Holy Order - Holy Marriage

The title of this post is a bit snarky I suppose, but I’ve been involved in several conversations the last few weeks and I’ve been feeling as though I’m lacking in some way, that I need to take a refresher course on debate and argument skills or something. A quick google search on the topic brings up a worthy list of skills like: critical thinking, research, argument construction, communication, listening, reasoning, empathy, persuasion, self awareness, etc. All good things, of course, but something seems to be missing for me. Ten years ago I was listening to a man speak. He said something that has remained with me ever since. He said: “First we must BE, only then can we DO.” I’ve thought about this idea of BEING first and then DOING, a lot over the years. The natural man loves to switch it up, convincing us that we must DO first and only then can we BE…’something’. The natural man also loves to-do lists, especially “self-help to-do lists”. You see, the “natural man” would like us to ...

If we must lead with the heart to become Zion, what does that look like in real life? How do we get our own individual heart right before God? Because it is an individual effort first and foremost, before it can be a group effort. In fact I believe that once individual hearts are right before God, there actually isn’t much difficulty involved in a group of people coming together and having one heart. All of the “effort” and “difficulty” has already been overcome by our individual effort to get our own heart right with God.  Zion is simply the fruit of two or more people who have their hearts right with God. So, how do we get our heart right with God? I believe it has to do with having an eye single to the Glory of God.  If our eye is not single to the Glory of God, we will have errors introduced into our understanding.  In Luke 8:15 (Luke 11:34-35) we are told: “The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light. Bu...

The word homothumadon is the word which is most often translated as “one accord” in the New Testament. Of the 12 times it is used, 10 of those instances are found in the book of Acts. It means: With one mind, with one accord, with one passion. It is used to describe a group of people acting with a unified purpose or in complete harmony. It conveys the idea of being of one mind or spirit, often in the context of prayer, worship, or decision making. This unity is not merely external agreement, but a deep, internal harmony of purpose and intent. If we break the word homothumadon apart, we find it comes from homo-”same” and thymos-”passion”. It means with the same passion, in one accord or in other words having the same desire . It is used to describe people who share ‘like precious faith”, creating a God-produced unity between them. It is interesting that this unity is produced by God. In the Covenant of Christ we are told of the 12 disciples, who Jesus had just called as ministers to th...

I’m going to share one of my favorite things in the whole world with you today. It comes from a document called The Gospel of the Beloved Companion. It is a gospel attributed to Mary Magdalene. It is similar to the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, but better. “Then Miryam, the Beloved companion, took a jar of oil of pure and expensive spikenard and poured it upon the head of Yeshua and anointed him. And the house was full of the sweet fragrance of the ointment. And seeing what she had done, the disciples therefore grumbled against her amongst themselves. But hearing this, Yeshua said to them, “Leave her be. She has anointed me for what I am come to do, and done what she is appointed to do. Only from the truth I tell you, whenever they speak of me, what she has done will also be told in memory of her. You do not know or understand what she has done. I tell you this: When all have abandoned me, only she shall stand beside me like a tower. A tower built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, ...

The path of ascension is not for everyone. It is not comfortable, it is not predictable and it is not easy. A Godly woman is called to something greater, something that is beyond what she has been taught to believe about herself and the world she lives in. She feels this call deep in her soul, it is an undeniable knowingness that tells her she was never meant to stay where she is.  But answering this call to something greater means stepping into the unknown. It means letting go of the safety and security of who she once was and embracing who she is becoming.  The world teaches us to seek approval, to conform and stay within the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable behavior and beliefs. But a Godly woman cannot be confined by these limitations, she is not here to follow but to lead.  She is not here to settle for less, she is here to expand and rise up. And the moment she chooses to break free from the “mold” she has been handed, she will find that the world she once kn...

The definition for Adulterate is: “To render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance, typically an inferior one.” We adulterate our marriage by bringing something(or someone) else within the boundaries that are exclusive to that relationship. Scripturally, the image of God is given to us as: a marriage between a man and a woman and the emotional and sexual intimacy within that relationship is an exclusive right reserved only for that couple. To give emotional or sexual energy to someone other than your spouse adulterates your marriage relationship. Hence the term adultery or emotional affairs. But can we adulterate our marriage by something other than technically “committing adultery”? I think so. If we are placing anything(hobbies, jobs, entertainment, etc) or anyone(including your own child, family, friends, etc) above the intimacy reserved for your spouse, then you are adulterating the relationship. Anytime we place anything or anyone as a higher desire/priority...