I don’t usually re-post other things on this blog but this newsletter from Rolland and Heidi Baker in Mozambique addresses some vital issues. They mentored me in intimacy with the Lord for several years, especially during our time in Africa with them. I realize this is lengthy but if you read it to the end you will find some stunningly simple answers to many difficult questions.

From Rolland and Heidi Baker, Iris Global, Pemba, Mozambique
16 June, 2014

“Our years in Pemba, Mozambique have been tumultuous, intense, filled with demonic attacks, violence, threats, opposition from the government, discouragement, theft, loss, disappointments, failures, staff turnover, and the constant, unrelenting demands of extreme poverty and disease all around us. It almost always seemed that our capabilities and resources were no match for the challenges we faced every day, resulting in a level of chaos and stress that literally threatened our health and lives. Intense witchcraft and a lack of exposure to familiar standards of right and wrong made our work in this very remote part of the world seem all the more impossible. Heidi and I remember many times when we did not know how we could continue, often wondering if we really had good, lasting fruit that was worth the sacrifice.

We are often asked what the overcoming key to our ministry and growth is. We don’t think in terms of keys or secrets, but of the simplest truths of the gospel. We have learned by experience that there is no way forward when pressed to our extremities but to sacrifice ourselves at every turn for His sake, knowing nothing but Jesus and Him crucified. We must die to live. It is better to give than to receive, and better to love than to be loved. We cannot lose, because we have a perfect Savior who is able to finish what He began in us, if we do not give up and throw away our faith.

In years past we did not think we could identify with Paul like this, but now we understand more of what he meant: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:8–9).

Heidi and I get overwhelmed by our awareness that we are only jars of clay, very fragile and finite, capable of only giving out so much, and with very limited understanding and strength. But we have come to be encouraged by this very state of affairs, because God’s power and glory will become obvious in our weakness: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor. 4:7–10).

In Pemba we just started another three-month Bible school session with new student pastors from the bush, many of whom are barely aware of any Christian doctrine and still confused about so much. But three of them have already raised the dead and given their testimonies in class! The Holy Spirit is opening hearts and bringing in the harvest more than ever, in spite of our weaknesses. Our churches are monuments to the grace of God. We are asked how we keep them all together, organized and feeling like a unified family, but we can offer no adequate human explanation, in spite of all our efforts. We have learned that He is able to melt hearts and keep people connected in spirit by His own power, and build a hunger for the Savior that conquers every obstacle. This is His revival, His church, His display of glory, and He qualifies us to do His work.

What motivates us to keep going? What puts energy into our spirits when we run out of answers and resources? How do we stay patient and upbeat when the outlook seems bleak, yet again? Where does our power to live, serve and give come from? The question is important, because missionaries do get tired, discouraged and down. Christians of all kinds run out of motivation, no matter how much they have. Leaders with huge responsibilities lose their peace and joy. Ministries become more like businesses, and preachers more like sales managers. But what makes the Kingdom run? What is the fuel that fires us effortlessly? What is the real thing?

Every day we find out more of the answers to these most fundamental questions, and every day we learn that what used to motivate us is no longer enough. We are going higher, pressing on to what lies ahead. We keep learning what Jesus is interested in, and lose interest in what we used to pursue. And we learn that unless Jesus is interested in what we are pursuing, the going gets tougher than we can bear.

But there is a secret place, a hiding place, a lower place, a holy place that exceeds our dreams. It is not found in anything external and impersonal. It is not found simply in activity, sacrifice and dedication. It is not found in goals, projects, productions and progress. It is not found in finances and growth. It may be missed entirely even when preaching, teaching, training and discipling. It may be forgotten completely when evangelizing and praying for the sick. The greatest and most powerful gifts don’t necessarily contain it. Even ministry to the poor may become an impersonal effort that misses that greatest and most intensely motivating creation of God, that supreme display of His glory: relationship!

Love is a gift of relationship, not just self-sacrifice. The secret place is not necessarily found in a prayer closet or a posture of soaking, or in battling for a just cause, or in a massive prayer and fasting effort. Even the most amazing miracles can leave us lonely and without relationship. We can run out of motivation advancing the most noble ideals and working at all levels to transform society. We can minister until we have no more strength, and still go home and lie in bed without the relationship for which our hearts are made.

Everything is okay with relationship. It is all that Jesus cares about, all that motivates Him. He could do many more amazing miracles and dazzle the world with His powers, but He is interested only in relationship. The entire creation, all the grandeur of the physical world, and all His works are designed to serve one thing: relationship. Revival has no content without it. Renewal and manifestations are pointless apart from it. Miracles only find their meaning in it. Joy is shallow and groundless unless rooted in it. Without relationship we are the living dead.

There is no pressure in genuine relationship. When it turns into work, it is gone and finished. It is effortless to maintain. It is not the goal of struggle, but the fire of life. It brings the utmost peace, and washes away all tension. It is the point of living, the substance of existence, the atmosphere of heaven. It motivates to heroic heights, bringing out our best. In relationship we know we are alive, we have arrived, we are satisfied. When we turn away from relationship to pursue anything else, we lose. We have no strength to give and love without it. It is a haven, a rock, a river of living water, the perfect source of motivation to keep going.

As our Perfect Savior, Jesus provides us with relationship. For this He died and rose again on our behalf. He provides not only His Word, His promises and His gifts, but also freely fills our lives with relationship in response to the desire He has put in our hearts. No guilt and condemnation can keep us from drinking in all the relationship with Him that we desire. Nothing in our past can block us. No attitudes in others can prevent us from tasting and seeing that He is good. And from this tree of life that is our Savior, we can branch out into more and more relationship with those all around us. He takes away our loneliness. In Him we end our search and find our destination.

So in this experience of revival in Africa, our values have been refined in the fires of pressure, opposition and disappointment. Thousands of churches and testimonies of supernatural power do not keep us motivated. Huge feeding projects are not enough for us. We need more of a goal than to target people groups and disciple followers. Education and development don’t keep our hearts alive. Mobilizing world-wide support still falls short. Academic missiology lacks the energy that Africa needs.

No, our hearts must have perfect relationship, a perfect union between us and our Savior, in the Holy Spirit. We were never meant to be alone for a moment. Our whole motive is to live life and do everything together with our God, to take pleasure in His company always. Our power to live comes entirely from our satisfying relationship with Him, and to stay there is to stay in our own private revival that cannot be disturbed by anything else. Only when that relationship is golden, incandescent and pure enough do we have the power to delight in all that God has richly provided for us to enjoy.

Therefore in Him we do not pursue revival, but rather revival pursues us! Church growth and miracles pursue us. His presence pursues us. He Himself follows us, responds to us, and takes pleasure in making us happy, for we make Him happy. We care how He feels. We satisfy His longing. To stay close to Him is no effort, but a relief, a release, a door to freedom.
To get a miracle is never the point, but in our relationship with Him miracles are a delight for Him to perform on our behalf. In fact, we cannot live without miracles, and in the normal Christian life we recognize that everything is a miracle, “for in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Love in Jesus, Rolland and Heidi”

Isn’t it interesting how difficult it is for mankind to get to that place of intimacy with the Lord and then to stay there?  Adam had no problem with that.  It’s what he was created for.  He was one with God, made in His image.  Whatever he needed to accomplish just happened naturally as that life flowed through him.  He was created for fellowship with God, not because God needed a caretaker for the garden.  It was all about relationship.

But somehow, after the fall, our enemy has twisted things around backwards.  Now we think that our significance comes from our performance.  We think that in our effort to perform, we will gain God’s favor and therefore relationship with Him.  It is a lie.

Enoch seemed to be the first to recapture that close fellowship with God once again.  He hungered for what Adam had lost.  In Genesis chapter 5 we see the list of genealogies.  By simply doing the math we find that Adam and Enoch had more than 300 years together.  Adam must have told Enoch much about the garden and the Presence of God.  (If this presents theological problems, see my posting from July 16, 2012 Created for Both Realms – The Enoch Experience, where I deal more with this subject.)  So much hunger was created in the heart of Enoch that he pursued God above all else … and found Him.  He walked with God so closely that one day he just “was not, for God took him” to Heaven without even experiencing death. (Gen.5:24)  This was not just a miraculous contradiction to all the rules.  It was recorded for an example to us.  That kind of relationship is still available.  And consider this – Enoch did not live in days of Heaven on earth when everyone around him walked with God.  It was only 3 generations later when Noah was born.  By that time mankind had become so evil that God had to destroy them all except for Noah and his family. (Gen. 5,6)  Enoch lived in very dark times but his hunger and thirst for God dominated his life so much that he would not give up until he regained what Adam had lost.  This is not a dream.  This is real and very much available … at great cost.  We must desire Him above all else.  He is the goal.  He is worth much more than all we must overcome to find that place of intimacy and live there.  He is the reward.

Can you relate? Are you so thirsty for more of God that sometimes you think you’ll die if He does not come and quench the thirst that He has placed within you?  And when He does come and touch you, you find that you are left satisfied yet longing still.  This is because there is always more of Him to find, to pursue.  He satisfies your heart and also expands it at the same time so that you are able to hold more of Him.

God’s heart cries out for intimacy with us once again as in the beginning.  Listen carefully now for His voice deep within your spirit.  He is calling your name.  Just say yes and run into His open arms.

At the beginning of this new year there is nothing more important than to draw closer to the Lord, to draw away and spend time simply being quiet and alone with Him.  We must quiet our spirits enough to realize His presence with us.  He IS with us.  He promised to be and He is, but we need to be made more aware of Him in the midst of all the noise of life here in this realm.  This requires discipline on our part as well as help from Him.

In this post I want to help us do that by re-emphasizing things that have helped me draw closer to Him.  Instead of writing the same things again, there are some past posts from this blog which were written for this reason.  In fact, I’m reading them again myself! Here are a few:

Face to Face – Jan. 20, 2012
Falling in love with Jesus – Feb.11, 2012
Satisfied, yet longing still – March 26,2012
Learning to quiet your spirit – Dec. 3 and 17, 2012

There are also people whose writings have shown me that there is so much more, a life in God I never dreamed of.  They are listed on my page of recommended reading.  Among these are Rick Joyner.  His book, The Final Quest opened the realm of visions and prophetic experiences for many of us and drew us into a much more intimate relationship with the Lord. Now he has written a new book called The Path.  It is written in the same style as The Final Quest and is taken from his experiences in Heavenly realms with the Lord, with angels and many of the saints in Heaven.  The revelation contained in this book is acutely important for understanding the times we are living in now.  I want to take this opportunity to highly recommend this book to you.  The link below will enable you to read the first chapter at no cost and/or to purchase the book or the e-book from Rick’s website. This is not a book to speed read but to read slowly, a little at a time, and meditate on.  The Lord will give you new revelation and understanding of Him as you read.

http://www.morningstarministries.org/store/books/rick-joyner/path-0#.UshRUvuiIcY

Drawing aside with Jesus now is more than just a good idea.  It’s crucial for the times we are in and our ability to not only stand, but be the over-comers He has called us to be.  May His voice call you into the secret place with Him and may His love overcome all the distractions in your life so that you have eyes for Him alone.

“My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (Ps. 84:2)

The presence of God is rightly addictive.  After you have looked into His eyes and seen the love He has for you, after you have felt the strength and safety of His arms around you – nothing in this realm can compare and you will constantly be longing for more of Him.  And there is always more!  There is so much more than these mortal bodies and minds can ever experience.  Even in eternity He will be continually revealing more and more of His wonders to us.  The angels who have been with Him from their creation are still crying “holy, holy, holy” in response to the facets of His character that are continually unfolding before them.  He is unlimited.  There is always more of Him to learn, to see, to experience, to love.

This is a relationship, a love affair.  Nothing and no-one else can ever truly satisfy our hearts but Jesus.  Every other earthly relationship is a gift from Him but there is none like Him. To hear His voice, to see Him smile, to feel His hand holding ours leaves us at the same time satisfied yet longing still.  We are deeply satisfied and content, yet knowing there are depths of Him that are still waiting to be explored.  His love is an invitation for more and we are invited to pursue Him into depths beyond our imagination. (Eph.3:20, Ps. 42:7)

Leave behind the old mindset of “How much can I get by with?” or “How near the world can I live and still be a Christian?”  These things are light years away from the true relationship He longs to have with us.  Run away from the Pharisees who split hairs and burden you with lists of regulations and rules.  That is only religion, and a very sad and heavy existence. Change your mindset to questions of “How close can I get to Jesus?”  “How much of the Heavenly realms can I be allowed to see?” “How much time can I spend in His presence?”

Follow your heart’s cry for your Father and His Son, who is the Lover of your soul. Those who hunger and thirst shall be filled. (Mt. 5:6)  The wind of the Spirit will blow away the chains like cobwebs and free you to come running into His arms of love.

May you be blessed with hunger that only He can satisfy.  And may you be drawn ever deeper into His presence.

Have you ever become frustrated in your quest for intimacy with the Lord?  Of course He is here with us all the time.  He said He would never leave us and so He never does.  But there are times of drawing closer to Him, of seeking His face, of forsaking all other things to just spend time alone with Him. Sometimes when we try to do that we are immediately bombarded with the thought bombs of the enemy.  Every distraction crowds into our brains until it’s a continual fight to keep pushing them out and focus on Him alone.  Of course it’s a fight. But it’s one we must win to break through into the life He has for us.  Remember that He IS the reward.  Knowing Him, drawing closer to Him, spending time with Him is not only the goal but also the reward.

Let me share something that happened to me during one of those times. I had become weary of seeking and felt I was getting nowhere.  Then finally I began to be aware of both realms at the same time.  I was sitting in a chair in the living room but now I could also see myself walking in a forest. ( Have you ever had an experience like this and wondered if it was really God or just your imagination?   And have people told you it was crazy?  Don’t believe them.  This is supposed to be a natural lifestyle for a child of God.  We were created with this ability.)

Swiftly now the spiritual began to overtake the natural and the vision became uppermost in my spirit eyes.  Sunlight streamed through the trees of the forest down to the mossy floor.  Birds were singing and a soft wind was blowing through the leaves.  Suddenly I was aware of someone else up ahead darting in and out among the trees.  Startled, I just caught a glimpse of a man looking back over his shoulder.  Making eye contact for a split second assured me it was the Lord.  He seemed to be hiding from me!  I could barely see Him as He ran between the trees and the thick foliage.  But I knew it was Him and He was calling me to follow Him, to chase Him.  Now my heart led the way as I ran after Him and He led me deeper into the forest.  At one point all I could see was His arm coming out from behind a tree and His hand beckoning me to come.  Still I followed, determined to go wherever He was leading and not lose sight of Him.

Finally He waited for me to catch up to Him.  He took my hand and ran with me out into a meadow where we danced together in the sunlight.  Then a troupe of angels appeared and danced with us.  In the midst of all of this, Jesus looked into my eyes and spoke tenderly to me.

“This is what is really happening, My love.  I’ve been playing hide and seek with you.  I’m drawing you and calling you into places you otherwise wouldn’t go.  And I’m pleased with your determination and persistence to follow Me even when you can barely see. Your love has captured My heart.”  (Job 23:9, Song of Solomon 1:4, 2:10, 4:9 )

Basic lesson – don’t give up.  Keep trying.  The reward is so far beyond your imagination.  The reward is Him.

Are you aware that there are scriptural accounts of people who were so close to God that they were literally sucked off the face of the planet?  Some actually bypassed death and were simply taken away to Heaven.

There are only a few scriptures about the life and experience of Enoch.  But the little that is said is amazing.

The Good News Bible says that “he spent his life in fellowship with God and then he disappeared because God took him away.” Gen. 5:24

Could this kind of relationship be possible for us today?  In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews even makes mention of this in the “Hall of Faith” chapter:

“It was faith that kept Enoch from dying. Instead, he was taken up to God, and nobody could find him, because God had taken him up. The scripture says that before Enoch was taken up, he had pleased God.” Heb. 11:5  Good News Bible

In Genesis chapter 5 we find the list of genealogies stating his family and their ages.  Enoch was only 7 generations from Adam.  He was born when Adam was 622 years old.  Adam lived to be 930.  Enoch lived 365 years and was taken up.  So Adam and Enoch had 308 years together.

It is safe to assume that most of the population was still in a somewhat limited area since the scattering at the tower of Babel had not yet occurred.  It would also be natural to assume that families and extended families lived near each other.  History tells us that families eventually became clans.  So it is likely that Enoch and his patriarchal grandfather Adam would have spent time together.  I can picture little Enoch on Adam’s knee as Adam related experiences of walking in the garden with God. [see footnote]  Something in Enoch’s heart responded.  A desire was born to be that kind of friend with the Lord.

The main point of the life of Enoch is that he walked so closely with God.  Finally the Lord just bypassed death and translated him directly to Heaven.  What a relationship!  And apparently, according to Enoch’s own writings, this was not the first of such experiences for he had been taken away in the Spirit and received revelation many times before.  He sets an example of deep spiritual intimacy and of travelling back and forth from here to Heavenly realms that is available to us as well.

I know beyond a doubt that God still wants this kind of close relationship with every one of us – and even more.  There are many scriptures that tell us of how much He desires to be with us, in us and have us near Him. (2 Cor. 6:16,18, Eph.3:17,19 Amp., John 17:24)  The same relationship that Enoch had … and Moses and David and Paul and countless others in the scripture … is available to us today.  We may even actually get so close that He would rather have us there in Heaven with Him all the time.

I once heard a childrens minister explaining this story:

“One day Enoch and God were out for a walk and they walked so far that the Lord said, “Enoch, we are closer to My house now than we are to yours.  Why don’t you just come home with Me?” And so he did. ”

How does this happen?  In Enoch’s case it seemed to be the result of a lifetime of walking with God and pleasing Him. (Gen. 5:24)   Any one of us can do that. The goal is to see how close to the Lord we can come, how deeply we can enter into His presence.  We can even be carried away into Heavenly realms and receive wisdom and revelation to bring back here.  And we thought space was the final frontier!

Footnote – We know that Adam fell and was punished and expelled from the garden.  But after the fall in Gen. 3:21 God “made clothes of animal skins for Adam and his wife and He clothed them.”  It was God Himself who made the first animal sacrifice, pointing forward to the sacrificial system under the Law and further to the sacrifice of His own Son.  So Adam’s sin was atoned for like the other saints of the Old Testament and he was able to have a relationship with God once again.  He must have taught his children and grandchildren the ways of the Lord.  If not, none of them could have ever walked with God.

There’s always more … always a deeper place in God where we are drawn ever closer into His heart.  We are at the same time thirsty yet filled.  This is the great paradox of knowing He is here and yet seeking for Him more and more.

Yes, we know that Jesus said He will never leave us and He never does. (Mt.28:20, Heb.13:5)  Why should we try to find Him when He is right here?   Sometimes we just need to change our mindset and say, “Thank You for being here.  I love you.   Speak to me.”  This truth has saved me many times from the enemy’s lies about isolation and abandonment.

But at the same time I find myself praying,  “I know You’re here … but please come … come closer .. remove these veils so I can see You, feel You, hear Your voice.”  Prayers like this do not come from casual worshipers.  They come from hearts that are so in love with Him and so rightly addicted to His presence that they will die without it.  We are not meant to just ‘take it by faith’ all the time.  His heart longs for intimacy with us more than we could ever long for Him.  He wants to reveal Himself to us. (John 14:21)

How can we be near Him and yet long for more of Him?  Ask the Apostle Paul.  He cried out “Oh that I may know Him.” (Phil.3:10)  This was late in his ministry, after he had written a large portion of the New Testament.  Surely he knew God by that time!

Ask Moses, who cried out to see God’s glory. (Ex. 33:18)  And this was after all the miracles of crossing the Red Sea, of being fed with the bread of Heaven, of being in the very presence of God face to face on a mountain that shook like a volcano with smoke and fire!

Ask Job, who paints a picture of a God who plays hide and seek. (Job 23:9)  Absurd?  No, not really.  Think of hiding Easter eggs and chocolates for your children.  If you really didn’t want them to be found, you could dig a hole in the back yard and just bury them.  But there’s no fun in that.  So you hide them in conspicuous places for the little ones and a bit more obscure for the older ones.  Then you watch them squeal with delight when they discover them.  The fun is in the finding.  (Prov.25:2)  God does play hide and seek with us at times.  But He doesn’t hide from us … He hides for us.  He wants to be found by us.  Then there are times when He hides so we will seek Him and come further into the deep places that we wouldn’t otherwise want to go.

Another reason why it sometimes seems so hard to find God’s presence is because there is always a battle for intimacy.  It’s often a battle to get there and also to stay there.  Our enemy hates this most of all and seeks to draw us away from the Lord in any means he can.  Never give up in frustration.  If you don’t quit, you win.   The angels in Heaven worship in the midst of His glory.  What else could they do?    But when we, who dwell in this present darkness, choose to worship and love Him even when we can’t see – it touches them deeply.  Even the Lord Himself is moved by your determination and love for Him.

There is a sense in which hunger for God is never ending … because there is always more of Him to discover.  When our hearts become so sick with love and longing for Him, (Song of Sol.2:5) He fills us to overflowing with Himself and satisfies our deepest hunger.  But even then we will realize that in the process He has expanded our hearts so that there is now room for even more of Him and this cries out to be filled as well.  And so it goes on and on, this hunger and filling and hunger and filling until He transforms us into the very image of Himself. (2 Cor.3:18)   He will never stop until we become one with Him.  Nothing less will satisfy His heart … or ours.

If there is such longing in your heart for Him that you feel you will die … that you cannot think of anything else … that food and water or any earthly pursuits can’t satisfy – know that you are in the company of the great ones who have gone before you. (Heb.12:1)  They are cheering you on toward the goal of intimacy with Him, to be closer to Him than anyone ever yet has been.  And at the finish line you will run into His waiting arms and never be apart from Him in any way again.  He is the goal.   He is the great reward.

And if you don’t feel this hunger, this longing?  Ask Him for it.  It’s a gift He wants you to have.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst … for they shall be filled.(Matt.5:6)

The warm breeze and the turquoise waters of the ocean had drawn them to the beach that day. They were a happy group of friends, splashing and dunking each other and laughing above the noise of the surf.  But there was a quiet longing in the heart of one of them.  He couldn’t quite identify it … like a feeling of deep calling unto deep. (Psalm 42:7)  Slowly he submerged under the water and entered another realm where the quiet was tangible.  He could still hear the voices of his friends up on the surface but they seemed muffled now and far away.  Floating effortlessly in the warm waves quieted his thoughts but the longing only increased.  So diving deeper he swam out further until all he could hear was the ancient peaceful sound of the sea surrounding him and restoring his soul.

There are times and places where we are able to shout and sing at the top of our lungs and dance before the Lord in abandonment as David did.  This is a place of high praise where we can communicate with Him the way He designed.  But there are also other times when we are restricted by people or situations and quietness becomes necessary.  Quiet worship is designed by God as well.  These times can actually be much more intense and intimate.  Now it’s His turn to talk and our turn to listen.

There is a place so deep in Him that it goes far beyond earthly language.  It’s like swimming in the ocean. The deeper you go, the quieter it gets.  When you are wrapped in His arms, words are not always necessary.  There is a much higher form of communication.  It is Spirit to spirit, thought to thought, heart to heart.  And it is very clear and easy to understand.  It is the language of eternal love.

You were programed to be on the same frequency as your Creator.  His sheep know His voice.  You are His and He loves you.  He is always right beside you. Don’t limit this to trying to hear His audible voice.  That may happen but it’s not the only way He speaks.  More often it’s the quiet inner voice of the Spirit within your spirit that you must learn to listen for and trust.  That brings us back to relationship and intimacy once again.  Funny how everything comes back to that, isn’t it?

Since God is very creative, learn to listen for His voice in unique and unexpected ways.  Ask Him to open your spiritual ears.  Develop the art of becoming more aware of Him, His Presence, His voice all through the day.  You will find Him speaking to you through the voices of your friends, your spiritual leaders, children and of course through His Word.  He will suddenly grab your attention with headlines, billboards or anything that’s available at the moment.  In the Old Testament He even used a donkey! (Num. 22:22-33)  Before you watch a movie, ask the Lord what He wants to show you and you will be amazed at all the prophetic parables you would have otherwise missed.  You may be walking through the mall and hear a snatch of a love song and realize it’s Him singing right into your heart.  That goose-bumpy feeling and the unexpected lump in your throat is a clue … don’t dismiss it as nothing.  If there is a sudden rush of His presence and tears spring to your eyes, that’s definitely Him and not your imagination.

His ways of speaking to us range all the way from the slightest faint impressions – which are all too easy to miss – to full blown, high definition, inter-active movie type experiences where you have a starring role!

Speak Lord, for we are listening.

The ocean waves crashed against the rocky pier as I walked the wind swept beach. desperately crying out to the Lord for solutions to my problems, answers to my life … something … anything.

“Please,” I finally said in exhaustion, “Let’s just make this simple.  Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.  Tell me what to pray, how to feel, how to react and I’ll just obey You.  I can do that.”

There was a long uncomfortable silence as He waited for me to think about what I had just said.  Finally, I could hear the hurt in His voice as He quietly responded.

“That sounds rather like a master/servant relationship doesn’t it?  I say to My servant, “Do this” and he does it. (Mt. 8:9)  That’s not quite what I’m looking for from you.  You are My bride and I’m in love with you.  I want to bring you up here with Me to let you see through My eyes and hear through My ears.  I want to take you into the Father’s heart and show you how We feel.  It’s an intimate relationship I desire, My love.”

Immediately I repented for being so insensitive.  I was looking at things from the wrong perspective again.  Taking me in His arms now He spoke tenderly to me once again.

“If you need a job description it is to be My bride.  That’s it.  That’s all.”

There is a love so deep, so strong, so powerful that absolutely nothing can ever stop it.  It comes from the One who is love itself.  You were made for this.  He created you as the final object of His love.  And this is not a gender issue.  Whether male or female, every Believer is being invited into an eternal love relationship that far exceeds our wildest hopes and dreams.

Falling deeply and completely in love with Jesus solves many other issues and simplifies everything else.  He keeps drawing me back to this one thing – intimacy with Him.  He is the goal … not power or ministry gifts or even ministry itself.  Of course He has work for us to do but fruitfulness will naturally flow out of intimacy.  We do not choose to spend time with Him so that we can get power or revelation or have our needs met or get instructions.  We spend time with Him because we are so in love with Him that we long to be near Him.  We do not seek Him for secondary rewards…they are a poor substitute.  He is the reward.  All of these things are a part of Him but we are given all of Him.

How does one fall in love?   We are often initially attracted to another person physically.  Then the more we find out about them and get to know them, the more we like them.  As we share things back and forth we begin to see their hearts, their motives, their desires.  We begin to be more comfortable and trusting with them.  Soon, the more we are with them, the more we want to be with them.  The relationship begins to grow stronger.

It is like this with Jesus as well.  The real Jesus is more attractive than the most powerful magnet or the pull of gravity.  All it takes is one encounter in His presence and you can never be satisfied with anything less again.             The more you fall in love with Him, the more the pull of this realm’s gravity will lose it’s hold on you and the pull of His love will draw you away into His heart.

The Apostle Paul often described our relationship with Jesus in terms of a marriage.  II Cor. 11:2 says that we are betrothed to Christ (engaged to Him) and destined to become His bride.  I believe the reason for this terminology is that as humans we need a grid of understanding to help us.  The love between a man and a woman is one of the highest bonds in the earthly physical realm.  While this kind of love and family are given to us as gifts for this life, it is only a shadow of things to come in eternity.

In actuality, the relationship between us and the Lord goes so far beyond any earthly physical love that everything else pales in comparison.  It is deeper than … higher than … and completely other than.  There is no gender issue and it is not a physical relationship but, as Paul describes in 1 Cor. 6:15-17 by comparison, it is an intimate and powerful joining or bonding of our spirits with His Spirit.

But He will never force the issue.  This is the ultimate love affair and He waits for us to respond to Him.  “There is no fear in love” for He will never overstep His own holiness or the free will He has given to us.  As we keep taking baby steps closer to Him we will learn to allow His perfect love to cast out our fear. (1 John 4:18)  The more you get to know Him, the more you will love Him and the more you love Him, the more you will be able to trust Him.  It’s hard to completely trust someone you don’t know well.  And it’s difficult to fully love someone you don’t trust.  Love and trust are intertwined and He is the One most worthy of both.

This isn’t complicated.  He is inviting you to dinner. (Rev. 3:20)  Just open the door and say “yes”!

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Have you ever seen Him face to face?  The resurrected Lord, the desire of the nations, the Bridegroom in Solomon’s Song, the God-man Christ Jesus?  Many people have.  For those who are desperately longing to know Him more, He chooses to reveal Himself in ways specifically designed for them. In New Testament times and every generation since then He comes, quite literally, as the Good Shepherd, the Prince of Peace or even the Lion of Judah to “manifest Himself” to us. (John 14:21)

Come!  Let me show you the Jesus I have seen:

Although many have seen Him in different ways, He usually comes to me as the man, Christ Jesus.  He is olive skinned and fine featured, typical of one from Middle Eastern descent.  He stands about 6 ft. tall.  His full beard is black and neatly trimmed.  His hair is very black and hangs in soft layers about halfway to His shoulders.  Although it is groomed immaculately it also moves in the wind.  In fact, it looks like a living, moving thing with small lights in it.  I wondered at first if there were diamonds in His hair that made it radiate so.  Later I began to understand this as the oil of anointing.

But by far the most striking feature about the Lord is His eyes.  They are very dark brown in color and when His gaze meets mine everything else stands still.  In His eyes is a fiery, all consuming love for me as if I was the only one on the planet and He has come just for me.  Mercy, compassion, peace and love are like priceless jewels shining in the depths of those eyes, irresistibly luring all who dare to peer into them.  Just one glance of His eyes was enough to captivate my heart forever.

There is nothing more wonderful than looking deeply into His eyes … to go in and get lost there in the depths of His love and peace.  Regardless of my circumstances or how I feel about myself, one glance of His eyes assures me that I am totally loved, wanted and accepted.  I am home.

He has promised never to leave us, so He never does.  Never.  He is always here, when we can see Him and when we  cannot.  But as we constantly pray to be made more aware of His Presence, as we take the time to stop, listen and see, He will begin to reveal Himself to us in startling reality.  This is His desire even more than ours. (John 17:24)

Later I will be sharing more about how to get there.  But for now, He is imparting hunger to your spirit.  Those who hunger and thirst … shall be filled. (Mt. 5:6)  Each step of the journey into intimacy with Him is meant to be savored.  Just close your eyes and see what happens!