God engages our lives in whatever state we are in. The lie of this age is that we can somehow improve ourselves into people of perfect character. We adopt slogans. We sing the latest praise songs. We dress a certain way, speak a certain way, act a certain way, thinking that this makes us spiritual.
True spirituality comes when we are just ourselves with the Lord. That's when we allow God to do His work in our lives.
Do you feel disturbed that you are no longer the agent of change in your life? Maybe that's why your Christian walk has a hollow ring to it. Do you find yourself driven to be better, and then judging others around you to also better?
So what's true spirituality? It's simply being you and looking at Jesus. He changes us and our situations.
God's name is YHVH. The Hand (Yud) - Behold (Hei)- The nail (Vav) – Behold (Hei). His name tells us to what to behold. Not our failures. Not our weaknesses.
Hei represents the breath of God. Hei is the fifth letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Five is the number of Grace. Hei is also a pictogram of a window in Hebrew. Jewish Rabbinical scholars tell us that Hei represents light, and the ruach or breath of God. Hence it represents the Spirit of God that causes us to ‘Behold’.
The Hei represents the agency whereby which the hand and the nail are revealed.
He is the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation--the Spirit of Grace. God's name is a picture, a picture of love, a picture of grace, and only the humble can accept this grace. For they that are strong in themselves cannot receive this grace.
We have heard many people say that if we want the help of God, then we should at least do something. But the Bible tells us that His strength is made perfect--or reaches its full effect--in our weakness. Actually God's strength is ineffectual when we are strong in ourselves.
For those who receive this grace, the grace given by what Jesus purchased for us on the cross, the Spirit of Revelation, the Hei, begins to reveal the hand and the nail and all it purchased for us. That's salvation and all it's benefits--that includes healing, deliverance, righteousness, answered prayer.
But the Hei is also the Spirit of Wisdom. The Holy Spirit will daily guide us how to appropriate the benefits of what Jesus has purchased for us! The Holy Spirit dispenses both Revelation AND Wisdom!
Together they shine the light of the Lord in our hearts!
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength
20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Eph 1: 15 -23 (NIV)
So begin walking in the light of the Lord. Begin walking in the revelation of what Jesus has purchased for you on the cross. Do you only see your challenges? Don't walk in darkness. See also what the hand and the nail has purchased for you. Listen to the voice of the Lord in your heart and the wisdom he whispers to you.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Never Forsaken
Two days ago the Lord whispered to my heart, 'Because I was forsaken at the cross, you will never be forsaken in this life'.
He showed me that even before He went to the cross, He had already promised that He would send another Comforter that would never leave us nor forsake us. That's because He was about to pay the ultimate price for us on the cross.
There on the cross, He was left and abandoned by His Father. He took the place of sinful man -- you and I. He cried out, "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?" He did that so that you and I would never have to be abandoned or forsaken by God again.
Then He showed me Psalms 23, that when I walk through the the valley of the shadow of death, I don't have to fear any evil befalling me, because I have not been forsaken, He is with me. Have you ever been hurt by a shadow? But the enemy many times will cause symptoms and situations to arise in our lives that cause us to fear that evil will befall us. We may even feel that God has abandoned us. But be assured of this: that God is right there with you and you can say along with the psalmist, 'Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. . .'When the Lord is there, the enemy's attacks or any form of death will not harm you, they will be like shadows which have no ability to touch you.
On the other hand, God's provisions and blessings will touch your life.’ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.’ Not only will you see abundant provision, it will be a public supply of provision in the presence of your enemies. You will be vindicated. You will be honored.
Let's rest in the light and substance of His wonderful person, because the Good Shepherd will never abandon us or forsake us.
He showed me that even before He went to the cross, He had already promised that He would send another Comforter that would never leave us nor forsake us. That's because He was about to pay the ultimate price for us on the cross.
There on the cross, He was left and abandoned by His Father. He took the place of sinful man -- you and I. He cried out, "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?" He did that so that you and I would never have to be abandoned or forsaken by God again.
Then He showed me Psalms 23, that when I walk through the the valley of the shadow of death, I don't have to fear any evil befalling me, because I have not been forsaken, He is with me. Have you ever been hurt by a shadow? But the enemy many times will cause symptoms and situations to arise in our lives that cause us to fear that evil will befall us. We may even feel that God has abandoned us. But be assured of this: that God is right there with you and you can say along with the psalmist, 'Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. . .'When the Lord is there, the enemy's attacks or any form of death will not harm you, they will be like shadows which have no ability to touch you.
On the other hand, God's provisions and blessings will touch your life.’ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.’ Not only will you see abundant provision, it will be a public supply of provision in the presence of your enemies. You will be vindicated. You will be honored.
Let's rest in the light and substance of His wonderful person, because the Good Shepherd will never abandon us or forsake us.
Monday, July 5, 2010
If God Loves Me, Why Did He Allow This to Happen?
Recently the Lord has revolutionized my understanding concerning bad things we go through in life. Many of us have come to that place where we ask, 'If God loves me, why did He allow this to happen?'.
You could very well ask the same of the woman with the issue of blood, with the death of Lazarus in the tomb, with the Gadarene demoniac, or with all the people Jesus healed, set free, and raised from the dead. Were their maladies and conditions God's will? The answer is no. Jesus is God's will in action, and what He accomplished on the cross is God's will for us.
Think about it. If Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood, then the sickness was not God's will! Likewise for Lazarus and the Gadarene demoniac. So that would mean that just because something happens in this life, it does not mean that it is God's will. God's will is found in Jesus.
When Jesus died on the cross, He did not go there as a martyr. He went as our perfect, sacrificial offering. He took our sin, our sickness, our pains, and our poverty. He in turn gave us His righteousness, His healing and His prosperity. They are all found in the person of Jesus. So when we accept the free gift of the Son of God in our lives, all the things Jesus purchased for us become ours. The question then is why aren't we experiencing them? The answer is because we have not been taking them.
Take a look at this incredible verse of scripture:
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thess 5:18 KJV
First it says IN everything give thanks. It does not say FOR everything. God does not give us poverty or sickness. Don't thank Him for that. So what are we to thank Him for? Look at the second part of the verse. It says, "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you". The will of God, because WE ARE IN CHRIST, is to thank Him for everything Jesus HAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST!
So if you're going through a challenge with sickness, don't thank God FOR the sickness -- He didn't give it to you -- thank Him for the healing that Jesus bought for you and RECEIVE IT.
That's where many of us trip up. I think at this point if you just did that -- began to receive what Jesus has done for you -- your mind will immediately say to you that you have sin in your life. This is something God spoke to me about. We need to realize that the verse is saying that 'this is the will of God IN CHRIST JESUS'. It is based on what Jesus has done for us on the cross -- it is based on the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS that Jesus gave to us through His sacrifice on the cross! Your sin does not matter. Your shortcomings don't matter. Take what you need based on His righteousness and thank Him for it.
That is the will of God concerning you today.
You could very well ask the same of the woman with the issue of blood, with the death of Lazarus in the tomb, with the Gadarene demoniac, or with all the people Jesus healed, set free, and raised from the dead. Were their maladies and conditions God's will? The answer is no. Jesus is God's will in action, and what He accomplished on the cross is God's will for us.
Think about it. If Jesus healed the woman with the issue of blood, then the sickness was not God's will! Likewise for Lazarus and the Gadarene demoniac. So that would mean that just because something happens in this life, it does not mean that it is God's will. God's will is found in Jesus.
When Jesus died on the cross, He did not go there as a martyr. He went as our perfect, sacrificial offering. He took our sin, our sickness, our pains, and our poverty. He in turn gave us His righteousness, His healing and His prosperity. They are all found in the person of Jesus. So when we accept the free gift of the Son of God in our lives, all the things Jesus purchased for us become ours. The question then is why aren't we experiencing them? The answer is because we have not been taking them.
Take a look at this incredible verse of scripture:
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thess 5:18 KJV
First it says IN everything give thanks. It does not say FOR everything. God does not give us poverty or sickness. Don't thank Him for that. So what are we to thank Him for? Look at the second part of the verse. It says, "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you". The will of God, because WE ARE IN CHRIST, is to thank Him for everything Jesus HAS GIVEN US IN CHRIST!
So if you're going through a challenge with sickness, don't thank God FOR the sickness -- He didn't give it to you -- thank Him for the healing that Jesus bought for you and RECEIVE IT.
That's where many of us trip up. I think at this point if you just did that -- began to receive what Jesus has done for you -- your mind will immediately say to you that you have sin in your life. This is something God spoke to me about. We need to realize that the verse is saying that 'this is the will of God IN CHRIST JESUS'. It is based on what Jesus has done for us on the cross -- it is based on the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS that Jesus gave to us through His sacrifice on the cross! Your sin does not matter. Your shortcomings don't matter. Take what you need based on His righteousness and thank Him for it.
That is the will of God concerning you today.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I See Grace
This morning as I was thinking about the lives around me, people I know, myself, and the many challenges we are facing, I saw grace.
It's really wonderful to see the grace and love of God in action.
The story of God and man has always been a blend of perfect weakness and perfect love -- perfect imperfection matched and outdone by perfect grace.
Man thrashing about in our failure, sin, weakness and inability to understand, held up by the power of the One who hung between heaven and earth on a wooden cross, who washes us daily with a river of blood that stems from a heart that beats with the greatest love.
Your mighty love, your mighty love
You'll never abandon me
Your blood flows out from a river of love
that flows from Your heart*
I read Kong Hee’s blog last night. This morning I was pondering on it and thinking how strange it felt compared to the grace message. The most striking thing is the difference in focus.
NCC causes us to behold the beauty of the Lord, the perfection of His person. We're getting conquered and lost in His Love for us.
I see the wonderful love story being played out once more between God and His people. It’s really a love story: a grace so profound that it will take us an eternity to uncover.
He paints pictures of grace on the canvas of our lives, brush strokes of color and beauty on rough uneven imperfect surfaces. His grace gives us the courage to face ourselves and know that we are just made for Him to love, mold, shape till we are masterpieces of grace and we reflect His handiwork.
People look at us and they see the Son. Not our works or accomplishments. It’s not a work made with human hands, nor is it a beauty constructed by man. It's a work of art that is painted by the blood of the Lamb.
I am glad I have reached this place of brokenness, till all I have to lean on is Him, and I realize it IS all about Him isn't it?
* A spontaneous song God gave me this morning
It's really wonderful to see the grace and love of God in action.
The story of God and man has always been a blend of perfect weakness and perfect love -- perfect imperfection matched and outdone by perfect grace.
Man thrashing about in our failure, sin, weakness and inability to understand, held up by the power of the One who hung between heaven and earth on a wooden cross, who washes us daily with a river of blood that stems from a heart that beats with the greatest love.
Your mighty love, your mighty love
You'll never abandon me
Your blood flows out from a river of love
that flows from Your heart*
I read Kong Hee’s blog last night. This morning I was pondering on it and thinking how strange it felt compared to the grace message. The most striking thing is the difference in focus.
NCC causes us to behold the beauty of the Lord, the perfection of His person. We're getting conquered and lost in His Love for us.
I see the wonderful love story being played out once more between God and His people. It’s really a love story: a grace so profound that it will take us an eternity to uncover.
He paints pictures of grace on the canvas of our lives, brush strokes of color and beauty on rough uneven imperfect surfaces. His grace gives us the courage to face ourselves and know that we are just made for Him to love, mold, shape till we are masterpieces of grace and we reflect His handiwork.
People look at us and they see the Son. Not our works or accomplishments. It’s not a work made with human hands, nor is it a beauty constructed by man. It's a work of art that is painted by the blood of the Lamb.
I am glad I have reached this place of brokenness, till all I have to lean on is Him, and I realize it IS all about Him isn't it?
* A spontaneous song God gave me this morning
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Day After
The day after the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus, where were the disciples? The ones who accompanied Him on His three and a half year miracle ministry and saw Him raise the dead, heal the sick, and cast out devils? The ones who saw Him walk on the water and still the storm with a word?
They were in complete disarray. Peter had left the ministry and gone back to fishing. Although He saw an empty tomb, He was sure that His denial of Jesus had robbed him of the chance of ever serving the Lord again. The rest had locked themselves behind closed doors, afraid of what the Jews would do to them. They were in fear and unbelief. Even when reports came back to them from certain women that the Lord had risen, they were of the opinion that these were women telling old wives tales.
So if we took a snapshot of the disciples the day after Jesus was buried, it wouldn't be unfair to conclude that their faith was also dead and buried. Is your faith dead and buried today? Or like Peter, have you failed Jesus and denied Him with your lifestyle? Or does all seem lost and your situations seem completely dead and without hope?
I came across a song recently that describes the despair some of us feel in this life:
Call you up in the middle of the night
Like a firefly without a light
You were there like a blowtorch burning
I was a key that could use a little turning
So tired that I couldn't even sleep
So many secrets I couldn't keep
Promised myself I wouldn't weep
One more promise I couldn't keep
It seems no one can help me now
I'm in too deep, there's no way out
This time I have really led myself astray
Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one-way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I'm neither here nor there
Can you help me remember how to smile
Make it somehow all seem worthwhile
How on Earth did I get so jaded
Life's mysteries seem so faded
I can go where no one else can go
I know what no one else knows
Here I am just drowning in the rain
With a ticket for a runaway train
And everything seems cut and dry
Day and night, Earth and sky
Somehow I just don't believe it
Bought a ticket for a runaway train
Like a madman laughing at the rain
A little out of touch, a little insane
It's just easier than dealing with the pain
Runaway train never comin' back
Runaway train tearin' up the track
Runaway train burnin' in my veins
Runaway but it always seems the same
It's actually how I felt recently. But then I asked the Lord what He thought of what I was going through. And He reminded me of His disciples the day after His burial. Then He showed me that even though their faith was dead, and they were in fear and ignorance, He sought them out and appeared in the midst of them! He sought them out even when they had shut themselves behind closed doors!
John 20:19-20 (NIV)
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
His first words were "Peace be with you”, or "Shalom". The Lord assured them that all would be well. He did not even chide them for their unbelief or fear. He SOUGHT them out in their fear, unbelief and ignorance and MINISTERED to them.
When we are weak in ourselves, we do not take anything away from God. In fact when we are weak, then He is strong in us. When things are truly dead in your life, then God who is the Resurrection and the Life can appear in the midst of your life and raise your situations from the dead! And when God builds and creates, it will last for eternity!
But look at the state of the disciples. If we believed some of what is preached today in the church world at large, God wouldn't have come for them at all. Their faith was dead. Peter had betrayed Him and gone back to secular work. Even when He appeared, they didn't believe He had risen they thought they were seeing a ghost! They were even ignorant of the Word, as Jesus had to teach Him concerning Himself from the Scriptures.
It's apparent to me now that God is not something we have to maintain. That would be true if we had a false religion where one has to perpetually alter ones mind into a false reality. No. God is alive. He is the Creator. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End! He is God! And when you are completely flat on your back, helpless and unable to change your situations, God who is your Resurrection will seek you out and bring your dead situations back to life!!!!!!
And Jesus didn't forget about Peter either. Jesus sought Him out and sat Him down and restored him as well. Oh the love of our God. The following song by Chris Tomlin sums up how I feel about who Jesus is. He is the Creator who sees us in our lowly state, but He loves us the same. Are you weak? Then let God be God in your life today:
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
They were in complete disarray. Peter had left the ministry and gone back to fishing. Although He saw an empty tomb, He was sure that His denial of Jesus had robbed him of the chance of ever serving the Lord again. The rest had locked themselves behind closed doors, afraid of what the Jews would do to them. They were in fear and unbelief. Even when reports came back to them from certain women that the Lord had risen, they were of the opinion that these were women telling old wives tales.
So if we took a snapshot of the disciples the day after Jesus was buried, it wouldn't be unfair to conclude that their faith was also dead and buried. Is your faith dead and buried today? Or like Peter, have you failed Jesus and denied Him with your lifestyle? Or does all seem lost and your situations seem completely dead and without hope?
I came across a song recently that describes the despair some of us feel in this life:
Call you up in the middle of the night
Like a firefly without a light
You were there like a blowtorch burning
I was a key that could use a little turning
So tired that I couldn't even sleep
So many secrets I couldn't keep
Promised myself I wouldn't weep
One more promise I couldn't keep
It seems no one can help me now
I'm in too deep, there's no way out
This time I have really led myself astray
Runaway train never going back
Wrong way on a one-way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I'm neither here nor there
Can you help me remember how to smile
Make it somehow all seem worthwhile
How on Earth did I get so jaded
Life's mysteries seem so faded
I can go where no one else can go
I know what no one else knows
Here I am just drowning in the rain
With a ticket for a runaway train
And everything seems cut and dry
Day and night, Earth and sky
Somehow I just don't believe it
Bought a ticket for a runaway train
Like a madman laughing at the rain
A little out of touch, a little insane
It's just easier than dealing with the pain
Runaway train never comin' back
Runaway train tearin' up the track
Runaway train burnin' in my veins
Runaway but it always seems the same
It's actually how I felt recently. But then I asked the Lord what He thought of what I was going through. And He reminded me of His disciples the day after His burial. Then He showed me that even though their faith was dead, and they were in fear and ignorance, He sought them out and appeared in the midst of them! He sought them out even when they had shut themselves behind closed doors!
John 20:19-20 (NIV)
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
His first words were "Peace be with you”, or "Shalom". The Lord assured them that all would be well. He did not even chide them for their unbelief or fear. He SOUGHT them out in their fear, unbelief and ignorance and MINISTERED to them.
When we are weak in ourselves, we do not take anything away from God. In fact when we are weak, then He is strong in us. When things are truly dead in your life, then God who is the Resurrection and the Life can appear in the midst of your life and raise your situations from the dead! And when God builds and creates, it will last for eternity!
But look at the state of the disciples. If we believed some of what is preached today in the church world at large, God wouldn't have come for them at all. Their faith was dead. Peter had betrayed Him and gone back to secular work. Even when He appeared, they didn't believe He had risen they thought they were seeing a ghost! They were even ignorant of the Word, as Jesus had to teach Him concerning Himself from the Scriptures.
It's apparent to me now that God is not something we have to maintain. That would be true if we had a false religion where one has to perpetually alter ones mind into a false reality. No. God is alive. He is the Creator. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End! He is God! And when you are completely flat on your back, helpless and unable to change your situations, God who is your Resurrection will seek you out and bring your dead situations back to life!!!!!!
And Jesus didn't forget about Peter either. Jesus sought Him out and sat Him down and restored him as well. Oh the love of our God. The following song by Chris Tomlin sums up how I feel about who Jesus is. He is the Creator who sees us in our lowly state, but He loves us the same. Are you weak? Then let God be God in your life today:
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The God of Our Tomorrows Holds Us Today
Recently the Lord has been disarming me with His love and His wisdom in very spectacular and supernatural ways.
The most recent incident occurred a week ago.
I met a friend and shared very intimate challenges I was going through in my life. I poured out my heart and shared my fears and feelings of loneliness. A day later as I was looking at my FB account I saw that my friend had posted an old music video by Michael W Smith called 'I will be Here'. As I listened to it, it was as if the song was a tailor made response to what I had shared the previous night. I thought 'how sweet, my friend's actually posted the song in response to my sharing'. But when I checked the time stamp, I realized that the posting was made 3 hours before I met my friend the previous day.
The things is, my friend had told me that God had spoken and shared with my friend that God had wanted me to personally share my heart with my friend about what I was going through prior to our meeting. Now God had actually addressed my needs through my friend before I had even opened my mouth to share what I was going through. When I told my friend what had happened, we both kept quiet, speechless at what the Lord had done in our midst.
Another set of supernatural events took place about 3 weeks ago. I walked to the common table in my office and picked up the newspaper and brought it back to my desk. As I sat down I reached out and picked-up my iPod Touch to turn it off. The time on the device was 3:33. I felt an impression on my heart -- Jeremiah 33:3. I paused and felt encouraged. God knew what I was going through. Then as I picked-up the newspaper I had brought with me and unfolded the page, I noticed that at the bottom of the page was a half page ad with the numbers 333,000 printed large on it. I felt goosebumps. I felt the Lord was telling me to read Jeremiah 33:3. Then on the way home later that evening, as I was pondering and meditating on what had happened, and how supernatural the '333' occurrences had seemed to be, I noticed a large double decker bus drive by. Guess what the bus number was? Yup, it was 333! Fast forward to the next day, I'm sitting down to lunch before going to church for choir practice and I decide to call my friend Kevin and tell him what I had experienced with '333'. I reached my hand into my bag and pulled out my phone. As I stared down at my phone, I noticed the time. It was 3:33! I feel at this juncture to say this. I feel I would be really dense not to realize that God was telling me to read Jeremiah 33:3, and that He wanted to show me something from that verse.
Now I shared all that to share this.
The understanding I got from Him after 2 weeks of waiting on Him was this. Man is finite. We are trapped in time and space. We move through time in a linear fashion. Once we pass a moment in time in our lives, we can never go back. Even if you wanted to go back in time a second, you can't!
And man doesn't do too well regarding His ability to see into the future either. Don't talk about seeing a day into the future, we can't even predict an hour into the future. What about our present? do we know everything about our present? I realize that we don't even know what's happening in the next room! And think about this. Do You know how many hairs there are on your head? Man is finite and limited! But God isn't.
In the original Hebrew, Jeremiah 33: 3 actually says that God will unlock hidden things to us, hidden things that are likened to things locked up in a safe or stronghouse. One translation says unsearchable things. Like I mentioned earlier, there are many things in our lives that are unsearchable. We do not know what's going to happen in our future -- not even in the next hour. We don't know about how our life fits into the 'big scheme of things' even at this present moment. But God does. He lives outside of time. He is already in our tomorrows. And as He demonstrated to me, before I even uttered a word out of my mouth, He knew what I was going to say. The bible says that God knew us even when we were knit in our mother's womb. He knows our future better than we know our present and our past.
So listen to the invitation today to throw yourself into the hands of the One who knows all things.
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Jer 33:3 NIV
The most recent incident occurred a week ago.
I met a friend and shared very intimate challenges I was going through in my life. I poured out my heart and shared my fears and feelings of loneliness. A day later as I was looking at my FB account I saw that my friend had posted an old music video by Michael W Smith called 'I will be Here'. As I listened to it, it was as if the song was a tailor made response to what I had shared the previous night. I thought 'how sweet, my friend's actually posted the song in response to my sharing'. But when I checked the time stamp, I realized that the posting was made 3 hours before I met my friend the previous day.
The things is, my friend had told me that God had spoken and shared with my friend that God had wanted me to personally share my heart with my friend about what I was going through prior to our meeting. Now God had actually addressed my needs through my friend before I had even opened my mouth to share what I was going through. When I told my friend what had happened, we both kept quiet, speechless at what the Lord had done in our midst.
Another set of supernatural events took place about 3 weeks ago. I walked to the common table in my office and picked up the newspaper and brought it back to my desk. As I sat down I reached out and picked-up my iPod Touch to turn it off. The time on the device was 3:33. I felt an impression on my heart -- Jeremiah 33:3. I paused and felt encouraged. God knew what I was going through. Then as I picked-up the newspaper I had brought with me and unfolded the page, I noticed that at the bottom of the page was a half page ad with the numbers 333,000 printed large on it. I felt goosebumps. I felt the Lord was telling me to read Jeremiah 33:3. Then on the way home later that evening, as I was pondering and meditating on what had happened, and how supernatural the '333' occurrences had seemed to be, I noticed a large double decker bus drive by. Guess what the bus number was? Yup, it was 333! Fast forward to the next day, I'm sitting down to lunch before going to church for choir practice and I decide to call my friend Kevin and tell him what I had experienced with '333'. I reached my hand into my bag and pulled out my phone. As I stared down at my phone, I noticed the time. It was 3:33! I feel at this juncture to say this. I feel I would be really dense not to realize that God was telling me to read Jeremiah 33:3, and that He wanted to show me something from that verse.
Now I shared all that to share this.
The understanding I got from Him after 2 weeks of waiting on Him was this. Man is finite. We are trapped in time and space. We move through time in a linear fashion. Once we pass a moment in time in our lives, we can never go back. Even if you wanted to go back in time a second, you can't!
And man doesn't do too well regarding His ability to see into the future either. Don't talk about seeing a day into the future, we can't even predict an hour into the future. What about our present? do we know everything about our present? I realize that we don't even know what's happening in the next room! And think about this. Do You know how many hairs there are on your head? Man is finite and limited! But God isn't.
In the original Hebrew, Jeremiah 33: 3 actually says that God will unlock hidden things to us, hidden things that are likened to things locked up in a safe or stronghouse. One translation says unsearchable things. Like I mentioned earlier, there are many things in our lives that are unsearchable. We do not know what's going to happen in our future -- not even in the next hour. We don't know about how our life fits into the 'big scheme of things' even at this present moment. But God does. He lives outside of time. He is already in our tomorrows. And as He demonstrated to me, before I even uttered a word out of my mouth, He knew what I was going to say. The bible says that God knew us even when we were knit in our mother's womb. He knows our future better than we know our present and our past.
So listen to the invitation today to throw yourself into the hands of the One who knows all things.
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Jer 33:3 NIV
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