"at the end of a week of doing earthly requirements such as work, wife, mother, etc, duties, I have the sense that I've not been here at all, but rather somewhere else in what can only be SPIRIT, and it's sobering, overwhelming and very exciting all at once!" Jenny
"And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea." Act 8:39,40
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Jenny wrote that which I quote above in a comment on our last blog and it reminded me of Philip's translation which I also recorded above. I had a writing in the works dealing with just such phenomenon ......... maybe not as dramatic but none the less quite profitable, I believe. Please allow me:
"You have an anointing from the Holy One ..... the anointing, which you have received from Him abides in you." 1 John 2:20,27
I ended my last blog with a promise to share some thoughts on "the miraculous anointing and unction of Christ Jesus." I wrote of wanting to illustrate, how the anointing will control not only our time, but also prioritize our earthly endeavors. I believe I have two wonderful lessons that have certainly helped free me from a gnawing sense of urgency and periodic feelings of anxiety. With the testimony of Jenny recited above, maybe we can take some of the mystery out of the term "translation" and even see how we can share a foretaste of being moved supernaturally in our day to day lives.
Lesson One: "Time Waits"
"So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day" Jos 10:14b
Hopefully with this lesson, we can lay to waste the old quip "time waits on no one" and maybe have a little fun doing it. Forgive me for utilizing personal examples, which may even seem a little trite. I am reminded it often is the little spark that grows into a fire
For a few years, I participated on a number of Christian Internet forums. If you have ever been involved in a lively discussion on one of these discussion boards, you know the problem of others "over posting" you as you type your response. Or you might be familiar with the turns of direction that take place quickly in a lively conversation, where there are a number of participants sharing their thoughts. With this environment, there often comes an urgent desire to get a message posted before your thoughts loose their sequence and relevancy. Sadly, also with this urgency to get your post quickly published, to your dismay, you have a tendency to hit the wrong key or click the wrong button and your message is forever lost in cyberspace. This is such a common problem and it carries with it a good bit of frustration and angst. Ugh !!
So one day I was involved in a lively and heated discussion on a forum that was moving at breakneck speed, with a number of participants posting their responses one right after the other. As far as this particular discussion, I was all over it and my thoughts and messages were flowing beautifully. Then some one over posted me and the flow of conversation was altered. After a bit, everything was straightened out and the lively pace of discussion continued. I was typing quick (a relative term for sure, lol), sacrificing the spell check function and even some grammatical clarity. It was more important that I get my posts up promptly and in the right spot. Then to my angst, I lost two messages, both the original and the retyped version, in my rush. After letting out a deep groan and while still in the midst of my frustration, I heard that familiar small inward voice chide me:
Whoa! and wait they did. Can you say, "little beginnings!" Yes, from that time on I quit rushing around on the Internet and I quit losing messages. Besides this new way of posting responses came with the correct spelling and grammar along with expressions that were clearer, deeper and more concise. It was miraculous and a long held, common frustration was dismissed. The best part however, was that I found when this, "if it is anointed everything will wait" principle was applied to other areas of my life, it produced the same results. Instead of rushing I could rest. Sure, I forget sometimes and get into an occasional tizzy but for the most part this application of the "anointing" is being utilized and even growing in my day to day affairs.
The yoke of time in my life is being broken by the Lord's unction, and I am finding real rest in His anointing. God is good and His works are perfectly appointed. Amen.
Lesson Two: " The Holy Ghost Priority"
John 11
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth
Above, I have extracted a number of verses from the Gospel of John, covering the events surrounding "Jesus' raising of Lazarus." I can think of no better example of "Jesus, the Anointed", moving at a pace and direction totally out of step with an event, that the world would view as a "hurry up type" glaring priority. The healing of Lazarus screams with all sensibility to be done and done immediately. The result of Jesus' neglect of this emergency only seems to confirm His missing of an opportunity to fill a great need. Then as we read further, we see the glorious end of the matter. What a lesson! And we, who have walked with Jesus, have all probably been taught this same lesson, many times over.
Allow me to add one more verse from this same chapter and account, as it profoundly speaks to our focus in regards to "time and it's events." This one, I believe is worth meditating on:
"Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world." Jn 11:9
I believe, that after a season, when one walks in surrender to God, there is a subtle notification that comes a whisperin', "My priorities differ from yours."
Have you heard it?
We all, I am sure, are familiar with the old Christian adage that says something like, "if you don't have enough time, give more time to Him." Now, there is great truth in that and I believe we can take that thought much further and possibly even in a different direction. This thought and direction is born of a knowledge, that all our times and all our labors are preordained and perfectly appointed in Christ.
You used to be dead because of your offenses and sins, that you once practiced as you lived according to the ways of this present world and according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now active in those who are disobedient. Eph 2:1,2
As Paul writes above, we used to be ruled by a different power and we moved in accordance with the ways and priorities of this fallen world. We prioritized our labors and our loves according to our own sensibilities. Then God arrived, and Christ took away the heavy rod of the prince of this world. Jesus replaced the devil's rod with a shepherds staff. As we discovered Our Shepherd's verdant pastures of rest we began to notice, that which we once thought important, with regards to priority, were often moved to the far corners of a back shelf. Our lives, with it's labors and it's loves began to change not only in priority, but also in measure of enjoyment. Even our labors became as our loves. With that thought, these oft quoted and favorite poetry lines bear repeating, as they beautifully portray the transition, Jenny alluded to in the opening of this blog and that which I speak of now.
In the inner wine cellar I drank of my Beloved, and, when I went abroad
Through all this valley I no longer knew anything,
And lost the herd which I was following.
I no longer tend the herd
Nor have I any other work
Now that my every act is love.
St John of the Cross
The crux of that, which I have wanted to share, is that as we move and have our being in Christ, we often find our daily endeavors thrown into, what would seem in the natural to be disarray. Not so, as we learn to rest in Him, it seems everything gets accomplished in the order of which He sets. How often when I have felt like I needed to be about the business of some perceived urgent task, I would find myself instead ministering unto the Lord and those that are His. Miraculously that once pressing chore was no more, or at least put off until God's appointed time. I am sure you have experienced this yourself.
Going even further, I have likewise found that the use of my available monies have rightfully found it's place. Even as I wrote my last blog the Holy Spirit quickened in the midst of laying out a paragraph that I needed to check the due date of a bill that required cash, of which at the moment, I didn't have. I didn't even have to go upstairs or even walk across the room to check as my satchel with my month's bills lay by my desk, even at my feet. As I looked for the bill aforementioned I first came across another one that was marked "URGENT" on the envelope. You probably know as well a I do that the "red urgent stamp" means something is about to be cut off (lol). Yep, so was the case with this utility bill and as I read the contents I realized according to the "discontinue service date" I should have been cut off days ago. A phone call and a credit card number later I was sitting pretty knowing the reconnect fees that would have been charged had vaporized in His grace. And the other bill requiring the cash I didn't have, had a due date further down the line giving me more time. I know God is good for that that bill too, when it finds it way to "priority."
This is just a small example of how things seems to be finding a new order in my life, as I find my heart stayed on Him. I am experiencing "His rest" as the responsibility has shifted from me to Him. How wonderful to just lay my head on Jesus' bosom and allow Him the take over as the man of the house.
Lesson Three: "The Smoking Casserole"
Yes, there is the another lesson and it is signaled by the casserole that went up in flames because you took a nap, forgetting it was in the oven. Gosh, and it looks like the soot covered wall paper in the kitchen will need to be redone now. "Where were you Lord?"
For the guys, it's the transmission fluid you failed to check and now the work truck's got a tranny that just whines. Oh my, fifteen hundred for a new transmission and the truck is only worth a grand, tops. What will I use for work now? "Where were you Lord?"
I thought I was finished with this blog with the conclusion of "lesson two" however He wouldn't allow me to post it. It seems, I had missed the third lesson, which is the greater lesson. The greater lesson is that God will not be put in a box nor can our walk with Him ever be methodized.
Golly, we have all been there, where all our previous lessons fail us and the there is no method, rhyme nor pattern to rely on save, "Christ crucified." I would be remiss to think most of us haven't suffered much greater than a burnt casserole or a blown transmission. It is with these experiences (and I write with tears now) that we touch the deepest place in Jesus. With these crucifying experiences, we come to know a little of that which tore Jesus' heart as He knelt, and the most holy of all words fell from His trembling lips, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done." Matt. 26:42
For a surety, in this life we will drink of the same bitter cup and we will drink because we likewise know, "it will not pass." It is the inexplicable events and the heart breaking episodes of our lives that mysteriously speak clearest to His love. I can't explain it, but only to say, that when you taste the cup deeply, "the way without reasoning and no escape" proclaims His greatest love. How could we ever really know, "He so loved the world ..... " save we experienced it. This is the wonder of Agape.
"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," says Jesus, "you will never believe." Jn 4:48
"Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Jn 20:29
If you are like me, you once followed Christ for the signs and wonders and because you saw the marks of the cross on Him. Then one day the Father placed you in Christ and you were marked by that same cross and and that same cup ........... the cross you could not pass and the cup that must be drunk. The difference between you and all the others you once ran with, while following the wonders of Christ, is that Jesus has tenderly held you with His nail pierced hands and whispered, "you cannot go any further with Me, unless you drink of the Father's cup filled with, "He so loved the world, that he gave ..........""
Soon, I believe the Father will proclaim to the world once again, "this is my Son in whom I am well pleased." I can only believe, this greatest of all introductions, will introduce to the world those that have fully drank of His cup and bear all the marks of His cross. The Son and sons will finally be seen as one and the world will stand in awe. They will finally know the purpose of God, in making Himself a family of sons by way of the Cross and the Cup.
Jenny also wrote another wonderful comment on the blog a week or so ago that I believe speaks to the fast approaching day when God's sons will carry an empty cup and the five marks of Christ as they heal the nations.
He showed me that this power inside me was the Holy Spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, He was showing me the power that HIS LOVE through us will exact and influence upon the earth. We have NO idea of the POWER OF HIS LOVE – it’s tremendous, strong and cannot be resisted. On this occasion, he seemed to turn up the intensity, unless I cried out to Him to stop because I honestly felt that, if His power and love intensified any further inside me, my physical body would break. I really felt that. The power inside was so strong that He showed me that it had the potential to come out of my mouth and ‘lay low’ the entire landscape of Ireland. That his power would have devastating effect, with an ultimately beautiful ending. No power of darkness or hell will be able to stand against the beautiful strength, power and love of the Holy Spirit of Christ within. Thus, we will need our resurrection bodies. (Jenny)
In summation, with all that we have shared, I believe it would be good to give thought to the premise that our provision, our translation, our resurrection and all that is entailed in the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8) might come about very subtly. It well might come upon us, almost without notice, as we are so focused on uniting our dear Jesus with all those crying out for Him. The hour is surely upon us.
"We are the generation that is to enter into the promised land, which is the full redemption of our bodies. The ark went ahead 2000 cubits (2 days in type) and we must keep our eyes on the ark because we have not passed this way before.
Cardinal
"And having been asked by the Pharisees, When is the kingdom of God coming? he answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation" Luke 17:20
God bless,
Jack/John
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