Monday, June 30, 2008
Light Shines in the Dark
By Ramone - June 28, 2008
He reveals deep and hidden things;A few days ago a brother and I were praying for a place where there is a lot of spiritual darkness, where many lives have been hurt by the enemy and by those serving the enemy. I began to pray in the Spirit, and the Spirit took over and it sounded I was praying in Hebrew, with rising and falling notes, at times like chanting. I can't describe it, and I don't fully understand. But it was like crying out for the people, for the land, for what happened there, like a long-overdue intercession calling out to the Lord.
He knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with Him.
- Daniel 2:22
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
- John 1:5
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.Thank You, Lord, for being in there, for penetrating there with Your light, with Your life, Your presence. Thank You for raising up intercession. Thank You for the cry on behalf of the land and lives. Thank You, Lord. Raise up more intercession through Your Spirit, and raise up more intercessors. I bless Your heart, Lord, I bless Your name, Jesus. Hallelu Yah, amen.
- 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
- Romans 8:26-27
Presto Allegro - Dive In!
By Ramone - June 27, 2008
God gives us visions. He gives us love. He gives each of us a "ministry" to others, to give them love, to love them with His love. Sometimes He lets us know what's coming ahead of time. Sometimes He doesn't. But sometimes He does. He let me know about something several years ago, and recently I've felt it getting much closer. When I was trying to explain how things are speeding up to some friends, He said it to me this way:
"Presto Allegro."I explained in the email that this meant "A quickening of the pace... Not a finishing, but a pace increase." Then it occured to me to actually look up what it meant.
"Presto" (lit., "ready") very quickly; very fast (168 - 200 bpm)As I shared this with a friend via internet chat, I began to verbalize some conflicting feelings about that word... not wanting to think I was "ready ready" yet, not wanting to make it sound like "it" would start soon, etc. I began to downplay it.
"Allegro" (lit., "joyful; lively and fast") cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as lively, fast moderately fast; fast and bright or "march tempo" (120 - 168 bpm)
In sum, "presto and allegro both indicate a speedy execution (presto being faster), but allegro also connotes joy (from its original meaning in Italian)."
Hah. And now I realize -- "presto allegro" isn't something you down play -- it's a musical term for playing faster! And joyfully!
No fear. That's the key. The orchestra starts playing, presto allegro, and you just gotta jump in and play with them, play along, and it zooms and you just go because it's started, there's no stopping it. Time to play; here we go!
A day later talking with a brother by phone about this, I realized I was doing it again.
Doing what again? Over a year ago Yoko and I were praying about whether or not to move to our current apartment, which is considerably bigger and somewhat more expensive than our previous ones. It looked like a God thing, but we weren't sure. I prayed and wasn't getting a clear answer. So I fasted for a day and Yoko, her sister and I got together for prayer after that. I began to realize that one reason I wasn't sure was because I kept saying, "I'm not sure how long we'll be here" or "I don't know what we'll be doing", etc. It was as if I felt obliged to speak about my/our future with an obligatory expression of uncertainty. It was as if I felt it was somehow wrong to speak about the future with certainty. So God let me know: No, son, I've told you what you're here for. Speaking about the future in uncertainty felt somehow safer, maybe, like not risking being wrong about what I'd heard from the Lord, or just in case it didn't happen, etc. So I repented about my unbelief and the words of doubt I had chosen to take refuge in, and the answer was obvious: take the new apartment.
I realized I was doing this same "safe, obligatory doubt" exercise with the presto allegro word. Afraid of things actually coming soon, I wanted to make it "safer". But another brother with a music M.A. emailed me and let me know:
Regarding movements, these tempo markings are most often seen in the final movement of a symphony, sonata, concerto or other multi-movement work. Just check the back of any CD of Mozart, Haydn or Beethoven symphonies, and you will find it is often true.Yeah. I knew that. But a bit afraid, I didn't want to say that. So yes, the final movement of this stage is beginning. The increasing is because something is coming sooner. I don't know how soon. But things are coming faster because it's a presto allegro beginning.
As I spoke on the phone about just going along with the Lord, diving in and not being afraid, I saw this picture. It's me seeing His swiftly moving river below, and He's calling me to go deeper in Him, and it's going to move faster. I'm already in the river, but He's brought me to a leap here. I don't know what this may physically "look" like (if anything specific at all), but this is what's happening in my spirit, in my heart and in my soul, because of His love.
And as I submitted to His word one night, I began to realize this river is His river of love for them. It is so not about me! The whole fear and hesitancy suddenly seemed so distracting to me, centering things on me. But it's not about me. It's about Him, His heart and His passion for them--the people on His heart--His river of love for them. Thanks for re-centering me, Jesus! **diving into You**
SEEK MY HEART!
By Ramone - June 24, 2008
This is a second version of this painting, which I felt compelled by the Lord to paint, and painted most of the time in tears, crying in the Spirit. Father, Draw Us to Your Heart, Your Breaking Heart
God's Breaking Heart
I don't know exactly how to write this or how to say this. The first painting turned out too nice, beautiful, colorful and bright. I thought it portrayed what I saw well. And for the time I think it did. Somehow perhaps in the photograph the green rain doesn't come out as much as it does in real life. When I made it, I did use a little light blue ink and mixed it with water for the background of the rain, and wondered if that was okay. In retrospect, probably not.
When I posted the picture, I wrote about God's breaking heart -- breaking because He gave Him who is His very heart (His Son) on the cross for us, but so many of us are drinking other rain:
Some are chasing sensational feelings, spirits and experiences, and others are chasing a more subtle spirit that focuses on policing theology and exposing falsehood -- "protecting truth" but that is not truth itself. Protecting truth is not truth! Neither is the rain of His peace, His life. Rather these are the rains of false spirits, meant to keep us from the rain of Father's heart (the Holy Spirit) that pours out to us because of the Son. All of the other rains draw us away from focusing on God's heart -- draw us away to focusing on the rain itself instead of the fountain, the spring, the well of life Himself.(*See note below) Please Don't Miss the Cry of His Heart!
As I began to ask Him about what the picture and its symbols meant, and as I wrote the story of the picture and prayed aloud on its post the burden of His heart that came was heavy and I cried in the Spirit.
So as you can imagine, it was kind of a shock to hear from friends (whom I love) about how the picture was beautiful. I understand that the message of His heart being our light in the darkness (in the storm) can be encouraging, however... it felt weird. The spirit in which I painted it was not meant for that, but rather to share His breaking heart. I can understand how the first picture seemed beautiful and encouraging, but to me, to my heart and my spirit it is something deeper, and much more painful. And perhaps I failed to paint it dark enough to get that across.
The New Picture
As I saw reactions to the painting and considered the possibility that many might eventually miss what was on God's heart that gave it to me in the first place, I began to weep and felt the Lord leading me to re-paint the picture. To make a new version, more like what I originally saw, and darker.
Open our eyes, Lord, open our eyes to Your heart, Lord!
I pray He will share His heart with you as you seek His heart, and even as you read this, and I pray that many, many people (me included) will be broken with the cry of His heart more and more so much that our eyes will see nothing else but His Son, who is His heart.
I spent the first session of painting this picture weeping. During this session everything was basically painted except for the white drops and final touches. I asked Him how to paint it, and this is what He told me. I don't understand why completely, but I believe I am supposed to share how this was done and I am weeping in the Spirit as I write this:
The heart -- make it broken, BROKEN.The original word I received with the first painting was, "In the rain, seek My heart!" But it's easy to be distracted by the "rain". I felt His heart passionately crying out, in capital letters I cannot write big enough, emphasizing, "In the rain, SEEK MY HEART!"
Darker, Blood red.
Take the light out of the rain.
Make the picture more twisted, painful.
The clouds hanging further, darker.
No deep blue, but dark green instead.
What am I to call it, Lord?
"SEEK MY HEART!"
No Relief
Later as I looked at the painting, I felt like I had taken all the life out of it. And again I suddenly start weeping in the Spirit as I type this---Lord, I don't completely understand this. Help me understand Your heart, and share Your heart with all of us, Lord!
I found no relief as I looked at the picture. It felt dry, even though it depicts "rain" -- this rain is dry and has no life in it.
But then, then I found relief as I looked away to Father's heart, as I looked to You, Lord, to Your heart now, in real life.
I wanted to understand the picture. I wanted to "get" the message and "share it", absorb it, package it, and move on. Oh Lord, I repent. I'm so sorry, Lord! How often have we wanted to just "get it", to get what You were sharing and "deliver" it or "preach it", and go home from church, close our Bibles and just move on with our lives. Oh Lord, I'm so sorry! You're not calling us to take this as some quick "message", "good message", "preaching" or "teaching". No, Lord! You are calling us to receive Your broken heart!!!
I remember something that happened years ago when I was a denominational missionary. My mission was to be an English teacher at a school, teaching English, but also giving free Bible studies. On the way to my "mission", I passed homeless people living and eating on the streets. My church did nothing for them. My "mission" did nothing, and I couldn't not do anything any longer. So for my first "sermon", I spoke about how God had loved the poor in the Bible, and how we had so many people around us just like that, just like in the Bible. I wanted to start helping them. I used my first "sermon" to cry out that we were neglecting those on His heart, and cried out that we should go help them and love them.
From most people in that service, I heard nothing. A few (whom I love) thanked me for the sermon, saying it was a "good sermon". I was shocked and didn't know what to say. I hadn't meant to give a "sermon" at all, but an appeal, a cry to love, to action, to go be His body and reach out in His love. (**see note at bottom)
I've shared this story many times before, but not until now have I wept in the Spirit as I shared it. He's really letting me know how He feels when He shares His heart and we receive it only as a message, teaching, sermon, even only as a nice blessing. He doesn't just want us to get a "message" -- He wants our hearts to be broken! He wants to share His heart with us -- not only His joys, His loves, His life and blessings, but His heart that has sorrow, His heart that grieves, His heart that mourns. This is somehow part of His life, part of the heart of eternity, the heart of the eternal God. He calls us to be His friends, His lover, and He wants to be intimate with us and share with us what's on His heart. Shall we accept only the good from Him and not the bad?
I am weeping out loud and I feel Him saying,
"My people are fair-weather friends."We want to be around Him when He's sunny, when things are good, when the "weather" is good. Nothing negative. No storms. No judgment. No warnings. No blowing the trumpet to call us to repentance and fasting. We are sure fine with doing this for the world, but not when He says this about us. We want the Finger to be pointed at the world. We don't want the double-edged sword (the Word of God) to cut us. We want it to be one-edged, cutting the world, not piercing our hearts.
Now I realize part of what He means when He said He searched for an intercessor to build up the wall and stand in the gap on behalf of the land so that He would not have to judge it. I begin to understand why in Ezekiel He told His angels to put a mark on all those in the holy city who grieved at what was going on there, and how they started judgment after that ...at the temple.
He is searching for friends, people who will receive all of His heart, people who will eat the whole Lamb, so to speak, not just the tasty parts, but the bitter herbs, too. People will take the scroll that He gives John (us) in Revelation. Friends, all-weather friends, who not only enjoy the taste of His honey, but who are also willing to let our stomachs be turned sour for the sake of His heart, for the sake of saving people on His heart -- inside and outside the "church".
He is calling us to hear His hear His heart, to be broken with His broken heart, to weep, to mourn and cry out in His heart of intercession as in Joel 2 kind of way:
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy hill.I feel Him saying,
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand-a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness... it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
Seek Me and find Me. Seek My heart, and I will pour My Spirit upon you. Respond to My broken heart, and I will fill you with the things that break My heart. Look to Me, Look to My broken heart, Look to the cross that tore My heart, Look through the eyes of My love for you--for all of you--and I will pour My heart out to you, the Spirit of grace in mourning, and you will look upon Me, the One you have pierced, and you will mourn for Me as for an only Son. As you are broken with My heart, I will open fountains, rivers of life, to cleanse you and to cleanse people whom I love, the nations on My heart.Nothing But You, God
As I looked to Him and found relief from the intense dryness of trying to just "get" the message so I could type about it, I realized again that it's not about the picture at all, but about You, now. My depiction of Your broken heart isn't good enough and is not Your real broken heart! (Thank You, Lord!)
Father, O Father, Daddy, fill me with Your tender heart, Your agape love.
After this, as I returned in the Spirit to looking at the picture and asking Him about it (asking Him for His heart and to share His heart!), there was hope, strength and life. I wrote:
God, I thirst for You. I have no other way but You. There are so many other false promises and spirits in this life. But only Your Spirit, Your spirit of Your love--agape--only here is my thirst quenched. Help me see that I have no life, no "rain" unless Your agape love & heart! Help me truly see that all other "rain" apart from Your heart, Your agape, is dry and death, Lord! In Jesus' name, amen.And now I again pray,
Help me --help us-- Lord, to open our mouths wide to drink the rain You give, in all seasons, Lord. Help us to become all-weather friends to You, Lord. To open our hearts to hear Your heart, not fearing the grief of Your heart, not fearing the Sword that cuts both ways, because this Sword cuts in order to heal. We have nothing to fear in losing ourselves, in repenting, in having our righteousnesses exposed as filthy rags. All we have is the expectation of Your healing when we are broken before You. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for Your tears that cleanse us. Thank You for the fountain You promise as we embrace Your heart, as we eat the bitter scroll. Share with us the honey and the bitterness of Your heart, Lord. We love You, Lord. We are Your friends, Lord.
In Jesus' name, amen.
***** **** *****
Notes:
(*) The Lord sends rain. He pours out His Spirit on us. There are other spirits pouring, but not all "outpourings" are automatically other spirits -- it may be the Lord! Denying that the Spirit still pours, speaks or moves at all is not discernment but blindness, because even if we believe that the Holy Spirit doesn't pour these days and that we aren't being fooled and are not receiving any bad spirits, that doesn't negate the fact that spirits are nonetheless pouring. Choosing blindness to spirits that try to get us to ignore the Holy Spirit is just the same as drinking bad rain -- both bring death and are starved for the water of Life.
(**) Two or three people, I believe, heard the cry of my heart and the cry of the Lord's heart, and we began to help out as much as we could and beyond our means. One of them would become my wife two years later.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
In the Rain
By Ramone - June 14, 2008
This is a picture that started to come when I was having two simultaneous discussions about controversial revivals. One was on an internet forum, and the other was with my spiritual mum Hazel (see her articles in May and June). In both places, there was discussion of certain revivals and how there are sometimes mixed spirits (the Holy Spirit is there, but other spirits--lying and deceiving ones--are there, too), mixed cries of true and false, and more that I can't quite spell out, Lord! As I prayed asking Him to help me see what He is saying here, He said it means,
"To seek My heart... in the rain."I cried out again and again for lack of understanding as I made this picture. It seemed like the Rain (the good rain) was coming from His heart! But there is more rain than the good Rain. There is other rain here, too. The good rain is the Holy Spirit. The other rain is other spirits, deceiving and lying spirits, raining down that which does not grow the fruit He longs for, nor does it heal us the way He longs to heal us.
I wept in the Spirit, and I knew that the good Rain is also His grief at what's happening -- at what He gave (His Son) and at "what My children are running after, what they are drinking and opening their mouths wide to!"
"These are My people in the rain, crying out for Me, for My heart, My face. These are My people, My bride in there, in those places where more than one spirit is raining."I knew His heart was there but didn't clearly see it in the vision. I saw the bottom of it. And I knew reflected on it in light is the cross. The cross is reflected in light on His heart. And His heart is broken apart, ripped apart by the cross. This heart (His heart) and the rain from His heart --including His grief-- "This is the anointing I want you to receive!" He says. (Zechariah 12:10)
As I began to sketch the picture (see sketch at this link), the first thing I noticed was that the clouds were hanging down. Usually clouds puff upwards. I didn't know such downward-puffing clouds existed until I visited the midwest where my mother grew up. There I was told that clouds which puff downwards are the kind that turn into tornadoes! So every time I see those kinds of clouds, well, there is a sense of fascination at their interesting sight, but more than that there is a sense of impending dread, a caution, and a desire to drive out of the state a little bit faster!
I believe this shows that we are in a time when the clouds of God's judgment are "hanging downwards", preparing for the whirlwinds (tornadoes) of His judgment. As we see outpourings of His Spirit and other spirits (often mixed in the same physical location), and as we hunger in the midst for His heart in all the confusion, we are seeing the signs He spoke of that the clouds are hanging downwards -- He spoke of the coming of lying spirits as a sign of His impending judgment and His impending return.
Lord, help us long for Your heart, Your broken heart, in the midst of confusing times of "rain"! I believe You are telling us not to always get caught up trying to figure out what is what, but rather to focus on seeking Your heart! I know I am not going to understand (on this side of eternity) which revivals were all You, which ones were all the enemy, which ones were mixed, and whatever "proportion" of You was there or the enemy was there. Instead You are calling me to seek Your heart!Fill us with Your love for Your Son, Father, as You promised and as He cried! (>_<)
So Lord, pour out Your heart on me, and on all Your people, in Jesus' name! Break our hearts with what breaks Your heart, Lord. Break our hearts with Your love for us! We rush to judgment and condemnation, Lord, but You are CRYING because You love us! Lord, let us not shoot arrows and words at one another without receiving Your heart for one another first! Help us understand that You are sending us Your broken heart before You send Your whirlwinds of judgment! "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the One they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great... On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity."
- Zechariah 12:10-13:1
"I have made You known to them,Thank You for Your faithfulness to Your word, Lord. Thank You that You ARE doing this, that You ARE drawing us to You, that You ARE pouring out Your heart, even if it's not the loudest thing we hear either from the "revivals" or from the "critics" so often preaching "truth" but not from Your heart!
and will continue to make You known
in order that the love You have
for Me may be in them
and that I Myself may be in them."
- John 17:26
Oh Lord! The "mixed rain" is not only 'obvious' deceptions of false prophets or strange movements, no the "mixed rain" and the "mixed spirits" also represent the mixed spirits of judgment and preaching "truth" apart from Your heart and Your Spirit!
Lord, break us all at the foot of the cross, so that we see only You and seek only You, in Jesus' name! Father, it is in the cross that we see who You are reflected, that we see Your heart. Father, thank You for Your Son, thank You for the cross. Thank You for pouring out Him who is Your very heart. Pour our hearts out in love, Lord, for those whom You love so much that You poured out the life of Your Son to purchase them! And us! Break our hearts with Your love. Break our hearts with love for one another! In Jesus' name, thank You, Father, amen.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Holy Laughter!
By Ramone - June 7, 2008
I was thinking about how some friends I know have at times been overcome by laughter in the Spirit as they saw the sheer joy and finality of His victory over the enemy in their lives and on the cross. When they "saw" what He had done deep inside them, they began to laugh uncontrollably.
When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion,As I thought on this while going to sleep one night, I saw this simple picture of laughing in His joy, seeing what He has done and who He is. In His joy, knowing "it is finished" in Him, something 'un-snaps' in us and we are released to just be free, be joyful, and laugh as He made us to laugh and laugh as He laughs!
we were like men restored to health.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them."
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.
- Psalm 126:1-3
"The One enthroned in heaven laughs"You know, I didn't grow up thinking that God ever laughed! But laugh He does. He's the designer, the architect, the inventor of laughter and joyous hilarity. I can only think of the laughter He gives us now as a kind of deposit of that great release of laughter we'll know in His presence as we eat together in paradise in the eternal kingdom.
- Psalm 2:4
(By the way, I'm not meaning to use "holy laughter" as a term per say, but more as an expression of surprise. Just like imagining when Batman and Robin see what Jesus has done and Robin exclaims, "Holy laughter, Batman!" LOL!)
Thank You for Your joy, Father! In Jesus' name, amen!
Daddy!
By Ramone - June 7, 2008
Friday night when going to bed some online forum arguments were echoing in my thoughts with answers, retorts, objections, etc. I was struggling to shake off that war-zone of spirits, so to speak, and turned on a Hillsong worship CD to listen to one of my favorite new songs, "In Your Freedom".
I search for You, God of strengthAs I tried to worship, as I began worshiping and speaking out praise and thanks to God, I suddenly said the words
I bow to You in my brokenness
No other King could have so humbly come
To save my soul and heal my heartI have nothing moreI search for You, God of peace
Than all You offer me
There is nothing else
That's of worth to me
I love You Lord
You rescued me
You are all that I want
You're all that I need
I rest in You, my cares released
"I love You, too, Daddy."As I said the words I suddenly realized that He put them in me, just as Paul said,
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,I was melted by His presence realizing that He was in me, He put the words in me -- my spirit cried out the love He'd given me by His Spirit. My spirit and His Spirit were responding, just as He promised!
the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."
(Galatians 4:6)
You received the Spirit of sonship & adoption, and by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
(Romans 8:15-16)
Normally I probably wouldn't have focused on these words that came out of my spirit & mouth while worshiping. But because it came in a time of struggle (warfare), the suddenness of it surprised me because I had not been thinking it before. I was moved to know He was in me.
But more than that, I was touched by His presence and His love because I had answered, "I love You, too"! My spirit heard Him say "I love you" in the midst of a tiring battle, and responded to Him, "I love You, too, Daddy!" It took a minute for my mind to catch up to my spirit! Ha! But it's true. And when my mind had caught up, I realized that in my moment of need He was telling me that He loved me, and in my deepest "me" I was at rest in His love, and loving Him back. I was loving Him because He first loved me! His Spirit was strengthening me in my spirit just as He promised. Awesome Father!
Thank You for that, Daddy. Thank You for Your love.
Happy Father's Day! To You, to my father, to all fathers. Thank You God.
I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family [and all fatherhood] in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)
The spirit of God
By Ramone - June 6, 2008
Recently I did a picture called "Let Him Who Has Ears..." in which I showed the Spirit of God as the fire that we gather around in our meeting. One beloved friend felt what I'd inked and written was dangerously close to "neo-pentecostalism" that marginalized the cross, etc. I didn't mean to picture glorification of the Spirit for the Spirit's sake, as my friend feared, but I didn't explain how "Spirit of God" means much more to me than "charismatic ministry", and how I know the Lord's point is to point us to His Son, and how we are nothing without His atonement. So I added the big addendum to that picture's post explaining that.
Thinking of these things, sometimes it's very helpful to me to de-capitalize the word "spirit" when speaking of God's Spirit. When we capitalize "Spirit", we tend to think of the gifts, the function, the ministry of the Spirit, the persona of the Spirit, etc. This is good, but can also tend to lose the essence of the meaning of "spirit", which is in short, the essence! When we write "spirit" in non-capitalized lower-case, we focus on the "spirit" of the thing we're talking about, like how we say "the spirit of Christmas". We're not talking about a spirit, per say, but about the heart of something, the nature of something, the essence and character of something.
I think this understanding of "the spirit" is especially needed when we think of the Holy Spirit, because that is exactly what He is -- He is the essence, character, nature and heart of God. He is the Spirit of Agape. The spirit of agape. The spirit of God. Think about that --- isn't it cool? Isn't He cool?
So it helps when we start to think of the "ministry" of the Holy Spirit, the "Spiritual" gifts, etc. What we're talking about is the spirit of God, "in the spirit of God", "in the spirit of Christ". We're talking about agape. We are talking about the spirit of His holiness. The spirit of His love. The spirit of His jealousy. The spirit of His humility. His spirit.
I don't know if I'm explaining this well, but de-capitalizing this sometimes helps me focus on His essence, nature, His character, His heart. It draws me from being lost in thinking about the theological dimensions of His Person (wonderful as that is!) and focusing on His heart of agape, who He is, what He is like, His character, His heart for us and for all of us.
This picture is something that came ever-so-faintly as I thought about this. It's His spirit, the Holy Spirit:
The spirit of GodThe Spirit/spirit is God's heart of love, broken by His love for His Son (see "Anointing"), broken in the painful shape of the cross. It is His love for His Son, His love for us. The white "cross" behind it is the Son, and behind that is the Father, all who we know because of what He has done for us on the cross. We can't see exactly what God looks like now, but we know His heart (His spirit), and He is in the "shape" of the cross, so to speak -- the shape of the love He poured out by giving His only Son for us. We see Him perfectly represented in Jesus Christ. The curved line at the top could be His chin, but I feel it's His smile upon us and His joy which is our strength. Thank You, Lord!
The spirit of the Son
The spirit of the Father
the spirit of Christ
The Holy Spirit
The spirit of the Holy Spirit
The spirit of the Spirit
The spirit Himself
The Spirit of God
The heart of God
THe Spirit that descends as Father says,
"This is My Son, the Beloved;
in Him I am well-pleased."
Sunday, June 01, 2008
A New Gap
By Ramone - May 29, 2008
It's nice to be walking around the city and suddenly notice a place that you didn't see before, a space between buildings or the like, where you can see deep into some place of need, seeing more than you thought you would. It's nice to be walking with God and have Him show you a new "gap" to stand in. He loves us, He loves this place, these people.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,- Isaiah 6:8 NIV
"Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
"In that day," says the Lord, "I shall gather who has been broken, and I will welcome her who has been exiled, even those whom I had rejected. And I shall make her who has been broken into a remnant, and her that was rejected into a strong nation. So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion henceforth and forever." - Micah 4:6-7 LXX
Out of Nothing!
(click to see larger)
By Ramone - May 29, 2008
The other day as I sat down at a cafe on a break from work, I wanted to draw a picture. Another picture -- not this picture, haha. But I had this itching in my fingers, this desire to do it, and this came out. Kind of a "Jackson Pollack" but with a meaning, a message, a joy in it. (^_^)
The God who holds your breath in His hand- Daniel 5:23 LXX
knows all your ways.
"Many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders You have done.
The things You planned for us
no one can recount to You;
were I to speak and tell of them,
they would be too many to declare." - Psalm 40:5 NIV
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