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

Remember!

Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint. Isa 40:21-31


I [am] the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. Isa 43:15-20


Please remember Whose you are ! ! ! Remember Who Your God is ! ! ! He is not weak, forgetful, or careless of you need. But have you trusted Him for your situation? Have you turned to Him and given over to Him your need? Have you repented and called on Him, waited on Him for an answer?

It seems so difficult sometimes when we are in the midst of the trial and the anguish to take the time to seek the Lord. The enemy would keep us on the run, on the run from God, on the run from our brothers and sisters, isolated. Stop. Come to the feet of Your God, wait on Him, open your ears, quiet your heart.

Seek Him in the Word, seek Him in prayer, seek Him in the fellowship. Remember Who He is. No matter how big your trial seems, no matter how painful or ugly or "hopeless" it seems, No matter how lifeless and dead your way seems, God is greater!! God is able to provide springs in the midst of the desert ! ! There is nothing and no one and no thing greater. No thing to big for Him. No situation that He can not heal, cleanse, and restore.

Please, turn to Him. Seek His hand. He is gentle and He is powerful and He is waiting to heal and to restore.

Love,
Ev