The Cup

Breath of God, move this way

let us know Your atmosphere

bring to us the holy cup

let us drink Your passion here

for we are Yours, Your virgin bride

Your blood has bought us with this price

 - revel8r 12/30/2018 -

When Clouds Get in the Way

When it's raining, do we wonder if the sun still exists?  No, we simply go on about our business and don't give it another thought.  Sometimes we might grumble if the clouds remain for too long, but life goes on, and when the clouds finally do move on, we are delighted to see the sun again.

But when less-than-optimal circumstances arise, we doubt the Son.  We doubt His love.  We doubt His faithfulness. Sometimes we even doubt His existence.  And here is where folly is born, for "the fool says in His heart there is no God".  (Psalm 14:1)

So then, next time the clouds of life gather, let wisdom rule the day and continue on.  Embrace these clouds as a means to grow and mature as you walk through the day, trusting implicitly that He is always there.

Yeast Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 

“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 

They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

Why did the disciples assume that Jesus was talking about the bread they had forgotten? We can imagine their insecurity about having forgotten to bring food to each.  And when Jesus said something that had something to do with bread, in their insecurity they jumped to the conclusion that their oversight had been outed.

Why was Jesus so abbreviated with the Pharisees and Sadducees? Remember that he had been around this mountain before in Matthew 12:38-40.  He had been a little more explanatory and had alluded to His resurrection there.  He was not interested in repeating Himself again.

But what was this yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?  In the end the disciples understood He was speaking about their teachings.  Why should they beware of their teachings?  It was no secret that they had come to an impasse.  But what was it about their teachings that made Jesus warn the disciples?

It seems apparent that the Pharisees and Sadducees were people who were afraid of losing control.  They were under the Roman thumb, and they seemed to pay it forward by lording the Law over the people.  And the people seemed content to play that game, submitting to traditions and laws that were extra-biblical.  Indeed, it was out of fear that their teachings proceeded from their lips.

And the disciples were following suit in this modus operandi, for it was out of fear (insecurity at the least) that they missed Jesus' point when He said "beware of the yeast".  But if they were walking in a place of confidence and faith, their understanding might have been more timely.

Now and Not Yet

open these doors

into what is only Yours

something draws me more

into a life beyond, and born

i hunger to thirst

for wells and waves

and eternal stones, founded on 

my home without walls

for all is ruined

as i've tasted and seen

this earthen dream

holds naught for me now

and yet

there are islands here

in this mortal ocean

that hold me on

and so i surrender

to render eternity

into this present

and find my Current in You 

- revel8r 12/16/18 -

Who are the Lost Sheep of Israel?

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

Matthew 15:24

At this moment Jesus says something that seemed quite out of character for Him.  He had healed Gentiles before; why was He saying that He was sent only for the Jews?  Sometimes, we need to let Jesus continue to speak and reveal before we can have a chance to get His full meaning.

The disciples wanted this pesky Gentile woman to go away, and this was Jesus' response.  They must have thought He was affirming them, but He was waiting for things to set themselves into place.  The Canaanite woman begged for mercy on behalf of her daughter - Jesus again made an allusion to the idea that His message was an exclusive one for the Israelites.  But then came the moment He was waiting for - she pushed back on the Almighty Creator of the Universe, saying "even the dogs get the crumbs".  And at her persistent faith, He commended her and healed her daughter.

What?! Did He just go back on His word? No, His understanding of the lost sheep of Israel was so much broader in context than the disciples' limited, pharisaical understanding.  The Israelites were no special thing in this moment.  It had been reduced simply to an issue of genetics for them.  And in this light, as John the Baptizer had said, "out of these stones God can raise up children of Israel." (Matthew 3:9).

And as if to seal the statement with an exclamation mark, He feeds the thousands again.  It's no accident that this time the number left over (seven baskets) is akin to the number they started with (seven fish).  For the full context of the scope of the His message had been defined: He had come for all.  A number of completion.  A display of perfection.  All driven by His compassion for any who are in need of His love.

So be mindful of the entirety of His words - not just what you first hear.

When There's More to What He's Saying Than What He's Saying

Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

Matthew 15:15

The Pharisees confronted Jesus regarding the disciples and their failure to wash their hands before meals.  In turn Jesus confronted them regarding the tradition of allowing children to fail in the honoring of their parents by signing the parents' money over to the synagogue.  Then he used a biological metaphor to highlight that the condition of the hands matters nothing when compared to the condition of the heart.  

But he didn't stop there.  He makes a reference to the parable of the wheats and tares (Matthew 13:24-30) and states that the Pharisees are a blind people leading other blind people.  In unpacking all that Jesus pronounced over the Pharisees, it's clear that He didn't just pronounce judgments over the Pharisees.  Who were the blind people that the Pharisees were leading (v14)?  Was He only referring to the Pharisees as those that the Father did not plant (v15)?

Over the ages, we've seen religious systems (not just speaking of the Christian flavor here) extort money from people in many ways and for many reasons.  From temple prostitution to buying your way into favor to buying salvation, the means of religious systems are not only varied, but creative.   But what's more, who is enabling whom?  Did the religious leaders come up with these streams of revenue, or did the people come up with the idea to escape a more difficult, transparent path to provision, resolution, legitimacy, salvation, etc (to which the leaders gladly played along)?

It's the condition of the heart that makes us blind, and in the desperate condition of our souls we willingly allow those over us to blindly lead us over the cliff and into a tragic, terrible abyss.  Even if (or when) intentions are good and fair, the hapless state is a scene straight out of a Keystone Cops show.  And it's the condition of our soul - not the cleanliness of our skin - that makes us unclean. Without a soul-transformation, we are without hope.  And so, He circles it all back around to Him and why He came.

And to think it all started with something as trivial as hand washing!

Learning to Swim

You give them something to eat.  

Matthew 14:16

When Jesus tells us to do something, he doesn't do it to set us up to fail; he's directing us to learn how to live from His reality - the truest reality, a reality where He is King and anything is possible.  Technically, it wasn't Jesus that fed the thousands; the disciples were the ones who kept passing out the food until everyone was fed.  What was going through their minds when they kept seeing a loaf of bread or a fish in the basket as they were walking around this flash conference?

The ways Jesus has us interacting with this world are often not as much about His reaching out to a lost and dying world.  Don't get me wrong, though!  We're in a race to raise up as many disciples as we can before the Lifeguard blows the whistle and we all have to get out of this cesspool.  But truly, He's really leading us through mind-blowing, teachable moments to learn how to swim - even walk - on the waters of faith in Him.

"Come on in boys!  The water is fine!" - Delmar O'donnel, O Brother Where art Thou.

This Scandalous Gospel

And they took offense at him.

Matthew 13:57

To think that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of warm-fuzzies and world-peace is a great deception.  Very great indeed.

In this verse, the word "offense" is where we get the word "scandal". Many have been offended by His words, His actions, His silence, His abstentions and have simply walked away.  I dare say all have been offended by Jesus or rather our preconceptions of who He is, and here are just two examples: Jesus' home town filled with people who are convinced that He couldn't be anything special.  A presiding puppet of Rome who is afraid of his own shadow.

The Gospel of Christ is always offensive.  It offends our fears, our fears of the thoughts of others, our understanding of the way we think things are or should be.  Yet if we step beyond this tattered veil we find the Cross.  We find the death sentence - the wicked execution of innocence for the ransom of the guilty.  And on the other side of this, we find a place of relationship.

In this relationship we find that, though offences continue we realize it is the world that offends.  Living in this new, we are now walking it all out through the eyes of our Lion King.  We can perceive situations through His understanding.  We can remain unshaken when the world threatens our very existence.

The Natural Things Speak of the Invisible Reality

“I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

- Matthew 13:35 -

From wheat to weeds seeds to yeast to pearls to fish.  Jesus spoke to the people in parables.  Why?  Because he wants all of us to understand the revelation of His kingdom through all he has made.  Man's relationship to the created things is a veritable illustration of the mysteries of who He is and what He is about.

He wants us to be on a treasure hunt for the things that are precious to Him.  He craves for us to search out the depths of His heart - His heart for us, His heart for us to relate to the realities of what we can only experiences apart from touch, smell, sight, sound and taste.  And when we get to this place, we are increasingly undone.  We are increasingly ruined for anything else.

Yet Jesus spoke to the people the parables that have been laid before us since the beginning of time.  For it was time to point them in His direction.  It was time to encourage them to start thinking, understanding about the way He had been speaking to them for so very long.

"He who has ears let him hear," He kept saying.  I dare say I can interpret this to mean: "He who has ears, stop simply experiencing with your natural senses but go beyond the veil; comprehend what I've been speaking to you for so long.  Let it transform your soul as you explore My soul."

A Question to the Master Potter

Master Potter how You fashion my heart

do You throw as You know?

do You fire me fast or deep and slow?

do You see before the end

before it's all complete?

or is it all a mystery to You as well?

how i react to the spin

the dry the blaze the glaze the wait

the revealing at last

do You say now, or hold until then

"it is very, very good"

- revel8r 9-23-18 -

Leviathan's Vein

from leviathan's vein
came a fountain to make the foulest villain
pale in ashen dread
for the head of evil had just been severed
in one breath - three words
from one true King

sing then, ye bards
come then, and muse on this victory
to last for all eternity
for man's hopeless destiny
was suddenly rent
asunder by Passion's great Champion

and now, alive each soul can be
as Adam, as Eve again
re-united with Him again
Who fashioned our being
by His dear breath

Death, then, thou hath died
and Evil soon to follow that crypt
and ev'ry lie, ev'ry decaying sin
fall defeated as dust on ashen ground
now stamped into a pauper's grave
and forgotten so forever

for now the bands between the graven sky
shine gleaming turquoise
and ebullient blue
to burn freedom's brand
upon the soul-skin
of ev'ry new-born man

- revel8r, 9-16-2018 -

Even More

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”  He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”

 Matthew 13:10,11

Of all the people who heard Jesus speak the parables of the sower, it was the disciples who came to Him and asked Him about what He just spoke.  But they didn't ask Him about the meaning of the parables.  They were more interested in why He was speaking in parables in the first place.  This time, He didn't respond with a curve ball, as He was often known to do (reference John 4, Matthew 12:43, etc.)  Rather, this time He replied directly "the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them."  Explaining still more, He references Isaiah 6:9,10.

"Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."

Calloused hearts, dull ears and closed eyes - these are the fruits of those who hear, shrug their shoulders and walk away.  Father shuts the minds of those who don't want to know, or be known.  But to those who wrestle with Him, as Jacob wrestled the Angel (Genesis 32:22-32), Jesus blesses with the gift of revelation.

To such as these have been given the secrets of the kingdom.  And even more.

Passion's Cost

what price sun and moon
of wind and rain
what price Your pain
what price tree and sky
what price You and i

these days we spend
temporal, mortal
yet in in-between
gives fleeting glance upon
what endures forever

this price, Your passion

- revel8r, 7/30/18 -

Inferno

when fire has no flame

when paper has no ink

for the writer has no pen

then strike the flint, tend the spark

the words will flow

to the rhythm of all He knows

and coals will hold again

the inferno of all I Am

- revel8r, 7/28/18 -

A Being More

lead on to seas beyond what we perceive

to sure footing beyond our solid ground

to wind beyond what licks our skin today

let crowns and robes be as they may

there is a way, a being more

than the rank and rancor of mortal men

- revel8r, 7/26/18 -

A Mystery for the Angels

what lies beyond this glistening veil

what lies beyond these temporal chains

the strains that pull

between now and tomorrow's shores

pull me on as the moon upon the tide

- revel8r, 7/24/18 -

Yours

all this is Yours

the oceans and the waves

the mountains and the trees

all this is yours

the shadows and the sun

the stillness and the breeze

I bequeath to thee

through the blood of My Son

the Creator of these

- revel8r, 7/24/18 -

Family

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 12:48, 49 

It takes more than seeing or hearing to have a relationship.  Relating to someone with depth requires perceiving, listening, and responding.  That's when a friendship begins to grow.  That's how families get close.

From the point of the Sermon on the Mount until now, Jesus had been revealing Himself to the people through powerful teaching, miracles and healings.  All were amazed.  Some reacted by rejecting Him.  But some had responded and were truly in relationship with Him.

For those who simply wanted the show - to see the signs or to hear the next hot words - Jesus had harsh words.  His life in skin was not simply to show how mighty He was(is), every interaction with the people was an invitation for people to respond to Him - to become His family and to relate to Him, especially as obedient children.

We must not be ones who simply see or hear Him from afar.  It is critical that we respond and relate to Him.  This is how the family grows.

Deliberate Intent

Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue

Matthew 12:9

Jesus was just challenged by the Pharisees over his disciples harvesting on the Sabbath.  And he answered them handily.  But instead of leaving it at that, he made a deliberate action to stick his hand into a nest of bees that were already a-buzz with the act poking the bear of their religious control.  Yet it wasn't simply to annoy them for his own entertainment; he intended to send them over the edge for the knew that it was his destiny to die a criminal's death for the sake of humanity's crimes.

He had challenged them before - forgiving the sins of a crippled man, speaking as a shepherd of true authority.  This time his challenges came in rapid succession - doing "work" on the Sabbath, accusing them of not knowing the Word of Yahweh, exalting Himself as Lord of the Sabbath - and then, instead of leaving them to stew in their anger, He entered into their "turf": their synagogue.  And with a final blow of healing a man with a shriveled hand, they began to plot to kill him.

There are times when Jesus does the same thing in our lives - even today.  When He has an agenda for us but we choose to remain stagnant, He uses circumstances to steer us into obedience.  Clearly the end result won't be nearly as ugly, but His sovereignty remains supreme.  It must.

The Tragedy of Inertia

We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.

- Matthew 11:17 -

From the day of His baptism, Jesus preached, taught, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the storm. He also pushed buttons and challenged many to leave their status quo.  Inertia, as defined in the dictionary, is the tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged.

Through all of His calling out for a response from the people in the places where He had traveled, most had remained unchanged.  Sure, they heard about the miracles and the teachings.  But their lives remained unchanged.  They were content in their struggles.  They were content in their nine-to-five lives.  They were content in their bar-mitzvahs, their birthday parties, their weekly Sabbaths and their Passovers - year in and year out setting a place for Elijah to return someday to announce the Messiah's coming, but never really expecting it to happen.

Then Elijah came, singing the dirge and announcing Messiah's coming.  Then Jesus came, playing the flute.  But how many danced?  How many mourned in the towns where he visited? How many responded to Yahweh's call for a response?  Apparently not many, for Jesus lamented over Capernaum, Bethsaida and Korizim's lack of repentance.

Like the cripple at the pool of Bethsaida (John 5), we can get so stuck in our lives that we fail (or refuse) to see when a breath of fresh air from the Holy Ghost comes to change our lives forever!  We continue with our picket signs, our daily banter, our bills, our taxes, our chores, our TVs, our sports games... The list goes on ad-nauseum.

If we miss His coming to us to break the mortal cycles, this New Life will move on without us.

The Call of Perez

run, silent with Me

through fields of wheat

dripping sweet in golden sun

for these are days

I find of you the breaking free

by trees and current liberty

High Maintenance Faith

Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.

Matthew 4:5

This is how Jesus answered John the Baptist when John was wrestling with the idea that Jesus might not be the Messiah after all.  He asked Jesus a question that sought only a simple "yes" or "no".  But Jesus answered John with something much more: an answer that spoke to the struggle of his soul.  John likely had been in prison during most (if not all) of His teachings, His demonstrations of authority and His confounding the Javert's of the world.  From prison, nothing was available to him to bolster the faith he had declared at Jesus' baptism - his recognition of the Messiah.

Isn't this how it is us who have put out lives into Christ's hands?  We don't have the opportunity to behold Him face to face.  Most of us don't see His miracles on a daily basis.  It's the status quo for angels, but not for the mortal believer.  That's where faith comes in; indeed faith wouldn't be faith if we had the daily experience that angels were privy to.

But Jesus is also reaching out to John with an understanding heart, saying "I know it's hard to believe right now.  I will not apologize for it, but if you stay strong to the other side, you will be blessed."  He reiterates this to Thomas after His resurrection, saying "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)

Our faith is expensive because He is the priceless prize.

Seventh Bell

when the seventh bell tolls
behold the captives are free
by the hand of the man who paid on a tree
when the rooster calls
all remember the cost
and not one will be lost

for there is a way beyond the cross
see them run
when gates are lifted high
when bars melt like wax
at the sound of His call
when shackles shatter as dust to the ground

-- revel8r 6/2/2018

Reward

spirits bloom in fields, fertile of mortal fray
they are blessed who stretch beyond the night
for there is a dawn for those who long to breach the other side
there is a home for those who will abide within the shadow of His pinions

rejoin and rejoice now the sound of these many waters
His voice is found as liquid gold to the soul
and breathe to paint us full awake
to dream the vain hope no more, but live aflame for He is our reward

He is the fullness, the source of our abundance
no, these are not vain yearnings as you are habit to suppose
but deeply the hunger grows
to be known by all the wonder we find in delight in You

- revel8r 5/21-27/2018

What Will Hold You to Him?

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

- Matthew 10:16

Jesus doesn't put forward vain promises.  He doesn't offer a happier day this side of the veil. In this section, he is telling the disciples quite plainly that life will be hard for those who follow Him. They will be arrested, beaten, betrayed, and even killed for believing in Him.

As they listened to Jesus, what was it that was holding them to this new leader?  At the time, they didn't know what He was truly about at the Messiah and sacrificial Lamb.  They were ignorant of the fact that he was going to be crucified.  And they certainly didn't know He was going to conquer the grave as rise as the firstborn from among the dead.  Yet here He is, telling them of the hardships to come.  This was hardly a pep rally designed to inspire.  So what was it that was holding them to continue to follow Jesus?

They must have known an inkling that something, someone significant was afoot.  Maybe that was what kept them from walking away.  Regardless, we can all be thankful that they did not for the Church would not have continued without their propagation of the Testimony.

But for us who now know the rest of the story, or at least much more of the story, we need to ask ourselves this question: "What will hold us when the tribulation comes".  Certainly, the promise of eternity with Him is very significant indeed.  But I dare say there needs to be much more.  For we must be able to stand in the face of brutal persecution.

Ours is not a testimony of wine and roses, or angels in diapers or shiny new cars.  It is a testimony of holding to the One who gives us our identity.  We must be willing and able to hold on when evil men are allowed to have their day.

Next Play

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.

- Matthew 10:14

The gospel.  What is it? For the disciples at this point in time, it was the message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They were given authority to back it up with signs of healing and deliverance.  But he warned them - that they would not always be received, in spite of what they had to offer.

Have you ever communicated the gospel, only to be rebuffed or blown off?  What was your reaction? Jesus' instructions enabled the disciples to "test the waters".  "Let your peace be on the place you enter."  In Hebrew, a traditional greeting is kinetic in nature: "Shalom aleichem", meaning peace be upon you.  If it is not received, let it return to you.

How then did Jesus encourage his disciples to react when they were rebuffed? They were to let their peace return to them, and in peace shake off the dust and move on.  Shaking off the dust, in peace, basically means don't let the rejection get on you; let the rebuff be like water off a duck's back.

In football, if a cornerback gets beat they can't afford to let it effect them; they' got the rest of the game ahead of them, and if they keep thinking about how they got beat that rest of the game will be like Nightmare on Elm Street!  They must be focused on the next play.

In the same way, we need to remain in peace and move on to the next opportunity to communicate the kingdom of heaven.  We must be focused on the next play. 

The stakes are too high not to remain at peace.

NK IV

the turning of one soul
ushers a fresh dawn on a darkling land
while kings have made their stand
this heart was turned
at the touch of one Hand

now what becomes
of those so long blinded from the Son
may they run to be known in the light
and delight in the bright-shine
of this new day

 - revel8r

photo © Jim White 2018

Nothing Like This Has Ever Been Seen in Israel

And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

- Matthew 9:33

The crowds had seen demons cast out.  They had seen paralytics healed and dead raised. What was it they had not seen?  The healings and the exorcisms that the Israelites were seeing was the result of something that had never been seen in Israel before this moment.  What was that?

When Jesus healed, it was always with a very human act of touch.  And often He touched people who were, by law, unclean.  When He cast out demons, it was always with authority.  These two things - compassion and authority were unheard of, never witnessed before, until this Son of Man walked among these mortal, very human beings.

Authority without compassion is easy to wield.  Jesus completely and effortlessly wielded authority with compassion.  And He did so because of one thing: He is the original authority.  He is the Creator of those upon whom He had compassion.  All others that Israel had known before Him - priests, scribes, Pharisees, et al, were acting on behalf of the Ancient of Days.  They were wielding as an acting authority.

The True Shepherd, even their Messiah, had arrived, an nothing like this had ever been seen in Israel.

 

When Authority Finally Overcomes Fear

Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
-- Matthew 9:14

Leading up to this point, Jesus pushed people's "fear buttons".  We all have them - fear of letting go of what's secure, fear of letting go of family, fear of nature, fear of losing the status quo and fear of losing control of your control were the buttons He pushed in the verses leading up to this verse.

The scribe. The guy who wanted to bury his father first. The disciples on the stormy lake. The people herding pigs. And lastly the Pharisees from whom Jesus stole their power to hold unforgiveness over sinners.

But to those who had nothing to lose but their own lives in the universe of love from the Son of Man, fear was irrelevant.  Such was the situation of Matthew the tax collector - the one who took money "legally" from Jewish subjects.  The one who was reviled by all save other sinners.  In fact, he quite celebrated over the idea that Jesus would ask him to follow Him.

Matthew and the disciples had not "made the grade" to become a scribe or a teacher of the law.  Rather, these were regular men of mortal dirt who were simply getting by, making a living the best they knew how.  And then Jesus called.  And then they followed.  And then their lives were changed forever in the amazing walk with the Son of God.

So allow His loving authority to overcome your fears.  You will never be the same.

Song of the Son

I will woo Her one hundred days

then sing Her one hundred songs

and next - the day when We will wed

to remain as One

as Father, Ghost and Holy Son

We too shall be

I and She, and She and Me

- revel8r 3/11/18 -

Secret Garden

i am the Secret Garden

and You are the Key

unlock the door and enter in

tend the soil, these dormant roots

speak life to what had died

dispel the lies with stubborn joy

break these bonds of human infirmity

and set this soul truly free

- revel8r, 1/8/2002 -

Authority, the Clean, and the Connection Between

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. 

Matthew 8:3

After His classroom training of the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7), Jesus showed them how to “git ‘er dun” by going out into the field.  This was immediately demonstrated through the exercising of His authority.  “BE CLEAN!” and he was immediately cleansed of what ailed him.  Sounds like a word that was spoken at the beginning of Creation: “LET THERE BE LIGHT!” and there was light.

These are the words of one who quite literally knew what he was talking about.  That’s what happens when you have authority - you know what you’re talking about.  In our case, we know what we’re talking about when He knows us; the more He knows us, the more we know Him and the more we have authority.  Having authority of this kind heals the sick, and it casts out demons.  But there’s something more.

We have authority because He knows us.  And His modus operandi - the very essence of who Hes is - is love.  So when He knows us, we are known by love.  So this authority is communicated through His love.  And it’s love that naturally - reflexively - touches the leprous and the woman the mother with fever.

It shouldn’t be ignored either that, by law, touching unclean things makes us unclean. (Leviticus 7:21)  So by touching the afflicted, He risked becoming clean under the Law.  Indeed, by the Law He began His lifelong saga of of taking on our infirmities and carrying our diseases from the first day.  But surely it was His love that compelled Him - even at the first affectionate touch.

Let His love be your connection between the unclean and walking in authority.  Don’t be a resounding gong without this connection.

- revel8r 2-22-18

Cumberland Falls, Kentucky - Hearing the Voice in Torrents

The people walking in darkness

    have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

    a light has dawned.

Jeremiah 9:2

There are times in life and living it when the voice of the Father of Lights lands on your heart like a dove in early spring.  Getting through another winter had you grinding it out in the rocky land of Endurance.  Nothing new could ever visit that place, so you set your face like flint and keep moving.

But suddenly you come across something beautiful that you never knew existed before.  And it wakes you out of the stone silent existence into a new day.

If you've never been to Cumberland Falls, it would do your heart good to go.  It's called 'the Niagara Falls if the South'.  While I've never been there, my impression is that Niagara is much, MUCH grander in scale.  Nevertheless, Cumberland Falls is something that dearly stills the tongue.  Its beauty is clear for all to see.

But there's something else about this place.  Something unique and couldn't get lingered in my mind like a seed buried just beneath the surface of my soul... Until this verse in Jeremiah warmed it and coaxed it to life.

The idea that this rainbow reveals itself in darkness is an amazing thought.  It reminds us that when the light shines in darkness it is a hearkening to the fact that it is light that overcomes - not darkness.

Such is the voice of the Lord, that speaks beyond sound or word.

- revel8r 12/18

Majestic Grit

this majestic grit -

that which is bourne

of blood, and flooded

with wisdom and love

to conquer the fate of fools

and delusions of gold

come, then, Thou oceanic fount

drown our destined mortality

surround our futile demise

lay siege upon our castles of sand

for none can stand Thy light

and shadows will flee

the sudden colours of Thy shining wonders

- revel8r 2-18-18

Who are You Looking At?

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:6

Judgment is a loaded word.  Just like a loaded gun, it can be used to wound or it can be used to defend.  But what does this have to do with “pearls before swine”?  Much.  When speaking truth, we run the risk of being perceived as judgmental.  Or we can be received and appreciated for the correction administered.

 “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.” Titus 1:15  To the dogs and the pigs, all is scraps and dirt - even judgment.
Nevertheless, the context of this quote is regarding the sin of a judgmental heart that besets every human.  Indeed, it is the path of least resistance for the mortal soul.  It’s bourne of a poverty spirit, that prefers to elevate the self by bringing others down.  But the eyes are turned away from the One who truly opens horizons to a magnanimous, expansive heart - the heart of a truly loving Father.  So we can look at Jahweh, or we can look at others.  We can ask of Him, seek Him, find Him.  And He will give and reveal in amazing and fathomless ways.  But here’s the rub: it goes against our natural tendencies to look at everything but Him.  We need a supernatural tendency and to attain this tendency is truly a narrow way indeed.

It’s a narrow way of embracing over judging.  It’s a narrow way of finding His heart over beholding failures.  It’s a narrow way of inviting others into your experience of Him over extolling your own exploits in the kingdom.

Open your heart to give His love access, and you will discover a vast, glorious, undiscovered country.

-- revel8r 2/12/18

Good Smoke

an oracle lies within my soul
buried, as ancient as a precious gem
tucked secure and sacred
there, within the hem of His robe
yet the ember smoulders sacred, silent
waiting for something to breathe its way

like smoky clouds
drifting in still atmosphere
praying for holy air
come carry me on to somewhere

Yours is the reign i long to know
for Yours is the wind i hunger to blow
free and alive, i want to thrive
set the flame again

-- revel8r, 2/4/18

Hope in the Face of Inescapable Hopelessness

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."

Matthew 5:17

To the Jews, what was lacking about the commandments, that it needed completing or fulfilling?  The big 10, or the 613 - they were what they were, and you had to obey them in order to curry favor with God.  Right?

But Jesus proceeds to paint a picture through the rest of the chapter that it is impossible to keep the commandments.  There is no one who has not committed murder by holding their brother in contempt.  There is no one who has not looked lustfully at another.  Etc. etc.

So what was he getting at?  That we try harder to be nice?  A good idea.  Good luck with that.  Have fun with that.  Indeed, he paints a fairly hopeless picture.  Jesus basically says, "When you fail get back to Me and let Me know how that worked out for you."

But the message of hope is that He is the completion of the law.  He doesn't lay it out how, just yet.  But He does say that He is the completion.  The fulfillment.  The way out of this place of bondage to hopelessly falling short of perfect obedience.

Continue, then, in following Him until the rest of the story is revealed.  This is, after all the way He walks with us as we follow Him; remain in with the One who remains with us through the dirtiness of our living.  Because in the end He reveals that there was hope from the beginning.