Just as I was finishing reading the book of James today, several birds landed on our porch trying to get some cat food we had out. I shooed off the grackles but let the bluebird remain. Why did you do that?

When i read scriptures, i like to use my spiritual imagination to imagine the writers in the room with me having a conversation about what they wrote. I’ve gotten to meet most of the writers of the New Testament this way, and several prophets from the Old. I like to think of the writers as actual people, who are still talking about their spiritual passions.

I heard James say, why shun the crow and keep the beautiful blue bird? I had to be honest, the blue bird was simply more beautiful. So you judged the birds from outer appearance. This is what i was talking about when speaking of how we treat the rich and poor. How often we treat things and people by outer appearances, rather than judging by the heart. And living by what James called “the royal law”! And Jesus, my brother, always judged by the inner state to understand the outer actions of man. He judged by the heart. After feeling exposed for my real motives, I became once again amazed at His Ways. This is always the fruit of true conviction.

Once again the way of Jesus is an inversion—the unimpressive are the impressive; the poor are the rich. His subversive spirituality, which looks at the inner state to judge the outer.

Isn’t our true spirituality worked out in these daily actions of which birds we shun and why? Glad to be convicted today, that I was giving preference for the wrong reasons. In the end, i waved them all away, so my cats could eat. But it’s the little lessons in life, which incarnate our faith. We have to watch our inner motive when shooing off the crows, but honoring the blue bird.

In life, i tend to lean towards the homeless or overtly poor people, but I’ve learned some are poor and others are like the rich in James’ theology. So we still must discern by the heart regardless of finances, and outer appearances. Where is a person’s treasure? There’s where their heart will be. What do you treasure most in life? That will always reveal your heart regardless of externals. What we treasure reveals our real questions!

Prayer is to choose to daily be spiritual astronauts-ironic participants in the dramas of the day! But, with two feet still on earth, as St James would add- in his faith into action theology. This in but not of the world stance and position, which ushers in heaven through prayer, as we see at Pentecost again was the orientation which birthed the church. We pray, God comes.

Balancing potatoes and balloons is essential in any true spirituality. For the apostles to be great, they needed to be praying. And again, later when they sent, they needed to be in that priestly orientation to get vision of who to send and where. To send without sight is deadly.

For the Spirit to come, they needed to be internally low. Living on earth, while drawing our life from heaven is the point. Prayer is our methodology of ushering in the Kingdom above us and within us.

Christianity is a spirituality of progressive union or unity with what St Peter calls Divine Nature in Christ to empower people to live more fully as humans. Apart from Him we do nothing meaningful, and the way to get “in Him” is to pray. The active part of wearing glory properly is prayer.

It’s a spirituality of humility. That’s where it starts, and that’s how it ushers in it’s best version. And prayer is her practice to do so.

On prayer: culling some thoughts on prayer today, as I pray!
Knowledge of holiness: it is an orientation to often turn towards our need of Him in everything. Over and over. It is not always that we get better, we just turn more often. This is why holy people pray lots. Prayer is recognizing our need, that we are dependent on God. Then God can give to us freely. Pray until you feel that loving embrace, then you hear His Voice. Prayer lets God in. Puts us in the receiving position. There is a higher who is my source. I pray. Everything real starts in prayer, in the kneel. Prayer brings in encouragement as well. It’s refreshing to spend time with God in prayer, takes us outside all the pressures for a while. It’s like conversational meditation. Pauses in the days, to recognize your dependence. Practice it hourly. Jesus did, and does.
Prayer also brings spiritual growth! It both motivates and supplies the power for it.
Prayer and supplications—our request, known to God—this is for our sake, so we become aware of what our real questions are! Prayer clarifies our frustrations and questions. Experienced this today.
Pray brings in Peace and centeredness so you can serve others more with and from His Center. So prayer is part of practicing peace. Stopping and recognizing him hourly is a great practice, and you will spiritually grow more quickly and thoroughly if you pray often.
Accelerated spiritual growth comes through prayer. Pray often.
It allows God into the hours. So it consecrates time. It makes more of the day a tabernacle. This is why we should pray often. Prayer accelerates spiritual growth because it recognizes and ushers in His Actual Presence.
It also offers Him room to interpret your problems, so you stay free. Freedom has lots to do with the right interpretation. And those interpretations come in prayer, because you can receive more of his Mind in prayer. Prayer is transformational.
Prayer also leads to true fellowship—it places us in the right orientation towards one another as we turn to God together! It builds unity in this way. If all the denominations would come together in prayer, they would get along better. It’s just as at Pentecost, it allows the spirit to come and control the conversation.
Prayer is also the place his encouragements and solutions can get into us. It’s as much for us as Him.
It’s transformative for us to pray. He’s able to do more, when we turn to Him—more for us that is.

John Wesley described. “I find,” he said, “that the chief purpose of prayer in seeking God’s will is that prayer gets my will into an unbiased state. Once my will is unprejudiced about the matter, I find God suggests reasons to my mind why I should or should not pursue a course.”

The chief purpose of prayer, then, is to get our wills unbiased! The purpose is not to give us an ethereal sense of comfort. Thus, we pray to God about His will in some area, knowing (usually) that we are already leaning in a certain direction. We implore Him first to help our wills to move back to the center — that is, willing to do whatever is His will. Once we arrive there (and it may take some time), He shows us through our minds why one alternative is better than another and therefore is His will for us.

“We sometimes fear to bring our troubles to God, because they must seem small to Him who sitteth on the circle of the earth. But if they are large enough to vex and endanger our welfare, they are large enough to touch His heart of love.”
― R.A. Torrey

When the devil sees a man or woman who really believes in prayer, who knows how to pray, and who really does pray, and, above all, when he sees a whole church on its face before God in prayer, he trembles as much as he ever did, for he knows that his day in that church or community is at an end.

All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer. Prayer can do anything that God can do, and as God can do everything, prayer is omnipotent.”
― R.A. Torrey

Prayer for others is about getting His Mind and Heart for them and being blown away again by how kind he is. We usually come praying for ourselves, He listens, but immediately offers us a larger context!

Prayer puts us into an position to receive His counsel and Heart simultaneously. It is for our own good to pray.

What is prayer? I think it is about us approaching the Divine in a way which allows a deeper union. It’s usually mainly about us in this sense, but it is also how Jesus modeled intimacy with His Father. He often just stopped everything to pray. And at all the key moments of His life, we see Him praying.
The churched was birthed from prayer. They were in that orientation when Pentecost happened. It is our basic orientation towards God. It puts is in a position of trust, so we can here His reason, bigger picture interpretation and counsel for us and others.
It is also a way of knowing Him.

Do you treat the blue bird better than the crow just based on outer appearances? James, Jesus brother, asked me today. Do you shoo off the grackle while welcoming the blue bird, just based on outer beauty? Do you do the same with those who look rich versus those who look poor? Both rich and poor are to be judged by the heart.

Jesus picked unimpressive workers for the most part, and He himself did not look impressive (aside from on the mount of transfiguration when they could see His fuller identity!). So we still tend to judge by outer appearances in order to love? St James the younger brother of Jesus, warns us against this repeatedly. I like talking with the writers, getting a hold of their personal spiritualities, and what God had shown them, thus far.

I love how James is almost like wisdom literature in the OT, have you considered where wisdom dwells, how the animals reflect it; it’s a bit courtly this letter. The Greek is refined. And, he knew animals and animal training well. Often using them as an analogy for spiritual growth. Nice little letter from the brother of Jesus, I’m reading today. People usually just focus on faith plus works, or faith into action, which is a theme, but lots of other gems inside this letter as well. Like how to not judge by externals.

James really does get how animal training is like spiritual growth. So far, James is the only writer in the NT who references animal training as an participatory analogy for spiritual growth. Nice.

He also keeps referencing the sermon on the mount, as if that sermon went deeply in him. Keeps telling us that those who look poor with earthly eyes, are rich in the spirit and will inherit the kingdom etc. Very Jewish letter this one, and very practical help.

Faith leads to action in line with faith is his main thrust, that we should incarnate our faith in actions like how we treat others, in following the “royal law” as he calls it.
Also talks lots about prayer as a way! How to really pray, and know like Elijah. To pray with the right motives.

Reading James and thinking of the rich and poor…with James, Jesus’ younger brother we are talking about those who appear rich and poor from earth’s eyes rather than heavens.
Just as I was finishing reading the book of James today, several birds landed on our porch trying to get some cat food we had out. I shewed off the grackles but let the bluebird remain. Why did you do that? I heard James say? I had to be honest, the blue bird was simply more beautiful. So you judged the birds from outer appearance. This is what i was talking about when speaking of how we treat the rich and poor. How often we treat things and people by outer appearances, rather than judging by the heart. And living by what James called “the royal law”!
Once again the way of Jesus is an inversion—the unimpressive are the impressive; the poor are the rich. Isn’t our true spirituality worked out in these daily actions of which birds we shun and why? Glad to be convicted today, that I was giving preference for the wrong reasons. In the end, i waved them all away, so my cats could eat. But it’s the little lessons in life, which incarnate our faith.
How often do i shun the crow but welcome the beautiful blue bird for her beauty alone? How often do i judge others before seeing into their hearts!

In life, i tend to lean towards the homeless or overtly poor people, but I’ve learned some are poor and others are like the rich in James’ theology. So we still must discern by the heart regardless of finances, and outer appearances. Where is a person’s treasure? There’s where their heart will be. What do you treasure most in life? That will always reveal your heart regardless of externals. What we treasure reveals our real questions!

“Prayer is the intersection between heaven and earth, where we learn to live in both realms at once already!” To be spiritual astronauts! But, with two feet still on earth, as St James would add-his faith into action theology. This in but not of, which ushers in heaven through prayer, as we see at Pentecost again. Balancing potatoes and balloons is essential in true spirituality. Living on earth, while drawing our life from heaven. Vertical into lateral living is facilitated by prayer! Prayer is that space just in between the two where they interface. Prayer puts is in the position to receive The Presence. It’s the orientation everything is transformed through. Prayer is where we plug into the Divine Nature, which St Peter taught us allows us to live godly meaningful lives in the spiritual continuum of a living hope!. Prayer plugs us in the Power Source. It was Jesus primary spiritual practice while on earth, which is enough reason to pray. We always overhear Him praying especially before major moments–sometimes all night!

To know the I-am space of Father God, the labor of love daily space of The Son, and the power anything is possible space of the Holy Spirit; we are meant to baptize ourselves and others into all three names! The journey is into relationship with all Three!

Reading the prophets again this month—such richly textured communicators! Artist priest are my favorites! The prophetic imagination fascinates me!
People often get lost in the image rich language of the prophets, but they are speaking between realms, so symbols are the most adequate way of naming the coming together of heaven and earthly realms. You see image, dream, vision over and over—as they are the best containers for the messages of God. And so many angels swoop in and out! They help us see beyond the literal.

Art is a container for Divine communications. This is modeled in the prophets, which is another reason they are so cool. Love studying the prophets again this season! If you think the book is boring, read Zechariah—it will blow your mind again, or for the first time- it’s like Chagal paintings amplified!

What do you see? What do you see? The angels keep asking the prophet. Spiritual sight is a pre-requisite for the prophetic imagination! Love it. Fun swirling around with the prophets between all the angels today! Plus, Zechariah is all about the theme of restoration in his times and in the future times for all mankind—large scoped vision this guy had! Restoration is a good meditation for our times!

Challenges us to go wide angled in our spiritual sight! Good stuff. And I do love that so many of the messages come to him through dreams, visions and in the in between.

The prophets were at home in the liminal spaces! Jeremiah hung out at the gates, and like Wisdom on ridges rivers and rims! Love studying them again this month. Not boring!

Someone asked me recently: Are all artists prophets? Great question! I think so, of one sort of another. Artists deal in symbolic communication, usually from some liminal space between realms. It just depends what they are communicating or carrying in their symbolic containers, as to what type of prophet they are. Prophets are those who fountain forth from The Divine. Of course, it matters which divine your channeling! But I also think artist are teachers. Teachers of how to see more of what Is. But that’s another question which my friend didn’t really ask. So I’ll answer that elsewhere. I love interesting questions though!

Home:

My dad used to take me on road trips when i was a kid, to some of the places I was interested in (whatever they happened to be that season)—Buddy Holly’s hometown, Bruce Springsteen’s house, Graceland, the Grand Canyon, to Wales, once to see Prince (true story!), Royal Shakespeare at the Globe, and to study CS Lewis and George MacDonald in Scotland once, and places like that (i was interested in culture and where it intersects with spirituality, even then!)– and we used to ride for hours across the country on road trips in silence together, before I usually had to start talking.

Both of us just being ourselves and sharing space in unspoken love, and a type of mutual knowing. I like that silent space between us all, where the words, “You are my beloved son,” are implied by the ride!

Isn’t that the space, in the big picture, we live in and from?! To be caught up in the Loving Voice between The Father and His Son is still home. And, I still value silence like that.