Turn Aside

Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
–Exodus 3:3

We are a generation that is plagued with busy work, information and sensory overload. I find the work weeks flying by and before you know it months have passed. My perception of time seems to be speeding up. In all this I find myself sometimes forgetting about Emanuel (God with us).

A couple years ago the Lord gave me a dream where He said to me, “Lest you forget.”
This is an important word for all of us in this age. It’s so easy to get caught up in our daily lives that I fear I’ve missed God in certain aspects and areas of my life in the past. Sometimes in hindsight I can look back and go, “Oh that’s where You were.” But still I wonder how many burning bushes I have just whizzed right by without turning aside to see the One who is more important than anything else in my life.

We are in a new season now where God is touching hearts and giving eyes to see Him in areas where we have not before. There’s been a season of silence for some but this was a teaching season. The silence has not actually been silence at all, but it has been God speaking in ways that we had yet to recognize. It’s not that He wasn’t there, it’s that we didn’t notice. There are doors opening, opportunities arising and placements being shifted. This is all to put us closer in line with heaven’s perspective and teach us to coexist with the realization of Christ in us.

As you go about this next work week and you notice a little flicker out of the corner of your eye, turn aside and look. Gaze upon the One whose eyes are like fire. The One who goes before you, is beside you and has always been with you.

Be still and know that He is God.

** photo by Chau Thai Ly @ http://instagram.com/shoutabovethenoise **

Beam me up Jesus

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. –Ephesians 2:4-6

A common theme this season has been perspective—how am I viewing the world?  As Christians we often talk about “looking up” and what we mean by this is to look to God.  But I’ve realized that Christ lives in me and I am most connected with Him through the Holy Spirit inside me.   So instead of turning outward and looking for God in some area outside of me, I am learning to turn inward to reconnect with Him.  It is amazing!  Once I catch myself having gone to being led by my flesh and own mind again I can quickly say “Jesus,” and turn inward to feel His peace with me.  It’s become a tangible experience where I can call upon Him at any moment.

I think we need to realize that to have the mind of Christ we need to find Him living in our own hearts.  By turning inside to the Holy Spirit I have a direct connection to heaven, and at that moment I am seated together with Him in heavenly places.  I have been “beamed up” so to say, but rather than looking up I have looked in.

My friends, Christ is closer than you think.  We are in Him and He is in us.

Faith is…

Faith is humility.

Faith is submitting our intellect to the unknown and allowing the unseen to change us.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Faith is courage.

Faith is trusting God’s promises over the word curses and condemnations of men.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. (Psalm 118:8)

Faith is joyful.

Faith gives joy to those who by the world’s standards have nothing to rejoice for.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

Faith is enduring.

Faith has outlived every man to ever walk the earth.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Faith is healing.

Faith restores the broken and heals the sick.

And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19)

Faith is trust.

Faith is trusting the One who has always been faithful to simply continue being who He is and will always be.

But 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 diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Faith is seeing.

Faith allows us to see the invisible and find God in everyday life.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

Faith gives us eyes to see and ears to hear.

Let faith arise!

What I’m Looking For

“I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

Most people are familiar with the U2 song, but what was Bono looking for? If you read more of the lyrics you’ll realize that he professes his belief in Christ in the song, but even with his faith, he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.

CS Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Another Christian that hasn’t found what he’s looking for.  I can relate to these men because though I have found God, I have a different longing inside of me now—a hunger for more of God.

I think we all have a desire in ourselves for more of God on this fallen planet.  We have a hope, but we wish that this hope would become a reality.  There is much darkness in the world and I wish that there was more healing.  I wish there was more victory over sin.  I wish there were more Christians walking around rejoicing rather than defeated. I wish there was more heaven on earth.  I have a vision of a better tomorrow.  It’s become a part of me.  It’s more than a vision—it’s a hope.

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, but I do not plan to stop looking anytime soon.

Come Lord Jesus, come!  Release heaven on earth!

Moving Forward

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. –Philippians 3:8

The past is gone forever and does not matter anymore. What matters is the future of your life! Your future holds purpose, hope and meaning.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. The blood of Jesus covers all your sins. Yes, ALL your sins! Everything you feel guilty for… you are no longer guilty. Embrace the complexity of your mind with a renewed spirit. Submit yourself to allow a transformation to take place. Turn your eyes to Jesus!

It is the Spirit of God you sense…

Embrace it! Live it! Love it! Emanuel—God is with us!

(Psalm 139:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 1:23)

-I Want To Believe In God [dot com]

The Lord God has set peace before you; go up and possess it!

Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’ –Deuteronomy 1:21

The Lord really spoke to me through this verse with possessing the land representing God’s peace and rest which we are commanded to enter and to not be afraid or discouraged in doing so. I feel like so many of us are believers but we play this half world, half kingdom balancing act. Many of our thoughts and concepts are still very worldly and in this we limit God. We limit God by not allowing Him to be a part of every single little aspect of our life. We still think of incidents in life as chance. There is no chance when you are a disciple of Christ. There are consequences of your decisions and actions but there is no chance or “luck.” Once you have invited the Holy Spirit in God is involved in every detail of our lives. The war comes when we decide to follow our own carnal instincts rather than following the Holy Spirit’s guidance. We must pray for discernment and control over our flesh constantly. We must pray constantly. We must be led by the Spirit.

I’m sorry but I’m through with the balancing game. I’m over it. God has won. I raise my white flag in surrender. I’m through circling around the land to see if it’s ok to enter. I’m trusting God and going in. I hope to see you all there with me. The promised land is not just heaven after death. Eternal life is not just life after death with God. Eternal life is Jesus Christ living in us while here on earth. There is of course an afterlife but that is not the only time we can have God’s rest. We can experience the peace and rest of God here on earth but only through complete and utter submission of every single little aspect of your life. Stop circling around the holy of holies and go inside! Stop battling whatever sin you cling to from your carnal nature and give it to Christ for victory. Put it upon the cross. Stop living your life in defeat. Offer it all to God and welcome His rest.

A while back I was wrestling with some carnal, lustful thoughts going through my mind and trying to defeat them through my own efforts. During this time the Lord revealed something to me in a vision. I never fully understood the vision until recently. It was a very simple vision. It was myself with complete light all around me. There was no visual floor or walls. I was just surrounded by white light. I was on my knees with my head on the floor, bowing down in complete submission. From this position the spirit part of my body stood up out of the flesh and looked up arms spread wide open. This was the new me standing in victory praising God and giving Him all the glory. It was the new me that was living led by the Spirit. I could only step away from my flesh once my flesh had been completely submitted to Him. It was my Spirit standing there worshiping God, arms wide open looking unto Him, while my flesh was in complete submission bowing face to the ground. This is how we must live our lives if you want to experience the peace of God. Your flesh must remain in complete submission at all times to God. Our fleshly body must be head to the floor while our Spirit looks up upon His glory. It is then that our Spirit can rise and bring glory to the Father and through this process bring rest and peace to your life.

Exalt the LORD our God,
And worship at His footstool—
He is holy.
-Psalm 99:5

Now I am in no means saying I’m perfectly sanctified or “sinless” but I’m saying that the more and more we submit to God the more peace He offers us in return. I’m urging you to separate yourself from the world to the Gospel. Jesus said to deny yourself and follow Him! I think the words of Paul the Apostle in Philippians says it all:

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

-Philippians 3:8-14

Victory does not have to be a lonely word…

Life is a test of man’s free will. Each is born with light and darkness in them and all have the ability to sense this. We instinctively do bad though we know it is wrong and want to do right. There comes a point in each man’s life where it is examining time. Do we strive to improve ourselves or give into temptation of darkness? Self-efforts at improvement will leave you exhausted. Many men will fight this battle their whole lives never fully defeating the darkness or fully submitting to light. The easy way out would be to give into darkness, to say I am nothing but an evolved animal and I choose to behave as so. Yes, you could say this is the easy way, although, the inner part of this man will tear him apart and sadden him by his decision. He will live his days unfulfilled, knowing he has made the wrong choice but feel too defeated to do anything about it. So, the war rages on until each one’s candle has burnt out, but what happens in the end? In the end there are only two options for the soul—complete light or complete darkness. Once your candle has burnt out the test is over. There is no going back to change your mind or try again. Your fate has been sealed.

So what do you live for today? Many have said that victory is a lonely word. They say, “I cannot defeat this darkness, it is a part of me.” They are wrong. There is only one answer to darkness and it is complete light through our savior Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ was on the cross He took on the darkness of everyone. The Father of Lights in Heaven had to turn His face from His own Son because of the darkness He bore for the world. When it was over Jesus said the Greek word “tetelestai” which translates as “it is finished” or “it is accomplished.” He had overcome the world! Three days later He rose from the grave showing that not even death can defeat Him! He is alive! Victory does not have to be a lonely word. Victory can be found through the same power that raised Christ from the dead. The power of God! Invite the Holy Spirit in and He does not just invade your heart but also every single crack of your skin. This is where victory lies. If you are tired of fighting, if you are weak and weary, then submit to the One who has already won! Submit to the One who loves you—the One who is calling you home. Hear His voice and go to Him. Submit to the light of Jesus Christ and welcome victory.

And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. –Exodus 33:14

-I Want To Believe In God [dot com]

The Fight for Oneself

What is it in us that makes us fight our faith? Why is it that there’s something in us that continuously creeps up saying “has God said?” To live life truly heaven bound can seem as an impossible task. God has given me hope. He has brought light from the darkness so why does my reason try to trick me out of this? Why does our carnal human nature try to drag us back into the pit of death? I will no longer live there. I will no longer listen to myself. I will listen to something greater than myself. I will listen to Him!

He gives light to life,

He makes the sun shine brighter,

His presence makes colors more radiant,

He brings happiness from depression,

He brings laughter from sadness,

He brings comfort from pain,

He brings life back to life,

He gives life beauty,

He defines love,

He is peace,

He is Jesus,

He is God.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glourious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” (Phil 3:20-21)

-I Want To Believe In God [dot com]