Hear My Heartbeat

Righteousness as vindicated, justification in controversy, deliverance to a prosperous victory: He weighs out what is right for us, and measures out what is just so that His people, by merit of His "covenant by sacrifice", can enjoy His salvation. This Heaven sent, fully empowered Righteousness shall move in amazing ways before His Face; and will appropriately fashion our purposeful placement in the way of the rhythmic pulse of His Steps. He is the beat, the pulse, the anvil, the anvil stroke, the footfall of our life, The Heartbeat … Walk with Jesus.

Awake to rhythm in His steps …"Once, twice, thrice, as His time on our time... At His repetition, at our pace, at His occurrence, His once, His now … Now; now at length, at one time...at another, with us in His Heartbeat." Being sensitive to His foundational "Life Beat" is the liberation of the joy of our life. Breathe in the daily newness of His path.

"Righteous shall go before Him, and shall set us in the way of His steps." Psalm 85:13

Oh that negative voice that would always taunt me from out of the depths of my pain; it was always trying to drown out the sound of His footfall. The voice of the pain would strive to usurp and steal the power of His authority over me. It would cause me to hesitate in staking my claim on the blessings that You would place before me. I would curse my day in the beginning instead of praising Your Name, because of the pain, because of the gnawing ache. 

The pain would constantly growl "you are a cripple" and in total agreement with my momentary halt-ness; but You cry "You are whole!" and Your cry pleas with my faith to only … Trust. So I will.

I would always pillow my head with full intentions of stretching out to praise His mercy and listen for His footfall early upon my next awaking; but pain and doubt are always ready to greet me. Falling on the face of my heart, the treasure chest of Your word opened before my brokenness … The truth was evidently proclaimed before, doubt was tearing at my ability to believe; then I quieted my soul to sense the meeting of Mercy and Truth, and tearfully watched as Righteousness and Peace embraced and kissed. 

But how can this be? Truth and Righteousness were the adversaries of my failures; and wasn't pain the proof that I was outside of the blessings of Mercy and Peace? I cried out, Then I heard the Footfall … And I felt His righteousness lift and carry me. Strength was returning as I was gently placed in His safety, and my eyes were once again opened before the terribly wonderful "Place of the Skull" … I heard the pounding pulse of the hammer and the sharp ring of the nail, I saw the blood, and shuttered at the pain that Eternal Love bore there for me. His Now was my now … Once, twice, thrice I heard the Footfall. I now stretched my handicapped frame in praise before Him and Grace kissed me. I am whole. 

"Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because Thou hast holpen me, and comforted me." Psalm 86:17 

HLFA,

Jeff

"He heard my fragile heartbeat, 

and paced His Heart to mine … 

Behold, now, I hear His heartbeat, 

O to know, Love Divine." 

Exert poem from The Scarlet Sinner

The Archer

"The dream began with a blinding flash of pure white light, and an explosion's impact right near me. I sensed that all my loved ones were in proximity but because of the smoke, fire and rubble I could only see images: nothing was clear. I tried to run but only to find myself falling. I tried to cry out but my voice was no where to be found. In the distance within my reach, I saw a skillfully crafted bow next to a sheath full of arrows that glistened in the few rays of light that were left in this battlefield scene.

I looked to the left and to the right of me, and saw others with bows that were bent carelessly wrong causing their arrows to actually fly off in perverse directions, even at the peril of their loved ones, instead of at the enemy. In the flashes of light, I saw that the misguided archers would look toward Heaven and their targets with their eyes closed. I had almost succumbed to the same posture had it no been for the pleas of Your Spirit and the Precarious Safety of Your Cliff. I reached for the Bow and Quiver realizing the Battle was His." - Exert from The Scarlet Sinner. 

Hosea 7:15,16 "Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me. They return, but not to the Most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt."

Can we acknowledge that He is our Strength in this temporal fragile time of potential injustice? Remember the enemy truly has no weapon that can be formed against us, but those deceitful bows can threaten and reap havoc on our joy in the journey.

Psalm 78:56,57 - "Yet they tempted and provoked the Most High God, and kept not His testimonies: But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow." 

Can we turn away from the attempts by the enemy to scar us: with his arrows of deceit that are hurled our way from broken and twisted bows? Remember the enemy can't win unless we let him preoccupy our conversations and recollections with the lies fabricated by the deceitful bows.

Terms like "He is a straight shooter" do not have the same comforting affect on me as possibly some others... To me straight shooters can also choose deceitful bows as their choice weapon of deception. Their arrows may not necessarily fly in our direction, but they do scatter and scar our thoughts and plans for the future. I have seen so called "straight shooters" over the years just turn out to be thoughtless selfish bullies, whose eye teeth desire to rip the poor from their possessions and whose eyelids are turned upward in attempt to discredit the Most High. 

• A true leader cannot and will not be disconnected from Eternity.
• A true leader is not afraid to love and be loved in the face of adversity.
• A true leader will strengthen weakened hands and support feeble but loving stands.
• A true leader will strive to remove the deceitful bows from the armory of broken dreams.
• A true leader will deal hope from the Truth to those who have been wounded by lies.
• A true leader will do everything in his or her power to deliver the broken to the Captain of their souls.

Why do so many leaders succumb of the lies of the roaring lion; inclining to believe that success is a ladder formed out of the dead bodies of those... naïve enough to trust, who were in the way, and became stepping stones to the leader's personal prerogatives? Survival of the fittest?? The easy way out??

Let's rewrite the definition of success as: "becoming a strategically skillful stepping stone in the eternal life of others"; a lively stone that will breathe new life and vivid direction into the future of those who are humbly trusting God, encouraging and empowering those who desire to be ready to give an answer for the reason of the hope that is within them. 

This is the life of the Archer of Love: The one whose heart reaches for God's best Bow and truth honed arrows, and carefully takes aim with truth to defend the helpless and bring renewed life to God's disheartened warriors. 

This is the way of the Archer of Hope: The one whose heart sees beyond the bitter scars and charred battlefield remains, and skillfully casts a new and lively vision of encouragement to those deemed unworthy by cruel leadership and by the battles of the past.

This is the Life of the Archer of God: The one whose fullest devotion is to his or her Most High Captain. The one whose lips flow with the Song of Jesus, and whose life emulates His love.

Be His Archer!

HLFA,

Jeff

Aha Kingdom Actors

You have probably met the "I'm truly blessed" actors that hang close to the Kingdom like vultures hanging close to a dying animal. Yes, Jesus alerted His disciples to these "birds" in the branches .... in the parable of the mustard seed. They are polished, refined, and savvy in the affairs of men. They are experts in the art of squeezing profitability out of the penniless. With a high and mighty demeanor, they "squint and gnats and swallow camels" while laying the "Aha, aha Burdens" on the meek and the lowly suffering pilgrims of the Kingdom.

Though they promise health and wealth through the sacrifice of the same, dare they risk any investment of their own? They are extortionists of the cruelest kind, because they prey on "the halt, the maimed, the lame and the blind" of the Kingdom. They are quick to point out that suffering is a result of a character flaw and a curse on the choice of life of an individual. They step on to the stage of life with a putrefying performance of vindictive pride... All shined up and full of positive smiling candor ... They will unashamedly hold themselves up to for the suffering to "Aha, aha - behold, we are pain free!"

Whether these profiteers are physically in our faces or they are in the oppression of our accusatory memory grid: they seek to extort the life and the ability to truly live from our souls . They criticize, demand, examine, inspect and expect homage from our souls while reminding us of our pitiful situations.

While they intensely seek our souls for harm... they are unaware that our groaning is heard and felt by an Advocate for our defense Who will rescue us. And all through their "Aha, aha performances they are accumulating internal guilt and amassing obvious confusion that will eventually turn them backward for the full reward of shame. 

Conversely - the Humble of the Kingdom are seeking the King with grateful expectations, love discovery inspections, and sustaining grace revelations that cause rejoicing and gladness in their King. Notably and openly He is their Help and Deliverer by His Salvation... Let Him be magnified! Though their faith is renewed Daily by His Faithfulness, Their prayer is still childlike in its plea - "please don't delay" - "Come Quickly, Lord Jesus". 

"Make hast, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha. Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee: and let such as love Thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying." Psalm 70:1-5. 

Read His Word ... Meditate on His Word ... Believe His Word until it drowns out the Aha, aha Voice Of the curse prophets of this generation and the discouragement of our own lied to hearts. 

Listen, Believe and Live! 

Jesus is our Shalom!

HLFA,

Jeff

Faceless Enemy

Psalm 59:1,2 - Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, save me from bloody men."

We will rarely see it this way, because of this life that is bound by gravity, but the enemy is not Flesh and Blood (Even though a face and a name might be breathing out threats right in our face) ... But the enemy we wrestle with is - Beginnings, Choices and Voices. 

(In the passage above) David, in the midst of the "people" that are lurking in the shadows and the dark places with mandates to slay him, sees beyond the flesh and blood and unveils the real culprit behind his troubles... In Psalm 59:2 he makes a statement that could be conflictive even for translators: "Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, save me from bloody men." Devotionally translated "Cause me to be snatched away, pulled up and out ... Away from the doings, the makings, the workings of sorrowful, idolatrous, wickedness; and deliver me from the murderous "stilling of the blood" desire of fallen man."

This is truly a faceless enemy. Behind the scenes in the shadows of depravity... there breathes a faceless entity that hounds the heart of mankind. It plants suggestions, desires, and images that create strong emotional ties to our fallen reflexes, which in turn derail us from the beseeching of the Spirit of God. Our flesh always wants to blame "somebody". That is why Jesus took the blame, the shame and separation so that He could be our Deliverer. Psalm 54:7 - "For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies."

We have been accused: "Oh, you are so arrogantly presumptuous, assuming that God will deliver you via His Goodness!" What a viscous soul wounding statement as we are looking toward God for help! It is tough because we catch our selves being stared at by those that love us, only to hear our own voice bark out … "What are you looking at?"; and the tone of our Voice that carries that message usually is terse and biting. So immediately egos are bruised, and we all are embraced by the enemy - "rejection". 

We are no longer allowed to admire, there is no time allotted for that. By the time we stop to smell the roses the bush is retreating to its winter positioning and our noses will no doubt be stung by thorns.Psalm 58:9 - "Before your pots can feel the thorns. He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living , and in His wrath." 

God hates these "workings" that separate us from knowing the fullness of His Presence. He is touched and angry... as the crippling feelings of sin's infirmity arise in our fragile frames caused by these "workings" of iniquity. He wants to free us from the futility of the "people - flesh and blood" wrestling matches. People are not the enemy.

Psalm 59:4 "They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help, me, and behold." The killer is... that even though we may be innocent of many things - trusting God will always be our fault and that Trust makes us the target of Evil.

Here is a retaliatory statement that sounds fair, but is not totally true when placed in the light of scripture - "It's okay to dislike someone, but it is not okay to disrespect, degrade, and humiliate that person." Can we see the subtle lie that is woven into this statement; the statement plays on fairness but is misaligned with God's righteousness. 

How does this statement line up with Jesus' words "Love your enemies (people)"? Matthew 5:43-48 --- read it through and remember that the word "perfect" in verse 48 means "complete, wanting nothing". It is not OK to dislike someone. 

Psalm 59:17 & 1a

"Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense...

Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense...

For God is my defense: "Deliver me from mine enemies"

And the God of my mercy.

For God is my defense: "Deliver me from mine enemies"

And the God of my mercy...

The God of my Mercy...

The God of my Mercy...

O the God of my mercy is the God of my defense." 

The Faceless enemy is defeated when we are giving our retaliatory moments to the God of our defense and mercy … He gives us the power to see that our enemy is not others. 

Hate the workings of wickedness … but love the people... love your enemies. 

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45 

HLFA, 

Jeff