BRUSH OF EQUALITY

The Lord kept me awake tonight, so I guess I shall write.

Where there is equality, there first requires justice. Many of us bring up questions of fairness; how one individual's life might be much more blessed than another individual's life, how one person may be suffering in poverty and another dwelling within the richness of Western lifestyles. Or how about equality within the church? One person is seen as the pastor - the spiritual shepherd of the church given much more authority and highly respected, while another is seen as the young teenager who is less seen as a spiritual role model, but more assumed as a stereotypical immature child who has barely a voice in the church. Let us examine equality amongst the body of Christ, the body of believers. This is the word of the Lord:

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body."
1 Corinthians 12:12-20 ESV

There is definitely much familiarity with this passage, but let's angle it in a unique perspective. How does the body work? Only that each take their own part. There is no single emphasis on the eye being much more important than the ear, or the ear being much more important that the nose, neither is there that unbalanced importance with the arms or the legs or the butt; none at all. The elders are the eyes, they provide us the vision, the youth are the legs, they walk in growth through the vision given, the young adults may be the arms, serving and offering to us freely, and so on. Let me not make this sound absolute, for it is only an interpretation.

Much of the Word preaches on the topic of equality in this way and I have no doubt that the Lord's symbolism of equality is illustrated in the Bible through the characters of the Bible; to be more specific, not just many of the characters of the Bible for many does not make a whole, but all of the characters, for the schema of equality can only be spoken of when the community as a whole is referred to. To edge out some of the major characters, let's take Elijah and Elisha(1 Kings 17 - 2 Kings 13) as a sense for our depiction; for a specific purpose: that it seems to be the most radical of them all, although we can only radicalize in our perspectives because radical is exclusively a human term(this can be explained in further discussions possibly if time permits). Simply, Elijah was a man of God, referred to sometimes as "the man of God" without his name included; it could be implied that all knew who these words referred to for there were not many of them; Elisha is comparatively referred to in the same sense when succeeding Elijah. What Elijah had done in vivid humility and full desire to exalt the Lord was humanely radical! He represented the Lord in the destruction of idolatry within the nation of Israel for a time and was the Lord's healing hands as he was in desperation before the Lord. The Lord saw his heart. Elijah is spoken of often because the Lord ascended him to the heavens with heavenly horses and chariots, giving me almost the imagery of a light-speed tornado. And he was the only.

An occurrence of this sort forces people to think, why Elijah? What made him different? And this leads me to think, can we judge this? The unhesitating approach is first 'maybe', but to be straightforward, it is 'NO!'; at least not in a very specific sense. Elisha asked Elijah for "a double portion of Elijah's spirit"(2 Kings 2) for him if Elijah so leaves him. And as illustrated, this was magnificently evident for us readers. Elisha worked miracles and was a vessel to the word of the Lord. Yet he died in sickness as he grew older, nothing as supernatural as Elijah; he never got taken up early. Then we say, what is the difference with his life and Elijah's? Wasn't it more fruitful, by two-folds if I may? See, and not only Elisha's closely compared life, how about David's? The man after God's own heart? He died in old age watching the fighting between two sons for the throne, although they did settle peacefully to some extent. And Paul? He basically set out half the New Testament; why was it not Peter, the man considered the leader of the disciples? Why a man referred to as the "13th" apostle who persecuted Jews before being, again, radically, saved? God's equality cannot merely be judged in our humane eyes and humane perspectives. Did the Lord judge on how righteous Elijah was to pick him? Clearly not for scripture shows many who were righteous, possibly even more righteous. The Lord does not play favoritism. We do not know the way the Lord judges; for his word says in Isaiah 40:28, 'his understanding is unsearchable.' You can see that it is merely the plans of the Lord that determines our path, the sovereignty of the Lord that determines our prosperity, our blessings. God's perfect justification that ultimately determines our role.

We need to be a people who desire to play our role, for when we do not endure the work God has set out for us, we are the ones that cause the divisions, not the church. If we are legs, but desire to be the visions, that is surely more or less impossible; we will stumble the body and there will be no walking and further growth - we become the reason for the ineffectiveness of the vision, whereas the arms is of no use as well. And if the eyes decide to sleep on us, denying their responsibilities, we have no guide and will likely stumble. Now let's view this in a global perspective; this is what we call the church with the capital C, the global church. Worldwide disciples in Christ Jesus are to be in unity as a body of Christ representing Christ as redeeming hands in our respected places. Whether in poverty or in wealth, we are given a part to play. This is why the Lord said:

"For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me."
Matthew 26: 11 ESV

The poor is part of the body just as the rich is! What is equality then? Because a God of perfection, a God who cannot sin, certainly will not play favoritism, for the Bible preaches against it. Then certainly, the presence of both rich and poor, third world and first world countries, is not what defines equality! Equality comes that each of us are playing our role as part of the whole; that there is the eye, and that there is the feet, and that there is the nose, and so on. God arranged each member of the body, each as he chose; this done undeniably in perfect equality. We as those within the wealthy nations are called truly to give freely out of our wealth that we could live as incarnate Christians. Just as mentioned before, a call to distribution; that when we function, that is when we become unified, and when we become unified is when we live in equality, and in equality is how God desires for us to be justified. We have to realize that we, whether seen as a church or seen as a nation or seen globally or seen in a household family have dwelt in our pride for too long. The moment there is humility, there will be realization of what our roles are; this will be the day when equality will be catalyzed in the fullest extent. So then I shall start with myself.

I am the reason for the inequality Jesus. I am the reason for the body's stumbling because I am not being the desired steward for the role I've been given to play. Would you pour upon me your Spirit of healing, your Spirit of realization, your Spirit of perfect humility, that I may recognize and serve, and be called and qualified as a vessel of unity. Teach me to be watchful and thankful in devoted prayer. And help me to first see the log in my own eye clearly before I see the speck in my brother's eye. Jesus, let your fulfillment take place; I will hope, I will believe, I will see.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen

RESONANCE

From the depths of my heart oh Jesus, hear my prayer; for I will not stop. As you are relentlessly restoring us Lord, as you relentlessly pursue us, as you relentlessly bear all which weighs on our shoulders, we will relentlessly surrender before you, we will relentlessly pursue you; as you do not relent Jesus, we will never relent.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen

SHAKEABLE BUT UNSHAKEABLE

Father, would you buffet us so that nothing else can. Would you tremble us with your words so that all fears would be stilled. From the depths of my heart, would you quake us in reverent fear, that your perfect love would cast out all fear. Father, would only you shake us, that it would make it impossible for anything else in this world to do so.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen

A SHARING IN GROANING

I will try to weave through my thoughts as I share of consistent experiences in my prayers of the groaning within my flesh, but when it became the most evident and burdensome this past week I decided to write. As I sat within a prayer chapel, in silence, meeting the Lord's presence, the spirit in my flesh began to groan quite evidently; to the point where I said to myself, my spirit is groaning, Lord Jesus I desire you desperately to fill and to heal, for us as your creation. This is the word of the Lord:

"For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:22-28

As followers of Jesus Christ and ambassadors of reconciliation, there is a need for recognition of the forgiveness of Jesus that leads to reconciliation; that which is not only with the human race, but for the human race with each other, with God, and with creation mutually. At the sight of this, an embodying character that we need to inherit is a love growing to fullness as Jesus calls, one which is of all the heart, all the mind, all the soul, and all the strength. Love can not be weighed on a scale, but love can be seen in maturity; love can be seen in greatness when we see others struggling to love yet continuing to love at the most maximal point. Now I am speaking of my experience, so bear with me. In response to such a deep love, there needs to be a discernment of whether such a love is true love or one such tool for a holy reputation. Satan is a sly and wise evil power in moving at pleasing virtue to the most filthy sin. When such a love is confirmed by the Spirit and seen through our bearing of fruit, both will present itself biblically in our lives.

Through my prayers, a constant request is that the Lord will speak through my mouth from my heart in spirit and in truth; out of purity who manifests the only truth. Time and time again, I experience a desperation in the bearing of burdens therefore partially sharing in the burdens of my brothers and sisters, and not only so, but even sharing in the suffering of other parts of creation itself. It is at this time, but not exclusively at this time, in closer communion of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what it means when we say break our heart for what breaks yours Jesus. A much heavier weight than most people usually expect when they actually sing or speak the prayer in sincerity. As our heart empathize with the Lord as he wept for Lazarus or as he saw the Pharisees imposing burdens but not bearing burdens, as Jesus asks the Father to be one with us as they were one, as Jesus asks the Father to forgive for we do not know what we were doing as we crucified him; this is the very feeling we partially receive. We do not feel it wholly just as we do not see more than a glimpse of glory, just as we only share in suffering and not receive Jesus' suffering, but we do gain a sense of such a taste. Times through praying through the many broken people who write down their prayer request in this prayer chapel, praying for certain struggling people, praying through that which pierces my heart in Haiti and every other third world country, praying for divisions in churches, and the separation between us and the rest of creation leads me to crying out in much want.

It is the build up which the Lord places a brokenness in my heart, a supernatural intercession in my prayers, a groaning of the spirit who I cannot seem to misunderstand is what the Lord feels; how much more, in a whole is the taste when one is omnipresent and omniscient. The Spirit truly gives me groanings to deep for words because half of that which come out of me does not come out of this body of mine. Let's pretend for a moment to be orphans waiting for adoption as sons; yes there is a sense of internal torment as we are nurtured in an orphanage hoping for a parent one day, yet in our case, knowing that there is a day. God is the parent who sees his child as an orphan waiting also for the day that is right, when we're ready to be adopted, but he knows we are his, and he watches us in our torment, he desires the restored relationship with us far more.

Such groaning does not end in brokenness as I've written in one previous post, it ends in healing. For all who love God, all things work out for the good and purposefully; the Lord fills with a peace and yet again renews my spirit in comfort. It is this part of love that the Lord leads us to experience; and it is at that moment of my prayers, the very end of it, that the Lord helps me to come to know that this constant discovery of what love in truth and in spirit is is becoming a fuller and fuller picture. Lord Jesus, let us become more capable of experiencing you, and at that moment, let us see more than a glimpse of your glory and your love.

AGAINST THE UNBELIEF

You look around
It's staring back at you
Another wave of doubt
Will it pull you under
You wonder

What if I'm overtaken
What if I never make it
What if no one's there?
Will you hear my prayer?

When you take that first step
Into the unknown
You know that He won't let you go

So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to alter you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes in you
You can walk on the water too

So get out
and let your fear fall to the ground
No time to waste
Don't wait
Don't you turn around and miss out
Everything you were made for
I know you're not sure
So you play it safe
Try to run away

If you take that first step
Into the unknown
He won't let you go

DESTINATION IN POVERTY

"And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
Luke 10:2 ESV

Abundance has not been more present than it had been yesterday or it will be tomorrow. Recognition is what we lack, motivation is what we lack, conviction is what we lack, desire is what we are missing; there is a need for our acknowledgment to lead us onto our knees in an utterly destitute brokenness. So many times we desire brokenness as if it is the end goal. What we need is not brokenness to be our destination point, but for this type of brokenness to lead us to eventual healing. Jesus, let your Spirit fall as we are earnest. Jesus let your Spirit fall.

CLARITY FOR THE SAKE OF FULFILLMENT

When pondering of clarity, it is less of a climax and more of a progression. There surrounds this aspect is an ignition and a decision. So quickly is this system of ignition and decision made, though that clarity becomes excluded out of this portrait.

Ignition comes from a feeling with a blurred affirmation of choice that we are diving into. Have you ever thought of what a diver thinks before they dive? And not just a professional diver, for not only professional divers are present in human existence. Maybe they are confident without thought, maybe they are confident with reasonable logic, maybe they are afraid yet have no choice but to dive, maybe they don't care and will take a chance, and there are many others. In analogy to the Christian ignition of response to God's calling or what we think is His calling, we dive in the same way. After ignition comes an internal warfare called excitement; an excitement that causes impatience when we don't see instant result. We ask for sight, we ask for clarity, yet we ask incongruously; because we ask for an answer, but we don't ask for fulfillment. There is confidence of the ignition, but that is as far as we go because the light has dimmed the moment we walked into the cave. When darkness falls, we are put through a time of frustration, maybe even a time of fear, a time of struggle. This portion is called pruning as God shapes us in our patience not only in the present, but for the future. As we begin to endure the darkness, God will begin to bring light; a lamp unto our feet. This is the word of the Lord:

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105 ESV

This light will bring sight, yet only a dim sight. This sight will lead you to encouragement in the provision of God's reward. Clarity comes through the aligning of the heart with God's heart for us; that heart in accordance to our plans which the Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11. Tag-teamed along with patience might either be a hardened heart, or clarity. We need to know that we will not know unless we ask, that we will not find unless we seek, and that we will not enter into the door offered if we do not knock. This is a small presentation that prayer is crucial for any clarity that we desire; prayer is the all encompassing aspect in this process where there is ignition and decision. We need to pray for patience and perseverance, we need to pray for answers, we need to pray for the Spirit's manifestation of plans.

As we move along, God will bless us with his extended hand of grace by giving us visions, feelings, a supernatural event out of no coincidence. It is at this moment that we feel almost as if we've heard God's spoken voice. A variety of instruments are used to display clarity in this procedure where progression of clarity is the effect of the previous step of equipping. This clarity can potentially be different than what we had expected; such clarity is a reflection of God's direction, God's intervention, God's grace, God's magnificence, God's glory. In clarity, we begin to notice God's confirmation only as God manifests in us in our boldness to dive; out of this is when the finally awaited decision is made through confidence of God's will. Unless there is clarity, there have been no transformation as we watch ourselves staying in the position of impatience, staying in the position of neglecting to meet with God, staying in the position of spontaneity when we can have confirmation. Decision should always be a step of truth, faith, and love. Yet another aspect shall bring my conclusions; this is the word of the Lord:

"For we know in part and we prophesy part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
1 Corinthians 13:9-12

What I have spoken of is only of a portion in our life. There will be a teaching along this road less travelled from the God Almighty who will move us from a child to a man. A revelation given to us is that we will give up these childish ways, but it happens through trials. As clear as our sight might become in just a speck in our time line, our reflection, our purpose, our vision of God's righteousness and his kingdom, will yet be dim. Yet there is hope in our continual training process through transformation processes such as decision making in both our stewardship of God's grace and for the fullness of his glory to be revealed. We will see his glory for what it is, we will know fully; for as we walk in the fulfillment of God's plans for us, we will walk into the fulfillment of God's plans for eternity. This is the establishment of our salvation (1 Peter 5:10) with our Lord forever. We will see Him face to face; this is a clear vision and will be a clear reality.

INSTRUCTION

"Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statues, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'"
1 Kings 2:2b-4

We fail when we do not follow, when we do not listen, when we do not know, when we do not understand, we fall because we walk without coordination; the Lord instructs and promises, fullness is the prevention of lacking, is the prevention of our wandering and going adrift.