Why ... should I care?

There it was again ...always when I am haunted by the frail attempts of my faith to be fearless; the darkened glass seemed to make a metallic wind-like noise to call for my attention. The sound took my imagination to a double edged sword being swung through the air by a mighty angelic warrior.

And again, the sound alerted me as my fading hope led me to the edge of the field of sin with all of its bright lights and mysterious wonders that were just beyond my reach. This time the metallic sound whined within the realm of the sound of screeching brakes or a blade sharpening on a grinding wheel. "OK, I hear you!"

It didn't matter which direction I would turn at this juncture of the confrontation with the "darkened glass", for it would always be with me, and it would reveal itself everywhere that I would turn. Knowing this I closed my eyes. The thought of coddling my disappoint to justify my decision and grasp for justification to cross the line was slowly fading against the sound of the Darkened Glass.

Then I heard my own voice cry out of my distress, "Why should I care?" And upon hearing this I yelled all the louder in an upward direction "WHY SHOULD I CARE?" ... Just like I suspected there was no immediate reply... But that high pitched metallic sound of the "darkened glass" stopped with an eerie and awkward silence; And my question with fading delays repeated itself like echoes across the vast plain of my memory.

Now, I was left to whatever my heightened senses could pull in through their emotionally weakened receptors. Still and small ... Between each echo was the resonation of His Voice from the Darkened Glass bringing comfort with each wave of celestial flow:

Why should I care?

"I persevere through your loss of heart and continue to offer kindness and favor!"

Why should I care?

"I do not put my power in your face with boasting, magnifying myself to put you down!"

Why should I care?

"I stay constant in my support for you; nothing will provoke me to think evil of you!"

Why should I care?

"I cannot rejoice when you step aside of truth; but I rejoice in your choices for truth!"

Why should I care?

"I create a protective covering for you, in all of your moments!"

"I choose to give you my constant confidence, in all of your wavering!"

"I wait with a joyful anticipation, for you!"

"AND no matter what - I will not recede, nor flee, nor fall back in your time of need!"

"I WILL REMAIN!"

"Faith may and will fade to fear -- Hope will dwindle until temptation may win -- BUT"

... "But what?" I moaned... ... The silence grew thick;

My eyes were still closed ... "BUT WHAT?" I cried.

I spun around,

opened my eyes,

and there written on the steam-like fog on the darkened glass appeared the words:

My Love remains -- I love you!

I Corinthians 13:13 - "Now abideth faith, hope and Love, and the greatest of these is Love".

This is why I care!

HLFA,

Jeff

If - That Blessed Moment

2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore if any may be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Too many "ifs" seem to show up in our ears that are not there to threaten our security as we move forward in our journey as Kids of the King and Christ followers. Why has the IF become a club to beat believers into fearful submission instead of an encouraging threshold of Faith.

Yes ... Without question ...There needs to be that cognizant moment of the recognition of our sinfulness(exposed and declared by the Word and the Spirit), and a heartfelt realization of our eternally hopeless end in a Devil's Hell ...without the grace and mercy of God, who so loved the adornment of all of the creation, that He gave His only Heaven Sent Son (Gave Him to Die for Us) ... That whoever believes in Him will not face the burning, hopeless "end penalty" of Sin, but are rescued into the security of Eternal Life ... Because of Jesus. He is our Salvation.

But leaders of faith throughout the ages have been fearful in turning over the face and future of the established church to "Believe in the Name of Jesus" as the portal that will capture men for eternity. They feel possibly that God needs help. They feel that salvation must be taught in such a way that the church will not be embarrassed by the "loose canon" or the "free spirit" believers. They hang weights of conditions, laws, rules and regulations on Grace so that it is not taken for granted (Just in case the Spirit doesn't fully take care of that).

Maybe it was because of our rancid past and undiminished scars, that we haven't trusted God for victory (yet), that makes us doubt that God can handle every situation and grow every man in Christ without our serious faced imput. Maybe it is a fear that the addictions that we hide as leaders (while pretending to be "all right") will become public when the disciples we claim ownership of ... flounder and fall. And we then will have to bear the inquisition of other pompous or pious spiritual leaders.

{I dare you to accuse one of God's Kids to his Daddy! ... someone else has tried this since the beginning and hasn't been able to sway God's love opinion of His Kids nor change their secure standing in Him.}

OR ... maybe it is our innate ability to have our faith crushed ever so quickly by negativity, and the "ifs" that carry doubt too far into the fabric of our frail existence. Why is it that we waste years worrying about whether we and others are "true" believers? Why is it that we spend our days (that we should be knowing and letting Him lead and love us more) looking for "proof" verses of our right standing with God? Why do we cause babes around us to also doubt that their Father truly has and will continue to love and rescue them?

HEY BE CAREFUL!! This accusatory activity is "devil-like"... MILL STONES NOT ONLY WILL HOLD YOU DOWN, BUT DEFINITELY ARE DETRIMENTAL IN WATER PASSAGEWAYS.

"2 Corinthians 5" is an amazing passage of unfolding promise and security ... In a nut shell: There is a promised home in the future ... That we all long for ... but the prize of the promise for the moment is in this: that those "In Christ" by faith are an awesome miraculous habitation of unfolding newness. The "IF" in the passages ...(was added by license, but not to cause doubt) ...Is just a moment to stop, reflect and thank God for our salvation. It was never meant to be a stall in contrived proofs to cause doubt by fearful scrutiny.

Now... If I may take liberty to encourage -- here is a devotionally expanded restating of the 2 Corinthians 5:17 - (Read the entire chapter first ... it will bless you in the full context).

2 Corinthians 5:17 - "So that, insomuch that whoever is in Christ... with respect to their form (what can be seen): they are recently made, they are fresh, they are new, they are unused and unworn; with respect to their substance (what is on the inside): they are a new kind of building, an unprecedented fabrication ... a novel, uncommon, and unheard of "God habitation"; things that were cluttering their lives from the beginning are now passing by and out of their life; and each and every individual thing within those growing lives in Christ is being constantly refreshed and ever increasingly renewed."

Wow -- God will continue His work of Grace in believers until grace turns to sight when we are with Him.

Read the Word in its entirety and you will find amazing encouragement!

If there is something in it that discourages you ... stop, breathe, pray and backup and read again until the burden is lifted.

Have you placed your faith in Christ? ... Awesome! Be encouraged, you are His with all the treasures, support, and supply of Eternity to get you Home victorious.

HLFA,

Jeff

Please Don't Yell at Me!

Have we ever had to walk on egg shells just to be near someone we loved? We may have even had to conceal our physical and mental scars, and shame with a veil of smiling but hidden self blame. Painfully, we have learned that this "angry one" has a touchy time-bomb personality; and it seemed as if no amount of special care nor hours of special attention can defuse their "tension held", "hair trigger".... anger fuse.

Many lives that coddle and protect dysfunctional relationships carry their self defense wounds into their perception of how God deals with us. True Love from above is distorted and handicapped by a lack of longsuffering from an angry parent, an impatient spouse, a rude relative or a self-absorbed friend. And through this broken lens ... grace is valued as weak and useless.

By cruel careless words yelled and crude wicked gestures thrown our way we could be developing a quick to judge, negative, and reflexive attitude towards eternal Truth. God is seen and espoused as angry all the time; and the truth, that God is touched with the feelings of our weakness, has no place within the life of a real man. This perception has its origins in the sin of Cain, and other murderers throughout the ages.

Be careful that we love appropriately in all of our relationships, the investment in the lives of others is more indelible than we realize ... those relationships that depend on us the most could be the place where the scars are carved the deepest and the fears are most haunting. The "Still Small Voice" may only feel like He is Yelling because of your sin stained perception... be still and know that He is God.

Psalm 6:1-10 (Scarlet Sinner Interpretation)

1 O LORD, please don't yell at me in your anger, and though I am deserving of corporal chastising, please do not carry it forth when the temperature of your displeasure is burning out of control.

2 Mercy - have mercy - have pity and show favor instead of displeasure. When I have piled high the offenses toward those I love, and barricaded myself behind an impenetrable layer of kevlaric pride ... I am almost undone... I have weakened my essence so that there is no longer even an ounce of resilient strength within me; all that remains is these weakened and trembling hands. And why am I so driven to this useless nervous hurry?

3 My soul, my self, my life, my creature, my person, my appetite, my mind, my living being, my desire, my emotion, my passion ... Every thing about me is vexed within this intense seemingly unavoidable anxious disturbing. BUT THOU O LORD --- How Long??? I feel you have turned your back on me ... How Long!!! I cannot bear not seeing your eyes, but I am also afraid of what you will find when you look on me - How Long?

4 Return - turn back, return me, restore me, refresh me, repair me ... Deliver me. Remove the oppression, draw out my personally inflicted poison, draw off the pain I have chosen, take off the pride that keeps me from healing, withdraw the splinters and motes that halt my healing and stifle my vision, equip me for war that I need to carry out against my pride, arm me for warring against my regret, rescue me from the whispers of the accuser that so easily discourage me, I need to be rescued to possibly truly live and love for the first time in my life! Give me freedom ... not because I deserve it, but for Thy tender mercy's sake.

5 When the dirt is thrown over me, my praises will be stifled, and all of the wonder that can be cast upward and outward of thanks and of praises is silenced ... Opportunity as a praise maker has ended. Don't let me die!

6 If there is anything that seems too permanent and perfected in my life...it is this wearying of my soul; that in the night season it makes my bed and potential bier to swim in a restless ocean of emotions; there is an intense melting, dissolving, and liquefying of my life as Tears drain to my resting couch. See my crying!

7 My eye that should spring forth with life giving vision wastes away because of daily anger, vexation, provocation, and grief; my spring of life is pressed into aged familiarity and uselessness by those things and people that have chosen to be adversaries and antagonists to add distress and disillusion to my days. Bring back your vision!

8 (My choice ... To sulk or to war... I choose to war) I command you that live your lives producing wickedness and oppression ... I have no vested part with thee, Depart! For here is an absolute truth and I will bow to its control -- The LORD has heard and will hear my weeping ... And His listening is with great interest and intensity.

9 The LORD hears my cry to supply His favor: He will to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, snatch, take away my prayer as a treasure for His responsive keeping... He will take loving ownership of me.

10 Let all the beginnings, choices and voices that have set themselves against me: Be Boosh (ashamed) and let them suddenly be disturbed by my turning to You and the Awesomeness of Your Terrifying Majesty; Alarmed that You are there for me; terrified that You are against them; hurriedly they try futilely to move far from confrontation. Let them be disturbed, be anxious, be afraid, be hurried, and be nervous... Because YOU HEAR MY PRAYER.

I John 5:14,15 - "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything ... According to His will He heareth us. And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, We know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him."

His desire is to hear us ... He wants us to know this desire... So pray desiring Him... And you will have your Desire as well as the things you need to live Life Abundant.

Be angry and sin not!!

O to pray in such power that comfort is delivered to those who love You and fear is put into the hearts of those that oppose You.

HLFA,

Jeff

Breath Support

Note from the Beach: It was just a clearance rack in a Walmart but I was in a distant town from home, and I was in expectation of God's Spirit teaching me through what I had studied with great anticipation from that morning's walk in the cool of the day. Something was different in the air, not the typical Walmart sounds, but there was a Heavenly melodic song being carried via the skilled breath and lips of a profoundly articulate whistler.

I was going to just let it be background ambience to the shopping experience (so as not to miss the bargains)but God nudged my heart "follow my song ... There is the blessing".

Moments later in my search for the Artist ... I found, bent over in an aisle, an elderly man of darker skin and a beard with most of the colors of a rainbow artistically arranged by his Creator. He was lost in his song, so I gently reached out to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. He turned with a smile, and we blessed each other with a Spiritual greeting. Then he received encouragement from above through me ...to whistle on with the praises of God with the gift of the Breath that God had given him; and I was blessed with knowing God had personally taught me and confirmed his Word "set your affection (diaphragm) ...support the breath of God in all that we do!"

Col. 3:1,2 - "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

The word for affection, stems from the word that describes the diaphragm(you know that big muscle right under your lungs) - this is the muscle that supports the process of breathing - it reflexes for the normal breath and creates the power for all of our movement and creates the force behind our speech and song. If we set the support system for our breath on things that are strategic for the "above" life, the life here below will be balanced and lived as full opportunity for whatever our "Christ Connected" souls desire.

Col. 3:23 - "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men."

There are always ...works, gifts, talents, words, actions ...products that come out of our lives that effectively affect our living, and encourages what matters to the lives of those around us ... Whether positive or negative... Every thing we do has consequence, and everything should have His Breath. There is no life lived without consequence. If we truly put the effort of our innermost being into "risen soul" ventures ... Abundant life will pour out of our innermost beings with full consequential connection to our Soul Lover, our Life, our Lord ... Jesus.

Live to support the Breath of Life that God extends without measure to you daily. Breathe out encouragement to the brethren in remote places, and bless your neighbor closest to you without measure. A God breathed "Soul life" will be the conduit that will flow rivers of living water to the needs of others. The bonus is that we get to joyfully bath in its cleansing, refreshing current as it flows through us to others.

The only ones that lose out on the breath are those who fearfully or selfishly keep it as there own.

Breathe!!

HLFA,

Jeff