Evil=us Good=God

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."  Ephesians 4:29-31  In the message "Against False Prophets" Art Katz raises the question what makes our speaking evil, it is that it is not God's speaking.  It is our speaking and what flows from us is evil.  In order to speak good we would have to "stand in the counsel of God" and hear from Him and then we would truly have a 'good' word to share, in the meantime it will be something other, something less, something evil!

Ruach HaKodesh

Acts 9:31 describing the early gathering of believers..."They lived in the fear of the Lord, with the counsel of the Ruach HaKodesh."    God give us this simplicity and purity.

Winter, wilderness, forgotten dreams, limping, broken...loved!

This was written to encourage a friend.

Winter has a purpose.
The wilderness has a purpose.
The 2 years that the baker forgot you and your gift 
discerning the meaning of dreams has a purpose.
The dark night of wrestling and pleading and 
crying for the blessing of God has purpose.
Getting your hip knocked out of joint has a purpose.
Living in the wilderness instead of the the temple has a purpose.
Going through Samaria, instead of around it has a purpose.

And when you come out of the wilderness, leaning on 
your Beloved, limping, broken and knowing deeply your
oneness with the One who weeps with those who weep, 
then the journey will bring Glory to His Name and joy 
to your heart.

Alabaster box God and hiding the truth from Jewish people for the sake of the gentiles

" Antisemitism is a sign of self righteousness and pride that

 discerns nothing of the true nature of divine election and mercy

that is not based on works. Its resurgence is a modern sign of the

 first magnitude. It is always a portent of disaster and curse upon

 the nations that embrace it, because it represents something 

profoundly near to the heart of God that can only be spiritually 

discerned. 

He gave them up for a brief moment, for their sins, yes, of course, but in a deeper sense, for us, for had He brought them in at that time, as He will surely do at the appointed time (Ps 102:13), where would we be? In a mystery, their momentary blindness is an alabaster box of divine sacrifice of unspeakable cost that to sleight or despise is to provoke His profound displeasure. "  Reggie Kelly

There is a deep truth here, that I would hope some would be willing to "dig" to get.  Remember you rake you get leaves, you dig you get gold.

Pushing my buttons, doing God's work.

My second son has perfected the art of pushing my buttons.  That is an American colloquialism that I should probably try to translate better, I think it means uncovering the things that reveal my hidden self love or self reliance.  So he is doing the work of God, even though I do not see it or recognize it at the time.  This little internet thing, puts it better than I do.  Repentance is the key.

We are warned not to destroy ourselves by allowing bitterness, anger, or fear to consume our hearts. In our Torah this week we read: “And you shall not bring an abominable thing (תּוֹעֵבָה) into your house and become devoted to destruction like it” (Deut. 7:26). The sages of the Mishnah said that yielding to rage is equivalent to idol worship and should never be brought into the home. Indeed, rage is linked with avodah zarah - idolatry - because it exalts the ego and claims that the Lord can’t (or won’t) help you in your moment of testing or need. The Scriptures are clear, however, that “there is no test given to you that you cannot handle with God’s help” (1 Cor. 10:13), and we are invited to come boldly before the Divine Presence to find just such help in our time of need (Heb. 4:16). Believing that you can’t overcome your fear or anger problem is therefore a form of idolatry. As is written: Lo yiheyeh vekha el zar (לא־יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֵל זָר) -- "there shall be no foreign god within you" (Psalm 81:9), which means that we must expressly deny the ego’s demand to have its will be done. Being full of a sense of self-importance is to be enslaved to vanity and to have a foreign god “within you.” God and human arrogance cannot coexist - since the inner world of the arrogant person denies God's rightful place as King. As it is written in our Scriptures: "The wrath of man (קֶצֶף אָדָם) does not work the righteousness of God" (James 1:20). God will indeed help us if we ask according to his will (1 John 5:14-15). Amen. "Blessed is the LORD who delivers us from self-destruction" (ברוך יהוה מספק אותנו מהרס עצמי).

Jacob to Israel What it means to "prevail" with God.

Listening to a 3 CD teaching on "Jacob" by Art Katz for the "I don't know how many-eth time" and was given this little insight. Jacob whose name means "cheater" had his name changed to Israel which means, "He who wrestles with God and prevails." Well he did wrestle with God but he got his hip permanently moved out of socket and walked with a limp the rest of his life, so I was having trouble with the whole 'prevails' thing... when this thought came in, the only way we 'prevail' with God is by wrestling with Him long enough and desperately enough to LOSE. To LOSE to God is to win! To be broken by God is to 'prevail.'

Desperation

1.     Very good service with our pastor emphasizing praise, there are seven words in Hebrew for praise.  He only got the first 3 done and then God totally sidetracked him with Isaiah 6, and how Isaiah was overwhelmed with the presence of a Holy God.  He opened the altars for prayer and I was the first one up out of my seat because I desperately wanted the angel to take a coal from the altar and put it to my lips.  My words to my wife have been “ugly” and critical lately and it needs to stop.  No plan of mine or resolution of mine will work.  So I gave up on me, and threw myself on Him!  As I was praying at the altar the pastor’s wife Lynda began to sing the song …. This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I I'm desperate for you
And I I'm lost without you

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I I'm desperate for you
And I I'm lost without you

And I I'm lost without you
And I I'm desperate for you

And I I'm lost without you
I'm lost without you
  At the altar it came to me that the Sovereign loving God we serve is going to raise the level of our desperation.  As judgment begins with the house of God, we need to see His judgment as pure mercy. Anything that He does that raises our level of desperation for His presence is love, is mercy, is what we truly need from an eternal perspective.  It is not about our job or our marriage or the person who is rubbing us the wrong way it is truly about what God is doing to change us into the image of His Son.  We need to recognize how far away we are from that image and accept everything that God is doing and will do to “re-make” us.