, our Tech department is going through the book of Isaiah as early morning devotions. Many a times our reading of scriptures follow interesting discussions of biblical lands, peoples and how it relates to us today in our current world and lives. Two days back we had an discussion of Edom and how God chose Jacob over Esau. My thoughts went back to my visit in Shanghai to an international church we had visited for Sunday fellowship. The worship team at this church was completely led by African blacks all professors and resident doctors in that part of the world. (Interesting isn't it..people of God worshipping him in different and far away lands) In the call for prayer I still remember one of these Doctor guys prayed over me and interestingly asked me to read Genesis 28 Jacob's vision of the ladder and told me my life is like that of Jacob and its important for you. That's it. I have meditated on the passage many a times of how it relates to my life.

We as human beings are creatures of awe and wonder. At the same time, we are fearful of what we experience as wondrous, but cannot understand. There are times in our lives when God intervenes and gives us hope and a vision of our life. There are some of us who wake up like Jacob did and acknowledge with fear and awe the awesomeness of His presence and there are some of us who may sleep off on Holy Ground. The edge between fear and awe is razor thin; fear and awe are two sides of the same balance beam. We are at once fearful, because of the extent of our vulnerability, and at the same time awed at the mysterious experience of the holy that fills our world. As the book of Genesis describes Jacob upon awakening from his dream exclaimed:

“Mah nora hamakom hazeh, ein zeh ki im beit Elohim v’zeh shaar hashamayim,”“ “Shaken, he said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven’” (Genesis 28:17). Jacob'’s theophany might also be translated: “He feared/was awestruck [by the power of his experience] and said, ‘What an awesome/fearful God this is. This is none other than the dwelling place of God, and this is the gateway to understanding that which is in the heavens.”

What shall we do today then? Lay asleep on Holy Ground when God comes and wakes us or shall we say like Jacob How Awesome Is this place this is none other than the house of God.

Blessings

SK

Vision from the Lord

One of my friends and a fellow brother in Christ shared with us a vision God was showing him about Hannah's life. I was really suprised as I had met Steve only once and he revealed these fascinating details through the word he gave us from the Lord.

We surely don't know what the future is for Hannah, but would appreciate our friends and family to pray into the life of Hannah that she will go out and fulfill the Lord's purpose's for her life and give pleasure to our Father's heart. So here is what he wrote.....

As Gary had mentioned @ the men's meeting that night a few weeks ago, you were new to fatherhood / you had a newborn daughter... a vision began to unfold before me with the sight of a young lady walking along a road outside of a city [at that time it was in a distant land, but may also be domestically(America].

This young lady was remarkably beautiful but simply appointed so as not to attract the wrong attention. She was different; there was a measure of strength that far exceeded the humility that enveloped her. Greater still was the anointing that continually rested upon and emanated [sent forth; as from a source] from her feet! Sam and Sarah - She was spectacularly aglow! Angels surrounded this one; this daughter of The Most High God - El Elyon!

She was one who spent time at His feet learning of his ways from her mother, her father, her grandmother, and grandfather, and from her own personal relationship developed from an early age. She's a communicator in the natural and spiritual realm. That relationship of early and humble beginnings created a connection [for her] that would not terminate...much like Jacob's ladder; whereby the angels came and went [on a constant/regular basis].

In her time of communication/dialogue, she learned of the need that a location (city) had or would have. She was one sent to speak to the need. She was to call for life where life was needed [as it always is] and she was to call forth an end to that which was not of her Father's house.

Her mission is a difficult, but necessary role. She is one who knows when to go [ in the right season ] and have in her possession the right tools for use in breaking up hard, fallow ground. Further, she will also learn of fertilization [prayer], dispensing seed [sending forth words of life]; seeds that are hardy/drought resistant, and the indentification/marking out of sites most appropriate for wells [churches] that spring forth into rivers [of life]!

Hannah will need prayer cover [Sam, Sarah]. She will need to know who to meet with in a city or even outlying area. These will be the ones in whom she'll resultantly place some measure of natural trust in [for support during her walk/mission].

I also sense within her a dichotomy - two parts - in that Hannah will almost always extend herself as very relational, but she may also be very internal at times [a balanced independence];omfortable with her Christ [Jesus] and who she is created to be within Him...a powerhouse/a wellspring of life.

In Him she will live, move, and have her being.

Best Regards,
Steven

Thankfulness

O Lord My heart is full of thankfulness today,
My eyes overflow with tears for your mighty works in my life,
I behold in wonder,
What am I?
Who am I?
That your love wraps and satisfies the innermost desires of your servant.

Drawing and weaving us in your love is an ageold art you excel at;
Protecting your beloved from strifes and troubles known and unknown,
We cried once, your heard us twice as is your custom to turn your loving gaze,
On those who call upon your name
We asked and you gave us as true to your nature.

O Holy One can we ever thank you enough,
Even If we do, devise a way, our thankfulnes will be unending...
Praise's to your name.
We will sing unceasingly because your are worthy, worthy
Almighty and Awesome in word and deeds.

SK