Rubber Flesh

   I'm currently reading Beth Moore's book, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things.  In her usual insightful way, she's encouraging us to prepare for the current (and increasingly intense) season of 'methodeia' from the Enemy of our souls, so that we won't find ourselves surprised or deceived by the level of attack with which he assaults us. Beth explains the difference between 'normal' temptations and trials and the type of all-encompassing oppression that knocks the wind right out of us and catches us up in a whirlwind of seduction we never thought possible after decades of walking with the Lord.
   In the context of this discussion, she shared an expression I've never heard before:  'rubber flesh.'   Those of us very familiar with God's Word are most subject to it.  We tend to skim over passages of Scripture we know like the back of our hand, the words bouncing off our minds like rubber, without allowing God to stop us in our tracks with fresh revelation. That's one of the reasons I periodically choose a different translation like the Complete Jewish Bible or the Amplified version, or a modern paraphrase like The Message...to allow God to jolt me awake to something I hadn't seen before or hadn't thought about in the context of the current circumstances (both my personal ones and those of the world around me).
   Beth encourages us to arm ourselves to a higher degree than we have done before. If Job had known the larger battle in which he was engaged, she says, it might have strengthened him to hold fast and stand in the whirlwind of onslaught without feeling so abandoned by God, despite the unimaginable amount of loss he experienced.
   Let's not live 'asleep in the light' as Keith Green once penned. Soak up The Word of God as never before, asking Him for fresh insight and the protection of the armor He holds out to us. We would never want our children to walk unprotected into battle, especially an unseen one. Neither does He.
 

Hearing Your Voice In a Choir of Praise

   I love to listen to the birds in our old neighborhood of expansive trees and thickets. Yesterday morning I could hear just one outside my window where I have my prayer time each morning.  His song was melodic and lovely (some not so much), calling out a declaration.... I could hear the Lord say to me,"Hear the lone bird? Soon he'll be joined by the others, singing in increasing crescendo, but I'll always hear his voice alone, calling out his individual song. In a choir of praise I enjoy the distinct voice of each one, as well as the blended chorus."   We are always 'one' to Him, even as we are part of The Bride, His Church...those of us who truly love Him with all we have within us. Let Him hear your voice in the morning, singing a song of affectionate praise, whether high or husky. He appreciates both your lone voice and the Chorus of thankfulness and worship arising from the earth. And don't forget to listen for the angels joining our song.