Proverbs 13:12  Hope deferred makes the heart sick: but when the desire is
fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
     Seventy years is a long time to wait for restoration. There are two possible responses for the mind that perceives that the object of their long awaited hope has not yet materialized...beyond any time frame imaginable. The first is common...forget it.  That is an easy for the natural mind to accept closed response. It omits any need to question or debate. Case closed... forget it! This is the path of cynicism and despair.
     The other response is to cling to what you believe until your hopes are materialized. That is not something that most people are willing to do. Nobody wants to look foolish and most people opt for the sure bets in life. Of course, if I know something that you don't know, an inside track maybe, then you may buy and sell stocks at my suggestion, despite the apparant lack of logic to that stock choice. Like, if I worked for a company and I told you that it was about to fold tomorrow, you would run to sell your stock. I know nothing about stock...except that cows have spots...sometimes. And, cows give milk, and they don't fly. 
Isaiah 44:28  That says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all
my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple,
Your foundation shall be laid.
     But, the Bible is timeless and God's plan is unchanging. I believe every word was inspired by God almighty. I buy into it, and invest all I own in the black words, as well as the red. So did some of the Jews in Captivity. King Cyrus was far ahead of his time. He was King of Babylon and it was nearing the end of the seventy years of captivity that had been prophesied for the Jews. Cyrus believed he was also in Bible prophesy slated to set God's people free, so he set in place some very humanitarian policies of allowing displaced persons to return to their homeland. A few of the Jews jumped at this chance to return home, but many didn't want to walk away from all the possessions they had acquired in Babylon. So, the few repatriotized Jews lived in a state of despair, almost giving up hope that they would ever be restored as a country when Cyrus was quickly replaced by a not so humanitarian King, and the Jews filtering back into Israel was halted.
     Of course, there were a lot of Jews who had never been deported out of Israel to start with, and they had been there all those 70 long years, while their countrymen lived in far off Babylon. These guys were not much help or hope for rebuilding a country when they were not even seen as worth deporting, left behind in decaying Jerusalem's rubble as worthless to the Babylonian empire. The remaining Jews were the ones who put up the most resistance to Nehemiah's plans to rebuild.
     Zechariah is an awesome book of hope. He lived at a time in Israel, being just a child in one of the first few families allowed to return, before Cyrus died. He had reason to believe the time was near. He had hope, a precious commodity. He was called by God to mobilize the people in Israel to rebuild Jerusalem. This was to prove a big task and would invoke a lot of criticism and animosity from people who didn't want to see it done. The detractors were mostly Jews, not outsiders. There were even plots on Nehemiah's life.
Zechariah 5:9  Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there
came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the
wings of a stork: and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
     There is so much more to the story, if you read all of Zechariah and Nehemiah, but you can't fly through Zechariah. It has so many beautiful vignettes of hope. Zack was told to pay attention by an angel that was in his vision. So he looks up and sees this large basket or pot being carried through the sky with an old lady inside, and then a huge lid was dropped on top of it. Zack sort of looked surprised and exclaimed, "What is that?!" The angel said the old lady was symbolic of wickedness and was being carried to Babylon where she was worshipped and would have a nice home. Now, I am laughing at the appropriateness of this political slam made by a politically incorrect prophet. Well, actually it wasn't his gaffe, but the angels' carrying the basket, you could argue. But, wickedness is happier in some places than others I have seen.
     Two lady angels were carrying the basket through the sky. The women had wings like a stork. I wonder why they were women? To me it sounds like prayer. These women were prayer warriors carrying away the sin of the people with prayer. When we pray, it feels like our words have wings, being carried to God with ease, sometimes. I've seen God respond so fast it almost shocked me. And, that it why I continue to hold onto my hope in God when hope is deferred. I have every reason to believe Him when I have seen His promises fulfilled so many times. He is a man of His words.

     Zechariah had visions and messages from God, though it is obvious he had to be prodded at times by the Spirit, and not just "moved." He was awaken out of a deep sleep after a couple of visions, and then had to be told to pay attention during another vision. But, I wouldn't say he was Spiritually sluggish or even not Spiritually fit. He most likely felt overwhelmed himself by the things he was hearing from God. Don't we all feel that way at times when God speaks?
     In the first chapter of the book by Zechariah's name, there in the Old Testament, Zack tells the story in the first chapter of his first vision. It happens on the 24th day of the 11th month, which on the modern calendar would be...my birthday :) But, this is the Jewish calendar, and quite a few hundred years before I was born. Zack saw a man riding on a red horse standing among the Myrtle trees there in the bottom land. The man was a Spirit, an angel, and behind him were other riders on paint horses. Zack asked the angel who these angels were and was obviously wondering where they were going. The angel told him that they were on a reconnaissance mission from God. Then the re-con angels gave their report to the Commanding angel, reporting that they had checked and the whole earth was at rest. By rest, we see in the next few verses that the angel is referring to a state of ease. The heathen nations had taken God's people captive, where they had been for years, and now they were content and secure in the fact that they held God's people spoiled. The enemy felt comfortable in all the havoc they had caused- No problems - Secure in war - at peace.
Zechariah 1:12-13  Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of
hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of
Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and
comfortable words.
     The commanding angel then calls out to God directly, asking God the same question we want to ask in the face of oppression. He asked how long God was going to sit still and allow His people to suffer, without mercy. Zack does not tell us that God was present. He does not mention God being there in the Myrtles, before the commanding angel asked God what the plan was. Apparantly, God was there all along, before the army of angels arrived to report. It seems that Zack had been praying, and God gave him this vision to remind him that there was a time limit to the trial. God answered that the nation of Israel was to be restored now, after the 70 years of captivity...just like Job was restored. His trial had a time limit. In this case, God let Zack know that the captivity was coming to an end.
     This is a remarkable picture of God's presence. When I see Myrtle Trees, I think of Zechariah's vision, and remember that God was with Zack, when the angels showed up to report to God. They had to come to Zack's house to talk to God. Imagine that! "Forward my calls to Zack's house for the next hour. "Can you hear God telling the angels that? "Hello, God...come on in. I was just making a cup of tea...sit a spell."

   I can't even write the three woes with a straight face. I woke up with my continuing implant problem, and the fevers sweats and chills of the stomach flu to top it off this morning, I took Nyquil and slept till now, and woke up with a neighborhood power outage, predicted to last till midnight. Travis is trying to whip up some sandwiches in the lantern light. I'm praying all the groceries we just bought last night don't spoil again like they did in the week long tornado outage we had a month or so ago.
Revelation 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through
midheaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the
earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which
are yet to sound! 
     Midheaven...? 
Revelation 8:13  And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst
of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the
earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which
are yet to sound!
   As I was saying, this angel was flying through the midst of heaven, preaching three more woes of the last three trumpets to the inhabitors of the earth. Permit me the extravagance of the King's English on this beautiful verse. It's what I'm used too. Inhabitors sounds more active than inhabitants doesn't it, though I am getting used to the new english.
     When things are rough, it helps to keep things in perspective. Afterall, nothing sounds near as bad as Apollyon,  the loosing of the demons from the Euphrates River breathing smoke and brimstone (sulfer in NIV,) and that final domination of Christ over earth, to become Lord of all.
     As a matter of fact, Travis just said there is a power truck in our driveway. That's good news :)

     When the starting gun sounded, near twelve hundred pairs of feet began running. The exhiliration was astounding... the rush of charging downhill in a pack of humanity. I couldn't believe my speed. I was making time unlike anything I had experienced in practice... and loving it! I was passing lots of people. But, that pace caught up with me fast! I felt the first stitch in my right side, instead of the usual left side. Within another mile, the left side caught up and began to ache with equal force. The surge of adrenilin, the sound of heavy breathers coming up behind me, the playful laughing of friends, the camaradarie of runners calling out encouragement to those following in their footsteps, the glowing candles lighting up the darkened streets, the black night bathing us in the golden glow of the luminary candles, all merged to form the thrill of the race...my first... the Greenville Candlelight 5K run July of 2008.
     As we turned and ran up hill, suddenly there were hands reaching out dixie cups of water to me by someone running at me from the first rest table. We never stopped! We drank half and poured the rest on our arms and face, before tossing the cups to the curb as we continued running. Soon, we could see the family members of runners standing along the main starting street cheering. We kept on running past them, and across the highway where cars were stopped, waiting patiently. It was the summer solstice, June 21st, the first day of summer, the longest day of the year. It was also the longest 3.1 miles of my life. I saw five year old Carly after I passed the two mile point. She was about to fall asleep on her feet. Her Dad lifted her to his shoulder and charged ahead with her, before sitting her back down to allow her to set their pace again. I wondered how he would finish a race carrying her. I ran past them and a few choking, gasping runners.
     Suddenly this incredulous sound of cheering, noisemakers, and applause could be heard before I could even see the finish line crowd. It was a heartstopping spiritual event... running in the dark among fleet feeted runners, realizing I was nearing the finish line and what was happening there. As I came into sight of the finish arch, and saw the screaming faces of the family menbers of racers shouting to me, encouraging me with applause, congratulating me, I saw Travis standing just before the finish line beside the barricade, watching me. I gave him a high five as I ran across the finish line, and collapsed into a chair to remove the timing chip device from my shoelace. That was the highlight of the whole event, seeing the face of my son, my family, watching. He had on my event candlelight 5K tshirt, smiling at me.
     As I sat there retying my shoe, along came Carly with her Dad, both on foot running. Dad had went through so much to make sure his daughter felt the thrill of finishing her first race with him. I was exhausted. Completing a goal that you are unsure of your own ability to complete is an incredible experience. I woke up that morning thinking, "I hope I can finish this 5K run." I crawled into bed that night thinking, "I finished that 5K run!" That's an awesome feeling of reaching a goal. I was pleased. 1, 186 runners completed the race. I placed 564 out of 618 women in all age groups. There were 568 men running as well, but the results are seperated in men's and women's categories. That was just the first. I completed 5 other 5K's since. Right now, I can't run. That bothers me. I can't drop that part of me, the part that learned to love the thrill of running and riding in cycling events around the state. Once you've been there, the desire is not removed surgically on the operating table, regardless of how many surgeries are performed.  It is an embedded recurring dream that keeps me waiting for that next run... that next road bike ride, even though I haven't ridden my bike in forever.
     Our spiritual journey is a run...a challenge like such. Once you've set out on this road, you can't quit. If time allows and death tarrys, you'll come back to God once you've left him...just wait and see. Just as surely as you'll see me running on moonlit streets.

     "I AM," said God to Moses. And, that great I AM applies to God's children as well. I AM a Child of God. I belong to Him and that makes Me a daughter of the King. If you have been reading the Gospel According to Me, then this is the sequel for you. 
     Isaiah 43:1  But now thus says the LORD that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine.
     Here we have God saying "YOU ARE." Knowing God means knowing who you are to Him and in Him. You see, nothing that I was before God matters, because it no longer exists. God has forgotten everything. This is why I can know that I am a wonderful creation of God.
     Micah 7:19  ...and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
     Sometimes we feel so far away from the God who came to earth to be nearer to us. That is unneccessary. All it takes to feel His presence is to realize who you are. An important man may be a corporate giant, or a heavyweight champ that men feel small in the presence of, but ironically, when their small daughter enters the room, that giant becomes a gentle Father. And, the smallest daughter will breeze into her dad's office without trepidation or hesitancy. She knows who her Dad is and all of the roles that He plays are nothing like the role of Daddy to her.
     I've heard it said that God has no Grandchildren. That is a profoundly true statement. Do you realize that you came to God on your own two feet. No one else allowed you into His presence, but God Himself was inviting you to come to Him. It's not about who your parents are. It's all about you. Listen to Jesus' words to Nathanael. 
     John 1:48  Nathanael said unto him, Where do you know me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.
     On the surface, it looked to Nathanael as if He was only there on Philip's call. But, Jesus is letting Nathanael know that He was the originator of the call. Jesus wanted Nathanael to follow Him. Yes, you are God's child because He purposefully invited you into His kingdom. He does that for us each and every one, because he created each of us. He knows us as a father knows His children. All of this makes you special to God. It certainly makes you special to Satan, who is jealous of our position a little lower than the angels, and above the animals; yet we are God's children. Satan can never occupy that spot, he never could. And, now, we will occupy eternity with God, while satan occupies eternity in hell. There is nothing Satan can do to stop our future. Only we have that power. We were created in God's image, and that image entitles us to certain inherited rights of birth. We look just like our Daddy. Everytime Satan sees our faces, he cringes. Yes, I Am special.
     Hold onto the Gospel that holds onto you. You are unique in all of creation, because God made you.

     This morning, while our house was still dark without electricity, I built my Blue Ninja model rocket, which we plan to launch Monday. It is over 31 inches tall and reaches an altitude of 750 feet. I get excited about space travel, and enjoy visiting the space center in Huntsville. I am still amazed that man can fly into space. Throughout the Bible, eagles, hawks, doves, and fowl fly. Angels and Seraphim fly. Our years are said to fly away. But, only God is seen flying on the wings of the wind. In the 1900 years since the writing of Revelation, man too has tamed the wind. But, no matter the progress we make, we only seem to increase our propensity for disaster...much like the opening of "Pandora's box." I mean think about it...what happens on a space station on Mars in the year 2020 when the power goes out? Will it be "oops, my bad!" or the silence of the damned?
2 Samuel 22:11  And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. 
    Psalms 18:10  And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 
     Perhaps our guardian angels will go to Mars with us. Let's hope. Either way they will be working over time to get us out of the scrapes we get ourselves into, like Georgia Power scurrying to save a city from the same effects of nature that cave man battled. Progress? Like the $700.00 I paid in Gym fees over an 18 month period compared to $500,000.00 in Medical bills accrued in the last 18 months. Next time you get sick, skip the hospital and go to the gym...you're sure to feel better... about the bill at least. :) 
   2 Samuel 22:17  He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
        Psalms 18:16  He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
This passage is a lovely passage that is speaking about God's habit of flying to our rescue. No, you're not seeing double, but the same passage from Second Samuel was sung in the Psalms. It is something to sing about when God comes to your aid in times of trouble. This metaphoric song is all about God appearing in the cloudy times of fear, pain, doubt, turmoil...yes, Jesus still comes in the clouds. Why would you need to be rescued if you weren't frowning? Actually I meant drowning...that was a Freudian Typo perhaps?!
     It's two in the morning...I hear icecubes crashing into the bottom of the empty ice bucket. I've had a nice boiling hot bath for the first time in days of only freezing cold water from the tank. The washer & Dryer are still chugging out laundry as fast as possible. The fridge is scrubbed and now holds bagels and milk for breakfast in the morning. The Glow of the TV looked beautiful tonight, and I noticed the neighbors had their house lit up like Christmas time, probably in a celebration of light and all its glorious possibilities. It looks like our troubles have flown on the wires, thanks to God and Georgia Power.

     A child extends his arms with his hands turned back to back, intertwines his fingers, folds all his fingers down at the knuckles, and begins to recite, "Here's the church..." He raises his two pinkies into an apex and continues, "Here's the steeple." He opens his thumbs, folds his fingers outward and invites, "Open the door and see all the people." But, where is God? I often wondered as a child where God was in the equation. Is that all there is to church...so many people? And, why are they there then? It seemed easy to spot the Pastor...the Sunday School teachers...but, how to find Jesus...? And, how do I meet this man who loved me so much? He sounds wonderful! He must be looking for me too.
     I did find Him, in a life changing explosion of peace when I was 14. Wrapping my heart around his Word, I began to notice that I could take Him with me everywhere, not just in church. He belonged to me, and I belonged to Him. When you are following Jesus, you walk in step with leaders who help guide your steps. But, if they lose their way, you've got to look around them to your destination.  Sometimes people in church let go of God...and not always just temporarily. I firmly held onto the fact in my heart that it didn't matter what anybody else did, my deal was with God. Afterall, if you are following a person, and he falls, you have to keep walking, with or without him. You can't give up just because someone else tosses in the towel. I tried hard to hold onto Jesus, and keep my eyes on Him. Even when I strayed, His love would draw me back. 
     Though my early years had been in a couple of different denominations, since the age of 14 I had been in one single organization. But, I knew that a denomination won't assure your track to heaven, since the true church is the larger body of Christ, and not an earthly body. I began to hear teachings that weren't Biblical in the last few years. One such teaching was that you could have no anointing from God seperate from what came from your pastor. The illustration that was used to teach this was the fact that when Aaron was anointed with oil, the oil flowed from Aaron's beard downward. So, it was supposed that this meant that anointing flows downward in a chain from God, to the pastor, then to the Christians in the church. I never believed this, since I knew from personal experience that God spoke to me, often, and in many cases without telling my pastor, like when I felt a desire in my heart to go to nursing homes and read the Bible for elderly residents with failing eyesight. That never came through my pastor, or any other person. Like it or not, every individual has direct access to God, and this is the whole reason for Jesus' death on the cross, so that we could boldly come to the throne and ask God, and hear from God. Jesus is our High priest. Otherwise, we might as well break up the altars in a church. Why even pray to God. Pray to a man I suppose instead.
     A troubled man fell asleep with his head on a rock one night. He had family problems. His brother hated him with good reason; they had competed for everything. While sleeping, this man Jacob dreamed a ladder reached from him to heaven, and angels of God were ascending and descending. I love that scene because of the picture of access it paints to God. We cannot be restrained from the doors of heaven. In the business world, we hear people complain of glass ceilings, where they can see the "top" but can't seem to climb the ladder. It shouldn't be like that in church. An old testament prophet saw messengers from God coming from between mountains of brass.
 Zechariah 6:1  And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. These mountains were not only barriers... they were brass. But, God can bend brass...Isaiah 45:2-5  I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel...I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
     It really never mattered in the scheme of things, which way the oil flows, since I usually follow, and the oil was flowing on me, too. I only cut my own trail when the path is blocked. I found myself at a cut off point though, over a year ago when I began to visit the church that my husband and I attend now, with him. We were attending both churches for a total of 3 services on Sunday while we dated. We believed that God would lead us to a decision together if and when we should commit to choosing one. But, Aaron's beard got in the way...or rather out of the way. I was advised in counseling that if I went to a church that taught different doctrines than those my church taught I would be commiting the "sin against the Holy Ghost." This errant teaching, along with other factors only made the choice of churches easier. You have a choice...do you attend the church with the brass ceiling, where only certain people can reach the oil of the spirit, or do you attend the church where the oil flows freely on all?
     And, therein lies the problem...the problem of brass ceilings. Do you really believe that God is limited by a denomination, or a doctrine or creed? Do you think that access is restricted, and that we need to get our hands stamped at the door when moving from one "organization" to another, in case we need reentry at a later time. Do you believe in God now...or do you believe in Aaron's beard? The answer is always Jesus. I refuse to allow people to tell me I can't have God without membership in a particular orgainization...which is what you have done if you have sinned against the Holy Ghost, (you've been denied belonging to God any longer.) The door didn't hit me on my way out, which has to be the attitude of a Christian. You can't run fast enough from false teaching.
     Where am I today, for those who wonder? I've broken through the brass ceiling. I am standing under the free-flowing oil of the Spirit of Pentecost!