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

Free Will

As I sat with a client who was beginning to see the fruit of his choice to trust his own way, which was not bringing peace to his family.  For some reason in the midst of this the Lord began to show me the amazing reality of free will, many of us wish we didn't have a choice because we seem to mess it up.  Yet without the amazing gift of free will, we would not be able to choose love.  God so valued our free will that He put two trees in the Garden of Eden, boy did we "in Adam" make a mess of this choice.  God could have put the Tree of Life as the only important tree in the Garden, yet He so valued us and we are created in His image that we needed to have a free will.  Since I grew up in a home where I learned how to play the victim role, you often feel powerless and helpless.  This is much different than what the Word says, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants..." (Deuteronomy 30:19).  God gives us the choice of life and death in the Garden of Eden we chose death (in Adam), Jesus chose earthly death to produce eternal life (for us) in the Garden of Gethsemane and now we again can have the choice of the tree of life, Jesus.  I am continually amazed at how much we want our free will but when someone doesn't do what meets our needs we put pressure on them to be who we want them to be.  It is a rare principal to honor people's free will even to the point you know you can get hurt, I am sad to say that much of our desire to have people change is so we won't be hurt.  It is a marvelous and overwhelming reality that I have a free will, that "in Christ" I do have a free will because I am dead to sin so it does have the power to control me any longer.  Free will is so powerful that out of reverence for how God set us free, we begin to have the desire to rely on and trust Him with our new free will because we know the damage of trusting the flesh to run life.  I pray that today you would see that you truly have been set free to make so many different choices but through seeing God's goodness have a desire to entrust your will into the Spirit's capable hands.

Free "in Christ",
Bret

Why is rest so hard?

After I have been led of the Lord to take a step back in counseling, counseling an hour less a day than I have been for the past 6 years I still struggle to rest.  I recently heard a message talking about rest and heard a familiar passage but in the Message version, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30)  I love the way this passage reads, especially "...learn the unforced rhythms of grace..."    There is a rest when we first come into Christ, realizing that our sins have been forgiven and tasting unconditional love.  This rest does not seem to sustain us over the long-haul because we need an even deeper rest, which is more of a rest for our soul.  Unfortunately there are beliefs, lies, and thoughts in my soul that seek to steal this rest.  As I have personally struggled with insomnia over many months, rest has become more important to me.  I have come to see how the lack of sleep not only steals energy but also steals joy, renewing, and creativity.  In our culture we have very little value for rest, we are a society of doers who thrive on continual achievement, progress, and unceasing activity.  Even the Body of Christ seems caught up with the latest programs, growth, and ever increasing information.  Yet if God values rest so much that after 6 days of creating the earth and all that was in it He rested, then rest must have some value beyond just giving back energy.  God was not tired after He created the earth, He is unlimited power, life, and love.  I believe we can only rest through our faith in the finished work of Christ because through this Covenant we are assured that all our needs will be met.  If you don't know that you are safe and your needs will be met how could you rest.  In the passage in Matthew it is even said "...Get away with me and you'll recover your life..."  Meaning that without rest our life will not be restored but slowly head the direction of death.  I am asking the Lord to reveal to me the value of rest, Jesus even talked about a type of rest apart from the Sabbath rest under the Law.  Since we now have the life of Christ within us, we are learning to cooperate with this new life.  We didn't know to be a forgiving person til the Holy Spirit revealed the power and freedom of this new way of living "in Christ".  I believe part of how the Holy spirit is going to reveal the value of rest, is through my own experience.  The rest that Jesus teaches about is not a rest of doing nothing, this is often attacked in our society as laziness.  The unforced rhythms of grace, is being available and in tune with the very life of God flowing in us and around us.  The Holy Spirit must be my guide into this rest because all I know is what I have lived, this rest also must be of a higher reality (Heaven).  I pray the Lord would speak to you about this rest and teach you His rhythms.

In His Rest,
Bret

Adam's Leadership into Death

As I made some poor choices in my family and the Lord begins to work to clean up the mess, I believe God is giving me some revelation through this that will be helpful in the future.  As the Lord again drew me back to Genesis 3 and the pattern of "The Fall" I began to see another mystery start to be revealed.  After both Adam and his wife (later called Eve) ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, then their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked.  Then they came up with this plan to sew fig leaves and make loin covers.  Where did this plan come from?  We don't know but when God asks Adam "Where are you?", it was Adam that says he heard the sound of God in the garden, and out of fear he says that hid himself.  Adam was not skilled in lying yet that would come later, so he is very honest that fear led him to hide and the woman says nothing about hiding.  Interesting.  So was Adam first to react in fear and hide himself, thus leading his wife and others into further deception?  I have learned in my own marriage the painful fruit of hiding myself and thus not letting my wife and children know me.  I made it a priority for my wife and children to feel safe to share what was going on in their lives, but if I am hiding I am not modeling what I am asking them to live.  I find that I am reacting to fear just as Adam did then turning around and expecting my family to be open and vulnerable.  I thank God that He put me "in Christ" and there is a new way to live, I am still in the process of having this new way revealed.  God announces the curses after the woman's confession and one of these curses is "Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you."  The word for desire in the Hebrew is "tĕshuwqah" which means craving or longing, it seems to refer to an unfulfilled longing.  The word for rule over is "mashal" to rule, have dominion, or reign; these aren't exactly wonderful touchy/feely words of intimacy but one that infers control from fear.  I am just beginning to see what the patterns from the Fall are that have twisted the beautiful intimacy Adam had with God and then his wife.  As God reveals the shock waves of destruction that have gone forth from "The Fall", then I believe God will reveal more of what He has done "in Christ" to restore.  I want to experience this freedom first for my family and then for others.  I heard one person say you don't read The Word of God, it reads you.  As the Light of the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God penetrating into the thoughts, motives, and intents of the heart.  Intimacy takes risk but we were created for intimacy with God and intimacy with our spouses and others.  Yet we live in a culture that doesn't value intimacy but independence and control.  To have true intimacy with God and others means death to our masks, protections, hiding, and our false ways of living.  God in His Word holds up intimacy and oneness with Jesus as the abundant life.  I pray that this longing for intimacy with your Father and others would be stirred.

In His Amazing Love,
Bret

The Father's Song to you

I was reading a book called "In Heaven" by Dean Braxton about this man's experience of dying physically for 1 hour and 45 minutes then experiencing Heaven.  To be honest I am realizing I read way too many non-fiction books, craving the touch of God.  The desire God has put in my heart for Him is good but too often I go about thinking I am going to find Him in my way, rather than surrendering to His gentle leadings.  As I read one chapter in the book where Dean is describing the going ons in Heaven, he began to talk about the song The Father sings to each person that is unique and special to that person.  This song from the Father brings life to that person as it goes inside of them, I thought I wonder if I could hear the song He is singing to me.  Then the Lord reminded me of Zephaniah 13:7, listen to how the Amplified Bible states it "The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who Saves]!  He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing."  I was blown away to imagine that the Lord sings over me and rejoices over me in a personal and intimate way.  I had to hide the tears as I shared this with my men's Bible Study, this is the kind of love my heart had always longed for but believed was not all together real.  This quality of love that God bestows on us (1 John 3:1) is so out of this world that comparing His love to how we have been loved in this world only serves to lead our heart away from Him.  In Ephesians 2:6-7 we are told that "...and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."  This is very important because since I am seated in "heavenly places in Christ Jesus" now than I can hear the song that the Father is singing to me.  My heart is bursting to hear this song that I may come alive even more with the Life (Zoe) of God.  As Dennis Jernigan pointed out about Zephaniah 3:17 (one of his favorite verses) that a song is very relational and that rejoice in the Hebrew means to rejoice and spin about.  God is that excited to sing over me, wow that is a lot to take in.  This really challenges all my cautious, religious, and safe type controls (fleshly).  I have never had anyone that excited or interested in me, except maybe my daughter when she was young and small.  Her running to me when I would come home from work (she was 2-3 years old), was a greeting that was better than anyone deserved.  The joy on her face as she ran to me, must be a slice of the reality of God's joy in welcoming us home into His arms.  To hear someone say that God loves you is wonderful but since it has been said so many times we tend to discard it easily, it is just information.  To see and experience the reality that God sings over us a unique song that penetrates into the deepest parts of our being and brings life is a whole new experience.  We as the Body of Christ need more revelation by the Spirit's work and less information.

Learning to Hear the Father's Song,
Bret

Cursed is the ground

The Lord has put on my heart to study for Him to reveal the effect of the curse on the ground in Genesis 3 and what He purchased for us through the finished work of Jesus Christ.  In Genesis 3:17-19 His Word says, "Then to Adam He said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.  Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."  As I was looking into the Hebrew meanings of the words, I was struck that the Hebrew word for toil itstsabown  which means pain and sorrow.  I sensed the Lord showing me that men have pain working to provide and that there is sorrow because the ground (work) doesn't produce what you expect.  This is all part of the curse because of sin's entrance into the earth and after the Fall.  As I continued to study the curse on the ground I was struck by this phrase "Till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return", I sensed the Lord pointing me to the burial of Jesus as how God broke the curse on the ground.  In Romans 5:14-15 we see the connection between the first Adam and the redeemer Jesus Christ, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many."  Since all those who are born "in Adam" would experience all the effects of the curse but we who are "in Christ" have been united in His death and burial.  This happened in the spiritual realm and we believe it by faith, thus the curse on the ground is broken through our burial "in Christ".  The curse is ended through death and burial, this another aspect of the Cross that we can celebrate God's victory on our behalf through grace.  This is all wonderful revelation but I am looking to the manifestation of this curse being broken and the blessing purchased for us "in Christ".  I am learning how to enjoy the journey the Lord has me on to reveal the truth of the Word, it seems to be like pieces of a puzzle coming together.

In Christ,
Bret

God is Love?

Why is it that so many people, including me, struggle with grasping that "God is love" (1 John 4)?  I know this is true by the amount of fear I see on the Body of Christ:  we hide behind masks, we tremble at the thought of Judgement Day, we don't share our real feelings, we perform for one another, we create images, we are distant in prayer rather than raw and honest, and we don't have the joy of the Lord.  I am not pointing any fingers here, I find myself squarely in the middle of this mess called the Body of Christ.  I have just come to the point in my life where I cannot question "God is love" anymore.  No human being on the earth or whoever was on the earth would create a God that is love, wrath, anger, fickleness, and perfectionist we could and would create.  I understand that our idea of love and God's are very different, He defines love as laying down your life (John 15:13) then proceeds to carry out this verse on the cross.  This kind of love is so beyond this world that we have nothing to compare Him to, so we usually compare Him to those who were to love us in our life.  If we were loved well, then we tend to be able to accept God as love to some extent.  Yet for those who received rejection, hurt, disappointment, and loss the Light of God's love is so overwhelming, He must turn it on slowly in our hearts or we would be overwhelmed to death.  Even the best expression of love in this human world fades in comparison to the purity and brightness of God's love.  To see His love we must always look to Jesus Christ, because in Him (Christ) dwells all of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9).  I understand that fear is the indication that we really don't experience the love of God fully, this from one of my favorite chapters of Scripture 1 John 4.  It really is a very radical belief to stand on God being love, many may say God is just, righteous, and truth but fewer would say He is love.  There has been a deep place within my heart for most of my life that has longed to know the God who is love but my heart stumbles over others beliefs that He falls short of this incredible nature.  Many have quoted Scripture in a way that betrays the fear in their hearts and I mean a terror.  Yet in 1 John 4 the disciple who was called, the one Jesus loved, says that fear expels every trace of terror and that when we stand before God on the Day of Judgement we will be as Jesus in this world.  Honestly my heart is tired of going back and forth, I am deciding today if there is anyone who portrays God as not love I will not believe them.  He is my Abba who loves because He is love, His covenant with me "in Christ" is a unilateral covenant of Him reaching out to me in love.  There is no performance, mask, or proper way I can live to earn this love.  I was even convicted that I am not completely honest with God in prayer because I fear if the yuck that sometimes spews from my inner world will bring punishment from Him.  Let's face it if you really believed that all the thoughts, intents, and stirrings inside were completely laid bare before God we may approach prayer a little differently.  It is so ridiculous the internal games we play to hide, when we consider God knows it all.  That even our best performed prayers or our greatest "good works" are totally exposed in His Light with all the selfish intentions behind them.  No our best hiding doesn't work but when we understand that God has declared us righteous "in Christ" why do we need to hide.  Then we can openly share with God the selfish thoughts, frustrations, forbidden questions, doubts, insecurities, and even secret sins.  I believe the grace of God is so much more powerful than we can ever imagine and more complete than all of our comprehension.  Yet we live small because we often have a small God who can't handle our problems, doubts, fears, sins, flaws, failures, and all the human condition so He is going to just punish us (maybe even eternally).  It is crazy but when we realize the picture of God the Body of Christ is picturing, I am not sure I would want to know this god.  I believe this god is far short of the God of Love I see in the face of Jesus Christ.

God is Love,
Bret