Tag: intimacy

Let Love happen

I’ve noticed one thing about pain. It compels us to misunderstand the nature and character of God.

Much like Eve.

Cut to the chase, here goes.

The Bible tells us that God told Eve she was free to eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Why did He do that?

I believe that God was actually protecting her freedom and that of man, because we were perhaps never designed to know any evil. Yet, in the face of an inadequate understanding of God’s true nature, Eve sinned.

To me friends, it is not so much the sin that led her to partake of the forbidden fruit that matters, as much as it is what led her to.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'”

(Genesis 3:1)

For the crafty serpent to come in and sow doubt in Eve’s mind with irrelevant questions like, “Did God really say?” and have her succumb to the temptation of sin so easily, I do feel that somewhere Eve did not know the nature and character of her God well enough to begin with.

Neither did I.

But when you know better, you do better.

I am so glad, friends that we serve a God who forgives, redeems and makes all things new.

Jesus does not sit on the Throne with a stock of all our sin. He already dealt with that on the Cross.

He sits on the Throne and fights for us instead.

Our God is with us. He is for us. And He fights for us.

The Good News here is that He does not fight for victory, He fights from it.

Talking of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Word of God says:

“Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!”

(Colossians 2:15, TPT)

In short?

Having defeated and disarmed the powers of darkness, Jesus reigns.

And in Him, we do too.

With absolute victory over sin, sickness and death; we are called to co-reign with Christ.

So in the face of so much adversity, persecution and trauma; I am learning to be very intentional about reminding myself of some truths that though appear basic, are the very cornerstone of our faith.

And what I am realizing is that though in Christ, we do have victory over sin, sickness and death; we are not exempt from pain and suffering.

We are in the world, but not of it.

The world we live in friends, is lost and broken. So are the people that constitute it.

So when God called us to fight the good fight of faith, He made it abundantly clear that we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against the forces of darkness  for which we have absolute triumph through Christ.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

(Ephesians 6:12)

Yes and Amen.

So it naturally follows that our enemy is not our parent, our sibling or our next door neighbour.

Our enemy is the devil, Satan. And the Good News is that he is defeated.

Yes.

The same crafty serpent that once deceived Eve and has continued in his attempts till date, is forever defeated.

How?






"By the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony." 

(Revelation 12:11)





But here is the catch.





The degree to which we seek to know the Lord is the degree to which we will be abe to walk conscious of this reality, on an everyday basis.





Pain and suffering always threaten to numb or dim our consciousness of the victory we have through Christ. So it becomes important that we learn to process it in a healthy way.





In a way that is worthy of us.





For our perspective during such times, is the difference between life and death.





We will either succumb to the despair and hopelessness that our enemy, Satan would love for us.





OR.





Or we can choose to run to Jesus.
Run to Him for the healing we need in our souls and the perspective we need in our thought process.





Co-operating with the reality that God is trying to cultivate in us during such times friends, is key.





Are we trying to avenge ourselves, or are we letting Him avenge us?





Are we wasting precious emotional resources on harbouring bitterness and resentment, or are we learning to forgive, let go and trust God?





Are we walking in anxiety and dread, or in the fullness of the peace and power that the Lord died for us to receive? 





The difference between the two sets of scenarious presented here is the difference between being a victim of our circumstances or rising above them as more than conquerors through Christ.





God often says to us,





Choose life.





Therefore, I choose to intentionally put Christ first. To surrender my will to be aligned with His and I find that the more I do so, the more I get to know the Lord.





Friends, as I am learning to do just what He says, I have found myself face-to-face with one beautiful yet startling reality,





“I may know Jesus fairly well, but I don’t know Him well enough.”





I really don’t.





I may know Him well enough to know that He is fully and completely worthy of my faith and trust, but I don’t know Him well enough to know just how much He does honour child-like trust and mustard-seed faith.





I may know Him well enough to know that He is perfect in love and perfect in wisdom, but I don’t know Him well enough to know the full extent of all that He really is, all that He is capable of doing and all that which He will do.





I may know Him well enough to know that He is my best friend and my glorious king, but I don’t know Him well enough to know His next move on my behalf.





I may know Him well enough to know that He will never leave me nor forsake me, but I don’t know Him well enough to know just how very faithful and relentless His pursuit of me, in reality, is.





I may know Him well enough to know that He is sovereign and has the final say in all matters that concern us, but I don’t know Him well enough to know just how He will bend the rules of the game as we journey on.





I may know Him well enough to know that He is good, He does good and He works all things together for good in conformity with the counsel of His will, but I don’t know Him well enough to know just how He will manifest this Romans 8:28 promise again in my life circumstances.





I know Him fairly well, friends. But I don’t know Him well enough.





Fairly well to know Him as a beloved father, a heavenly saviour and a dreadful champion of my cause; but not well enough to know just what that may mean in its entirety as my destiny unfolds.





But I take heart in what I do know.





For what I do know is that with each day that unfolds, I can seek to know Him more.





Filled with the awe and wonder of His majesty, His mercy and His might.





And somewhere I suspect that the same holds true for you too, my friend.





So together?





Let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.





Let Love happen.





💖






	


	



			
				


			

			
He knows what moves you
		
	
	

		






Honesty hour.





I have often heard people worship God with phrases like,





“You reign above it all! You reign above it all!”





Until some time back, I used to think that this meant that God reigned above the messes of our everyday lives, above the chaos and confusion, above the trials and the tribulation, quite unmoved and untouched because …





… well… because He is God.





But I am so delighted to learn that I was wrong.





Our God reigns above it all. Yes, absolutely He does.





But what I’m learning now is that He reigns above it all because He is not intimidated by the work of the powers of darkness in the world.





It’s a different deal altogether.





The truth is that God is not moved by the condition of our world because He is confident in His ability to redeem and transform. In that sense, He is not moved means that He is not intimidated. It does NOT mean that He is not touched by it.





He is.





He created us and He created the world. So how can He possibly not be touched?





I repeat.





He is.





God is very much touched by what touches us. He is grieved by what grieves us. He is moved by what moves us.





John 11:35 testifies to what I feel is one of the most profound Bible verses to ever be recorded. Though the shortest, it is one of the most loaded verses ever. It goes something like this,





“Jesus wept.”





That’s it.





Two words that reveal the sheer humanity of Jesus.





God, who wrapped Himself up in flesh to tabernacle with us and make His dwelling in our midst, wept. God, who spoke the Universe into existence at His command such that it continues to expand even today, wept. God, who reigns higher than the highest heavens and remains securely seated on His Throne forevermore, wept.





Jesus wept, friends.





And that’s exactly why He moves.





He moves when we are moved for He is moved by the feeling of our infirmity.





When we are overcome with sorrow, He is moved to heal, mend and restore us. When we are confronted with an impossible situation, He is moved to give us His promises and the assurance of our hope. When we are walking through a trial, He is moved to lead us, guide us and shape us through it.





Rewind 2000 years back.





When we were unable to do anything in our own strength to save ourselves, He was moved by the feeling of our infirmity so much so that He sent His one and only begotten son, Jesus to hang on that Cross at Calvary as both, our redemption AND our redemption price.





He was moved to make a way for our salvation and our connection to the Father Heart of God.





So how can HE not be moved by what moves us?





He absolutely is.





He is moved when we are moved by the condition of a lost and broken world. He is moved when in the face of hate, we choose love; in the face of anger; we choose peace; in the face of judgement, we choose grace; in the face of injustice, we choose forgiveness; in the face of persecution, we choose prayer.





Indeed, He is moved.





And when God is moved, He moves mountains.





And guess where it all began?





With the feeling of our infirmity.





Selah.

	


	



			
				


			
				


			

			
Knowing Him.
		
	
	

		

“Knowing You is my strength.”





I thank The Lord that I know Him. In a world rife with brokenness and chaos, I am just thankful that I know Him. Somewhere, I have a feeling that you do too.





In my journey thus far, Immanuel has never failed me. He knew me before I did and now that I do, I seek to know Him more. I understand that the strength of our journey lies in the depths of our intimacy with Him. It is in that sacred, “soul to Spirit” space that has been bought by His Blood and sealed with The Holy Spirit, that I find Him and begin to find myself too. It’s a pristine journey that is new every morning, simply because I need to receive every morning – fresh mercies, renewed strength, daily sufficient grace. I need Him to wash me with tidal waves of His Love every single day. I need Him to remind me of who He is to me and the Truth that He is the same; yesterday, today and forevermore. Tethered to that Truth is the essence of true confidence to me.





Through the varied seasons of my life, I have encountered Immanuel as a Constant who through the valleys and mountains, remains steadfast in His Love and Faithfulness. I have seen both, the ups and downs of life and remained sensitive to the truth that it has always been the Hand of The Lord at work. He sends us as sheep among the wolves because He is confident in His Character towards us, and that confidence inspires mine too. He knows what He has put deep down on the inside of us, and every trial is sent to simply  remind us that He is not testing us to see if we can withstand or not, because He knows that we can. It is simply we who need to know, and to know beyond a shadow of doubt that we can. Therein lies the strength of our intimacy with Him, which in turn strengthens our experience of life itself.





The Lord has even made a promise to us. He says that in this life, we will have tribulation, but we can take heart in The Lordship of Him who has overcome the world, and through all that we face, is teaching us to overcome as well. He calls us mighty warriors who know how to stand on the battlefield of life simply because in His mercy and majesty, He has first lavished us with His Love which is the very thing that gives us the capacity to stand. In short, the secret to our strength lies in the depths of His Love towards us. 





In the days we find ourselves in, I feel it is important to know who The Lord is to us, personally. For me, He has revealed Himself in ways beyond articulation. I am certain that perhaps this is your testimony too. He has revealed Himself as an Invincible King and a Faithful Friend, all at the same time. He has met me at my worst and loved me into wholeness, every single time. Pardon me for repeating myself, but I think it imperative to reiterate that He is the same; yesterday, today and forever. In that Truth, my soul finds rest.





“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30,NIV)





The Lord will never put more on us than we can bear, and His Grace is sufficient in every circumstance of life. When we feel burdened by the cares of this life, I hope and pray that we remember The Heart of Our King who warmly invites us to lay our burdens at His Feet and our ears next to His Bosom, for it is His Words of loving kindness which are able to revive our souls and restrengthen us in a way that leaves us better than we were before. It is our dependency on The Holy Spirit; our Friend, Counselor and Comforter that becomes our confidence. It is our intimacy with The Father that makes Him our Greatest Confidante.





Knowing Him as The Shepherd who illuminates our path, step by step is a journey that we are privileged to walk. There is much ahead that He has in store for us, but as we walk, we begin to know The One who prepares us for what He has prepared for us. After all, He will never put on us more than we can bear, even if it is in the guise of a blessing, for a blessing given prematurely can become a burden, and a burden cast at His Feet can become a blessing. 





As I hasten to a close, I will share an exhortation from The Lord that beckons us to draw closer and go deeper in our walk with Him.





“Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” (Hosea 6:3,NLT)





Friends, He is Faithful to deliver, save, heal and redeem. There is nothing that He cannot do, but the more we know Him, the more we will know The Truth that sets us free.





Amen.











 
































	


	



			
				


			

			
When promises and plans collide!
		
	
	

		

“The Promise will unravel the plans.”





Our first radical encounter with The Lord provoked a response from us: we surrendered our lives to Him and received the Promise of Salvation. This first Promise however, is just the beginning of His very many promises in our lives. He promises to make His dwelling among us, and to never leave us nor forsake us. He promises that no weapon forged against us shall prosper and every tongue that rises against us, He will condemn. He promises to work all things together for our good and His Glory. He promises that He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future. However, it is important to note that these plans are traced back to what first began as a Promise. 





Of the very many promises that I could write, the one that stands out to me is the following,





“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30, NIV)





My experience tells me that when God releases a Promise in our lives, it always has a higher purpose to it, that of our becoming, and our becoming more and more like Jesus. Jesus is the very embodiment of love, grace, mercy, kindness, compassion and sacrifice. As we begin to seek God for the plans that will unravel the Promise, I believe He takes us on a journey. He grows us up in the stature of the new man, and enables us to do so through the strength and the wisdom of The Holy Spirit. He shows us that the outcome is in His Hands and we can trust Him because He is Faithful. Our part, however, is to seek Him out to see what are the ways in which HE would have us grow so that we can become the person who can hold the weight and the glory of The Promise. 





I would like to candidly confess that of late, I had begun to attach my joy to the fulfillment of that which He has promised. Spending time with Him revealed to me that my joy is to be found in Jesus, and Jesus alone. A solid foundation that is built on His Love and Joy towards us is the very thing that will release us from the bondage of expectations and free us to become all that He has called us to be, in this next time frame, a child of God who is now learning to respond to Love with joy, through every situation and circumstance that comes our way. 





Yes, we do continue to believe, pray and prophesy. However, our joy cannot be tethered to anything but His Presence.  The assurance of His Faithfulness to manifest that which He has promised is enough to rest our souls. We now operate from Heaven to Earth, which means that every situation and circumstance is only an opportunity for another conversation with Love that will allow us to manifest that which we have just spoken WITH,  in order that we may speak TO that which needs our intervention, thereby turning every event into a Kingdom situation.





In the times that we find ourselves in today, I know we are all rather concerned about the plans that God has for us. However, to discover those plans, we will need to trace our way back to The Promise, which will inevitably lead us into other promises that will sustain us, build us, grow us, mature us, season us, develop us, as we wait upon The Lord. These would be promises that we can speak back to The Father such as, “You promised that He who began a good work in me shall complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” 





This, dear friends, is important so that when what we are believing The Lord to accomplish on our behalf in our lifetime, comes to pass; we will not only be standing in the integrity of having cultivated a deeper intimacy with The Lord, but will also have had a first hand witness to the power and authority that we have as believers in Christ. 





Even Jesus, in His time on Earth, cried out to The Father with prayers and petitions. The garden of Gethsemane undoubtedly comes to mind. He knew The Promise that awaited Him on the other side of His radical obedience, but it was in the context of Him constantly communing with The God of Heaven and Earth that  He left us a model to follow. A model that prayerfully, we may have the wisdom to pass on to all those that we are called to touch and transform, because when it’s all said and done, THAT is the big plan. 





It’s a plan that will attract the divine, supernatural favor of Heaven. It’s a plan that will serve to outlive us. It’s a plan that will, beyond a shadow of doubt, be connected to the other plans that God has for us with regard to our specific and unique gifts and talents. It’s a plan that is birthed in purpose, but traces its way back to a Promise. 





The Promise is between you and God, but the plans are for the world to witness. The Promise is our anchor, but the plans are vulnerable to the purpose of God. The Promise is as sure as it is sacred, but the plans are subject to being molded and brought into alignment with the passage of time. 





Suffice to say, that at every step, the plans will be traced back to The Promise for it is The Promise that unravels the plans.





Selah.