Operating in Authority vs Power

 

Cardinal Flower: a wild native plant

Prayer, power, authority, witchcraft, leadership, the church, and cardinal flower... how do all these topics converge!? Sheeeeeesh. This was an interesting woods walk!

I didn't think today's audio had anything to do with being in the woods to be honest. I figured I would include a photo I took of a cardinal flower, not thinking it was related at all. I was just thrilled to see this native beauty in a swampy area of our woods walk. The blooms are such a bright, almost iridescent red, the color is hard to capture in a picture; these flowers are truly best enjoyed in person! 

As I later considered the flower a bit more as I was putting together the post- and how it was actually named after the vibrant red robes of the cardinals in the Roman Catholic church, it began to fit today's topic of prayer, authority, leadership and the church a bit more! Then-- reading a bit further I find it was used as a love charm and in potions (control and manipulation) to make them irresistible to their love interest! I couldn't have picked a better plant as a visual if I tried!

Here are a few resources that have inspired some of these thoughts and contemplations:

​What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:1-3 NLT

 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28 NLT

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matthew 8:5-13 ESV

The commentary on these verses give some incredible context!

https://biblehub.com/study/matthew/8.htm

When God delays in fulfilling our little thoughts, 
it is to have Himself room to work out His great ones.

-Lilias Trotter

Praying down rather than praying up - that is the summing up... that the velocity and power of anything that comes down, gains in a ratio of high proportion with the height from which it drops: Even from an aeroplane, a pencil falling will take on the force of a bullet. What might not our prayer power be if it comes down from the throne of the Priest.

https://unveiling.org/lily/lily7.html

Cortisol & Forgiveness

 

This picture of a plant being stunted by a lifeless leaf of the past illustrates to me how old things can hold us back in our current growth. In this audio I explore how the principle of forgiveness actually frees us from rumination which is a root of chronic stress and elevated cortisol for many people. 

There is a lot that I don't say about forgiveness in the audio. 

First- forgiveness is not saying "it's okay". It is actually fully acknowledging how wrong the offense was/is and choosing to forgive. This is a hard one for me because I can often see why someone behaves a certain way so it is hard to fully acknowledge it was STILL WRONG. I believe that in order to forgive deeply, we need to feel deeply, which is one of the hardest parts. It is hard to feel while we are actively numbing through distractions and addictions, and when the feelings come back, they can feel overwhelming. As hard as it is, this process is worth it! Get the root of the offence OUT. If it festers, it will grow into bitterness which literally rots us from the inside out. 

Second- forgiveness is not a feeling. I glossed over this a bit, but if you are waiting to feel it to forgive, it will never happen. It's a choice we make with our will, and something that often needs to be actively held there until we feel it. 

Third- forgiveness is not reconciliation. You can forgive someone and still have a very different relationship now than before the offense. There are people whom if I meet them on the street, I will be friendly with, but we are not friends and I am no longer pursuing relationship with them. Reconciliation can happen when the offending party is will to acknowledge the wrong and you can both move towards restoring relationship. I see this more as a spectrum than yes or no. And sometimes trust takes time to be built again. Sometimes you don't need reconciliation, because that season is just over. You can forgive and move on, like with an ex romantic relationship or an old coworker. 

Fourth- forgiveness doesn't let them off the hook. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. (​O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs—O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Psalms 94:1) We hand them over to the Lord. There may be accountability, but not retaliation. It really is a condition of the heart. 

Fifth- sometimes forgiveness comes in layers. The more awareness we have the more we realize we need to forgive. Maybe you forgave an old offense, but you are still dealing with some of the ramifications, or a new area of wounding has been uncovered-- be ready to forgive again when it comes up. 

Want to check out some interesting research on the rumination and cortisol!? Check out the links below below:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6783329/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453024002798

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6591062_Rumination_Fear_and_Cortisol_An_In_Vivo_Study_of_Interpersonal_Transgressions

Some reference verses:

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:25-26

Sometimes we forget that Jesus commands us to forgive, and it is part of His simple instruction in how to pray in the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21

Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:25-32

Pruning and Proliferation

 

Balmony :: Turtle Head

Here are a few pictures of Balmony in the wild! Click the last picture for a link to the instagram video of the "Turtle Head" 

Balmony is an excellent bitter that is used as a liver and gallbladder tonic and to improve the digestion of fats, absorption and elimination. It prefers shady and moist environments and typically blooms in September. 

Focussed A Story and a Song By Lilias Trotter 

"And Satan knows well the power of concentration; if a soul is likely to get under the sway of the inspiration, "this one thing I do," he will turn all his energies to bring in side-interests that will shatter the gathering intensity."

Collecting Streams 

An excerpt from the writing of St. Gregory of Nyssa On Virginity Chapter 7

An illustration will make our teaching on this subject clearer. Imagine a stream flowing from a spring and dividing itself off into a number of accidental channels. As long as it proceeds so, it will be useless for any purpose of agriculture, the dissipation of its waters making each particular current small and feeble, and therefore slow. But if one were to mass these wandering and widely dispersed rivulets again into one single channel, he would have a full and collected stream for the supplies which life demands.Just so the human mind (so it seems to me), as long as its current spreads itself in all directions over the pleasures of the sense, has no power that is worth the naming of making its way towards the Real Good; but once call it back and collect it upon itself, so that it may begin to move without scattering and wandering towards the activity which is congenital and natural to it, it will find no obstacle in mounting to higher things, and in grasping realities. We often see water contained in a pipe bursting upwards through this constraining force, which will not let it leak; and this, in spite of its natural gravitation: in the same way, the mind of man, enclosed in the compact channel of an habitual continence, and not having any side issues, will be raised by virtue of its natural powers of motion to an exalted love. In fact, its Maker ordained that it should always move, and to stop is impossible to it; when therefore it is prevented employing this power upon trifles, it cannot be but that it will speed toward the truth, all improper exits being closed. In the case of many turnings we see travelers can keep to the direct route, when they have learned that the other roads are wrong, and so avoid them; the more they keep out of these wrong directions, the more they will preserve the straight course; in like manner the mind in turning from vanities will recognize the truth. The great prophets, then, whom we have mentioned seem to teach this lesson, viz. to entangle ourselves with none of the objects of this world’s effort — Chapter 7.

Pruning :: Motherwort

 

God Instructs the Farmer

Listen to the Teaching of God (Isaiah 28:23-29 NKJV)

²³ Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
²⁴ Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
²⁵ When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the spelt in its place?
²⁶ For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.
²⁷ For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
²⁸ Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
²⁹ This also comes from the LORD of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. Isaiah 28:23-29 NKJV

AI & Struggle

 

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Scent of the Future

"He found him in a desert land
And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him,
He kept him as the apple of His eye.
As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings,
So the LORD alone led him,
And there was no foreign god with him. Deuteronomy 32:10-12 (NKVJ)

 Then he said to me, “This is what the LORD says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’”

Then another message came to me from the LORD: “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” Zechariah 4:6-10 NLT

If you missed the Seeds & Stewardship one I referenced:

SEEDS & STEWARDSHIP

Growth Mode

 The Mountain of the LORD
​¹ The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
² It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
³ and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:1-4 (ESV)

⁸ “You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, ⁹ and that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. ¹¹ But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, ¹² a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Deuteronomy 11:8-12 (ESV)

Woods Walk Intro

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Curiosity

Sorry the audio was not as good on this one! And I totally dropped the phone at the end 😆

SEED SOWER PARABLE

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:1-9 ESV

Read Luke and Mark's account of the same parable!

Luke 8:4–8 Mark 4:1-9

 

I really love these verses from Isaiah! God knows EACH plant and what they need WHEN, and just as He is faithful to instruct the farmer in his work and life, He will for each of us when we ask!

 Listen to me now.
Give me your closest attention.
Do farmers plow and plow and do nothing but plow?
Or harrow and harrow and do nothing but harrow?
After they’ve prepared the ground, don’t they plant?
Don’t they scatter dill and spread cumin,
Plant wheat and barley in the fields
and raspberries along the borders?
They know exactly what to do and when to do it.
Their God is their teacher.
^27-29 And at the harvest, the delicate herbs and spices,
the dill and cumin, are treated delicately.
On the other hand, wheat is threshed and milled, but still not endlessly.
The farmer knows how to treat each kind of grain.
He’s learned it all from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies,
who knows everything about when and how and where. Isaiah 28:23-27 MSG

Willing to be Seen

 

TIME AND CHANCE HAPPEN TO THEM ALL 

(Ecclesiastes 9:11)

I returned and saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all.
¹² For man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them. Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

Boundaries

Here are some extra pictures highlighting the symmetrical and asymmetrical leaves!

 

Dawn Chorus

 

About the Dawn Chorus Phenomenon

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/the-dawn-chorus-all-you-need-to-know-about-natures-big-show

Bird and Plant Relationship

https://birdsinthetree.com/do-birds-wake-up-plants/

Music For Plants

https://commonsensehome.com/music-for-plants/

Sonic Bloom

https://dancarlsonsonicbloom.com/

Seeds & Stewardship

I was off on the oak tree stat. "Oak trees take decades to mature and one oak produces more than 2,000 acorns every year, but only 1 in 10,000 acorns will manage to develop into an oak tree"

https://wisconsinwoodlands.org/wp-content/uploads/oaks-and-acorns-narrative.pdf

Eight generations of native seed cultivation reduces plant fitness relative to the wild progenitor population

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8288025/

 

Perennials & Humility

Sowing in Sadness

Yesterday was Saturday and I had a lot I had to do and wanted to get done-- including the Tea Formulation Gather prep and start more seeds and get the growing station setup. I was feeling discouraged and sad and just frustrated. Like a thick cloud of darkness settled in and clouded all my thoughts. At one point I thought, I don't want to plant seeds while I'm in a bad mood. I don't want to put that energy into them. It would be such a stark contrast from last planting when I was so excited and felt stirred up over what God is doing. I almost just threw the towel in for the day.

I don't actually believe that though. That's just some *woo hoo* nonsense.

So I went on DOING what I had set out to do. I set the shelves. Rigged up the grow lights and the heating pad. I prepped the soil and the tray. And I planted as I planned-- even as I was grumpy and sad and discouraged.

And then while I was planting a verse from Psalms came to mind:

⁵ Those who sow in tears

Shall reap in joy.

⁶ He who continually goes forth weeping,

Bearing seed for sowing,

Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,

Bringing his sheaves with him. Psalms 126:4-6

Scripture says the opposite of the good vibes only mentality! God isn't nearly as concerned about my bad mood getting bad vibes in my work. Sometimes all I can do is put one foot in front of the other. And DO the next thing. And that DOING is evidence of FAITH even if I feel like I can hardly muster and feelings of faith. It is, I am seeing, and act of my WILL. Not the thoughts of my mind, or dependent on if I can imagine how God will do it. Nor my emotions and how I feel in the moment. It is in fact an ACT of my will.

I picture salvation like a seed germinating. All of this life is bound up in the seed with no capacity on its own to unpack it. It needs the life activating water to ignite germination. Irrevocable growth. The faith is opening to receive. How different are our paths we each take to soften that hard husk on our hearts to a place to receive and say YES to new life in Christ. 

The truth is, there are many areas of my life that constantly need the salvific work of God. They need the life activating water to transform what ever it is into something that is LIFE GIVING. Sometimes I need that DARKNESS to see the futility of what I am doing and planning and philosophizing on my own means. Seeds without water bring no life. I need to receive HIS life to be life giving to others in all I am doing.

BELEIVE IN THE DARKNESS WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN IN THE LIGHT

Lilias Trotter

When Fantasy Kills Destiny

I’ve moved a lot. Whenever I’m about to move, or looking for a new place to live I always try to picture myself there first. What would it be like to LIVE there, to call it “home?” Would my things fit? Would my kitty be happy? Would the space be comfortable? Would I be able to have people come visit? Would I have access to the resources I need? Would I have access to the people and aspects of life that bring me joy?

It’s not just a new home I do this with, a new job, a new endeavor, a new friendship. All too often I let my ability to fantasize dictate the direction I move in life. Here is where I go wrong, (and perhaps you do too) I can only fantasize to the degree of my knowledge. I am limiting my own potential to what I KNOW.

I've heard it said that people can only believe something that is somewhere between 10-15% beyond their scope of understanding. These aren’t exact numbers of course, because there is no real metric for measuring these things, but Arthur Burk gives a great example. I cant remember the specifics of numbers he used, so I will use myself. If there was a pie graph of ALL KNOWLEDGE in the universe, it might be said that I comprehend 6% off all knowledge in the universe. 6% is a VERY generous number here! I also have a concept of things that I know that I don’t know, such as how to put a car together. I know people know how to do it, but I don’t. I understand that the knowledge exists, I just don’t have it. I could say that perhaps 9% of the pie of all knowledge I know that I don’t know. That would bring me to a whopping 15% of known knowledge and things I know that I don’t know.

If I let my ability to fantasize dictate my potential and options, I am severely limiting myself to less than a quarter of the pie! There is a whole 75% of the pie that is totally unknown!



Here is how fantasy can kill our destiny. Often the promises and purposes God has for us, are outside our ability to even fathom. If we only stay within the confines of the “known” we never really step into a place of faith. It is through faith and patience that we receive the promises of God!

Sometimes I get frustrated with not having greater clarity of the will of God. I actually think it is often the mercy of God that He only shows me step by step and little glipses. Sometimes getting a vision of what God has planned can be paralyzing because we can’t see how we will get from where we ARE to where He has called us.

I love the story of Abraham. There is a little half a verse that has so pricked my spirit and deeply inspires me. The second half of Hebrew 11:8 says,

“And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

Wow.

God made Abraham a promise, even though he couldn’t see how it could be fulfilled, he went out in faith, not even knowing where he was going. Faith over feelings. Faith over sight. Faith over understanding.

Fantasy confines us. Faith gives us access to the limitless potential of the plans that the Creator of the Universe has for us—the knower of ALL KNOWLEDGE no matter how far off our grid of understanding!

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Now to him who is able to do far more 
abundantly than all that we ask or think,

according to the power at work within us, 
to him be glory in the church and in 
Christ Jesus throughout all generations, 
forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

GIVE THANKS:: WE ARE FORTUNATE ONES

Let us celebrate for a day some of the GOOD of our history. There is such value in blessing and celebrating the good, and coming in the opposite spirit to all the darkness and destruction of our past and present.

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” (Luke 11:34 ESV)

When I read these words, I know they are true in my heart. I need to be sure my eyes are also seeing beauty and good and justice throughout my day or my heart and body grows sick. I often have to actively seek it out and be intentional to celebrate it. When I see the kindness of a father’s tenderness towards his daughter, when I see a stranger help a mother carry a stroller up the subway stairs, when families take in children that aren’t their own and love them as if they are. Sometimes, I simply want to sit and stare at flowers to get any bit of beauty in that I can.

Today, I am humbled, because truly we are the fortunate ones. Of all the founding colonies, Plymouth is the template for Thanksgiving. Colonies varied in their founding values- some established for strategic trade routes, some seeking gold and wealth, some tobacco cash crops-- as with Jamestown, whose governor was so oppressive in his rule that when the chaplain requested just an hour on Sunday to nourish their souls he was quoted "damn their souls, plant tobacco!" But these are NOT colonies in which our celebration originates-- it is Plymouth which was marked by intercultural cooperation that lead to abundance and celebration. 

I was reading a bit of Plymouth history, and I am in awe of #Squanto. He was twice a slave. First taken back to Europe after being captured by a sea captain, only to later return to his homeland with explorers and find his entire village wiped out by disease. He was then made a slave by a tribe of his own nation. As part of the peace treaty between the settlers and the Massasoit people, Squanto taught the settlers to grow and gather food, and fish. I can’t fathom the thoughts of Squanto’s heart. If he willing to help or if he was obligated, if the experience was healing or hurtful to farm and gather on the same land that all his now deceased relatives once inhabited. But I do know, they chose to break bread together in celebration of a successful harvest, and of the peace between two people groups. Of all the suffering, strife, conflict and selfishness— we can choose to celebrate what is GOOD. 

The Scum, and the Dregs

The scum, and the Dregs

In recent weeks, my heart has been stirred to learn how to pray more strategic. Not just my own wishes or hopes, but to pray the very heart of God on the matter. While I didn’t feel like a book that laid out some step by step process or procedure was what I was looking for, I opened my browser to see what was out there. I came upon a page of quotes by Lilias Trotter that I had discovered last year. (I have a bad habit of leaving a page open as a way to "save" it on my phone-- and some for a year or more at a time!!) Here is what she says:

“How all the tenor of helplessness and failure... is only meant to make way for the prayer-life of Christ in us, and in fellowship with Him in it which will "make all things new" - no longer a weary wrestling to get access and answers, but catching His thought and swiftly asking alongside in His Name - His the upper tone, ours the undertone so to fill in the harmony.

Praying down rather than praying up - that is the summing up... that the velocity and power of anything that comes down, gains in a ratio of high proportion with the height from which it drops: Even from an aeroplane, a pencil falling will take on the force of a bullet. What might not our prayer power be if it comes down from the throne of the Priest. “Prayer is the true and lasting will of the soul united and fastened into the will of our Lord by the sweet inward work of the Holy Ghost”— so it was defined by Mother Julian of Norwich 400 years ago (31 July, 1913)”  (Emphasis mine)

Yes!! Praying down rather than praying up. I found that Lilias wrote these words of reflection after listening to Samuel Zwemer at the International Sunday School Convention in Zurich in 1913. A little more digging, I unearthed a wonderful little booklet he wrote simply titled, “Prayer.”

This thirty page booklet packs a lot of potency. He writes about taking hold of God with our emotions. He says this:

“The psychology of prayer also includes taking hold of God with our emotions, our passions and our deepest feelings. We find them all in the prayers of David- awe, fear, sor­row, joy, love, hatred, jealousy, passion. All these emotions exercised in the right way find their place in secret prayer. Here they need not be stifled. The only cure for hypocrisy is to lay hold of the source of all sincerity-secret prayers. This is what David meant when he said, "Pour out your heart before Him." The scum, and the dregs. Paul makes reference in his Epistles once and again to his tears. It is worth while to look up the references.” (Emphasis mine)

Wow. Yes! I immediately thought of the note I found a little over a year ago that my Nana had sent to me when I was in a very dark and hard place, and dearly in need of “pouring my heart out” -- the scum, and the dregs.



:::::: from October 12, 2018 :::::::

Making some room in the closet this morning to put the air conditioner away, I found a plastic bin with old pictures. I was having a great time reminiscing, when this little card fell out of the mix of photos. From 2002 when I had to dropout of college the second time to go back into treatment for an eating disorder. Those years were so dark I hardly remember reading these notes from my Nana. She was a prayer warrior and a woman of deep faith. She never got to see my healing, but she never doubted. I’m not sure exactly how heaven works, but I believe she is in my cloud of witness; those of faith that have gone before me and who’s lives still bear fruit in my own life. And here, 16 years later these words still hold comfort as I feel afresh the sting of not having a degree in a time of unemployment. Some days I get weary of feeling like trauma has a way sinking it’s tentacles into so many aspects of life. What wisdom POUR OUT YOUR HEART— trauma kept in festers and worsens. When we empty our hearts to God, we have room to receive the joy.

Saturday--

Daddy just brought your address. He came to pick up Mark

So-- I want to get this to you today. 

I am sending you many prayers and much love!

I know God will never leave you or forsake you.

And He will get you through this time Victoriously!

This too shall pass Katie

you'll be able to comfort others with the comfort

He's given you.

We all love you so much and are rooting for you.

Hugs + much love

Nana

Monday Sept 2--

Dearest Katie, 

Thinking of you much and praying for you much!

God is faithful and will bring you through this!

I read this scripture this morning. Ps 62:8

"Trust in Him at all times, pour your heart before Him.

God is a refuge for us.

Weeping endures for a night but joy comes in the morning

There's much joy coming Katie

Just take Jesus' hand-- He will walk you through!

Hugs and much love

Nana 

A Veil Thin or Torn

As the days grow short and crisp, and the green world around us prepares for winter; we are coming into a season with an intriguing mashup of spiritual beliefs, traditions, and practices. Samhain, All Saints Day, All Hollows Eve, Halloween, Day of the Dead, and the many cultural influences around this time of year circle this “thinning of the veil” between the physical world and the spiritual world. Historically, and still today, this has been the time of communicating with the dead and spirits, worshiping the Lord of the Dead, appeasing spirits, praying for the dead, honoring the dead, ritual and slaughter for cleansing and power, seeking insight, and setting intention for the coming year. The common thread is the honoring or worship, communicating, and the appeasing of spirits because the veil is thin and these spirits, “good” and “evil”, travel among us.

The ancient Hebrews also knew a veil of separation. This veil would not thin in late September/October, but there was one would go behind the veil on a day set by the Hebrew lunar calendar, around this very time! It was the veil that hung between the manifest presence of Yahweh- the One True God, and the people. There was a very prescribed manner set in the Law of Moses for worship, offering, and sacrifice. There was only ONE day a year (Yom Kippur) that ONE person (the High Priest) would be permitted behind the veil into the very presence of God. Yom Kippur, also known as The Day of Atonement, is a day of fasting, repentance, and cleansing as according to the law given to Moses.

Yet, year after year, the people remained separated from God by the veil, and only the High Priest, their intermediary, was given access- and limited to only one day- and with fear and trembling with the blood of sacrificial animal. The veil remained thick as ever; 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 4 inches thick— it is said it would take 300 priests (perhaps an exaggeration) to maneuver the veil. While a barrier, this veil was also protection, lest someone accidentally enter the Holy of Holies unclean and be struck down dead. Under the Law of Moses, the ceremonial cleansing were external matters and were unable to clean the heart and conscious of the worshipper. When Jesus came as the intermediary as the TRUE High Priest, to whom all others before him were a foreshadowing, He entered the Most Holy Place, not of an earthly tabernacle or temple, but the heavenly, and not by the blood of goats and calves, but His very own, spotless, blameless, pure— not just of external and superficial means, but pure through and through and offered Himself to God on our behalf, to cleanse us all and for all time. The cleansing of Jesus is one that is complete, to make pure our sinful conscience that leads to death, that we might have access to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9)

What happened to the veil? The enormous thick separation between the people and the Most Holy Place? It was torn in two— from the TOP down. Heavenward down to man. Giving ACCESS to the very presence of God behind the veil for all who come through the cleansing atonement of Jesus. The death and crucifixion of Jesus fulfilled perfectly the old covenant law and inaugurated a NEW covenant with ALL people. “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirt. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Matthew 27:50-51 A veil not thinned— a veil torn. Giving full access to the Most High God through the blood of Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

If the veil between man and God was torn at the finished work of Christ, why then is there so much activity and energy around the “thinning veil” between the physical and spiritual worlds? Why bother with other spirits when we have open access available to God?

Some people may not know the access already provided, and so they continue to try to light their own way through life and seek any knowledge and insight from any source. Others have heard and know, but have rejected it because they love the darkness more than the Light. Many have heard John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” But few continue to read! Verse 19 says:

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil”

And still others, I believe know God, and have access, but they struggle to submit to His ways and His timing, especially in times of pain and powerlessness, so they start to seek guidance or power in the spirit realm apart from God. Or, some will start to blur the lines between what is of Light and what is of darkness. God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

Any light that merely appeases the darkness, or balances the darkness is not of God and will ultimately lead to confusion, bondage, destruction, and ultimately death. What do I mean by this? Any ritual or ceremony that cleanses apart from the blood of Jesus doesn’t deal with the ROOT, only the fruit, or an outer washing that doesn’t cleanse the heart. So, year after year, it continues to sprout and need to be dealt with again. Those seeking behind the thinned veil become bound to the ritual or ceremony or means of knowledge, power or protection. It’s trading one form of bondage for a different one instead of access to true freedom. While there is a sense of control or power, in the end, it is ultimately powerlessness because they have become bound by that which they sought freedom. There is a very real power behind dark spirits, but any healing, knowledge or power from these sources do not lead to God, and ultimately lead to spiritual death and separation from God.

Jesus warns, “Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.” (Luke 11:35) This is such a striking warning. How can light be darkness? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:14, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” Paul is warning the early church here of the preaching of a different gospel, and a different Jesus. There is nothing new under the sun. There is no “new” knowledge, only a repackaging of the old. Today we hear about the “universal Christ” “Christ consciousness” Jesus as an ascended master or an enlightened prophet. These are not the Jesus of the Bible. These are the very teachings Paul was warning of! We have access to scripture to read and to know who Jesus claimed to be, and the texts of the Bible hold up more accurate than any other ancient text, and proven true for life and healing over any other path or way laid out in any other text or channeled material from other sources. Any source of knowledge or revelation of Jesus that is outside of scripture, either through other texts, words of man, or personal experiences must align to the Jesus of the Bible, it is otherwise the teaching of “another Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

Those who are knowledgeable and seek behind the thinned veil know there are dark and deceiving spirits. They have methods and rituals for cleansing and protection, but none prevent them from being deceived or misled. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) We are warned to test the spirits and not trust any spirit that claims to be of the Light or that comes to bring knowledge. (1 John 4:1-3) God gives wisdom freely to those who ask. (James 1:5)

There are some marked distinctions between those who receive the torn veil access to God, and those who seek other spirits behind the thinned veil. The most poignant is that of GRACE. Biblical access to God comes by grace through faith alone; faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ. That nothing needs to be added to His work; not our good works, not any approval of man or an intermediary, no ritual or cleansing. The work of Christ is complete. If we believe in our hearts, and confess with our mouths, we are saved (Romans 10:9) We are told to repent (acknowledge our sin turn away from it), and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:38) Traditions around the thinned veil continues to be shrouded in rites and rituals and ceremony to gain access, power, protection, knowledge, cleansing— all of which Jesus came to provide for free!

Over the years, the church had seen some of these philosophies, such as access to God comes through religious leaders or works. 502 years ago, on October 31st, Martin Luther issued 95 complaints against the established church for allowing the teaching of ‘works’ for salvation. That certain sins were permissible for a price, that salvation only came through a man constructed church. These are practices that were specifically addressed in the Bible, but

the laymen of the time didn’t have access to the scripture. They only knew what they were told by church leadership. When Martin Luther read the scriptures for himself, he saw the error of these practices.

Today we have access to read scripture, in our native tongue, to know what it says about salvation; to know what being a follower of Jesus really means, who Jesus said He was, what He taught, and all that His life and death provide! Many homes have at least one Bible— but is it being read? I urge you, don’t rely on what other people tell you about Jesus, or how imperfect humans may have represented Him. Read for yourself! Start in the Gospel of John. Jesus says “I AM” 7 times. Read them! (And then read them in context) Let no one veil that which Jesus has rendered unveiled.

The Seven “I AM” Sayings of Jesus

#1- John 6:35, 41, 48, 51

#2- John 8:12

#3- John 10:7, 9

#4- John 11:25

#5- John 10: 11, 14

#6- John 14:6

#7- John 15:1, 5