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I was blessed to have a Dad I adored. He made me feel special and always made me laugh. Not because he was funny, but because he thought he was funny and roared at every one of his own jokes. His infectious laugh was contagious and spilled over to everyone in the room. He was a comedic entertainer waiting for the right audience and just thinking about him makes a smile erupt across my face.

As a little one, growing up under the persona of this colorful, extrovert I experienced my Dad’s shadow to be a good one. Surprisingly kind and generously supportive, he made me feel like I was the apple of his eye. That was an assurance I carried through my life. It was a rare day I experienced his ill-will.

I know very well, that is not the case for many. Children around the globe grow up under dark and troubling shadows. Ones that bring heart-breaking disappointment, paralyzing fear and burdens of shame. Even though my Dad’s overshadowing was kind and loving, he like any other father could not safe guard me from evil.

Ascribing to the love and compassionate grace of the Lord Jesus, healing from deep wounds became mine, though not for many years. As many families do, mine held secrets and shame. As children struggle to over come pain a path of repentance and forgiveness paves the way for greater healing though many families opt for silence and denial. In the story of Eli the priest his sons made devastatingly poor choices while their father chose to look the other way. The consequence to the entire family and community was dire. Ultimately it even impacted the nation. (1Samuel chapters 3-4)

2Peter 3:9 describes the patience of God, wanting none to perish but all to come to repentance. Without question however, repentance is required from everyone of us. Jesus said nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed and nothing is concealed that will not ultimately be brought out into the open. (Luke 8:17). Being the light of the world, He experienced more than anyone rejection by those who were not lovers of truth. “For men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19).

As I reflect on how far the Lord has brought me, and the inner healing He has provided it really boils down to one thing: it was and still is His all encompassing shadow that far exceeds any of a natural father. It is this shadow I choose to live under and find my refuge in. Covering me with a sheath of protection, canopy of peace and more, for as Psalms 91 puts it; “He covers you with his feathers and under his wings you find refuge.” 

My heart warms every time I think of my Dad, and I look forward to meeting him again soon. I have no doubt in that city above the sky he will greet me with the same beaming smile and infectious laugh that welcomed me through out my life. But the father’s love that has healed the deepest part of my heart has not been his. It belongs to my father God. A God so great and majestic He spoke a word and created the heavens and earth, yet so intimately personal, He has saved my tears in a bottle. (Psalm 56:8) Divine intimacy with the Father of Lights. That is what we were all made for. That is what we all deserve.

*To listen to a little love song this daughter wrote for her Dad- click on the audio file below.

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“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months” (James 5: 17 NAS).

Many of us dismiss the amazing feats Elijah performed by saying, “yes…but he was a prophet.” Clearly he was given to all the challenges and failings all of us are. Elijah faced great struggles and certainly did not lead a charmed life. Scripture is faithful to report he was terrified and sorely depressed after one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s miraculous power. Fear stronger than faith soared as Jezebel sought to take his life. (1Kings 19) Utterly human, he faced times of discouragement and depression, amidst great faith. So what separated Elijah from the rest of us? What enabled him to apprehend the attention of Jehovah God and embrace the miraculous?

Insight to that may very well lie in the infamous story of the Mt. Carmel showdown. As the people fell on their faces and said, “The Lord HE is God, the Lord HE is God” it behooves us to make note of what Elijah did prior.  1Kings 18:30 describes Elijah calling the people near as he repaired the altar of the Lord. The altar. A place of repentance, consecration, atonement and sacrifice. The place of access between God and his people. A sanctum of holiness where the manifest presence of God was found. Elijah knew it well.

His first step in repairing the altar was to carefully place 12 stones at its base. The battle between evil and God’s goodness Elijah faced on Mt. Carmel was not limited to just Jezebel and the prophets of Baal. It represented a national threat against the whole house of Israel and still does. A symbolic representation of each tribe and their inherent promises, blessings, admonitions and judgments were established as the altar’s foundation upon which he built.

Genesis 49 details the prophetic words Jacob spoke over each of his sons, each of the future tribes of Israel. These directed to the whole household of God including the olive branch of the Messiah’s offspring. ( Romans 11) “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come” he told them. To Judah he declared: “Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies…the scepter shall not depart from Judah…and he shall wash his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes” as he prophesied the coming and sacrifice of our beloved Messiah.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough…his branches run over the wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him and harassed him severely, yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob…” as Jacob revealed not only the destiny of his biological son, but the miraculous testimony of an entire nation. We continue to see Israel preserved, surrounded still by her enemies as she lives in a state of continual attack. And the sober warnings for the consequences of sin he delivered to Reuben, Simeon and Levi. Warnings of judgment and curses of disobedience that are again being exacted on nations that turn away from God’s commands, as ours has.

As we embrace great uncertainty, bear the consequence of ungodly choices and live in a nation that has broken covenant with its maker, we still have the opportunity to turn and repair the broken altar. Stone by stone, truth by truth, commandment by commandment. Individually and corporately we can rebuild the foundation of our lives and the greatest country in the world.  The only country besides Israel whose government was built on holy scripture and God’s commands.

The altar of God where restoration, forgiveness and blessing may be obtained and abound. Where shame turns to joy, guilt to freedom and pain to healing. May we say yes and be blessed and strengthened by his hand once again. It always has been and continues to be America’s greatest hope.

The children of Israel were surrounded by enemies. The Babylonians prepared the siege to overtake Jerusalem but God’s people still had a choice. The Lord commanded Jeremiah to speak to the people yet again.  “It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.” (Jeremiah 36: 3)

The Lord had suffered patiently with his people and given them opportunity after opportunity to repent. Now again, the choice was theirs. They could embrace the clarion call or turn a deaf ear and continue on with life as usual.  Sadly, they preferred to believe a lie; that blessing and prosperity would still be theirs even though they had broken covenant with their Maker.

Engaging in the worship of creation and created beings became a routine part of their lives and moral decay ran rapid as they honored the sun, moon, stars, earth and unbeknownst to them engaged in worship of demonic spirits. A culture of lust, greed and selfishness so invaded the previous culture of Godliness that the scripture says Gods heart was grieved and He hurt. (Jeremiah 8:18-20)

As part of the Baal worship ceremonies, the “goddess” Ashoreth was celebrated by the women and every form of sensuality and lust was encouraged. Husbands and wives engaged sexually with multiple partners and gave glory to the demon spirit masquerading as a god.  As a result new born babies were sacrificed to the Canaanite god, Molech. They slowly burned these children to death in a Bronze Calf as the bellows of the child’s scream resounded through its horn.  Drums were beat in rhythmic elation as the people celebrated this rite of worship. The parents were strategically positioned closest to the drums to muffle the sound of their babies anguish as they were applauded for the sacrifice of their child.

It is difficult to not wince reading such things, but it is also impossible to overlook the striking parallels to our culture today. Psalms 106 reads, “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.”  God’s Holy Law holds the life of a child as valuable as any other whether inside the womb, or birthed (Exodus 21: 22-25 ) yet Jesus seemed to place even more value on the lives of the innocents when he stated ” It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.”-Luke 17:2

Then and now God’s choice remains constant. When a people break covenant with him, as America has done, a covenant which was established at the onset of this nation (ref: THE CASE FOR AMERICA’S CHRISTIAN HERITAGE written by Gary DeMar or the many Founding Fathers government documents on line) when a nation turns its back on His commands and decisively removes Him from government, education, marriage, child rearing etc, He leaves. He forces himself on no one. He honors our free will, yet not without consequence. He allows us to live a life without his blessing, protection and divine intervention.

Repeatedly through out scripture we see a clear pattern. When the extraordinary blessings stated in Deuteronomy 28 vacate (blessings of provision, safety, prosperity, joy, health, children etc.) and the ramifications of our sin and rebellion are made manifest travesty awaits us. “They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land” Deuteronomy continues. “The stranger who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher and you will go down lower and lower.” 

As we blindly engage in our day to day activities and pay no mind to the direction our nation has taken, believing it has little or nothing to do with us think again. The consequence of a nations choices impact all of us. Our fore fathers covenanted with God and promised to elect Godly leaders that held the values and principals of His law in the highest regard. George Washington stated “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”

“We do hereby dedicate this land and ourselves to reach the people within the shores with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to raise up godly generations after us and with these generations take the kingdom of God to all the earth. May this covenant of dedication remain to all generations as long as this earth remains. And may this land along with England be the evangelist to the world. May all who see this CROSS remember what we have done here and may those who come here to inhabit join us in this covenant and in this most noble work that the holy Scripture may be fulfilled”– Prayer that was prayed at the first permanent Virginian colony at the Fort at Jamestown.

My earnest prayer now is that our country will turn again back to Him, his laws, his precepts, his commands. That we will fervently repent and adamantly again embrace his truth, putting His heart, His desire, His law above our own. That we will support those that embrace our Judaeo-Christian heritage and are in alignment with his commandments. This election will greatly impact every one of our lives and the future blessing or demise of our country.

“And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts…And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives”– Jeremiah 34: 18-20

“Only acknowledge your guilt-that you rebelled against the Lord your God- that you have not obeyed my voice” for He promises; “Now therefore if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people; for all the earth is mine.“- Exodus 19: 5

It’s interesting to learn the origin of things, and this common, colloquial phrase is no exception. Regardless of our fervent desire, can such a symbolic act ever rid us of our responsibility or remove our guilt?  “Let his blood be on us and on our children” they shouted at Pilate as this Roman officer grew even more conflicted.  “But what evil has He done?” Pilate asked as they screamed; crucify him. There was no reasoning with this angry crowd. It was clear the religious leaders had succeeded in persuading them. Then the soldier brought Pilate an urgent message, “Don’t have anything to do with this innocent man” his wife implored. “I have suffered much in a dream concerning him.”

Returning to the unruly mass, he tried reasoning with them again. Crucify him they demanded. The procurator was in a tough spot. Freeing him was clearly the right choice, but the crowds and the religious leaders… well he didn’t want a riot on his hands. Apparently, it was easier to have his blood on them. Pilate released the murdering criminal Barabbas and sent Jesus to be crucified. They will forget about this poor Jew in a week, Pilate later told his wife. He was just one of many.

I wonder if you recognize yourself in this mirror of irresponsibility, as do I, in the light of such calloused indifference. When on a certain day, or place in time you told yourself what ever it took to silence the voice of your own conscience. When God’s inner most law of the heart directed a course of action you did not take and you discarded his conviction.  Shaking off the voice of truth that pierced your conscience you embraced the dictate of your selfish will or satisfied your pride. The voice that served your purpose that day.

In Pilates story, as he wrestled with his own conscience and the clear distinction between right and wrong a serendipitous gift came. The message from his wife, confirming what he already knew to be true. If he had any doubt prior, this clarified everything.  Funny how that happens. How in the midst of conflict, the right path becomes even more illuminated. But do we listen?  As uncomfortable as his refusal to take the right path was, he perceived it as easier.
There in lies the deception.

In a vain attempt to rid himself of the grave consequence of his own actions and to make a symbolic, self-righteous statement Pilate poured water into a large bowl and washed his hands before the people. Coupled with his declaration of non-responsibility and his agreement to blame others for his decision he turned his back and walked away from what he knew was right.  He turned his back and walked away from love as he let the Son of God be taken, turning a deaf ear to the voice of justice, to the appeal of truth.  Most certainly justified his lying heart whispered.

The angry mob spit, cursed, beat and dragged the perfect one to the cruel cross as the religious leaders vacated to prepare the sacrificial lamb for the Passover. But it wasn’t Pilate’s problem. After all, he had washed his hands. On the same temple grounds, one lamb was swiftly, mercifully sacrificed in an attempt to re-instate man’s right standing with God, while the other suffered the most heinous death known to man.

I can only imagine the thoughts Pilate carried with him as he walked away. The lies he told himself to rationalize what he had done. The inner voice he quenched as his own heart and conscience convicted him. Jesus condemned to the cross, Pilate to the gravity of his own decision.

Does a detergent exist that could possibly have washed away the sin of Pilate that day? Truly rid the consequence of that action from his being? What ingredients would it take? What chemical compound could remove the seared guilt on Pilates psych, the one he would carry to his grave?  The saturated blood from God’s son pooled on Pilates soul and wrote a decree of judgment on his heart. Not even the most cleverly devised lies told in the recesses of his own mind could erase the guilt.

There is only one miraculous agent that can remove the unbearable judgment and pain of grievous sin, that can restore and renew life. But this precious blood shed by Jesus on calvary is a gift that each one of us must personally and humbly embrace. Though shared freely it is of the greatest value and highest price and brings with it great power of transformation; healing those who are washed by it and testifying against those who reject it.