Author: Iris Godfrey

As you can see from the header and this insert, my iris’ are really lovely this year. I am enjoying them so very much. I have recently added other flowers to the beds, as soon the iris’ will have completed their flowering time, we will need color then. I am enjoying it all. Now to the Word.

 “The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; Psalm 19:7b NKJV

The word “testimony” means just that. In our understanding one’s testimony means the story of their walk with the Lord. In Hebrew, it is always a reference back to the Torah – the Law of YHWH. However, even if we add a bit of our understanding to it, the entire Word of the LORD is the story of our His faithfulness. He is always faithful and can never be unfaithful to His Word in any way. Hence, when we continue on with the next word, this helps us understand what the Word is actually saying.

The word “sure” in Hebrew is actually the word “believe” if translated literally. This is where Bible translators (we must honor them and pray for them for it is a very difficult job) have to know the “sense” of the Word beyond its literally meaning. It most generally is used in Hebrew to indicate “support,” “security,” “confirmation.” So we see the way the NKJV translated it, “sure” is very good. The story of the LORD’s faithfulness makes us very secure. It eliminates fear and anxiety in every way. The answer for all fear in the heart is to trust the LORD and His faithfulness.

“Making wise,” is to be wise, or to become wise. In other words, to trust the LORD and His Word is to become wise. The last word in this phrase is “simple,” or “foolish.” It means just what it says. To trust the LORD and His Word is to make one who is foolish or lacks understanding become a wise one.

What marvelous facts stored for us in opening our hearts and using our minds to read, study and meditate on the Word of Almighty God. With the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit inside of us, we already have this Word written on our hearts and in our minds (Jeremiah 31:31-34 and also in Hebrews 8 & 10). All we need to do is avail ourselves of the opportunity to invest ourselves in Him through His Word.

If we study out “wisdom” in the Scripture, we will find it is always a gift from the Lord and never a result of getting old or educated by various trials. Wisdom is always available to anyone who will ask, according to James. However, when we love the Lord Jesus and want to know Him more, then we turn to the Word because the knowledge of God is contained there.

Let’s do it! Let’s begin to trust what we read and study and begin to meditate on it in our minds. It is for us. Have a blessed day in His wonderful love and wisdom!

As you can clearly see from my header, my iris’ are in full bloom and just beautiful. I have several varieties as they have come to me as gifts from dear friends. My neighbors really enjoy them too. Thank you Friends. They possess such a fullness of beauty.

“The Law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.”    Psalm 19:7 TNIV

(I would like to “unpack” this for us today. I am consulting an interlinear of the Hebrew and English so I can understand the dimensions of the words in the original Hebrew. For those of you who love to study this way, I recommend to you Biblos.com and its Biblehub. It is an outstanding full Bible program totally on-line. I go to the interlinear section and have it take me to the correct passage. Play around with it for a while; you will be glad to have this easy resource which can be used in any device with an internet connection).

The Word of God reflects the nature of its author and source, Almighty God. He is a dimensional being; meaning you can’t really ever discover all He is. He is always the same and at the same time so deeply vast as to not be simply nor complicated. He will always give us just as much of Him as we desire. Our concepts of that are so limited as sometimes to be laughable, yet in love He continually gives all our beings can receive.

Since we are created in His image, we too are dimensional beings. We have relationships that are deep and intimate. At the same time, we have relationships that are shallow and deal only in surface matters. As He is in relational matters, so are we. That being true, when we write, we write out of who we are what we think. So the writing can be shallow or deep, warm or cold, revealing or hidden. Therefore, we need to know that the Word of God written in our Bible is also dimensional. To truly get dimensional understandings, we must take the time to study deeply and that is normally done through the original languages. These helps are so available to all of us now, that I just recommend you begin to do some of it and allow your heart to be enriched by what you find. The Word is magnificent, just like our God!

The word used for ‘Law” is the Hebrew word “Torah,” which is understood to be the first five books of the Bible.  Other words descriptive of this word are “direction” and “instruction” as the Torah contains all of that. So we could correctly read, “The instruction of the LORD …,” or “The direction of the LORD….”

“The instruction of the LORD…;” the word used here is literally YHWH, or the covenant name our Father revealed to Abraham in Exodus. We commonly understand this as “I Am that I Am.” This is also the term in the Greek that Jesus often used for Himself. So the identity of the person doing the instruction is clear.

“The instruction of YHWH is perfect.” The word for “perfect” can also be translated as “complete,” or “sound.” So we could read, “The instruction of YHWH is complete.”

“The instruction of YHWH is complete, refreshing….” The word used for refreshing can also be “turning back,” “return,” “convert,” or to “restore.” Any of those can accurately be used. So now let’s read, “The instruction of YHWH is complete turning back the soul.”

The word used for “soul” can also mean, “living being, “life,” “self,” “person,” “desire,” “emotion,” appetite,” “passion.” So we could read, “The instruction of YHWH is complete, turning back the person (or emotion, or passion, or self etc…). The sense is that it returns one from what has been harmful and brings them back to what is restorative and therefore refreshing.

So the conclusion of the matter is that the Word of God is complete and very sound and by its very nature is able to restore individuals to wholeness. Some translations read, “restores the soul.”

Now we understand that, every thought, every feeling, every appetite, literally everything is brought into wholeness by a good dose of the Word of our God. That’s right, the Word infused with the Holy Spirit who lives within us is able to bring into clarity and sweetness everything about us. I wonder why we look so hard for quick-fixes instead of spending quality time reading and processing the Word of God? Something to think about.

Lord, we are yours. In your love, mercy and grace, show us these truths. Ground us solidly in a Spirit-understanding of these powerful words of life. Thank you.

Come – Registration Open -Click link below for registration and more information.

June 4, 2014 – 9 am – 4 pm – Pastor Carol Ball & Rev. Iris Godfrey teaching. 

http://psalm19ministries.org/stella-maris-retreat.html

 I took this photo a few minutes ago in my yard. It is the tulips beginning to show their flags and letting everyone know they exist. They produce “according to their kind,” and let everyone know in early Spring that they are alive and well. May your Resurrection week-end be one of great joy and celebration! I have written more than normal, but this is burning in me. I am working deeply in it. I want to truly grasp it and live its truth. Join me.

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself on the earth’; and it was so.” Genesis 1:11

This verse in Genesis 1 let’s us know how it all continues; “the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself on the earth”…. This applies to every living thing as a carefully reading of Genesis 1 will reveal. This is the principle. Everything then produces according to its kind and according to its seed in itself.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our like-ness; …So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, ….” Genesis 1:26a & 27-28a

I know there is more to the verse, but for our understanding this will be sufficient for now. So we (every human being) have been created with our God’s DNA. Yes, we sinned, but we did not erase the blueprint of our existence. It remains forever. That is the “why” of the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus; living, dying and arising!

To explain, the author of the book of Hebrew’s states in 2:14-18:

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their life-time subject to bondage…For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

He was made exactly like us. There is no qualifying explanation in the passage. It just is. As He hung on the cross, we are told, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 So as He hung there in deep agony, all sin (its individual expression and result as well as its conceptual expression and result) was laid on Him. He bore it completely, literally opened His arms and took it to death. The principle of death takes all flesh, eventually, but in spirit we as believers never die. Now even the principle of death is received and taken to death.

In 3 days, (however one wishes to calculate it) He arose. Now we have the “becoming like His brethren complete. You see, the Bible says, “For the love of Christ complex us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-40 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when were were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,…” (Ephesians 2:4-6)

So we were crucified with (in) Him and raise with (in) Him! So all this is not about a Christ that is far away from us and different than us. But instead it is about what was done in fellowship with us. Our lives now become the expression of His life through the uniqueness of each one of us. That uniqueness is treasured and empowered with the “life-expression” of His nature.

In all our celebrations, may the rejoicing be for “us” and “our” as we celebrate our fellowship In Him, not just with Him. This death, burial and resurrection was not just for us it was with us. His one-ness with us complete, now we can begin to understand that we are created “according to His kind.” May we begin to grab hold of His love and His desire to embrace us and enjoy life – in all its fullness as we begin to learn to identify with and in Him.

All Scripture references are NKJV.

Attention All:

I am at Elim Fellowship's Leadership Conference this week at Lima, NY. You are welcome to join us for the sessions on-line.

Just go to http://elimfellowship.org and hit the Events tab on the menu. Our meetings resume tonight at 7 pm EST, tomorrow at 9 am, 11 am, & 7 pm. Those of you who enjoy Sylvia Evans will want join us at 11 am tomorrow.

The Conference is going very well! It is a good one. Join us if you can!

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I'm always wrong!

…and that's the right place to be because…

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, . . . .”

Every day we awaken – we have another day to live in His righteousness and to allow His righteousness to determine everything for us. When we refuse to take any part of an attitude of mind that declares that we have done it right, then we being to understand and live in the reality of being provided for and loved. This is humility and joy begins to become our heart's expression. Any form of “self-help” pales in comparison with my Lord's provision and love for me.

As I choose to trust Him and spend quality time with Him in His Word, then my thinking is renewed into my innocence in Him and I receive all He is for all my insufficiencies. This is the truth of the gospel. **”I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it's the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.'”

Romans 3:21-24; Romans 1:16-17 NKJB

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“My Beloved spoke, and said to me: ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away!'”      Song of Solomon 2:10-13 NKJB

This miniature iris’ let me know that Spring has come! Although nothing else in my garden is ready to bloom, this says it all. The tulips are pushing up flags – many, many of them, and the other early spring flowers are beginning to state their life – yet not in bloom – till later.

Our northeastern world is beginning to awaken from a very long winter’s nap and bids us  enjoy the sun’s rays in a walk around the garden, even though it is still to wet and cold to work the ground much. I so love our seasons. This winter has been longer than most and we have all looked forward  to feeling the warmth of the sun on our faces. I believe that is the cry of our Lord Jesus’s heart – that we would long for the heat of His presence in our hearts and on our lives. He loves us ever so much and is the giver of such good, good gifts. This very tiny iris’ (approximately 3″ high and 11/2″ across) is telling of His creative genius in a garden not yet ready to hear. Soon, the entire garden will be awash with wonderful tulips, bearded iris’, a very green and growing lawn and shade during part of the day. But not yet.

All of us are called to be and display the creative genius of our Lord as we go about our business in a cold time. A cold time of just trying to stay warm and not being able to enjoy the sun (Son) in His brilliance. Yet we choose to be that glory where-ever He should choose.
I love the beginnings of Spring – it speaks much to my heart. I just wanted to share a bit of it with you today. May we hear and respond to the voice of our Lord – even in the deepest of winter – whatever type of winter it might be and on whatever dimension of life it occurs. May we say “yes, Lord” and rise.