Psalms 9:16-20 KJV
(16)  The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
(17)  The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
(18)  For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
(19)  Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
(20)  Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

For some reason there is this strong tendency and desire in man to be independent and prove that it can be done alone. From Adam and Eve to the men of Babel to King Saul and to us today, there is a continual draw to pull away from God dependence and show that we are somehow able on our own to improve on what He provides. While there is a thing of perfection given in His Word and demonstrated where He’s allowed to influence, man yet thinks himself to be higher than God’s way of proven excellence. What has also been proven is that every time this path of God-forgetting is chosen with an attempt to take His place, there will inevitably be an impending crash or fall. The great potential of man can never be separated from his complete and total need for the wisdom and understanding that only comes from above. Righteousness and doing what is right does not evolve and the wisdom that comes from God alone will exist through all the phases of time and history. No matter how it impacts our emotions or personal sense of rightness, the humility of choosing God’s way over some man-conceived plan is the only way to longevity and stability. While there may be perception of failure along the way, the search should be for where God’s way had been altered rather than declaring God’s way a failure and throwing Him out with the bathwater. Departing from Him as a distant memory with a pursuit of a new and fresh way that leaves the ‘failed ways of the past’ will only lead to a failure that makes those old ones seem quite small.

In pressing towards a new and better way, there is only hope in the way that follows the light of God’s love and His wisdom. For our nation and for the path that will today be ours as individuals, there will be an opportunity to realize we are but men in need of a Savior, that every step will require the direction of a Father who only has our best interest and success in store. The more quickly this is realized, the more quickly will come the wave of peace and security that a foundation in God alone provides. On the other hand, h there will be an opportunity to discover the frailty of a God-forgetting man with the doom his way will arrive at. It really seems so obvious and easy- choose what is right in God and live in the blessings He provides, or in pride insist on the precarious stepping of one who thinks himself to be able apart from God. Until there is knowledge of and fear over the consequences of misdirected reliance the insistent pressing towards independence will prevail, with its ominous ends. May steps be ordered of Him today for our nation and for each of our lives and may our thoughts and ways be settle in the unshakable wisdom of the Rock of our salvation.

Psalms 143:8 KJV
(8)  Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

John 4:9-10 KJV
(9)  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
(10)  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

There are so many reasons for a breakdown of communication. Based upon status, career choice, family name, race, sports team affiliation, religion, or which side of town you live on, there can be a distaste for dealing with someone of a differing orientation. It’s like there is a continual categorization of people we encounter based upon their appearance and a preconceived stereotype we’ve developed by life’s influences. Having not even met someone of a certain group, there can be a specific reaction towards them based upon a specific bias. A child’s parent will refuse to even acknowledge the parent of a child from an opposing team, while the devotee to one political candidate will end a friendship with someone favoring the opposing candidate. Getting past these barriers can be most difficult even when there is an incredibly great potential for the relationship.
Our experience with the Father can be plagued with a similar challenge as our perception of Him can be negatively influenced by what has taken place in another’s life or just our own life’s circumstances. As He approaches with a request for us to give to Him out of our life’s resource, there can be a reticence to make this sacrifice until there is a revelation of just who this really is to whom we’re speaking. In worship there is an opportunity for this to take place as a song, a scripture and a prayer make way for Him to be magnified in our sights and experienced as the faithful good God that He has been and will always be. If it can only be known what He wants to pour into our life, our reticence will be transformed into prayers of faith for the living water that will come from Him in a time of communion free of distorted barriers or misperceptions. There is a way today past the wall to the water.

1 John 2:27 KJV

(27) But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

In Christ we’ve been covered with an anointing oil that sets us aside in Him to receive and respond to truth and revelation in Christ. This is part of who we are now in Him and because of this relationship we will never again require the function of a man to identify truth and falsehood. As we’re presented with various doctrines and teachings, the anointing within will either accept or reject them.

My Dad started playing the guitar far before the time when I came into this world, and his playing was something that was very prominent in our home while I was growing up. Of course I observed his playing and experienced his music through the years of my development. Later, when I began to play myself, I naturally emulated some of his motions and methods, but also his music- the heart expression that came through his instrument. As the years have passed since then I have absorbed additional instruction in regards to technique, methods, and styles, but there is something that came from having lived with Dad that I didn’t really need another teacher for- the heart of the music itself. When presented with certain approaches to playing that have come against this heart for music that I received from him, I’ve given them very little attention or even acknowledgement. These other ways may have a great display of agility and proficiency of technique, but if there isn’t something in the playing that touches the heart, I may be impressed by the show, but never touched by the music.

Hanging out with our heavenly Father, we’re exposed to a technical display of beautiful revelation and knowledge, but there with Him, listening to and watching His playing, we also have an impartation of His heart to ours- an anointing. We’re no longer the way we once were- in need of instruction from another man as to what might be true or false. Our hearts have been covered with an anointing oil that won’t allow false deceptions to touch or penetrate. Abiding in Him, we’ll grow in truth and unshakeable conviction.

Psalms 138:2 KJV
(2) I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

Where there is worship, the Word will be magnified and given priority. Likewise, the Word exalted or magnified without worship and a face turned towards His is but mere religion. Interesting- that this verse, often referenced for the importance of his Word, begins with worship as the purpose, while His name and Word are the inspiration and motivation for it.

To become aware of God’s greatness and just how greatly He has made Himself accessible to us is to enter into a behavior-adjusting state of worship. In worship is where two aspects of God are acknowledged and honored. In His name there is recognition of all He has done and His fame has infinite verification in nature and in the demonstration of His power through creation, healings and miracles that have defined Him unquestionably as the Lord of lords, King of kings, and Master of all. In His name all the evidence of His superiority rises up to defy any resistance to the force of His will and the purpose He will accomplish.

There is something even more incredible, though, than the fame of His name-His Word. What He has declared is not just something that has happened, but His Word is an eternal impact, acting now and always to fulfill in whatever way necessary the fullness of all He has proclaimed. Everything that will ever be included in His name will have been preceded by His Word.

How precious it is to have both His name and His word to validate, empower, and propel us in our relationship. But it is most essential that as either is magnified, studied and honored, that it be a part of worship that is taking place in the presence of the very One who has spoken it. It will only be the ones that are of a lowly, contrite and humble spirit that will truly receive that full intent of His expressions, and to become elevated in one’s acquired knowledge of His Word apart from directly applying each revelation through a faith act of worship will only lead to pride and dissension. His Word will be magnified this day, but may it mostly inspire awe, reverence and worship of the Holy One whose name is great and greatly to be praised.

Jeremiah 15:16 KJV
(16) Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

Jeremiah 2:13 KJV
(13)  For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

You’re supposed to read the fine print, and, of course, all the instructions before using. But now, there is such a need to just go ahead and get started, and everything seems to be working all right anyway- might as well just read through as quickly as possible and see how the thing works. This may work for a little while, but there will come a time when details from that owner’s manual will show themselves to have been quite necessary information all along. You’ll find yourself at some point with something that no longer works at all or at least not in the manner for which it was designed, and one quick look back at the manual will reveal the reason for the breakdown and that the fault had nothing to do with the machine’s design or construction.

This is where I found myself recently with regard to my pressure washer. It really did work very well right out of the box, and I even made a quick read of the instructions, but some critical information was never fully known or misunderstood, and at a point when I really needed it for a job it was no longer able to produce pressurized water. It was broken. Now the manual became a means of discovering a solution to my problem, rather than prevention from it. These are some of the things that had been neglected to some degree or another:

1. You should never run the pressure washer without being connected to a water source.
 (Though designed to make use of and handle water, the lack of water for any period of time would  actually destroy internal parts of the pump that needed it for cooling and lubrication.)
2. You should never run it for over two minutes without activating the trigger so the water can flow through it.
2. Certain chemicals like bleach or acid should never be run through the pumps detergent injector.
3. The oil for the washer’s engine has to be checked and changed periodically. (This particular engine actually has a protection feature that will shut it down if the oil level gets too low, before serious damage.)
4. There is a separate oil reservoir for the pump that must be checked and changed even more frequently than the engine’s.

Well there are more, but these are some that definitely had critical relevance to my recent predicament with my pressure washer. I had been using the machine several times already with great results, and when I needed to clean off a big oil stain from a driveway I ran to Home Depot to get some chemical help. I read on the bottle that it could be used with a pressure ‘sprayer’, and, not realizing that this meant a small pump up sprayer rather than my gas powered machine, purchased it and began using it on the driveway. Before too long the pressure went down dramatically and the hose began to pulsate whenever the trigger was pulled. Long story short, I became much more interested in the instruction manual, and rather than just replace the pump, I began to discover how easily replacement parts could get me back in business.

Grace works really great right out of the box. The moment when new life in Christ begins is a wonderful time of sweet forgiveness and freedom. There are, though, some critical instructions that go along with this free and powerful gift:

1. In order to operate for any period of time, there must be a direct connection to our Water source. Attempting to run without maintaining a relationship with Him will guarantee blown seals and low righteousness production.
2. There is also a need for the Water to be flowing through us. Overheating and internal damage may result when there is no fresh flow passing through us. For Him to be His best in us, He must be flowing through us.
3. Our anointing oil needs to be checked continually and kept at a full level through praying and living in the Spirit.
4. In the areas we consider to be part of our personal purpose and our place in the kingdom, there must be an additional submission to and emersion in the oil of God’s Spirit. It will always be by His power and never by our strength.

I’m so grateful for the solution and the answer right here with us continually. Things break and they will (sickness, death, loss, sin, etc.), but the solution for prevention and complete restoration has promised to never leave or forsake us. By just becoming more interested in the Bible, the instruction manual, there will be first of all complete repair of broken and discouraged hearts, and then a return to functionality in the kingdom. And while you’re there, so much more can be discovered about the greatness of the Grace that will empower us with everything we might otherwise never know about or live in.

Broken? There’s repair and prevention info right there in the manual. Just learn to love it.

Joshua 22:5 KJV
(5)  But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Philemon 1:6 KJV
(6)  That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 30:1-3 KJV
(1) Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
(2) That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
(3) Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

There’s just something enticing about the shadow. Things are cooler in the shade. There’s escape from the brightness of the sun’s light inside its sphere. Perspectives change and everything is redefined there. So, what’s so bad about ending up there, just chillin’ and answering all the world’s problems?

All right- the truth will set you free, but when it comes to obtaining or living in truth, there is no substance whatsoever to that ‘truth’ discovered in the shadow. The reason for the shadow’s existence in the first place is that the real Truth has been deflected in some way, leaving an area where the only light is that reflected off other objects.

There is no lack for opinions. Based upon the ‘higher’ thoughts of those that are surely ‘smarter’ and more ‘well-informed’, life decisions and heart passions are set. We have, after all, been given a brain to think with, and to follow after anything that doesn’t make sense to our logic and ‘scientific’ deduction would be ignorant and foolhardy. This may be true, but a problem arises when the shadow is the place where the ‘answers’ are sought. Research obtained in the shadow will never fully portray all the truth. There may be portions and half truths, but until there is personal exposure to the Source of Truth Himself, only deflected and skewed processing can take place, because there is no real truth discovery where the Son’s light is shielded.

And it’s so easy to think of people who are doing this, running to the shadowy place of bondage for strength and trust. They’re quite proud of their ascent to elevated knowledge, and yet, they’re trapped and bound into slavery by the very thing they thought was their elevator. It’s easy to think of those poor souls and miss the moment when the shadow takes us in- when, instead of running to the only source of truth and understanding, circumstances in the shadows keep our thoughts in the darkness and the liberating light of God’s presence is kept from revealing to our opened eyes the solution born out of Truth. There will ever be a need to let our answers come in the light, refusing the perusing of the shade.

The Son is always shining above the clouds, and real strength, trust, and truth are continually awaiting those of us who will only step out of, instead of into the shadows. Why go back to those old, negative thoughts? Why go back to those debilitating habits? Why embrace and hold onto relationships where ‘friends’ are really taskmasters? Why let the deceptions of the shadow be an enticement, when the voice of the Master is waiting to speak directly to the heart that has bravely left the shadows for real adventure in the light.

Isaiah 29:13-14 GW
(13) The Lord says, “These people worship me with their mouths and honor me with their lips. But their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is based on rules made by humans.
(14) That is why I am going to do something completely amazing for these people once again. The wisdom of their wise people will disappear. The intelligence of their intelligent people will be hidden.”

Have you ever listened to one of those classical radio stations when a certain composition is the subject of conversation just before it is played? The level of knowledge and obvious understanding of the music is most impressive. Foreign accents and colorful words describing musical expression and the intended emotional influence can impart this sense that you, too, are gaining an understanding of the music you are about to hear. You can even begin to imagine the music itself as instrumentation and harmonic structures are described. Somehow, though, the longer the discussion goes on it comes to a point of either being entertained and occupied with thoughts about the music or getting on with playing it and letting it speak for itself. Once this finally does happen, it’s interesting how what had just been a bunch of words that may or may not have been understood becomes an experience that goes past the limitations of descriptions and imaginations to the very expression of the composer’s heart. Although it might be helpful to know something of how it was put together, true understanding will remain somewhere quite far away until the master’s hand is applied to the instrument for a revelation that no words can describe.

Learning to play from an instructor can be very similar, as all the rules, hand positions, volume changes, etc. become so much more clear when he/she finally just plays it. In fact, obtaining too much mental information can be more limiting than liberating, as what is finally heard is held in this mental box of intellectual analysis, rather than the simple heart expression it was meant to be.

When God plays it will often set all the discussions and pontifications on their tails. His expressions are so amazing and they’ll never be experienced exclusively in the realm of what can be told. When His hand touches the instrument, all words, rules, definitions and explanations are totally lost in the reality of His true beauty and majesty. In one moment of His performance, He reveals so much more than years of book bound study. After all the colorful accents and thoughts, it is so good when they give way to His true glory unveiled in His performance. Play, Father, play- so that we may experience the magnificence of your heart’s expression and be drawn from far away places to worship right by Your side with hearts overwhelmed by Your indescribable beauty .

Psalms 27:4 KJV
(4) One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

Psa 14:1  <To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.> The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Hearts talk and what they have to say is of such greater significance than the mere babblings of any mouth. What they declare and define for the life they possess is central to any good that life might produce, and before anything having to do with wisdom can come from the efforts of a person, the heart will have to have spoken one specific thing with clarity and conviction- “There is a God”. But, this cannot just be an acknowledgement of common truth; this is a statement that can only be spoken from an experience, from actually having been there with God. It’s one of those “I guess you had to be there” instances, where words or facts alone aren’t sufficient.

The problem here is that we’re talking about a heart, something that is incredibly affected by so many different influences. It is vulnerable to what comes to it through the channel of the mind, where knowledge of natural things comes barging in on a continual basis. So many times this ‘mind’ knowledge actually leads the heart in a direction away from its knowledge of God as science, current events, and philosophy impress it with this sense of independence and self sufficiency. How can it honestly declare its awareness of an all powerful God, when it is so full of natural things that cause it to be puffed up and proud? How can it have the occasion to be occupied in the least with noticing God’s existence when completely ensconced in facts, persuasions and arguments that would indicate otherwise, that somehow all this magnificent creation and world around us is the result of some accidental and very well-placed ‘boom’?

The heart is also potentially led away by the emotional experiences that come to it by way of relationships, passions, dreams and expectations. Disappointment, infatuation, rejection, disillusionment, fear, etc. can put a wall of ‘God-defense’ around a heart, disallowing any opportunity for the most eternal relationship, passion, dream and expectation to be nurtured and cultivated in the presence of God. A desire to ‘feel the feeling’ and ‘ride the ride’ can lead the heart down rabbit trails of physical and substance abuse that lead to insignificant and meaningless destinations somewhere far away from the ‘Feeling’ and ‘Ride’ that is just waiting to reveal how insignificant those others are in comparison. Misrepresentations of God by those who’s mouths have claimed to know Him have dislodged any positive impression of what it might really be like to be near Him, and the part of the heart that is most needing to be filled with joyful and fulfilling God life is being kept empty and desolate by so many emotional sentries standing guard at every opening. Even for those hearts that have at one time opened up to His knocking, there is always a line of faithful diversionary agents waiting to separate and block God’s nearness once again.
 
Whenever true knowledge of God’s goodness is presented to a heart, though, there is an opportunity for it to begin making declarations through every part of its existence that there really is a God who has not only been observed, but experienced.  People are destroyed (Isaiah 5:13, Jeremiah 4:22, Hosea 4:6) not for a lack of knowing anything at all, but for being kept by so many other experiences, facts, impressions and sometimes just ‘never-being-told’ from having a true knowledge of God. Those ways chosen that only lead to death and destruction are very clear communication by a heart that it is in full denial of God’s existence for whatever reason. The heart that has become personally convinced of God’s existence, however, will begin to follow a script of righteousness, verifying the validity of any mouthed words and leading to a healthy life of fulfillment and blessing. To really know Him is to walk in His ways and depart completely from the way of the fool. Where once God knowledge had been refused entrance by sentries of doubt, those once disabling tidbits will be expelled and denied reentry by the persuasion that will despise all others.

Today each heart will make a statement. It will speak of just how deeply it is convinced of God’s existence through words spoken and by every way chosen. These declarations will be direct indications of how close the heart has been to the Righteous One and how impressed it has been with Him. And, ultimately there will be a claim made by the heart’s statements that either, “I am fool”, or “I am a child of the living and ever-present God”. The heart talks. What will it say?

Psalms 89:15  Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
:16  In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

My Dad got me this phonograph by Christopher Parkening when I was a boy that made a lasting impression on my musical choices and my life as a result. It had several pieces by Bach that I became quite familiar with after listening to them over and over. For me there is something incredibly passionate and yet so developed in the musical intricacy of Bach’s composition that touches both the heart and the intellect together with this overwhelming experience of expression.

One piece in particular was an arrangement of Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring. It was actually written for chorale with instrumental accompaniment, but it had been arranged for classical guitar in a way that very beautifully represented the flowing melody with plodding bass line. I became quite familiar with the piece by listening to it and could anticipate and savor every section with each listening. I quickly decided, though, that this was a piece that I would not only know by listening, but this would be a piece I would learn to play. Even though it was beyond my skill level, I began practicing it with great care given to every note and every movement. Every measure and every line were like little exercises themselves as I slowing memorized each shift, each fingering, each note, and each chord. As each section was discovered as something my fingers could produce there was an exhilarating feeling of accomplishment and creative wonder. I found that just playing the notes, though, wasn’t enough, and after learning all of them in their proper sequence up to the final cadence, I entered a lifetime of musical expression with this piece that was new and fresh with each performance. What has been interesting, though, that as I have played Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring over and over and over through the years, I have gotten to the place that I no longer have to concentrate and remember each note and each phrase; they just flow almost independently from the requirement of mental focus. I know the piece by heart and it has become for me a sound that comes from my heart in a joyful musical expression. While listening to it was a joy, as it became known to my heart through time and intense focus it went from just a joyful reception to a joyful expression.

In the presence of the Lord there is a joy that cannot help but produce a sound of rejoicing. An amazing sense of peace and joy comes from just listening to this sound as it rises from the hearts and lives of those who’ve taken the time to learn it. One could spend a lifetime just being blessed by hearing it, but there is a whole other level of experience this sound will bring when its lines and phrases become expressions from the heart, rather than just to it. To really know this sound is so much more than just hearing it. It is learning to express it in every measure of life, through all the challenges and rewards, so that it is the natural response no matter the circumstances. It is a sound that naturally flows from the heart as God is chosen over every other temptation and victory over sin produces a faith enhancing patience.  To live in the light of the life that’s ours in Christ is to know this sound of joy by heart, where it is new and fresh each time it spontaneously erupts in its musical expression. As every life step is taken with an awareness and honor of the Lord, the inevitable continuous joyful sound of a soul that has been redeemed will bring with it great blessing and exaltation in a righteousness that will bear much fruit in the kingdom.

May the heart sound of this day be a joyful one as it resounds to the wonderful light that is pouring in through the door opened to Jesus’ knocking. May it be a sound known so very well and by heart.

Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

But, he thought he was doing it all right according to the depth of his understanding and the volume of his knowledge. It seems, though, that there are more ingredients for wisdom than a well laid out plan based upon a substantial amount of evidence. In fact, in his case, it would seem that this very thing was the main hindrance to him seeing what he was actually doing, because of the elevation of his pride platform – based upon his ‘religious’ ascendance.

That 6th verse really reminds me then of the scripture,  ” The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” (Psalms 111:10) Paul had every reason to be sure of himself on his quest to demolish and extinguish the Christian movement and all its followers. Based upon what he really thought about God, he was doing the ‘Lord’s work’ and performing deeds of righteousness. In reality, though, there was nothing whatsoever that could be considered wise in the actions to which he had committed himself, and it wasn’t until he found himself trembling and astonished before the very One his deeds were about that he could begin down the path towards true wisdom (Jesus). It wasn’t until he could see nothing other than the awe inspiring light of God’s glory that he could begin to seek the way that only had God as its director and guide.

There may be something we’re up to that is considered legitimate and right according to our perspective of information gathered from the Word and circumstances. No matter how high we rise in recognition for ‘religious’ acts, however, there is only one way to true wisdom and understanding before God and His purpose for our lives. It is only when we’re brought low before Almighty God that we can ask “what wilt though have me to do?” and know the resulting actions will be full of wisdom. It is only when all other reasoning is eliminated by His light that there is an ability to really hear His voice and discover that possibly the very things we were so faithful to were in direct opposition to God Himself.

There is a light for our path today- to bring clarity to our steps, but also to bring trembling awareness as to just who our actions are for- and who they’re against. May there be transformation and redirection wherever the need be and may there be discovery of a new way of wisdom in worshiping our God face to face throughout this day.

Psalms 36:9  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.