Christian making word snap Tarot Playing Cards pro'Mancy smi'pro
Christian making word snap Tarot Playing Cards pro'Mancy smi'pro
Ace of Swords
In the beginning, God spoke the words that made the worlds. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God that brings order out of chaos, and in those first three days, God separated the light from the darkness, the heavens above from the heavens below, and the land from the sea.
Later he imparted this critical power of reason to humankind, who he made in his image so that we could rightly divide the word of truth.
The card here displays the hand from the divine cloud extending a sword, surrounded by shimmering shapes of Yod, the initial letter of God's name: the smallest letter of Hebrew represents the spark of the Spirit in all things and the starting point of God's presence in all things as he sustains them by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3).
The sword is also festooned with a crown of glory and green branches --the palm for triumph and the olive for peace. As magical as Excalibur held aloft by the Lady of the Lake and high above the mountains in air as white as a blank page, this sword seems to offer the potential of truth and justice, crime and punishment. The sword cuts both ways and stands neither for us nor for our enemies. If we stand with what is right, it stands with us. But if we live by the sword, we will die by the sword.
To rightly take up the sword is to decide clearly, to classify carefully, to think critically, and to use good judgment. This abstract and ideal realm of the mind is higher than the animals but a little lower than the
angels
Two of Swords
These two crossed swords may show conflicting thoughts or a crossroads and each warring side must be held at bay, separated and considered fairly as by an impartial judge. The moon in the blue sky over the blue waters reminds us that spiritual things are spiritually discerned and rightly divided by the word of truth, just as in the High Priestess card
The blindfold may also remind us that we always journey into the unknown. Sometimes we must go beyond our vision , walking by faith and not by sight.
Stand at the crossroads and ask for the ancient paths. Ask for the good way that you may walk in it and so find rest for your soul.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.
Abraham was called into a country not his own, looking for a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God, never seeing the full fruit of his faith that only together with us would he be made perfect.
Do not turn to the left or right. Stand firm. Be full of grace AND truth, be in the world AND not of the world, be part of this age AND the age to come. ...What we will be is not yet known...
Three of Swords
"The sorrows of those will increase who run after false gods," according to Psalm 16, which later speaks of our greatest pleasure and joy. Sometimes our own obsessions, addictions, and inordinate desires lead us to a much needed heartbreak--a message to slow down or release.
Yet the conscience should sting and the heart should be grieved in seasons of sadness. There is a time to rejoice and a time to grieve.
One-third of the Psalms are laments, so we know even David sang the blues. Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale where he finally got the message and also responded in song.
The angel told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart, too, that her child would be the sign of many falling and rising in Israel.
Even Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus and had sorrow over Jerusalem, longing to gather lost ones under his wings, those who were scattered as sheep without a shepherd.
At the cross, he carried our sorrows and shared our grief.
He promises one day to wipe away every tear and comfort all who mourn.
Four of Swords
It is told that when medieval knights returned from quest or battle, to show gratitude and devotion, they would lie down in their caskets beneath the lid on which was sculpted their effigy in an attitude of prayer.
This is a time of celebration and thanksgiving and rest.
The stained glass window here shows the return of the Prodigal Son, a parable of deliverance and salvation.
The image here may be connected to the wisdom and discipline of the Emperor card as well as to the Death card, which signals a letting go of limitations and a growing of new understanding.
The knights had endured challenges and the dark night of the soul.
Now they returned to the rest and renewal of home.
Now is the time to return and find rest in God alone.
My soul finds rest in God alone.
Five of Swords
The law of the jungle claims survival of the fittest, a zero-sum gamewith winners and losers. In this mindset, all is fair in love and war; the one who dies with the most toys wins.
These bullies whet their tongues like sharpened swords and aim bitter words like arrows.
I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you!
They sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men whose might is their god.
Israel waited in slavery as Pharaoh hardened his heart and stored up judgment on himself; finally they were delivered across the great water.
They were also told to surrender to the captivity until the 70 years of punishment was over, at which time they were restored with rejoicing.
Jesus taught the ultimate way, to conquer hate with love, to surrender.
If a soldier legally demands you carry his equipment one mile, carry it two. If some strikes your left cheek, offer your right as well.
Resist the impulse to intimidate and bully to get your way, to always be right, or to get the last word.
Six of Swords
You may cross the great water.
When you pass through the fire, when you pass through the flood, God will be with you. As God parted the red sea for Moses and as He parted the Jordan river for Joshua, so He will make a way for you.
He will bring you safely through and watch over you, whether to a new promised opportunity or to the ultimate Promised Land of milk and honey.
Retreat from a false hope or a losing battle can turn us away from discouragement and can bring us forward into right desires, advance into new songs of victory.
Change is a journey we all must make; there are joys in the journey as well as on the other side of the great water.
Seven of Swords
Buyer beware! While some cultures and contexts discourage the dishonest merchant, some others may admire and reward the crafty seller or confidence artist.
Some say that all is fair in love and war, and the young man pictured on this card certainly seems delighted in his spy game or tricky business.
Yet we must always be on our guard against deception, and in fact we sometimes fool ourselves with powerful delusions and self-deception.
We should take captive every high and lofty thought to the obedience of Christ. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against mind games of the air and principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
Deception and trickery can be the enemy of our souls as when the serpent, more crafty than any of the creatures in the beginning, led the people of paradise astray: "Did God say you may not eat of any tree?" and "You will not really die, but your eyes will be opened."
We should not follow cleverly-devised tales and myths but rather ask, seek, and knock until we see the truth.
Do not use unequal measures! Do not deceive one another!
Be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
As Sir Walter Scott writes, "What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!"
Eight of Swords
Under a steel-grey sky, grey cliffs and beach in the background, this woman stands blindfolded and bound, fenced in by swords. Likewise, some remain in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,
because they refuse the way of wisdom and spurn the counsel of the LORD.
Yet whenever Israel was in captivity, she still had the promise of deliverance and return to the Land of Promise. And when restored, they were told to remember their chains. They should forget neither the time of slavery in Egypt nor the years of captivity in Babylon.
But whoever is a bondservant becomes free in the Lord, so do not be concerned; however, get your freedom if you can and do not become bondservants of men.
Do not give yourself over to thoughts and desires that take dominion over you, so becoming a slave to sin. Neither be captive to legalistic rules and laws of men or empty traditions that say "Taste not! Touch not!" It is for freedom that Christ has set you free; do not be entangled again by the yoke of slavery.
Remember your past chains but know that God brings you out of darkness and bursts your bonds apart. He shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. He will come and save you!
Nine of Swords
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. Day and night, your hand was heavy upon me; my strength dried up as in the heat of summer.
I am weary with moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears.
Let those who are godly offer prayer to you when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach them. Sorrows will increase for those who run after other gods, but your love will return to all who look to you.
Job cried out, "My sighing comes instead of my bread,/ and my groanings are poured out like water./ For the thing that I fear comes upon me,/ and what I dread befalls me./ I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;/ I have no rest, but trouble comes" (Job 3:24-26). Yet God restored him.
Yes, even at night my heart instructs me.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
...
I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus..." (Romans 8:35-39).
Ten of Swords
My own companion stretched out his hand against me.
His speech was smooth as butter, but war was in his heart.
They encircle me with words of hate and attack me without cause.
If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword.
Judge and you will be judged. By the measure you use, it will be measured unto you.
Since revenge begets endless revenge, turn your swords over to the LORD. Vengeance belongs to the LORD. Do not take the law into your own hands.
My own strategies and crafty thoughts have turned back on me and betrayed me--as Judas who betrayed his master for thirty pieces of silver, soon after hanging himself in guilt and shame.
To the pure, you show yourself pure, O God.
To the crafty, you show yourself crafty.
This card is a warning to avoid this trap or, if it's too late, to pass patiently through the experience. If you suffer betrayal from others or yourself, learn from the consequences and choose forgiveness and grace, so a new sun of righteousness can rise with healing in its wings.
King of Swords
Authority and action of the air: planning, strategy, sound thinking, sharp reason. This figure is clothed in sky blue hues and surrounded by blue skies, the very picture of a clear conscience. Beneath his purple mantle of majesty, he wears a red cloak like the major arcana card of justice. His robe is solid and pure with white like the clouds and throne.
Like David serving as general, this king might say, "Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle." David always inquired of the LORD before going into battle, sometimes directly facing the enemy and sometimes in secret ambush, with strategies still studied today.
However, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of the air, to take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.
He holds the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
We have not been given a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of sound mind.
With clear-mindedness we should rightly divide the word of truth with discernment, clarity, insight, justice, and judgement.
Queen of Swords
She holds the sword of the Spirit with the soft touch of the fruit of the Spirit, her words being aptly spoken like apples of gold in settings of silver.
She rightly divides the word of truth, and her double-edged sword of discernment can even tell the subtle difference between true spiritual impulse and mere soulishness.
Like Deborah, a judge in Israel, she can relinquish leadership or lead into battle as needed, knowing in wisdom where the glory will go and what it is worth.
She invites us to think and feel as she does--with reason, critical thinking, clarity, insight, strategy, and wisdom.
Knight of Swords
Air of all air or sword of all swords, this card displays a knight's knight much as Hemingway was called a "man's man." He is the universal soldier leading the battle charge, the first fighter on the front lines, like Perseus who slayed monsters and beheaded the Gorgon Medusa.
John had special words for this type of person:
"I write to you, young men, because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one."
Charging in on a pure, white horse, he has the double-edged sword in hand to execute justice or vengeance.
"For time would fail me to tell of Gideon,Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David andSamuel and the prophets--who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness,became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight." --Hebrews 11:32-34
Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper. Fight the good fight.
However, your battle is not against flesh and blood. Do not be rash but be quick to listen and be slow to speak. Let your words be gracious and seasoned with salt
