Horse Tank’d

Ch. 3 of ‘Connected’

    The bright, silvery surface now worn from many uses of the contents. A grey hue, now the best description of overall color. Worn metal appears nearly browned in spots of heavy use. The essence of life within this container. The only existence outside this tank is a hope of life, not the evidence of it! Until you drink from this well, you remain thirsty. You pursue and fall short. Your head will not raise to drink from this well you see. At the edge, unable to partake!

    Efforts growing weary now, you sink to the ground, now looking up at this well. Lying on the ground, life begins to fade just inches from the well. Every effort and resource expended to drink from this well. Future sight shows a horror view. Where life ran and kicked, now just a pile of bones. Sun bleached as time did not wait. Every effort marked failure. All signs of life vanquished, a carcass picked clean by Turkey Buzzards.

    Muck and manure cover a majority of the barnyard. The sights and smells that any country boy or girl knows! The effort a cow makes to trudge through the barnyard is substantial, this thick mixture hard to tread. Many cattle farmers will have a concrete pad for the water tank, providing the cattle with terra firma.  The scenery contains most of the same elements: fencing, usually a barn (old or newer), plenty of manure, and certainly plenty of aromas! In the above description, the Spirit helped me paint a picture for you, though I saw it often growing up on a cattle farm.

    When I heard the words above in italics (this well), I thought of the Truth and the water of life (as referenced four times in Revelations). I find it fascinating that this choice of words (water of life) is only referenced in a futuristic book like this! This analogy paints a picture of being close to the Truth, but not taking it in. Literally dying next to the source of life! Some believers do remind me of folks from Jesus’s home town, they knew Him only as the son of a carpenter, never accepting what He said of Himself.

    One of the blocks that remain to this day is taking Truth directly from the source of life. In the imagery, the tank represents Kingdom life only accessed through the Spirit! Kingdom does not honor striving, manipulation, hustling/hard work, or position. Kingdom only brings glory to the Father! It cannot share glory with churches, pastors, or any organization/and or person! Kingdom shows favor to those who bring Him glory.

    Truth as referenced in Scripture has some definitive order to it. John 1:17 (KJV) “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:14 almost seems like a follow up: “And the Word was made flesh…full of grace and truth.” He brought Truth to fulfill John 4:24 “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” Jesus further passes on the Truth in John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.” Jesus says in 16:7 that “…if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you…” His final piece for Truth came in John 16:13 “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth…” This is a great stack of Truth right here!

    Was Jesus popular for speaking Truth? Obviously not. John 8:40, yep trying to kill Him! Who did he tongue lash the hardest?  He let the Pharisees know they were not good at watching for a coming Messiah! These are the people who never missed Temple. Any time the gate was open they came (sound familiar?). Jesus let them have it so hard that they set out to kill him early on! In relation to this visual, He said in John 4:13/14: “…whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

    Jesus was saying, ‘I have the water lady’! This to the enemy of the Jews. A Pharisee would never even talk to her. She was on dude #6 plus! This water He gave so changed her, she excitedly left the water jug to tell others. This shows us that Jesus wants every human to experience the Father’s love. To dip in the well of life. He changed several women that were enslaved by sin by showing them how to draw this water. Leprosy and legions were conquered in experiences too!

     There are many outside the tank, some even at the edge of it, not drinking from it. Having a desire to drink from it, but seeking the same thing outside the tank. Growing increasingly thirsty in the pursuit of a source. Every human being has a place only satisfied by Truth. The darker a person grows, the farther from the well they have strayed. These voids will only be satisfied through Him directly. It cannot come through human institutions, knowledge, books, or any other means.

Crushing Clocks

Chapter 2 of ‘Connected’

    Sandstone blocks, properly staggered and built one after the other. Each block made carefully and with purpose. The perfectly buttressed corners hold square to form this rectangular structure. For the most part, an ordinary sandstone block, as seen in the ruins of history. Every block showing fragments of black and white pieces, broken away from the original source. What is this structure for? What are these pieces from?

    Curiosity treating me like a cat, I move closer. I walk the perimeter, imagining what might be built upon this foundation. Unlike the blocks, the surface underneath is hard rock. On this Rock could be built anything. A close-up view shows the texture of the gritty consistency that forms these bricks. I run my hand over the rough-yet-smooth surface to admire the creative nature of it. My eyes study the black and white pieces to reveal a pattern. What looks like random pieces thrown in the mix of sandstone are pieces from the same source.

    Small black tick marks overlay white on some fragments. On others, evidence of a number become more apparent. What does this visual puzzle mean? My human mind fails to understand what enters the eye gate. The Creator then speaks to my spirit man. No offer He makes or a downloading revelation, but an invitation to discover these meanings.

    This opening picture painting is a prophetic view of Matthew 7:24-29, speaking about the two foundations to build on. The black and white fragments are crushed pieces of an old school clock. There are many truths to discover in relation to time and what our foundation is built on. I would like to take a concept from sports as a life long football fan. It has become normal that players in the pros are considered old at the age of 32 (10-year pro). I have heard a saying that I find layered truth: “Time is undefeated.”

     Time is not going to wait for you. In fact, it will seem to actively work against you. God owns time, from the beginning to the end (Alpha and Omega). That is good news! Your foundation stones are built on solid rock. He will use your time to build upon the rock! Our relationship is built in time spent with Him. You need to forget this idea of time with God as going to church. It does not mean you do not encounter Him there. It should not be your only relational time with Him. Church is corporate time with Him. Jesus (as our example) went away to spend time with the Father, not sneak into the temple!