Fade Away

Sometimes we fade away in the midst of the focused agendas of others, especially if we are perceived as "outsiders"; or if we are judged as gift-less or useless in the advancement of their cause. If each and everyone of us have unknowingly entertained angels unaware...how much more inept are we to recognize the true gifts among us. If we can't own our day by day heart responsibilities without the utilization the "blame others tool", how do we expect to even begin to understand our own part in a tragic collision of selfish life choices.

Psalm 110 is an extremely prophetic passage of scripture that paints the picture of the character of Adonai(the Lord) and the promises that surround His authority and the events of His Eternal Reign. I hear all to often the word "Sovereignty" carried around as a burden cover up, when all we really want to do is blame God for the events in our lives and the lives of others that seem un-fair from our vantage point (fear not; get alone with Him and open the wounds and scars). The embarrassingly private, unexplained situations and events that jar our world can easily be tossed into the "Sovereignty of God" bucket as an excuse for relinquishing personal responsibility. We can even decide to throw aside our iniquitous part in the events by dusting ourselves of with bristle-less brushes of fain holiness and move to the next irresponsible adventure of our lives.

Are we Connected by love to the King? Are we in submission to the Son? Do we continually allow ourselves, through devotion to His Word, to be set apart? Do we wear Holiness as an adornment of splendor; or a veil of shame? Do we truly want God's way to be our way? Is it joyous or painful to pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven"?

As the battle dust began to clear, there stood the snarling self-avenging warrior in the midst of his own carnage. His near-hardened heart was not wanting to surrender; his resolve to "fight-on" was momentarily interrupted by a strange sensation...there blew across the battlefield the sweet smell of distant exotic sweetness that startled his forward resolve. His battle bruised ears also were captured and diverted from the confusion of the moment by a melodious refrain that seemed to float in from a not too distant past. The scent and song carried the memory of promises of soul stirring thrills of a glorious future that potentially he was disqualified from and possibly banished from because of his unfathomable iniquity. The atom-sized moment was nothing but a shiver, but it brought a strange flash of a memory of unearthly comfort that loosened a uncontrolled tear.

Then a terrifying clap of thunder shook the earth beneath him, and a bolt of devastating lightning hit the battlefield blinding the shaken wounded warrior. Trying desperately to raise up his rattled frame (that was now helplessly on its knees), horrified, he looked through tear blurred eyes to see a form running at him. He groped helplessly for his blood stained weapon only to sink deeper in despair when it was not to be found. He finally bowed his head and submitted to the eminent death blow; ... but it did not come.

Intruding upon the senses of his massive warrior frame was the strangest sensation; the feeling of the gentle but firm arms and frame of a small child embracing his broken body. The shock of this sneak attack seemed to be too good to be true ... but in that split second all his senses collapse in love's attack; it was not a trick, it was not a test; and the embrace remained in control ... gentle, assuring, strong and true. He was conquered.

Psalm 110:3 - "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning; Thou hast the dew of Thy youth."

Be willing to come to the LORD in this day of the power of His love, in this age that is covered by His Grace like the birthing of a new age of potential; join Him in the morning dew of eternal life ... HE NEVER OVERLOOKS YOU. No matter how far you have gone, you are only a breath away from His forgiving love.

Become ... Young forever in concert with Him, by His invitation ... "Come unto Me."

HLFA,

Jeff

Will I Come

"If it is You say ...Come...I will come." O to truly grasp who we are in Christ, knowing Him intimately, and understanding the "Authority" He has gifted us... We would rush to His opening opportunities to conquer and rescue those fading away amidst the Kingdom of Darkness; those who have "fallen among thieves" ... Bringing them to wholeness..."Shalom"..found only in a deepening and fully dependent walk with Jesus in the Kingdom of His Marvelous Light.

The Storm was threatening and the flight was experiencing the threat, As the winds began to rattle the jet cabin (and no one even dared to ignore the "fasten seat belt" sign), I began to pray...the winds calmed immediately(the Darkness whispered "It's just a fluke of your imagination"; and of course my flesh surrendered; but my spirit soared in unbounded joy and gratitude).

We will not fully realized what we are nor what we will be - but we have been promised authority in our "becoming" as Sons of God. Let not the enemy whisper ..."helpless" - "powerless" - "defeated" - WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS , through Jesus Christ our Lord! The true test and demonstration of power is in our struggle for the needs of others ... those "fallen among thieves".

Prayer: Now I break, now I cry for my brother, my sister... for he or she has fallen among thieves. And with this sigh, my heart is lifted to Thee. Let Love's abundant redemption blow into my brother's and sister's torrid and sordid dimensions of sin's ravaging deception. Break the chains that have bound them and the veil of guilt that covers their eyes. Similiar to the deliverance of the Maniac of the Gadarenes, bring him home once again to Thy love and Thy family. O please Jesus, Amen.

We may ache because of the limitations of the flesh, but intercessory prayer moves us nearer to God as His active rescue is already in place. Does God want my brethren bound in this iniquity? NO! I have two choices - AVOID: by analyzing, judging, and then justifying my pathetically weak offering of nothing; or ACTIVATE: knowing that my flesh has a pathetically weak offering, I turn to the power of the Almighty and thrust my faith into His infinitesimal love and resources for His rescue of my family.

It is not for me to label my brother or sister as fallen, lost or found, but for the scraping of the potsherd ...my brethren's only resource is also mine .. the Grace and Mercy of God. My God is sufficient, willing and able to deliver us.

Search our hearts Lord and wash away the stains that we judge through. Pull us close to Thy side so we can hear the words of your rescue. Amen!

To all who are facing deep and threatening wind or water - He is saying "Come to me!" all we need to do is "Come,............. I will!"

HLFA,

Jeff

Fearful Rejoicing

Stop and ask yourself - Why is there such a fascination in our day with death, dying, gore, and the undead? Could if be a distraction that anesthetizes us to truths that can challenge us and change us -- "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." With this thought do you experience "terrifying sorrow" or "fearful gladness"?

Psalm 97:1 - "The LORD reigneth;" This is absolute truth -- THE LORD IS KING; there is no other.
"let the earth rejoice;" This is the intense desire for the earth -"fearful gladness".
"Let the multitude of isles be glad thereof." No where is it too remote to be not affected by this intense desire for "fearful gladness"...that is caused by the Absolute truth - THE LORD IS KING; there is no other.

Psalm 97:2 -"Clouds and darkness are round about him:" The mystery and majesty of the "God Clouds" surround Him. Give Him the Glory of the mystery ... trying to figure it all out may not be a faith venture - wait on the LORD ... His revelation of truth is sure.
"righteousness and" - Right and just is what He is.
"judgment" - Righteous Justice is what He does.
"are the habitation of His throne." -- What He is and Does encompasses His throne room dwelling place - He abides in righteousness and judgment.

Darkness and the mystery of darkness have always kept us on the edge of our seats. The edge is not necessarily a bad place to be ... but waiting for Christmas morning as opposed to waiting for a murderous monster to break through the darkness are two completely different "edges" of seats. This has been intensified over the years by a subliminal movement via the voices that oppose and rulers of wickedness in high places. These hissing deceivers play on the original temptation that opened the way for the fall in Eden - "For God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Satan says - "God already knows that you are bent on eating the fruit - so eat, lay back and enjoy the opening of your eyes, and behold ...you will be able to determine what is right and wrong ... oh, sorry you will experience right and wrong in a depredating way.)

These image benders both dig their talons deep into the minds of those who do not believe; and also claw, scratch and scar the vision of those (with a childlike faith) who truly love Jesus .
"Horror" , terrifying sorrow, is not to be compared to the "rejoicing", Fearful Gladness associated with waiting on the Goodness of God... in His time.

- Is it good for little ones to experience the Fearful Gladness found in creation's glory, that puts them in awe of God's character and enables them to carry the wonder into their adult lives?
or
- (Some would risk saying is not good for pre-school little ones to be exposed to "Horror" that can cause detrimental nightmares,) In the name of "balanced education", as children mature, shouldn't they be exposed to horror so that they can differentiate the real from the make believe? Huh?

CHILDREN ---This is the crux where arguments begin to fly and emotions begin to flare... and the level of engagement in the argument that can be caused by these two questions above is heavily dependent on the personal investment into either side of the argument. --- "Considering the Child" is always a personally touchy subject, especially when it is your child. (The heat is already rising in me!)

-- Even in Jesus' day there were sights for the eyes and sounds for the ears that could cause the hearts of children to wander. Jesus stated in three of the Gospels (after He was displeased with the disciples trying to chase away the children) - "Suffer (Never hinder) the little children to come unto Me; forbid them not... for of such are the Kingdom of Heaven."

Inside of each of us is the heart of a child that desires so much to know Heaven's pure love. Are we hindering or welcoming the opportunities to know Him?

Today the truth remains - THE LORD REIGNS - the positioning of our hearts and minds is critical to the growth of fearful gladness or terrifying sorrow. Let His truth be the song of your heart that keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for His day to break and His glory to shine on you.

Trust Him and terrifying sorrow will flee away.

Don't be de-sensitized --- Awake!

HLFA,

Jeff

Power Is Out

Several Nights ago while traveling for business- I started receiving texts - "Half the house is without power." "What should we do?". It was a little scary for the occupants of the homestead because of their inability to correct the situation. There had be a storm earlier in the evening AND my wife's cell alerted her to a lightning strike close to our house (although we were miles away - technology is amazing).

Daylight brought the opportunity to call the electrician, who responded quickly and was able to temporarily resolve the situation. There was a main connection between the house and the meter that was burnt to the point of hampering full electrical contact and could disconnect with too much usage. He stated that he would go ahead and prepare for the repair though he would not be able to perform the task until the following week. Between us, we felt that we should be ok, but his parting words were - "TRY NOT TO RUN TOO MUCH POWER!" .

This crazy life always seems to divvy up burnt power connections, power outages, and moments of helpless disconnects. The bigger problem happens, when in those times of fractional power usage, we still want to drive on at 100% not realizing that greater damage and injury that could be caused by not heeding the Electrician's admonition ..."TRY NOT TO RUN TOO MUCH POWER!". We may even be down for the count, oppressed by the carnal image of success that demands us to "give it your all", which can weigh so heavily upon us that we go down in flames trying to give it our all... instead of trusting Him for His all.

Some have said that - "When we get to the end of ourselves, then He has the opportunity to begin". Nice thought, but we seem to be endowed with the inability to know when to quit (it may feel to soon or too late depending on the size of the failure we face). The problem with that statement is that our humanness causes us all to focus more on the human failure as an infraction, than the human failure as God opportunity.

We would sooner take up the mantle of "failure" than to surrender the moment to God as a moment of working toward a greater victory. Power outages, weak times, care-less moments, temptations fall, and any other of the multitude of words that could define our interruption to usefulness, make it easier on our hearts and minds than admitting to the finger prints of God found all over the event. We need to quit closing our eyes to God's advantageous positioning of us for the next great victory in the Kingdom.

"A just man falleth seven times, and rises up again, but the wicked falleth into mischief." Proverbs 24:16 - A child of the King, justified by the full Gospel of Jesus, has a character trait of rising up though intensely bent to fall. His "God" falls, the seven times, bring with them a potential resurrection with all the proof that He is for us and with us. "Try not to run too much power" -- your efforts are only needed in surrender to His resurrection during your most helpless moments... surrender to Him in those moments of weakness.

 I climbed into a beautiful antique phone booth to find total disconnect ... no power and no phone.

 A sad picture of a life with no horizontal power and no vertical communication. I pulled out my cell - I couldn't stand the disconnect.

Be careful, O people of God to make sure that you "Let the Word of Christ Dwell in you Richly" -- and encourage others to love The Words that are eternal.  

"This is my comfort in my affliction: for Thy word hath quickened me." Psalm 119:50  

HLFA, 

Jeff

The Gate

Acts 3:10 - "And they knew that it was he that sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him."

"You may not have known my full story but for the only recorded moment of my healing and the events that followed me in scripture for all to see" ...words from the former Beautiful Gate paralytic (remaining anonymous for this interview) for the Jerusalem Gazette... as he spoke on to Gazette Reporter Shalmon Truleehope :- "You see ... timing prior to this event had me mad because all the rumors of Jesus healing people never blessed me; because I never made it to see Him until that pitiless day that He was nailed to the Cross. My helpers that would normally carry me to the Beautiful Gate decided to take me to the entertainment of the day. Truly I was horrified by what I saw, but was soon sucked into the chanting - "Crucify Him!" I was so mad because any hope for my healing was now being nailed to a Roman cross." He stopped to sob as if he was still there ...then his face began to radiate --- "Never in my hopeless dreams would I expect, weeks later, to be begging at the temple after my cursing on that horrible day ... to find that this Jesus still would love me through His believers ... hey no apologies and I was healed: I choose to now love Him openly in the Beautiful Gate!" ....excerpt from the interview in the Jerusalem Gazette August 1, AD 33.

There are passageways and vestibules to life events that lay before everyone of us; these "gates" will bring change. At the approach of any of these passageways we will be meet headlong with promise, potential, provision, and temptation. This is common to every living being, but there is a uniqueness in the gate for each individual. That unique moment to each individual is an invitation to draw close the Extravagant Lover of our Souls, Jesus. It becomes a moment to experience the reality of His active involvement in the feelings of our infirmities and His tender care in our time personal need.

Whether we are positioned to be a provider at the gate, or desperately in need of provision at the gate ...the clearest and greatest need at that moment is an eternal connection that increases our faith in Him. To pace back n' forth instead of entering ...without lifting our fears upward or throwing our burdens down, is just another moment lost in the sea of forgetfulness instead of being captured by a memory of God's timely love intervention for us. Let Go, and Trust God!

In all avenues of life: walk with the King. With every blind side turn: trust His "preparing the way before you". When approaching the Gate ... bow your head in trust and become a miracle by moving through the Gate with Him or by helping another through the passage while trusting the power He has bestowed on you.

                       O Beautiful Gates lift up your voice of welcome from the King.
                            Stretch out your arms of love and pull us closer to Him.
                                  Call us to Fear not to move forward in the way,
                                   Open to a new hope and the dawn of a new day.

Hebrews 13:12 - "Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without (outside of) the Gate."

HLFA,

Jeff

Focus from the Ledge

God is my Cliff!

On the ledge it all becomes clearer, when the mist of me subsides, and I am left to face my fear.
On the ledge it all becomes clearer, when faced with my impotence, eternity's desire draws nearer.
Be Still my soul, and know Thy God, on the ledge.

 I, like most devoted lovers of God, am (potentially) a practicing idolater. (You may say "not I") {WARNING -- "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" - 1 John 5:21}.   I really don't mean to be this way but "doubt" is woven into the fabric of my human existence. I constantly try to fall back on things that don't belong to me for my daily living. I constantly try to control the situation with the use of my frustrated version of omniscience (I know even if I didn't see), omnipresence (I am there even if I am not), omnipotence (I don't need anyone, I can take care of myself!). Armed by my misguided fears, and crippled by my non-reflex to trust, I step into impossible situations even more confused; and that breaks my spirit all the more. What a mess I am!

The root problem is that we rarely understand God's Will. The reason: We put His will (His desire) in the context of what we are supposed to do. That in place; now there arises a valuation or devaluation system out of our idolatrous hearts that places more or less worth on the way we "do" His will, instead of focusing on - "What is His desire?". We also may go to the extent of defining levels of His will for us that we "do"; and we use terms like - "missed", "perfect", "preferential" or "permissive" will. This all depends on human perception, and is spawned by the whispers of Hell that were first heard in the Garden, and have reverberated throughout all mankind ever since that first divisive whisper ... "God hath not said" ... "you will be like Gods determining what is good and evil". Don't keep going back to the Garden ... face the ledge.

The truth of God's Will and our connection to His Power in our prayers is found on the ledge: (Listen carefully to these two very powerful parallel passages)

1 John 5:14,15 - "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything ... according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we have desired of Him."

Psalm 116:1,2 - "I love the LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live."

Both the Apostle and the Psalmist had been to the ledge. Both understood "there" that God's Will ...His desire... is to "hear us". God, who is all knowing, who is always present, who is all powerful ... desires with an intentional and intense focus to HEAR US.

Miss this and miss the opportunity to unshackle love.
Miss this and miss the point of prayer.
Miss this and you turn the image of the Living God into a performance art idol.

Have you come to the ledge? Have you come to safest place on this side of Heaven, though seemingly so precarious? Have you come to the Father through His Son? ... HE HEARS YOU!! There is no misunderstanding on His side of the HEARING -- you can TRUST that HE eternally has your best interests in mind --

Here is where we see sin for the separator that it is.
Here we learn to understand the difference between His voice and the world's.
Here is where Satan has no place, no power.
Here is where death no longer threatens.
Here is where we can take and leave our most devastating conflicts.
Here is where we know the only One that can bring forgiveness.
Here is where there is only room for the true God and Eternal Life.
Here is where we LOVE the LORD because HE HEARS US.
Here is where trust is truly grounded in His Word.

On the Ledge - Little Children, Keep yourselves from idols for they have ears but hear not.

HLFA,

Jeff

Random Thoughts from the Ledge

Read Ezekiel 36:27,28 - A heart of flesh is always founded in a brokenness...the power of the broken that rely on Jesus is their life of a love offering to and for Jesus.Psalm 113: 7,8 - "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That He may set him with princes, even the princes of his people."

God's ways are not like ours, and His thoughts are so far above ours that without His Living Word, His Written Word and His Spirit... all men would live as scattering ants at any sign of His presence. God always shows up in the most unlikely places ... And in the most unassuming fashion ... And His timing is always paramount in the lives of individuals whose hearts are captured in That Encounter. And then, like the ripple and sway of the tides, the lives nearest to the shore of the ocean-effect of these "Strategic" individuals will also bear the consequence of the "God" encounter.

The individuals chosen and who choose to be caught in the encounter were never perfect but they all had one thing in common ... a single heart caught in awe of God of the Encounter. These Soul Redirected Individuals must find that becoming truly effective means that they must set their hearts due north by focusing their lives on Him instead of the shifting sand of this world around them. In fact - God is their cliff.

He has taken them there and they have learned the safety of the "edge of eternity". The ledge, the Crag, the cliff... This fragile life was not meant to be built to last here, but to be built solidly in such a way that when the shaking comes we are on the edge of eternity. My firmness in this life doesn't come from founding my life on temporal shifting and sinking sand fortifications, but from founding it on the edge, the ledge, the cliff of God's Word. Petros ...Petra...

Where in our relationships do we find the greatest trials? Where is Faith tested to the max? Possibly where are our actions to bring resolution and words to persuade have all but failed. Perhaps it is when we have been forced to flee and we have had to unload all protection, all defense, all tools, and all supplies in order to run with no earthly weights to slow us down; we stop to catch our breath only to find our run has taken us to the edge of a cliff or put our backs up against the base of an un-ascendable shear jutting of unmovable rock.

And then we wake up to the light that forces its way through the curtains that are never thick enough or drawn tight enough to keep the light completely out. The light has us sit many times on the edge of our night resting place only to wait for "nothing".

 O the clamor of the of the enemy hordes that keep pressing on our heels, and the glamour of the enemy whoredoms that keep flashing to draw our gaze away from our forward movement and the prize that lay before us; both the clamor and the glamour are there to cause us to stumble, fall, deter, and discourage. The enemy's great hope is that we quit before we get to the place of full trust in our God.

 All of a sudden my race forward stopped in unbelief as I tottered at the edge of a cliff above the clouds. The sheer vision of the immeasurable distance below and the fear of the bottomless fall was enough to stop the heart of the most experienced mountain climber. What a cruel joke, that God would lead me on to this seemingly impossible end to my journey! But echoing from the vanishing point ahead came a very resolute, small voice that said "Fear not I have been here, I am here, be still!"

But the cliff was never the plan that we carried in our hearts. There was supposed to be the miraculous turn of events that would stop the angry enemy tide right in its tracks. There was to be total devastation and annihilation of the enemy hordes done in such a way that the fear of God was elevated, and that the joy of the LORD would be left blowing away the residue of guilt and shame.

Didn't happen ... not even remotely in the context of what I would have liked to see. Instead, I have found myself on this precarious ledge with absolutely nowhere to run, no place to hide, and no one to turn to. The voice came to again and said "You are safe, wholeness is near!"
 
What happened next felt like something right out of the "weird" play-books of the unsolved mysteries of the universe. I turned and where the lines of the enemy pressing me to the ledge had been impenetrable, now there appeared a passageway and there was One much like the Son of Man saying "Follow Me!"

It was like the enemy was frozen in place with absolutely no power to disrupt my forward movements following the Way.

HLFA,

 Jeff

The Clamor

Psalm 97: 1 - "The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof."

You could tell at a glance that she had been weeping. Her clothes were disheveled and torn; and to match, was the soil and the bruises covering her body that were unavoidably seen from any direction. Her eyes reflected that look that you see in eyes of the defenseless victim of a horribly senseless crime.(BUT rainbow colored lighting was now spotlighting her so as to disguise the truth of her torn and ravaged visage).

There seemed to be a strange confusion in the air surrounding her as she struggled to rise up still from the ashes of yet another cataclysmic assault on her royal connection. She now appeared the refugee, though she has been the loving, adoptive mother for so many tired, poor, huddled masses who yearned to breathe free. She had rarely turned away the wretched refuse of the teeming shore. Her lips were still moving but faintly crying, "send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me , I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

This would be the cover-up of yet another atrocity by a sad and duped group of individuals who felt that they were the heralds of a new day. These modern day evangelists, with eyes glazed with power, and ears which only hear the rhetoric of strangers, were doing their best with the limited biased information given to them. Many may not have been aware that they were being coddled by a more ancient and sinister force solely bent on misguidance, misdirection and murder. This would create the "buzz" and "distortion" to the masses so that the raping and plundering of the past would be seen as a necessary removal of "old fashion bigotry", and the introduction of a better world.

While the clamor of complaints filled the air waves, there continued an assault on the ground in this battle. The enemy troops seemed to be led by one hellacious cry (that for the most part was not understood by the enemy hoards nor discussed by most of the duped, assaulted and complaining masses): "At all cost, do not let Her lift her lamp beside the golden door!"

The assault continued to raise such a cloud of dust and debris that very few could see the real battle was a struggle at the root system. Under the cover of the debris cloud was a hacking, chopping , cutting, sawing, burning, and disfiguring of the foundation. There was a relentless disconnecting excavation effort by the enemy to sever the distracted masses from the TRUTH. The hole left behind by the excavation was constantly being back-filled with open apathy, self preservation and selfish ambition.

So loud and distracting was this excavation that most didn't see nor recognize the Lifted lamp, nor the Golden Door as JESUS. Look and Live!

Psalm 119:105
John 10:9

God Continually reigns ... rejoice and be glad.
Live openly and loudly in love of Him and loving others.

HLFA,

Jeff

The Love and The Glory (Father's Day 2015)

Most of the time in our lives, we grovel in the small grooves of the finger prints of the Father. We are caught by the surprise that there can be dirt and sorrow there. We rarely take the time to lay on our backs, gaze up into the sky, and see that His finger print on our lives is so much bigger than us. O we long for those few brief moments in the busy, burdensome days of our lives that we are able wipe the smudges off of the window pain, look out through the rain to see Him dancing with His kids in the puddles of the fearsome storm.

We will never even begin to understand the Father if the only filter we use is our sin and shame. Our filter should be the Cross, the empty tomb, and the clouds of Christ's returning. Without His Spirit and His Word, the clearest voice we will respond to is the pain; whether self inflicted or life inflicted. Let's take the time to arrange the puzzle pieces of our shattered and discontiquous lives in such a way that "all things that have been working together for good" will shout His love to us, and sing His glory to others.

"O satisfy us early, early with Thy mercy
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad! According to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us;
Make us glad! And the years wherein we have seen evil.
Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants
and Thy glory unto their children." Psalm 90:14-16

The hand of the Father ... is stretched out still.

The prayer of the Father ... is a continuous invitation to walk beside the Heart of God.

The love of the Father ... is a gentle but firm place to trust the safe keeping of our troubled hearts.

The desire of the Father ... is His children. He desires us.

Fear not in the events ahead; trust, O children, in His loving care for even the smallest events in our lives, for He loves us with an ever enduring and endearing love.

Dedicated to the days of June 18-24 in the lives of the Jeff and Yolanda Redding Family
and to the scars that so many of us bear until we se the only Scars that Remain ...in Heaven.

God keeps pouring love into the painful gaps.


HLFA,
  
Jeff

The Zit

As most people who have known me for some time ... they soon realize that I have never given up on childhood with all its wonder, thirst for living, unquenchable zeal for adventure and its unending supply of irritating questions, usually asked at a volume level that can embarrass the most patient and prepared parent figure. Some are of the belief that childhood must be left at the door of parenthood or exchanged for it... NOT I!

 Matthew 18:3 - "And (Jesus) said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." {not an excuse for my behavior, just an amazing way to position our lives at the feet of Eternity.}
   
And so begins the discussion: Random Topic chosen by my brain while driving with my Wife? ZITS ...{for whatever reason?)

"Will we have zits in Heaven?" The retort..."Are zits perfect?" The return ..."They think they are; they also must think they are always welcome; showing up at the most inopportune times, and the awkward years (which for some can be a lifetime). We all have them or will get them." The audio at this point turned off but the brain kept on humming.

(Bear with me because of my medical expertise - I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) What is a zit? It is a biological reaction to a foreign object that is introduced to a well established bio-system (introduced externally or internally). The reaction justifies itself as being the Greeters of the (un)Welcoming committee.

Here is a rough outline of the Events that follow the introduction of the foreigner into the Bio-system: 1. The greeters are waiting in a non-discriminative fashion.
2.The foreigner is detected and profiled.
3.The bio-defense system alarm goes off and the agents of defense wrap their rejection serum around the foreigner.
4. The expulsion process begins with a capture of the foreigner in holding cell.
5.The festering between the two factions create a pressure within the same limited space, until the event begins to elevate to an unsightly protrusion.
6.This expansive pressure allows the surface of the ZIT to thin out to cause the foreigner with his new found fester friends to "burst through" for a rescue and relief to those welcome within the body of the bio-system.
7. The foreign object is expelled from the well established bio-system and clean up and cover up begins.

Sounds like a well oiled organizational plan. This may also sound like most clubs (that we join to beat people over the head with), fellowships (to strengthen our bonds against "them") and even families (an obvious system to contain embarrassment). The problems that arise in each of these organizations may stem from its vision of "how to control" others(control is too constrictive for real love).

Is your fellowship of choice a Permission granting life-system that chooses what "others" to serve; or a Permissive Atmosphere Bio-system that is busy creating to serve others? Does your "follow-ship"(not fellow-ship, think about it leader!)  or leadership create unnecessary zits? Zits are normal, zits will happen... more important; what we do with the foreigner...the stranger, the out cast, the un-lovely, the unfamiliar will determine the health of our living in the Kingdom.

Don't become part of the Un-welcoming Committee. 1 John 1:7- "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin," In the Light we all see our mutual strengths and weaknesses and realize that we need each gift that comes into our lives. In the light our greatest need is not for control but for cleansing.

Have an awesome life!

HLFA,
  
Jeff