A Father Mourns

Preface- I was on vacation in Jerusalem and our tour guide took us to two graveyards and explained the Jewish response to hearing news of the death of a loved one. I mean no offense. I do not mean to suggest that Jesus was not God and a member of the trinity. Only that the following became how God detailed the crucifixion for me. 

Jesus had been sent a worried summons from Mary and Martha. Lazarus was sick and if Jesus didn’t hurry Lazarus would die.

Two days later those who mourned tore the garments when they heard the news, from collar to hem. It was tradition- in mourning there were protocols and so a design to how the Jew mourned. Torn garment, covered mirrors and no thought for appearance as you wept over the death of a loved one.

And Jesus didn’t arrive until after Lazarus succumbed…

But Jesus followed no acceptable protocol- He did not fast, He did not tear His garment, He travelled as though He were on a planned trip and when He arrived and was chastised by Mary and Martha he wept because they believed He had failed them. These who had gotten more plain teaching, more honesty about His mission than any others.
And so Jesus called out to Lazarus. Out he came, with no evidence of being touched by death. Jesus had shown that He was greater than death, and yet

they didn’t see it and that took a toll on Jesus the human. 

A short time later there was the feast of the passover. It was time for Jesus to strengthen the bond between He and His disciples. Shore up the message of His mission and charge with carrying the message of the Kingdom. A gospel that they hadn’t suspected though He had been preparing them to understand and convey the message of the kingdom to the children of Israel, that He had brought a new covenant to them and it was about to become ratified, but when He was betrayed they didn’t see it. When He was arrested they thought they might stop what they saw (rightly) as injustice but Jesus capitulated. He told Peter to stand down after he swung their single sword wildly, taking the ear of a servant of the garrison, Jesus healed that servant and it confused His disciples to see all of the hopes they understood failing before them.

They heard tales of how Jesus was set for trial, silently bearing all the punishment cruelty could mete out and then moved to a higher authority where Pilate offered to the crowd that Jesus was without guilt in his eyes.
This time his disciples weren’t there to encourage Him through this test. 
He had practiced it in his heart many times while he communed with His Father in heaven. When He had been away in the wilderness, Satan would have played all of this before Him and offered to allow this cup to pass if he turned away from this path but He knew- He was positive in His task assured of victory until the last moments when His earthly body was in the act of failing Him.
And He was hung high in the mist of the morning.

He struggled to raise himself up on the nail through his feet to catch his breath. 

If there was one thing the Romans new well and that was horrific death. How to make a man suffer. It was during these moments when Jesus struggled between his Godhood and His manhood… 
One minute, early on in His ordeal I’m sure, He spoke to the thief, making one last disciple before his worldly flesh was allowed to be the premier control and in his torture and in this delirium he shouted “Why have you forsaken me Father!”

And the Father wept for He was well aware. He had anticipated this day since the foundations of the earth when the trinity made this plan, but the agony- Though He anticipated it He did not know the pain of losing a son without recourse because the plan had been laid and there was no way out but through. 

The silence in heaven was deafening after those words escaped the mouth of the Christ.

And the Father in His greatest sorrow at the death of His son took the only garment He had on earth, the veil between man and the Arc of the Covenant (a covenant this moment saw fulfilled), He tore that veil from top to bottom, revealing His heart before man as He had in the Garden so many generations before.

The mourning of a Father for a son until immediately in the aftermath a new covenant began. The sacrifice fulfilled. The new covenant engaged where mankind, not just the jews but gentile as well, could speak into the ear of the creator and expect Him to hear. To heed man’s pleas. To be friends with man without separation. An invitation be friends. To be love slaves. To be a bride.

Santa Tells the Story of

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!!! I am SO glad that you are here!

Would you like to hear about the very first Christmas Eve?

It’s a very exciting story about a mom, a dad and a child that would change 

the world.

Pg 2

A long time ago, even before I was born, there were two people who were 

very much in love named Mary and Joseph. They lived in a land that is far 

away from here and they were going to get married.

Pg3

One special day an angel named Gabriel appeared and he said, “Hello Mary! 

I have some amazing news for you!” 

pg4

Well Mary was afraid but Gabriel said, “Don’t be afraid Mary, you are going 

to have a child, a very special child  and this child will change the world!”

Mary was frightened, she had never seen an angel before but she knew this 

was something that she wanted to do since this visitor Gabriel was sent 

all the way from heaven to tell her about it. I have to tell Joseph about this!

Pg 5

Mary burst into the house of Joseph saying,  “Joseph I have big news!” 

and Joseph exclaimed, “Mary I have big news! I had a dream and-” 

“we are having a child that will change the world” they exclaimed together!

The Joseph told her about a dream. 

“An angel visited me in a dream and told me you are going to have a child 

and I am going to be his daddy and he will change the world!”

pg

Sometime before the child was born the king sent out a letter that said 

all families need to go their home towns so they can be counted with the rest 

of their family and so Joseph got a donkey for Mary to ride and off they went

to Bethlehem.

When Mary and Joseph rode through town and as they came upon an Inn 

Joseph went in to see if they had a room for them and no one had a room for 

Mary and Joseph or for the child about to be born who would change the 

world. 

Finally they came to an inn that was run by a very kind man who still had no 

room for Mary and Joseph or the child about to be born who would change 

the world but he told Joseph that they were welcome to use the stable for 

shelter.

Meanwhile on a hill not too far away there were shepherds looking after their 

sheep. They were gathered around small fires talking about their day when all 

of a sudden a single angel appeared high up in the sky and said, “Don’t be 

afraid, I’m hear to tell you some great news! Today in Bethlehem a child was 

born, a child that will change the world!” and the sky opened up and night 

became day as thousands of angels appeared proclaiming together 

“Glory to God in the highest and peace be in the hearts of men!”

And the sky was empty, leaving the shepherds blinking and wondering what 

had just happened. 

Then one of them said, “lets go into town and see about this child who will 

change the world”

And one of them had noticed that when the angels disappered a new and very 

bright star appeared! That star must lead the way!

Well the group of them got into town and found the stable. They began to 

crowd around the stable door to get a peek in- Joseph put his finger to his lip 

saying “The baby is sleeping” 

And they were all excited to have met the child who would change the world.

And THAT my friends is my favorite Christmas story because it's the first one

And it's about the child who grew up to change the world.

the romance of the cross

the romance of the cross

take a step back

take a step to the right

now get another look at the cross

it began long before

long before he ever walked

clear from very beginning of this creation

HE knew

HE knew it would break

leaving us all in a mire of our own mud

come walk with me in the cool of the day

come climb this mountain to its heights so we can talk

won’t you pray with me for one hour

a man of sorrow

a man not pretty

a man without stature

be healed but tell no one but the priest

this man is not blind for the sins of his parents

where are your accusers

blessed are you

blessed are they

blessed are those

whitewashed graves

vipers and serpents

you say but I tell you

a man without blame

like a sheep before the shears

no single word broke his silence

john this is your mother

I am thirsty

it is finished

it is finished

without a broken bone

but crown of thorns and a heart exposed for all to see

Farming for Beginners

I was talking with a friend about the deliverance earlier today and that took me down a merry path thinking about what I have seen in the 40 plus years that I have conscious of the need.
My christening moment was watching TBN in the early years and watching one (or both) of them going off on rock music imagery and backward masking... (I've got to admit, some of that stuff is amazing and they made a strong case for it.

From there I was spending time looking into the darkness in order that I wouldn't be caught unaware.
Spent some time in the navy to earn some money for bible school where I was introduced to Bob Larson, who had a radio show where he tore everything and left no joy or innocence, vilifying everything that would raise a menonites eyebrow.

I was pretty much just keeping my ears open and listening for truth and I began to find some pretty remarkable teachers. I learned early in this portion of my journey that the people who actually had revelation to teach when googled, were very often plagued by the guardians of mediocrity who would actually have five or six web addresses that would come up in the search before the the subject of their venom and my interest.

I also had recognized the need not to just take someone else's word for anything but actually look into it (still not great at it tho'). I heard Larson talk about the books "Pigs in the Parlor" and some clinical psychology(-ish) book whose name I can't recall.

Later I found Graham Cook who mentored me (I met him once in a hallway in Portland, Oregon and thanked him for being my mentor for the past 20 years) and one of the lessons that he taught me (and it stuck) is that to ask for ones anointing is to ask for a burden that you aren't prepared for.

I think that laying on hands is like infant baptism... It is a seeding where the seeds are actually left on top of the soil with the idea that that they will be tended to, as with a child...

If I remember correctly, or at least at the child dedications that I have attended, the agreement with those in attendance is that they will all be part of raising that child up in the knowledge of Christ.

Todd Bentley, as a young christian, spent a lot of time meditating on what he saw and heard reading the bible without the narration of folk that read what they read in the same voice that read it in the first time which sounded a lot like the voice of the preacher thaat explained it all to them in the first place...

There are revelations in that book that you only read when you read it as tho' it's your first time.   John Crowder was holed up in a travel trailer in Alaska when he gleaned truths, blatant truths, about man's place in the Kingdom of God that are filled with freedom instead of the hierarchies of current church governments.

So my point is, if you see someone or something that really intrigues you don't just think that to have someone lay hands on you is enough, seeds must germinate, be protected, soaked in the nourishment of the soil and the provision of the Father. Then they will come to kingdom level fruition. A fruition that will be beyond your ability to assess and that is when faith comes in.

One of the things that I have noticed through the years is that the established tribe wants to keep what they have and they don’t look favorably on anything that might upset their apple cart.

The missionary has for centuries tried to make people become who the missionary is, for fear of being led astray by the traditions of the missioned peoples. They have been fearful enough to forbid drums, vocal styles, even meeting locations for fear of demonic intervention, rather than “taking on all comers.” I will speak of the native American, but with the caveat that they aren’t the only aboriginal peoples who feel this way. The path of reconciliation is well worn and bears little fruit. 

The modern church researchers have begun to recognize that people groups have sounds associated with both them and the ground that they inhabit. The Aborigine in Australia incorporates the sounds of their surroundings into the music of the didgeridoo. The Hawaiian dances in expression of the sea that gives them sustenance. The Native American calls out thanks to the animals that share the land and life with them. The Native American actually has a Trinitarian god who manifested in the earth because he was too great for man to comprehend as a spirit being… Sound familiar just a little bit? 

Their complaint is that the modern church (since its arrival) has judged them simple heathens and turned back their honest expressions of worship. The drum, the flute, their dance has all been judged as an expression of a baser faith which includes animism and reverence of dark spirits (all of which can be discovered to some degree in our church today). 

We MUST accept their identity in its full expression, which includes tobacco, sage and cedar which mirror elements of the jewish worship with what is indigenous to the region. All are used as incense. Their use of the drums communicates Gods heartbeat and they consider each time their foot touches the ground to be a prayer, especially when they are wearing a “jingle dress” which adds the texture of a tambourine to their dance. The sound of breath filling the air around the flute so easily represents the breath of the Holy Spirit being breathed over a group of people, and yet people have feared these exhortations, these expressions of the spirit and in the Spirit may have been used for a dark purpose or by the unordained and therefore insulting to the deity who, in fact, said, (New International Version) Mt 28:15&16 He (Jesus) said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” 

Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” 

 Rev 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 

He receives them. Who are we to be so bold and so proud as to “protect” Him from them. It is a lie that God cannot look on sin. A lie, pure and simple. Jesus was not abandoned by His Father on the cross, He was fully man in that moment, experiencing death crying out as any man would. Adam is proof and did what man has done ever since, until that moment on the cross. God came looking for Him. In His ability to shut off His omniscience so that Adam could hide from Him in His shame? I believe that He wanted Adam to come out and trust the friend that he had always walked with in the cool of the afternoon. 

Enough with the rabbits, Jesus is certain to redeem every tribe and tongue, and every means eery just like all means all. There is no “skiming the till”, He will get everything that He has paid for. All of it.

The New Man in Gadara

He had always, it seemed, lived in the darkness. Only a faint memory of light hidden in his memory under a pile of resentment fed by the cold and the smell of his own rotting manifestation and a feeling that he was once much more.

It had been eras since he had last syphoned from the light in a host. He had been happy until being discovered by a new man. up until that time moment he had it pretty good living as part of a horde within a man who would do our bidding in exchange for supernatural strength. Eventually we had him replenishing the lot of us with energy that was meant to sustain his mind and body to a glory that I resented- we all resented... and took great pleasure causing him to let his own blood, his own life force flow.

We found great sport in it.

Beyond being our source of the glorious energy that we fed on he was endless entertainment, pulling stones from graves and raising them high over his head, we would wager on how long he could keep it there before it landed on him. Or threaten passersby with threat from stick or stone or eventually even just a scream was effective in keeping him in isolation.

Those of us within were warm and safe reveling as we sucked all of the glory within that reminded me of a better time.

I was beautiful then.

This bone that you see when you look at my head? The large one that looks like a horn? It was once a crown filled with jewels, but as my manifestation was deprived of sustenance, the energy derived from the man in the graveyard, it has deteriorated through the last two millennia into what you see here.

Where once my eyes were a bright glowing red, red like the embers of a fire, now are hollow and for all intents and purposes I am blind.

The vibrant colors that colored my armor now monochromatic shades from grey green to a black.
Once smooth and creaseless, gaps between bones and joints separated by a coagulant viscosity that drips off occasionally like the flesh of the Gadara. the smell is far worse probably because it is my own.
The new man? We only knew him as master, wondering why he had come before it was our time to vacate the decaying flesh we inhabited.

Somehow our host caught sight of him and ran, although our resistance caused him to trip more than once as we fought for control.

We had taken intelligible speech from him, but one of our more fearful number darted for his ability to speak and asked if the New Man was here for us...

Knowing that he had brought disaster upon us one of the more powerful among is thought to negotiate our exit. He tried to negotiate for a new host, not nearly as delectable as the one we had, he asked if we could be released into a herd of pigs.

...This horde into a herd of pigs, a disaster at first consideration, but I think he thought it would buy us time and we could regain entry or find another host, but in the moment we left I felt the change.

The New Man had come to bring a change into this world that was my home... had been my playground, feeding ground, the land where I lived a life of leisure, and now into a herd of pigs that no matter how we tried to control them still managed to stampede into the river.

They had no thought for reasonable compromise, we couldn't dominate them we were stuck in our compromise with the New Man. Stuck swimming, crying, clamoring, the weaker pulling the stronger back down as they would reach a possible safety, all and each clinging to existence knowing that life as we knew it was over.
The New Man never gave us a glance.  It was as though in this moment a lesson had been taught. A victory recorded and a history rewritten.

Now I sit in the cold darkness. Feasting on memories of a time I cannot return to. Unless perhaps...

Come closer, how would you like the power to...

The Eternal Romance

Here is a quick historical survey of the EARLY CHURCH regarding their beliefs about HELL:

THE FIRST 500 YEARS: In the first five centuries there were six known theological schools. Four of them taught that all men would EVENTUALLY be rescued from Hell after a remedial time of purgation: these being the theological schools at Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea and Edessa/Nisbis. One school, Ephesus, taught Annihilationism (that sinners are totally incinerated into nothingness in Hell). Only one theological school, Rome/Carthage taught eternal punishment. Source: The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Universalism entry, p. 96, Baker Book House.

"The main Patristic supporters of the apokatastasis theory, such as Bardaisan, Clement, Origen, Didymus, St. Anthony, St. Pamphilus Martyr, Methodius, St. Macrina, St. Gregory of Nyssa (and probably the two other Cappadocians), St. Evagrius Ponticus, Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, St. John of Jerusalem, Rufinus, St. Jerome and St. Augustine (at least initially [However, even after abandoning the doctrine of apokatastasis himself, Augustine very interestingly recognised that a great deal of Christians in his day did embrace it, 'indeed the vast majority' (immo quam plurimi). These very numerous Christians, 'albeit not denying the Holy Scripture, do not believe in eternal torments' (Ench. ad Laur. 29) page 683]), Cassian, St.Isaac of Nineveh, St.John of Dalyatha, Ps. Dionysius the Areopagite, probably St. Maximus the Confessor, up to John the Scot Eriugena,28 and many others, grounded their Christian doctrine of apokatastasis first of all in the Bible." Page 11, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena, by Ilaria L.E. Ramelli (2013). Ramelli's work is comprehensive (800 pages) on this and her credentials beyond reproach. I daresay its the most comprehensive and scholarly book on the subject ever written. She is working on a shorter user friendly version soon to be published.

1ST CENTURY: PAUL. It is interesting to note that Paul never used the word Hell in any of his writings, though he was considered the theologian of the New Testament. He spoke of God's post-mortem purging fire in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, but never of Hell per se. The Gospel of John, the disciple perhaps closest to Jesus' heart, never used the word Hell in his Gospel. It is also interesting to note that the Book of Acts never mentions the word Hell, except to speak of Jesus' liberation FROM it. Acts NEVER uses the word Hell to describe any part of the Christian message which established the Church. The following passages suggests Paul's seminal thinking on the eventual and ultimate salvation of all men: Romans 5:17,18; 10:9-17; 11:25-33; 14:11; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 15:22-28; 1 Tim. 2:1-6; 4:10; Eph. 1:10; 4:1-10; Phil. 2:9-11; Col. 1:20, 23.

2ND CENTURY: CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. Clement was the first to speak of God's fire as a "wise fire" which purges the sinner unto salvation. "God's punishments are saving and disciplinary (in Hades) leading to conversions, and choosing rather the repentance than the death of the sinner, and especially since souls, although darkened by passions, when released from their bodies, are able to perceive more clearly because of their being no longer obstructed by the paltry flesh. We can set no limits to the agency of the Redeemer to redeem, to rescue, to discipline, is His work, and so will he continue to operate after this life." Clem. str. 5:14.90.4-91.2; see also 5.1.9.4; and hyp. (frg. In Stahlin, Clemens Alexandrians, 3:211).

3RD CENTURY: ORIGEN: "When the Son is said to be subject to the Father, the perfect restoration of the whole creation is signified, so also, when enemies are said to be subjected to the Son of God, the salvation of the conquered and the restoration of the lost is in that understood to consist." Origen, De Principiis, Book III, Chapter 5, Section 7, Anf, Vol. 4. Origen was the first Christian Systematic Theologian. A fundamental and essential element of his theology was the doctrine of the universal restoration of all fallen beings to their original holiness and union with God. Gods mercy and goodness are all-inclusive and ultimately irresistible. Hellfire is corrective and purgative, not punitive and eternal. This doctrine was called Apocatastasis, "the restitution of all things" per Acts 3:21. Origen was the greatest enemy of Gnosticism (per his Against Celsus) and is considered the greatest theologian of the early Eastern Church. "There is hardly a major thinker who is not deeply indebted to Origen. From the middle of the Twentieth Century, focused scholarly symposia of the Greek and Latin Church have once again begun to study and critically expound the rich Origenian legacy." The Westminister Handbook of Patristic Theology, WJK.

4TH CENTURY: GREGORY OF NYSSA: "What therefore is the scope of Pauls argument in this place [1 Cor. 15:28]? That the nature of evil, at length, be wholly exterminated, and divine, immortal goodness embrace within itself every rational creature; so that of all who were made by God, not one shall be excluded from his Kingdom. All the viciousness, that like a corrupt matter is mingled in things, shall be dissolved and consumed in the furnace of purgatorial fire; and every thing that had its origin from God, shall be restored to its pristine state of purity." Tract, in Dictum Apostoli, Tunc etiam ipse Filius subjicietur, and c.p. 137, and seqq. Gregory was one of the three great Cappodadocean Fathers who protected the doctrine of the Trinity from the Arians at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople.

5TH CENTURY: Theodore of Mopsuestia. "They who have chosen the good, shall, in the future world, be blessed and honored. But the wicked, who have committed evil the whole period of their lives, shall be punished till they learn, that, by continuing in sin, they only continue in misery. And when, by this means, they shall have been brought to fear God, and to regard Him with good-will, they shall obtain the enjoyment of His grace." Assemani Biblioth. Orient. Tom. iii. Par. i. p.323.

Church history is fairly clear that this view of Hell was not just the view of a few, but rather was the majority view of the Church.

Basil the Great (329-379) said that, "The MASS of men (Christians) say that there is to be an end of punishment to those who are punished." De Ascetics.

Saint Jerome (347-420) said, "I know that MOST persons understand the story of Nineveh and its king, the ultimate forgiveness of the devil and all rational creatures." Homily on Jonah.

Lastly, even Augustine (354-430), who vehemently opposed Universalism, acknowledged, "There are VERY MANY in our day, who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments." Enchirdion cxii. (The Latin for "very many" is imo quam plurimi, which can be translated majority).

When the Church rejected this high view of God's goodness and replaced it with a view of God as an eternal torturer, the dark ages began, almost to the day. Ever since, there has remained a small, constant and stubborn strand of those imbedded in the Church who believe Hell is not an eternal torture chamber, but rather God's final crisis-center, a cosmic ER station where God performs complicated, intense and painful surgery on our souls in order to remove all our false sin-identies accumulated over our lifetime.

With no permission from Richard Murray

The Begininning Of A Beginning

In 1998 just outside of Belfast Ireland there was a revival, and in the midst of it I fell in love.  I had been involved in music for my whole life, but there was an expression that I had never really heard that was featured, that of the drums.
The drums were playing as one of the speakers commissioned me as a warrior, and as I fell to the floor, I opened my heart and asked God for the drums, and He gave them to me.
I didn’t have any idea what that was going to mean, only that I would have a new weapon in my little arsenal (and I really didn't actually know that  I had n arsenal).  I went out and bought an Irish bodhran (boe-run) and began to fiddle with it and eventually got the sounds out of it, now to get the rhythms out.
The challenge was to playing in 4/4 time when it is designed to play in 6/8 rhythm, but the ingenuity of someone who plays intuitively can overcome pretty much anything. 

Having been a musician most of my life I had certain sensibilities to overcome, and there was a bit of a struggle; including the pastor not feelin’ it, so to speak.  In those times you hope for an intervention.  Someone who has the vote of confidence from those whom you see yourselves under and someone who has you respect as well.
Enter Georgian Banov of a band called Silverwind back in the 1970’s.  And he had his eye on my drum…  that I was having trouble playing in 4/4 time.  He asked if he could play and then should me how to play within the worship setting.  He handed it back to me and I was set free.  Before long it was congas, udu, djembe, quika, ocean drum and so many others- each has a sound, a voice to speak into the atmosphere and change things.

So that was me, breaking loose.  Then on line I ran across a group called Psalm Drummers.  Powerful concept, drum intercession.  Founded by Teryl Bryant, a studio musician from London.  He put together a drum circle that as held at Penn State that had over 400 drummers participating made up of Christian drummers from across the nations that chartered local psalm drummer groups.  I never belonged to one of them, but I saw the strength in the concept.

I have played since that time, breaking through brass heavens and hard hearts and closed minds.

Find Your Voice

I was talking with an old friend the other day and he again talked with me about my need, as I have no progeny, to write a book to hand down the knowledge that I have gathered in my lifetime.
The important knowledge that needs to be be furthered in research and in deed, so I am tasked with writing yet another book (add to two) and the topic is about finding a voice in the world. And what a voice is for. And what difference it makes where you find it. And whether or not you can use someone else voice as your own.
There has been subtle revelation about this topic throughout my life as I have been on spiritual junkets for the visions of others as well as for myself, freeing angels, cutting off Jezebel powers from resources and cracking brass heavens.
I have been both tourist and warrior, assaulting formally and covertly affecting nations, regions and individuals toward freedom and in truth beyond what most Christians perceive as being part of the Great Commission, and I have watched the decline and fall of a major move of God. I live with my eyes open watching for revelation of my Father as well as revelation the effects of the hand of man in the affairs of the heavens and the world.
So finding a voice, your own or borrowing from the land that you find yourself in affects it all. Knowing which to use is a calling that divines the level of success you will have in your task.
Let's walk this path together while we can.

A Catchers Frame of Mind

The guests have arrived.

The party's begun.

The Bride and the Groom are about to meet.

The servant of the groom looks around the room confidently knowing that he has had his master's best interest at heart in dealing with the bride.

The Servant enters the room and quietly takes his place behind the bride to keep her safe from being overwhelmed by the majesty of his Master. The Master comes and takes his Bride’s chin in his hand and lifts her head to gaze deeply into her eyes, a look of passion and gentleness, kindness and purpose,

Adoration and compassion

and pure purpose of love.

She is intoxicated. Her hands begin to shake, her knees begin to buckle, she begins to faint, falling to the floor and the servant catches her carefully, skillfully, gracefully and supports her as she falls to the floor.

The servants see that no harm comes to the bride of his master. That no offense is given to her on this auspicious occasion.

This scenario happens over and over again in churches around the world. Call it Revival. 

Call it renewal.

Call it Reformation, 

but understand it is an overwhelming occasion and great care must be taken to keep the bride’s mind stayed on the groom without unnecessary distraction. 

The Yoke's on Us

I'm not very good at listening to podcast and I'm not very good at reading blogs or writing blogs I'm far too inconsistent, but yesterday I happened to listen to Praying Medics podcast with Matthew Payne and I was convicted on a number of levels.
Another funny thing is PM had told me about this guy on podcast before, and on his radio show, and his ability to hear from God. Actually on the radio show they had people calling in and he was giving accurate words for people who called in and I became jealous for a word from him.
I wanted one because it had been a while (which is not true) since God has spoken to me through someone else. I listen to this podcast and he was banging away on me like an alarm clocks hammer on those two little bells bouncing back and forth, but I'm not going to share all of that. This is about a particular thing that he mentioned in passing.
"when Jesus spoke of a yoke as in 'take my yoke upon you' he was speaking of his teaching".
I always thought that this meant "my burden is light"
I always thought that this had to do with preaching his message.
I thought it had to do with the work of True Religion.
In fact it had to do with the message of his kingdom "at hand"
It had to do with the message of Grace it had to do with the message of forgiving people of their sins. That was his yoke. That was the Yoke of Christ. To forgive people of their sins.
The teaching of the rabbi's, the teaching of the Pharisees was the law straight forward and every time that came at Jesus it was the law they used. They used it to try to get him stoned eventually used it to crucify Him.
They used it for its purpose which is to bring about death. 
Jesus said don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers. So it comes to my attention that unequally yoked can still be two Christians very easily. One Christian who assigns the law and one Christian who assigns Grace. The Pharisees could not function in the Kingdom that Christ was speaking of because they found comfort and solace in the "milk" of the law.
I say the milk of the law because one purpose of the law is to teach us how to live.
The Ten Commandments were 10 very basic rules to live by, the Pharisees extrapolated the very edge of the law to be sure that you didn't go over the edge and find yourself in line for judgement. They lined out just how far you could go, thus inspiring the words of Jesus who said that they strain at a gnat.
So as I listened to Matthew talk about a great many things many of which convicted me because I'm not very mature for my age (I have a very good view of what I expected to look like at this juncture), but when he mentioned the yoke in this context  my ears really perked up.
Peter who was accused of being double-minded was finding it difficult to marry the teaching that he grew up with, the teaching of the vast majority of his Nation, with the teaching of the Christ. At one point the disciples said these teachings are hard and the reason that they were hard is because Jesus would preach in the synagogue "you have heard it said this scripture means this but I'm telling you it means something else, it means THIS"
Peter was yoked to two masters and it was his passions fault-
But you can't have two. You will love the one and hate the other you will cleave to one and hate the other and look around us look around and see there are people who cleave with great desire to be snatched out of the grasp of the devil. To be snatched out of out of the jaws of hell and for others to be snatched from the jaws of hell rather than to preach the Kingdom at hand they would rather preach to people that they're going to hell if they continue doing what they're doing rather than do what Jesus did which was show people a better way.
I believe this is a thing they were speaking of when they spoke of being unequally yoked. For two people to be married and be unequally yoked there would be nothing but strife and a household where one partner believed in Grace and the other partner believed in the law is the stuff of the book of proverbs.
Like Peter I grew up under the law. I grew up under some strict rules and it has taken me a very long time to get out from under the law.
 Matthew has a very interesting and I believe very likely understanding of Peter that I won't go into but it gives me great comfort to hear Peter spoken of in such a way because I have identified with Peter for so long.
So there are two trees one tree is the knowledge of Good and Evil let's call that tree the law. And the other tree is the Tree of Life for the fruit is sweet but like any other sweet fruit if you make it your complete diet you will not be healthy. You must use common sense. Common Sense doesn't grow on trees and to be equally yoked means to be yoked with someone who Cleaves to what you cleave to. So be wise in your choosing for you will be known in the context of your associations. I choose to love Love

A Model Coming Out of the Pacific North West

So you hang around with the "prophetic" crowd and you hear all kinds of things. You SEE all kinds of things.  And you pray that you might get to be involved in what's coming...
Nearing 20 years ago I heard someone say that there was going to be a movement that would originate in the PNW and go around the world.
I got excited.
Then I got involved in worship, each team showing a higher skill level as well as a higher tolerance for...  the out of the ordinary, which was good for me, because I detest the ordinary.
Even in high school, if my choir director handed us a sheet of music that wasn't hand written I was kind of miffed.
Through the years I began to find myself in positions where I was invited as a guest, of sorts, to play at a few native american reconciliation events, a party  collecting bicycles to give to a village in Africa so that the kids could get to school safer and quicker.
I began to see the value of rhythmic intercession and was mc at a few drum circles that gathered folks together for purposes of intercession for unity in our city, evangelism, some were initiated to explore the possibilities.
We started a circle of musicians, meeting in a barn for the express purpose of stretching ourselves into playing for an audience of one, although we all played together and fought to protect the sanctity of our offering. (It's hard to get people on board with "No Agenda" when they have always been part of the machine and can't find the clasps holding their garments on)
Now let me tell you about this region- hang onto your hats...
New Age. Not just New Age, but a 300 year old warrior spirit who channeled (until recently) through a woman in a small town that had the world come to visit... and just New Age.  Mountains will do that to you.

Buddhism- Buddhist monks aren't all sunshine and goodness, nor do they all respect YOUR belief systems when they are engaging in their own satisfactions.
Islam- They aren't militant, but they are represented.
Progressives- they don't do anything remarkable except fix things that aren't broken... and sometimes break things so they have something to fix.
Wicca, Pagan, Animism- Hindu's, well, why not, everyone else is here.
All that to say that all the world is here.
And why does that make a difference?
How else do you reach every tribe and tongue- you must become relevant to them. You make room for the sound of their voices.
I have not learned to play tabla with any skill whatsoever, but I am ready for someone who has- I have room for them.
I HAVE learned to play a native american flute on a very basic level.
I am LEARNING to throat sing.
I have some proficiency on a djembe
I keep a watchful eye out for those who are proficient where I lack, and I make room for those whose sounds are beyond my scope.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear mixtures of cultural melodies, rhythms and instruments that are proving unity in the earth, making room for a unity that goes beyond doctrines and fears.
This region begat Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones and Nirvana, it is fraught with diversity (there is actually a band from Vancouver Canada called Delhi to Dublin- can you guess what they are mixing?)
Why would it not come from here?
Why would just such a movement be born here?
And why would it not be borne from where ever you are sitting?
Let's DO this!!!!!!!!

Gethsemane

Much of what I am invited to do is a novelty for those around around it. My driving abilities are less than stellar until the anointing is on them. My abilities as a flautistare seriously in question from the standpoint of brilliant musicianship but I do what I hear to do I try to repeat what I'm hearing in spirit.

On this particular evening I had been invited as a drummer and hopefully to attract other drummers to the venue but that didn't happen. The man who led continued to lead that night and as he ventured chasing what ever was leading him he began to sing a song from Willy want to and the chocolate factory. The lyrics of the song are something to the effect that,"we don't know where we are going". 

As he saying this I heard the lyrics to be we don't know when we are going and I saw you in my minds eye a clock and the hour hand and the minute hand we're going in opposite directions and I could sense the boat that Willy Wonka was riding on. 

Then I heard the words "will you not sit with me for one hour?"

I recognized the plea Jesus had with Peter and the plea to come and spend an hour with him and his moment of need that of the greatest trial. It was at this point that I realize that I had an invitation to spend that hour with Jesus at Gethsemane. 

I myself didn't trust what I was seeing I didn't throw myself into it like I might if that experience or to be offered to me now but I knew the devil was there he stepped out from behind a tree I couldn't hear his words I couldn't hear his voice but I knew that he was taunting Jesus my friend. 

At this point I was very near Jesus and I told him that what he was hearing your lies and I I wanted to encourage him and I told him that I was a result of his death on the cross that my life the blessing in my life the blessing in the lives of many many others all came from the death and resurrection.

I have shared the story with a few people and the only one that I know of took the story and ran with it and they were extremely intentional about how their experience. Just a teeny weeny bit of jealousy here

Separation isn't always sheep and goats

I spent a wild weekend  in a place where the soil is good, should be good, yet yields little from new seed.  Its' hardness comes from wild fire even though there is something like a layer of magma hiding just below the surface, building quietly for a release that they will be ready for when they finally allow it to rise, but they won't be ready for the force of it as it has been squeezed down for so long, and the release point will quite likely be squeezed down like a bent garden hose.
There is a level of desire that hasn't quite overcome their need for "decent and in order"...
That's really the rub.  "Decent and in order"...
I have a story and I have a scripture.

Scritpure first-
I heard this preached  by Mike Pilavachi one time on my way to a worship weekend on the Colville Nations land in Eastern Washington. The following scriptural text

Solomon Anointed King
21On the next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22So they ate and drank that day before the LORD with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king a second time, and they anointed him as ruler for the LORD and Zadok as priest.…

was used to illustrate this concept we have of "decent and in order" is much more strict than God's.
Imagine the cacophony of 1000 bulls, Rams and male Lambs as they were being led to slaughter- each aware of what was happening to the animal in front of it, the blood, the smell of entrails and excrement, that's 3,000 animals slain in the space of a day. 
Add to that the "drinking with gladness" which you likely can't convince yourself didn't have at least an element of "buzz" to it. For these actions to be taken within what we consider the parameters of decent and in order to be the nation would have had to be sedated.

Now my story-
It was my first time at one of those drunk churches where people were laughing and I had no understanding of what was going on except that it was a "move of God".
The man in the front was taking an offering (a forty five minute offering, but I won't address that here) and every time he said the words "contrary winds" the place exploded with laughter.
He was preaching on Jesus in the boat and stilling the tempest. 
Things would quiet down and then again he would mention contrary winds, and by quiet down I mean had just gotten quiet enough that I began to hear the speaker, I said "GOD!! What EVER happened to DECENT and in ORDER!??!"
And He calmly replied, "Do you remember when you were a child and you wondered what it would be like to sit in my throne room where thousands of prayers arose before me in a hundred languages all the time? Welcome to the throne room."
"You see, your view of decent and in order looks nothing like mine."
And so I have remembered that every time I wanted to judge someone else's expression, He reminds me. Decent and in order doesn't rule out dancing naked before Him...  or mooing in worship.

Worship is NOT the Opening Act

                      Worship is coming is going to be so intimate that people will begin to understand the emotion David felt when he danced out of his britches as the ark of the covenant ws carried into his city.
Up to now there have been many reasons why we don't worship to this depth and it's a shame.   We
I once heard some guys on the radio speaking about the plight of worship music and it not meeting the standards of Bach or Mozart- beautiful and from a different era.  Just as the melodies of Handel caused the king to rise from his throne during the Messiah, creating a tradition observed today,  are time specific and culturally relevant within their era, we have the same mandate to be culturally relevant today, in this day of country, rock and rap.  Each has it's place.
The opening of the gates of heaven in this day and age, the revelation of what the Kingdom of heaven of heaven being at hand actually means-
This was David's vision.  This was the revelation that made him unaware as his clothing fell from him in worship, the realization that he could look in to the very eyes of the lover of his soul.
He wrote psalms that exposed that he had been to Golgotha and seen the Christ hanging from the cross.  He had revelation that spoke to his soul about the depths of the sacrifice he was witnessing while he danced,
it's no wonder he didn't know where his clothes had abandoned him having drunk fully of that revelation...
And it seems to me that this- this is what the church needs.  This is the worship that bids the Father to come in His fullness.
But our program requires that we sing three songs and take an offering. greet one another with a holy kiss. Take our eyes from where they have rested and find your check book and after all that effort, "move along" as if the day's agenda didn't have time to stop and hungrily sit at the table set before us.
The feast, as it were, that sits laying open before us.
A time when we could learn from one another how to sup, how to soak, how to linger in the abiding open heaven that has been reached. How to look into the eyes of the Beloved who, in turn, seeks our gaze.
It won't be long now until worship will carry us headlong into a stupor that requires us to give up our sensibilities and be lost to love.
It is here, when we look at one another through the eyes of a dove, soft and without guile, that we will begin to learn what the promise, "they will know that we are Christians by our love, one for another" means, what it looks like and we will become so addicted that others will be curious.
Those who have known us to be sour and judgemental.
get so caught up in form and, for some reason, dignity, that we can't seem to get past the fear that there is a judgement from a peer or participant that matters.  There is not!
The day is coming.  bring a hankie, a pillow and a blanket, and prepare to occupy the Kingdom.

Last night I was on this new fangledy thing called periscope and I ran across a girl who was crying and said that she and her friend were tired of trying to go out and have a good time- that somehow, some rejection had removed any hope of a good life that she had hoped for... She went on to describe horrible things that she was wishing upon herself.
This generation carries survivors guilt for making it out of the womb. This generation is looking for hope far beyond the things I looked forward to as a child.
As a culture, it's possible that they may experience all of their firsts (you know what I mean) in a single night.
They need the hope of a family.
They need the hope of success, but not the success they expect, their hopes are about achieving end game goals in microwave timing.
Give them room and teach them how to set goals. Teach them to cook on a stove, in an oven. Bless them with time...

It Was Supposed to be the Perfect Crime

When I was a kid my friends mom made the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I have ever had.  I haven't tried them all (and I still have hopes of recreating the experience).
Anyway, we would be hanging out in the basement and I would get a hanker (That's right... sometimes I hanker) for a couple of cookies.
The jar was a ceramic horned owl. I still remember stealthily climbing the stairs, sliding my fingers stealthily between the horns and wrapping my two outside fingers around them, lifting the lid soundlessly only to hear Florence yell "You boys get out of that cookie jar!"
I was caught. EVERY TIME.  Caught.But Florence never said that she didn't want me coming over any more. Would still call us up for dinner.
If this widowed mom of three could put up with my thievery (only place thievery ever happened)
And then from the pulpit I hear that God can't look upon sin.
One of two things has to be true, now. This thieving isn't sin, OR I have lost my salvation.
The only rational conclusion that you can come to, if God can't look upon sin, if that is what makes Him holy then when He comes into my heart to live He must keep a bag packed by the door so that He can get out before the stench of sin permeates my body when I reach for those cookies, reacting like some form of  gama radiation and causing Him to hulk out and kill me right there.
Or maybe Habbakuk was being all poetical and saying that he was amazed that someone from such a vast reality could take notice on him.
The love of the Father for His creation is IMMENSE. It is elegant and vast and neither to be hoarded nor dismissed. Love Him with all that is in you and you can't imagine the results- give it a try, I dare you

be a voice not an echo

As I have grown older, I have suffered some loss of hearing due to headphone use, extraneous noise at work, being in a band... And my job working with older folks who have loss of hearing has taught me that using hearing aids can cause sounds to be confused and imaginary. You hear stories and on TV see stories where someone is lost in a canyon and can't be found because the echoes are coming from many directions, muffled and decaying over time. Muffled and decaying over time... They shorten and little or no meaning but just being noise after a while.
The church is like that. Jesus said, "You believe the scripture says (this), but I'm telling you it means (this)." What He was saying is, "You heard the words and you believe that you have heard them correctly, but you are only hearing echoes of what was meant when they were said."
"The words you are following once had life but they have bounced around the walls of history and their meaning is now distorted beyond recognition" Consider that each denomination is a canyon and the echo has moved up and down that canyon and suffered decay, and each generation repeats it but leaves out the who or the why and the words begin to be powerless...
I did not say that they are powerless- they have the power of conviction because people still heed them despite not being sure how or why to fulfill the directive.
 Get the revelation. Who was being instructed and what was their circumstance.
One of my favorite stories didn't happen in my family, but it happened in a family during preparation for a holiday feast.
Marilyn (we'll call her) was getting ready to bake the ham for the family's Easter feast and she had a daughter about to be wed so she was teaching her to cook the feast and the daughter (called Emma, today) was paying close attention and asking questions-
"Momma, why did you cut the end of the ham off before you put it in the pan?"
"I don't know, exactly, it's what my Momma always did, it's how I learned to do it. I'll call your Grandma and ask her."
So Marylin called her mother and asked, "Momma, I'm teaching Emma how to cook the Easter feast and we have begun to wonder why did we always cut the end off of the ham before we cooked it?" Grandma said, "Because my pan was too small"
This is an illustration of how mindless traditions get started. It could have been an illustration of hearing a noise made by the wind in the canyon and following it because one ascribed hope and meaning to it and began following it blindly into who knows what.
My point is be the voice. Get the revelation of the thing. Don't follow because you hear from someone in authority because if you aren't in relationship with the author there is no checking back with them about the purpose.
Be in relationship with the man who had the revelation and you can ask for clarification or BE the man who had the revelation and you own it because it was a gift to you and your
Father gives good gifts

One of the things that I have noticed through the years is that the established tribe wants to keep what they have and they don’t look favorably on anything that might upset their apple cart. The missionary has for centuries tried to make people become who the missionary is, for fear of being led astray by the traditions of the missioned peoples. They have been fearful enough to forbid drums, vocal styles, even meeting locations for fear of demonic intervention, rather than “taking on all comers”. I will speak of the native American, but with the caveat that they aren’t the only aboriginal peoples who feel this way. The path of reconciliation is well worn and bears little fruit. The modern church researchers have begun to recognize that people groups have sounds associated with both them and the ground that they inhabit. The Aborigine in Australia incorporates the sounds of their surroundings into the music of the didgeridoo. The Hawaiian dances in expression of the sea that gives them sustenance. The Native American calls out thanks to the animals that share the land and life with them. The Native American actually has a Trinitarian god who manifested in the earth because he was too great for man to comprehend as a spirit being… Sound familiar just a little bit? Their complaint is that the modern church (since it’s arrival) has judged them simple heathens and turned back their honest expressions of worship. The drum, the flute, their dance has all been judged as an expression of a baser faith which includes animism and reverence of dark spirits (all of which can be discovered to some degree in our church today. We MUST accept their identity in it’s full expression, which includes tobacco, sage and cedar which mirror elements of the jewish worship with what is indigenous to the region. All are used as incense. Their use of the drums communicates Gods heartbeat and they consider each time their foot touches the ground to be a prayer, especially when they are wearing a “jingle dress” which adds the texture of a tambourine to their dance. The sound of breath filling the air around the flute so easily represents the breath of the Holy Spirit being breathed over a group of people, and yet people have feared these exhortations, these expressions of the spirit and in the Spirit may have been used for a dark purpose or by the unordained and therefore insulting to the deity who, in fact, said, (New International Version) Mt 28:15&16 He (Jesus) said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Rev7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. He receives them. Who are we to be so bold and so proud as to “protect” Him from them. It is a lie that God cannot look on sin. A lie, pure and simple. Jesus was not abandoned by His Father on the cross, He was fully man in that moment, experiencing death crying out as any man would. Adam is proof and did what man has done ever since, until that moment on the cross. God came looking for Him. In His ability to shut off His omniscience so that Adam could hide from Him in His shame? I believe that He wanted Adam to come out and trust the friend that he had always walked with in the cool of the afternoon. Enough with the rabbits and their trails, Jesus is certain to redeem every tribe and tongue, and every means eery just like all means all. There is no “skiming the till”, He will get everything that He has paid for. All of it.

Drum

In 1998 just outside of Belfast Ireland there was a revival, and in the midst of it I fell in love. I had been involved in music for my whole life, but there was an expression that I had never really heard that was featured, that of the drums. The drums were playing as one of the speakers commissioned me as a warrior, and as I fell to the floor, I opened my heart and asked God for the drums, and He gave them to me. I didn’t have any idea what that was going to mean, only that I would have a new weapon in my little arsenal. I went out and bought an Irish bodhran (boe-run) and began to fiddle with it and eventually got the sounds out of it, now to get the rhythms out. The challenge was to playing in 4/4 time when it is built to play in 6/8, but the ingenuity of someone who plays intuitively an overcome pretty much anything. Having been a musician most of my life I had certain sensibilities to overcome, and there was a bit of a struggle; including the pastor not feelin’ it, so to speak. In those times you hope for an intervention. Someone who has the vote of confidence from those whom you see yourselves under and someone who has you respect as well. Enter Georgian Banov of a band called Silverwind back in the 1970’s. And he had his eye on my drum… that I was having trouble playing in 4/4 time. He asked if he could play and then should me how to play within the worship setting. He handed it back to me and I was set free. Before long it was congas, djembe, quika, ocean drum- each has a sound, a voice to speak into the atmosphere and change things. So that was me, breaking loose. Then on line I ran across a group called Psalm Drummers. Powerful concept, drum intercession. Founded by Teryl Bryant, a studio musician from London. He put together a drum circle that as held at Penn State that had over 400 drummers participating made up of Christian drummers from across the nations that chartered local psalm drummer groups. I never belonged to one of them, but I saw the strength in the concept. I have played since that time, breaking through brass heavens and hearts and minds.