Midnight!

Our culture has made the middle of the night a time of changes, not only by the line which separates two days, but also of the transferring of what is old to the new, a reality shift of dispelled illusions.

In Jewish thought it would be arbitrary to use the darkness for much of anything at all. The change of light to dark is the divide between the days. During the night, there is merely the waiting for the dawn to do the work, so the darkness is only the period which precedes the light. The night is yet a veil over these eyes. The dawn is almost here.

The Lord's timing is perfect. The Lord's timing is sure. We are close, very close, to the apex of the hill, where time (and history) change directions at His behest. The dawning of the seventh millennium is inaugurated with a blackened sun. The four horsemen, those political ideas of men which govern our societies, shall be released all at once, to wreak havoc on a global scale. Unleashed in the same order as their most recent appearance on the historical scene, come the white horse of the papacy, the red horse of communism, the black horse of modern corporate capitalism, and the green horse of sharia governed islam. The papacy will give the pagan political anointing and empowerment to the final ruler of the heathen beast government, and the daughter of Babylon (the USA) will provide the military might and technology which accomplish the signs and wonders of the strong delusion, by order of it's leader, the false prophet.

Before the coming of the man who governs the beast, there is a wedding party called to attendance. The groom has been delayed past the previously announced time of His arrival. The only ones allowed in, are the ones wearing the spotless garments provided by the gracious host. Only half of the  participants will be ready. The others have yet to change their garments and fill their lamps with oil (to be a light to the world). The wedding will start without them. The groom has delayed long enough.

Those who attend the feast will be starting their eternal jubilee, while the Lord prepares the Earth for His reign. Their time of testing and refinement (forty jubilee years) is at an end, and the time of enjoying the fruits of their harvest will have just begun.

Beyond Mercy's Gate

When the pain comes ( and it will), it's a chance to see with new eyes. It is an opportunity to be shocked awake by our grief. Don't let the agony go to waste. God is using it: He really is. The searing burden so foreign to our flesh, is directing you towards His position, where is found the truth of our poverty and the power of humility. Pride has no place in His presence. There is no holiness but His. So this call you are receiving is naught but unmitigated mercy to the undeserving.

He is expecting you. Your own expectations of some form of judgement will be overturned by your joy, when you comprehend His unreserved acceptance, and His rejoicing in your change of heart. Here is HIS joy, your acceptance of your deliverance, by His hand, through HIS works, and in His power!

He is searching out His sons. He calls, purifies in His own blood, and transforms, those He would have stand with Him. He has stirred up their souls and hearts with His own courage. Each of you is a piece of His own heart, entrusted with the family treasure of His good news, and His expectation of your overcoming of the world with, and in, His name! After you have entered Mercy's Gate, who's name is Jesus, live for the giving of the same mercy to your brethren!

Caveat

They're at it again. It's a choice to misunderstand. Why should there be a change of system belief for those who feel it already works to their advantage? Some are on a righteous crusade of anger, to convert the world to a better place, by force if necessary, into what is no more than their own image. Those who undertake to define authority to their benefit, also twist the whole concept of submission into a biblically unrecognizable form.


If you think authority is the right to cause pain or fear, then you will also believe submission is obedience without question or regard for sensibilities. This is wrong. Punishment is no longer a factor for born again, blood redeemed believers. We can no longer be condemned because "that which is born of God cannot sin." What there are, still, are consequences. We experience those for the purpose of the "sanctification of the flesh", that learning process whereby we are purified to think as He does, to UNDERSTAND.

Submission is finding our joy in obedience to His goodness. God's authority is the route and order by which strength, blessing, honor, and freedom come to us. Receiving what He has ordained for our care is, simply put, surrendering to joy (even if the feel good part is sometimes delayed). Submitting is most of the actual transformation process. It's application makes of us the very goodness and holiness of God.

Those who pervert submission into something which can be imposed, have entirely missed the point. How does lacking understanding or agreement thwart the will of God? Violent forces may very well be integral to the act of creation, but these things should come from the opposition, not the brethren. As examples, you don't manhandle a butterfly newly emerged from it's chrysalis, to "help it", or it will die, nor do you inflict pain on a creature you are training when it gets the correct answer, or it will not repeat the action (and animals are much more AWARE than humans!) Our use, and therefore misuse, of force, speaks volumes about us. It tells others that we really don't believe what we are saying!


Someone who has come to a point of submission has come into agreement with God, so don't "kill the try" by being a discouragement to them. This trust makes him vulnerable. Actively following Christ must originate from their own initiative because they are convinced and convicted by the Spirit! It is purely consensual! "Your people will be volunteers in the day of Your power!" (Psalm 110)


So, what kind of a fear and anger narrative could compel you to overlook your brother's pain, and deny him the love of God, which is his birthright? Is it possible that the healing and reconciliation which you refuse him, has not yet been permitted  to visit the inner depths of your own being? Do you have barriers to the light, which you carefully nurture, in hopes of wresting things right, yourself? If you cannot see past that dark story to an understanding of Christ's example, then you are still part of the darkness. It still owns you. Are those who like to preach submission when others resist their abuse, unsubmitted to God, themselves?


In humility consider other better than yourselves.  Each should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3b-4
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honour one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.  1 Corinthians 10:24
Be kind and tender-hearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ, God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32

As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

To Hell and Back

You were raised on the tears of your people. Their history of mortal pain and rejection is simply a part of your identity. The reasons provided for their hellish circumstances might had left you unimpressed, as in "Why can't we move past?" What is it about that implacable, calculating wall of hatred that hems you in? Flesh fails of explanation for the virulence of the disease.

Every solution under the sun has been offered and attempted. In fact, what kinds of paradigms have you managed to extract and fashion from the chaos? What vows have you made to yourself about who you are and what you believe?

Heaven and hell are about to be blown wide open right in front of your eyes. The God that you have heard about, read about, that seemed so mythical to reluctant minds, will remove the veil which prevents you from seeing. Whether you will or no, the truth will be supplied, by Him, in His mercy. What will it take to convince you He is worth it?

Will you surrender your dreams to the flames, which are the glory of our Lord? Will you make His dreams your own? Will you lift holy hands to praise Him in the midst of the war He wages? Then He will be both your anchor and your strength within. Your sacrifice to Him is only worth as much as it costs you to give it, and only means as much as you are willing to give it.

A Woman's Status: A Biblical Redux

This addresses gender restrictions as seen in the Bible! Let's not get distracted by our own desires. We are learning to follow the Lord, and as His servants, let us explore what is His will. It's there, in the Bible.


Here is one character who will help us in our search. Imagine a young, fiercely intense Christian woman. Her passionate intelligence is consumed by devotion to Jesus Christ, the bright shining Light who called her from out of the darkness, as a child. This young woman is the very same one who will go on to experience horrific physical, emotional, and sexual abuse from her avowed "Christian" husband. She may feel alone, but she is by no means the only one, for abuse is just a prevalent in christian families as it is in secular ones, but less spoken of. Could you possibly grasp or comprehend the depths of confusion and disillusionment that she will experience? Are you able to understand this saint's resistance to any authoritarian which seeks to subjugate her to their own interpretation of her Lord's commands? There is no more of innocence left in her to squander on their pretentions, only her dawning realization of the truth, naked and exposed, in all it's ugliness. It is the very manifestation of satan which confronts her, and stoops to using scripture to accuse and condemn her. How can someone who claims to be a Christian be her worst enemy? The very audacity of her faith dares to ask the question why! (And the "secular" answer is, quite simply, "because he can"). Knowing eyes will not permit self serving substitutes replacing God's own truth!


The Bible is abundantly clear that women have a high standing with God. He used one, without the aid of a man, to come into the world. The pair of coregents called "Adam" were originally one being. Women are equal heirs of God's promises. (1 Peter 3) Remember that only CHRIST saves, no matter your gender. (Gal 3) These things are obvious to those who read the whole of the Bible.


How does this work in the here and now, Biblically speaking? Paul compares marriage to the relationship of Christ and the Church. How does Christ speak to and treat His bride? To this body (of believers) He says, " To him who overcomes (stick with me or SUBMIT) I will grant to sit with me on my throne." ( Rev 3) Believers are coheirs with Christ, of the Father. (Roms 8) Says the elders, "He has made us to be priests and kings to our God, and we shall reign with Him on the earth" (Rev 4,5) Jesus said, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven." (Matt 16) Paul says, "We are seated with Christ in heavenly places." (Eph 2) Does it SOUND as if the church is kept silent under compulsion and law? No, she is the woman freed from the law "to bear fruit to God." (Roms 7) She speaks with Christ's authority, because she loves and obeys HIM. As Jesus said, "If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." And how can she be free, unless she freely chooses to submit to that freedom?


Why, then, are there verses in two of Paul's letters which tell women to "keep silent", in direct contradiction to the rest of his teachings? The place where he says, "Your women are to keep silent in the churches" (1 Cor 14) he lets us know an oral law is being quoted. Two verses later is a rebuke of the whole approach and attitude of any which would use this law to silence women! The other verse where he is known to say something similar, is the letter to Timothy at Ephesus. False teachers were mixing the cult of Gnosticism with the gospel, and turning Eve into a part of the godhead. In 1 Tim 2:12, he is "not allowing a woman to teach error in order to dominate a man." In the Greek, this instruction is clearly meant for a specific (one time) situation.

http://newlife.id.au/equality-and-gender-issues/1-timothy-212-in-context-4/



Let's be realists here, though. Men and women are clearly not the same! They are not "equal" physically, and may indeed have different aggregate mental tendencies and talents as well. Unfortunately, in a perverse world, which does not follow the gentleness of our God, these same blessed traits women bear, may be construed as weakness to be taken advantage of by force. Only in a sinful world would one person dominate another so as to bind them to the same evil as themselves (when she is bound by "the law" of her husband). That is not what the Lord would have for His people. The Lord Jesus told us the church is not to "lord it over one another", but to "love each other as I have loved you." How did He love us? By serving us (washing of the feet, as an example of servitude) and self sacrifice.


We can only ever treat others in accordance to how we feel about ourselves. Whatever we seek to deny about ourselves, as weak or ugly, we will despise in another human being. A woman can be considered a reflection of her spouse, of who the man thinks he is. What he thinks about himself is reflected in the way he treats HER. (Eph 5:29)


Only since the time of Christ has the status of women been raised, from property and invisible slave, to a human being of equal importance to a man. Paul did not preach a change of culture. He did not say, in his letters, for any believer to change others. Humility was the order of the day, instead of subjugation and degradation of others. Men were invited to use affirmative action for the purpose of lifting others (women too) up to Christ's level of joy. Men now had the "authority" to enable and support others to reach the godly calling of freedom in Christ. Change in culture DID happen (for women and slaves) because of the changes wrought in individual hearts, empowered by the love of Christ. And how can a wife be free, even now, unless she freely chooses to submit to the freedom her husband equally freely gives her? This is truly her inheritance! To freely give from love!


Only obedience to the good news of the gospel, and the Mediator, brings freedom for all who believe. So as Paul discussed the wearing of a veil versus the cutting of hair when a woman prays, what he is indicating, is that what is a sign of her social status will soon be irrelevant, and what he is advocating for is her freedom to pray at the very alter of God. He was telling men to protect that freedom for her. "A woman should have a sign of authority on her head." (1Cor 11) When he instructed men to love their wives as Christ loved the church, what he was advocating was that the man need be willing to sacrifice his life for HER freedom (In Christ, of course) and that the woman must be fully cooperative in this process. Faith and hope in Christ alone, is what assures of unity, peace, and love, not the exercise of law derived of the will of man. What is faith but the confidence to exercise the authority of the love of Christ? Put it into action!

שמעו בנים

Listen, My Sons!

Learn well the wisdom of your mother! Learn submission from the bride, for you were born OF love TO love! She knows well the tender regard of her Lord and Savior, and would have you feel the same joy of your devotion to HIS service alone! You will not regret the loss of any experiences of the dark and violent world, when the light of his shining passion for you consumes you! The bride carries the hope for the future within her, and you bring that same seed of hope to the nations. Only in the intimacy of life lived in close proximity, does the bride understand how intense burns the flame, of Him who is our Hope!

Nothing can compare, not even this life we live here. Didn't He show us the same thing when He gave up His own life for us? Love's courage need not count the cost when HE is the reason why!

Therefore, there is no command or force of violence which can compel us to obedience, save our desire to delight His heart! Our heartbeat is poetry and praise, of the song which is His Name! No one else can know Him better than the one who lives for Him, within the shelter of His matchless strength of arms! This is your home, where is Him who called you by your name into His presence. This is HIM to whom you belong!

Celebrating Anticipation

A world that's supposed to be solid shouldn't look so surreal, an enigmatic silhouette, a solitary figure, with hair a streaming banner in the wind. Our soul stirs in recognition. That's what we looked like when we were questing for truth. It's the familiar romance of disaffected alienation, feeling those tattered, worn out shoes, ugly, but comfortable for exhausted feet. Our life is forever, to us, that grand drama in which we are absorbed.

Faith lives this same life elsewhere, beyond the realm of sight. It's yearning becomes only stronger for the wait. Proof speaks just beneath the timbre of the singing of the wind. Our Beloved, so close that we can feel Him, hear Him, almost see Him, about to touch Him! He tantalizes us with revelation knowledge of the holy mystery of His Person. Foundation of Forever, You will exceed our most glorious expectations!

Our eyes retain their innocence when we've endured through the pain, by trusting Him to accomplish what He said He would do, again. Obviously, in us, are the strongest hearts of all, calmly continuing to watch for Him, each of us his own world of exile, oblivious to the spiraling cinders of a world ablaze around us. Truly a prodigious effort to care about daily things. Those who demand our attention in the present cannot appreciate our distraction, angry insistence leaving what was once harmony ............. homeless. Just remember, if we seem confused, it's because our minds are elsewhere, engrossed in our soon coming King!