To His Majesty

I have walked these paths
Seen these sights
there is nothing to see…….
I am looking at the sky and wondering
why I am here……..
But I understand now what I must do….

I must press forward into a new place
And look for the city,
Not made with human hands
Lead me on, lead me out, lead me in…….
Show me the way to you…….

I will sit at your feet
And there I will remain
Ne’er to roam, nor go back to the old waste places
But to trust…..and most of all…..to believe
Its not about structure, but relationship
Its about men really connecting with you
In word and Spirit………..
Seeing the message in the journey……..
And learning to know who you are in it……

Success or failure is not the issue
Relationship is the issue…….knowing you is the issue
Seeing myself in your eyes…..that’s the point…..
And I choose it……..I choose you.

I am aware of your state
When you fall and when you rise
I count each breath
each time you blink……
I see your heartbreak
and the joys and sorrows……
I see your way……your struggles……
Your dreams now forgotten…….
I will revive them again…….

I will raise you up and give you hope
I will show you my steadfast love
and revive the dreams held deeply within
I will teach you to save, to redeem the time
And the people
I will demonstrate my steadfast love
And the mercy that comes with judgment
stop judging yourself and come to me……
I will be the one to bring peace to your heart
I will be the one to show you how to live
And where to go
And what to do
Just listen and be still
This time next year your life will be VERY different
This time, however, the change is for the better
This time, the change is good…….
Be still and know that I am God
I am moving…..
I am on your side……
And you will make it.

The Sun Rises…….on a new day…….
A New hope rises……again He calls to Me
Come……………

I see the light in his eyes………
And the hope to which I am called……
The bridge to an undiscovered country,
Will I take it?

There is a place in the heart of God
That I have never been
A longing in My Heart pulls at me
He woos me again and again
To Come and Seek it out………..

Is today the day?
The day I finally give in and cross over
Or will self pity rule again………
Awaken My heart to you
To your life, your love……
And the Majesty of You and your dreams
In me…………..

Living truth breath out
on the bones…..bring them to life again
and show the excellence of who you are
Faithful and True……….Loving and Merciful……
You come……….lead me out of here
and into that country………….Undiscovered and Free
Awaken Me………….to a New You…….a new place
A new heart…….Enlighten My eyes……..
I come.

For Christians to impact culture………the creativity must be compelling, but make use of social capital in such a way that what they present doesn’t seem abstract or out of touch. Oftentimes Christians build creative devices that do not put the truth in a proper context. One of the admonishments of the apostles was that you should not have many teachers………..its not that teachers are bad………but that how you teach someone is critical to what they learn and whether or not you have credibility in their eyes.

When Nicodemus came to Jesus He said the following:

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could do the miraculous signs that you do unless God were with him.”

Do you get that? You are a teacher, for no one could do these miraculous signs. A sign of being a true teacher was the ability to perform miraculous signs…….why? because it was critical that the truth never be abstract, but in the context of something that was compelling and real to real human beings where they are.

Most of our creativity is so out of touch with reality that when people read it they do not know what to make of it……..mine included. Most of it is with a religious language they don’t understand and a poorly designed moral vision that doesn’t set a proper context and as a result the people cannot connect with the message the creator is trying to convey.

There are 3 layers to all creativity:

1. A core message…….something the culture needs to hear…..for us this comes from God via the prophetic gift.

2. A truth process……….this is how we show them what we mean by what we are saying…..this the process by which we bring someone into agreement with an idea or message…….this is informed by the bible……

3. A cultural language using metaphorical patterns………translating the truth into an arena of culture and its language……different arenas, even in the english language, use different parts of the language………businessmen, artists, technicians, politicians all have a different dialect of the english language they use with each other……..we have to learn to translate our truths into their language without losing the integrity of our truths or our message……….this is informed by our creativity and understanding of the culture……

A good example of this is J.R.R. Tolkien. He understood how to build creativity that conveyed the truth in a language the common man could dial into. For example…….one of the key questions you ask in reference to the Lord of the rings is: Who destroyed the one ring?

The answer is that God destroyed it. J.R.R. Tolkie had the idea that God often works through the vehicle of providence. That is, that God allows certain situations to occur that help steer you into his destiny for your life. In the story……..Frodo is able to get the ring all the way to mount doom……but doesn’t have the will to destroy it…….but at that opportune time, Gollum just happens to bite it off of his finger and take it away from him and then he just happens to fall into the lava………of course in his world there are no accidents…………In the first book, Gandalf identifies a higher power that undermines the power of the ring to get back to its master…..that hand is the hand of God in human affairs through the vehicle of providence.

Furthermore, when you look at the world of J.R.R. Tolkien it is split into 3 parts. The burnt lands of the sun, far to the east, middle earth in the center, and eldamar in the far west. The burnt lands of the sun is our body, middle earth is our soul, and eldamar is our spirit. The story of the Lord of the Rings is really our struggle to bring our soul into agreement with our spirit through a struggle to destroy ring which is sin……which is the doctrine of sanctification.

See the truth journey underlying the creativity? The creativity translates viable truths into compelling examples that are real and not abstract our with language that cannot be understood. Some can say that tolkien based his works on norse and middle ages mythology…..but the truth is he used them in a metaphorical pattern sense(#3 level)…..but the underlying philosophy(#2 level) is entirely Christian.

If I ask a set of kids what the doctrine of sanctification is I will get blank stares. If I ask them what the hobbits learned on their way to and from Mordor I will get the basic principles of sanctification without those kids even realizing what they are talking about……….and that’s the whole point of the translation………you have to sow the truth in their hearts so that later on you can have a harvest of righteousness.

What frustrates me about Christian Creativity is that on one side you have Christians not setting a proper context by using real world language(#3 level) and real-world moral visions that are compelling and real that make the truth as something other than some abstract thing from another planet.

….and on the other side you have people who will go into an arena with the proper language and will think to themselves that they must establish themselves before they can speak the Lord’s message and will change their message to agree with the message of the enemy(#1 level) TEMPRORARILY for a season until they get ’successful’. Problem is that when they do that they come under the power of the enemy and become blind to what he is doing against them. Ever wonder why in the story of Samson in Judges when he was with delilah that she kept trying to kill him and he was totally oblivious to the fact? It was because he came into agreement so many times with the enemy that by that time he was totally blind to his workings.

God has a way of us creating creativity that Is true to the message proceeding from God’s mouth for that moment(#1), uses viable biblical truths that bring clarity to the message(#2), WHILE translating the truths into language the common man can relate to and understand(#3). J.R.R. Tolkien is a perfect example that it can be done……………but that we do not fully understand how it works.

There is a ditch on either side of this issue………I cannot use my christian language outside of the church and be effective at impacting culture………….but I cannot abandon the Father’s message to be successful…….Jesus was not called to be KING but SAVIOUR……and that is a King who Lays his life down on behalf of His Father’s message and love…………I must be successful…..but according to the desire of heaven.

I can be appealing……..I can take any mountain in this world………I can do great feats……….I am capable………….

But what I want the most……..is to be where you are………to hear your voice……..to see your ways………

Change my heart and will……refocus the pattern of my life into your aims and your will………I’m not looking for an easy way out………but for a way into the place you are…………….

Meet me here, God, in the place I am in…….show me the way home……..the way I can be shaped to be an overcome…….happy, clean, clear-minded, focused and free

I am not looking for a group, or a ministry, or an organization………

I am looking for you.

I can do anything………..I am a hero and an overcomer……….but I haven’t the will to continue…………..but I am willing to be willing……………I am willing to come………to come……….to come………..

I will come.

You, O’ Lord…..are my light
And you are the breath of a kiss to me
Your life enables me to stand,
And to run……..

I am greatly loved by you,
Let my affections be set on things above
On the place where you dwell
And the heart you hold in your hands
My heart………

I stand in the shadows
I stand in the silent place
My voice utters no sound
I am without words
The weight of the past is upon me…..
But you lift it off
and you lead me forward
Into a new place and a new way

Grant me a new mind
A new heart to embrace truth
True reality and hope.

“See yourself winning, not losing
Believe the best, do not accept the worst
Understand, you are in the process
Humble yourself and change
But do not accept hopelessness or despair
Stress and worry you must put away
You must hope…..and believe in Me
Self pity is of the devil……let it go…….
Live in a higher place…..see from a vantage point
See the truth of you…..and Christ in YOU.

Keep walking, keep moving, keep going…..
One step after another…..
One step after another…..
Keep walking………
You’re almost there.”

You are God and there is no one else like you……I want you……..and not these other things that pass away……….I saw the testament of that last night……….You stand by my side and you give me the strength to stand up and take heart and believe………..now is the time to choose to continue on with You………to put away my apathy and believe in better things for my family, my friends and my future………..

I see the truth of these things here in this moment…….I see what matters in your heart……my fullness, my happiness…….My heart looking toward you…….that is what I want too……….

I do not want to be super-spiritual…..but spiritually real…………..I want to translate your truth into a form that people can recognize and relate to in plain, practical ways…….but that remains spiritual…..and aware of the Spirit.

I know that change is coming………..deliver me from my frustration in Your Process…..for it is truly Your Process………I want to see the truth of your heart and life expressed through me and from me to you……..I want to be there when this comes to pass………deliver me from being burned out in the process……..purified, yes……but not burned out and apathetic.

“Reality is a tough thing to get at…..especially for one who has such a strong imagination……and a gift of revelation……….reality and imagination can be hard to recognize at times……that is what gets you into trouble………..that is what the stillness is for………you need that precisely because your imagination is so strong…….you need to be attuned to my voice…..and you need to put away anything…..good or evil…..but mostly good things……which keep you from hearing my voice………..you have better things in store for your life……do not waver or vary in your life and living, but pursue my heart…….

I cannot help you if you give up……or quit going forward………you haven’t yet………but that’s the issue……You’ll make it….but press through the fear, the bitterness, the apathy and the pain……….believe the best about yourself and about those who love and hate you…….pray for them and take heart in who you are……….stand up inside and start taking yourself for being a champion with a great destiny………It is very great……much greater than you know.”

God says that jacob he has loved…..esau he has hated…….why? Because Esau was content where he was……..doing what he was doing and did not give a rip about God or what God was doing. He was so content with his state that he sold his birthright…..in essence saying that he did not need the Lord………..even if he didn’t mean it that way, he should have known better than to do such a thing.

Jacob was a schemer and deceiver……..he WAS, in fact, selfishly ambitious………..but He loved the Lord and got out there………so at the very least God could work with him………..whereas with Esau, because he was unwilling to change or get out and pursue God…….He could make no changes. Jacob had a lot of issues……but God dealt with those issues as he kept going for his destiny in Christ. eventually he got all of that worked out of him and He was renamed Israel.

Okay…..so lets say you are pursuing a destiny……..but some do not like it…….perhaps they say you are selfishly ambitious………perhaps you are………but all of God’s servants started out that way! God doesn’t expect perfection to pursue his purposes…….just hear what he wants to do to the best of your ability and get out there and pursue it……..along the way God will deflate you if he needs to………

As he said to one brother…..”I wish you had had more failures in your life…..because at least I would have known you were trying…..” Get out there and FAIL…….be foolish and helpless……but get moving……….God will sort the details out along the way……..He is a a very great God.

Its too far away for me to touch
Too distant…..to cold….
You seem high on a mountaintop
facing the wind……its blowing in your hair
As the sun rises and shines on your Beauty
And here I am….trapped in the valley
in a pit filled with darkness………
And remorse……..
There seems no way out.

But then a VOICE speaks
PEACE, Be Still
It is hopeless…..My Heart fails
PEACE He speaks again
I am the OPEN DOOR
I turn away…..
Who am I? that I should think,
such wonderful things?
Who am I that I should open my mouth
To even speak?

I have no dreams
It has all become silent and still
Part of me doesn’t want one
They mean dashed hopes and a broken heart.
You speak…..
I will give you rest

Oh Lord I need you…..
You are a light and a song,
To the shadow that covers my soul
Open up to me the wells of your salvation
I need a savior today, this hour, this moment
As the walls of blackness surround me
YOU come……to touch….to love
To change my perspective
To see what you see
The hope to which I am called.
The Light of Favor I have
And the Process I am in.

There is a point and an end to this
I have a plan. you say
Come to Me. Rest. And I will teach you
To be YOU.

He points skyward to the mountaintop.
YIELD. I can get a yielded vessel
much farther than they can get in their own strength.

The waves crash around me
I am overwhelmed
But what can I do in the midst of the storm.
But STEP OUT?
Do I trust His words or not?
I thought coming would be far easier than this.

I am tested. Tested to the limit.
Frozen in fear. Dull in My senses.
Confused. Not knowing what to do.

But THERE you stand.
In the storm.
You bid me come
You are the door in this dark place
A way to a New Land
Can I really let go and Enter In?
Do I want to?

There is a shadow on my heart
From yesterday…….
A reminder of all that I have been
To you and others……
How will I escape me?…..the me
I used to be?
How will I close the door to an age
that haunts me like a ghost
like a woman who was forsaken in her youth
and rightly so.
How do I respond to it?

YES.

Yes I will come
Yes I will yield
The answer is YES
YOU are TRUE
I am FALSE.
Nothing But a Shadow.
A mess of what I was made to be.

Take me.
Mold me or Break me
Shape me.
Draw me in.
Do to me what you see me to be.
Teach me to abide
In rest and thanksgiving.
Open up My heart to your River
In to a new place and space.
Let your light shine in dark places.
And the River of your Living water
RENEW…..REVEAL
Bring me to a New Birth
A New Design.
Found Your Renaissance
IN me.
And I will be a light to the nations
and the peoples
For your love, your honor, your Glory.
your power and the kingdom.

I see myself trudging the long lonely
Trail to the top of the mountain……
What will I see when I get there?
Wo will I meet? It no longer matters.
For you are with me,
Your rod and staff will comfort me.
I am held in the grip of my destiny
By your hand. pull me out my spell
And lead me in……
Lead me in, Lord……
Lead me in.

GOD RESPONDS

NO you are NOT in a pit
but in the process of transformation.
The cocoon, where you become something new
The only way is to yield
To surrender your rights and work with me.
A pregnant woman learns to do this
So why not YOU?
It’s only difficult when you fight against it.
So stop fighting and Learn to be
YOU.

“I am your friend……your keeper……do you believe that?
then be still……all these years I have asked you to do this………..I don’t need your help…….I need you to be still……….and trust me……..this is about trust, my son…….not about doing……..trust me……………when you get to that place where you are safe in my arms…….then you will do and it will come together……..

Even in spite of yourself….”