Spiritual War Fare

You prepare a feast for me

in the presence of my enemies.

You honor me by anointing my head with oil.

My cup overflows with blessings.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life…

all the makings for an incredible cashew pesto…

I had many a conversation with many a son and daughter of God, this past 2023. In almost every case, nearly without fail, people are embattled. In some cases, deeply so.

It makes sense, because we do have an enemy, and he is not “flesh and blood”. Our enemy is a soul-realm-enemy, but the fact that he operates in the soul and cannot kill our body doesn’t make him less dangerous. It makes him more dangerous.

A few weeks ago, and true to our yearly tradition, Tim and I watched the old Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The same line always grabs my full attention, every year - the opening bit when the two angels are having a conversation:

Franklin: A man down on Earth needs our help.
Clarence: Splendid! Is he sick?
Franklin: No, worse, he's discouraged.

…breakfast.

We’ve all heard of “MRE’s” - Meals Ready to Eat - used by our military. The Institute of Medicine did a comprehensive study of humans under combat conditions and determined that service members (who were classified as highly active persons between the ages of 18 and 30) typically burn about 4,200 calories a day, but tended to only consume about 2,400 calories a day during combat, entering a negative energy balance.

If not addressed, this negative energy balance can prove to be dangerous for national security. It occurs when service members fail to consume full portions of their rations. The reason for this? Usually great stress, and discouragement.

In other words, the provision has been made for the warrior. It has been meticulously measured and portioned for their highest good and for the achievement of victory. But if the warrior becomes discouraged or distracted and won’t eat it, eat all of it, he will weaken over time.

I will never forget walking in on this scene (see above image). It was a table prepared for me on a chilly autumn day in mid-October in Woodstock, Vermont. I had spent a glorious (but laborious) week teaching women in a beautiful workshop facilitated by Laura McCollough of Art and Faith Creative

On this particular evening, we convened at a beautiful red barn, owned and run by the historic Woodstock Inn. We’d spent some time walking the property before being called to dinner, and by the time we were summoned inside I was cold and hungry. The barn doors slid open, and smiling staff beckoned.

Just look at what met my gaze.

The aroma of the food was the first thing I noticed. After that, I saw how every detail had been meticulously prepared beforehand. You better know I relished every bite.

Hey you. You, there, in the absolute thick of it. You with the four small children. You, who just retired and your fixed income won’t cut it. You, caring for your aging dad. You with the newborn. You with the diagnosis. You who just made a sickening discovery. You who feels betrayed or abandoned.

Eat.

Your Heavenly Father saw all this chaos coming, before it ever landed on your door. He designed your “MRE” - sufficient to the day.

But you gotta sit down and eat it. Eat every single thing on the plate.

You must relish that sermon. Read the chapter of that book. Hear the word of the Lord in the lips of that friend. Buy the flowers. Open the sketchbook. Take the walk.

Feed your soul on what is true and beautiful before you wither up.

Let this blog post be your appetizer.

PS. I love you.

Day 9 of Lent {...what is "rest"...}

When I say the word “rest”, what comes up in your mind? If you are like most people, some kind of change of circumstances is involved. If you are anything like The Preacher and I, you might think of taking a drive (like we did yesterday), or going to the movies, or at the very least lighting a candle and turning on some soft music.

I often think of a bath in my big bathtub - jets on full blast.

But what about the rest of God? What about spiritual rest? What is the rest spoken of in Hebrews:

REST:

For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from her own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest…

True spiritual rest is never about changing your circumstances. It is about changing your perspective. The rest of God is about a deep understanding of the New Covenant. The deeper the understanding, the deeper the rest.

This is why it is urgently vital that you place yourself in front of the anointed, passionate-but-scholarly, simple preaching of the Finished Work of Christ.

You will never find comfort and joy with typical churchified religion. You won’t find the exhale your soul needs so badly in the old “letter of the law”. There is a “new and full-of-life way”.

The “Letter of the Law” can be defined as any system of doctrine in which God responds after we initiate with our good behavior. See, Jesus was the plan of God from before the foundation of the world. Therefore, everything we read in the old covenant must be re-interpreted in the light of what Jesus came to do, what Jesus in fact accomplished when He simply said, “It is finished.”

He fulfilled all the wisdom Scriptures in all seven Wisdom Books of the Bible. While there is much we can glean from them that will make our lives easier (or harder!), Jesus was both the power and wisdom of God. He was wisdom personified, and in terms of your position in Christ, all the wisdom of Jesus is imputed to you as a gift.

Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets. All the prophetic passages, minor prophets and major prophets, all their warning and their promises came to pass in the one man, Jesus.

Jesus fulfilled every command of God. His obedience is credited to your account, too.

Jesus fulfilled the law of love. He alone completely loved God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. He alone flawlessly loved us as He loved Himself (God). His love, all the love of Corinthians 13, is poured out upon us, lavished on our lives, and (ultimately) credited to our account.

What in the actual world, right?!?! It is too good to be true! Let me tell you, if you doubt that, you are already in trouble, because nothing short of the full obedience of Jesus, in every area, is going to cut it.

God does not have favorites, He is no respecter of persons - He simply has a personality that responds to faith…

FAITH IN THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST.

Not faith in faith, not faith in my ability to please Him apart from Christ.

When my unshakeable faith in what Jesus did leads me to make sacrifices or take risks or serve through love or worship extravagantly, the Living God is deeply moved. He has a personality that is partial to faith. It “pleases Him”.

In fact, without that faith in what Jesus accomplished - plus nothing - I can’t please Him at all.

Jesus paid it all, past present and future. And by His wounds you are healed. You really can stake everything on that. Eventually, when your soul is soaked and besotted with the extravagant love of God, you will find yourself behaving as the beloved.

Rest comes not from new landscapes, but from new eyes - the eyes that see and perceive new covenant truth.

You won’t get there sitting under preaching that mixes the two covenants. I would say, “Have fun with that…” but the problem is, you won’t have fun at all. You will live in an endless cycle of religion: brief periods of reprieve, leading to some sort of bad behavior, leading to doubt leading to forced better behavior leading to more moments of reprieve leading to some sort of bad behavior, leading to more doubt leading to more forced better behavior, leading to…

And all the while, many (if not most) spiritual leaders will happily help preach and keep you in that cycle - because they are in it. They will make it “hurt so good”. Their preaching will bullet point, 7-step, and give you feel-good lists to aspire to, dumbing down the law into something you think you just might be able to (almost) keep, if you continue going to their church and being fed by the soul-food they prepare. Their books will outline what your relationships, work life, sex life, creative life, what your food, your leisure time, finances, emotional health, and what your physical health should be and in fact “could be”, if you could but follow their directives.

No, really. You’ll feel better if you just ______________________ .

Ain’t no rest for the weary in religion.