Thursday, April 18, 2024

You're Invited

 



Jesus openly invites us to know Him.

But do we invite Him to know us?


Do we open our heart to Him?
He said, depart from Me, I never knew you. (Matthew 7:23).

These ones never invited Him to search their heart.

They never opened themselves up to Him in honesty.

Exposing themselves, making themselves vulnerable to Him.

 

Do you invite Him to know you?
Do you open your heart to Him?

Do you let His gaze pierce you, and cleanse you?

 

Search me, O God and know my heart

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:23-24)

 

Don’t hold back,

Don’t hide,

Don’t be content for Him to

ignore you

overlook you

pass by you

Don’t shrink back from Him.

 

You don’t want to hear,

“You didn’t let Me know you.

“You didn’t invite Me in.

“You didn’t let Me see you.

“You didn’t let Me cleanse You with My gaze.

“You didn’t let Me purify your heart.

“You didn’t let Me strengthen you.”

 

He’s not too busy for you.
He’s looking for these ones

To invite Him in.

 


Wednesday, April 17, 2024

The Effect of an Oil-Softened Heart

 


Do you agree that we need more of God in our lives, our families, our communities, our nations, and our world today? Why?

 

So we can live in fellowship with Him.

So we can live holy lives, like Him.

So we can do His work in the earth.

So healing can come.

So life can thrive.

So good prevails.

 

When you remain in fellowship with the Lord, allowing the closeness of your time in prayer together to linger throughout the day, then this prolonged nearness will continue to strengthen His presence within you, and insight from your conversations will build from day to day.

 

You will know Him more as He and His truths are revealed to you, like a river that flows and gains momentum. A beautiful tapestry of the knowledge of the Lord unfolds in front of your eyes as the Holy Spirit weaves threads of revelation together, revealing a picture worth a thousand words.

 

You’ll experience a greater depth of life from His Spirit. And your awareness of His presence will remain with you on a more consistent basis. Not only will you know Him, but He will know you as you allow Him to fully pierce your heart with His gaze. Believe me, you want Him to know you (Matthew 7:23).

 

It’s continual fellowship with Him that our hearts long for.

Not a chance, brief, or infrequent encounter with the Almighty, but a marriage.

The sweet fellowship of His presence brings joy to your relationship with Him.

 

To believe in Him is to be-live. To be living in Him, with Him always.

To belong to Him is to be-long. To be longing for His presence with us continually.

 

Have you ever stirred a jar of natural peanut butter, the kind without added ingredients?

It’s hard, tough, and needs to be softened through prolonged and consistent stirring.

If you don’t stir it, it will become hard and dry.

If you only stir it occasionally you miss out on the effect of the natural oil being constantly available, continually mixed in to create a smooth, sweet substance.

Through regular stirring it will always maintain a soft consistency.

It will always be ready.

 

Such is a pure heart—a God-owned heart.

His eyes search for those He can shows Himself strong to, those whose hearts are completely His (2 Chronicles 16:9). Those who keep His oil spread throughout their heart consistently. Those who enjoy coming regularly to taste and see that He is good.

 

His strength, His support, His power comes to these hearts.

If you have His presence, you have His power.

His presence IS His power.

If you need His power, you need His presence first.

He does it this way to protect us from becoming power-hungry thieves who try and steal His glory.

Seriously. Such is the nature of man without God.

We must grow to long for His presence to be always with us.

Only then can we handle the level of power He desires to give us without it destroying us.

And when the power of the Lord is present, He heals (Luke 5:17).

And much healing is needed today.





Sunday, April 7, 2024

God, Look at Me!

 



God, I don’t ever want to lose a sense of awe in You.

You in me is

Indescribable.

 

What does it mean to be the temple of God?
To be His dwelling place?
To be the place where He rests?

You don’t need safety or protection.

For You are all-powerful.

You don’t need provision.

For You are the Creator of all things.

There’s nothing You need that I can give You.

 

Except

 

Something to look at

That’s not opposing You,

That welcomes You.

 

Look at me!

 

I welcome Your gaze.

Even though it reveals

Your holiness.

Hold me in Your gaze

Because when You look at me

And I look at You looking at me

I see.

You know. You know me.

And I see

Things as they really are.

 

Your gaze cleanses me.

So I don’t resist Your Light.

I want You to see it—all of it.

Because when You gaze at me,

You take away what’s dark

And fill me with You.



******* 

Isaiah 66:1-2
2 Chronicles 16:9
Genesis 3:10
1 John 1:7
Psalm 139:23-24