Affliction via a Song

Dedicated to Musicians and those who love the Songs of the Spirit: The wind of adversity was twisting and ripping at the human-like form that had positioned itself on the cliff. He had nowhere to go but to his knees on the edge of that fearful ledge. From our vantage point (if we would so desire) we can listen in to hear what this distraught saint will say as he is about to pray:

“O God, just one of Your ears is all I need. Fully reveal yourself to meet the needs of my praying. Come near with attentiveness and truly hear; because “I am your cause”, it is imperative that You respond to me; for I am caused to wander restlessly in the complaints of my soul. These thoughts of mine make such a distracting noise that I NEED YOU. I need you because of the noise of the careless voice of the enemy's hostility. I need you because of the crushing pressure of those criminally hostile towards you … they shake their shame filled wickedness upon me; and in the breathing of their anger they seem to cherish their continued hatred for me.” … As he goes on with the description of his violated heart, we are shocked to learn that the most grievous wound has been caused by a close companion. This has caused the most damage and this is where the warrior falls. (Psalm 55:1-3, 13 & 14) {God so cherishes His desire for closeness with us that when someone intentionally violates a human bond of friendship by an ulterior plan to destroy us ... HE STEPS IN. Because we are His desire, we are His cause. Hey, where is our child-like faith that DARES to believe that our Daddy truly loves us and wants us close to Him?}

I know most of us can identify with the Psalmist through his expressions of the anguish of his heart that are captured for us in the Psalms; but how many of us will catch the force of what he is saying? How many of us will believe the truths revealed about how God actually has positioned us in His love? Do we believe that “We are His cause” as the Psalmist did? How many of us will dare declare this before him rather than than spouting useless psycho babble that gets us nowhere but deeper into the pouting of our own fearful and broken hearts.

Let's get back to our position to listen to the Man on the cliff as He stands courageously after praying and declares: Psalm 55:19 - “God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old, Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.” I carried this treasure away from the cliff so that I could unwrap it a little more. And in so doing, I found something amazing. Let's walk this passage in reverse for the surprise effect.
 “therefore they fear not God” - why does the Enemy Fear not God? Their pride affords them “no changes” - no backup plan, no replacements, no change of garments, no relief, no change of course of life and this is the way it is especially with those (“that abideth of old”)who have “wickedness” tenure. Think about it (Selah)! OK ??? With no change ...they face God's judgment head on with no Saviour.

I truly feel most of us are catching this up to this point, but here is where the surprise comes in. “God shall hear” – His “hearing of our cries” is never completely finished until we are completely delivered, completely Home with Him.

“And afflict them” - How is this affliction levied on the enemy? Never completely until we we are completely delivered. He answers, responds, testifies, speaks, shouts as a witness and He does this with SINGING … He utters His deliverance tunefully. The enemy is afflicted by a continual Song of Deliverance from our God. WOW! When God responds, His response is a song, singing ….wow again! With our adversary described as a musical instrument what more fitting response but to sing him to his eternal doom. And what greater testimony of His grace and mercy is a Continual Song of Deliverance to those who hear the need for Salvation and join in the Song.

Isn't it amazing that God blesses His beloved ones with a song, and with that same song defeats the Kingdom of Darkness? Lift up your voices, O lovers of God, and sing to the Glory of God and to the dismay of the enemy. We are more than conquerors – breathe, believe and live abundantly in the Song.

Exodus 15:2 – “The LORD is my strength and my song, He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him.”

Psalm 42:8 - “Yet the LORD will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.”

Psalm 137:4 “How shall we sing, the LORD'S song in a strange land?”  ... IN CHRIST ALONE!

HLFA,

Jeff

Damaged but Entrusted to Love

There they stood in the lineup that had been openly called by their Master because of His imminent plans to travel to a foreign country. To see them would make you wonder why He had sacrificed and invested “all” the He had and all that He was... in them. Though all of them were visibly torn, scarred, broken and damaged, the look in His eyes toward them at this “called out assembly” had no tinge of disgust, had no bend towards dismay, and showed no signs of anything but pride and the utmost confidence. The fact was, that for most of this ragamuffin band of misfits there were joyful exchanges of love; but there were a few who were trying to stand stoically invisible at the presence of this Man. This did not seem to phase this great lover of misfits, for He loved them also.

Although His servants did not fit the “success pattern” of this world, in the midst of this grand scheme of the Master's Love was His acute ability to gift a servant according to His personal Kingdom DNA. The Master knew the strategic fit of each and all of His servants, and how His measured gift could bring true joy to the life of the servant and ultimately the kingdom. No more, no less than the ability of the servant was the congruent distribution of the Masters goods planned. The servants who saw liberty at the entrusting of the Master's goods would move forward to cause love rebellions all across the Kingdom during the Master's absence. At His return the love harvest from this liberal use of the Master's goods would be seen as a multiplication of the saving, the healing, the feeding, the comforting, and the clothing of other seemingly unprofitable misfits all over the Kingdom.

There was great joy in the Kingdom when the Master returned … with the exception of those who saw the Master's love as manipulative, His distribution as unfair, and His plan as a cruel self servicing misuse of unqualified, naive followers to elevate his own fame and fill His own coffers. In the end these servants with this perspective were found to have no connection to the Master (because of their rejection of his Love) and were banished from the Kingdom. (more accurate details of this story are found in Matthew 25)

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.” Psalm 48:1-3

When we look at our lives, focusing on the way we deal with people (because people are the key): Do we create a refuge of extravagant love or a prison of guilt ridden obligation? Do we capture and corral, or do we unbind and set free? Do we enshrine and entomb, or do we loose them and let them “GO” in the service of the King?

Personally, I have seen great bitterness and disappointment in the life of Christian leaders, organizations and ministries that become “collectors, controllers and owners of talent”. This selfish dependence soon becomes a point of contention, strife and finally bitter separation. A leader will painfully, but probably reluctantly learn that holding onto and controlling damaged people (which we all are) too tightly will be the death of the venture.

(Here comes the “take a big breath” run-on thought”) Oh, if only we could develop Heaven-bound, door way expanding, beach-like rescue stations filled with Kingdom Minded leaders; who raise up joyful life guards who will continue to go out into the crashing surf of soiled humanity to rescue the perishing and care for the dying. Kingdom leaders who catch this vision will find a deeper sense of a fulfilling connection with the King and a greater sense of purpose for their lives and others.

John 14:1,2 Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

HLFA,

Jeff

The Storm and The Distortion

The wind of adversity was picking up as we watched the sky darken in a terrifying manner. It almost seemed like an out-of control, other-worldly beast was racing through the moment. This beast was able to dash to pieces the remaining light of soul because its fading brightness was contained only in fragile earthen vessels. In that moment light was shattered, and darkness shrouded our world.

In that darkness the whole sanctuary around us seemed to be whining under the struggle between the pressure of the vast expanse above us and strong relentless pull from the abyss beneath us. The noise went from a small kitten-like whine to a deafening lion-like roar. And then when it seemed like the integrity of the structure of our hiding place would take it no longer, and it would burst into a million fragments ... it happened: Dead silence... deathlike stillness ...an eerie calm. Then came the distortion, "Where is your God?"

Just as we would momentarily wait in wonder of the calm, and then proceed from our position of safety; so it is with the soul that proceeds from those moments when nothing seems fastened down nor secure. It is at that moment of the storm's abating when the soul slowly moves out of hiding that the distortion of the situation becomes the most intense.

The risk to step out into the silence of the unknown aftermath of the storm was real. The risk of potential hazards like teetering debris or downed power lines was inevitable. There was that additional risk of possibly being caught by the return of the storm without any protection. With all of this looming, the intensifier was the distortion caused by an adversarial question “Where is your God?” As if the risk wasn't pressure enough, would I now find myself abandoned by the One who I trusted.

While reading Psalm 42 in all of its amazing expressions of the emotions of the Soul that follows hard after God, (Verses 1- 6 described in an emotional nutshell – exhaustion, deprivation, tear-filled doubt, disappointment, depression, rejection and then verse 7 wow!) I have to stop and once again ponder the following verse because it describes ”that moment”at the end of our emotional struggle when prayer seems drowned out by the noise of His storm and His ocean that just washes right over us … Psalm 42:7 – “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me.”

I am so glad that the Psalmist did not place the quill of the pen back in its well at this verse, for I would be all but done. By the breath of God the Psalmist proceeds to bring us out of our ruin carrying some new found gifts to defuse the distortion and give us clarity for the next move in our journey. Looking back from the vantage point of going through His storm, His waves and His billows, we will realize we are growing to know that:

• He is our song and prayer in the night.
• He is our life, when all else is fading.
• He is our rock, securing us on the Edge.

In our times of deep soul upheaval, when the distortion of “where is your God?” cuts like a sword and begins to shatter our countenance ... our times of doubt and mourning are momentary because:

•  He is our wellness,
• He is our prosperity,
• He is our deliverance,
• He is our Rescue,
• He is our Victory.

Psalm 42: 11 “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”

Pray for William as his wife Patricia is entering her final season of life, pray for Janet as she longs to breathe normally, pray for so many who are troubled by the onset of overwhelming circumstances and feelings of abandonment. Pray that Love will reign in the hearts of those momentarily abandoned. Pray when the question hisses from the Adversary "Where is Thy God?" that God's still small voice will shout comfort through the soul of His little ones "Here I Am!"

The Distortion will fade while in Thy storm my turning is to You!

HLFA,

Jeff

Swim O Toe Dipper

Ezekiel 47:5 - “Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.”

We have not even scratched the surface yet. I believe we are still in the comfort and coddle zone. We are dipping our toes, possibly risking our ankles with a little healing water lapping onto our knees, but will only pretend to launch out into the deep where there is that "risk" of a true relationship with Jesus. We are still “hanging onto” and “hiding behind” the "hurt", the "breach", the "wound", the "offense" and the “miry marsh places” because that seems to be more important to our identity than truly extending the grace of God to those who offend us.

• We are still projecting our name tags and religious connections as our buckler,
• We want to be exclusive in our inclusiveness to purify our people gatherings,
• We hold fast to our self proclaimed lines of demarcation and separation as our shield,
• We have become our own high towers in defense of our self serving decisions, thus sacrificing His vision,
• We are terrified to be blessed by the rejoicings and praises of this present generation for fear of embarrassment before the holy ones,
• We are quick to label, but extremely hesitant to love because we might be thought of as lenient,
• AND We are fearful of a Kingdom that might be so much bigger than our meager offering of “righteous” service to the King.

                 So we become the last monument to pitiful self indulgent guarded grace.

As the "Old Man" of Joel chapter 2 (a war worn saint, full of Dreams of yesteryear) was watching his beautiful store front chapel, week after week, as it was turned into a noisy unruly corral for the halt, the maimed, the lame, the blind and the unprofitable children of the street (and this was done by "The Young Man" of Joel 2 who was fully devastated by his Vision of his present generation); He would say to the discouraged young man because failure appeared more evident than success, "Cheer up, stuff happens, let's keep serving the King until He comes again. This is your time!"

• The old man saw pandemonium slowly turn to order (but not on this side),
•  He saw shattered windows open light to rescued lives (but not on this side),
•  He saw fierce faces reluctantly fade to friendly smiles (but not on this side),
•  He saw the broken heart-ed line up to be patched up to heal (but not on this side),
• He saw Hell robbed “one by one” and Heaven rejoicing (but not on this side),

The "Old Man" never saw the victory on this side of Heaven but he is seeing it now in that great cloud of witnesses; and the young man continues to pass that “Dreamer's”encouragement as he moves through the Prophetical Singing of the Sons and Daughters who are proclaiming, "Look what God IS doing!"

Here is where the cookies begin to crumble to the lower shelf: We are either swimming to the place where this generation around us (and with us) is saying … "Look what God IS Doing!"; or we are living amidst the sad songs of fearful toe dippers who whine … "remember the good old days?”

Rise up broken hearted saint ... God is Always Relevantly Powerful in the changing generations. As the Young Men and the Old Men unite in the “Young Man's Vision for the Field” with the “The Old Man's Dreams of Heaven” by the outpouring and leading of God's Spirit - God is Glorified. Lift up your eyes for the fields are white unto harvest, throw off your grave clothes and your robes of mourning .... wade out into the Deep, swim though you cannot cross ... for there you will find Jesus. Swim in the healing for the sake of the Kingdom.

HLFA,

Jeff