You - The Faithful Song

Most all of us will whine and complain when they are caught in the middle. You know how it is! Something is happening around us that has caused us to feel helpless and uncomfortable. Our initial reaction (if it takes hold of us) can cause a paralysis that restrains us in a cot of despair; or, it can be like an implanted explosive that will detonate as we grow with intensity, and soon we find the shrapnel of our lives flying uncontrollably and destructively everywhere.

In the prophetic Psalms even our Savior was positioned to feel the pressure of a life of contradiction. Psalm 69:12, 12 – “I made my sackcloth also my garment, and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song (taunting or mocking song) of drunkards."  Jesus was and still is the “taunting song” of fools and drunkards, though He took on the form of a servant to end up on the cross for all. To some He bears the Song of Mockery and shame (“Why don't you come down off of that foolish cross?”), but to those who realize the power of His love … He becomes their Song of Deliverance (“Surely this Man was the Son of God, please remember me!”).

Why do we long for and feel we deserve flowery beds of ease while our Savior's time on this planet was spent continually bearing the “contradiction of sinners”? So many of us want to run and to hide within the our own pretentious “I'm OK” life. When in reality, the value of brokenness needs to be fully released in this wounded world that is dying for deliverance from the FAKE. Let's get real, look around, see the plight of the lost, open your eyes to suffering saints, and see the true value of the Song of Faith under pressure.

There is a woman's tale told in scripture in Judges 4. She was definitely in a helpless pressure cooker situation. But by the way she handled her situation, she actually became the key hero in a song sung by The Heroes of her day (Judges 5). A nobody in love with God, forced into the tents of service to the enemy … became the Song of Saints in an opportune moment. Awesome!

Oh, this lady of faith would have longed to be allowed to sing the song of Moses and to give glory to the God of Israel; but being that her family was in league with the enemy, her faith had to be kept in check for an opportunity that God might give her in the future. Her name said it all … Jael (Mountain Goat – a wild goat who is clinging to the Heights, though forced into the pastures … God's Decision). Not a lot of her character is known except by her actions taken in a time of strategic importance to the survival of the nation of Israel.

Her faith was loud in its quiet serving patience. Her faith had power in her truly approachable nature. Her longing for the Heights did not make her miserable in the tents of bondage. She had such a welcome spirit of contentment in service … that when the Captain of the enemy's army was looking for a place to hide from Israel (running to the tents of a people who were in league with him) her tent showed welcome safety. Her longing to be able to help those she truly loved finally found its day. Here are the words from her song: “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, ...”. Out of all the possible heroes and mighty men that could have won the victory in that fierce day of battle … the opportunity for victory stumbled into the tent of bondage; and the heart of faith under pressure ...  realized its time.

Oh...suffering and serving child of the King, waiting for deliverance from this moment's bondage, longing to do something great for the King, … hold on, for today may be that appointed day. Remain His faithful song.

“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

HLFA,

Jeff

PS .. Happy Birthday Jael C. Redding ... 7/28/2013...learn from your name sake ... careful with the hammer and tent pegs. Love, Dad

Besmeared by the Word

The clouds moved in, the thunder began to roll, the lightening flashed its power, and the rain began to pour intensely. We had no choice but to wait out the storm? Not totally true, but that is the beauty of the details behind the storm story. Our analog and digital world is like a constant storm and we walk in its relentless outpouring of information. Some filtration of words have seemingly little affect on our lives, while other verbal deluge of information rocks our world. What we do with truth, absolute truth, in the moments of media conflict affects all of the outcomes of our lives and the lives of others.

We may have bought into the belief that it is hard to know and obey the truth. We may have even come to the point that we reject the premise that there is absolute truth. We will claim and proclaim that “truth is relative” in an attempt to pacify the unrest and justify the conflict that is all around us. In every generation “lies” rise up out of the dust and mud of this conflict, and many cast their hope upon these “lies” for protection. Proof of this is evident in an age old lie that has perpetrated in such a way that it speaks to the hearts of little children ... “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me!”

Wow! A real honest look at this sing-song childish comeback for insults, reveals that we will mingle a little truth with a little lie to produce a prideful declaration of false invincibility.  Sooner or later this declaration will be our demise. The truth is ... that we will be broken(such is life on this side of Heaven), but the lie is ... that words cannot do the breaking? Words can and may damage us for a lifetime. We have healed from many physical wounds, but cruel words proclaimed over us remain indelibly inscribed into our fragile mortal fabric. Words can have incredible crippling consequence that can blind us from the wonderful healing liberty of the full revelation of absolute truth.

“And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32. Jesus' words here were given to a group of individuals who believed. He challenged them to continue on to deeper faith intimacy with Him that would grow in its intensity with a forward, future, grace movement. This movement would be filled with liberty. The link to this liberty – believing in Him, and continuing to grow sure of the absolute truth found in Him, that is always clarified and verified by His Word.
 
Life can be extremely intense in the blessings that pour over us because of the time we spend in the Word, and the time we allow the Word to spend in us. Don't shy away from the Bible because of the fear that you will become a religious fanatic or a God zombie. There is no life threatening curse that will be discovered in its mysterious pages that is waiting to destroy your life. This fear actually springs from a famine of the Word in our souls. Similar to physical starvation … sometimes there is intense pain in trying to eat again, and that pain, while taking on nourishment, makes us afraid that the food that can save us may also kill us. Fear not, partake and enjoy the feast set before us.

Here is a little mind video that that paints what is behind the Hebrew words in Psalm 119:47-48. This is a crazy word picture of the heart life of the Psalmist in the midst of all the information conflict of his day: (picture a man standing in the storm; cupped in his uplifted hands is a mingling of rain and mud, and he is smearing it across his face - this is a word picture of the Word translated "delight"in verse 47 ) … “I am soiled, ruined, and blinded as I stand here in the outpouring storm of Gods glorious commands that I love, and am settled in that love. As I cup my uplifted hands to catch every drop of the word that will mingle with the dust of my life, I will love You. I will continue to smear the indelible coating of these words across my eyes. The world may see me as soiled ,ruined, filthy and blinded ...but take note, that I am soiled, ruined, filthy and blinded by God's Word. My life may offend you, but I am dancing and singing in the dust and the mud of the conflict caused by my love for God's Word. I sing out of this storm and will continue to sing of the glorious boundaries that this eternal storm of His Word has placed in my life. My ability to see will always be filtered and framed within the context of God's Word.”

Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

HLFA,

Jeff

It Is Not Over


“The End” … Sometimes those words are greeted with a sigh, a smile, a tear, the feeling of accomplishment, a feeling of relief, but there also can be a feeling of disappointment and despair. The weight of these feelings can depend on whether it is a book we have read, a movie we have seen, or an event in life that we have lived through.

“Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.” Psalm 119:33
The Psalmist here is pleading with the Lord to make the direction of the way of His prescriptions for life as clear as a sharpened arrow, purposely shot, to cause a directive and a desire in us to guard the way until the prescription is fulfilled(the end). We can trust God to cause us to see it through to the end.

 Many times through life, even when we don't hear the words “the end”, still, somehow we feel these words are lurking nearby. Some of us are so afraid of rejoicing over a blessing because of the fluidity and changeableness of the good moments of this life (so soon they are over, so soon they are gone, so unexpected is the end) that we can't even begin to enjoy the moment. This type of living with a moment by moment self prophesied curse is so draining and so defeating. AND it is so not like the life that our God desires to pour into us.

“Behold, I have longed after Thy precepts; quicken be in Thy righteousness.” Psalm 119:40
Note: Without a longing devotional attention to God's direct Word found in the Bible, we are left to our own devices and imagination. We can only go so far on “ME” because we are finite and carry “the end” like a ball and chain. We need Him because He is infinite, He is eternal. We need His Word because it coaches and carries us to and through our “ends”. Jesus pleads with us to join Him in His Kingdom without end.

Throughout history, people who realized God's devotion for them, devoted their lives to Him. This devotion became a glorious addiction. Some saw amazing miracles on this side of Heaven; others suffered to their last breath (“of whom this world is not worthy” Hebrews 11:38) But whether an obvious victory or a perceived defeat, the lives of all those devoted to Him shout “it is not over!”

Years ago in a small store front chapel, utilized on Thursday nights to reach teens on the street week after week, a local church youth group was being revived while being able to minister to the “lost” teens on the street. With one divisive phone recording a church leader pulled the plug on that youth group's revival, and their joy of creative service ended in tears. The rippling effect of that “thoughtless” decision will probably never truly be realized (good or bad), but it was not all sorrowful and negative.

The night that the youth group vanished from their position of service, the teens on the street picked up the ministry. "The End" had become an amazing new beginning. Stop for a moment, and peer into the large plate-glass windows, see a small group of “un-churched” teens voluntarily on their knees praying for the missing youth group teens. I am quite sure that amazed and weeping angels gathered throughout the chapel with the street teens and scurried off into the countryside to the homes of broken youth group teens who were disappointed before their God. On that night it may have felt like a sorrowful end to some, a beginning to others, but in God's loving plan for all … it was not over.

God's love prescription for mankind carries the weight of His eternal unwillingness to see anyone end up in eternal Hell, but it also has to satisfy His unwillingness to allow sin to enter into His presence.
Jesus was this love prescription that God offered as the ultimate love sacrifice to satisfy His twofold desire.

The catch to the prescription? Believe in Jesus: His death on the cross for your sins, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead. Jesus is the only name under Heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved. Your faith placed in Him allows for the full affect of God's prescription for your life.

The full truth of God's prescription: He will keep you through “the end” and hold you throughout all eternity. Believe!Trust! Long for His Voice through His Word ...daily!

HLFA,

Jeff

The Touchstone

"I felt its presence almost immediately, and you would have too. The touchstone, pure black and smooth in appearance, was being waved in front of my face like a threatening dagger. The one that waved this ominous object back and forth in front of my eyes growled and snarled, 'I gotcha this time', in such a hideous way that I just knew my time was up. The consequences of my decisions had led me to this day. And just like the one snarling in front of me, I had been judged and ostracized through out my lifetime and beyond. Please consider my story."

"I had a Godly example. That example allowed me the freedom to grow and to dream in the path of my own bend. My Example was a country boy with a heart for the country, but I had my eyes on the lights of the big city. There were opportunities there for righteousness and prosperity. There were people there who had not heard of the goodness of God that I was living in. I daily studied that direction and finally moved my family there. At first they seemed to adjust well. Even in the midst of the diversity of the city, we managed to stay together as a family unit even though the lifestyle of the city would soon begin to affect us. The lights were extremely attractive and there were so many opportunities in the big city; but with any growing metropolis, the darker element left to itself would grow in a divisiveness that would suck the innocent and unknowing right in."

"Days became weeks and weeks years; unfortunately, I had so locked myself into the commerce of the place that my family was all but trapped. My ministry had gone from rescuing the citizens from vise to turning away, giving refuge, and protecting strangers from the growing numbers of mob-like, voyeuristic, perverted, conscious-less flesh addicts. You would probably judge me harshly (not being in my shoes and possibly building a case for your own pitiless form of righteousness);but day by day my soul, which was rescued by the righteousness of God, would constantly be wearied by the words and the deeds of the ungodly and the ungodliness all around me. I was swimming in the cesspool of humanity and there was no earthly way that I was coming out unscathed. I was trapped."

"Believe me, I cried to get out. My story had such a tragic end even after my fire and brimstone rescue. They still talk about the strange death of my wife and the incestuous acts of my daughters, but God knows, and God has stood with me.“(for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds:)” II Peter 2:8

The monologue above is a snapshot of the life of Lot. Hidden in the Bible quotation above about him is the word “vexed” which has its root in the word “touchstone". A touchstone is a stone used to test the purity of gold and silver. This touchstone definitely can be wielded by the most insidious creature and the most dishonest of metallurgist, but the result for “the saved” will be the same … “when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10 .

No matter how many times Lot's soul was rubbed by the abrasive nature of the world around him there would still be more than enough of the gold of God's righteousness to see him through. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” II Peter 2:9

We all will (at one time or another in our lives) be set forth as gazing stock. The touchstone will be threateningly waved in front of us. Those with and without the devotional connection to Christ will judge us as “without grace” because of their perception of the moment. The very act and consequences of some decisions will appall the judgmental senses of humans long before there is an appeal to the call for mercy and grace. This is the way of man.

(In the grand scheme of eternity, who are we to decide who receives grace or who should be refused grace?) Resist the way of man, and call for Grace. “There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”. I Corinthians 10:13 – The touchstone draws near, the suspect metal is rubbed against it leaving a line of metal, organic acid is added to the rub line, than and only then do the purest metals remain. The world tries and acidically abrades us, reducing us to what really matters … when all else is stripped away... only His gold will remains.

Think about it - this world is waved in front of us daily and the character of our faith is assayed. The faith connection to Christ will be the only gold that remains. Jesus only Jesus ... remains.

HLFA,

Jeff