Watchman, What of the Night?

There were three thoughts rolling around in the head this morning demanding answers! At first they seemed unrelated, and disconnected, but they are beginning to form into one solid warning - "You are not ready for what is coming!" I hear strongly the insistent question, "Watchman! (that is me obviously) What of the night?!" And in my oblivious stupidity I respond, "What of it? What night?!" But I have a feeling He is about to answer!

The three questions are these, first of all, as I have already stated burns the urgent question, "Watchman, what of the night?" Secondly, and no less disturbing, "Perhaps you may be hidden in the day of His wrath...?" Perhaps?! And with that one I am also hearing this instruction, that only those who are humble enough to be obedient will escape that final destruction! So it has always been, so it always will be. But how does that pertain to me? I am forced to wonder, have I truly entered that "Secret Place of the Most High"? And after that, to ask, am I teaching those I am responsible for how to live there? And last but not least,thirdly, I am presented with the recent, ongoing, dilemma of faithful living. How are we to "assemble" in these last of days? As Gene and I struggle and probe to find a place of "fellowship" or "assembling together" with the saints that resonates in our spirit-man, and is practically practicable, and not completely maddening! So you can understand my wondering at how all of this fits together? Or perhaps you already see where He is going with this?

Firstly, the "watchman" (that would be the Spirit of G-d crying out through individuals, even me sometimes) can warn all day and all night, but if we are too proud - too arrogant and self-absorbed to hear His warnings, or to believe him and act accordingly, then his ministry is for naught.

Secondly, how is it possible to reach that ""protected place", in which we may escape His wrath? Of course we are protected by "The Blood of the Lamb", but that is only if the blood is applied as directed, isn't it? Are we sure we have followed His directions completely? Not legalistically, G-d forbid, but faithfully? Obediently? Accurately? Or how can we find that desired place of humility, and faith, "without which no one will see the Lord",apart from His chosen method of "iron sharpening iron", which is why we are admonished to "not forsake" the accountability of group fellowship! (which leads to the third consideration of how to assemble ourselves together on His behalf) And what is the most recommended method of achieving that? How is it even possible to find an effective way of achieving that in today's rat race!?

Frankly, as far as I can see, the "fly" in every "ointment", of congregational assembly, these days is the independent spirit in mankind! We are inherently all about ourselves! We do not sense our "need" for others. We feel complete in ourselves! We have not pressed into that place in G-d yet, wherein we, like the Messiah which we claim that we are following, have abandoned ourselves to the will of the Father, as expressed in His commandments, no matter the personal cost to us. We must have our comforts or we will not come! We must have our three feet of personal space! We must have our climate controlled atmosphere, our comfy seats that do not hurt our backs, the right sound levels, the most appealing of music, we must be allowed to get our meals on time, etc, etc, the list is virtually endless, with devotion to G-d dragging in the dust, trampled by the action of satisfying the lusts of the flesh! WE, in effect have become the idol which we are commanded not to worship! As the scripture describes we are altogether self-satisfied! We build more than houses, and less than homes, we build individual kingdoms and teach our kids to do the same, and then grouse because there is no family structure!

Sure, we are told to "count the cost", but it is never suggested that we count the cost in order to refuse to pay it! We simply need to be adequately prepared to pay it, and to pay it with a glad heart, for G-d loves a cheerful giver! Hence the rich young ruler's dilemma, when presented with the ultimate challenge he failed, because his joy was wrapped up in his material wealth. So it is with us! We can get nothing done for stopping to consider the price of what it may cost us! How many comforts will I have to forgo if I do this thing? Isn't that always the real question? When will we stop goofing off and get down to the real business of serving G-d? We are on a permanent quest for vacation! What does everyone work toward in this nation? Retirement! Where is that concept in the Word of G-d?! Seriously!? That was not a rhetorical question! When will we finally get over ourselves and turn to face the fact that we are procrastinating, and wasting our time and G-d's!

How are we wasting G-d's time? We waste it with all our falderal and fiddle-faddle of programs, concerts, dinners and festivals! Not that any of these things are bad, and some of them were even laid out by Him! But it is a waste of time when our heart is not "there" yet! Unless our heart is in our service He is not moved by it, at all - except to wrath perhaps! We are still, all too often, playing at Church! Or playing at Synagogue! Except for the ever growing majority of us, who have thrown the baby out with the bath water, and are just plain playing hooky from it all! Many have completely copped out, because we are too mentally paralyzed to even try anymore. because the rules have confused and overwhelmed us, due to the fact that people keep changing them!

"Church" in America has become all to similar to playing basket-ball in the 'hood! What I mean by that is this, it is typically ruled by a bunch of bullies that constantly change the rules so that they can maintain the upper hand! I don't think that the "game" ever gets close to being what it was meant to be! The rule book gets cast aside and forgotten in the heat of mere survival, and it becomes merely the survival of the fittest, or the meanest or the biggest or the richest, or the most politically powerful, or the most skilled, or the most charismatic! My brother, this ought not to be! But it is! It is what all of life on planet earth as degenerated to - strife and stress and strain and mere, joyless, survival - because of one thing - We have left G-d's plan and are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel to suit ourselves! We have all, at one level or another, become humanists! We have become our own god.

Assembling together has become a mere technicality, because we want nothing to do with togetherness and openly spit on accountability! We are fearful of "being absorbed into the borg" or religious machinations! Of course, we have lots of options from which to choose for our pretend "assembling" - those of us who haven't given up on the whole thing yet! There are so many forms of this idea, each of them claiming to be the "center of His will for His people!

We now have the "Home Church" movement - where folks meet and "break bread from house to house", in accordance the book of Acts. We have the so-called "Non-denominational Church" (which is a figment of everyone's imagination, by the way. At least that is my firm opinion, since, logically, "denomination" means division, and you will NOT find one of these places where the lines are not firmly drawn!). Then there is the regular, seemingly fading, but quite dug-in, traditional, or "Institutionalized Church" - with the hundreds of "denominations" and distinctions. And in the last few decades we can add to this "fun" the whole host of "Messianic" assemblies - "fellowships", "congregations", "synagogues" or "temples" - so entitled depending on the bent, the root and the direction! You will find, in each of these forms of "Assembling", attempts at obeying the Word of G-d! You will find some Truth and obedience to Truth, and also, sadly, much error, based on the traditions of men, wherein some hot-shot decided to interpret the Truth to suit himself and then manipulating his followers into obeying it!

Am I suggesting that there is a method that has it all correctly interpreted? If only! But no. I have given up on that pipe dream! When Yeshua touches down, wipes it all clean, and sets it all up how He wanted it in the first place, then it will be right. But what we need to do about all of this now is pretty simple actually, and the only thing we really can do, besides just continue to chase our tails! We are to be led by the Ruach Ha Kodesh! Directed by the Spirit of G-d! As usual however, "simple" should not be confused with "easy"! G-d never promised us easy! "The Just shall Live by Faith"!, does that ring any bells? Romans, chapter eight! What part do we not get?! Apparently all of it!

But what is so hard about that?! Listen, if you figure it out let me know, will you?! I think that the sticking point is what I said before, that independence that has become the way we see ourselves! It has become the goal, the mantra and the "socially acceptable" mode of being, in most modern society, and more so in the "post-modern" society, or is that "past modern"?! Whatever all that is supposed to mean! And is become the "trademark" of the "Intellectual".

We are "devolving" so rapidly, spiraling downward at such a rapid pace! Yet somehow we have gotten the mistaken idea that because knowledge is increasing we are improving! What is better? Can someone please tell me? Some say our "quality of life has improved", some say our level of health has improved because we tend to live longer. Really? Well, I guess if you don't count all the people I personally know who didn't make it to 50, that could be so, or the ones who didn't make it to 40! Or them many who are now getting to live out even the bare minimum of 70 promised to those who were faithful!

If we discard the fact that the medical facilities are consuming the landscape that used to hold the farms and businesses of the healthy and financially secure? And if we want to ignore the fact that they seem to be the only ones making any real money anymore?! Hello? When even the "financial institutions" are crumbling daily!? When there is less and less peace anywhere on earth, despite our "politically correct" delusions of mankind's ability to create it! Please!? Let's stop deluding ourselves, shall we? We need to turn ourselves around and face stark reality - we are royally screwing this up!

I for one am not buying this campaign. I never have. On the one hand, I realize and readily admit that we must have a level of independence or we just become stupid sheep that will follow anything! That is true, but "mavericks" are usually just headstrong bullies that want the power for themselves at anyone's expense - but their own of course! We do need to break the codependent strangle-hold in which religion tends to deadlock its inhabitants. However, each one doing his own thing is not the answer either! There must be a balance! But it is found only within His boundaries!

That is why we must seek, find and be willing (read "be humble enough") to be led by the Spirit of

G-d! If we are led by the Spirit we will walk in His light, we will be obedient to His will, and we will all be "led" into a place of fellowship that actually works to accomplish His agenda, and further His Kingdom, not our own! We do not need charismatic "mavericks", to break us out of the bondage of dead religion (while encasing us in the cement of man-made tradition), we need true shepherds that are being shepherded themselves by the Spirit of the Living G-d!

I am so tired of getting behind starry eyed guys, full of charisma, vision and ability, that promptly work my butt into the ground building a name for themselves, while strewing any sheep that can't shlep like so much road-kill behind themselves in their furious march to "suck-sess"! I am tired of "joining" places to find fellowship, and achieve spiritual growth, but having to invest way more than I ever take home, and sometimes even paying prices that G-d never intended we pay, like the fragmentation of our family! I am tired of my authority being usurped, and of being patted on the head like a faithful old dog, while being told, in one way or another to "Check my brain at the door", along with any weapons of mass destruction, of course!

I am tired of looking for nourishment and finding pastures that are unkempt, waist high with weeds, concealing all kinds of terrors - mites, rodents and poisonous asps! Or pastures that have been chewed so flat that nothing will ever grow there again! I am tired of being groped by wolves, butted by goats and bitten by sheep! Is there no haven? Are there no real shepherds? I realize, again, that until He (Yeshua the Messiah) comes again things will be less than perfect, so, apparently the only answer is to be led by His Spirit now!

Therefore, I think what I personally need to do is to make being led by His Spirit an all-encompassing effort! To work on that goal more than I work on looking right to those I am in fellowship with, more than trying to please my family, my man,my leadership, or even myself! To make minute by minute communion with Him THE goal and to begin to find and eliminate anything and everything that interferes with that goal! That sounds extreme, doesn't it?! Like we are are in the last days or something!? Well, listen honey, when the news begins to read like the last books of Revelation I think it may be safe to assume that we are indeed in the last days, some say the beginning of them, I think we have been "there" for a few decades - but we will soon know! But what I want to know is when will we realize it that it is upon us and act accordingly?!

There are days of course, fortunately, when I am more aware of His Spirit. Minutes, like now, when I hear the voice of the Watchman of our souls, crying out still, "Prepare ye the way of Adonai!". But how easily His voice is lost in the dust and rumble and demands of daily cares! How much time is spent on pursuit of things that will burn like so much kindling when He comes!

Ruach Ha Kodesh v'Elohim! Let us hear Your voice more clearly and be humble enough to act as directed! Let us be wise enough to seek Your Face oh Lord! Let us be loyal enough, and obedient enough to see where You step and hear when You speak! Let us be pliable for Your service! Let us be wholly yours, Most Holy G-d! Let us be Your loyal servants here, and be ready, and protected, when it all goes down! And let us prepare as many as we can to be in that place of protection with us! Adonai! Let us be found faithful when You come! ~ Amen!

Selah