We are His body, and there is a special blessing when we, His Body, can come together and worship Him, both personally and as His body.  Here, Sahra has graciously allowed us a peek into her personal worship with Him, this time, while she is sharing that worship with others, who also know how to privately worship Him in public.  What a blessing.

Thank you Sahra, for sharing this with us.

It is an amazing gift that few are given: the gift to know His heart.  So many of us seek His hands (His protection, deliverance, blessing) or His face (the assurance of His approval); but few dare to ask to know His heart, for it is a heart that breaks as we continually choose death, destruction, and treason.

It is said that those who do not know history, are doomed to repeat it.

He gave us His Word so that we might learn from their examples.  Isaiah, Jeremiah, and so many of thte prophets are describing a culture just like our own. He sent His prophets to plead with them, and the king would burn the scroll that was written, the high priest would tell him to stop prophecying, and the people would turn on him for speaking such politically incorrect attrocities. They chose death, and their destruction was sever.

And He marvelled that there was none to stand in the gap; none to be a watchman, a burden bearer, or an intercessor.

Our culture is choosing death, and has been choosing death for decades. Apart from direct intervention from our Creator, our choices will continue to lead to death on an even more massive scale.  There are numerous nations that have chosen death and not life, but one of the most well documented cases (at least on youtube) is Germany.  We have forgotten so much that we would do well to remember.

Praise Dancers: Ballet Magnificate
Praise and Worship Artists:
Praise and Worship Song: You are My Hiding Place

A 1974 interview with Corrie Ten Boom

A monologue based on the life of Corrie ten Boom

A tour through Corrie Ten Boom’s house with its the hidding place

Praise Dancers:
Praise and Worship Artists:
Praise and Worship Song:The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place: a YouTube Movie in 15 parts.

He holds all things in His hands. Even in the midst of a death that a culture has deliberately chosen, He is able to keep His own, those who have chosen Life; for He is faithful, even when we are not. I have found the books, among others, encouraging: America’s Last Call and God’s Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression.  You will find the links to them on the right, under related books.

Technorati Tags: ballet, Praise Dancers Journey

He is Faithful. He is not a man, that He should lie.

He has kept His Word in the past. He will continue to keep His Word in the future. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He is coming back to establish His kingdom.

Praise Dancers:
Praise and Worship Artists:
Praise and Worship Song:

AWESOME – they are using their double circle skirts as flags!  This is beautiful!

Technorati Tags: Double Circle, Praise Dancers Journey

Praise dancers may also be called as His watchmen. Watchmen often are those with whom He has shared His heart, ones who care deeply about those for whom they are watching. Whether on the city wall or from His heavenly dwelling, they are able to see further than most. Experienced watchmen know the history of the place and its vulnerabilities, know the difference between an approaching caravan and an charging enemy army, know when it is time to rouse the people to action with the sound of the trumpet. It is not a task to be taken lightly.  If the watchman keeps silent, they are held responsible for the deaths that ensue.

Whether or not we are given the gifts and responsibilities of praise dancers or watchmen, we are each called to watch over our own souls.  Some of us are also called to be watchmen of families, neighborhoods, regions, or His body. It does not matter if we are dealing with our own personal journey, or watching the path a city, a culture or a nation has chosen, it is essential to stay focused on:
Who He is: He is our Creator
Who we are: We are the created ones, created in His image, the sheep of His pasture.

As we look over the horizon, He calls us, not to fear what may come, but to fear Him, to trust Him, to continue to listen to the beat of His heart, to dwell in the burning fire of His Presence.

Praise Dancers: Fishers of Men Outreach Center
Praise and Worship Artists: Jason Upton
Praise and Worship Songs: Burning

Technorati Tags: mime, Praise Dancing Journal

Exo 17:8  Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Exo 17:9  And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
Exo 17:10  So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Exo 17:11  And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Exo 17:12  But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Exo 17:13  And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

So who is Amalek?  The first mention of Amalekites is in Genesis 14:7, 22 chapters before Isaac’s great-grandson Amalek through his son Esau is even born. That makes this more challenging to understand.  It is interesting that the people who attack Israel as they are just coming out of the land of Egypt, are not called Amalekites, but Amalek.  My guess is that this is to identify them as their distant cousins, the descendents of the great-grandson of Isaac.

Why did they attack? Some believe they felt they would be attacked by Israel in the future, so this was a ‘defensive’ move on their part.  Yet, they were of the family of Esau. Yahweh would specifically tell Israel to ask Esau for permission to go through their land, Deuteronomy 2:4-12. It was land He had given to Esau and would not be giving to Israel, so their fears were unfounded. Based on this, rather than believing the Word of the Almighty One of their fathers, they had rationalized their fears to and believed that they were victims. Their thoughts were twisted from truth to lies. They believed that the best defense was a good offense, so they attacked those who had mere weeks before escaped a bitter slavery, those who were tired, thirsty, still unorganized and defenseless. Yahweh alone could be their protector.

It is also interesting that immediately after the end of that attack, Yahweh Himself declares their end:

Exo 17:14  And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
Exo 17:15  And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
Exo 17:16  For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

This is the first use of JehovahNissi, the name Moses gave to the altar: Yahweh my Banner. Yes, that is banner as in flag, like our praise and worship flags. This is the first time flags are referenced in His Word, immediately after a significant victory over a nearly eternal foe. This word (Nissi, banner, flags,) is here directly tied to the victory as a memorial (something we are called to remember, write down, pass on , ‘rehearse’), an altar,  and His promise to be at war with those of Amalek.

Later, Israel meets not Amalek, but Amalekites.  He is very exact with His Word. It may be that these Amalekites are the Amalekites of Abraham and not their distant cousins. In this mention, first they refuse enter into their land, then after being told that their refusal would mean additional time before the promise could be fulfilled, they turn around and decide to attack the Amalekites and are soundly defeated. They ‘presumed<H6075>’ a word that is used only twice in the Bible. The Israelites have spent time spying out the land and camping in the neighborhood of the Amalekites, and now they develop this attitude, as if it was ‘contagious’.  This word is used only one other time in Habakkuk 2:4. It is a prophecy that fits well the attitude so prevalent today, contrasted as the opposite of faith.

Twice before entering the Promised Land, He recalls Amalek’s attack and its results:
Balaam refers to Amalek’s demise in Numbers 24:20
Deuteronomy 15 Israel is reminded of Amalek’s attack and the promise that they will be removed.

Several times during the Judges, Amalek and the Amalekites harass Israel, before Samuel tells King Saul it is time. I Samuel 15 when Saul is told to destroy Amalek for their heartless attack against His precious ones. It is here, when Saul is told to destroy them, that the word Amalekite is first deliberately used to describe these people of Amalek, Isaac’s great-grandson.  However, Saul does not completely destroy them as he was commanded, and they continue to harass His chosen people.

His disobedience has serious, and rather quick, consequences. A mighty band of marauding Amalekites  raids the home of David, Ziklag, and towns of Judah; all of them defenseless, as their able bodied men have gone to war. Days later, it is an Amalekite who claims to have been a servant to both Saul and David during that battle, by putting a wounded Saul, at his request, out of his misery.

From there, Amalek seems to disappear as a threat to His people; except for Haman, the Agagite. No where else is this group named, but 5 times in Esther, Haman is described as the Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite. Our Creator is precise; when He repeats something, it is because it is significant. Could it be, as many say, that this group was descended from Agag, the king of Amalek? Could it be that a lone woman with his child escaped or that a son was not in the city at the time of Saul’s attack?

Why did Haman seek to destroy every living Jew? Because a single man, a Jew, would not bow down to him and he had the power, he was second in the kingdom, to do away with them all. All were innocent, but the one; that one, Mordecai, had consistently proven himself to be a righteous man. The offense was taken, not because of what Mordecai did or did not do, but because of the haughtiness of Haman’s own heart. For that, he was willing to destroy an entirely innocent people; sounds a lot like an Amalekite to me.

Application to our lives.
1.There are people whose thoughts are twisted; they believe they are victims when they are not.
2.They feel they are righteously defending themselves when they attack the weak and innocent.
3.They exist in each generation; He will be at war with them throughout all generations.
4.Victory will not be won only in the natural, even if the mighty warrior Joshua is commander.
5.Victory will not be won only in the spiritual, not even if Moses and Aaron are both praying.
6.Victory will not be won alone; Moses, Aaron, Hur, Joshua, and all of Israel had their part.
7.Victory will be won when we are under the banner of the Victor.
8.Victory is grounded in our quick obedience.
9.Victory in Him does not mean victory when we are presumptuous, off doing our own thing.
10.Victory is to be deliberately remembered and shared with those who will come after us. Flags, banners, books, altars, dance are all appropriate reminders that He fought on our behalf.
11.We are to remember their treachery.
12.When we are at rest in Him, He will cut off all opportunity for their attack.

A. When I have found myself unable to do what I know I should do in this moment, it is often because I have forgotten two things:

1. He is the Almighty Creator (and I am not) and my Loving Father and worthy of my all.
2. I am to ALWAYS thank Him, in all things and for all things.

B. When I find an area where I have chosen to be thankful to my Creator, yet I consistently struggle with it, it is because I am believing a lie.

I know that all sounds so simple, it is; but not so easy. He gives us the understanding of what we are to do, how we are to do it, and the strength to do it as we look to Him and His Word.

Biblical background:   In any situation, at it s heart, we have only 2 options: Life or Death.

Deu 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

Romans 1:16-32 clearly describes the steps into depravity that follow our choice of death. Notice, however that prior to the decision, He has clearly declared Himself and His eternal power in His creation, both surrounding us and with in us. That is the level ground for each situation. He has declared Himself to all, and allowed us the free will to decide what to do with that declaration. We choose death and depravity when we observe His creation and know that the Eternal, Almighty Creator exists, yet we:

1. do not glorify Him (acknowledge that He exists and is worthy of all honor, praise and worship)
2. are not thankful.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Psalm 100:3-4 verses are parallel to Romans 1:21. We first acknowledge that He is the Almighty Creator, then respond in joyful thanksgiving for all He has done and praise Him for all He is!

Psa 100:3 Know ye that Yahweh he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psa 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Psa 100:5 For Yahweh is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Notice that the setting of Psalm 100 is one of a castle, with Yahweh being the Lord of that castle, and we His sheep peacefully grazing in His the fields. Imagine as we, the sheep, look over the horizon. This time we see not a peaceful pastoral, but a threatening cloud of dust, a sure sign that the knights of the enemy are heading towards us (the post office imploding, for instance). We can make one of two choices: Life or death.

We can stand in the field mesmerized by the fearful sight, wondering what we should do. But really, how long will a sheep last against the weapons of war in the hands of a well trained enemy? Or

We can remember our Loving Creator and Shepherd and run with thanksgiving through the gates of the fortress He has prepared for our protection.

This is Life: to choose to acknowledge that He is the Creator, that we are not, and to choose to be thankful.

Choosing Life sounds so simple: we just choose to be thankful to our Creator. But it is not so easy. We are to be abounding in thanksgiving In all things, For all things, with all that we do, as we watch in unceasing prayer. There is never a time when we are not to be thankful. Ouch.

Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Colossians 1:12 ¶Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Colossians 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Colossians 4:2 ¶Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Thanksgiving is a spiritual thermometer: it is the measure of His Life in us. By the time we are aware that we have chosen death, our hearts and minds are already under the influence of the forces of death. Any area of our lives where we find we are not thankful, we will find death. Our hearts and minds will be veiled in a fog of death, unable to see Truth. We will fall into the patterns of His enemies, as Pharoah and the King of Babylon did, rather than seeking His will, we will assert our own.

Exodus 15:9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them ( “my lust shall be satisfied upon them” infers: I will satisfy my lust upon them)

Isaiah 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

I will, I want, I think, I feel… That is all we have known all our lives! It is what we expressed as infants, descendents of Adam and Eve, whose spirit died in the fall. All we know is to decide our ‘will’ by our thoughts or be led by our feelings, with no inclination of consulting Him. Our thoughts are vain, unprofitable, void of Truth, void of Life, void of Him. Our feelings are only a twisted shadow of the heart He created. To live by them is death!

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

We are so used to being dead, choosing death, that we make excuses for it, even think of it as ‘normal’ or ‘human’; it is the way we were made. But that is all LIES! We were created in His image! We were created to Live, to commune with Him! To choose death is Treason against the Almighty King of all kings! It is the tragedy of the ages! It surrounds us, it has invaded our beings; we are so accustomed to it, so numbed by it, so bound by it. How can we break free of such heavy bondage? What are we to do? He created a way of escape in His Son, through His Spirit.

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of Almighty Yahweh is upon me; because Yahweh hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he might be glorified.

He desires to give us a garment of praise in place of that spirit of heaviness. Notice though, that we cannot wear both! We can choose to accept His gift. We can choose to lay aside our own thoughts and feelings, we can choose to put on His garment of praise and we can choose to offer to Him a sacrifice of praise! Notice though, that we cannot wear both!

Jeremiah 33:11 …bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of Yahweh.

Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

As we praise Him, He comes, for He inhabits the praises of His people.

Psalms 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

When He comes, He, Himself, presents us faultless before His presence.

Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

In that moment, death flees, deception fades, and Truth prevails, and we experience a bit of His presence. We see as He sees: our own thoughts are worthless, our feelings deceitful; we deceive even our own selves.

Psalms 94:11 Yahweh knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Yahweh. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

As we offer to Him the sacrifice of praise, the chains of deception and depravity fall away, we become free.

Free to see the Truth that He is the Almighty Creator and we are not;

free to understand that we are the sheep of His pasture, and not the lord of the castle;

free to enter His gates with thanksgiving, even as the army of the enemy appears on the horizon;

free to enter the court of the King of kings with praise, even as the noise of the battle surrounds us,

free to stand in awe in the presence of our Eternal Father,

free to run into His arms of loving protection, as His child;

free to grow, free to be all that He created us to be.

In that instant, we experience Life. We begin to desire it, to desire to be in His presence, to desire Him. We are like a newborn whose eyes are beginning to focus, to recognize their Father and get a glimpse of what they were created to be. It is awesome.

But it is only the beginning. Now, growth can begin. We begin to see how deeply we desire our own way, to have what we want to have, to do what we want to do, to control our world, our lives, our family and friends so that all is the way we want it to be…. In short, we see that we, in so very much of our lives, have lived as if we were the god of our own lives, we have taken a control that is to be His, that we surrendered to Him when we gave Him our lives. We begin to understand that it is treason. We sense how terrified we are to relinquish that which was never intended to be ours, and to do what we were created to do: to abandon ourselves to the Love of the One Who made us.

We begin to see that we are double minded: We say we want what He wants, but more often, we act out that we want what we want.

James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

We begin to understand that this makes us unstable, unfaithful, unable to obey, unable to Live. Yet, we are not without hope and help.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

His Word commands that I am to purify (make clean or sanctify) my heart! How can that be?

John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 ¶Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

(When there is a Therefore, look to the verses just prior to it to find what it is There for! The verses just prior to this are: 2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

Three times He tells us that it is His Word that washes through us, sweeping away the lies and deceptions of death, cleansing us, purifying our hearts. So often we say we do not read His Word because we don’t understand ,we don’t remember, we don’t get a revelation, we don’t think anything changed. There is a time to study and search for understanding, to take notes and remember, to listen for revelation, to seek sudden indisputable change. This is not the purpose now. We have seen that we are double-minded and our hearts are hard, full of deception and lies that must be washed away. How long must our rock of a heart sit in the river of His Word before the impurities are washed away in this one area? He alone knows, but it does not often happen quickly. I have found several things to be very helpful:

• Reading His Word every day.
• Listening to His Word throughout each night (great use for an mp3 player loaded with His Word)
• Listening to His Word during the day. If I have previously listened to a teaching, hymn, etc. and know that it is scriptural, I may listen to these as I work throughout the day. Sometimes they become background noise, but studies have shown that this is often how we learn best, just letting it sink in sub-consciously.
• Studying His Word each Sabbath.
• Searching His Word for answers during the week.

This will not be the last time we face this. Sanctification is a journey through the mansion of your heart. He knocks at the door of your heart and you allow Him into your well kept living room. After a bit, He asks you to open the door to the next room. Each time you allow Him in His gaze will burn out the debris, His Word will wash away the filth, … Some times it is the soothing relief of finally feeling clean, but more often it can feel more like a wire brush digging into your flesh to get out the imbedded stones of your heart. But always, if you let Him do His work, when He has turned all that mess to good, you will see that searing of the burning, the agony of the brushing, all that pain and suffering is nothing compared to the treasure He has given to you.

After a brief respite to enjoy what He has made of all that festering mess, He will point out another room with more hurts, lies and deception hiding behind the door. You will never come to the end, there will always be another door to open, another room to yield to Him. That is part of the adventure of life. You will, however become more comfortable with the process. That does not mean that it will hurt less, in fact it may well hurt more as you go. What it does mean is that as you learn to trust Him, to trust that even the excruciating pain of cleansing is His Love, loving you out of death into Life, the end will be not just be worth all the heartache and pain, but it will be priceless, beyond compare, making the trials and sorrow seem as nothing. There is no treasure more valuable than what He has in store for you. May you choose Life!

I was surprised at the intensity that these four young ladies were able to use to bring this song to life. 

This is another song that may have appropriate times in our relationship with Him. Father can you hear us

The Film version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s7QNpqiqsc

Looking to add the Haitian one here, too

M5T9O7lSG7U – cool medium flag dance!!

TcrLvQTPXkk – mime to father can you hear me – good teaching video for getting gestures

ypzWJv_FMRw – adds on top of video – half painted face

Hope you enjoy this demonstration showing the magnificent flow of large (45″x52″) silk flags on with a flexible quill pole.

Praise Dancers: Nickol
Worship Flags: Prophetic Worship Banners.com
Praise and Worship Artists:
Praise and Worship Songs:

Technorati Tags: Silk Worship Flags

But there are also those heavy burdens, ones that cannot be carried by one person to the end of the journey without a rest.

Not so long ago, in the Middle East, it was common for people to strap large burdens on their backs.  Barbara Bowen shares “We have several times seen a single porter carry an ordinary piano on his back for quite some distance.  His piled up burden very often extends far beyond his head.

“After the burden has been placed on the porter’s back, he cannot easily lay it down until he has reached his destination.  When he becomes desperately weary and must have a little rest, he calls a wayfarer, and the latter just stoops down under the load for a few minutes, takes the weight of the burden from the weary porter, and gives him a short rest.  This is what Galations 6:2 ‘Bear ye one another’s burdens,’ means”. (page 60 of Strange Scriptures that Perplex the Western Mind.)

These are burdens we would have several men load into the back of a pickup. These burdens are so large and cumbersome, one cannot sit down.  The only way to make it to the end, is to have some gracious person kneel under the burden, supporting the heavy weight with their back for a time, offering a brief respite to the one who is carrying it.

There are times He calls us to help those with these heavy burdens, to support them physically, financially, emotionally, or spiritually for a time to encourage them or to lighten their burden.

But there are times He calls us to be a burden bearer, to bear the weight of that burden for them. This dare not be done in our own strength, or we may be crushed by the weight.  This is a burden to be born only at His bidding.

This is a call to war on their behalf.

Praise Dancers: Chenaniah
Praise and Worship Artists: Isreal Houghton and Martha Munizzi
Praise and Worship Songs: The Alive Overture and Till the Walls Fall Down

When has He asked you to be a burden bearer?  What did you learn?

Technorati Tags: Chenaniah, Family Praise Dancers, Israel Houghton, Martha Munizzi, Praise Dancers Journey, The Alive Overture, Till the Walls Fall Down

He calls us to be intercessors, as He is an intercessor, first for our families and those close to us, then for our leaders, His body, His kingdom and Jerusalem.

His intercession is more than a quick mealtime prayer. His sweat, during His prayer in Gethsemane was as great drops of blood. (Luke 22:44) That is an earnest prayer, indeed; that is the prayer of a burden bearer.

Sometimes that burden is for a group of people, a city, a culture, a nation, or His Body. He may call us to study history that we might understand the present, to see its natural consequences. He may call us to be watchmen, to see the burdens and the evils, even those that they have chosen themselves, to warn and prepare for the future in wisdom.

He may call us, as He did the praise dancers of Shiloh, to draw those devasted by the death and destruction of their own choices, and the lawless choices of their culture, into His Truth, His Life and Light. He may call us right into the middle of that death, as He did Jeremiah.  But, we will only be His messengers, if we do not allow that death to seep into our own souls.

(Belarus) Maintaining a Pure Heart in a Wicked Age by David Wilkerson, founder of World Challenge based on Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

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