To All Who Received Him...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Here we have the revelation of the indescribable love of God the Father expressed in the very first Christmas gift, presented to a virgin named Mary and to anyone who would believe in Him. The promise to those who believe in the Son of God is that they shall not perish but have eternal life.  Back in the first chapter of John’s gospel the promise to those who believe is, “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” Here we have the addition of the idea of receiving along with believing, and the promised blessing is, to become children of God, “ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (John 1:12,13)

We receive the love of God when we believe, trust, put our faith in, the Son of God. That is when the miracle of the new birth takes place.  We are born spiritually with the very same DNA as Jesus. We are conformed to the likeness of God’s Son, and the image of God is restored in us. We have become well-loved children of God, in relationship with the God of the universe, and that relationship is the bond between Father and child. 

We have eternal life because the image of God in us has been restored, and we have access to the Father in prayer because we are his dearly beloved children and He delights in giving us what we need. Jesus said, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt 7:9-11). It is by the prayer of faith, our spirit in union with the Spirit of the Son of God, that we demolish strongholds, move mountains, and receive that peace that passes all understanding.

Lean Not on Your Own Understanding

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths (Prov 3:5)

This was one of the first scriptures I learned when, relatively late in life, I began to take the Bible seriously.  Up to that point my understanding had been shaped by the philosophies of naturalism, pragmatism, and intellectual atheism. I had finally come to see that those systems of belief lead to a dead end – literally. I did an about face. God turned me around, put His Spirit in me, and started to reshape my understanding according to His Word. It was a significant step in my journey to find Truth worth living for.

However, I still was not living the abundant life that Jesus promised. I was still troubled by anxious thoughts, self-condemnation, and doubts. An understanding shaped by God’s word is certainly better than one shaped by atheistic philosophies, but dare we lean on it? Our scripture says, “No.”  Don’t even lean on your own understanding of the Lord.  Lean on the Lord. Trust Him with all your heart. It’s with our hearts that we wait on Him to direct our paths. We gain knowledge and understanding of God with our minds as we study His Word, but our minds are finite so our understanding of God will always be finite – growing, hopefully, but still limited. However, a heart yielded to the Holy Spirit within us won’t limit “Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephe 3:20). The abundant life is for those who by faith, are sold out to Jesus – body, soul, and spirit. The apostle Paul said, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Faith is the key, so that will be the subject of my next meditation.

Trust Me

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)

It is this “peace of God” that has been eluding me lately while I tried to figure out what I have to do to get it back. Then the Lord gave me this verse from Isaiah: “I will wait for the LORD…I will put my trust in him” (Isaiah 8:17). It was then that I realized that God has been telling me, “trust me,” while I was trying to answer my own requests and manufacture the peace only He can give. Dumb! We are to bring our requests to him and wait faithfully to see what He does! If we keep trying to do for ourselves what only God can do we are just being faithless, and this faithlessness is the core of all fear and anxiety. We were not made to be rugged individualists. We are neither omnipotent nor omniscient, but we were made for relationship with the God of the universe who is both of these things and so much more! So when we cry, ”Abba Father,” and the Spirit of the Son within us intercedes on our behalf, bringing our requests to the Father, He always hears and answers according to His will and purpose for us. This is the wonderful pathway of communication that was put in place when the Son of God took upon himself the human nature, becoming like us in every way but without sin. He showed us how to deny ourselves, while living abundantly according to the will of the Father. Then He died and rose again so he could give us the gift of the Holy Spirit who is the source of that peace that had eluded me until I heard Him say, "Trust me. You don't have to do anything I don't give you the power to do." The wonderful mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can do whatever God asks of us, if by faith we trust Him and allow Him to do it!  The apostle Paul was our example of how this works when he said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil.4:13).

We Cry, "Abba Father"

"And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced” (Zech 12:10). 

About 2500 years ago Zechariah gave us this wonderful prophecy of the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost 50 days after Jesus was crucified, and “the Spirit of grace and of supplication” was poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Peter, addressing the crowd said, “… let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). On that day the inhabitants of Jerusalem looked, with spiritual eyes, on the One whom they had pierced, and were cut to the heart.

This Holy Spirit who was poured out on the day of Pentecost is the Spirit of prayer. He is also the one who points us to Christ, and he is the one who produces in us the peace of God as we pray, which is what this meditation is all about. So let’s look to Jesus as our example, and consider his greatest prayer to the Father. Mark tells us that when Jesus and his disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he was crucified “…he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will’” (Mark 14:35-36). When Jesus prayed “Abba Father” it was an expression of complete trust and surrender to the will of the Father he loved and who he knew loved him for all eternity. Because the Spirit of the Son now lives in us who know the Father’s love also, we can pray in the same intimate trusting way, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Rom 8:15).

Not only do we cry “Abba Father,” but the Spirit within us who is also the Spirit of the Son calls out “Abba Father.”  “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out ‘Abba, Father’” (Gal 4:6). “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” (Roma 8:27). Just as Jesus always prayed according to the Father’s will, so also do we when, by faith we yield to the Spirit and allow Him to lead us. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Roma 8:28). This is how we can know the peace of God. It is the fruit of the Spirit that grows and ripens in us as we learn from Him to pray as Jesus did, according to the Father’s will. The resulting "...peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil.4:7).

He Will Do It

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it (1 The 5:23-24).

Sanctification is the process that started when the old version of self was crucified with Christ and a new spiritually alive self was raised up, united with His Spirit. This Holy Spirit who now indwells all God’s children is the God of peace who sanctifies us.

So why do I sometimes lose my peace when trials come upon me?  My soul resonates with Job when God allowed terrible calamity to come upon him. Job says, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil" (Job 3:25-26).  And Job’s friends were cooperating with Satan the accuser by their suggestion that God must have brought these calamities upon Job because of some evil in him. But Job showed that he did have peace with God when he declared, “I know my Redeemer lives and in the end he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25), as he prophetically looked forward to the coming of the Messiah who is the Prince of Peace. The apostle Paul tells of the fulfillment of that prophecy when he writes that God “…has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (Col. 1:22-23). We have forgiveness of sin and peace with God through faith in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, reconciling us with the Father. He has done it and will continue to sanctify us through and through. He will do it! Paul writes, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). Paul gave all the glory for his salvation and sanctification to the cross of his Lord Jesus Christ, and so do we. That is how we find peace with God.

But that is not the peace Job was speaking of when he said, “I have no peace,” and it is not the peace I spoke of when I asked why I sometimes lose my peace when trials come upon me.  No, the peace we sometimes lose when calamity strikes is the “peace that transcends all understanding,” which the apostle Paul was talking about when he wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7). This peace of God is a fruit of the Spirit, which results from the fervent prayer of faith offered up to God by His children who know him as their “Abba Father.” It is this peace that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and it will be the subject of my next meditation.

Demolish Those Strongholds

2Cor 10:3-5 (NIV) …though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The “strongholds” Paul is writing about are deeply entrenched ways of thinking and acting that keep people from knowing and obeying God. My meditation today focuses on a stronghold that didn’t even exist in Paul’s day, but is a powerful fortress in Satan’s dark kingdom in the 21^st century. As the voice of the world the flesh and the devil comes to me through the secular media, I often hear it subtly but arrogantly suggesting, “Now that we have science and technology we don’t need God.”  Atheist Richard Dawkins, who claims to be speaking for science, says that "God" is nothing but a delusion anyway, we are only highly evolved animals, so forget all this stuff about being created in God’s image and set apart for His glory. Contrary to Proverbs 3:5, this voice says, “Lean on your own understanding and let it be molded by science. There is no spiritual realm anyway. What you see, touch, etc. is all there is.”

So how do we demolish this pretension that has set itself up against the knowledge of God? We do it with the same divinely powerful weapons that Paul had at his disposal. He tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom 12:2). How do we do that? By filling our minds with truth to contradict the lie. God’s word is truth. It is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit … and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb 4:12). When my spirit is in union with the Holy Spirit and my mind/soul is being renewed by the word of God, I who am spiritually alive can take captive every thought that enters my mind and make it obedient to Christ. I can discern between truth and error. I who am spirit can control my mind/soul, as well as my body, because the love of God controls me. I know there is a spiritual realm because the unseen God has manifested himself to me. 

The Fruit of the Spirit is ... Self-control

When I am united with the one true and living God my life is characterized by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22,23). Paul calls these characteristics “the fruit of the Spirit,” because my behavior would not display these qualities if it were not for the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Christ, living in me. I was chosen before the creation of the world to be conformed to the likeness of Christ, and that is what the fruit of the Spirit is – the character of Christ in me. The list starts with love because God is love and ends with self-control because the things I do are still my actions, but the “self” who is doing them is not “I alone,” but “I in union with God.” The self-control that is the fruit of the Spirit is control by a new me, redeemed and recreated by the God of the universe. You might say that, since I became a new creation, the love of God controls me. Of course all that I have said applies equally to you, my brother or sister in Christ, because you also love Him and want to be like Him.

You might ask, “Why then do I sometimes act out of character?  Why do I sometimes loose my peace?  When Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again, he asked Jesus, “How can that be? Can I enter my mother’s womb a second time and be born?” Jesus told him he was talking about spiritual things that are every bit as real as earthly things. Your spiritual birth is as real as your natural birth, but the life you continue to live in the body is by faith. Paul tells you to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That takes place as you yield by faith to the Holy Spirit within you, and grow in your knowledge of God and yourself in Christ. My next post will be about yielding, and demolishing strongholds, speculations, and every lofty thing, raised up against the knowledge of God.

United With Christ

Roma 6:5-6 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--

My last post focused on the fact that when you and I were born again we inherited the DNA of our Heavenly Father. We are His children, born of His Spirit.  We are now living spiritual beings. We have a mind and a body, but we are spirit, and the life we now live in the body we live by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Romans 8:12-14, the Apostle Paul teaches us about this life in the body after we are born again. He writes, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation--but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” As children of God, we want to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Paul tells us that by the Spirit we can put to death the misdeeds of the body, we are no longer slaves to sin. Paul didn’t know anything about DNA, but if he had I think he might have said that, just as the physical DNA of our earthly parents guided the physical growth of our bodies, the spiritual DNA of our Heavenly Father guides our spiritual growth, producing in us the fruit of the Spirit. As I mentioned in my last post, the “self-control” that is a fruit of the Spirit is really Holy Spirit control. My spirit united with His Spirit puts to death the misdeeds of my body – not perfectly in the present age, but perfectly for all eternity.

I now turn my attention to the mind, which must not only be made new but must be totally transformed by the new birth. Here also it’s all about Holy Spirit control. Paul writes,  “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Rom 8:6). Just as self-control of my body is really Holy Spirit control when my spirit is united with His, so also this union controls my mind, producing freedom from conflicting thoughts and anxiety. The peace that is generated passes all understanding; and is a fruit of the Spirit that can only be received. We cannot make it but we can give it to others.  I agree with Pastor Mike Plunkett when he suggests that Matthew 5:9 should really be translated: “Blessed are the peacegivers, for they will be called children of God.” 

Growing Together with Christ

Rom. 1:17 …in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

As I continue to think through our life together with Christ, I think of God drawing each of us into our destiny to be holy as He is Holy. That is the destiny all who are in Christ share in common.  We were created in the image of God, to enjoy relationship with Him forever and ever, but that perfect likeness was broken when we chose to “go our own way.” I thank God he didn’t just let us go, but sent his Son “to clean up the mess.” That required more than a “celestial spring cleaning.” It required the sacrifice of his Son, the Lamb of God without blemish, and our own crucifixion and resurrection with Him to new life – born again with the DNA of our Heavenly Father. And the life we now live in the body we live by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which reveals a righteousness from God, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last.

What does this righteousness that is from God look like? The Apostle Paul described it in his letter to the Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Gal. 5:22,23). These are the characteristics that ripen and mature in all of us as we grow together with Christ, our growth guided by the DNA of our Heavenly Father. All the things listed have worldly counterfeits, but the real fruit has a supernatural other world aroma as it manifests the righteousness that is from God and is by faith. The list starts with love and ends with self-control.

I now ask, “What is this “self-control” that is a fruit of the Spirit in every believer?” We are all spiritual beings who have united ourselves with Christ by faith in Him and His resurrection, and “…He who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” (1 Cor 6:17). So when I who am one with the Lord in spirit exercise self-control, it is not I who am controlling myself, but the Spirit of Christ with whom I am united by faith is in control as I submit to Him! I want to know more about this bonding with the Lord! That will be the subject of my next post.

Alive Together with Christ

Ephe 2:4 (NKJV) But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus

I’ve quoted the New King James version of this passage because it emphasizes the togetherness of believers in Christ, and that is the focus of this meditation. As I continued to think through the reality of the new birth and the new life in Christ, God showed me the significance of the fact that He “made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The togetherness of believers in the heavenly places is the excellence that is on display here! There are no Lone Ranger Christians, either in the heavenly realms above or in the vale of sorrows here below. The life we now live in the body, after we have been born again, we live in community together with other believers.

Growth is all about learning to love one another in a way that is not possible apart from Christ.  When Paul said, “the life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me,” he was saying that, not only are we saved through faith, our life thereafter is also by faith. We are living spiritual beings, joined with the Spirit of Christ who is our teacher.  As we yield to Him we produce fruit that will last because it’s the fruit of the Eternal Holy Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23a) These beautiful virtues are all relational. They are characteristics of the believer in his/her relationship with other believers as we live together with Christ and He draws us toward our destiny, which is to be Holy.  Whether our community is a Christian family, small growth groups, meetings with co-workers in ministry, or whatever, God is at work producing Christian character in all of us as He builds his kingdom through us.  To be continued…

From Death to Life

Ephe 2:1-2 “… you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

You and I are spiritual beings. We have a material body, but we are spirits. Before we were born again we were 'dead' spiritual beings. I don’t know about you but I was dead in sins and transgressions, I was dead to God. I thought I was alive as I responded to the pull of the world, the flesh and the devil. I was tuned in to the enemy’s voice, deceived by the father of lies. I listened to him as he urged me to be self-sufficient, to create my own destiny without bothering to consult with my Maker. Though I am neither omniscient nor omnipotent I was trying to be god to myself. That is the sin nature!

Where was God through all this?  He was there. I had tuned Him out, but He never let me go because He had chosen me, before the foundation of the world, to be conformed to the image of his Son. That is your incredibly glorious destiny as well, if you are a believer. We were not chosen to become rich and famous. We were chosen to be Holy!  That is the destiny God is calling us to, and it has already been accomplished in the heavenly realms by the power of the cross. When we were crucified with Christ the old version of self, controlled by the world the flesh and the devil died. When we were raised up with Christ we came to life spiritually for the first time. Christ’s Spirit is now united with ours and our true identity can emerge. The destiny for which we were created can be fulfilled because we are in union with our Creator. Though we still have a body, we are now living spiritual beings. A battle still rages between the flesh and the spirit 'in Christ,' but we can win that battle. The Apostle Paul tells us how, "The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." We win the battle by developing our 'faith muscle,' to use a picturesque expression of pastor Mike Plunket. We do not win by self-will or self-effort. We win by uniting with Christ and yielding to his Spirit within us. We win by Holy Spirit power!

Moved by the Unseen God

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9 NKJV).

Those who have been born again cannot sin? What is John saying here? When we are born again do we become incapable of sinning? John cannot be saying that because he also tells us what to do if we do sin! He says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). The NIV translation of 1 John 3:9 can help us here. According to the NIV, John is saying, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” This makes it clear that John is not talking about individual sinful acts, but an ongoing condition of the believer. The born again Christian indwelt by “God’s seed” cannot go on sinning because God will not let him rest in his sins.

The unbeliever can rationalize, saying things like, “Really it's not wrong, everybody’s doing it.” He can go on sinning, thus determining his own destiny apart from the God of the universe.

 But God loves His children too much to allow us to take that route.  The apostle Paul put it this way,       “…Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (1 Cor. 5:14-15) When we consider ourselves crucified with Christ and raised to new life with him, the life we continue to live in the body we live by faith in Christ. The reason we cannot go on sinning is that Christ’s love compels us to pursue righteousness.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matt 5:6) That is why, if we do sin we suffer until we confess and get right with God. His love moves us; no it “compels” us.  We cannot be content in sin.

Following the Unseen God

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:5-7).

We were not designed to function independent of God, but we keep trying to do what cannot be done. We are not omniscient or omnipotent, but we still try to determine our own destiny.  There is only one infinite Creator, but we try to be God in our own lives. This desire to usurp the throne that rightly belongs to our Creator underlies all sin and is the reason we must be born again. 

When Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again He was preparing to fulfill a prophecy of the Prophet Ezekiel through whom God had said: “… I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezek 36:27). When God gave this prophecy through Ezekiel He was talking to the Israelites who were under the Mosaic Law. But Jesus gave the spirit of the Law when He said, "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Math. 22: 37-40).  At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came in power and now indwells every believer, fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy. God has put His Spirit in us and is moving and empowering us to follow Jesus in obedience to these two simple commandments. 

Relationship with the Unseen God

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal.2:20)

Pastor Dan Salvesen says that when people ask him, “What is your religion?” he likes to say, “I am in relationship with the God of the universe.”  Whoa! Powerful stuff!  Relationship with God is indeed what Jesus Christ has made possible for all who would follow him. Following Jesus is not like following any other great leader who ever walked the face of the earth.  Jesus put it this way:  "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matt 16:24-25). 

When Jesus spoke those words the crucifixion still lay ahead of him, but a few years later, when the apostle Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,” the cross was behind him, and the meaning of ‘taking up his cross’ comes through with apostolic power!

The apostle Paul says he has died with Christ on the cross. But how can that be, Paul is very much alive as he is writing those words! Paul is simply obeying Christ. He is denying himself and taking up Christ’s cross, which has now become his.  Paul has forsaken the old Pharisaic life he had been living, with himself Saul of Tarsus on the throne. Saul is now dead and the Apostle Paul is living a brand new life by faith in the Son of God who loved him and gave himself for him. The Spirit of Christ now indwells Paul, occupying the throne of his life, and enabling him to follow Jesus.  Paul now lives the life God purposed for him when he was chosen ‘in Christ’ before the foundation of the world, and the apostle is telling all believers how we too can live the lives God purposed for each of us, in relationship with the unseen God, Creator of the universe.

Experiencing the Unseen God

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:9-10)

This morning I rose on the wings of the dawn and God came to me here in 21st century America just as He came to David in 10th century B.C. Israel. It was the same unseen God who is everywhere and everywhen. This morning He spoke words to me that David did not have the privilege of hearing, because in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son…through whom he made the universe…and who is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. (Heb1:1-2a) This morning the words the Son spoke to me were, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father and I too will love him and show myself to him.”(John 14:21) Then he reminded me that his commands are not hard because the greatest of them is to love God with my whole being. The unseen God shows himself to all who love him with their whole being. But who can love him like that? Only those who have been crucified with Christ, who have chosen to relinquish the throne of their life, giving themselves over to the one who created them, who knows them better than they know themselves, and is the only one qualified to guide them and hold them fast.

Faith in the Unseen God

Hebr 11:1,6  (NASB) Now faith is the assurance of [things] hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…And without faith it is impossible to please [Him], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and [that] He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

As one who Christ has set free from the foolishness of atheism, I love to meditate on passages in the Bible that address those who have trouble believing things they cannot see. When our resurrected Lord appeared to ‘doubting Thomas’ and he finally believed, Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). When Jesus spoke those words he was thinking of you and me. None of us living today has seen Jesus the way the disciples did during the 3 years of his ministry on earth.  Toward the end of that earthly ministry Jesus told his disciples, “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me…” He went on to say that he would then “manifest” himself to all who love him and the Father. (John 14:19,21). He was preparing the disciples for the apostolic ministry when they would be proclaiming the truth of the gospel to people like you and me who would begin to see Jesus because he would manifest himself to us. The unseen God does reward those who diligently seek him. What is our reward? The apostle Paul tells us in his prayer for the Ephesian seekers: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” (Ephe 1:17-18) When we choose to believe, even though we do not see with physical eyes, God gives us faith…the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. I am so grateful that the Father has opened the eyes of my heart so I can see Him ... the unseen God!