I have no more excuses left, I have nothing else to do, or rather, I have nothing left that my brain demands I do. There’s no avoiding it now… Now, we write. Now, we actually drain the brain of all that we could before we can go any further.
And, as usual, we can start off by saying, as we usually say:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end.
His mercies are new with every morning…
Causing me to say, as they said in what we now know as the Old Testament book of Lamentations:
Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord;
Great, great is thy faithfulness.
And yes, I do have a lot to give thanks to God for… but I feel as if I need to organize what all of them are… and just keep on typing with minimal pauses, at the same time.
I thank God, first and foremost, because I am able to type here in my office, right now. We have electricity in the middle of a storm, when we usually brace ourselves for extended power outages. The ‘Feeder’ our community falls under is notorious for failing us, even when there are no typhoons, just really bad weather… but for some reason, today, we DID have a power outage, but it only lasted a couple of hours, which was way lower than the half day I was expecting.
While I’m at it, I also thank God for a good and reliable internet connection – it wasn’t this same way with the previous provider I signed up for in this residence. I mean, that went very well, ever since the year we got here which was, oh, a little more than 20 years ago.
We enjoyed a DSL connection, up until the moment it started failing on us, and more frequently. I would have given them a pass if I wasn’t so dependent on the connection, especially in the second half of the 2010’s, when I needed a consistent connection to work at home. I rectified my situation by cancelling that connection, and going to another provider, who offered an internet connection with fiber-optic lines versus telephone copper wires.
And, like I said, it’s been very nice, ever since. It hasn’t been PERFECT but at least the time difference between outages was so far that you couldn’t really forget the last time you had trouble. Thank God, for that.
Thank God, for a good, sturdy home. For warm clothes. For the dinner I just had. I thank God also for being with me through the escalated workouts I’ve been doing as of late – for no particular reason, nothing more than what I’m assuming is a physical ‘defragmentation’ of sorts.
Yes, that’s been going on a lot lately – or, I think that’s what I’ve wanted to happen, at least. Ever since the beginning of this month, or maybe even a little earlier than that, I’ve dedicated myself to working out, writing, reading, and praying.
I mean, in the months leading to this, I’ve been taking some time in lamenting how, as I’ve been saying a lot this year, how life seemed to get more difficult in enough ways for me to notice, ever since I turned 40 during the tail end of the month of April. You can say that I was getting myself together during those times… and, again, as of the beginning of this month, I’ve sort of dedicated myself to a dedicated, intentional response – one of clarification.
I clarify with my body, and remove as much of the gunk I’ve accumulated through these months and years of letting it all slide, by way of intense, (almost) daily bodyweight exercises, and also taking some pills daily to detox myself from the inside out.
I clarify with my mind by way of writing as I’m writing right now, and by way of reading the Bible, from both the Old and New Testament – and, mind you, I’m not just reading with my eyes; I’m speaking all of it out. I seem to have banked on the promise of God from the book of Romans, specifically where Paul states that faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.
When I speak, nobody else is around, but I’m able to hear what I’m saying. As such, as I speak, I’m also praying indirectly… let faith arise.
Finally, I’ve certainly been clarifying with the Spirit, by way of prayer. Man, I HAVE been praying a lot lately… and I’ll tell you now, before anything else, there’s a certain peace to be had when you find yourself frequently praying, frequently telling the Lord what you know He already knows, but telling Him anyway.
Just to know that you have it all lifted up to Him, and just to know that you can keep lifting it up to Him as it comes up – that just comforts me a little more.
This process of intensive clarification is partnered with the increased opportunities to network with other significant people, and other significant groups of people… and man, it’s been a pretty wild ride.
Should I go into even more specifics? Probably with my writing, yes.
There’s been Appraisal, and there’s been Inventory.
Regarding Appraisal, I need to throw in a little bit of history so I’m in the same page with myself, and the rest of you fine folk who happen to be reading all this chicken scratch.
Back around 2014, I was still serving under a pastor whom I consider a strong mentor of mine, who’s helped me and encouraged me – and, actually still does. Anyway, back then I was in charge of leading the congregation in worship, while my mentor and his associate pastor (and the occasional guest speaker) took care of administrative details, and, more importantly, the weekly sermon.
My music team was not without a drummer, but the one we had during that time had his own season which, we all agreed, was one where he enjoyed the goodness of God by way of sharing prophetic words. I recall that at first, they weren’t really ‘remarkable’ declarations, but eventually he would come on strong, with a ‘prophetic’ word to share to the lead pastor (my mentor).
Fast forward to last month, around mid-September, when my mentor revealed to me that he was considering his options – resigning from public service, running to retain his current position, or running for higher office. To his (and my) surprise it was during this time that he was directed back to Messenger, specifically back to the drummer’s prophetic words to him at the time…
Two things that struck him were (1) the drummer specifically mentioned (and consequently confirmed) that he saw my mentor filling a seat in a higher governing council, and (2) he was led to read these words exactly 10 years since they were shared to him first.
I personally thought that was pretty awesome, and I was psyched, excited at the prospect that this man I looked up to was directed to take on such an opportunity – and as of earlier this month, he filed in his certificate of candidacy. I should know, I was there with the rest of his family to cheer him on.
But here’s the thing – there was one more time this drummer had something for everyone, and he had something to share with me as well.
This is why I’ve been doing a series called ‘Appraisal’ – inspired by 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18, I’ve been praying without ceasing and giving thanks, sure, but more to the point I’ve been testing every prophecy… or, at least my version of it – looking at all of it through the lens of Christ and His finished work, comparing it to what we have in Scripture, under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit – just like everything else.
I’ve been ‘Appraising’ his words… and here, let me let you in on something else – He shared these words some time in November of 2014… which is why I’m in such a mad dash, not only to finish my Appraisal and to see what the Lord has in store for me, but also, really, through my said writing, reading, praying and working out, pushing myself (like boys are pushed through Boot Camp) to be ‘ready’ for whatever happens!
And what HAVE we ‘Appraised’ so far?
Well, I’ve learned a lot – not with regards to what I have, but I’m learning that all this that’s been shared? They’re all things that ALL of us have, from a certain perspective, through Christ and His finished work.
At first, my approach to this was to take on what was mentioned, head-on, even mentioning the precise words on the post:
‘…the Lord is handing a golden scepter to you. it is covered with gems and light found only in Heaven.’
The way I see it, this scepter handed to me, is a scepter actually handed to all of us – a visualization of the favor we can give to others because God has given His favor to us.
This scepter is a representation – not directly of the material resources we’ve been given, but of the ‘heavenly light’ that makes all that we DO have – no matter how much we have or how little we have – regal.
For every post after this I felt the need to hold back on sharing the precise words, instead going through the Scripture that popped up as I went through them.
Again, I employed the assistance of ClaudeAI in getting all my thoughts together, and here’s what I have for the second post in the Appraisal series.
The AI caught on how I was being very careful and discerning in how I approach and interpret this prophetic word. I really pushed for testing it against Scripture rather than just accepting it at face value. It’s not about personal blessing.
A little more about the scepter – besides being a display of favor it also represented the authority and responsibility we have in Christ to declare and display His glory and grace to the world. It reminds us of our role as a royal priesthood.
A “crown” was mentioned, in addition to the scepter… and I seem to have arrived at the conclusion that this crown symbolizes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – which is for all who come to believe in Christ. We are all crowned with the Holy Spirit, who not only authenticates but also empowers our witness as we come together to exalt Christ.
In our being empowered, we should always take care to emphasize the importance of acknowledging God’s sovereignty and wisdom in all our ways. This is not a guideline more than it is an opportunity… because once, the only option we thought we had was to rely solely on our own efforts and plans. This crown reminds me that seeking His guidance is not only a positive opportunity, but a crucial responsibility.
Ultimately, any “scepter” or “crown” we receive is not about our own merit, but is rooted in Christ’s finished work and the grace He has lavished upon us. He deserves all the glory.
So, yes. Through Christ, we’re learning of our ‘scepter’ – that is, the favor we can give out of the favor God has given us, just as it is a reminder that all that we do have is only valuable because of Christ, the Light that makes all of it shine.
We’re learning of the Holy Spirit as a crown placed on our heads, just as He was a tongue of fire that rested above the heads of the disciples at Pentecost. As a crown shining outwardly, the Holy Spirit ‘authenticates’ / confirms our righteousness, as a mark and receipt of our salvation for all the world to see.
He also shines inwardly, for us to move in His power, in recognition of God’s (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) sovereignty and wisdom. We’re reminded that the guidance that we do have and receive is not just offered as a positive opportunity, but entrusted to us as a crucial responsibility.
To rest on these laurels, so to speak, means to rest on the finished work of Christ… which, we’ll find out, is a far-reaching theme spanning across other series, not just in this ‘Appraisal’.
I ran the third article through the same AI, and it returned the following takeaways:
Here’s where I shared how I was wrestling with personal financial challenges… which could also be seen as “thorns” of worldly cares and the deceitfulness of riches; This has led to anxiety and confusion.
However, we’re reminded that we find encouragement in the truth that God desires to free us from these things and enable us to focus on His kingdom and righteousness. We also find encouragement in scriptural reminders to not be anxious, but to trust that He will provide for our needs.
Through our struggles we recognize that even when we feel we have nothing, we still possess the greatest treasure – the righteousness and reconciliation found in Christ.
The overarching message seems to be about replacing our focus on material things and worldly cares with an unwavering trust in God’s grace and provision. By keeping our hearts and minds fixed on Christ, the thorns that once choked us can be removed, and we can find peace, joy and fruitfulness in serving Him.
I have two more articles from Appraisal to go through, before we cover the Inventory series… I hate how I’m making a ‘series’ of summarizing my other ‘series’, but it IS helping me put all my thoughts together, one way or the other.
I’m excited to see the specifics of how Christ and His finished work are the unifying equation in all this. I appreciate you bearing with me – For the life of me, I don’t even know why you made it this far, or why you’re even following all of this… but, thank you. Please, keep praying.
Yes, keep praying – because I STILL want to hit 365 before a certain date that’s approaching very fast!
Until the next post, God bless us all.
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JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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