Satisfaction

In the world is the unquenchable desire for MORE, for what we do not have.  We want more power, more wealth, more experience, more extreme, more control, more fame, more things, more knowledge.  MORE.  We are never satisfied, never quite 'there.'

God provides that very satisfaction, the fulfillment of all our hearts are longing for.  It is HIM!  All striving can cease in this satisfaction; the joy and the wonder of His presence.  Recognizing Him even as (wonder of wonders) He recognizes, regards, notices, LOVES us!!

Lord, I ask You to reveal Yourself to us, each one of us, very personally!

Love and blessings,
Ev

Experiencing God!

Last night was our study group. We have been studying the book "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby. I love this study and, by the way, I highly recommend it as a wonderful study on the Christian walk.

The study and discussion we had last night were such a blessing to me. It reminded me of the awe-some gift we have in Christ Jesus. In particular, I was reminded again of the wonder that God, creator and sustainer of the universe, desires a very personal and real relationship with me, with every one of us.

God has not just handed down a basic instruction manual for us to follow in this life; He has not given us a list of commandments, principles, and procedures to follow; nor has He kept His distance by choosing this or that "special" person to be His spokesperson for the rest of us. No, God, in Christ Jesus, has thrown wide the gates of heaven, beckoning us into the throne room, right up to His side. And, you could also say that in Holy Spirit, He has come down to us. He has chosen to enter right into our hearts and our lives, where He is ever-present.

It is amazing and wonderful to understand that God has chosen to have an on-going relationship with each one of us that is as exciting and as personal as we will allow it to be. In particular, it is amazing how God speaks to us and leads us, often in very specific ways. Can you imagine God directing someone to drive off the highway and leading him very specifically to a stranger in a phone booth in order for that stranger and his family to come to Christ? That was a testimony we heard last night!

Such testimonies just make you want to shout "Hallelujah!" But at the same time, they make you want to push in nearer; they give you a restless hunger for more of Him in your life!

So, I ask you, how much of God are you experiencing in your life on a daily basis? How often do you hear His voice or recognize that He has just touched your heart? Are you satisfied with just "living a good life," or just knowing that heaven will someday be your home? Heaven sounds so wonderful, but you can have the most awesome part of heaven right here and now in the very Person and presence of God Himself with you and in you in very tangible and practical ways. The question is, do you want it? Are you hungry for it? Or, are you willing to settle for the outward, shadowy form of the Christian life.

Love,
Ev

Holy Spirit and MORE!

(Sorry, it got away from me this morning. I started out wanting to say something nice and interesting, but my heart just took over and ran on ahead of me with something else.)

Hi! I was reading Experiencing the Spirit this morning and came across this:

"And why does He send the Spirit to believers today?
"Simply this. He has a mission. In sending the Spirit, God is at the same time giving an assignment. For unless there's an assignment, there's no need for the gift of Pentecost.
"Because God has a purpose for your life, He has sent you the Holy Spirit to enable you to fulfill the assignment He wants to accomplish through you. God isn't looking for proven leaders; He's looking for those who have hearts that are pure and responsive, and then He equips them by His Spirit to be leaders. So hear this carefully: The Lord is looking not for the talented, but for the obedient. He's looking not for the skilled, but for those who are sensitive to His Spirit." Henry and Melvin Blackaby, Experiencing the Spirit, pages 83-84.

Wow! A powerful chapter, "Shaped for Service." The author(s) also make the point:

"Many want the Spirit's power but not the Spirit's purity. The Holy Spirit does not rent out His attributes. His power is never separated from His glorious Self." (page 92)

"Remember again, your spiritual gifts are for the particular assignment God has for you, and assignments are always based on your character. So don't seek gifts of the Spirit -- seek the Holy Spirit in His fullness, and let Him prepare you for God's purposes." (page 96)

"It costs much to obtain the power of the Spirit: It costs self-surrender and humiliation and yielding up of our most precious things to God; it costs the perseverance of long waiting, and the faith of strong trust. But when we are really in that power, we shall find this difference, that whereas before, it was hard for us to do the easiest things, now it is easy for us to do the hard things." A.J. Gordon (as quoted in Experiencing the Spirit, page 96)

Maybe that is one of the reasons we see so little of Holy Spirit's power in our lives, our unwillingness to set aside distractions, our desires, our priorities, and to embrace the cross of Christ and the will and priorities of God (Are we willing to accept His assignments, or are we caught up in doing what we want to do for Him?). We want the power, if nothing else the power over sin, but the cost is so great.

I believe another reason is that many of us are not even aware that such power is to be expected in our lives. We see the lives of those in the Bible, especially the Apostles, and we believe that the power and purity of their lives was the exception, God's purpose and will in that day was somehow different that His will today. We think that God wants eloquent preachers, large venues, mission boards, media outlets, and internet sites to accomplish His purposes in this day and age, that these are "the greater works" that Christ said we would do. We have come to expect less because we see less. Perhaps we see less BECAUSE we expect less. Shouldn't we be basing our expectations on the Word of God rather than what we are seeing "in the world."

My goal first and foremost is to KNOW God, to draw as close to Him as I can get, to wrap myself up in Him and to be filled with Him like a sponge (the ONE THING of Psalm 27:4, Luke 10:41-42, and Philippians 3:13-14). But my second goal is to know and experience all that God has for me. I don't want to be limited by what the world, the denomination, the well-meaning, or anyone else says. I want to know what God says He has made available in His Word and go for that with all my heart!!! My desire is to know and understand all that God has purposed for me and provided for me and to go for it full steam and straight ahead.

BELIEVE ME!! I am NOT THERE . . . YET! I am still asking, seeking, knocking, as well as longing, desiring, and waiting on Him. I have tasted of it. I have a measure of it. I want MORE! I want MORE of GOD, MORE of CHRIST JESUS, MORE of HOLY SPIRIT, and MORE of the WORD of GOD in my life.

Love,
Ev


One thing have I desired and that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His tablernacle. Psalm 27:4