Where did those saxes come from?

Estimated Prophet.  Where did they come from?

Thumbs up, Thumbs down.  The interactive radio of Pandora.  Makes me feel important to be able to effect my listening list without buying the music.  Kind of a halfway place between owning and radio.  Makes a man feel powerful.  ;-) 

We need that so badly.  To believe we are the masters of something.  To feel significant in some tiny way.  To be able to shape our world, our experience in some way.  But then when it comes to sensations, we can do that.

But what can we shape for others from the tiny human love we have?  The best of us has love that distracts others from the desperate ache for rest and peace.  The distraction is so temporary.  As soon as the relief sets in we know it is temporary.  That is why we don't even trust Christ.  We are waiting for the Gospel to wear off.

Father, I am a little oil pot, short and stout.  Here is my handle, here is my spout.  When I get all filled up, hear me shout, "Tip me over and pour me out!"

Fill me up with the Spirit of You, until I can not hold any more and I know it.  My only recourse is for you to pour me out on someone.

What are we full of?

What am I full of today?  What will ooze out on those who I touch?  Wow.  Will I touch anyone today?  How about that.  I can be full of God and be of no particular Kingdom purpose.  Going to visit my sibs this week, so there is a chance there.

Am I still afraid the world will contaminate me?  Is that why I do not live like the King is at home?  Or am I afraid he is really not there?  Or do I really believe in a little god who is not able to save me, much less help them?  Either way, I am not repping the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I live this way...and I know better.

So habits and ruts are still in play.  Some days both feet are deep.  Some days maybe I have on foot in and one foot out.  Which can be dreadfully uncomfortable when the two paths diverge.  Which they do.  God has no reason to walk beside my rut.  My rut only leads down.

Father, you say that you restore my soul.  I receive and accept your word today.  Gather us under your wing, like chicks today. Remind us of what home is like.

Help me understand how to stay home and be in the marketplace.  Oh.  You will go to the marketplace with me, and I will be whole in your presence.  Okay.

Worshipful Devotion

I heard a man say today that his cause had to become everything to him. He said that his cause had to become the reason he slept and the reason he rose from sleep. He said that for his cause to prevail, it must also become the center of the lives of his listeners. He was calling for devotion to the cause.

The world is unbalanced without the success of his cause, so it is reasonable to live an unbalanced life to help bring the world back into equilibrium. He said that he expects his resolve in this great enterprise to significantly increase the chance of his being jailed or assassinated, so great is the power of the of the evil which he opposes.

and this man's cause is not the cause of Christ.

I met a man many years ago who had been a citizen of a country fundamentally opposed to the Gospel of Christ. As this man was personally committed to the cause of Christ, and particularly the cause of Christ for that country, his country was fundamentally opposed to him. Indeed, his country considered him insane and treated him as such, by institutionalizing him.

What is important enough to sacrifice for? Moreso, how is life worth living without something to sacrifice for. The sacrifice makes us different. Sacrifice invites transforming power. Like nothing else is able to.

We so easily aim our selves at the wrong target. Father, help your church stay full of holy oil, staying very near, able to stay lit and illuminating the target for each other and all.

A life sacrificed for a good cause is such a tremendous waste.

Poetry

I am not a poet, but my Father is. I am not a song writer or a painter or a play-write. But my Father is. Last night I was surprised by poetry that came from my fingers, so surprised that I posted the line on facebook. It resonated with some friends and they said so.

There is so much in the depths of exploration, in insisting on clinging to the bosom of the King. I don't expect that my Father is making me a poet, but I am sure that His poetry is saturating me as I dream upon His breast. I hope for the day when it is the perfume of His Presence coming from me that brings someone home. And that day I will have been so near to the aroma for so very long that I will not smell it on me, and I will wonder what has drawn them.

One thing have I desired. One thing have I been granted. One thing have I rejoiced in and given thanks for.

Godfrey

I want to find out more about the anointing on music. I have had some music come in new that has had listeners on the floor, and two years later it is still wonderful, but the power is gone. Maybe the power is not gone, but that particular anointing has done it's work here. Maybe it would still bowl over someone else.

Then there is my friend Godfrey Birtill. I will hold him a long time in Heaven. I have been listening to the same GB songs for nearly eight years, and they still take me right there.

Point being, there is a difference. I do not know if the difference is important, or the idea that there is a difference is important.

Anyway, if you do not have it, go out on iTunes and buy everything that Godfrey has to offer. Sit down with people you love, and listen to it. All of a sudden you will realize you are on your feet, with your hands to Heaven and big hot tears streaming down your face. The next time you come to, you will wonder what all the noise is...and you will realize that it is your dancing feet madly thumping the floor.