Where is the Hem?

I knocked softly at the door because I wasn't sure what I would find. Years of doctors prodding and poking; countless surgeries and contorted procedures that left her so embarrassed and humiliated. I was worried I would just be another voice that could cause her more pain than comfort. The door was opened and we were greeted with a smile of friendship and true appreciative love... “Come in and see her, and please pray with her”.

What we found as we walked into the room where she was curled up under several layers of soft blankets, was one of God's precious ones … suffering. The doctors have turned her over to those who now work with her to manage her pain. She still loves her husband and her family. She prays for her friends,and those she learns of who are hurting. She still reaches out from behind those tired eyes to offer a kind word to let you know how beautiful you are in the sight of God. Even in her suffering she wants to know if you are well, and to make sure that you know you are loved.

I knelt beside her and put my hand on her blanket bound hand. This was not good enough, she would not allow herself to be treated like the untouched leper; so we wrestled momentarily to free her hands from the constriction of the blankets. A light glimmered in her eyes as we were now able to hold hands to pray. Oh how I reached for words to pray, but I felt I wasn't even coming close to addressing my concerns for her let alone pleading for her life. Truly from my vantage point this prayer of mine was so awkward and anemic in its presentation that possibly it was just bouncing off of the ceiling. But something transpired there, she seemed to react as if Jesus was holding her hand, and she breathed in a calm resolution that if it was His desire she might get that opportunity for a miracle. We all gathered with her to hold on to that moment hoping that somehow this moment would make it all go away and that this moment would be the end of a long bad dream.

“Who touched me?” (Mark 5:30) Seemed to shout from my heart that was connected to Heaven. Lord, there are so many pressing in on you. (Mark 5:31)With so many needs how can you sense just one? And all she did was touch the hem of your garment, your virtue went out of You, and that woman in Your Word was healed. “Who touched me?” (Luke 8:45) Lord, I am still waiting and listening. Please speak the same words to this suffering daughter of yours... “Who touched me?” (Luke 8:45) And if so be she hears, her eyes that are so tired from the pain shall regain full youth as the pain flees away as a light driven shadow. Let your virtue flow back in to her and rid her body of the ravaging disease that is now ripping life away from her... piece by piece. Please, she is almost gone. Where is the hem?
 
I reached for the hem … and found it not there.
I listened for the voice … and longed for the care.
Then what swept through my heart at that point of despair?
Indescribable.

Something moist grazed my cheek and found its way to my heart.
Something eternal that reached and touched a deep unknown part.
What did this moist heavenly wind bring... a brand new start?
Unimaginable.
 
To join you Lord in my sister's hour of need ...as you halt all time and stop all speed.
To be arrested by truth and covered by light … to rob death of its sting and the grave of its might,
O hear the coo of your wounded and fearful dove,
As we reach for your hem please flood us with your love.
For there, in your love, is no disappointment.

“And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.” Luke 8:47

This is where we must start in our daily efforts to live as well as our hours of gravest need. We must realize we have no one else that has full power to care; and so we reach out and touch him without regard for the past, the present or the future. Here is where we reach out with the expectation that whatever happens … Jesus is not our last hope (though He is the First and the Last)...Jesus is our Hope! Here is where we risk all, without fear of reprisal for our reckless abandon to place ourselves in His desire. Here is where we do not measure our ability to perform but our inability to be able to live one more moment without Him. Just like our eternal salvation in which He offers the consolation, “For whosoever shall call upon Him will not be ashamed”. He is not in the midst of us to dishonor us, discourage us, or disappoint us. He will not abandon us, nor allow us to stand there without healing … But will we (with the touch's virtuous response) acknowledge that He will not, no He will not, ignore our desire for Him?

 Luke 8:48 – “And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace.”

HLFA,
Jeff

Again? ...Again!

God Placed Himself in the Middle of Our Needs

 Psalm 42:7 – “Deep calleth unto the deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me.”

A woman became pregnant during her engagement, but her condition was not caused by her fiance. (It was rumored to be a divine intervention). Her fiance really loved her but wanted to do right, which meant he had to break off the engagement to save face. Though it was his right to terminate this engagement, his love for her would not allow him to make a spectacle of her in her time of great alienation. He had figured a way to break it off privately so no one local would know, but this would only buy her a brief reprieve before she would begin bearing the marks of fallen woman, single abandoned mom, and a potential societal outcast. His conundrum, yes, still loving this woman at risk, yes, caused him to fold as a special counsel offered an alternative to his plan. The counsel's plan was risky but would at least keep his “wife to be” out of harms way. The special counsel convinced him to marry her immediately to eliminate suspicion of her pregnancy as being untimely, and move on with their life together. Done, it had become their secret (except for the knowledge of the pregnancy by a cousin).

As timing would have it, love would allow the purpose of this child in the womb to fade to gray (though the special counsel had admonished the young fiance and his new wife that this child was destined for unusual greatness). To add obscurity to the picture...The birth was kept completely out of local view by a mandated government required trip which had them travel away from their home town. Plans for the trip were so hasty that the couple failed to secure reputable lodging at the other end of their journey. This failure to plan, placed them smack dab in some makeshift overflow lodging that was only reserved for those of questionable repute (it was usually the lodging of the questionable outcast and needfully unnoticed).

The events of this monumental birth were only captured by the “normal” amazement of a small band of outcasts. Their claim that “Angels told us of this birth!” would only cause a brief stir among those who put little faith in the words of an outcast. To the outcasts, there would be the wonder of why a carpenter would be birthing his child as a shepherd and why this was so important that Angels would announce it to them of all people. …..Again?

Again. Yes … we have back tracked to Christmas again, and we are well on our way to Valentines Day or so it seems by the grandeur of the changes in the department stores. It seems taboo in our humanness to keep bringing up the past … “move on” … “get on with your lives until next year”. “There is so much more Bible to discuss” and “this Christmas story is found in just two of the Gospels” is the whining statements that I always hear from the peanut galleries filled with those who get easily bored with their God because of their nearsighted devotion.

This story keeps me amazed year after year and (at least in my life) will be my way back home each time my value is dashed against the “jutting rocks of uselessness” by the Dream Hater and his Hell-stench hoards. It paves the way to Calvary by gathering in all the beggarly elements that Christ would intertwine His life with in an indelible and undeniable identification with our needs. The greatest place for doubt is the greatest opportunity for faith … Think of all the contradictions of God's way in comparison to wisdom of the sages of this shallow world.

Instead of positioning Himself aloof from our struggling existence, He places himself right in the midst of our greatest needs...and even partakes in the feelings of our crippling inabilities and inadequacies.
He extends pardon to our vilest offenses and He grants forgiveness to our most ungodly choices: Offering position to the meek and humble,
Lavishing joy upon the broken in heart and contrite in spirit,
Establishing greatness for the servant,
and Fully investing in the castaway, the downtrodden, the purposeless and the profitless.

Jesus brings eternal value to those whom the world deems unfit for anything ... by bring the vibrancy of eternity right into the hearts of those who believe. This life in Christ can be the most awesome unfolding of mysteries right before our eyes. Every turn in the road is a new revelation of His love and plan for me and you. Don't miss out on the adventure by being in a hurry to stake your claim in the “I know that” camp. Pack up your tent of the need for temporal contentment, and keep moving further into the uncharted regions of personal intimacy with your God. No matter where we turn we will find Him there, waiting to lavish His extravagant love upon us.

Are you overwhelmed by uncontrollable waves of joy by the revelation of His care for you? No?Stop ...lift your arms to the Father. Let your crushing cares go. Stay there until He lifts you into His everlasting arms. His desire is you!
 Merry Christmas Again! And Again!
The never ending party for You!
HLFA,
Jeff

Through the Vale of Tears (Cut and Bleeding Trees)

Was it fair to be on this dark and twisted road, where every turn seemed to scream out injustice? Surely, I am neither blind nor stupid, so I am able to intuitively cut through the laughter and frivolity that I am passing through and leaving behind. Don't be fooled it doesn't even remotely begin tell the story of the consequences that I am now just beginning to enter. The consequences of the desires and actions of “them” are beginning to cut, tear and rip at me as I trod forward...feeling more and more violated.

I stop to catch my breath. What is this that I hear far behind me?

A sound of sweet innocence singing its way from Your House that now seems so very far behind me. So many voices of reason shouting to me of “opportunities” for a closeness and of “experiences” for wonder found only in Your House. Yes, how beloved and beautiful it is there, even upon entering the outer courtyard my entire being begins to fade as I to cry out for Your life to pour in and over and through me. Oh, how I cry out for that moment with You to last forever. I must move on!

My mind races back to standing on the street and gazing with envy at Your House. Even the sparrow has a nonthreatening and happy nesting place in the crevice of Your eves. And oh how satisfied are they that get to stay there day and night … I can still see them there, still praising Thee! Why did I listen to Your voice that called me from beyond and above. Why did I believe that my strength was in Thee?

Following Your voice has led me down this dark and twisted road. Moment by moment my heart is feeling the anguish of “them”, whose life without You has brought such tragic consequence. Why can't I stand in Your House among the singers singing and the praisers praising? Why must I smell the stench, see the filth, touch the corruption, hold the brokenness, hear the cries and taste the tears as they mingle with mine. This is not how I envisioned the “bliss of serving You”.

I have come to realize how temporary my movement through this deep vale of tears actually is. I am always passing through. I allow myself to be a victim in covenant with those lost in these dark places. I will soon pass by but I must not be completely overtaken by “their” fault. I must not be captured completely by “their” season of pleasure for so soon its effects could leave me clinging to the root of bitterness. Though I am also cut by the consequences of “them” whose dark road has become so much a part of my heart … I will dig a well of redemption, I will carve out pools of restitution, I will uncover springs of refreshment, and I will challenge others to do the same. For I am "them".

Was it fair to be on this dark and twisted road, where every turn seemed to scream out injustice? I have found myself on my face, not wet with the dew of the morning, but drenched in the tears for my sins and others. Oft I have begun to try to sing the songs of “Your House” only to find You have somehow placed my voice among “them” and “their” songs of sorrow within my heart. Strangely, this is when you pour Your strength and Your joy in and over and through me. I now have power to pass on Your love to others.

I stop to catch my breath. What is this that I hear not so far ahead of me?

A sound of sweet innocence reborn singing its way from Your House that now seems just ahead of me. So many familiar voices beckoning me to join the closeness and rest in the wonder found only in Your House. Yes, how beloved and beautiful it is here, as I pass through the outer courtyard my entire victimized being begins to fade as your eternal love pours in and over and through me. Oh, how I joyfully cry in this moment with You forever.

             “O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.” Psalm 84:12

HLFA,

Jeff

Baby Jesus Had Blond Hair?

And Baby Jesus Had Blond Hair? (One more shot at an awesome Christmas Thought)

Applied Math for the Heart 101: Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake + ½ glass of milk + 10:30 PM = mmmmmgood @ 10:30PM but heartburn @ 2:12 AM + a need to stop the discomfort.

Applied Math for the Soul 101: Lust of the Flesh + Lust of the Eyes + Pride of life + any time in life = heartache + confusion + a desperate need for a personal rescue.

Advanced Fuzzy Math for Life 101: Pain + a humbled heart + a crushed spirit + a devotional cooperation with the truth of God's Word = healing in God's Time + rest.
  
It seems the further down the turnpike of life we get, human-kind as a resource for “smart”, always finds itself on a detour to stupid. Now, don't get too self-righteous in your thinking … this detour for the most part has provided a few chortles along the way {def: chortle – laugh in a noisy, gleeful way – sometimes a chuckle and a snort}. For instance - Christmas Eve, the big headlines for a local but an extremely admired weatherman fell off his lips in the form of the following: “Even tonight’s snowfall won't stop Santa!”. Now pinch me if I'm sleeping but … snow … reindeer...sled ...Rudolf ...Isn't snow something that should get me excited in the scheme of things. We were always concerned how the Jolly Old Elf was gonna make it without snow. Probably not too funny to you … but I don't even need eggnog to get a chortle out of this.

I truly think that God had one of those “chortle” moments when He brought Christmas to the planet. One illustration that stands out from the rest is the FIRST ANNOUCEMENT after the Babe was born. While the self-righteous religious world was busy writing out bills and IOU s to God, and while continuing to reference their religious endeavors as collateral, He revealed The Most Awesome Truth of the Ages to a group of common, hardworking, though many times irreverent, always earthy, occupationally smelly … "outcasts"... known as shepherds. Although the religious community couldn't do without these “unclean savages”, they did their best to minimalize contact with them. In the midst of the biased blurb by the religious teachers of the day, God would deliver The Announcement of the ages to those who would keep it simple because they lived life and didn't fake it. 

Think of the event and feel the chortle of God --- An angel appears to the outcast shepherds … they are mega-slammed with terror that makes them want to run. But the Angel's message stops them in their tracks; “Fear Not!” “BECAUSE OF and FOR YOU is born this day in the city of David (the Beloved), a Saviour (rescuer, deliverer, preserver) which is Christ the Lord, And this shall be a sign BECAUSE OF and FOR YOU; You shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

What? God entering the normal … because of and for them? Now that was a miracle they had to see.

Try to understand all the arrangements made to bring this night to pass BECAUSE OF and FOR YOU and it will blow you away. God moved the hands of time, birthed nations, formed hearts, bartered unions, empowered the political realm, motivated the moment, positioned the places and players... and then released the message on those he planned all this for … shepherds... BECAUSE OF and FOR YOU.

Step back and it all makes incredible sense – The Babe, wrapped in common utility cloth, and cradled in a feed trough..because of and for the faith of Shepherds and you. God will make sense to those who see Him in the normal... for He is Emmanuel, God with us.

Don't ever write yourself out of God's plan, He is and will continue to move and mold the events of time and space because of and for you. But here is where His Story will collide with us. And what we do at the point of impact is critical. The fact remains, He didn't do what He did the way anyone expected it. How we deal with this “unexpected gift” of Heaven will mold and make our lives for eternity.

God gives + you believe + you receive = you shall live.
God gives + you don't believe + you don't receive = you shall perish. ( John 3:16, John 3:36)

To this day He doesn't do things the way we expect it. He is still in the business of creating an unexpected awe from the normal. How we deal with these “unexpected gifts” of Heaven will mold and make our lives while on this side of eternity. Gifts come in all shapes and sizes, and will create different points of pleasure and pain depending where you are in the reception line (which starts at the perception line). Unless our thinking conforms to a grace outcome even in the most catastrophic situations, our lives will be handicapped by our inability to see the good, and will be further frustrated because we will lose control. This is where we have to apply Advanced Fuzzy Math for Life 101.
    
Pain + a humbled heart + a crushed spirit + a devotional cooperation with the truth of God's Word = healing in God's Time + rest.

    
Carefully Check out the picture attached ...you will notice as I did that the baby Jesus has blond hair. We have had these manger figurines for years and I never noticed this until I removed them from the house, placed them in the snowy grass of our side yard, framed the picture, snapped the picture (I still hadn't noticed the Blond hair yet), pasted it on this communication, opened the attachment to see if it was there.... What? Baby Jesus has blond hair. What does that do to you? Not what I expected.

What will you do with what you don't expect … even if it is painful for the moment...
Because of you and for you?

HLFA,
Jeff