AI (Wombo) Patriotic Sabbath Candles by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
I love that I can get an idea in my mind of something I think would be pretty, and then try it with an AI design tool. I mostly do that with Wombo because I’m so familiar with it. And this made so many designs to stick with my theme of doing patriotic images for all of July. I had one I liked better except for one thing: the candles were dripping. Of course, that’s what most burning candles do, but because someone might think I’m alluding to the colors running, I decided to use a different one.
Because it’s Sabbath and I want to enjoy some rest after a busy (and good) week, I’m keeping this short, but I will throw in a few more pictures. I’m hoping to create an album in Google Drive of many patriotic and firework images. Maybe I should do about 250 of them. 😁
And I just realized today that I’ve been alive for both the bicentennial in 1976 and now the semiquincentennial. Thankfully, it’s the country that is a quarter of a millennium old and not me. Lol 😂. But it is cool to have been born in the right year to live through both of these anniversary events.
Psalm 91:1, 16 BSB [1] He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. [16] With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.”
I like how sharing the first and last verse of a chapter in the Bible creates a link to the whole chapter. I’ve never tried that before. I guess it doesn’t take much to entertain me. (Grin)
And here are a few extra images before I sign off for Sabbath rest:
AI (Wombo) Patriotic Candles Create a Show by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
AI (Wombo) Pretty Patriotic Candles by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
AI (Wombo) Ethereal Patriotic Scene by Crystal A Murray (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
(Tech Note: I fixed the Jetpack problem by reinstalling. It hasn’t had a recent update, so I don’t know why that worked other than I’d originally installed it to my tablet by a transfer from my phone, and maybe all it needed was a clean install from the Google Play Store.)
Treasure Chest by Flickr User Tom Praison aka TommyClicks, CC License = Attribution Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
The Christian singer, Carman, had a song with the lyric line, “When God talks, even E.F. Hutton listens.” Apparently, Carman believed that even E.F. Hutton would know how good God is when it comes to investing. (In case you don’t know, E.F. Hutton and Co. was an investment firm with a commercial slogan that included, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”) If you are a believer, and if you have felt the move of God in your own life, you too know how good God is at investing because you know that He invests in the hearts and salvation of people.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 7:1 through Deuteronomy 7:11, we conclude another week and another portion of Torah. Moses is still speaking to the community of Israel and reminding them of their past while preparing them for their future before the enter into The Promised Land. Moses begins by reminding Israel that The Lord their God is the one bringing them into their new homeland, and He will drive out all the inhabitants that are currently there.
There are seven nations in the land that are bigger than Israel, and Moses tells the people that when God hands these nations over to Israel for victory, Israel is to completely destroy them. Because they are not going to be neighbors, Moses tells the people God’s commands to not make any covenants with them, and he tells them not to show them any mercy. He also advises them not to intermarry. He tells them that if they allow their sons to marry the daughters of the current inhabitants, or if they allow their daughters to be taken as wives to the men of the land, they will turn their hearts away from the true God, and it will cause God’s anger to flare up against them.
Through Moses, God tells them to treat the people as follows: break down the altars they have built to false gods, smash their standing stones to pieces, cut down their sacred poles, and completely burn up their carved images. God doesn’t want any of these things in the land He has chosen for a people He has invested in. Moses tells them how God chose them out of all the people on the earth to be His special treasure. God did not choose the people because they were a large group of people since they were actually one of the smallest people groups on earth, but He chose them because He loved them and wanted to keep the promises He swore to their ancestors.
Moses reminds Israel that God being a promise keeper is how they can know that He is indeed God Almighty. He redeemed Israel from slavery and brought them out from Egypt because He is faithful, and because He keeps His promises. God extends grace to those who love Him and keep His laws to a thousand generations, but He repays those who hate Him to their face, and He destroys them. Because God is not slow in repaying those who hate Him, Moses encourages Israel to keep all the laws and rulings he is giving them and to obey them.
As we enter into our time of resting from our own ways and honoring God for His ways and His wisdom, let us remember that we are able to do so only because He chose to invest in us just as He invested in Israel. God did not choose us because we were anything special or great, or because we deserved to serve Him, but simply because He loves us. He doesn’t have some firm watching to see which of us will be the most beneficial to the kingdom and choosing investments for Him. Instead, He is putting Himself out there as an investor to whosoever will seek Him, come to Him, and receive Him. Know that God does not invest in junk, so you are worth as much to Him as any of His interests.
If you already serve God, rejoice in your value to Him. His Word tells us that where our treasure is, our hearts will be, so since we are His treasure, we know where His heart is at too. HalleluYah! Now, if you are reading this and haven’t made a choice to turn to Him, I urge you to consider the investment He already made for you through the blood of Yeshua, and know that He would’ve paid that price if you were the only option for Him to choose. Our Creator has the wisdom to know when and what to buy and sell, and He wants you in His portfolio because when God makes an investment, He knows what He’s doing.
Shabbat Shalom to all, and may you have an abundantly blessed rest that gives you all you need for a fruitful week ahead.
Crystal is, like her name, multi-faceted. She can even write about herself in third person and only feel a little awkward about it. 🙂 She loves to write; she loves kaleidoscopes, fractals, and all things colorful; she loves her husband, her family, and her feline furkids; and mostly she loves Yahveh Almighty, her Creator. She believes her creative mind is in her DNA from Him, and she believes He sees His creations as she sees the images inside a kaleidoscope–all different yet all beautiful and most beautiful when light (His light) shines through them.
Crystal Writes A Blog 
When God Makes an Investment
Treasure Chest by Flickr User Tom Praison aka TommyClicks, CC License = Attribution
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
The Christian singer, Carman, had a song with the lyric line, “When God talks, even E.F. Hutton listens.” Apparently, Carman believed that even E.F. Hutton would know how good God is when it comes to investing. (In case you don’t know, E.F. Hutton and Co. was an investment firm with a commercial slogan that included, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”) If you are a believer, and if you have felt the move of God in your own life, you too know how good God is at investing because you know that He invests in the hearts and salvation of people.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 7:1 through Deuteronomy 7:11, we conclude another week and another portion of Torah. Moses is still speaking to the community of Israel and reminding them of their past while preparing them for their future before the enter into The Promised Land. Moses begins by reminding Israel that The Lord their God is the one bringing them into their new homeland, and He will drive out all the inhabitants that are currently there.
There are seven nations in the land that are bigger than Israel, and Moses tells the people that when God hands these nations over to Israel for victory, Israel is to completely destroy them. Because they are not going to be neighbors, Moses tells the people God’s commands to not make any covenants with them, and he tells them not to show them any mercy. He also advises them not to intermarry. He tells them that if they allow their sons to marry the daughters of the current inhabitants, or if they allow their daughters to be taken as wives to the men of the land, they will turn their hearts away from the true God, and it will cause God’s anger to flare up against them.
Through Moses, God tells them to treat the people as follows: break down the altars they have built to false gods, smash their standing stones to pieces, cut down their sacred poles, and completely burn up their carved images. God doesn’t want any of these things in the land He has chosen for a people He has invested in. Moses tells them how God chose them out of all the people on the earth to be His special treasure. God did not choose the people because they were a large group of people since they were actually one of the smallest people groups on earth, but He chose them because He loved them and wanted to keep the promises He swore to their ancestors.
Moses reminds Israel that God being a promise keeper is how they can know that He is indeed God Almighty. He redeemed Israel from slavery and brought them out from Egypt because He is faithful, and because He keeps His promises. God extends grace to those who love Him and keep His laws to a thousand generations, but He repays those who hate Him to their face, and He destroys them. Because God is not slow in repaying those who hate Him, Moses encourages Israel to keep all the laws and rulings he is giving them and to obey them.
As we enter into our time of resting from our own ways and honoring God for His ways and His wisdom, let us remember that we are able to do so only because He chose to invest in us just as He invested in Israel. God did not choose us because we were anything special or great, or because we deserved to serve Him, but simply because He loves us. He doesn’t have some firm watching to see which of us will be the most beneficial to the kingdom and choosing investments for Him. Instead, He is putting Himself out there as an investor to whosoever will seek Him, come to Him, and receive Him. Know that God does not invest in junk, so you are worth as much to Him as any of His interests.
If you already serve God, rejoice in your value to Him. His Word tells us that where our treasure is, our hearts will be, so since we are His treasure, we know where His heart is at too. HalleluYah! Now, if you are reading this and haven’t made a choice to turn to Him, I urge you to consider the investment He already made for you through the blood of Yeshua, and know that He would’ve paid that price if you were the only option for Him to choose. Our Creator has the wisdom to know when and what to buy and sell, and He wants you in His portfolio because when God makes an investment, He knows what He’s doing.
Shabbat Shalom to all, and may you have an abundantly blessed rest that gives you all you need for a fruitful week ahead.
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August 1, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Bible Commentary, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, God's love, investment, Israel, Moses, Sabbath, Scripture, Shabbat Shalom, Torah Portions | Leave a comment