Desire Of My Soul

Prayer Requests February 2024: Watchmen Before the Throne

A group of fellow believers united in prayer as one in our Messiah Jesus.

 

© Desireofmysoul.faith (.com and .org) & SoulBreaths.com. All rights reserved.

 
 

Join us before our King . . .

 

Recent prayer needs listed below.

Email your prayer requests: prayer@desireofmysoul.faith

 
 

Let the battle commence. Intercessory prayer is strategic, seeking God’s face, His will, His direction.

 
 
 

I waited expectantly, patiently for the Lord until He reached down to me and heard my cry. —Psalm 40:1

 

February 2024

7 Prayer Listings

 

CARMELLA

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Carmella’s longtime friend, partner, and fiancé–Gary–passed away unexpectedly on Monday, February 19. May his memory be a comfort to her and every family member both now and throughout this year. And may the faithful, loving presence of the Lord be a source of great strength for her in the days and months ahead.

 

J.B.

Psalm 145:17-19

A strong believer in the LORD, J.B. seeks His wisdom for her high-pressured medical job, His favor in a financial investment, and His loving intervention in her friend’s life (Eric) who needs salvation through Jesus our Messiah.

 

LISA

Psalm 71:15-17

Lisa has stood on her Rock, her Messiah Jesus, through a stroke, cancer, and Lupus. Walking with a limp and a cane, she still is going strong, praising her King. Lord, please bless her abundantly for sharing her uplifting testimony and for her kindness to us at the cinema.

 

HENRY

2 Corinthians 5:17

Henry needs a divine appointment with the Lord for salvation. He is doing drugs, his girlfriend is pregnant, and she may need to return to jail. Currently, he has no visible means of support to take care of himself or the child or his girlfriend. May their hearts, minds, and souls be turned toward God–and may the Lord’s mighty hands protect this unborn child.

 

COLLEEN & K.M. & L.G.

Psalm 91:4

Christian marriages are under assault—the enemy’s troops are on the move, deceiving many spouses in ways that lead to betrayals, separations, and divorce. May the Lord embrace these women whose husbands have gone prodigal. May our King of Glory cover Colleen, K.M., and L.G. (along with her little daughter, Abigail) with His truth and holiness, ushering in His discernment, healing, leading, comfort, and protection as they maneuver a painful separation and transition period.

 

MAUREEN

Jeremiah 17:14

May the Lord’s mercy cover Maureen from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet and bring healing to her lungs, removing aches and pains, worries and fears. May His Name be magnified.

 

IAN

Psalm 90:17

Ian’s an owner of a business selling international spices. He had been doing well, but due to overly zealous litigious lawyers in California that have brought down many such businesses, things are difficult for Ian right now. He appreciates your prayers for his business. May the Lord restore his business or lead him to a new one, using all of this to bring Ian closer to Him and salvation through Jesus, our Messiah.

 
 

PHOTO CREDIT: Wrecking ball photo only was purchased from iStock.com (my text was inserted onto the photo afterward).

God’s Story Threads: Beginnings within Beginnings [Part 2]

 

God’s unfolding story thread. Genesis 1:1 is usually translated “In the beginning, God created.” But is it saying something more? Walk this way . . .

 

This series is related to a spiritual call (started in the early 90s) for me to walk a bridge—from the Judaic camp reaching out to the Messianic/Christian camp and then vice versa—crisscrossing it, realizing and later sharing who and what the real bridge is. Walk with me to discover God’s revelations and passionate plan for our souls.

 

© desireofmysoul.faith (.com & .org) & SoulBreaths.com. All rights reserved.

 

HIGHLY SUGGEST FIRST READING: Beginnings within Beginnings [Part 1]

 

READING TIME: 3 MINUTES.

 

Discussions—heated or otherwise—span the ages regarding the Genesis 1:1 wording, which is often translated “In the beginning, God created.” But considering a point of Hebraic grammar, is that what it’s really saying—and how does any of that fit into God’s redemption-focused story thread?

 

Some scholars and/or grammarians say those first words aren’t exactly as traditionally translated. There’s no “the” in the Hebrew text. So they translate with a one-word shift: “In a beginning.”

 

A stirring literal translation on a gazillion levels. And how that ups the game on God’s story line. This in-a-beginning view has been discussed many times over the years at Torah study tables—and always sets my mind spinning in a thrilling, isn’t-God-amazing way.

 

Three other views help us branch that concept even further . . .

 
 

 
 

THE BEGINNINGS STORY THREAD: A FEW STEPS MORE

 

Stephen Rayburn points out in his 2009 “D’var Torah: Bereshit” article, that Rashi (esteemed medieval rabbi/Talmudic commentator) regarded the word b’reshit as a statement not about “the absolute beginning of everything” but when “God turned His attention to our own world.”

 

Now add a point of biblical consistency—discussed in this two-minute Genesis 1:1 Hebrew grammar note—the construct in Genesis 1:1 (needing a noun) would be translated . . .

 

“In the (or a) beginning of God’s creating.”

 

And lastly, factor in this intriguing view from Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser . . .

 

Back in October 2011, Reb Jeff wrote in his blog post (“Bereshit: In the Beginning of What?”) a more illustrative translation based on the grammatical analysis and infusing spiritual innuendos of timelessness.

 

He says the “world never stopped being created” since it “has a beginning, but it is a beginning that has never ceased.”

 

Goldwasser’s Genesis 1:1 translation goes like this:

 

“In the beginning of the beginning that is always beginning, G-d created the creation that is still [beginning and creating].”

 

The Creator is always creating. He “rested” from His earth project but never really stopped creating—everything He creates is in a forward, unfolding, beginning-within-a-beginning motion. Contracting, reaching down, extending out . . . beginning anew.

 

God IS the beginning.
 

The One who has NO beginning.

 

Yet WITHIN HIM is the beginning within a beginning within a beginning that is unfolding and still beginning and creating.

 

Simply complex, right? In light of creation alone, we’re talking about the mind-bending, humanly incomprehensible dunamis power of our holy God.

 

QUESTION FOR YOU

 

What was going on with these beginnings within beginnings . . . when there was absolutely no beginning because God has no beginning and no end?

 

We know He birthed creation with a WORD. Scripture confirms it. Even rabbinic teaching says that the WORD God spoke in the creative process did the creation.

 

I couldn’t agree more.

 

In fact, it’s the apex—the critical story thread—linking God’s beginnings within beginnings and the reveal of the redemptive gift to humanity.

 

So let’s climb that summit to discover what has been waiting there for us all along.

 

READ THIS NEXT: Beginnings within Beginnings [Part 3].

 

GOT TWO MINUTES?

Read quick examples of God’s many beginnings, those in the past, those in the works now, and those on the horizon.

Side Bar [Many Beginnings]

 
 

PHOTO CREDITS for this Beginnings series:

Cloud/Light by Marcus Dall Col on Unsplash.com

Steam Punk Minister w/Bible by Nathan Bingle on Unsplash.com

Steps with child by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash.com

Follow the Line on asphalt photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash.com

Woman in jeans with Bible by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.com

 
 

God’s Story Threads: Beginnings within Beginnings [Part 3]

 

Continuing the story dig. After reading Parts 1 and 2 of this “beginning within a beginning” blog series, jump into this Part 3—walking the bridge from Genesis 1:1 to its (perhaps) surprising messianic connection.

 

This series is related to a spiritual call (started in the early 90s) for me to walk a bridge—from the Judaic camp reaching out to the Messianic/Christian camp and then vice versa—crisscrossing it, realizing and later sharing who and what the real bridge is. Walk with me to discover God’s revelations and passionate plan for our souls.

 

© desireofmysoul.faith (.com & .org) & SoulBreaths.com. All rights reserved.

 

SUGGEST READING THIS FIRST: Beginnings within Beginnings [Part 1] and Beginnings within Beginnings [Part 2]

 

READING TIME: 4 MINUTES

 

From page one of the Bible, God is on the move. His love revealed. He speaks forth creation for the sake of His redemption story . . . for a humanity yet to be created.

 

A humanity who will rebel against His ways, refuse to surrender to Him, and recant their promises to Him.

 

And yet, His mercies endure forever. His love, the motivating factor in all that He does.

 

With a WORD, God created His story, this dimension, space, order, time, this beginning within a beginning. This beginning that is unfolding, contracting, stretching out and beginning again. Our sovereign God who loves to create . . . who desires to continually bring forth new things in line with His purpose and holy desire.

 

Rabbinic teaching says that the WORD God spoke did the actual creation. That same Jewish sentiment echoes throughout the pages of the New Testament—with the rest of the story revealed.

 

Because this WORD came forth from WITHIN God, embodying and performing both the creative process and the world’s REDEMPTIVE process.

 
 

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

Psalm 33:6-9

 
 

By faith we understand that the universe was created

by the word of God,

so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

—Hebrews 11:3

 
 

But who or what is this WORD that “came from the Father”? And since creation is part and parcel of God’s redemption story, what part does this WORD play?

 

Let’s continue strolling both sides of the bridge to discover God’s mystery and riches in the WORD, in the one whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

 
 

 
 

WALK WITH ME: AND HE SPOKE

 

Just so we’re clear. We’re not talking about some mere vocabulary word used in the creation process—or even some everyday Joe who was a decent guy who God used down here to do the redemption part of the work.

 

Uh-uh. We’re talking about God Himself bringing forth from within Himself—the essence of Himself manifested in the WORD.

 

Therefore, the WORD is and was and always will be one with the Father.

 

So much so, that when the WORD would later come forth from the Father and manifest down here in the flesh for the sake of humanity’s redemption, he’d be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9).

 

BACK IN THE LATE 90s/EARLY 2000s . . . I was still struggling at times to better understand the Father and Messiah (Jesus) relationship. Uniquely One, but yet . . .

 

So one day, I’d asked my friend’s Greek husband to give me the 4-1-1 on John 8:42—translating the scripture from the Greek since the original language of the New Testament was written in Koine Greek.

 

He said it read that Jesus “came up out of the Father” . . . and that it was similarly written in John 16.

 

Ah! The fog was clearing for me. That image changed so much for me.

 

It took time, but it began to unravel some of the mystery hidden within the WORD, the Messiah—one that interestingly mirrored rabbinic thinking about the WORD doing the creation.

 

It also furthered the understanding of God creating the world for the sake of redemption.

 

The Hebrew in Psalm 2 and in numerous Judaic messianic-related passages underscored the New Testament’s factual accounts of the WORD that dwelt among us.

 

The Messiah was with and in God eternally—had come up out of Him—was one with the Father yet distinct in person, and was brought forth by the Father from within God Himself for the sake of the world, for the sake of God’s redemption story.

 

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father,

you would love me,

for I came out from God and I am here.

I came not of my own accord, but he [God] sent me.”

—John 8:42

 

[Jesus said]: “For the Father Himself loves you,

because you have loved me

and have believed that I came out from God

and have come into the world,

and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

—John 16:27

 

Not only is Jesus the WORD that came out of the Father and was with Him in creation . . . but God’s glory was fully on the Messiah—before, then, and now.

 
 

 
 

IMPACT: HIS COMING FORTH

 

The dots are connecting. What was written came forth, evidenced in the Messiah, the one who is also called . . .

 

a great light—no end to his kingdom (Isaiah 9)

 

the son given—the Son of God (Isaiah 9, Psalm 2)

 

having righteousness as the belt of his waist—and faithfulness the belt of his loins (Isaiah 11)

 

the healer of the blind, the mute, the lame—and the one cleansing lepers, raising the dead, and preaching the good news of heaven (Isaiah 35, Isaiah 61:1-2, Matthew 11, Luke 4:16-19, Luke 7:20-23)

 

the promised King, Messiah—bringing salvation, righteousness, humbly riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)

 

the reflection of the Father—the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:1-3, John 14:9)

 

the Word that became flesh—and dwelt among us (John 1)

 

Faithful and True, The Word of God, and be clothed in a robe dipped in blood symbolic of the redemption completed (Revelation 19:11b, 13)
 

I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you [brought forth, per Hebrew]*

Psalm 2:7

*Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon’s meaning for “begotten”
 

Long ago, at many times and in many ways,

God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,

whom he appointed the heir of all things,

through whom also he created the world.

He is the radiance of the glory of God

and the exact imprint of his nature,

and he upholds the universe

by the WORD of his power.

Hebrews 1:1-3

 
 

We’ll explore this more and other God-nuggets throughout this unfolding bridge series and witness how the narrative, promises, and fulfillment of both the Judaic and Messianic/Christian sides are mirrored. A wondrous plan of God.

 

READ THIS NEXT: God’s Story Threads: Trees, Serpent, Lies.

 
 

RESOURCES:

Sefaria.org
 

PHOTO CREDITS for this Beginnings series:

Clouds light by Marco Dallco on Unsplash.com

Steam Punk Minister with Bible by Nathan Bingle on Unsplash.com

Steps with child by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash.com

Follow the Line on asphalt photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash.com

Woman in jeans with Bible by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.com

 

Journey on