My right shift key never gets used. When I was learning to type, I had broken my right pinky finger. It healed up, but I never got used to using that finger. Moral of the story. If you don't utilize the broken, you'll miss some good keys.
Most people are broken somewhere. Interesting that Jesus took people as they were and used the creative power of experience to teach and equip them. Empowering people isn't an option if unity and the the fullness of Christ are of any value to you at all. In Ephesians 4:11-13 there's this line of thought that I'll paraphrase. The gifts of Christ, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers are given to equip the church to do the works that give evidence to the faith we all claim. When that happens, we become unified,
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Theophany
I'm pondering the Kingdom truth that it's the kindness of God that leads to repentance. Modern theology has trained us to believe that it's the repentance of man that accesses the kindness of God, giving religion cause to create an obstacle course painting the Father's embrace as the finish line, when in fact, we run the race in the Father's arms, and therein lies freedom.
Truth: All have sinned... Romans 3:23
Truth: All have sinned... Romans 3:23
Truth: All are justified... Romans 3:24
Truth: God does not count your sins against you. 2 Cor 5:16-20.
It's called the "Ministry of Reconciliation".
Truth: That is the ministry that we are all called into. 2 Cor 5:16-20)
Its God's authority, not man's activity, that assigns man's identity. Our mandate is to agree with His destiny for man to be conformed into the image of Christ, calling out the treasure in earthen vessels.
If I cannot do this, I cannot love, (nor can I claim to love) like Christ. And without love, you can have theology (the study of God) but you will not have theophany (the appearance of God) for there are two things without which we are nothing. God and Love, and those two are one.
The heart of the revivalist is calling the church to radical love, and seems to be asking the question, what is the boundary line you have drawn which, if a person crosses, will disqualify them from your love? Grace is the revelation that sin doesn't have the power to dictate to God how He will love or accept you. Mercy is God's embrace of the guilty, and thankfully it triumphs over judgement.
Truth: God does not count your sins against you. 2 Cor 5:16-20.
It's called the "Ministry of Reconciliation".
Truth: That is the ministry that we are all called into. 2 Cor 5:16-20)
Its God's authority, not man's activity, that assigns man's identity. Our mandate is to agree with His destiny for man to be conformed into the image of Christ, calling out the treasure in earthen vessels.
If I cannot do this, I cannot love, (nor can I claim to love) like Christ. And without love, you can have theology (the study of God) but you will not have theophany (the appearance of God) for there are two things without which we are nothing. God and Love, and those two are one.
The heart of the revivalist is calling the church to radical love, and seems to be asking the question, what is the boundary line you have drawn which, if a person crosses, will disqualify them from your love? Grace is the revelation that sin doesn't have the power to dictate to God how He will love or accept you. Mercy is God's embrace of the guilty, and thankfully it triumphs over judgement.
Moment-um
The apex second
The iridescent blink
Behind me a door closed
An origin fading into forgotten
A life now marked in decades
Well worn the soles
That carry my alternating steps
Striding toward the door marked exit
Which some days appears
Closer than others
And in this stroll
Between the doors
There are moments
Where breath
And step
And breeze
And blink
And beat
And sun
And warm
And spray
And rain
And dawn
And dusk
And touch
And taste
And sight
And scent
And sound
And Spirit
Converge and create
That apex second
Love's perfection
Fear's demise
Joy's leap
That a universe filled with currency
Could not purchase
The iridescent blink
Behind me a door closed
An origin fading into forgotten
A life now marked in decades
Well worn the soles
That carry my alternating steps
Striding toward the door marked exit
Which some days appears
Closer than others
And in this stroll
Between the doors
There are moments
Where breath
And step
And breeze
And blink
And beat
And sun
And warm
And spray
And rain
And dawn
And dusk
And touch
And taste
And sight
And scent
And sound
And Spirit
Converge and create
That apex second
Love's perfection
Fear's demise
Joy's leap
That a universe filled with currency
Could not purchase
The Sigh of Heaven
That which reason cannot destroy does not itself need a reason to exist. Love is such for it exists unto itself without reason and is, quite often, unreasonable. Thus the question 'why' goes unanswered except for the audible sigh of the lover's unreasonable heart, wrapped warmly within the fabric of mystery. It is the sigh of Heaven that embraces the soul.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Healer
An excerpt from the new book/film, "Healer", by Bill and Britain
------------------
I know blood. I know its smell, its taste, its consistency. The way blood thickens when exposed to air and time. The way its shiny wet red turns to dull dry brown. The way it moves like water when it’s thin, and the warmth it maintains as it flows from within your skin to carve a pattern upon your face, your brow, your back, your hand. I love watching people’s reaction to the sight of blood. That’s intoxicating for me and I find myself left with an often inappropriate uncontrollable grin that I’ll try to erase quickly. Horror, surprise, sympathy, and the ever present cringe. Everyone’s cringe is unique. For some their cringe is out and out nausea. For the tough it’s a barely wrinkled crows foot in one eye. Some people cross their arms covering their elbows. Some find a place to sit clutching their legs behind the knees. Some just cover their faces leaving small parts between their fingers because they just can’t look away. I think it’s because watching the reality of what’s happening is actually better than the horror they imagine when they close their eyes. That’s why the people who can actually turn away and feel better about what they can’t see may be the pure in heart, or at least mind. When the horror of reality is more tame than the mind’s capacity to conjure imaginary gore, you may need a therapist.
Some reactions have a soundtrack. It may sound like a nervous laugh, a hiss as air is sucked through clenched teeth, or an expletive that both cuts and enhances the tension. It’s cut because it articulates what everyone’s thinking when they see the person before them become a leaking biohazard who is not to be envied. It’s enhanced because, depending on the expletive, a degree of seriousness has now been implied to the situation. It’s the screaming reaction that I can’t handle. That and a crying child. I hate the thought that a child may witness something in this moment that marks their psyche for life, rendering them speechless and incoherent for the duration of the trauma.
But personally, for me, It’s all about the pain. I’m not sure which is worse. The pain of a blade slicing through flesh, or the pain of an ache in your heart. No, it’s much deeper than that. The soul? Still not deep enough. Yet there’s this need, this appetite, because my pain can take away someone else’s. It’s strange how this gift turns you into a philosopher, and what is a philosopher except a person with more questions than can be answered in a thousand lifetimes? And I have questions. Lots of them.
------------------
I know blood. I know its smell, its taste, its consistency. The way blood thickens when exposed to air and time. The way its shiny wet red turns to dull dry brown. The way it moves like water when it’s thin, and the warmth it maintains as it flows from within your skin to carve a pattern upon your face, your brow, your back, your hand. I love watching people’s reaction to the sight of blood. That’s intoxicating for me and I find myself left with an often inappropriate uncontrollable grin that I’ll try to erase quickly. Horror, surprise, sympathy, and the ever present cringe. Everyone’s cringe is unique. For some their cringe is out and out nausea. For the tough it’s a barely wrinkled crows foot in one eye. Some people cross their arms covering their elbows. Some find a place to sit clutching their legs behind the knees. Some just cover their faces leaving small parts between their fingers because they just can’t look away. I think it’s because watching the reality of what’s happening is actually better than the horror they imagine when they close their eyes. That’s why the people who can actually turn away and feel better about what they can’t see may be the pure in heart, or at least mind. When the horror of reality is more tame than the mind’s capacity to conjure imaginary gore, you may need a therapist.
Some reactions have a soundtrack. It may sound like a nervous laugh, a hiss as air is sucked through clenched teeth, or an expletive that both cuts and enhances the tension. It’s cut because it articulates what everyone’s thinking when they see the person before them become a leaking biohazard who is not to be envied. It’s enhanced because, depending on the expletive, a degree of seriousness has now been implied to the situation. It’s the screaming reaction that I can’t handle. That and a crying child. I hate the thought that a child may witness something in this moment that marks their psyche for life, rendering them speechless and incoherent for the duration of the trauma.
But personally, for me, It’s all about the pain. I’m not sure which is worse. The pain of a blade slicing through flesh, or the pain of an ache in your heart. No, it’s much deeper than that. The soul? Still not deep enough. Yet there’s this need, this appetite, because my pain can take away someone else’s. It’s strange how this gift turns you into a philosopher, and what is a philosopher except a person with more questions than can be answered in a thousand lifetimes? And I have questions. Lots of them.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Lose Some, Win Some
Sometimes, I dream. Ok, all the time, I dream. I used to stare out the window on long road trips imagining myself on a dirt bike riding at an impossible speed, landing impossible jumps. Somehow, in my mind, I always won, always accomplished the impossible, always did everything I set out to do. Life itself isn't so kind, however, and has often defied what I believed was possible.
Two examples come to mind from my childhood starting with the medal that I missed on track and field day in the sixth grade in Lake Benton, MN. I had laced up my borrowed track shoes, touching the metal cleats on the bottom of them with my open hand. Impressed by how sharp they were, imagining my advantage of exploding off the line. I scanned the group I was up against. I knew these guys and they were bigger, thicker, more suited for a football line than a foot race. It was going to be an easy performance. The stance was inspired by a poster of Carl Lewis that hung in the coach's office. Bent over, fingertips spread and touching the ground, right foot forward, I heard the whistle blow and dug my cleats into the grass and earth. I was fast. Fast enough to impress Krista though? That was the goal. The medal meant I had bested the rest of the runners, but more than that it would be a point of conversation between me and the cutest girl in the sixth grade. She was on the red wooden bleachers, black and yellow Bobcat jacket over her green sweater. A virtual rainbow of unmatched (unmatching) beauty, she smiled and cheered.
What I didn't count on was the quiet farmer. He showed all the interest in this contest that a blind person would show at a 3D movie. Tshirt, jeans, and boots, he was an embarrassment to the fine tradition of track and field. I mean, you wouldn't wear a speedo to play hockey or put on a goalie's pads to climb the high dive and go for the double backflip with half twist. But when that whistle blew, he was off. For a few seconds he took this thing seriously enough to make me stare at the back of his John Deere tshirt as it diminished beyond my ability to read the words "Nobody Stops A Deere". No medal, no conversation piece, no victorious warrior hug.
It reminded me of the time I took Robert Otto's spot in the spelling bee by a fluke. Robert had practiced and repracticed these words, working them out with military precision. The spelling bee was held annually in Ivanhoe and that meant that the two representatives from our class got to take part of the day off to be driven like rockstars in the school bus all the way across the county. The decision on who was going to go was based upon a spelling bee of our own in Mrs. Wheeler's class. It was finally down to Krista, Robert, and me. Robert got a hard word and stuttered through it only to hear the bell and if I could answer the next word, Robert was out. My word was easy and I pumped my fist in the air at the reality that Krista and I would be going to the spelling bee. Robert was the better speller, and on any other day, would have had his linguistic way with me. But alas, today I was victorious fair and square. The ride was uneventful and my heart pounded as we entered the strange gym to a bleacher full of proud parents and a panel of people who all wore glasses and had more hair in their eyebrows than they did on their head. Except for one elderly woman, who also had some chin hair. My word was Miscellaneous. I hate that word. To this day, every time I hear it, there's an emotion that I can't describe, but it carries a dull aching....ugh. I know how to spell it now, but that day it only had one "L" in my mind. I was out in the first round. Suddenly I didn't want to leave Ivanhoe, because that would mean I had to go back to Lake Benton to a heart broken Robert Otto who would be all too pleased to point out that I should have never been there in the first place. To his credit, Robert was liberal with his sympathy and said, "I'm sorry you don't know how to spell anything." In a life of wins and losses, it's interesting which ones stand out and remain personally iconic. Oh, I've got more losses than a track contest and spelling bee in the sixth grade. I just don't want to write about them.
Two examples come to mind from my childhood starting with the medal that I missed on track and field day in the sixth grade in Lake Benton, MN. I had laced up my borrowed track shoes, touching the metal cleats on the bottom of them with my open hand. Impressed by how sharp they were, imagining my advantage of exploding off the line. I scanned the group I was up against. I knew these guys and they were bigger, thicker, more suited for a football line than a foot race. It was going to be an easy performance. The stance was inspired by a poster of Carl Lewis that hung in the coach's office. Bent over, fingertips spread and touching the ground, right foot forward, I heard the whistle blow and dug my cleats into the grass and earth. I was fast. Fast enough to impress Krista though? That was the goal. The medal meant I had bested the rest of the runners, but more than that it would be a point of conversation between me and the cutest girl in the sixth grade. She was on the red wooden bleachers, black and yellow Bobcat jacket over her green sweater. A virtual rainbow of unmatched (unmatching) beauty, she smiled and cheered.
What I didn't count on was the quiet farmer. He showed all the interest in this contest that a blind person would show at a 3D movie. Tshirt, jeans, and boots, he was an embarrassment to the fine tradition of track and field. I mean, you wouldn't wear a speedo to play hockey or put on a goalie's pads to climb the high dive and go for the double backflip with half twist. But when that whistle blew, he was off. For a few seconds he took this thing seriously enough to make me stare at the back of his John Deere tshirt as it diminished beyond my ability to read the words "Nobody Stops A Deere". No medal, no conversation piece, no victorious warrior hug.
It reminded me of the time I took Robert Otto's spot in the spelling bee by a fluke. Robert had practiced and repracticed these words, working them out with military precision. The spelling bee was held annually in Ivanhoe and that meant that the two representatives from our class got to take part of the day off to be driven like rockstars in the school bus all the way across the county. The decision on who was going to go was based upon a spelling bee of our own in Mrs. Wheeler's class. It was finally down to Krista, Robert, and me. Robert got a hard word and stuttered through it only to hear the bell and if I could answer the next word, Robert was out. My word was easy and I pumped my fist in the air at the reality that Krista and I would be going to the spelling bee. Robert was the better speller, and on any other day, would have had his linguistic way with me. But alas, today I was victorious fair and square. The ride was uneventful and my heart pounded as we entered the strange gym to a bleacher full of proud parents and a panel of people who all wore glasses and had more hair in their eyebrows than they did on their head. Except for one elderly woman, who also had some chin hair. My word was Miscellaneous. I hate that word. To this day, every time I hear it, there's an emotion that I can't describe, but it carries a dull aching....ugh. I know how to spell it now, but that day it only had one "L" in my mind. I was out in the first round. Suddenly I didn't want to leave Ivanhoe, because that would mean I had to go back to Lake Benton to a heart broken Robert Otto who would be all too pleased to point out that I should have never been there in the first place. To his credit, Robert was liberal with his sympathy and said, "I'm sorry you don't know how to spell anything." In a life of wins and losses, it's interesting which ones stand out and remain personally iconic. Oh, I've got more losses than a track contest and spelling bee in the sixth grade. I just don't want to write about them.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Treasure Hunt Testimony
Treasure Hunting Testimony from Youngstown, OH.
----------------
I just wanted to thank you for encouraging my spirit at the conference in Ohio. I had no idea we were being sent out on a treasure hunt when I attended your prophetic session that day. I've heard about treasure hunts but never had the courage to go out beyond the walls of the church. Right after the session ended and we had all of our clues, girl dark hair, red shirt, heart condition, McDonald's and gas station. We headed out to our "first" stop. It wasn't were we needed to be... after driving around "trying" to make our clues fit...I asked Felicia (the girl you meant in FL with Georgian) what are you feeling...should we head to McDonald's as we were sitting in the 2nd gas station.. She said looked up and pointed to the billboard advertising McDonald's...So off we headed... there were others there from the conference who had found there treasure and my mom (who was also with us on the hunt) sat down at the table kind of bummed out we hadn't found our person.... seconds later my mom excitedly looks over at me and says Jaime red shirt ....and I said Dark hair.... we looked at each other and stood up excited!!!! Should we go over to her? We were immediately faced with FEAR. Like a wall that we ran into... We looked at each other and we said No fear in the presence of God and walked over to the girl... We asked to sit down with her and my mother explained we were on a treasure hunt and what that was and started going over the clues we had...McDonald's, girl, red shirt, dark hair...I said the last clue was heart condition....do you have a heart condition...tears started running down her face. She had a heart condition and later we learned that she was 17 and pregnant with her first baby. She was just getting off of work and was waiting for her ride. We prayed and prophesy over her. It was so awesome. We invited her back to the conference that night and she gave us her number. We called her later and her mom answered and I explained everything that happened. She said that Shawna (our treasure...God's treasure...) didn't want to come but that she would come. So we offered to go to her house and get her...God put on my heart to fill up her gas tank so she would have freedom to go when she wanted... She told me she didn't have any money she got paid very little working @ planned parenthood....and she thanked us and attend the evening session. In fact she stayed for most of the service! I wanted to let you know though again how encouraging it was to hear you. I know that God had me there for that exact reason! We are planning on going on many many more treasure hunts soon! Oh and the kids that you brought up on stage...WOW....it was awesome! I can't thank you enough for doing what you do!
In God's Love:
JME
----------------
I just wanted to thank you for encouraging my spirit at the conference in Ohio. I had no idea we were being sent out on a treasure hunt when I attended your prophetic session that day. I've heard about treasure hunts but never had the courage to go out beyond the walls of the church. Right after the session ended and we had all of our clues, girl dark hair, red shirt, heart condition, McDonald's and gas station. We headed out to our "first" stop. It wasn't were we needed to be... after driving around "trying" to make our clues fit...I asked Felicia (the girl you meant in FL with Georgian) what are you feeling...should we head to McDonald's as we were sitting in the 2nd gas station.. She said looked up and pointed to the billboard advertising McDonald's...So off we headed... there were others there from the conference who had found there treasure and my mom (who was also with us on the hunt) sat down at the table kind of bummed out we hadn't found our person.... seconds later my mom excitedly looks over at me and says Jaime red shirt ....and I said Dark hair.... we looked at each other and stood up excited!!!! Should we go over to her? We were immediately faced with FEAR. Like a wall that we ran into... We looked at each other and we said No fear in the presence of God and walked over to the girl... We asked to sit down with her and my mother explained we were on a treasure hunt and what that was and started going over the clues we had...McDonald's, girl, red shirt, dark hair...I said the last clue was heart condition....do you have a heart condition...tears started running down her face. She had a heart condition and later we learned that she was 17 and pregnant with her first baby. She was just getting off of work and was waiting for her ride. We prayed and prophesy over her. It was so awesome. We invited her back to the conference that night and she gave us her number. We called her later and her mom answered and I explained everything that happened. She said that Shawna (our treasure...God's treasure...) didn't want to come but that she would come. So we offered to go to her house and get her...God put on my heart to fill up her gas tank so she would have freedom to go when she wanted... She told me she didn't have any money she got paid very little working @ planned parenthood....and she thanked us and attend the evening session. In fact she stayed for most of the service! I wanted to let you know though again how encouraging it was to hear you. I know that God had me there for that exact reason! We are planning on going on many many more treasure hunts soon! Oh and the kids that you brought up on stage...WOW....it was awesome! I can't thank you enough for doing what you do!
In God's Love:
JME
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Freely Give
In response to a question posed on Facebook about Impartation...
----------------------
Hey, Scotti. In my limited opinion, but you asked...:
Impartation is to those who honor the anointing as separate from the vessel or can lift the lid on the vessel to see the treasure it contains. If I honor THAT, then I benefit from the value of that treasure and it is deposited into my account. Matt 10:41...(if you honor a prophet in the name of the prophet...) I think it's nice if the vessel knows what they contain/carry, but it's not necessary. There is also great capacity in the heart of the person positioned to receive. The woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus for example. The giver and the receiver who are each aware of what's going on will both be blessed in the exchange. I'm not sure how to put this but here goes... God never stops being the source of the gift, so it's not something that we can ever give independent of His sovereign will, however it is His sovereign right to invite us into a partnership of co-laboring where our will and His will are united to release blessing to people. If someone gave you charge of their wealth and asked you to distribute it, you would want to do so according to their desire, not sowing where they would not sow and so on. That would require you to be in a close relationship with them, which is apparently what He wants. That delegated authority to you would not result in your independence from Him, but would actually draw you closer as you release the treasure within you to affect the world around you.
Laying on of hands is a big deal. If you are going to equip someone in the physical, you'll do it by taking hold of something and handing it to another person. We are made in the image of God and I think that, though God is Spirit, our hands reflect that aspect of His nature that releases, empowers, blesses, and equips. When you lay hands on someone and are aware that you are reflecting Him, there is great power in that moment and contact. To put it another way, if people are conscious of what they carry in the things of the Spirit and they lay hands on someone whose heart is positioned to receive and steward with excellence what is deposited into them, there is a tangible transfer of Spiritual wealth from one person to another through the laying on of hands. 1 Tim 4:14. (Don't neglect the gift in you that was deposited to you by the laying on of hands...) It's God's way of making certain that the Body stays connected and that we are always in "freely you have received, freely give" mode.
On your last paragraph... Fruit is not followers. If that were the case, Jesus had a fruitless ministry. Fruit is of the Spirit and that which is not of the Spirit is dead, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace....etc. Fruit is first and foremost, love. Love (Agape) has an appetite and it will be drawn to a well where it can be filled. God's (Love's) appetite for you went to unreasonable degrees to be poured out, ie crucifixion. The result of being immersed in that river of love is the fullness of joy that comes from the Presence of the Lord....followed by peace that goes beyond comprenension...etc. You get the picture, but it's ALL good and beautiful. As I heard in a song once, "God is a lover looking for a lover so He fashioned me." Love looks for Love, to respond to Love, so Love can increase. This is the mark of true discipleship. John 13:35
Quick study... Jesus says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake for they shall be filled. Matt 5:6 Righteousness is not a condition of being. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A PERSON. Jesus IS the Righteousness of God and when you are in Christ and He is in you that Oneness produces an identity that we could spend a thousand lifetimes attempting to understand. That you now ARE the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. But just because something isn't fully understood doesn't mean that it can't be fully accepted. So BLESSED (that is favored, empowered, and equipped) are YOU who have an appetite for more of Him and the result of that manifest hunger is that you will be filled. Fullness in the Kingdom is measure in overflow, that is, stewarding it means you give it away. In order for that to occur, you have to find more who are hungry and thirsty for what you have freely received. If you are willing to travel to receive something from God, it demonstrates the value your heart places on both the vessel and the treasure God has put in them. This is honor and honor is how you receive inheritance. It is a self pity mindset that defaults to the omnipresence of God as a way to excuse the lack of hunger a man can feel when disappointment and offense manifests as apathy. Apathy disguised as maturity will always call hunger that moves you a foolish waste of time. But it's the hunger that makes it to the surface that gets fed and wise men still travel.
----------------------
Hey, Scotti. In my limited opinion, but you asked...:
Impartation is to those who honor the anointing as separate from the vessel or can lift the lid on the vessel to see the treasure it contains. If I honor THAT, then I benefit from the value of that treasure and it is deposited into my account. Matt 10:41...(if you honor a prophet in the name of the prophet...) I think it's nice if the vessel knows what they contain/carry, but it's not necessary. There is also great capacity in the heart of the person positioned to receive. The woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus for example. The giver and the receiver who are each aware of what's going on will both be blessed in the exchange. I'm not sure how to put this but here goes... God never stops being the source of the gift, so it's not something that we can ever give independent of His sovereign will, however it is His sovereign right to invite us into a partnership of co-laboring where our will and His will are united to release blessing to people. If someone gave you charge of their wealth and asked you to distribute it, you would want to do so according to their desire, not sowing where they would not sow and so on. That would require you to be in a close relationship with them, which is apparently what He wants. That delegated authority to you would not result in your independence from Him, but would actually draw you closer as you release the treasure within you to affect the world around you.
Laying on of hands is a big deal. If you are going to equip someone in the physical, you'll do it by taking hold of something and handing it to another person. We are made in the image of God and I think that, though God is Spirit, our hands reflect that aspect of His nature that releases, empowers, blesses, and equips. When you lay hands on someone and are aware that you are reflecting Him, there is great power in that moment and contact. To put it another way, if people are conscious of what they carry in the things of the Spirit and they lay hands on someone whose heart is positioned to receive and steward with excellence what is deposited into them, there is a tangible transfer of Spiritual wealth from one person to another through the laying on of hands. 1 Tim 4:14. (Don't neglect the gift in you that was deposited to you by the laying on of hands...) It's God's way of making certain that the Body stays connected and that we are always in "freely you have received, freely give" mode.
On your last paragraph... Fruit is not followers. If that were the case, Jesus had a fruitless ministry. Fruit is of the Spirit and that which is not of the Spirit is dead, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace....etc. Fruit is first and foremost, love. Love (Agape) has an appetite and it will be drawn to a well where it can be filled. God's (Love's) appetite for you went to unreasonable degrees to be poured out, ie crucifixion. The result of being immersed in that river of love is the fullness of joy that comes from the Presence of the Lord....followed by peace that goes beyond comprenension...etc. You get the picture, but it's ALL good and beautiful. As I heard in a song once, "God is a lover looking for a lover so He fashioned me." Love looks for Love, to respond to Love, so Love can increase. This is the mark of true discipleship. John 13:35
Quick study... Jesus says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake for they shall be filled. Matt 5:6 Righteousness is not a condition of being. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A PERSON. Jesus IS the Righteousness of God and when you are in Christ and He is in you that Oneness produces an identity that we could spend a thousand lifetimes attempting to understand. That you now ARE the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. But just because something isn't fully understood doesn't mean that it can't be fully accepted. So BLESSED (that is favored, empowered, and equipped) are YOU who have an appetite for more of Him and the result of that manifest hunger is that you will be filled. Fullness in the Kingdom is measure in overflow, that is, stewarding it means you give it away. In order for that to occur, you have to find more who are hungry and thirsty for what you have freely received. If you are willing to travel to receive something from God, it demonstrates the value your heart places on both the vessel and the treasure God has put in them. This is honor and honor is how you receive inheritance. It is a self pity mindset that defaults to the omnipresence of God as a way to excuse the lack of hunger a man can feel when disappointment and offense manifests as apathy. Apathy disguised as maturity will always call hunger that moves you a foolish waste of time. But it's the hunger that makes it to the surface that gets fed and wise men still travel.
Impartation
In response to a question about Impartation...
----------------------
Impartation is to those who honor the anointing as separate from the vessel or can lift the lid on the vessel to see the treasure it contains. If I honor THAT, then I benefit from the value of that treasure and it is deposited into my account. Matt 10:41...(if you honor a prophet in the name of the prophet...) I think it's nice if the vessel knows what they contain/carry, but it's not necessary. There is also great capacity in the heart of the person positioned to receive. The woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus for example. The giver and the receiver who are each aware of what's going on will both be blessed in the exchange. I'm not sure how to put this but here goes... God never stops being the source of the gift, so it's not something that we can ever give independent of His sovereign will, however it is His sovereign right to invite us into a partnership of co-laboring where our will and His will are united to release blessing to people. If someone gave you charge of their wealth and asked you to distribute it, you would want to do so according to their desire, not sowing where they would not sow and so on. That would require you to be in a close relationship with them, which is apparently what He wants. That delegated authority to you would not result in your independence from Him, but would actually draw you closer as you release the treasure within you to affect the world around you.
Laying on of hands is a big deal. If you are going to equip someone in the physical, you'll do it by taking hold of something and handing it to another person. We are made in the image of God and I think that, though God is Spirit, our hands reflect that aspect of His nature that releases, empowers, blesses, and equips. When you lay hands on someone and are aware that you are reflecting Him, there is great power in that moment and contact. To put it another way, if people are conscious of what they carry in the things of the Spirit and they lay hands on someone whose heart is positioned to receive and steward with excellence what is deposited into them, there is a tangible transfer of Spiritual wealth from one person to another through the laying on of hands. 1 Tim 4:14. (Don't neglect the gift in you that was deposited to you by the laying on of hands...) It's God's way of making certain that the Body stays connected and that we are always in "freely you have received, freely give" mode.
One more thing. Fruit is of the Spirit and that which is not of the Spirit is dead, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace....etc. Fruit is first and foremost, love. Love (Agape) has an appetite and it will be drawn to a well where it can be filled. God's (Love's) appetite for you went to unreasonable degrees to be poured out, ie crucifixion. The result of being immersed in that river of love is the fullness of joy that comes from the Presence of the Lord....followed by peace that goes beyond comprenension...etc. You get the picture, but it's ALL good and beautiful. As I heard in a song once, "God is a lover looking for a lover so He fashioned me." Love looks for Love, to respond to Love, so Love can increase. This is the mark of true discipleship. John 13:35
Quick study... Jesus says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake for they shall be filled. Matt 5:6 Righteousness is not a condition of being. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A PERSON. Jesus IS the Righteousness of God and when you are in Christ and He is in you that Oneness produces an identity that we could spend a thousand lifetimes attempting to understand. That you now ARE the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. But just because something isn't fully understood doesn't mean that it can't be fully accepted. So BLESSED (that is favored, empowered, and equipped) are YOU who have an appetite for more of Him and the result of that manifest hunger is that you will be filled. Fullness in the Kingdom is measure in overflow, that is, stewarding it means you give it away. In order for that to occur, you have to find more who are hungry and thirsty for what you have freely received. If you are willing to travel to receive something from God, it demonstrates the value your heart places on both the vessel and the treasure God has put in them. This is honor and honor is how you receive inheritance. It is a self pity mindset that defaults to the omnipresence of God as a way to excuse the lack of hunger a man can feel when disappointment and offense manifests as apathy. Apathy disguised as maturity will always call hunger that moves you a foolish waste of time. But it's the hunger that makes it to the surface that gets fed and wise men still travel.
----------------------
Impartation is to those who honor the anointing as separate from the vessel or can lift the lid on the vessel to see the treasure it contains. If I honor THAT, then I benefit from the value of that treasure and it is deposited into my account. Matt 10:41...(if you honor a prophet in the name of the prophet...) I think it's nice if the vessel knows what they contain/carry, but it's not necessary. There is also great capacity in the heart of the person positioned to receive. The woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus for example. The giver and the receiver who are each aware of what's going on will both be blessed in the exchange. I'm not sure how to put this but here goes... God never stops being the source of the gift, so it's not something that we can ever give independent of His sovereign will, however it is His sovereign right to invite us into a partnership of co-laboring where our will and His will are united to release blessing to people. If someone gave you charge of their wealth and asked you to distribute it, you would want to do so according to their desire, not sowing where they would not sow and so on. That would require you to be in a close relationship with them, which is apparently what He wants. That delegated authority to you would not result in your independence from Him, but would actually draw you closer as you release the treasure within you to affect the world around you.
Laying on of hands is a big deal. If you are going to equip someone in the physical, you'll do it by taking hold of something and handing it to another person. We are made in the image of God and I think that, though God is Spirit, our hands reflect that aspect of His nature that releases, empowers, blesses, and equips. When you lay hands on someone and are aware that you are reflecting Him, there is great power in that moment and contact. To put it another way, if people are conscious of what they carry in the things of the Spirit and they lay hands on someone whose heart is positioned to receive and steward with excellence what is deposited into them, there is a tangible transfer of Spiritual wealth from one person to another through the laying on of hands. 1 Tim 4:14. (Don't neglect the gift in you that was deposited to you by the laying on of hands...) It's God's way of making certain that the Body stays connected and that we are always in "freely you have received, freely give" mode.
One more thing. Fruit is of the Spirit and that which is not of the Spirit is dead, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace....etc. Fruit is first and foremost, love. Love (Agape) has an appetite and it will be drawn to a well where it can be filled. God's (Love's) appetite for you went to unreasonable degrees to be poured out, ie crucifixion. The result of being immersed in that river of love is the fullness of joy that comes from the Presence of the Lord....followed by peace that goes beyond comprenension...etc. You get the picture, but it's ALL good and beautiful. As I heard in a song once, "God is a lover looking for a lover so He fashioned me." Love looks for Love, to respond to Love, so Love can increase. This is the mark of true discipleship. John 13:35
Quick study... Jesus says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake for they shall be filled. Matt 5:6 Righteousness is not a condition of being. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A PERSON. Jesus IS the Righteousness of God and when you are in Christ and He is in you that Oneness produces an identity that we could spend a thousand lifetimes attempting to understand. That you now ARE the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. But just because something isn't fully understood doesn't mean that it can't be fully accepted. So BLESSED (that is favored, empowered, and equipped) are YOU who have an appetite for more of Him and the result of that manifest hunger is that you will be filled. Fullness in the Kingdom is measure in overflow, that is, stewarding it means you give it away. In order for that to occur, you have to find more who are hungry and thirsty for what you have freely received. If you are willing to travel to receive something from God, it demonstrates the value your heart places on both the vessel and the treasure God has put in them. This is honor and honor is how you receive inheritance. It is a self pity mindset that defaults to the omnipresence of God as a way to excuse the lack of hunger a man can feel when disappointment and offense manifests as apathy. Apathy disguised as maturity will always call hunger that moves you a foolish waste of time. But it's the hunger that makes it to the surface that gets fed and wise men still travel.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
"I've never been anywhere, but I watch the Travel Channel."
Everyone is right about some things and wrong about others. You don't need to know which is which, you only need to know that it's true. Those who refuse to know this are the insane who won't be taught. This statement may be right, or not. And that, I'm certain, is true.
This is an expansion on an early morning thought I was chewing on regarding the importance of staying teachable. It sounds good in theory but it's humbling in reality because it requires me to admit that I don't know everything that's right and there are things I do know that may be wrong. My willingness to acknowledge that fact and allow the Spirit of Truth to tweak and shape my understanding is what positions me to grow.
Have you ever met people who have never been anywhere but are simply content to watch the travel channel? The hunger for knowledge must draw us into experience or there will be no revelation. Gaining knowledge of the Bible while rejecting a deep personal encounter with Jesus Christ is a dangerous waste of time. It is a fools leap into the abyss of religion.
You're likely to find that 99% of the people in church will approve of radical street evangelism. That's also probably the same percentage of people who will not be going with you. When you are provoked to turn your faith into action, you put a demand upon a Word from God that causes it to manifest as experience. It is from there that you now have testimony. And we all know what a big deal that is.
This is an expansion on an early morning thought I was chewing on regarding the importance of staying teachable. It sounds good in theory but it's humbling in reality because it requires me to admit that I don't know everything that's right and there are things I do know that may be wrong. My willingness to acknowledge that fact and allow the Spirit of Truth to tweak and shape my understanding is what positions me to grow.
Have you ever met people who have never been anywhere but are simply content to watch the travel channel? The hunger for knowledge must draw us into experience or there will be no revelation. Gaining knowledge of the Bible while rejecting a deep personal encounter with Jesus Christ is a dangerous waste of time. It is a fools leap into the abyss of religion.
You're likely to find that 99% of the people in church will approve of radical street evangelism. That's also probably the same percentage of people who will not be going with you. When you are provoked to turn your faith into action, you put a demand upon a Word from God that causes it to manifest as experience. It is from there that you now have testimony. And we all know what a big deal that is.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Who does He sound like?
"The Lord God, in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you in His love
He will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph 3:17
It's interesting that the most popular tv show in America is a singing competition. Maybe it's the built in sense of wonder and emotion we feel when music and words combine to form a song that can touch you in a place where mere speech never could.
Of all of the thoughts swimming around my heart and head about this passage, the one that I find most amusing is this. It's the revelation that God sings over you. What does He sound like? Think of the iconic voices of our time. Does God sound like Tony Bennet, Nat King Cole, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, James Hetfield, Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Luciano Pavarotti? He's outside of the confines of gender so maybe there's some Mariah Carey, Whitney (in her prime), Aretha Franklin, Kelly Clarkson, Norah Jones. I guess the question actually should be, who sounds like Him?
I imagine, if His Spirit can reside and express through all of us, then we all can sound like Him in our song. Think of each voice, gifted by the Spirit of God, as a singular expression of the nature of His "sound". There is no gift that's independent of it's origin and being the source of every gift, each unique voice would have no choice but to reveal a little bit of His. So when He sings, I think He sounds like everyone only more so. Like if you listen to His sound, you will find it to be more familiar to your heart that you ever dreamed possible, because you will hear in His voice........you.
Pull back the layers on this verse. The Lord is in your midst so His presence is close. He doesn't stand far away watching from a distance. He exercises His might to save you, redeem you, replace a deserved death with His righteous life. He leaps and dances with joy at the thought of you. His love draws you into peace and draws peace into you, silencing any voice that would defy peace, including your own. He parts His lips to release from the abundance of His heart, a sound, a song, created at the very thought of you. And His love song over you is one of righteousness, peace, and joy, all of which are found in this verse. Because His declaration carries power that formed the universe, His song over you causes you to become aware of your destiny, of your identity, of why you were created, and how you are loved. As many songs have been written about, to, and for Him, it doesn't compare to the songs He's composed about you. Selah.
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you in His love
He will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph 3:17
It's interesting that the most popular tv show in America is a singing competition. Maybe it's the built in sense of wonder and emotion we feel when music and words combine to form a song that can touch you in a place where mere speech never could.
Of all of the thoughts swimming around my heart and head about this passage, the one that I find most amusing is this. It's the revelation that God sings over you. What does He sound like? Think of the iconic voices of our time. Does God sound like Tony Bennet, Nat King Cole, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, James Hetfield, Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Luciano Pavarotti? He's outside of the confines of gender so maybe there's some Mariah Carey, Whitney (in her prime), Aretha Franklin, Kelly Clarkson, Norah Jones. I guess the question actually should be, who sounds like Him?
I imagine, if His Spirit can reside and express through all of us, then we all can sound like Him in our song. Think of each voice, gifted by the Spirit of God, as a singular expression of the nature of His "sound". There is no gift that's independent of it's origin and being the source of every gift, each unique voice would have no choice but to reveal a little bit of His. So when He sings, I think He sounds like everyone only more so. Like if you listen to His sound, you will find it to be more familiar to your heart that you ever dreamed possible, because you will hear in His voice........you.
Pull back the layers on this verse. The Lord is in your midst so His presence is close. He doesn't stand far away watching from a distance. He exercises His might to save you, redeem you, replace a deserved death with His righteous life. He leaps and dances with joy at the thought of you. His love draws you into peace and draws peace into you, silencing any voice that would defy peace, including your own. He parts His lips to release from the abundance of His heart, a sound, a song, created at the very thought of you. And His love song over you is one of righteousness, peace, and joy, all of which are found in this verse. Because His declaration carries power that formed the universe, His song over you causes you to become aware of your destiny, of your identity, of why you were created, and how you are loved. As many songs have been written about, to, and for Him, it doesn't compare to the songs He's composed about you. Selah.
Surfing the Slippery Slope
The following is an exchange that happened on Facebook that displays what religion does to the mind and heart. Names (other than mine) have been abbreviated. It began with my having of a friend of mine who happens to be a woman on a radio show I was hosting talking about some of the things going on in her ministry. Another friend (JB) decided to call her down and thus it began.
<> JB: Are you gonna ask her why she teaches and preaches when the Bible clears states women should not teach or have authority of men? The very WORD of God says men are to teach and preach. 1 Timothy 2:12-14
(Here there was a dozen or so exchanges with friends that I've removed, that escalated the point to where I finally climbed on this train wreck.)
<> William Vanderbush @JB: According to the Apostle Paul, if you're still living in a kingdom where genitals determine Spiritual qualification, you're not "in Christ".
Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Are the writers of New Testament letters to the church to be heeded to the letter, in effect turning their writings into another law? They didn't even regard each other in this manner and it matters to know it. In Galatians 2:11, Paul (writer of Scripture) opposes Peter (Apostle and writer of Scripture) "to his face". If I were talking to Paul about this issue of women in ministry today, I would do the same with no dishonor or regret. And you can quote me on that. In case you believe the Apostle Paul to be irrefutable, (as Miles points out above) he himself gives commands that did not come from God and he knows it. 1 Cor 7:25 for example. In case you believe that Paul was without recorded error, in Acts 23:3 the apostle Paul called the High Priest a whited wall and then immediately repented, not realizing who he was talking to, he says we are not to say evil things about our leaders.
In I Cor. 11, Paul grants women the freedom to speak or pray in worship as long as she wears proper headgear. However, in I Cor. 14:34-36, Paul states that women should be silent in church, which contradicts the teaching that women may pray and speak (I Cor. 11:5). Which is it? Is Paul confused?
I'm not saying that the New Testament isn't inspired by the Holy Spirit. It most certainly is, but to take the writer of Galatians who argues so vehemently against being under the law, and turn his writings into another letter that kills apart from the Spirit, is about the most dishonoring thing one could do to this Apostle of God who commanded us all to walk in the Spirit.
Don't want to pick a fight with you, bro, but you've jumped on my wall enough to warrant some response. I feel though that our views are not going to be complimentary. I pulled my head out of the rear of religion some time ago and I must say, both the view and the smell have improved. You, on the other hand, seemed to have crawled all the way in.
One of these days, when you are in need of grace, and the rest of those around you who are trying to beautify the rectum of religiosity have none to freely give, you still have my number, and my friendship.
<> JB: Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 says: "16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
Huh, whom do I believe, men and women who don't believe the Bible is perfect, or my God who is perfect and able to communicate exactly everything I need for life and godliness. I think I am gonna go with my Sovereign Lord, He has not lied to me yet.
<> William Vanderbush @JB: Amen to everything you just wrote there. See, we do agree.
<> JB: William: James 1:27
It makes me angry when I see the Word of God so violently handled by men and women with absolutely no fear of God and what He teaches. James 3:1, you will be judged with greater strictness and that makes me fear for you and what you teach and believe. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. William, I don't know who died and gave you the authority to twist Scripture and just pick and choose what is inspired and what is not.
2 Peter 3:15-16 "Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures."
<> William Vanderbush And to think, I used to make you waffles. Still love you, JB. You're just one Divine encounter away from good theology.
<> JB: No, William we don't agree! With the words you have spoken tonight, you have proven what I had already feared, that you have stepped outside of orthodox Christianity, and are rapidly heading down the slippery slope toward heresy and corruption.
<> William Vanderbush: Last one, JB. You dismiss me with contextual interpretation without addressing a single specific point. Instead you call me a heretic without pointing out one heresy. Fortunately for me we don't live in the middle ages and you aren't a bishop. I'd be a human BBQ and you would be holding the torch.
While you're arguing your theology exalting physical gender above Spiritual identity, Patricia is opening a shelter in Thailand to minister to children enslaved by the sex trade. Children who are being sold while we argue. You want to put her in her place as a servant to religion. I say her place is as a friend of God and she can do whatever He calls her to do. When you are doing the work of the ministry you have little time to argue over who is and is not qualified to do it. Jesus was addressing you in John 5:39-40, those so blinded by the letter that they could not see the Word. Repent, open your eyes, and be free.
----------------------
And that, my friends, is why Jesus (the Prince of Peace) got angry with the religious. I took this exchange to JB's wall and when he couldn't deal with it he defriended me and ended the exchange. This young man was once a good friend and neighbor and we have a long history and had many good conversations in the past. He began to run, however, with a group of religious people who live in constant fear of worldly contamination and who have adopted and entirely unteachable dogma regarding the gifts and workings if the Holy Spirit. Basically that the gifts have ceased and there us no longer prophecy, healing, or a need for the church to live in the supernatural power of God.
It's a good study into the mind of a sphere of the faith that is living by principle above Presence. I hoped I would (through some radical statements and clever potty humor jabs) get under the skin of his cerebral cortex just enough to provoke an exchange that would be more than just blind anger expressed in an arial font. However it was not to be. By now he ought to have known (by basic relationship) enough to know of my immense love and respect and honor for the inerrancy of Scripture. If there was love present and he genuinely believed I was calling the Word imperfect, I've no doubt he would have called me and scheduled a face to face meeting which I gladly would have welcomed.
Whereas FB exchanges are mostly for entertainment value, this he took seriously enough to sever a relationship over with no heartfelt personal outreach to correct my thinking and set me on the right path. So now I'm lost and he can wash his hands of me which is what religion does. I'll call him later today so he can hear my voice and tell him I love him but it will be his love that determines whether or not he wants to have relationship with someone with whom he doesn't agree theologically. Religion doesn't allow for that, it requires separation from those with whom you disagree and relationship with the sinner only for the purpose of conversion. JB: is a fine young man and I believe he'll fall into the bliss filled grace of Christ in time. Always expect the best and look for the treasure. That's what Love requires.
<> JB: Are you gonna ask her why she teaches and preaches when the Bible clears states women should not teach or have authority of men? The very WORD of God says men are to teach and preach. 1 Timothy 2:12-14
(Here there was a dozen or so exchanges with friends that I've removed, that escalated the point to where I finally climbed on this train wreck.)
<> William Vanderbush @JB: According to the Apostle Paul, if you're still living in a kingdom where genitals determine Spiritual qualification, you're not "in Christ".
Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Are the writers of New Testament letters to the church to be heeded to the letter, in effect turning their writings into another law? They didn't even regard each other in this manner and it matters to know it. In Galatians 2:11, Paul (writer of Scripture) opposes Peter (Apostle and writer of Scripture) "to his face". If I were talking to Paul about this issue of women in ministry today, I would do the same with no dishonor or regret. And you can quote me on that. In case you believe the Apostle Paul to be irrefutable, (as Miles points out above) he himself gives commands that did not come from God and he knows it. 1 Cor 7:25 for example. In case you believe that Paul was without recorded error, in Acts 23:3 the apostle Paul called the High Priest a whited wall and then immediately repented, not realizing who he was talking to, he says we are not to say evil things about our leaders.
In I Cor. 11, Paul grants women the freedom to speak or pray in worship as long as she wears proper headgear. However, in I Cor. 14:34-36, Paul states that women should be silent in church, which contradicts the teaching that women may pray and speak (I Cor. 11:5). Which is it? Is Paul confused?
I'm not saying that the New Testament isn't inspired by the Holy Spirit. It most certainly is, but to take the writer of Galatians who argues so vehemently against being under the law, and turn his writings into another letter that kills apart from the Spirit, is about the most dishonoring thing one could do to this Apostle of God who commanded us all to walk in the Spirit.
Don't want to pick a fight with you, bro, but you've jumped on my wall enough to warrant some response. I feel though that our views are not going to be complimentary. I pulled my head out of the rear of religion some time ago and I must say, both the view and the smell have improved. You, on the other hand, seemed to have crawled all the way in.
One of these days, when you are in need of grace, and the rest of those around you who are trying to beautify the rectum of religiosity have none to freely give, you still have my number, and my friendship.
<> JB: Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 says: "16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
Huh, whom do I believe, men and women who don't believe the Bible is perfect, or my God who is perfect and able to communicate exactly everything I need for life and godliness. I think I am gonna go with my Sovereign Lord, He has not lied to me yet.
<> William Vanderbush @JB: Amen to everything you just wrote there. See, we do agree.
<> JB: William: James 1:27
It makes me angry when I see the Word of God so violently handled by men and women with absolutely no fear of God and what He teaches. James 3:1, you will be judged with greater strictness and that makes me fear for you and what you teach and believe. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. William, I don't know who died and gave you the authority to twist Scripture and just pick and choose what is inspired and what is not.
2 Peter 3:15-16 "Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures."
<> William Vanderbush And to think, I used to make you waffles. Still love you, JB. You're just one Divine encounter away from good theology.
<> JB: No, William we don't agree! With the words you have spoken tonight, you have proven what I had already feared, that you have stepped outside of orthodox Christianity, and are rapidly heading down the slippery slope toward heresy and corruption.
<> William Vanderbush: Last one, JB. You dismiss me with contextual interpretation without addressing a single specific point. Instead you call me a heretic without pointing out one heresy. Fortunately for me we don't live in the middle ages and you aren't a bishop. I'd be a human BBQ and you would be holding the torch.
While you're arguing your theology exalting physical gender above Spiritual identity, Patricia is opening a shelter in Thailand to minister to children enslaved by the sex trade. Children who are being sold while we argue. You want to put her in her place as a servant to religion. I say her place is as a friend of God and she can do whatever He calls her to do. When you are doing the work of the ministry you have little time to argue over who is and is not qualified to do it. Jesus was addressing you in John 5:39-40, those so blinded by the letter that they could not see the Word. Repent, open your eyes, and be free.
----------------------
And that, my friends, is why Jesus (the Prince of Peace) got angry with the religious. I took this exchange to JB's wall and when he couldn't deal with it he defriended me and ended the exchange. This young man was once a good friend and neighbor and we have a long history and had many good conversations in the past. He began to run, however, with a group of religious people who live in constant fear of worldly contamination and who have adopted and entirely unteachable dogma regarding the gifts and workings if the Holy Spirit. Basically that the gifts have ceased and there us no longer prophecy, healing, or a need for the church to live in the supernatural power of God.
It's a good study into the mind of a sphere of the faith that is living by principle above Presence. I hoped I would (through some radical statements and clever potty humor jabs) get under the skin of his cerebral cortex just enough to provoke an exchange that would be more than just blind anger expressed in an arial font. However it was not to be. By now he ought to have known (by basic relationship) enough to know of my immense love and respect and honor for the inerrancy of Scripture. If there was love present and he genuinely believed I was calling the Word imperfect, I've no doubt he would have called me and scheduled a face to face meeting which I gladly would have welcomed.
Whereas FB exchanges are mostly for entertainment value, this he took seriously enough to sever a relationship over with no heartfelt personal outreach to correct my thinking and set me on the right path. So now I'm lost and he can wash his hands of me which is what religion does. I'll call him later today so he can hear my voice and tell him I love him but it will be his love that determines whether or not he wants to have relationship with someone with whom he doesn't agree theologically. Religion doesn't allow for that, it requires separation from those with whom you disagree and relationship with the sinner only for the purpose of conversion. JB: is a fine young man and I believe he'll fall into the bliss filled grace of Christ in time. Always expect the best and look for the treasure. That's what Love requires.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
In Flight
The sun settles into the pocket of cloud at the edge of the horizon, ultraviolet beams bust through holes worn into the clouds by the wind causing me to squint tight my eyes. It rolls down the wall of blue and like a mood ring the color responds to it's heat. The sun must be a confused lover today because orange, pink, and purple can't seem to find out where one ends and the other begins. Embracing the blue the colors never merge, never separate, never dilute like paint into a dull gray. At 35 thousand feet it feels like I'm above it all, but 93 million miles away this molten hurricane of fire hardly resembles the beauty it's light is forming before my eyes here. The sounds of Muse breeze through my airtight earbuds and I want to roll down the window of this jet, crawl outside and on top of it, standing left foot forward, right foot dug in and ride this supersonic surfboard through banks and turns careening through the clouds like a hawk glides between the walls of a canyon. Ignoring the impossible physics of the quest, I could feel my feet leave the fuselage for a second or two wondering how far I had just passed through the air only to touch down on two feet still intact. It's delightful to discover that at the age of 37, I still have an imagination.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Joy and Fear in the Presence of God
I was at a college group this week and spoke about the supernatural reality of the finished work of Christ and the stewardship of grace as it pertains to John 20:23. The power and presence of God flowed thick as the revelation of grace flooded the room and it was a beautiful night. Afterward, a young man named Micah was standing near me and I asked him if he had something to impart. He said, "I feel overwhelmed with the fear of the Lord." The interesting thing is that when he said this, he was smiling. He laid hands on another young man and released to him a revelation of the fear of the Lord. Both young men became flooded by joy and I just stood back to watch realizing that I was learning something here and I needed to pay attention.
I recalled being in a service where the fear of the Lord was the topic and as the speaker continued to expound on the depravity of man the heaviness in the room became quite tangible. People wept, cried, and the assumption was that repentance for sin was happening. I thought at the time, "This is is revival. It's dark, depressing, and heavy, but I guess this is what you have to walk through to get free." Oddly enough though, the heaviness never lifted and joy never felt like an appropriate response. As I remembered that night, I got a picture of a guy walking into a prison cell and sitting down on the cot at the cell door slams shut with an echoing clang. The same look of depressed heaviness and the tears of sorrow as you accept the weight of your punishment were the same look that I saw in that church that night. I got another picture though, and it was of a guy leaving a prison, filling his lungs with fresh air, as the gate opens before him and he is free. The tears of gratitude and the joy of stepping into a world formerly unattainable yet always within reach, that was the look I saw in the college group the other night.
Here's the deal. When you have a revelation of grace, the fear of the Lord manifests as joy. It's the result of the safety and protection of God rather than the wrath and judgement of God. Religion imprisons, Christ sets free. Your response will reveal which one has captured your heart.
I recalled being in a service where the fear of the Lord was the topic and as the speaker continued to expound on the depravity of man the heaviness in the room became quite tangible. People wept, cried, and the assumption was that repentance for sin was happening. I thought at the time, "This is is revival. It's dark, depressing, and heavy, but I guess this is what you have to walk through to get free." Oddly enough though, the heaviness never lifted and joy never felt like an appropriate response. As I remembered that night, I got a picture of a guy walking into a prison cell and sitting down on the cot at the cell door slams shut with an echoing clang. The same look of depressed heaviness and the tears of sorrow as you accept the weight of your punishment were the same look that I saw in that church that night. I got another picture though, and it was of a guy leaving a prison, filling his lungs with fresh air, as the gate opens before him and he is free. The tears of gratitude and the joy of stepping into a world formerly unattainable yet always within reach, that was the look I saw in the college group the other night.
Here's the deal. When you have a revelation of grace, the fear of the Lord manifests as joy. It's the result of the safety and protection of God rather than the wrath and judgement of God. Religion imprisons, Christ sets free. Your response will reveal which one has captured your heart.
Laws of Nature and the Kingdom of God
I get quite a few questions about the coin on the wall thing. This is my response to a friend recently on Facebook.
I feel a certain restriction in trying to put anything in writing about it. Most of the little that I have put in writing has been copied and reposted many more times than I ever expected or am comfortable with. I have no problem talking about it in person, because there's something about the dna of hunger that's communicated voice to voice, Spirit to Spirit. What I will say is that questions of challenge, I tend to steer away from, because the discussions are rarely fruitful. But questions of curiosity I love, because they come from a teachable heart looking to learn and desiring more than is currently known. From the story you relayed about the young boy who tied a prophetic promise to a challenge to a natural law, I feel bad for him as well. Consider what would happen if it were to work that way though. It would be the potential birth of a superstar and potentially position a young man for a proud ruin at an early age. I'm finding these days that God rarely honors presumption that empowers self over others, even if it's for noble purpose.
My daughter (13) was asked by a woman in Florida to explain the coin thing. Sara prefers to show rather than tell so she asked for a coin and the woman took out a nickel and she had the lady hold the coin to the wall (could have been a window, ceiling, whatever) and Sara held it there with her. She then began to tell her about how she began to realize that laws of nature are not impossible to invade just because man has called them "laws". Jesus creates the law of gravity and then treats it as optional. That matter isn't meant to be restrictive to the advancing of the Kingdom so if there's someone on the other side of a wall that I need to minister to, that the matter of this wall should not be able to hinder my capacity to move through it to accomplish His word. Things like that. The coin continued to fall over and over again as they both held it and let go. Suddenly Sara gets quiet, takes her finger off the coin and steps back a few feet. A minute or so goes by in silence and then the lady takes her finger off the nickel and it stays. She has a dramatic "reaction" to say the least. All of this happened in the sight of quite a few people. I asked Sara what she was learning there. She said that the Holy Spirit spoke to her and told her to stand back. She said, "Dad, it's not about me. It's about what He wants to show her. I just knew I needed to get my hands off of it." The presence of the Lord was so thick, I even feel it strong here as I type this recalling the wisdom God reveals through the process of either being childlike or becoming childlike again.
The supernatural power of God has been reduced (for many) to myth at the least, a wish at the most. So we've stressed relationship with God but have not taken into account the supernatural nature of His ways as it pertains to us. Are you a physical being having a Spiritual experience or are you a Spiritual being having a physical experience? If it's the latter, the supernatural should simply be natural when it comes to the normal relationship with God who is Spirit. If it's not, then who exactly do you have a relationship with in your walk with God? There are people who claim to know God so well but deny His power at work in their lives. When we do that we have made Him into our image and that's not who He is.
We have become all too familiar with a God we hardly know.
I feel a certain restriction in trying to put anything in writing about it. Most of the little that I have put in writing has been copied and reposted many more times than I ever expected or am comfortable with. I have no problem talking about it in person, because there's something about the dna of hunger that's communicated voice to voice, Spirit to Spirit. What I will say is that questions of challenge, I tend to steer away from, because the discussions are rarely fruitful. But questions of curiosity I love, because they come from a teachable heart looking to learn and desiring more than is currently known. From the story you relayed about the young boy who tied a prophetic promise to a challenge to a natural law, I feel bad for him as well. Consider what would happen if it were to work that way though. It would be the potential birth of a superstar and potentially position a young man for a proud ruin at an early age. I'm finding these days that God rarely honors presumption that empowers self over others, even if it's for noble purpose.
My daughter (13) was asked by a woman in Florida to explain the coin thing. Sara prefers to show rather than tell so she asked for a coin and the woman took out a nickel and she had the lady hold the coin to the wall (could have been a window, ceiling, whatever) and Sara held it there with her. She then began to tell her about how she began to realize that laws of nature are not impossible to invade just because man has called them "laws". Jesus creates the law of gravity and then treats it as optional. That matter isn't meant to be restrictive to the advancing of the Kingdom so if there's someone on the other side of a wall that I need to minister to, that the matter of this wall should not be able to hinder my capacity to move through it to accomplish His word. Things like that. The coin continued to fall over and over again as they both held it and let go. Suddenly Sara gets quiet, takes her finger off the coin and steps back a few feet. A minute or so goes by in silence and then the lady takes her finger off the nickel and it stays. She has a dramatic "reaction" to say the least. All of this happened in the sight of quite a few people. I asked Sara what she was learning there. She said that the Holy Spirit spoke to her and told her to stand back. She said, "Dad, it's not about me. It's about what He wants to show her. I just knew I needed to get my hands off of it." The presence of the Lord was so thick, I even feel it strong here as I type this recalling the wisdom God reveals through the process of either being childlike or becoming childlike again.
The supernatural power of God has been reduced (for many) to myth at the least, a wish at the most. So we've stressed relationship with God but have not taken into account the supernatural nature of His ways as it pertains to us. Are you a physical being having a Spiritual experience or are you a Spiritual being having a physical experience? If it's the latter, the supernatural should simply be natural when it comes to the normal relationship with God who is Spirit. If it's not, then who exactly do you have a relationship with in your walk with God? There are people who claim to know God so well but deny His power at work in their lives. When we do that we have made Him into our image and that's not who He is.
We have become all too familiar with a God we hardly know.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A friend asked me recently how I would deal with a person who was demonized and I said (this isn't nearly the only method but likely the most shocking and unexpected), if you can't find an adult who has confidence in their anointing and authority, then find some Spirit filled children to deal with it. Demons (like animals because of their beast nature) respond to fear. Just like an animal can smell fear and will attack, the demonic does as well and will find a place to attach where fear has gained a foothold. Children who are filled with the Holy Spirit can do such damage to the demonic because often they have no fear. I've seen youngsters cast out demons that would make adults stop, analyze, rationalize, and partner with a spirit of fear rendering them powerless in the moment. Strange but true.
My friend, Will, called me a few weeks ago saying that he had an assignment to deal with a person who was demonized. Will felt this overwhelming joy come over him and he just started laughing and the more he laughed the more angry the demon got until finally the man was delivered. Will got the revelation that the demonic is offended by joy. So here's the equation. Joy is the manifestation of liberty for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty and in the Presence there is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore. Demonic fear based religious systems take all of the fun out of, well, everything. Control kills liberty which is the soil in which joy grows. God is love and perfect love casts out fear so when we're in the presence we can choose to partner with love or fear. If we partner with fear it will manifest as control and abusive religious systems. If we partner with love it will manifest as empowerment and freedom and joy will flow. In that place, the demonic is automatically displaced. Demons don't care for a Holy Ghost party. As you recall, there wasn't a single demon that could crash the Acts 2 party.
So what happens when a church begins to see demonic manifestations? If the spirit of fear has a foothold, it may be that the demonic is drawn to and will manifest more often because it's got an initial platform of fear from which to operate. The initial method churches use is to try to ignore the problem hoping it will go away. That doesn't work, so they will have to train and equip people to deal with it. This starts an endless cycle of training and dealing, training and dealing, and that breeds people who can't remember the last time they experience the joy of the Lord. It's just flat exhausting. Police officers train to use weapons they hope they never will have to employ. They hope that their presence as a force in itself will be enough for the enemy to stand down. Everyone needs to be equipped, no doubt, but a police force assigned to an area will see that area overrun by crime if they are crippled by fear. The training Jesus gave the disciples in dealing with the demonic was very simple. Cast them out. How that end is reached is where the methods come in handy. However, the greater your anointing, the easier it becomes. Jesus just said, "Go." That would be the goal.
To clarify, the demonic is not to be ignored, but neither is it to be held as a force to be impressed with. Dealing with it doesn't need to be complicated if you have confidence in your anointing and authority. But in religious systems people lack the confidence in their anointing and authority because they've been told they "can't" over and over again. This is why empowering people (all ages, races, genders, etc...) is SUCH A BIG DEAL!!!
My friend, Will, called me a few weeks ago saying that he had an assignment to deal with a person who was demonized. Will felt this overwhelming joy come over him and he just started laughing and the more he laughed the more angry the demon got until finally the man was delivered. Will got the revelation that the demonic is offended by joy. So here's the equation. Joy is the manifestation of liberty for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty and in the Presence there is fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore. Demonic fear based religious systems take all of the fun out of, well, everything. Control kills liberty which is the soil in which joy grows. God is love and perfect love casts out fear so when we're in the presence we can choose to partner with love or fear. If we partner with fear it will manifest as control and abusive religious systems. If we partner with love it will manifest as empowerment and freedom and joy will flow. In that place, the demonic is automatically displaced. Demons don't care for a Holy Ghost party. As you recall, there wasn't a single demon that could crash the Acts 2 party.
So what happens when a church begins to see demonic manifestations? If the spirit of fear has a foothold, it may be that the demonic is drawn to and will manifest more often because it's got an initial platform of fear from which to operate. The initial method churches use is to try to ignore the problem hoping it will go away. That doesn't work, so they will have to train and equip people to deal with it. This starts an endless cycle of training and dealing, training and dealing, and that breeds people who can't remember the last time they experience the joy of the Lord. It's just flat exhausting. Police officers train to use weapons they hope they never will have to employ. They hope that their presence as a force in itself will be enough for the enemy to stand down. Everyone needs to be equipped, no doubt, but a police force assigned to an area will see that area overrun by crime if they are crippled by fear. The training Jesus gave the disciples in dealing with the demonic was very simple. Cast them out. How that end is reached is where the methods come in handy. However, the greater your anointing, the easier it becomes. Jesus just said, "Go." That would be the goal.
To clarify, the demonic is not to be ignored, but neither is it to be held as a force to be impressed with. Dealing with it doesn't need to be complicated if you have confidence in your anointing and authority. But in religious systems people lack the confidence in their anointing and authority because they've been told they "can't" over and over again. This is why empowering people (all ages, races, genders, etc...) is SUCH A BIG DEAL!!!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Painting in Blood
Beneath my bare feet, the sidewalk cools my skin contrasted by the sun warm on my left cheek. Before me, at arms length is a man, dark hair in loose curls, ears obscured, bearded jaw moving in conversation that I can't understand, for he's not talking to me. The rolled sleeves of the untucked shirt, cover hairy arms that have known labor. He stands looking at a canvas preparing to create, he lowers his brush into.....his left hand, from which an occasional drop of blood falls to the pavement below. There's no wound, at least none that seems to diminish his pleasure enough to cause the grin in his eyes to disappear. He dips the brush into his palm, running the bristles of the brush up his wrist and with a fluid motion, draws a vivid red liquid to the canvas. He's painting in blood. His own. A line here, a stroke there, the polished wet color shimmers beautiful on the white canvas. I join the others now, growing in number, who have stopped their hurried lives to watch a creator. This wasn't scheduled and these people have things to do, yet they stand. Stand and stare at this man painting with the blood of his own hand. The picture takes form and with each new stroke now, the newly created form of a tree on the canvas does something quite unexpected. It grows leaves. Leaves on each branch. Small leaves that, once grown, fall away from the painting to the sidewalk below. He picks one up and hands it to a man not yet fifty but teetering on a cane clearly frail and weak. Words of instruction are exchanged and the man places the leaf to his tongue and once he does he's weak and frail no longer. The group becomes a crowd, many now waiting their turn, breathless reaching, gently clamoring for the leaves that fall to the ground with each brushstroke of crimson life. He turns to his left and looks directly at me and says, "My creative power is all about life, and my creativity released through you with both gather life (nods his head to reference the crowd) and release life (nods his head in reference to the healing happening all around us)." As he turns back to the canvas he playfully says, "Are you ready?" I am now far more interested in the future I have been drawn to dream into, than I am in the present moment for I am conscious of a creative force within me that screams to be free. I awaken, barely aware that I have slept.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
A friend asked me recently for thoughts on four subjects. Since it feeds the ego to be asked ones opinion of anything, I took the bait. Not because my ego is starving, but because I wondered if I even still have opinions on these things, all of which I've wrestled with, against, or for. I'll leave it to you to figure out which.
Religion: Is flawed, but people embrace religion because they realize they're flawed too. So there's something beautiful about the people who embrace this flawed cancer of religion. It's when religion embraces them that things get ugly. Isn't it interesting that the only people that ticked Jesus off were the religious? If being religious was the way to get close to God, the Pharisees would have been Jesus best friends. God loves people but doesn't seem to have much good to say about the systems we create that confine Him or keep people from Him. God's wrath is aimed at whatever interferes with His love.
Emotion: Can ruin your life, but if you have none then life is already ruined. Jesus healed people when He was "moved with compassion." It's how you respond to emotion and the actions that you take in that response that reveal so many things about the deepest places in you. Watching a normally stable person struggle to take a note as their dead pen gouges the paper is a great way to see that under the right conditions, (even one so simple) everyone can feel....again.
Addiction: It's jumping out of an airplane with a knitted parachute, helpless against the thrust of descent. It's a butterfly battling against a hurricane. Paper wings in the storm you never imagined could be so strong. It's embracing a habit that is growing tired of you. When you can love and hate just a few breaths apart. It's the final scene in Oz, where the tin man is still an idiot, the lion is still afraid, you've given up on the wizard, and all you want to do is to go home. It's staring at an army of zombies. Too many monsters, so little ammunition. All of these charming paradoxes...
that keep us from knowing...
when it's ok...
to breathe.
Addictions remind us of how helpless we are without the relentless affection of a Saviour.
Our World: God loves it and died to redeem it, and only He knows why. I'm so glad He is.... I'm so glad that He just "is".
Monday, October 26, 2009
Scoring Life
I don't know if your mind does this or not but mine scores life. Not like a football game, but like a movie. The score or soundtrack is the meat of most great moments in film. It's a rare movie that doesn't heavily lean on the soundtrack to underscore what the writer/director wants to convey in terms of bringing the audience into the moment emotionally. It's giving a collective connection to the crowd so that sad moments are sure to make your eyes burn with tears, scary moments make your bladder control mechanism temporarily unreliable, and tense moments make your brow furrow and sweat. I guess then the definition of a good score would be one that makes you leak in different ways.
As I wander through my day, music is always going on in my head. Every moment has a soundtrack. I don't do it consciously, it just happens. Maybe this is why my tastes in music are so stinking eclectic and I find an artistic appreciation for everything but bad opera and tone deaf mariachis. Accordions are of the devil, those plastic recorders from third grade sound the same no matter which orifice you use to blow them, and the definition of perfect pitch to me is a banjo in a dumpster. So I do have some instruments on my list of those that should never be practiced by anyone who wants to be taken seriously as a musician. Probably none are so offensive though, as the bagpipes. I mean, can you name one professional bagpipe player off the top of your head? Anybody have a cd of bagpipe music that you jam to in the car? Ever been in the heat of a romantic moment with your true love and click on the bagpipe tunes to accentuate the mood? Didn't think so.
Nevertheless, I have been moved by some songs lately that have become staples in the soundtrack of my life. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is a good one when you're walking down the street in frustration. That's for those moments when you realize that you being wrong has either ruined someone else's day or made someone else's day. There's this great little song by Norah Jones called "The Long Day is Over" that works well at the close of (drum roll) a long day. It can't be played at 10 am unless you work third shift. Diana Krall has this weepy rendition of "Soldier in the Rain" that's sure to put you into a semi comatose state of depression by the end of its five minute run. When misery loves company, that's the tune that works. That one along with John Mayer's "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and anything by Chase Coy.
Nothing quite works a road trip like Tom Petty. Doesn't matter which song either. I think they were all written in a moving vehicle because that's how they sound. "You Wreck Me", "Free Falling", "Higher Place", and "Crawling Back to You" are asphalt highlights, but the one that moves me to tears (and I may be the only one) is "Time to Move On". It's absolutely the only song to play when you're leaving somewhere with no promise that you'll ever return. Be careful though. Play it on your way home from work one day and you may get inspired and never go back.
When we were in Maui, there were a few artists/groups that got a lot of airplay in our car and that was the obvious Bob Marley, the not so obvious Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and Bob Schneider. Bob Schneider's got this song called "Gold in the Sunset" that is pretty catchy unless you're actually driving along the beach with the sunset actually happening off to your left and then it's absolutely magic. There's this part at the end of the song where this harmonic blend of voices just sings out in a moment when words just won't do the orange sky justice. Brilliant. Marley's classics work almost anywhere there's an ocean. Way better than Jimmy Buffet in my opinion, but Marley can take you from tense to chill in seconds with "Stir It Up", "Three Little Birds" or my absolute favorite sing along song ever, "Is This Love". CSNY's "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" is still a masterpiece but the track that gets me in the car is "Wasted on the Way". Walking through an airport, Owl City and Coldplay work well. Walking through a cemetery, slow bluegrass is soothing in a creepy sort of way. Sitting on the dock of the bay? Otis Redding knew one day we all would be. Driving through Arizona? "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi is still sweet cranked to 11. In the city with the windows down? Some old TLC girl rap still has class..."hangin out the passenger's side of his best friend's ride..." Downtown Austin? Stevie Ray. Lifting weights? "Enter Sandman". Sitting in a beach chair? Colbie Callat. Lamenting loss? Dido. Working on a computer? Elvis Costello. Riding with your wife? Journey. In Vegas at night? Ol Blue Eyes, baby. Riding in a bus or thinking back on the 80's? "Sweet Child of Mine" Got a whiny teenager in the car? Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold". With your uncle who reads no book other than the King James Version of the Bible? Keith Green's "Asleep in the Light". Just want to be cool nomatter your age? Matisyahu. Sitting with Grandma drinking sweet tea? Patsy Cline's "Walkin After Midnight". Hanging with college buddies? REM. The list goes on longer than your life.
Now I know what my kids are thinking here. Where's the Jesus music, dad? That's where this article has somewhat of a point. You never know the power of music until you realize how much your moments are affected by it. The songs I've mentioned can accentuate the location, scenery, or mental state you're already in at the moment. But good worship music transcends that and creates a moment in itself. The "Jesus Culture" cd "Consumed" has a version of "Dance With Me" that's volcanic. Misty Edwards unreleased masterpiece called "Beauty Arise" wrecks me deeply. Kim Walker's "How He Loves" still stirs my soul into a tornado of awe at it's description of heart of the Father. Good worship music (and good is defined differently by different ears) is that which has the ability not simply to score your day, but move you away from the moments you feel locked into and lift you to a place where heaven meets you, redefines you, and draws the eyes of your heart from the wasted efforts of fruitless toil and onto the face in which the eyes of Love are deeply set and intensely focused on you. You whom He loves with relentless abandon. And at some point every day, that's good to know.
As I wander through my day, music is always going on in my head. Every moment has a soundtrack. I don't do it consciously, it just happens. Maybe this is why my tastes in music are so stinking eclectic and I find an artistic appreciation for everything but bad opera and tone deaf mariachis. Accordions are of the devil, those plastic recorders from third grade sound the same no matter which orifice you use to blow them, and the definition of perfect pitch to me is a banjo in a dumpster. So I do have some instruments on my list of those that should never be practiced by anyone who wants to be taken seriously as a musician. Probably none are so offensive though, as the bagpipes. I mean, can you name one professional bagpipe player off the top of your head? Anybody have a cd of bagpipe music that you jam to in the car? Ever been in the heat of a romantic moment with your true love and click on the bagpipe tunes to accentuate the mood? Didn't think so.
Nevertheless, I have been moved by some songs lately that have become staples in the soundtrack of my life. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is a good one when you're walking down the street in frustration. That's for those moments when you realize that you being wrong has either ruined someone else's day or made someone else's day. There's this great little song by Norah Jones called "The Long Day is Over" that works well at the close of (drum roll) a long day. It can't be played at 10 am unless you work third shift. Diana Krall has this weepy rendition of "Soldier in the Rain" that's sure to put you into a semi comatose state of depression by the end of its five minute run. When misery loves company, that's the tune that works. That one along with John Mayer's "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" and anything by Chase Coy.
Nothing quite works a road trip like Tom Petty. Doesn't matter which song either. I think they were all written in a moving vehicle because that's how they sound. "You Wreck Me", "Free Falling", "Higher Place", and "Crawling Back to You" are asphalt highlights, but the one that moves me to tears (and I may be the only one) is "Time to Move On". It's absolutely the only song to play when you're leaving somewhere with no promise that you'll ever return. Be careful though. Play it on your way home from work one day and you may get inspired and never go back.
When we were in Maui, there were a few artists/groups that got a lot of airplay in our car and that was the obvious Bob Marley, the not so obvious Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and Bob Schneider. Bob Schneider's got this song called "Gold in the Sunset" that is pretty catchy unless you're actually driving along the beach with the sunset actually happening off to your left and then it's absolutely magic. There's this part at the end of the song where this harmonic blend of voices just sings out in a moment when words just won't do the orange sky justice. Brilliant. Marley's classics work almost anywhere there's an ocean. Way better than Jimmy Buffet in my opinion, but Marley can take you from tense to chill in seconds with "Stir It Up", "Three Little Birds" or my absolute favorite sing along song ever, "Is This Love". CSNY's "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" is still a masterpiece but the track that gets me in the car is "Wasted on the Way". Walking through an airport, Owl City and Coldplay work well. Walking through a cemetery, slow bluegrass is soothing in a creepy sort of way. Sitting on the dock of the bay? Otis Redding knew one day we all would be. Driving through Arizona? "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi is still sweet cranked to 11. In the city with the windows down? Some old TLC girl rap still has class..."hangin out the passenger's side of his best friend's ride..." Downtown Austin? Stevie Ray. Lifting weights? "Enter Sandman". Sitting in a beach chair? Colbie Callat. Lamenting loss? Dido. Working on a computer? Elvis Costello. Riding with your wife? Journey. In Vegas at night? Ol Blue Eyes, baby. Riding in a bus or thinking back on the 80's? "Sweet Child of Mine" Got a whiny teenager in the car? Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold". With your uncle who reads no book other than the King James Version of the Bible? Keith Green's "Asleep in the Light". Just want to be cool nomatter your age? Matisyahu. Sitting with Grandma drinking sweet tea? Patsy Cline's "Walkin After Midnight". Hanging with college buddies? REM. The list goes on longer than your life.
Now I know what my kids are thinking here. Where's the Jesus music, dad? That's where this article has somewhat of a point. You never know the power of music until you realize how much your moments are affected by it. The songs I've mentioned can accentuate the location, scenery, or mental state you're already in at the moment. But good worship music transcends that and creates a moment in itself. The "Jesus Culture" cd "Consumed" has a version of "Dance With Me" that's volcanic. Misty Edwards unreleased masterpiece called "Beauty Arise" wrecks me deeply. Kim Walker's "How He Loves" still stirs my soul into a tornado of awe at it's description of heart of the Father. Good worship music (and good is defined differently by different ears) is that which has the ability not simply to score your day, but move you away from the moments you feel locked into and lift you to a place where heaven meets you, redefines you, and draws the eyes of your heart from the wasted efforts of fruitless toil and onto the face in which the eyes of Love are deeply set and intensely focused on you. You whom He loves with relentless abandon. And at some point every day, that's good to know.
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