Land of The Listening

{Trust Him with the Details – Open Psalm 85 and read along for the full affect}

The lay of the land that stretches out before the kids of the Kingdom has an awesome eternal strategy locked inside of it. For the sake of this time of devotion, let's think for a moment of the outer workings of our Salvation as a prepared and favorable land that God has set before us. Picture the preparations of this land as being designed and ordered by the Lord who loves us with an eternal love. This land is meant to offer a daily welcome and encouragement for those who were once held in captivity (and may still be in need of much attending to because of their former scars). {Read vs. 1}

In this land … there is a support system that frees His kids from the depravation of guilt and shame, it is called forgiveness. Forgiveness is not just words that are spoken, it is a lifestyle of constant reinforcements to bring about new trust. There are new clothes given daily in exchange for the rags of sin, this is known a restoration. Restoration has to exchange the strange old pride in the worn out garments of sin, for the new breath of life and walk of liberty provided with the new garments. Because forgiveness and restoration are the way of life in this land, the wrath of the King does not dwell in this land. The fierce burning of His anger is actually turned in the opposite direction of His kids. This fierce burning has become a defense for the land. This fierce burning is constant reminder that the wages of sin is death, and that the gift of God is because of His mercy that is found in Jesus. {Read vs. 2-3}

The land is not without flaw, being only the temporary stopping point on the map of redemption, its comforts are but a shadow of the Final Home. It is not without its difficulties; moments of shame and disappointment could potentially occur daily. We will wonder at times if the King is angry with us, and if there has been a breech in the fierceness of His anger that vents back our way. At times we will feel unloved because of how near this land is in proximity to the fall. Why would our God set up a garden of passionate prayer, right on the spot of our greatest offense? This will always be a point of contention until we are finally home. Why would this same garden with its mixed and sometimes turbulent struggle, always be the place of revival and rejoicing? The flaws that still present themselves will remain a conundrum to those who have yet to return from captivity; and a constant reminder to the Kids of the King that “WE NEED HIM!”. {Read vs. 4-7}

The most awesome thing about this land is the opportunity that He has given His Kids to hear His voice. The hearing of His voice is the joyous choice of those who daily thrive on the value of Its sound. This Word of His Voice does speak peace, completeness, and soundness to those who daily separate themselves from the folly of not listening, and step out into the promises of the land. These are the “set apart ones” who radiate the salvation of the King and magnify His glory as they dwell in the land of the “Listening.” {Read vs. 8-9}

Truly hearing His voice allows His kids to see the joyous and non-conflicting meeting of Mercy and Truth. Observing this meeting gives them the potential for sound judgment among their peers. Attentiveness to what He says gives them front row tickets to experience the intimate kiss of “The Cross” that is exchanged between eternal righteousness and everlasting peace. His word allows them to see His truth springing from the earth and righteousness looking down from Heaven. The daily intimate connection to His Word gives His kids full access to experiencing His constant love for them. {Read vs 10,11}

“Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good: and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps.” Psalm 85:12,13
The most awesome thing about God is His desire to bless us with a life that allows us to trust Him with the details. Jesus goes before you and places you in His steps of love all the way. You may say piously or humbly “I am not worthy”, but do not allow your words to negate His. “Come and Follow!” Trust him with the details of your life, for He is more than trustworthy.

HLFA,
Jeff

O He wants to wash away "Our Scar" judgments of the events of our lives daily with His Word, for it is empowered by His Spirit and His Scars for us... but we must read, listen, meditate on it, open up to it, and let His Word dwell richly in our lives. When we stop refusing to hear and truly listen, then comes liberty.

Welcome to the Party

Mary looked like a crazy lady when she burst into our "Sad Celebration" screaming ... "Come see the place that "they" designated for our Lord". "THEY have done something weird!"
After she ran seven small frantic circles in the midst of us, Mary bolted out of the room like she was blown by a mighty wind, and we all raced after her. Upon our arrival at the designated area, we stopped momentarily in total realization that we were about to enter alien and unfamiliar territory.

We humbled our hurried appearances, took deep breaths, and then peered into the Wal_____. What in the world had "they" done? The designated area was filled with: Easter eggs, Easter Rabbits, chocolate bunnies, robin egg candy, jelly beans, sour patch beans, crazy baskets with plastic colorful hay hanging out like an alien's nest or a clown's hair ... "Peeps" galore and in the craziest colors, and a massive pile of stuffed animals all endowed with rabbit ears ???.. Aisles and Aisles of beautifully basket-ed surprises ... on and on into oblivion, totally covering the entire interior of the space.

There was something so wrong here, BUT there was something so very right about what is going on. "Someone celebrating?" A elderly but wise looking man cried out "Convert the candy and let's celebrate!" ..."What and Why?", we asked him. He yelled his response even louder , "Because it isn't Bunny Day, Egg Day, or even Candy Day. It is the Pascha ...It is Easter! Praise Jesus! " We stubbornly stood there shaking our heads in negative resistant silence as the celebration rolled right over us. {I hope you realize that this is an immaginary cartoon-like story ... now settle down!} 

We all have things we don't like about the "worldly" cover up of the Resurrection (and we may even be very vocal about it). Let's quit walking the Easter Aisles at local stores shaking our pompous heads and wearing pious facial expressions of open disgust. Let's celebrate Eternity's Greatest Rescue by infusing the scene with openly joy filled praise making. Come on Praise Makers!!! Welcome to the party ...    Sure it starts on a sorrowful note, but don't miss the triumphant fanale!

Luke 23:44 - “And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.” THEN IT CAME ... the last cry, and the last breath was heard,and then the stillness crept over them like a lengthening shadow. Immediately there was that sense of separation that created a fountain for a multitude of other feelings associated with the abandonment caused by His death.

They would stare long and hard to see some sign of life. A twitch, a shallow breath, anything... but the stillness always shouts back louder than any supersonic boom ..."It's over!" As for the lives of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, during the three days following his death ... it was over. Scripture seems silent as it leaves the group of early disciples to their own private grief. The is only a brief mention of what they did ... Luke 23:49 - “And all His acquaintance, and women that followed Him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.”

Why do we want the same experience as the disciples of old? God thought it was necessary that we are here and now; and they were there and then... both for such a time as this! Apparently, He has chosen us to be the praise makers for this generation. So what is the deal with our almost manipulative "sad parties"? Do we need to somehow super-somber-size the historical events in order to feel connected with that moment of old?

We all like to feel alive ... and somewhere in the grand scheme of things "feeling very sad" in short dramatic bursts can make us feel alive (kind of like an amusement park ride that challenges our physical well being and gets our hearts pumping). To try to create the "it's over" experience may satisfy for a moment... but be encouraged... For the believer, eternity is just beginning. Easter is now the reality of the Resurrection's Living Lord offering a "Welcome to My Love, forever"; not only to us, but also through us.

I know that "holy days" and "set apart times" are very important to many, and especially to those desiring a miracle moment or a pinnacle intersection in time that could change their lives. My fear is that there is a loss experienced in the Kingdom by not having this expectation daily. Why can't everyday be an opportunity for a "God Moment"?

Here is the bonus in a daily celebration of the Resurrection: If we do not sense that a God Moment has happened today, we may have another today, even tomorrow. We do not have to wait an entire year or season for that once a year - small window of "per-chance" opportunity to experience the eternal.

In the midst of the once a year, piles and aisles of resurrection cover ups and celebration substitutions - God takes great pleasure in an active reliance upon Him for the daily celebrations of His love. "Now" is still the accepted time, and today is still the day of salvation, and "if" is always the imminent opportunity to hear His voice... AND while we have breath, He is always calling; just don't harden your heart. I would much sooner have us in love with Him because we thought we heard His voice,or imagined we heard His voice; instead of choosing to be deaf because the voice we heard did not fit our religious criteria or spiritual preference.

"And as they were affraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they (the angels in the tomb) said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?" Luke 24:5
Don't wait for the holiday ... let ever day be a holy day of celebrating your life with Him ... welcome to the Party ...  Happy Pascha! Happy Easter, everyday!
Jesus is Alive! 

HLFA,

Jeff

The Third Hour Syndrone

“Man, there seems to be no way to take care of these five cowlicks, and I have that interview this morning” , I shouted out from the bathroom toward my wife. The redounding reply rolled down the hallway to where I stood, “Just Gel it to the max!”... {Don't believe everything you have heard or seen on T(takeaway your brain)V(vision sucker) – less is not best when you have five cowlicks ...glob it on, furiously rub it in, and tug, peck, and pull until the mess appears somewhat uniform.} My final inspector approved of the "look", and then watched me as I went out to drive the short journey that would lead to the interview of a lifetime. Had to make it by the Third hour … can't be late.

What a name for an organization, (Oh well!) “Best Servants Plus”?... This could be the place the Lord would have me; “and remember they called you”, it wasn't the other way around. If the building wasn't impressive enough, the protocol and the security would send your Dad's false teeth for a flight. Beyond the massive gilded entry doors awaited a state of the art security screening station that led to a massive foyer filled with lush jungle type of foliage accentuated by cascading water falls and babbling brooks. The first class nature of this organization was making me feel a little under dressed (though I was dressed to meet the King of the Universe if need be!). Checking my watch it was almost the Third hour.

No time wasted … I was led into a “business only” but not too stuffy, stately decorated, meeting room that had a very large wooden table as the center piece. The walls of the room were decorated with interspersed bookshelves and mirrors, making it easy for me to check my appearance out from most every angle. My escort directed me to a single chair at the far end of the table, and then left me to my self. Thank God for the walk by the mirrors … last chance to look my best. I bowed my my head and committed the following moment to the Lord. Just minutes until the Third Hour.

Have you ever been stared at by a stranger, trust me it is a little unnerving. The door at the far end of the room opened and in walked six individuals dressed for “the kill”. Not sure if I was to be humbled by their appearance or humiliated by mine; but my choice was to lay my life before them and let the Father guide the meeting. Not a single eye strayed and all seemed aimed in my direction. They appeared unnerved and taken back (too much gel? Something stuck in my teeth? … Jeff, remain calm).

This was really tough … not a word was spoken by the individuals, but each stood one by one and seemed to have the same response … Their eyes teared up, their heads began to bow, their bodies trembled and they sat down. Truly this was the weirdest interview I had ever been subjected to. Something caught my eye in the mirrors around me (I was not the only one seen in the mirrors).

There were images flashing in the mirrors: a chunk of rough wood, a flailing of lashes carrying blood covered flesh, bare soiled bloodied feet, torn bloody hands now gripping the wood, blood and sweat matted hair, jagged barbaric thorns entrenched into the flesh of the brow, a cruel glistening hammer dropping down upon a rough forged nail, a hand moving seizure-like with each collision of hammer and nail, the faces of so many horrified and detached individuals, a “t” like shadow raised to the sky, and then... the face. The bruised, bloodied and battered face that had been cruelly punched beyond recognition was now in every every mirror looking up, staring out of the pain, but wreaking a strange and faraway love. None of us could look long with out uncontrollably weeping. It was the Third Hour.

The room was now vacated by the six silent interviewers. The mirrors were blank with no reflection. And all seemed to darken as I was left to myself. I was held without speech, but a still almost wind-like voice came to me … “For you, the third hour was because of and for you!” Mark 15:25 “And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.” The Third Hour Syndrome – have you been diagnosed with it? I hope you are contagious.

HLFA,

Jeff

Conundrum, In the Way?

In the way? I have a conundrum that I would like to give away. No, I'm not talking about some sort of rhythm instrument that sooner or later will irritate because of the incessant pounding thereof. I have a conundrum – a dilemma, a quandary, a difficulty, a question – that may only have a conjectural answer.

I have heard good people say “I don't get much out of reading the Bible.” This kind of statement breaks my heart. Without the Word in a persons life, there may be activity and there may be visible gifted living, BUT life without the Word will be ... void of lasting truth, eternal connection, and may be in danger of eternal separation from the God who made us. The conundrum - Are you in the way?

In the way! He couldn't see. He spent his days learning in darkness. He truly had no personal name because of his blindness. His blindness had disconnected him from the full movement of life. Life as the “sighted” knew it, was beyond his reach insomuch that he was just known as the blind son of another. The father's name that he was associated with left anyone knowing the language of the day wondering... Son of “Highly Prized” or Son of “Most Defiled”... But what is his name? Oh it doesn't matter, just another blind man in the way! (It mattered to God because this man with the conundrum of a name would soon be intimately associated with Jesus.)Mark 10:46 – “And they came to Jericho (place of fragrance): and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.”

Blind Bartimaeus' moment with Jesus in Mark 10 unveils in his story the spiritual reality of the crossroad or the defining moment that we all will and must face. Our very existence (because it carries both the potential delight of a treasured blessing and/or the burden of a grotesque curse) depends on our response to the Savior in that moment. When Jesus enters the landscape of our lives, light begins to shine on the lost-ness of our “life without Him”, and when we cry out, He will be there ...in the way.

Let's follow the progression in Mark 10:46-52  – 1. Begging - his existence vs.46;  2. Sensing Hope is near, he cries out of his existence - “Jesus of Nazareth – have mercy on me!” vs.47;  3. Resisting the “Shut up!” of many, he cries louder using the Word of Prophecy - “Son of David, have mercy on me!” vs. 48;   4. Jesus responds to the heart cry from the Word and the intimate connection is orchestrated – - “And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, BE OF GOOD COMFORT, RISE, HE CALLETH THEE.” vs. 49;  5. He throws away his beggar's garment and comes to Jesus (no turning back) vs. 50;  6. At the imploring of Jesus, he requests the restoration of his lost sight – “Lord, that I might receive my sight, (if but for a moment).” vs 51;  7. Jesus declares that his faith, though broken and momentary, has made him whole. Note: at this point he had the choice to “Go thy way!”... His choice, “and he followed Jesus in the way.” vs. 52.

Special question for our hearts' discussion: What do you think happened to the “name conundrum” that this man carried to Jesus - Son of “Highly Prized” or “Most Defiled”? Could he have been given a NEW NAME?

Although the story ended at verse 52 … It should be our story, daily, “and we followed Jesus (with intense desire to know Him) in the way". Although while following Jesus in the way, we may get in the way of others, let's position ourselves to be calling ...“Be of good comfort, Jesus is calling you!”

Study scripture(The Bible), believing it is the Word of God. With this perspective we will find that it is a spiritual treasure trove, a “life quickening”hope chest, and a love feast for the heart that will truly allow us to know The Lover of the Soul. When we open the pages and fasten our eyes to the words before us, know that God has prepared a sustaining wellspring that constantly challenges and changes our perspective of the depth of His love for us.

In the Way?

HLFA,

Jeff