Category: Principles

THE ONE PERSON…..

The date was September 11.

The year, though, was 2000.

These events were overshadowed by what happened one year later.

I was newly a Junior in college. 22 years ago…and we had just begun the school year a couple of weeks past. I had made a steady stream of friends, as was my habit those days, due to my fairly gregarious nature at the time.

And that day, I had walked into the Wesley House and, there was this woman sitting under the stained glass window. I didn’t think much of it, until we started chatting, and I got to know her. H

Mind you, I had been a follower of the King for about 17 years. And there were no lockdowns at the airports, nor were there any TSA, or Department of Homeland Security, no Tom Ridge, no Conservatives pretending to be proponents of lower spending or limited government. We were a bit more happy and care-free as a nation, and the Republican Party was not yet the bastion of uselessness into which it has grown.

Okay, maybe that is overstating the case, but lest you think the Democratic Party is less useless, ahem..

Anyway, Alyssa and I began chatting and I discovered, through our wandering conversation that she was not a follower of Messiah.

So, in an act that I honestly do not regularly engage in, because I have seen how frequently witnessing to people goes that you barely know, I sensed that maybe this one was white and ready to harvest.

So, I began the process of showing her, a basic idea of what salvation was about. And she was interested. And we spent time praying and talking in the coming weeks. She walked into the kingdom, I spent time handing her regular passages of the biblical text to read, and she began to grow by leaps and bounds. We played quite a bit of chess during those ensuing months, and began working on ministry endeavors together, and she was growing into her own walk with Yeshua.

And then, about the time I had graduated and moved to Tennessee to spend the summer in Nashville working as a summer camp counsellor, something changed. The only person I had ever directly “led to the L-rd” had begun to fall away. And I had had a couple of conversations with her by phone, and then, everything ceased altogether.

And every year, this time of year, when so many people come back to what happened on the corporate level, I think back to what had happened on an individual level, to my friend. I am not sure what happened, but I still pray and mourn for the loss. And I know I am not the only one that misses her sunny contribution to our community of faith. I have several friends that I know also miss her.

But, in this post 9/11/2000 world, I continue, puttering away, doing what I was made to do.

And I wait for news of her return home…as with many other close friends of those days. Brian, Casey, Jon…and I am grateful for the friends who remain from that season. We mourn the presence of the holes left behind by these precious brothers and sisters. And, simultaneously, we hope for their reconciliation, not to a church, or a denomination, but to the One Man.

So, when you have friends from seasons passed, and the L-rd reminds you to pray for them, please be encouraged to do so. For the King is not yet done with their lives, lovelies.

Reposted from Facebook:

Mom, I recall growing up in the Methodist Church for a number of reasons you specified, years after you left college, where there was infighting among all sorts of Christ-followers, and the value of friendships that led you to the L-rd. And I recall something that we did that was etched into my spirit, and have never let go. First time I knew it was right. And the first time a woman led me in such a meaningful time of worship.

And before anyone asks me, I can articulate textually, contra the tired, old arguments that they cannot lead or pastor, how they can.

Mom, one First Sunday morning in the late 80’s, we had decided to remain how and watch church from home, and during the time for taking the bread and the cup, you came from the kitchen bearing a cup of juice that had grapes floating in it, and a loaf of leavened bread. And the three of us sat and Holy Spirit showed up in that connection with His Love, in, with, and under the Medicine of Immortality (Ignatius of Antioch).

Since that day, I have seen and communed with many different groupings and manifestations of Bayit Adonai, the King’s Assembly, the ἐκκλησία, and have seen a whole lot, and been led into a whole lot.

Reasons I have friends who are practicing Catholics, as well as those who, like me, are practicing Jews.

And then there is Arthur Burk, the Man From California who added another layer to the Remnants of the Pesach Supper….

Following the breaking of the loaf of blessing in our celebrations as a global tribe, he mentioned the cup was an apocalyptic and eschatological reminder of anticipating the return of the Lamb of G-d, and as we engage in the Fractal of Four that helps heal those of us with PTSD (Anticipate, Experience, Savor, and Tell/Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom/Right Atrium, Right Ventricle, Left Atrium, Left Ventricle).

And so, this connecting point of encounter with the King is used, most notably during Pesach, the season in which my second marriage began, as a tool of deliverance and exorcism, and also as a tool for alignment. First employed by you to help us as a family stay in a place of alignment when so many other things were falling out of alignment, it communicated much to me.

And now, in this season when more alignment of other parts of my family, blood, marriage, adoption, and spiritual, I remember the way the King met me in Seattle, which caused everything to shift in the way I approach pastoral work, since the Man From California recognized and called me what I am: a pastor. It’s not what I am, it’s who I am, and it has always been who I am. Not merely an electrician, not merely a teacher, but a pastor. “A Naval Aviator. It’s not what I am; it’s who I am”.

It is a reminder to grace and bless and bring into alignment the organizations I lead and of which I am part.

And one other thing I gathered from interacting with you whenever I have stepped into other churches and gatherings: I absolutely hate thin celebrations, celebrations that seem more buoyed or framed by fears, fears cultivated by the celebration of feasts, agape feasts, Jewish feasts, or otherwise, and other restrained “celebrations” that do not cultivate in us what Thomas Aquinas called the “red hot poker in the fire”. Salvation is not merely an insurance policy for barely-saved sinners, nor is it merely a penal substitution or a forensic justification, though those are important tiny-arse facets of it, but rather it is a gateway and a threshold across which we pass on the journey to being fully and completely transformed that we bear His fire and His image as the red-hot poker does the fire in which it rests. And that change is meant to temper and permeate all that we do and are, as we are made permanently hot and cold by turns as we do the dance as the season demands.

So, Mom, do not underestimate the impact you had, amidst the pain and abuse of too many others that could have driven me and Nick away from the King. And remember the grace on the land that helped anchor me as a unique son of the King in this season, and one tied deeply to land and people. This season will bear fruit; the Zoologist understood that. Their abuse and blame for their abuse does not fall on you, nor does any accrued shame. Neither of these are the King’s way.

And this season is a season of steep rescue by those who have put skin in the game for the rescue missions that are coming. For one too many victims of the October season and other crap that we have sat and tolerated. It’s time. And this is when the time for rescuing those too damaged by junk is ripened.

“I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

J.R.R. Tolkein, The Two Towers

 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, G-d with us).

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25 ESV

There is a segment in Matthew with which I will not bore you. There are several highlights I would like to point out as points in support of the concept of desire in Matthew’s gospel.

Abraham desired a son. And as a result, G-d got what He desired (a nation).

Jacob desired a wife of fire, and as a result, he got twelve tribes.

Salmon desired Rahab a prostitute, and as a result, G-d got the Boaz which He desired for Ruth, a faithful and just husband.

Boaz desired Ruth, a Moabite and a guile-free Servant, and as a result, G-d got to illustrate his desire for mutual life-giving between Israel and Moab.

G-d desired Jesse, and as a result, He got the Branch that came from Jesse.

David desired Bathsheba, and as a result, G-d desired Jedediah (Solomon).

Hezekiah desired 15 years, and, as a result, Manasseh the wicked king was born.

Manasseh, in his later years, desired forgiveness out of his repentance, AND G-D GAVE IT TO HIM. BECAUSE G-D OFFERS MERCY FREELY TO ALL. Desire yields much fruit, and G-d gave Mannaseh what was not deserved.

Josiah desired to fight Pharaoh Neco, and as a result, he lost his life prematurely due to his stubborn pride.

Desire may lead to that which is bidden, or that which is forbidden.

And desire leads a child to be birthed of Holy Spirit. Desire creates a safe place for children to be found and raised. Desire leads to many things. The inward attitudes of the heart as reflected by the reality that G-d recognizes through the text of the Tenth commandment lead to many great things full of wonder when desire is rightly aligned, and can lead to many dangerous or destructive things which desire is misaligned.

Joseph’s actions were not yet known; he was pondering what he should do. All of the dialogue was internal. He was wondering, in the presence of the King who was residing in his wife’s womb, what he should do. He weighed the risks, inside his own spirit and mind. He knew what would happen if he exposed her to open shame. And in the end, the angel of the L-rd had to encourage him, against the spirit of fear that was working internally, to do the very thing that would destroy his reputation among the leaders of the day.

Our responsiblity, in the midst of potentially risky or destructive situations, is to ask the L-rd what His input is for us. Should we risk to do the thing we desire, or not?

There may be many thing we see or feel or experience inside of us, but the real question is, how are those desires reflected in our actions.

The more you read the Gospel of Matthew, the more you will see the desires that are inside a man’s or a woman’s heart guide him or her to act accordingly.

…the son of David…

From Matthew 1:1

And yes, note the flag. That’s the flag of Iran. The date was July 7, 1987, nearly three years into my wrestling with the enemy from the last post. I was standing outside of a building somewhere in Jacksonville, my birthplace and one of the cities I love.

Standing outside that building, my eyes fell to a newspaper vending machine, and the headline featured some story featuring a Marine Colonel being asked to testify concerning some scandal. The headline said something about Iran, and I, not knowing what it was, heard a voice saying “pray for them”.

From that day to this, my eyes and my heart have been filled with a deep yearning for the people of that place. And though I am Jew, my heart is with them.

That Christ is the Son of David, shows He is also the Desire of David. The Desire of the Beloved. The Lover. The Compassionate. The Son of the Tender-Hearted Mercy. The one who seeks in the street for someone to follow the Voice of Wisdom, with treasures that are not cheaply-gotten. Priceless are these gifts and this understanding.

Not only Is Christ the Son of the Steward Abraham, but He is the Son of the Mercy David. And David believed G-d with a Mercy and a Kindness and a Revelation of His complete Covenant, of His Covenant as embodied in the Desire of the Tenth Commandment. Governing the internal, the interior place, by his spirit, David engaged, with desire, the enemy.

For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living G-d?

From 1 Samuel 17:26

And, though David’s unbridled desire fostered destruction later, it was his zeal and desire for the King’s love that drove the King and the Judge of All the Earth to build David the Beloved an everlasting house.

Beloved, I know how the text is often taught that Persia will fall.

But I also know the text that reads there will be a place in eternity where sundry nations will be honored in the City of the King.

They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

Revelation 21:26

That glory and honor of the nations will include the ways in which the L-rd has honored a large group of nations. and I am of the point-of-view that dispensationalism will not account for all of these nations being numbered in the museum of eternity.

Only the King’s tender affection for the Ruler/Judge/Deliverer (China, Russia, England, the District of Columbia), and for Persia will bring their glory, a glory that maybe only He knows about, as well as those who will discern it, into eternity.

This zeal for the L-rd to have a gathering of EVERY nation is embodied in the reality that one day, He will wipe away every tear. And it never says in that text that the only tears He will wipe away will be human tears. A Father honoring their child’s wish to separate will always bring tears out of the heart of that Father. There will be people from every nation that will bring Him to tears. But there will also be people from every nation that bring a fire to His eyes.

Where do we think David and the Son of David get this zeal for compassion from? Rather sounds like a Chip off the Old Block.

Desire of the Nations has a Desire FOR the Nations.

Gang, ponder what needs to be done, and consider not just the Day of His Vengeance against His ancient enemy, but also the simultaneous Year of His Favor upon those children of His in nations that are not yet His, pre-Christian Uyghur Muslims, Shiite Twelvers, Soon-to-be-former-Communists, and embittered former sons and daughters who, out of woundedness, walk as practitioners of witchcraft. Those who would, like the separated AHS’s, when they saw the Affectionate King’s face, as did my beloved daughter, Amberle, on the day of her visitation two years ago this past January 2, would turn in a moment toward Him.

The love in His silvery eyes on that day will cause those who will turn to turn in a moment.

For He is Heaven itself….

And His desire, well-stewarded and managed, will cause even the most-pained child of His, who has even the slightest chance of turning, but who ran away because of religious boxes, dead man’s bones, other man’s standards, and fouled man’s programming and destruction, to come running back to Him.

The Gospel, the good news, of Desire.

When it is easy. When it is hard.

When you vacillate as to your design because you want to get it right, and layers of the alien, the foreign, the formerly-accepted-way-of-looking-at-you have buried you under like layers of silken Saran Wrap….

When the abuse of your childhood makes its way from a former “union” to a true union.

When the alcoholism of your father causes you to act the same way toward the one you swore otherwise.

When the design for the nations rots around you and within you.

When the pregnancies turn to Edenward populace.

When the kids turn from the path of their design.

When you speak one language, and she hears another tongue transposed and backwards.

When the clowns challenge you by impersonating his voice, saying, he’s just like your father.

When death truly means death, and love hangs by a thread, and seasons leaving you feeling as though you are roommates.

When you are given permission to leave one another, and the Father follows that up with the name of your close friend who was also given a choice and a promise of blessing either way.

When the enemy assaults you so much you wonder if you have lost your sanity.

When pastors call you a terrible shepherd, and friends call you the unrepentant of Matthew 18.

When all has gone to “worse”…….

Where do you go when all you want to do is curse the day of your birth?

What do you say, when the clowns are attempting to call your bluff, and a witch rubs it in by sending flowers to the place where you buried your beloved?

I will tell you.

You let Him prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies, and you let Him anoint your head with oil.

You let yourself walk with grief, and you observe that grief, and then you ask Him to cover you with the shadow of his wings, and you get back into the fray, and you do the things you know you are supposed to do.

And you remind the Clown Prince of his tininess, and of the King’s greatness.

And you ask Father to minister from His storehouses.

And feed on His faithfulness, even if you are reduced to repeating the refrain, G-d, you’re faithful, you’re faithful.

And you allow Him to cause you to float down the river of His reality and of His rest.