“yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
1 Corinthians 8: 6
Acts 13:22 “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
The gift of salvation is the heavenly Father giving us His heart. Christ enables us to partake of this gift by imparting to us His Spirit; which holds the fullness of the heavenly Father. Ephesians 3:19, John 1:12, 2 Peter 1:4 With His heart, we can love as He asks and as we deeply desire, and without it we can do nothing. John 15:5, Mark 12:30-31, Ezekiel 36:26 With His heart, we can walk righteously because we walk in pure love. Thus, having salvation is having His heart.
Sometimes people are more concerned with obtaining spiritual gifts than seeking after and for the heart of God. Seek His heart and every other gift will manifest as it should. 1 Corinthians 13:2
I mentioned in a previous post that self-righteousness is thinking you are loving when you are actually harming. It’s being blind to your own ability to harm others at any time.
Hypocrisy is feigning love. One who is self-righteous also is hypocritical and BLIND to their hypocrisy. Thus, they believe they are loving, when they are actually being harmful and hypocritical.
This world defines what it means to be loving and kind. These definitions aren’t God’s definitions. What the world sees as kind and loving is tainted with all kinds of hypocrisy; some instances more apparent than others.
Hypocrisy and self-righteousness are very harmful in the lies and blindness they hold and cultivate. Blindness keeps people from repentance; thus unaware of their own creation of cruelty and unable to change. To mask harm with love is damaging and deceitful. Romans 7:24-25
Because our definitions of love and kindness are influenced by the world and what others think and say; we have to go to the heavenly Father one-on-one and learn what pure love entails. When we do, we see the wisdom His love holds is very different from the world’s love; for the world’s love is based on the world’s wisdom that is founded on lies and based on the corrupted carnal mind.
When God is calling us to Himself, He is calling us to the purest of love in all honor, holiness, beauty, righteousness, and perfection. When we start following His voice into His love; we find a glorious love far beyond what mankind can give. Thus, our desire to have His heart intensifies, because it isn’t within ourselves alone, until it’s our sole desire and we are willing to sell all to obtain it. Matthew 10:39, Matthew 13:46 To have His heart is our salvation for only by us in Him and Him in us can we live in an eternity of no sin, pain, suffering, and death.
What is the testimony that we are after God’s heart? We desire to do His will alone; therefore we seek and obey.
‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22
“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. John 5:30
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Matthew 7:21
If we love God, we obey Him. When we obey Him, we abide in His love. John 14:15, John 15:10
Obedience to God has been greatly misunderstood. Therefore, it’s often dismissed, excused or taken lightly when it comes to our relationship with God; yet it is central to it.
To obey God isn’t burdensome because it means we are loving and growing in love; the deepest desire of our hearts. 1 John 5:3 When we obey His voice in our circumstances; He enables us with His grace to do that which He desires of us. It’s the path to manifesting His love in our lives because it’s following His voice into His will of perfect love. As we obey, He changes us and transforms us. And the more we become a part of His light, the easier it is to obey because we trust the perfection of His ways to bring true joy, peace, blessing, and yes love. And this trust and obedience allows Him to move into our soul.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
by Rachel 6 Comments
It’s not hearing words from another about God that changes us (opens our eyes, changes our desires, renews our mind), it’s hearing the words God speaks directly to our souls through whatever medium. Romans 10:15-17, John 6:45, 1 Thessalonians 4:9
God can speak to our soul through another; but any truth received is all His doing within us. Thus, it’s His voice we must seek to know and hear within us; for that is where He meets us. Others can point the way, share what they’ve learned and experienced, but we each must seek to hear the sweet whisperings of our heavenly Father to us personally. Hebrews 8:10
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
How do we hear His voice so His truth becomes ours? Through the circumstances in our lives; for His truth is real and directly impacts our reality.
By taking time each morning to be still and listen in a private communion with God is how we hear His counsel. How do we know unless we take time to listen? How to listen unless we quiet our soul and tune into His voice, which is often crowded out by all the noise of life?
What we seek is to hear thus know is His love and His nature that makes up His love. We seek is to hear His instruction regarding the workings of our soul, and how our soul is interacting with the world around us. As we hear His counsel, we follow. His words are the words of life; if we will walk in them. They teach us about love, and following them is how we abide in love. John 15:10
Our life reveals our truth. Our words, choices, desires and actions reveal the truths we hold. The universal purpose we all share is to love God and love others as ourselves, thus loving ourselves as well. Mark 12:30-31 It isn’t a selfish love but a holy love that comes from the Father to us; then toward ourselves and out to others. Proverbs 4:23, Luke 6:45
Only God can teach us and change our hearts to be able to truly love in honor and without hypocrisy, for in each of us the dishonor and hypocrisy (trying to appear loving; yet lacking love in our hearts) runs deep. Romans 12:9 Our part is to seek and listen as the situations we face are speaking to us and revealing the issues of our hearts. To seek to “see” our part in creating our irritations, pain, suffering, illnesses, discord, contentions with others, and not focusing on the faults of others, but our own is how we learn to love. When we know love, then we are on the path to becoming a vessel love.
Some quibble over doctrine; but each comes to the understanding of the truth as they listen to God speaking the words they need to hear when they need to hear them. Loving-kindness often gets pushed aside in conflicts over doctrines. Don’t judge or argue over a truth someone holds; for only God can truly write the truth on one’s heart and open up one’s eyes to see His truth. He gives the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:7 Share truth in love, and trust God to put truth deep into a soul; as He does in yours. Know we are all God’s workmanship, and if by some grace we are used in others’ lives for good; it’s all God’s work. Ephesians 2:10 Don’t seek doctrine; but seek pure love that underscores all true doctrine. Then, you will begin to understand doctrine as you should. Romans 12:9-21, 1 Corinthians 13:2 Love is the purpose of the commandments; thus seek this foundation in all you do and learn. 1 Timothy 1:5
Sometimes we try to force truth on another, but this isn’t how truth is manifested in someone’s life. You can see this dynamic is true in your own life. You’ve heard truths in your past, but you weren’t prepared or able to receive them until you learned through your life. The manifestation of truth in our physical lives is how the truth becomes our truth. Be patient with yourself and others on the journey of learning and gaining pure truth in all love.
If you judge and cast judgment, then judgment is what you receive. If mercy is what you give; mercy is what you receive. Matthew 5:7, Romans 2:1 Only God is qualified to judge for only He is truly good and pure. We are to discern truth verses lies among spirits, but leave the judgment of a soul up to God.
Seeking is very important; for it leads us to the light/truth. Seeking moves us toward God’s presence so we can become a part of His presence. As you seek love you will find it’s impossible to love; impossible without God’s spirit in you. But all thanks be to our Father, who gives us His spirit in Christ to do in us the impossible; to love in all purity. And this hope is fulfilled when Christ resurrects us to eternal life.
As you seek and find, desire to be the love you “see”, and desire to be the kindness you desire. For we reap what we sow. In desiring to love, thus desiring to walk in His ways; God gives us the grace to enable to us to grow in love; for this is His will. 2 Corinthians 12:9
by Rachel 6 Comments
Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
This verse describes the end of death and the beginning of life in our souls.
My deepest desire is for others, all of creation down to a snail, to feel nothing but pure love from me. It’s a beautiful desire, yet impossible for me alone to fulfill. Matthew 19:26, Romans 5:18
This past week, I came to the end of myself as I never have before. As Christ’s pure light expands in our lives, EVERYTHING is exposed. The response? A complete “face plant” before our heavenly Father, a deep true humility.
Over the years, I’ve learned and repented from how I hurt myself and others … but not to this depth. Some time ago, I felt a dying to myself. I remember the moment. It was very powerful, and a lot changed in my life after that depth of letting go. But He took me even deeper this past week.
The brightness of Christ’s coming means a great awakening to the darkness of the pit we’ve lived in, thus a falling on our face. In His mercy, He keeps us from seeing the depth of our depravity until He is ready to bring deliverance, or else the awareness would destroy us.
This time in new depths, I saw how much pain I’ve created in my life for myself and others over the years. I saw how I was a co-creator to ALL my own pain; and for the first time took responsibility for ALL the hurts in my life. I realized my propensity to unknowingly harm others and this awakening pained me deep within my heart. I became deeply aware of how cruel I could be to myself and others. Yet, God wasn’t showing me these things to discourage me, though it ripped out my heart, but to take me to another level of my desperate need of Him so He could give me more of Him. Ezekiel 36:26
In this depth of awareness, I learned a deeper meaning of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is thinking at anytime you don’t cause harm to yourself or others, when in actuality, at any moment you can cause harm no matter how much you desire not to or how nice others say you are. We are to grow in understanding of what true love is, and this is very important as it is a part of giving pure love, but any true love that is given or received among mankind is by the grace of God working through us and not ourselves. You realize this when you realize the hurt you are capable of at any moment because of your limited understanding.
God revealed this hidden beast I was blinded to. It was always there, but as God dislodged it from my soul, I saw it and it was ugly. Whenever we see the depths of our ugliness, we can be thankful for God is showing us because He is removing it and putting truth in its place; for the only reason we see it is because of His light in us revealing the contrast.
In more deeply understanding the pain I’m capable of, in whatever degree; my hunger for His righteousness grew a hundred-fold. Romans 5 Only God can truly love. Only God is truly good. Only God is all knowing so He can be truly loving in every circumstance. Thus, we need Him to empty us of ourselves, which happens when we realize our ability to hurt another part of His creation at any moment and a strong desire not to. To be emptied we have to be willing to see the pain we cause, admit our part, and trust Him to create every present moment. The glorious news is it’s our heavenly Father’s desire to give us His pure beautiful spirit; thus to fulfill this hunger. Matthew 5:6
When we reach this point of awareness; then we are ready to receive His breath of life and He raises us up by His spirit filling us. After this “face-plant” experience, only He can cause us to stand. He wants us only to see the depths of our need so we sell all, so He can fill all. Luke 18:22 It’s in this awareness of who we are, who He is, that we joyously let Him take over and let Him fill all. Romans 5:3-5
One warning; those who have been labeled “nice” or “good” are in danger of being most blinded to the harm they cause, thus to their self-righteousness. They don’t see the hurt they cause as plainly as those who aren’t labeled good and nice. We all hurt and are hurt by others. We all need to reach this awareness, for we all unknowingly can cause harm at any moment. We all cause cruelty in our lives to ourselves, others and creation and until we recognize the fullness of our part in feeding cruelty we stay trapped in it. Once we see and acknowledge our part; we start to be emptied to be filled by the pure spirit of love.
How do you know when you’ve sold all? You cease to judge others, hold unforgivness, blame, or the like. You have a deep love for others without effort, even those who have hurt you. Romans 2:1 If you hold anything against anyone, you’ve yet to see your own depravity.
How do you come to the end of yourself? Diligently seek the purest of love.
The commandments are to love. Obeying them is possible only if God governs EVERY breath; for in a moment you can hurt instead of love. We have to trust Him to establish every present moment. We have to be “beheaded” of our mind, self, all we are, and receive Him as our new head establishing every thought in perfect wisdom and love. Revelation 20:4 We have to learn to breathe by the spirit (air) by letting all our sour wine drain out, gain new wineskins, and be filled with the breath of life.
Never stop seeking the purest of love; which you learn from the Father directly through the experiences of your life. Seek to see the truth of what you create in your life and in the lives of others. Coming into the truth is about knowing pure love. This is to be our pursuit. If you seek, you will be emptied of what you thought was good and loving, and will start to experience the filling of His Spirit into yours. Then your “works” or “good fruit” in your life will be a testimony of His presence in you.
Learning to breathe air is receiving and living by His righteousness. It’s as a great of a transition as leaving the water of the womb and breathing the air of life; and even more so.
Living Light