Closure

Kathryn Hauser’s Reflection for 19 After Pentecost 29 September 2013
Closure
“Hello?” I called out.
The sound got swallowed up. Not even an echo back.
“Hello?” I called out again.
Now I heard the fall wind in the trees, the traffic noise in the distance, the crows complaining overhead, and the neighborhood yappers barking their bone-piercing screech (as little in-bred dogs know how to do over NOTHING. After all, to them the sky is ALWAYS falling!!) Adding to this circus all week, the smoke alarms in the house screamed repeatedly at random, during intermittent times both day and night, a non-existent emergency along with the yappers and the crows. According to the mechanical voice of the smoke alarm, our house was perpetually in danger of burning down and we were all dying of carbon monoxide poisoning to boot! The mechanical voice told us this same message several months ago during a siege of a spiritual cycle, which was being made manifest in the temporal! Was the Church still operating on a fire escape salvation instead of by transformation from the inside out? And because of this we were being plagued with “LOW BATTERY!” even though the batteries were good? Oh, silly me. If there hadn’t been so much noise, I could have gotten the symbolism sooner.
“Hello?” I called out to God again.
No response. I sat with God for a long, long time to reach below the infernal noise.
This week I had reached out to another Roman Catholic Church on Tuesday (24 Sept 13) and to a Greek Orthodox Church on Wednesday (25 Sept 13). No response. Was this a repeat of my outreach to the Armenian Orthodox Church several years ago? The Armenian Orthodox Church was one of the first Churches I had reached out to at the very beginning of this journey. I had reached out in tender faith, hope, and love. (1 Cor 13:13) Now I had reached out to the Greek Orthodox Church. When I heard nothing back from the Catholics or Orthodox on either front, I felt deep Wisdom saying “Closure.” It wasn’t until after my outreach attempts that the Holy Spirit led me back to the archetypal Church in Smyrna.
Revelation 2:8 To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews [or Christians] and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan [following their own selfish desires]. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison [denial] to test you, and you will suffer persecution for “ten” [= the number ‘ten’ signifies ‘perfection of’] days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second [shaman] death [of the ego-self].
The angel who was sent to Smyrna was Faithfulness. (v 10) Jesus is the First and Last and He also gave this privilege to Smyrna to follow in His footsteps. And Smyrna has been faithful. This whole journey with God for all of us is anchored in FAITH. The Orthodox Churches have Great Faith like the faith of Abraham! (Lk 16:22) Along with faith, truly Hope and Love were also extended to them, but evidently the chasm was far too wide to cross.
Luke 16:26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’
The Brotherhood (v 28) of Religiosity remains strong and robust. The Church-as-Smyrna is rich (Rev 2:9) just like the Rich Man in today’s parable in the gospel lesson. And also the Institution has “five brothers” in the five-fold ministry. There’s just no way around the fact that we all get “crucified” by our own gifts:
Luke 16:27 He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house–
16:28 for I have five brothers–that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’
16:29 Abraham [the father of faith, cf Gal 3:7] replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

16:30 He [the Brotherhood] said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
I was sent. Does that count? I physically was not raised from the dead like the real Lazarus. (Jn 11:44) But God made me a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) from the inside out. Evidently the Brotherhood was not convinced. (Lk 16:31) Sometimes I feel like we’re all just walking zombies! That’s not very Christ-like! We’re supposed to be reflections of the King, not imitators of an impostor, a zombie.
Lord, You have sent me on an Impossible Mission! From my side of the Great Divide, the reconciliation of the Churches and prophets is not possible. That’s not pessimism or doubt speaking, Lord, but the naked Truth. It is just not possible. And no amount of faith can bridge the gap. I present to You two sit-down conversations since 27 October 2010 as the evidence.
Luke 16:31 He [Abraham] said to him [the Brotherhood of Rich Man], ‘If they do not listen to Moses [Law] and the prophets [the living word of the Spirit today, 1 Cor 2:14], neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”
Yup. And why should they? The Brotherhood-of-the-Institution has it good. Would it be a tad too much to say they were self-indulgent? But then again…
In the lectionary lessons for today, the Lectionary Barons chopped up Amos 6, and the part they omitted is representative of the imbalance in the Church. They left in:
Amos 6:1a Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
Gee, sound familiar? Jesus had said:
John 4:22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
That was then, and now Amos was reinforcing the same message today. Does anyone else see the Amos to Jesus to Amos connections? Here is the whole verse of Amos 6:1, not just the truncated part which the Lectionary Barons preferred:
Amos 6:1 Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion
and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria,
those famous men of this first of nations
to whom the House of Israel goes as client. [From the Jerusalem Bible]
Then I looked up the version the Lectionary Barons use (NRSV), to see what they had to say about these ‘famous men’ whom the Barons had omitted. Hmmm…they omitted “the notables”:
Amos 6:1 [NRSV] Alas for those who are at ease in Zion,
and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel resorts!
Do you suppose the Notables might be hiding some self-projection and denial in the omission? Just a thought…
My NIV notes add this: “people of Israel” (v. 1) who when they came before their notables, flattered their vanity and thus reinforced their arrogant complacency. (p 1347)
Amos 6:2 Make a journey to Calneh and look [!],
go on from there to Hamath the great,
then down to Gath in Philistia.
Are they any better off than these kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?
6:3 You think to defer the day of misfortune,
but you hasten the reign of violence.
To their credit, however, the Lectionary Barons did leave in the verse in today’s readings that shows the CAUSE of the mayhem:
Amos 6:6 who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
That’s it in a nutshell. They did not “grieve over the ruin of Joseph.” (v 6) The longer the Church coasts along in her faith without putting faith into action, the worse things get. Lord, enough of this coasting on faith!!
Jesus, I let it all go — to let You in, our Redeemer!
Father, the right of possession and redemption is Yours (Jer 32:8); You bought it for Yourself. (v 8) You already paid the price on the cross with Your own life. (1 Cor 7:23)
I am believing with Doug Addison when he said this week: “September 25th is a tipping point in the spiritual realm AND we’re entering a season of “Rest and Release.”” OK, Lord, I’m trusting You and believing You. The 25th was the day that I tried sharing my journey with the Greek Orthodox Church and heard nothing back after that. The 25th was also the day that I heard Wisdom say, “Closure.”
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness [of insanity] and rivers in the desert [of denial and non-and-miss-communication]. Isaiah 43:18-19
We collectively have FAITH. We have HOPE. We need LOVE to move from the ethereal plane and to make faith real on the temporal plane, where God Himself overrides Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and brings restoration of His Kingdom fields on earth, and in the process Love exposes the court of the Guards (Jer 32:8) of CYA and Complacency.
Prayer: Lord, I realize that we are collectively going through a Dark Night of the Soul. Shed the dregs of our faith and clean out the debris. Make good on Your promises. Take the Deeds (v 14): both the “sealed deed of purchase,” which You paid for on the cross, and our own “open deeds.” (v 14) Put these deeds in an “earthenware jar” (or flash-drive, really; whatever works for You, Lord). But, golly, isn’t it amazing how earthenware jars worked for the Dead Sea Scrolls, which lasted two thousand years in those clay jars!?—so, again, whatever works for You, Lord—just so that the story of our journey may last for a long time. (v 14) Just so that Your story is told. Ours is a story of Your amazing work!
Jer 32:14 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time.
Father, in the process, please put closure on this leg of our collective journey.
Jer 32:15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
You said:
Psalm 91:14 Those who love Me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know My name.

91:15 When they call to Me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.

91:16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them My salvation.
Father, we are calling You (v 15) and You promised to answer us. (v 15) Many faithful people are still in trouble. (v 15) You promised to rescue and honor them. (v 15) This goes for myself as well. Please satisfy us with a long life (v 16) of goodness to replace the suffering, of restitution for injustices, and of the salvation of Your Church, so that she would be transformed from the inside out. Somethin’ has to change for the better, Lord. The status quo of the eternal Grand Silence between the Brotherhood and myself is absolutely crushing me. Bring Your divine Closure. Something’s gotta give for the Better and for positive Forward Movement.

19 After Pentecost 29 Sept 2013 Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
32:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

32:2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah,

32:3a where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him.

32:6 Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came to me:

32:7 Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.”

32:8 Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

32:9 And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.

32:10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales.

32:11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy;

32:12 and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard.

32:13 In their presence I charged Baruch, saying,

32:14 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time.

32:15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
91:1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

91:2 will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”

91:3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;

91:4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

91:5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,

91:6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

91:14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.

91:15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.

91:16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

Amos 6:1a, 4-7
6:1a Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.

6:4 Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall;

6:5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music;

6:6 who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

6:7 Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.

Psalm 146
146:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

146:2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.

146:4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.

146:5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God,

146:6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;

146:7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;

146:8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

146:9 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

146:10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!

1 Timothy 6:6-19
6:6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment;

6:7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it;

6:8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

6:9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

6:11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

6:13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you

6:14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

6:15 which he will bring about at the right time–he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

6:16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

6:17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

6:18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,

6:19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Luke 16:19-31
16:19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.

16:20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,

16:21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.

16:22 The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.

16:23 In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.

16:24 He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’

16:25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.

16:26 Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’

16:27 He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house–

16:28 for I have five brothers–that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’

16:29 Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’

16:30 He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

16:31 He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”

Just One

Kathryn Hauser’s Reflection for 17 After Pentecost 15 Sept 2013
Just One
Lately, I have felt bombarded by a deluge of people marketing God.
Psalm 14:3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.
I hear You, Lord. Absolutely true. Reporting for duty. I can verify in faithfulness and truth that there is no one, not anyone (including myself), who does good on this swatch of celestial dust You have sent me to, Lord.
Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are foolish, they do not know Me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.”
Me, too. Sometimes I feel soooo stupid. Sometimes I think I know You, Lord, and other times I don’t. That is the way of relationships. Sometimes I feel like a fool and sometimes I feel like a queen. Sometimes I think I understand, and at other times I am pitifully aware that I understand nothing. How can I do “good”? Jesus, You Yourself, said no one is good but God.
Lk 18:19 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
Lord, You said You would speak judgment against us. (Jer 4:12) You clearly didn’t come to condemn us (Jn 3:17). The way I see it, Judgment is accountability and condemnation is cursing. (Ps 14:1) Jesus, You sought friendship. We sought CYA (covering our assets.) Make Yourself look good, God! Thank You for having mercy and not making a full end to the desolation of the whole land! (Jer 4:27) Forgive our arrogance. We may know how the story ends in the Book of Revelation, but we don’t know how to get there. We don’t even know how to make friends!
Psalm 14:4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD?
Jesus? Hasn’t our collective journey fulfilled Your own words in our day today as the religious leaders reclined at their own tables as the Holy Spirit passed over them?
Luke 22:14 When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. 15 And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment [!] in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup [!], He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you [!]. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes [!].”
Jesus, Your words have been fulfilled and Your Cup has been divided among us. Therefore that must mean that the Kingdom of God has come. Yipee! We cannot “do good,” but we can desire Truth in our own inward being. (Ps 51:6) And we can be judged faithful. (1 Tim 1:12) This is also the name of the rider on the White Horse in Revelation 19:
Rev 19:11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.
Lord, help me to be honest and faithful to You and to stay grounded in my authentic being in You. Help me to put You first in all things, as You are my First Love. We just have to be honest and faithful. [Can’t you see my waving hands as I talk?!] We don’t have to convert each other or market God. We just have to be faithful and honest!
Psalm 51:6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Jesus, what a sweet comfort to know that You save us in our ignorance when we act in unbelief. (1 Tim 1:13) No wonder deliverance for Israel doesn’t come from Zion itself, for we cannot save ourselves.
Psalm 14:7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Lord, You said You would reign over the House of Jacob forever. It says,
Luke 1:33 and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”
If the believing Christians are “Jacob’s descendants,” then believing Christians would be SO secure in their own faith that they would love others into the Kingdom. Hospitality would be the order of the Day instead of marketing. They would not have to convert anyone, because others would know we are Christians by our love. [Gee, isn’t there a song kinda like that?] And the love would be contagious. God is merciful when we are honest and faithful. (1 Tim 12)
I must admit, I am grateful to be meditating on these lectionary lessons this week. I have taken a terrible jolt to my entire belief system. (I do Believe, help my unbelief! (Mk 9:24)) At the time when I wrote Pope Francis on Friday (13 Sept 13) I had felt strong (but not terribly confident). Then soon afterward I felt like the lost sheep in Jesus’ parable in today’s lectionary lesson. (Lk 15:4) I have tried for so long to connect with community that I got tsunami waves of Doubt followed by Arabian Desert walls of dust storms within my being at the mere thought that one more outreach attempt would make a difference. May I receive mercy in community so that Jesus Christ might display His utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in Him for eternal life. (1 Tim 1:16) I don’t doubt my eternal life, I just feel…well…like there are ninety-nine other sheep out there and we still can’t play on the same playground because we can’t talk about “it.” All it takes is one to break the Silence. Lord, I may feel lonely out here in the pasture all by myself, but I am grateful that You found me. (Lk 15:5) I celebrate with You what You are doing even though I don’t understand. I am humbled and comforted by Your grace. As long as I can see the joy and laughter in Your eyes, then I know we are all ok. I rejoice with You! (v 5, 9) You said,
Luke 15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
I celebrate with You, Lord!
Rev 7:10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
4:11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse–

4:12 a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them.

4:22 “For my people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.”

4:23 I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.

4:24 I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro.

4:25 I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled.

4:26 I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.

4:27 For thus says the LORD: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

4:28 Because of this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above grow black; for I have spoken, I have purposed; I have not relented nor will I turn back.

Psalm 14
14:1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.

14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.

14:3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.

14:4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD?

14:5 There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the righteous.

14:6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

14:7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Exodus 32:7-14
32:7 The LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely;

32:8 they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'”

32:9 The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are.

32:10 Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”

32:11 But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

32:12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people.

32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'”

32:14 And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

Psalm 51:1-10
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

51:4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

51:5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

51:6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

1 Timothy 1:12-17
1:12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service,

1:13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,

1:14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

1:15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the foremost.

1:16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.

1:17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Luke 15:1-10
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.

15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

15:3 So he told them this parable:

15:4 “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?

15:5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices.

15:6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’

15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

15:8 “Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?

15:9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’

15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Atonement Through the Children

Kathryn Hauser’s Special Reflection for Both the Feast Day of the Holy Cross AND Yom Kippur
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Atonement Through the Children
The religious spirit has passed over the clergy, pastors, leaders, the Churches, and the prophets. They knew and did … [sigh] … Nothing. (1 Sam 3:13-14; 1 Kings 18:21) No friendship. Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world. (Jn 3:17) Where does that leave the pastor/leader “angels” of the archetypal Seven Churches? By God’s grace I found out this week from my best friend that the pope sometimes responds to peoples’ mail. So yesterday afternoon (13 Sept 13, the start of Yom Kippur but not yet sundown) at 3:20 pm I mailed a letter off to Pope Francis after much prayer and struggle. I’d said to God, “I can’t even engage an altar boy, how can I reach the pope?” God only laughed. So I wrote the pope anyway, even though I didn’t see how it would do any good.
Date [Prophetic]: Friday, September 13, 2013 Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) starts at sundown and Holy Cross Day is tomorrow.
Dear Pope Francis!
Please get me out of Solitary Confinement!! Pray for me for guidance to find a place of community. Every Church I go to says there is God. I, personally, absolutely believe in Jesus Christ and trust Him. I laid down my life for Him in fulfillment of His wishes because I adore Him! The Church sees this but then evidently doesn’t believe in miracles when I am sharing the whole journey in writing with them, and when my life itself has been a miracle!
Pray for me that I find a place where my writings will be appreciated and understood. I know that my writings are truly sacred, and yet I am stumped by the absolute silence which they bring. It would be one thing if they were rejected out of hand or were consistently labeled brisk or argumentative, but to receive the sound of sheer Silence every time?? Why? I am only following God’s edict that I share the journey! I have been faithful to my mystical marriage experience with Jesus on 14 May 2008. When I was called, God gave me two directives: “Worship God” and “Share the journey.” I have done this!
I stand by the miracle of my experience of mystical marriage. Jesus and I have a partnership relationship where He leads and I follow and obey Him with bridal devotion. I have been faithfully and truthfully sharing the journey with both Protestants and Catholics to no avail. Sometimes this leaves me feeling terribly lonely to the point of Despair because of lack of community. How do I find community when no one wants to hear or directly engage? Can you imagine, I’ve only had two sit-down conversations with clergy since 27 October 2010?! This is not for lack of my outreach or love. It is a miracle in itself that I have survived the supposed “rejection” of the silent Churches over the span of three years. What else am I to make of this? The Church herself has told us to believe. I have shared my journey of belief and this has left me in a desert of isolation. Go figure! I am isolated because of belief! How is it that embracing belief makes the Church not embrace me? Where do I appeal for sanctuary? Jesus calls us believers to be friends. (John Chapter 15)
I petition you for any guidance and wisdom you may share. I appeal to mercy! The bride is supposed to be given away!
In humility and with dignity,
Kathryn Hauser
I am seeking friendship in community. As I said in my letter to the pope, the bride is supposed to be given away. And yet the Grand Silence of Solitary Confinement drones on. It was a year ago today, on 14 September 2012, when I shared with the Catholic Church my Reflection of the day (“The Dregs”) and my Author’s Bio, which tells of my mystical marriage with Christ. I had been following the direction of the Holy Spirit and when I got to the church no one was around. I found that prophetic and symbolic. So I taped the pieces I’d written to the wooden doors on the front of the church. I remember feeling optimistic and excited at the time. I also remember feeling an undercurrent of wonder and wrote in my journal, “Did I just do a Martin Luther thing? Was this a soft version of Luther’s 95 Theses?” I believed God. I ended up receiving Silence (and more silence) from the humans.
Now a year later I am hoping and praying we will collectively experience a convergence. It is no coincidence that today, Saturday, 14 September 2013, is both Yom Kippur AND the Feast Day of the Holy Cross. I mean, sure, it is technically a coincidence that both fall on the same day on the calendar this year, but the spiritual significance below the coincidence is big enough to create a spiritual earthquake the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
Rev 16:18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No [spiritual] earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.
So, what are these two Holy Days?
1) Yom Kippur
“Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is one of two Jewish High Holy Days. The first High Holy Day is Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). Yom Kippur falls ten days after Rosh Hashanah on the 10th of Tishrei, which is a Hebrew month that correlates with September-October on the secular calendar. The purpose of Yom Kippur is to bring about reconciliation between people and between individuals and God. According to Jewish tradition, it is also the day when God decides the fate of each human being.”
2) Holy Cross Day
Orthodox Wiki: “The Elevation of the Holy Cross is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 14. This feast is also referred to as the Exaltation of the Cross.”
Wikipedia: “In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. While Good Friday is dedicated to the Passion of Christ and the Crucifixion, these days celebrate the cross itself, as the instrument of salvation.”
Catholicism: “This instrument of torture, designed to degrade the worst of criminals, became the life-giving tree that reversed Adam’s Original Sin when he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden.”
So, this being said, simply put, Yom Kippur is the day of reconciliation between man and God, and Holy Cross Day lifts up the cross, which symbolizes dying to our selfishness. In both holy days of celebration, the humans are saying to God, “Sorry. Thank You. Please.” We teach our children this. Being honest with God creates a great sense within one’s being of being at one with Him, at peace with Him and with ourselves. It is a state of At-One-ment.
Today I ask: Israel, where are your children? This is not a symbolic question. This is an actual question. Seriously, where are your children? God is seeking friendship. Children know how to make friends. Children ask questions.
1 Cor 1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.
The Christians nowadays don’t ask questions because they think they know the answers. Muslims fight because they are angry over the hypocrisy they see between the answers and the behaviors. But my Jewish friends, the world is indebted to you, because you have always talked with your hands and ASKED QUESTIONS! We are indebted to you because you showed us how to have a relationship with God. You showed us by asking questions and making it okay to ask. In our day today, Atonement (At-One-ment) will again come through the children, because they know how to make friends. Let them ask!
Prayer: In this spiritual season of open doors and open opportunities, Lord, help us to ask. Please use our contributions to the praise of Your glory, as You make known Your victory. (Ps 98:2) Open connections where You want them to open. All You’ve asked us to do is to TRY. Please forgive us for making Hard Work out of … Nothing [!]. Please honor our efforts and fill in the gaps caused by our own shortcomings and permeate Your Kingdom on earth with Your amazing grace as it is in heaven. Amen.

Holy Cross Day AND Yom Kippur Saturday, 14 Sept 2013 Gospel: John 3:13-17
Numbers 21:4b-9
21:4b but the people became impatient on the way.

21:5 The people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.”

21:6 Then the LORD sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died.

21:7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

21:8 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.”

21:9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Psalm 98:1-5
98:1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.

98:2 The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

98:3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

98:4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

98:5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.

Psalm 78:1-2, 34-38
78:1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

78:34 When he killed them, they sought for him; they repented and sought God earnestly.

78:35 They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.

1 Corinthians 1:18-24
1:18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1:19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.

1:22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,

1:23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

1:24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

John 3:13-17
3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

3:14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

3:15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

3:17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

SpIN

Kathryn Hauser’s Reflection for 16 After Pentecost on 08 Sept 2013
SpIN
This has been quite a Prayer Journey over the course of this past week:
Sunday, September 01, 2013 at 10:15 am Journal: Parked at my very first solitude spot at the old abandoned library. [LOTS of prophetic work is going on:]
Trails of ANTS are EVERYTHWERE! Multiple HIGHWAYS, ROWS AND ROWS OF HIGHWAYS of ants are everywhere!!
I sat in sap. (Damn.)
I walked around.
Graffiti is everywhere! But, come to think of it, it is strategically placed, so it’s not technically “everywhere,” just located where God wanted it to be for His message to somehow be revealed through the Holy Spirit’s spinning and weaving to fulfill prophecy.
On the Children’s Patio garden wall (on the West side) the graffiti said,
“METH” [I see this as symbolizing Delusion]
Northwest corner of the cement pavement says,
“FUCK ALL” [= hostility]
Northeast corner in the dirt says,
“BIRTH”
“WORe”
Northeast corner on the wall says,
“DETH” [no “a”]
I picked up a branch in the dirt and in the Southeast corner of the patio I wrote in the dirt,
“LIFE”
and I underscored it deliberately with the branch which I used to write the word. Whether or not anyone sees my contribution, I know that God and the Heavenly Host does.
Sunday, September 01, 2013 at 10:43 am Journal continued: God, please breathe Your Holy Spirit powerfully into this global mess we are all in. The slaughter of the innocents must STOP and You promised to protect and redeem Israel. We are only as good as the least of the innocents we serve. My heart cries out to You on their behalf. For Your own Name’s sake STOP THE MADDNESS! However You choose to do this, I know it will be sweet like snow falling on a wildfire to put it out. Calm the storm. Hush the rage. Extract the anger. Replace it with Your healing balm. Put Your holy oil on our souls and on our tempers. Put everyone’s eyes on YOU and off of themselves. Help us to choose You, to choose Life, to be instruments of peace, and to resurrect the righteous. You said,
Luke 14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Sunday, September 01, 2013 at 11:22 am Journal continued: The Elijah List posted Francis Frangipane this morning. He said, “Your appointment still awaits you.” Forever waiting… What are they waiting for? No wonder the crackly spirits intensified with Roman Candles and spiritual sparklers last night. I forgive and release, Lord. Only You can make good on Your word. Let MERCY FLOW FROM YOUR THRONE! HARMONY!
Sunday, September 01, 2013 at 2:12 pm Journal continued: [Prophecy fulfilled:] My family, friends, and I met today (on the time-honored Sunday-Sabbath) to celebrate “Labor” Day at the American Legion. On this Sabbath I [had] shared my Reflection (“Echolocation,”) which addressed reverencing God, keeping the Sabbath, and entering the ministry of Holy Rest. Today this is quite a juxtaposition by celebrating Labor Day on the Sabbath, and this symbolically represents the Church herself who makes “Hard Work” out of the Sabbath, and gets tomorrow off as a legitimate holiday when they can truly rest from their labors. I so understand! Thyatira is a church of workaholics and bow to the god of Hard Work. This has created an energetic abscess in the Middle East. Of 6.2 million Syrians, I have heard it said that one million of them are orphaned children. And Jesus had said:
Rev 2: 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead [!].
[The BBC had just recently reported that the latest attack of Syrians using chemical weapons was upon Syrian children at a SCHOOL! Other reports confirmed. ]
Then ALL THE CHURCHES WILL KNOW [!] that I am He who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.]
God, this is scary.
Monday, [Labor Day legal holiday], September 02, 2013 at 3:50 pm Journal: Parked at Camino Ruiz. The Grand Silence between the Churches, prophets, and me drones on. Holy Spirit, please lead me as You always do.
I pulled out the lectionary readings again for next Sunday and they are all about choice.
Prayer: I pray that the sharing of my faith may become effective when they perceive all the good that we may do for You, Christ. (Philemon 1:6)
I prefer to do nothing without Your consent, in order that Your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. (v 14) You said, God:
Jeremiah 18:7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,

18:8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.
Perhaps this is the reason I am separated from You for awhile, Lord, so that You might have me back forever (Philemon 1:15), no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved daughter (of Zion) ~ especially to me now, and how much more to You, Father, in both a flesh and spirit relationship union. (v 16)
Would Paul write for me like he wrote to Onesimus’ former slave owner?
Philemon 1:17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome [her] as you would welcome me.
Lord, I know that I am Your partner. I just can’t keep surviving on a diet of Arc Speak, where I “hear” between the lines but the people and I don’t talk about it. Where I have wronged anyone (and everyone!) in any (and all) way(s), or owe them anything, please charge it to my account. (v 18)
I, Kathryn, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about their owing me even their own selves. (v 19)
Yes, brothers, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. (v 20)
I wish I could be confident in their obedience, but I am not, so I am writing to You, Lord, knowing that You, Father, will do even more than I say. (v 21)
These lectionary readings feel like our collective Rite of Passage, like when a teenager is on the threshold of walking out the door to go off to college and make decisions for himself based on the training he had as a kid. We can’t make him choose Life. (Dt 30:19) We cannot make him listen to Your Voice. (Jer 18:10)
I even shared Jeremiah 18:1-3 with the Elijah List this morning:
Jer 18:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

18:2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.”

18:3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.
Does it count that I’m working (writing) at my steering wheel?
Lord, I know that the “vessel” You have been making of “clay” while we have been watching…
[Dan 2:34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.]
…has been spoiled in the hands of the “potter” (Jer 18:4) and that You have been reworking it into another vessel, as seems good to You. (v 4) I also know that I am NOT You, Lord. I am NOT You saying that I am the “potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you.” (v 11) Those are Your words, Lord, not mine:
Jeremiah 18:11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.
Father, at the same time, Your people have not turned from their evil way (of limiting our human “relationship” to Arc Speak, and not engaging person to person) and have not amended their ways and their doings. (v 11) I am just a mortal. I cannot convince, sway, or persuade anyone to choose a tangible relationship in flesh and spirit. This is Your turf, Holy Spirit!
I even asked the Elijah List if there was an intern somewhere I can connect with who wants to get to know me and share in what I have to offer. [Received silence.]
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at 8:20 am The group “God Bless You” posted a poster on Facebook:
God can turn a MESS into a MESSage,
a TEST into a TESTimony,
a TRIal into a TRIumph,
a VICTim into a VICTory.
I am too positive to be doubtful.
Too optimistic to be fearful.
And too determined to be defeated.
Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 10 am Journal: Parked at my old (original) solitude spot at the abandoned library. There was more graffiti added to the Children’s Patio which I’d seen on Sunday. This time on the western wall [prophetic] below the word “METH” [which I had seen as representing Delusion] was
“SATAN SpIN RAVP”
Truly Satan was spinning something. By grace God protected me from drowning under the torrent and the waves (Rev 12:16) of fear that would have been there in the past at seeing such a sight and would have normally sent me ballistic with terror and anxiety, but now it didn’t touch me. Clearly, I was being hidden in a cleft of God’s own making. (v 16)
“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” Psalm 42:7
This time I wondered how God was going to spin Satan.
Rev 12:15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.
Satan is just a serpent. Jesus is the King and in the lectionary lessons this coming week He says,
Luke 14:31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?

14:32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
I wasn’t negotiating with Satan. I cannot oppose him. My war has been with him and not the people (Rev 12:13), but how do I reach the people? There truly is some form of projection, or lie, or assumption, or stubbornness (some spirit) that continues playing interference between the people and me, for I am still far away from them and cannot connect with the delegation no matter how much I pray and reach out. I cannot break that mirror. Satan is the one that has been pursuing me for a very long time. (v 13) All the companies of heaven, the faithful remnant, the Frozen Chosen, and the prophets all combined would not be sufficient “delegation” to negotiate with a beast who only promises false peace and paper justice. Satan is the ultimate ego-spinner. He takes what is pure and defiles it. I won’t play the game.
Where are Your heroes, God?
Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 12:29 PM Rick Joyner’s current Word for the Week; subject: Understanding One Another [My prayer: Yes, God, please help us to understand each other.]
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 1:18 am The Elijah List posted Rick Joyner’s word from last week: The Church – A Family, Not Just an Organization
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 3:32 am Rick Joyner posted this morning on Facebook:
“Satan does not confront God’s people with power; he seduces them with deception.”
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 6:48 am I answered Rick on Facebook: “And Jesus woos with compassion.”
[This couldn’t be more prophetic. Why can’t we engage? What ARE the ‘Sons of Issachar’ waiting for in order to connect and make connections? More visions? More teaching? Will that connect us? Jesus, I love You more than my family. (Luke 14:26)]
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 9 am Journal: Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) begins at sundown. Lord, I’m believing You for New Beginnings.
Parked in my old (original) solitude spot. All week long there has been an enormous dumpster situated in the alcove of the abandoned library. It is gone today. [Prophetic?] All of Cinemagic’s theatrical props and hardware seem to be removed from the premises of the rooms they’d rented. The graffiti is still on the Children’s Patio walls. The landscapers have drenched the gardens and my solitude spot. I did find one swatch of ground that was not touched by the sprinklers. In the cracked, dry mud there was a piece of Styrofoam partly submerged and partly above ground. [I drew a sketch of it in my actual journal.] It strongly resembled portions of the exposed Loch Ness Monster/ serpent.
Cool, God! I “get” the symbolism!
Genesis 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this [deceived the woman, Eve],
Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust [!] all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity [= hostility] between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush [or strike] your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 9:35 am Journal continued: I had left “Nessie” in the dry mud and walked away. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothin’. Now I just went back to the image of the serpent and where its “heel” would be, I used a piece of broken concrete nearby and brought it down hard: just once, SMACK! Of course, since it was Styrofoam, it just bounced back unaffected, but this was all symbolic. It is up to God to crush Satan forever.
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 12:30 pm At Pleasant Valley Park. [Prophetic?] I had gone to the newer library and was updating my Naked Timeline with this morning’s prophetic encounter when I realized as I was typing out Genesis 3:15 that it said, “…he will crush your head.” I had confused the “hes” in the verse and earlier I had struck the Styrofoam “serpent’s heel” instead of his “head.” I instantly knew I had to go back and make things right.
I got to the alcove at 12:20 pm, picked up the same chunk of broken concrete, and brought it down hard on the “serpent’s head.” The stone was off a bit (bad aim, I guess), so I hit the “head” a second time. Then a third time shouting, “Three!” I let the stone stay placed squarely on top of its “head.”
I said, “Well, that was fun!”
For a moment I felt stupid “attacking” a piece of Styrofoam, but then I remembered my prayer as I was driving back to the alcove. I had asked God to honor my intentions. I was doing this for love of Him and His people. I was doing it to honor Him. He’s kept His Word all along and I was keeping my word to Him. A little sore arm from the shockwave of hefting and slamming a piece of cement strategically and deliberately on the hard ground was worth the aftermath of a little discomfort. It’s about time the stone was on the serpent for a change and rolled away from the Believer. Glory to You, God! Bring on Your kingdom! Open the gates of Your communication and communion with understanding and compassion! Amen! May the actual serpent this time not be released from the Abyss like he was the last time. (Rev 20:3) We are already experiencing
Rev 20: 9They [the deceivers] marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
(And the Lord had said prophetically through Bill Yount on Mon, Sep 2, 2013)
“”You have been faithful in disliking religious spirits, but you have fallen short in loving religious people. I love them. I want to deliver them. Not loving them invites a religious spirit into your life.”
I saw the fire of God falling on every denomination wherever there was a smell of smoke from a flickering flame of love gone out long ago. People in all denominations will be visited by a rekindling, as well as so-called Spirit-filled churches.”
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 4:36 pm My prayer: Steve Shultz, Rick Joyner, Kim Clement, all the prophets, and the Churches, please forgive me. I feel I have offended you. I am sorry. The sun is starting to gradually go down into the western sky and soon Rosh Hashanah will begin. I am seeking a New Beginning. All God has wanted from the beginning of Time is a relationship, and that is all I have ever wanted, too. I bless you and humbly ask your forgiveness.
I feel the tears rising. I will just sit with them and wait for the Lord’s comfort.
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 7 pm Journal continued: The streetlamp is on and the shadows are lengthening. My mind asked, “What if they don’t forgive?” Hope said, “Of course they will.” Repetition nattered, “There’s no guarantee. History always repeats itself.” My heart sat in peace and observed the banter. Then deep in my being there was a light that was steady. It was like Aslan’s creation song out of the Narnia books. Every time Doubt threw up an argument, a voice of wisdom would cut through the words with “New Beginning.”
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 7:40 pm Prayer: Forgive the Silence.
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 8 pm The sun has gone down and the first stars are out this first Rosh Hashanah night. Forgive me. Let us start a New Beginning.
Wednesday, September 04, 2013 at 8:01 PM From Jim Goll: subject: I Call You to Contend for the Prophetic Promise!
My prayer: Lord, I AM contending for Your prophetic promise! You are the Cornerstone upon which all foundations are built.
Isaiah 28: 16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
The remnant is built of living stones (Rev 21:19-21) made of a Single Pearl. (v 21) We HAVE counted the cost. (Luke 14:28) Lord, You promised You would reach out Your hand a second time to reclaim the remnant. (Isa 11:11) Well? What are You waiting for?
[Gethsemane-like] Thursday, September 05, 2013 Today is the first full day of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year)
Thursday, September 05, 2013 at 1:15 AM From Steve Shultz of the Elijah List to the readers: subject: Steve Shultz: Feel Like Encouraging Others? Then “Covet To Prophesy”
Steve: “I know that many of you, just as I have, have encountered a prophetic word that has sent confusion, fear, embarrassment or shame – coursing through your mind, spirit and your soul. The likelihood is NEARLY 100% that this prophetic word, or your understanding of it, was not from the Lord at all. If you’ve received such a word, take it to the Lord. It is likely the Lord will tell you, “That wasn’t Me saying that Word to you!””
[Jeremiah 6 fulfilled.]
Thursday, September 05, 2013 at 7:24 am I checked Rick Joyner’s Facebook page, and his Word for the Week from Tuesday (“Understanding One Another”) was posted. He had said,
“Even with the great increase of knowledge the world is now experiencing, there is not much understanding. Understanding means to “stand under” someone else’s situation, to put ourselves in their place. This comes mostly from learning to become a good listener, which is also very rare. Yet if we are going to fulfill The Great Commission to make disciples, we must be able to reach people where they are. We can’t teach first graders geometry, and we will lose senior citizens if we try to teach geometry to them. Therefore, to make disciples, or students, we must be discerning of where people are and what is next for them to learn. This takes understanding.”
My prayer: Dear God, give me clear words and breathe Your Spirit into them, so that I can address the issue. Then I wrote to Rick on Facebook trying to clarify:
Dear Rick, I respect what you say. I am wondering if you intended to come across as if you were saying that you decide “what is next for them to learn.” With all due respect, that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. Human beings must learn how to listen to God’s Voice within and learn to allow Him to show them what He is teaching them. Human beings are quite capable of living into the answers to their questions. (Thank you, Rainer Maria Rilke!) Please don’t take offence, but your stance, as you have presented it, Rick, creates the very codependency that you loathe. ~ Kathryn Hauser [Received silence.]
Thursday, September 05, 2013 at 9:11 am Me to Steve Shultz:
Thank you! Now I understand! In the silence of the Arc Speak (as the Grand Silence continues month after month, and year after year), I didn’t know how you felt and no actual person breaks the communication gap. Your word today doesn’t actually break the gap of silence between the Churches and me, but at least I now understand how you “hear” what I write. The prophets say they understand:
Rick Joyner: “If my hand is severed from my body, it will die quickly because the life blood cannot flow through it without being connected to the body. The same is true spiritually. We must have koinonia to have the true life of Christ flowing through us.”
Saying they understand doesn’t mean that they do. It’s like the character Uncle Andrew who thought Aslan was growling, because that is what he heard, even though Aslan spoke with golden words of Truth. Relating this to my situation, I can be as pure, forthright, honest, and sincere in what I present, and if it is not heard through ears of forgiveness, it comes across as growling. Please forgive me. I am weary in [the] gap. ~ Kathryn Hauser [Ended up receiving silence.]
[Gethsemane-like] Thursday, September 05, 2013 at 10:47 am Journal: At my original solitude spot. More prophetic work of the Holy Spirit is being revealed. All the graffiti has been removed from the walls and dirt and the pavement in the Children’s Patio area. It looks like nothing ever happened there, except that there is a reddish paint graffiti strike, which looks like a huge arch-type gash across the trunk of an old, old pine tree. It makes it look like a huge, open, gaping, and dripping wound, an oozing scar. In the meantime the symbols are stacking up, prophecies are being fulfilled, and the prophets say nothing, even though the prayers keep flowing. Go figure.
Thursday, September 05, 2013 at 6:25 pm Journal: What will they do? Over the course of the day I have realized that what the Lectionary Barons left out of the passage of Jeremiah 18:1-11 was the next verse which says exactly what they’ll do!
Jeremiah 18:12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”
Gee, evil happens when good men do nothing. Well, Lord, then You really must lead me, because I cannot and will not fall prey to more Hope Shish kabob when it is very clear and You have been exceedingly patient. I know that You use what others plan for evil and turn it for Your Good. On top of this, what really “gets” me is that Jews AND Muslims believe in Messiah Jesus. And that’s what I’ve been saying all along, that Jesus is for EVERYONE, and the Christians are still silent and do NOTHING.
[Gethsemane-like] Thursday, September 05, 2013 at 8:12 pm Journal continued: I am rereading the lectionary lessons again. The Church IS Judah (Jer 18:11) and Kim Clement was just in Jerusalem. This morning I opened an email from him saying that his broadcasts will be cancelled until further notice. He has found himself financially strapped. This seems to me like he dug a hole in the “wall” and pulled his “bags” through (Ezekiel 12:10-16), which I wrote about on 16 July 2013, and which tied into my Reflection “If You Judge, Then Confront” (posted a month earlier on 16 June 2013). My prayers and love are with you, Kim. It’ll be ok. The way I “see” it, this is not the “death” of your prophetic voice, but a refocus on how you get your voice out. Finances are a temporal issue, and Jesus addresses that this week:
Luke 14:33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
Friday, September 06, 2013 at 1:17 AM Bob Jones was posted on the Elijah List: “God’s “Circuit Riders” Being Given More Power than Ever Before”
[Golgotha-like] Friday, September 06, 2013 at 8:18 am I replied to Bob Jones’ piece through Steve Shultz. I picked up the conversation where Bob had quoted Luke 15:10 and said to Steve:
“Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10
[Bob said:] “I believe the woman is the Church, and we’re getting ready for a marriage of Isaiah 62:3-4 because the Father is blessing the marriage. Then the Lord is taking the hand of the royal diadem (the Bride). The Church will then have the Father over it and it will be a family of Believers. And what we believe in we will receive and what we doubt, we’ll do without. That doing without is coming to an end and that which we believe is getting ready to produce faith. Faith will come out of our belief and we’ll see a change in things. So get ready for faith.”
[Me to Steve: How do we have a marriage when we cannot even have a conversation and still the Grand Silence continues? It takes one sinner to repent. (Lk 15:10) All it takes is one. Who among you has such love as to risk a relationship with me?] ~Kathryn Hauser [Ended up receiving silence.]
Friday, September 06, 2013 at 8:28 am I went back into Bob Jones’ piece and noticed:
“The circuit riders will go forth throughout the whole earth with the breaker anointing releasing power of the Word as the Holy Spirit endues them with power from on high. This power goes forth on the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:6) so everyone born of the Spirit will recognize its sound, and salvation shall be plentiful as the prodigals come home.
The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. Ecclesiastes 1:6”
Journal: Somehow this ties in with anchoring all of us through the “Satan SpIN” which started last Sunday in my old solitude spot and which was reflected in the graffiti. I believe God is not wasting a clue.
[Golgotha-like] Friday, September 06, 2013 at 8:51 am I posted on Facebook a comment to Victoria Boyson’s vision of the Bride:
“I love as she. ~k”
[Golgotha-symbolic] Friday, September 06, 2013 at 8:53 am Norton gave me a message on the computer screen: “Analyzing Babylon Chrome.” I felt that was terribly symbolic!! Now who was getting spun this time? Ah…payback!
Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 6:27 PM From Victoria Boyson in a Newsletter; subject: The War Against the Harvest
My note to self: Prophecy fulfilled in cross-reference with “The War Against the Harvest” to
Revelation 19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army.
The “War” is not human; it is spirit, which Victoria talks about. (Confirming.)
Speaking of confirming, the words written in Isaiah have also been fulfilled through the ongoing Great Silence:
Isaiah 41: 21 “Present your case,” says the LORD.
“Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
22 “Tell us, you idols,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
so that we may consider them
and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
23 tell us what the future holds,
so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
24 But you are less than nothing
and your works are utterly worthless;
whoever chooses you is detestable.
25 “I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes—
one from the rising sun who calls on my name.
He treads on rulers as if they were mortar,
as if he were a potter treading the clay.
26 Who told of this from the beginning, so we could know,
or beforehand, so we could say, ‘He was right’?
No one told of this,
no one foretold it,
no one heard any words from you.
27 I was the first to tell Zion, ‘Look, here they are!’
I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
28 I look but there is no one—
no one among the gods to give counsel,
no one to give answer when I ask them.
29 See, they are all false!
Their deeds amount to nothing;
their images are but wind and confusion.
Sat, Sep 7, 2013 at 1:15 AM From the Elijah List: subject: Brian Simmons: An Epic Battle of “Hope” over the Whole of New England (Reprint from July 21, 2010 on The Elijah List)
Sat, Sep 7, 2013 at 9:05 AM Me to Steve Shultz of the Elijah List:
[I am smiling, not snarling , said the she-lion to the he-lion]: I concur with Brian Simmons! Blessings, Hope, Courage!
“In the worst of times hope is born; courage will win the day. The battle is going to be won as the scales are tipped in favor of the saints! Never give up, New England! It is your calling as sons of destiny to release the greater awakening to the nations.”
Rick Joyner and many of the prophets ARE on the East Coast (and I confess that being a California Girl, I naively see the whole East Coast as “New England” even though my mind knows history.) But can you “see” the deeper meaning of what I am getting at? Stand together, not scattered! This calling truly IS for the sons of destiny to release the greater awakening to the nations! We (the boys in the prophetic brotherhood and I) need a relationship (not just Arc Speak) in order for this to birth.
“The dawning light is about to burst forth from the womb of the morning as the new day appears. The Bride will rise and shine like the sun, fair as the moon. You will come up out of your wilderness leaning on your Beloved!”
YES! Lean on Jesus! From that space of rest, then see the bride to the Bride [Church-as-Institution.] Do you now see that I am not in opposition to you? I love the Church so much that I have been willing to fight to the death for her. What has pierced my heart with “death” is that no one said anything. No one sought a relationship with me, even though I repeatedly tried reconciliation steps from every angle imaginable, since I had offended everyone imaginable. Today, I join the prayer by Victoria Boyson (05 Sept 13)
“Father, I ask that you would deliver those caught in the bondage of the accuser of the brethren. Redeem them and restore them to their rightful place in Your family. Pour out Your love on them and help them to fulfill their destiny in You. Make us one, Lord – one with You and in You and may we truly become a glorious, radiant example of Your goodness and power!”
~Kathryn Hauser
[Ended up receiving …drum roll, please…more Silence…]

16 After Pentecost 08 Sept 2013 Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
Jeremiah 18:1-11
18:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

18:2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.”

18:3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.

18:4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

18:6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

18:7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,

18:8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it.

18:9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it,

18:10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.

18:11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
139:1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me.

139:2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.

139:3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

139:4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.

139:5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

139:13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

139:14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

139:15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

139:16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.

139:17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

139:18 I try to count them — they are more than the sand; I come to the end — I am still with you.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
30:15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.

30:16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.

30:17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,

30:18 I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,

30:20 loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Psalm 1
1:1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;

1:2 but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.

1:3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

1:4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

1:6 for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Philemon 1:1-1:21
1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker,

1:2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God

1:5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus.

1:6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ.

1:7 I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

1:8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty,

1:9 yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love–and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.

1:10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.

1:11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me.

1:12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.

1:13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel;

1:14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced.

1:15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever,

1:16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother–especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

1:17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

1:18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

1:19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self.

1:20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ.

1:21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Luke 14:25-33
14:25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them,

14:26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.

14:27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?

14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him,

14:30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

14:31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?

14:32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.

14:33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

Echolocation

Kathryn Hauser’s Reflection for 15 After Pentecost 01 Sept 2013
Echolocation
A littlest angel was sent to earth. She lay prostrate before the Lord and His company of Hosts. She walked among the people and said, “The Spirit of the Living God is inside of us! Keep praising God! His Living Waters flow from bowed heads and humbled hearts!” (Jeremiah 2:13) But where were they? [Sigh.]
Does truth birth righteousness, or does righteousness birth truth?
Just because something is true doesn’t make it right. Jōb thought he was right.
Job 32:1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Sometimes I feel like Elihu before Jōb and his three friends, and I ask, “Who will speak for God on His behalf?” (Job 36:2)
But one went looking for manifestations of powers and miracles.
Another said to go to the third heaven.
Another said that it takes God forty years to answer prayer.
Another said that it takes God two years to answer prayer.
Another said it takes God two weeks to answer prayer.
And still another said that God would not do anything (Jer 5:12) because man needs to take responsibility.
Another wrote books on how to pray and made a profit. (Jer 2:8)
Another rolled his eyes in boredom at the mere mention of prophecy.
Another picked a fight because he could.
Another had great charisma and wept on stage.
Another said the Holy Remnant is made up of only ten percent of passionate believers, for works without faith is suicide.
Another said to find encouragement and support within ourselves.
And while these statements were true, still others took their faith to a deeper level:
Steve Shultz said, “What God is about to QUALIFY US FOR are a whole host of things we are UNQUALIFIED IN OUR EYES to be or do.”
Kim Clement said, “Your decisions make descendants,” and “Israel Is Forever!”
Bob Hartley (scribed by Michael Sullivant) said,
“The Lord showed Bob that He is desirous of raising up multitudes of what He called “Kingdom churches” and “Kingdom organizations” that will validate the diverse callings upon their members and unleash them into every sphere of life and earthly culture to represent (re-present) Jesus Christ. They will usher the presence of God into their various circles of influence and engage in the manifold good works (both short and long-term, providential and miraculous) that God has prepared beforehand for them to exhibit.”
Rick Joyner said,
“There are two basic Greek words used for church in the New Testament. One is ecclesia which speaks of the structure and government of the church. The other is koinonia that is the bonding relationship of the saints, which is loosely translated “fellowship” or “communion.” The ecclesia exists for the koinonia, not the other way around.
The church is called to be a family, not just an organization. We need organization, but the structure given to the local church in the New Testament was the most basic and simple imaginable—there were elders and deacons—that’s it. The life and power of the church was its koinonia not the ecclesia.
And Rumi said, “Never leave a prophet to buy bread!” (We ARE a pitiful bunch!!) Bonding relationships require contact. And location?
Jeremiah 5: 13 The prophets are but wind
and the word is not in them;
so let what they say be done to them.”
Wind [inspiration] is one thing, but the people and the priests never even asked, “Where is Jehovah Adonai?” Twice! (Jer 2:6, 8)
Job 4:17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?
What wrong did our ancestors find in God that we went so far from Him? (Jer 2:5) Idolaters are no better than the idols they worship. (Ps 115:8; Ps 81:11-12)
Jeremiah 2:6 They [the people] did not say, “Where is the LORD…”
Jeremiah 2:8 The priests did not say, “Where is the LORD?” …
Echolocation: Where is the LORD in the thread of the messages? “WHERE?” is the Question of the Day. This was God’s beef with the people and the priests. They did not ask, “Where?” The Magi asked, “Where?” (Mt 2:2) And today? No one has ever crossed over, looked, and examined with care to see if there had ever been such a thing. (v 10) Heaven is appalled and shocked. (v 12) (The Earth is not all that surprised. (Rev 12:16))
The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord, to turn one’s heart away from one’s Maker. (Sirach 10:12) Since pride and violent rage were not created for human beings (v 18), then who were they created for?
Are not Pride and Rage of the spirit realm?
Isaiah 14:12 (Jerusalem Bible) How did you come to fall from the heavens Daystar, son of Dawn?
Isaiah 14:12 (JUB) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, who didst claim the Gentiles as an inheritance!
Lucifer, the ultimate tyrant, falls when the people fear God more than him; when the people revere God more than him; when the people hold God in awe more than Satan’s glitz and glamour. Since Lucifer was the brightest angel, and the Gentiles are particularly susceptible to the bright and shiny, then it makes sense that redemption would come through the Gentiles once we wake up and realize the rest of the world has a point when they get angry with us for our arrogance and our bullish religion.
Job 4:18 If God places no trust in his servants,
if he charges his angels with error,
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,
whose foundations are in the dust,
who are crushed more readily than a moth!
From His Throne flow rivers of Mercy. Fellowship between God and His people is a banquet for everyone: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind!
Luke 14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
Fellowship with God starts with the Word, but doesn’t stop there. It must be connected to our beings, so others see what we believe and in Whom we believe. The Church [ecclesia] will find its fellowship [koinonia] when both sides (with the Institution on one bank and the Prophets on another bank), cross each others’ barriers and great divides, step out in faith, and dialogue with each other person to person, and dialogue with me, too. Harper’s Bible Commentary explained about Jeremiah, which applies to us today:
“…Speech addressed to Yahweh was an integral part of Jeremiah’s intercessory function (7:16; 11:14; 14:11; 15:11; 27:18; 37:3) Jeremiah considered standing in Yahweh’s “council” to be an important prophetic experience, one that involves dialogue [!] (23:18,22).
Since the effectiveness of a prophet depended upon acceptance by an audience, reports of such dialogue should be seen as part of the rhetoric by which Jeremiah and those who transmitted the traditions associated with him sought to legitimize his words.”
This ties in with what Garris Elkins said of the Lord:
“Around your step of faith I will assemble all you need to accomplish in what I will set before you. Resources that are now hidden will appear in the light of your faith. I will ask you to step through the warnings of man and the fear that has limited My people in this past season.”
The “warnings of man and fear” are described in Job and what went awry:
Job 35:9 “People cry out under a load of oppression;
they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.
10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’
So, WHERE is the LORD? It is true, He IS in us. And He is also reflected in our neighbors. If we want God back into our Churches and society, we have to invite Him and ask Him and dialogue with Him. We have to treat Him with more respect than He has generously treated us.
Prayer: Lord, even though the people and the priests did not ask WHERE You are, I ask on their behalf. This is such a tangible question for an intangible God, but really WHERE are You? You told us that when we give a banquet we are to invite others. (Lk 14:13). What or whom have we invited? We are “poor” in our wealth; we are “crippled” by our ingenuity; we are “lame” in our efforts, and we are “blind” in our assumptions. We are “blind” to our own Potential.
Kathie Walters had said, “You must truly kick the “dogs” from your door of Destiny.” She explained that “Dogs” are religious spirits and jealous spirits. I add hypocrisy to the list. These spirits have been blocking the door to many of our destinies. I can clearly “see” this. I have done what I could to kick those “dogs” away from the door of Destiny, but I am a mortal. Lord God, You must banish the “dogs” to the Abyss! I ask You, Father, in authority as Your Bride, for You to do this. Banish the “dogs” to the Abyss forever. The Pharisees of today will not hear encouragement in my voice if they are listening for criticism. Give Your people ears to hear Your praise and lay prostrate in awe of You and Your power as You answer our prayers. Crown You with many crowns!
When the leaders are crippled, lame, and blind from working so hard in serving You, Lord, that they forget to enter into Your ministry of Holy Rest, then how can they find WHERE You are to encourage them? Lead us, Lord! We are the “blind” leading the “blind”!
Bob Hartley had said: “God is freeing us from the vanity of “rote” praying by calling us to sit as His partners at His counsel table. This has sometimes been called “informed intercession.”” Ok, Lord, I lay the banquet table before You. You said:
Luke 14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Clearly in our day these verses have a deeper meaning for us, as there are countless philanthropic, social, and religious organizations, which strive to meet the needs of people. And who is serving the spiritually poor, the spiritually crippled, the spiritually lame, and the spiritually blind? If one has limited resources or access in our affluent society, one cannot just get online and download the latest sermon, Bible translation or commentary, or even music. And who serves the poor shepherds who are so crippled from being overworked that their lame comments have little affect on their flocks, because even though some in the flock may “see” what’s goin’ down, they cannot actuate (or activate) change in the physical realm. Righteousness must be “resurrected” (v 14) before those warriors can break through those strongholds. The “banquet” has to be seen through eyes of friendship. Mercy must be granted to the fearful.
Lord, You said for us to invite others so that we would be blessed, because these suffering others cannot repay us. (v 14) You said that we would be repaid at the “resurrection” of the righteous. (v 14) “Resurrection” happens all the time in our lives when we are looking for WHERE You are in doing Your holy work. We are continuously “dying” and being “resurrected,” as we bless, forgive, release, and bless, just as You modeled for us with Your very own life! Lord Jesus, resurrect Your righteousness, which got buried under “stones” of judgments. Please meet us like You met Mary in the Garden after Your resurrection. I call on Your universal harmonic frequency to bloom forth and unite the righteous in resurrection with Your heart’s desires. Amen.

15 After Pentecost 01 Sept 2013 Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14
Jeremiah 2:4-13
2:4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.

2:5 Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?

2:6 They did not say, “Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?”

2:7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.

2:8 The priests did not say, “Where is the LORD?” Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit.

2:9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children’s children.

2:10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing.

2:11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.

2:12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD,

2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

Psalm 81:1, 10-16
81:1 Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob.

81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

81:11 “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.

81:12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

81:13 O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!

81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes.

81:15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their doom would last forever.

81:16 I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Sirach 10:12-18
10:12 The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has withdrawn from its Maker.

10:13 For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out abominations. Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities, and destroys them completely.

10:14 The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers, and enthrones the lowly in their place.

10:15 The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations, and plants the humble in their place.

10:16 The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations, and destroys them to the foundations of the earth.

10:17 He removes some of them and destroys them, and erases the memory of them from the earth.

10:18 Pride was not created for human beings, or violent anger for those born of women.

Proverbs 25:6-7
25:6 Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great;
25:7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

Psalm 112
112:1 Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in his commandments.

112:2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

112:3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.

112:4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.

112:5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.

112:6 For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.

112:7 They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.

112:8 Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

112:9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.

112:10 The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
13:1 Let mutual love continue.

13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

13:4 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

13:6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

13:15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Luke 14:1, 7-14
14:1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

14:7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.

14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;

14:9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.

14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.

14:11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

14:12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.

14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”