Category Archives: Intimacy with God
Are You?
1 Cor.15:9 “For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.”
If anyone understood the privilege and favor that comes with grace, it was Paul. Paul never lost sight of the fact that he was a man, unworthy outside of Christ. Even though Paul embraced his new identity in Christ, he did not lose sight of where he was coming from. So Paul was able to stay grateful to God and that is where God wants us to be.
God has saved us through the Blood of Jesus and we stand blameless before Him. But God is not done yet; He wants to make us like Read the rest of this entry
Knowing IX
Prov.22:17–19 [TLB, emphasis added] “Listen to this wise advice; follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others…”
When God wants to take you into a new experience with Him, what do you do? I would say the only response is to follow Him. And this is the beauty of relationship; the more you spend time with God, the more He reveals Himself to you. Has God not been beautiful beyond description even before you and I were formed? But as you spend time with Him, as you experience Him and tarry in His Presence, these things become real to you. Then you become better equipped to pick out His voice even amidst a crowd.
Knowing VIII
John 1:12 [RSV] “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”
God is more interested in your character than in your comfort. God is more interested in who you are becoming than in what you are acquiring. And God gives us a checklist in His Word. James 3:14-17 [NIV, emphasis added] “If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition… such ‘wisdom’ is of the devil… The wisdom that comes from God is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere.” Be more like Christ.
iWorship
Ps.147:10 (ERV) “War horses and powerful soldiers are not what he cares about. 11 The Lord enjoys people who worship him and trust in his faithful love. 12 Jerusalem, praise the Lord! Zion, praise your God!
Our final lesson about fine-tuning from prophets John the Baptist and Habakkuk is worship.
Lesson#6. I must worship: Spend time thanking God for speaking to you. Hab.3:2 [LB, emphasis added] “O Lord, now I have heard Your report, and I worship You in awe…” The truth is, when you receive God’s response to a question, it makes you love Him more! There is something about God’s response that deepens our love for Him. I hope you get this because no matter how hard I try, I will Read the rest of this entry
Sing Songs
2 Kings 3:15-1 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the Lord…
We will kick off our time in God’s Presence today with worship. Do not rush over the words of this worship song. Deliberately engage your mind and imagination as you sing along:
“Lord, I thirst for you and I long to be in Your Presence. My soul will wait on You, Father draw me nearer, draw me nearer to the beauty of Your holiness. I will wait on You, Almighty God, in the beauty of Your holiness. And I will worship You, Almighty God, in the beauty of Your holiness… in the beauty of Your holiness” Read the rest of this entry
My Station
Ps.46:10 [NIV, emphasis added] “Be still, and know that I am God.”
God speaks to people who take the time to listen. When you still yourself, you are better able to listen and God is able to speak to you. He is able to breathe upon you. When the water is disturbed, it is almost impossible to see the bottom of the swimming pool. But when that same water is still, you can see through clearly.
God takes us to a new level [and He will continue to take us higher in Him in Jesus Name], but while we are getting into the flow of Read the rest of this entry
Will You?
Hab.2:3 But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” [emphasis added]
Now that we have gotten rid of the challenges to fine tuning, we will turn our focus to fine-tuning and learn how to fine-tune from two prophets in the Bible – Habakkuk in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New Testament. Please read Luke Read the rest of this entry
His Channels I
Prov.3:6 [MSG] “Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, and everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track.”
When you turn on the radio in your car and tune it, you come across many different stations and many different voices enroute to your desired station. These voices that you hear were not recorded in the radio. Those voices are around you already; your radio just needed to tune in and receive. I am here to tell you that God’s voice is here right now. Read the rest of this entry
All It Takes
Heb.1:1 [TLB] “Long ago God spoke in many different ways to our fathers through the prophets, in visions, dreams, and even face to face, telling them little by little about his plans”
Hearing God should be part of our daily lives. Hearing the voice of God is what separates great people from average people. The extraordinary edge of knowing the mind of God concerning an issue is the differentiating factor between confused people and the people that have the peace of God. I am praying today that you will be in the category of those that have the mind of God and the peace of God, in Jesus Name. It is important that you hear God for yourself. And as you tune-in to God, you will hear God. However, as you tune in, you will discover that there are different channels through which God speaks.
Back in the day, I knew there was a God and that He speaks. I was curious to hear Him speak and so I just look into the sky and say, ‘Let’s make this easy, write it in the skies so I will know what you are saying’. But over the years, I have discovered that like the radio device, you have to tune-in to hear God. God does not want us to be playing games or guessing. Some people say, ‘Lord if it is you, when I step out of the house let two cockerels crow then I will know you want me to marry that man’. Do not risk your life like that.
The story is told of a man who did not want to spend time reading his Bible. He said, ‘God I want you to speak to me. Anything you show me now in the Bible I will do it’. So he opened the Bible and the first passage he saw was, “…and Judas hung himself”. So he closed the Bible and said, ‘This cannot be You, Lord. I am giving You a second chance, so when I open this Bible now, speak to me!’ Then he opened another portion of the Bible and saw, “…go and do likewise”.
God does not want us to be guessing when it comes to hearing from Him. If you are a child of God, you have the Spirit of God and you have all it takes to hear from heaven. You have the machinery in you to hear from God. Every radio comes packaged with everything it requires to pick signals. There are a lot of voices in the air around you; all you need is the right equipment. But if the equipment is available and it is not tuned, is it useful? It is not.
Prayer: Lord, I thank You for equipping me with everything I need to hear You. I declare that as Your child, I will hear Your voice and stay tuned to You alone, in Jesus Name.
Pre-occupied?
Luke 8:7 [MSG] “Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it.” [with emphasis]
Jesus explains Luke 8:7 in Luke 8:14 saying, “The seed that fell among weeds stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they don’t mature.” [NIV, with emphasis]. So the soil with weeds is a pre-occupied mind. A mind that is pre-occupied cannot tune-in to God. You Read the rest of this entry
