Today: quick impressions from America today…
Why seeking wisdom is practical now, and never a waste of time, even when things are under pressure, and maybe especially then. Today felt led to study Wisdom again. Felt like sitting in that space with The Father of knowing and considering His Ways with Him—just now as our little part of the world is shaking and very tense and hyper, over exposed and confused even in our categories of interpretation. It’s like when your kids are chaotic and the father and mother, stops, steps back, and considers them each, His Love for them, and what they may need today. It’s primarily a Peace-filled space i felt drawn to today, as it is difficult to even talk at my local cafe to many people because of the tense confusions around this election.
Seems like a good time to study Wisdom—not as a denial, but as an active response! To move in the opposite spirit of these elections is to seek out Wisdom, which it obviously has not been characterized by.
Looking at all the wisdom literature today, and this NT idea that Christ Himself is “the Wisdom of God”-encapsulating the entire wisdom tradition, all the wise men meet in One. In Proverbs, kings and queens are said to rule by Wisdom. And young people are taught to seek it above all else. Again, i want to say that Wisdom is the application of Godly knowledge applied in love. It is how to apply information into real life situations in His Love. This is why words of wisdom are higher than words of knowledge. For Wisdom applies knowledge, but not vice versa. To interpret the times requires Wisdom. To stay in Peace is Wisdom. To seek Wisdom is wisdom. This is our task now. And the book of Daniel and Jeremiah are the most pertinent literature for our times.
If Jesus Himself is called Wisdom-this would mean wisdom involves incarnating servanthood love, and in this sense is desperately practical. That is like air, Wisdom is something we can’t live without.
When I think about what Wisdom really is in Him, i always think it is most basically, how to apply knowledge or information in the most loving way possible into the situation. It includes accurate interpretation, discernment, but also being willing to sacrifice for one another to get that info into the good soil of one another’s hearts.
Wisdom is always seeming to say…come let us consider together. And until we figure it out, be kind and loving towards one another. Let’s have a loving dialogue in Peace.
To love one another until we know faces to Face. Praying wisdom and true Peace in Him tonight for this little part of the world. I’m sorry everyone is having to watch her nervous breakdown, but His People are wide awake in America, and we pray they will once again be, as MLK said, the conscience of the nation. Both salt and light—true interpreters in times of tumult, as Jeremiah was.
I started praying for wisdom for this nation after 911. It’s biggest weakness is not just consumerism, materialism or even racism. It is a lack of wisdom. Power without wisdom is deadly. For resources are meant to be allocated in the ways of Wisdom. So we are praying still for wisdom here on this continent. Yes, vision, and recalling your identity, but also wisdom for integration reconciliation, use of resources etc.
I had a dream years back that the stripes on her flag turned to blood and frayed—were far too overextended, and that He was pulling down her flag in order to work on her healing. He was lowering her reputation so she could work on her own flag—the stripes of true healing and sacrifice, and the resulting people and people groups being able to shine in their starlike-ness, their true identities. The blue behind her stars has to do with the knowledge needed to shine in true identity–which is one reason so many other nations can come here and really find themselves; the red stripes on her flag have to do with the sacrifice necessary for that haven-ing of being to occur. She is meant to haven people into their truer identities. To protect the oppressed so they can get on their feet. That is part of her mantel.
To protect people to become who they really are, is a simple version of her mantel. Specifically those who have been oppressed to have enough safety to shine and become! So minorities, immigrants etc—they come here and the covering allows them to re-invent themselves, and make some of the best pizza on earth. Outside of Italy of course. Our whole nation is a story of immigrants finding a promised land to become themselves in.
This has been going on, and yet…that flag is still frayed overextended and actually fragile right now. Hard to think of such a at time presumptuous leader as being vulnerable or fragile. But she is now. It’s not just about end of empires. It’s about vulnerability after not being wise with leadership. This is easy to discern. Other parts are harder, and require actual love for a nation to see. You cannot prophecy over a nation if you do not love her. And really only to the degree that you do.
But, this little entry is not a prophecy, but rather a prayer for wisdom today. Not just for this nation but for us all.
I had another dream last week all about the two types of leadership being offered. It’s a complex symbol, but just to say, we are wide awake in America—those in His Spirit aren’t sleeping. And this isn’t pretty. Hard to swallow, how low we went on this one. Still, I have articulate judgements and articulate hopes for America. Her story is not over, but it is being redacted (sternly edited) now. Pray for this land. And forgive her in your hearts. That’s the only place to start. I know it’s hard to like her now, but you can still love her. We need it now.
Materialism, consumerism and racism have to still be the major poisons; yet, on the ground it is still lighter spiritually here than most places on earth. The land eretz (yes, even if you hate america, this land has a blessing on it!) has a blessing on it.
Even as someone from Ireland who was born here, i have a hard time loving her now; yet I do!!!
Wisdom knows how to contextualize things (even historical crisis) in God’s Love and the patterns of His Own Being or Ways. And applies true knowledge in practical love and vision both backwards and forwards. That’s what needed when the present is tumultuous.
Wisdom, among other things, is the application of true knowledge in love. To the degree we have revealed knowledge, we apply it in love. So you see that Jesus is the ultimate application of Wisdom into the universe. It is practical. It breeds itself. This is why it dwells on heights, crossroads and the gates and marketplaces of cities in scripture (Proverbs 8). It has a larger context to place things in, a broad scoped hermeneutic, a grand interpretation, which is characterized by the tone of Love.
Tribulation brings clarity! It is one of the methods of His Mercy.
So, let us be wise with how we treat one another in times of trauma and compression. A tree will be known by its fruit. And each of us is tested by fire. Let us bear the fruits of His Spirit in Peace in the midst of shakings.
It’s a great time to dwell in Real Peace and offer folks all those fruits listed in Galatians—gentleness, kindness, patience etc… Let us especially do this now, so that the world can see the contrast, and have a clear choice between ways. God is always concerned but never worried.
Perhaps one of the points of global crisis is to put things in clear contrast—those old ways of death, ways of life mentioned throughout the book. To contrast true spiritual crisis, with our soul crisis is sometimes necessary. God is not in crisis, we are. Until we choose His Ways.
As my mentor said, “Father is always concerned, but never stressed! He stays in His Own Peace—He stays in I Am; never divides himself under pressure. His Love doesn’t suddenly break off from Himself! Nor does His Wisdom about the nations and everything else under the Son.
To show us what we are really grounded in. These two ways constantly stream beneath and around us—the ways of death, the ways of life. The ways of both are bigger than the moment, and really what we base our daily choices on—whether to love our neighbor or hate them. If they get blurred, sometimes it takes extremes to make the choices clear again.
God cares about America, but He is not stressed. He has a plan to draw her people into Him–to bring her home safe and sound. He has plans for each nation willing to turn to Him. And He is able. He often starts with His church, or those awake to His Spirit. Judgement begins with the house of God. He refines us through suffering. He causes us to stand through trauma. He discerns the true motives of our hearts through conflict. And America’s problem is a heart problem, which is manifesting on the surface. Her healing must begin with her heart! And that is what Father wants to address, even through these passing elections! For her heart not to fail, it must recall itself, be reminded of who it is, and what it has been given to do. It must look backwards and forwards to see the patterns of God’s parenting of her in the past, and where He would like to guide her in her future. She did not take pause to do so after 911–now she must, in order to move forward with dignity!
It also looks at God’s patterns in the past to predict and have hope for the future.
We are praying for wisdom for our whole human family today. We need it, in order to love one another, which at the end of the day, is our most meaningful task in life.
Let us be wise in contextualizing this passing moment within the grand narrative we’ve been given. This too will pass, but The Word, The Truth, The Life will not.
Just felt like a good day to sit with Wisdom, in the shade of The Tree of Life. Sometimes, that’s a practice.
Of course, politics pass, but His government will never end. The Word and truth will last forever. And His Kingdom will never end, and all the nations will come under it. Until That day, let’s pray for a willing yielding to His Kingship and authority in ourselves and our nations, so that the land will be truly blessed, and the poor fed, the oppressed housed, and the orphans protected. This nation has a specific calling to the oppressed, so let’s pray that this mantel be dusted off, in this time of so much need to haven those who are displaced and in need. All her resources were meant for this job. We see the shadows now, but what would it look like redeemed. Let’s pray towards that.
We know that America is not the Kingdom of God, so we can look higher than nations for our context from which to interpret events. We can look out from being with and in Wisdom! We have a King above all earthly kings who is in charge. Our King is kind and even willing to be brothers with us. We serve, ultimately, this other King. Yet this King, cares for ours. He cares for nations. He cares for our cities. He leaned Himself into our history, He cares so much. And He who entered history, knows history. And is able to govern us all. We must, in the end, even to govern ourselves, accept His Governing over our lives, our cities and our nations. This will one day, become overt. In the meantime, there is occurring a clear contrast between the ways of death and the ways of His Life. This was told beforehand. It is mercy to make our choice clearer to us. That is one reason for the increasing of shaking in our times–to make the choice clearer between death and Life. Yet, to discern between the two streams (as in Psalm 1), or ways, sometimes we need to see them clearly. History shakes us, to make us awake to the two ways! And Wisdom discerns the difference.
So praying wisdom, and tangible Peace today for all, as we consider and act wisely in Love towards one another until the end. Here and everywhere else. Know father Peace today friends, and seek out Wisdom. Turns out she is always hollering in Silence.
I”ve had several other dreams about where America is at, though my spiritual attention has been on Europe and Africa. I will share those elsewhere. But in the meantime, pray for wisdom and that her priest would arise. That unlike after 911, her true church would speak, and be shaken awake into unity and consciousness or conscience-ness—if the church as MLK said, is meant to be the conscience of a nation. That her moral consience would stay awake and not go numb in this hour. Thanks. And sorry everyone had to watch this sad and yet potentially spiritually potent moment in US history. God is not done with all of us, and is still in charge of the nations and their narratives.
His church has a great role to play now, if she will stand, dust off her complacency and publicly lament, humble itself and pray. Be both salt (preservers, flavorers) and light (interpreters or bringers of understanding-ie prophet priest)). Then perhaps the rains will return. The church has a unique role when her nation is in crisis. And the state of her heart is made clear or visible in crisis. The Cedar is laid bare!
Let’s pray she is up to it, or can be caused to stand. The one who called you, is also ready and able to cause you to stand. (Romans). Some are, many are not. It is less about the election, and more about the state of the heart of the church and of this nation. This is heart test. May she pass it into wisdom and humility so she can serve the human family again.
If you are an american, i challenge you to get His love for her again, or if you’ve never felt His heart for this region, then for the first time. It will change the authority of your prayers. If from other nations, to be kind and forgiving, and yes, to pray for the heart of america to be touched and revived. And for wisdom to come from above.
When a house is shaking, what do you do. I lived through some earthquakes in California. When a house is shaking you already need to have knowledge of what to do, but more importantly you need Wisdom of how to apply it. For as the good book says, “A house is built by Wisdom”. I pray that we gain Wisdom in our days, even through tumult. Pray for wisdom for us. Wisdom is the application of true knowledge in Love.
In Proverbs 8, she is seen at times and places of great change! We are in one. So, she is available now. She is here, waiting to be listened to. In silence she hollers for us to sit beneath her Tree of Life.
Wisdom hangs out with good counsel. And we need that now. So let’s find Wisdom and sit there, so we can be helpful to our times.
Remember Wisdom is not a retreat, it is an active response! It is the place to go to decide from. It is a harbor in times of distress. And Christ is Wisdom!
