“The question is, can we say,

simply, honestly, not because we feel that as evangelicals we ought to,

but because it is a plain matter of fact, that we have known God, and that

because we have known God the unpleasantness we have had, or the

pleasantness we have not had, through being Christians does not matter

to us? If we really knew God, this is what we would be saying, and if we

are not saying it, that is a sign that we need to face ourselves more

sharply with the difference between knowing God and merely knowing about him.”

-J.I. Packer in Knowing God


What would it be like to no longer complain, to quit fixing our eyes on “stuff” and weld them to Him? Knowing Him fully (and you can never know all of Him) makes those things so much smaller…


I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE how creative and just plain smart the Lord is. I love how He can make many seemingly seperate truths all come together. I love how he takes those truths and makes them experience, illuminating and revolutionizing how I see things and do things and understand things.


“The word of the Lord is LIVING and ACTIVE, sharper than any double edged sword…”


His Word is not still. His Word is not void. It’s not just an idea, it is a PERSON! A person who is living and active in us. His LIFE is in us and causes us to not be the same. This gift of grace is not just love and acceptance unconditionally, but it is the gift of TRANSFORMING POWER!


John 1: 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.


When the Word abides in us we cannot help but be changed. The little pleasures or lack thereof become smaller as we see Him in all this glory- as we KNOW him. (In HIS presence is the fullness of joy)


Fixing our eyes not on that which is seen but that which is UNSEEN:

2 Cor 4: 17For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.


We think that the tangible, touchable things are so real yet it is all over scripture that He is what’s real. The spiritual is true reality. There is a certain CERTAIN freedom in that- My eyes have truly been opened as I have had the privilege of studying some about prophecy and end times and how God works and how we experience Him in these days:


Basically, HE IS UNSHAKEABLE the rest is SHAKEABLE, unreliable, pointless, you name it. The things that consume us (or should I say we allow to consume us and tempt us and imprison us) are not what knowing Him is about. Knowing Him is saying I consider all this rubbish that I may gain Christ… That I may know Him (Phil 3:7-8) Heb 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29for our God is a consuming fire.


When we know Him we hold things loosely, because the things we usually grasp with our very life are “shakeable things”- people, our daily comforts, our “way”, our plans. He is so faithful to shake things a bit because He knows Life is better when we know Him as Life and when we know what/who is lasting, life-giving, and better than all we could ask or imagine.


Hopefully this will be our Word that sums up the truths: He is enough, He is BETTER…

Jeremiah 9:23Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”


I am glad to delight in Him.

“Learn to love to be alone with the words of God- that’s when crazy things happen in your own life- that’s when you hear the calling of God on your life!” -Francis Chan


The calling of God on your life = “until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you…” Gal 4:19, happens when we seek Him out for everything and in everything.


Hebrews 13-amplified version

5Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]


6So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?


This is the only freedom I have-


I am convicted by this but praise the Lord - I heard this weekend that conviction, ,which leads to confession and repentance is a sign of growth! I know one thing and that is I do not want to just stay the same, getting more and more stagnant. I welcome this “hardship as discipline” (Hebrews 12:7) and trust God to do the rest. So that all that comes from my life is nothing but His life, He IS good to keep me on my face, especially on the days when I fight it. Then real repentance, growth, and revival happens. My prayer is that my personal revival will spark it in those who know me. My heart is revived by the gospel- the whole gospel from start to finish. THEN I experience the JOY of my salvation. Then I realize, in the midst of my sin/old thought patterns, how He conquers (actually has conquered already!) it more than I can ask or imagine, and He refines more and more of me. He and I are close and intimate in our conversations as I let Him in (haha, whatever it is to “let” God in…) on what I’m really thinking… and He lets me in on what HE is thinking. It’s amazing. HE IS AMAZING!


Lord-


in the moment i was afraid- i thought i was alone. “but though i feel alone, i am NEVER alone- you are with me” thank you for this Word that you will not in any degree leave me helpless or forsaken. I am not an orphan but your well-provided for daughter. Lord it is my joy to know you in this intentional and intimate way. I could not ask for any more than that!

Hebrews 4:14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.


“But the claim made for Jesus is that he has passed through the heavens, he has passed outside the limits of time and space. He is no longer contained within, limited by, those boundaries that hold us within physical limits. He is outside, above, beyond, over all, therefore there are no limits to his power.

It is wrong to think of this relationship in terms of space. Growing up as children there is a tendency to think of heaven as “out there” in space somewhere, on one of the stars, perhaps, some great distance removed from earth. Because of the figurative language employed in Scripture we think of going “up” to heaven and “down” to hell. … But surely the idea that is conveyed to us by the figurative language of the Scriptures is that heaven is outside time and space, therefore it can be within us as well as around us, above us, and beyond us. The throne of grace is not in remote space; it is right in the heart of a believer in whom Jesus Christ dwells. To come to the throne of grace does not mean to go into a prayer closet and shut the door and address an appeal across the reaches of space to some distant point in heaven. It means to reckon upon the One who indwells us. The throne of grace is that close to us, that available to us. (R. Stedman)”


Wow. I believe this with all I am as I sense the Lord moving and changing our community. I know without a doubt that He is doing great things in me! Tony Evans said with great excitement this morning, “He doesn’t come just to change our lives but to EXCHANGE our lives!” He gives us His very life. He is the only thing being that is eternal, so He IS eternal life and that is offered to us today! That is more real than anything!


Christ is all-sufficient! There are places in us that ONLY His word can affect. He gives grace to change and bring life to our flesh: our weakness. That is where HIS LIFE is seen most! All that which we depend on outside of Him: our pride manifested in self-strength and self- protection, performance to gain acceptance, self-deprecation and other acts of the flesh where we try to do what only God can do, are only hurting us. God SEES right through those. He is not surprised or unable to wield a sword that brings death to this flesh and life all in the same blow. THAT is why we must RUN (Heb. 4:14-16 - this run is evidence of faith) to the throne (a place of power and authority) of grace and receive that which is already ours by the sacrifice Christ has made.


I have never been more blessed. I have never felt more rich in Him. There is not a doubt in my mind that He is able to accomplish more than we could ever dream and imagine. He is more available than I could have dreamed. That is truth and anything less is a full out lie. It’s amazing the power of the TRUTH of the indwelling word: the power of Christ living in me.

God has a unique PLAN for every believer:

He, since the beginning of time, has pursued and romanced a people that He loves unconditionally. When we still were His unbelieving enemy He died for us. We died with Him. He took our sin upon Himself to romance us once again and to buy us back. We are raised to new life, reborn if you will, and we MUST continue to live! By finding fellowship and understanding in Him, He has won our hearts! So we invite Him in to dwell in us. Renewing our minds to truth and becoming a LIVING sacrifice allows His purpose to happen in our lives: we begin to reflect Him as we go on to maturity through healing and refining.

You dwellings of Jesus! Allow Him to build you up into Himself! Make more room for Him in your life by living out of your fullness and completeness (salvation) that He offers. Your whole life’s purpose is wrapped up in Him: He has bestowed GIFTS on us (namely Himself- shining through our unique personalities)! We must build up CHRIST’S body using our unique gifts, and He WILL be glorified in and through us! May we stand in awe of Christ’s compelling love and walk forward into the advancing kingdom before us.