Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

Vain – vanity, falsehood, emptiness, nothingness, vanity, emptiness of speech, lying, worthlessness (of conduct)

Oblations – gift, tribute, offering (to God), present, oblation, sacrifice, meat offering, grain offering.

Incense – incense, smoke, odor (sweet smoke) of (burning) sacrifice, perfume

Is an abomination – a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable, in ritual sense (of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages), in ethical sense (of wickedness etc)

New moon – the new moon, month, monthly, the first day of the month, the lunar month

Sabbaths – Sabbath
a) sabbath
b) day of atonement
c) sabbath year
d) week
e) produce (in sabbath year)

The calling – 1) to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim
a) (Qal)
1) to call, cry, utter a loud sound
2) to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)
3) to proclaim
4) to read aloud, read (to oneself), read
5) to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint, call and endow
6) to call, name, give name to, call by
b) (Niphal)
1) to call oneself
2) to be called, be proclaimed, be read aloud, be summoned, be named
c) (Pual) to be called, be named, be called out, be chosen

Of Assemblies – convocation, convoking, reading, a calling together
a) convocation, sacred assembly
b) convoking
c) reading

I cannot away with – to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able
a) (Qal)
1) to be able, be able to gain or accomplish, be able to endure, be able to reach
2) to prevail, prevail over or against, overcome, be victor
3) to have ability, have strength

Even the solemn meeting – assembly, solemn assembly
a) assembly (sacred or festive meeting)
b) assemblage, company, group

In other words, stop bringing me worthlessness offerings/gifts; your sacrifice is a disgusting thing to me; the monthly days of atonement, the proclamations and reading, I cannot endure; I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Here, we already know a little about these New Moon festivals. It’s some monthly thing that the Jews were doing, allegedly as a form of worship to God. Maybe they were doing it out of obligation, or maybe it just became like a party thing to them, and they were leaving God out of the equation. Their intent and purpose may have been more about the celebration, than about the One being celebrated. However, I wanted a bit more info.

First, I want to thank my loyal readers and subscribers who have stuck it out with me for so long. I so appreciate your participation in my studies here, and my efforts to get closer to God.

Secondly, I apologize for the lack of a post for this week, but in case you missed the note on my pulse; I want to let you all know that I have a second blog. So if you don’t see a new post here on any given week, check here. I’m in the process of learning how to set up the essentials I need to make a website with blog. I want to have a feed running from both this blog and the one above right into one site. That is my goal. I will still have both blogs up, and still be writing in both, but this way, everything I write will be in one place, and at the same time, I won’t lose anyone who has grown accustomed to finding me here or there at the other blog site.

It’s taking me a while to do all of this, but you can read why here. Btw, you may want to bookmark my other site or subscribe to the feed. Much love. Peace and blessings.

As part of those arrangements, I went to get him another cell phone because the last one, from Net10 had died. My son has been through more phones than me, so I’m not looking to spend any major money on him.

The first phone was also Net10, and he walked into the ocean with the phone in his swim trunks pocket. I bought him another one after fussing. That one ended up dying after being dropped one too many times and carelessness involving some moisture getting into it.

The last guy I was seeing decided to give him a used phone he had at home, so then I put my son on my MetroPCS plan. However, after a while, that phone stopped receiving calls, and I couldn’t reach him, which was no good.

I decided that I didn’t want the expense of putting him on the monthly plan, when his minutes should be limited due to him having the phone for emergencies; direct contact with me. So this time, I gave him my former Net10 phone, which was still good, and added 150 minutes to it.

Right as I had paid for the minutes and we attempted to use that phone, it failed to work. Now mind you, I had had that phone for more than two years, and had not used it in more than 1 year.

I contacted the company, which sent us another simm card for the phone. I called them back to activate the phone with the new simm card, but it still didn’t work after several different attempts.

I had to buy a new phone and then the company said they’d transfer the 150 minutes that I had purchased to the new phone. I went to 6 different stores, including two Walmarts, 2 Family Dollar stores, 1 Dollar General and finally to a Big Lots on the recommendation of the cashier at Dollar General.

As it turns out, the manager, who went searching the back of the store to see if they had any Net10 phones, brought out a phone that we didn’t notice said “refurbished.” It was $10 less than the regular cost of $30, so I was thrilled about that, because I was still supposed to get the 300 minutes included.

Once in the car, I realized it was a refurbished phone, and discovered that it was, in fact, a much higher quality phone than the one we typically bought from Net10. I didn’t care about it being refurbished, as long as it worked.

We got home and I activated it by phone, but nothing happened. I ended up calling the company a day later, and got this really nice Latin guy on the phone. He told me that I’d be upset with him because we had to put a bunch of codes into the phone. I was fine with it, so we started.

After the first code, I thought the phone indicated 300 for the minutes after it said “code accepted.” I told the tech that it indicated 300, and this must be the minutes, but he said no; and that we had to continue to put codes in, so we continued with each accepted code indicating an addition, (or so I thought) of 300 minutes.

After all the 12 digit codes; and he thought I was so patient and gracious; he said, “Ok, so your minutes are there, right?” And I said, “Ye-eees.” Then he said, “Ok, and is everything alright? You are happy with these minutes? Are these enough for you?” And I said, “Ya!” Then he said, “You don’t sound like you are happy. Is everything alright?” And I said, “Oh yes! I’m just fine! I‘m quite happy, don’t worry! ”

Why was I reacting like that? I’m looking at the screen, and I think I’m seeing things. I was supposed to get 300 minutes for the activation. My screen, however, was telling me that I had 2100 minutes. So naturally, I was a bit flabbergasted.

Now, you might not believe this, but then I did something really crazy and bold. I said to the tech, “Ok, remember the 150 minutes from the previous phone? It was supposed to be transferred to this phone?” He says, “Oh yeah. You have 157 minutes from that phone. Let me transfer those for you.” :-O! Now mind you, he can see the amount of minutes too!

The next thing I know, I have 2257 minutes on my son’s new phone, and the tech even extended the end date by another month so we have four months to either use it, or add minutes to keep all those minutes and roll them over. Of course you know I’ll just add a few minutes and roll them over.

So technically, this is how much God gave me in phone minutes:

300 min = $30.00
    X         7
__________________
2100 min = $210.00
+ 157 min=  $15.00
___________________
Total min = $225.00

But can you believe this? I paid $20 and got $225 worth of minutes! Thing is, I had just made up my mind prior to this call with the tech, that I wanted to test the Lord on one of his promises. So I had calculated, based on the new income from this job, how much I would be giving if I added just 1% to the 10% I was lining up this new income to give, along with the other income I have coming in at the beginning of the month. I told the Lord that I wanted to test Him and see how much of a difference just 1% more would make.

It seems that just having a sincere heart towards giving more is enough to motivate God to move on our behalf.

Since writing this, the new job ended, as they are all intermittent jobs that stop when the work is completed. However, my boss said they were keeping my badge separate from everyone else’s and my name is at the top of the list to call back for the next segment in about 1 month from now.

So it’s all good. I have favor with them, so whenever its time again, I’ll be working for them. Meanwhile, God is moving again in other areas, opening other doors for me and I’m just chillin’ and letting Him do His thing on my behalf.

I was so happy about it, and I liked the flexibility and freedom of the job, as it was a field position. However, my car died on the first day of training, and when I say it died, I mean it was completely dead – unmovable. Like I said, this was back in about Feb. of this year, before God blessed me with the current set of wheels.

I managed to hook up a ride to all the training, and because the job description and educational materials said it could be done via public transportation, I did just that.

I got terminated three weeks later because my crew leader attempted to cover her patootie by telling the field supervisor that the reason for the number of hours I had was because I didn’t have a car. In other words, instead of telling him that she never assisted me when I asked for help with the boundary issues that arose due to a newly renovated landscape, she claimed it my hours accrued were more because I had no car.

Meanwhile, I had a street missing a street sign, which I couldn’t identify as part of my boundary, and another street entirely gone, which was supposed to be the other boundary. It had been replaced by 3 new buildings as the entire area was growing and expanding.

Her job was to assist me, which included coming down to the area as necessary to assist me in determining my boundary area for canvassing if there was a problem. She never did this because she herself didn’t have a car.

So she ratted me out to save herself. The supervisor canned me with little explanation, and I filed an EEO complaint. This resulted in a reversal of the termination action, my name being put back on their hiring list, and my subsequent rehire now.

So this week, I was helping them out by coming in on the morning shift to fill in for the receptionist. My job is actually supposed to be a 3-11:30 shift, and I had told them that I needed this first week to make arrangements for my son.

While sitting at the receptionist desk, a thought occurred to me. What happened to the crew leader and supervisor I filed the EEO against. Even the guy hired for the receptionist asked me that during training. I told him I didn’t know, but it wasn’t relevant to me whether they were still there or not.

So while sitting there at the desk, I just had this thought that the supervisor was still there and that I was going to encounter him while in this position. I had never seen him, nor met him prior. I had only had a phone contact while in the field.

Meanwhile, I finally erased his and the crew leader’s number from my phone on my second day at the receptionist desk. Later that afternoon, this man walks in and I got up to let him in. Immediately I thought, ‘This is him. I just know it.’ He fit exactly the impression I had of this supervisor from his voice on the phone and the name, and he was greeting me and smiling.

Sure enough, as he started signing his name, there it was; he was the uncaring field supervisor that had fired me before, without giving me an opportunity to explain any issues or discrepancies. As a matter of fact, he told me specifically that he didn’t care what the manuals said about using public transportation. He just wasn’t having it. If you didn’t have a car, you couldn’t work for him.

So you know that a bunch of thoughts ran through my head as he was standing in front of me…you know, things you think you might want to say, like, “You don’t remember me do you?” or “Remember that single mom that was trying so hard to keep the job, that you fired simply because her car broke down? The one that filed that EEO against you? Well guess what, homeboy!” (And I’d have one of those crazed mad looks like Marlon Wayans)

I mean to tell you that all these spiteful thoughts entered my head, and there was this side of me that wanted so badly to flaunt it in his face that despite his best efforts, I had won, and had gotten rehired. Believe me, I had to put some serious brakes on myself and repress those thoughts.

After all, what would it profit me? How would it help me, better my position or keep me in good graces with all the other managers if I reacted instead of responded, and went after him vengefully?

Oh sure, there’d be some mild satisfaction, but that would be momentary and short-lived. Long term? I don’t see where I’d benefit, so I left it alone. I figure it’s probably best that he doesn’t remember me. For all I know, he could be instrumental in helping me move up if I forgive and forget.

Sometimes people forget that the tongue is the most dangerous weapon they have, and if they’d just learn some self-control and be quiet sometimes, half of their problems would disappear. Most people, by means of running their mouths or being to flip with it, bring their own disaster and invite chaos into their lives.

I was wondering why a raven. Why did Noah send the raven first? Why didn’t he first send the dove? Well, for those who  make a big deal out of the sex connotation of biblical words, the raven was a masculine noun, and the dove a feminine one. Not that this is the reason, but it could be related.

And its sort of interesting to note, for those who really quibble over the masculinity and femininity of the words, that the word “raven” (the masculine word) is found only ten times in scripture while the word “dove” (the feminine word) is found 22 times. One more thing to note on this topic, is that the word “dove” (again, a feminine word) is the symbolic reference to the Spirit as well as the masculine references that are so often, and quickly pointed out by the men leading the church.

And, its also interesting and funny that as intelligent as ravens are, the raven kept flying to and fro until the waters abated from the earth, wherein the dove seemingly had the sense to go back to the boat. This means then, that the raven worked his wings off for about a week before he was able to set down and take a rest, because he wouldn’t (didn’t have the sense to) return to the boat.

Sounds about right, but all kidding aside, I don’t see any particular reason why Noah choose the raven first, except for a connotation in their name; which points again to the fact that there is power in a name, and beings will often follow the course that their name dictates unless set free from it by God.

Raven:
“a raven” (perhaps onomatopoeic, representing the sound), occurs in the plural in Luk 12:24. The Heb. oreb and the Arabic ghurab are from roots meaning “to be black;” the Arabic root also has the idea of leaving home. Hence the evil omen attached to the bird. It is the first bird mentioned in the Bible, Gen 8:7. Christ used the “ravens” to illustrate and enforce the lesson of God’s provision and care.

These birds are also on a list of birds that are forbidden for consumption by humans.

Deu 14:11 [Of] all clean birds ye shall eat.
Deu 14:12 But these [are they] of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
Deu 14:13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
Deu 14:14 And every raven after his kind,
Deu 14:15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
Deu 14:16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
Deu 14:17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
Deu 14:18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
Deu 14:19 And every creeping thing that flieth [is] unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
Deu 14:20 [But of] all clean fowls ye may eat.

Note that it mentions “every raven after his kind.” That is because of the numerous variations and types within this species, which is also known as a jackdaw, and a rook. This bird was also used as a symbol of punishment which could be the reason, in part, why this bird is viewed as a bad omen.

Pro 30:17  The eye [that] mocketh at [his] father, and despiseth to obey [his] mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

What was really the unusual thought I had about this bird, is the fact that God chose to use this ill-perceived creature as the instrument of hope to one of his chief prophets.

1Ki 17:4  And it shall be, [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
1Ki 17:5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that [is] before Jordan.
1Ki 17:6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

God had a bird that is considered to be unclean, to the point of being inedible for humans because it is a scavenger; bring food (bread and flesh) for the man of God? God sent a scavenger to feed him? That’s pretty wild. It just goes to show that if we are truly listening to the voice of God and obeying it, our supply can come from anywhere, and from the most unlikely places and individuals. But the only way we can perceive and understand this, is that the eyes of our understanding must be opened, and our hearts have to be receptive to what thus sayeth the Lord.

A few days ago, if anyone was paying attention to my tweets, you would have seen that I answered several themed tweets, which are initiated by a # symbol. This is one of the ones I responded to.

#iamsinglebecause although catfish is good eatin’ – there are too many bottom feeders swimmin’ in the shallow end around here.

Well, it strikes me as funny now, because clearly, even bottom feeders can be blessed by God. It doesn’t mean I’m to get with them, but they too can be blessed, and this is why again, the ideology of coveting is such a no-no, because if we are God’s children, we must learn to be content with whatever lot in life He has chosen for us. We should never have the attitude of looking upon anyone else’s blessings and thinking or saying sarcastically, “It must be nice!” Why?

Luk 12:24      Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
Luk 12:25     And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
Luk 12:26     If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
Luk 12:27     Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Luk 12:28     If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more [will he clothe] you, O ye of little faith?
Luk 12:29     And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
Luk 12:30     For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
Luk 12:31     But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luk 12:32     Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We don’t have to worry about our provision. Which means if you are going through a time of decrease, you still don’t have to worry. It is only a test of your faith.

I had a friend who’s relationship with God depended on her status. When she was going through her divorce she would say, “This is the first house I ever had, and if God takes that away from me, we’re through.” I couldn’t believe my ears, and I would say to God, “Do you hear this? You really need to do something about this. She needs an attitude adjustment.” Well, she never lost her house, but she lost me as a friend when she continued to lean on her own understanding, and passed judgment on me because of situation I was going through.

You should also know that the raven, that scavenger and despised creature of ill omen; which was one of the birds indicated to prey upon the ruins of Edom (Isa 34:11); was also used to describe the beauty of Christ. The Hebrew ‘orebh means “black,” and for this reason was applied to the raven, thus the reference to the locks of the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon.

Sgs 5:11  His head [is as] the most fine gold, his locks [are] bushy, [and] black as a raven.