The Mystery of Redolence

Just curious, but why is it that every time you hang out in a coffee shop (though I am not actually drinking coffee… I’m drinking tea… yeah, I’m disappointed about it too), that you walk away with a stonger scent on your person than the actual coffee shop contains? It winds up in your hair, laced throughout the fibers of your garments, and penetrates into your very skin, to the point where nothing but a shower can rescue you from the aroma you now possess. And generally it winds up smelling more like bleach water, burnt espresso and Swedish meatballs than anything else. I was just wondering.

Understanding the “Burden”

Well, I happened to figure out the sweet spot on my power cord and can now successfully type without draining my battery- so long as I remember not to move it one billionth of a millimeter. It’s an exact science trying to get my laptop to work these days. But I like it this way. Poor rich people and their Macs that do everything they want them to do and more. I feel sorry for the overly convenienced people of our society. Where’s the fun?

Well, after far too long I finally had a chance to get some moments to type, though this will have to be a bit short because I’m writing a sermon for 13 year olds right now, and WOW, that’s a lot of work- nothing like having to simplify to expose your lack of knowledge on any given topic. If any of you have incredible ideas about a topic, feel free to shoot them my way. I’m open at this point!!!

No updates on my relative Tom. Just keep praying for his salvation and healing from leukemia. He’s pretty sick.

Lately, I’ve been facing a weird barrenness in prayer. What I have discovered over the last 4 weeks is painful and brilliant all at the same time. After 3 years of pursuing a deeper prayer life, though not always having the easiest time at it, I was convinced I had stepped over a threshold of transcendence and power in the way that I address the Lord that could have no faults. Not that I articulated it, but we humans don’t always wear arrogance on our sleeves.

I came to the realization a few weeks ago that my primary motivation in intercession has been human sympathy and mustered zeal over the various prayer needs with which I am presented, versus the true gift of having a burden given to me by the Lord Himself. Now, though I have tasted this kind of ache for God’s desires here and there, and though I believe that all sincere prayer counts in the economy of heaven, it has been brought before my gaze that I have nothing to offer God apart from what He gives me.

What do I mean by this? That my zeal and human sympathy over issues like the injustice of child soldiers in Africa can sustain an intercessor for only so long. Human sympathy has a shelf life and I have reached the expiration date. Over the last few weeks I have been continually emptied of my ability to conjur up any of my own zeal and now I am aching for the burden of the Lord that surpasses what I can do on my own.

I gues the bottom line is that I crave the nearness of the Lord to help me pray. As Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”    

I thank God for His Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts through faith!   

Calling All Intercessors

I’m so sorry for being super lame at writing lately. I’m in the middle of a break during which I am settling into my new apartment- yeah hectic. I have a request, though. I have a relative named Tom who is very sick with leukemia and needs serious prayer. His final treatment of chemo did nothing and now they only have one option, which is experimental. There’s no saying whether or not it will change anything, but the main thing is that both he and his wife Sheryl don’t know the Lord. If you think about it in the next few weeks, please pray for healing and sound conversion of their hearts. It doesn’t have to be long. If you throw out a 30-second prayer when this situation pops up in your mind, it still counts! Thank you all so much. Blessings!

The Throne’s Occupant; Welcome to the Throne Room Part 2

Immediately I was in the Spirit and behold, a throne set in heaven and One sat on the throne.  Revelation 4:2 

Let me preface this with how vital it is that we peer into the Scriptures with more than an agenda to create an argument to combat those who would disagree. There are times when this may be appropriate, but not in the devotional setting. If the Word of God was merely a sales pitch to slap next to other religions then Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”, could be considered its slogan, but often we read the Bible from this perspective of “Christianity is the best on the market” rather than coming to the Man behind the Words in order that we may be filled with understanding to fall more in love with the Author. Psalm 119:19 says it best, “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” This is why I am a huge advocate of meditation on the Word, and Revelation 4 is one of those places where I get lost in Beauty.

Last time we were looking at the open door, which I believe to be a representative of Jesus, the only Way to the Father. This time we get to look at the Father Himself. It is mind-numbing to think that the Father was visible to a human in such a way that there were words to choose from in order to describe Him. I love to join Revelation 4:2 with Daniel 7:9-10:I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool, His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

The marriage of these two passages will blow your mind when you think of it. 100 million angels minister before this One who is seated! That’s just in His immediate presence- this is not including who knows how many who do His bidding on the earth. I find comfort here. He has all sovereignty, all knowledge and all power. O, that we would have high thoughts of God! That we would actually believe we were made in His image rather than believing Him to be the pinnacle of a hierarchy! He is transcendent, not just better than us.The best part about this is that this is the One with the voice of a trumpet who invites John into the heavenly court. He actually wanted him to experience the raw power and beauty of the Great Terror. O, but it gets better…

In A Nut Shell

Well, I think I owe all of you about 2 weeks worth of updates and thoughts. There’s much to talk about, but SO little time. I’m about to move from one apartment to another about 100 yards away, the interns I work with are graduating after 6 months of having their lives ruled for them, and then there’s Zack:)

So couple of weeks ago Zack and I just about got shot walking back to my apartment due to a stray bullet from a gag fight in the parking lot next to where I live. It’s not like it’s a terrible part of town, but hooligans love it here.

A few nights later we were in a park a couple miles down the road and nearly got attacked by two really angry loose dogs that had murder on their minds. Zack and I won the staring contest, but it almost gave us a heart attack. Also exciting.

Two or three nights after that we were in the same park and managed to spot a bobcat, one of the more furiocious cats in this part of the world. That was more weird than exciting.

But the most exciting part of it all is that I’m not drinking coffee. Yes, after 16 days I am caffeine-free! Did I mention it’s miserable? The remarkable thing is that I didn’t hit any withdrawal symptoms, but I am on the verge of violence today. The person who lives above me has really creaky floor boards (clearly not her fault), and napping was interrupted because of it today. I forgot how enraged I get when woken up out of a dead sleep by annoying sounds. All it would take is a nice cold-pressed brew and life would be beautiful, but I refuse. I’m going to make it- probably not forever, but for a while.

Then there was the failure of my power cord, wich rendered me technologically handicapped until yesterday when I electrically taped the snot out of it. It’s working okay now, probably more out of fear than a good taping job.   

However, the Lord is kind and giving me the ability to remember gratitude, which keeps me from burning things down when I get in that mood. All this to say, I have reasons for my lack of blogging. The throne room part 2 is on it’s way after this week’s graduation events and moving, so hang tight!

Welcome to the Throne Room (The Beauty Realm Part 1)

Due to a recent comment by a Sir Kevin in search of things on the “Beauty Realm”, which is better known as “Revelation 4 & 5,” I decided to see what I could do to throw some of my thoughts out there.

Revelation 4 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire Scripture. I am easily fascinated by beauty and when the Origin of beauty Himself is the one being described, I am lost for anything else. Lately I’ve been feeling somewhat caught in the doldrums of routine that I’ve hit the wall of not fixing my mind on things above (Colossians 3). So here is what I’ve got on the matter, but there’s much more to come.

Revelation 4:1 says, After these things I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”