Posts

Posted on

Isaiah 6: Seraphims

Isaiah 6:2-7 KJV — Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

The header image comes from this informative article: The Seraphim Mosaic in Hagia Sophia.

These Byzantine representations of the seraphim will influence my next tattoo.

Byzantine Icon of Seraphim
Seraph, 14th Century by Theophanes the Greek

This is the only place that the seraphims are mentioned in Scripture. However, the Hebrew word, “śārāp̄” is translated as “fiery serpent” in several other Old Testament books.

Many sources refer to the seraphims as the “burning ones.” Their inoculation against the live coal, Isaiah’s initial fear, and their ability to cleanse sin all point toward carrying out a similar function as the serpents of Scripture.

A messenger’s importance is in direct relationship to the danger it poses.

Posted on

Isaiah 5: The Vineyard

Romans 11:25 NKJV — For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

1 Corinthians 1:19

God’s people are repeatedly referred to as a vineyard in Scripture. Isaiah 5 laments over how we have wasted our spiritual gifts and grown wild with undesirable fruits.

Posted on

Isaiah 3-4: Burning Instead of Beauty

Hell is the inversion of proper order.

Isaiah 3:24 KJV — And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.

Out of the chaos of disobedience, the Lord brings forth order and peace.

Isaiah 4:2 KJV — In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Isaiah 4:6 KJV — And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

I accept Jesus Christ as my tabernacle and refuge. Wrapping around the madness of the material world, He is order and beauty.

Posted on

Isaiah 1

Chapter 1 focuses on the spiritual death and dryness of Judah and Jerusalem.

God declares that this “dross” must be burned away and that the people will be returned to faithfulness.

To renew, we must clear completely the habits that separate us from God. This is a difficult process that demands the sacrifice of our worldly attachments.

Posted on

Starting Isaiah

Since I started carrying a permanent image of a dreaming Jacob, he’s been showing up more often.

Isaiah 41:13-14 KJV — For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

This Scripture appeared in my devotional reading and it struck me that I have read very little of the book of Isaiah. My Student Bible contains a plan to read it in 63 days. I’m looking forward to my first independent study of one of the books of the Old Testament.

Posted on

Growing up “Gifted”

Our gifted programs were called LEEP and PROBE. I forget what the acronyms meant, but being labeled “gifted” was an invaluable experience.

I was an energetic kid (this won’t be this story’s last shocking revelation). Luckily, even with ADD (ADHD wasn’t mainstreamed yet) diagnoses on the rise, I had parents who inherently resisted systemic pressures and honored my Tazmanian Devil-style of learning.

Wildly sober, I wasn’t considered for the gifted program in early elementary. Midway through 4th grade, a teacher finally insisted that I be tested. I was excited to get to miss classes once a month with the smart kids (we were bussed to a special learning center). They were less enthusiastic. They all got tested in 1st grade, logically concluding that it wasn’t anything special to pass the entrance exam after three more years of school. It was an IQ test, not age dependent, but no one cared to explain the nuances to us subjects.

For the next eight years, I existed in a liminal educational space. The smart kids never accepted me as one of their own, but everyone else saw me get on the gifted bus and go to honors and seminar classes.

For good and ill, I had inherited an inclination to not give a shit about other people’s opinions.

LEEP and PROBE offered deep dives into subjects that were hardly broached in school. Genetics, computer programming, environmental studies, photojournalism, and filmmaking were highlights of those years. I also had my first experience with a Muslim convert, observing my favorite teacher, Mr. Lowe, change his name and appearance to conform to his new beliefs. These buildings became a symbol of a world of possibility where I was free to explore. The day-to-day of the regular school building was a constant battle to resist grey standardization.

The meme above has little to do with my experience. The late bestowing of the label “gifted” forced me to embrace my independent nature. God set me against these social anxieties (he had a whole other set of difficulties picked out for me).

I was blessed to be largely free of the academic pressures. I’m doubly blessed to be able to offer a similar freedom to my sons in our home education environment.

Posted on

The Masculine/Feminine Energy Paradigm

There are two physical genders, but energy exists on a spectrum. We all contain masculine and feminine energies. We’re born with a certain balance. This balance is altered over time as trauma and healing minimize and maximize our potential, respectively.

Males contain more masculine and females contain more feminine, generally. I’ll mansplain here that this does not deny the fact that some females have higher masculines than some males, and vice versa. This is a nuanced conversation, jump out now if you are uncomfortable with generalizations.

I’m a male with a high feminine energy (some would say a high masculine as well, both due to my healing journey). I am very comfortable with my feminine traits. I became a widower six years ago and had to cultivate that energy to thrive as a single parent.

I also recognize where I lack work to do better.

Leadership is a masculine trait. Compassion is a feminine trait. The best leaders access their compassionate energy to understand those they are leading. Effectively compassionate people use leadership to direct action most productively (conscientiousness). This is the practical application of the masculine/feminine balance.

Leadership in humans has little to do with physical strength. Yes, it is a factor in male hierarchies, but not dominant in leadership roles (e.g., professional sports coaches). If the world was run by the physically strongest men, then evolution would have favored this trait and humans would be getting bigger and stronger. Instead, we see our species growing in head size and shrinking in body mass. Look at the men around you. Look at CEOs and politicians.

I hope that by using the feminine/masculine energy paradigm, we can see that it is critical that we recognize those energy balances in ourselves and honor them in others.