Tag: Community

WOR Blessings 2024, Season A: Reconciled to Community: Blessing 1: From the Desk of Telluride

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Blessings, March WOR: Reconciled To Community


Beloved,

I call your spirit to attention in the name of Yeshua, and it is appropriate this time for me to do so.

Prophet portion, I call on you, dearest love.

Listen to the Word of G-d for you for today.

Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the L-RD will work for us. For nothing restrains the L-RD from saving by many or by few.”

So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.”

Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”

1 Samuel 14:6–10 NKJV

Johnathan, the Prophet, the son of Saul, the Son of Kish, showed his intensity and his fierceness of devotion to the L-rd, even when outnumbered by hundreds-to-one odds.

Prophet, even though you are oftentimes the most beaten-up; the most hammered-on by the body; the most relentlessly-pursued for your incurable intensity; and the most-reviled for your black-and-white, often-simplistic worldview; beloved, you are also THE ONE that the Redemptive Gift Tribes rely on to get the crazy-ass shit done that NO ONE else will do. With few, you accomplish much.

That is your dignity.

Sure, on the way to accomplishing the ends for which you were designed, you will likely piss off a few admirals, be placed in an impossible situation with few resources, be concerned that you might not be able to help everyone in harm’s way, and fight dark things that others might fear, but with you, you carry one of the greatest assets and resources needed for those dark paths. You carry this as free money, Prophet.

Faith and fearlessness.

You were made for the fight. Hardwired for the war. Designed for the hardest and harshest environments.

So, Prophet, I bless you as you gamble on these principles that are your bread-and-butter.

I bless you to be the rallying point for the community to the fight.

I bless you to be the tip of the sword, and the thorn in the enemy’s flesh.

I bless you to know you were forged for the hardness. And because of that, as a precursor to peace and the gathering of community, you were made to lead the charge and protect those of us who are more vulnerable, and for whom faith and fearlessness are harder to handle.

I also bless your heart to find a safe place, one or two or more people who are a place with whom you can rest.

The heart…safely trusts….and that one shall have no lack of gain.

You were made to have a tough and strong exterior, but you were also made, because you have access to great faith without knowing all ends, a tender heart. I see your heart for the people in your tribe. My darling Prophet, you were made to bring the family together in ways you do not yet understand, in high moral standing, and with ethics etched into your very being.

You are a deep light, Prophet. And the King’s heart yearns for you to see it. The way forward, which is why you see the vision in the distance and handle principles so effectively, so you can extrapolate and see what will be, not by the Spirit or the revelation of the moment, but by your design and hard wiring. Your nature is to solve problems with the principles.

It is different with you than with an office Prophet or the manifestation of prophesying.

For this capacity to believe comes because you weave together principles into building blocks to produce change and to see those results far down the road.

I bless that distance vision and the skill of weaving to be unencumbered. I bless you to have strength for the fight. And I bless you to not worry about whether or not you will be justified in the sight of others, for you know your justification will come in the King’s sight because in the fiber of your being, you have all you need inside of you, coupled with the limited resources outside of you and inside of you to solve the problem of the moment.

Prophet, may you know the King’s love in the name of Yeshua.

Amein.

Blessing 14: September WOR Blessing: Psalm 42:10

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Blessings, Communication, Exegesis, Fathering, Principles, September Window of Reconcilaiton Blessings: Reconciliation to G-d

Beloved,

I invite your spirit forward to treat with me, regardless of what status it or they are in.

Spirit, I recognize the pain of assault and the trouble that comes when you are traumatized, and the shattering of the human spirit that takes place when ritual abuse occurs.

Spirit, listen to the word of G-d for you for today.

Be still and know I am G-d

Psalm 46:10

Spirit, there is a place following the trauma of a harsh season or following mistreatment of harsh leaders.

G-d can and often might place us in proximity to harsh leaders.

Note what I said versus what I did not say.

Consider the following also, spirit

Although he was a son, he learned obedience by the things he suffered.

Hebrews 5:8 ESV

There may be times when G-d allows you to connect with harsh leaders in order to refine you.

I don’t guarantee it will happen. In fact I hope it doesn’t happen. But in case you end up dealing with a difficult or harsh leader, I want you to remember one thing in the still place following mistreatment.

He is G-d. And He will coach you in very difficult times.

You will also note I did not say G-d sets us under harsh people in order that they would abuse us.

Abuse happens, but I don’t see it as from the hand of G-d. I do however see our response as capable of coming from the hand of G-d.

I bless you following a difficult situation to get really still and to occupy the still place and to lean into the King deeply.

I bless you to walk in stillness and to take advantage of that stillness in order to receive deep clarity.

I bless you in that season to find out how Father wants you to respond and to deeply know Him in intimacy.

I bless you to find deeper intimacy regardless of the current pain.

I bless you to speak to Yeshua, who is capable of taking all pain. I bless each of you, parts, to just be and to appropriate whatever of King’s love in whatever manner you deem necessary.

I bless your enforcers in their anger to express that anger and frustration and to ask the questions they need to ask. This is a safe space for them.

I bless you to know what is meant by fellowshipping with the King in His sufferings.

I bless you to participate with Him in a deep and satisfying connection.

And most importantly, I bless you to, in the still place, for your parts that which to occupy that space, to occupy that space in time and to fill that space with the knowledge of Him.

I bless you with dignity and grace and love and affection and wholeness.

And above all, I bless you, spirit, and relevant parts to know you belong.

You belong, dear heart.

In stillness, you belong.

I bless you to know Him as G-d, spirit, in the name of Yeshua.

So be it.

Blessing of the December Window of Reconciliation #6: Destiny Aspect, Right Adventure With Right Friends

by theparacleteshammer, posted in December WOR Blessings: Reconcilation to Destiny

Beloved, I would like to invite your spirit forward in the name of Yeshua.

Spirit, Listen to the word of G-d for you for today.

Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;
they saw the deeds of the L-RD, his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the L-RD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the L-RD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”

Psalm 107:23–31 ESV

Spirit, not only do we need the right home, and not only do we need the right relationship with the right Father, but we also need the right cadre of friends to engage our destiny with us.

We were made to become people of destiny in the context of community.

Now, some of you in isolation might say “why is that?”.

In order to answer that, I have to tell you a story.

Spirit, I have a sailor friend whose name is Bryan. He is a sailor’s sailor and has always made a home or found a place at sea. From stints in the Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers to tours near Nigeria, he has gone down to the sea repeatedly in ships and done business on the water. He has seen the works of the King on the waters.

And he has shared with me that sailors frequently have inked on their knuckles the words “Hold Fast”. if you wash overboard, that rope to which you are tied may be the last thing keeping you from physical death. In so many contexts, holding onto a lifeline is all that stands between us an eternity.

Likewise, at least four of Jesus’ Twelve fished on Lake Galilee: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John. And they would have understood in squalls the dangers inherent with sailing.

Unlike a cruise-ship, which is the ultimate form of mothering, military and other sailing and fishing vessels are solid expressions of fathering. The need on a boat is to develop the tools necessary to survive and thrive and return home safely. And often times, in order to thrive on a ship or a boat, you have to take calculated risks relative to your environment. And in all of that, whatever you do, spirit, do not let go of the rope. Hold fast.

And have a crew of mates that you can connect with that will work with you and help you learn the ropes and will have your back and keep you safe.

And it takes a group of people each weaving together their unique set of principles together, and bringing those sets together that helps us move into destiny. One man or woman cannot pilot a vessel alone to do a task alone. Destiny is a community skill. And Several sets of eyes that can see the various aspects are so desperately needed.

And love which flows between brothers and sisters is needed.

So spirit, I bless you for the seasons when you will be abroad. I bless you no matter the nature of the water or the location of the water. I bless you when you must be on the open ocean, or on the lakes or rivers, or in the waters underneath the earth. I bless you when the waters are calm, and I bless you when the waters are boiling out of control. I bless you when there is a red sky at night and at morning. I bless you when you are surrounded by sharks and when the waters are pure sapphire. I bless you to have the right mates. I bless your friendships to be rejuvenating and life-giving, and importantly, life-PRESERVING.

I bless you to find THE RIGHT BERTH ON THE RIGHT VESSEL, and to link up with THE RIGHT CREW. For whatever reason, the following poem feels appropriate here.

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking. 

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. 

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Sea Fever by John Masefield

I bless your business and I bless your vision to see the works of G-d in the depths of the deep.

I bless you to be aware of the dynamics of Leviathan, whereever you are, in seven heads. I bless your compass, chronometer, sextant, pelorus, and maps to be true and accurate. I bless your skill in using them.

Spirit, I bless you with a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover. I bless you with lads who will keep you aboard and welcome you into their cabal as they accomplish great exploits in the name of the Captain of Our Salvation.

I bless you, mariners, to hear the voice of your ship and crew. I bless you when the storm is getting worse. I bless you with adventure and safe passage, no matter where the map and route take you. I bless you to know when your ship needs rest, and your mates need a hand, or a look, or a smile, or a heart.

I bless you to sleep aboard your ship when the Captain sleeps, and I bless you to wake when the Captain awakens. I bless you with love to keep your ship in its right alignment. And I bless you to be fathered in the wholeness of cause-and-effect that is critical to the operation of a fathering vessel that carries sons of the kingdom. I bless your reins to provide you counsel in the night seasons. I bless your capacity to see the usefulness of everyone else around you whose gifts are nothing like yours. And, importantly, I bless your capacity and skill at meshing your skills together with theirs, and no matter the conditions, to sail effectively. And to reach not only your destiny, but the desired haven of your home, having accomplished what the L-rd intended you to accomplish.

I bless you with wholeness in your community, as you seek for your place among your tribe. Be at peace, spirit, in the name of Yeshua.

Merciful Maps and Profound Plays: God Reveals Himself More in Ezekiel

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Uncategorized

By Eric Hatch
July 2, 2018
As we read Ezekiel’s writings, including most of the last post about it, God would forgive you (if you asked!) for thinking the prophet only describes a God who revels in judgment.  However, Ezekiel’s audience finds bountiful hope and a cornucopia of details throughout his book, including amazingly detailed maps and powerful drama.  Both continue to provide color in our process of learning God’s true character.  We will study the unique way God directs Ezekiel to use plays to explain God’s response to His people’s sin.  First, though, we will provide some context for Chapters 40 to 48.

Maps Detail God’s Redemptive Heart

This closing section foretells the merciful plans of the Eternal God of Isaac and Jacob for their descendants.  Ezekiel receives The Word of The Lord with boundary lines for how God will apportion the restored land first promised to Abraham and his children.  This may seem straight forward – that God has a specific plan to give each tribe a place to build and call home.  However, Christians may find these chapters difficult to harmonize with Apostle John’s words in The Revelation and other end-time prophecies.
In this layout of a future kingdom promised by God to the nation of Israel, Ezekiel provides pinpoint, “GPS” cartography, laying out of the boundaries of each tribe of Israel’s allotment of land in a restored and future kingdom.  From my view, this detailed description may have provided John with his framework of Jewish apocalyptic writings.  Yes, I believe that God directly inspired John’s description of numbers: for example, the 144,000 Jewish converts to Christ during the Great Tribulation period and the New Jerusalem, a city over 1,000 miles wide, and just as long and high (yes, tall enough to stretch into Outer Space).  With reformed Temple worship including animal sacrifice, even seemingly after Christ’s “once for all” sacrifice (Romans 6:10), these last 9 chapters may scare away more Christians and theologians than any of Ezekiel’s writings, even the graphic descriptions of 16 and 23!
I will note here that I don’t feel qualified yet to interpret the closing passages of Ezekiel and all of its minute detail.  However, we can know for sure that Ezekiel completes his prophecies in the same place as John does in Revelation.  At the end of his writings, Ezekiel writes in 48:35, “the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There.”  Then, as John finishes The New Testament, John writes in Revelation 21:3 this description of the New Jerusalem in language complementary to Ezekiel’s hope-filled name of our future home:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.”

With these passages, let us build our hope on The One True God and His desire to reveal Himself in the short-term, when we commune in the spiritual realm, and His promise to live with us in the long-term, when He will physically and perfectly inhabit our new home.
Looking at both John and Ezekiel’s writings, I admit to confusion.  I try to  understand how God sees present-day rulers in Israel/Palestine, and the ongoing fight for land in The Middle East, and the promise of a perfect nation ruled by “The Prince of Israel”.  I also don’t understand when and how the Lord’s coming will occur, as described by John.  Nevertheless, God promises His mercy, and He even maps it out in detail because He will fulfill His words.  His grace is consummated for all women and men who care for Him.

Profound Plays Tell God’s Tragic Tale

Still, Ezekiel contains an even more uncommon narrative style, when compared to other parts of The Bible: 2 forms of drama.  In Chapter 4, Ezekiel acts out a true “One Man Play” among the exiles from Judah in Babylon, preaching each day while laying down outside for over a year (390 days)!  To depict God’s wrath on Jerusalem, he also builds dirt dioramas of The City of David and shows in excruciating detail how The Babylonians will destroy Judah.
In the second form of drama, Ezekiel performs as God’s avatar, his direct reflection to reveal how God acts in relationship with His rebellious children.  In Chapter 24, God tells Ezekiel of his wife’s impending death, but God requires Ezekiel NOT to mourn her passing.  Seemingly the cruelest job of any prophet, God wants the exiles in Israel to understand their deep, ongoing sin.  It’s almost like God says to His people, “See, look at Ezekiel.  He doesn’t even grieve the loss of ‘the delight of [his] eyes’.  Like him, I have no more tears to cry for you.  My wrath will be spent.”
This harsh picture of God shows the other side of God’s character, seemingly in contrast to the tender story in Amos about God’s buying back unfaithful Israel.  There, Amos, acting in the part of God, marries the prostitute Gomer, who bore children not fathered by Amos.  Then, when Gomer returned to prostitution, Amos bought her back, knowing that she still was unfaithful to him.
Both of these examples of “prophet as performance artist” complement each other, similar to the proverbial “two sides of the coin”.  We can’t have a coin… without 2 sides!  God acts at different times and in different circumstances with wrath toward His children in rebellious disobedience and with mercy toward the sinner.  These sets of actions provide more evidence of the significance of reading the writings of Ezekiel.
See, many preachers and seekers of The Lord Jesus Christ (including myself, occasionally) emphasize God’s mercy when responding to sin and unfaithfulness, as seen in the “reality drama” of Amos and Gomer.  However, just like the best human fathers, God not only provides mercy, but He also doles out discipline.  By reading all of the prophets and their proclamations, we see a glimpse of the true depth of God’s personality.  What majesty I see in this nuanced revelation of God’s goodness: just, fierce, forgiving, merciful, and always trustworthy!  And I know this about God because I read all of the counsel about Him in scripture.

God Reveals Both His Mercy and Justice

How should this two-sided (NOT two-faced!) picture of God affect His followers and our sharing of His grace with humanity?  For one thing, we only understand the character and actions of God as we seek Him in and through His past words in The Holy Bible.  For both believers and seekers of The Lord God, we can and should use our studies of the Old and New Testaments to push our awareness of His divine nature.  Remember that God doesn’t expect us to somehow discover a jewel about Him after innumerable unfruitful searches in the garbage heaps of Worldly Wisdom.  I am, similar to greater minds of the past like Isaac Newton, a follower of Jesus Christ and a person concerned with living my life in the logical world created by Him.  Therefore, I “use a metaphor popular at the time [of Newton]: God created two books, the book of Scripture and the book of Nature, and both books are true.” (Seen at https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-book-of-nature-the-book-of-scripture).  We need not worry if reality seems hazy at times, whether within one of God’s “two books” or when comparing Nature with Scripture.  As we wrestle with the meaning of The Bible, and as we learn more every day about the intricacies of God’s Creation, let us seek to find both what is real and what is holy.  As we do, we will know more about how God relates to us and what we must know to follow Him.
Thank you for your consideration… and remember: Holy Spirit is directing us all on a journey to unity in Him, through Christ, bringing us all closer to unity in Heavenly Father.  “God, bless those who read this.  In Jesus’ name, amen!”
I will share in my next post about more of the somewhat obscure parts of Ezekiel.
 

Social Intonation: A Dynamic of Community, and a Major Need of the Exhorter

by theparacleteshammer, posted in Five Levels of Holienss

G-d the Father is the G-d of Community.  He it is that is the Member of the Trinity that is devoted to life and our sense of Belongingness.
It is through Him that we understand we belong.
And it is He who sets us where He wants.
 
The communities that we form on the third level of holiness are critical to the networking of whatever plan the L-rd has for us.
And we are supposed to not only be thrown willy-nilly into whatever communities at hand, but more specifically, we need to be placed by our Father (1 Corinthains 12:18) were we were designed to fit.
Amanda Damon, a friend of our family’s, made an observation, concerning Exhorters, because with Exhorters, it is painful to deprive them of social networks and groups of friends, without which they suffer deeply, as did one of my close friends:

An Exhorter homeschooler needs people.  It just means the parents get to choose what people.  Tons and tons of homeschool community these days.  Field trips every week, co-ops if you want, group electives, Konos, the possibilities are endless.  I think it more depends on the parents and how in tune to their kids they are. Homeschooling can be a place to thrive!

First, let me say this much.
With respect to Exhorters, if you are going to homeschool an Exhorter, it is true that you will get to pick what people with whom the socialize.  However, it also means that you need to ACTUALLY EXECUTE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROACTIVELY pick some peeps to connect with your Exhorter.  Don’t just assume that because you homeschool your kids, and you have the freedom to pick the kids they hang with, that they are going to end up with the right crowd.
The freedom to pick playmates for your bubbly Exhorter is also the responsibility to expose them to people, so that together you can pick out the right people for them.
Otherwise, they will pick anybody and everybody.
Second, more generally, note that phrase “in tune”.  It reminds me of Mr. Hardy, my high school Chorus teacher. He placed a premium on this concept in music that we call intonation.  It applies to music.
But Amanda’s comment, in response to a hard conversation on homeschooling, caused me to hear an idea for the first time.
Social intonation.
We need “social intonation”. We need to be placed in a community that not only looks right, feels right, seems right, and enhances our image, but also one that sounds right, AND one with which we can tune and among which we can blend well.
And we need the right kind of community even if it conflicts with deeply-held convictions and biases.
Some Exhorters need homeschooling.  And as a result, their parents are thus required to select friends for them, because those Exhorters by and large REQUIRE socialization of some sort.
When we develop unqualified biases for or against a certain type of community in all of its manifestations, whether the institution is homeschooling or church or any ither type of school or business or people of differing faith views and we say, “All [pick your institution]s are [bad/good/terrible]”, then that keeps us from seeing the possible good in a situation.
When I say all homeschooling is bad for Exhorters because they don’t get to socialize, then it keeps me from seeing the possibilities for socialization that are available with at least a modicum of effort.
Now, let’s pull back and distill a more general principle.
Those biases that keep us from seeing comprehensively and clearly are then harnessed by the Mesmerizing Spirit and we thus cease seeing clearly.  We then stop seeing situations, circumstances, places, and people accurately and with precision (the way the L-rd sees them).
As a result, we become candidates for the Spirit of Deception.  And the moment we are willing to believe the lies of the Spirit of Deception, then sooner or later the lie involves some sort of pit of despair, a trap which this spirit lays.  And if we follow that path of deception into the pit of despair, the subsequent downward spiral can lead to death and suicide.
We deeply need to be part, not just of any community, but the community that Father picks out for us, whatever community that looks like.
For, we can possess our birthright as individuals, but we will not become people of destiny outside of community.
Thus, when you are looking for a community, ask yourself, “is this a community with which I can blend to make that right sound?”.
Find the right sound for your hardwiring.  Find the right gathering that meshes with your hardwiring.
And be blessed, gang.  This is a new concept, but it is one that I am hashing out repeatedly.