Entering His Presence

As I was reflecting on the promise the Lord spoke to my heart that He would give me heavenly sleep, I was struck that through my struggle with sleep that God's purposes for everything in our lives are higher than ours.  As I focused on receiving His peace, I was reminded of the Scripture in John 14:27 where Jesus promises to give us His peace which is not like the world's peace (circumstantial).  Then the Lord reminded me of Romans 5:1, where Paul declares under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says that "...we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...".  This peace with God means that we can enter into the peace that Jesus enjoyed with the Father as a son, we are also declared as sons (He being the first begotten son).  As I meditated on this truth while I fell asleep I woke in the morning reflecting on the reality that Psalm 100:4 states, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name."  During this Thanksgiving the Lord has highlighted the importance of thanksgiving not because it is a "have to" but that through thanksgiving we enter His gates and into His courts with praise.  I cannot help but think about the reality that everything in the Old Covenant was an outward symbol of the inner reality to come through the New Covenant.  So the New Covenant believer is equivalent to the temple and Paul declares our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, our body is the outer court, our soul is the inner court, and finally our spirit is the location of the Holy of Holies.  When we are touched by God at the level of our true identity, then we have entered the Holy of Holies.  I find that it is very easy to stop short of this divine encounter, coming away from studying His Word or reading a book but experiencing emptiness inside.  I desire to learn God's path for entering His presence, so that I can get to the point of continual revelations and divine encounters.  In Matthew 4:4 the Word says, "But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"  The Greek word here is rhema which means the spoken or revealed Word of God, as opposed to the written Word of God (logos).  Encountering Jesus means that we are changed because we see through the eyes of faith who He is but then we also see who we are (2 Corinthians 3:16).  I don't know if I am the only one that has difficulty getting all the way to a divine encounter, I get discouraged or disappointed rather the joyful expectancy of faith.  I pray that my journey encourages you to go deeper with the Lord in our oneness with Him.

Made for Him,
Bret