The vision

Oh God, the vision in my heart. Is it Yours? Resting inside Your precious will, oh help my doubt. Oh God the vision, how it grows. Like that of Betsie and Corrie ten Boom, obedient servants unceasing to the call. A home for restoration to the wounded of this world.

There is no place untouched on this earth by the repercussion of sin, the depravity of the things of the world. May this place hide those within the refuge of your wings.

Your healing touches gently, beautiful, and none can take its place. May I see it to its end but Oh, Father, your will be done, Amen.

A home for Your wounded soldiers to find healing in Your wings. A home for wounded children to find adoption through your Spirit. A home for the lost, rejected, to find their way, oh, once again. Send me, oh Mighty Visionary, may I will go with You to its end.

Yes.

When my heart goes out in search of the pieces that it needs to find home again, it shall find my Beloved waiting there, just beyond mountain.

Oh, precious faith, my gift, my guide. My heart dances wild in my chest as He plays the flute for me. Suddenly and all at once, He calls me, like the sweet dew of the morning, only the fragrance never fades.

I know that this is just the way He meant for us to be.

I cannot deny the overwhelming fullness in my soul at His faithfulness to my requests and to the Truth of His Righteousness.

He never fails me, though time and time again I fail Him. So it is, that the desire of my heart is to offer the whole of my existence to serving the call, as if He spoke it into those pieces before they made their way back to me.

Play Your flute, sweet Jesus. Wherever you call. My answer is yes.

A thought or five.

Jesus, son of man, Son of God. I should like to make this writing as simple as it was when it happened upon me.

As a follower of Jesus, I would be remiss if I neglected to search out the heart of my Savior in order that I may know Him fuller to know myself better, and be transformed in the image of His likeness. That being said, I can find Him in what is probably the easiest book to locate in the United States. The Bible. I often take for granted the ease at which The Lord has given me know Him more.

As I was searching the book of Mathew, in hopes to find His heart in the midst of the beautiful words on the page paralleled within the confines of my heart, I recalled a verse that I will first state to you, Romans 2:4. Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? This verse tells me two things, the first is clear in that the Lord is abundantly kind and patient. And the second, these things are intended to lead us to repentance.

Now. Back to Mathew. If one desires to find the compassion of sweet Jesus, he might turn to Mathew. Mathew tells of beautiful events that would bring tears to the sensitive man's eye. Healings, deliverances, compassion and love. Dead men rise, while other 'dead' men discover what it means to be alive. Oh, He is giving me the words.

Look, here: Mathew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Savior indeed!!

OK, later in Mathew, we see Jesus denounce the towns and rebuke them, these same towns where He was moved by His compassion to heal the sick and perform miracles by the Hand of the Father. Their eyes witnessed miracles, but perhaps their hearts harnessed pride. Mathew 11:20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.

Wow. Wow! It is here I find that the direct acts of His compassion intended to lead the people to repentance take their toll when the people actively rejected the opportunity He provided them to repent. OK, it's official rebuke time.

Mathew 11:17 We played the flute for you and you did not dance, we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

The Gift Of His Word, the lies of the old man.

Oh, if only we knew the calling we have as followers of Jesus! Jesus the Savior, the Redeemer, the Advocate, the High Priest, the Life, the Lord, the Hope.

Everyday fills us with possibilities of diving deeper in to the depth of knowledge that the Word has provided. Unfortunately I often find my mind wandering to things that ought to seem of infinite insignificance because I know what it means to think upon the things of Christ for purposes of the Kingdom of God. And I know that the Word has an answer for me that looks a lot different than the answers that the world might try to scream.

What outfit will I wear today? 1 Peter 3:3-4

Hello! Maybe I should put on some sackcloth and become consistently aware of my vanity.

What restaurant shall I go to for lunch? Oh, I don't know, how about one that serves up flesh and the blood? John 6:53

OK, come on. Of course I recognize that we will be faced with these decisions daily. And I really don't suggest going to a restaurant and inquiring with the waiter about whether or not they serve the bread of Jesus' body or the blood of His well. The purpose is to suggest that what we do with these decisions and how we answer them will dictate the level or the plane that we think upon. Being lead by the spirit strips away vanity, fashion doesn't exist here, and a tasty chicken pasta or a bowl of cookies 'n' cream ice cream suddenly fades to nothingness. Good gracious! Sweet Jesus is calling, can't you hear?

How insignificant are the things of the world, the pleasures that our culture has provided us with to find momentary satisfaction. How much money that ought to be given for His namesake is spent on a gluttonous means to no end that only ends up promoting the weight of sin on my back and yours? Oh! What a pain I have in my heart.

But what a gift, to be an ambassador to the King, the God of hosts. And so I ask God to search out my heart, and I often don't like what is found. Confession: I find my thoughts slipping to jealousy because for some reason I think I deserve more than what I already have, I find pride welling inside the flesh that's burdened me for 25 years; suggesting that I am worthy of doing a good thing and should be recognized for it. Ha! I find doubt creeping in to my ears and drenching my mind whispering that this life is nothing more than a mere fantasy. Yeah, shut it old man. LIES.

Oh, the old man. His adversaries are the same as those of the enemy. Friends. Frenemies. They were my old man's friends, but they are my enemies. I'm so tired of the lies.

And so I look to sweet Jesus my King, I tell Him I don't deserve what I've been offered by Him, forgiveness and a new heart. And that I should like to carry the cross for Him and joyfully give my life over to Him again and again, if He'll have me. Yes, He says. Over and Over, Yes.