Pushing Through Hay

Advent is a time of striking contrasts: a King who becomes a Servant, a Virgin who births her God, a Creation that births its Creator, Christ conceived in a Cave and Resurrected from a Cave.

There are theological contrasts as well. For example, the Ethiopian Coptic church directly links Mose’s Burning Bush with the Virgin Mary. Why? Because both contained the Word of God, yet were not consumed.

“Wood” is a theme I often reflect on this time of year. Wood is a symbol of hardened “humanity”. Jesus was laid upon the hard wood of the manger at his birth, and upon the hard wood of the cross at his death. 

Though fully Incarnate, the Son of God was rarely  recognized because we was just like us.

When the Shepherds showed up to worship him at the cave it took real “intent” for them to recognize the Newborn God buried somewhere there under the hay, alive in the wood. He was there alright - just as the angels said. They just needed to get through hubbub of the census, find the dimly-lit cave, and refocus their eyes upon the Heart of the Matter. 

Fast forward two thousand years. Santa appears on Coke cans, people stream in and out of malls, rushing and bustling through the halls to get that package wrapped and under the tree, those cards out in time for Christmas rush, or that last string of lights blinking and synchronized with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's A Mad Russianʼs Christmas. 

We have all seen people like that. We have been people like that; mindlessly roaming through mobs like Seasonal Zombies, blinded by  the glitz of commercialism from the Real Presence of the Infant Savior, lying there somewhere, buried under the hay.

Pushing through hay and seeing the true meaning of the Season takes work. Itʼs like the Priests of old moving through one veil and through the next, until finally arriving at the Shekinah-lit Ark of the Covenant. But itʼs a good work. Without it everything gets hollow, not hallowed. 

May we all have the grace to see the Christ Child face to Face in this most magical season. Christ, be born in us today!

Agreeing with God

Zacharias was going about his duties as he ministered to the Lord in the Temple when Gabriel appeared and informed him that he and his wife, Elizabeth, were going to have a child. Zacharias set his mind and heart to disagree with the plans of God. He was instantly muted, crippled in life and expression.

Nine months later it was time for Elizabeth to birth the Plan. (You see, God's plans continue along whether we agree with them or not. It is us who suffer, not Him.) When the time came to name the child Zacharias had come to the point where he was able to align his mind and heart to the Plans of God. That's when everything changed for him.

"His name is John" (Luke 1:63). Immediately he was able to speak. Even in spite of the others who were questioning his agreement of the Plan he remained firm. In addition, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and received the gift of prophesy (Luke 1:67) - AND wrote a song of praise to the Lord! It was evident that, over the course of nine silent months, God had done a deep work in the heart of Zacharias.

Things go well with us when we humble our hearts and agree with God's Plan. We may not like what we hear. We may scoff at the absurdity of it all. But questioning saints do nothing more than snare themselves in their pride and refusal  give in. But as we agree with the Plan - regardless of how irrational it seems - and sway to the Greater Understanding we are immediately freed from our bondage and filled with the Holy Spirit to proclaim the mercy of God.

Has God brought you into a place that you have yet to agree with? Bless him. Agree with him. Sacrifice the logic of your mind and the hurt of your heart to the One who knows all, loves you, and has a Plan. The childlike embracing of the Plan will fill you with his Spirit and enable you to become an instrument of mercy in the world around you (Luke 1:72).

Prepare to Meet the Living God

Recently member of our church prepared an amazing meal - rice, pita, seasoned chicken, and tomato-cucumber salad. It was delicious. 

“How long did it take to prepare all this?” 

“About an hour,” she replied. 

“If I were a King and [pointing to another staff member], and she was a Queen, how long then would have you spent preparing it?” 

She laughed and without batting an eye said, “A week.”

A lot of life is about preparation. Spend a moment thinking of how you have prepared for dates, weddings, arrival of newborns, vacations, retirement, and special times with family and friends. 

God prepares, too. He prepares with you and I in mind. “I saw the Holy City,” writes John. “The new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven... prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev. 21.2). David writes, “You prepare a table for me in the midst of my enemies” (Ps. 23:5).

Preparation is important concept in the Kingdom of God. This is especially true with regard to Sunday mornings.  While “outsiders” may enter the Sanctuary with a sense of detached curiosity, we are different. We enter his courts knowing he will reveal his glory and power (Ps. 63:2). There is a direct correspondence between the expectations of any given event and our preparation of that same event. An imminent encounter with the Holy Spirit needs to be rightfully reflected in one’s preparation to enter the Holy of Holies   

Preparation takes many forms. When I was a child I polished my shoes every saturday night (took about a-half hour). But, as adults, we understand that preparation is primarily a discipline of the heart - creating a highway of holiness, lowering mountains and raising valleys (Luke 3.4-6) and getting humble before the Lord our God (Mic. 6.8). How is this done? Primarily by  consecrating a designated period of time for him beforehand. Some marinate in the Scriptures to be preached. Others get in a full night’s rest. Still others arrive at church early to sit, simply “being” before the Lord in intentional silence (Ps. 46.10).

A prepared congregation changes everything - songs become more sincere, prayers become more natural, expressions of worship (lifting of hands, kneeling, bowing, etc.) become less mechanical and more authentic, and fellowship becomes refreshingly transparent, laced with with God’s grace and healing. Preparation is the spice of our worship. Let’s take all week to get there!

I prepare my heart, I prepare my mind,

To receive the precious flesh and blood in bread and wine.

Poured out on the Cross, Nourishing my soul

Is my Lord and Saviour Christ who died, and makes me whole.

The Sweet Fragrance of Sacrifice

I've been reading the Old Testament from the Septuagint. It's nice. 

This morning I was reading the instructions for the building of the Altar of Sacrifice in Exodus 27 when I stumbled across the words "incense bowls" (v.3) What? There was incense at the first Altar? So I went to the NIV and saw that it translates those same words as "fire-pans." I like incense better - as the Sacrifice of Christ is a sweet savour to the God - and that Christ carries in his Body - the prayers of the saints.

"... when Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed..."

When the Amalekites attacked Israel in Rephidim Moses went to the top of the hill and gazed down at the skirmish from on high. He had two men, Aaron and Hur, supporting his hands to the left and the right. Moses knew his mission. He had to keep his hands lifted in order to ensure victory from below. But a time came when he needed the support of his brothers to either side. (Full story at Exodus 17:8-15.)

I'm sure there were times when his mind drifted, when he could do no more, and he completely resigned himself to the strong arms of those around him.

Aside from the exhortation to have a couple of covenant buddies to help us in our missions, this passage also provides a foreshadowing of Christ on the Cross. Like Moses, Christ was lifted above a valley and his persistence in following through had everything to do with our victory over sin. There may have been times when he, too, looked into the bleak souls of the criminals, crucified on either side, and - seeing their utter helplessness in the face of such an enemy - was encouraged in Love to stay the Course of his Mission. Sometimes one look into the eyes of one completely ravaged by sin raises within us the almighty compassion of the Creator.

Pastoral Fire

Even in the most magnificent events God can be relied upon to care for us in the most minute detail.

The Israelites had been plummeted with one crises after another. First it was Moses' appearance as their redeemer, the signs and plagues he and Aaron performed before the hardened heart of Pharaoh. Then it was the chaos of finding first born lambs, slaughtering them, splashing their blood on the doorposts, and the horror of the wailing of all uncovered families mourning the deaths of their beloved. They were told to make haste, to leave their homes, and - before they could process it all - they had been miraculously rescued from hundreds of years of bondage, just like that.

Then the Bible records, "God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was near... they may change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt" Exodus 13:17.

God knows our humanity better than his humans. For their sake he chose to take them the "long way out" in order to calm their hearts, minds, and souls. His sheep had been traumatized and, as the Great Shepherd, he understood that. In addition, he knew the possible threat of war would push them completely over the edge, casting doubt on their very redemption. With this in mind he diverted them into peace. It was the longest and most loving way into the Land of Promise.

Sometimes we may feel caged and rattled, sometimes we may want to "get there" on the fast route and wonder why God just doesn't take us in a bee-line into the place we all know we're going to end up anyway. But he knows the manner of our beast. He directs steadily and strategically, each day being orchestrated for us to arrive wholly healed and ready to rock in the sweet spot of his perfect timing.

Jesus Bobbers

The other night I was in a very formal worship service. There was incense, bells, organs, guitars, chanting, formal prayers, genuflecting, and even spontaneous prayers from people all around me. It was quite an experience. 

The older couple next to me, however, were quite distracting indeed. Every time the Lord’s Name was mentioned, they bobbed downward in a robotic fashion and then up again - not unlike those little plastic yellow birds that bob back and forth in the back of late model Buicks. I tried to block them out but the Name of Jesus is said a LOT in the service and soon I resigned myself to the dismal fact: I was predestined to be humiliated by the Jesus Bobbers next to me.

Then came the verse in my heart:  “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 

in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:10, Italics Mine) With that as my new plumb-line their bobbing became completely normal, even justified. In fact, by the end of the service we had the whole pew bobbing back and forth. We were all just practicing for that great and glorious Day!

Guess it’s not too early to start now.

Reaching into the Soup

It's an interesting phenomenon.

God calls us from our life of darkness and brings us into his marvelous light. He heals us, empowers us, sets our feet on the paths of sanctification, and then sends us right back into the same places we were redeemed from - this time as people no longer swayed by those who sought to kill or destroy us but as mini-shepherds, gently leading those he has called from their darkness.

Some need to stay out of Egypt. For them, the powers of the gods yield too much power. Most of us are called to get back in the soup, so to speak. Not to continue in the death march of debauchery. But to walk along side with those parading to hell, offering love and another Parade route to those who know no better.

"Go, return to Egypt," the Lord told Moses. "For all the men who sought your life are dead." (Exodus 4:19, Septuagint)

Of course wisdom needs to be used in all aspects of life. Yet if we allow ourselves to be ruled by the same powers that ruled us before our conversion we are no better than idolators, compromising both the Scriptures and the power of God.

Go! Who knows their culture more than you do? Who knows the desperateness of their hearts more than you? You have been there and can speak life into the place - just as someone else spoke life to you when you were in that place. Go! Return in the power of the resurrection. Love them. Listen to them. Be about worshipping your God around them.

To be sure, you will be offended. You will hear words you long forgot. You will see behavior you've only heard about in popular movies. All the same, God in you is big enough for it. He sees this stuff everyday. 

Instruments of the Ordinary

What is your ordinary tool of trade - that which you use either in your career, hobby, or interest? Is is a calculator? A guitar? A fishing rod? For Moses it was a staff. He was a shepherd. 

When God called Moses he did not give him a new instrument of calling. He did not say to Moses, "For the past forty years you have had this staff and it is worthless to me. I want to give you a calculator, through which you will lead Israel out of bondage." The trajectory of Moses' life was matched with God's Call on his life. It was a shoe-in. The shepherd's staff - a part of Moses' daily ordinary life - became the agent through which God's incarnational Presence became real. Our calculators, guitars, or fishing rods have the ability to do great things for the Lord, as live into his Call for our us. 

This November we will trace the footsteps of Moses and cover about 40 years of his life in the span of a few days. We will squint our eyes at the same sun he squinted at, we will taste and grit our teeth around the same desert sand the same desert sand he tasted, we will gaze at the same stars he gazed at, we will tabernacle in the same places he tabernacled at, and we will climb the same mountain he climbed - the very place where the instrument of his ordinary became the lightening rod of God's will.

Come, participate, and bless us with your presence!

Guilt-Free Lines in the Sand

Much of our time is spent making peace. We want everyone to be happy. We don't want to rock the boat. After all, we say, Jesus was a peacemaker. Yet those who wish to lead a Godly life will rock the boat, they will infuriate others, and they will disappoint those closest to them.

Jesus drew lines in the sand - howbeit he did it for the sake of a greater cause, the Pearl of Great Price, obedience to his call and the Father's purposes on his life. He could have healed more, preached more, taught more; he could have stayed in villages for weeks at a time - for you know, he always left unmet needs behind him as he followed the Will for his life. He did this because of his love for them.

Demons and the will of men were the two agents that most often stood in the way of his ministry. He confronted our enemy often - commanding them not to speak for "they knew who he was" and thus would interfere with his Father's Plan. He rebuked the enemy in those he loved best. To Peter he once said, "Get behind me satan." When his disciples met him after a night of prayer and scolded him for ignoring the crowds... his reply? Let's go to another town. There's work to do there.

Ultimately his entire life was a decisive response to a higher Call - a Call wherein he was okay with disappointing others, refusing to let satan get in the way, and not always pleasing others. For the sake of Love he was empowered to draw guilt-free lines in the sand.

These were not random lines. They were lines defining the parameter of the ministry of God in his life. He loved greatly. He guarded what was entrusted to him with an often misunderstood passion. But they got it in the end. The fruit of his obedience saved their very souls.

O God, forgive me for succumbing to the temptations of compromise and people pleasing. Heal that within me which seeks affirmation from anything, or anyone, but you. And then move me on in love, without guilt, knowing that the eternal fruit of obedience is far sweeter than anything which compromises your plan for me. In Christ's Name. Amen.

The Robbers

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them,“The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” Mark 11:15-17


The soul is a sanctuary, created in the image of God. It is sacred, holy, a precious  place where sandals are removed and candles are lit. It is a miniature place of meeting, a very embassy of heaven itself.


God's love is extravagant for us. Of all the places in the universe he has chosen our soul as the meeting ground for Communion. Adam and Eve had their Garden. Abraham had his Canopy. Moses had his Mountain. John had his Jordan. John the Apostle had his Island. This is yours; your soul. Each day he waits for you to awake so he can walk with you in the cool of your Garden and commune with you, with ease, grace, and keen interest. Souls are the places of his intervention. They are where he is.


For whatever reason, it happens. Robbers force there way onto this holy ground. Perhaps they come in the guise of aides - assistants in our communion with God. They may be books, trends; they may be formulas, 10 Steps to Getting Closer to God. However it happens, our souls become cluttered with these things. Sometimes it is so difficult navigating through the forest of these things that, by the time we arrive at the honest, pure, and simple time with God we are exhausted, and in dire need of resurrection.


We may not see it as such but these are robbers. They rob us of our energy. They rob us of our time. They - though many times good - create barriers, promote procrastination, and sidetrack us from the thing we had all along, hearts to recognize and meet him in the cool of the Day. If not for Jesus clearing our temples of these robbers - they have the hellish potential to "fall us short"  of the Original Communion.


O Grave Robber
You have robbed me from my hell
And yet I am robbed of your beauty
I have need to be robbed once again


Clear the issues of my heart
With the passion of your jelous Flame
Until nothing remains
Ecxept the tender soil under my feet 
Unhindered by vines and obstacles that creep along the Way
And be with me 
Again
In the cool of the afternoon of the Garden 

The Father of My Such and Such

Once there was a young boy who never had a father. Many times (usually after a great feast with leftovers spread all about his silver plate) he would ask his mother, uncles, and aunts to describe his father to him.

"Oh," they would say. "He is like 'such and such' and loves 'such and such' and looks like 'such and such.'" They were very positive in their descriptions of the boys father. And when he tucked himself into bed each night he would often imagine what it would be like to meet the father of the 'such and such.'

The boy grew into a man. He rode horses, he herded sheep. He dealt with the villagers in great adventures of commerce. He sailed seas. Later in life he married, had a family, and taught his children all about his father who was like 'such and such' and loved 'such and such' and looked like 'such and such.' They too, when they nestled in their beds, often imagined what it would be like to meet the father of the 'such and such.'

One day, when he was quite ill but not quite ready to ascend to heaven, there came a knock at the door. Standing there in the early evening fog was a delightfully older gentleman with rosy cheeks and warmth in his face. He was kindly invited to hang his scarf on the hook and sit in a great wooden rocker before the crackling fire in the stone fireplace. They spend hours there, sitting across from one another. They drank tea, they laughed, and listened to each-other intently and shared things hey had never before shared with anyone else in the world. It all happened there, as the flickering flames of the fire reflected across their wide-eyed faces.

Before long the delightfully older gentleman rose to his feet, wrapped his scarf about his neck, and headed for the door. They shook hands and nodded heads before parting. As the delightfully older gentleman disappeared into the back fog the owner of the house - still quite ill and now ready to ascend to heaven - came to realize a magical strength had returned to his feeble frame. He felt stronger, healthier, and mysteriously peaceful as a result of the visit - yet he knew not why.

"What was it about that man?" he wondered as he slid into his bed. "He was unlike anyone I've ever met. He was familiar to me, yet I know I have never laid eyes upon him and doubt I shall ever see him again."

He reached for the lamp and dimmed the sanctuary twilight. Later, and still pondering who the visitor was - his spirit rose and passed the Great River, where he found himself standing aside the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd cared for him,  moistened his wounds in balm, and raised him to his shoulders where he saw all things, and knew all things, there in peace and safety. He remained there, snugged around the neck of the Good Shepherd, for a very long time.

One particular day he pushed himself close to the Good Shepherd's ear. "Tell me, my Father, you are such a Good Shepherd. Why do you only choose to share yourself with those on this side of the Great River? I am certain others would flock to you if you were to do otherwise."

"Oh, but I have been known," spoke the Good Shepherd. "My love, my affection, my healing and guidance is mingled throughout both worlds - here and on the other side. I have even been with you - remember, that foggy night, when we laughed and listened and drank tea?"

At once the old man (who was now a young man again) became silent. He was saddened and lamented that he had not recognized his father, though he had spend an entire evening with him.

"Why hadn't  he recognized him? Why hadn't he known such wondrous laughter and such loving mannerisms to be at the heart of his father?" (I dare not tell you how long these questions haunted the once old man, who was now a young man again, riding high atop the shoulders of the Great Shepherd. But it was a very long time.)

Then one day it came to him:

You see, the whole of his life he had been told by his mother, his uncles and his aunts that his father was like 'such and such' and that he loved 'such and such' and that he looked like 'such and such' and, thus, he had expected him to be like 'such and such,' to love 'such and such' and to look like 'such and such.' Thus, his father (howbeit quite innocently, I might add) became the image of somebody else's 'such and such.'

That's why, when the delightfully older gentleman with rosy cheeks and warmth in his face appeared at his door and listened and loved him as any fine person would do with great personality and wisdom that night when the flickering flames danced across their wide-eyed faces; he couldn't help himself.

For, although the gentleman sitting before him was the manner of a man he yearned for as a father, he himself thought, "This cannot my father. For he has little to do with the description of my 'such and such.'"

And, thus, he was unable to recognize his father as he truly was.

A Hidden Outcome

It runs against everything within us: faith in action.

When God leads us to do something we typically want to know the outcome of the thing before we come into the thing. Ducks alined, monies saved, clothes ironed. We want it all in place before obedience is released.

But God's leading often flies in the face of the things we dearly esteem. We have to be prepared to live with that.

He does that to stretch our faith, not to mock the things we esteem. Is is always about the business of building up, never tearing down. That's why he makes it so we cannot know the end of the thing at the beginning of the thing. It makes it "living" that way.

Golden Shores

Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. (John 6:16-21)


We never arrive where we are going until we invite Jesus into the boat.

The disciples enter a boat in the evening - in the gray zone where shadows shift and the sharp distinctions blur. They row into the night, into the darkness. And there, even in their darkness, Jesus had not come to them. But it got worse. The sea arose and lifted its torrents. The harder they rowed, the deeper they angst. Still no Jesus.

It is interesting that in the evening, in their darkness, and the storm Jesus was nowhere to be seen. But he was coming. He saw them and bailed them out at just the right time.

When they saw Jesus they didn’t recognize him. They were afraid. The storm had worn grooves of tension and stress into their souls. Fears had settled in. And the spirits behind the rain, wind, and waves pounded their bearded faces with doubt and insecurity. The site of Jesus only kicked their fears into overdrive. Knowing this, Jesus reveals himself to them. “It is I.” And they received him into their plight.

Notice how they were when Jesus showed up. They were messy, mad, and tired. They did not dress up. They did not get religious. They did not suddenly pray. They had no faith. They were scared and filled with dread. In short, they were real. It was then when Jesus revealed himself.

God often waits until we are in the nighttime of our torrents, completely at wits end with nothing else to cling to, before showing up - and, even then, we are hard-pressed to recognize him.

When we invite him into our life, our years of struggling suddenly fade away. Our dreams of golden shores - shores that perhaps we’ve spent our entire life rowing through storms to land suddenly become realized and we arrive at the beaches of redemption, the purposes of God finally taking root in our life.

We immediately arrive at the land of our striving, the land we've always known was there but never had the wherewithal to get there. It all happens the moment we invite Jesus into our boat.


"...and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going."

Discovering Jordan and Egypt

If you have always wanted to see the ancient geographies and cultures that have shaped our faith this may be it! I'm planning on taking a small group of pilgrims (8 - 15) to some of the most interesting places on earth: Mt. Nebo, Petra, Jordan River, Dead Sea, Mount Sinai, Old Cairo (Museums/Coptic Churches) November 4 - 14, 2011.


Click HERE for info and pricing and other options for the trip!

Copy Cats

Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:19)

Have you ever had such a respect for someone that you began to imitate everything they did? Some people are so wonderful its hard not to want to be that wonderful, too! So we examine them, see what they're wearing, purchase the same music as they do, begin attending the same meetings, and so on. Sometimes we even fall in love with them.

Jesus' relationship with the Father was like this. He was the ultimate Copy Cat. Whatever the Father did, he did. Whatever the Father didn't do, he didn't do. His love for being in the Ways of God trumped everything. His life was intentionally lost - then found - in the shadow of the Almighty.

Thus, a big part of what Jesus did (and a big part of what we are called to do) was simply labeling what he saw the Father doing. He did this in many ways - teaching, sharing, telling stories, all forms of communication. Jesus used his unique human personality to translate/communicate to those around him the mind and heart of God. In this way he became untied with the purposes of the Father.

Our witness to Christ has less to do with our performance, behavior, or ethical uprightness and more to do with making known what the Father is doing in any given situation. (This doesn't get us off the hook of moral integrity. For it is in the making known, or labeling, "Christ among us" when the Fruit of the Spirit will then be demonstrated with ease and gentleness.) So our job is to first duplicate the ways of the Father and then communicate - in our own unique personalities with our gifts and skills - what we see him doing. It's not up to us to conjure up the work. He is always working. Why add our work to his work? Just be about his work and he will get the glory.

Father in heaven, forgive me for the times I have tried to read your mind - or worse, for the times I have sought to create work that you were not doing. Fill me with your Holy Spirit in order that I may be a deep reflection of your Love for me, and then empower me to reflect you to others through the unique way you've created me, on earth as it is in heaven. In Christ's Name I ask you. Amen.

Ancient Pathways: Jordan and Egypt

This trip will combine academic insight, Biblical perspective, daily devotions, adventure, and a little danger. Among other things we will tent on the desert floor, visit a city carved out of stone, explore the Cairo Museum, and climb a mountain that Moses climbed.


The trip will be in November. I'm seeking to book-shelf the trip by two weekends - for minimal school or work disruption. Itinerary forthcoming. 


For that "perfect decompression" why not consider adding the option of luxury Nile River Cruise at the end of the trip?

Questions? Comments? Inquiries? Write me: BillB@KerDowney.com

 

A New Kerr and Downey Trip Brewing: Footsteps of Moses

I cannot tell you the excitement in my heart in planning this trip. Perhaps you will capture it as I share:

First, we fly to Amman Jordan and visit Mt. Nebo (last known place of Moses), see the site of Jesus' baptism at the Jordan River, explore Petra (an amazing city carved out of stone and laded with history), and climb a small mountain which overlooks the city. Then we fly to Sharm el Sheikh (at the bottom of the Sinai peninsula - fabulous diving) where we will share an evening with the Bedouin, tent in the desert for a night, climb Mt. Sinai, stay another overnight at St. Katherine's monastery - where we will have a rare opportunity to tour the famous library (not open to the public) with a monk in residence. Then... we will drive down to Cairo and see Old Cairo and visit the Coptic Church where Mary and Joseph stayed in the Flight to Egypt, visit the pyramids, and tour Egyptian museum.  After that, you will have the option to return home or, like me, choose to stay on for a three day cruise down the Nile River!

This trip is a unique blend of New Testament and Old Testament, with much early church tradition and education thrown in for good measure. Morning gatherings will be group sharing, praise/worship, prayers, and devotion/teaching on the Tabernacle of Moses.

Local guides and 5 Star accommodators, Ker and Downey assure us of safety, adventure, expert flight arrangements from anywhere in the world - and, of course, "heavenly accommodations." This trip is the perfect blend of historical, academic, and spiritual formation - experienced here at the conception points of our Faith.

Adventure Window: early November, 2011. Dates will be firmed up within a week.

Interested? If you send me your name and the aprox. amount of people in your group, and I will update you as details roll in! There's no obligation in being interested! Trip is limited to 15 people.

Last Chance for this Trip!

Ever wanted to walk the Holy Land as a Prayer in Itself? Pray about it.
There's still time for this trip.
Click here to read a detailed itinerary of Footsteps of Jesus. 

Matthew Devotion 28:18,19

"... All authority has been given unto me... Go!..."

Jesus rose and now reigns over all powers - seen and unseen - and imparts to us that same authority.

This authority has nothing to do with education, experience, training, desires, gifts, personality temperaments, past sins, or human DNA. It has everything to do with the Gift he gives us.

Through believing in his Life, Death, and Resurrection we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of never dying. When that Salvation is sealed with the Holy Spirit, God also gives us the same authority that Jesus had - an authority is needed for the task given us. Without it we cannot love. Without it we cannot reveal Life. Without it nothing we do for the Lord will last. It is essential and given us the moment we leave the stone shelf and walk into the Easter Mist. It happens the moment we leave our grave clothes aside and walk into the Blaze of the New Day.

This is the New You. The Person everyone now sees. Old things have passed. Behold! All things have become new!

The authority of the Spirit is a bit like placing a police uniform on a bum. In his previous state, the bum may have walked into the street, held up his hand, and immediately get smeared by oncoming traffic. In his gifted state, however, the bum can now walk into that same street and - simply, with the raising of one white-gloved hand - cause an entire freeway to cease to a halt.

Spiritual authority is recognized by just about everybody.

Jesus has commissioned you to go out and tell others about who he is and what his doing. This is his Will for your life. He has done everything to make it easy for you. He has prepared the people to hear your words. He has surrounded you with people already like you, who understand your uniqueness - your tongue to them - and actually like you!  He has bestowed upon you all the Authority and Love needed to do all it takes.

All you have to do it raise your white-gloved hand.

Use it to bind. Use it to unbind. Use it to stop the enemy. Use it to lay hands on the sick. Use it to do everything the Jesus did. You are his Body now, his Sanctuary, his Voice to the Lost.  Make no mistake, he is still doing the exact same things he was when he was here before - you know, healing the sick, raising the dead, revealing the Almighty Love of the Father in word and deed. Only now, he is using you to do it.

"All authority being given Me" is, by default, "all authority given to us," since we are no less members of the his Body than he is of the Godhead. The authority is a garment bestowed upon us by Grace alone - by his Will alone - and has nothing to do with how one feels about him or herself.

"Sainthood"  is a status, not a level of personal achievement, after all.

So ignore the voices which speak against using you the fulfillment of the Great Commission. "I am not good enough... I am not a Priest... I am not worthy... I have nothing to say... It's hasn't been long enough since my last sin... They will reject me..."  and all the other cluttering echoes rising from the defeated the Pit. They no longer have power over you. Rise up in faith, snap the Serpentine Spell with your heal, and walk out of Tomb with Christ into the Will of the New Day.

Make disciples around the world, baptize them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and invite them to join you in observing everything Jesus has taught and commanded.

And, through it all, rest assured that that God will never leave you or forsake you. Both his authority and his Ever-Loving Presence will continuously cloak you - within and without -   "even to the end of the age."

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Matthew Devotion 28:9

"... Rejoice.."

Jesus declared his authority over the Womb in the Incarnation, his Lordship over the Old Covenant in his baptism, the fulfillment of Messianic Prophecies in his life;  absolute authority over the Law when dealing with the Pharisees and Sadducees, his authority over sickness in his healing ministry. His Cosmic Authority over all Created Order was established by stilling the seas and walking on the water, his authority over the Demonic Realms by the banishment of evil spirits; his unconditional love and authority to forgive us all our sins - regardless how grievous or repetitious they may forever be - by the giving of his life for our eternal welfare.

Now, the last remaining stronghold to be conquered is the Serpentine's Spell, Death itself - which he - "oh, as a matter-of-factly" - he broke when, in the clearing of the early Easter Mist, the earth quaked, his flesh was infused with New Life in the Holy Spirit, and he slipped free from the garments of death and, with his first baby steps of New Life, crushed the skull of the snake with the heel of his foot, forever rendering it powerless.

It happens.

"Rejoice!" The heavens lit up - as they did at the birth of the Same. Angel's mounted, racing to the Battlefield to proclaim to the Never-Again Captives - amazed and perplexed -  "He is not here; for he has risen!"

Now there is nothing in our human experienced untouched by the Finger of God. All Created Order (physical, emotional, spiritual, experiential - everything we know and ever will know) is privy to God's Glorious Redemption found in the Rising of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing is out of bounds, not even death itself.  There is nothing left to do but to join the company of Angels - regardless of our situation, in the fact of a certain Future Redemption - and say, "Rejoice!"

In rising from the dead Jesus is established as the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords over every human experience.

A rich man rolled the Stone to seal the embalmed Body; an angel rolled away that same Stone - not to set our Lord free from the Tomb (as if he couldn't pass through matter in his resurrected state!), but to show us that our last enemy has been conquered. The sweet fragrance, resurrection's afterglow, has now been released into all Creation.

And - perhaps more significant for us - his resurrection in the Tombs of our Hearts assures us both of his present forgiveness/ healing and the certain afterlife when we too, following the trajectory of the Second Adam, will also ease from our grave clothes into a eternal state of New Life on that great and glorious Day.

The angel sits atop the Stone and invites the onlooker to peek into the Heart of the Matter. The women are filled with both fear and joy. Following the angel's instructions, they run to tell the disciples and, while on the run, run smack-dab into Jesus. With a single gaze he had read their mail and meets the exact emotions of their hearts. "Do not be afraid."  He can say that because has disarmed Death (the Patriarch of all fear) and thus, in him - as we remain in him - there is no fear.

"Rejoice!"

Don't try to analyze the event. You will never arrive. True spiritual understanding comes when we simply bless the blossoming works of God with an unhindered, child-like, belief.

"Rejoice!"

Matthew Devotion 27:60

"... he laid the body in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock..."

As the rich man from Arimathea - who hewed a new tomb from rock, took care to wrap the incoming Christ, and rolled the stone over its entrance; as the poor Virgin Mary - who prepared for the Incarnation in her Womb through purifying her heart, received the greeting of the Angel, and took conceived Christ in her own, Virgin Tomb - so that same Christ is laid to rest in our hearts when they have been prepared through personal devotion, hewn out of our hearts of stone, and made clean.

Many of us would invite the Deadened God into tombs that reflect the ghoulish backdrop of this narrative. Our wet floors slippery with the fungus from the drippings from our sinful stalactites, the corners of our caverns all but hidden by webs of deception, the stagnate air musky with the stench of yellow mold.

But we are to prepare a Way for the coming of the Lord, are we not? Have we not been called to make a place prepared for the Lord? Sure! We have a Divine Directive to raise the valleys and lower the mountains and welcome the Son of God into a heart that has been, to the best of our ability, paved with Holiness, curbed with the Fruit of Repentance.

As Mary (sitting opposite the tomb) watched the rich man carefully wrap her boy in clean linens, she too could remember when she had done the same. As the rich man laid the Lifeless God onto the stone shelf, she could remember the times when she too had tucked him into the manger, closing the door behind. From her Womb to his Tomb. From the Wood of the Manger to the Wood of the Cross. All had been full-circled around to this eerie place. It was a heart-ripping, saddening completion - to be sure, eerie - but, all the same, the completion of a Divine Visitation that would never, nor could ever, be fully understood.

Neither Mary nor the rich man knew the end of the Story. The were content to prepare their tombs and humbly be ready for the incoming Christ. They had no real idea of his resurrection, and how it would radically change their lives forever. For now,  their obedience was good enough.

May we have that same faith - the Faith of a Child - that we, being cleansed and made new by the indwelling Christ, would prepare the Caverns of our Souls to equally welcome the Crucified Christ.

Matthew Devotion 27:46

"... My God, My God, why have you forsaken me..."

Jesus was told right up front that he was God's beloved Son, "with whom I am completely blessed." (Matthew 3:17). He was told those same words mid-way through his ministry. "Listen to him!" (Matthew 17) He was affirmed as the Son of God, One with the Father, in complex relationship with the Father and the Spirit, throughout his entire life. There was no doubt that Jesus was God's Son.

Yet today, in the bleakest of days, he hangs questioning everything he has ever known.

Somewhere deep inside, he knows who he is in God's will. But today his experience couldn't speak more contrary. Yet he still calls God, "MY God." Though God had forsaken him. Jesus doesn't forsake his God. Though a "Forsaken God," still his God all the same.

No matter what.

Our darkest experiences, our greatest pains, our most disorientating chaos do nothing to remove, deny, or intimidate the Lordship of Christ, nor his Sacred History in our life. He reigns on the Peaks. He remains in the Valleys. He is not shaken by Creation's Doubt, but is drawn all the more into it in order to resurrect the remains of the Day. At our worse, he is his best. At our best, he is still his best. Independent and blended. He remains faithful, when we are not.

As we follow Jesus into his crucifixion we will also utter these same words, "My God... Why have you forsaken me?" They need to be uttered, to be believed, or it is not a true crucifixion.

They need not be said in guilt, believing that God becomes something less than God when we voice our angst questioning whether he even still exists. It is in our complete unraveling that God drapes us in his Glory. We have finally come to the Cross, as did our Lord. We have finally voiced our deepest fears - that God has left the House. We have nothing more.

We have been Crucified.

Matthew Devotion 27:28

"... and they stripped him..."

They did more than that. They beat him, mocked him, punched him the face. They placed a scarlet robe on him, a crown of thorns on his head. They played games and pretended he was the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Little did they know he was putting up with their tortuous game-playing so that one day he would become their Imaginary Friend.

And in the rage of their passion - through the cat-o-nine whipping, and mockery - Jesus loved them. With each slicing in his back they (meaning a portal for all Fallen Creature-hood) became increasingly loved. Each drop of blood which drained the Son of God - when seen through the puffy, beaten eyes of our Savior - provided, within Itself, the synergistic where-with-all to continue in the Father's Will.

Seeing the Blood on the stone pavement gave Jesus a more Passionate Resolve to go to the Cross. Our faces were in the reflection of those Drops. And that kept he going. He knew that one day we would be gazing back at him, through those same Drops, exalting him as King of Kings for the Salvation of the Cosmos.

He loves us.

Today those same mocking echoes of the soldiers are seen and heard. They're everywhere. Sometimes through others, mostly, however - if we are honest - we hear them in us. Their unleashed emotions and vile blasphemies express the Fallen Base of our human nature.

Jesus had always known there was a deeper realm to the evil within God's children. But it wasn't until now when he was experiencing totally, it in its raw form.  Yet, when he looked through the blood to those mocking him, he was looking at me. He was looking to you.  He was looking at them - true - but to many others through them. He was looking through them to us (after all, we are one family with Eden's DNA) - the rage of humanity against her Creator, all coming together in a single blow of the hammer.

To admit this - "we/me as the soldiers" - is the beginning of the breaking. It is the crack in the dry and barren land where there is no water; the crack wherein that very Blood can find it's way into our heart. When that happens, Jesus is blessed. When he sees us absorbing his Life Blood onto our own, he is relieved. It wasn't all for nought. Finally, the Gift is being appropriated and perhaps even, appreciated.

Knowing that gave him resolve to go to the Grave - the knowledge that, on a day far in the future - you would be appropriating the Fruit of the Tree.

Forgiving  God,  I come before you now 

To offer You my sin and shame. 

From Your altar of living sacrifice 

Shed forth Your grace to me. 

Oh, I watched you die. 

Oh, I beat your face. 

Oh, your body crucified. 

I live, you’re disgraced. 

Forgiving God, I must confess to you 

In word and deed, I’ve mocked your blood. 

Transfer from me the death that I deserve 

Onto the One on the tree. 

Oh, I watched you die. 

Oh, I beat your face. 

Oh, your body crucified. 

I live, you’re disgraced. 

Forgiving God, I stand in awe of you, 

For by your stripes I am healed. 

Clothe me I pray in your robes of righteousness, 

Washed in the Blood of the Lamb. 

Oh, I watched you die. 

Oh, I beat your face. 

Oh, your body crucified. 

I live, you’re disgraced. 

Matthew Devotion 27:21

"... which of the two do you want me to release to you?..."

God has given us a certain Risky Authority to bind or release - to withhold or set free - life or death in our life.

The sway of the crowd, the rub of the culture - if we would choose to succumb to it's hypnotic chant - tells us to choose death, to release the Barabbas into the thing. Yet back there, almost hidden in the roaring culture, there is One who silently beckons. He's been there all the time, loving, wooing you to release him. Deep inside you know he is the only One who can breath Life into your heart. He is not slick. There is nothing flashy about him. His Divinity remains fully cloaked in the hellish momentum of the crowd.

It's easy to do. Indeed, easier then picking up your Cross and following him into Obedience - to succumb to the world, that is; to use the certain Risky Authority for the binding of death, and not Life, as it was meant to be used for. Soon you, too, find yourself shouting, "Give me Barabbas! Release to me more death, more bondage, into my life!"

And, because of the Image, the Authority, that unique Rule that God has gifted you with to make things "be" at the mere utterance or your word, our Pilate washes his hands from the thing and pronounces his Blood upon us forever. Death is released. In a caustic juxtapositioning, God has actually honored what we have done with his Gift, in spite of out mismanagement of the thing. In a single moment our lifelong focus has shifted from worshipping our Maker to weaving fig leaves. The thing has been released and we are forever left dealing with the sticky residue of the Forbidden Choice.

Why has God even given us such authority? Doesn't he know we'd misuse it? No wonder he calls it a "Risky Authority!"

The authority to choose Life or death - to release this or that in our life - seems to be as binding whether it be used for Barabbas or Jesus. The riskiness of it - of course - is that we'd abuse the privilege and get into trouble. We can, for example shout with the world, "Give us Barabbas!" And Barabbas will be released. We all know that. Conversely, the releasing of Jesus into our Life comes with that same finality. The power to bless, the force to change and rearrange future blood-lines comes in the Ecstatic Sigh, "Holy Spirit, Come. Into my tomb, I now do choose, to release my Jesus!"

Choose ye this day whom you will serve.

The beautiful thing is - in spite of our misguided decisions, which have the capacity to change the course of following generations (such is the power of the Gift) - the very Life denied self-resurrects and redeems us through, of all things, our adamant misuse of that same Gift.

Jesus doesn't flinch when we shout "Barabbas." Oh, still he hears us, he still feels the betrayal, he still turns the other cheek and wonders why God and all Creation (including us) has forsaken him. But, through the power of the resurrection, his insistence to redeem, restore, and fill us with his absolute Unconditional Love remains a Force that the gates of hell themselves cannot curtail. He is resolute to stand in the Echoes of the Fall, be risen up for all to see, and rescue us from the deadly vines, wrapped tight 'round our feet, by the power of another Tree.

Though denied, he still offers. Tho killed, he still lives. Though hated, he still  loves.

And - his goal? To hear us beckoning against the crowds - "No - Give us Jesus!"

Matthew Devotion 27:26

"... then he released Barabbas to them..."


My name is Barabbas, I have sinned great sins of death
I have lied, cheated, stolen and robbed - I've got murder on my breast
What is this before me? Well, I have been set free
God has caused my sin and shame to fall upon a man from Galilee

I'm not sure of the festival or time of the year
On the day of my trial my heart was filled with Godly fear
A life I'd sown in sin and shame was now a nightmare of my past
Harboring its just reward, as before the jeering crowd I was cast

I looked down towards the masses, and then to Pilate's side
I was a wretched stinking criminal in chains and blinding Light
The crowd grew angry - not to me - but to a new man they brought forth
A broken-hearted bleeding man stood trembling before the court

Pilate rose addressed the crowd to what the verdict be
Shall I free this killer, Barabbas? Or this king from Galilee?
Deep inside I had a hope, a glimmer oh so dim
Save my life from my due death, oh Father, redeem my sin

That's when the crowd sang
Give us Barabbas! It's him we want set free
Give his punishment and just reward to the King from Galilee
What? I couldn't believe it
Give us Barabbas! It's him we want set free
Give his punishment and just reward to the One who thinks he's King

When the final pronouncement came I had been set free
I hoot and hollered, "God be praised! He has heard my sincere plea!
But then I looked across the patio into his loving eyes
Above the roaring crowds he whispered - deep into my heart
For you, I'll die.

Did my ears deceive me" For he seemed to want to die
I tried to get a second look but they pulled him from the light
Later on that evening I sat staring at my wine
When the haunting words of the afternoon swirled round and round my mind
For you I'll die.

My name is Barabbas, I've sinned great sins of death
I've lied, cheated, stolen and robbed - I've got murder on my breast
What is this before me? I have been set free
God has caused my sin and shame to fall upon a Man from Galilee

Matthew Devotion 26:75

"... So he went out and wept bitterly..."


Jesus knew Peter's heart. He knew there would be a day when this young optimistic apostle would pass through a tunnel of torment and feel so rotten about it afterwards that he would doubt his Call and his Place in the Kingdom.  So he sought to comfort Peter - way out in advance - not only to prepare him for the ordeal but to remind him that, as he himself would prove, there is Life on the backside of the Cross.  


“Simon, Simon," Jesus told him once. "Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31) 


(I can see Peter looking to heaven and thinking that sort of thing could never happen to him. "Sure, whatever, Lord." But it did. Just like Jesus said it would. Only then did the Holy Spirit remind Peter of what Jesus was really saying.)


We oftentimes misunderstand what the Lord is saying to us until after the affair. Before the betrayal we may hear his warning - along with his absolute assurance of restoration on the other side - but we don't really take it to heart. We make light of it - even turning it into something spiritual or parabolic. What nice words, we think. Perhaps somebody needs to hear those words.  Our Jesus is such a nice Shepherd. He is filled with such a great big, gushy love! Sweet, sweet Jesus! But it's only after the the betrayal when we realize the thing deafening us to God's Word in our hearts was at the very heart of our betrayal. 


Humility is a wonderful thing, isn't it? It's the stuff of Biblical Heros. What you thought you were perhaps exempt from the process? Think again.


In the story above it's important to remember that Jesus was far more interested in Peter's recovery - his return to ministry - than what took him out. Betrayal takes a heavy toll on a person, regardless of the circumstances. Jesus is aware of that. He walks it through with us, pours out the Father's love to us, and reminds us there is Life beyond life. All the same, Jesus is insistent: Peter needed to know that, after all was said and done, he still had a call to ministry, he still had Purpose and, indeed, he was still to play a crucial role in the Plans of God. 


Peter's sin, as rotten as it was, did not cause God to run and hide in a closet. No, Jesus is a Friend of Sinners. He drew closer to Peter. He singled him out and used the denial for a Future Glory - a glory perhaps greater than could have been previously. 


Gods Word never returns void. He's not going to let a speed bump take us you of the Race. He has much bigger fish to fry.


A few days later, on the beach, Jesus says nothing about Peter's sin and says everything about the original Call on his life. "Do you still love me? Then, let's get on with it. Feed my sheep"


What? Even when I've sliced off the ear of a solder and you had to heal him? Feed my sheep. What? Even after I've denied you three times before others who need to know the Love of God? Feed my sheep. What? Even when I've suffocated the your Fire by warming myself around the fires of my own comfort and misplaced passion? Yes, dude, feed my sheep! As I've told you before, when you are restored, strengthen your brothers.


A well-healed limb is often stronger than the original. What is it with our God? He not only restores the years the locusts have eaten, but he makes the remaining years even more fruitful so that the glory of yesterday is shadowed in the glory of the Day. 


Such is the power of God's forgiveness in a heart of flesh. 

Matthew Devotion 26:25

"... then Judas, who was betraying him..."

Sacred Moments often bring out the worst in us.

As a fire boils up the issues to the surface of the broth, so does the Presence of God raise our rebelliousness to our hearts' surface. For our God is a consuming fire. In him all things are revealed, brought to the surface through the loving conviction of the Holy Spirit.

But the mere revelation of our impurities is not enough. For in our design we have been granted a certain risky freedom. Once our impurity has boiled to the surface we have the ability to release it into the rising steam, or recapture it - hurling it back into the the caverns of our tomb and seeping it all the more-so, as a demonic toxic spice, into the boil.

Why is it that our most sinful elements are revealed in our most holiest moments?

It is the Lamp of God, revealing that which he desires to heal, restore, or forgive. The fact that such abominable motives (and sometimes behavior) surface in the Sacred Moments is a given. The real question, however, is, "What will we to do with that which has been revealed?" Will we release the thing, assuming God brought it up for a Purpose? Or will we, like Judas, fully stripped in the All Knowing Mind of God, use the revelation as proof to justify our own twisted, hidden agenda?

Revealing our inner betrayer is one thing. What we do with it is quite another.

Rabbi, is it I? The same question rang from both the lips of Peter and of Judas - not unlike the same question, "How can this be?" rang from both the lips of Zacharias and Mary as they, too became unravelled in the Presence of the Revealer. Peter and the other 10 were humble. They were willing to be pierced with the conviction of their own human frailty. Their questioning was open. They were willing to acknowledge the fact that they may be carrying the DNA of a betrayer. But Judas? His questioning took on a different innuendo. He asked that same question - Rabbi, is it I - to justify the validity of his rebellion; or, perhaps worse, to assure God's blessing on it.

 If God showed it to me, I must be right.

Later Peter, when hearing the crowing rooster, repented. In a mass of wailing, tears, and acknowledgment of harboring the thing he regretted most, the thing revealed was released (perhaps cast off?) into the Revealer of Things. Judas, however - though remorseful - did not repent. For him the thing revealed became self-integrated, returning to the depths of his system with double the hellish intent - so much so, in fact, that it killed both he and his Lord.

The secret here, I believe, is to walk into the depths of these Sacred Moments with sort of a "hold on loosely" demeanor. These moments happen to us daily. In the Scripture here, it happened at the Eucharist. But it can happen almost anywhere, especially in times of praise and worship, or in times of intimacy with the Lord.

When these things surface we need to choose to believe them. We need to look at our "broth" through the Lens of Light, seeing it for what it is, agreeing with our Lord - in all humility and contriteness - and, in that same moment, be willing to surrender the thing into the one who loves us and is the only One in Creation to redeem us from the cords of death and freely restore us in the  Purposes of the Godhead.

Is it I, Lord?

Matthew Devotion 26:28

"... which is shed for you and for many..."

The Blood has not yet reached it's full potential.

For us it has, of course; for we have received the Gift of redemption. But there are those who have yet to appropriate the Blood in their own life's and allow it to pave their Way into Eternity.

There are the Judas' - he was seated at the table when Christ initiated the New Covenant and still became filled with satan, right there at that sacred moment! - people who sat with Jesus as friends yet have hardened their hearts with the appetites of the flesh, perhaps so much so they themselves have forgotten the sweetness of the Fruit they so once enjoyed.

There are those in foreign countries who have yet to hear the Good News. This Blood is for them, too. "For you and for many for the forgiveness of sins," as the Prayer Book reads. These are the outcast, the clueless, or the mentally challenged who will never be able to make a stand, lift a hand, or give public testimony to "Jesus as Lord and Savior."

The veins of Christ's Blood run deeper than the skin of religious protocol.

Christ's Blood - for many - flows un-endlessly from the Cross, flowing from the mountain and penetrating the deepest, darkest, caverns of the human condition;  from CEO's to kids with needless stuck in their arms, from the redeemed to the not-yet-churched. The Blood is runs hard and violently from Golgotha, splitting rocks, ripping trees from their roots, snapping chords of generational sin, dislodging demons, and freeing anyone - everyone - of a forever in hell; anyone who merely gets a drop of It.

Such is the wonder working power of the Blood!

Recently I was celebrating the Eucharist and, as I lifted the silver Chalice above my head in offering it to the Lord I saw, in the Cup there - in the distorted circumference of it's reflection - the faces of the people standing there around the altar with me; each face reflected in and from the Cup of Grace. Yet, if Truth be realized, the whole of humanity was reflected in that Cup. I just couldn't see them. If I could, there would be so many faces - too many to number, too many to comprehend - in that Cup.

Such is the precious Blood of Christ who washes away our sins, nourishes us with his Life, empowers us with the Divinity to take up our Cross and rise with him the Golden City my means of an Ancient Way which is eternally stained with his Crimson Life.

Everyone we see, every tribe we study, every person in the late night bar, every person at the Easter's Sunrise service; all of humanity - past, present, and future - even if they were to be doubled in size, still would not shake nor exhaust the the Almighty power and Living Presence of our Father, in even one drop of the Blood.

For you, and for many.

Matthew Devotion 26:7

"... and she poured in on his head as he sat at the table..."

Jesus did all things right, which infuriated the rightness of one who was closest to him. Our sense of what Jesus should be doing, and who Jesus should be doing it with, often flies in the face of what he's really doing and who he's really doing it with.

That's why we need to continually pray, "On earth as it is in heaven" - not so much as to make it happen by our words, but to be able to bless it with our hearts.

Three things lead Judas, one of the 12 (meaning one of his closest, most intimate brothers), to blow a gasket and turn Jesus into the Chief Priests. First, they were in the house of a Leper. Simon had been healed by Jesus previously, but still had the social stigma attached to his past life. Jesus was able to dine freely at Simon's table, and enjoy the fulness of his presence, hospitality, and healing. Then, a woman poured a flask of very expensive oil on Jesus' head - right there at the table. The future King was seemingly humiliated by the actions of a woman who, aside from children, ranked lowest in status. Finally, Jesus turns around and justifies her action - calling it an anointing for his burial, casting concerns about the cost of the event to the Wind, and sets this woman up as an everlasting example of worship throughout all time.

Sometimes the most awkward events - the things that run against the very core of our sensibilities - are actually holy portals revealing a Deeper Sensibility.

When these portals appear - and they appear daily - they often arouse a contrary passion that keep us from seeing through the thing and cause us to rise up against the thing which is seen.  Jesus, no doubt, in his humanness, may have been just as surprised as Judas with the actions of that evening. Yet he was able to get past his misunderstanding of the event and see through it.

"This is a bit out of the box," he may have thought. And then, with an opened heart, freed of personal bias and social correctness, "What are you doing here, Father?" While Judas - in his overly righteous responsibly in who knows what, was deadened from seeing anything but what he saw.

Yet Jesus affirmed the event. He engaged in it. He honored it. He had the eyes to see what God was doing through the event (which no doubt infuriated Judas all the more). Jesus was not held captive with lists and protocols of what was right, wrong, politically correct or otherwise. He took Life as it came and sought the Deeper Sensibility within it. He knew from experience there is always a Deeper Sensibility.

So he blessed it. And, in so doing, others were blessed, too. And the home was filled with the fragrance of his mercy.

Simon - an outcast from society - was affirmed in his healing and love from God. And this beautiful woman - perhaps thinking she had done something stupid and, only realizing it afterwards, felt condemned and shamed - she was affirmed in who she was, what she did, and forever memorialized as a an example of her actions.

Lord, give us the grace to see through our day to a Greater Day, to see through the irks, puzzlement, and senseless actions of this life into your Deeper Sensibility.  And, once there, let us turn to bless, affirm, and heal based on what you are doing beneath the surface, based on what we see the Father doing, and not merely what we see in our flesh.

Matthew Devotion: 24:46

"... blessed is the servant whom his master, when he comes, will find still doing..."

At the end of the Day - and there will be an end of the Day - we want to be caught by surprise, doing the things God has called us to do.

Many people spend so much time thinking through End Time scenarios - as if their salvation depended on it - they're missing out on the blessing of simply serving others in his Name. They perhaps think that once they get their minds around the "correct" eschatological time line, they will be blessed. But it doesn't happen that way. Jesus didn't say we'd be blessed if we knew the countdown. He said we'd be blessed if we're serving others in his Name at the time of Liftoff.

We need to rest. He knows the the order of events and that's all that matters. He has told us beforehand (v.25).  Some of the events have been fulfilled.  Roman Governor Titus, for example, has entered the Most Holy Place and had a stature of himself set up where the Ark should have been. People reading this Gospel would have known about that and been encouraged that the Son of God really knows what he's doing.

Other events have yet to come. It's tempting to be distracted and caught up in the catching up of the Saints. It happens in every age because these events touch something deep within us. They foreshadow our Sure and Certain Future and scents all we know in barely tangible ways. How can we not be tempted into getting caught up in its phenomenalistic addiction?

Yet we are not called to figure it out. We are called to know that it's coming is as certain as anything we know and then, with that in mind, be all-the-more-so about the Father's Business.

Life which hangs it hat on the latest End Time heart-beat becomes anemic, hollow, formula-driven, and a weakening witness to the ones around us that need God's Love to meet them in their fears and weaknesses. A life that carries on with joy and passion, however - in the shadow of that great and terrible Day - will be blessed to everyone.  Jesus told us these things would happen beforehand to ease it for us, to label it for us so that we wouldn't need to be distracted from serving him and - heaven forbid - loose our blessing.

A surfer, when paddling for a wave, would be foolish to stop paddling, sit up, look back, and examine the face of the wave, it's break, its height, or even turn to paddle closer for a better study. No. The surfer continues paddling towards the Shore, all the time aware its imminent coming, all the time doing his duty, doing the thing that needs to be done.

The Wave will come - regardless of his precise knowledge of where and when it will break. Be sure about that.

But, this way, he is sure to catch the Ride and rise above the jagged edges of the Reef below.

Matthew Devotion: 23:15

"... woe to you..."

For Jesus, there is a big difference between the body of theological substance and the Substance of his Body.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were whiz kids when it came to the substance of theology. They knew the Law and created a system wherein people were fooled into believing that, in following the tenets of that system to perfection, entrance would be granted to heaven - as righteousness had finally been achieved.

But they missed it.

It would have been different to be as dogmatic and self-righteous with lessor things - such as cooking, exercise, or even gardening. But they were bucking up against the Very Issues of Creation. God had created them in his image and now they were recreating him in theirs - and telling his children to do the same.

God puts up with a lot. But he will step in when injustice or falsities are proclaimed that run in conflict with who he is - especially when the ones proclaiming those falsities have spiritual influence or oversight over his beloved children. Better a millstone tied to his neck then to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Jesus steps into their world and slams them - and their system of religion - for falling short of Knowledge and Truth in four ways:

Creating and imposing their own standards of righteousness on otthers. It's been said that Christians save people from the Law and then infuse so many new customs into their life that, the latter work of keeping the Law - now a "Christian Law" - is worse than the first.

Not seeing the Big Picture. They were swearing on the gold in the temple, or the temple itself. Jesus reminds them that there is so much more happening around them. Lift your eyes, ask for the revelation to see beyond what you see, to see through what is seen. In so doing, the little things wont become burdens to you anymore and the Big Thing will become your saturating reality. (By the way, one can see the Big Picture and not understand the Big Picture, and be content with that.)

Selective Spirituality. It was easy for the leaders of the Law to highlight one passage of Scripture over another to justify any given cause. Are there really weightier matters of the Law - sections of the Word that exclude lessor priority - not unlike the hand saying to the head, I have no need of you? The Scriptures are an entire Body of the Word, complete, giving us everything needed for salvation.

Inner/Outer Congruence. On the outside they were beautiful. On the inside they were filled with dead bones and uncleanliness.

I once had a vision on the way to church. I had been asking God to give me a word to give to the congregation. As I was driving in, I saw a picture of a beautifully manicured Cape Cod-styled home - white picket fence, shutters, swing off the oak tree - the whole nine yards. As I entered the gate I saw the backside of the fence was unpainted and rotting away. In fact, as I looked closer at the house, everything was dead on the inside and in need of immediate repair. The house was perfect on the outside, but the owner of the house knew its true state. And, in this case, the owner of the house was me. This vision was one of many revelations which lead me to a season of rest and restoration about a year ago.

All the same, Jesus would rather have the inside and the outside of the house living as one, honestly and transparently, humbly and gracefully being on the outside who we are on the inside. He knows we can easily fool ourselves into believing a lie - believing we really are that glistening cup and dish, when the Truth is not in us.

This spirit of the Law is alive and well in us today. It is everything the Living Christ came to free us from. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Lord, give us the grace to be real with you, to shine forth your glory, not from a cosmetic spirituality that seeks to stealth our unstealthable hypocrisy, but from an inner glory that witnesses the anchored residence of the Son of God.