Caught in the swirly

Hey, I've noticed something over the years and you'd think by now I would be wise to it. Sometimes I suppose I am wise to it and sometimes I get caught in the swirly.

Let me 'splain. The swirly is that thing that goes around and around in the spirit realm and usually finds temporary lodging in a local church body. It is usually fueled by the demonic kingdom and manifests in sin.

Well, I've noticed that sometimes people in the same local church are experiencing the effects of the swirly simultaneously. Like, there will be many people experiencing the same kind of depression or perhaps intense temptation of some sort. It could be that you keep thinking things about yourself or people that aren't true. Or maybe you want to keep skipping church week after week. Now, why in the world am I talking about this?

Part of our battle plan is knowledge. "We are not ignorant of his (the devil's) devices." Right? This is a device. And if we ever find ourselves in the middle of one of these swirlys, here is what we should do:

1. Submit to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart for unrepented sin that may give permission for swirling. If yes, repent, ask for the blood of Jesus to cleanse you, thank God for His unfailing love and His commitment to you, then

2. Restrain the powers of darkness with the Word and your words, in the Name of Jesus.

3. If there is not sin to be repented of, repent anyway, then realize that what you are experiencing is an attempt to immobilize/distract you for days/weeks, waste your time, and keep you out of the prayer closet where intercession could be taking place to put an end to or root out the cause of the swirling. (Read that sentence again; its a run-on, sorry.)

4. Listen to conviction; silence the accusation. You may be feeling the effects of the swirly to the point of confusion and then you start to hear the accusations flying. Talking bad about yourself inside your head. Thinking thoughts of accusation about others. Symptoms of the swirly.

5.Finally, for now, the best safeguard is to be on your guard. Walk in the Spirit, pray in the Spirit every day for long periods of time. Don't laugh at sin. It's not funny; it is like yeast in dough, it spreads fast until you stop it with heat. Be conscious of other people. Self-centeredness is a breeding ground for the swirly.

If you didn't do something to make it swirl, get on your face until it stops. We are not alone.

Mowing lawns in the New Jerusalem

I'm trying to find reconciliation between the wants and the needs. I know there is nothing wrong with wanting or having, but it seems to create such distraction. If I can be content with having my needs met (which they are, in super abundance) then I should have nothing left but time to pursue the things that will last forever.

Many of my wants are things. Things take time to maintain. Houses; always something, and the bigger they are the more they demand. Clothing; wash, dry, iron, hang up, take to the cleaners, pick up...spending time on clothes. Vacations; fun, usually more work than work itself and way more expensive than the salary that we would earn for the week(s) we are gone. Yards, lawns, flower beds; don't get me started...if only the grass wouldn't grow...if it would just sit there and look nice, and not grow.

You may argue; "Isn't this just part of life?" Is it? The basics, yes. Food, clothing, shelter, rest, and relaxation. When I cross the line from the necessary to the beyond I begin to feel a gloomy sense that the tail is wagging the dog. The time I could be spending investing in relationships and other eternal pursuits I sacrifice to acquiring and maintaining the "wants".

I learn a lot by stepping up to take responsibility for the possessions with which we have been blessed and entrusted. I do it well. I believe in some small way I am being prepared for maintaining the New Jerusalem. But won't God count me more faithful if my time investment is directed at building my family and His people and less on being sure that the yard is fertilized? I don't feel so faithful in the Spirit. I am actually better at focusing on the temporal things.

Measurable results make me feel good about myself. At the end of the day, I can look at my new shirt and justify it thusly; "Nice. Thank you Lord, for the work that provided the money to buy this new thing. I am blessed because I'm righteous and beloved...blah, blah, blah..."

It's a shirt.

Most days I don't see immediate results in the "line upon line" growth in the Spirit. But God's Word promises in the last days He will do a new thing and it will be an accelerated work. That means quick, measurable results in the Spirit. Perhaps progress in my Spirit-life is slow because the distractions are several and time is often wasted.

Today is one of those days that I am having a hard time reconciling the balance sheet: preparing for the the New Jerusalem by tidying the house; really?

A thing of beauty is a pleasure to behold

Appreciating beautiful things is different than having ungodly desires for those things.

God has given us all things to enjoy. We can actually get filled with joy over the good things that are around us. We can enjoy things without worshiping them or letting our hearts be carried away by them to unholiness. God takes pleasure in our pleasure. He made us to enjoy the things He made. He made us to search out His attributes in the manifestation of beautiful things that surround us; natural or man-made. He is Beauty.

I restarted my subscription to Architectural Digest and the first issue arrived yesterday; it is the annual "Great Design" issue. Looking at the fantastic, intelligently designed houses, cars, gadgets, and the masterfully crafted hand-carved and intricately detailed finishes of the furniture and artwork, I found myself filled with awe and fascination. Even the ads for Rolex and Tiffany's are a joy to look at; the beau'ful women and men included! (We're going to look like that soon; only better!)

My thoughts turned again to the Master builder, the Craftsman of all craftsmen, the Artist, Designer, and Creator Himself. He knows how to do all that. Jesus, the good looking carpenter from Nazareth, is building a mansion for us right now. Beautiful design; simple yet elaborate, elegant, and a pleasure to behold...for eternity.


There is something of God in beautiful things and we are freed to enjoy!!!

We are not helpless...

Sometimes when you talk to people having difficulty don't you just want to do something to fix the situation they are in? Don't you just want to give them money or good advice or make the problem go away?

I like when things go right. I like order. I like tidy. My house is tidy right now. My desk at work is tidy. But tidy doesn't always mean things are right. The proverbs say, "Where there is no ox the stable is clean". I take that to mean that things are tidy when nothing is happening.

Life gets messy when something is happening. Even when you are working to put order to life, it can be messy. Sometimes it is messy for a while. Sometimes putting things back in order before the deeper mess is cleaned up is a mistake; stinky perhaps. Being in a mess can create a feeling of helplessness. But we are not helpless.

We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. It just takes time, sometimes.

Its not poetry. This is really happening.

A while ago I thought of deleting my blogspot but I didn't. A friend of mine recently reminded me about seasons in our lives. Sometimes it is time to blog and sometimes it is time to refrain from blogging. In other words; sometimes I am diligent and sometimes I am lazy.

This is not to say that I have turned over a new blogging leaf and I will be at it regularly, (for me that is once a week), but it is a helpful pastime sometimes and I hope to find some time each week to dump some verbage.

I really love to worship and spend time with God. There is no one else like Him. He is always at home when I show up. He lets me say whatever is on my mind. He never pushes me away; in fact I get surprised by His nearness a lot of times. He tells me what I need to know, but He never puts me down. I love the contrasts that I find in Him when I get close to Him. He is gentle and wild. He is water and fire. He has a still small voice and He thunders from the heavens. His love is as steady as mountains and it is as fierce as a raging storm.

This is not poetry and I'm not making this up. Why do people think prayer is boring? Eyes that blaze?...His body is like transparent gold and multi-faceted jewels? There is fire burning on the inside of Him?...His Spirit bursts out of Him like rays of the sun only brighter...and His clothing is garments of light. He tells us to kiss Him or He will get mad. He wants us to taste Him because He is good. What??? Fantastic! He's doing it again. Whoa!!! See what I mean? Hold on...more thrilling that the first drop of the Raging Bull, He's the Big Drop only BIGGER, He is, wooooo-hooooooo, don't close your eyes, FANTASTIC!!!!