Eyes cast down, fixed upon the ground!

This is me thinking about a song called "Shake me down - Cage the Elephant". The lyrics start like

"Shake me down, not a lot of people left around, who knows now, softly laying on the ground, their eyes cast down. Fixed upon the ground, their eyes cast down. I'll keep my eyes fixed on the sun!" 

To me these lyrics are both very powerful, telling, and exhibiting a portion of the gospel. With the simple change of one word to (I'll keep my eyes fixed on the Son.) you have the centrality of the gospel and all of it's weight in a few sentences. This phrase portrays two types of people in the world, a division between "they" and "I". Or the Other, and Myself. While you can find portions of the gospel in this song, you can also see the illness of pride lurking in the darkness of this mans heart. The "Me, Myself, and I" is what he's truly worried about, rather than the "We, Us, and Each Other". There's an aspect to God being a relational God, but I think as a church we are missing an aspect of Jesus as our presidential electorate, or Jesus as the leader who directs and composes a family, together. While it may seem that we are individual beings with a command over each of our lives that may differ from each other, we must realize that each of our plans is toward the fulfillment of the prophecy of bringing heaven to earth, and earth to heaven. The "Big Picture" in the kingdom is growing with each other toward the common goal of seeing Yeshua our Messiah act righteousness upon the lands who have forsaken Him and His character of peace, justice, love, and mercy i.e His name being lived out with each other, and at the highest of these the intimacy of which we get to experience with Jesus himself as the highest of our prizes.

"I'll keep my eyes fixed on the Son" is perhaps one of the most humbling and settling phrases we can speak out and truly believe in our hearts. When our focus is shaped and directed toward The Righteous Branch of David, we see how helpless, and hopeless we are without Him. When we see Him alive, moving, living, and active, we see how merciful, kind, and loving He is. To me, having the revelation of Jesus is the most precious gift we could ever be given by the Father, because once we've seen Jesus, we have also seen the Father, "for me and the Father are one." Even now, if I am not asking Him "what do you want to say to these people" I am doing myself, and you, reader, a disservice in not supplying to you the sacred, good, and most Holy conversation that each of us get to be a part of with our Lord and Savior. Not because we are worthy, but because He has allowed, and made us worthy. This is amazing Grace. It's awesome, awe-inspiring. It is good.  

So this day, keep your eyes fixed on the son, turn your gaze toward the almighty presence of God and His Holy Spirit. Let your entire being cast out the tendrils of your consciousness toward His love, and allow Him to reach you with His enlightenment, meditation, and rest. To Him, and from Him are all things, for He is worthy of all of our praise, and every second of thanksgiving. While this may be a rollercoaster of sorts, for each of us this challenge of keeping our focus and rest in Him is worthy to take up head on, for the burden that is carried with it is light, and the yoke that we face is easy. Make this challenge your obsession, and every passion. Make Jesus Christ your end goal, and perhaps He will change your plans, perhaps He will keep them just the same. Either way if you really want to follow Him, you must abandon all hope for either, and simply hope in Him. For He knows every word He has written in your scroll. Be bold to ask to read such a book, and be willing to listen. Most importantly, fall in love dangerously and recklessly, for this Love is the end and the beginning, the creator and steward of all things. Keep it up. Praise the Lord, Amen.

Rain reign, come today, let your glory sweep us away.

There's something that happens inside of you when you experience the power of the Lord through faith. I've talked before about this idea of "Faith in Him", but even since then the same principle applies, but my individual experience has changed exponentially. Before I was making the argument that Faith in Him is what would drive you to do good works, to step out. Now I know that Faith in Him is what drives you to change from the inside out. There is something that shifts, or lurches when you begin to know, understand, and experience the Lord. When you've asked for Him to press His face against yours (Ezk 22), you start to get the revelation that Our God is an All Consuming Fire. (Heb 12:29) Once you've realized the Fear of the Lord doesn't just look like reverence, or acknowledgement that God is The Righteous One that we hear about in the word, or that He will one day come to claim vengeance on His enemies. It doesn't look like having a knowledge that Jesus is humble, gentle, and gives us a yoke that is easy. It looks like shivering on the ground, letting Him impale you, presenting to Him a sacrifice that is only remotely worthy of His praise because of His mercy. It looks like when you're standing high, falling before him, nose to the ground, with full awareness and inability to compare anything even remotely close to His glory, and when He asks you to stand, you stand and present to Him a bowl of incense, that He's given you the responsibility to carry in your heart at all times. It is being in awe and rejoicing in His judgment. Psalm 58:10 Says "The Righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance, The Lord will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked." Wow. Can you even fathom what it would be like to be washed in the blood of your enemies? By your Lord? In so many ways the culture we live in today is so averse to war cries, to outward expressions of battle and faith. We've become engrossed in being as docile as possible, and we've lost the zeal that the Lord Himself says He will cloak us in. (Isa 59:17) 

So what does it truly look like to see the Lord reign in our lives? If you ask Him to reign in your life, I hope you really truly mean it. The NET version bible Translates Adonai Tzevoat into 'The Lord who commands armies'. Otherwise more commonly accepted as "The Lord of Hosts." The reason they did this is because in Old English the traditional understanding of "Hosts" was not someone who invited you over to their house so that you could have dinner with them. While this is an aspect of God's character He graces us to experience, the word hosts captures this legion, or militaristic regime which the Lord is the head of. Now obviously we can go into this as a church, but we must remember that this war is not with Flesh and Blood, but with Dominions, Principalities, and Spirits. (Eph 6:11-12). We are not going to be bathed in the blood of those who live and die by the flesh, but instead we are going to be covered in the Glory Train (Isa 6:1, Psa 68:18) of the victory that Our Yeshua has won. He has been rewarded the keys of Hades, and of Heaven to allow whom He wishes, and banish whom He wishes. He has presented you a fair warning, it is your responsibility to choose. Do you want to be covered by the train, or be enslaved by it? Either way God has won. 

"Come, enjoy the meal I've set before you my love. For you, see, I have filled my temple with sacrifices. You may eat of the finest breads and meats, and drink of the finest wines. My love, I want to experience you, enjoy your presence as a husband enjoys his wives bosom. I have sent you to many places, and we have had many works together, but this day my love it is just you and I. Your enemies once surrounded you, there was once when you saw nothing, only bleak images wishing to drown them out by drowning yourself, but this day, my love, we have had victory. Take my hand, and I will bring you into my arms, come and fall for me as I have fallen for you. I have chosen you since the beginning of time, and from the beginning of the foundations of the earth. Now, you are with me, and I am yours. Thank you for remaining faithful, as I have remained faithful to you."

Yahweh

The love that comes from a father to his son is something that cannot be matched. 

Many fathers would tell you what it's like watching their first, second, or even third son being delivered, they will often pause, you might catch a tear in their eye, or rolling down their cheek. Occasionally they'll even describe the experience of loving something more than themselves. 

This affectionate, profound desire to do things for a being they're responsible for creating

and shaping is irreplaceable.

There's something about the way a father will smile at you when he's proud of you.
When you've just aced your first solo, or even turned in your homework assignment on time.
When you've picked up a book that he recommended, or hit your first pitched ball.
It's special, telling a little story of all the emotions he might feel when he's watching his
creation grow up.
There's something special about being surprised about how mature
you've gotten while both admiring how far you've come.
A bitter-sweetness as the realization that he'll never see this progress, or experience this new thing the same way, yet a pondering of what could possibly come next in your amazing creativity.

There's a special treat in being a dad who has the responsibility of offering a shoulder to cry on.
When you've been bullied at school, or feel like you're a failure at everything, or are
grieving the loss of a loved one.
A father would offer the refuge of his loving arms and hold you
in security.
When you're blatantly wrong about something, he wouldn't rashly correct you, but would offer guidance in your decision making, and ask you questions as to why you're thinking the way you are.
When you feel like life is meaningless and not worth it, he would help you
and love you, and comfort you just with his presence.
When you feel the warmth of his arms
the worries of the world, and the weighty feeling of nothingness simply melts away as you
experience the fullness of love from a good father.

Yet, this is probably the most idealistic father known to man.
In human terms, if we're being real here, there is absolutely nobody who even comes close to offering this sort of father-ship to his sons and daughters.
We can't blame them either, who is perfect after all, and yet there's something inside of
each of us, I believe, that longs for the really really good father, perhaps exactly what I've described
above, perhaps even better.
A superhero father, one who takes you on amazing
adventures in saving children from the sex trade!
 Or a dad who leaves you love notes in your lunch box.
Many of the qualities could even describe to you your experience of your mother.
There is something within each of us that recognizes these parental roles, actions, and behaviors
whether it be from movies, or part of our innate nature as kids.
Many of us have been deprived of such love as well.

To me, I have my father in mind.
Not my earthly father, but my father who is in heaven.
He
is perfect beyond all doubt and measure.
He is the exact father I've described here, and way more.
It's obvious that His desire is to show His unending love to those who want it,
and when you've experienced the fullness of this love, you feel and experience weightlessness
you walk in the knowledge and absolute love that you are a child of the most high God.
This is my Father, who walks in absolute confidence in Himself and His creation.
Who shares His glory, and yet is the absolute owner of everything.
He is completely unique, He is in all things, and He is the author of all things.
Yet He is outside of description.
He belongs to none, and belongs to all.
He is love.
He is Papa, Abba, Father.
He is God.

Launching Ceremony

Potentially the most celebratory word we have in the English language "Ceremony" carries many meanings. There are wedding Ceremonies, Ceremonials of the dead on their funeral date. Ceremonies when we graduate, fall in love, have a birthday, celebrate something significant in our culture, and in some families there are ceremonies for when you are sent. 

Ceremonies can be big or small, with one person or with many. It is almost always about remembering from whence you came, and in the inverse, where you are going. This week has been nuts for me, I have celebrated with friends at my arrival to France, and we had a ceremonial dinner to welcome the beginners to the base here. It's almost unreal that there has been so much change in so little time, but so far I love it here.

I've been pondering on the idea of Faith without works, and Faith with works. Faith of God and Faith in God. On the scale of conversion to Christianity, it would make the most sense that Faith of God is very low on the scale (I'm referring to the Engel scale here, it starts at -10 and goes to 10. 1 is newly converted Christian) but what do I mean by this? Faith that God exists, that there is some higher being other than us, or even openness to the idea that there is another dimension that exists outside of our own consciousness. For a long time I was within this category, as someone who was raised with the idea of God I learned concepts that opened me up to learning some things about the Bible. There was also a period of time in my young teenage years where I felt like exploring other spiritualities and philosophies was a good idea. While today I believe that this was all part of my process to having faith in God, I can confidently say this faith in God thing was not born until recently this year. As James puts it "Faith without works is dead", a haunting verse to many, as it should be. Works are the direct result of Faith in God. However if you simply have works and no faith in God, you have dead works, and maybe faith of God. The most direct way of putting this is that if you don't lay your life down on the line, and trust in God completely and fully, then there is absolutely no way you have faith in God. Yet when you do this it is the most rewarding, fulfilling, exciting, and sometimes intuitive thing that we can do being part of God's creation. Because suddenly we're thrust into a world where we can only follow the directions of how the smartest, highest, and most benevolent being would decide how to do things. It's quite beautiful. Intense really, and to be a part of this work with God is the greatest pleasure we have access to here on Earth, until otherwise specified. 

A Journey in Prayer

While I was in Thailand there was a lot we learned about prayer. My favorite times were when we got to walk around temples, neighborhoods, cities, and villages praying, out loud, silently, for people, with hands laid upon people, and in our own little times of team worship and intercession. It was in those moments when I felt the presence of God, and when I felt that spiritual bondage, strongholds, dominions, and authorities were being broken down, and stripped of their legal right to demonize the regions of Thailand that we were ministering to. We would see inhibitions fall away, kids have more open and soft hearts. We would find that people started to smile instead of looking hopeless while trying to appease foreign and faceless gods.
An aspect of prayer that I'm starting to grow accustomed to is the act of bringing my tears to Jesus. To look at Him with the utmost hurt and confusion, beating upon His chest, demanding an answer for the awful things that happen to the people we love. Some days I feel as if I have an awesome answer, but sometimes I feel like the best answer I've ever gotten is the answer that prayer need not an answer, only prayer. Not everything feels like it's a success, sometimes I even question why I should find enjoyment in the work that Jesus and I do together, when in reality the only thing that matters is my Yeshua, and rejoicing in my Salvation From God (the literal translation of  'yesha'a'). It's not wrong to take pleasure in good things. Even the Lord took a breath and rested on the 7th day to glory in all that He had accomplished over the six day period prior. He stayed, and has been holding up the universe since, without stopping His rest. The 3rd chapter of Genesis never says "then God got up from His rest". Yet, a great question is "when did the Holy Spirit start interceding for us?". Was it when we gained a legal and utmost righteousness, bought by the precious blood of the lamb? Was it when Humans lost their righteousness and communion with the resting Lord almighty? I don't know, but one thing I do know is that He truly actually cares and intercedes on behalf of us now. It's incredible, and humbling. Absolutely the most intimate thing you can experience in your life is deep prayer and communion with the Lord Jesus. He created intimacy, He should know how to do it well.
And that's what prayer is. Intimacy, intertwined with talking sometimes, communion other times, and just spending time with your best friend who also happens to be the Ruler of the entire Universe, of which He created, and through Him nothing was not created. In many ways I've also grown in deep appreciation for Jesus and who He is. We'll get to that soon though. Just remember that prayer is about reaching deep and exploring the caverns of the heart of God hand in hand with Him.