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BeLOnGings

.....and being with you nothing else I desire.

“I Will Speak to You……..Part 4. Found in Relation.”

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Scripture is not an end in itself.

Jesus made this clear when he said to the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! (Jn.5:39 NLV)

The purpose of the Scripture is that we might come to know God. “And this is life that they may know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.” (Jn.17:2.)

Peter says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who has called us to his own goodness and glory.” (2 Peter.1:3)

… and Paul, “That I may know him….” (Phil. 3:10) and in his last epistle he says, “…. I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim.1:12)

….. and John, “I write to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning.”(1 Jn.2:13,14)

This is the purpose of the Scriptures as we journey through this life…. To come to know God as we are known – that we might be, “Found in Relation”  – to Him.

As you can see from the photo above I’m having some trouble with my bible….it’s failing apart!  This is maybe the third or fourth common use Bible I have had. The problem is (again) I don’t want to replace it because I have so many personal notes in the margins!

For years I have read a Psalm every morning. As I journey through the adventure of life I change and my circumstances change. Like Frodo Baggins on his adventure I have a best friend – his name is Sam (which is how our American friends hear us pronounce Psalm : – ) He has been my faithful companion, so each time I come to a particular psalm and notice the notes I return to that place, to that time, to that decision I made or that situation I walked through, and experience again the reality of the God I have come to know as my Father and my friend, and recognize his voice of truth and love and hear him speaking yet more clearly with each 150 day cycle – through my friend – (p)SA(l)M : – )

 

 

 

 

“I Will Speak To You……….. Part 3. Lost in Translation.”

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……Well our Father showed me what the second “S” in this series should be – Scripturally.

Peter says of Paul’s writings, “They are difficult to understand” When we find this to be the case we can either discount the bible or we can say, “Well I don’t understand that – yet!…. and remain open to receiving further revelation that will bring clarity.” I’ve found the second option is the better one…. especially since Peter also says, “Above all you must understand that no prophecy came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had it’s origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried (driven) along by the Holy Spirit.” Being dismissive or selective of scripture is not a good idea : – )

I remember back in the 60’s how refreshing it was to discover “God is for Real Man”  by Carl Burke……the bible in city kid street language! Then came The Living Bible and other paraphrases bringing the bible to life. The focus was not literal accuracy but translations that made the message understandable and relevant to modern man.

That was pretty good for a start, but to grow as a disciple of Jesus then requires some serious digging in. This is how our Father has designed it. As Proverbs 25:2 says  “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter ; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” 

We have been blessed to get to know some ‘kings’ in recent years, men of great intellect who have searched and opened up the scriptures to us in a deeper way……..for they are also men of God’s Spirit able to interpret ‘spiritual truth’….. for the ‘natural man’ cannot comprehend the things of God. (1 Cor.2:10-16)

When I say God always speaks to us “Scripturally” that must be distinguished from “man’s interpretation” of the scriptural texts. I love the story of how the ‘father’ of Systematic Theology, Thomas Aquinas, had a death bed encounter with God, and subsequently pleaded that all his books be destroyed as he realized how inadequate human analysis alone was in comprehending the Divine mystery!

God has used these searching ‘kings’ to shed much light for us on everything from the mass slaughter of the Canaanites to the unending torture chamber of ‘hell’ to women not speaking in church.One such king was the Russian Ivan Panin whose amazing mathematical insights lead him from atheism to faith and showed we dare not alter or discard as Jesus said, even one “jot or tittle” of scripture.

Take for example the word commonly translated ‘eternal’. A trip into church history and language reveals that the influence of St. Augustine’s pre conversion beliefs, culture and linguistic limitations had him select a suboptimal Latin word, which translates into our English word meaning “never ending”. In the original Hebrew text however, the word ‘olam’ is used for example of the time Jonah was in the belly of the big fish. (His red robe wouldn’t have looked so well if he’d been in there forever : – ) ‘Olam’ here obviously was not unending, but three days, prefiguring Christ’s resurrection after three days in the tomb. The original Hebrew word means ‘hidden’, or ‘belonging to an age.’ A few translations are faithful to the original Hebrew, for example Rotherham’s The Emphasized Bible renders it “age-abiding.” 

It’s a little word, but when ‘Lost in Translation’ that makes an enormous difference for mankind for our belief about God….. and for Jonah : – )

Next week: Part 5. ‘Found in Relation.’

“I Will Speak To You…..Part 2. Pottering About With My Wife”

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I had more responses to last week’s blog than to any other. They included the double witness (below): a drawing from Rob in IL. and a photo from Collins in MA. of the ‘tree of life’ in their backyards – sent independently!

 

 

 

The first occurrence of the “cherubim” is in Genesis 3:24 in the context of “the tree of life”.

“After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard (keep, preserve) the way to THE TREE OF LIFE.”

So this week I decided to linger ‘in the garden’ – of Symphonizing, before proceeding to the second ‘S’ in the series. This was confirmed when Hilary and I had to abandon our bike ride today because of the weather and ended up instead, working together – ‘in the garden’! While we pottered around, one of our grandchildren played around.

Interestingly her favorite phrase at the moment is, “I can do it my-seeeellff!”

As Hilary pulled out our gardening gloves she said, “You should pull those burrs out of yours.”

Well my initial thought was, “Why? That would be such a waste of time. They work fine the way they are. It will just delay my getting a more valuable job done!” Well there you have it, ‘valuable’ from my point of view, but what is required of me is that I acknowledge there is another point of view that is just as valid, and that I in fact need, to be wholly ‘Me’

In the garden of Eden (Delight) a ‘side’ was taken out of Adam i.e. Mankind, to create two out of the one – male and female. It was then after the disobedience that, we read, “and their eyes were opened” (Gen.3:7) – and Adam exclaimed “Wo- man!” : – ) What previously had been understood as another aspect of ‘Me’ became an ‘other’  It was at this point that I believe fear of an ‘other’ entered in (Gen.3:10). An aspect of this was the fear of losing that which is meant to be part of the whole integrated ‘Me’ that is in Christ. This ‘falling’ apart of Mankind is what Christ came to bring together.

“And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Eph.1:9.10)

Recognizing my fallen desire to assert my independence and do things ‘my-seeellff’ – my own (male) way, I turned from ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’, and instead began to eat from the One who is ‘The Tree of Life’. As I plucked out the burrs my attitude changed from a begrudging concession to an embracing with heartfelt gratitude the perspective of my partner ‘cherubim’s’ different view which is the complement and completion of the true and full ‘Me’ in Christ.

I only realized afterwards that the ‘Before’ (above with burrs) and ‘After’ (below without burrs) photos I had taken included alongside the ‘man’s glove’, the ‘ladies’ gardening gloves, also the two chairs….. poised for a conversation, and the two flower pots in the ‘faucet’ (UK – tap) holder, for it is out of such ‘dwelling together in unity‘ in true accord, that the water of life flows. (Ps.133)

I want to repeat this ‘Symphonizing’ is not the preserve of married couples. This morning I had the same symphonizing experience with another brother and this afternoon Hilary and I with another couple in Ireland via FaceTime!!

Neither is this accord spiritual as opposed to practical, on the contrary if the spiritual and practical do not flow together in accord….it is not true accord! It is ‘the cherubim’ of heavenly knowledge AND grounded love that “keep the way” to“The Tree of Life” who is perfectly Son of God and Son of Man so that we can, together hear him speaking.

“O send forth your light and your truth; let them lead me.” (Ps.43:3)

P.S. On a practical note Hilary and I are being lead to cross the Atlantic again around September time, and would value any ‘light and love’ that the cherubim on the European side might receive about this : – ) Thank you for listening with us.

“I Will Speak To You….”

by on in I Will Speak To You

 

It didn’t take long to hear the ‘blog breath’ on this week’s bike ride! As we emerged from our driveway I noticed the two cher-ry trees in our front yard, and Father (who is ‘Hooked on Phonics’ to help those of us are a little on the slow side) whispered, “I will speak to you from between the cher – (umbim)” (Ex.25:22)

By the end of the ride I had received a a full series outline for the above title and all five headings beginning with “S”!!!!!.

The first was that when God speaks to us, he speaks Symphoniously, i.e. in harmonious agreement or accord. 

The most immediate outworking of this in my own life is in our marriage.

At one point on the ride, as Hilary and I were poised to take a left, we noticed a group of serious bikers approaching on the other side. “Can we make it before them?” Hilary muttered, pedaling hard to make the turn – just in time! As I followed at a more leisurely pace, and paused to let the group pass, the lead rider, an older man, gave me a both exasperated and thankful look, as if to say, “Some people just have to speed ahead………thank you for waiting!

“Here we have the two ‘cherubim'” I thought, “Hilary – the Accelerator. Paul – the Brake.”

I went on to meditate on the purpose of our union being to learn how neither of us are in the driver’s seat and so rather than focus on how my partner needs to change and become ‘normal’ like me, we both need to learn sensitivity to the Paraclete (the one who comes alongside) and learn to respond to Him rather than react to the ‘otherness’ of our partner. For it is only “between the cherubim”  – i.e. in our togetherness, that we will hear His voice.

Sitting in the sunshine outside a coffee shop a few minutes later, we shared a lunch and coffee from the one plate and the one mug, the one conversation ebbing and flowing naturally as we reflected together on the many lake side ‘mansions’ we had just passed…. on Jesus words about the ‘mansion’ being prepared for us that “where He is we may be also”….. and on how that ‘mansion’ is our heart where he has already taken up residence, and is at work that we might happily and compatibility occupy the same space (Matt.12:40  : – )

We talked about our heart as the ‘secret place’ of Psalm 91 and ‘the shadow of his wings’ the place of not seeing fully, but learning ‘to trust’.

Hilary then commented that she had just sent a message to someone, encouraging them that the ‘shadow’  they had been in was that in the ‘secret place’ of their hearts they might learn this ‘trust’

At the very moment she spoke these words, a ‘shadow’ passed across us. I looked up, and there above, was a plane whose ‘wings’ had blocked the light of the sun, for an instant, putting us both in ‘the shadow’!

We smiled knowingly at one another.

Hearing God’s voice requires our learning to symphonize what is going on inside of us with what is going on outside of us. It also requires our learning to symphonize our own heart with the other human heart Father has placed along side of us.

This does not have to be a marriage partner. When I communicate with certain friends I now expect that when we talk about ‘ordinary’ life there will be a cacophony of ‘pings’ in both our hearts.

I believe Father gave me Symphonizing as the first qualification to hearing Him speak because we are so bad at this! Like the naieve crab being slowly boiled, we may be in a church, or a marriage, but we are being stewed in a culture of independence – still operating in isolation.

Jesus warns about those who point out to the desert or in to the closet to find the Son of Man at his coming.(Matt.24:26) Neither in a big name on the internet nor in the privacy of our personal prayer closet, will we ever fully find Him. We are meant to connect with Him in our hearts as we engage in real life with the real ones who he has sent to us…. for “You will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” (Matt.23:39)

As I typed these words Gilbert arrived into my study and said, “Were you calling for me?” I said “No?” but immediately recognized this was Father confirming what I had just written, through the story of Samuel and Eli……where there needed to be a paradigm shift…….in recognizing God’s voice…… as we symphonize with the people and the circumstances of our present life. 

There is a place for prayer closets, podcasts and prophetic lists, but none of these these can ever substitute for the music of a two way relationship in which we experience the blessed communion of the Godhead.

Speeding up to Hilary on the ride home, she said, “You did your sprints yesterday…….you know you need to take a day off and just enjoy the ride through the spring woods with your wife.”

“There you have it.” I thought. “Paul the Accelerator. Hilary the Brake. Ha!!”

That is why we need to both grow in sensitivity to the one in the driver’s seat. For it is only “between the cherubim”  – i.e. in our togetherness, that we will hear the voice, of our good shepherd.

 

Caring for Those who have Fallen Between the Tracks

by on in The House (Rivendell)

 

Last week was a very full one here at Rivendell….. between completing the work of getting a new heart (of the home…..photos of the reborn kitchen soon!) and a full day’s filming for a documentary about the house (video link to another miracle story also coming soon). The critical reason, however, why I didn’t post, was because the ‘blog breath of God’ I always wait for…….only came this morning!

As usual, it is on our ‘day of rest’, that our Father does His best work; and so it was only this morning now that the long hard winter seems to have finally passed, and spring is well and truly sprung, that as Hilary and I were enjoying once again our weekly bike ride – the ‘blog breath’ breathed!…… as Hilary almost ran over the little fellow pictured above, caught in a ‘tight spot’!

As we stopped and picked him up from between the railway tracks, it occurred to me that this is what God has called us to do in this home with some of his human creatures who have also ended up in a ‘tight spot’!

Last night I received a double witness to this thought. I was awakened to a bloodcurdling scream just outside our bedroom window. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs and noticed through the window as I paced to the door, a fox running past. Turning on the front lights I opening the door and spied Mr Fox, sitting staring at me from the neighbor’s yard. Moments later, the prey, a local stray cat we are familiar with, stepped gingerly out of his ‘tight spot’ onto our front porch. He paused looking at me for a moment as I stood before the open door. Then it was as if he said, “Thank you for the offer of protection and hospitality, but I think it’s too late to change, I’ll  just continue to take my chances out here – on the wild side.” ….and with that he slipped away into the night of the other neighbor’s yard.

Last Friday, present and former Riven-dwellers gathered for a time of thanksgiving for all God has done here over the years as one by one folk have accepted our offer of hospital – ity. One brother who had originated the phrase, “The only way into this house is through the door of desperation!’ described how although he came in through that door when he had been in a ‘tight spot’ of anxiety and isolation, during his time in the house he had become passive. However since leaving, Father had ‘taken him to the wood shed’, and blessed ‘desperation’ was reawakened, so that now a number of the things we had discussed with him while here, he is now embracing and implementing, to further change and heal.

What a joy to witness him and many others continue onward and upward on their journey into God!!

As Hilary and I lifted our little stuck turtle friend and set him back on his feet, we pointed him in the opposite direction to the tracks, for the purpose of being brought to that point of desperation is not to end up back ‘on the tracks’ of a rigid external religion where, as Jesus said, man’s traditions make void the living word of God. Rather our desperation is designed to reconnect us with Him, that we be done with the proud tree of the knowledge of good and evil and humbly set our face like our little friend (click below) to stride out toward the shade of the tree of LIFE by the river of LIVING water. (Psalm 1)

IMG_3733

 

Signs Following

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Thank you for praying for the Freedom! retreat.

The day after, we flew to St Augustine, Florida for a rest. Driving around the city looking for a (free-dom : – ) parking place, we spotted it, pulled in, and looked up.

 

We were parked on St. George’s Street. Remember? That is our Father’s name! (Jn.15:1′ georgios’). We were in front of house number 317. Zephaniah 3:17 was the scripture that inspired the song “On the Day You were Born I Danced Over You”  Then the ‘WELCOME’ sign above the rocking chair. It all seemed like Father’s smiling invitation, “Come, sit with me….let me dandle you on my knee.” (Is.66:12,13)

Walking across the Bridge of Lions we spotted the two ships pictured above. In the foreground is the Black Raven Pirate ship replete with skull and crossbones. In front of it the a more stream lined nippier vessel with the name FREEDOM! It reminded us of what we had just experienced as yet again folk escaped from the one who “seeks to steal kill and destroy” into the freedom of The One who came that we “might have life and have it abundantly!” (Jn.10:10)

I was reminded of a scripture Eugene had sent before the retreat from Ps.124:7 “We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.”

Little did we know Father had another ad hoc Freedom! retreat lined up for us over the next two weeks in the living room of dear friends, Larry and Jenn, two Riven-dwellers who now have a similar home in St. Augustine. What a joy to once again see captives being set free in the Father’s love from years of wounding and bondage!

Interestingly they like us (photo below) are in the middle of ‘upgrading’ the kitchen ‘heart’ of their home, where they constantly feed people who are healing in body, soul and spirit, together around their table.

Our new stone worktop is called Ocean Foam. Their new stone floor is called Aquamarine.

As I ran along the shore of the Atlantic one morning reflecting on this, the childhood chorus came back to me;

Wide wide as the ocean; high as the heavens above

Deep deep as the deepest sea, is my Savior’s love

I though so unworthy; still I’m child of His care

For his word teaches me,

That His love reaches me.

Eeeeeeeeeverywhere. 

As we walked to the other end of St. George Street, there was our Father showing of again!

 

Did we get our rest? Well of course we did, because walking down His street all our work is now His ‘rest’ work! (Heb.4:9,10)

P.S.Kitchen upgrade will hopefully be revealed – next week : – ))

Dear Robbinsdale City Council

by on in The House (Rivendell)

 

A number of you have enquired about developments with the alleged City code violation I blogged about on the 24th March. The photo above is the official warning letter we received. We were given a right of appeal and following is the letter we submitted to the Council:

2721 Parkview Blvd.
Robbinsdale MN 55422
4/2/2018

Dear Robbinsdale City Council:

Thank you for allowing us 45 days to respond to the alleged Ordinance violations relating to our home at 2721 Parkview.

First a little personal background. Robbinsdale and 2721 Parkview has been my family’s home for 16 years. We have lived here 16 years peaceably, without incident or controversy.

I grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland where I trained as a doctor. In 1980 at the height of “the Troubles” I left medical practice to work for peace and reconciliation by leading a faith based community of Catholics and Protestants.

In 1994, Hilary, my wife of 42 years, myself and our 7 children immigrated from Ireland to Minnesota to continue this reconciliation work in our new homeland and to contribute to it’s wellbeing. Part of this work involves our opening our home to members of our faith family who are in need of healing so they can live for a time in a stable and loving family environment.

Our children have in turn been able to make their contribution here. For example, our eldest son (Robin) is a life health coach, another son (Luke) has opened two restaurants in North East (The Anchor Fish and Chips and The Draft Horse), while another son (Ben) has contributed as a songwriter to the arts. I believe he has done a house concert in Mayor Murphy’s home. We now have 10 American grandchildren.

1.  In answer to alleged violation of SECTION 505.09 SUBD 48

We are not in violation of this Ordinance because we are a single family related by blood.

Our faith instructs us that we are a “family of faith.” Galatians. 6:20.

Every person that lives in our home is part of our single family of faith because everyone in our single family of faith has faith in the blood of Christ:

“God presented him (Jesus Christ) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Romans. 3:25.

We are therefore a single spiritual family of brothers and sisters related through the blood of Christ.

Christ affirms our position:

“While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? ”Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew. 12:47-50

2. In answer to alleged violation SECTION 515.01 SUBD 3.R-1

We are a single family related by blood and we do not rent rooms to our family members. We believe God sends people our way and when we invite them to come and live as part of our family we make it clear that it is not a commercial arrangement but a relationship. We tell them we do not charge rent because our understanding of hospitality is that it should be an extension and reflection of the immeasurable and free grace that we have already received.

Again, our faith instructs us:
“Offer hospitality without grumbling” 1 Peter 4:9, and “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews. 13:2.

This is the belief of all main branches of the Christian faith. The Jewish Torah also commands care for strangers 36 times, even more times than love for God.

At the hearing on this matter, we will show the Council that we have fully complied with the letter and spirit of the Robbinsdale Ordinances by using our property in a manner that best protects the public health, safety, and general welfare of the people of Robbinsdale (505.03) and further that our interpretation of the ordinances above is consistent with the Ordinances because in “in interpretation and application,” the Ordinances require that its provisions be held to be “the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, and welfare.” (505.05)

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for me.” Matt. 25:40.

Yours faithfully,

Paul and Hilary Kyle

P.S. God knows the end from the beginning and everything in between. Just before the violation issue surfaced I started my post with following photo.

Brian Rupe commented:

“Paul, great message in today’s blog. I noticed in the top photo the front door is open which is quite surprising, knowing it is winter.

Behold I stand at the door and knock . . . Come on on on in . . . !”

P.P.S. We continue waiting on the Lord and awaiting a response from the City Council.

“Learning to Run Together”

by on in Uncategorized

A few days ago a friend sent me a link to a recent video someone had made featuring 55 year old footage from the ‘village’ where we were raised. It brought back many memories seeing my old childhood friends and the fun events like the Primary School sports day that tended to make their way onto Percy’s screen. Back then Percy was held in awe as the one man who could afford the luxury of such a hobby………..changed times!

The clip above was the only one I found of myself! My friend, Paddy and I are going up to receive our medals. We had just won the three legged race!!!

I grew up in the Protestant/Loyalist community. The name “Paddy” represents the Catholic/Republican community. Little did I know at age 10 how prophetic this photo would prove to be 55 years later, as I reflected on  my life’s calling to participate in the “repair of the breech” between these two factions in Northern Ireland (Is. 58:12).

God selected me to run with others I would not have chosen and who I would have to learn to ‘get along’ with in Christ, running as the “One new (three-legged) man” so that together we could win the race (Eph.2:14-18).

Jesus said “You did not choose me, I chose you …..and chose who you were to stand beside” (Jn: 15:16, 1 Cor:12:18).

We don’t get to choose. We just get to refuse when God calls or resist when we don’t like those we find ourselves placed alongside. We think romantically about dying a martyr’s death,  but most of us are called to “martyrdom on the installment plan” as we die daily by laying down our lives for those He puts us alongside to run with in life. This practical loving in the “here and now” is the heart of the short song I shared last week. It’s worth repeating:

Our life has been so enriched as we have sought to embrace and stick with the motley crew of friends God has given us over the years, all over the world, of every shade and slant and persuasion and perfusion, for it is only together that we will go in…and access our victory in the Victorious One who has been lifted up that ALL men might be drawn unto Him (Jn.12:22).

 

 

 

 

There are only 2 things I HAVE to do today

by on in The House (Rivendell)

 

 

It was Benjamin Franklin who said “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.”

Actually to update you there is only one thing I need to do today.

A month ago I put together my tax documentation and sent it to my accountant. Her name is Kristi and she has been a real “Christed one” – a Godsend to us! She replied instantly, and amazingly only needed a few details from our driver’s licenses, and low and behold, within an hour, we had our returns completed and submitted.

The net result was that the Federal government paid me $2 and MN state $1. Last year it was $1 and $0.

“CRAZY!“ was Kristi’s comment. We just chuckled. “God who has called you is faithful and he will do it.” He has always provided for us down to the last dollar………So we asked Him “Why the 2 and the 1 dollar or the 1 and the 2 dollar refund?”  knowing there must be a message in it – because Father’s accounting is flawless!

Well, the number 21 represents Jacob’s trouble or rather then end of Jacob’s trouble, because this is the number of years Jacob had to do hard labor in order to win his bride. The number 12 represents authority as in the twelve elders around the throne. Putting these two together, the message we got was that in order to exercise kingdom authority there is a necessary training period.

Interestingly when we first moved to the US we lived at Washburn (Mal. 3:2 says “He will be as a refiners fire (Burn) or a launderer’s soap (Wash)”  Those were challenging years of training. For the last 16 years we have been on Parkview, learning increasingly to “Stand (Park) still and see (View) the salvation of your God.” (2 Chron.20:17)

We believe this is being played out in a very real and down to earth way with this recent showdown with the City Government over our call to HOSPITAL – ITY.

We are actively waiting on (binding ourselves to) the Lord, to see His victory in this.

So it looks like all that is left for us……… To Do To Day  – is TO DIE : – )

Our Father gave me a song about this:

 

Sitting in the middle of a Minnesotan snow storm with 10 inches fallen and more to come encourages resting from our works and entering into God’s work.

The photos above and below feature the remnants of our family Resurrection Sunday celebration. Sitting around the table, munching our feast of Moroccan lamb, roasted vegetables and toasty baguette, nana asked the Grandkids, “What do the butterflies on the windows represent?” Right away the answer came …..“Life from death!”

Hallelujah! He is risen……and so shall we : – )) 

 

Looking For Another City?

by on in The House (Rivendell)

Well this has been an interesting week at Lake Wobegon……..(An ‘insider’ joke for Minnesotans and Prairie Home Companion listeners)

In my last blog I wrote about how Babylon’s days were numbered…… but she ain’t going down without a fight. We Irish though, do ‘love a fight.’  The key of course is to recognize, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers…..the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual to the pulling down of strongholds.” (not of people)

The same day I posted about an example of Babylonian thievery (“The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy”) we had an official come to our door from the City of Robbinsdale where we have lived peacably for 16 years. We had been “accused” (Rev. 12:10,11) by someone in an email of violating of the City “code” by having people live with us so that we were not a “single family” made up of “blood” relatives!

“Yet another round!” I thought reflecting back to our first of many encounters with this ‘power’ The flashback was to a meeting 42 years ago in Belfast. The officials then were also holding “code” books (not bibles) and ‘accusing’ us of a violation. As Dr Kennedy emphasized in Fluoridegate last blog, this ‘power’ always puts THE POLICY before the people, and the letter before the spirit.

In the Torah the most frequent law, occurring even more often than the command to love God, is “Do not mistreat the stranger” (the one without power) It is repeated 36 times! Currently we have 2 single moms who happen to be native American and 2 single dads and their children finding shelter and support under the large roof Father has given us. It is hard for those of us from an Irish or Indian culture to understand that for offering hospitality freely – we are now “Outlaws”! 

It’s apparent to me that this little personal crisis for us actually represents a much bigger opportunity for the Lord. Whatever the outcome, in the process we will do our best to show the City that the former strangers living with us are our “single family” and that we share the same holy “blood”-line. We believe it is the time for Christ’s victory over these ‘powers’ to be seen in this City and for captives to be set free.

As I have often written before, we do not believe in co-incidence but rather God-incidence as it is “the Sovereign Lord” who “works ALL things together for good.”

Consider the following “God incidences”:

1. Ben has given a concert in the home of the Mayor of Robbinsdale.

2. Our next door neighbor for the last 16 years has been the City’s Chief of Police with whom we have a very cordial relationship.

3. Last Monday I attended a funeral at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Omaha, Nebraska, I had intended slipping into a back seat because I had never actually met the deceased! When I stepped through the door I was approached and asked to sit in the front seat and was then privileged to be asked to read the following scripture “…..and I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband…….…He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain….”(Rev.21)

If we have to move on from Robbinsdale because we are forbidden to practice hospitality in this City the way we have done throughout our married life, that’s OK. The verse that brought us to America was, “For he was looking for The City which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.…..for here we have no lasting City.”(Heb.11:10, 13:14)  It is the Holy City, the New Jerusalem that our eyes are fixed on here in the middle of the USA as the hat in the above photo humorously illustrates. (The hat and the little St.Patrick figure and the Dakota prayer of thanks were all gifts from those who have received hospitality here.)

The New Jer-usa-lem, the antithesis of Babylon, is our ultimate destination……that we become, that City of God.

It has just occurred to me that the Lake Wobegon joke at the beginning may have been unwittingly inspired,

“Woe! Woe! O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!” (Rev. 18:10) 

In the New Jer-usa-lem all Woe will be gone : – )

We had already planned to fast and pray next week. These developments give us a heightened focus for our intercession. Please join with us as we pray the Lord’s prayer together, confident that His kingdom will come on this part of the earth, and on your part of the earth beginning with the earth of our own hearts………as it is in heaven.

Finally a poem I was given for this time:

Let go. Let go. Let go

……of the earth beneath

So we can go

with the flow

……the grace flow

that shapes

the to and fro

the stop and go

the ebb and flo

of unfolding,

evolving,

becoming,

returning

into Him from whom we’ve come.

The Grounded One.

He Rose.