John 12:12-13 – “The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”

Hosanna is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic hoshanna which means “to save, rescue or help.” It can also be translated “salvation has come.” To many of the Jews, the Hebrew word itself explains what palm branches meant to them: “We give to you our hearts.”

This makes me think of the worship song that includes the chorus, “Lord, I give You my heart, I give You my soul, I live for You alone; Every breath that I take, Every moment I'm awake, Lord, have Your way in me.”

The shout of Hosanna expresses the desire to reverentially honor Jesus Christ as Lord. It’s a desire prompted by a love that longs to have their very lives be an expression of their love and worship of Him.

During this season leading up and through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, may we His people, be found singing out of praise, “Hosanna, blessed is He who came in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest,” as in Matthew 21:9.

Isaiah 40:31a – “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” 

The Hebrew word for wait here speaks of a twisting or binding as in the making of a rope, where multiple strands of fabric are tightly bound together to form a rope that cannot be broken. It speaks of a waiting that is not just complacently sitting back, but it is a process of the binding of ourselves together with God, and the more we become intertwined to God the stronger we become.

Isaiah 30:18 speaks of the Lord waiting to be gracious to us and to be merciful to us. And those who are waiting for His blessing will be blessed. Waiting is also like the continuing process of patiently waiting for a bus—until finally you are next in line to find a seat on the bus.

Wait is spelled Chet, Kap, Hei.

Chet indicates moving to a higher level or progressing in the waiting line by moving forward. This is a picture of God waiting in a line to be gracious to us, and as we walk by faith in this life, suddenly the Lord is in the front of the line to bless us.

Kap is the Hebrew word for palm of the hand. It indicates that He has been holding us in the palm of His Hand the entire time.

And last, Hei indicates that His presence is filled with His graciousness and mercy, and is showering us with His blessings.

Worth the WAIT? You can count on it! After all, Resurrection Sunday is coming!

Ephesians 6:10-11 – “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” 

What does it mean to “…be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”?

• It means that it is not a fleshly battle, but a faith battle to be entrusted to God.
• It means that it’s not about my strength but His strength being made manifest in my weakness.
• It means that it’s not about my words, but God’s Word, that has the final say.
• It means that it’s not about right and wrong, but it’s about what is right in God’s eyes.
• It means that it’s not about how the flesh of others tears into me, but how His tears can soften a hardened heart through prayer.

So often, strongholds are torn down through a torn-open heart and a tear-filled prayer from a heart that has been humbled before God by the Cross.

To “…be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” is to trust and then to entrust all things to our Lord, to surrender all of our cares to Him by reckoning on the work accomplished upon the Cross as we walk by faith and are guided by His eye (Psalm 32:8).

Song of Solomon 2:10-12 — “My beloved speaks and says to me, rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. ¹¹ For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. ¹² The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove.” [AMPC]

In the Hebrew, the word winter, when spelled in reverse, is used to mean “blossoming,” and it is a reminder that there is a purpose to every season, and at the end of every winter season, there will be flowers that blossom and the fruit that they will produce. The root word can also mean “betrothal,” for each season can result in a deeper level of intimacy with our Beloved, Jesus.

As the winter season yields to springtime, the fragrance of fresh flowers and their blossoms spring forth giving such hope to the new beginnings of a new season to be enjoyed and refreshed, this is the perfect time to take in the wonder of new life, new growth, and a new perspective for the next season in our lives.

Do we have ears to hear our Beloved’s voice calling out for us to spend some time alone with Him?

The autumn and winter seasons have past, and the time for the blossoms and fruit is now appearing, leading into the warmth of the summer months. This is a time for singing and hearing the voice of the turtledove’s coos, imparting a quietness of soul as we walk hand in hand with our Beloved.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 – “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Our minds are the pathways to our hearts. Therefore, our thinking must be guarded by hiding God’s Word in our hearts, as it is the Truth that sets us free (Jn. 8:32, 36). 

A sound mind is a Spirit-disciplined mind. It is a mind that has been delivered by the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is only the Son of God that can free us indeed, healing us from the confusion and turmoil that we often witness surrounding us and the lies they project.

You may have heard of the expression, “Have you lost your mind?!” This is not the case for those whose minds are stayed on Him and their hearts are fixed (Psa. 57:7), for we HAVE the mind of Christ because of the Spirit and the Truth. Our minds are sound, for the helmet of our great salvation guards it by the Holy Spirit.

The “sound mind” comes from a verb meaning to be made safe – made safe by the restraining power, influence, and guidance of the Spirit and Truth found in the Word of God. 

Isaiah 26:3-4 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. ⁴ Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

O how beautiful is the hymn “Amazing Grace.” As the opening lyrics declare, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”

It is God’s amazing grace that made it possible for us to be sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ and to be perfected forever and for all time (Hebrews 10:10, 14). And He even chooses to remember no more our sins or iniquities!

We can be assured that whatever God of all grace does, He does for all eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

As we walk by faith through the closing hours of 2021, and as we enter the New Year of 2022, let’s stand in the grace of God—with an understanding that God’s amazing grace is more than sufficient for today, as it will be for our tomorrows as the Lord Wills.

Praise the Lord that we have an unchanging God for these ever-changing times (2Corinthians 12:9-10).

2 Corinthians 3:5— “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”

Psalm 103:1 – “Praise the Lord, my soul; [All my inmost being,] praise His Holy Name.”

 “All,” is kal and speaks of the complete whole, every part of the soul and inmost being.

Rabbi Solomon Hirsch, a nineteenth century linguist and master of Hebrew and Semitic languages, teaches that this word includes the idea of a bride completing her groom. They are fully joined together with one mind and purpose, a clear picture of our intended relationship with God. 

Kal conveys the idea of the deepest intimacy that a human can experience, never placing the love of another before the other except their shared love for Jesus Christ, because He took their love into the deepest intimacy experience that two humans can have.

“Inmost being” is from the root word qarav, which has its origins in an Akkadian word for the entrails of an animal, the hidden parts of the body. David desired that all of who he was, give full and undivided attention to praise His Holy Name.

Distractions in this world, the fiery darts of the wicked one filled with accusations, and our Flesh carrying about past hurts while entertaining present enticements—these are all used to diminish the praise of the saint of God from being completely “all in” with no wandering parts.

May the Holy Spirit help us, as He did David, to do battle through a praise that comes from all of our inmost being. So, listen up Soul, now is the time to praise His Holy Name.