The video above made me think of the Feast of Trumpets and the type of trumpet used in this traditional Jewish feast. I found the below video showing the four different notes that a shofar uses and I found some commentary on the way the shofar is used during the Feast of Trumpets.

“Tekiah – One blow that lasts 2-3 seconds
Shevarim – It’s supposed to be a “broken” tekiah, made by sounding three quick blasts.
Teruah – The alarm is made up of nine very quick pulses
Tekiah Gedolah – Meaning “Big Tekiah”, the Tokea blows the shofar for as long as possible, but at least 9 seconds. If more than one Tokea are sounding, they often compete to see who can last longer.

The sequence of calls on Rosh Hashanah is: 

tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah;
tekiah, shevarim, tekiah;
tekiah, teruah, tekia.

tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah;
tekiah, shevarim, tekiah;
tekiah, teruah, tekia.

tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah;
tekiah, shevarim, tekiah;
tekiah, teruah, tekia gedolah.

As you can see, each line starts and ends with a tekiah. Each “stanza” is sounded separately. Prayers are said, the first three lines are sounded, more prayers are said, the second three lines, etc. I don’t know if it’s uniform everywhere, buy my rabbi says each call separately. He calls tekiah, I sound it, he calls shevarim-teruah, I sound it, etc. ”  ~ Mr. Weissensteinburg

Here is a link to why the shofar is blown and what it is suppose to symbolize. 

I find the above all very interesting. I have no conclusions, but from my biblical framework this is where I went. Hope it stirs up faith in you and courage to walk closely with our Lord.

But unless you’re first embodying and teaching them the Love of God, you’re simply enslaving them.

James 4;4-10

¹⁵ Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:15-17

In the above passages the word “world” does not mean the earth. But it means the “kosmos (greek)” the order of things. And when mentioned in these contexts of not loving the “world”, it means not loving the current order of things. So when Christ came revealing the Kingdom of God He offered an alternative “kosmos”, an alternative order of things. An opportunity to be involved in the “kosmos” of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus says in Matt 24 that not everyone who cries out “Lord, Lord” will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do God’s will.

In our current circumstances there are many opportunities to do good, or to do religious acts. Jesus did not say that those actions would get you anywhere, He said it would be those who do God’s will. So how do we do God’s will?

¹ Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

The above passage tells us that the surrender of our bodies to God is the first step that will lead away from the trappings of the order of this world and into the knowledge of what God’s will is. Then we will have the opportunity to do God’s will.

This is a personal message to you. You were made to walk in the joy of relationship with God and with Him do the things He created you for. Some may hear bondage when they hear this, it’s not. I believe it’s God calling you out of others shadows. Out from behind those who seem “impressive” or those who are “religious”. Being impressive is being obedient to God who is unseen. We need to quit living in the order of things other people have created, live in God’s order for your life. Live for the affirmation of His pleasure.

As long as we’re living in the order of someone other than God, we’re living in less than the freedom and protection God desired to give us.

Get free, ya’ll.

Church is not a place, it’s a people. 

Let’s take that concept and let it take a little root in us and test it out for a few moments, let’s see what we come up with.

Okay, so if we are the Church and it’s not a place, then what about our meetings? What about our fancy Sunday clothes? What about all the jobs that people have in “the church”? What about the buildings we bought? What about our tithes?

Well if it’s not a meeting and it’s not a building and it’s me then… how am I suppose to live? Who’s gunna comfort me spiritually? What about the songs we like to sing together? Who’s gunna teach my kids about Jesus? Who’s gunna get my neighbor ‘saved’? Who do I depend on when times are tough? Who am I suppose to vote for? What am I suppose to believe? What is God saying to me? Who is going to pray for me? Which movies am I suppose to watch? Ahhh?

Troublesome huh?

I was just kidding, the church is place to go on Sunday, if you go hear an inspiring message you’ll be inspired to be a good person and you’ll make it to heaven- when you die you’ll become an Angel.  

I can smell a salesman from a mile away. They smell funny. They twists conversations to benefit them and their product. Here in the south in the “city of churches” (although I have dubbed it more appropriately the “city of pastors”) men are constantly trying to sell their church to you. In stead of keeping their central focus caring for people, they’ve recruited selfish ambition to help them become “successful”, tainting their ability to be trusted and sadly tainting others ability to trust or have interest in God.

I’m guilty of this way of “doing ministry” as well. So if you’ve been harmed by such people please forgive us. We are idiots.

As I have been transitioning into a new call to plant a ministry, where I will be free to make different mistakes than my predecessors, I’ve begun to believe that since God is the one who called me out of my normal life then it will be God who sends me the people He wants me to care for.

The funny thing is that as soon as I began to really care for people with the kind of love God has for His people I’ve realized that it’s a hard road. It’s most like parenting, you care for another person and are given the ability to help them, but you have to watch them make their own decisions, many of which only causes them harm. They tend to not listen to what you’ve said, you stay up late worrying for them. You pray for them as it seems some days even their existence is in the balance. It’s tough.

That’s why I’ve decided to lay down my salesman outfit and my smelly hair grease. I’m not looking to make a sale any longer. I could care less if folks decide to come to our gathering. Being at the meeting is only a small portion of what it means to Shepard a soul anyways. And it’s not even a necessity.

People need to know the love of God, it is the thing that draws them into Him and grows them up. People don’t need hard discipline to make them disciples they need overwhelming love. That is the environment that will cause them to flourish.

As of late I’ve been wondering how I can spiritually discern those whom God has called me to care for. Would God show me “in the spirit”? Would those people glimmer? Have name tags

I got the answer last night. I went to a worship concert at a local church. As I was worshiping a couple friends came up to me to give me a hug. I asked one of them how they were, they said “It hasn’t been good, but it’s getting better. Can we meet?” I said “Yes!”, of coarse. After that short conversation I tried to get back to worshiping, but in stead I was struck with the emotions of my heart. My friend was not doing good, God was letting me experience their burden. I wept and prayed quietly.

That’s how I will know. The measure of love put in my heart for them.

Should I go out and try to recruit as many people as possible to be a part of “my church”? With a twitch in my eye that has come from a restless night of worry/prayer, let me just say… nope, not me. I’d rather build up the ones I have in hopes that one day I’ll be sending them out to care for those God entrusts to them.

My life is but a weaving

Between the Lord and me,

I may not choose the colors,

He knows what they should be;

For He can view the pattern

Upon the upper side

While I can see it only

On this, the under side.

Sometimes He weaveth sorrow,

Which seemeth strange to me;

But I will trust His judgment,

And work on faithfully;

‘Tis He who fills the shuttle,

And He knows what is best,

So I shall weave in earnest,

Leaving to Him the rest.

Not till the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why–

The Dark threads are as needed

In the Weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

Unknown Author

All the while the lowly and gentle Jesus cries out to you to just draw near to Him. To bring Him the poverty of your own soul that He might heal and restore you. He cries over your wounds and accepts you just where you are.

IN Him you are home. IN Him you have achieved. IN Him is the point.

I guess it started about 6 months ago when I realized that I was making myself read certain books because I felt like I had to. It was such a relief to realize and say out loud that I didn’t like to read, so as a result for a while I didn’t read hardly anything. Then as I was truthful with myself and God, God gave me the right perspective to pick books back up again, but this time as myself.

In recent years, in “church life” I’ve been more disrespected and hurt that I ever was in the world. I’ve seen more dishonor, more gossip, more disloyalty in “church” than I ever have in the world. Being on the end of some of these transactions there’s been a temptation to respond the way I that was familiar to my old life, in violence or just simply cutting them off . Of coarse this is wrong and I’m glad that it hasn’t come to that. But it’s as if in the “church” the reality of pain, emotion, and anger are distant and inrelivant. All too often people often hurt each other in the name of ministry.

It’s almost funny how far from the reality of the streets these people live.

But in the world I grew up in, I was taught to be authentic, raw, and real. Loyalty and commitment was a given. Friends fought together, went to jail together, even lied to the police for each other.  And it seems that the “church life” unintentionally trains folks to put on an act. It thrives on judging each other, throwing anybody and everybody under the bus. I’m fed up with all that.

I’m fed up with pretentiousness. I’m fed up with trying to fit in with folks who have no loyalty. Fed up.

I’m not sure where my realizations will take me. Probably a bit further from popularity. Hopefully far enough away from being seen by the world as some kind of bullsh#% artist. It’s 2011, the world needs real. Not some generic, fake, non-loyal, wishy washy religious nut. That’s what I’ve been, and I’m sickened by it.

If who I am makes me less “influential” in the “church”, so be it. At least I’ll be able to rest in my own skin and authentically reveal the living Christ to those God puts in my path.

I just want to be authentically me so that others might have chance in this thing.  So be it.

IN religion I became SELF-righteous.

IN Christ I died and He now lives.

Don’t be deceived by doctrines of SELF-work.

God is the only one who can change you;

Our only job is to let Him.

To surrender SELF.

Galatians 2:21

 If righteousness were through the law, 

then Christ died for no purpose.

The hard part is letting go of our qualifications for righteousness

and walking in the freedom of death to SELF.  

But the reward is inexplicably great. 

The Son of God present among you.