the time.

 Lately, I cannot escape these words.

[[look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is]]           
                                                                                        Ephesians 5:15-17


 

 Paul writes this in the context of exhortation to walk in new life, to put off the old self,, reminding us of our identity as children of light no longer in the darkness as we once were.
His continuous theme is you are in the light, so walk in the light,, don’t walk as those who don’t know Jesus do, don’t walk in your former manner of life, fulfilling deceitful desires,, but be renewed in the spirit of your mind, putting on the new self, letting light expose the darkness.

he is adamant, and I can feel the desperation and anguish within him, as he implores us to realize who we are in Christ now, all that we have available to us, and all that we are called to.
we are urged to not quench the Spirit but rather be filled with Him,, to not tear down but rather build up.

it is in all of this,, that
we are told to [redeem the time].

redeem {exagorazō}- “buying up the opportunity”. The word “time” here isn’t time as in actual hours and days, but rather “the time”{kairos}, meaning “a season”, a time in which something is seasonable.
Vine’s dictionary summarizes it as [[making the most of every opportunity, turning to the best advantage since none can be recalled if missed]].

Paul isn’t necessarily encouraging us to make the most of every moment, but to seize, literally forcibly take hold of, opportunity for His glory and His Kingdom.

the days are evil.
the darkness is thick.

how are we walking?
are we so in tune with His voice and with His Word, that we know what His will, His desires, are in every moment, in every situation?
do we have the spirit of discernment?

we are in a definite season of opportunity that we are to seize for the glory of Jesus.

[[in our lives, in the lives of those around us, and in the nations at large]].

how are we making the best use of it?


cast off the flesh, the distractions, the lethargy,,
and feel the urgency for such a time as this.
to grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
to be filled with the Spirit.
and to allow the Light to expose the darkness.

“awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you”
                                      Ephesians 5:14

He is calling us out of our sleep,,
arise and shine,, and call others out of theirs.

for the time and the Kingdom are at hand,
and His return is drawing near. 





 

soar, my soul.

[He rescued me, because He delighted in me].


be free.



awake.
soar, my soul.

break down the walls of apathy.
strip off the layer of numbness.
remove the complacency of comparison.

awaken me from this sleep.

fresh passion.
new hunger.
greater thirst.

wild and free.
extreme in my pursuit of You.

completely undone.


a fire within raging.
spreading.
consuming.


Holy Spirit filling.
flooding.
saturating.

burn in me, God.
   to where You cannot be contained.


awake, my soul
to your

     first Love.


[you are delighted in. you are free.
free to be undignified as David was,,
dancing before your King.]

i am alive.
and i will worship.

“Refuse to be average.
let your heart soar
as high as it will.”
                A.W Tozer 







 

photo-synthesis.

This week’s  Swallowed up in Light  photo.

The moments when we get a glimpse of His Kingdom here on earth. and the display of His creation echoes His words, "for it is You who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness".

and His light brings peace. and His light brings rest. and our souls are flooded with the One who is Light itself.

"Return, O my soul, to your rest;

for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling;

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living."

                                                                                                    [Psalm 116:7-9]

Your Kingdom come. [actualizing what's available].

we can't afford to have the appearance, or form, of godliness but deny its power.
                                                                                               ((2 Tim. 3:5))

[[For the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power]].  1 Cor. 4:20


this word power is dynamis. {dü'-nä-mēs}
it speaks of a realm of the supernatural and miraculous that few of us enter into,, and yet Jesus says that this realm is what the Kingdom of God is made of. We find the Kingdom in this realm,, in the reality of this word.

it means strength, power, ability,, inherent power residing within a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth,, power for performing miracles,, moral power and excellence of soul.

it comes from the root word dynamai. {dü'-nä-mī}

it simply means [[to be able to,, to be powerful]].,, whether by personal ability, permission,  or opportunity.. and is sometimes rendered “can, or may”.

we may,, because we’re able to.
“For you can [may] all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged…” (1 Corinthians 14:31). vine’s expository dictionary clarifies the power in this word “may”,, by stating that the meaning here is not permission for all to prophesy but that all have the ability to do so.


this word dynamis and the substance behind it, is literally all over Jesus and His ministry.

>>
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power [dynamis] and the glory, for ever.” Matthew 6:13

“Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works [dynamis] were done, because they repented not…” Matthew 11:20

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power  [dynamis] of God.” Matthew 22:29

“And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue [dynamis] had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?” Mark 5:30

“And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power [dynamis].” Mark 9:1

“And Jesus returned in the power [dynamis] of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.” Luke 4:14

“ And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power [dynamis] he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.” Luke 4:36

[[And then it was imparted to His own.]]
and the context was freely you have received,, freely give.

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power [dynamis] and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” Luke 9:1

And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power [dynamis] from on high.” Luke 24:49

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power [dynamis] or holiness we had made this man to walk?” Acts 3:12

“And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, [dynamis] or by what name, have ye done this?” Acts 4:7

“And with great power [dynamis] gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:38

“And Stephen, full of faith and power, [dynamis] did great wonders and miracles among the people.” Acts 6:8

“And God wrought special miracles [dynamis] by the hands of Paul…” Acts 19:11  

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power [dynamis] of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

“Through mighty [dynamis] signs and wonders, by the power [dynamis] of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” Romans 15:19

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power [dynamis] may be of God, and not of us. “ 2 Corinthians 4:7

“And what is the exceeding greatness of his power [dynamis] to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power…” Ephesians 1:19

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power [dynamis] that worketh in us…” Ephesians 3:20


“That I may know him, and the power [dynamis] of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…” Philippians 3:10


“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, [dynamis] and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” 1 Timothy 1:5

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power [dynamis], and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
<<
(this isn’t nearly all of scriptures where it’s used).

For the Kingdom of God is not in word, {logos},,
 in things talked about, doctrine, teaching, or reasoning of the mind alone,,

but in power, {dynamis}..
 in the ability, strength, and power to actualize what is available to us in the heavenly realm,, to bring down the Kingdom in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us.


we get to be clothed with God’s ability.
pursue Him.
the life of power is a life of abiding in Christ.
the hunger for the demonstration of power must not be separated from our passion for Him.
But our hunger for Him, must in part be seen in our pursuit of spiritual gifts and the physical demonstration of His Kingdom here on earth. It’s His command. 1 Corinthians 14:1

The Kingdom of God is at hand,,
it’s in reach,, it’s available.

let’s walk in power [dynamis] to see His world permeate ours.



[[Let us receive so we have something to give.]]



 

live from Me.

  the promise  that Jesus cried out,, and that we need to grasp.


“…Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’. Now this He said about the Spirit…”
                                                                                                                             John 7:37-39


we have an inheritance. [[may the eyes of our hearts be opened to the riches of it,, through the spirit of wisdom and of revelation. Ephesians 1:17-19]]
and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee,, or down payment,, of it, [[until we acquire full possession of it as God redeems us in glory. Ephesians 1:14]]


Jesus’ focus wasn’t on that we have living water flowing into us, or abiding within us, He said,,

these rivers of living water,,
bubbling up, gushing forth, flowing,,
abundant with refreshment and salubrity [health-giving],
are the Holy Spirit,,
and they will flow out of the innermost part of you.

[[they are to be released]].


the dead sea.

“there is an almost eerie lack of life within its depths. There are no fish swimming beneath the surface, no plants growing at the base. The Dead Sea carries an extremely high mineral and salt content, which makes it impossible for life to survive.”[i]

the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea is the Jordan River,,
an important source of life and vitality to surrounding dry lands,

[[and the river that the God-man was immersed in, that all righteousness may be fulfilled,,
the river that the sandals John was not worthy to carry stood in as the heavens opened to Him,,
the river that geographically marked the dissension of the ‘dove’ upon the One who would soon baptize His own,, with the Holy Spirit and fire. ]]

So what makes the Dead Sea so salty,, causing it to be marked by lifelessness even with such a life-giving river sourcing it?

[no water flows out of it. ]

water only leaves by evaporation,, leaving salt and mineral deposits behind.
and with no outward flow,, the salt gets trapped, meaning no fresh water and no ability for life.


self-absorbency [[preoccupation with one’s own emotions, interests or situation].   

the self-absorbed Christian completely hinders the movement and flow of the Spirit,,
 not only to bring life to everyone and every circumstance encountered, but to the point of breeding death within.


are you a river of life,, or a dead sea?

are you being sourced by the Fountain of Living Waters ((Jeremiah 18:13)),,
living a lifestyle of complete dependency and yieldedness [[always aware, always in tune, always obedient]] so that the Spirit can flow through you,
or are you living in self-sufficiency,, and not even receiving in order to give?


are you pouring out,, freely giving the Kingdom as you’ve freely received it,,
or are you standing water,, offering no life to those around you and building deposits of stagnation and death within the innermost parts of yourself?


How dependent on the Holy Spirit are we willing to live?

the paradoxes of the Kingdom,,
  be dead to self to be truly alive. pour out to be filled.

be poor in Spirit,,    [[live from Me]]



 

---

[i] www.sfbsc.com/about-the-dead-sea

the mundane.

the mundane.
the place that’s so easy to slip in to,, and even more easy to be left stuck in.
the place we all get so tired of.

mundane |ˌmənˈdān|

adjective

1 lacking interest or excitement; dull: seeking a way out of his mundane, humdrum existence.

2 of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one
           
1 her mundane life: humdrum, dull, boring, tedious, monotonous, tiresome, wearisome, unexciting, uninteresting, uneventful, unvarying, unremarkable, repetitive, repetitious, routine, ordinary, everyday, day-to-day, run-of-the-mill, commonplace, workaday; informal plain-vanilla, ho-hum. ANTONYMS extraordinary, imaginative.

2 the mundane world: earthly, worldly, terrestrial, material, temporal, secular, areligious; literary sublunary. ANTONYMS spiritual.                       

the mundane,,
[we hate it because we were not made for it].


freedom from the mundane,,
the answer is beautifully simple,,

“they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world”.
                                                                                John 17:16

we are free from it.

we are not of this earthly, temporal material, mundane world.
we were not born-again into a dull, unexciting, uneventful, ordinary, mundane life.

even Webster’s knows that the very antonym,, opposite,, of the mundane is an extraordinary, spiritual existence.

and in 1 Corinthians 6:17,, Paul states the unthinkable, what we all are pining for,,

[with raw hands and dirty fingernails,, clawing at this dry dirt, this earth, this dust,, known as us… to get past the temporal, broken, earthly clay-man,
and release the streams of living water underneath,,
where the God man breathes],,

“but he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him”.


[[there is nothing mundane about the Spirit of God]].

there is nothing ordinary about the power and authority Jesus gave us.
there is nothing commonplace about His wild, unrestrained love.

life is anything but uneventful when we walk in boldness. when we walk in power. when we walk in love.

our beings, our lives, our very existence become the opposite of this world, of the temporal, of the mundane,, when we see what He sees and we do what He does,, they become spiritual.

be free of the mundane.
and be free in the Spirit instead.

the deep things of God.

God has promises .
He also has secrets.

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
                           “What eye has seen, nor ear heard,
                             nor the heart of man imagined,
                             what God has prepared for those who
                              love Him”---
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
                                                                                                     1 Corinthians 2:6-16

[[I’ve given you access to My depths. ]]

>> through the Spirit,, the level of intimacy and unity
we can have with God is unfathomable. <<

I want to know the secrets of His heart.
                                   greater revelation,,
                                   deeper in the Spirit,,
                                   mysteries made bare,, naked,, unveiled,,
                                   knowing more fully His will,,
                                 [[ what He actually means.
                                   who He actually is. ]]

“It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.”
                                                 Proverbs 25:2

photo-synthesis. [the darkness never wins].

This week’s  Swallowed up in Light  photo,, in light of Holy Week.

The moments when the darkness seems to overtake,, only for His Light to break through,, triumphant and strong. and His overcoming power is displayed. and the bleakness of the dark only makes Him that much brighter. and what intended to snuff out, enhances. and what intended to crush, glorifies. and He cannot be contained.

Celebration of promise.

Passover begins at sundown.
and for the first time, it's not so foreign.
it's as up close as it can get.

 

Passover is about remembrance and fulfilled promises.

Passover is about hope, the hope that comes from a God who always comes through, who always fulfills, who never turns back on His word.

it’s about the freedom and deliverance that was promised.
the doubt and faithlessness of His children.
and the constant grace and faithfulness of God.

it’s about the covenant that He made.
and His unwillingness to break it.

it’s about the God who loves to redeem,, bring renewal and rebirth.
the Initiator of change.
faithfully changing winter into spring.

it's about the joy that He brings in the deepest of sorrows.
and the strength that He gives on the hardest of journeys.

it's about the sacrifice that He gave.
the lives that He spared.
the chains of slavery that He broke.
the new life that He promised.

Passover is about the death that was coming,,
but was overcome by the blood,
because the grace of our God is more than enough.


it's about a God who remembers,, and calls us to do the same.
and so tonight, we'll watch the sun bend low, just as the Lamb bent low to wash our feet,,
right before ultimately fulfilling the  promises  that God made.  and we'll remember.and we'll   celebrate.


the redemption, freedom, and life that we have.
because God didn't turn His back on His Word.
and instead gave us His Son.
the Perfect Sacrifice.
the Spotless Lamb.



[[“For all the promises  of God find their Yes in Jesus…”]] 
                                                                                                                                    2 Corinthians 1:20