John 14:13-14
"Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it."
How many times have you read that scripture and never really thought about the privilege it grants us. We have access to all that God can do, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Notice what Jesus says specifically, "Whatever you ask in MY NAME," the amplified puts in parenthesis, [As presenting all that I AM.], that is the key, who do you say Jesus is. If you are using the name like an overused credit card, hoping to get what you want you miss the point. We need to realize that His name is what brings us into the throne room of God, its His name that demons fear, its His name that soon every knee will bow to and declare for all eternity to hear that He is Lord of All. I want to quickly examine the three areas His name should be operating in for optimum efficacy in our lives today.
1. Our preaching- While the move lately is to focus on more psychological, theological, slick sermons, where He is only mentioned as a galactic Santa Claus, our preaching should present the Christ of the Bible. You know, crucified, buried, resurrected, ascended, and soon returning, as the central point of our message. That is the message of salvation, the access to our deliverance, and key to overcoming the wiles of enemy.
2. Our warfare- We are in a battle, that isn't for land or ideology, but literally for the souls of humanity. Our enemy wants to grab as many souls as he can, keep the Christian defeated, and basically make life as hard as he can. As believers we have access through the name of Jesus, to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and through that access to the weapons that are mighty and effective. As believers in Christ, we operate in the authority of Christ, so when the enemy starts telling you how powerful he is, remind him that Christ has the keys to his house, and his days are numbered.
3. Our asking- As we mature in Christ our asking changes, not for more stuff, but more of Him. We begin asking our prayers to line up with scripture, and the revealed will of God. We go from asking for "that job", for more of your presence. We begin to see Him in a different light, not just as an ATM machine, ready to dispense stuff, but instead ready to give us the power we need to live as more that conquerors!!!
Prayer: Father IN THE NAME OF JESUS, I come and I ask you to reveal Jesus to me in all His Glory that I might fully comprehend who He is and His love for me. Fill me to overflowing with your presence. In that name I ask AMEN
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Monday, September 25, 2017
What happened??
Galatians 3:1
You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
The Lord has really been dealing with my in my private prayer life as I have been seeking Him on what has changed with the church. Why do we not see the miracles, and power as we saw at the beginning of each movement in the Church. He has been directing me to the things the apostles preached, which was echoed by the early leaders of various movements, but you hear very little about today. We preach psychology, or even say that some of the doctrines we have held to are no longer relevant to the world we live in today. There are even some who believe that the crucifixion and resurrection story are too harsh for the people today. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says the "word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing", so we ignore this doctrine and then to add insult to injury, we no longer teach the return of Christ, but instead we preach a kingdom doctrine, saying we will bring heaven to earth! To mirror Paul's words "Who has cast a spell on you?"
Satan knows that he can not defeat the church as a whole, Christ promised that, BUT what he can do is attack the believer in such a way that they become powerless and in some cases, so far from God, they are no longer aware of His presence. I have been listening and reading sermons from early church movements, and the theme of redemption through the cross, and the soon return of Jesus, runs through every sermon, yet a sampling of today's menus in various churches reads more like Psychology Today, or Christianity Lite, that it stands to reason that Christ calls the current church age lukewarm, as we are neither on fire for God, or completely away from Him.
In the book of Exodus, the 10 spies completely forgot all that God had shown them in leaving Egypt, and failed to apply it to the current situation in the Promised Land. The disciples forgot the feeding of the multitude, when the storm came, forgetting that Jesus was their protector, and source. In both cases they had to be reminded of the power that they had access to. Today we have been told that the things that Christ did, we will do and more, yet as Elisha asked, where is the God of Elijah? He hasn't changed, we have like the church at Ephesus, we left our first love, and like other churches allowed false doctrine to reign, even giving voice to people we once thought as crack pots to have a national forum, that people follow without question!!
There are 3 spirits competing if you will for the church, the first two are evil incarnate, and the other was the one that birthed the church, brings believers into the fellowship, and has the power to STILL change lives today. The first two are the Spirit of Anti-Christ, the Spirit of Jezebel, and the third is of course the Holy Spirit. We choose as Joshua said, Whom we will serve.
Friend, today examine yourself and what you believe and have been taught. Do you believe that Christ was crucified and resurrected and is coming again, or do you instead believe that the stories are just to have a psychological meaning and that they are on the level with Grimm's Fairy Tales, only you know your answer. As for me I will believe the Lord and I look forward to His return.
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
The Lord has really been dealing with my in my private prayer life as I have been seeking Him on what has changed with the church. Why do we not see the miracles, and power as we saw at the beginning of each movement in the Church. He has been directing me to the things the apostles preached, which was echoed by the early leaders of various movements, but you hear very little about today. We preach psychology, or even say that some of the doctrines we have held to are no longer relevant to the world we live in today. There are even some who believe that the crucifixion and resurrection story are too harsh for the people today. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says the "word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing", so we ignore this doctrine and then to add insult to injury, we no longer teach the return of Christ, but instead we preach a kingdom doctrine, saying we will bring heaven to earth! To mirror Paul's words "Who has cast a spell on you?"
Satan knows that he can not defeat the church as a whole, Christ promised that, BUT what he can do is attack the believer in such a way that they become powerless and in some cases, so far from God, they are no longer aware of His presence. I have been listening and reading sermons from early church movements, and the theme of redemption through the cross, and the soon return of Jesus, runs through every sermon, yet a sampling of today's menus in various churches reads more like Psychology Today, or Christianity Lite, that it stands to reason that Christ calls the current church age lukewarm, as we are neither on fire for God, or completely away from Him.
In the book of Exodus, the 10 spies completely forgot all that God had shown them in leaving Egypt, and failed to apply it to the current situation in the Promised Land. The disciples forgot the feeding of the multitude, when the storm came, forgetting that Jesus was their protector, and source. In both cases they had to be reminded of the power that they had access to. Today we have been told that the things that Christ did, we will do and more, yet as Elisha asked, where is the God of Elijah? He hasn't changed, we have like the church at Ephesus, we left our first love, and like other churches allowed false doctrine to reign, even giving voice to people we once thought as crack pots to have a national forum, that people follow without question!!
There are 3 spirits competing if you will for the church, the first two are evil incarnate, and the other was the one that birthed the church, brings believers into the fellowship, and has the power to STILL change lives today. The first two are the Spirit of Anti-Christ, the Spirit of Jezebel, and the third is of course the Holy Spirit. We choose as Joshua said, Whom we will serve.
Friend, today examine yourself and what you believe and have been taught. Do you believe that Christ was crucified and resurrected and is coming again, or do you instead believe that the stories are just to have a psychological meaning and that they are on the level with Grimm's Fairy Tales, only you know your answer. As for me I will believe the Lord and I look forward to His return.
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
Friday, September 22, 2017
Where does your faith come from?
1 Corinthians 2:5
so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.
Growing up in the church I have seen lots of changes over the years. From the Hell, fire, and brimstone messages as a kid, to the polished sermons of recent days. No place has this transition been more evident than in the Pentecostal movement. I notice less emphasis on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and His power and more reliance on the speaker's ability to move the congregation. This is a broad statement, and I realize that there are preachers, and churches we can still categorize as "Old time Pentecostal", but for the most part there aren't many. Why?? As I was reading and praying this morning I was reminded of the scripture above, that my faith should not be based on the sand of human wisdom, but on the power of a living God. This gave me three distinct thoughts I want to share with you.
1. Where does our faith come from? Does it come from fancy, well crafted sermons, meant to make us feel good about life and where we are right now? Does it come from well-reasoned theological discussions about God, or Bible Prophecy? Or does it come from men and women, preaching under the anointing of God, allowing Him to give them the word and then allowing the Spirit to confirm the Word. Hebrews tells us that "At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will." Notice the testimony! The early church saw these miracles, the early Pentecostal movement in the early 20th century saw these miracles. Where is the Lord God of Elijah???
2. What feeds our faith? Do we have a deep hunger for the word, or are we content with "fast food" sermons, that lack real content? Do we as believers remind ourselves daily that "God is who He says He is, and can do what He says He can do? Are we like Abraham are are fully convinced that God is able to keep His promises?
3. Who guides us in this walk?John 14:14-17 declares 2 things about the Holy Spirit. 1. He abides with us, and 2. He abides in us, why the distinction. He abides with us as our burden bearer, our advocate, or the one called along side. We can follow Him as Israel followed the cloud in the wilderness. He is also in us to help us walk and feed our faith. Jesus asked the Father to "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.". The Holy Spirit makes the word come alive in our hearts, it brings it to our remembrance when it is needed, it allows the word to go forth with power and bring about the miracles, and demonstration of God's power to give us a real basis for our faith.
I don't know about you, but I long to see God moving in our land again, as he has before. This may mean a shake up in the house of God, and more of our ministers being in the ministry of Ezekiel, or Paul, and not __________. I'll let you decide who goes there.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.
Growing up in the church I have seen lots of changes over the years. From the Hell, fire, and brimstone messages as a kid, to the polished sermons of recent days. No place has this transition been more evident than in the Pentecostal movement. I notice less emphasis on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and His power and more reliance on the speaker's ability to move the congregation. This is a broad statement, and I realize that there are preachers, and churches we can still categorize as "Old time Pentecostal", but for the most part there aren't many. Why?? As I was reading and praying this morning I was reminded of the scripture above, that my faith should not be based on the sand of human wisdom, but on the power of a living God. This gave me three distinct thoughts I want to share with you.
1. Where does our faith come from? Does it come from fancy, well crafted sermons, meant to make us feel good about life and where we are right now? Does it come from well-reasoned theological discussions about God, or Bible Prophecy? Or does it come from men and women, preaching under the anointing of God, allowing Him to give them the word and then allowing the Spirit to confirm the Word. Hebrews tells us that "At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will." Notice the testimony! The early church saw these miracles, the early Pentecostal movement in the early 20th century saw these miracles. Where is the Lord God of Elijah???
2. What feeds our faith? Do we have a deep hunger for the word, or are we content with "fast food" sermons, that lack real content? Do we as believers remind ourselves daily that "God is who He says He is, and can do what He says He can do? Are we like Abraham are are fully convinced that God is able to keep His promises?
3. Who guides us in this walk?John 14:14-17 declares 2 things about the Holy Spirit. 1. He abides with us, and 2. He abides in us, why the distinction. He abides with us as our burden bearer, our advocate, or the one called along side. We can follow Him as Israel followed the cloud in the wilderness. He is also in us to help us walk and feed our faith. Jesus asked the Father to "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.". The Holy Spirit makes the word come alive in our hearts, it brings it to our remembrance when it is needed, it allows the word to go forth with power and bring about the miracles, and demonstration of God's power to give us a real basis for our faith.
I don't know about you, but I long to see God moving in our land again, as he has before. This may mean a shake up in the house of God, and more of our ministers being in the ministry of Ezekiel, or Paul, and not __________. I'll let you decide who goes there.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
How to Get an Answer
Romans 4:21
because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.
We live in the name it claim it world, the positive confession of faith to get what we want from God, but is that what the Word truly teaches? If we are using the scripture as a cafeteria plan to get what we want when we want it, and to define success as the world sees it. In my devotion time today as I listened to an old sermon, by a man I respect he brought to my remembrance on exactly how the promises of God work, and how we are to approach God. I want to share this with you, in hopes of building up your faith. Hebrews tells us to approach the throne with "Boldness", and for many that is going to God in prayer and demanding this and such, BUT I submit to you that this is arrogance and not boldness!! What is boldness, I believe it is coming before the throne of God, fully convinced of who God is, and holding the testimony of what He has already done. A lawyer will appear before a judge with past cases that apply to the situation he is there to defend or prosecute as the case may be. He doesn't walk in declaring the judge will rule this or that way, he holds the judge to the standard of the law be it civil or criminal.
Abraham was fully convinced that God would do what He had promised, that faith would bleed over into the children of Israel as they would remind the Father of who they were, and what He had promised to do for them. In Exodus chapter 32, God was very upset with the children of Israel, they had made a golden calf to worship as god, since Moses was late coming down the mountain. Moses reminded God of His divine promise. "Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’” (Ex. 32:14)
Did you see what Moses did, he didn't beg and plead as if God wasn't listening, he simply reminded God of His own promises, and God didn't kill them all. He still gave them a consequence to their disobedience, but He spared them as a group. In the same way, when I come before God in prayer, I need to know what promises I am holding to and be fully convinced that they are for me. I come before the throne bold knowing Who my God is and what He is capable of. I also knows he delights in His children and wants to meet our needs exceedingly and abundantly, more than I can even imagine, and those who know me know my imagination.
As we move into these days of problems and turmoil, hold tight to the promises of God and believe Him for ALL of your needs. Bring your requests with thanksgiving knowing what He has already done, should build up your faith to see what He is going to do.
Grace and peace.
Eric
because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.
We live in the name it claim it world, the positive confession of faith to get what we want from God, but is that what the Word truly teaches? If we are using the scripture as a cafeteria plan to get what we want when we want it, and to define success as the world sees it. In my devotion time today as I listened to an old sermon, by a man I respect he brought to my remembrance on exactly how the promises of God work, and how we are to approach God. I want to share this with you, in hopes of building up your faith. Hebrews tells us to approach the throne with "Boldness", and for many that is going to God in prayer and demanding this and such, BUT I submit to you that this is arrogance and not boldness!! What is boldness, I believe it is coming before the throne of God, fully convinced of who God is, and holding the testimony of what He has already done. A lawyer will appear before a judge with past cases that apply to the situation he is there to defend or prosecute as the case may be. He doesn't walk in declaring the judge will rule this or that way, he holds the judge to the standard of the law be it civil or criminal.
Abraham was fully convinced that God would do what He had promised, that faith would bleed over into the children of Israel as they would remind the Father of who they were, and what He had promised to do for them. In Exodus chapter 32, God was very upset with the children of Israel, they had made a golden calf to worship as god, since Moses was late coming down the mountain. Moses reminded God of His divine promise. "Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’” (Ex. 32:14)
Did you see what Moses did, he didn't beg and plead as if God wasn't listening, he simply reminded God of His own promises, and God didn't kill them all. He still gave them a consequence to their disobedience, but He spared them as a group. In the same way, when I come before God in prayer, I need to know what promises I am holding to and be fully convinced that they are for me. I come before the throne bold knowing Who my God is and what He is capable of. I also knows he delights in His children and wants to meet our needs exceedingly and abundantly, more than I can even imagine, and those who know me know my imagination.
As we move into these days of problems and turmoil, hold tight to the promises of God and believe Him for ALL of your needs. Bring your requests with thanksgiving knowing what He has already done, should build up your faith to see what He is going to do.
Grace and peace.
Eric
Monday, September 18, 2017
All Things????????
Romans 8: 26-28
In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for the good[c] of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
One of the most quoted scriptures in Christianity is Romans 8:28, and I'll admit I have claimed it myself a time or two, especially when I don't see how this will be good for me. However, recently the Lord made me aware that there was more to that scripture than that verse. The key to that verse and its power is found in the two preceding verses. Spiritual prayer, the prayers not spoken in our own language, with our filters, and desires, but the prayer of the deep part of us that cries out to the Father. The psalmist said in Psalms 42:7 that "Deep calls to Deep." Lets go further, we are told to pray in the Spirit, why, because the Spirit of God, knows us better than we do, notice the verse in 27, "because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." We know that if we pray anything according to the will of God, we shall have it. The question is do we know the will of God?
Let's be honest we know what we want, and think we need. A particular job, spouse, or some other thing, and we will pray and beg and then get frustrated when we don't get what we ask for like children. How many times do you think Joseph was tempted to pray for deliverance from Egypt, only to find out later he was there to save his family. What about Paul, in prison, he had seen God deliver him before, but now he was awaiting his death, he still writes and encourages the church. Even me praying to go back into the classroom, teaching, living check to check, and not really seeking God and what His plan was. See a pattern, we most of the time know what we want, just not what we need, BUT God does. So again we are encouraged to Pray in the Spirit.
I can hear some of you already, "Brother, I don't believe in tongues and I'm not going to be some freak speaking in way that might embarrass me." He doesn't specify that he says with groanings that can't be uttered. Remember in Exodus God says he has heard them "crying out" in the CSB, these are not the organized prayers found in church, or in your corporate prayer structure, these are people crying out from their very hearts asking God to intervene. Pray in the Spirit, and watch what God will do.
Prayer: Father, fill me with the Spirit, so that I can pray in the Spirit. Change how I pray, so that I can pray according to your divine will. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
Friday, September 15, 2017
The Jonah Principle: Disobedience Hurts
Jonah 1:3-7
Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. 4 But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. 5 The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.6 The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.[a] Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.” 7 “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots. Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.
This is the part of the story EVERYONE knows, Jonah blew it. He fled God's mission and went in a totally opposite direction. I don't know about you, but I can relate, I went in a totally opposite direction from God's call and I can tell you that stupid, disobedience hurts. Lets look at a few things.
1. Jonah CHOSE a path of disobedience. No one forced him, or kidnapped him, Jonah ran from the call on his life. 1 Samuel 12:15 we are told that if we "rebel against His commandment, then the hand of the Lord will be against us. " In an age of prosperity gospel preaching, and get all you can world, having the hand of the Lord against you is not a pleasant place to be. What causes disobedience you say? Several causes, disbelief, fear, or just a heart of rebellion. Notice in Numbers 13 when the spies come back from the promised land. Their fear and disbelief cause them to decide NOT to go over. John Maxwell once said, "Never let fear decide your future." and its true. Fear causes disbelief, disbelief causes either no action, or rebellion against God's plan, both have dire consequences.
2. God responds to our actions. Psalms 78:40 says "How often they defied and rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!" We love preaching that God sees us in our need, and in our despair, but usually not to keen on reminding ourselves He sees us in our rebellion. Notice he tried to hide, God found him, he tried to run, and God caught him. There is nowhere you can hide so why do we try so hard? Again fear, disbelief and rebellion are our culprits. We are afraid to admit we failed, or we don't believe He can forgive, or we think we have went too far.
3. His disobedience impacted ALL around him. They all paid the penalty of Jonah's disobedience. Why, because we don't live in a vacuum, we impact those around us for both good and bad. The Israel could not enter into the rest God wanted for them due to disobedience, many times our finances, families and relationships suffer as we reap the seeds of disobedience. Sometimes we blame God, our genetics, our family or anyone but ourselves. I can tell you from experience with unemployment, and frustration, it is a hard thing to realize that the valley you are walking through is self-created, and only the grace of God can bring you out. We will focus on that part of the story later I promise.
What about you, are there areas in your life where the seeds of disobedience have taken root, and perhaps have even began to bare fruit? Then today is a great day to pull them out by the roots and ask your Heavenly Father for forgiveness and allow you to get back on the right path.
Prayer: Father help me to always listen and be obedient to your word. Allow it to be active and alive in my life I pray. Amen
Grace and peace be multiplied to you
Eric
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Where are you?
Luke 18:40
Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him. When he came closer, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"
This is a story we all know and love, its the story of the blind man getting healed on the road to Jericho by Jesus, after the man cries out "Jesus , Son of David have mercy on me." He recognized that Jesus wasn't some preacher but the Messiah, although his physical site prevented him from seeing Jesus, and there are many applications in that alone, but I want to return to my education roots and examine two verbs found in the story and how they apply to us in the "real world".
Notice the first verb is brought, meaning someone got the man in the proximity of the Master. I want to focus on this a moment as many people are brought to Jesus or the presence of God and that is as far as it goes. The worship leader can bring us into the presence, we can BRING someone to church, we can bring people to a variety of places and that is as far as many will get. How many people do you think standing around Jesus that day had needs themselves. Healing, financial, spiritual or whatever, there was the ONE who had their answer yet they were there and watch another get what he needed from Christ. What was the difference? You may have guessed by now EXACTLY what the difference was, he came closer!!!
I can be brought into the presence of God, but I choose to enter in, I can be brought to Jesus, but I have to decide to come closer. Notice what the Psalmist says and the verbs he uses. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." Ps. 100:4 CSB Notice what he says, Enter, not get dragged, forced, or cajoled but enter willingly. The blind man could have been brought and stopped there being satisfied meeting Jesus, but he came closer to hear the wonderful words, "What do you want me to do for you?" WOW!! did you see that, getting closer, Christ addressed his need, and the man got what he needed.
What about you? Have you been brought and stopped or have you made the choice to come closer. All of my life I have been brought and sometimes went deeper and others were content to just sit and watch others get blessed. Recently I have been learning to get as close as I can, just to see what Christ can and will do in my life. I long to get to the place where the miracles that the early church saw, are evidenced in the ministry and people around me. I know that as I get closer to Christ, people will see less of me and more of him, and my blinded eyes will be wide open and seeing what the Lord can do.
Prayer: Lord, bring me closer to you. Let me enter that place with you, and sit with you in heavenly places. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him. When he came closer, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"
This is a story we all know and love, its the story of the blind man getting healed on the road to Jericho by Jesus, after the man cries out "Jesus , Son of David have mercy on me." He recognized that Jesus wasn't some preacher but the Messiah, although his physical site prevented him from seeing Jesus, and there are many applications in that alone, but I want to return to my education roots and examine two verbs found in the story and how they apply to us in the "real world".
Notice the first verb is brought, meaning someone got the man in the proximity of the Master. I want to focus on this a moment as many people are brought to Jesus or the presence of God and that is as far as it goes. The worship leader can bring us into the presence, we can BRING someone to church, we can bring people to a variety of places and that is as far as many will get. How many people do you think standing around Jesus that day had needs themselves. Healing, financial, spiritual or whatever, there was the ONE who had their answer yet they were there and watch another get what he needed from Christ. What was the difference? You may have guessed by now EXACTLY what the difference was, he came closer!!!
I can be brought into the presence of God, but I choose to enter in, I can be brought to Jesus, but I have to decide to come closer. Notice what the Psalmist says and the verbs he uses. "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." Ps. 100:4 CSB Notice what he says, Enter, not get dragged, forced, or cajoled but enter willingly. The blind man could have been brought and stopped there being satisfied meeting Jesus, but he came closer to hear the wonderful words, "What do you want me to do for you?" WOW!! did you see that, getting closer, Christ addressed his need, and the man got what he needed.
What about you? Have you been brought and stopped or have you made the choice to come closer. All of my life I have been brought and sometimes went deeper and others were content to just sit and watch others get blessed. Recently I have been learning to get as close as I can, just to see what Christ can and will do in my life. I long to get to the place where the miracles that the early church saw, are evidenced in the ministry and people around me. I know that as I get closer to Christ, people will see less of me and more of him, and my blinded eyes will be wide open and seeing what the Lord can do.
Prayer: Lord, bring me closer to you. Let me enter that place with you, and sit with you in heavenly places. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric
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