To My Father's House

i'm coming to my Father's house.

i have the key,

now, where is it?

check my pockets?

i can be so irresponsible sometimes.

hmm, i know i have it...?

leafing through my Bible,

my prayer books

my papers.

then i'm thinking;

i suppose i could knock?

i could shout, he'd hear me?

kick the door down?

i'm not sure that would be good?

check under the mat

and behind the flowerpot?

this is getting frustrating!

wait a minute,

Oh!

yes there it was all the time,

around my neck

close to my heart.

the one given me by my older brother.

i slip the braided leather cord

over my head,

looking closely

at the large nails

formed into a crude key

with a carved wooden handle

i slip it into the key hole

it fits perfectly.

turning to the right

i hear the clunk

of the mechanism.

i step into the well lit foyer

and remove my coat and baggage,

my shoes and hat.

crossing the floor

i reach the french doors

and slide them gently.

there is soft music,

i recognize the song

and join in.

closing my eyes i stop for a moment

meditating upon the words.

the carpeted floor is warm and soft.

i cross it to another set of doors.

these doors have beautiful stained glass.

i speak the words i see etched

on the glass and smile.

i knock softly before entering.

the room is swelling with more music,

love songs.

in the background i hear

my sibling's voices

and the reassuring voice

of our Father.

"Hello Daddy."

"Hello son," he says,

"Tell me about your day." He inquires.

i run into His outstretched arms. (L)

Crossing Over

"If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand." Ps.37.23-24
Crossing over and leaving the soulical realm behind.
There will be many crossings we will have to negotiate in this life journey of following after the Lord.
Not all will be easy. Some will require a great amount of faith, Some may be a battle of will, mind, spirit, soul.

Leaving the familiar is a challenge, since many of us do not like change.
This has always been the greatest problem within the church that God desires. Since he does not want a church built upon man's ways, but his and because he changes the dynamics and circumstances we always question the upheaval, the chaos at times.
His word never changes, it is the one constant factor. Salvation in Jesus and no other remains a constant also. But the journey into his heart and seasons he designs so there will not remain a stagnancy will be the wall we face, or river, or ocean or continent we will ultimately have to cross.
God is not a God of the boring. His creation we enjoy is filled with his character, imagination, love for the unique, the mind blowing, the awesome. The church has been contented with the mundane and time after time the Lord comes along and brings mystery, a new paradigm.
Jesus used a variety of analogies for the Kingdom of God. We have only a few written down to consider. It is written that he spoke volumes of things, that would take a multitude of books to contain.
Who are we to question God on what he wants to do in us both as individuals and as a church body, country, nation, even the world?
We use our limited mind and resources and think we know the mind of God by our own investigation.
Scientists the world over are continually amazed at what they find and the structure of the created, although many of them will not conform to a created universe. Their discoveries which have no end should be a minute reminder of how enormous God is.
We continually want to put him into a jar like a firefly and say to ourselves, "i have understanding."
"i have enlightenment!"
In the book of Ephesians the apostle Paul in his prayer for these people asks for the Spirit of wisdom and understanding and that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened. Why? So they could know God better, as should we.
Ephesus at the time was one of the most prominent cities in the known world. But yet they as us needed more understanding of God. This knowledge is a nonstop learning curve without end.
We cross over from soul into spirit.
Jesus introduces for the first time, "you must be born again!" A phrase the spiritual leader Nicodemus was unfamiliar with. "How can this be?" was his question. "I am old, do I have to reenter my mothers womb?"
Jesus said, "You must be born from above."
Crossing over. A New dimension. A passage with reference to birthing. A process. Receiving the seed, the Word of God, who was standing before him.
There is no other way.
Birthing is a trust issue, it is out of your hands now. Any parent will tell you, from conception to the birthing moment you trust. What we trust in is of our own volition, but every human goes through this exact same experience.
Every human now enters a place of choice of being reborn.
Where does this new dimension of birthing take place?
It happens in our heart.
Jesus says, "No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."
(John 3.5)
The ever continual process. Our soul had a way of loving, having joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and even a measure of self control.
Now we have to leave these soulish realm virtues and enter into the Spirit dimension of the same. A shift in our heart.
But weren't these virtues good? Yes, but not good enough, not fulfilling the spiritual requirement which is higher, better, richer, fuller.
The Kingdom of God requirement is to leave behind what was earthly.
Jesus says, "I speak to you of earthly things and you do not believe, how then will you believe if I speak to you of heavenly things?" (John3.12)
So i now make a choice in my heart to say, "I like what I have, who I am and the things I have done and how I love others and so on and so on."
If we keep what we had from our old nature, it will corrupt what we have received into our New nature and our New heart, and we are in violation of Kingdom principles. But the choice remains with us.
Reminder: Parable of New cloth ripped from New material and put onto old garment, does not match, New wine in Old wine skins, bursting and loss, indulging only in the old wine saying it is better. (Luke 5.36-39)
Many people only take a part of this parable but it is three fold.
It is about process, change, New vs Old.

God is not one dimensional and neither are we.
What an awesome life of ongoing experience we live in.
Embrace it now, because when we meet him we will be changed, again!

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them..."

Isaiah 42.16

There are many things before us that we are blind to, but to live in the Spiritual dimension designed by God, and His leading us along our journey, is the way of the Lord.

Not every journey is the same, because we are unique.

Bridges in the Spirit are choices we will have to make as we come to them and decide if they are worthy of crossing over into a New way, because we have not come this way before.

A New adventure in the Spirit or a New truth illuminated by Holy Spirit. He is the guide into all truth, and his basis come from God the Father and creator and Jesus.

All things must line up with Jesus, the Father, Holy Spirit and the Word.

The Word comes to us in two forms, one is God's spoken word and two is Jesus himself.

Any truth Holy Spirit brings New revelation to will always line up on these points.

As i was doing a study for a meeting last week, on love and the gifts of the Spirit i came across something i had never thought of before from Galatians chapter 5.16-25.

Paul is talking about the acts of the sinful nature and then speaks on the fruit of the Spirit. Being, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. We are quite familiar with this passage.

What came to me was this; the sinful nature is at odds to the Spirit or in his words, "contrary"

CONTRARY: an adjective.

1) diametrically opposed.

2) unfavorable.

3)willfully stubborn in opposition.

As a Noun: 1) in Logic, either of two contrary things.

As an adverb: 1) contrary in action to one's principles.

or as an idiom: contrary to expectation. (extracted from dictionary.com)

Now since i am trying to be led by the Spirit and do not want to be contrary in thinking and actions and expectation, i had to ask myself a question?

Are the things i am doing, such as my love, joy, peace, patience etc being formed in me and being executed by my will coming from a Spiritual source? Am i indeed doing these things with this fruit or am i still living out these actions through the soulish source which was present in me before i became a New creation in Christ?

We all come with our own love be it as it is, we all come with a natural joy, and peace and a form of patience and so on. We can all be kind, good, faithful, gentle and self controlled to some extent.

But; have we gone so far in our walk as to move from the childish ways and into the more mature way of walking in the Spirit in all these matters?

It is easy to stay one dimensional, but this is not the way of Holy Spirit, this is man's way.

When Jesus was rebuking Peter for his lack of understanding and he said to him, "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men." Matt.16.23

i wanted to question whether i was still thinking like a man in human terms and with humanistic insight only. Had i really crossed over that bridge of unconditional love?

What do i have to do to shed this clothing that smell of the contrary nature and the normal as everyone else kind of love?

What is it to know supernatural joy? To fully understand, "the joy of the Lord is my strength?"

Peace that passes all understanding?

Patience, what spiritual dimension have i crossed over to have this fruit blazing in my heart.

Kindness, at who's level? What is Holy Spirit kindness, i mean what does this look like, feel like?

Goodness. Jesus said, "you call me good, but only God is good."

Faithfulness. Jesus before his death was in the garden praying, and the disciples could not even watch and pray with him. Peter even denies him.

If i was to be tested, wait i have been and failed. i should be dead. Who was faithful to me during my failure?

Gentleness. Could i be the good Samaritan? To bind up the broken hearted, set the captives free. Give up my time, effort, be willing to get a little dirty for the sake of another. Is the real Spirit in me ready to be poured out?

Self control. i never thought about how powerful this is as a fruit of the Spirit. i always thought it was something i conjured up on my own, something i made happen because i was so in love with God and Jesus that nothing could divide my attention? There are natural elements we are capable of doing outside the Spirit. They produce pride in ourselves and we fail miserably because of all we thought we had. What did we have? A handful of sand, because that was our foundation.

i took a long look at this and realized that i had a contrary way in me that was built of my own doing, it was as natural as breathing. i was given a measure of these things and by good conscience performed them, but there is a more excellent way. The way of the Spirit and being led by and walking in Holy Spirit.

Eph.4.22-24

You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self which is being corrupted by it's deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitudes in your minds; and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

When we come to know the difference within us, that there is still a line of corruption, an underlying current of things that can compromise the Spirit, and our spirit from the true holiness and righteousness of God; then the warfare we wage is not so much on the outside with elements contrary, but first and foremost on the inside. The outer elements have been dealt with by Christ, and the victory is in his right hand with power forever.

We, have a choice to want righteousness and holiness. To go after it like gold, like treasure, like the pearl of great price and to not quit until we have done all we can to have it.

If there are things of a corruptible nature, then there are more things of an incorruptible nature that we can have for ourselves.

Just because we have been reborn does not mean that there is no further work to be done and that Holy Spirit will do everything for us.

A continual putting off and putting on. Layers, seasons, depth, maturity, Godliness and Christ likeness.

If very little has changed in you over the years, shouldn't that be telling you something?

Learn from the parable of the ten virgins what it takes to go all the way.

Holy Spirit is the best guide, best tracker, smartest with the full faculty of genius at his disposal to help us on our journey.

As a friend of mine has said, "I used to believe in God and Jesus, but now I know them!"

Wrestling in the Garden

At our men's group meeting tonight, after some fun at the pool table, our host and leader spoke about the prayers of Jesus at the time before his betrayal and eventually the execution.
During Jesus intense time of prayer he stops as recorded in the gospels, once, twice and then a third time according to Mark.
He speaks to his friends about watching and praying that they not succumb to temptation.
i began to think about some other thoughts, some of them i shared there tonight. This is what i thought about.
He knew what he was about to give himself to, but also he knew that there with him were the men who were going to carry the next events with them and how this was going to change the history of God's intervention with man for all time. Not only was he becoming the sacrificial lamb for the world, not only was he carrying all our sin and guilt with him, not only was he demonstrating the enormous love of the Father to all mankind, but he was to be betrayed by a friend and killed by the very people he had come to demonstrate the love of God to. Who only hours before he had been teaching and healing and casting out the demonic from those who were bound.
He foretold this event in the story of the vineyard and the workers who killed the son of the vineyard owner, speaking of himself and those who had been entrusted with the keys of the kingdom.
Here were a group of people, his friends who knew nothing of what the next hours were going to unfold, and who knew nothing of how they were going to react and run away and even deny knowing him.
These were the same people who would be used by God through Holy Spirit to change the course of history, beginning with a small speck of a nation and for the next few thousand years would impact the entire earth with a radical message of good news through the death of one man for all for all time.
The wisdom and at the same time seemingly foolishness of God to trust men with so phenomenal a task. He had to trust the fickle heartedness of mankind to carry out something so important, that had they known what they were doing and the ramifications... ripples in the stream of time, of what this was going to do in changing the divine order of the religious world as was known at the time. They may have failed completely had they seen the whole picture as was thought out in God's heart for what he was going to accomplish.
These men had a choice to wait it out for the next 50 days, together in a room or go back to what they were doing before and forget about it all. This was their moment of temptation. Do they really believe that Jesus was all and everything he had said, and that there was another encounter to behold in Holy Spirit?
i mean, what did they know of Holy Spirit? Where was there some evidence that this was going to happen and who or what was Jesus talking about?
They could have walked away.
God as a trusting Father allowed his hands to be free from any coercion. There was no mind games, no control, no changing the rules of free will. They could have stopped at any time and the plan of God could have fallen flat.
But it didn't and there was no failure, because God knew what was in the heart of each chosen individual, each as different as they come. He knew they could be entrusted with the greatest event this world has ever seen and will ever know until the return of Jesus in our very near future.
God's choice in creation was easy compared to these next days as he watched his only son walk down a pathway into the arms of hatred. His people, his heart, his passion for life and giving to mankind would be rejected and his heart in Father, Son and Holy Spirit would be broken and all his love thwarted for a time. Until mankind would see what really happened here and turn and repent and be welcomed back.
He still awaits his first love of the Jews to have their eyes and hearts opened.
i cannot speculate on what i might have done during those horrendous next few days to come. i was not there. i was destined for such a time as now. i was chosen to receive his gift of love to me at a specific time in my life. i had a choice to make and i said "yes to Jesus, i will follow you!"
That was over 34 years ago.
i like millions of others have been given a gift of Holy Spirit... the comforter, teacher, the one who directs and leads us into the truth and love of God the Father and glorifies the Son, Jesus of Nazareth.
i like these other men, Jesus original followers, was not coerced, controlled, manipulated, threatened, violated, pushed, nor demanded by religiosity to do what i chose to do. i chose to change my lifestyle and have a relationship with God as my heavenly Father because i wanted to. To be filled with Holy Spirit and have him join with my spirit and to love Jesus was also my choice. To walk in the spirit and be led daily by Holy Spirit, and to love God and others is my choice.
God writes the notes of the symphony, but we decide what we want to play.
He still entrusts life onto the hands and hearts of men.
i choose to trust my hands and heart to him.