Complimenting vs Confession

Defining moments
We all have defining moments in our lives. Perhaps you hear a phrase, and there is a ding that goes off in your head: you pause and say ahh, that's it, as good or common sense, acts like a clarifying solution, clearing up a muddled part of you. This is what having a relationship with Christ is like for me. I get muddled, I seek clarification, I go to the Master and ask for a solution, and the clearing of muddled me begins.

Kool-aid king or real thing?
Lots of people believe in Jesus. Many acknowledge His place in history. It is rare and fool hardy for someone to deny His existence, since there is far too much evidence affirming who He is in time. Some call Him a prophet, and others a wise teacher, comparing Him with other religious leaders from the past. He is undeniably someone to contend with and complimenting him on his humanistic achievements seems apropos in a world that tolerates, well, everything. 

We are watered down in our thinking, and being, and Jesus is just one more pickable Kool-aid to consume from the multipacks available at your local cosmic grocery store. Any God, choose your flavour, will do: there is something for everyone, including a would be saviour of the world.

He said I AM
Forgive me dear reader, as I struggle with the reality I witness daily while people all around me deny deity. Complimenting Jesus rather than confessing Him as the King of kings, Lord of lords, is a challenging truth that His disciples witness, and with hope in our hearts, endure.

He said He is I AM... we as a populace, say no, you are not, I AM... and the battle rages on. At times, I am cuttingly impolite. I am definitely not politically correct. I am also, lovingly honest, and loyal: I risk all, for Christ, because He is worthy of devoted praise, and He bought me, and you, at great cost. The blood of the lamb washes me sparkling white... figure that one out dear reader and perhaps, you and I will have a defining moment together?

Direction determines destination

Do you compliment Him, as just one more would-be-God or do you confess Him as your God, your Saviour, your Redeemer? Are you your own king, your own god, going your own way, or do you know The One who is The Way?

An echoed confession
Christ defines who I am. I bow down in reverence and dare not compare Him as though He were on par with his human creations.

'Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"' (John 11:25-26). While I will not compare or compliment Jesus, I can, and do, echo a confession from Martha in response to His statement and question:

Yes, Lord, she told him, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world (John 11:27). 

So here we have it: Do you, believe? It is one thing to compliment Christ as an option, but an entirely different reality when you confess Him as the Son of God and obey His commands for you, and for all who seek Him, and live according to His will. It isn't the easiest life: believe me, this I know. But I wouldn't want to live any other way.

Perhaps, your defining moment 
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). You can only understand these sayings by going to Him, confessing Him as the great I AM, as Martha did, as millions through the millennia have done, and as I do, here and now before you.

You must first believe HIM. I ask you again, do you, believe?

Holy Hermit

Traveling the realms
From the upper room to the basement, on the main floor and out the door. These words were written on my mind, and then spoken to my son when I returned home from a walk. I explained to him the prophetic meaning: that he had traveled to heavenly heights, been pulled into the basement of despair, was being prepared for the main floor of life in this world and that he had yet, to walk out of the front door: a reentry as a citizen, not of this world but of Gods Kingdom.

Competing voices, which one is Gods
My son had been away, on a sojourn of sorts: a mental, emotional, spiritual, physical removal from what is normal, average, mediocre and considered "safe" in the world. He went away temporarily and then, miraculously, he came home.

As I type, I see that while the house we occupy in our bodies served as a haven physically, this is not the home he craved or sought. He had come home so that he could freely travel the inner worlds. He needed time in a sanctuary, alone, isolated, dedicated to understanding himself, his reason for being and ultimately, to hear past the competing voices, the ones that loudly shout at each of us from outside of ourselves and echo their refrain in our minds. He needed to hear Gods voice... in the still, the deafening quiet, the seclusion of body and soul. He was not well and he needed the healing balm, of home. He became a Holy Hermit.

A moms desperate plea
My son was not himself. It was obvious, observable, distractingly disturbing at times. There were places he had seen in his mind, in his spirit: at first glance, it appeared he was irretrievable. I could not go in and get him. I could not enter the world he occupied. He had gone in alone, or so it seemed, and no one had the secret pass code, the wink and a nod magic, the membership handshake that permitted entry. In my weakened state, I was at times desperate and wept, face to the ground, pleading with God to pluck my son from the edge, the precipice. Over and over again I heard this scriptural refrain, spoken by Jesus:

And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29)

And so I did, I prayed. I prayed day and night. I prayed desperately, hopefully, sorrowfully, joyfully, quietly, loudly, while weeping and singing and shouting and whispering. In my weakness I was brought low, down upon my knees and it was then and always is, dear reader, that God becomes our strength, our answer.

God enters into secret places

Heavenly Heights, a great view

God is the secret pass code, the wink and nod magic. My son was not alone and never had been. He traveled the universe, the heights of heaven and the depths of despair and was redeemed, retrieved by The One and only Original King that grants membership to those who wish to enter into His kingdom. My son, he is sound, of mind, body and spirit, fortified in his faith. He works, he relates, he contributes to the household and he is no longer held captive. He is free, in Christ. 

The healing has been sealed: a friend taught me this recently.

My living hell was real
This all may sound neat and clean, trite and simple. It is not and was not. My living hell was real. Parents can never separate themselves from their child's pain and suffering. It is an impossibility. Which is why we must look to the Father, and his Son. The love that is painfully undeniable when there is separation:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16)

While I watched, I had to give my son up, over and over again, to our faithful loving Father in heaven. He knows what to do when we don't. All that was and is still, required of me, is to pray. The promise, the prophetic answer, is that God can, and will, do the rest: and He has.

Blindfolded

Blindfolded, temporarily
Have you ever been blindfolded? Not long ago, I participated in a game that required the players to be blindfolded. There is a significant measure of trust required for this exercise. If I agree to you blindfolding me, then it follows that I trust you will watch over me, keep me safe from harm as I attempt to navigate the world using my other than sight senses, relying on you as my guide. 

Not being able to see, temporarily, is quite manageable, but I have to tell you dear reader, that once the blindfold came off, I could see how very blind I had been. The blindfold helped me see that I was willing to lead people in the wrong direction as I held fast to my own misguided perception... the realization humbled me beyond belief, and I recall it now as a reminder to stay, humble.

And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together (Mark 14:55-56) 

In the quoted scripture, the chief priests and Sanhedrin sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death They found none, because Jesus was not only an innocent man, He was completely, sin free.  

And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands (Mark 14:65)  

Note they condemned Jesus, declaring him worthy of death, treating Him like a criminal: no evidence or trusted witness accounts required. Next, they spit on him, covered his face, taunting (buffet) him to prophesy, and did strike him with their palms. The blindfolding of Jesus with the subsequent fist in face beatings accompanied by mockery is a despicable depiction. This "game" for the accusers and abusers, is horrific to imagine, and I am taken aback by the scene as it plays in my mind and hurts my heart. 

Do you suppose
Now dear reader, now is the moment you and I have come to. It is a moment of reckoning. Let us suppose that Jesus Christ is God, with all of His powers, with all of His omnipotence and all knowing abilities completely intact: 

• Do you suppose a blindfold kept Him from seeing who was hitting Him? 
• Do you suppose He did not know each one, each player in the game, prior to and during the event? And one more do you suppose... 
• Do you suppose that if He had wanted to, as God, that He could have wiped the smirks off of those faces, and instantly annihilated His attackers, those cowards who could not look Him in the eye?

Blind rage is murderous 

Blindfolded to truth
The blindfold dear reader, it was for the accusers, the attackers. It protected them from looking into the face of the Perfect Man, our Perfect God, the Lamb that was slain for our sins. They could not look upon His countenance as they mortally wounded Innocence and Purity. We cannot sin when we look God directly in the eye. We cannot murder or wound when His eyes are on us and we feel his presence. It is impossible to face Him with our black souls when He turns His gaze in our direction. 

These men, they blindfolded themselves to Truth incarnate, so that they could satisfy their own evil desires. To kill God is impossible: for Him to give His life for Love is almost beyond impossible to comprehend and yet, this is exactly what He did, even for the ones who pummelled Him and nailed Him to a cross: those that repented, and ask for forgiveness, that is 

Blindly follow 
God pointed out to me that I am not blind, nor am I blindfolded. I see but I don't have to see everything, not like He does. My faith is not blind and yet, I would blindly follow Him wherever He might lead me. Jesus saw, He sees. Covering our eyes does not make Him go away.

Mosquito strength death blows
Perhaps you have blinders on? Perhaps you slipped them down, over your own eyes to keep the Truth out of sight? Maybe it is time you took a peek out from under them... maybe it is time for you to stop spitting in the face of God and trying to kill Him with your mosquito strength death blows? 

Forgive me dear reader, for my attack, we don't even know one another

 

My hope is that you do not turn a blind eye to what you are reading 

My hope is that you are unwilling to deny deity 

My hope is that you see and know the living God through Jesus 

That is my eternal hope...

The Tree

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou easiest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:16-17)

Dear reader, I have been eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge and dare I say, so have you?! To my horror, and that may sound rather dramatic but I am okay with this, I have harboured bitterness, resentment, and anger that are quite unbecoming. I have lots of excuses and explanations for these unsavoury sentiments, but I still find it impossible to justify any one of them!

Eating foul fruit makes one unattractive
The knowledge of good and evil does not make me less responsible or accountable, in fact, it makes me more of something. I become more liable, more answerable for my decisions, because the bitter fruit of resentment, and fuming feelings that accompany anger, poison my thinking, my psyche and quite naturally, my soul. Fortunately for me, I do not like these rotten fruit flavours: they are repugnant to me: the me that I become when I indulge them is so unattractive that I want to hide from myself.

Here is your cheat sheet: do you contagiously create for the good or are you a soul leper?

Here dear reader: here is the list of emotional, psychological, spiritual fruits that contagiously create glory or alternatively, cause gut rot and soul leprosy. You need not struggle, wonder or flounder. The answers are provided for you below:

Foul fruit of the spirit                    

Pride results in scorn                       

Anger generates hate                       

Desire causes craving                       

Fear develops anxiety                      

Grief grips with regret                       

Apathy engenders despair        

Guilt points to blame                         

Shame humiliates                             

Cowardice afflicts integrity   

VS             

Glorious affirmation of Life

Enlightenment makes one ineffable

Peace births bliss

Joy manifests serenity 

Love reveals reverence

Reason open to understanding

Acceptance forges to forgiveness

Willingness operates optimism

Neutrality allows for trust

Courage affirms

Selecting 
Plucking the fruit from the tree is the easy part. Selecting the right kind is the challenge for each of us. Temptation attempts to persuade and prevail, but it does not have to. We need not give in and become subject to its allure. The metaphor of the tree of knowledge is invaluable. We are not far behind our forefather and mother, Adam and Eve. We can be keenly aware that we are forever choosing what consumes or fuels us. 

Foul fruit or glorious affirmation of life, dear reader? You are choosing every minute of your awake day. You are on the hook now, if you have read to this point. 

You can never say that you just didn't know any better...

Grin: and neither can I

Slave

No one can serve two masters. for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24)

Massive cosmic puzzle piece put in place
I am reading the book Slave, by John MacArthur, published in 2010. I was shocked to learn that the word slave had been incorrectly and repeatedly translated into the word servant in the New Testament, because of the obvious negative connotations that the word slave conjures. This means that each time the word servant appears, the word slave ought to be reinstated. This astounding truth has changed my view, my sense of belonging to Christ. It feels as though a massive cosmic puzzle piece has been placed into my understanding of myself and the experiences I have had with non believers.

Makes me blush with self reproach

 

Here is the distinction I am making for myself. To serve God or one another is almost a nicety, a gesture of chosen kindness. We serve each other food and drink, maybe watch each others pets or children for the weekend and more often than not, we get paid for serving others by selling them products or services. To serve God seems to me, now that I have had time to absorb the shocking truth, like I am doing him a favour. How embarrassing... me, the creature, doing God, the Creator, favours in service. This morning this realization sent my humiliation gauge through the roof, bringing me low. I have been smug, believing somehow that my service has been a generous and benevolent gift to God and man; this makes me blush with self reproach.

God's very own possession
To be a Christian holds a meaning within, and it is the belief that Christ paid some kind of ransom for me, paid an exorbitant price that I could not afford by shedding his blood, and that I belong to him. This I have long believed, but here is the part that stands out as extraordinary. By accepting his sacrifice, I became his very own possession 

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.. (1 Peter 2:9)

He owns me dear reader and I am His slave. Possession means I serve Him to please Him and the beautiful part of all this, is that there is no coercion, no gun to my head, no bullets being shot at my feet. To be owned by Christ means I am free from the consequences of sin, and this trade off seems almost too good to be true! If only the secular world could comprehend that Christ came to save life, not take it away:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)

Slave to sin or slave to Christ
We are either slaves to sin or slaves to Christ. These are our only options, and with this understanding, I now comprehend more completely why so many turn away from Christ. Most of us, including me, do not like the idea of submission: serving for the pleasure and purposes of another, even if the other, happens to be God, the Redeemer and resurrected Christ. Just like the people of old, who had Jesus in their physical midst, people of now look Him in the eye and say no, you will not be my King: I do not pledge my allegiance to You. I will not serve You, and I will be damned before I ever consider myself a slave to anyone.

He fell with his face to the ground and prayed

• Look to the top of this page, at the quoted scripture. You know who you serve, don't you dear reader? 
• You know what enslaves you, isn't that right?

You are living to serve a master and perhaps, this means you live to serve yourself, with periodic gestures of societal niceties, offered to make you appear, generous in spirit? Or perhaps, you are like me, in this moment, recognizing what an ingrate I have been, and how arrogant and elevated in my own estimation? now wanting so much instead, to be a slave to Christ, because I have been bought and paid for and am Gods very own possession. I am finally getting it dear reader, Jesus' refrain, as God incarnate, models the humility of a servant. He leads the Way, we must go, if we are to follow: 

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou will (Matthew 26:39)

Defining moments

We all have defining moments in our lives. This is one of mine. I pray it may be one of yours too dear reader, for the good, for the will, for the glory of our heavenly Father. 

We are owned, who, pray tell, is your Master?

Eyes on Me and You

We watch each other, watch ourselves

My twitter account name is @Eyesonmeandyou. This handle or identifying badge, is an indicator of belief, a foundational posit, meaning I believe we are being watched, constantly. We watch each other, we watch ourselves, created beings watch us, and the Creator forever and always has His eyes, on me, and you. Be alarmed, because what you are doing, or not doing, meets with much disapproval or approval, depending of course, on how you engage your time and energy? 

You have perhaps heard the term, lie of omission? This is an unspoken lie or in the more affirmative sense, a truth that is not uttered. Allow me to share a for instance example with you:

We are engaged in conversation and I can see that you are somehow displeased. I have several options, in this moment of comprehension

My options

Option 1: I can make merry and pretend I have not seen the darkness flit across your countenance and by doing this, ignore what I know may be hard feelings

Option 2: I can cut our conversation short, and say I must go, perhaps we can have coffee some time this week? and then, never make the effort to contact you

Option 3: I can address what may be an issue between us, and ask point blank, Is something the matter; is there something amiss? By doing this I open an opportunity for both of us to clear the air, to come clean, so that the possibility of intimacy can again be considered, and practiced in relating to one another

Now it is your turn. We are engaged in conversation and something is bothering you, something that has been on your mind. While I speak, you cannot take your mind off of the thing, the bother, the pesky item that has taken up residence between us. You have several options while I am directly in front of you.

Your options

Option 1: You smile politely, nodding your head and silently cursing me for what I have said and done, thereby relegating me to the darkened corners of your mind

Option 2: You glaze over with your eyes unfocused, and at the first opportune moment, look at your watch as a gesture of suggestion, that you must be elsewhere very soon, thereby dismissing me

Option 3: You seize this moment, perhaps even interrupting me to tell me the truth, whatever that may be, thereby opening the door to the possibility of rectifying the situation and healing a wound in the relationship

Perhaps you can think of other options but for simplicities sake, let us get to the point I am driving at, which is this: the option you choose is a direct link to your sentiments about the person in front of you. For brutal clarity, lets pretend we both know what is happening when relationship goes sideways. With each selected option, the behind the scenes mind and feeling events. can look something like this:

A score out of 3 depending on the option we choose

Option 1: Ignore and pretend. When this option is selected, it is evident that the person in front of us is not valued, and we would rather not waste our time addressing what presents as perhaps, a problem between us. They score 0/3 on our importance scale. 

Option 2: Run away with an excuse. When this option is chosen, it is a display of our cowardice. and lack of character strength. Oops, sorry dear reader, I tricked you here... this one is about how we handle ourselves when relating to others. We score a 0/3 on a behavioural scale when we decide that reconciling with another is too much effort and we would rather not.

Option 3: Speaking up, asking and listening. This option, when taken, is a statement about valuing the person in front of us. This is about ensuring that nothing comes between us, and the person we profess to care about. When we notice that there is a gap between us and another, it takes a certain amount of bravery to ask reconciling questions, or to make statements that let another know that we are displeased with them in some way. When this option is taken, we score a 3/3 on approach. and willingness to take a risk to make things better or perhaps, get rejected and have Options 1 & 2 come at us instead 

A bold statement

Now I will be bold and make a statement. The eyes that are on you, and me, and there are many millions of them, they watch to see what we will say, what we will do, what we will not say, what we will not do. They are watching for our choices, our lies of omission, and here is the scary part, they watch for our sins of omission, the things we ought to say and do that we choose not to. These sins convict us and there is nowhere to hide from ourselves. It is an impossibility to hide from the truth, because we bump up against it constantly, and it will never leave us alone, no matter how politely we present, no matter what time our watch says it is.

Our only viable relationship option dear reader, is to take a superhero stance, hands on hips, and boldly ask and answer the questions that otherwise become lies of omission and sins of omission, widening the gaps between us until they are impasses and great chasms. 

In other words, honesty is the best possible people policy, and I am pretty confident, dear reader, that you have heard and read that, before?!

As always, it is up to us to love one another, choose kindness and offer grace. and this one thing, an opening to others, an entrance point to our hearts. We must stop lying and start loving. Love is always, honest.

Hand Over Heart

Touch is irreplaceable 

I love a broad chest. I love placing my hand on the chest of a man, directly over his heart. This point of connection is breathtaking. My small hand, centred and waiting to feel the rhythm, the beat. This intimacy, this moment of sensing the seat of the soul in another, is astounding. There are few moments in life that I treasure more than this in the physical realm. There is something about touch that is irreplaceable.

What resides in the heart

What do you feel,
hands over heart?

When I place my hands over my own heart, one on top of the other, it moves my emotions. It is virtually impossible for me to feel anything other than an overwhelm of gratitude touched ever so slightly with sadness.

Hearts can be full, they can be rhythmically challenged, they can be closed, they can be wide open, and they can be broken. I speak of sentiment. What resides in the heart has a way of showing up in the person; this is an of course, statement. This is why we need so desperately to place our hands over our own heart, to sense and feel what lives there: this is why it is so important for us to place our hands over the hearts of others, again, to sense and feel what resides there.

The dance of fire

Now we cannot go around putting our hands on people, without permission dear reader: doing so is a violation of each persons right to invite touch. 

When you can, when it is safe for you and another, please do try this experiment. Refrain from making this a sexual experience, and you will see and feel the extraordinary in them, and in you. If you are comfortable with this, and I hope you are, since your hands are on them and perhaps theirs are on you, look them in the eye. This is a daring move because at this point, vulnerability may be at its peak. 

There, you will see, the spark of life, the dance of fire and the burning desire to be loved, to be known, to be understood. It is undeniable, and nothing else will matter at this point and maybe, just maybe, that is my point, here and now. Nothing else matters in all of life than the purity of love shared and captured, recorded in the mind and etched on the heart as a reminder of why we exist, why we are here, what is most important. 

Without love, why bother dear one: that is the epitome of pointlessness

My hope is that you long to tenderly touch the heart of another, many others

My want, is that you long to love, know and understand your fellow man

My burning desire is that we each decide that love shared is all that really matters, and that the Score Keeper in lifes games, tallies points each time we choose to love, because nothing else counts