Dancing Lights from the Father

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

                                                                        James 1:17 NKJV

***

    You  know  that  feeling  when you are sitting next to a window on a sunny day and the warm light flickers upon the walls through tree branches playing in the breeze? I feel like I can stay in that place forever. The warm light to my soul has the sensation of sipping hot soup that warms you to your core. The light flickering with the dancing trees calms and makes my heart sing. Even when I close my eyes and still see the sunlight shimmering through, my mind is carried away to a place soaked in glowing light, inexpressible peace, and flowing perfect love. If life on earth is this good, then there must be a heaven — the light that pierces through my eyelids sings its song. 

                                                        (photo taken near Pearl Lake, Colorado)

I Know Who My Deliverer Is

I Know Who My Deliverer Is

 

A short story about King David.

 

 

    Crouching down, I picked up the stone from the riverbed. The stream was cool and refreshing to my feet. This one will do, I thought. I tossed it a few inches in the air to gauge the mass and potential velocity. This one will do just fine. I stood up and looked around. My heart was full. I was so thankful for these peaceful streams and nearby meadows. I recalled all the times I would just sit by the bank of the water and listen to it bubble and babble. Those were the days. God’s presence was so sweet. He refreshed my soul and reminded me how light His Spirit is. I need these times like a deer pants for water. I long to be with Him.

I picked up a few more stones that felt just right and stashed them in my satchel. I’m going to need these stones today, I thought. A notion pricked my heart with fear. I fought the idea of needing these stones to defend myself from certain death. Death is always right around the corner, either roaring at me like a lion or charging me like a bear. I reminded myself – death is certain for all of us, but living with the Most High and powerful God, with His abundant life coursing through my veins, is what I desire.

Never forget how I delivered you time after time.

That thought was not mine. It was a small, still voice that seemed to just devour my fear.

 

I closed my eyes, which started to tear up. My mind then went back to the not so distance past. I could see the rustling in the reeds again. The golden mane gently flowed with the wind, which carried the scent of freshly killed game. Then came the grunts, and quiet roars. Just remembering that sound made my stomach sink and the hairs on my neck stand up. I looked down at the two lost lambs that I had found. I knelt down slowly and gathered any rock I could find. These rocks were not ideal. They were jagged and recently broken off of larger stones, but they were all I had. Bah-ah-ah-ah, bleated one of my foundlings. Shhhh, I put my finger to my mouth and tried to shush the lamb as quietly and calmly as possible. I held its head in my shaking hands. I caressed its side as gently as I could muster. I knew, however, what the bleat of the lamb meant – confronting almost certain death, every man’s fear. Yet I was just a boy looking after his sheep. Why me? Why does this have to happen to me? No one deserves to ever be in a position to be ripped apart by a lion, let alone a poor young boy who is just trying to care for his flock.

I am with you. That was one of the first times I heard this voice so clearly and steadily.

Don’t be afraid! Stand up! Take up a stone and put it in your sling, and when you see those golden eyes, you let the stone go right at the beast!

But what if I miss? I only get one chance! If I miss, that’s it.

I am with you. Trust me.

Yes, I will trust you. Help me trust yo . . .

I didn’t have time to finish the thought. The lion had us in its sights and issued a warning growl. I knew that sound. It meant business. I ushered the lambs behind the tree in some vain attempt to save them. With trembling hands, I grasped the imperfect rocks from my satchel, and placed them in my sling.

I am with you.

I stepped forward. I took another step forward, swinging the sling over my head.

LET IT GO!

I released it, and it careened right off the front of the cat’s face. Blood and fur blotted the blue sky. The beast let forth a high-pitched yelp that I had never heard before and slumped down as if it were drunk. I retrieved another rock from my satchel and took another step forward. This time with more confidence and steadier hands, I placed the rock in the sling and hurled another jagged piece of earth at the beast, tagging it in the head just under its left ear. It screamed and snarled again and then jumped up and half-ran, half-stumbled away. I clenched my fists and released them, and then exhaled. Tears stained my cheeks.

I am your deliverer. I am the Living God. You need fear no living thing.

I trust you, my Lord.

 

I exhaled again as the memory slowly melted away. I wondered if that lion survived. Shaking my head, I reminded myself of the task at hand. This giant, this thing who dares to defy my Deliverer, my King, the Living God of Israel stood tall on the horizon. I looked up at the sky, drew a deep breath, closed my eyes, gently touched the stones in my satchel, and stepped forward.

 

I am with you.

 

 

A Fathers Day Poem

The other day I was holding my 11-month old daughter in my arms, and this realization poured over me:  my ability to hold this little person... this tiny adorable human being was only there by God's grace. I did not earn this ability to hold her. I simply grew into the man I am today, and now I have the strength to hold a 20 pound baby. I guess my point is that I never earned this ability; it was given to me. Ever since our first daughter was born just over nine years ago, I've always had this overwhelming sense of inadequacy. It has just been a lingering thought or question, like, "how am I able to be a father?" So subconscious, I rarely pay much attention to it, but the Lord highlighted that to me in this passing thought, and He reassured me that I have all that I need to be a father. Sure, I have and will continue to make mistakes, but I have the will, the drive, the passion, the spirit (whatever you want to call it) to love, instruct, protect, guide, empower, feed, and provide for my children. God gave that to me when I first saw little Rachel's face. It continued to drive me when I saw little Christian's hand, and today it gives me purpose when I see little Izzy's smile.

I hope that every father out there feels empowered by the simple truth that he is imbued with every grace to be the best father he can be. The following is a poem that inspired me, and I hope it inspires you.

. . . And if you have any doubts about this that ever need to quell, just watch this video - it will remind you that every father naturally has what he needs to be great!

~

Your Arms

Your arms, your strength

They are enough

He gave you His grace

He gives you His love

To lift up your children

Carry them

When they need

To protect, to fight, to provide

To be the one to guard and to feed

So rest, have faith, and you will see

You are adequate

Because He is all you need

Your arms, your strength

They are enough

To embrace

To bring a soft meek touch

You have a father’s heart

He gave you a gift that day

That moment when 

You first saw that little face

You may not know

Or may never have thought

You have a father’s heart

You have enough to play the part

So rest in His grace

And delight in His strength

A Mother's Heart

Here is a little poem in honor of Mother's day. Today at church, Pastor Greg Thompson shared how Mary would treasure the things that Jesus did and said in her heart. At that moment the Father showed me how He treasures the hearts of all the mothers in this world. He has put life in their hearts.

***

A Mother’s Heart

He planted a seed

The Father of all life

Gave to the Mothers

Of His children

A Heavenly anointing

A calling from the Most High

Nurturing strength

Supernatural perseverance

Unfathomable grace

Like a Gardner

Entrusted with raising holy fruit

For her Lord

Reproducing His image

Is her blessed reward

This is the Mother’s heart

For the joy set before her

She travails

Enduring unspeakable sickness, pain, fatigue

In her heart

The Father’s life prevails

Her eyes have seen 

Too much loss for anyone to bear

Lost seeds, saplings, trees

Yet she pushes forward

In grace from her holy decree

To see new life spring forth

His life

His image

His love

Through her veins these course

This is a Mother’s purpose

In His heart she is reassured

For hidden in there

Her precious heart is her Father’s treasure

On Love, Faith, Obedience and Rest

I was recently studying Daniel (specifically chapters 1-4), and several things stood out to me about his story. First of all, Daniel and his three friends - Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah - were in quite the predicament. All of Israel was being besieged and overthrown by a powerful and idolatrous nation, and Daniel and his friends were kidnapped and forced to serve a new king. I tried to imagine myself in their shoes. What would I have done? What would have been the condition of my heart? I’ve hardened my heart to God and others when facing much less adversity. I hope I wouldn’t shrink back to a state of barely surviving, which would mean that every decision would be about my own perceived best interest. Conversely, these four sons of Judah thrived in this situation, not with unbelief in their heart but with a radical belief. Their soft, believing hearts birthed in them a radical obedience and faith in God, which was born out of a radical love from and for God. Soft hearts that are open to God’s love become full of his love. Daniel’s three friends demonstrated this love and belief in God in Chapter 3 by refusing to bow down to any other gods even in the face of certain death, and God delivered them. Their faith was ultimately tested in the fire (literally!), and they overcame. From the beginning of this story, God rewarded these four men for their faith and obedience. Among other things, he gave them supernatural wisdom, the ability to interpret dreams, amazing favor with the Babylonians, and ultimately divine deliverance. Their story was anything but about having an easy life, but yet God was with them the whole way. He brought them into this place of rest - the four friends were tested many times, but their belief led them to trust, which led them to obey, and God met them there and took them the rest of the way to finish their journey. 

Their story is not unlike the story of modern-day apostle Heidi Baker, who is essentially the spiritual mother of Mozambique. She asked for Mozambique as her inheritance, and God gave it to her. Like the four friends, her story is woven with threads of adversity, tests, and hardship, but also amazing acts of God. She has faced stoning, floods, being shipwrecked, arrested, and so on. She has also seen almost an entire nation come to know Christ and the love of the Father, miraculous healings, and how to enter into God’s rest. Her life has exemplified what Jesus meant when he said, If you lose your life for my sake, then you shall find it (Matthew 10:39). God brought her and her husband through many trials and through what many would consider certain death, but He has been there with them in a very special way through all of it. In her book, Birthing the Miraculous, she related how God wants us to make a covenant of obedience with himself, to love and radically obey Him (pages 55-57, 2014). She also noted that when God told Moses to radically obey Him, His presence would go with Moses. 

Exodus 33:13-14 (NIV)

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

The fact that when God asks us to do something, and we obey, and then He accompanies us is seen through many stories throughout the Bible.

God led me to also make a covenant of obedience; when I did I started seeing the Holy Spirit at work in my life and in those around me. God didn’t wait to start using me as I encountered many obvious opportunities to love my neighbors and share Christ - one day I saw my usually-reclusive neighbor up the street limping to his front doorstep after a skiing accident, and I had the chance to help him in various ways and share Christ with him. God gave me words for three different coworkers. I overheard one coworker, for whom I’d been praying for quite some time, asking for helping interpreting a dream he had, and I immediately raised my hand and said I could interpret the dream. I felt like Daniel. I didn’t even think about it; faith just rose my hand for me. That night I prayed asking God for the interpretation, and then God told me to go to sleep (rest). He woke me up at 6:30 the next morning and uploaded the interpretation to me right then and there. God also led me to fast and pray for our church’s Easter service. Throughout that period He showed me that we as prayer warriors just set the table for the Holy Spirit to move, and then let Him do His work. We did just that. A group of us gathered the night before Good Friday, and God met us there. We were obedient, and the Holy Spirit said, “okay, you came this far, and I’ll do the rest.” That weekend we experienced a new and refreshing move of His spirit. Many people were saved, and the gospel was shared with thousands. God did that same thing with Daniel and his friends, Heidi Baker, the apostles in the Bible, and countless others. They all stepped out in obedience, and He met them and took it from there. The only way God’s kingdom can advance is through Him and His Spirit alone. We just need to have soft, loving hearts that believe and trust in Him, and then we must be radically obedient, and that is when we enter His rest. This is precisely what Hebrews outlines in chapters 3 and 4:  a soft heart leads to belief, which leads to obedience, and that ultimately leads to rest. 

Hebrews 3:7-14 (NIV)

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

8 

    do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
    during the time of testing in the wilderness,

9 

where your ancestors tested and tried me,
    though for forty years they saw what I did.

10 

That is why I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’

11 

So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 

And Hebrews 4:1-13 (NIV)

4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.[a] 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”[b]

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[c] 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”[d]

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[e] just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

***

Finally, I really want to encourage everyone that while obedience is difficult at times, God’s Spirit being with us like it was with Moses is so worth it. Let’s be like Moses, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Heidi, and so many more and radically love and obey God. He is so worthy of it. 

His Kingdom Come

My wife shared this video. It is the story of the miraculous healing of Jaxon Taylor, the son of Bethel Music leaders Joel and Janine. This story inspired one of Bethel's most recent and powerful songs, Raise a Hallelujah. Throughout the video there are images of what I think are the closest anyone could imagine heaven to be like - people caught up in waves of simultaneous corporate and individual worship to the King of Kings. There are truly some beautiful scenes in this video that captured my heart. I tried to describe what I saw with my heart. Enjoy.

***

His Kingdom Come 

The guitars trilled, the drums whispered vibratos, and the microphones hissed with excitement. The band readied itself. The air was electric tonight, and the crowd sensed something extraordinary was about to happen. The keys started to riff the sweetest of melodies, the most mellifluous tones that touched the ear. The other instruments joined in perfect harmony - other-worldly percussion hits followed by masterfully placed chords. The singers pursed their lips until out flowed thankful and pure lyrics, giving glory to the Only One. What were these words but sounds in the night air? If there were no ears to hear, then they would just echo eternally into space. But not tonight. There were millions at hand tonight, and billions more listening and watching live. Those words sliced through the air like snakes over hot desert sands, amplifying wave after sound wave into each and every heart. The Spirit moved. Each who heard the great song that night joined in perfect praise to the Worthy One. It was a scene of untold beauty that no artist’s heart could dream or contrive. Millions upon millions of worshippers - people who each had his or her own history, good or bad; people who each had the choice to not be there, yet they chose to be there. They chose to bow their knees and hearts. They chose to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and sing with all their strength. That night, in the cool dank air, heavenly fireflies erupted in a shower of sparks as the worshippers each threw their own log, plank, stick, or twig onto the great fire. They all came together as one voice singing to the One King. The Spirit spread like wildfire. Claps of thunder heard in the distance grew closer and closer. Rays of light singed the air. The people continued to sing. The worship leaders never saw anything like this - they no longer led the song, but rather the host before them, each harmonizing mysterious praises with ever-growing force, led the chorus. No longer was it just one song. It was a billion songs released to the heavens. Each song was a unique sound that in turn complimented the next unique sound. The sounds, like a billion perfectly tuned drops of rain, formed a mighty din; yet each person could hear each other and knew each other, and for once they fully knew The Father. Just then an impossibly brilliant light boomed in the center of the throng. Waves of the Spirit like never seen before washed over the earth. People were healed - the deaf heard, the mute talked, and the lame walked. Corpses were bathed in life. The blessing did not stop. It just kept coming and coming as wave upon wave upon wave of His presence came until every man, woman, and child experienced the Holy of Holies. His Kingdom had finally come in its fullness. The King sat upon His throne with the Son of Man at His right hand. Never again will evil be seen in this land. 

Shema!

The Shema Yisrael is a Jewish prayer that originated from Deuteronomy 6:4 - Hear, O Israel:  the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Shema means to hear or to obey. This prayer, along with Psalm 133, inspired a poem about how God wants us to be one just as the Father and the Son are one.

John 17:20-23 (NKJV) -

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (John 17, NKJV, biblegateway.com)

***

Shema

Shema! Shema!

If you have ears, then hear, listen!

For Yahweh's words are like the rain

Nourishing the earth

His thoughts toward us like dew

Springing new life forth

Remember - Adonai is one, united

And we, His people, are no longer divided

He has given us a new heart

By which we cry, 'Abba Father'

We are His sons and daughters

With His heart we love Him

And we love each other

Shema! Shema! 

Hear! Listen!

It touches Yahweh's heart

To see his children dwell as one

We are fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters

From every nation, tribe, and tongue

It pleases Him to see us unified

In it He is glorified

And then His anointing oil flows

From its heavenly store

Enkindling justice, peace, and healing

Commanding His life forevermore