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Choices

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Dear Sir: I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put “Poor Planning” as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient. I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which when weighed later were found to weigh 240 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks. You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3, accident reporting form. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground-and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body. Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.

Choices. They determine the outcome of so many things. Some choices are weightier than others. Like who you marry, taking a job, buying a car or a house, etc. Then there are the lighter choices in life like, Do I want a third patty on this cheeseburger, buttressed by extra slabs of bacon? (Did I tell you I chose to do a Daniel Fast?) When you read the Bible you discover people making choices that have eternal consequences. Consider the temptations of Jesus in the Wilderness:

And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread. (Mt. 4:3)

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary. And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. (Mt. 4:5-6)

Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. (Mt. 4:8-9)

3 Temptations, 3 Choices. The first was occupied with life. What do you live for? The second, what would you die for? And the final, and third choice: Who or what do you worship? Jesus made it clear what we should live: You should live for every word that comes out of God’s Mouth. Another way of saying that is to say that we should be living for a relationship with God. The second choice, requires closer inspection to understand what Jesus was referencing. In Exodus 17 the people demanded water to drink. Moses took note that they were trying, tempting or testing God. But then he adds another nuance: Why do you find fault with….? Not only were the people trying God, they were finding fault with Him. Are we willing to die not finding fault with God? The third and final choice rested squarely in Eternity. The modern church understanding of worship is that it is a song or posture. Whereas Scripture’s definition goes much deeper than that. Worship involved who or what you served. It was a lifestyle of sacrifice.

What happens in the wilderness, in the praying, and the seeking? What happens when you choose to search for Jesus outside the camp? You discover what you are living for, what you are willing to die for, and what or who you really worship. What choices have you been making?

Confession & Declaration 29

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Zephaniah 3:14-17 Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice, be in high spirits and glory with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem [in that day].15 [For then it will be that] the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in the midst of you; [and after He has come to you] you shall not experience or fear evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion. Let not your hands sink down or be slow and listless. 17 The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

Why on earth is Jesus singing and exulting over Israel? And why is He making such a spectacle of Himself in rejoicing and exulting? For rejoicing means that He is being joyful, and bright with great gladness, and to exult is even more undignified than this. For it means to dance, leap for joy, and spin around. What’s even more startling is that we are grafted into these words to Israel. Thus the promise of Jesus being undignified among us is equally true. But why? Why is He singing, rejoicing, and dancing over us? What’s the point and why the celebration?

Well there are several things that are listed in the passage above: the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in the midst of you; [and after He has come to you] you shall not experience or fear evil any more.

WE see reason for rejoicing and celebration in four ways. (1) The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. We know from these declarations that through Jesus’ Blood He has most assuredly taken away our judgments and done imaginably more than that. (2) Another reason to party is that He has cast out our enemy. A party which drives satan himself, away. (3) Thirdly, Jesus has walked into our midst as Immanuel – God With Us! His Omnipresence is always with us and He promises to manifest His Presence. That’s powerful. But Guess what else He has done? (4) When He walked into our hearts, Love entered. When Love entered – fear had to go. Fear has to go in the Presence of Perfect Love! Fear, anxiety, worry, and all it’s kin and kindred – they have to go!

Yet there is another powerful reason that Jesus is singing over us. That’s how He awakened the dawning of creation. He sang it into existence. Now that’s my personal opinion, but I’m sure in the farthest reaches of the studies I’ve done that I could actually make a compelling point for this from Scripture – our Source of All Authority! But I digress. Let us simply make the argument from Moses to the prophets, to modern day rabbis. That in their tradition there is the practice of singing the Word of the Lord. Modern day synagogues would call these rabbis – or cantors. What’s even more interesting is that the people would participate by singing it back to them. Thus Jesus is singing over us, awakening us, by His Prophetic Word. That’s powerful. He is awakening in us the new creation that we are called to be. Pause and think about that.

But there is one more thing. A thing that is as mysterious and old as the Ancient of Days. In Ezek. 28:13 is a prophecy about satans’ origins: Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

This passage goes on to explain that before the fall, or rebellion of satan, that he was a cherubim who led the worship of Heaven. That his body was an instrument in and of itself. He literally sang, and played melodies with the musical instruments built into his body. (Talk about a one man band.) When satan fell he took that aspect of worship with him leaving an empty place. Now that sounds sad but God can never be outdone and always has a plan. Guess who God had waiting in the wings to take his place? You and I. You are His song. That’s one of the reasons we praise Him. That’s why our songs, dance, and expressions of delight are so important to Him. He is singing and dancing to awaken the song and the dance of delight in us. Why? He wants us to join Him in both. That makes me smile, laugh and cry all at the same time. What an awesome God we serve.

Thus we overcome the judgments, fear, emptiness, and our enemy through singing, rejoicing, and dancing. We become the worship leaders of Heaven. How about that? Jesus invites us to join Him in the celebration. Now do you see what’s missing in the modern church? We’re droning on singing songs of worship as funeral dirges – while our Savior is celebrating with singing, dancing, spinning, laughing, and joying – in you. He joys in you.

So, how can you sit there? Are you going to dance with Your Savior and joy in Him – or not?

Declaration 29: Hallelujah Praise Your Name my Precious Jesus! I lift my songs of praise to You! I glorify, and magnify You with all that I am. You have sung me to life. You are my Song, and my Reason to dance. My heart leaps before You and rejoices. Hallelujah You have driven out satan – my enemy and Yours. You have beat back the judgments I was due. You have conquered my fears overthrowing them with Your Perfect Love. Oh how I love You Jesus! Oh, how I worship you with the angels and saints gone before me. Oh, how I twirl, dance, and spin about You with the planets, moons and stars. I lift my voice in praise to the only One due the praise joining my voice with all creation. You have overcome and I have overcome through Your Song; through Your Dance! Sing louder Lord Jesus. Dance faster, Catch us up in the song and whirling love of Your Presence. Grace to my brothers and sisters in Jesus to join You. Grace for me to rise up, shake off my self centered self, and celebrate You. Grace to sing like nobody is around. Grace to dance with furious, and passionate love. Grace to let go. Thank You Almighty God. Sing Your Words over me. Sing over me, and these – in Jesus Name!

Who’s Your One? Day 26 – Friday, February 7