Just to warn you all, this will be a long post. Now, for those who have not been keeping up with the latest developments, I have to refer you back to two posts. The first being the one concerning the first 3 I encountered, and that story is here. I had an Abraham moment, encountering 3 men and paid $213.00 to write 3 chapters of my book.

I want you to note the number of times the number 3 comes up. The next thing that happened was the beginning of the payback or blessing. This first incident happened here, when I encountered a person named Joshua Tallent…(check that name out!) and he blessed me with a free gift. Make sure you support him and his site: www.kindleformatting.com.

Last Thursday, the 24th, God woke me up at 5am and told me to go to the beach. Now, I think I had mentioned here that I was attempting to get more active, and in doing so, I was going to the beach to get some exercise. It has evolved from walking on the beach to actually jogging and walking in the water, which has several benefits.

First of all, the ocean floor is not smooth as one might think, but has ridges, which, while jogging particularly, has the effect of massaging the soles of one’s feet, thus increasing the circulation, which is something I need. In addition, when you are waist deep in the water, and are dealing with mild waves, or even no waves, just the resistance in the water is enough to give you a serious work out.

My muscles from the ankles going up are getting a really good workout. As a matter of fact, I felt the muscles moving and straining up to my thighs. It was particularly felt in my feet and ankles, and considering my injury, my ankles needs strengthing anyways, so this is really cool.

On the morning of the 24th when God woke me, I told him after looking at the time on my cell, that it was too early, because I normally go at 6am, and it was too dark out. So I asked God why He had gotten me up so early, and He said He wanted to talk to me. So we had an hour of conversation, and at 6 o’clock on the nose, He told me to go to the beach.

Now mind you, I had no plans from the night before, to go to the beach that morning. I had not set my alarm, and it was just not in my plans for that day, but He said go, and I got up and went.

Because my son was not going with me, I went to the public beach to avoid the construction workers around the private beach I sometimes frequent. As I got out of the car and headed to the beach, I see two guys on the beach doing yoga stretching. I walked over and asked if I could join them, to which they agreed.

Awhile later, a woman that had been standing for a long time at the edge of the water watching us, came up and said, “You all look so cute up here doing this. Can I join you?” So she also started stretching with us, and Ryan, who was leading, was specifically accomodating my injury with his instructions, as I had already told him about it.

So here I was, thinking, “Wow Lord, what a blessing this is…” and just as I have this thought, the woman turns around and says, “So all of us here are Christian, right?” My mouth about hit the floor, because sure enough, every one of us was saved. We all said what churches we attend and introduced ourselves. It was cool.

So after we went into the water to do the cardio, (the jogging I told Ryan I do) the woman, who was an evangelist/prophetess, had to leave. The doctor had already left, as well as the other (5th) guy, who was photographing us, and was also Christian.

Ryan said he would walk her out and catch up with me, so I continued jogging towards the pier. At this point, I have to inform you that I had a fear of the pier. I’ve been on the pier. I’ve walked under the pier on the beach, but I had a fear of being near the pier in the water, because, having been on the pier at the end, and seeing people catch pretty large fish, I was afraid of what might be in the water in and around the pier. (Of course, someone later told me I should have been afraid of hooks…but I hadn’t thought about that at the time.)

So I’m heading for the pier, and I decide, after looking back and still not seeing Ryan; that I’m going under the pier to the other side. As I get closer to the pier, I stop jogging and was walking, so that I could see what was in the water, because the seaweed was getting thicker on the bottom as well, and I was already on the lookout for jellyfish. I had jumped over two already.  I had to keep telling myself that I had nothing to fear but fear itself, and reminding myself that God was with me. I hesitated twice, but I walked under the pier to the other side and back. I actually liked standing under it.

So after I get back to where I started, Ryan comes and joins me and we are talking about a lot of biblical/spiritual things. It turns out that he is the owner of a gym which he has converted to a ministry. He is a wellness coach, and he wanted to be able to assist people who wanted to get healthy, whether or not they could afford a gym, so that is what he does. He offered to evaluate and help me with that effort, and gave me the cards with info for his gym. He said he needed to evaluate me on flat ground, and that he would work with whatever I could afford, as I had already told him that I was unemployed and a single mom. So God gave me a gym to work out in weeks after I casually mentioned that this would be helpful.

So now…I put out $213.00, and thus far, the work Joshua did for me would have cost at least $40.00, plus a gym membership is usually about $300.00 yearly. But God is not finished yet.

Friday, the 29 year old that is crazy about me…and trust…I’m a bit older, lost his car keys and had no spare. I honestly believe that God has put him in my path to drop seeds on, so I tell him that God is in control and we are friends until such time as God sees fit to change the situation. I told him that if he wants me, he has to go through God because I’m married to God and God will not release me to just anyone. He’d have to be lined up with and walking with God. This has not deterred him, despite the fact that he’s not lined up with God now.

So anyways, he loses the keys and has no money because his check was not deposited to his bank when he thought it would be. He has no family that would have a spare, nor any friends that do either, and he’s so frustrated, he’s asking me if I’ve ever seen a grown man cry.

I hug him and tell him that God has got it and not to worry. A while later, I remember my A(3) card, and call them to see if a locksmith is part of my service, which it was. So I call in a service call for the locksmith. We go out to the garage where his truck is parked and are waiting for them to arrive and we get the first phone call.

A(3) had told me that usually the cost is the amount that I’m covered for on the membership, which is $100.00. I speak to the locksmith, and he says…$95.00 more. So I tell him, no can do, because I’m hurtin’ for cash myself because of the two car repair bills. He asks the year of the truck and says that he will check if it needs a certain cell to do it; if not, he can bring it down to $140.00. I tell him that I’m a single mom, that is not working so this is not affordable now, and I will have to wait.

At that point, he says, “Let me help you out. I can give this to you for the A(3) discount, but I will have to wait a few hours until later when his calls die down a bit. He will call me 20 min. before the guy is on his way. Cool. We go back to the house, and get the call a while later. The guy is there waiting. We get there only to find that the guy says he doesn’t have the equipment needed because he was going to try to do it from the vin and realized that he couldn’t because of the type of vehicle. So my friend is sighing and showing his frustration, and I tell him…”It’s ok…God’s got this.”

The locksmith says he’s going to send another guy, but we will have to wait another couple of hours. I say ok, and we head out and do a few errands. We are heading back to the house again, and we get the call again. Third (3rd) time’s the charm, and there’s the locksmith and he’s able to do the job quickly, so I was able to leave and my friend drove back later. So here was yet another set of 3′s.

Friday, my friend comes over and is helping me to paint my place. This has nothing to do with 3, but was just another blessing because I’ve had the paint about 2-3 months and no help to move the furniture and so forth. The color looks great. Will post pics when I can.

Anyways, now we’ve got $340.00 plus $195.00 we didn’t have to pay for the locksmith…just have patience and wait on God.

Saturday, I’m on my way to church (evening service) and my son picks up the mail and gives it to me in the car. I look at the one envelope and think…”I don’t recognize that sender…it’s probably junk mail.”

I hold up the envelope to the light and see some words including “unemployment.” I’m thinking, “I’m already done with unemployment, so this wouldn’t have anything to do with me.” I was going to chuck it, but God tells me to open it.

It turns out that the president apparently signed something that gives me an extended benefit of an additional 13 weeks of unemployment starting July the 12th! So we’re talking around $3328.00 that God just put in my lap in the next 13 weeks!

So for my $213.00 (plus some minor whining, and a lot of faith), God gave me $3668.00, not including the $195.00 that we saved with A(3). That is 17x what I spent! Am I blessed or what?!? Man! I love God! Peace and blessings all.

The previous post tells of an interesting situation that God used to not only get me info to write 3 chapters of the next book, but also to test my faith. I loved all the great comments I got on it. Thanks guys!

So to update everyone, what I can now say is FINALLY! After weeks of setbacks and delays, and small things that were somewhat frustrating, the current book, “Dear Child Of God,” is now uploaded in the amazon.com/dtp site for the Kindle. The only thing remaining for that version is for me to give them my bank info, which hopefully, I will have a commercial account by the end of this week.

I want to thank Joshua @ www.kindleformatting.com, for the gift of the formatting that he did for me. It really saved me so much time and most definitely, major frustration. He’s a really great guy and for those trying to publish, especially for the Kindle, he is very helpful, so support his site. I couldn’t not have gotten this ready at this point in time, if not for his assistance.

The soft cover print version has also been loaded to my publisher, and I am awaiting their review. So finally, things are looking like they are on track. I’m estimating that by the first of August, it should be available to purchase. FYI, any readers or subscribers of this site that contact me directly to order will be getting a discount off the retail price. It will be available at amazon.com for both print and Kindle versions. I am also looking to make it available as an ebook in several sites, such as Lulu.com and smashwords.com, among others. As soon as it is available on these and a few other sites I’m looking into, I will let you know.

Meanwhile…I’m psyched! I’m also looking at investigating some of amazon’s other international sites, to see if I can get it on there. Amazon is really amazing. They offer so much; they charge a bit for it, but sometimes it’s really worth it, because you can’t their service anywhere else. So I’m gearing up, ’cause as Creflo Dollar says, the time has come and the shift is beginning. The wealth of the wicked is in the transfer process, because it was laid up for the children of the faith. So get ready people. I know God is going to just take this and run with it. Peace and blessings.

Thurday, I was taking my son for a play date at his friend’s house, when my  car’s front end started shaking and rattling real hard. I pulled over, thinking I had a flat, but the tires looked fine. So I slowly drive the rest of the way to my son’s friend’s, because once I hit 35mph, the shaking would start again.

I’m thinking, “Aw, c’mon Lord! I just spent $256.00 barely a week ago on this car, and it hit my budget hard. I was already pressed for this month, and definitely did not need another repair bill. I get to the mechanic a bit later, and run into three (note the number-which I didn’t even realize until writing this)gentlemen sitting in the mechanic’s office.

They ask me if I’m a sister in the Lord, which I affirmed. The one said, “See, I told you she was. You can tell looking at her.” Well, I must admit that I liked the fact that it was finally that obvious. Now, of course, I’m  thinking that if it is that obvious, what do I look like when I’m mad or impatient? How’s the reflection then?

Anyways, so I start talking with these guys and telling them about my books.  In the course of the conversation, I let them know about the one that I am now trying to publish, and the delays that keep occurring,  “But,” I say, “I know that God has a reason and a purpose for all of these delays, so it’s cool.”

Then I tell them about the current book I’m halfway through writing, “In His Image.” I told them that the last section I was working on, I was talking about Lucifer, and how he came to be. I described the difference in his origins versus mankind’s origins, and they asked me, what about the angels?

I told them that I hadn’t gotten to them yet, and they said that this information interested them because why did 1/3 of them fall away with Satan? After the mechanic returned, they got up to leave, and shook my hands saying they were glad to have met me, and the one fellow intended to contact a pastor that we both knew (I knew this pastor only as a homeschool evaluator) and let him know about my books so that he could forward the name of a publisher to me that worked a good deal for him.

When they were gone, I was sitting in the mechanic’s office, and he has this big large print bible on the desk. Despite having brought my own reading material…some business info I needed to study, I kept thinking about what those guys asked me about the angels.

So I decided to peruse this bible, particularly the back to see if there was any concordance or subject information on angels. Sure enough, this bible had a whole section that listed quite a bit of information on angels. I immediately photocopied those pages to take home and review.

So I’m sitting there, and I say to God, “Lord, seriously, you need to address this bill for me, because things are too tight right now for me to be hit with another car repair bill like the last one.” Meanwhile, I say this, hoping that God will convince my mechanic to give me a freebie this time, as he has done this sort of thing in the past.

The mechanic comes in and  tells me that the problem was the ball bearings and the holder for them, which was damaged when the ball bearings locked. He handed me the bill. “Ouch!” I say, “Can I stop by tomorrow with a check?” So he ok’s that, and I leave.

Later that night, I’m at home looking at my banking in my computer program and trying to figure out how I might rob Peter to pay Paul.  I finagle the numbers between several accounts and figure how I’m going to move money into the main account to cover this…by hitting 4 other accounts for the funds. Heartbreaking.

So then I move on to looking at those sheets I copied on angels. I begin to look up certain aspects of the information, and  start finding some interesting information that is extremely relevant to my book, and so…the flow starts and I end up writing 3 more chapters to add in this new information.

When I’m finally done with this exercise, it’s late and I’m exhausted, but I was still clear headed enough to realize something and I said to God, “That information cost me $213.00!” 

It was a pretty expensive lesson, but well worth it because I needed it for the book. So for anyone who is considering purchasing this book once it’s published, just know that you are getting more than you paid for; because I had a predestined appointment at the mechanic’s just to meet those 3 men, receive their questions, and get the information that pointed me to the answers for that section of the book. Peace and blessings.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 5.9

Now we are back to this point that shows us why Hezekiah is dealing with this situation. It is evident that this is a test. In other words, it’s like Sennacherib = “Sin multiplied brothers” came to “Jehovah is my strength” king of “praised” and said, I don’t believe you. I don’t believe Jehovah is your strength, or that you are the king of “praised.”  Me and my “multiplied brothers of sin” have come to challenge you and your “strength.” Now I want to view that invasion from 2 Chronicles.

2Ch 32:1  After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.

2Ch 32:2  And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,

Jerusalem = “teaching of peace”

2Ch 32:3  He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which [were] without the city: and they did help him.

Waters

1) water, waters

a) water

b) water of the feet, urine

c) of danger, violence, transitory things, refreshment (fig.)

When I looked up the word transition, I found: the passage from one place or state to another, change. Transitory means lasting only a short time.

Fountains

1) eye

a) eye

1) of physical eye

2) as showing mental qualities

3) of mental and spiritual faculties (fig.)

2) spring, fountain

City

1) excitement, anguish

a) of terror

2) city, town (a place of waking, guarded)

a) city, town

So what I see here is that Hezekiah stopped the waters of the fountains without the city in order to prevent the passage or change in the mindset of those outside of excitement, anguish or terror; in other words…this was an effort to proclaim: “Trouble don’t last always.”

2Ch 32:4  So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

2Ch 32:5  Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised [it] up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo [in] the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.

So Hezekiah stopped doubt and at the same time, strengthened himself, and built up broken areas, and invested in weapons in abundance. It sounds to me like he was getting filled with the word.

2Ch 32:6  And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,

2Ch 32:7  Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that [is] with him: for [there be] more with us than with him:

2Ch 32:8  With him [is] an arm of flesh; but with us [is] the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

The Fifteen “Songs of Degrees”:

Fifteen years were added to the life of Hezekiah. In the restoration of the second temple by Herod fifteen steps led from the Court of the Women to the Court of Israel, and on these steps the Levites during the Feast of Tabernacles were accustomed to stand in order to sing the fifteen “songs of degrees” (Pss 120-134). At the head of these same steps in the gateway, lepers who had been cleansed from their disease presented themselves to the priests. It has been suggested that Hezekiah himself was the compiler of these fifteen “songs of the steps,” in thankfulness for his fifteen years of added life. Five of them are ascribed to David or as written for Solomon, but the remaining ten bear no author’s name. Their subjects are, however, most appropriate to the great crises and desires of Hezekiah’s life. His great Passover, to which all the tribes were invited, and so many Israelites came; the blasphemy of Rabshakeh and of Sennacherib’s threatening letter; the danger of the Assyrian invasion and the deliverance from it; Hezekiah’s sickness unto death and his miraculous restoration to health; and the fact that at that time he would seem to have had no son to follow him on the throne—all these subjects seem to find fitting expression in the fifteen Psalms of the Steps.

Last night I decided to put something in motion. I’d been thinking about it for several days, hemming and hawing about whether or not I could actually do it.  The doubt, for those who may be curious, was not in my ability to accomplish the thing, but in my ability to be consistent in accomplishing it.

I’m one of those people, who can get focused for a period of time, and then…life just interferes, and I completely get off track. I guess many people are like that. When there is too much to focus on, it can be that way.

I was reading this book last night, I think it’s called, “I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy Tee-shirt.” It’s an amusing book, and this pastor has a sort of wacked sense of humor, but he does make his points.

As much as I can remember of the section I read, and considering I was pretty sleepy when I read this; he was talking about walking with speed, versus walking with love.

I guess it’s our goal-making mentality that causes us to place time restraints on everything. His example was when his sister’s baby had died, and he took the opportunity to minister to his mother and brother-in-law. He had an entire speech ready when he went into the hospital to be there for his sister, who had asked him to try to speak to them. None of it mattered. They were unmoved.

His wife went and was just there, and even after he left and flew back home, she stayed an additional week, just being there for them. His point was that his method was walking with speed, and hers was walking with love, because she demonstrated her faith by her actions, not by words. He figured that long term, she would have a greater effect than he did.

What was my point? I said this to point out the fact that those of us who aspire to the fantastic organizational skills we see in others, are, in our backwardness, seeking to become goal-setting, everything-in-its-proper-place people, when in reality, God calls us to live life moment by moment, and not to sweat the small stuff. He calls us to walk in love, not speed.

Yesterday, starringsarah posted a lot of nice pics showing a beautiful apartment in Chicago. I, in my muddle of misery at my lack of organization, was looking at these pics and thinking, “Why can’t I have a beautiful, spotless apartment like that?” Actually, that apartment is so spotless, it doesn’t look lived in. It looks like a model for showing apartments. Pretty though.

Now admittedly, part of the problem, aside from too many things on the platter, is laziness. See, this is why I actually need to be wealthy, because I have always known that there were so many more interesting things to be doing than to be bothered with something like housework. I’m not the queen of domesticity, but I do like things neat and organized.

So in the spirit of breaking free of at least a portion of my laziness, I determined to get more active and started taking my son out of the house a bit more frequently. That was stage one. I enacted stage two today.

Although the dreariness of the current rain wouldn’t tell you this, it was a gorgeous morning, and I woke up by alarm at 6am; got up at 6:25 and got dressed after retrieving my bottom half from the car. Yeah, I know that sounds funny. It’s the bottom half of my swimsuit.

I decided that I’m going to get up at 6am in the mornings, and hit the beach walking for some exercise. So today, not being really clear on how I would do the getting wet part of this exercise, I got to the pier and started walking.

I set my sights on a set of condos that were probably a mile from the pier, and headed towards them. Having arrived in dusters (those slip-on suede shoes people get for work that are really comfortable) I walked down by the water and pulled them off; sticking my keys plus cell into one shoe, and my fingers through the loops on the back to carry them.

I was wearing a stretchy sort of yoga pant and a sleeveless tee over my suit, and my pant legs were getting wet, but I didn’t care. It felt good, and it wasn’t hot yet.

The only difficulty I was having was in the fact that my left ankle felt a little uncomfortable due to the angle of the beach and sinking into the sand. For those who don’t know, my left leg was damaged in a biking/car accident, in which I was basically sideswiped on the bike by a car 8 years ago. I had a double fracture to the ankle and the knee, and the ankle still has a bit of swelling (edema) as well as stiffness and inflexibility. The knee sometimes feels weak like it will slip.

But nevertheless, I plodded on through the angled sand and water, determined to get to those condos. I did pretty well actually, coming within a few buildings of them; but by that time, I was pretty hot and wanted to take a dip, so I figured I’d dip and then maybe proceed on.

The dip was nice; water cool and clear, and a low tide. No big waves, just small to medium swells and minor irritants. I got in, got low into the water, and started back floating. I really didn’t have to go out far, but I could have because the tide was so low. But the fish were, I guess, trying to figure out what this big thing casting a shadow in the water was, and so, they kept nipping at me.

Outside of that, back floating allows me to relax my neck, back and shoulders, and I basically cross the arms behind my head, as well as my legs, and just chill. Its great alone time to talk to God, and also gives one an interesting view and perspective of the seagulls and pelicans as they fly directly over you.

I was on my way back to the pier about 45 minutes later, walking on the street near the beach, which by that time, was beginning to get hot. It was almost 8am, and aside from the new construction, the street still had shade, so it was easier. All in all, it was a great morning.

After that, I went home and got ready for my meeting with FAU’s small business dept., where I was referred to another counselor who happens to be Christian, and has also written a book. She will be able to give me a much better perspective on what I will need to do, and how to do it, so all in all, I had a great morning. Peace and blessings.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 5.8

Hezekiah’s Choice of the Sign:

We can therefore understand the nature of the choice of the sign that was offered by the prophet to the dying king. Would he choose that ten more steps should be straight- way engulfed in the shadow, or that ten steps already shadowed should be brought back into the light? Either might serve as a sign that he should arise on the third day and go up in renewed life to the house of the Lord; but the one sign would be in accordance with the natural progress of events, and the other would be directly opposed to it. It would be a light thing, as Hezekiah said, for the shadow to go forward ten steps; a bank of cloud rising behind the Temple would effect that change. But no disposition of cloud could bring the shadow back from that part of the staircase which had already passed into it, and restore it to the sunshine. The first change was, in human estimation, easily possible, “a light thing”; the second change seemed impossible. Hezekiah chose the seemingly impossible, and the Lord gave the sign and answered his prayer. We need not ask whether the king showed more or less faith in choosing the “impossible” rather than the “possible” sign. His father Ahaz had shown his want of faith by refusing to put the Lord to the test, by refusing to ask a sign, whether in the heaven above or in the earth beneath. The faith of Hezekiah was shown in asking a sign, which was at once in the heaven above and in the earth beneath, in accepting the choice offered to him, and so putting the Lord to the test. And the sign chosen was most fitting, Hezekiah lay dying, whether of plague or of cancer we do not know, but his disease was mortal and beyond cure; he was already entering into the shadow of death. The word of the Lord was sure to him; on “the third day” he would rise and go up in new life to the house of God.

It’s interesting that that this perspective is one of “putting the Lord to the test by asking for a sign.” From what we saw earlier of Ahaz, I don’t think he was in the position to “put God to the test.” He did not follow God, so I think that is the difference here. For him, Ahaz to ask for a sign would have been reminiscent of Mat 12:39-41 that I mentioned two posts ago. 

Isa 38:9  The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:

Isa 38:10  I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.

Isa 38:11  I said, I shall not see the LORD, [even] the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.

Isa 38:12  Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day [even] to night wilt thou make an end of me.

1) tent

a) nomad’s tent, and thus symbolic of wilderness life, transience

b) dwelling, home, habitation

c) the sacred tent of Jehovah (the tabernacle)

Isa 38:13  I reckoned till morning, [that], as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day [even] to night wilt thou make an end of me.

Isa 38:14  Like a crane [or] a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail [with looking] upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.

Here, he recognizes God’s purpose in the sickness.

Isa 38:15  What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done [it]: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

Isa 38:16  O Lord, by these [things men] live, and in all these [things is] the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.

Isa 38:17  Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul [delivered it] from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

This sickness’ purpose was to deliver his soul, so that God’s name would be praised and glorified.

Isa 38:18  For the grave cannot praise thee, death can [not] celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

Isa 38:19  The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I [do] this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Isa 38:20  The LORD [was ready] to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.

Isa 38:21  For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay [it] for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.

Isa 38:22  Hezekiah also had said, What [is] the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?

2Ch 32:27  And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels;

2Ch 32:28  Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.

2Ch 32:29  Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much.

2Ch 32:30  This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

2Ch 32:31  Howbeit in [the business of] the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was [done] in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all [that was] in his heart.

 What would make a perfect day?

I think, but I’m not sure, that this is the first time I’ve interrupted my study to answer a featured question.

I was looking at heyyoulady‘s response and she had this statement in the mix:

“Many people (ok, ALL people) at one time or another ask the question, If God is so good, why does he allow suffering?”

I thought, ‘Ok…this is a perspective issue,’ but I wanted to actually address that question too. So in first answering the overall featured question…I’d have to say that every day is a perfect day, because every day, no matter what happens and no matter how I view it, I am in the will of God, and He is directing my path. Thus, with this knowledge, I have to accept whatever comes my way, because I relinquished any illusions I had of “control” over to Him, the rightful owner of that concept. Do I always like what happens? No, but ultimately, even if I can’t see or understand it immediately, or ever, I know that God’s got me, and that makes life and every day I have of it, perfect.

Now…to address that question in the quote above…I’ll drop a little preview of my current book (in progress) because this subject matter came up in the book.

The first book, “Dear Child of God” is in the publication process, and soon to be released. The name of the new book I am working on is “In His Image.” This is an excerpt…

God created perfection then allowed it to be marred. Why?  It’s not as if God didn’t see Satan falling down into His perfect earth. It wasn’t a great cosmic accident.

Atheists often ask this question: “Why would God allow evil in the world? Are we some sort of cosmic experiment for the sake of His entertainment?”

The answer is found in Genesis, because the redemptive story is first illustrated there in the creation of the earth.

First of all, if not for the negatives, no positives would be visible to us. Both energies are necessary for the existence of the other. We can’t see light without the existence of darkness. How would we know the difference?

If there are all level plains, then there are no mountains to climb and no horizons to strive for because all exist on one plane and it’s too easy.

It’s like playing a video game at level one all the time. There’s no challenge, and this results in atrophy. There must be a struggle to overcome in order for God’s glory to be seen and fully recognized.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

If all things were created by Him that is in heaven and in earth then it stands to reason that God allows it to exist for a reason and a purpose. People don’t want to believe that God created evil. That disturbs their theology. But God is Lord of all, which means lord over it; ultimately in control. Now we know there is a god of evil, but even he is not lord over it.

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, [and] hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Job 26:8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

Job 26:9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, [and] spreadeth his cloud upon it.

Job 26:10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.

Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

Job 26:12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.

Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

Job 26:14 Lo, these [are] parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?  

Right there in verse 13 is the evidence. It was God who formed the crooked serpent, Satan. God is the only self contained, self-existing one. All the angels were his creations and Lucifer as well. Again, it’s all part of the plan.

People always talk about achieving a state of Nirvana, which is a place or state characterized by oblivion or freedom from pain, worry, and the external world. Its ideal condition is one of rest, harmony, stability or joy.

Everyone wants to be in this state of existence, and this is exactly the state of existence that was created in the beginning.

However, there’s a reason we could not stay in that state of existence. First, if there are no negatives, as stated earlier, there are no positives, because there is no consciousness of it.

Secondly, a tree does not grow upward without roots that grow downward. Without the downward growth and attachment of them, the tree would topple over and fall. It cannot be supported without it.

In other words, we all have to go through some negatives, just like the tree’s roots push downward through the dirt; in order to see evidence of the positives, the tree growing up into the light.

Likewise, we could not grow as people without obstacles. There must be something to overcome; to learn from. That’s why failure is one of the best teachers in life. Failure is a good thing as long as you don’t allow it to stop you.

Without the struggle of life, we would never recognize who we are and whose we are. We would know nothing, and would question nothing. We would have no goals or purpose, so there would be no reason for us to exist.

If sin did not exist, we would never know there is a right way or a wrong way. We could not escape danger because we would not know it exists. Therefore, the existence of evil is very necessary because without it, we could not find the good, nor could we find God.

In addition, evil has a two-fold purpose. It serves to teach us boundaries, and in so doing, mature us; as well as test our love and faith towards God.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 5.7

One of the most striking instances recorded in Holy Scripture of the interruption, or rather reversal, of the working of a natural law; is the going back of the shadow on the dial of Ahaz at the time of Hezekiah’s recovery from his illness. The record of the incident is as follows. Isaiah was sent to Hezekiah in his sickness, to say:

“Thus saith Yahweh, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of Yahweh. …. And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that Yahweh will heal me, and that I shall go up unto the house of Yahweh the third day? And Isaiah said, This shall be the sign unto thee from Yahweh, that Yahweh will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto Yahweh; and he brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz” (2Ki 20:5-11). And in Isa 38:8, it is said, “Behold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return backward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial whereon it was gone down.”

The Sign a Real Miracle:

The first and essential point to be noted is that this was no ordinary astronomical phenomenon, nor was it the result of ordinary astronomical laws then unknown. It was peculiar to that particular place, and to that particular time; otherwise we should not read of “the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent …. to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land” (2Ch 32:31). It is impossible, therefore, to accept the suggestion that the dial of Ahaz may have been improperly constructed, so as to produce a reversal of the motion of the shadow at certain times. For such a maladjustment would have occasioned the repetition of the phenomenon every time the sun returned to the same position with respect to the dial. The narrative, in fact, informs us that the occurrence was not due to any natural law, known or unknown, since Hezekiah was given the choice and exercised it of his own free will, as to whether a shadow should move in a particular direction or in the opposite. But there are no alternative results in the working of a natural law. “If a state of things is repeated in every detail, it must lead to exactly the same consequences.” The same natural law cannot indifferently produce one result, or its opposite. The movement of the shadow on the dial of Ahaz was, therefore, a miracle in the strict sense of the term. It cannot be explained by the working of any astronomical law, known or unknown. We have no information as to the astronomical conditions at the time; we can only inquire into the setting of the miracle.

Time of Day of the Miracle:

At certain times of the day the shadow of some object fell upon this staircase, and we learn from both 2Ki and Isa that this shadow had already gone down ten steps, while from Isa we learn in addition that the sun also was going down. The miracle therefore took place in the afternoon, when the sun moves on its downward course, and when all shadows are thrown in an easterly direction. We are not told what was the object that cast the shadow, but it must have stood to the west of the staircase, and the top of the staircase must have passed into the shadow first, and the foot of the staircase have remained longest in the light. The royal palace is understood to have been placed southeast of the Temple, and it is therefore probable that it was some part of the Temple buildings that had cast its shadow down the stairway in full view of the dying king, as he lay in his chamber. If the afternoon were well advanced the sun would be moving rapidly in altitude, and but little in azimuth; or, in other words, the shadow would be advancing down the steps at its quickest rate, but be moving only slowly toward the left of those who were mounting them. It may well have been the case, therefore, that the time had come when the priests from Ophel, and the officials and courtiers from the palace, were going up the ascent into the house of the Lord to be present at the evening sacrifice; passing from the bright sunshine at the foot of the stairs into the shadow that had already fallen upon the upper steps. The sun would be going straight down behind the buildings and the steps already in shadow would sink into deeper shadow, not to emerge again into the light until a new day’s sun had arisen upon the earth.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 5.6

Isa 38:4  Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,

Isa 38:5  Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

The book of 2 Kings gives more of a description of this conversation.

2Ki 20:4  And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

2Ki 20:5  Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.

There’s the first sign; the number 3.

2Ki 20:6  And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

2Ki 20:7  And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid [it] on the boil, and he recovered.

2Ki 20:8  And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What [shall be] the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?

What I question is why did Hezekiah ask what the sign of this healing would be? Was it that he was asking when it would take place? Because surely being healed would be evidence itself. And too, wasn’t he just healed of a boil? But he still wasn’t convinced? This reminds me of another scripture:

Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Mat 12:41  The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas [is] here.

And here we see the number three again. It’s everywhere, but no one seems to realize it. And look who will arise in judgment. We will see this name mentioned again later.

2Ki 20:8  And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What [shall be] the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?

2Ki 20:9  And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

2Ki 20:10  And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

2Ki 20:11  And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

Dial: for the measurement of time, only once mentioned in the Bible, erected by Ahaz (2Ki 20:11; Isa 38:8). The Hebrew word (ma’aloth) is rendered “steps” in Exd 20:26, 1Ki 10:19, and “degrees” in 2Ki 20:9, 10, 11. The _ma’aloth_ was probably stairs on which the shadow of a column or obelisk placed on the top fell. The shadow would cover a greater or smaller number of steps, according as the sun was low or high.

Probably the sun-dial was a Babylonian invention. Daniel at Babylon (Dan 3:6) is the first to make mention of the “hour.”