Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Interruption of God
By Ramone - February 24, 2009
The "brown" surrounding is my "box", and He is reaching into it to tap me on the shoulder and take me OUT of my box! I'm busy trying to "do my thing" with my hands, my "works", and He knows the truth that I'm actually keeping myself in a box. I'm doing what I want to do, and in that way trying to keep "my territory" and "my freedom", following "my wants". It feels (or seems to feel) free, but the Guy reaching into my box is tapping me to tell me in His love that I'm actually not free ("Hey, you're in a cardboard box!"), and if I die to what I want to control and do, I will be truly free.
*****
See also: "Cardboard God" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
The Imprint of Christ
By Ramone - February 22, 2009
So the Lord God said to the serpent,This picture came one night as I was out eating with my wife and her sister at a restaurant. I saw the 'snakes' first as squiggly lines, particularly the darker one. And then later the "foot" of Christ (and us in Him) came, along with the background. I know it means that we are in Him, and that because He has overcome, we have overcome! This is our banner of victory --not that we have overcome the enemy, but that we have overcome because He has overcome for us already! His heel was struck, His life was bruised and abused, crushed for our sins. Our banner of victory is what He has accomplished for us.
"...I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your seed and hers;
He will crush your head,
and you will strike His heel."- Genesis 3:14-15
"These things I have spoken to you,
that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world..."
"Because I live, you also will live."- John 16:33, 14:19
The seventy-two returned with joy and said,
"Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name."
He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions
and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you,
but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said,
"I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned,
and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure."- Luke 10:17-21
Thank You, Lord!
Behold and SEE!
For Such As I
Monday, February 23, 2009
Oh Jerusalem (Your Home is Above!)
[Please click to see larger]
By Ramone - February 16, 2009
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- Yeshua ha Moshiach, Matthew 6:21Oh Jerusalem, My love
Your treasures are above!
Here your cities crumble, fall,
Waste away and rust.
But inside you is a longing,
A longing for your home;
The Kingdom sure and eternal,
The King upon His throne.
Once in the past there was glory,
A glory now long gone;
A promise unfulfilled it seems,
An ache without a balm.
How hard and long you've struggled
To regain what was lost;
You've fought and killed and bled and died
For things not worth the cost.
You cry out "Oh Jerusalem!"
And I cry, too, it's true.
But when I cry "Jerusalem,"
It means I cry for you.
For you need no more blood to spill,
Nor for lost glory ache;
For I drank all the bitter pill,
I drank it for your sake.
An everlasting, new glory
I have for you above:
A Kingdom that is far surpassing,
Eternal as My love.
Your future is held in My hands;
Believing Me you're safe.
Look no longer to things below
Which distract from My face.
Oh daughter much beloved by Me,
Distracted is your gaze!
Oh that your eyes would turn to Me,
Instead of to a maze.
One thing is needed, just one,
To survive all to come;
A faith humbly to seek My face
And abide in My love.
To save your life ultimately
It must be counted loss.
Forget your house and great treasure;
Find peace, embrace My cross.
Oh Jerusalem, My love,
Your home is here above.
With Me, I long for you to be
At rest, safe in My love.
*****
See also at Weeping Jeremiahs
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Lift Up Your Eyes
By Ramone - February 13, 2009
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But My salvation will last forever,
My righteousness will never fail...
For I am the Lord your God
...who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who says to Zion,
"You are My people."
- Isaiah 51:6,16
Wash Over Me
By Ramone - February 15, 2009
Come and be
Wash over me
I open my heart to You alone
When I am weak
You meet my need
Finish the work You've started hereAnd I lift my life to You nowFind me here
I raise my voice to sing your praise
I will follow Your command
Calm my fear
Strengthening hope inside my heart
Teach me Lord
To know Your word
Let it be alive in me
Alive in me- "Come and Be" by Matt Brouwer
Kiyomete kudasai
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I'd Rather Have Jesus
Agony
By Ramone - February 15, 2009
One day I was reading over the Messianic prophecy in Genesis 49:10-12, and I was oddly stopped by the detail about His teeth:
His eyes will be darker than wine,I couldn't explain it, but I was suddenly halted here visualizing His teeth. As I wondered at this, I suddenly saw His teeth grimacing in pain as He hung upon the Cross, and I was overcome with weeping (as I am now typing this). Those perfect teeth, that perfect Man, crying out in pain as He carried our sins for us on the Cross. I looked over at the Song of Songs (5:10-16), through the in-love eyes of the Bride's...
His teeth whiter than milk.
My Beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.Here is this Beautiful One. Here He is in agony for us.
His head is purest gold; His hair is wavy and black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves by the water streams,
washed in milk, mounted like jewels.
His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume.
His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold set with topaz.
His body is like polished ivory decorated with lapis lazuli.
His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.
His mouth is sweetness itself; He is altogether lovely.
This is my Beloved, this is my Friend, daughters of Jerusalem.
I am just overcome. I am broken. I am hurt, but not like You were, My Beloved. Thank You, thank You so much.
*****
See also: "One Righteous, One Wronged" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Battle Trumpet
By Ramone - February 13, 2009
This came in the morning when I was praying about dispensationalism and asking You (God) for Your point of view. I didn't know what this meant.
I could guess at the meaning, but I wasn't sure. In Numbers 10 trumpets were made for calling the camp to assemble, to break camp, before going into battle, and at festivals/sacrifices...
Then I thought of how precious dispensationalists are to You. You love them! You died for them! And You died for Israel's people and for Palestine's people!
You tell me that this trumpet is Your church! Your church raising the trumpet! The clear trumpet call of the gospel, so that people will be freed from the dark, confusing mess of dispensationalism! (This is why the trumpet is level with the earth instead of toward the heavens or elsewhere.)
You are calling us to be filled with Your breath, to receive Your heart, and blow the trumpet! The trumpet of battle! Sound the clear trumpet of the gospel! Prepare for spiritual battle, go to spiritual battle! Sound the gospel trumpet!
*****
See also: "Confront Deception!" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
Banner of Rest
By Ramone - February 13, 2009
"In that day the Root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples;
the nations will rally to Him,
and His place of rest will be glorious."
- Isaiah 11:10
Ruined!
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By Ramone - February 12, 2009
I was talking with a Christian friend and used this analogy to describe how after God interrupted my life with His reality, with His really real presence, my life was ruined! I could never be the same anymore, especially after meeting the Holy Spirit. It's like I had a sort of "picture" of life, of my life and life itself. And suddenly God came along and BAM! He dropped some water on my nice little picture, ruining it!
That water is His presence, and I will never be the same again. I can't go back! I thirst and long for His presence, for Him Himself, not for my ideas about Him. Oh, I do get distracted sometimes, but He always brings me back to desiring Him Himself. I am ruined! Ha! I'll re-use Isaiah's words:
"Woe to me! I am ruined! My eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!"I am blessedly ruined by His presence. Thank You, Lord! I pray this for EVERYONE, that EVERYONE may be ruined by Your presence, too, and never stop thirsting for more of You in their lives and to know You more! In Jesus' name, amen!
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(Two other versions that came out of the experimenting process)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Love and Hope
By Ramone - February 10, 2009
I don't completely understand this picture cognitively, but it sounds in me deeply in my soul and in my spirit. It came as I was thinking about some discussions I've had with people about the problems of dispensationalism and Christian Zionism. As I was thinking about that and the ongoing cycle of damage in the Middle East, I began to see this.
I know it is a mother —she is both Jewish and Muslim— and her baby child, who she loves dearly. She lives in the midst of difficulty all around her, but her love rises up when she sees her child. And somehow, as she does so, a new hope rises up too. Where it comes from we don't know, but it is there when we see a newborn child. It is a hope —a glimpse of a value of life in us and in God's sight— and somehow a deep knowledge that, Yes, ultimately God's love will prevail.
This is a cry for us to let love arise in us, to stare at our children and each one of us, every "one another" that there is—whether Muslims, Christians or Jews—and see one another with the same love and value that this mother sees before God and gives. It is also a prophetic picture of that love rising up in the Middle East, and around the world.
And just as children don't wait for wars to cease before being born, neither does our love need to wait for wars to cease before it rises up. Let it come forth now, Lord, in Jesus' name!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Mighty Relief (sketch)
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By Ramone - February 8, 2009
After a lot of thinking & prayer & discussion about end-times things, including the problems of dispensationalism, Christian Zionism, and more... but more than that, after beginning to recognize more and more the spirits behind a lot of these things and other things, and the spirits that are rising up as the end draws near...
After that, I've gotten kind of tired, you know! I felt like, "GOD! I NEED SOME LIGHT!" (>_<) And that's when I began to see this. A wave. A poweful wave --the MOST powerful, the wave of the Most High-- the wave of His power, powerful love rising up. Rising up, preparing to rise up and crush the spirits of this age, preparing to smash the spirits and darkness in the end days.
THANK YOU, GOD!!!!
*****
(This is the "sketch" version of the picture... I made the other version first but after I finished it, I preferred my black & white sketch! So I added color to the sketch. I like both versions now.)
Mighty Relief
By Ramone - February 8, 2009
After a lot of thinking & prayer & discussion about end-times things, including the problems of dispensationalism, Christian Zionism, and more... but more than that, after beginning to recognize more and more the spirits behind a lot of these things and other things, and the spirits that are rising up as the end draws near...
After that, I've gotten kind of tired, you know! I felt like, "GOD! I NEED SOME LIGHT!" (>_<) And that's when I began to see this. A wave. A poweful wave --the MOST powerful, the wave of the Most High-- the wave of His power, powerful love rising up. Rising up, preparing to rise up and crush the spirits of this age, preparing to smash the spirits and darkness in the end days.
THANK YOU, GOD!!!!
*****
(I made a black & white sketch of this, and then set it aside to do a more full version. But after I finished this version, I preferred my black & white sketch! So I added color to the sketch and posted it after this one. I like both versions now.)
Outpouring
By Ramone - February 8, 2009
I inked this in church immediately after "The Angel of Babylon", while we were singing Reuben Morgan's song, "Hear Our Praises" --
May our homes be filled with dancingI confess some slight irritation at the Japanese version of the song (haha), because it changes the first line into "may the Lord's house be filled with dancing"! No! We're already dancing in our "churches"! Morgan's song is a Spirit-filled cry for dancing to spill out into the streets and overflow our cities and all lands!
May our streets be filled with joy
May injustice bow to Jesus
As the people turn to pray
May our light shine in the darkness
As we walk before the cross
May Your glory fill the whole earth
As the waters over the sea
So I started to see that. And, I confess, after doing the "negative" picture (Angel of Babylon), I was desperate for something more "positive", so to speak! But I saw this one. The city can be any city--and it IS every city!--but I made it look like Jerusalem, with steeples of churches, synagogues, and the Muslim Dome of the Rock. Why? Because we are all waiting for some "events" to happen or unfold, and a lot of us are looking at the literal nation of Israel as if it is the "map" of end-time events, or as if it is the "clock" which will tell us where we are and when things will begin, etc. Lord, NO!
The Spirit is pouring out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem (representing the world). And this is happening while the Muslim Dome of the Rock is still standing. Before getting razed, before a new Jewish Temple is built, before the supposed pre-tribulation rapture happens. Before the "tribulation" is announced to have begun. Brothers and sisters! The "tribulation" will have begun long before we think! It will not come to us with trumpets, so to speak, but the trumpets will blow and we will not recognize them until afterwards! (Just as Jesus told His disciples when He prophesied to them about His death & resurrection, "I have told you now beforehand so that after it happens, you may believe.")
Darkness covers the earth and the city, and the people of the earth (most "Christians" included) think it is the enemy. They don't recognize it for the "tribulation" that it is. The pains of labor have come upon them and they have been sleeping. But out of these dark times, during these dark times, God pours out His Spirit! The prayer of Reuben Morgan's song is answered! (>_<)
And the "walls" we have built around ourselves and around our "holy cities" are broken, the Spirit breaking them down and spreading His love and life to the lands outside, and to us who were equally dry as well! (>_<)
We don't have to wait for "that day". We pray for it NOW, Lord! Unveil our eyes to see You, and to pray and spread Your agape love to all mankind, in Jesus' name, amen!
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look upon 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." (Zechariah 12:10)*****
"Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy...
"The Lord has done great things for us
and we are filled with joy." (Psalm 126:5,3)
See also: "Outpouring of the Spirit of the Cross" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
The Angel of Babylon
By Ramone - February 8, 2009
I don't completely understand this picture. It came as I was in church last Sunday and was praying, and with much grief in the Spirit. I saw the wing on the right first and strongest, and then the other parts. I didn't want the "wings" to be dark, but that's how I saw them, maybe a bit more grayish. I began to understand it was an angel, some kind of angel, and so I kept trying to understand the meaning... even as I was still getting the picture and could not see the whole thing!
Because I didn't want to draw something "negative", you know? I think one big reason it's taken so long for me to understand this picture is because I really didn't want to draw anything "negative". I want to be joyful in Him, to focus on His love, be at peace in His rest. I believe this picture even came during worship time -- when the church was singing joyful songs.
That's part of it, you know. God wants us to be His friends, but that means that you take the good and the bad. If your friend only wants to be around you when you're joyful, then you don't have a real friend at all: you have a "fair weather friend". Someone who wants you only as long as you're sunny or bring sunshine into their life. It's really selfish, actually. But I do it by instinct, and I think we all do. A lot of us even come to think that when God speaks or prophesies, it will always be "uplifting". The way we use the word "edifying" is even slanted to mean "something positive" and "nothing negative". But the truth is that sometimes the most "edifying" thing for us is a swift kick in the behind, or what God calls "discipline".
And other times, God wants to simply share His heart with us. The apostle Paul wrote, "mourn with those who mourn." Do we ever realize that God might mourn, too? That God might have sadness? Or that He simply might want to tell us something that will bring us grief? We can trust Him that whatever He wants to share is for our ultimate good, even though it may bring weeping for the night. His joy is the end result, but there is a time for understanding and accepting negative things He wants to share with us. Joy will come "in the morning", but it is imperative that we don't try to force the dawn, telling God, "No, I don't want to hear that".
This is a picture of "the angel of Babylon". The name "Babylon" speaks of pride and confusion. And this is a picture of that. I began to understand more when --after finally caving into God and allowing the picture to be "negative-- I realized that I had seen the "right wing" first.
The "right wing"... it's usually used somewhat derogatively to refer to political conservatives. In the United States, this is the "Republicans". The "right" in America is very political and very religious, and has had a lot of power in the last twenty years or so (and is getting used to it, too). The gospel is being lost. A war was started on what was known to be a false basis; national righteousness was touted; dissenting voices were bullied into silence or painted as enemies; and a whole people at home were kept in fear of imminent attack. Patriotism was held high and the name of Christ alongside it so that if one did not support the leaders & their war then one was not being patriotic, American or even Christian.
The great capital and support that the leaders received --their increasing power-- seemed like divine favor. The way in which the 2000 election was decided was hailed by Christian leaders as a result of godly intercession & the power of prayer. But this is not solely about the United States, mind you. This kind of thing happens all over the world. I speak of the USA simply because I am American and in horror watched the whole thing unfold from clearer air across the ocean from my homeland. The creation and military power of the state of Israel would also seem to be "miraculous" and sign of God's favor, but the aims of Zionism are for earthly treasures, not heavenly, and consider land more valuable than lives. When "Babylon" comes forth (in tremors now, or in the end ultimately), "love your neighbor as Christ loved you" is one of the firsts things that is subtly set aside. Agape love grows cold usually in the name of 'righteously' responding to wickedness in the world.
I don't say this to go off in a rant about the rightwing or "the Republican party". It's just that the power-surge among the "right" has been a foretaste of "Babylon", especially as the rightwing seemed to peak in the last decade. It's been a time when agape love has often been sacrificed for the expediency of whatever agenda the leaders have had. The name of God gets trumpeted, but the love of God often gets left behind. Those who do not support are looked at as being unrighteous or as if they supported unrighteousness. White is then called Black, and Black is then called White. It's confusion, and it is pride.
This is not to say that any "party" is "Babylon"! No, get off that. Look at the spirit behind things. This is not about politics or "right" or "left", but it is about what is spiritually happening underneath, and how our sentiments and emotions are being manipulated into either abandoning God's love (on the "right") or abandoning His name (on the "left"). This has only been a tremor before the quake, so to speak. I don't mean to pick only on "the Republican party". The "right" and "left" both have their sins and faults, and both get manipulated by different spirits and at times resort to using manipulation. I mention this example simply because it has been so current, and I and others recognized it in the Spirit. I believe that is why God used it first in this picture -- to help me come to understand the bigger picture of what He's sharing from His heart. (>_<)
"Babylon" will eventually involve both "rightwing" and "leftwing", not only in the USA, but globally.
The wing on the "left" is raised upward, hiding heaven, because I believe this is what the extreme left does --it puts its hand up and refuses to see Heaven. It says that God does not exist, does not move, or does not see. It tries to block the Sun (the Son) in order that its own 'light' may seem brighter. (>_<)
The "left" denies God, and the "right" denies His love to those that He died to give it to. (>_<) That's why the "right wing" is apparently reaching outward, but curved in towards itself. "God's love is for me, for us," it says. "If you are with me, with us, you may have the light and the love; but if you are not with us, if you are against us, then the love and light [of God and of ours] is not for you."
This is the "angel of Babylon". She seems to be "light", there seems to be "light" and "life" behind her, but it is actually barrenness. It is a desert, it is desolation.
The "waters" part for her --she seems to come forth miraculously-- and she says this is a sign of God's approval, His blessedness, and her "place" at the front (in power). The green and brown broken cords are similar to the "parted waters". Apparent "natural hindrances" seem to have been divinely broken. "Behold," she says, "No natural power could hold me back... I have come forth by supernatural blessing."
But God has allowed the "waters" to part only to bring her forward to expose her, and for her destruction.
*****
See also: "The Spirit of Babylon" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
Monday, February 09, 2009
Running in the Dark
By Ramone - August 31, 2008
"Our salvation is milk, small business, old news, a tired little issue with which to continue shadow-boxing... Now, let's go on and do the things we were destined for before the foundations of the world were set into place."In context, a friend wrote these words about a certain group of friends who have been stuck focusing endlessly on doctrinal arguments, and I understood and agreed. But even so, when I first read these words, it jarred me in a bad way... reminding me of what I'd heard at an "apostolic/prophetic" church we used to be part of here, and from other sources which look at the cross as if its generally "just for salvation", while the real meat is intercession, spiritual warfare, praying for nations, declaring victory, living victoriously, etc. (I need to add that "intercession" in their sense is not as heart, spirit and gut-wrenching as many of us know it.)
That got me thinking about a serious mixture of "devotion" in many charismatic churches today along those lines... on one hand there are people who in the Spirit are ruined forever by God's love as revealed in the cross (and the cross continues to change them and be the basis for their love for others and intercession), and then on the other hand there are people who have prayed the "sinner's prayer" and looked at the "cross" as elementary. Many of these are lost in discernment-by-principle, or prayer-by-principle (identify the principle at work and pray accordingly), and for them "the blood of Jesus" is something that now is used mostly for formula declaring, spiritual warfare, claims, etc. [Once I was overwhelmed when I thought about how easily we talk about His "blood" and how the sheer natural shock has been lost ...and when I thought of that, I realize I never want to lose that shock at how His "blood" came to us. Yes, His blood means our salvation and every blessing and righteousness we have, but I never want to forget how it came... I wrote this song about it.]
So as I was thinking of these two, very real groups in "charismatic" churches, I remembered how people argued about the "Toronto revival". I believe there were/are a mixture of spirits at work in most similar revivals (this picture and its sequel are about that, inspired from "Lakeland" emails wih spiritual family). At Toronto there was something very real -- this was visible in the people who found intimacy with Father. But then there was something else which was visible when people could only talk about the glory and greatness of "this anointing."
As I was thinking of how I/we/they want to run into Father's arms, I saw this picture. I saw the person running, the passionately and desperately running for Father. But I couldn't see "Father" very clearly. It was more like a shadow, blank-spot, or missing part in the picture that I couldn't see.
I wanted to think of it more like a "doorway", with the black space the unknown, endless and deep like space itself, because Father's love, heart and personality are indeed endless. But I wasn't sure this was what I was seeing. Wanting to "help" it a little, I put the "red" around the black figure and could almost see it, too, thinking it would be like how Jesus & His blood are the "way to the Father", what we go through to Father's endlessness.
But as I looked at it, the "blackness" of the picture became overpowering, ominous and evil-looking. It brought to mind the other group of people who are running not for intimacy with Father, but for intimacy with anointing. It spoke to me of people who think they are pursuing God but are not. And as I thought of that, I was doused with His grief. Because of the sharply contrasting meaning to what I had wanted it to mean, I wasn't sure what to make of the picture or what to do with it or even call it! I was going to call it "intimacy" at the beginning, but as the "dark" interpretation came (accompanied by God's grief), I didn't know what to do.
I realize now that the passion of the runner is very real, and that God has created us to run in passion, and run towards Him. That is why I could identify with "the runner" in this picture, because I am a runner after His heart. But as much as I wanted to see something positive here, Father was sharing His heart with me -- something that is on His heart and is hurting Him. People He loves are running after what they think is Him but is not Him. It's empty. It's dark.
You know, that's why you can find the word "agape" used in the New Testament not only for God's love, but also used a few times when speaking of people wasting their passions on the perishable, unfulfilling things of the world. Ultimately "agape" speaks of God's extravagant, prodigal (wasteful), lavishly spending love -- the over-the-top love He poured out on us by giving His infinitely valuable Son for us to receive the wrath we deserved, so that we might be brought home to Him, to be with Him forever. We are made to receive God's agape love and give it to others -- "love one another as I have loved you." We're made to love extravagantly, giving love as He gave it to us -- wastefully, incomprehensibly, heavenly! But we can choose to exert this gift He gave us --love-- on things that are not eternal. We can lavishly spend our love on non-eternal things. We can waste it on ourselves, our addictions, our passions, on temporary satifaction at the expense of eternal life and eternal love.
That's what's happening here. The person is "running in the dark", with a real desire to know God and run after Him, but he doesn't actually know Him well enough to know that he is running to something shaped like Him but actually not Him. The signs, wonders, apparent miracles, emotional high, tingling sensation and prophetic declarations that rile everyone up -- these things are done in the shape of God, so to speak, and "outlined" with words about the "blood of Christ", but often are empty inside. (Oh, Lord, Your grief as I write this is SO heavy!!!)
Sometimes as we're doing ministries I think we begin to know that something is getting empty and hollow inside, but we try and run harder so that we'll feel what we felt before, have the revival that we had before, catch the "anointing" and "fire" that we had before. Like I wanted to see and add that red line to the picture, we put Christ's name around it and speak of His blood. We mention His grace and His salvation, but often the reason we run isn't for Him -- it's for the extra stuff. For "the anointing".
I've often disliked the impersonalness of the word "anointing". When John spoke of "the anointing that teaches you all things" in 1st John, he was speaking of the Holy Spirit, who is a person, not an "it". He isn't a thing. "Anointing" sounds like an "it" to us -- some kind of oil that can be poured, manipulated, caught, bottled, etc. We don't consciously think of it this way (I hope), but nonetheless the result is that we often "know God at a distance" in anointing-focused meetings. The idea becomes to "get close" to the front of the room, to the minister, to the hub of things, etc. It becomes localized, and we don't realize that we're unconsciously stepping out of "spirit and truth" which know no locality. We look up front to hear from God. We may run -- but we may run to feel God, to get some of the anointing. We don't realize it, but somehow an intermediary has stepped between us and God, and we may easily need that "anointing" in order to feel that we've touched God (or been touched by Him). We don't realize it, but we're then running in the dark, not knowing where we're going or who we're going to.
Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." (John 12:35-36)At some point, we and all of us who call ourselves "teachers" need to tell people the truth -- that you may not feel Him, but no matter what you must trust Him. Feelings will come, and feelings will also go. He will let you know He is inside of you, but He will do this in His own way. It won't be identical to how He did it for me. Moreover, you don't need me forever. The goal is to be with Him. Your goal is Him, not being with me or catching "the anointing that I have" or that "we have here".
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)Peter didn't write these words to encourage us to depend on apostles & prophets. No, he was pointing his readers to Christ instead. He assured his readers he had seen Christ's glory, and then said that the prophets had confirmed who Christ Jesus is, and so it is good to pay attention to what the prophets wrote. UNTIL the "day" dawns and the "morning star" rises in your hearts! Yes, Peter is directing his readers to trust his own testimony about Christ and to believe the prophets' writings, but the goal of this is the dawning of the Morning Star in your hearts! The goal of this is knowing Him for certain and knowing He is inside of you -- getting into personal Spirit-to-spirit relationship with Him! The "day" was something Jesus had spoken of before:
"On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you." (John 14:20)The goal of the testimony of the apostles & prophets is to lead us to Christ, to knowing Him -- Christ In You, the hope of glory! When your spirit comes alive and He and you now talk together, then you know Him and need not depend on external signs and wonders! (>_<)
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life... I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness." (John 8:12, 12:46)*****
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:4-6)
I wasn't sure what to do with this picture, and it's difficult when you first see something "positive", but then God tells you that the message of the picture is "negative". I always want the joy, I always want to enjoy His love, you know? But being a friend to anyone means you share in not only their joys, but also in their griefs. And Dad is sharing some of His grief here. I think often in our churches, services and meetings we don't really want to hear that, the "negative" stuff. Many churches that welcome 'the prophetic' even make it a rule that prophecy must always be positive and never negative. It really communicates to God that, "I only want the 'happy' part of You, God, I don't want anything 'negative'." It shows that we don't trust Him enough to believe that He won't give anything that is too heavy for us. We put up a "safeguard" -- but it is only a 'safeguard' from knowing the other half of His heart.
Because I was unsure and a bit distraught about this picture, I shared it with some trusted friends back in California.
One wrote:
When I first opened this picture I immediately thought it was a believer jumping into Daddy God's arms. That was a first impression. After I sat looking at it and praying for a few minutes I started to see it is us, running toward what we imagine to be God but is really darkness. We have built up so much momentum and already have left the ground in our headlong rush before we realize that not only is it darkness, the father of lies, but it is Velcro! I feel sick... nauseated. I don't know if you have seen that amusement park activity - but people dress up in velcro suits and run and jump into a velcro wall and they can't get off until someone comes and "redeems" them. That picture overshadowed the other once I saw it. That's what I see happening in the church and outside in droves. After I saw that I couldn't find the comfort in that black being anymore. The unknown can be dark, but God is always light, never darkness.The other wrote:
I opened up your picture to look at it once again and I began to "ho" again, but this time I noticed it was a mournful "ho-ing" which grew louder like it was a warning "ho-ing"! I don't know how to describe it any other way, but the picture is not what it appeared to me to be at first! More agonizing ho's!!!*****
I [earlier] assumed that what you had inked represented my/our running to God. But that is NOT what this picture is saying. I read into it what I wanted to see... my experience with running to God. But this is NOT God!
I believe this is a visual of believers who are running after an experience, a healing, a miracle (I'm really getting huge witness in my spirit on this), the supernatural... instead of Jesus Christ. They are running towards what they deem to be God, but it is a strong delusion! In their headlong rush to "get some" many got more than they bargained for. They got "stuck" in false teachings and experiences, etc. and cannot seem to discern that they ran into darkness instead of Light!
"We have built up so much momentum and already have left the ground in our headlong rush before we realize that not only is it darkness, the father of lies, but it is Velcro!" ...That really parallels being "stuck" and unable to move forward because we have believed a lie! The body of Christ (more mournful "ho-ing"!!!) is in deep trouble because they have been taught by leadership to refrain from asking question, to not judge or discern things that seem questionable...
Oh my, the red that outlines the dark figure you drew, Ramone, means that the enemy is deceiving people to believe that He is Christ when He is against Christ. He is ant-Christ! I feel a wail coming on that will not let up. Things are being set up by the enemy to deceive those who choose not to receive a love of the truth so that they will follow a strong delusion.
God help us all repent!
See also: "Against My Law" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
Sunday, February 08, 2009
King
By Timothy - February 3, 2009
From the lips of children and infantsWhile we were at a clinic today waiting, I did a picture on a small pad. After I finished, I turned to a new page and let Timothy draw with the ink-brush pens. As I gave him the final brush-pen, dark blue, he seemed to focus more and know what he was doing, making a little circle sort of in the bottom right center of the page.
You have ordained praise. (Psalm 8:2)
The children were shouting in the temple area,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matthew 21:15)
Then I got the idea of asking him what it was, something we had not done before with his drawings. He is one month shy of two years old, and though his vocabulary is growing, his pronunciation is sometimes a mystery. (For example, he likes to talk about "shishiko" but we have no exactly what that is!) So when he answered something that sounded like "Cain" or "Keen", I of course said it was good but had no idea what he meant, and set about trying to figure it out. I thought maybe he'd given it his own name, so I pointed to a picture of a train on the wall to check... but he said it wasn't a train. I tried asking him if it was something else within sight --cars, trucks, etc.-- but he said no. Eventually when we got home I opened up the picture again, and Yoko & I tried a few more ideas. Yoko hit gold with the sound-and-song ABC book, pointing at the picture next to "K"...
"King"!
It's funny because we haven't practiced that letter much with him, nor taught him "king" (which is alongside "K"). We haven't heard him pressing that button much. But it was in his head, and he knew that is what he was drawing today. As I thought about it while doing the dishes, and as I type about it now, I was and am overwhelmed in the Spirit ...because he knew what he was drawing. It was then that I remembered how he suddenly focused and made the brush go in a small circle, something he had not done before.
I'm overwhelmed and taken aback. It would be easy to attribute it to a coincidence or simple "wow", but it's not. I know it even more because the Spirit just hits me and witnesses to me about this. God is talking to my son, and talking through him. (>o<) I am aghast, blessed, and filled with awe. Now I feel a bit of need for responsibility! Oh Lord!
God is good. He'll carry us. Thank You, God!
The Protest
The Sauna of Your Presence
By Ramone - February 2, 2009
Sometimes I just find it hard to sit still and be with Him. I want to understand and then "take it outside", so to speak. Staying there with Him makes me sweat! It makes my flesh sweat, so to speak (in the Biblical language).
But it's exactly what I need. Because as I rest there in Him and press on to Him, I end up dying to my urgent need to take what He's given me and "run with it".
Granted, I don't always do this! I think I more often do NOT do this! It's a new realization for me, a revelation of myself and what needs to DIE in me! Wow, He's hitting me with that right now! Okay, Lord.... (>_<)
When I do wait on Him and beat down my flesh (figuratively speaking), I am always blessed. I end up in a deeper rest in Him, in a greater assurance that He's in control, and just with a lot greater PEACE about everything, in me and running through me.
*****
See also: "Unburdening" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
While We Were Still Sinners
By Ramone - January 30, 2009
I didn't know what I was drawing at first! And when the forms in the picture started coming together, the colors God was telling me to use didn't make sense! When I was finished I took one look and decided that this was just the UGLIEST picture I've ever painted!
It was so sick looking, so ugly, so un-beautiful, I felt like I hadn't heard God and must have been making it on my own without any inspiration, and that obviously the result showed how vain and far away from His Spirit my painting effort was!
But He brought me back to rest in His love... He reminded me why I was there (I was in a cafe praying for people in a difficult part of the city), and then He began to explain it to me:
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly...
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
(Romans 5:6-8)
Our sin is UGLY. And we resist Him ALL THE TIME, don't we! We fight Him, struggle against Him, try to assert our independence and more. So often we don't want to be helped!
But even in this ugly state, He loves us and reaches down to take hold of us! He sees us as infinitely precious! All we can see is dirt, but He has set His affection on us. He wraps us in His hands and says we are the desire of His heart!
I don't like the aesthetic ugliness of this picture, by my God, my God, I love Your love in this picture and in our lives! Thank You!!!
Monday, February 02, 2009
Reconsecrating Eschatology
By Ramone - February 1, 2009
It's all about You, Jesus!
Now these things occurred as examplesThe end times are about the gospel, about the person of Jesus Christ and His command to live in His agape love for all people! The end times are about His righteousness, not ours!
to keep us from setting our hearts
on evil things as they did. - 1 Corinthians 10:6
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,
set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory. - Colossians 3:1-3
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,
so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope. - Romans 15:4
That is why the two witnesses prophesy clothed in sackcloth -- sackcloth represents repentance! We are all being called to repent for trusting in our good works (even works of the law!) for salvation and lay them down at the foot of the cross, resting in Him alone for our salvation! THAT is the true Sabbath-rest!
It's not about an obscure overlooked command, passage, or some special secret to know that will decode the "mark of the beast" ahead of time -- no, He's calling us to discern by the Spirit today. There is no "short-cut" to the end times that bypasses the gospel to tell us where to place our feet so that we'll be safe. There's no quick insurance -- "If I do this then I know I'll be safe!" Such "deep secrets" are actually FALSE insurances that will not protect us at all, but leave us in legalism and knowing less security in our salvation than they advertise. The ONLY safe place is in Jesus Christ, resting in HIS work (not even our good works!) and trusting in His righteousness instead of ours or any others'.
We discern the times NOT by following Israel or the Pope's actions or any other external "signs", but rather by proclaiming Jesus Christ and His matchless righteosuness, listening to the Spirit, and abiding in His love.
Bless you in Jesus!
*****
See also: "The Spirit of Prophecy" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
And especially for Adventists: "The Spirit of Prophecy" (at Heart For Adventists)
