Monday 9 April 2012

DEBS AT WAR

Thank you for joining me. This blog is now closed.


DEBS AT WAR
Please join my rambling thoughts at http://debsatwar.com

For 1 Chronicles 12:32 says,
“And of the sons of Issachar, were men who had understooding of the times..."   

"And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah..."
          
Thanks and hope to see you soon, Jane


Tuesday 13 March 2012

If Only


Mark five twenty eight
If only I just touch his garment I will be healed…

 If I crawl through the crowds perhaps they will not notice me.  Cautiously, I begin my genuflection pilgrimage to the holy one.

The blood stained garment that covers the sin catches on the stones. Whimpering, the Pharisees look down and scoff, Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
They snicker.

If only. If only I just touch his garment I will be healed.

The crowd presses in. A religious wall thicker than bricks and mortar try to separate me from the holy one. A polished sandal bruises my heel, crushing my foot into the stones. Pain sears from the wound.  I look up. Kindness is my plea. Will you help me Mr. Sadducee?  Will you bring me to the holy one, Mr. Pharisee? They dismiss.

You are an unclean woman in need of a good stoning, not healing. The truth always comes out in one’s greatest affliction.

If only. If only I just touch his garment I will be healed.

The blood and the stones restrain me. I must wait. Intuitively, the holy one moves. The myrrh beckons him to lay hands on the shadowed sick. Pressing through the multitude, He stops within a stone’s throw of my reach. My tear veiled eyes see his dusty feet thirsting for the expensive consecrated oil.

The holy one hesitates; His heart longs for my persistence. The contained mercy oil gives me the courage to reach out over the manicured toed Pharisees and Sadducees and caress the swish of his garment. His healing myrrh empties into my weary spirit and the holy one knows.

Who touched my garment?

Mr. Pharisee and Mr Sadducee grasp the stones in anticipation. I whisper out my confession. It is I, Lord.

Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.

The stones must wait as Mr. Pharisee and Mr. Sadducee are silenced.

Mark six fifty six
Wherever He entered the villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.
And as many as touched Him were made well.

Monday 6 February 2012

The Balm of Gilead














Jeremiah eight twenty two
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?

 The healing of creation unfolds in the broken alabaster jar.

When the alabaster seal is loosed, the constrained frankincense rises up to heaven. Its fragrance condenses in the bowl of incense and a holy mist clouds the heavens. As the perfume thickens, drops of Myrrh trickle down to the parched wounded earth. Nations groan in want of heaven’s soothing liniment and the translucent stones thirst for the healing oil of Gilead.

In silent thunder, the three kings travel on the desert camel to the middle space where heaven meets earth. On bended knee they offer their secret gifts to the broken hearted stones. Only the consecrated alabaster, receive the tender mercy oil for they know the gifts worth. Myrrh stained tears stream out of the abandoned holy place and heal the potter’s cracked stones. In fullness of purity the oil is received. In extravagant mercy, the oil is shared.

In Holy Communion, the poor in spirit steward the healing oil of Gilead.

His sovereign heart is the gold we seek but the treasure is too costly for most. Settling for costume instead of the gold signet ring of our King, the remnant mourns. And on that day those in the secret place will know the treasures of the Kings heart. The hidden quiver will snuggle in the breastplate of righteousness and holy intimacy will replace the want of desire.

Whose finger will bear the seal and whose hands will pour out the healing balm of Gilead?

Haggai two twenty three
"In that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts."

Sunday 25 December 2011

Fiat



LET IT BE SO


Fiat is the decree of God as his heart cries out ‘let it be so’.

The Latin word, fiat is originally used in the Book of Genesis when God creatively decrees 'let it bo so' and announces humanity into being. The Word is riddled with ‘fiat’ moments as patriarchs and matriarchs boldly cry out, ‘yes God, let it be so with me according to your word.’

Luke one thirty eight
Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be done with me according to your word.

Hidden in Mary’s fiat yes to the angel Gabriel’s decree of the Christmas birth is the anguished cry of a mother. The travail of motherhood cries out as Mary gives birth to the bittersweet seed of joy and agony. On Christmas Day, a mother's cry echoes in the manger knowing that her nativity joy will one day lay down his life for us.

John sixteen twenty one
A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

A military mother deeply understands the agony of Mary as her son decrees his call to the military. It is her fiat motherhood moment as her heart cries out to God knowing her son is willing to lay down his life for his fellow Canadians.

As we celebrate the Christmas birth of God’s son, please take a moment to remember the military mothers and fathers whose hearts cry out for their sons and daughters who have laid down their lives for us so that we can live in this great country.

John fifteen thirteen
Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.


In honour of Corporal Justin Matthew Stark

Wednesday 9 November 2011

The Eleventh Hour



My Prayer for Armistice Day

Matthew twenty six
And about the eleventh hour, He went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

 November 11th marks Remembrance Day and I sense a deep spiritual significance of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year.

Remembrance Day is a time of gathering at the cenotaph in remembrance of those who served. The word cenotaph is the Greek word for ‘empty tomb’ and it is at the empty tomb where we remember and honour those who laid down their lives for peace.

Historically, the root of Remembrance Day traces back to Armistice Day. It marks the day of surrender when armies laid down their weapons, the enemy evacuated the land and prisoners of war were set free. It was a time when allies were unified, justice prevailed and honour was restored. 

Occupied land was returned to rightful kings, economic reparation was made for damages incurred and wealth and resources returned to rightful owners. Communications, roadways and bridges opened and one could communicate and travel without interference, roadblocks and ambushes.

Armistice Day was a day of surrender for the enemy and a day of victory for the king. On this historic day, a peace treaty was signed and sealed, and the kings’ authority was restored.

My Prayer for the Eleventh Hour

Matthew twenty four thirty one
And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

My prayer for Remembrance Day is that God decrees Armistice Day for the Kingdom of God. I pray that we remember in silence the sacrifice of the cloud of witnesses as we gather around the cenotaph altar. I pray that God releases His resurrection power across our nation so that veterans will dream dreams and young warriors will see visions.

I pray for a day of reparation when justice is served, spiritual POW’s are released and the silent wounds of war are healed.  I pray that the weapons we carry, fashion into plowshares and our sickles sharpen for the harvest.

I pray that the Highway of Holiness opens; mercy passports are stamped and access is granted without ambush or roadblock.  I pray that we march to hostile occupied territory and the enemy evacuates.

 I pray a day of blessing and that the economy of God transfers into the hands of righteous landowners. I pray that the communication airways open and our intercession releases heaven to rain new wine. I pray that allies unify and Acts 29 is recorded in the Book of Remembrance.

I pray that at the eleventh hour, we surrender our idleness and go to labour in the fields.

I pray that when the clock strikes eleven on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year, the trumpet announces Armistice Day for the Kingdom of God
and honour is restored to our King.

Matthew twenty five six
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh;
go ye out to meet him.

Background
The Eleventh Hour Clock- The clock at the Brussels 'Palais de Congrès' shows the world's history over the past 2000 years. The figure at the eleventh hour is the soldier of World War 1.

The Cenotaph, which is the Greek word for "empty tomb", has continued to be the national focal point for the Armistice Day commemorations.

The word armistice comes from the Latin word armistitium from arma or arms and stitium which means stoppage or a temporary cessation from fighting or the use of arms or a truce. This truce signified a cessation of hostilities as a prelude of peace. Peace is the state in the absence of war; a respite from disagreeable state of affairs.

The terms of Armistice:

-All occupied lands in Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Alsace-Lorraine, held since 1870 by Germany–were to be evacuated within fourteen days.
-The Allies were to occupy land in Germany to the west of the River Rhine and bridgeheads on the river’s east bank.
-German forces had to be withdrawn from Austria-Hungary, Romania, and Turkey.
-Germany was to surrender to neutral or Allied ports 10 battleships, 6 battle cruisers, 8 cruisers, and 160 submarines.
-Germany was stripped of heavy armaments, including 5,000 artillery pieces, 25,000 machine guns, and 2,000 airplanes.
-Germany would be blamed for the war and reparations would be paid for all damage caused.
-Roads and means of communication of every kind, railroads, waterways, main roads, bridges, telegraphs, telephones, shall be in no manner impaired.
-Immediate cessation of all hostilities at sea and definite information to be given as to the location and movements of all German ships.
Freedom of access to and from the Baltic to be given to the naval and mercantile marines of the allied and associated powers.
-The following financial conditions are required: Reparation for damage done. While such armistice lasts no public securities shall be removed by the enemy which can serve as a pledge to the Allies for the recovery or reparation for war losses. Immediate restitution of the cash deposit in the national bank of Belgium, and in general immediate return of all documents, specie, stocks, shares, paper money, together with plant for the issue thereof, touching public or private interests in the invaded countries.
Restitution of the Russian and Rumanian gold yielded to Germany or taken by that power. This gold to be delivered in trust to the Allies until the signature of peace.

Saturday 10 September 2011


9/11


Ephesians six twelve
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The question people always ask is where were you on 9/11?  But no one ever asks what happened to you on 9/11?

Living in a small quiet town in Canada far from New York, my life radically changed on the morning of 9/11. Childhood nightmares resurfaced and I tossed and turned with dreams of war, plane crashes and bomb explosions.

Exhausted and fearful I finally turned to prayer. I prayed to a God I did not know and cried out to a God who made me angry.

Where were you on 9/11,God? Why did you let 3000 of my neighbours die to get my attention?

As my anger and fear poured out of my heart it made room to let God in. I met a God who made his presence known in a powerful way that day. He filled my heart with a peace that was beyond comprehension.   

Where was God on 9/11?

He was busy that day. He was busy at ground zero as he worked through the brokenness.  His heart cried out as he made his presence known in buildings, on the ground, in planes, in family homes. But in his busyness he took time to comfort a fearful Canadian woman from a small town whose broken cry had also reached him.  

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I remember my brokenness and the cry to a God that I did not know.

If anyone ever asks me, “what happened to you on 9/11?”  

I will say, “I met God.”

 My prayers go out to all the families affected by 9/11.


Thursday 25 August 2011

A Land Apart

Joshua five fifteen
The commander of the Lord's army replied,
‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’
And Joshua did so.
Last week, I went on a day trip with my son to the historic settlement of Sainte-Marie-among-the-Hurons. My goal was simply to be a tourist for the day and have some much needed mother-son time as the summer comes to a close. We met up with my mom, sister and niece and together we entered the gates of Sainte Marie.  

The definition of a pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person’s beliefs and faith.

A pilgrimage is usually intentional. Most often, one decides ahead of time to take a pilgrimage and one can spiritually prepare for such a journey. As a mother, I was equipped with sandwiches, drinks, sunscreen and umbrellas for the day’s adventure. I was not prepared for the deep spiritual pilgrimage that began as I entered the gates of Sainte Marie.

Faith, history and geography collided as I stepped on the soil of Sainte Marie. Out of my heart’s burning bush I heard the voice, “remove your shoes Jane you are standing on holy ground.”

Quietly slipping out of my sandals, with eyes filled tears I stood in the dirt with my mom.

“Mom, this place is holy,” I whispered.

“Now you understand why I wanted to come here.”

At eighty years old my mom knew that our visit to Sainte Marie was a sacred pilgrimage. Five generations of my family stood in the gospel dirt where Christianity began in Canada almost 400 years ago. Only a car ride away in the backyard of Ontario, God revealed the altar of Canada to an ordinary family of unknown pilgrims.

Historically, the land was called Wendake and is the ancestral homeland of the Huron nation, a branch of the Iroquoian family. The Wendake land surrounded by lakes means ‘the land apart’.

Under the encouragement of explorer Samuel de Champlain, French Jesuit priests arrived in Wendake early in the 17th century. Led by patriarch Jean de Brébeuf, the Jesuits were dedicated to bringing Christianity to Canada and were martyred because of their mission.

Behind the rustic church, simple wooden crosses stake and claim Canadian soil for Calvary. They stand as flag posts marking the veiled ancient wells that overflow with the sacrificial tears of our ancestors.

The mantle of our patriarchal forefathers concealed in this holy soil silently wait for generations willing to bear its sacrificial weight. The cloud of witnesses buried under this Canadian altar cry out for us to finish their mission and claim the promise that Canada, a land ‘set apart’ is to be a healer to the nations.


I began my journey to Sainte Marie as a tourist but in the dirt I finish a pilgrim. As we left the gates of Sainte Marie my spirit cried out to God to bless me with a small piece of this sacred mantle. Not worthy of their shoulders, I wish to honour the legacy of our forefathers and bring their mission back to the small Canadian town that I call home.
Hebrews eleven thirteen
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

 Visit www.saintemarieamongthehurons.on.ca for more information.