Tag: Hearing God’s Voice

Contradiction

I am grateful You have adopted us!

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards [“illegitimate” sons, cruelly ignored by their shirking father], and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Hebrews 12

Me: Good afternoon, Father!

Abba: Good afternoon, Jon!

Me: It is humbling to admit the truth of Hebrews 12:2 while at the same time an incalculable blessing to receive as a gift the faith in which we are now called to walk. Oh, the price paid to secure that gift for us! We have neither initiated it, nor are we capable of finishing the journey.

Why does the third verse speak of enduring the “contradiction of sinners against Himself”?

Abba: The word is ἀντιλογίαν (antilogian). It conveys opposition to His word, His message. This opposition persists today, even escalating as the end of the age draws neigh. Do not miss that Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf – on behalf of all men – is timeless. He bore your sin, which at the time of the cross was yet future. He bears the opposition to His message in every time. Yet I am not willing that any should perish, but desire that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3) by accepting Our message. I want you to grow up into the fullness of what I designed you to be.

Isaiah saw and wondered, who would believe?

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken. 9 And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53

Jesus reinforced the importance of believing and explained the inoculation of the “world” against the truth. Only the ones who desire to see, will see.

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

John 14:6, 12-20

Me: Amazing, Father, how from the before Jesus’ incarnation, You were bearing witness to the message of Your love, demonstrated in Him! More remarkable still that you have given the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the truth in us! I love You!

Abba: I love you! Whatever you ask to convey the Truth I desire to convey, I will do. In fact, I Am doing. No matter the level of contradiction.

Critters and the End of the Age

I am grateful for the warm weather this weekend to finish cleaning up in the garden and other outside chores!

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4, KJV

Me: Good morning, Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit: Good morning, Jon!

Me: I cannot adequately express my gratitude for Your presence in my life! You are at work in ways that I don’t always even recognize. Help me to be more attentive to Your leading and not so dominated by the momentum of whatever I am doing at any given time.

Holy Spirit: Then attend to these words of Solomon, for they are wisdom. Yet do not follow his example, for he did not always do what this passage says.

20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. 25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Proverbs 4, KJV

Me: I do recognize the need for diligence in relating to You. I know You are always seeking relationship with me, but I also recognize that I can be oblivious to Your voice if I am not listening for it.

8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. 9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

1 Kings 19, KJV

Holy Spirit: Yes, I do not override your will. At the creation, when we spoke all into existence, we did not strain nor raise our voice. Do not, therefore, expect Me to yell at you. Do not be like a child who has been trained that his mother only means business if she resorts to shouting. Consider Elijah. The tumult of the wind and the earthquake and the fire were raging without. Noisome fear and despair were raging within. Yet even with Elijah I did not raise My voice over his distractions. It was not until he turned his attention to me that I delivered instructions as to what he was to do.

Me: The angel prepared Elijah for his flight to Horeb. Was going to Horeb to hide in a cave Your idea?

Holy Spirit: In his fear of Jezebel, Elijah was like a horse with the bit in his teeth, wild-eyed and running headlong. I sent the angel to help him survive until he was able to listen to me. At Horeb, I sent the rock-breaking wind and the earthquake and the fire to get his attention. He was completely self-absorbed in his fear of Jezebel, as he knew she intended to make good on her threats against him. He was focused on her and on his own inadequacy, not on Me.

Me: It is easy to sit in my chair in peace and safety and be critical of Elijah’s fear. I am mindful of the lengths to which You were willing to go to get him to return to listening to You. I am grateful that You are speaking to me about minding my own heart. I know You are going to great lengths on my behalf as well. Thank You!

Holy Spirit: You are welcome!

Me: I hope You won’t think this a silly question. We have pets that are dependent on our daily provision for food and water, that are contained indoors such that they cannot fend for themselves. That is also true for many other people. Farmers have animals they have a responsibility to care for. What will be the fate of the critters that believers are keeping at the time of the rapture?

Holy Spirit: Consider Genesis 1:24-31

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Though every beast of the earth was subjected to the futility brought about by the sin of man, the animals were not responsible for it. You recognize I can rapture believers from the earth, including deep-sea divers, submariners, airline pilots, spelunkers, and diamond miners. Do not think I will be stymied by mere doorknob or farm gate latch.

Note the mention of the four fantastic beasts at the throne in Revelation 4 and 5. There is revelation of beasts in heaven. You recognized that the animals of earth obviously have life and that life is of Me. Have you wondered whether all the cats and canines born between creation to the marriage supper will be caught up to eternity in recognition that My creation was very good? What about cockroaches and mosquitoes? They are part of the life that I created. It is not their fault that the fall corrupted them from creature to pestilence.

I leave you with this mention of beasts from Isaiah 11 to consider:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Me: Yes, Amen! Thank You Holy Spirit! I love You!

Holy Spirit: You are welcome! I love you!

Garlic Planting / Mulching

Late garlic planting / mulching – November 4th.

Featured photo mine, November 5th.

Body, Heart, Soul & Spirit

I am grateful that You have redeemed those of us who have accepted your gift of salvation, that in our spirit we are all that the scripture says we are.

Keep the heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23

A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.

Proverbs 14:30

6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

– Proverbs 23

Me: Good afternoon, Father!

Abba: Good afternoon, Jon!

Me: Can you help me understand these references to the heart? How does the heart relate to the spirit, to the mind, our will, even our emotions? After all, we have the expression, “I love you with all my heart!” There seem to be lots of opinions out there. What do You say?

Abba: Here are some New Testament scriptures to look at to go with the proverbs you have quoted:

20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

2 Corinthians 1

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians  4

So, you see, the heart contains the earnest (awareness) of the Spirit. Your born-again spirit is sealed (kept, preserved, protected) by My indwelling Spirit. You mentioned at the start the common understanding of emotions as being in the domain of the heart.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

Hebrews 4:12

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

Genesis 6:5

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 

Psalm 139:23

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Matthew 15:19

This verse in Hebrews 4 shows you two things. First, thoughts and Intents (plans, will, desires) are in the domain of the heart. Second, My word helps you sort these questions out.

Here is something else you might meditate on:

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 

Matthew 12:34

Even as My words tell you what is in My heart, so do yours.

Here is another example of My Heart:

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 

John 3:14-21

And one example concerning My Will:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

Me: Thank You Father! These are awesome assurances! I love You!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Grapic mine. Needs more development, as it is hard to depict these relationships.

In Him all Things Hold Together

I am grateful for getting some of the barn signs in the county down today. It was below freezing and windy, but I really enjoyed my Wife’s company and help.

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1

Me: Good evening Jesus!

Jesus: Good evening, Jon!

Me: Thank You Jesus, for holding everything together.

Jesus: My plan requires it to hold together.

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29

Do you think about the plans that I have for you?

Me: I wonder sometimes, Jesus, if my belief that I am on the path you want me on is fully under the guidance of the Spirit and not merely a product of inertia.

Jesus: It is not merely inertia. I promised the Spirit to guide you into all truth (John 16:13) and you have a heart to listen. I Am faithful to speak to those who have a heart to listen. I am faithful to speak to you.

Me: I cannot overstate what that promise means to me. I honestly don’t know how people who don’t know You get out of bed in the morning.

The opening passage talks about You as creator of thrones and powers, rulers and authorities. You must be disappointed in our current authorities and their dismissal of Your plan. No, more their dismissal of You.

Jesus: Yes, I Am disappointed whenever any chooses not to have a relationship with Me.

Me: Is it more rampant now?

Jesus: Sin is progressive. Small steps at first. Eventually rushing headlong to destruction.

Me: We have elected officials who refuse to fix a broken voting system, the foundation of our republic. They draw back from making changes when cheaters cry foul. I know you see all this. My tendency is to believe that many elections are swayed by antics such as the dead voting. Am I a conspiracy theorist?

Jesus: No, what you sense is the truth. Let me remind you that this too falls under the “all things” coverage of Romans 8:28 –

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Also, in every age there has been a remnant dedicated wholeheartedly to Me. It is the same now. You meet many of them. Remnants do not win elections. They do tread the path to life eternal.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7

Me: Thank You Jesus! I love You!

Jesus: You are welcome! I love you!

Photo by Janko Ferlic on Pexels.com

Abundantly Above

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Ephesians 3

First things first. Paul is speaking to those who have joined God’s family by accepting the sacrifice Jesus made for us at the cross as efficacious for bringing us in. The world refers to us as Christians. Jesus knows us as family. We know Him as awesome! If that doesn’t describe you, just ask Him to help you begin that journey. If I have learned anything of Him, it is that He is faithful and that His offering of Himself to pay the sin-debt that we have accrued is a finished work.

When this passage speaks of the riches of His glory, does that resonate? Have you considered the endless expanse of the heavens on a cold winter night when untold suns twinkle from unimaginable distances? Have you considered that by His breath, He uttered “let there be”, and they were? Have you seen the reflection of the moon on the sea, shattered in sight into a thousand shards by the waves? Have you watched the tides progress by their lunar timetable? Have you listened and wondered at the whisper of wind carrying the sent of pines? Seen the glint of trout in clear mountain stream? Have you ever peered into a microscope at any of the universe too small for unaided human eyes to behold? Do you feel the tug of gravity? Have you considered the pull of every particle of creation on every other? Have you marveled that no corpuscle of matter exists alone? Do you note that it is by His power that all these things hold together (Colossians 1:17)? Have you comprehended that a lifetime of contemplating His majesty will not scratch the surface?

This. This is the One, who by His Spirit strengthens the believer in his inner man, who places in the ones who will accept Him, the very Spirit of Christ! To dwell, no less; to be at home.

The passage makes it clear that we walk in this truth by faith in Him and in this promise. Though we are indwelt/born again in our spirit by His Spirit. Our minds are still full of doubt and in need of an extreme makeover. We are called to participate in a transformation, in a renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23). We need to immerse ourselves in His Word (John 1:1), recognizing its truth until we are liberated (John 8:32). We must be set free from that we have believed that is not true; about ourselves, about others, and primarily, about Him.

Does that seem like an insurmountable task? That is why this passage tells us whose power is at work. Not our power, but His. Once you get this, you will see that the length and breadth and height spoken of in verse 18 of Ephesians 3 dwarf the inestimable dimensions of the universe that we peer into on those clear nights.

Christmas Cactus in November

In the beginning, in the garden, the temptation was to self-determination, rather than focus on the desire of our Maker. We have centuries of evidence of the results of that decision. If we know God for who He is, we can’t fail to recognize how that choice was made in the shadow of deception and how deluded one is to hold to it now. Praise be to God, in Jesus we have redemption and a way back (recovery)!

Things of Him

Low in the west, crescent descends,
Red-tinged, yet ghostly pale.
On frigid air my breath depends,
Crystalline sharpness I inhale.

Gratitude fills my open heart,
God-flux saturates sight,
Distant canine does its part,
Punctuating chill air of night.

Evening “star” tracks along,
Myriad cousins glitter bright.
Crunch of frost an eerie song,
Retreating back inside.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Romans 1:20
Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Pexels.com

Finding

I am grateful for Your faithfulness!

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Isaiah 55:6

Me: Good evening, Jesus!

Jesus: Good evening, Jon!

Me: May You not always be found, Lord? Are you not always near?

Jesus: I may always be found by the one who desires to find me:

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

Prior to the end, Perception of My presence is up to you. What do you call someone who goes where he is unwelcome?

Me: Intrusive? Unsought? Annoying?

Jesus: Do you think I will win any hearts, if I Am those things?

Me: Not the way You made us.

Jesus: That is right. “Unsought” is the test I use to know if I Am welcome with anyone. I seek a loving relationship with you. I could dominate I chose, but that is not why I made you. Nearly everyone knows someone who is insensitive to social cues. Even though they mean well, they may be seen as selfish and intrusive. Why? Because they are self-focused. You know I Am not like that.

Me: Why do you say “Perception” of Your presence?

Jesus: I am, of course, omnipresent. My existence everywhere and (every-when) is a feature of My nature. David knew this:

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139: 7-16

For those who desire My company, as David (sometimes) did, I Am ever there for them. For those who do not, My presence is not obvious. The part of man that was made to perceive spirit did die in the Garden. It it only restored with the new birth when one chooses to answer My call. Then one can hear my voice. Here is an example of some who did not even when they could see me physically:

Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

John 10:24-31

I promised My presence through Moses at the threshold of entering the land I swore to Abraham. Moses related it to Joshua in the hearing of all the people.

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Deuteronomy 31:6,8

I reinforced that promise to Joshua directly. This is who I Am.

There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Joshua 1:5

To the disciples and all who would follow, I reassured of My closeness.

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Matthew 28:20

My invited presence is the key to a successful and joyful life.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 13:5

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 55:6-13

Though I allow a relationship with Me to be optional, none should think that it does not matter at the last.

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Revelation 3:14-22

Me: Thank You Jesus! Thank You for helping me to dig into these passages to hear what You are saying about them! I am blessed indeed to have Your promise to be with Me! I don’t know how those who do not know you, navigate their days. I love You!

Jesus: You are welcome! I love You, and I love that you love being with Me!

Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

Family

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. [Ephesians 3]

Me:
Good afternoon Father!

ABBA:

Good afternoon Jon!

Me:

When I first read through this, I wondered about the existence of families in heaven and how it is that a family on earth derives its name from You. Then I realized this is not about some mystical connection, but about Your having created us. We would not even exist except for you! Plus, You designed our genetic make-up and our ability to procreate so that generation by generation one is derived from the parent’s stock, giving each his unique traits and giving genealogists mysteries to solve as to how our families are most recently connected. Sometimes we get used to calling You Father in a matter-of-fact way and lose sight of the fact that You are in Truth the ultimate Father of all.

ABBA:

Loosing sight of this fact is one thing that allows the enemy to nurture the lies that engender “we and they” divisions. The separations that have ensued are mere family estrangements; strongholds that have gained footing upon having forgotten who I Am. This alienation has been has been metastasizing (Exodus 20:5) since Adam pointed to Eve, calling her “the woman whom You gave to be with me” and shirking his own blame (Genesis 3:12) as though he could make his choice to disobey My fault. He was mouthing the opinions first born in the heart of Lucifer, giving place to lies about My motivations that completely missed the fact that I gave Adam perfect access life in Me. This was Life, which by My very nature withheld no good thing. It wasn’t long before this corruption passed down to Cain and erupted in anger toward his brother Able.

Me:

This makes me think of my own brother, who has fairly recently tried to cast me in a verbal spew as the son on our stepmother (whom he hates) while intimating he himself was the son of our natural mother and therefore right to despise me. This is kind of odd, given that we were both grown when dad remarried.

ABBA:

“Verbal spew” about the heritage of another does not originate from a good place. In fact, it is just another facet of the confusion that proceeds from a lack of understanding that I Am the Father of all. Dehumanization is a term that refers to the mental gyrations one goes through to rationalize carrying out the hatred of Satan against others who, in the absence of such machinations, would otherwise be recognized to be just like oneself. This process requires (willful) ignorance of the fact that I Am the Father of all (Ephesians 4:6). Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. The authority he has to do these things is exactly the authority that he is able to trick My children into giving him. They are easily deceived because they do not know My Word.

 

Matthew 5:3 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

Have you wondered at the fact that I send the rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous? None can persist except I provide their needs. If I provided for only those who love Me, the ones who do not would quickly recognize they had no choice. I cause the sun to rise on the evil and the good that those who choose Me may do so of their own volition. They therefore love me freely. I desire it no other way. I love, whether My love is reciprocated or not. I Am love. Love is My nature. This is your calling, for You are made in My image, as are all My children. Even the ones who do not choose to act like it.

Me:

Thank You Father! I love You!

ABBA:

You are welcome! I love you!

Delegated Authority – What will I do with it?

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government[a] will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government[a] and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. [Isaiah 9; [a] rule, dominion]

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. [Ephesians 1]

Me:
Good morning Father!
ABBA:
Good morning Jon!
Me:
I look forward to the fulfillment of Your plan! In our current governmental systems, we have nothing like unity or unending peace.
ABBA:
I have given among men the freedom to choose. When the times reach their fulfillment, all things will be brought into unity. In the mean time, you have the freedom to choose. All the things that are under your authority can, even today, be brought into unity under the Son.
Me:
What things are under my authority?
ABBA:
What you will believe. What you will do with the time alloted to you. What you will speak. What you will give. Whether you will follow My Word and heed My Spirit, and love my Son. Will you love others? Will you show compassion? Will you trust Me when others deny Me? The matters of your own heart and of your own mind, these are under your authority. Will you stand on the Truth or compromise for safety or convenience? In My Son, I have freely given you life in place of the wage of death that you had earned in sin. No one can take you out of My hand. Therefore, no one can take away the choices of what you decide to do under the authority that I have given you. In these things, under Jesus, in the Spirit, by My zeal for this plan of redemption, let your mind be transformed and let your spirit be renewed. In the world, lies abound, but they will be shown for what they are and will go the way of death to which they lead. My Word is Truth and it will never pass away. Stand on that foundation and you will never be shaken.
Me:
Thank You Father! When I consider Your Word and Your mighty promises, my confidence is renewed and joy rises in my heart! I love You!
ABBA:
You’re welcome! The joy is a gift for you to enjoy and to share. I love you!

Authority – Some Rightful, Some Usurped

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  Romans 13:1-2

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
For years, I have struggled with the 13th chapter of Romans.

Holy Spirit:
I know.

Me:
I see Your way, clearly laid out in Galatians 5 – self-control as the produce of a life infused by Your power and subject to Your desire.

Holy Spirit:
What about those who have no intention of being subject to My desire?  A purpose of appointed authorities is to restrain those who serve the destroyer from wronging others.

Me:
I’m perfectly OK with that.  It is when the authorities themselves appear to be serving the enemy that I am troubled by Romans 13; giving hearty approval to abortion, for instance, and vilifying those who would oppose that abomination.

Holy Spirit:
You are asking how that type of authority could possibly be established by Me?

Me:
Yes.

Do I prevent you from sinning, or do I permit you to choose?

Holy Spirit:
You, appear to give me free will to obey or to not obey.

Me:
If you do not obey, on whose authority are you acting?

That is a hard question.  I see that You permit the choice, but cannot imagine You being in favor of a bad choice.

Holy Spirit:
Bad choices grieve Me (Ephesians 4:30).

Your freedom to choose is embedded in the fact that you are created in the image of God.  I Am free to choose.  I choose always according to My nature.  That is why the scripture tells you that I Am light and that in Me there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).  I desire you to choose according to My nature in you.  Since I Am in you, the only way for you to do otherwise is to quench the fire of My truth that is resonating in your heart and charge ahead in spite of what I Am telling you.  You know how that feels, just as you know how it feels to obey and grow and love and rejoice.

Me:
And the government or other authorities are groups of people with the same choice: whose authority will they exercise?

Holy Spirit:
There is only One Authority.  But it is possible to choose to act outside of My authority or the authority that I delegate.  Those who act wrongfully are usurpers.

Me:
I know Jesus told Pilate that he would have no power over Him except it had been given from above.  I know how dependent I am on Jesus’ sacrifice in submitting to the crucifixion carried out at Pilate’s order and the insistence of the Jewish leaders.

Holy Spirit:
I make all things work together for good for those who love me, for those who are called according to My purpose (Romans 8).  All things include the actions of usurpers.

Me:
Thank You that you are above all earthly powers and that my life is wholly in your hand.  You are only good and merciful continually!  I love You!

Holy Spirit:

You are welcome! I love you!