Sick of Love

What was so special about her Beloved? She waited with full anticipation of His visit. In fact her heart skipped a beat when, through her window, she caught a glimpse of his image showing through the lattice-work of her wall. Just barely breathing so as to hear every one of His approaching footsteps (for she had timed His footsteps as He approach her door), she sensed his hand turning the latch before she had even heard the first footstep, but when she threw the door open He was gone. With total abandon, she raced out the door to find her Beloved knowing that her movements would be misunderstood.

Song of Solomon 5:7 – 9 "The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my Beloved, that ye tell Him, that I am sick of love. What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?"

What makes you so special? Most of us have heard this rhetorical question thrown our way throughout our short lives on this planet. Whether it was to be a sarcastic dig or just a statement of jealous jest, there was no expected reply that would be considered by the one asking the question. The heckler was not looking for an answer, they were just wanting to raise our blood pressure by getting us to question our self-worth. If the truth be known, our perceived value may be being determined by our peers (sad as that can be), though we should always seek the highest appraisal from the Ultimate Appraiser. The opinions of our peers should never set our final sale price, but let our value be determined by the One who loves us with an everlasting love.

In the community of faith and in our life among seekers,"What makes you so special?" is determined by how we value our relationship with our God, how we rest in His exquisite valuation of us, and how His love is lavishly poured out to others by our open exaltation of Him. So why do we constantly beat ourselves down with negative thoughts like - "But no one appreciates me!" ?

Building our worth based upon the praises of men is like trying to build a castle on a cloud. Human support so quickly vanishes away with the first sense of a wind of adversity. Even when our worth is based upon the truth of God's Word spoken in the valuation and validation of our lives, we will also find ourselves in a position of having some "explaining to do". “What is your Beloved more than another beloved?” Will you risk being misunderstood as you pursue Him above all others?

“What is your Beloved more than another beloved?” The effectiveness of our lives among men will be determined by the frequency of this question being asked of us. The measure of the propagation of our love for our Beloved will be seen in calm real life responses to the question "What is so special about your God?"...for He is your Beloved.

A love burning brightly for the King of King doesn't speak "just to be heard"; but out of a heart "viral" with God's opinion, this love speaks in hope of being extremely contagious. You can question this love, belittle this love, beat this love, unveil and shame this love...but you will find that this love (burning even more brightly) cries out "If you find my Beloved, tell him I am sick of love."

Do you know the feeling of always having your words groaned at when you begin proclaiming a portion of your love story? Have you felt trashed, beaten, and your veil of sincerity stripped aside (like a piece of soiled tissue paper) by the so-called watchmen, the guardians of truth? Fear not ... Your Beloved is with Thee, you will soon find Him, and His opinion of you trumps all others.

When questioned in a way that could dishearten us, let's stand with the Psalmist and proclaim ... Psalm 73:25 - "Whom hold I valuable in Heaven but Thee? For there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee". When we finally realize that we are His desire, making Him our desire gives us the liberty that sets us free, even if he are imprisoned or marked as prisoners for believing in Him.

HLFA,

Jeff

“Sick of Love” - so weakened by His love that I have no strength to pursue any other, for He is Altogether beautiful and He has declared the same of me.

His Desire, His Vision - YOU

I glanced up and watched her walk away, her beauty was transcendent. Her radiance closed all the gaps of desire and expectation. The sight was incredible because under the beauty were the scars, and the voices of those scars cried so loudly to my heart that I was totally ravished by her momentary glance back. I stood there for a moment as the door closed behind her; and as I walked to my sanctuary all I could do was let the tears mingle with my vision ahead. She is the desire of her God.

Song of Solomon chapter 4 – read verses 1-7 : Let your sanctified imagination be captured by the power of this intimate gaze of our God... represented by the love of the “Kingly Shepherd Boy” for his “Dark, Beautiful, and Seeking” Shepherd Girl. Out of the depths of His soul's longing, and the windows of His heart He pours poetic love upon all of her physical attributes and then states His wonderful summary in vs 7: “Thou art all fair (everything I see about you is beautiful); there is no spot (no blemish, no deficit, no ugliness, no scar) in thee”. This is God's choice of vision over those who have entered His Love through His only Way, His only Truth and His only Life …. Jesus (“No man comes unto the Father but by Me” – John 14:6). This IS how He desires to see us, so He does (Let that capture your heart).

I ache so much inside because of living among a generation of fearful believers whose eyelids are lifted up, whose hearts are waxing cold and failing, who never risk to see beyond the darkened glass, who so quickly close their ears to the voice of the "Lover" for fear of being captured and quarantined by the blind leadership of our day. Why would we dare imagine that the God of all creation lavishly pours His love on us, on individuals, every moment of every day? Why would we not risk the malicious criticism of those lost in dead tradition (who labor to hold us captive behind the bars of an “earned worth” system) if we knew that the risk would bring us into a life of liberty, being actively and knowingly loved by God.

Song of Solomon 4:8 is a call to a higher more fortifying vision for these last days (pray to hear, pray to see, pray to imagine and be loved deeper every moment )...

“Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon” - Come, for you may have been coming for so long! Come, enter with full purpose to know Him and to be known by Him as His Spouse... His bride! Come with Him FROM the place of “ Whiteness and Purity” where our relationship started with Him. Our Life with Him must start at His Cross and the Empty tomb, for without those there is no life. There is no lasting life without His Sacrifice for our sin.

“Look from the top of Amana” - Look, truly see for you may have been looking for so long! Look, with full purpose to know! From the top of the summit, from the source ...the “Head Waters”. Amana(a river and region of support, faith, truth, sureness, certainty – The Amen). Jesus is the Source, the Cross is the connection and His Word is the constant support for His over arching vision for us... There is no lasting vision of His love without His voice.

Look, “from the top of Shenir (snow mountain) and Hermon (the Sanctuary) – Daily clarity of His Vision comes from Our daily trek to His summit for refreshing “snow” cleansing and renewed “Sanctuary” devotion – This is our quiet time with Him away from all others. There is no growing vision without a daily refreshing, cleansing time alone with Him.

Look, “from the lions' dens”- Look out from and among the habitations of this world's “Violent Gatherers” … those who thrive on this dog eat dog world of promiscuous compromise.
Look, “from the mountains of the leopards” - Look out from those that rise up as “transparent infiltrators”, those that reach beyond measure on their own behalf. There is no relevant life without a vision beyond this world of Violent Gatherers and Transparent Infiltrators.

From this vantage point He has determined to pour out His extravagant love on us – Song of Solomon 4:9 – “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse: thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.” We have ravished His heart? Yes...O yes, we are His desire.

Live in the beauty of His Vision of you! We do not glorify God by imagining that we have done great things for Him; We glorify Him by openly acknowledging the Great things He has done for us … Imagine Him loving you, and be loved … you can't go wrong.

HLFA,

Jeff

Drop Off - Such a Small Thing

 

It is a small key that usually opens some very large doors, that can ultimately reveal the potential for unlimited opportunities. However, the key is useless if it just hangs collectively with other unused keys on an ornate key ring. The key never used, is usually out sight, out of mind and then decorated with the defeatist phrase, “Opportunities are one in a million, and nothing good ever comes my way!” The key is lost.

     
Small bits of digital information fly across hundreds of thousands of miles of airspace and outer space to create big success and sometimes immense distress and failure. A few tapping sounds on a keyboard followed by an undetected digital squealing; and the next thing you know, someone’s life could change forever. Unplugged from power, out of touch with digital communication, and embracing the concepts that “Ignorance is bliss!” and “Silence is golden!” may create a felling of protective isolation, but that fealling will be totally useless when the Word of the onslaught of an undetected, violent storm is on the threshold of your life. The ignored or unheard Word is lost.

I am not touting that technology is a straight line to salvation; but I am propagating that truth taken advantage of can present opportunities and open possibilities; and I am heralding that... truth ignored does not create immunity to inevitable consequences. You cannot ignore and dismiss the One named "Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace" without bearing the consequences that come from the absence of that Key connection and that vital communication of a mandatory rescue that He offers. The non-responsive life is lost.

There was a sign that we drove by in a construction zone that my wife read out loud as we passed by because it struck her as a little odd – “Drop Off”. Not a sign you see too often at a construction zone, but it was there none the less. That one sign was the only thing making the non-shoulder edge of the road unavoidable, and it was only facing one direction. Passing it, you missed it! If you were driving the other direction, you would never have seen it! Only one direction – a short span of time to be aware – and the opportunity was gone as you obliviously approached another turn. Hours later something happened in that construction zone, tire marks, smashed plastic pylons and a roughed up road side . A small sign missed and no doubt a personal loss.

Isaiah 53:1,2 – Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.”
God's Presentation Person for restoration at first glance ...doesn't have much glitz, is so easy to be ignored and can be counted as not worth the bother (like a small key, a bit of digital encryption, or an unnoticed sign); but take note - Jesus has power to rip eternity's -“righteousness standard”- roadblock right out of the way, rescue the attentive believer from eternal catastrophe, and plant the humble receiver right in the Middle of God's unfailing eternal love.

Let's have this devotional attitude towards Him in the midst of so many distractions for He could be lost in the scramble. Let's focus the desire of our hearts - “His mouth is most sweet: yea, He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O daughters of “the Teaching of Peace”. Song of Solomon 5:16

“Maybe the fear of failure is not the fear at all. Maybe I’m getting closer beyond the weakened wall . You give me hope to survive when I drop and fall. The edge of a decision, mind division cuts the heart in two. Forward movement into open expanse … the drop off waits for you. (excerpt from the song “Drop Off “-by Mawcore 2014) Don't pass off into the expanse of Holy Terror; Drop Off into the Expanse of His Unfathomable Love.

A life that embraces the fact that the Jesus Story “personally believed” brings the eternal embrace of God to “Me”, the Sin-Leper, lives vibrantly ... making use of the Key, thriving in the hearing of the Word, and following in the safety God's signs ahead. Live Openly for Jesus! In Him there is no shame and no regrets.

HLFA,

Jeff

Power Filled Following

Song of Solomon 1:2,3 - “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth: for Thy love is better than wine. Because of the savour of Thy good ointments Thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love Thee.”
What if … we could begin each day with eyes wide open, imagination hanging onto great expectation, and heart fully receptive to God unfolding His love plan right in front of us. Potentially, the day would be like a well marked spiritual freeway with very intuitive signs and signals leading the Way. And along with our supercharged focus on the eternal, add the unfolding and openness of our will to obey. Oh, the cheers from the angels because of their anticipation of the souls of mankind in our path that could be set free. Set free by the message of the Good News of Jesus; not just flowing from our actions of love, not just sounding from our lips of proclamation, but by the powerful out-flowing of our inner most being filled with His Spirit piercing the lives of all we meet.

Far to often we watch theological wrestling matches that wrest for the predominance to accurately define the signs or proofs of faith in the life of believers … “Faith alone, grace alone, without works, with works, spoken, unspoken, dead faith, alive faith …!” Truly so many are left in “the middle”. Honestly, the Middle, is where most of us spend our time (we are just a little shy in letting it be known). The middle, if acknowledged to Him, will open up an avenue of God meeting with us so that we may “know” Him intimately; and in that intimacy know the power of His Resurrection in our lives.

Do we ever find ourselves aching with a broken heart as we walk among the lost-ness of so many people that we share life space with or pass by during our daily jaunts into the land of the living dead. Doesn't it ever weigh us down with concern for those who appear to not want to have any thing to do with God, let alone Jesus(now we have gone to far!). Do we truly believe that a life without Christ is meaningless and a death without Him is eternal Hell?

Be prayerful reading this … for it is very dear to the Heart of God!

“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not; but as many as received Him … to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them, that believe on His Name”. John 1:12 Such an amazing statement that it goes right by so many of us. Does our hearts say “so what , get Jesus, become one of His kids, what is the big deal? (blah-blah - yawn-yawn)” … I hope not! We become God's redeemed Kids through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ ... because of the Grace that brings salvation is found only in Him.

But it doesn't stop there … He gives those who receive Him the full potential to connect in such a way that they continually appear less and less like the living death and more and more like the everlastingly alive. With this power-filled connection to Him, we will actually start realizing that there are no more “our connections” with people. No more just doing whatever we want, saying whatever we want, and treating others however we feel like treating them at any given moment; we will live in the expectation that all connections are of life giving consequence because all are His. ALL LIFE'S MOMENTS ARE GOD MOMENTS.

Song of Solomon 1:4 – Draw me, we will run after Thee: the King hath brought me into His chambers: we will b glad and rejoice in Thee, we will remember Thy love more than wine: the upright love Thee.” God's desire is to draw us into a passion to follow Him daily. He has prepared satisfaction there that gladdens and satisfies in a way that makes the enticing distractions of this world appear like the lint at the bottom of an empty pocket. Psalm 16:11 - “Thou wilt shew me the Path of Life: in Thy Presence is Fulness of Joy; at Thy Right Hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Set the direction of your daily affections to know Jesus, everything else in the adventure will unfold before you.

HLFA,

Jeff