A New Revelation

John 8:12 - Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." 

I am opening your eyes to new revelation. Come with Me as I take you deeper into the mysteries of Who I am. As you journey let yourself be led only by Me. Open your heart and soul to receive only from Me. Allow yourself to see with your spiritual eyes, like John did.

It is My desire you let My Spirit penetrate deep. You will not be disappointed. For when you do you will find I am the same on your mountain tops as in your valleys. The same God, never changing. It's only your view of Me that has changed because of your circumstances. But I tell you, I never change.

I want to take you deeper than you've ever been. Let go and follow Me. Set aside those things you've hung on to and try Me out in new ways. Go deeper, grow deeper. You will get lost...but you'll be lost in Me...and I know the way you should go. I am the Shepherd, I am the Way, I am the Light. I AM. And where I go you may follow. If you are to follow anyone, follow Me. This following is between you and Me. Don't worry about anyone else's path.

You must be willing to let go. Only goodness resides in My places, in My presence. Seek the revelation of Who I am. When you do you will see the mysteries more clearly.

Who I am far exceeds what you know. You will never know everything in this life, but I will reveal more if you allow Me.

These words came to me in a precious quiet time last night. It is a belief of many that we need to see beyond the surface of the words in the Bible who Jesus is. We need to begin to become undone. We need to realize the awesome power our God has over the things that whittle away the things in this world. If we stay focused on the Lord things can fall apart around us but He will hold us up. Psalm 91:7 - A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. 

We can say we trust Him, but we need to know Him at a deeper level, that we will not falter for a second because we can know in our spirits that He is the Alpha and Omega, First and Last...and all things in between...the Center. His arms are wrapped around us...if we know Him.

He is the Vine, we are the branches. We can be in Him and He in us. In Christ, Christ in us. If we dwell there we are surrounded by the all-encompassing God, the Light of the world, the Truth, the Way, our Comforter, our Guide, our all in all. Let us dig deeper for the understanding of Who He is and what He has to offer.

1John 5:20 - And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 

Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You!

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. [And] by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain...(Ephesians 2:10, 1Corinthians 15:10)

Continuing from yesterday regarding blessings, another thought came up as I was reading the other night, one which knits itself into the fabric of who God is and what He does. In the book Radical by David Platt the author asks the question: What is the message of Christianity? The amazing answer is: It's not about me! What a novel concept! It's not all about the fact that Jesus loves me. Somewhere within the recesses of my mind and spirit I knew this. But it bears explanation....

Oh, He does love us and He did die because He loves all mankind. But it goes much deeper than that. If He died because He loves us, the message is all about us. There we go again...thinking only of ourselves. He created us for His glory. I mentioned yesterday we all think too highly of ourselves and "it's all about us and our stuff." It just isn't. And that shows how sinful and in need of a Savior we are...that we might be blessed with His wisdom and understanding in things of this nature.

So, the true message of Christianity is, as Platt explains, that He loves me so that I might make him--his ways, his salvation, his glory and his greatness--known among all nations. Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around Him. We are not the end of the Gospel. God is...He saves us for the sake of His holy name.

It's about what God has done in us. How He has called us unto Himself. Jesus blessed me by saving me, which is great, but you'll notice He did the work, not me. My salvation was not something I deserved. But the fact that He could enter into my life and bring about changes brings glory to Him. It's about His power, His Spirit, His transformation in me. (Oh, but let me say, He's certainly not done with me.)

Now it is my turn to do a favor for someone else that they might receive the same blessing.  Our goal, then, is to pass this information on...until all nations have heard the Good News. Each person who receives Christ brings just a bit more glory to Him. It shows His power in the lives of all people, His sovereignty. But He needs His believers, those whom He has called and changed, to plant the seeds that He might water them and bring them to new life.

As I continued to read the chapter I kept hanging on to the thoughts so many people have...Doesn't it seem that God is a bit self-centered? Is it all about Him? And don't you know, Platt answered the question with another question: Whom else would we have Him exalt? There is no one greater than He. It begins and ends with Him as Creator God.

Our Bible study on Hebrews this past week brought up a very similar idea. It was what I mentioned yesterday regarding oaths. God covenanted with us; He initiated it. His oaths to us cannot be taken away because He cannot lie. Because He is the Beginning and the End, there is none greater than He. Hebrews 6:13-14  shows us this: For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." 

It's all about God. It's not about us. Some may believe what they want about God being self-centered, with a Master/slave mentality, but when you realize the greater blessings He has in store for anyone willing to take Him in, He's pretty hard to refuse. When all He allows is there for our good so that we might see that He has been in the midst of us protecting, providing and loving on us, we see there is no one greater than He. Don't bite the hand that feeds you! 

He made us in His image. He gives according to His grace and mercy. He wants only to fully bless us with His Spirit, His peace, His wisdom, His strength, His love, His compassion. Glorify God, who calls Himself I AM. He alone has so much to offer. He offers Himself to you.

Ephesians 3:14-19 - For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.