dave dave dave

this is exactly the kind of story that i hesitate to write for the simple fact that stories like these are the first to travel back to mom.
but i promised a few weeks ago to do a better job of painting pictures of real life on the westside.
so paint i shall.
tonight.
dave.
sometimes God has to paint pictures too,
so creative He is,
so that we can really understand what he means when He says things
like what He said in Ephesians 6

FOR OUR STRUGGLE IS NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST THE RULERS, AGAINST THE AUTHORITIES, AGAINST THE POWERS OF THIS DARK WORLD AND AGAINST THE SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS.

dave's folded over on the couch in the prayer room.
i walked in a half of an hour late
and he passes out and wakes up periodically
each time forgetting what's going on.
and what's going on is raw worship and prayer and declaration of who God is
and there he sits making random comments
and comparing danmike's guitar playing and charla's piano playing to some obscure artist that no one has ever heard of
and he proceeds to throw crackers at jordan's face and giggle to himself
(making it difficult for me to contain myself, simultaneously)
but he's peaceful
and then passes out and wakes up again
with an entirely new demeanor
and a contrasting vocabulary
and very little peace at all
raging and roaring
and it is so immediate and abrupt and unpredictable
that we just know that it bears the image of the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world
danmike and then jordan overflow with grace
(grace that dave didn't deserve)
speaking truth and the blood of Jesus over dave and every bit of who he is
knowing that the reason that we can love like this is because of the freedom that Jesus bought for us
and the reason that we can love with this level of hope among hopelessness
is because
it
has
never
been
about
us
or what we can do, say, recite, give, pray, hear, be, sing, make
but because the God that we live for
is sovereign
and He says things like these (from Ezekiel 36)

IT IS NOT FOR YOUR SAKE THAT I AM GOING TO DO THESE THINGS BUT FOR THE SAKE OF MY HOLY NAME.
THEN THE NATIONS WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD WHEN I SHOW MYSELF HOLY THROUGH YOU BEFORE THEIR EYES.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM NOT DOING THIS FOR YOUR SAKE, DECLARES THE SOVEREIGN LORD.

and it is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
and it is this freedom that allows us to really love dave.
because
we don't have to save him
we are not responsible for him and his salvation
but we are responsible to him

TO not FOR changes everything
because the cross changed everything.

and the guys are still out on the front porch with dave
for now a much calmer and gentler dave
and its 43 degrees