salt & light

 There is not one part of life that is without the Word. The Word IS LIFE, so therefore all that possesses Life is able to instruct. Our Abba designed us with the power of perception, to receive what is not visible. No other creature is able to do this. 

We've got a little farm here. I knew going into livestock that I would learn a bundle, and it wouldn't be easy. What IS easy, is getting stuck on the visible, and the knowledge that abounds fear. I want to reiterate this Word I received years ago. Knowledge which separates the visible from the invisible is idolatry. Idols create fear. Eidolon simply means "what is seen."

Aha. Farm life. As I was saying, it is always a temptation to step out of faith and into the influence of human knowledge. There is a lot of information out there on keeping and nourishing livestock. And on far too many occasions, I fall into this trap of wanting to know what I'm doing. I forget the Author is always ready with wisdom to offer. Upon inviting these tidbits of knowledge into my brain, I become extremely overwhelmed by all that I am probably doing wrong, according to culture, and the million reasons I ought to be scared of lack.

I am extremely sensitive to mold. The humidity in Virginia makes this tricky! The same abundant moisture that means that we receive abundant rainfall, means we also have an incredible amount of mold, pretty much everywhere. 

I've been ruminating on the meaning of the situations I keep finding myself in. I am not yet sure I have a complete grasp, since I keep turning toward distraction in my frustration with certain issues that I cannot understand. I know for a fact that I will not really hear unless I am willing to allow the Spirit to move and stir the stagnant air in my heart. 

Did you know faith can atrophy? Somewhere among the words on this site, I rendered a word that describes faith as a muscle. Faith isn't defending a set of moral obligations. That's just morals. A person with good morals is not necessarily faithful. Becoming derailed by the state of humanity does not reveal any faith in the only One with power. Holiness hasn't changed, and neither has unholiness. In every instance it is a matter of personal integrity and responsiveness to the intimate desire of the Lord for our entire selves and faithfulness to Him. Neither side of the coin--the entitled self-indulgent nor the religious self-restrained, have ever been the holy (wholly) transformed. It is so easy for us to point out the disintegration of humanity, but ignore the disintegrated choices we make, trying to feel full. This "decline" we are seeing is simply the unseen becoming manifest. The mold is finally making us sneeze. The entire world is infested with mold...an abundance of "love" without the movement of the Holy Spirit and the heat of His fire, is only the evidence of the lack of actual faith among men.

"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Luke 18:8

All the closets. Hidden places we store the unseemly. I went to pick up some sandals I hadn't worn in a while. Some people call them my "Jesus sandals" because they do appear as I imagine the sandals of ancient times. They were fluffy with mold. I contemplated the visible and realized that the humidity that is in all the air, doesn't get stirred around or evaporated from the closets, because we leave them closed. The moisture rises, then falls, and then mold grows onto whatever this "dew" lands on. In my search of moisture absorbing substances, I felt strongly that I did not want to hide dangerous-if-consumed substances in these closets. As a mother of four, you start to realize that it is just better to not invite certain things into your house. If you bring it in (and its not meant for consumption), they will eat it. That's a revelation in and of itself! 

We purchased several salt lamps to plug into these closets. The salt attracts the moisture in the air, and then before vaporizing, the salt purifies. Without the heat, this clean salt water will just puddle under the lamp. I perceive the meaning of the one salt lamp that went out for a while, inspiring the purchase of many more, to be as my own "lamp". No one lights a lamp and places it under a bushel... I'm here to be a catalyst in my own home first.

Instead of offering illumination and purification, a block of salt sitting in the room only proved that there was a lot of moisture in the air, while not really doing anything to reveal and transform.  I've been the salt lick, not the salt lamp. Every so often I come into contact with others, and they get a little taste of the saltiness the Lord created and discipled me to offer, but without the heat, there is no purification of my own atmosphere. 

Matthew 5
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Within my heart, I know there are closets that have not been cleansed in a while. One of the other things we have been doing to remedy the persistent mold, is leaving the closet doors open. While this is rather unsightly, I've come to notice that I tend to close them before guests come to my house. This is exactly what we tend to do with the dank corners of our hearts.

While I'm here confronting the tendencies of my flesh, please let me say I have fornicated my attention of late. To know and have acknowledged that the Lord created desire so that I would seek Him first, and then doing with my desire as I please, makes me a knowing adulterer. Abba, please forgive yet again.

Please let me be salt and light again. Please convert all that moisture in the environment into what allows others to flourish, not become congested by. Open every closet of my heart and reveal the lies and faithless thoughts.

I know that my attention is the only route through which I am able to hear the Word, yet becoming overwhelmed by my lack of knowledge, and the fears coming from all the knowledge of the world that I've pursued, has congested my ability to breathe the Spirit easily. Because of this fear and overwhelm, the temptation to submit my attention to a device has closed my ears and inhibited my perception of the substantial in the shadows (visible).

I am sure this Word isn't finished rendering. There is so much more to hear. 

Here am I, Lord. Send me.