This ScripturePicture was developed last week while I was writing the poem “Respite” that posted on Monday.

I knew there were many references to Christ returning on the clouds in both the old and new testaments; and in my research I came upon this verse in Mark (13:26) and knew immediately that I would use it for today’s post.

In this passage of Scripture, Jesus is speaking:

At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

 ~ Mark 13:26

But sometimes God’s got other plans and it was in reading the next verse 13:27) when I was suddenly overcome with emotion.  This, I knew, was the verse God wanted to instill in me that day.

And He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

~ Mark 13:27

For truly … no one who is a true follower of Jesus will be left behind.

Not one of us.

He knows exactly where we are at all times and wherever we roam.

Let this, then, be your hope and your joy,                        

About the Photo:  Taken at Vizcaya (The James Deering Estate in South Miami, FL) on May 13, 2013.  No special lens were used to achieve this shot; the corona was able to be seen with the naked eye.

                                                     

Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful day.

Oh how I long to see you return on the clouds,

            beckoning me with a smile.

I turn my face to you …

            Breathless.

                        Yearning.

With a snap,

            an audible sound,

                        my feet leave the ground.

As if the world has stopped holding me,

            finally relinquishing me

                        knew it could never contain me.

That I was made to soar with You

            into the heavenly spaces …

I breathe deeply

            refreshed

                        renewed

ready to begin this day.

Filled with the love and joy and peace

            that only knowing You can bring.

Thank you Lord for this respite,

            for my Heaven.

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PS:  As is normal when you’re meditating on the stuff of Heaven, writing this poem gave birth to a brand new ScripturePicture which I’ll publish on Wednesday. 

See you then! 

Blessings!

Oy Vey!  It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!  I’ve been waiting not so patiently to present this last poem to you.  When I found the book Modern Yiddish Poetry: An Anthology, compiled by Samuel J. Imber, and published in 1927 in New York by The East and West Publishing Company; this was the first poem I read.  I must admit that it made my heart swell so that I thought it would burst.  So gorgeous.  So awe-inspiring.  Noted author and bible teacher extraordinaire, Margaret Feinberg, would inscribe #LiveWonderstruck … and so will I. 

If you’ve missed any of the incredible poetry we’ve been lapping up like parched dogs at the water bowl, please click here:  MON   TUES   WED    THURS

Now, please settle back and drink in …  

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The Conception of God

 

Infinite outspreading.  Eternal thought.

Substance.

In all parts He is whole -

God.

He is shining out of all the stars,

from all eyes His light is shining,

with all things he touches you,

in every vein He lives through you.

Every breath He breathes in, and

breathes out every spoken word;

He is with you in your every move,

is living in every room of your house.

In every joy He sings aloud with you,

and weeps with you in every sorrow.

And grows upwards with every blade of grass

and wilts with every leaf on the ground.

Through all the rivers goes His song,

through the deserts He storms with sand,

and flames

with every fire, hissing like a snake.

And He roars by day through markets in towns,

and trembles in every prayer

in villages drowned in the night;

screams aloud with every new born child,

and stands at the bedstead of the dying man -

He will Himself

leave the world with him.

~ Melech Rawitsch

 

Beautiful, no?

Thank you for joining me this week.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this sojourn as much as I have.  I was compelled to write my own poem during the week, which you'll see on Monday.

Until then ... have a beautiful and blessed weekend. 

 

So?  Where have you been?  We’re in Day 4 of a week long spell of Yiddish poetry from the book Modern Yiddish Poetry: An Anthology.  The volume was compiled by Samuel J. Imber and published in 1927 in New York by The East and West Publishing Company.  If you’ve missed any of the awesome poetry we’ve been enjoying, please feel free to click on the appropriate past day(s):   ONE  TWO  THREE   Now let’s get into today’s selections.

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The Hand

Before the lofty mountains in the west

the day begins to bed;

silent shadows fall toward the east

across his way.

 

On the lofty mountains in the west

Someone outstretches a far-reaching hand,

conveys the sun, the day somewhere

to the other side.

 

Quiet, my soul; be quiet -

there will come an evening and

you also will be led away

somewhere by that hand.

~ Naftali Gross

 

 

Mother Earth . . .

Beloved one, I am the much trodden

sun-washed Mother Earth,

dark slave and mistress.

Out of me, the dark and afflicted one,

you grow like a mighty stem.

And like the flame of the sun and like the eternal stars

I circle in long, blind silence

through your roots and in your branches -

and half awake and half in slumber

I seek the sky through you.

~ Anna Margolin

Please return for the final day tomorrow where I’ve saved my favorite poem for last.  You absolutely don't want to miss it!

We’re up to Day 3 in a week of Yiddish poetry from the book Modern Yiddish Poetry: An Anthology. It was compiled by Samuel J. Imber and published in 1927 in New York by The East and West Publishing Company.  If you missed either of the previous days (and would like to read why I am reprinting some of it here) please click on the overlooked post(s):  ONE  TWO

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I loved this poem on the struggle against sin …

 

Not Yet Conquered . . .

 

I have not yet conquered myself fully,

not yet.

Not all the wild plants

have I uprooted.

 

Not all my wishes come true

 yet -

and not every word that leaves

my throat is clean yet.

 

Still before my eyes

red lights glow and glitter -

and still I am attracted

by my pain.

~ B. Lapin

 

These next two stand alone.  I felt such sorrow and loss of hope .

  Michel Fokin

Let his feet

not separate from the earth.

You’ll see - it’s very unsafe:

In his flight upward some day

he will fail to come back - -

(Will leave us here, like asses

laden with the burden of heavy things.)

In his flight upward

to God.

~ M. Licht

 

 

Jesus of Nazareth The Christ

And they’re marching, marching, marching . . .

Ever new armed hordes!

Powers, masses,

rows upon rows,

with wild shouts

- enthusiastically -

they flow into battle to murder each other!

 

And pursuing them

red with shame

with gaping wounds

coloring the dirty snow,

the Christ torn from the cross,

Jesus -

the Jewish man,

the most human man,

who became a Gentile God - - -

~ Ber Horowitz

 

Well, what did you think?  Its funny how my world view paints such a different  picture than the Jewish man who wrote this last poem.

Join me tomorrow for a couple more choice nuggets.

You’re reading Day 2 in a week of Yiddish poetry from the book Modern Yiddish Poetry: An Anthology. It was compiled by Samuel J. Imber and published in 1927 in New York by The East and West Publishing Company.  If you missed Day 1 (and would like to read why I am reprinting some of it here) please click here.

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 I loved these, inspired by our Old Testament …

 

Esau

Esau,

shaggy, blessed with the fragrance of the field,

I owe you an ancient debt;

it lies sunken in my depth,

burried (sic) in my interred treasures . . .

 

Esau,

hushed, behind your back

quietly I sucked the flavors of your fate,

the potent beverage

of you Esau, redolent of fields.

 

Esau,

hairy, with blind father’s blessing

on jungle-head

mild and fair -

do not dun me now . . . Do not dun me now . . .

Drop by drop

it has sunk in my hoary sadness.

Drop by drop

it has oozed out with all my countless souls

on the ashes of the route,

on the ashes of existence . . .

 

Esau,

on the wide, wide torment plains of mouldy (sic) antiquity

there is spun,

woven,

embroidered

my ancient heart,

my aged dream,

my tarnished look . . .

Seek there, seek . . .

Esau,

return to your ewes and lambs,

your balmy wells,

lay your hand on them,

your hairy ancient hand . . .

~ L. Kwitko

 

 

I Shall Not Hang My Harp . . .

I shall not hang my harp on trees -

to all winds is given it sound.

Even in my dream I possess

no land of honey and milk any more.

 

In my soul a little mouse scratches -

either father’s or grandfather’s tune;

but the door of my own Sabbath

the weekdays have bolted with a star.

 

Grind me, grind me to a granule,

grinding stones of all time,

if only thus

the morning star will ripen like an apple.

~ Ahron Kuschniroff

Tomorrow we delve into three poems that saddened me somewhat.  I wonder how you’ll read them?  See you then!

 

 

I’ve been doing some work in online sales for a couple of thrift stores that help support Place of Hope.  During prayer one day our founding pastor’s wife was given Isaiah 1:17 almost as a Word of Knowledge; God had laid a burden on her heart to live out this verse:

Learn to do right; seek justice.  Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

Initially imagined and born as a faith-based community of children's family-style foster homes, the organization has branched out to meet the additional needs of the county as they have arisen.  Place of Hope now provides continuing care for teens that "age-out" of foster care, a home for young and expectant mothers, an emergency shelter for boys, and a safe-house for those who are rescued out of human-trafficking. 

As part of my job is to sift through the donations and uncover gems that would be better served by offering for sale in an online environment, you can imagine that I’ve had the opportunity to see some really neat items - and you’d be right.  Recently, I happened upon a book called Modern Yiddish Poetry: An Anthology. It was compiled by Samuel J. Imber and published in 1927 in New York by The East and West Publishing Company.  Intrigued, I began to read it and was so enthralled that I knew I needed to share a few of its luscious bits.

So each day this week I will present you with a few choice poetic morsels and hope that you, like I, will thoroughly enjoy and be blessed by the lovely, tender, aching, hardened, lonely, heart of the Jew … at the turn of the century?  I can find no other dating on the poetry other than the year this book was published.  Throughout the week you’ll see light pink writing which is my editorial comment.  Let’s begin!

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                                                       Perish, My Outcry . . .                  

Perish, perish my outcry - you will

anyway not be heard in heaven . . .

Night has swung the crescent,

like a knife against the throat of the earth . . .

 

Soon stillness will begin to suffocate

with the excited bark of dogs . . .

But night will not cease to slay,

yet no one will come to aid . . .

 

So, before whom, before whom shall I kneel down

now praying for mercy for me and for you -

when frightened stars hide themselves

in the steely wrinkles of the river?

~ Ahron Kuschniroff

 

 

 

This next poem is the lament of every writer …

 

The First Step Made

 The first step made -

the road will further lead by itself.

So in a blue night

I shall go over rose and thorn.

 

I shall live badly pressed

twixt grief and joy;

out of the rays in my bosom

I shall spin my fame.

 

A crown I shall put on

and shall be a singer - -

Oh, I feel already drawn by

the poet’s fate and its misery.

~ David Kenigsberg

I do hope you enjoyed these two pieces.  There is so much more ~ really wonderful poetry.

Join us here tomorrow, won’t you?

an I get shorter than a bible bite?  Can we have a Good News Nibble … or a Scripture Snack?

I was taking notes in church on Sunday as my Pastor and his wife were delivering week 2 of a series on relationships.  We, like most churches, use “fill-in-the-blank” cards to … well … to have something to remember the message by - or to keep you awake by forcing you to pay attention - I’m not sure which.  I always participate because as a writer I love taking notes.  You never know when God’s going to shoot you a message and you don’t want to miss it.

As the Pastor continued talking about “fighting right” (1) on your knees in prayer and (2) the right enemy; he used a verse that I (and I’m sure you) have read a hundred million zillion times.  But for some reason on Sunday it hit me like it was the first time I’d ever read it.  Read it again with me … slowly … (emphasis mine)

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 

~ Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

That’s when it hit me.

That’s a lot of enemies!

1. Evil rulers
2. Authorities of the unseen world
3. Mighty powers in this dark world
4. Evil spirits in heavenly places

Wha?  Why are evil spirits allowed to hang out in heavenly places?  Well … that’s a question best left for another post.

We tend to lump everyone and everything under the heading “Satan.”  While he is the big kahuna when it comes to evil, we can’t allow ourselves to forget that we aren’t fighting against just one entity.  We do ourselves a disservice, one that Satan is happy to let us do, when we limit our thoughts to fighting against one.

I think I was so surprised by this verse on Sunday because I think it’s been a long time since I thought about all the entities that we have to guard against.  God helping me to cut through the fog that I’d unwittingly fallen into.

So I’m back into the Bible because I know that God’s word is one of my sharpest weapons against my enemies.  I also know that the devil will flee when faced with my Savior Jesus Christ, so I rebuke him in Christ’s name.  It’s so important to remember that. 

Some unseen enemy was after me this morning and I was allowing him to get to me when I realized what was happening and put an end to his manipulation of my thoughts.  “Listen,” I said out loud.  “You have to leave.  I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ and you have to know that you are never going to sway me to turn away from my Lord and Savior.  Besides, He and I have to talk now and you’re not invited.”  Really … almost verbatim.  And of course you know the sniveling evil one turned on his heel and left.  I always find the departure of evil palpable, don’t you?

Blessings my friends.  Stay protected!

 

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

~ Psalm 63:4 (NLT)

Are you one of those people who prays only when there is trouble afoot?  Or are you the Sunday pray-er, all obligation and duty because you’re sitting in church and someone said, “Let’s bow our heads?”  Perhaps you are an every-day pray-er.  You wake up and thank the Lord for your life and the breath you take.  You may even go to bed praising God for the day you’ve had and discussing some of your challenging issues with him.  Do you see yourself in these words?

Now do you think I’m gonna criticize you for the type of pray-er you are?

No.

In fact … NO WAY!

I’m applauding you!  You pray!  Yippee and WhooHoo and even Whoot!

You are lucky.  You’re part of the small percentage of people on this earth who actually talk to God.

Yes.  Even if your prayer is only, “God help me ____________,” when you find yourself in a place of distress or anguish or fear; you turned to the One True God with faith that He is going to answer you.  That He will help.

Do you know how awesome that is???

Completely.  Astounding.

I was sitting in the prayer room at my church yesterday with some other warriors and we were having a rousing good time.  No, no chocolate was involved in the festivities.  It was simply the Holy Spirit filling us with joy and contentment that comes with intercession for others.

It is such a delight to be called to serve God’s children in this manner. 

I get to pray for others.

Yep.

I get to pray … am privileged to pray … honored to pray for people who ask for prayer during the service, for pastors, staff members, and volunteers who work at the church, and even for situations we aren’t involved in and for people we don’t know.

Why would we take the trouble?

Because we crave to pray.

Because not only does the Holy Spirit flow through us producing sentiment that sometimes only Heaven can understand … we believe we can help.  We trust that God will be true to His promises and act in accordance with His will.  We obey the yearning deep inside our souls to intercede for our fellow human beings.  And we’re not alone. 

There are hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of Christians called to participate in intercessory prayer.  Maybe you are even one of us and haven’t discovered it yet!  Maybe you’re nodding your head because you know exactly what I’m talking about (in which case, Welcome my brother and sister prayer warriors!  Thank you!)

No matter how much (or how little) you pray, prayer is a vital part of living the Christian life.  It’s an amazing way to have a conversation with The Lord.  Of course, if you’re only praying once in a while, I’m going to have to coax you to begin to pray more often.  But think about it …

Don’t you covet a conversation with your Heavenly Father?

Don’t you hunger to hear Him?

There’s no reason to be afraid.  The Lord of the Universe has nothing but love to give you.  Do you even realize how excited He will be when you start to turn to Him more often?  It gives me goosebumps!  With obedience comes favor and I want to hear the praise reports!!

Two books come to mind - and I’m not receiving anything from their mention - (1) my all-time favorite book on prayer is Richard Foster’s Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home and (2) The Beginner’s Guide to Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets.  Both can be purchased at any major online bookseller (CBD, B&N, Amazon).

Friends, please pray.  Pray for yourselves.  Pray for your friends and family.  Pray that the lost will find our Savior Jesus. 

There are a lot of different “ways” to pray, and you will discover what is comfortable to you as you go along, but sometimes it helps to have a guide.  Here is one I found in my Bible:  begin by praising the Him, then give thanks to Him, follow that by repenting of whatever sin you’ve committed, and then petition Him for your desires.  Lastly, strap on your intercessory shoes and pray for others.

Praise / Thanksgiving / Repentance / Petition / Intercession

It doesn’t have to be long, but it should just be heartfelt.  Just envision that God is standing right before you (or beside you if that’s easier) and say, “Hi.”

Sing God’s praises and rejoice in His majesty …

After all, there is nobody like Him … in Heaven or on Earth.

Crave to pray.