Diary of a Land Guy, Part 1: Land Assignments and Structures In The Spirit

So, yesternight, I and a friend went to a Switchfoot concert in Birmingham at Avondale BrewCo. What I originally thought was this was a concert. What it turned out to be was an assignment to understand some land dynamics present.

While I did enjoy the music a LOT, there were some aspects of this city that captured me, especially given my grandfather was adopted in Birmingham.

Sometimes I am in a place and the land speaks to me. Other times it feels like the land is receiving from the King.

In the case of Birmingham, there as an aspect that felt like home.

But that was not all that’s as there.

Instead of being in the middle of the crowd, we were on the edge of the crowd, and the people around us ended up moving away from us.

Further, in the course of the evening, the people moved from a disorganized crowd to arranging themselves in concentric circles around the stage as if they were in an amphitheater.

In the spirit, however, on the ground of the location where we were, I actually discerned the presence of a sound portal that was built into the ground and part of which was arranged like an amphitheater.

Grass terraces and concrete steps for the levels.

Sound portals parallel the Redemptive Gift of Giver, and they focus the sound of Heaven, and especially the star song that is communicated by the Sons of G-d in an area to resonate the sound of G-d’s justice in a situation: Justice and dominion as embodied in the Son, Yeshua. When they are misaligned, a number of bad things happen, much of which can be chalked up to an increase of lawlessness. When they are aligned, they cause the area in which to resonate with frequencies that are Kingly.

Also, beer as a industry and beverage strikes me as Giver, and in Giver communities like Charlotte and blue-collar communities, beer has a heavy presence.

And, in brewing companies, there is usually live music as well as lots of SOUND and carrying on, and people generally enjoying themselves in conversation or connection of some sort.

That was no exception in this case.

Pondering what this means, I am certain the King was doing things with us there to bring cleansing to the land.

Further, I also became aware of what I can only classify as a portable fire portal, as there appeared in the spirit a column of fire around us. My friend also had relayed to me that there are times when they are frequently in a place and people will not be seated anywhere near them. In those instances, the King is at work.

And that night was definitely an occasion for us to go vertical. And the words to Dare You To Move definitely hit differently, and they felt like exhortations to sonship and building the thing or engaging with the thing you have always been intimidated to build or engage.

“I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before”

“Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
Tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be, yeah”

Also, Switchfoot concerts have punctuated SIGNIFICANT events for me, marker stones at intervals of about 10 years. The last time I saw them live was July 2013. And that preluded a significant season then, as now. A transition is taking place.

From this, I learned a very valuable lesson.

Sometimes, the reason the King sticks us in a certain place is completely different from the reason we originally planned on in going to a place.

So, gang, I will share more on this as the days progress, but I share all this to say, the reason you are in a place may not be the reason you originally went to that place. Find out what the King wants you to do in this season, and go do that.

-Avondale, August 26, 2023-

That Awkward Moment When…..

…you are not anyone’s flavor of the month because you have to confront everyone.

So, because you are lukewarm, I will vomit you out.

From Revelation 3

Sometimes, there are occasions when we have to take care of others, and other times, there are occasions when we have to impose responsibilities on others in order force or provoke growth in them.

I appear to finish this sabbatical in the same place where I began it: being a goad in the lives of those who need to mature.

I have seen a lot of good come from showing silence or gentleness to community, especially when community grows indifferent or unreceptive. However, there are times we need to shake or stir or provoke community so that it does not entropate.

The verb form of “entropy”, coined by yours truly.

There was a reason the only people vomited from our L-rd’s mouth were those who refused to decide between two useful states and attempted to mix the two into a state of apathy.

Lukewarmth defeats the twin purposes of hot and cold and leads to a destroyed twisting, much like the bile-laden and undigested garbage that is rejected by the king.

Gang, I would like to issue a challenge.

Cold is useful. As is hot. The text of Revelation and the rest of the canon never rejects the idea of “cold”, and, indeed, if we read the context, we will appreciate that reality.

But if you find yourself in a doldrumous place of apathy or refusal to fight or stir up what is needed to stir up, I would urge you to consider asking the King to shake you up in some fashion.

He might just surprise you.

Be blessed to receive His stirring of your spirit.