It's life! Not just for there. It's for HERE, too!

 Watching the newest episode of The Chosen wrecked me.  Absolutely pitted me down to the floor.  It isn't just the acting and the writing, it's the anointing that's on this series that just magnetizes your spirit until you can hardly breathe sometimes.  I felt that way Sunday night.  I know as the stories get more intense, the episodes will draw sooo many people to Jesus.  Sunday night's episode as of this writing has half a million viewers.  These are not just Christians watching yet another namby-pamby ho-hum, weak so-called Jesus production.    This Jesus has substance.  He's someone you can relate to.  He came to earth to do it.  What we could not do.  What we could not even venture to attempt.  And yet, he walked where we walk.  Ate what we eat.  Interacted with others.  He grew in relationships, just as he did with his Father.  So much to learn from that.

In this episode I was particularly struck with Jesus raising Jairius's daughter from death to life.  And of course the verse that immediately came to mind was "I am the Resurrection and the Life."  Jesus takes her by the hand, and whispers to her to arise.  

Wow.  Whisper in my ear, Lord.  Help me to arise to ... life.

After the devastating loss of my husband, the love of my life, finding footing and grounding to keep going forward without feeling that life died with him has always been a monumental hurdle.  It has gotten better, but still a journey.  

So when I heard those words one more time speaking to me in my spirit by the Holy Spirit Himself, "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" while I was watching this I knew.  

The conjunction isn't there for editorial effect or a filler.  It's for truly ... life.  He is not only the One that will one day raise my husband back to life, but He IS life.  Totally.  The Life.

 So for your edification, here's what Strong's says that word means:

 1) life
1a) the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate
1b) every living soul
2) life
2a) of the absolute fulless of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature
2b) life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.  

A newness of life has begun this year.  A huge shift is taking place not only in the world, the corporate church, but individually.  

In me.  Today, Lord.  Today.  Be my life.  Like the old song says:

Take my life and let it be consecrated to Thee
Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise
Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love
Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee

Take my voice and let me sing always, only for my King
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee
Take my silver and my gold, not a might would I withhold
Take my intellect and use every power as You choose

Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee

Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine
Take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne
Take my love, my Lord I pour at Your feet, it's treasure store
Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee

Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee
Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee
Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee
(Take my life, Lord, take my life, take all of me)
Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee

 GROWING IN THE LORD WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED...

 

Sometimes plant live.  Sometimes they die.  I haven't had much success with plants in the past, so our doing the two-step together now has been an iffy journey.  But these three plants survived and flourished despite my feeble attempts to water adequately but end up drowning my poor leafy subjects or forgetting to feed them or worse yet, just forget to acknowledge their presence in the midst of life's busy cycles.  

But it's consistency of attention to detail, patience, sometimes a little pruning, soft whispers of encouragement.  Much like the Lord does with us.  Always patience, His attentive care that shines in the delicate details, along with a little pruning along the way lined with whispers of love, support and encouragement just when we need it ... those are the elements of true growth in the Lord as we obey, wait, listen and act on what He imparts to us daily.  He seals in the night that instruction.  Sometimes He even re-pots us into a different environment, different soil to grow in, even changing lighting in the area  to make sure we will grow and mature.  While we are not plants, we are people, He uses these plant metaphors often in the Word.  One of the most famous is, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."  (Mark 4)  There are many others.  The seed is the Word of God.  Lord, plant me deep in your rich soil.  Cause me to drink daily Your water of life from the Spirit of God  that nourishes and strengthens, invigorating our walk with You.  This is a new day, a new thirst that is yearning within.  You are the husbandman.  I am merely your tender shoot reaching for the sky.  You are loved, Lord.  With all within.  Kisses! 

MUSLIMS FINDING THE FACE OF GOD

I read stories.  A lot.  Some I've enjoyed.  Some I've laughed, cried, sometimes even become angry.  But a story that fills me with awe, now that's rare.

One such book is Dreams and Visions by Tom Doyle with Greg Webster.  

Rarely do I give book reviews.  I find them really quite meaningless overall because everyone's perception is different, their journeys varied.  An impact of a book is scaled inaccurately in a one-size-fits-all paradigm.  But this one book, there was no way I could be silent.  It packs a punch that leaves a mark.  The forthright stories laid out one by one provides authenticity and accuracy of things happening in the Middle East today that few do these days.  

We all need hope.  Days are darker and even darker.  So light is a premium.  But it is increasing.  There's a verse in Isaiah that I cling to.  

"Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.  All nations will come to your light;   mighty kings will come to see your radiance." (Isa. 60:2-3) 

I believe those days are now.  Not sometime in the distant dusty past or sometime in the futuristic future that we never see in our lifetime, but right now.  At this moment.  Everyone running for fear.  Fear is so rampant we have a whole agency in our government at the moment that is trying to dispel fear and terror in airports, but instead are providing a twisted blend of frustration and angst amongst the people, all in the name of so-called security.  We have complacency on a larger scale than ever before in turning blind eyes to the truth around us.  Our world is skewed upside down because of choices.  Choices that turn lives on a right path or upside down in a fog. 

But back to the book.  This book is filled with stories of Muslims in the Middle East who are seeing dreams and visions.  And not just "pizza" dreams where things are cockeyed and weird.  But dreams filled with visions of Jesus speaking to them, showing them the Way, the Truth, the Life.  Something Muslims are not experiencing.  Love, hope, truth, and joy are not the Muslim life.  I'm sure there are moderates here in America that would debate me on that and they are free to do so.  That is their Constitutional right, just as it is mine to think and speak differently.  I can truthfully, however, that I have never seen a clear demonstration of Muslim religion to spark love, hope and peace.

Never.

However, I have seen Jesus work in many people's lives, changed them into a person who forgives, loves, and has compassion.  That is diametrically opposite of the Muslim religion.  The answer to the question of who spews out hatred the most in their world is an easy answer these days.  Who kills innocent people simply because of their vitriolic venom that has invaded their souls that commands them to kill in the name of their God?  A radical Muslim.  

Contrast that with Jesus who gives life.  The contest is over.  The obvious is extreme.  Jesus does not fly airliners into buildings, build atomic bombs to take out countries, nor kill innocent people.  His love is so all-consuming, complete in compassion, overwhelming in passion for you.  For me.  For us all.  It is amazing to me how people can look Him squarely in His face and not fall in love with Him at first sight.

That's probably it.  Those who spew out the worst hate have never turned around to see Him face to face.  His face is being seen in the countries where their close-mindedness has obliterated the ability and freedom to express to others His love.  So He shows up Himself.  

And people are forever changed.  

I'm not against Muslims as a people; I am against the evil that motivates and drives them to do the evil deeds they do.  The religion that espouses you are given great favor and weight if you kill.  That is simply wrong.  Evil.  Full of the devil himself.  

But there is a God who does not demand death.  He is a God of love.  Someone who will protect you and love you.  Watch over you every moment and guide you in all your ways.  Sometime you can actually talk to.  And He will talk to you!  

If you've never talked to Jesus, do so.  I'm not talking religion.  I'm not talking counting beads or doing things by rote in a prescribed manner.  Talk to Him like you would talk to a person.  He IS a person.  He is the person, the Son of God.  He died for you that you could be forgiven of all your sins and also take the penalty of it on Himself so you didn't have to bear it.  He gave you freedom.  

He gives hope.

He gives love.  There is nothing more important than that.  Think about it.  If you are a Muslim and happening upon this post, please forgive me if I have offended you.  That was never my intent. My only hope is that you know that there are people that actually love you and pray for you.  

But there is One that loves you even more.  More than anyone or anything you have ever known.

His name is Al Masih, Jesus, the Messiah.

The Perfect Gift

Looking for the perfect gift? Between the trips to the mall to catch that latest "super sale," online clicks and exhausting marathons of parties, lists, and preparations, one thing always looms: What am I going to get for _____ (you fill in the person's name). You know, just the right thing that will make the happy meter zoom to full stop amidst cries of oohs and aahs and "You shouldn't have (but so glad you did)." 


Then there's songs that shout out, "You'd better not cry or pout or ..." Gifts based on performance.  Well, I think I've found the perfect gift. (Don't worry, I'm not selling anything. There's not a link at the end of this urging you to click onto some junky site.) I'm so glad I don't have to "work" for this gift. In fact, if I had to "be good" or "just right" I'd never have received it. Ever. It is simply this: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17) This gift is obviously Jesus. I think sometimes we've gone through so many Christmases (for those of us who are a smidge older) that the whole season thing gets jaded. Oh, yeah, here we go again. Another year. Little baby Jesus (the one that never grows up until Easter), the manger, cute little children playing angels at school programs, endless Christmas cookies, reindeer and that ever present man with the red suit that really needs to get on an exercise regimen and a diet. Yes, all the lights and music and warmth that Christmas exudes it can be an exciting time. Time well spent with family and friends make it memorable. But the real action comes on the inside where the spirit resides, the place where "Christmas" is every day. Jesus is no longer a baby, He isn't lying in a manger, and most definitely isn't just an icon in a Christian bookstore. He's a King whose passionate desire is to give you the most perfect gift of all .... salvation purchased by none other than Himself. All you have to do is reach out and take it for yourself. And if you already have -- gaze at the wonder afresh this Christmas. Take out that gift and ponder on it, thank God for it, and tell everyone what you got this Christmas. The perfect gift.

You Are ...

YOU ARE ....
     My God.  No else one.  No sick mixture of all roads leading me god knows where.  Only you.  Period.

YOU ARE ...
     My strength.  I cannot muster one iota of self-power. My mealy-mushy strength fails every day, but Yours stands like a rock.

YOU ARE ...
     My joy.  My laughter would ring hollow and feigned otherwise, nor would a smile brighten the days.

YOU ARE ...
     My guide.  Other leaders (self-imposed or otherwise) cannot compare to Your omnipotent wisdom.  I need that.

YOU ARE ...
     My secret keeper and confidant.  In an age where society sports in wholesale slaughter of  maligning another human being to the ground and lifting up of self at all costs, I'm thankful for the respect you give to our communication.  You hold me in the highest regard, no matter what I do.  I don't comprehend it in fullness, but I'm a grateful recipient.

YOU ARE ...
     Love.  With no strings attached.  That's simply beyond my capacity to understand.  Everything here on earth, it seems, comes with a price, but You pursue with unrelenting passionate and zealous love.  You woo me to Yourself and You love me.  Really do love me.  Wow, what can I do but love you more?

YOU ARE ...
     Forgiveness.  When others cannot find Your brand of forgiveness a treasure and choose instead to bury others in a sea of bitterness and death (and when I can't seem to forgive myself), you bathe me in your word.  I find grace and my spiritual sight restored.

YOU ARE ...
     Truth.  When deception claws at our souls to mire us in the outright brutality of lies, you whisper truth showing the way for you are simply that:  You are the truth and the way. 

YOU ARE ...
     Healing.  Nothing I can do in and of myself can bring it about.  If I could, I wouldn't need you.  And Lord, I never want to be without you.  Ever.  You are the One who heals.  No one can raise anyone from the dead, but You are the resurrection and life.  What a God!

YOU ARE ...
      My daily bread.  You feed all my needs with your magnanimous goodness.  They are always met in full without price or strings.  I never need a coupon for Your grace.  It's freely given. Alleluia!

YOU ARE ...
     My friend.  You stick closer than a brother or a sister.  I can always count on you.  Always.  How priceless is that!

YOU ARE ...
     Faithful.  How this is needed.  Everyone needs this without reservation. How hard it is to find true faithfulness and commitment in relationships, but You track true without fault.  May I learn that lesson well from You.

YOU ARE ...
     Merciful.  I don't deserve mercy for sins I've committed in the past, fleshly faults that lash out at Your heart.  I never deliberately wanted to hurt You.  But freshly awash by Your blood of grace and forgiveness I stand clean, whole and pure in righteousness, the righteousness You freely give.  Your very own righteousness.

For that today I stand amazed in who ...
     YOU ARE!
                     
 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor  things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 8:38-39)





    

Journey Signs ...

Directions.  Never have been good at them.  They're always upside down.  You probably never ran into that problem before.  My husband laughs when I'm looking at the folded paper with befuddled consternation, takes the map and says, "Oh, yeah, sure.  Look.  It's right there," as he points to the illusive destination on the map.  (It appears to me upside down.)

So the next time the occasion presents itself, I thought I would outsmart the process.  It seemed like a fairly good idea at the time.  Simply turn it upside down before even beginning to start looking for my destination.  Easy peezy.  Now the challenge that loomed large was my deciphering words askew while my brain screams to return the fandangled map in its upright position.  Still outsmarted by a piece of paper, in resignation I drive to the nearest all-knowing information booth .... a gas station ... where a grease-stained attendant I have never met before is entrusted with attempting to untangle my direction ineptitude.


Gaining directions for life can be quite the same way.  Just when you think you have the destination in sight, life is upended and suddenly the way doesn't seem quite as clear, even disorienting.  There will be people along the way, those we have never met in our lives, who we entrust with salient guidance to afford safe arrival at the next destination that life demands, sometimes with disastrous results.  We didn't know the way and were lost without signs that would lead us safely.  Does life always have to be that way?  I say, there has to be a better way in life and there is. 

A religious group surrounded Jesus one day and asked Him if He would show them a sign from heaven so they could know the times in which they were living.  He essentially said, "Come on, you can read the weather report but you don't know how to discern the signs of the times?"  There are many today asking the same thing, "What do you think?  How much time do you think we have left?  What's going on?  There's some awfully weird stuff happening.  I'm not sure where to turn or how to move forward.  Everything seems like it's falling apart."  It doesn't seem to matter one's spiritual journey they have taken.  The same question remains on everyone's lips.  Everyone knows there is something going on and just about to happen, but just what and when?


You know, the disciples of Jesus  asked Him the exact thing when He was here.  They asked him, "Do you know what signs are?  How will we know what's going to happen in the last days and what are we to do?"  He answered with great wisdom.  Most all of what He said then has now come to pass with pinpoint accuracy.   Here's a small current checklist:

1.  Don't let people lead you down a weed-filled path with deceptive trickery.  (Hum, check.  That's a big one.  Lots of stuff out there to choose from and most of it is all smoke and mirrors.  Hint:  don't fall for it, even if it sounds like pie in the sky.  If it sounds too good to be true, believe me, it is and frankly isn't from God.)
2.  Many will come down the pike trying to say, "I'm it.  I'm your messiah, your savior, the one that will save you from the economy, save your taxes, the Government will take care of you, it won't cost you a dime and can even save you from those that don't believe like you, blah, blah.
3.  You'll hear rumors of wars, talk of big nuclear wars, and wars that will actually break out and kill many people.  Don't be troubled about it.  The end is not yet just because of that (well, we're in the midst of that now, I'd say).
4.  Nation will rise against nation and there will be terrible things like famines and earthquakes all over the world (that's happening big time!).
5.  They will hate you and try to kill you (there are martyrs being killed every day worldwide on an unprecedented scale.  The Evin Prison in Iran, the concentration camps in North Korea, the prisons in China, and many more are torturing and killing Christians.  There are many here that would like the country "cleansed" of them here in America.  Does that remind anyone of Nazi Germany?).
6. Lots of people will be offended (already calling the race card on anything that moves, and the "Me" generation is obnoxiously trying to demand their rights whether they work or not -- mostly not).
7.  False prophets will deceive many (false doctrines have infiltrated the church at such an alarming rate it is stunning, but these are precedented days).

Then after all this long litany of upheaval, just like an upside down map, He made this stunning pronouncement that has more hope in it than anything you can read in the New York Times or anywhere, "The one that holds his ground in conflict, bears up against adversity, holds out under stress, stands firm calmly and courageously with energetic resistance to defeat and brave endurance to the very end -- those are the ones that shall be saved.  The gospel will be preached everywhere as a witness to everybody and then the end will come."  People will hear it.  They may not accept it.  They'll even deny it, but that doesn't make it any less true.  It's the sign.  The biggest one ever.   The gospel of the kingdom is being sent to nations and peoples all around the world at breakneck speed.  In places where proclaiming this message is at the risk of being beheaded, Jesus has been appearing in visions and dreams in addition to satellite images streaking across the expansive heavens proclaiming the only way to salvation. 

I don't know about you, but I think we're there.  There are signs everywhere.  There's distress and stress on every side screaming for our defeat, yelling out fear and doom, blazing out discouragement while evil forces are singing nightly lullabies of depression and suicide. 

Yet, in the midst hope burns with mega grace.  You can see the light if you look for the signs.  The best sign of all is Jesus.  He is the way.  He is the truth.  He is the light.  And he is the sign of all signs.  Look at His map:  the Bible.  It will turn your life upside down and you will see things as they are meant to be:  in truth, in righteousness, in joy.  You will find the way to the heavenly destination. 

Ernie Haas sings it best.  Be enriched and blessed as you listen to the strains of hope.  May this day bring you direction from the map of the Holy Spirit bringing you safely to the Way, the Truth, and the Life ... Jesus Christ.

Put it in "T" for Trust

Couldn't believe it.  All ready to enjoy an evening and here it is.  Pretty plain to see I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.  Staring at a dashboard that wouldn't respond gave me a sinking feeling of unredemptive tickets and lost free time that doesn't come around all that often. Why do things have to happen at the last minute? 

Turning the key again and hearing only the clicking of keys together with no sound gave way to racing thoughts seeking to eliminate the gremlin that had seemingly hijacked my truck.  Thoughts swirled through a small rundown in my mind:  gas, check; ignition switch faulty, no way; carburetion, nope.  Just had the carburetor rebuilt last week.

Lifting the hood in a huff to scan the lifeless beast, the embarassing realization rushed to my brain:  much to my chagrin, the battery cables were not attached!  The battery was "free floating" in its holder without any connection.  Disgusted at myself for not having connected it when I switched out batteries the morning before after having been distracted, I quickly attached the cables, hopped in my truck, cranked the keys in the ignition and ... bingo.  The truck hummed her energetic response, I took it out of "park" and into "drive" and proceeded out the driveway to an evening of enjoyment.

Ruminating upon my experience later I realized sometimes my walk with God is a lot like that.  I have the vehicle of faith to get to my divine destination in life only to find out that somehow or another the power and the spark has once again not guaranteed what I thought was a timely arrival.  It surely wasn't God.  He gave the goods.  It was me once again forgetting to check my connection, my  connection with God who is the giver, the soother, the counselor, the wisdom -- in short, every single thing I need in every day of my life.   Morning interactions with him are crucial, and  the instantaneous momentary whispered prayers in interaction throughout the day with Him fuel the spark that ensure trust and faith are still connected.   Without it my trust quickly drains from my soul, my connection wanes, and I could end up with a dead battery of soul with empty efforts full of exhaustion trying to do everything on my own, even to the point of getting out and trying to make it happen regardless.  Truth is, it never ever works, though good intentions would try to convince otherwise. 

The value and activation of true trust is a life-long process of learning.  Taking our hands off of the stick shift and letting Him take control is the kicker.  Human nature has a strong pull to want to control everything in its own way.  But letting Jesus guide your vehicle of faith will cause you the ride of your life.  In the end, that is always the best way.  Boy, what we learn along the way is amazing and invaluable!  When one trusts in the God that is more powerful than anything or anyone and believes Him unreservedly for everything ... well, frankly, nothing is impossible.


Keep your connection with the one true living God.  The One that can save your soul.    Don't leave yourself in park until the weeds of life entrap you into a silence of defeat.  There's unrequited love of God out there that compels you to come meet him and enjoy life with Him.  There is no one that loves you as much as He does.  That's a proven and undeniable fact.  You know what?  He will help you with anything you need.  But He's not pushy.  He will never knock you down to be the driver of your life.  Your choice to respond is yours and yours alone. Put your full faith and truth in Him and Him alone.  The engine is faith, trust is the gas, the pedal is belief in Jesus, the only Son of God.   I'd encourage you today:  Please don't put your trust in park.  Engage and drive to a place called peace.

"Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday. Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him."  (Psalm 37:3-7, Amplified.)

A early morning prayer:

Early in the morning will I seek you.  Penned a long ago in another time, another space.  And yet, here today I stop to look out at the stillness of this morning and echo his thoughts.  Early in the morning I will seek you.  You are Lord and there is no other.  How we in the U.S. have lost all meaning of title and respect.  In the days of lords and ladies, kings and queens there was an understanding.  So much has been lost.  Really annihilated in this country trying to escape King George's tyranny and now have exchanged it for another.  When we say you, Jesus, are Lord I wonder, do we fathom at all what the depth of that is?  I think not.  It takes illumination by Your Spirit.  That alone will lighten our darkened minds with understanding only You can give regarding cognizant recognition, the inward submission of Your authority, Your absolute kingship submitting to the finality that You alone are supreme ruler of all.  Your words are final authority.  Lord, make them real to me today.  Sometimes I'm so dull of mind.   I muddle through with what spiritual superiority I can muster and really it's all huff and puff ending in the realization of my frail mortality leaving yet another dusty trail into the sunset.  Your words are powerful.  Masterful.  Sans debate.  We mortals either get pugnacious or exude gooey responses, maybe even stoic ones to that phrase "Jesus is Lord."  When uttered with a heart responsive to a whispered embrace, though, its impact is profound. 

You are Lord.  You are majesty.  You are the rightful ruler, my special secret keeper.  The one that will never betray me.  Ever.  How precious is that!  Twitter sentences, Facebook blogs, news feedback, political pundits can evoke armchair slingshot judgments but really it all comes down to this.  One day everything will stop dead cold.


Every knee will buckle at Your Name.   All arguing, bickering, strong-armed convictions or lack thereof will know that You are Lord irrevocably and forever.  Your glory has been unfurled like a patriotic banner to express the kingdom of love in its fullness.  We celebrate it at Christmas.  Well, some do; some think it's all about themselves and the presents but me personally -- Lord, I happen to think it's all about You, Your love on display off the shelf and in living technicolor. 

It's sad, Lord.  Some walk away intentionally from that love that pursues them every day choosing others to be their lord.  Thing is, their lord cannot be compared to you.  Dead lords can't love, nor can their memory being passed off as religion be a dead ringer for truth.  In short, it's an evil sham. 

But your love.  Ah, now that is crystal.  It's classic.  In its purest form without flaw.  One can walk away, but never forget this one indisputable fact:  that You so loved the world that You gave.  And boy, did You give.  Gave everything You had.  Like Your one and only Son.  The one Son that could do everything for mankind.  We are pretty dim-witted down here and don't get it half the time.  I know you're patient and understanding and for that I personally am thankful.  (That's something I need every day and today again, I thank you for it.)  All love emanates from the one source:  You.  Your merciful arms are open wide to all of us who in a momentous epiphany finally pivot around to look right into eyes of Your son, Jesus, the Lord of all.  In the midst of a crisis or impending death no one ever cries out for Buddha or some other long-gone spiritual figure.  They call out to You.  And you always, always hear and answer.  You are the one who makes each one of us a thing of beauty.  You have made the "inside of the cup" where all the fabric of personality unique in form and substance can be poured out on others to be exactly what you designed it to be:  a blessing to others in the earth.  Love at its source poured through us in crystal streams to others.  Wow, Lord.  I crave to be that conduit today.

****
Encouragement:  Refresh yourself in the meaning of authoritative and commanding love in Heaven's Love 101.  "For God so loved" -- you!  And when that seeps into your spirit and by His grace you begin to see just how vast and expansive that love really is, there is no other way to express it but simply "Jesus IS Lord!"  Read it in the book of John for yourself.  You will be amazed.

The Longing of the Heart

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.

Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.

Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.

My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.

~ Psalm 63:1-8 ~

Through the Looking Glass

Press me close to the glass of heaven.
     May I peer through prisms of crystalline purity
to see your unfettered glory in fearful majesty
   eclipsing every childish cardboard box of religious gaming.
Cause me to see.
To understand Who you are,
To finally perceive with vision and understanding to know why.

Why this day of all days.
The reason. 
The joy. 

As I gaze -- I am struck by the wonder, the stunning
  panoply of heaven:


Angels bow before Your wondrous grace in adoration;
   No breathing being on their feet -- face flattened upon the
      floors of heaven's halls;
  No arrogant pride there dare rise;
  No fanciful inattentive flippancy.

Only attentive beings full of thankfulness
    at the Royalty of heaven. 
Majesty unfurled in expansive, unending skies.
  All bowing in worship at the feet of the One
    whose awesome Presence sought the one thing
    that was the target of His love,
A price for which  He would pay anything to obtain:
  My heart.





Then I saw it.  The immense price tag. 
   The cancelled receipt. 
   The final stamp of approval of purchase.


   He saw the price for me.
       and with joy paid it ...
   And made me His very own.

A love story without parallel,
    without description.
Through the ages many have tried to retell the story.
It may be unfathomable.
  May even be unimaginable or uncomfortable for some,
      But entirely and irrevocably true.

All great and powerful!
    The Mighty God -- He rose for us all!  What a price.  What a love.  What a Savior!

Once I was blind; now I see.  His looking glass revealed the joy of heaven
 His magnificent love for us all through the gift paid by the Father's Son
  illuminated on an early Sunday morning from an empty tomb.


His name .... is Jesus. 

Alleluia.

What is Truth?

     Ever have a conversation where one person is adamant about their beliefs and are close-minded to anything else?  Each person believes in his own heart, "I am right.  It's the truth and I'm not backing down!"  Makes me think:  okay, what really IS truth.  Is it only in your own heart by private interpretation or maybe from One higher?  If we're all right in our own eyes there is only one result:  anarchy, each trying to recreate our own image on another human being and being frustrated and angry when the other does not emulate our private interpretation.
     Truth is a revelation, a revealing of something previously unknown.  When given to us by God, it can be heart-wrenching, self-deprecating.  But God is not a dictator but a loving benevolent Creator who offers mercy.  Truth and mercy walk hand in hand.  Truth is never used as a sword to impale.  Mercy lifts us from the mire of self-illumination and brings us close to the breast of God in unmerited forgiveness, love, and grace.  Truth is a door of understanding, a bastion of safety if one will be embraced by its expansive arms.  When God's truth bursts through the door of our hearts, it is so we can rise higher in excellence, not brush us off to hell immediately with an off-handed royal edict with a mighty hand.  
     We need to be transfixed in the glory of God.  May I say boldly:  let's not participate in the squabbling mire of the mainstream media sandbox.  Stop fiddling with mind-paralyzing TV remotes that fritter time into useless fractured bits.  The country is in flames.  What are you doing about it?  What am I?  All hands are needed on deck.  The watchmen on the wall are called to duty to pray, intercede, and intervene in the affairs of the spiritual warfare all around us.  Be armed with the righteousness of Christ, cast off complacency, stand still to be endued by God with power and commissioned by royal decree.  It's time to stop grumbling, forsake mockery forged on the steel of vehement, unforgiving evil, and playing Holy Ghost sheriffs deputized to spew opinionated rhetoric. 
     Anti-semitism has a myriad of forms and the devil frankly doesn't care which one you emulate,  just that you stop at his table of evil and bind yourself in chains to the one of your choice.  The instructions attached to it are to nurture with chunks of prejudice into the ultimate goal:  prayerlessness, unforgiveness (or the preferred "watered-down" version of so-called "dislike") into the hellish air of hate.  Once targeted the heart and mind may gravitate to disdain of Jews, Mexicans, Italians, Mormons, Cubans, Muslims, Catholics or any other tribe, denomination or peoples.  They don't worship like you.  They do not see things like you do.  They may not even have the same God.  But if you don't nurture and exemplify to others the love of God in your heart that He has so bountifully and without exclusivity given to you, then it smacks right dead-on to be what it is in truth:  anti-semitism.  Jesus intercedes for all of us -- not just Christians.  (See Hebrews 7:25)  This spirit of anti-Christ is nauseous to God and something He'll spit out like it were disgusting chewing tobacco.
     Prideful so-called Christianity has been the bane of the world's existence.  It has exalted an evil banner and imperial standard in spiritual battles that have annihilated millions of people that continues to this day feeding on the blood and flesh of beheaded, strangled, hung, and slaughtered martyrs of those who humbled themselves by the power of mercy, repented before Almighty God, and refused to budge from that freeing, illuminating stance of truth.  I hang my head when I hear about these mighty ones of the earth.  Would I be as transparent in my beliefs as to lay down my life?  I'm all comfortable in my home without resistance.  Would I give my life? 
     The call is strong, loud and insistent and yet -- it is voraciously resisted and staunchly ignored.  The clarion call has been sounded.  Trumpets are sounding.  Do you know which number of trumpet of God we're on now?  Would you know in the middle of the day or the darkness of night?  He says "the last trump" is when He's coming.  I can count the clock chimes in the middle of the night and know what time it is.  If I count wrong simply because I only heard half of the chimes ringing the hour, I would oversleep.  Same thing in life.  Hear the wind words of the Spirit.  The sound is out there.  You can count it.  But if you're not listening, would you know which one it was?  "If you would not watch I will come upon you as a thief.  You would not know what hour I would come upon you."  Pretty straight up, don't you think?  If our pride gets in the way it stops our ears. 
     I call to all (including myself):  get our head out of movies, TV and your own private world.  Look up!  Listen and repent.  We Americans are full of ourselves, for the most part.  We seem to have a complacent attitude that says, oh, well, you know, the economy and politics, man, we've been through this before.  It will straighten out eventually.  Everything will be all right.  I don't need to be concerned.  It's okay.  I don't need anything.  I'm doing okay.
     Let me tell you something.  We're not doing okay.  It is us -- not someone else that needs to change.  It's us, all of us right here at home that need to wake up and change.  We don't have everything we need to succeed and be a prosperous nation again.  Our national policies are killing and buying the nation and leftists are using disenchanted, frustrated young people to turn uniformed, undiscerning people into lemmings on their way to the sea.  Meanwhile, the devil is laughing with scorn and disgust as he personally directs the mob to the doors of hell.  Don't become a pawn.  A pawn is a mindless, ignorant tool in the hand of the enemy for only his cause; not our own.  He knows nothing about truth because he lives in lies.  He never dances with mercy; he doesn't know the tune.  He hasn't embraced its hand; it's only outstretched to you in private invitation.  
     There is mercy.  Rich and free.  Revelation of truth comes with a price and a high one at that:  your heart.  A heart that is united  and thoroughly sold out to do one thing:  fear His name.  It's not to be divided into strips of this one for God, this one not, this one for God, this one I believe what the left is telling me, this one ... serve God or socialist ideals.  Which is it?  Choose today who you're going to serve.  To ignore is a choice.  In the end you will serve one or the other.   There is no middle road.
     We are blind fools who unwisely think a "greater good cause" is actually positive revolution for change.  It's turning our nation into a wretched, miserable, anarchistic society preying upon the poor, revealing nothing but evil in their parade like the emperor with no clothes.  Jesus had an answer for all this.  "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich" (it costs you something) "and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see" (revelatory hand extended with mercy).  "As many as I love" (which is all men -- yep, even Mormons and Muslims and Christians and Catholics) "I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous" (not just mere nauseating, wishy-washy meaningless assent) and repent.  (Rev. 3:17-19). 
     May God help us.  Spirit of God reveal Yourself to us.  We need you.  Without you we descend into chaos.  With you we rise into excellence.  Let us not try to recreate each other into our image, but that the Spirit of God create You in us that we might show to the world what you prayed so long ago in the  tiny country of Israel:
     "Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And so for their sake and on their behalf I sanctify (dedicate, consecrate) Myself, that they also may be sanctified (dedicated, consecrated, made holy) in the Truth.  Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching,  that they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.  I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one:  I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [as Your gift to Me] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me [Your love gift to Me]; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has failed to recognize You and has never acknowledged You, I have known You [continually]; and these men understand and know that You have sent Me.

That, my friend, is truth.  Let's seek Him together.
   





    

Being a True Occupier

(Letters to God, Journal 14, Book 1, 2012)

Lord, you are worthy.  What more can I say?  Teach me to pray "large prayers," the ones You want me to pray.  I'm tired of the "old list" with the same people, places and events that have been davening for months into years ad nauseum.  Things are going on down here, Lord.   Hard things.  Sharp things.  Things that spike their poison in our hearts like daggers in the dark.  Unsuspecting, but not totally unaware.  We hear the roaring lion in the bushes while the night cloaks us in winds of change that certainly didn't bring hope. 

I ask for a new dream.  A dream that will encapsulate what you desire, what You hope for, what change You yearn for in us -- in me.  More than I can imagine.  More than I can conceptualize.  Others say they want to do this or that in a big dream.  Maybe the propensity to dream in divine imaginations has diminished into a miniscule, mono-focused microscopic speck, but it's still there.  Blow on it in your laboratory of hearts where strength waxes strong, vision expands into VistaVision with technicolor dreams.  For me, hard; for You, nothing in the complex vast structure of the universe.  I'm still amazed how You can be so involved in everything in so grand a scale, and yet listen to a only little voice here on earth cocooned within her four walls typing away.  Even to listen to my thoughts!  Zowies.  That's amazing.  (And makes me watch my thoughts, thank you.)

But aren't these grand visions supposed to emulate a broadened scope to help humanity?  I think I got it today, God, big time.  I think I saw your wind words splayed in front of me stained by blood-splattered love with Your elegant, masterful script of grace.  It is as vivid as King Belshazzar's feast with the handwriting on the wall, a portent, a warning, yet scripted with lavish love.  We're not used to that.  Judgment and grace mixed up like chicken salad for dinner.  We tend to gravitate to either one or the other.  But yet I live in a very troubled world that is on fire.  Occupiers, so called, want to take over the world and fashion in their own arrogant world vision which has very little, if any, freedom in it, responsibility, morals in a new work totally devoid of "order." 

Our economy, our land, our government, our society is has become corrupt and bankrupt and increasing by the second in a landslide falling into chaos.  You know that.  I need not remind.  But, Lord, I know that in your word there is an answer.  This is Your day of repentance and revival, right in the tent of wickedness that abounds in plenty, ignorance is worn as a mantel with pride and arrogance the adornment of choice. 

Lord, right here.  Right now.  Cause me to see Your ways!  Charge me with purpose, renewed resolve to accomplish by direct command, divine edicts from Your throne pinpointedly your desires, your will, your heart's passion for others that all can see who You truly are in wonder, beauty and the myriad colors of grace.  Your beauty is astounding.  Perfect.  Multi-faceted in splendor and wonder.  Maybe that's vision enough.

Yet Your people -- the ones using Your name, the holy name above all names -- do not fear and reverence You for who You are, have been, and will be.  The here and now is skewed by those who do not treasure the lessons from those who have gone before.  There's been warning signs before, harbingers of impending doom were sounded with trumpet clarity, silencing the social complacency and religious bigotry stamped with the seal of wickedness with sword-sharp truth.   They are sounding once again right now.  Lord, will we enter or with a scoff and smirk of defiant arrogance turn away -- yet again?  I know you have set expiration dates on complacency, a termination hour of continual rebuffed invitations to embrace Your truth. 

You know, the freeway signs?  Signs to desired destinations direct one to their exit:  5 miles, 2 miles, 1 mile, this ramp only, last chance.  Oh, God!  We can either heed the signs of the times or we can continue with the crowds and face a far worse place than You ever desired for us.  Some may say I sound fatalistic.  I'd say, "Sure, you bet."  They might even say this is just trying to write something sensational by some kooky woman with a bent.  I'd have to say a resounding no to that.  Truth has a death knell but in the midst of it is also a peal of joy.  A two-edged sword. 

So many think You're out to get them, Father.  How sad.  It's just straight-up facts that the signs are all around.  You sent them.  They're not coincidence or "just life," but they're warnings You Yourself sent in your graciousness to hold out a hand of love.  Amazing.  The signs heeded bring safety; ignoring them is suicidal.  You are a royal being, a royal King who will not be denied.  Your ways are final.  I choose life, Lord.  Life and death, blessing and cursing; Lord, I choose You.  You're NEVER a dictator.  Your kingdom is love.

But Your love is so red hot!  Searing!  Burn out the selfishness, self-righteousness, and carnal nature of man, Lord.  Transform them into a royal son/daughter so filled with You that they are magnets of grace living in shoes of peace showing that through Your joy we're able to walk through any global crisis, criticism of not being "politically correct" and stand in righteousness with the power and might of heaven.  Golden gladiators of grace.

quo and head-in-the-sand mentalities and bring sorrow.  Yet, the time of our lies is now.  Right this minute. 

I know what my vision is clearly now.  Crystal.  I cry out in repentance.  I know that no elected official can turn this nation around.  No big shot, no charismatic one-minute wonder.  Nobody can "fix it."  You were abundantly clear in 2 Chron. 7:14.  And I know it's not for everybody else I can think of; it's for me.  I think I've made up my own version:  If my people called by my name (those in covenant with you as in a marriage) will humble themselves and pray ... crave and go after You with crazy passion, stop the idiotic carnal strivings emulating the world and all its desires -- then I KNOW you will do what you said you would do:  hear from heaven and heal our land, our nation, our beloved United States of America.  It will be healed.  That's the answer.  Not the polling booth (yet, I thank you for that God-given privilege), not community awareness, programs of how we can go green, not a new governmental bailout (which is really usury and theft, freebies without responsibility), or a new pastor and seven new church programs that are a sure-fire crowd pleaser.

It's to be on our knees -- my knees, Father.  I pray that others will join in on the call to repentance making 2012 the year of pleas on the knees.  Praying for our country, for the church, His Body, for ourselves corporately and individually that we may be healed inside, outside, our land, and the world.  The sign, the call, the clarion sound is being held.  I hear it.  I have chosen to walk in Your paths, Lord.

I don't want to be challenged that I am tone-deaf.  I will accept Your hand outstretched in love.  I know I'll be right on key.

The Last Stand

The photographer paused in his tour of his stunning photographs he had recently taken in the Middle East.  One by one I was amazed at the story they told, one after another, singular and profound.  One struck me with awe.  A picture of two men walking arm in arm like a band of brothers obviously strengthened by their enjoined purpose, trekking in unity.  The photo captured in that one moment a slice of time with high import.  At first blush, you might not think this was anything odd.  Two people walking out into the street with laughter on their faces, joy bubbling from their soul. But these were not just any two people:  one was an Arab, one was a Jew.  In today's world to say that is a paradox would be a huge understatement.  Rival enemies.  Centuries of inbred hatreds at odds with the one common element that could stop fear and violence cold and then with utter contempt cast it into outer darkness.  Something that cannot be fully punctuated by articulate speech, but exemplified in the life of one simply poured into another by the rich, sweet nectar of divine fruit of the Spirit of God. 

Love.

I thought to myself, wow, there it is.  Loving one another.  Who would have thought?  Two Middle Eastern friends who individually chose to walk in righteousness refusing to look the other way or shun each other when opposing religious views and conflicts blocked their way.  They held out a hand of genuine respect and love in friendship refusing to give evil even one scintilla of a foothold.  That one friendship embodied an erasure of centuries of bigotry and violence, all held fast in a fragile envelope of righteous love.

Inside I was ecstatic that an Arab and a Jew had decided to take the ultimate life challenge.  To love one another no matter what odds they faced.  But as the evening progressed I was faced with a firmly-held bigotry of my own and, when confronted with it, I was shocked.  I listened as a friend discussed his personal religious beliefs that ran contrary to my own.  I have always had the highest regard for this person and how he challenged me to be rise strong in the Lord.  His passion for the Lord was undeniable.  His fervor to serve God in ways that I knew I had yet to express was infectious.  I hadn't thought I had a religious spirit that rose stiffly in stone-cold arrogant pride, but the Lord graciously exposed it to me -- not to condemn, but that I might repent before Him.  This friend was explaining how he wore "holy garments" (something I didn't know at the time) and that he felt they were no different than a Jewish man wearing a kippah.  Yet, here I was realizing that the way he served the Lord in the denomination of his own choice -- a matter of the heart -- was causing me to lock myself in a prison of my own making.  I had swathed his whole denomination with a battering ram of locked prejudice.  I still disagree with their tenets, but it made me realize that "throwing out the baby with the bath water" is not God's choice at all.  He has a timing for every person.  Each life is different, each holds a diversity of expectations that the Lord has designed for each one.  Singular in beauty and unique.   His ways are not our own and every day is a startling and profound revelation to punctuate that point.

Division runs rampant throughout the globe -- no matter if Jewish, Christian, secular or pagan.  There are sections that decry they are the favored group or they have the market on God's voice or revelation.  God does not look at us as separate groups but only as those who love and serve Him and those that don't.  But even those that don't, who chose to walk another path, He staunchly and adamantly refuses to leave His place where He was left standing.  He remains in His place waiting for that beauty to expand that only He has right to embrace:  the openness of a man's heart. Too often we rush in to try to baptize one another with our beliefs believing that if they live "our way" then they are safe.  Actually, we may block, divert or even tragically abort what God had in mind for that person in our insistence that others walk in our path.  As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him." 

Our hearts are off limits to each other.  We are not allowed to trifle them, stifle them, dominate or challenge with guilt like a sword trying to coerce upon another any cherished dogmatic belief.  Hearts are a precious commodity and the Lord does not take kindly to abuse or bruising of the heart of one another.  He told us the commandments are summed up in this:  love of and to God and love of and to one another.  Not feigned or played in pantomime.  It simply is the way He loves us and that is how we are to treat one another.  

In the parchment of His love He explains this extravagant love.  "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  Let all that you do be done with love."  Prophets, Bible scholars, rabbis, and pundits all point to an impending financial crisis that will cripple the world.  Countries crippled by debt are crumbling into a financial abyss while huge crowds incited by evil hatred and violence gripped in a frenzy the likes of which the world has never seen continue to hold sway in a global court of high treason.  These are times.  Perilous times.  We are not to retreat.  We are to hold fast.  People are betraying one another, headstrong as granite, haughty and proud, yelling demands like brandished swords slashing others with arrogant and brutal words.  People are yearning for what the Lord demands of us.  Love. 

Let me make a bold statement.  I am a American, but I am not defined by my government.  I am defined by the Lord I love and serve.  I passionately love the Lord, but I am not to be segregated by others if my conviction does not match another person's closely-held belief.  Our hearts belong to the Lord and not ourselves.  We are to stand together with the utmost respect and unwavering integrity with that which the Lord provides:  love unsheathed as a weapon of righteousness.  Its cutting edge is  sharp.  It casts out fear and bathes the soul in soothing oil from the robes of God.  And then with a softened hand of grace extended says, I will stand with you.  I will love you.  I will cherish you. 

Standing halfway is not to stand at all.

A good example of this is standing with Israel.  They are God's chosen people.  He has brought them back to their land.  It is their right.  They have fought for it and they have won it with God's miraculous provision.  It was spoken of long ago by the prophets that they will return and they have.  There is growing anti-Semitism in the land.  Its voice cannot be denied because it is rising in volume, aimed once again at the Jews, God's chosen ones.  But it is also aimed dead center at those who love God and have chosen to stand right beside them -- the Christian people.  Not so long ago Christian people refused to speak up when they saw and heard evil rising.  They turned their backs and thought that maybe it would just go away and they could continue with they were doing. 

It cannot happen this time.  We cannot stick our heads in our denominational (or non-denominational or church group) and deny what is going on any longer.  These are end times.  And end times demand extraordinary stances of truth and courage.  We are demanded to love.  Cross our theological borders and stand firmly for righteousness.  Mix our religious beliefs?  Never.  But we can hold hands of love standing together against evil.  Romans 14 puts it this way:  "Who are you to judge another's servant?  To his own master he stands or falls.  Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.  One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike.  Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord, and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord He does not observe it ... none of us lives to himself and no one dies to himself.  For if we live, we live to the Lord and if we die, we die to the Lord.  Therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."



We cannot let evil run roughshod over our lives, our fortunes or our sacred honor.  Not this time.  Not this year, not next year, nor the year after that.  We will let our voices be heard in loud shouts of love.  We will not have another holocaust.  We will not have ovens at the ready for human bodies for whom God gave His only son.  We are told to walk in shoes of peace.

Recently I read again Corrie TenBoom's story, The Hiding Place.  Corrie's sister Betsie always prayed for everyone, especially the tyrant guards.  Her heart was the heart of God who aches and yearns for all to come to know Him.  It was her one statement that has resonated with millions that still speaks today, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."  Even in the stench of the pit of hell she was able to evoke love to its full extent.  Standards of evil must be rooted out and eradicated by those who have the temerity when having done all to stand have stood for the King.

Today I listened once again to the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah.  It never fails to bring tears to my eyes.  Every time the refrain is heard my spirit soars as it reaches towards the Creator who made me, the one Who holds my heart in His hand.  It says to me we will worship our precious King.  We will serve Him at all costs.  We will love our fellow man no matter where and who.

"Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?  Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?  Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would soon have settled in silence.  If I say, 'My foot slips,' Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.  In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.  Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You?  They gather together against the life of the righteous and condemn innocent blood.  But the Lord has been my defense and my God the rock of my refuge.  He has brought on them their own iniquity,  and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; the Lord our God shall cut them off."  (Psa. 94:16-23)

This is not the time for petty arguments.  We can either walk in unending strife or in shoes of peace.  This is the time for action.  It's our last stand.  The stand for love.

Dinner with a King: A Royal Invitation

The pencil scratches the paper as the list is made:  eggs, cinnamon, canned pumpkin, sugar, turkey, stuffing, celery.  Each day the list is enlarged as plans are made for a table that will be groaning with the abundance of bounty.  The silver is polished until when looking down at the large platter, you can see yourself as a bad image from carnival mirrors.   Linens are ironed till edges are crisp, ready to snap to attention for those who  have come to dine. 

Invitations are interesting things that evoke polar opposite reactions:  either gladness that a loved one will come or disgust with a desire that it could be tossed in the round file with a heave-ho, such as a "request" to appear for an IRS audit or jury duty that comes right on the very day you expect your guests to arrive.

There's one invitation that is the most coveted of all.  Right in the midst of life at its busiest or worst, when things are flying at us with accelerated speed, truth is rare, lies are the seeming normalcy standard and we think we can't take one more arrogant bully stuffing their anti-God, anti-everything views -- there it is.  An invitation. 

But not just any invitation.  One before you where you didn't expect it.  Right in the middle of your life.  In the center street where all the shouting voices and demanding schedules and vying for your attention intersects.  The traffic light is now solid red.  Everything and everyone has ceased.  Your eyes rest on something in the middle of that intersection.  A table.  A table set with service for two.  A marble table inlaid with solid gold.  Crystal glistening in colors you've never seen.  Ornate silver with filigree etched with your initials.  A glistening white place card in elegant script with your name in exquisite pattern and beauty.  Someone has taken a great deal of effort and outrageous expense to invite you to dine.  But just who and, better yet, why?

He's a king.  But not just any king.  The King of all Kings.  Jesus Himself.  Another king long ago penned a beautiful song about this experience.  He explained that the Lord invited him to dinner.  And obviously he accepted because in his Jewish experience he explained it this way:  He made the dinner.  He poured the wine and then anointed me simply because He loved me.   Because of that,  I will follow Him anywhere.  I live where He lives.  I'll go where He wants to go and do what He wants to do.  I cannot do anything else.  I am smitten by His love.  That's what Psalm 23 is all about.  The essence of a God that pursues us, a heavenly seduction of grace. 

There is a Jewish tradition called Havdalah where a cup of wine runs over onto a saucer underneath.  It symbolizes sufficient enough to fill one's own needs and that of others.  A prayer is given that the expression of hope that life's goodness and bounty will be as abundant as the wine that is being blessed.  In Temple times when the burnt offerings and peace offerings were made an entire container of  wine was poured onto the altar.   It was an offering of thanksgiving, a praise to the Lord of Lords who always provides for our needs and, through us, others.  Kiddush in Hebrew means designation, demarcating a person, place thing or time for a higher purpose.  Also, when a guest is in a home and the host pours wine for the guest if the host wants to show high favor, acceptance and blessing, he will overflow the cup.

The new Thanksgiving season is here.  A time to enjoy family and friends, to be thankful for the bounty the Lord has given.  The harvest time is here.  Many are turning to the Lord in numbers unheard of before.  This is the time when the Lord will appear to all and bring us into His kingdom.   He has done a lot of labor in the harvesting.  But really -- the cream of His crop .... is you.

Be blessed this season.  Embrace His acceptance and love as not just a nice warm fuzzy feeling, but a revelation of the gift of eternal life for you.  He paid an enormous price for you because you are worth that much.  You are a treasure of His heart.  You are worth every stripe, every piece of silver, every abuse and torture He endured.

Look.  His invitation is there.  Right there at your fingertips.  You may have said no before or you may have embraced His offer.  Whichever it is, the time is extremely short.  The call has gone out.  It is a royal invitation.  It cannot be ignored or treated with indifferent procrastination any longer.  It's your choice.

It's time for dinner.

The True Planned Parenthood

It can be discouraging, even daunting.  Verbal assaults that assail from every angle.  School bullies, workplace harassment, families at odds, even those who you thought were friends tear at the fabric of the soul.  Days like that bolt down a soul with weighted chains.  Some come through it, though not unscathed.  Others are encased in a mire of words that have bogged them down to nearly unrelenting paralyzation to move forward with courage.  Words can soothe or they can be hurled with such force and vengeance to abort even the staunchest braveheart.

No one said days like these would be easy.  Even today in the middle of a town square or a city street with signs blazing and red hot vehemence here are voices that scream their so-called proclaimed rights to advantages they feel they deserve.  In their disdain for those who work to support their families with values and strength, they long to abort the way of life of those that ordain their steps with truth, courage, and old-fashioned work.  They flaunt their arrogance at Americans who look in the face of fear and don't flinch.  Not one inch.  They are the ones that will not budge at the hand of an economic abortion doctor who thinks that Communism, socialism, and the death of democracy is a healthy thing for a nation that is already teetering on the brink of an evil social abyss.  With unswerving courage and a blazing fire of faith, they show the world every day there are ones who walk with integrity, righteousness and white hot truth.

There is one parent, though, that will not be denied, the One who will pluck His children from the hands of those who would try to pry them from their destiny and abort the plan of the universe.  It's the Lord Himself, the one true God.  He gave His Son with a high price so that he could claim His children as His own.  No one will chase them from the planet.  They may be imprisoned, maligned, slaughtered, denied, harassed, and assaulted verbally and/or physically but one thing is absolutely and irrevocably true:  He is coming to get His children and His word will be the last word.  His word settles it all.  His words that are not convoluted, filled with half-truths or flat-out lies.  They will not be ignored or disobeyed.  All will know and all will have to bow their knee to the one that will have sovereignty.  Complete and full.

You see, He planned it all.  He planned you.  He planned the way you are right now.  You may think that because of situations in your life that everything has gone downhill at full tilt.  Maybe you don't have a job, your marriage may have fallen apart, your family may be in alienation with unforgiveness like cancer that has eaten your soul to the very marrow of your bones.  The ache of defeat and depression is very real, the outlook grim on all counts from the nation, from your individual life, and even from what you believe is a God that hasn't been listening in a very long time.

I'm here to tell you this: You are planned.  You are valuable.  You are immensely loved.  Far beyond what you can even imagine.  He has seen every struggle, observed every tear, heard every sigh and cry of your heart.  He is listening.  Cry out to him. You are His plan.  He will never abort you.  He will never tear you out of His heart.  You will never be an after-thought, an "oops" or ignored.  You are precious in every way.

Remember this:  In John 16:27 it says, "The Father Himself loves you dearly..."  That's a red letter edition of love.  The one that speaks right to the heart.  It's not an appeal to try to assuage you to believe simply because it's a "religious thing."  In a world that's gone crazy and nuts, this is the real deal.  It's plain and simple truth.  It's right.  Without hidden and crooked agendas.  It brings peace when nothing else can.  It's His word to you today.

You are planned.  Let Him be the parent to you He has always desired.  Give your heart to him unconditionally, without a Plan B.  Throw away the doubts, the weird words that fly out there ... this is the day.  This is the moment He says to you -- and me, too -- "Come!  Be a part of the family, a nativity into the family of God."

You'll never regret it, not even for one ripe second.  You see, you are in the plan ... conceived right there in the Father's heart.

It's Rosh Hashanah 5772 -- Happy New Year!

It's the Jewish New Year this week, Rosh Hashanah.  The Ten Days of Awe begin, the time for repentance, which end with the Day of Atonement. Peering into the looking glass of God's magnificent forgiveness is an endless pool of grace into which we are privileged to gaze.  In Jewish teaching it is the anniversary of the creation of man, a time that God celebrates us.  What a thought.  It's a day to say thank you for the prerogative of enjoying God's blessings and benevolent forgiveness, giving us a chance to start anew, afresh, awash with His closeness of Spirit breathing into us His passion and love.  It is also the Feast of Trumpets when shofars resound throughout the air pronouncing...

... the coming monarch.  His Royal Majesty, Jesus Christ.  Jewish teachers have taught, "Do you know what tomorrow evening is? Tomorrow will be Rosh Hashanah, and among Chassidim the night of Rosh Hashanah is called 'Karanatzia Nacht.'"  Coronation night.

(Selah!)


The crowning ceremony of the King of Kings.  It's not far off.  He's coming.  Lately I have heard, "Oh, but many things have to happen yet."  Hum.  Well, will you personally know the minute or the hour or the day?  Will you know every detail, every fulfillment and you can say with finality and infinite wisdom that NOW is the precise moment and fulfillment and He can come any moment---well, that is, if you haven't been busy living life with all of its demands and stress it commands.  When truly would one know?  Remember this friends, he comes as a thief in the night.  When you didn't really expect it.  Just when you thought there were a "few more things that have to happen first" (or worse, secretly wishing it wouldn't be too soon because we want to do this or that).  I sense that too many in the Body of Christ have a false sense of security thinking that there is "still some time left."  We should live intimately and immediate in His presence so that at any moment (whether now or somewhere in the future) when His shofar is sounded, His voice is lifted in a shout, we will not be caught unawares.  


This is the season of the Lord, the Coronation night.  Whether He comes today or tomorrow or next week or beyond is not the issue; the extent of readiness within ourselves is paramount to being ready to walk into eternity with one breath.  Literally one breath away.  Think about it.  Truly He longs for us with a passion we can never fully understand, a longing with an intensity that is beyond description, and a love that is immeasurable.  


Long for Him.  Look for Him.  Listen for His words breathing life through you and then in the silence He Himself will listen with ardent fervor.  He'll listen for very special words that bring about this most spectacular gathering of lovers of God.  The very words He longs to hear.

"The Spirit and the Bride say ...come, King Jesus."  The coronation celebration is about to begin!  Come! 


Rosh Hashanah 5772!