“I was 17 when I first walked in these doors. I can still smell the musty air, thick with the end of the day’s weights and regrets of a wasted youth.”
“I had no idea that you were there. Where were you?”
“I was standing right next to you” he said
“Why didn’t you try to stop me?” I said curiously, as I felt rusty feelings of neglect surface. “You knew I had a problem, even when I didn’t!” I thought, but wouldn’t dare say it. This is the last guy that I wanted to offend.
“Still think that I have a lightning bolt with your name, on it, do you?” He says half chuckling. He almost looked as though, he was holding back a waterfall of laughter at the very thought of it.
“Russ, I am not interested in keeping you from what you want to do. I don’t identify you by what you do, just as I don’t find My identity with what you believe me to be” He paused as if he wanted me to considered what he had just said. I was thoughtless. When more than enough time went by, I picked my head up to look at him. He was staring at a butterfly, outside the hard-water stained window. The butterfly, maybe a Swallowtail or possibly a young Monarch, is perched on a purple coneflower that wildly grows on the outside of this empty tavern house.
“Did you know that just a few days ago that butterfly was crawling on its belly for its next meal?” Now we are both looking intently at the butterfly. “It would take him 5, maybe 6 hours to reach the flower that he is on now. Of course, he wouldn’t be drinking like he is now. As a matter of fact, his diet has completely changed all together.”
“He also has no idea, that in just a few hours, he will be completely destroyed and smashed on the chrome bumper of a local delivery driver”
“What?!” I retorted.
With slightly more than a witty giggle he reassures me that he was only kidding.
I start laughing louder than the joke was funny, more because of the fact that he totally gets my humor.
After a few more humorous jabs at the look on my face that “I should have seen, when he said that”, we both settled down and wiped the tears from our cheeks. Coming to a slow silence, the butterfly captured my minds eye once again.
“Was his life different when he was a caterpillar?” He prodded me along.
“Well, yeah, I mean, I think so”
“And which is the better life?”
“Well, the butterfly’s, he can fly where he wants, he can even crawl if he wants. He can go a further distance in a shorter amount of time. And shoot, he even looks more inviting.” I answered
“So the butterfly is better than the caterpillar?”
Now, I’m suddenly aware that I’m on a journey.
“I’m not saying that one is better than the other, it just seems like a better way”
“Hmmm….now honestly do you think a caterpillar is thinking to himself ‘can’t wait till I’m a butterfly so that my life can be better’.” He says in his best impression of an Eeyore voice. Pretty good I might add.
“Well no, I mean from his point of view everything is fine, he eats sleeps and gets where he needs to go to repeat life everyday”
“So, you’re saying that it is about points of view?” He asks me as though we just arrived at our destination.
“Perception….”
“Ooh, I like that word.” He interrupted, a bit too excited to me. I still don’t get why.
“….might be a better word to describe it.” I finished
“So what do you think that caterpillar would say if you told it what a horrible life it was living and everywhere it went you kept reminding it of where it should be if it would just hurry up and become a butterfly already.”
Well, assuming I can speak “caterpillar.” I thought. He smiled.
My words slowly unraveled, like a red carpet. “I guess, it would probably think that it was a good idea, but at the same time probably feel pretty helpless that it didn’t have the ability to become that butterfly. It would actually probably feel pretty bad about itself.”
“And what would that accomplish”
“Not much”
“Not much good anyway.” He added “Do you think that it may tell you to eventually get the hell out of its life, quit reminding him of what a horrible thing it is and that it is doing just fine with out your observations?”
“Yeah that sounds a lot like me, when I was seventeen and I had first walked into this old tavern.” I said with my head hung a bit low.
Without allowing my head to drop completely to my chest, with a finger to my chin he says “Yeah but look at you now….beautiful son”
“Change of perception?” I asked
“You look different”
“I see things different”
“You speak about different things”
“Everything seems to be filtered from a different mind than I had before”
“So are you a better person than the person who spent all those years returning to your addiction and nearly living in this tavern?”
“A better person? No, I actually feel like I am the same person on the inside. Probably more “me”, now, than ever. In light of thinking about that butterfly, I am no better than the people that still crowd this tavern every weekend.”
“So what’s changed for you?” He encourages me
“A new perception?”
“A better way?” He looks at me, questioning.
“But not better than this crowd.” I say nearly simultaneously.
“So…”
“So…” I interrupted “…if you would have tried to stop me from walking in these doors the first time, or even the fiftieth time, than you would have insinuated that those outside these doors were better than me.”
“Which is a lie” He also interrupts
Still a bit cloudy for me to grasp, I continue. “Since you don’t identify with what I do but who I am, then what I have done has changed but who I am is the same. Since I have changed what I have done then my perception has changed.”
“Not quite there yet. Since your perception changed, then your actions have changed.”
“Ok…semantics?”
“What do you think?”
I don’t appreciate being questioned or being led on.
“Cause and effect Russ.”
“Well, my life is better because I do things differently now.”
“Interesting” He says in a way that causes me to think that he has a private investigators badge stuffed away in his breast pocket.
“Back to you being better huh?” I pause in my journey and feel myself coiling slowly back from confrontation. I am still not sure if I am coiling as a snake before attack or as a puppy with a tucked tail.
“Well, I sure wasn’t very happy before. I mean nobody cared about me, unless I was partying with them! They used me….they used me for my presence! Misery loves company! You were there. You said so yourself. You let us all hang ourselves in our addiction! No one is truly happy in a place like this. They are escaping. Men don’t escape…men confront! And by the way what are you going to do about the ones who………” I stopped. I realized that I chose to be the snake. As if the snake is any worse than the cowering puppy. I didn’t feel too bad about it.
He remained…..the same.
“You mentioned escaping and confronting. What did you mean by that?”
“Well, in my recovery, I realized that I came to the tavern to escape.”
“Escape what?” He seemed to be genuinely curious, as if he didn’t know. It was pretty believable. But how could he not know? I mean, come on.
“Escape responsibility, ownership of my decisions, and ownership of my consequences. Escape confrontation. I don’t know...pretty much life.”
“I agree.” He confirmed “Really, you escaped from all the beauty of life.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. That stuff stills seems pretty scary to me.”
“Exactly” He confirmed again. “Life is dangerous, and so is your heart. It’s much easier to run from your heart than to confront it.”
“Well, like I said, I wasn’t the only one. As a matter of fact there are taverns all over this area alone that are filled with escapees.”
“So everyone in a tavern is escaping?”
“Well, that’s the way that I see it?”
“Your perception”
“My perception” I paused. Now wondering if I should have confirmed that. He waits.
I look out the window as if to breathe some fresh air through my eyes. The butterfly is gone. Just a few patches of Coneflowers, a large needled tree and some sunshine bouncing off the weathered glass, is all I can take in.
“I’m just wondering when people are going to wizen up and shut these taverns down. They’re just a spout for the addict and a sick point of revenue for the beneficiaries.”
“Interesting,” As if whipping out that badge again. He continues. “Yeah, maybe your right, while we are at it, maybe we should shut down amusement parks too.”
What?! I think. He responds “Well, some people spend whole paychecks between the ticket sales and commissaries, when they should be spending it on bills and college funds.”
“Yeah well, there are a lot of good memories built there too, memories that make up a child’s most favorite and prized recollections. As a matter of fact, I can still remember when my dad took me and four of my friends for two weeks mapping out and visiting all of our favorite parks. Nobody had a better dad then me that week.”
He smiled at my scrapbook of reminiscence.
I was quiet as I caught myself understanding.
“So what is one mans escape could be another man’s treasure.”
He reiterated “Perceptions”
“Perceptions” I confirmed.
“So what do you think changed the caterpillar’s perception?”
“He grew wings”
“Sounds pretty miraculous”
“Well it is”
“Is it?”
Damn badge, just take it out already.
“Russ, I’m not trying to get you to understand anything. I am not trying to make you any different. I am fine with you believing that you are what you do. I am offering you an opportunity to figure out if you are fine with that “perception”. He maintains with no sense of striving in his tone. “The caterpillar went into a cocoon. The caterpillar has come into a new experience.”
“My experiences formed my old perceptions…” I added, as if to take the lead. “…to escape instead of confront…”
“So what do you think might change perceptions?” He asks giving me an opportunity, once again, to be my own wise man.
“A new experience”
“Your life can be an invitation; you can be a new experience”
The restful picture of life, outside the window stained by hard-water, once again captivated our souls.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, June 22, 2009
Stars
So here we are….
Like weightless stars
Gazing awareness at the beauty of the earth below
We woke up stars among stars
For so long we hung
Miraculously
In mid-air
And now
Realizing our disparity
When will I fall?
We ask
When will we land amidst our humanity?
For so long we hung
Assumingly miraculously
With no strings attached
We looked down upon the beauty of the earth below
Now hopelessly awaiting our fall….
Timeless space
When will you let me go?
Let go…
As I fell the earth’s beauty became apparent
Apparently as those hidden images
In those posters found in a “Gimmick Store”
The beauty all around me
Creation in the trees
Creation in the passing foul
Creation in hydrogen filled clouds
Oxygen the doubtless wonder
Beautiful is the romance
Between earth and sky
The essence of birth
In every blooming daffodil
And closing urchin
An ocean of adventure
Seems to call my name
Independence from the galaxy
Yearns my soul
The despairing beauty to crash and burn
Oh how I loathe the earth
And its beauty
How sweet is the taste
Of the fresh rain
Fresh summer
Your creation oh Lover of My Soul
Is where I found you?
How beautiful were the stars in space
In my deception
How beautiful is the earth
I have fallen upon
In truth
Like weightless stars
Gazing awareness at the beauty of the earth below
We woke up stars among stars
For so long we hung
Miraculously
In mid-air
And now
Realizing our disparity
When will I fall?
We ask
When will we land amidst our humanity?
For so long we hung
Assumingly miraculously
With no strings attached
We looked down upon the beauty of the earth below
Now hopelessly awaiting our fall….
Timeless space
When will you let me go?
Let go…
As I fell the earth’s beauty became apparent
Apparently as those hidden images
In those posters found in a “Gimmick Store”
The beauty all around me
Creation in the trees
Creation in the passing foul
Creation in hydrogen filled clouds
Oxygen the doubtless wonder
Beautiful is the romance
Between earth and sky
The essence of birth
In every blooming daffodil
And closing urchin
An ocean of adventure
Seems to call my name
Independence from the galaxy
Yearns my soul
The despairing beauty to crash and burn
Oh how I loathe the earth
And its beauty
How sweet is the taste
Of the fresh rain
Fresh summer
Your creation oh Lover of My Soul
Is where I found you?
How beautiful were the stars in space
In my deception
How beautiful is the earth
I have fallen upon
In truth
The Pursuit
When I was a toy soldier
I would fight dragons
And slay enemies
I found that in the inherent veiled places
Of my minds deepening caverns
I wondered of…
Whom would be my Pursuit?
What would my Pursuit look like?
How many miles would I have to journey to find my Pursuit
How high would the mountains be that I would have to climb?
How many ships will I sail to journey my Pursuit
The fields that I crossed
The meadows that I had slept
The identities that I bore
As a young man
At long last, I found my Pursuit
I found my Pursuit at first meet
At first greet I knew that I had met my Pursuit
Although I had found my Pursuit
The pursuit did not end
On the contrary the pursuit had merely just begun
The Pursuit has taken me on a journey beyond my wildest imaginations
The Pursuit has taken me on a journey of Romance
A journey of battles
A journey of hidden treasures within my soul
The Pursuit has cast the bow of my ship towards hidden islands
Islands that in all of my travels prior to this pursuit I had not known existed
Islands that were isolated from this world and meant only for the Pursuit and I
Our conquest began nearly eight years past
But I first began my pursuit fourteen years prior to present
I have come to an awakening in my pursuit
An awakening that my Pursuit has been holding me up
That the Pursuit has been supporting my sails
As a drunken sailor ushered to bed rest
My Pursuit has been the weighted points of my net
I have awakened from the pursuing dream
Only to find the Pursuit looking into my eyes
Looking into my heart
Deeply reassuring me
“I will be your Pursuit for eternity”
“I am your Pursuit”
“I was created to be Pursued”
“You were created to Pursue”
“Pursue me and unlock my heart”
“In your pursuit, I will hold your heart in brevity”
“In your pursuit, I will hold your heart in value”
“I will hold your heart as a valuable stone within it a diamond
Mysteriously created, bearing hard-wearingly resilient”
Thank you My Pursuit
Thank you My Wife
Thank you My First Love
In Pursuing you I have realized
The One that Pursues Me
I would fight dragons
And slay enemies
I found that in the inherent veiled places
Of my minds deepening caverns
I wondered of…
Whom would be my Pursuit?
What would my Pursuit look like?
How many miles would I have to journey to find my Pursuit
How high would the mountains be that I would have to climb?
How many ships will I sail to journey my Pursuit
The fields that I crossed
The meadows that I had slept
The identities that I bore
As a young man
At long last, I found my Pursuit
I found my Pursuit at first meet
At first greet I knew that I had met my Pursuit
Although I had found my Pursuit
The pursuit did not end
On the contrary the pursuit had merely just begun
The Pursuit has taken me on a journey beyond my wildest imaginations
The Pursuit has taken me on a journey of Romance
A journey of battles
A journey of hidden treasures within my soul
The Pursuit has cast the bow of my ship towards hidden islands
Islands that in all of my travels prior to this pursuit I had not known existed
Islands that were isolated from this world and meant only for the Pursuit and I
Our conquest began nearly eight years past
But I first began my pursuit fourteen years prior to present
I have come to an awakening in my pursuit
An awakening that my Pursuit has been holding me up
That the Pursuit has been supporting my sails
As a drunken sailor ushered to bed rest
My Pursuit has been the weighted points of my net
I have awakened from the pursuing dream
Only to find the Pursuit looking into my eyes
Looking into my heart
Deeply reassuring me
“I will be your Pursuit for eternity”
“I am your Pursuit”
“I was created to be Pursued”
“You were created to Pursue”
“Pursue me and unlock my heart”
“In your pursuit, I will hold your heart in brevity”
“In your pursuit, I will hold your heart in value”
“I will hold your heart as a valuable stone within it a diamond
Mysteriously created, bearing hard-wearingly resilient”
Thank you My Pursuit
Thank you My Wife
Thank you My First Love
In Pursuing you I have realized
The One that Pursues Me
Sunday, August 31, 2008
When Your Here
I'm standing on a rock
A rock maybe formed and adjusted by years of compounding weightful waves
Behind me towers carelessly strewn beach homes
I'm standing at the edge of land and sea
I'm standing at the edge of my world
Across the horizon lies another country
Across the horizon lies another culture
The endless sky is overcast
The warmth from the hiding sun transcends my body
The sea-mist softly kisses my skin
Leaving its evidence moist on my face
For one single moment
Nothing matters deeper than this bottomless ocean
Such is your presence Papa
A rock maybe formed and adjusted by years of compounding weightful waves
Behind me towers carelessly strewn beach homes
I'm standing at the edge of land and sea
I'm standing at the edge of my world
Across the horizon lies another country
Across the horizon lies another culture
The endless sky is overcast
The warmth from the hiding sun transcends my body
The sea-mist softly kisses my skin
Leaving its evidence moist on my face
For one single moment
Nothing matters deeper than this bottomless ocean
Such is your presence Papa
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
W.W.Y.D.?
"So who do you think they are bringing?" Jacob asked me.
"What are you talking about?" I responded carelessly as I ate some more chicken while in half kneel and half squat leaning against the wall. Still standing next to me Jacob excitingly whispered "Man they snuck somone from a few miles away." "What?" I inquired. "Yeah, they smuggled him from some town in Cilicia" "It's probably just Peter" I interupted "They are always sneaking him around so the high priest can't find him"
"Look, I don't know the full story" Jacob went on "But apparently Ananias healed him. I guess he was blind. Hopefully, he'll want to talk about it."
"Yeah that should be interesting." I responded, nonchalantly brushing off his excitement. "Man I just love getting together as much as we can, it's been difficult lately. It just seems like people aren't as interested in Jesus' message like when my father was alive." Jacob resounded "Yeah, I know what you mean, but it's been like 36 years man...that was a long time ago"
I interrupted, probably much ruder than I normally would, even for Jacob "YEAH! Well my dad was just murdered a year ago....and he believed in a way of life. NOT SOME HISTORY LESSON MAN! I am not about to give up the message my dad died for, so we can just look like every other religion in this city!"
I met Jesus when I was about 12. Before my dad died he did some work with him while they were both carpenters. I remember at that time how my dad seemed to be changing. The hard man I once knew. I mean I guess it's not like he was that bad, when I was young in Nazerath, kids just weren't quite adult enough to be given any significant attention.
But yeah, I remember he seemed to be changing. He would come home and start giving me these huge bear hugs and he would talk to my mom about this man, Jesus, that he met at work and how they started eating lunch in the same area at the job site. This guy would make him laugh like no other person he met. He said he felt like he had known this guy forever.
They had similar upbringings and were born in the same town. This was a big deal for them. The rare boys who survived those few birth years shared a bond. I remember because my dad would sometimes go on a political rampage about what happens when religion and politics mix. You see there was a king at that time, I can't remember his name; but the boys that had been born in those few years were killed because of some rumor he heard about the Christ being born around the same time. The king was afraid because the rumor followed, that people would worship this Christ and he would establish a kingdom like no other. He had no idea.
In any case, before his life started changing. My dad, in the rare times he talked about it, would talk in such a dark manner, with what seemed to be a hidden malice for a God that would allow babies to be slaughtered for some selfish agenda.
All that bitterness began to change when he met Jesus. We didn't talk much about God at that time except when we had to go to synagogue. My dad said that it was tradition, and any proud Jewish man would continue to go even if he didn't feel like it. Well after working with Jesus for a few years, Jesus and his family moved. Probably about 5 or 7 years after that we heard all the reports about Jesus being a Prophet and the miracles he performed. It was funny, because my dad got so excited and would always say that he knew there was something different about that guy. My dad wasn't the same after he met Jesus, but when he found out he was the Messiah he knew it was true and that just sent his heart to a whole new place.
Jesus found him again at some point and my dad said that it was like they had never parted, they picked up right where they left off. He would always tease Jesus about the way people would blow his image up like he was "sooo" mystical. I sometimes wonder if my dad really knew who Jesus was at that time, I mean really know, you know? You could sometimes here my dad chuckle and with his voice drifting off say 'Jesus is just a rough neck carpenter like me, don't they get it. That's why he is the Messiah, not because of the miracles but because of the person he is.'
Yeah, my dad loved that man and their relationship only grew deeper. Jesus was crucified about two and half years after they reunited. After his crucifiction my dad changed from what some would say "just a follower of Jesus" to this all out freedom fighter. He would say things like the only answer to this diminshing world is unconditional love and violent peace. He would talk a lot about the fact that Jesus didn't come to bring a kingdom as much as he made us aware of the kingdom that we born to live in.
Finally, I remember dad looking at me when I was about 22 and saying "Son, if the cross was good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for me, and its good enough for you. I would only be so honored to die like Jesus did. But Son...I want to tell you, that the only thing greater than dying for freedom, is living for freedom." And living for freedom we did.
My dad lived a good life. He taught me the greatest wisdom was founded in guarding your love for God. He is the greatest man I know, because of Jesus.
About a year and half ago his life was taken by that bastard. When I see that man, I just don't know if I can be so loving and forgiving. I remeber when I sat in front of my father's dismembered, lifeless body, I was thinking, "...father I know that Jesus forgives and God forgets, but I am neither God nor Jesus...I don't know how to forgive this man that took you from me."
My father was counseling some young priests who had fallen away from their priesthood and were excommunicated in Jerusalem.
You see, Jerusalem was one of the most dangerous places for anyone who identified himself with the brotherhood of Jesus. Most of the rare times that we got together in that city, it was usually underground in the catacomb dwellings. But these priests were in so much condemnation over being excommunicated that they started living like drunks. Feeding off anything the world had to offer in ordered to ease their suffering hearts. My dad said that people who go through something like that, figure that they are going to hades anyway, now that they are excommunicated, why not enjoy it while they go there. My dad's heart seemed to break in a special place for these people. He too was devout to the priesthood when he was younger. When my dad went out to find these 7 or so priests in the streets, he some how managed to gather them all in one barn for about 3 days. We still don't know how he pulled that one off by himself.
While sharing the love of Christ to them and how his grace has made us free from the law of sin and death, an informant apparantly gave their location away to the high priest. Well...as you could imagine everything took a dangerously expected turn. The high priest dispatched his greatest "Christian" asassin. That's what they started calling us for short...Christians. We were more of a family, and we couldn't stand labels. It was their way of putting us in their box. It was their way of limiting who we really were; the greatest threat that their scheming realities ever came across. Yeah, well anyway, it was that asassin that killed my father. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. He just took him from me....oh yeah, and get this - he supposedly rejoiced about it because according to him, he was doing the will of Almighty God. How sick is that? This evil man is well respected by the high priest, he apparently went to the best seminary, and is now deceiving and murdering our brothers in hidden ambushes. He catches them in his manipulating snares and ends their mission for freedom.
That sick bastard tore our family apart! Someone needs to stop him! He better hope he doesn't come across my path with those lies of his. I would be the last "Christian" he would come across, I can tell you that right now! Someone needs to put an end to his destruction! He has hurt enough of the the brothers and sisters of Christ and if someone doesn't do something real soon I swear I am gonna......
"Hey you want this last of the chicken?"...."Hey Man! Do you want this last of the chicken" Jacob shook me out of my minds tranceful thought of the past. "Oh, um, no...no thanks man...and you know...I'm sorry for snappin' at you earlier"
"Don't, worry..."
"No, no, that was wrong of me. You don't deserve that. I am just battling a lot right now with forgiveness. I just want to be free to love...even my enemies."
Jacob compassionately put his right arm over my shoulder "Look, none of us have it together. You know we always say that. You know as well as I, that every person in this room is the least qualified to live in and share about freedom, but the ironic thing is, that's what makes us so qualified. Remember, your struggle to forgive only proves why you need Jesus even more. Don't let the enemy trick you into condemnation. You have the ability to forgive, because you admit you don't have the ability to forgive. Remember, the weak will be made strong and the last will be first. You are a great man, and....your dad...and your Father in heaven is proud of you."
"Thanks man, that means a lot."
"Everybody, listen up, I brought somebody that I want to introduce to you!!" A voice that sound like Ananias' shouted out to us from the front of the room "Now I don't want any of you to be startled. I want you to know that this man is here from the pure direction and divine experience of the the Holy Spirit. We have had one of the greatest miracles take place over the past three days, I can vouch because I have had the priviledge of being a part of it." Ananias ended his short introduction with a soft voice to a gentlemen behind him "Come on up here man, it's alright our foundation is love and forgiveness" The mans faced was clooked in a hood that draped over his shoulders and down his body creating the sillouhette of a priestly robe. After making out his attire he had my undivided attention. Given the silence that weighed heavy among the crowd in the room, apparantley, all of the earth and all of the heavens were eavesdropping for the following scene.
As he slowly unmasked his face....I was deathly silent. Some in the crowd were smiling and giving praise, others were questioning the reality of their eysight, and everyone was shocked. But I...I...I was pissed! How could this be? How could You do this? This...this...madman? This madman!? This MURDERER of all that is HOLY? A miracle!?...for this imposter of God's Priests!? This man that has ripped Your family apart?! This deciever and accuser of my brothers!? Manipulater and twister of TRUTH?!!
!!!SAUL!!!
THE MAN THAT RIPPED APART AND TORE AWAY FROM ME MY BELOVED FATHER!?
"What are you talking about?" I responded carelessly as I ate some more chicken while in half kneel and half squat leaning against the wall. Still standing next to me Jacob excitingly whispered "Man they snuck somone from a few miles away." "What?" I inquired. "Yeah, they smuggled him from some town in Cilicia" "It's probably just Peter" I interupted "They are always sneaking him around so the high priest can't find him"
"Look, I don't know the full story" Jacob went on "But apparently Ananias healed him. I guess he was blind. Hopefully, he'll want to talk about it."
"Yeah that should be interesting." I responded, nonchalantly brushing off his excitement. "Man I just love getting together as much as we can, it's been difficult lately. It just seems like people aren't as interested in Jesus' message like when my father was alive." Jacob resounded "Yeah, I know what you mean, but it's been like 36 years man...that was a long time ago"
I interrupted, probably much ruder than I normally would, even for Jacob "YEAH! Well my dad was just murdered a year ago....and he believed in a way of life. NOT SOME HISTORY LESSON MAN! I am not about to give up the message my dad died for, so we can just look like every other religion in this city!"
I met Jesus when I was about 12. Before my dad died he did some work with him while they were both carpenters. I remember at that time how my dad seemed to be changing. The hard man I once knew. I mean I guess it's not like he was that bad, when I was young in Nazerath, kids just weren't quite adult enough to be given any significant attention.
But yeah, I remember he seemed to be changing. He would come home and start giving me these huge bear hugs and he would talk to my mom about this man, Jesus, that he met at work and how they started eating lunch in the same area at the job site. This guy would make him laugh like no other person he met. He said he felt like he had known this guy forever.
They had similar upbringings and were born in the same town. This was a big deal for them. The rare boys who survived those few birth years shared a bond. I remember because my dad would sometimes go on a political rampage about what happens when religion and politics mix. You see there was a king at that time, I can't remember his name; but the boys that had been born in those few years were killed because of some rumor he heard about the Christ being born around the same time. The king was afraid because the rumor followed, that people would worship this Christ and he would establish a kingdom like no other. He had no idea.
In any case, before his life started changing. My dad, in the rare times he talked about it, would talk in such a dark manner, with what seemed to be a hidden malice for a God that would allow babies to be slaughtered for some selfish agenda.
All that bitterness began to change when he met Jesus. We didn't talk much about God at that time except when we had to go to synagogue. My dad said that it was tradition, and any proud Jewish man would continue to go even if he didn't feel like it. Well after working with Jesus for a few years, Jesus and his family moved. Probably about 5 or 7 years after that we heard all the reports about Jesus being a Prophet and the miracles he performed. It was funny, because my dad got so excited and would always say that he knew there was something different about that guy. My dad wasn't the same after he met Jesus, but when he found out he was the Messiah he knew it was true and that just sent his heart to a whole new place.
Jesus found him again at some point and my dad said that it was like they had never parted, they picked up right where they left off. He would always tease Jesus about the way people would blow his image up like he was "sooo" mystical. I sometimes wonder if my dad really knew who Jesus was at that time, I mean really know, you know? You could sometimes here my dad chuckle and with his voice drifting off say 'Jesus is just a rough neck carpenter like me, don't they get it. That's why he is the Messiah, not because of the miracles but because of the person he is.'
Yeah, my dad loved that man and their relationship only grew deeper. Jesus was crucified about two and half years after they reunited. After his crucifiction my dad changed from what some would say "just a follower of Jesus" to this all out freedom fighter. He would say things like the only answer to this diminshing world is unconditional love and violent peace. He would talk a lot about the fact that Jesus didn't come to bring a kingdom as much as he made us aware of the kingdom that we born to live in.
Finally, I remember dad looking at me when I was about 22 and saying "Son, if the cross was good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for me, and its good enough for you. I would only be so honored to die like Jesus did. But Son...I want to tell you, that the only thing greater than dying for freedom, is living for freedom." And living for freedom we did.
My dad lived a good life. He taught me the greatest wisdom was founded in guarding your love for God. He is the greatest man I know, because of Jesus.
About a year and half ago his life was taken by that bastard. When I see that man, I just don't know if I can be so loving and forgiving. I remeber when I sat in front of my father's dismembered, lifeless body, I was thinking, "...father I know that Jesus forgives and God forgets, but I am neither God nor Jesus...I don't know how to forgive this man that took you from me."
My father was counseling some young priests who had fallen away from their priesthood and were excommunicated in Jerusalem.
You see, Jerusalem was one of the most dangerous places for anyone who identified himself with the brotherhood of Jesus. Most of the rare times that we got together in that city, it was usually underground in the catacomb dwellings. But these priests were in so much condemnation over being excommunicated that they started living like drunks. Feeding off anything the world had to offer in ordered to ease their suffering hearts. My dad said that people who go through something like that, figure that they are going to hades anyway, now that they are excommunicated, why not enjoy it while they go there. My dad's heart seemed to break in a special place for these people. He too was devout to the priesthood when he was younger. When my dad went out to find these 7 or so priests in the streets, he some how managed to gather them all in one barn for about 3 days. We still don't know how he pulled that one off by himself.
While sharing the love of Christ to them and how his grace has made us free from the law of sin and death, an informant apparantly gave their location away to the high priest. Well...as you could imagine everything took a dangerously expected turn. The high priest dispatched his greatest "Christian" asassin. That's what they started calling us for short...Christians. We were more of a family, and we couldn't stand labels. It was their way of putting us in their box. It was their way of limiting who we really were; the greatest threat that their scheming realities ever came across. Yeah, well anyway, it was that asassin that killed my father. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. He just took him from me....oh yeah, and get this - he supposedly rejoiced about it because according to him, he was doing the will of Almighty God. How sick is that? This evil man is well respected by the high priest, he apparently went to the best seminary, and is now deceiving and murdering our brothers in hidden ambushes. He catches them in his manipulating snares and ends their mission for freedom.
That sick bastard tore our family apart! Someone needs to stop him! He better hope he doesn't come across my path with those lies of his. I would be the last "Christian" he would come across, I can tell you that right now! Someone needs to put an end to his destruction! He has hurt enough of the the brothers and sisters of Christ and if someone doesn't do something real soon I swear I am gonna......
"Hey you want this last of the chicken?"...."Hey Man! Do you want this last of the chicken" Jacob shook me out of my minds tranceful thought of the past. "Oh, um, no...no thanks man...and you know...I'm sorry for snappin' at you earlier"
"Don't, worry..."
"No, no, that was wrong of me. You don't deserve that. I am just battling a lot right now with forgiveness. I just want to be free to love...even my enemies."
Jacob compassionately put his right arm over my shoulder "Look, none of us have it together. You know we always say that. You know as well as I, that every person in this room is the least qualified to live in and share about freedom, but the ironic thing is, that's what makes us so qualified. Remember, your struggle to forgive only proves why you need Jesus even more. Don't let the enemy trick you into condemnation. You have the ability to forgive, because you admit you don't have the ability to forgive. Remember, the weak will be made strong and the last will be first. You are a great man, and....your dad...and your Father in heaven is proud of you."
"Thanks man, that means a lot."
"Everybody, listen up, I brought somebody that I want to introduce to you!!" A voice that sound like Ananias' shouted out to us from the front of the room "Now I don't want any of you to be startled. I want you to know that this man is here from the pure direction and divine experience of the the Holy Spirit. We have had one of the greatest miracles take place over the past three days, I can vouch because I have had the priviledge of being a part of it." Ananias ended his short introduction with a soft voice to a gentlemen behind him "Come on up here man, it's alright our foundation is love and forgiveness" The mans faced was clooked in a hood that draped over his shoulders and down his body creating the sillouhette of a priestly robe. After making out his attire he had my undivided attention. Given the silence that weighed heavy among the crowd in the room, apparantley, all of the earth and all of the heavens were eavesdropping for the following scene.
As he slowly unmasked his face....I was deathly silent. Some in the crowd were smiling and giving praise, others were questioning the reality of their eysight, and everyone was shocked. But I...I...I was pissed! How could this be? How could You do this? This...this...madman? This madman!? This MURDERER of all that is HOLY? A miracle!?...for this imposter of God's Priests!? This man that has ripped Your family apart?! This deciever and accuser of my brothers!? Manipulater and twister of TRUTH?!!
!!!SAUL!!!
THE MAN THAT RIPPED APART AND TORE AWAY FROM ME MY BELOVED FATHER!?
Monday, August 25, 2008
THE FACELESS FIGHTER
I was hangin out at the Awakening in Carlsbad this Sunday (mad props to my boy Craig Muster), and while we were worshipping I got this image in my minds eye.
I saw a well formed boxer, whose tree-trunk arms that formed into bowling ball-like hands that filled two big red gloves swinging at a heavy bag. It seemed as though every breath he inhaled and exhaled were breaths of worship. His sweaty glands exuded with praise and every swift move he made seemed to exalt God.
He turned and faced me while continuously hopping from one foot to another as an experience fighter woud to keep his blood flowing warm. After well examining his fighting stance, I notice that he had no face. Yet when I thought of giving his face an image, I thought of flowers blooming and volcanic reaction. When I thought of his faces image I thought of eagles flying above mountain tops and sea creatures abiding in the bottomless ocean. When I thought of his faces image I thought of God's impossible creation.
Papa began to teach me about Jesus our faceless fighter.
You can't put a face on this fighter. He doesn't look like one who would spend his weekends fishing, camping or jet skiing nor does he look like a baptist, pentecostol, or non-denominational member, yet he fights for our hearts every Sunday morning. He doesn't have a face like a mechanic, carpenter, store manager or real estate agent yet he fights for our future ever Monday through Friday. He doesn't have the face of any counsler that you have seen yet he fights for our marriages and families every time we're at home. He doesn't have the face of a teacher or principal yet he fights for our kids everyday.
This Sunday I saw Jesus as the faceless fighter that will not be contained from fighting for us by any boundry that we have set him in nor any criticism that we would box him out of.
Jesus is our faceless fighter.
I saw a well formed boxer, whose tree-trunk arms that formed into bowling ball-like hands that filled two big red gloves swinging at a heavy bag. It seemed as though every breath he inhaled and exhaled were breaths of worship. His sweaty glands exuded with praise and every swift move he made seemed to exalt God.
He turned and faced me while continuously hopping from one foot to another as an experience fighter woud to keep his blood flowing warm. After well examining his fighting stance, I notice that he had no face. Yet when I thought of giving his face an image, I thought of flowers blooming and volcanic reaction. When I thought of his faces image I thought of eagles flying above mountain tops and sea creatures abiding in the bottomless ocean. When I thought of his faces image I thought of God's impossible creation.
Papa began to teach me about Jesus our faceless fighter.
You can't put a face on this fighter. He doesn't look like one who would spend his weekends fishing, camping or jet skiing nor does he look like a baptist, pentecostol, or non-denominational member, yet he fights for our hearts every Sunday morning. He doesn't have a face like a mechanic, carpenter, store manager or real estate agent yet he fights for our future ever Monday through Friday. He doesn't have the face of any counsler that you have seen yet he fights for our marriages and families every time we're at home. He doesn't have the face of a teacher or principal yet he fights for our kids everyday.
This Sunday I saw Jesus as the faceless fighter that will not be contained from fighting for us by any boundry that we have set him in nor any criticism that we would box him out of.
Jesus is our faceless fighter.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
FREEDOM! AND WHY THE WORLD NEEDS A KING PART II
Check out Part I...
True freedom is only found in the character of the Trinity. Freedom begins and is lived from our own individual hearts. Papa’s children were born to live free in their hearts from the system of this world. In my short number of years reading the Bible, I have come to realize that this book is filled with countless stories and messages about God calling his people back to his heart. I am convinced that this book from Genesis to Revelations is a wooing of Love and a message of Freedom. From the flood to the resurrection is about the bigger story of our Papa’s desire to share the relationship that the Trinity has had for eternity with the created human race and us sharing that same relationship with each other (Jn 13:35).
In my sincerely poor and “small piece of an eternal puzzle” opinion the current and possibly since Genesis, consecutive state of the human reality is found in 1 Samuel. I believe in this familiar story you will find a display of Papa’s desire for us to live free and our ultimate fear of freedom and horrible substitute for His Kingdom. You will see the essence of the system of this world and how it has deceived the children of God into thinking that they are free.
1 Samuel 8:
It appeared that the old testament children “perceived” God to be a schitzophrenic ruler who was ready to smash and crush anyone that did not obey his every written law. But in Papa’s everlasting love there laid an opportunity for the children of God to come close and get to know their heavenly Father when the new judges appeared to pervert and abuse God’s ways as Samuel grew close to the end of his life. The new judges “turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.” When Israel became wise to their ways, with frustration setting in, they spoke to Samuel. Instead of seeking God’s Kingdom to rule they sought Samuel to appoint them a king to “judge” them. I don’t know how much we can blame them, they would have had to otherwise seek a way of life that had never been displayed in their lifetime. Every square inch of any civilized portion of the world was ruled by a king.
When the people requested a king of Samuel it disturbed him deeply, and Samuel spoke to Lord about this matter. The faithful Lord respond to Samuel to “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day-with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods-so they are doing to you also.” Imagine, even Samuel has been a part of a system that has created a veil between God and Man. Papa tells him look Samuel don’t take it personal, it has never been about you and them. Our relationship has been about you and me, and I have been attempting to show my relationship through you. I have brought my people out of Egypt and since then I have been attempting to woo them out of the system engrained in their hearts. I believe that Papa knew that they have had a king over them the whole time whether it be Moses, Eli, or Samuel, they are just finally admitting what they wanted the whole time…A King not Relationship.
Why not relationship? Sounds like fun doesn’t it? The Encarta Dictionary describes relationship as the significant connection or similarity between two or more things, or the state of being related to something else. True relationship bares souls and leaves naked the heart of individuals. For some people that is a very scary thing. True relationship rightfully indicates vulnerability, which can result in you being horribly betrayed or misled. True Godly relationship means loving without intention, agenda or control. You are able to relate without deriving your identity or losing your identity in a relationship.
Isn’t it much easier if you just tell me how you would like me to act to be in your good graces instead of me discovering what unlocks your greatest joys. Being ruled by a king is about you remaining safe, entering relationship is about the other individuals benefit and not about you.
Well the Father tells Samuel to choose a King for Israel in place of relationship, but to forewarn them very specifically about what a King will bring upon these people, and then let them decide. Shortly after Samuel told the people beginning in vs. 11 “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harves, and some to make his weapons of war an equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, , cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men,[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.”
The good thing about Papa is he will work in any system to touch his children’s lives. He continued to move through Saul and among his kids because he is good. Unfortunately this generation never had the chance to see the awesome relationship they could have had with the Trinity here on earth. A relationship filled with faith, love, romance, adventure, and true fulfillment. We also know the result of Saul’s life and the consequences of a king remain true even today. It was unfair to Saul for the people to hold him in a place and “office” that only the Trinity was intended to fill.
You can read in Exodus 19:6 that God told the people of Israel what he had intended for them to be. “You shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Priest is another word for prince. God is the king and we are his prince and princesses. He is our father and although we walk in royalty we are not the kings nor are we to look for Kings. For one is your King, the Father who is in heaven.
How does this relate to freedom, you may ask? There is a cry for freedom in our predestined human hearts. Some have followed this cry. The name’s listed in the beginning, declared this cry. Unfortunately, in most cases the system of this world has drowned out the cry. Christians cry out to Pastors, “be our king and tell us when we are right and when we are wrong.” We relay a message to our leaders that if you are disappointed in me then God is disappointed in me. If you are rebuking me then God can’t possibly be happy with me. I need a king’s approval to know that I am right with God. Meanwhile your heart contradicts your worldly conditioning with a cry of “FREEDOM!”.
Freedom to follow your heart’s leading. Freedom to speak your revelations. Freedom to serve one another. Freedom to Love without an agenda. Freedom to communicate without an annoying push for conversion. Freedom to Love until someone wants the Love you have. Freedom to give freely without reluctancy and compulsion. Freedom to lead in relationship communicating in the five gifts that Papa has placed in friends all around us for the growth of each other.
You see it takes great faith to live in relationship. It is much easier and safer to live according to what a king lays out before you. The need for the gifts that Papa has placed in us for each other is imperative and the time that you spend with any number of the saints is priceless. There is no substitute for a true relationship that relates without expectation.
The revolutionary Son of God, Jesus Christ did not consider three different systems. Jesus only recognized two kingdoms; the kingdom of darkeness and the Kingdom of Light. He lived and exploded in the middle of the kingdom of darkness which is riddled with performance and obligational living and made a profound statement that is many times under appreciated and counted as ABC’s or discounted as basics. “The first of all the commandments is ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these…on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 22:39; Mark 12:29-31) Everything we say and do to portray His Kingdom depends soley on the evidence of these two intentions in our hearts.
In summary, we claim that we want freedom but unfortunately we are conditioned to appoint a man-king in our lives to dictate and exalt as God’s voice in our lives. We miss out on the greatest message that Jesus died to bring us. Could it be that as soon as an individual has a king-like title, they strip themselves of relational value? Can it happen, that we respect the relationships in our lives that offer the five gifts Papa pointed out without losing relational benefits and friendships? I have been challenged to re-evaluate the five gifts that are mixed throughout all of us, and ponder the thought that maybe they are best operated in a relationship instead of a hierarchy.
Jesus never said Repent or you will burn in hell. Jesus proclaimed “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. I would like to proclaim today STOP!!! RECONSIDER YOUR WAYS BECAUSE THERE IS A KINGDOM AND WAY THAT CAN BRING AN UNRELENTING PEACE TO YOUR LIFE. THERE IS A KINGDOM THAT YOU WERE CREATED FOR. A KINGDOM THAT IS NOT OF THIS WORLD!!!
True freedom is only found in the character of the Trinity. Freedom begins and is lived from our own individual hearts. Papa’s children were born to live free in their hearts from the system of this world. In my short number of years reading the Bible, I have come to realize that this book is filled with countless stories and messages about God calling his people back to his heart. I am convinced that this book from Genesis to Revelations is a wooing of Love and a message of Freedom. From the flood to the resurrection is about the bigger story of our Papa’s desire to share the relationship that the Trinity has had for eternity with the created human race and us sharing that same relationship with each other (Jn 13:35).
In my sincerely poor and “small piece of an eternal puzzle” opinion the current and possibly since Genesis, consecutive state of the human reality is found in 1 Samuel. I believe in this familiar story you will find a display of Papa’s desire for us to live free and our ultimate fear of freedom and horrible substitute for His Kingdom. You will see the essence of the system of this world and how it has deceived the children of God into thinking that they are free.
1 Samuel 8:
It appeared that the old testament children “perceived” God to be a schitzophrenic ruler who was ready to smash and crush anyone that did not obey his every written law. But in Papa’s everlasting love there laid an opportunity for the children of God to come close and get to know their heavenly Father when the new judges appeared to pervert and abuse God’s ways as Samuel grew close to the end of his life. The new judges “turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.” When Israel became wise to their ways, with frustration setting in, they spoke to Samuel. Instead of seeking God’s Kingdom to rule they sought Samuel to appoint them a king to “judge” them. I don’t know how much we can blame them, they would have had to otherwise seek a way of life that had never been displayed in their lifetime. Every square inch of any civilized portion of the world was ruled by a king.
When the people requested a king of Samuel it disturbed him deeply, and Samuel spoke to Lord about this matter. The faithful Lord respond to Samuel to “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day-with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods-so they are doing to you also.” Imagine, even Samuel has been a part of a system that has created a veil between God and Man. Papa tells him look Samuel don’t take it personal, it has never been about you and them. Our relationship has been about you and me, and I have been attempting to show my relationship through you. I have brought my people out of Egypt and since then I have been attempting to woo them out of the system engrained in their hearts. I believe that Papa knew that they have had a king over them the whole time whether it be Moses, Eli, or Samuel, they are just finally admitting what they wanted the whole time…A King not Relationship.
Why not relationship? Sounds like fun doesn’t it? The Encarta Dictionary describes relationship as the significant connection or similarity between two or more things, or the state of being related to something else. True relationship bares souls and leaves naked the heart of individuals. For some people that is a very scary thing. True relationship rightfully indicates vulnerability, which can result in you being horribly betrayed or misled. True Godly relationship means loving without intention, agenda or control. You are able to relate without deriving your identity or losing your identity in a relationship.
Isn’t it much easier if you just tell me how you would like me to act to be in your good graces instead of me discovering what unlocks your greatest joys. Being ruled by a king is about you remaining safe, entering relationship is about the other individuals benefit and not about you.
Well the Father tells Samuel to choose a King for Israel in place of relationship, but to forewarn them very specifically about what a King will bring upon these people, and then let them decide. Shortly after Samuel told the people beginning in vs. 11 “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harves, and some to make his weapons of war an equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, , cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men,[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.”
The good thing about Papa is he will work in any system to touch his children’s lives. He continued to move through Saul and among his kids because he is good. Unfortunately this generation never had the chance to see the awesome relationship they could have had with the Trinity here on earth. A relationship filled with faith, love, romance, adventure, and true fulfillment. We also know the result of Saul’s life and the consequences of a king remain true even today. It was unfair to Saul for the people to hold him in a place and “office” that only the Trinity was intended to fill.
You can read in Exodus 19:6 that God told the people of Israel what he had intended for them to be. “You shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Priest is another word for prince. God is the king and we are his prince and princesses. He is our father and although we walk in royalty we are not the kings nor are we to look for Kings. For one is your King, the Father who is in heaven.
How does this relate to freedom, you may ask? There is a cry for freedom in our predestined human hearts. Some have followed this cry. The name’s listed in the beginning, declared this cry. Unfortunately, in most cases the system of this world has drowned out the cry. Christians cry out to Pastors, “be our king and tell us when we are right and when we are wrong.” We relay a message to our leaders that if you are disappointed in me then God is disappointed in me. If you are rebuking me then God can’t possibly be happy with me. I need a king’s approval to know that I am right with God. Meanwhile your heart contradicts your worldly conditioning with a cry of “FREEDOM!”.
Freedom to follow your heart’s leading. Freedom to speak your revelations. Freedom to serve one another. Freedom to Love without an agenda. Freedom to communicate without an annoying push for conversion. Freedom to Love until someone wants the Love you have. Freedom to give freely without reluctancy and compulsion. Freedom to lead in relationship communicating in the five gifts that Papa has placed in friends all around us for the growth of each other.
You see it takes great faith to live in relationship. It is much easier and safer to live according to what a king lays out before you. The need for the gifts that Papa has placed in us for each other is imperative and the time that you spend with any number of the saints is priceless. There is no substitute for a true relationship that relates without expectation.
The revolutionary Son of God, Jesus Christ did not consider three different systems. Jesus only recognized two kingdoms; the kingdom of darkeness and the Kingdom of Light. He lived and exploded in the middle of the kingdom of darkness which is riddled with performance and obligational living and made a profound statement that is many times under appreciated and counted as ABC’s or discounted as basics. “The first of all the commandments is ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these…on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt 22:39; Mark 12:29-31) Everything we say and do to portray His Kingdom depends soley on the evidence of these two intentions in our hearts.
In summary, we claim that we want freedom but unfortunately we are conditioned to appoint a man-king in our lives to dictate and exalt as God’s voice in our lives. We miss out on the greatest message that Jesus died to bring us. Could it be that as soon as an individual has a king-like title, they strip themselves of relational value? Can it happen, that we respect the relationships in our lives that offer the five gifts Papa pointed out without losing relational benefits and friendships? I have been challenged to re-evaluate the five gifts that are mixed throughout all of us, and ponder the thought that maybe they are best operated in a relationship instead of a hierarchy.
Jesus never said Repent or you will burn in hell. Jesus proclaimed “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. I would like to proclaim today STOP!!! RECONSIDER YOUR WAYS BECAUSE THERE IS A KINGDOM AND WAY THAT CAN BRING AN UNRELENTING PEACE TO YOUR LIFE. THERE IS A KINGDOM THAT YOU WERE CREATED FOR. A KINGDOM THAT IS NOT OF THIS WORLD!!!
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