The Entrusting of the Father

Again, [at that time the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 25:1)] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

- Matthew 25:14

The master entrusted wealth to his servants, implying that he wanted that wealth back when he returned - nothing more, and nothing less.  Two of the servants put that wealth to work and made it grow.  One of them kept it safe out of fear for losing that wealth and incurring the master's wrath (a vain misconception, even indictment, of the master's character).

What if the economy had gone south while the master was away?  Who would have been the hero of the day?  Would the master have been angry or disappointed?

The master in this parable is Jawheh Himself.  And I know that the Father doesn't treat His children this way.  The heroes of the day are those who put the wealth He entrusts in them to work - not because they doubled his money, but because they took a risk.  If those investments fell flat on their face, I believe He would say to His children what any good father would say:  "Way to go, getting into getting into the game!  You gave it your best and that's what I'm wanting from you."

There's more to what we're here for than what we're here for.  And He has entrusted into us the mysterion of the Kingdom.  We should all rather be with Him in the Kingdom, away from this world of decay and entropy.  But while we're here, it takes faith to risk, and it takes risk to have faith.  And the returns on those investments are worth it all to Him - even His own Son.  We get to be witnesses of those returns, and He wants us to risk the wealth of the Kingdom to infect this world with life!

So fear of failure is beside the point.

Don't waste what He has given you.

Monarch

all that i was 

i see right now

like it is

like it was

like it is right now

and altogether new

like a diamond

in prism

throwing His colour

all around this room

as it was

i see right now

and altogether new

the Living Flame

the same and still

never again

changing as He always

is the same

like it was

as it is right now

and altogether new

and we journey through

always through

from shine to shine

His and mine

always through

to the other side

metamorphis in chrysalis

always through

to the other side

the same and still

never again

to the Living Wing

- revel8r -

The Symphony of Light

But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

Matthew 25:10

The parable of the ten virgins is an illustration of expectancy and preparedness, driven by desire.  For those who eagerly await the bridegroom (the wise virgins), they live their normal lives alongside those who are simply going through the motions (the foolish virgins).  Remember, both slept as they awaited the bridegroom.

But the wise virgins are prepared to live for the long haul; they've brought extra oil. For they know that it's their dependency on the oil (Presence of God) as the essential ingredient that keeps them burning with love for the Bridegroom until He comes to bring them into His home.

Until then, it's the lamp (the parameters of our faith) to hold the oil and the wick (our being) to draw the oil and bring fuel to the fire that light the room (this world).  Without the oil, doctrine becomes foolish religion.  Without our being, the oil has no conduit for the light.  But with all three working in a beautiful symphony, the darkness of the world is conquered.

Keep your lamps trimmed and burning!

The Hinge

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.

Mathew 26:45

The gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9am (Mark 15:25).  Matthew marks the last moments of Jesus' life to be about 3pm.  In Matthew, the implementation of His execution took 27 verses.  Less than 5 minutes to read a very matter of fact narration of an excruciating, tragic event in the life of Jesus.

Six hours.  27 verses.  5 minutes.  The irony is not to be lost.

But vast amounts of sermons and books have been written since that day.  The event is memorialized yearly.

There's more to the cross than the crucifixion.  It is the culmination of the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  It is the beginning of a three-day event upon which all eternity, time, substance and space hinge.

And Jesus is at the center of it all.  His obedience, His blood and what it means to us.  His death and His resurrection are the linchpin on which everything holds together.  And if the soul will refuse to be nailed to this hinge, that person will separate into the eternal free fall of oblivion.

Jesus,
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:6-11)

all crowns tarnish in time
then rust then dust
and perish in the end
at pass forever to oblivion

yet there is one
fashioned first in thistle thorns
by mock and scorn of mortal hand
and mashed on precious brow

then ere third dawn
He stepped strong
from forsaken tomb
to claim His throne again
and that crown will never end

why seek the living among the dead?
do you not know our Dread Champion
has vanquished in conquest decisive
our fundamental foe
and did our hearts into
His glorious crown embed

- revel8r, 4-12-20

Difference in the Normal

For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:38,39

When Noah got direction from the Lord, he and his family got to work. He was diligent about it until the job was done.  The project took years to be completed.  Probably decades.  During that time, it was very likely that he did not hear from God every day.  Very similar to a father asking his son to take care of a large project, he likely said "Git 'er dun, son."  And He left it at that.

But Noah could have said, "Eh! God's not keeping a close eye on me. Think I'll take a day off just because. How about cutting corners here and there?  What's a cubit or two anyway?" But he was diligent, and did everything God said to do.  (Genesis 6:22)

It was his job.  Just as his neighbors - the bricklayer, the blacksmith, the carpenter,,, the auto mechanic. The difference was that he was doing what God directed and how He directed.

So it is with us.  The Father has given us a destiny to complete.  Jobs to do.  People's lives to impact. He directs us along the way, but often leaves it to us to carry it out as He instructs. The difference is that we're doing it for Him as He directs.

Be the difference in a normal world.  In the end, He will return when we least expect it and will be blessed to see the difference.

This Bud's for You!

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near."

Matthew 24:32

One of the questions asked by His disciples in verse 3 was, "What will be the sign of your coming?" After explaining that His coming will be amazingly obvious, He uses the lesson of the fig tree.  But is this lesson a metaphor of us or of the what we observe around us?  Are we the budding fig tree or are the events of life around us the budding fig tree?

As we see so often in the multi-layered Word of God, it is probably both.  In the first metaphor, we are the fig tree.  It's a picture of a tree coming out of dormancy after the long, cold winter.  We then feel His life surging through us again.  And when He returns, that life will be undeniable and we know it, even in our bones.

In the second metaphor, we will see things happening around us that speak of His imminent return.  Some are mentioned in the passage before this verse.  But further signs of a fig tree coming to life would be clear and unavoidable.  Things like:

1. Revivals across the globe that never fade, but grow and capture the world with a strength and power as never before seen since the beginning of time.
2. Healings en masse at a scale and power as never known before.  Epidemics eradicated only by the power of the prayer and declaration of the saints.  Titanium and plastic of prosthetics replaced by bone and cartilage.  Bones growing by inches.  All even as doctors scratch their heads. 
3. Entire graveyards being exhumed at the sound of trumpets.
4. Tsunamis brought to a standstill by the word of a single saint.
5. Leaders of nations brought to their knees in acknowledgement of His reign, regardless of political affiliations or convictions.  For every knee will bow before Him.

In either metaphor, the message is the same: don't worry about whether you'll miss His return.  It will be unmistakable to all, and all will know that His return (His kingdom notwithstanding) is at hand.

The Kindness of Christ

"If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

Matthew 24:22

Much, if not all of the first 28 verses of this chapter are considered to be a prophecy of the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  The event was extreme and extremely bloody, and could be considered to have mirrored what Jesus described here.

His instructions in the passage are to flee when you see the destruction imminent.  Many were discovered to have indeed fled to the surrounding mountains during that time.  Could it be that they had indeed heeded the warnings of Jesus?

The kindness of God is not simply reflected provision or in outright protection; it's reflected in His warnings as well.  And if we ignore those warnings, resulting in personal (or even national) calamity then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

His love endures forever - as Father, as Lover and as Friend.