 When we wait on the Lord, we expect deliverance, promises, whatever it is he’s asked us to wait on. His time, his terms. His solution to our problems. The waiting is hard, because we want something; we want to get there, to see results, and to move on from where we are to what is ahead in all its hope and glory. Waiting is tough. We have times where we feel like giving up. Frustrated and disappointed, we say, “This should have happened by now already; why hasn’t it happened?” But what if waiting becomes a revelation of the intentions of the heart? Not a test as much as it is the ability to see where our intentions lie. What if waiting on the Lord for something brings us to a place where we wait only because we love him that much? We love him so much that we’d do anything, even if it means nothing. His presence is our gift, our pleasure, our light and delight. We wait, because he’s asked us. For him, and not the outcome. We wait because we love him. That’s all. "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
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 Seldom mentioned, the book not often read, you might find Jude making the top-ten list for the least popular books of the Bible. More of a letter, Jude’s inspired words tend to stay hidden. Perhaps this is because it’s found before the last humdinger, Book of Revelation. The end times prophecies enthrall many people. The book of Jude, though, is no less significant. In fact, it’s a pertinent call-to-action before the end, and so relevant for right now.
The other morning when I’d asked the Holy Spirit which scripture he’d like me to read, he told me, “Jude, Chapter 1.” This gave me a chuckle, because Jude has only one chapter. Way to be specific! Anyway, I’ve been soaking in the words since. Jude paints an unattractive picture of the faithless, disobedient, and wicked. By providing three examples in his past, he gives an unpleasant warning to the people of his present. In our reading his words from roughly A.D. 66-80, he’s providing a message for OUR today. Jude admonishes us to take heed of those who would say forgiveness allows us to live immoral lives. When we seek personal gratification and/or allow the opinion and persuasion of mankind and influence of mainstream to dictate over the opinion, persuasion and influence of God. Woe to those who would succumb to accommodating, allowing and accepting certain patterns and pressures, and compromising the faith by celebrating certain things or movements that, well, shouldn’t be. Not if we’re to uphold the truth. He reminds us of Egypt, when God rescued the nation of Israel, but destroyed those who didn’t remain faithful; fallen angels, who rebelled against God’s authority and were ousted into prisons of darkness until the day of judgment; Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed for its practice of sodomy and other acts of sexual immorality, perversion—and what our unchanging God still calls unnatural and wicked. Jude also gives examples of woe for like that in Cain, who killed his brother; Balaam, doing anything for money; and Korah, rebelling against God-appointed leaders. The idea of forgiveness, even in some of the church today, has seeped in with a faux glittery package that says we can identify as and be whoever we want and live however we want and God loves us no matter what. Aren’t we special! Well, yes, God loves us. But he loves us so much, he calls us out of sin. Because our society, and the prevalent way of thinking, is wrong, about a lot of stuff, when compared to the Bible. Forgiveness first means repentance. Sincere regret, when we call on God our Father, is replaced with mercy and compassion (because we are special, the apple of his eye). And we’re in the fold, into his kingdom, just like that. So very simple, because Christ bore our sins and grace is a gift that reaches the deepest depths for us. True repentance gifts us with eternal life. What’s most humanly difficult is wading through the gravity of our centuries of pervasive sin. We (mankind through Adam and Eve) had it pretty good once. God created this perfect paradise in the Garden of Eden, and we had freedom and wholeness from sickness, disease, destruction, confusion, chaos, hatred, dissension, division, yada yada yada. Most of all, we had the privilege and pleasure of being in constant, beautiful, fluid communion with the One who created us! We had peace and unequivocal acceptance. By our choice, through temptation that has since wreaked havoc on our souls, man fell away from God, separated and banned from the Garden. Now here we are today, born into that same sin, feeling like gravity, difficult to wade through the effects on our bodies and psyches… but not impossible. Because of God’s love for us, and his great patience, waiting and hoping, and reaching, and extending the ultimate sole path (Jesus) for us to rejoin him. What’s distinct is the favor and knowledge of God. What’s key is our everlasting survival. We are to protect the truth of the Gospel against a culture that would seek to twist, corrupt, or compromise the truth in the name of tolerance or acceptance. Indeed, with a heart of compassion, we are to reach out to our brothers and sisters and help hurting people, whether it be from abuse, identity crisis, rejection, perversion, prostitution, slavery, addiction—literally everything. But none of us are meant to stay where we are. We’re to come out of sin and away from a lifestyle of sin. And to support each other out of it. Our identity is in Christ alone. We reject whatever is keeping us from being holy—for we are called to be holy. The world is dark and getting darker. He’s calling us higher, closer; to be a beacon on a hill, a lighthouse in the night season, to spend more time in his presence. It takes a daily renewal and commitment. Jude’s message today would be unacceptable in many circles of our current culture. If he were living right now among us, he’d be called something like a hater, rude, or intolerant. But what he does in a 25-verse chapter is admonish those in the faith to fight for the faith. For the love of his neighbors, for the love of God, he takes a sad song and makes it better. We’re to study The Word, build each other up, pray in the Holy Spirit—not asking for selfish gain but to know him better. And if you don’t know how to do that, how to listen and hear from God, how to even start… It’s sort of like learning a foreign language. You’ve been given the free-kit or app, so to speak. When you first start studying a language, little makes sense. But as you listen, read, practice, spend time in it… the more you immerse yourself in it, the more you understand, the more fluent you become. Be fluent in the Gospel. The Word of God is where you find the only pure and unadulterated truth; and unblemished and perfect love. Little known Jude packs a punch, but it is Good News. Why not start there? And from there, perhaps, Psalm 32 (The Joy of Forgiveness). With love, Tessa  Somewhere within the impenetrable prison of your present circumstance, and the hindrances that have kept you back… somewhere within, is a soul primed for breakthrough. In the low cage of adversity, of crushed status, and intentions gone amiss, you see through the fallen-tree bars of captivity that you’ve made it through the long journey. You’re at the other side of your wilderness, at the brink of release into a glory-filled horizon, where the Lord has called you to be. One foot is on land, and one touches the promised waters of freedom. The start of a different scene than what you’ve known. So close you can taste it—you’re almost in it. Like a love note, the Spirit of the Lord sings, “Rest in me and watch… watch my hand move in your favor.” You don’t know how it will occur, the upturning of the wasteland cage wherein you are. But you blink and a giant hand has lifted the front end of the coop, rolling it backward. As you stand up stronger, the bars are now behind you, blocking the hardships of the past. The Spirit of the Lord sings, “Fear not! I am with you. Take that step; your hand in mine. Step wide-open in liberty into the new waters I have prepared.” “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me,  UPDATE:
Today is July 12, 2023. It has been a very active time in the spirit. As I was driving out to the stables where I keep my horse, the Holy Spirit placed this blog post in my mind and on my heart. I was pondering it when I came to a pond I pass by in the country. Saw that a tree had fallen into the pond in such a way that only its root system was exposed. It looked very much like the photo above I’d used for the allegorical wasteland cage. Except for this one was rolled up, a cage upturned, if you will; released, freed. It reminded me of the hand of God at work. He reminded me that his promises are imminent. There’s one more thing. Something else about the cage of roots in the pond today that stirred my heart. Sitting on the top was a pure white heron. The Lord has used the heron often with me, particularly a white heron once, to speak to me during a spiritual shift. This time, when I slowed my driving, absorbing the symbolism, the heron slowly spread its mighty wings wide and then tucked them in gracefully as it looked at me. The peace and assurance of the Holy Spirit alighted. The Creator orchestrated that heron just for me on that uprooted tree. I know. The Lord speaks in a multitude of ways. The more time you spend in his presence, the more you observe and understand his love language. This encounter, for me, was vast and magnificent. And that’s just like my God, who loves, and knows, and cares, and is mindful of us down to the itty-bitty and divinely timed details. May you be blessed, encouraged, and delighted in his ways, his love language all around in your life!  Somewhere between the impenetrable wall in your present circumstance, and the garbage you kick to the curb… somewhere between is a flower that blooms. In the hard places, the dark spaces, the desert traces, petals open to reveal a bright blossom. You hadn’t noticed it before, but now it’s there. And the floweret is lit up by the assured swathe of sunshine soaking an unlikely, tucked away band. Like a love note from Abba Father, in the hidden places of his intimacy, it’s a flower that says, “I will cause a flower to bloom in the desert.” To give you a remembrance of hope, a reminder of his promise. It’s a flower that says, “Don’t give up; I’m still with you.”
 UPDATE:
Today is July 12, 2023, and this morning I heard the Holy Spirit say, “And then there were two…” I wondered what this meant, and in what context. Curious, I asked him about it, and for a revelation regarding this. Then I heard the words again as I prepared for the day. When I stepped outside, I heard his voice a third time, distinctly, “And then there were two.” I glanced down and saw that there were now two flowers, a month later, between the impenetrable wall and the garbage kicked to the curb; two in a desert, so to speak. Not only does he cause a flower to bloom in the desert, but his goodness, his blessing, his promise multiplies. He is mindful of us. What matters to us matters to him! His love never ceases. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”—Lamentations 3:22-23  It was testimony-night at the small church. The roster of individuals who wanted to share grew as the evening progressed. Testimonies such as an addict who’d overcome his addiction overnight and has now remained drug free for over five years. A woman diagnosed with a brain tumor the size of a golf ball went in for more testing when the doctors, without medical explanation, discovered the tumor had disappeared. The reuniting of a praying parent and a prodigal child who found the Lord. Profound testimonies to the glory of God!
And then there were these demonstrations, the ones that confounded me. Their surrender to the Lord brought tears. An act of love, of letting go of their own desires. Of saying, “Not my will, but thine Lord Jesus!” A man in a wheelchair who the Lord spoke to promising he’d walk again. Twelve years had passed since the accident, and yet he still rolled rather than walked. The Lord helped him through discouragement and taught him how to wait with patience and hope. He has peace in the waiting. A woman who had a slew of afflictions, one after the other, and toxic relationships, and she’d learned to manage her life better and make better choices with diet and lifestyle. She witnessed you can’t always control every circumstance or even people, but you can control your response or reaction. Be faithful in the things you can control, beginning with the choices you can make right now. Another woman presented like a modern-day Job. Her house flooded, then it burned down; she lost her job, got divorced from an abusive man, went bankrupt, survived cancer, lost one of her children... What could she possibly be grateful for? And yet she was exuberant with divine joy. The one most memorable for me was of a middle-aged man who’d lived a hard and promiscuous life. He’d contracted an STD and learned to live with it (also to speak frankly about it, which took admirable courage). Had once known the Lord, but wandered astray through temptations of the flesh in a hard-to-flee-from environment. When he returned and got anchored in the faith, he’d begged God to heal him of his disease so he could marry a godly woman. He determined he couldn’t marry until God healed him, as he wanted to present himself to the woman God had for him without the shame he carried, explaining that each flare-up was like a knife-stab reminder of the poor choices of his past. He also didn’t want to pass that on. God hadn’t healed him, and yet there he was, standing side-by-side with a godly woman, his wife, her hand on his arm. She was a pure soul. Hadn’t had the background or experience he’d had; truly an innocent. Yet there she was, devoted, adoring, selfless to him. She knew of his condition, of the risks, and she married him anyway. For the Lord called her—called them together. In fact, they were moving into full-time ministry together. Some might hear that, and if they were in her shoes, think, “Ew, not for me.” But I was really struck by the beauty of it. Still am. So many distinct stories, conditions, situations and outcomes, and yet one common theme ran among all of them. Gratefulness for what he’s done. He forgives our sins, makes us citizens of Heaven, giving us our true home, of belonging, unconditional love, a future, a destiny, a purpose. Sometimes he heals us; sometimes he promises to heal us and waits with us until that perfectly timed fruition, and sometimes he chooses not to heal us. And when it’s the latter, he helps us to manage our lives in him—and also can still bring us unexpected blessings from Heaven. He moves often in ways we haven’t considered. Keeps us surprised and delighted. The point is, he’s always there. When we can lay everything down, let go of our own wishes and expectations, and press in to him… that’s when he fills us and makes us whole. When our spirits are whole, we are whole… no matter what our bodies or circumstances are doing. I love a good story of healing or deliverance. But I admit, it’s that last one, where healing wasn’t necessarily a physical one, yet the love and devotion demonstrated through that couple’s testimony, their marriage and ministry-calling is the one that moved me to write this blog post. Baruch HaShem |
Tessais a storyteller, and a transcript editor. She's also a Romans 8:28 kind of Jewish girl ... 
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