Cleansing

"He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”"
John 13:6-8

It is much more than our feet that He washes...
He is a cleansing river, cascading over us,
His billows washing away filth and impurities, discouragement and brokenness,
healing our hearts, minds, and bodies...

The End and Beginning of The Age/Trumpets

The LORD said to Moses: “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.’ ” 

Leviticus 23:24, 25 

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. 

Let nothing move you. 

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 

1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 58 

Rosh HaShana takes place on the first day of the seventh month, the end of the summer harvest season. The fall season is soon coming, the time to work, to harvest, will be over, and it is marked  by the plaintive and soul-stirring blast of the shofar. For most it is simply the Jewish New Year, a time to be happy, eat, and celebrate, just the first holiday of the High Holy Days, but this holy day in the Spirit marks and reminds those who understand, that the shofar blasts are also alarms,  promptings, that these days are drawing short, and that we all must do the work that we have been equipped for, while we can, while there is light. 

We are reminded to stand firm, and remain steadfast and not be moved. 

Be bold and be strong, beloved. Jesus is coming, and will soon come -like a thief in the night- so be aware and be found ready with our hands on the plow, our eyes focused on Jesus.

L'Shana Tova !

Close your eyes, be still and listen ... Can you hear the sound of the coming King?

Tents (Don't Consider Me Morbid)

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

2 Corinthians 5:1-6, 

Serious illness, physical disabilities, and aging can be curious things. How does one view themselves in regards to these conditions? So much depends on perspective and insight! I know many people who will not disclose their real age, when their birthdays arrive there is more mourning than celebrating! I recently was afflicted (blessed?), with a life threatening multiple-diagnosis illness, and I came very close to physical death, the veil separating this life and eternity was so thin...I was not afraid of "losing" this life, because Jesus had promised me that I will never die, that I would see Him in paradise...

Beloved, for those who have the blessed assurance, we belong to Him, and He to us, and He has paid the priceless entrance fare for us...we have an eternal house in heaven that Jesus has promised! He has prepared a place for us, for all who have believed and received Him as Lord and Savior, and with this reality in mind, every day that  passes is a day closer to being face-to-face with our Abba and our Bridegroom...and I find that so exhilarating!

John the Baptizer said, " I must decrease so that He may increase", revealing an important aspect of our existence. Our abundant life, here and in eternity, is found only as we abide in Jesus, exalting Him and  humbling ourselves.

So when you deal with anxiety, unhappiness, or discontentment as you age, or endure ailments and their consequences, consider the real process and outcome! 

Get ready, and make sure you are really "saved" (John 3:16-18), that don't just go to church or claim "Christian" because your parents were...whether we go to Him, or He comes for us, we will soon behold Him.

Wise Choices

Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

“What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor.
John 13:26-29

What was the motivation for Judas to betray Jesus the Messiah? What is for the 30 pieces of silver ? Was he jealous, what spirit of offense or greed had crept into him? Jesus called him initially and he followed...but yet he had determined in his heart to commit the ultimate betrayal, making mankinds memory of him bitter, and his name nearly unutterable.
Jesus already knew what would happen, and yet what seems strange to me is that Jesus, the Uncreated, the Savior of the World, did not try to change Judas' mind, but instead looked at him with those soul piercing eyes of fire and said the words: "What you are about to do, do quickly."

I find that sometimes in my life, if I take my eyes off His, perhaps noticing something that seems shiny or glittery ( like those 30 pieces of silver) in the corner of my vision field, I start to move down the "impulse path", and can make unwise choices! But my holy God, in all His omniscience and lovingkindness, with the power that hangs the stars in the heavens and more, will let me make my choices, which are not always wise! He sees my flawed impulsiveness, and says : "You have already made up your mind to to do this silly thing, so get it over with".
He alone knows what is in our hearts, and much of it is impurity, darkness, sin, self- motivated  impulsivity, and yet...His lovingkindness endures forever, He doesn't strike us down when we screw up, although consequences are part of our lives, but instead He draws us homewards towards the place where love, righteousness, and wisdom dwell.

Synonyms of Salvation 215

"There is no other name on earth or in the heavens by which we can be saved!"

I felt led to search my thesaurus for synonyms of the most crucial reality of human existence:
the need of a savior/ salvation:

Deliverance      Emancipation     Escape
Exemption       Extrication          Keeping
Liberation        Lifeline               Pardon
Preservation     Redemption       Release
Reprieve          Restoration         Safekeeping
Sustenance

Consider the opposites of each word as you slowly read through this list, and you will either be describing the condition God  brought you out from under, or it describes the place you may still find yourself.

Beloved, only Jesus can give you salvation! No job, position, titles, wealth, possessions, or other stuff, no other man, woman, activities, nor anything else, will ever deliver  us, or fill us- only Jesus will ever satisfy our longings.

Life and Death

"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his own soul?

Recently I went through a serious illness, and hovered between life and death. I found that as I went closer to "the veil" that what I was concerned with was the majestic radiance of being near the throne room of God, and those I loved here...but I had no thoughts or regards for material possessions, assets or "stuff"...meaningless things that count for nothing.
People that are close to death don't think about their checkbooks or earthly possessions, they have become of no value.
The paradigm that centers on eternal values, storing up treasures in heaven, is in the forefront of my mind and spirit, that which has the highest value is Jesus my Messiah, praising and worshipping Him alone.
I chose not to enslave or indenture myself to things that will pass away, rust and decay, even as many churches recite a mantra of prosperity, surrounding themselves with shiny new cars, huge houses, and vacation homes,  and other worthless trinkets...
Jesus said, " Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth...but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven..."
Everyday as we live, move, and find our being/ purpose wrapped up in following Jesus, we should be learning these  invaluable truths.
Let us use the resources we are blessed with for the advancement of the Gospel and for Jesus , not for accumulating and hoarding for ourselves...let us "waste our lives" on the one thing that really matters...Jesus.

Hard Teachings

How often have we heard a word in church that was "good",  appealing to us, building us up or so we thought?
But the truth was that it was only scratching itching ears or feeding our selfish flesh?

"Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 
“Does this offend you? 
What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. 
The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”
 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
John 6:53-68 



In this passage we read that there were those who Jesus spoke to directly who walked away from Him and did not believe! Imagine...they heard and saw Jesus but because his teaching was hard,and their ears were not tickled with nice things, they left! 
What happens to us when we get a whipping from the Master,  when He grabs us and shakes us up and we are not massaged  to be made to feel warm and fuzzy?
Are we willing, are we mature enough, church, to embrace the hard teachings, the Father's rebuke, when it comes or does a spirit of offense rise inside us? No legitimate child of the King will escape 
the hard things, the corrections that straighten our path, they are a necessary part of our walk.
So let us prepare our hearts, may the Holy Spirit enable us to receive without offense and our flesh getting in the way, all that the Father has for us.

Confidence

"I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living. 
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart 
and wait for the Lord."
Psalm 27:13, 14

I have no confidence in myself , but in my God, the Great Physician ( Great Everything) I rest assured in Him! This morning upon hearing a negative report from one of my doctors, this passage instantly came to me in the  Holy Spirit..." I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."
Things don't always go my way...in fact they frequently don't, and why not? Because I am not God, and my Father knows what is best for me. He requires my love, my trust, He has given me a resilient new heart  that is pliable and patient....so I will wait on His timing. I am unfettered by pride arrogance, I take confidence in the Uncreated One who made me, knows me, loves me, and makes a way for me through every desert.

Letting Go 216

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. 
My Father will honor the one who serves me."

John 12:24-26 

On August 6, 2012, after a week of serious heart trouble, I had open heart surgery, replacing a mitral valve destroyed by a staph  infection. Although there were warning signs of an impending heart problem I refused to acknowledge it, instead maintained by a sense of pride in my former physical health and strength. 

It was an illusion maintained by arrogance in my former physical abilities,
I was unwilling to recognize a change of seasons, struggling against  the Most Holy God who desires to take me to a new place, a place of strength that comes through my own weakness, a place of abundant life that comes only by dying to self, and really embracing what  following Jesus means.
Do not to hold on to things that will keep us limited and earthbound, while God himself calls  us to" come up".

Recognize that even now new seasons  are coming and have come, and the death or loss of certain things may be necessary for a new harvest. Holding onto things that are already dead or worthless is like a hot air balloon weighed down by excessive cargo which must be jettisoned for the balloon to soar to its full potential.

Follow, love, serve Jesus, beloved, with all of a new heart.
He promises that we will be with Him, caught up in all He is, and honored by the Father.
To be with Jesus, unencumbered, is to enter into a place a new revelation, close encounters of the heavenly kind that will exceed anything you had previously believed possible.

Baruch Haba/ Blessed Is He

The other day these scriptures rose in my spirit: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matthew 23:37-39 This word is for everyone, not just for those dwelling in Jerusalem in Jesus' day. He is everywhere, in the marketplace, the highways and byways, standing with His arms wide open, beckoning, calling, longing for all people to come to Him, be gathered to Him, but most are asleep and unaware of the urgency, the critical importance and what is at stake. There is only one secure place, for us both now and in the age to come, and that's wrapped in His loving arms, staying under His wings, drawing so near that we can feel His heartbeat...the alternative is desolation. I describe desolation as a lonely barren place, far away from the presence of the Lord, where there is no peace, only torment. I have heard sermons on v.39, where it was preached that Jesus will not return on the earth until there is unity in the Church and we all proclaim together: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord", but before this can happen there must be an individual cry where we each proclaim this personally, and Jesus abides in us and we in Him. Today beloved, listen and call on Jesus alone. He is the antidote to desolation and emptiness, and the cure for our flawed humanity... BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.

The Offer

"See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken–that is, created things–so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”" Hebrews 12:25-29 There is an ancient Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." Interesting times are upon us. Wars, rumors of wars, mass murders, signs in the heavens and on the earth, fire storms, hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, droughts, ancient subterranean aquifers, rivers, resevoirs and lakes drying up, rulers and kingdoms are falling, political and economic upheaval is upon the earth. What hope is there for those who do not believe? The Word says that "men's hearts will fail them", and "men will faint, even die, from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, (Luke 21:26a). The greatest shakings in the history of the world are about to take place, all to awaken the slumbering, while there is time... There are those who are not spiritually attuned who may say, " Oh, please! These things has always been going on, it's just life on Planet Earth, business as usual, but these are days that are different. I am reminded of the Misty Edward's song People Get Ready: "there are people walking round with their fingers in their ears saying da-da-da-da I don't want to hear the sound...of the coming King... The Bridegroom is looking for and preparing a lovesick and obsessed-with-the-Bridegroom Bride. He is searching the earth, looking at the hearts of men, invitations to the Wedding Feast are being sent, but somehow some are confusing the Invitation with "junk mail", and placing other things as a higher priority... "See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks..." This is a "time-sensitive offer"; do not delay and do not fail to respond! The stakes couldn't be higher or the prize greater: An unshakeable kingdom and mansions designed peronall by the Bridegroom King, Jesus, Himself. What occupies your time, beloved? Do you mourn for, long for the return of Jesus? Are you obsessed with Him, know Him intimately, or is He just a name, an acquaintance? There has never been a better time than right this moment to take Him up on the offer...you may not have another opportunity.

July 19 217

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: 
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, 
upon them the light has shined. 
For You have broken the yoke of his burden, 
and the staff of his shoulder, 
the rod of his oppressor, 
as in the day of Midian." 
Isaiah 9:2, 4 

There are dates in each of our lives that are significant and special.
We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries;
there also are dates of remembrance that stand out for a variety of reasons.
July 19 is just such a date for me.
It was a day when the Lord shattered the chains that bound me,
a day when I was awakened from a spiritual coma.
It was a day that came so suddenly, delivering me from slavery and darkness,
without expectation, with such power that even years later I find it difficult to illucidate.
Isn't that just like our God?
Never early, never late, His timing is perfection, 11:59 is always the right time.
I feel a great responsibility to treat others the same way my Father treated me even in a degenerate prodigal state...that He never stopped loving me, even at my worst.
He saw Kingdom promises in me, calling things that were not as they would become in a renewed state.
We have all been forgiven huge debts and loved unconditionally by my Father and ultimately my Bridegroom?
Much is required, beloved, of those whom much has been forgiven-US.

Paradigm Shifts

"I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. ...the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."
Luke 15:19, 20, 22-24

"His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me."
Song of Solomon 2:6

"God is love."

 Many people see God as a cruel taskmaster, overbearing, watching and waiting for them to trip up, to punish them. They believe incorrectly that God is impersonal and exacting, following their every move with a magnifying glass, rule book, and a whip, and their behaviors are managed by fear and shame, not by the beautiful, majestic reality of who He really is, and many spend their entire lives deeply longing for fulfillment. In the deepest places of our souls Jesus asks us, "Who do you say that I am?" He desires that each of us receive the revelation of Him not only as a loving, proactive Father, but our Bridegroom, one who is so close, embracing us tightly, eye to eye and able to feel the rhythm of one another's heartbeat. He desires that His love for us would be realized and fulfilled, not left unrequited. His desire is for a deep-calling-unto-deepest, to be touched and to touch His heart, involved in the most intimate relationship possible...we are able to love Him like this because He loved us first. This is contentment and satisfaction.

Battle Plans

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

"No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. 
Isaiah 54:17

 There are no coincidences.
 God's timing is perfect and everything that was intended by the enemy to harm, discourage, thwart, steal, and destroy is refuted and turned around by the Lord in His perfect timing. Yesterday we were driving in our van to a service in Kansas City and traffic had come to a near standstill, and then suddenly we were slammed from behind by another car! As we pulled off the roadway I walked behind the van and looked at the vehicle that hit us. The front was smashed, radiator was ruptured, windshield was broken and the airbags had deployed...the young man driving had only recently arrived to attend an internship at IHOP. As I asked him about his condition I could see he was shaking, but seemed physically okay and after asking him his name, the Lord spoke to me directing me to lay hands on him, pray over him, and minister to him. I saw in this young man great things as he pursues the things over the Lord... and the devil and demonic realm recognized them, too, and sought to wreck these plans using a traffic accident, and other devices. But the Lord used them to introduce us, starting another divine Kingdom connection. I know that God turned this "accident" into another divine appointment. I have met another brother, and as an older more mature brother in the Lord, I have an opportunity to pour into his life, even bringing prophetic encouragement to him. Today beloved, thank the Lord in all things, especially when seemingly bad situations happen to you, and wait with certain expectation as the Master turns it around for His good purposes!

Aliens

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36 "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16 Disciples of the Lord Jesus, of which I count myself one, are truly strangers, aliens, in a strange land, made for another age. We live and move and have our being, our identity, purposes, and the Hope of our calling, wrapped up in the revelation of who Jesus is - Lord, Master, Bridegroom, Fountainhead of streams of living water, the Living Stone, Advocate, Shepherd, Lamb of God who takes away our filth, warrior King and much more in a world that is lost, and daily we called to be ambassadors to a dying world. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Answer, the Solution, to every problem, and we can know that when we pray in His Name with His Holy Spirit directing our thoughts, our heart, that He hears us. We are strengthened and enabled, and Jesus is our power source and as we hunger and thirst for righteousness in meekness (meaning we harbor no spirit of offense that flows from selfish fleshly desires)... Today beloved, remember that you are a living stone...do not be diluted or polluted, you are the salt and light..bring Jesus' message of love, mercy, and salvation to those in your world. There are divine appointments awaiting each of us today.

The Transformer ( From Filthy Rags to Finest Linens)

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6 Secular humanism has become the equivalent of a false religion where those who hate religion tout the triumph of humanity, declaring man's innate goodness, ingenuity, and abilities...but the word of God tells us the "the heart of man is deceitful", and if we are honest with ourselves we know that in our "natural man" we are drawn to darkness and sin. Without Jesus laundering us, transforming us, salvaging us from the wreckage of our own humanity, we would be without hope...we cannot save ourselves from ourselves. But God has made the way for us. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14 God, in His lovingkindness, has taken us who were like filthy, torn, tattered, and soiled rags, and transformed us like the finest, whitest of linens, making us clean, bright and shining, inside and out, He has given us the rights to the Kingdom.

Toppling 183

"Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land." 
Deuteronomy 6:14, 15 

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 
1 Samuel 5:1-4 NIV84


  In 2005 I began to think about buying a motorcycle, a BMW K1200LT. It was sleek, powerful, advanced, sexy, and expensive. We were planning a move, and although I had owned motorcycles in my youth, I had not ridden one in decades, but I had begun to desire this thing.
I owed it to myself, I deserved it, I told myself.
I thought about it often, had the image as a screen saver on my computer,
the brochure placed prominently on my office desk, and not so coincidentally, this consuming preoccupation came at a time when my affections towards the Lover of my soul had been waning.
 I was less than lukewarm, no, I had grown cold, had taken my eyes off the Perfecter of my faith. I was dissatisfied and in the winter of my discontentment.
 I was sure this bike would fix all of that, and so I pursued acquiring it.
 Within the year we had sold our home and relocated, and within the week of settling into our new home I bought this thing that I thought would be the answer.
But unknown to me at the time I had made this bike an idol; the Lord's jealousy and burning anger was about to be demonstrated. Although I had previously owned five motorcycles, and had never dropped a single one, not even one single time, the very first time I got on the BMW I made it to the end of the driveway, and as I came to a stop before entering the roadway my foot inexplicably slipped in some loose gravel. There in the presence of my wife, daughters, and a jealous God it leaned over just a little bit too far.  Suddenly and shockingly I realized that I could not prevent it from toppling over!
It cost $600 to fix the damage, my pride, and a back injury that still plagues me.
That motorcycle never bought me a moment of real satisfaction.
 I sold it a year later, taking a huge loss in depreciation as well.
 It took me years to see the spiritual implications, but it was clearly an event that contributed to my repentance and true awakening as God graciously revealed Himself to a broken and humbled man.
God detests every idol, every one.
Small or large, whatever the thing is, if it supplants affections that are intended for and deserved by our Master/Father/ Bridegroom, they will be toppled.
Sometimes it happens sooner, sometimes later, but it will come down, just as the idol of Dagon was toppled and destroyed in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant.
Do you have any idols in your life beloved?
What is hiding in the corners of your heart?
 We cannot walk in our intended fullness until they are toppled.
So trash every idol, every one!
 Don't try to hide any, nothing is hidden from the eye of the Almighty.
 He wants 100% of our hearts, not just 99%;
He will search out and pursue us until that last 1% belongs to Him.

The Catalyst

"We love because He first loved us."
1 John 4:19


Tonight I came home to my girls watching a documentary on 20/20 about the existence of God, Heaven, and Hell. Barbara Walters was interviewing people of different faiths, cults, denominations, scientists, and atheists.
The thing that stood out to me most was two-fold: just how many people are dead men and women walking, and the realization that we are surrounded by lost people, and secondly, the primary reason that there are so many walking dead: a twisted and false view of the very nature of God, and all that entails. The Psalmist wrote twice: "The fool says in his heart: there is no God". 
I felt such sadness to hear some of the interviewed.
I was one of them. Until April 21, 1987, I was an atheist. 
The existence of Heaven, Hell, and my heavenly Father, were no less real, but I was blind, deaf, and dumb to the supernatural spiritual until I was slammed with God's perfect love for ME, demonstrated by the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus choosing to bear my punishment and death. It wasn't fear, condemnation, a sense of wrong doing, or anything else that led me to Him, other than me finally being impacted by the furious love of the Father for me demonstrated by Him paying the tremendous price of making a way for my salvation-Yeshua's very life.
Jesus said, " In my Father's house there are many rooms (mansions) ...I go to prepare a place for you...if it were not so I would've told you.."
John 14:2


Jesus' words, and the words of the Lord in the Scriptures are trustworthy and true. His furious love for me-for us-burns with a lover's  jealousy, burning with a white hot intensity like phosphorus... the single use Hebrew term "Shalhevet Yah" comes to mind..it cannot be extinguished.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord...

Passing The Baton/Finding Us Faithful

On this 236th birthday of the United States of America, a country that was founded by a devout people in search of freedom of faith and religion, not freedom from religion, I ponder the question:

Will those who come behind us find us faithful?
^"32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[a] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Heb. 11:32-12:2

This great country is now in a period that I liken to the days of the Judges in ancient Israel.
Ruled by godless people pleasers who pay more attention to polls and people rather than God Almighty, idolatry and immotrality abounds, the blood of the innocents who are being slaughtered daily  by the thousands cries out from the ground...
I wonder and ask the Lord , "How long can you allow this?"
We are the remnant, there is a generation arising behind us, and we must be found faithful. There is no room for pragmatism, no gray areas. There is no more time for shrinking back, shirking our duties as disciples, no more than Esther could at that defining moment in her life.
We are responsible to those behind us, we must be found faithful. There is a cost, the right choices and decisions, large and small, must be made, there is no room for staying in a complacent comfort zone...the younger and less mature are watching us, words and deeds making a mark one way or another.
I don't know what lies ahead, only our Father does, but this I know; He is looking for the faithful, who will raise up more faithful behind them.
Beloved, let us choose wisely, and be found faithful...it is our sacred charge.

Breakthrough

Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker.
³² Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. 
³³ Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 


What does  "breakthrough" mean to you? 
To me "breakthrough" meaning tearing through the thing that is holding me back, slicing through the curtain that separates me from the place I need to get to, the place I belong.

That place has only one entry point, and there is a barrier, sometimes many barriers, and just like the angels with flashing swords barred Adam and Eve from Eden, my thoughts, and deeds tainted by worldliness, or lack of focus can put on on the wrong side of the veil
Just like Adam caused his own separation , the barrier preventing my breakthrough is most often myself- my selfishness, my discontent, my fleshly thought and desires...

 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 
Matthew 27:50b-51a

Jesus is the breakthrough to abundant life, for all those who earnestly and hungrily seek after Him...the revelation of the true knowledge of all that He is shatters prison walls, tears apart veils, opens blind eyes and deaf ears, He tears down every vain and empty thought we battle with, heals our wounds, and much more than can be written...
Beloved, seek after Him, advance forcefully, a breakthrough awaits!