Never a Pariah

("Pariah" - go to a dictionary and check out what this word means if you don't know) 

Life had become D.O.A. 

Life was daily draining in preparation of a conception that would never happen. No joy at the end of a strenuously painful delivery …Twelve long painfully embarrassing years... Doctors had drained all of her resources and yet, she continued to bleed and be drained of life. She was deemed unclean, untouchable, exiled from society, living under the scrutiny of all strangers, friends and loved ones … Literally bleeding to death and walking "as dead" to the rest of humanity. BUT touching the border of His garment from behind brought her from the status of the despised Pariah to a Favored Daughter in the immediate, desperate, virtuous contact of the moment. Luke 8:43-48 

Jesus is who we need at any given moment of our lives. It appears though that when all is good He is not needed … But He does not hold that against us. He knows that life has ebb and flow and is stained with growing conflict and increasing frequency of pain. He is the promise and the fulfillment of all things needed, wanted and desired. 

For so many reading this … We are either in great need or we will face a great need in the future. That need may or may not distill our mode of life to a D.O.A status, but loneliness and rejection may be the overwhelming emotion ruling our lives; these feelings can cause a paralysis of dreams that creeps in and drags our hope into the mire. This is the point where we want to give up because we are sick of living in pain and can't go on... Reach out to Him, touch the hem, grasp the border, hold the "promise fringe" of His garment, His virtue is there for us. 

Psalm 108:8,9 reveals some very important places of life that belong to Him, and we need not bear that time and place as a Pariah{an outcast}. 

"Gilead is Mine;" 

-- The "rocky places", where life's conflicts collide with the Faithfulness of God - the witness stones are piled from the conflict as a memorial to God's Goodness and we are caused to remember His rescue; this Gilead is His. 

"Manasseh is Mine;" 

-- Some times we are caused or allowed to "forget", and the breach is forgotten by His desire to heal us; this Manasseh is His. 

"Ephraim also is the strength of mine head;" 

-- Many times repentance becomes a "double ash heap" as our sorrow is mingled with Calvary's deep acquaintance with our sorrow; trust that the eternal investment brings God's blessing of double fruitfulness; this Ephraim is His. 

"Judah is my lawgiver;" 

-- When the moment arises for us to "praise", blessed praise is like the shooting out of arrows (with no expectation of return); this Judah is His. 

"Moab is my wash pot;" 

-- All of us will come to the place of "our father's failings" … Is my "thorn warmed pot for washing". The catastrophic events of a marred character are the places prepared for our cleansing. The thorns, that can choke and hinder our forward, joyful movement, can by Faith's purpose … become the fuel for the fire that warms the water of Word that washes us for usefulness. This Moab is His. 

"Over Edom will I cast out my shoe;" 

-- Oh, the scar that can be caused by being disowned; the "red" scar is always tender, it can be rubbed or worn even to a deeper bleeding red … As we are told that we have No vested part, No one responsible, no one cares, and/or there is no one related to us to deliver us: He embraces our scar and loves us as His Own. This Edom is His. 

"Over Philistia will I triumph." 

-- We may become the "sojourners" who have rolled in the ashes and remains of mourning... but He will send the Blast of the trumpet of victory, a Shout of triumph over our wandering. This Philistia is His. 

Hear and know, and never be afraid to imagine our God reaching, touching, and holding us in our pain … He aches deeper than we will ever know. As we, so many times, repulse from the very Touch that can heal us …know this: - He does not turn from us just because our pain despises the things of faith. - He never leaves us though we may have turned and walked away. - He never forsakes us even though we forsake Him when healing doesn't happen when we think it should. 

All Healing is His -- every rocky place, every forgetfulness, every repentant moment, every praise, every scar, when we are abandoned, and in all of our moments of wondering and wandering … As His children, birthed by His Blood... We are His and He is ours. 

Glorify Him with grateful hearts full of imagination of His Love interventions. 

We are never a Pariah, but a dear Son or Daughter: 

Trust His Love! 

HLFA, 

Jeff

The Artist and the actors

"O come"... 

(enter in with purpose, with direction, with strategy, with the focus to love and be loved; This Is Imperative). 

"Let us worship," 

(" posturing ourselves in homage and acknowledgement of the Superior" -- Worship is reflexive. It is reciprocal, has a past beginning, but has become a process of progressive purposeful growing desire; due to the imperfection of the initial and continual actions, there will be a need for repetition because of the reality of a transformation in the future ... This forward focus transforms and colors the present relationship - and worship grows)
"And bow down:"
(bend, kneel , bow, crouch ... Position ourselves for reverence ... Ongoing imperfect but intentional positioning) 

"Let us kneel" 

(to kneel in adoration … Position ourselves in adoration... Ongoing imperfect but intentional positioning) 

"Before the Lord Our Maker." 

(Who in postures Himself in the making, the holding, and the molding, us in His Love) 

Psalm 95:6 

The Heart of the Artist's Eye was captured by a certain lump of clay... Nothing special to the casual glance of the actors passing by. The Artist's vision of Love had him reaching his hands into the mire and rescuing the lump from the "bog of lost dreams". As the actors of the Kingdom looked on wagging their heads in unbelief and astonishment, The Artist continued singing, lifting, sifting, cleaning, and separating the clay, while at the same time starting the creation of a unique and timeless masterpiece connected to His heart: He so loved the Dream. The lump of clay lifelessly dripped a slimy path of the mire as the Artist carried it to the Wheel. 

The actors pretended to look the other way. 

Placing the clay Dream on His Potter's Wheel - The Artist felt the growing pain of the clay's infirmities. He spoke the command of Love - COME! ...He began by breathing His Breath of life into the formless lump of the Dream. The Dream trembled and bowed in submission to the overwhelming power and perfection of the Life contained in the Artist's Breath of Love. The Potter's wheel began to turn. 

The actors yawned with disinterest. 

Under the progressive intentional turning of the wheel, and gentle pressure of the Artist's Hands, there was a continual exposing of the Dream's flaws. But this labor of love also began revealing the beauty as the Dream started to revere and realize the value of the Artist's intervention. More and more in a growing reflexive manner, mutual love would melt and transform reverence into adoration, and the Dream would be seen as "being" part of the Artist's Kingdom; and not just "acting" the part. 

The actors fell asleep with apathy as Miracles in the Kingdom continued to transform willing hearts everywhere. 

Note: Worship cannot be captured in a time, a generation, a place, a musical style, a religious tradition or a particular people group. It cannot be contained or controlled by mere human will, because it is drawn out by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Worship is the "bowing of the will of the believer" in reverence and adoration to the devotional dependence on the LORD for all things. It is the continued revelation of the Artist that will empower itself in the reflexive responses of Reverence and Adoration, and manifest itself in thanksgiving, praise and joyfulness; Songs will be written and sung from the heart of worship that will join His mighty singing over us. (Worship in not solely founded in the corporate moments of song or of all people, when alone. we are truly alone.)

Warning: In every generation there has been "parallel, powerless, worship" that has to be kickstarted by the manipulation of human empathy and a flesh fed desire for a touch from eternity. Although the desire to know God is good in itself, because this Pho-worship has a momentary release, it may be recklessly capitalized on and flagrantly marketed to profit from the naive and suffering little ones of the Kingdom. Don't be caught up in the feeding frenzy of guaranteed worship for sale or for hire, you may get caught in the overturning of the money changers tables.

As the curtain of life is lifted, 

The actors are back on the Stage powerlessly performing … 

But the Dream is fully alive in the power of the Spirit and the Word of God, living the life of Worship. 

"Thou shalt have none other gods before Me." 

HLFA, 

Jeff

The Causing

There is a moment by moment "Causing" within the fabric of our temporal world of living. Because this life is really just a "fleck of a moment" in the grand "Time of Love" from eternity, the intrinsic Value of eternity will keep flashing God's loving kindness and faithfulness through the fading light of the present. This "Causing" is a powerful driver of soul emotions that can lead to full release and freedom of thankfulness resulting in the intentional singing of God's praises; or if the "Causing" is pushed back against, it brings on stress and bondage that is caused by a tainted spring that is fed by wickedness and spread by the flourishing of the poison of iniquity's sorrow.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O most High: to shew forth Thy Lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound." Psalms 92:1,2,3

What we don't see behind this and many other passages in scripture is that the "giving of thanks" and the "shewing forth" that men do is caused from Above.

Literally ... Hype is not necessary in the Kingdom if the tender heart is in tune to the "Causing". Hype is usually a product of a heart that has sensed the tender reflexive responses to eternity, and instead of "being still and knowing that He is God", and joining the "causing", (which may have an unknown and potentially fearful response) the worship actor will pretend to be part of the revelation celebration, but without the true releasing power of the "Causing". 

FOR A MOMENT: Get the picture of a sanctified imagination scene behind the "Causing". Sin truly has ravished the fabric of the Soul's creation. 

The scene appears to be similar to that of the bombed out ruins of a war town city. Smoking, smoldering wood, hay and stubble, strewn about as if a wild uncontrollable beast had wandered destructively into the former beauty and cast its charred fragments in all directions. Imagine the stench in the air … Like someone burning the foulest garbage that could be concocted from neglect and ignorance. The scene sorrowfully broken … bows before the stench,the devastation and the destruction of former comfort and safety. Tears well up and are ready to fall.

Looking upward only produces watery eyes and a burning of the lungs. There are no blue skies, there are no comforting warm rays of the sun, and definitely there is no filtered refreshing breeze of relief. If there was any hope it is now charred and scattered about the ruins. Truth is all but lowered into a cold tomb of unbelief … BUT WHAT IS THIS?

Amidst the battlefield arises a faint but intentional glitter. A hope filled shimmer of gold, silver and precious stones. A "little one" stands tall amidst the rubble. There appears to have been a sheltered clearing pushed aside by an unseen but powerfully gentle Hand. This Hand has created a stage of sort. A celestial light bathes the small circular area this "little one" begins to joyously twirl in a dance and to psalter a melody, both with the purity of innocence and the sweetness of faith. This grateful dance and song of praise cause the very gates of Hell to begin to tremble at the power of the response to the "Causing".

The joy filled tears of Heaven begin to fall as the cleansing begins in every direction where the heart can sense "The Causing". Battered forms rise out of the ashes and shame in response to the song. "The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their waves. The LORD on High is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Thy testimonies as very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever." Psalm 93:3-5 Praise the Lord!

O let the Causing move us 

to a pure and grateful song 

O let the Causing move us 

for There is the battle won.

HLFA,

Jeff