The Dark War

The unimaginable happened, his guard was down and he was overtaken by a fault and captured by the enemy. The Scarlet Sinner's heart rate began to race and sweet began to bead up on his brow... as the questions began to probe deeper and deeper and deeper in to the darkness of the warrior's subconscious ... he could only reveal the truth."

"With these tells, the enemy knew that he was close to cracking into the deepest secrets and that he would soon expose the treason and the hypocrisy of this fragile fake ... "It can't be!", screamed the enemy, "The deeper we probe the more we expose ... loyalty, truth, compassion and love." "It is like we are uncovering someone else's heart and mind!"

"Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple (ee-shone) of thine eye." Proverbs 7:2

"In the twilight, in the evening, in the black (ee-shone) and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire on an harlot, and still of heart." Proverbs 7:9,10

"Keeping and Hiding the Word in our hearts" is the simple but eternally effective guard for our lives. It allows us to keep and to be kept fully alive as we position our hearts and mind to royally welcome the Watchman of the Word deep into our darkness and deep secrets. Hiding the Word so deep that there is no uncovering of any ulterior motive or underlying purpose other than God's Word kept in hiding.

Verse 2 of Proverbs 7 opens to me an imperative direction for us to focus or meditate: We are to guard with continued observance ...the clear commands of God, and hide so as to conceal them from discovery... treat the laws of the Word as precious - the "Apple of my Eye" -

We have all possibly heard this term used as an expression of endearment and just thought of it as a way to express the precious nature of one that is loved as "The apple of mine eye" ... and we smiled a love smile and went on. This term has so much more to do with a foundational focus for life than we may perceive.

The apple, "ee-shone" in the Hebrew is described as the "dark center" of the eye or the pupil, the deepest part to gaze into, darkest or blackest part of midnight ... O we should want the LORD to so saturate our lives that the deepest darkest place is still adorned with the Word.

Please Lord, I know I will never be impervious to the temptations around me, and I will be over taken in a fault... but let that temptation be met with a deep, dark satisfaction with your Word that makes no room for sin.

Notes from the interrogator:"Though we peered long through the deepest and darkest window into his soul, wewere astonished to find only the images of an ancient torture site, and our suspect bowed over on his knees and weeping uncontrollably before whoever had died there. At this juncture of the interrogation, we deem it unnecessary to pursue guilt any longer. For the deeper we probe the closer he draws to whatever power that has drawn him to that place of suffering."

In my darkest moments, He will find me ... for I am the apple of His eye.

HLFA,

Jeff

Kingdom Power Disconnect

Every generation's "modern culture" has always taught ...that the right ingredients bring success... Not necessarily true. The measure of cultural success is too temporal and fleeting, for it is founded on the slanted valuation of the momentary results. Simply put ... There is no magic "one size fits all" recipe that guaranties success; But in every endeavor ...be faithful to God, no matter what the promotion or disappointment ... because every promotion and every disappointment has a divine purpose and an eternally vested potential that allows you to walk closer to Him.

The seeds of true success are found in the "note worthy" responses of the Participants of Life ... to opportunities, victories, adversities and defeats via an upward focused "Fresh Song" and "Replenished Exultation" that come forth from the heart focused on the LORD.

"Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the saints." Psalm 149:1

There is a sweet songstress of the "soul set free" that daily (when the heart is set on things Above) finds a new song that will carry the weary pilgrim through one more day of the journey. Fresh oil, pure water, heavenly bread, and a fresh song is there daily for those who seek replenishment. Much like the Manna of old ... It needs to be gathered everyday ... for yesterday's supply is now old and spoiled. This is why it is so important to rely on the great faithfulness of God, whose "mercies are NEW every morning".

Don't miss this next passage of Scripture ... Don't shove it to the side of our minds as "already heard" or "we already know that" ...Because I bet we can find a gem for the beholding if we let His Spirit speak to us: "Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him, let the children of Zion be joyful in their King." Now, with the top layers of the normally seen scripture scraped aside here is what we have (prayerfully read this to understand): "Let those that are in the places where "God Prevails", intensely and purposely rejoice in their Maker; let the offspring of the "parched place where there is no water" be glad in their King". Psalm 149:2.

When in the places where you are excited because you sense the blessing of "success", don't allow a false pride in your accomplishment to take control, focus your rejoicing on the Designer of the Moment, not the temporal rewards of the "blip" on eternity's timeline.

Do you have success and abundance? Rejoice in Him!

When in that pit of despair where there "is no water" "where there is no standing", where there is only the bitter dregs of earthly pain and sorrow ... Be Glad in the Captain of your promised deliverance ... Don't blame and curse Him for the adversity ... Praise Him, be joyful in your King!

Are you facing disadvantages and despair? Be full of His joy!

Take some time to meditate on Psalm 149 and 150 ... You will find that our greatest weapons in the warfare of the soul is the Praise on our lips and the "Two edged sword" in our hand. Both should be always in readiness for personal praise and testimony: always unsheathed for personal surgery, always praying for mercy's preemptive assaults, and ever creating a visual that puts fear in trembling into the hearts of the enemy ... while providing both deliverance and judgment of His people.

Victory does not come by accident. It is the result of the causative and reflexive cooperation between Almighty God and the receptive fragile human. When in intimate harmony the "New Song" thwarts the enemy's damnable devices.

- She was not afraid nor angry with her life threatening affliction, she saw it as a friend that would take her to her Eternal Home with her lover, Jesus. Her end of life praise rattled loose the chains of the prisoners that served her and presented them "free" before their God. O how she loved Jesus!

- He carried the emotional scars of a chemical imbalance and the mistrust of his family, and friends, but in the end when his affliction would once again threaten carry him away from those he loved, his prayer and praise shocked the enemy as he bowed his head in the joy of having no physical way to ever leave again. O how he loved Jesus.

- Such embittered and tortured souls, so many friends had prayed for them throughout the years and now Cancer captured and began destroying their bodies. As believers began to pray for bodily healing, another miracle took place, such a Heavenly sweetness that was not seen in them before beset them and engulfed them. Many were disappointed when they were not delivered from physical death ... But those who discerned the real miracle knew that the enemy had no final claim on their souls and that they were ushered into glory "brand new"... O how they love Jesus.

Standing in the glory of victory - Rejoice in Him!

Bowing under embarrassing defeat and intimate shame - Be joyful in Him!

Praising God for "all things" runs contrary to the human condition, it confounds the enemy, and carries the power for immense deliverance. Praise the LORD!

"Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD. " Psalm 149: 6-9

As strange as it may sound ... This is where the real power is employed and experienced in the Kingdom to render the enemy helpless as the captives are set free.

Praise the LORD!

HLFA,

Jeff

PS: Whining and Complaining (which is the sad song of the day) renders God's people helpless before the already conquered enemy. Is it any wonder why our age is not seeing the miracles of God?

Dark Horn Rim Glasses

Note from the typical day: Although there is a plan in the heart of God's kids to bless, the adornment and actions of the world is set to discourage the act of blessing as quickly as possible. The last thing that the adversary (the god of this world) wants is mutual admiration and encouragement flowing in all directions from the Kingdom. The roaring lion is seeking whom he may devour ... Startle Royalty with discouragement and you have them most of the way to the boneyard. Be very aware of this concept!

While he had his dark horn rim glasses on and he strutted his earth suit, no one suspected the ultimate power that lay within. The hardest thing for him was the constraint of revealing his power during those disguised moments. When dealing with the flaws and frustrations of the teeming masses around him, he ached within himself over the needs he could not meet during the undercover moments. The fragile veil between his two identities seemed to be the source of greatest personal conflict. "To be or Not to be!" Not a problem unless you are the one they call out for help, and you are limited because you are a comic book hero.

"Let us therefore come without ambiguity and with fearless confidence ... before we are disadvantaged by sin ...Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that may lay hold of mercy and discover for ourselves ... The God Cry for help... "Grace" the God helper, in an opportune time of need." Hebrews 4:16

"If only you had been here!" What a sad exclamation of the view perception that was tangled between the identities. The fame of the man with the earth suit disguise spread far and wide. Meeting him face to face with his human veil drawn caused doubt and disbelief. With his "God-side" veiled, the thought of him as a cosmic hero was so far removed from thought that it didn't even cross the minds of those he rubbed elbows with day after day.

The greatest seat of doubt was found in those that thought of him as a close friend or family."Isn't this Joe and Mary's kid?" The step Dad and Mother were always a great cover when there was a slip in his dual identity. At the same time this was a horrendous stumbling block when help was truly needed from above. His family could not see that eternity was standing right in front of their eyes.

So far ... we are removed... by history from the Biblical events that we could fall right into doubts dead end. Let's remove the horn rim glasses. Does praying secure the "sure thing"? Does coming to the Throne of Grace Guaranty the perfect "thing" that we are trying to reach out and take for our advantage?

Prayer gives us an opportunity for the "God Cry"... And Prayer Guaranties a hearing with the Grace Help or Helper, who said "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" when covetousness would all but overcome us.

Pray "that we may" - that little phrase is a night light type of reminder that the only thing fragile in this eternal relationship is us. It is our nature to feel that we are held captive by time. It is these easily damaged bodies that won't allow us to see past the pain. It is our scarred memory grid that hesitates to pray with fearless confidence because we are looking at outcomes through every wind of fear that has blown our way. It is because of our flaws that His love reaches right through the fog to rescue us regardless of our inability to trust.

Regardless of what may hold you back ... Don't reason, don't justify, don't discuss ... Shut up ... and Let us pray!!

And he heard the cry, took off his black horn rim glasses and fell to his knees with a God Cry for the Grace Helper so that he could be loved by his Creator. What glorious real life beginning to a comic book hero. 

HLFA,

Jeff

Expiraton Date?

"Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which stand by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the LORD. The LORD that made the heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion." Psalm 134

Envision this ... A massive parched ground of earth rising out of the midst of the wilderness, standing as an obvious reference marker for the wandering pilgrim, or a constant mooring for the wayward seaman; both wanting a place to affix their resolve and bearings to journey onward and ever upward. As we journey closer to this monument as such, we begin to see the life filled forms of "raised hands" devotees blessing and honoring the God of all eternity ... The unique thing that encompasses this scene , though it is night, the light of their praises in this sanctuary cause the God of Earth and Heaven to bless them also. As rays of eternal light, praises radiate back and forth in the conduits of mutual devotion .

Exp. Date 7/4/2017

I had no problem a couple of days ago (while cleaning out a cabinet containing personal health supplies) checking expiration dates on the "over-the-counter" drugs and tossing them in file 13 when I discovered "old" - "out dated" drugs. I have no trouble throwing out expired drugs because of the fear of weird side effects. When I need a medicine to help my healing, I want to make sure it is full and appropriate in its potency. Mere mortal medicine has its limitations and its complications, and we are susceptible to the side effects.

I have watched an age old controversy in the intellectual realm caused by those who somehow feel that scripture or portions of it may have expiration dates and is not relevant because it has expired ... It is touted as "Out dated"; and to compound the issue, the "wiser teachers" love to modernize scripture to make it more palatable which surely accommodates the needs of those who already have trust problems with God. What is it so hard to trust God's delivery of His word?

Truth is always true. If there is a contradiction somewhere ... it is in the heart of the hearer. God's word has no expiration date and is always appropriate in the fullness of its potency. His word is always a two edged sword that pierces the divisions of the soul and spirit, and exposes the alignment of the thoughts intents of the hearts as to their willingness to give the authority of living to God.

Note: In context and applicable the scripture is our mooring to affix our lives especially in the dark seasons. Trust His word above all the opinions of the deconstruction counsellors.

Happy 4th of July, 2017 ... Seek independence from the voices that rebel against full dependence upon Jesus Christ. Search the scriptures daily for eternal life concepts, and be lovingly amazed at how they are directly connected in devotion to Him. Read and grow in the grace and love of our LORD Jesus Christ ... although experience may have cause for contention.

Truth and experience, in every generation may not match immediately and this can cause a conflict in the assembly of believers. When experience is perceived as the evidence of truth, there will be a straying from the truth of the word.

Answer the following questions:

Is God good because something good happens to us to make us feel better?

Is God the enemy because something bad happens to us that makes us feel worse?

Do I hate sin because I see what it has done to me and to others, or do I hate it because God does?

Do I question whether something is right or wrong because of immediate consequences or do I just believe God, take him at His word and obey?

So the scripture mentions it or mandates it ... do we question or Trust what God says?

Do we Obey and Live it out, or do we argue and wrestle with things that could potentially destroy our lives? What do we lose by believing that what God says is the final authority on the way we should live?

OK, now you want to discuss this more because you have a valid reason for portions of scripture that you wish to attach an expiration date to or re-assign it to a particular people group; ok ... No problem if God has said it is so.

Don't sweat the so-called gray areas - there is enough black n' white to fill our lives with a firm faith until we find that God wasn't as silent on the "gray" issues as we thought.

July 4, 2017 - find a true Independence day in the unflinching devotional dependence on God and what He has revealed through His Spirit and His word ... Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

HLFA,

Jeff