Don't Leave Home Without It

I may have been a little ambitious in my attempt to get a start on the day. The morning was chilled and the hot steam from the shower was more than enough to blur my vision during the final prep of my face in the mirror ... oh well, hair straight back, razor near beard touch up (I think). ready to rock! ... I wrestled on my “set out the night before” clothes (in the dark), grabbed my suitcase, and raced out the front door so I could begin my 2 hour drive to catch an early morning flight. Locking the front door and turning to take 2-3 concrete steps down to our front walkway (that led to the driveway in which my car was parked), I had failed to assay the fact that the night had provided me with a fresh sheet of black ice for feet. My feet refused to stand firm on this invisible slippery substance and decided they wanted to point at the sky while the remainder of body rushed quickly backwards smacking the pavement in a most uncomfortable fashion. Fortunately, the only thing that was hurt was my dignity as I briefly lay there looking at the sky and wondering how this frail, clumsy human being could even begin to glorify His God. (Trust me the Adversary was standing there offering any words of agreement he could add to my doubting of God's choosing.)

Zechariah 3: 1-4 “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.”

There will always be events, people, words, and your own thoughts that will align themselves perfectly with your fallen perception of your life and Satan's accusatory rhetoric. This perception and accusation is true at the surface: Clothed with useless “filthy garments” (just like Joshua the high priest), loaded with so many disqualifying attributes (anyone can see it)to neutralize and devastate your effectiveness in the Kingdom; BUT GOD WANTS YOU TO SEE BEYOND THE OBVIOUS and beyond the destructive satanic agreement. Within the ten brief verses of Zechariah 3 – we get a snap shot of the abundant life that God offers to us if we stop looking with our fallen eyes and trust the ONE STONE, the BRANCH, the ENGRAVED ONE; the ONE who brings the real love from His perfect vision and real life from His perfect fountain. Who better than the “unlikely” and the “unassuming” to knock the socks off of a world that thinks the greatest work is done by those “wondered at” (those who are amazingly talented).

YOU like Joshua the high priest are a “brand plucked out of the fire”. You are a burning ember, purposely plucked from the fire of judgment, by the burning desire of a God, who not only saves you,

but strategically places you in this world with full significance. You will start a fire of salvation every where your feet trod if you will push the filth of a fallen vision to the side (quit making lying excuses why God doesn't love you) and trust His love decree for you (accept openly the life He wants to pour over and through you … He wants to bless you!). Don't live another day defeated – encourage your heart in the Lord

I John 1:3 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” Surprise the world around you, don't leave home without a clear vision of His desire for you. Burn brightly, Jesus loves you!

HLFA

Jeff

All She Wanted To Do Was Dance

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Psalm 43:5

Wow!!! What a wedding!! It is so amazing what God will do in the midst of the planned/unplanned chaos of a wedding. A marriage service of a couple is kind of like a multicolored oriental fan that opens at no particular predicted speed or measurable distance. This fan opens to reveal marriages of memories, marriages of dreams, unions of the past, amendments for the future, re-unions of personalities and faith … on and on the list could go. At times, like last night, I officiate.

My total intention, as one that is privileged to perform weddings from time to time, is to somehow marry the hearts of all the people amidst these events to the ultimate groom ... Jesus. Though the service will be short and a lot less stuffy than your typical “do it by the book” wedding, it  will still funnel down to that time of “ Let me introduce to you ... for the first time on this side of Heaven ... Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Hopeful”.  At this point the collision of all the ingredients breathe a sigh of relief with cries of “We made it!” and the ceremony turns to celebration. At this time my attention turns to the people around me: I pray, observe, groan, laugh, cry, and imagine the veil pulled back as eternity joins the event. Remember: This event, should be where the lives of two believers become one, and as such, this is an event that God jealously guards over, “what God hath joined together let no man put asunder.

There was a Couple that caught much of my attention throughout the night. The husband was obviously the caregiver, and his wife was fairly oblivious to the events unfolding around her. She had to be physically encouraged through all the movements of the evening to perform the basic functions like ... sitting, walking, and eating. But with every “you are beautiful” came a satisfied smile with an almost kiss like expression from her radiant face. Her lips would form words like “I love you too!”.  Her daughters pampered and doted over her to let her constantly know she was loved. Her son-n-laws were the objects of her winking and blown kisses. Her husband tried hard to enjoy the moment but the weight of his burden, his bride failing, kept his heart heavy which was evident by the looks on his face.

 As “His Bride failing” heard the music and watched the people on the wedding dance floor, her legs and feet began to twitch to the beat of the music. She kept smiling and leaning to her husband in this euphoric state with coaxing facial expressions and imploring eye movements ... “Let's Dance”. You could visually see his emotional distress because he knew how hard it was just to get her to walk.  She had lost all bias of style and genre of music; disco, rock, country, hip-hop, techno ...she wanted it all – All she wanted to do is dance ... “Let's dance”. Her daughters seeing this desire, helped their Mother to the floor. Although it wasn't a dance that would ever be emulated on Dancing With the Stars, it was a beautiful fragile movement around the room that would fill this “bride failing” with a moment of wonderful memories that would thrill her if but for that moment.

As I watched her daughters joyfully and tearfully support their Mother in this moment of their Mother's desire to dance, I saw a glimpse of Heaven.  Jesus' “Bride failing”, faltering but hearing the music of Heaven ... wanting to dance ... having no lasting strength of our own ... but He calls for a loving rescue team to help us to our feet and holds us as we dance a dance of feeble praise. Tears fall from Heaven as  He hears our cries, our desires to be with Him ... “Lets Dance!”  “Let's Dance!” the time has come ... “Let's Dance!”

HLFA,

Jeff

Discombobulation With Thoughtless Communication??? No way!!

“You better be careful what you ask for because you might just get it” ... I'm not quite sure where this bit of sly faulty advise came from (though I do have a sneaking suspicion), but as well meaning as it might be, it probably has hindered many from doing exactly what God wants them to do ... He wants us to pray, to pray without inhibition, and to pray without fear of reprisal. He has made sure we can't mess it up.

In our times of great duress and sustained weakness, because we don't have the perception of Perfection, HE lays hold of and embraces the struggle with us. While in this embrace with our struggling soul, He supplies all the direct face to face conversation with our Heavenly Father that we need to guaranty that we will be understood way beyond what we could ever imagine. The Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered ... He does the groaning of our truest need.

Romans 8:22-27
“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He (God) that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He (The Holy Spirit) maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

"Sunantilambanomai” and  “Huperentugchano” for you.
What??? Some pretty intense BIG Greek words to describe His HELP and His INTERCESSION. Trust this: In the details of His plan to actively love you, He has a secured a line of communication whereby you will always be Understood even when you don't understand yourself. You may even say mean and unthoughtful things as you writhe in personal pain and disappointment, but His love is embracing you and praying with and for you way beyond your abilities to speak.

Yes, sin does get in the way – confess (I John 1:9) ... and our silence robs us of truly joining Him in His active love for us ... SO ... Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Phil. 4:6)

Pray fearlessly,

HLFA,

Jeff

Undeserving, Tossed Aside and Broken ... Crayons?

Everyone of us have seen them. In fact most of us would even recognize the smell of them. On occasion we have noticed the very young try to taste the original refinement of these helpless ones. Torn and pealed back at the casing, they are abused and pressured to conform to the will of whatever strength of hand inflicts their lives with the need to produce. They are cracked and blunted at the heart of their offering of life. Chafed and rubbed mercilessly in the course of their ever shortening productiveness. So many reduced to a stub of their former glory. Waiting helplessly in the recesses of their current coffin-like existence.

Most of the catastrophic damage to their existence can be attributed the carelessness of the untrained, erratic energies of the immature novice. None the less, the damage has been done, and even when the more “mature” and skilled minister arrives on the scene, there is very little that can be done. The damage is usually assayed, and the next step in the lives of these victims is the trash pile.

Although this heart wrenching description almost pulls and tugs at our memories of the careless affliction poured onto our lives by so many participants… my eyes are actually observing a container full of crayons. This vividly biased, cryptic depiction is very true of most of the crayons in the “community can” of crayons, prepared for the young ones, that visit the Redding residence and request the need to express their creativity by coloring. However, in the lives of souls who will spend eternity somewhere, this depiction could paint a bleak and hopeless future if the most important PARTICIPANT is left in the alcoves and neglected.

Sadly too, many of us who are aware of THIS PARTICIPANT still drive ourselves into the direction of “undeserving, tossed aside and broken” ...”Just throw me away” my deceitful heart is prone to relentlessly say...”I don't deserve anything, just throw me away”.

For those who truly wish to know the pleas of the Spirit - read (very prayerfully) Romans 8 with the vantage point that: God truly loves you and wants you to experience His love lavished on your lives and your living.

The summary found in the very end of this chapter in verses 38 and 39 should never be reduced to mere cliché, but should be held ever so close in those times that we join in mutual suffering with the crayons:

Romans 8:38 & 39 - “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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Please stop resisting the obvious attempts of God to love you. He leaps over the sinful rubbish (that you and I have created) with “paid in full” forgiveness. He even dips into our “community can” of broken crayons, pulls what would be counted as the most undeserving, tossed aside and broken pieces, and as we let Him participate...creates masterpieces of His Glory with you.

Let Jesus Love you Openly,

HLFA,

Jeff