My Purpose

If my primary purpose is praise, 

 praise to the Prince of my peace,

 the Purchaser of my promise,

 the Provider for all my problems,

 the Perfection for my predicament,

 the Protector of my posterity,

  and the Precursor to my prosperity.

His provision is pondered by

prodigals in pig pens, 

His people are all priests, 

prophets, princes and princesses.

I will not let problems, persecutions, 

provocations, pestilence, pet peeves

 nor procrastination prevent my praise.

My purpose is to personally persecute

 the prince and the power of the air

 with the percussion of my vocal cords.

Possibly I could persuade the public

to participate in praise, 

not to professional players 

with pig skin, but to the

Propitiation for our sin.

He has pity on the pimp,

and the prostitute,

the proud preacher,

 and the perfectionist,

He’s Powerful,

a Prison shaker,

My Place taker, 

Path maker.

pause and ponder His Perfection.

It was a strange request…

It was a strange request for marriage counseling. Most people these days live together without being married. This case was different. These folks were married but never lived together.

The husband is the one to seek out counseling, usually, it’s the wife. He asked, “What is wrong with me that causes my wife to not want to live with me?” He claimed to love his wife to the point of being willing to die for her. 

“I see nothing wrong with our marriage.” she said “I go out of my way to be the best wife around. I go to his house three times a week, twice on Sundays. I wear my best clothes. I spend hours preparing to go. I learned to perform music for him. I’ve written songs for him. I’m totally in love with him.” 

“I enjoy her visits very much. I love that she took the time to learn music just for me. I just long for more.”

“Do you go to her house?”

“ Sometimes I am invited for a meal, but often I am ignored once everyone starts eating.”

“ Do you only go when you are invited?”   

“Sometimes I just drop by unannounced but rarely invited in.” 

“Don’t you own the place why do you need to be invited?” 

“I want to be loved, love is not forced so I only go if invited.”

 “What would you like to see come out of this counseling session?”

“I want to live with my wife, not just see her at her best, but at her worst. I want to be a normal couple that spends every waking moment together. I want to do life with her.”

“Has she read Ephesians 5:31?”

“You mean, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh?”

Dear reader, please read the next verse:

“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Fruit Basket Upset

Galatians 5:16-26, Matthew5:44, Hebrews 10:24

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

   I read some where that if you poke a bag of sugar only sweetness comes out. This doesn’t reflect on the poker but reveals the substance of the poked. Sometimes the best times for us to see what we are made of is when someone is provoking us. When someone pokes you does Love come out? Joy maybe? Peace? Self control? I am reminded of a little game we used to play when I was little. “Fruit Basket Upset.” With a circle of chairs all facing in towards me. I would stand there guessing different fruits. Trying to guess one that possibly had enough participants in a frenzied exchange of seats that would allow for me to waddle my chubby young self into a seat and become one of the fruits. I usually went for the ultimate right away. “Fruit Basket Upset!” I would yell, that meant that everyone had to exchange seats. In thinking about such deep impactful training on my young mind, I reflect on the poker. The one provoking you just maybe wanting (possibly even needing) Love,Joy, or Peace. It may be that on the inside they are like the little chubby boy in the middle dying to just have what you have, or claim to have. As these thoughts flow through my mind I find myself asking God to help me. I remember the last few times I was provoked it looked more like the works of the flesh that came out. My prayer becomes, “God I want to be so full of your spirit that when I’m provoked only the fruit of the spirit comes out.” Now I see myself as I really am, needing God’s spirit, and I see my provoker as God sees him, wanting God’s spirit. Now it is easier to fulfill God’s command:

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: