Unfathomable Love

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Ephesians 5:2 continues the subject of imitating God from verse 1. It says, “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
 
Imitating Christ’s unfathomable love is humanly impossible. We don’t have that capacity of ourselves. How do we practically apply this verse?
 
First I want to look at this illustration. Picture yourself on the beach. Stand at the edge of the water and look out as far as you can see. Way out there is a thin line of a horizon. Yet, when we consider God’s love, there is no vertical or horizontal line. His love is unfathomable, untraceable, and incalculable because He is without borders or boundaries.
 
I love Jeremiah 23:24. It says, “Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him? says the Lord; do I not fill heaven and earth?” The Lord is self-existent.
 
We imitate His love for us when we give from our heart to others. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
 
The application of sacrificial love is to put others before our interests. It requires dying to self, by intentionally laying our own agenda down in order to serve others. That does not come natural. It is consciously living in His love in order to serve others through His love.
 
1 John 4:10-11 says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another.”
 
We love as He loved when we forgive those who have hurt us. We can’t love with unforgiveness buried in our heart. The first step is forgiveness, then drawing from His love for us, we love.

Clearing The Slate Part Two

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Ephesians 5:1 starts with ‘therefore’ which takes us back and reinforces 4:32. It says, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.”
 
We are to imitate God as forgivers. Colossians 3:13 says, “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
 
Micah 7:19 is a ‘No Fishing’ verse. It says, “…You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Hebrews 8:12 is speaking about the new covenant. It says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
 
Psalm 103:12 says, “For as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” The north and the south meet, but the east and the west do not meet.
 
In 1987 we were on a short term mission in Quito Ecuador. Our team stood straddling the line that separates the north and the south.
 
We imitate the Lord when we destroy our record of wrongs. Here is a heart governor verse. 1 Corinthians 13:5 in the Amplified says, “It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful, it takes NO account of evil done to it (it pays no attention to a suffered wrong).”

Clearing The Slate

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Blackboards are great. You can write on them with chalk, and then erase them with a chalk eraser. With that picture in your mind, let’s look at Colossians 2:13-14.
 
“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
 
We deserved to die for our sins. Jesus wiped out the sentence of God’s wrath appointed to us. He received the wrath as He bore our sins on Himself on the cross. He not only bore our sins, He forgave us ALL our sins.
 
Yesterday I read Ephesians chapter 4 two times. Coming to verses 30-32 took me back to the verses in Colossians. What does it mean to forgive as we are forgiven?
 
Ephesians 4:30 says to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Verse 31 says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” We grieve the Holy Spirit when we hang onto unforgiveness.
 
Verse 31 is defining the fruit of unforgiveness. Now you may have understood that, but yesterday was when the Holy Spirit revealed it to me. I just never connected it before.
 
Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking is the byproduct of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness may be buried in our unconscious, but it seeps into every thought, and influences our actions. Verse 32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
 
Our ‘record of wrongs’ opens the door for demonic oppression. Matthew 18:34-35 says that our heavenly Father will deliver us to the torturers is we do not forgive from the heart.
 
We are called to be reconcilers, not keepers of wrongs done against us. If you struggle with unforgiveness, I  encourage you to get my book on Amazon. Victorious Garden: true heart forgiveness will help you work through your pain of sins done against you to live in the freedom of forgiveness.

The Inner Workings

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Today I want to share a new song with you that reveals the inner workings of intimate communion
 
Womb of the Morning
 
I come to You O Lord in the womb of the morning. To sit and worship You and call upon Your name. You answer me with a sweetness that melts my heart. And opens me to receive Your words.
 
Your words like oil penetrate the places in my heart that were hardened through fear. You say My child don’t be afraid. I’ve been there all along to shield and protect. Let go of that which you clutch so tight. That I might fulfill the deepest longings of your heart.
 
Don’t let the cares of this life choke out My words. Open your heart to hear the beat of My own heart. I desire oneness with you but I won’t compete with that to which you give yourself. I will but wait until you tire of your own pursuits. And nestle down in My love.
 
Be still now and quiet your heart before Me. I have so much to share to reveal the depths of My counsel. For in Me is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I have all and hold all. Through the power of My Word.
 
In Me you will lack nothing. Your very sustenance comes through sweet communion. Through intimacy that cannot be broken. Nothing in this earth can compare with My beauty of holiness. In the womb of the morning.
 
*The more we live in intimate communion, the more our heart’s capacity is increased to abide. The Lord’s wooing draws us from the fleshly things we cling to. It is a process, a Divine Exchange, until we willingly let go to embrace Him above all else.
 
Psalm 36:8 says, “They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.” Jeremiah 31:14 says, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

The Dip Stick Part Two

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The dip stick helps us ascertain the level of oil available for the engine of our car. Our yielding to the Holy Spirit’s control is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
 
Only the Holy Spirit can produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
 
John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
 
The fruit that glorifies the Lord is the byproduct of abiding. Verse 7-8 says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
 
The Holy Spirit works through yielded vessels. What does it mean to yield? Certainly it means not following our own agenda, but conforming our thoughts, purpose, and actions to God’s will. It also means that we die to ourselves. Intimate communion (abiding) is closeness, stillness, listening, absorbing, and drinking in. Our only agenda is to be with Him, nothing else.
 
Intimate communion is mutual. It is two-way. As we are leaning in His embrace, our hearts are meshed in enjoyment, pleasure, and delight. We delight in His delighting in us.
 
The dip stick of our time together is a testimony to those around us, believer and unbeliever alike. Acts 4:13 says that the Sanhedrin marveled at the boldness of Peter and John, and realized that they had been with Jesus.
 
The dip sticks helps us see how we measure up. Is the fruit of the Spirit evidenced in every aspect of our life? Are we yielded to the Holy Spirit’s control? Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
 

The Dip Stick

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My first car was a Rambler. It was a little boxy car that used a lot of oil. Therefore my dad taught me how to use a dip stick to gauge my oil level.
 
Hard circumstances become like a dip stick to measure the level of thankfulness in our heart. It is God’s will that we are thankful in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Are you?
 
Thankfulness increases our heart’s capacity to fully engage and embrace the Lord. It deepens our intimate communion. The opposite is also true. Grumbling and complaining decreases our capacity. It causes us to shrink like old wine skins.
 
New wine skins represent our heart in intimate communion. He brings us to Himself to share His heart, encouraging and empowering us. Our heart expands and increases to hold the new wine of His revelational insight, wisdom, and understanding.
 
Luke 5:37-38 says, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
 
Deep intimate communion with the Lord is fresh, holy, satisfying, and awakening. There is nothing on this earth that equals it. It is not learned but imparted. It is all initiated and directed by the Lord Himself. He woos us through our hard trials to come and immerse in His Presence. We lean into Him. He whispers. His tender words of love penetrate even into the hardened places in our heart. Like oil, it trickles into the crevices of emotional pain to release us to love Him more fully.
 
How can I say thanks? How can I empress my thanks to the Creator God who knows all things? The answer is found in seeking. We recognize our thirst can only be quenched in Him. I love David’s words in Psalm 63:1. “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirst land where there is no water.”

Chosen!

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Last night I started to read the book of Ephesians. I only got to verse 4. My mind spun off recalling folks the Lord had chosen. Saul of Tarsus was the first. to come to mind. In Acts 9:15-16 the Lord was speaking to Ananias about Saul. “…he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
 
Saul was persecuting Christians. He was on his way to Damascus to take more to prison to be fed to the lions. God is not a respecter of persons. He chose this man even though he was a murderer. In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul called himself the chiefest of sinners. No one is exempt from God’s love.
 
Who else did the Lord choose? Saul the son of Kish was chosen (1 Samuel 9:16) to be the children of Israel’s first. king. David was chosen to replace Saul (1 Samuel 16:12). Gideon was chosen to lead 300 men (Judges 6:14).
 
Mary was chosen to carry Jesus in her womb ((Luke 1:28-38). Jesus chose 12 disciples out of the multitude of folks who followed Him and heard Him speak. 1 Peter 2:4 is speaking about Jesus. It says, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.”
 
He was rejected that we might be adopted as children of God (Romans 8:15). Ephesians 1:4 says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
 
Adopted children are hand picked. They are chosen, cherished, nurtured, and loved. John 15:16 says, “You did not chose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
 
What shall we collectively ask for? As chosen, cherished, and nurtured children of God, let us cry out to the Lord for worldwide revival. This is the season. This is the time. This is the day of salvation!

Persevering Faith Part Two

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Last night I reread the book of Lamentations. No matter what our circumstances are, the Lord is faithful to His word. 2 Timothy 2:13 is one of my anchor verses in the midst of a storm-trial. It says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
 
I also love Titus 1:2 which says, “In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” This verse becomes a tangible reality as we put on our helmet of salvation. A helmet protects our head from injury. Our hope-helmet protects us from from the enemy’s fiery darts of fear.
 
Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
 
Here is some eternal faith-perspective. Isaiah 49:16 says, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.” I love to ponder this verse. When we see the Lord face to face, the wounds from the nails will still be there. We are inscribed in His wounds.
 
In 1987 I visited a friend in WA. There was a plaque in the Bible book store that captured my heart. It said: Jesus, how much do You love me? And He stretched out his arms and died.
 
Hebrews 12:2 says, “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We are called to endure. He endured to empower us so we can also endure through persevering faith.
 
God’s ways are far higher than our ways. This worldwide pandemic may not look like His tender mercies, but what if it brings worldwide revival? Let us answer this unprecedented call to pray for souls, that Jesus may receive the reward of His suffering.

Persevering Faith

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Yesterday I received an email from Samaritan’s Purse. They have set up 14 hospital tents in Central Park, helping 66 patients. Franklin Graham said that he had never seen anything like it.
 
Samaritan’s Purse has been rushing to help victims in national disasters for 50 years. Right now they also have their hospital tents set up in Italy. Franklin’s statement is an awakening.
 
I was reading in Lamentations last night and had to stop. I’ve read it each time I read through my Bible. However, to read it in this time of the C virus, puts it in a whole different light for me. I’m reading it as though it is the world, not Jerusalem. It is ripping my heart apart.
 
I had a dream early this morning. The last words I heard before I woke up were, “broken hearts affect the whole body.” We could interpret it as the whole body of Christ. We could also apply it to a heart fragmented by painful circumstances. Both would be true.
 
Francis Schaeffer wrote a book years ago called, “How Should We Then Live?” Some are in panic, some in unbelief, but how should an authentic follower of Christ live in this time?
 
We should be about our Father’s business. Ephesians 5:16-17 says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
 
We know His will is to be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all men should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
 
We are to persevere in our faith with thanksgiving no matter what our circumstances are. We are to pray for unbelievers to come to know and accept Jesus as their Savior.
 
We are a living testimony of God’s love and redemption. A thankful heart is like medicine, affecting every aspect of our being. We are faith-spreaders. Our faith is a light that shines in the hearts of those around us. Matthew 5:16 says to let that light shine. I encourage you to ask the Lord what He wants you to do right where you live because He is at work worldwide.

Sheltering In Him

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Yesterday I began reading the book of Lamentations. I was startled. The wording sounds like our worldwide crises. If you change words like enemies and persecutors to the Corona virus, it sounds similar.
 
Lamentations 1:1 says, “How lonely sits the city that was full of people!” Our streets are deserted compared to how they used to be. Verse 2 uses the words ‘dire straits’ which fits our times.
 
No matter what our situation is, we can shelter in Him. He is our Impenetrable Rock! Yet there are folks around us that don’t know the Lord. Here is a letter I’ve written to each of the neighbors I have met in my senior mobile park. Feel free to adapt it and use it for those you know.
 
*Since we are sheltering in, I’m not able to come over to personally visit. I have been thinking about the dire straits predicted about the Corona virus. However, I have news I want to share with you that isn’t on the news.
 
Though this virus is deadly and spreading worldwide, Jesus can be our true Sheltering Place.
 
I think of the verse in Psalm 91:1. It says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” This to me is a picture of His protection.
 
It reminds me of a story I heard of a prairie fire. The farmer was walking through his fields that had been destroyed. He was dejected and absentmindedly kicked a charred mass. To his surprise, a bunch of little chicks scattered. The momma hen lost her life to save her chicks.
 
The Bible says that Jesus gave His life to save us from our sins when He died on the cross. One day, we will all die, because it is the way of man. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
 
Though the TV news is fear-producing, the great news is that God is not willing that any should perish. We are all made in the image of God to live forever. When we accept the good news of Jesus’ death for ourselves, we will have everlasting life with Him.