Jesus showed us what love really is.  Washing one another’s feet, and even laying down your life for your friend. Jesus taught his band of disciples from diverse backgrounds to love one another despite their predisposed prejudice.

He told the story of the “Samaritan hero” – two words that would never be used together in the language of a 1^st century Jew.  This hero rescued a half-dead Jewish man and paid his medical expenses, even though his culture taught him to reject all Jews.  Jesus taught us to love our enemies.

These days, there might be more conflict than ever, between every imaginable sector of society.  We are divided because of religion, nationality, race, views on politics, gender, and a thousand other things.

I’ve noticed that every one of us “likes it like we like it.”  We have very strong views on the right way to do things.  And sometimes we are not willing to give an inch to someone with a different view. We know we’re right.

Paul encourages us: “So I’m asking you, my friends, that you be joined together in perfect unity—with one heart, one passion, and united in one love. Walk together with one harmonious purpose and you will fill my heart with unbounded joy.  Be free from pride-filled opinions, for they will only harm your cherished unity. Don’t allow self-promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility put others first and view others as more important than yourselves.”

Wow.  Seeing others as more important than ourselves? If God is asking us to do that, it must be possible. 

Jesus prayed for us to live in the same kind of unity we see between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Living that way will convince people that the Father really did send Jesus to be the Savior of the world.

“I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one. I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognize that you sent me.”

Be Thou My Vision

Around the year 386 AD, a boy named Patrick (or Padrig) was born in England to wealthy parents.  When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland.  Years later, he escaped and returned home to his family in England.  Eventually, Patrick went back to Ireland to share the love and message of Christ.

Patrick let his light shine even when the government resisted him.  On Easter Sunday in the year 433, Patrick defied the orders of the local Irish king, who was a devout supporter of the Druid religion.  During the Druid festival at Easter, this king showed his support of the Druids by prohibiting anyone from lighting a flame or candle.  

To show his devotion to Christ, on Easter morning, Patrick climbed to the tallest hill in the area, called Slane hill.  He lit a huge fire. As the locals woke up, they could all see Patrick's defiance of the king. Patrick was sending a message—God’s light shines in darkness, and He deserves praise. 

Years later, an unknown composer wrote a melody to honor of Patrick's heroic act on that Easter day and hundreds of years later, lyrics were written by an Irish woman named Eleanor Hull.  This became the song Be Thou My Vision.   This song is one of the most-loved hymns of all time.

Patrick’s over-arching vision.  When we look at the life of Patrick in general, it’s clear that he had a vision to honor Christ in all things.  Loving and honoring Christ was his defining vision. The huge fire burning on top of Slane Hill powerfully represents Patrick’s vision of Christ. 

The word “vision” is used in many ways in our times.  Much of what I’ve done in my life has begun with visions of different kinds.  I receive visions from the Lord in which I see things in my mind’s eye.  Sometimes it’s a hazy vision and sometimes it’s very clear.  The way the vision appears isn’t important.  God can communicate visions to us through pictures, thoughts, and feelings.

Sometimes, visions predict the future.  Sometimes, they are a more general description of a pathway God wants you to take.  Sometimes, they are a warning of some difficulty in your future.  That recently happened to me – I saw a picture of a stormy sea, and God said, “there are some rough waters up ahead.”  I wondered what that meant.  Not too long after that, a member of my family went through a very rough time in a key relationship. 

Sometimes, visions are mysterious, and sometimes they are clear and straight forward.

I make a record of the different visions God gives me, and occasionally I look through my files to be reminded of all the things God has spoken. Sometimes it takes many years for visions to come to pass.  I’m sure that some of the visions I’ve received may never come to pass, because my spiritual seeing is imperfect.

Another application of the word vision is the idea of your vision statement for your life.  This is about your key values, which lead to setting priorities and specific goals.

Partly because I am a creative person, and mostly because I want to follow the Lord, visions play a big part in my life.  Through many mistakes,

I‘ve learned some lessons about seeing, interpreting and walking out visions.

Sometimes I have IDEAS that I think are God’s vision for me, and they just turn out to be my idea.  Creative people have many ideas and some of them are bad!  I’ve had a lot of those!    Making mistakes is how we learn.  It’s part of the learning process.  It’s one way that God refines our character.

When we attempt things that don’t work out, we’re in good company with many people in history – like Abe Lincoln who had a long string of political failures before being elected president of the United States.

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT the song BE THOU MY VISION…

The VISION is not a plan of action or a goal in business or ministry…The VISION is a PERSON—the person of CHRIST.  Sprinkled throughout this song are allusions to an INTIMATE friendship with the Lord.

Jesus modeled this for us.  He had ONE OVER-ARCHING VISION.  Stay close to his Father.  Jesus only wanted to please his Father.  Only spoke what he heard from his Father.  It was all about his CONNECTION to his Father. He lived in COMMUNITY with the Father and Holy Spirit.

Jesus was always “SEEING” what his Father was doing. He listened closely.  He spent time alone to listen to his Father.

He said, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Jesus was watching and listening.
He also said, “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.”  Jn 12:49 “The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.” Jn 14:10

Paul had a very similar life.  Above all, his supreme goal was to know Christ.   This leads to love as the highest goal.  Here is what he wrote to the church in Philippi:

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Phil 3:7-8

Paul worked very hard.  His hard work flowed out of his continual praying and God’s super-human energy in him.

SOMETIMES WE LET THE SECONDARY VISIONS TAKE OVER

What happens when our vision is inspired and directed by a PROJECT instead of knowing and following the PERSON of Christ?  Then, our SUCCESS is defined by our own set of goals.  It’s good to set goals, but if we lose sight of the PERSON of CHRIST, things go sideways.  WE STOP listening to and watching what the Father is doing.  We get too wrapped up in our own activity.

We will constantly need to be RE-DIRECTED by our PRIMARY PERSON because we WILL get off track, guaranteed.

If we are so committed to accomplishing a certain vision that it becomes more important than our loyalty to God, we won’t be actively listening to God for his direction and wisdom.  We will be cutting off the flow between us and him.  Any “vision” that eclipses our view of God becomes an idol. Our idols always disappoint us! 

The first question about vision is this:  Is JESUS your vision?  Our PREDOMINANT vision is of Jesus.  In the hymn Be Thou My Vision, the DEFINING VISION IS THE DIVINE PERSON. 

Verse 1 of  Be Thou my vision

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart    Modernized: YOU, JESUS, be my vision
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

“Naught be all else to me save that thou art.”  That’s old, archaic English which means - let nothing else matter to me except you, or Nothing else is anywhere near as important as you. 

It’s a good idea to say to God, “If my vision is just all about me and my ideas, Lord, tell me!”  “God, adjust my vision.”  God will use a heart like that – constantly open to re-direction, and getting input from God and others. Do this, and God will speak to you. 

A good prayer to pray:  “Your will, not mine be done.”

Sometimes God lets us fail just so we can grow

How about Paul?  Describing his challenges, he said “we felt like we were going to die…But the reason for it was so we could learn to trust God”

“We felt the sentence of death hanging over us”

(I think he felt a spirit of death hanging around - he was stoned a few times, remember, and left for dead; he was probably raised from the dead when his friends gathered around him).

This was the same kind of spiritual opposition that Patrick faced when he went to Ireland to share God’s love.

This song is a pursuit of Intimacy with God – 

Meditating on the Lord and inviting his presence day and night…

Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.  [You have access to the MIND of Christ]

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord; (I’m with you and you are with me; I am yours and you are mine, I dwell in you, you dwell in me)

Thou my great Father, I Thy true child;   (intimacy between Father & son/daughter)

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.  (Christ in me—in union)

We all have battles to fight in life…some of Patrick’s were a literal fight for his life

Verse 3: 

Christ himself IS our armor….the sword of the spirit, the word of truth, the peace of the gospel…the faith OF Christ working in us—his empowering of our faith 

Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight–we experience dignity by receiving God’s love

God appreciates us.  God lavishes his love on us.  As we DELIGHT in HIM and GAZE on him, he BESTOWS a feeling of DIGNITY ON US.  We know we are ADOPTED children of the HIGH KING. We EXPERIENCE his love, we know we are highly valued by him.  THIS IS HOW YOU ENDURE SEASONS OF FEELING LIKE YOU’RE DYING.

THIS IS HOW we can stay strong in him, encouraged by him “Heart of my own heart, whatever may befall—whatever happens, Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.” 

Verse 4:   Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise

Two things that derail our vision are the pursuit of wealth and living for the praise of people, or fame.  WE DON’T GET A GREAT REWARD FROM THOSE…

“Because I set you, Yahweh, always close to me, my confidence will never be weakened, for I experience your wraparound presence every moment.”  Psalm 16:8 TPT   

Ps 16:8. The Hebr word shava [English - set] carries the sense of being equal or similar.  David was not saying he was equal to Yahweh, but that he thought the way God thought.  David had made his heart and mind to be identical with the heart and mind of God. It was the heart and mind of God that had first place in David’s heart and thoughts.           

To MAKE CHRIST YOUR VISION:

KNOW the person, be GAZING ON THE person.  Be WAITING FOR HIM.   

He doesn’t show up until we wait for him.  Cultivate slowness in your soul.  Slow down and enjoy him, be with him.  Wait for him.  LISTEN for him.  Then you get the CONVERSATIONAL relationship with JESUS established.  At that point, the PROJECTS can be discussed.

If you don’t get that FIRST question in the proper place of priority, everything else will go wrong.  Here is the way to set goals:  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Dive into God with all your heart.  Seek him diligently and he will show you whichever visions that he knows you need to hear.  Don’t let the voices of naysayers belittle you.  Be like Patrick.  While Patrick was enslaved in Ireland as a teenager, he missed many valuable years of education.  So, his academic studies were cut short.  HE WAS embarrassed by his lack of education in Latin.   But he didn’t let that stop him from moving back to that island to bring the love and message of Christ. 

Episode 4 of GOING DEEP AND HIGH

The Pace of Grace 

I come across to people as pretty laid back, but I actually have a very intense side to me.  I like to get things done!   I like my job, I like to work, I like to set goals and then work efficiently towards those goals.  And sometimes I push too hard!  So, God and my friends have to tell me to slow down. 

In 2006 I was involved in helping lead a new church plant.  September 15, 2006 I was praying in the morning, asking the Lord for a word of encouragement. Immediately I felt God was saying “you’re trying too hard” and then I saw in my mind’s eye a picture of a foot letting up on the gas pedal of a car. God was saying, “slow down, don’t drive so fast!—let up on the gas!”  

This was two days before the first Sunday morning meeting of the new church plant I was helping to lead. God knows that in my eagerness I sometimes put too much pressure on myself and on others; I expect too much progress too quickly and I tend towards impatience.  My work ethic sometimes gets the best of me.  I just need to chill out, and trust God that I will get things done when they need to be done. 

Dallas Willard was an influential teacher in my life.  One time, John Ortberg asked Dallas for some advice.  John was about to begin a new job as president of a Bible school in addition to being a senior pastor of a large church.   Willard’s advice to John was, “as long as you don’t hurry you way through these jobs, you’ll be fine.”   (He meant hurrying in an agitated, anxious way).  How can you possibly NOT be in a hurry when you have two high-level jobs?  

To answer that question, let’s back up a minute and remind ourselves about the big picture.  What is our task on earth?  We are containers of God, living in union with Christ.  We are fully dependent on him.  That means we carefully consider which responsibilities we should commit to.  If God has given you TWO jobs, he will enable you do them without worrying.  Don’t worry; instead, pray.  Pray things like this:  “God, I believe you led me to take on both of these tasks.  And I know that I cannot do it on my own strength. I choose to cease striving.  I focus on your adequacy, not my own weakness.” 

We need to follow Paul’s example.  Boast in your weakness!   Celebrate it!  That is the turning point to looking to God for help.  If we follow that path, we can work from a place of rest.  When we forget that CHRIST is empowering us, we slide back into the illusion that we are separate from him.  Then we get freaked out when things go wrong, and we act independently of God instead of from that place of peace that is always located right inside us! 

Jesus said:  28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matt. 11 NIV 

The analogy of a YOKE that Jesus uses is an image from plowing a field with two oxen side by side.  Jesus us saying, YOKE yourself to me – we will pull together. 

It seems like a contradiction in terms to say that we can REST while PULLING a plow.  How can a burden be light to carry?  Here is how the author Norman Grubb answers that question: 

“If we are pulling the plow of our life’s problems, relying on our own resources, that is strain, for we haven’t got what it takes to meet that need.” If, in our pressures, we turn inwardly as containers to Him who is “the all” within, and boldly reckon on Him to handle things, then it is rest in the midst of the activities—the habit of recognition.”  Norman Grubb 

The Message version of this passage says:  “I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”  

This reminds me of the importance of musical band members all staying locked into the same rhythm and tempo.   Help me walk at the pace of grace. 

Sometimes I feel like God is asking me, “are you forcing the completion of this task too soon?”   you need to stay in in the groove of the rhythm! 

Richard Foster explains the dynamic of resting while working: “We learn over time and experience how to bring the reality of resting in God into the confusion and busyness of daily life. We learn to work resting. We learn to live on two levels at once. On the one level we carry on the ordinary task of our day. But on a deeper level we live out of inward promptings and whispered words of wisdom.” 

How about if you are the mother of small children, which means you have a 24/7 job description?    My wife, Linda, is the mother of our 8 children.   She home-schooled them for much of their school years.  My wife, Linda shared with me her understanding of the story of Mary and Martha – Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet and Martha getting anxious about al the work that had to be done.  Linda says, “Martha forgot that she was loved. It wasn’t an over-activity problem. I have to be a Martha – I have to get a lot of stuff done. But I can still find Jesus even when I’m busy.”  She got help from God to do her task of home schooling 8 kids. 

Paul said, “I worked harder than all the other apostles, but it was the grace of God in me doing it.”   1 co 15:10 

I take three things from that statement of Paul:  

We learn to work resting.  That is a skill we learn over years of practicing the presence of God. 
And, we learn to recognize when we’ve taken on too much responsibility.  We need to adjust our work load or our expectations of what we can get done in a day. 
There are two types of time discussed in the Bible.  Kairos time describes taking the opportunities afforded by each moment.  This involves asking God, “what are you doing now and what should I be doing now?”  The concept of Kairos time has its origins in the practice of Greek archery, representing the moment when the archer finds the perfect opening to shoot his arrow and hit his target. That’s a habit we develop through years of practice.  I regularly ask God – “what should I be doing now?”  

The other type of time is CHRONOS – this is a view of time as a tyrannical slave-driver.  We need to resist being slaves of time, but clue into God’s timing.  We need to get out from under the tyranny of time.  We need to stay in step with his “unforced rhythms of grace.”  

PRAYER: 

God we open ourselves to you now, we thank you for the reality of Kairos time 

God, we surrender the throne of our lives to you. 

We choose to live under Kairos time.  Lord, teach us to do this. 

Lord, you said we should make LOVE our highest goal.  We say yes to that. 

We want to be all about loving you and serving people. 

We wait for your directions and your peace. 

We say no to worry and frantically rushing through our hours and days. 

We repent from independently making decisions outside of our relationship with you. 

Thank you, Lord for the safety of staying connected to you. 

Help us become experts at recognizing your constant union with us and your ability to take care of every situation.

Episode 3 of GOING DEEP AND HIGH

I have just released a new song called “Bubble Up.”  What’s that about?  What is this bubble up, is this a new drink?   No!  It’s the Holy Spirit, of course.  Jesus said those who believe in him would be like a gushing fountain of life!   

That truth is what inspired my song, “Bubble Up.”  It’s a song with a happy, childlike kind of feel to it.  which is fitting because it takes the faith and humility of a child to lean into the amazing truth that we are containers of a never-ending flow of living water.   

Your perception of yourself is a game-changer.   How you see yourself determines what you do in this present moment, and how you relate to others and to God.  What we BELIEVE about who we are makes a huge difference in daily life.  What you take takes you.  According to your faith, so shall it be. (It’s not just your faith, it’s the faith of Christ working through you).  

The context of this great saying of Jesus was the last day of an annual worship festival in Jerusalem.  Jesus stood and said in a loud voice to a crowd of people, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.”  

The result of drinking this living water is:  “…rivers of living water will flow from your innermost being.”  In other words, the fruit of the Holy Spirit will pour out of you – peace, joy, patience, gentleness, kindness, words of wisdom and knowledge.  

In a hot, arid climate like Israel, Jesus’ metaphor of the believer as an ever-flowing fountain was powerful.  Water was a scarce and precious resource.  Jesus’ audience must have been puzzled when Jesus’ said to THEM a gushing fountain flowing from YOU!   Reminds me of when Jesus said to a crowd of 10,000 or so, “YOU are the light of the world.”  Jesus saw the POTENTIAL in people.  He saw the GOD-GIVEN goodness that all of us carry.   

They were probably thinking, “man, I am so thirsty right now!”  How can I possibly be a conduit for gushing spiritual water?   This is one of those “for those who have ears to hear” moments in Jesus’ earthly ministry.   He was talking about an UNSEEN and ETERNAL REALITY.  Remember, the unseen world is more powerful than things you can see with your eyes.  

The imagery of good things from God bubbling up out of us is found in many scriptures:   

Wisdom is a deep well of understanding opened up within you as a fountain of life for others…”   Proverbs 16:22  

“Words of wisdom are like a fresh, flowing brook— like deep waters that spring forth from within, bubbling up inside the one with understanding.”   Proverbs 18:4 TPT  

“A man of deep understanding will give good advice, drawing it out from the well within.”  Proverbs 20:5 TPT  

As you give praise and thanks to God, the bubble up begins:  

“Our hearts bubble over as we celebrate the fame of your marvelous beauty, bringing bliss to our hearts. We shout with ecstatic joy over your breakthrough for us.”   Psalms 145:7 TPT  

Throughout the Bible, metaphors such as rivers, fountains, water wells, and oceans, are used to describe God’s love and power.  And here, Jesus makes it specific – YOU are the conduit of that beautiful refreshing stream.  

Paul reiterates Jesus’ teaching when he said:  “You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.”  That means both the individual and the gathered body.   

Here is how that verse is translated in the Passion Translation:  “Don’t you realize that together you have become God’s inner sanctuary and that the Spirit of God makes his permanent home in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16 TPT  

The old temple, the physical Old Testament building, is no longer the place where the Holy Spirit lives.  Now, the address of the Holy Spirit is YOU.  You are the architecture of God’s dwelling on the earth!  

When you need help, where do you find God?   Where is the Holy Spirit?   Is he “out there somewhere?”  He is everywhere.  Most importantly, he is inside of you as a constant resource.  

When you need God to help you do something, do you have to wait until you can feel the Holy Spirit before you do something challenging?  Or do you connect with him as God-in-you, God-joined-to-you, God-one-with-you?  You don’t have to wait! He is permanently in you and part of you, gloriously entangled with your human spirit.  

(Of course there are many times we wait on the Lord, and listen).  I’m talking here about a basic way of seeing yourself.  

Don’t default to seeing yourself like a paper cup with a few ounces of living water inside.  We’re selling ourselves short to think like that!  You are not a cup with a tiny bit of HS living water in you.  You are not connected to a stream that sometimes runs dry.  You are IN the river.  God is the river. And you are a tributary of that river!  

The Holy Spirit is never weak within us.  We of course often feel weak.  Do like Paul, rejoice in your weakness.  It’s just a pointer to his strength.  As we align our view of ourselves with God’s view, we cultivate spiritual fruitfulness.  As we drink voraciously from God’s well of goodness, the reality of his life becomes more and more visible to us and to others.  

The prayer “Holy Spirit Come” is an important prayer—an ancient prayer originating in the early centuries of the church.  This prayer rises from an understanding that God will at times send a special empowering of his Spirit.  I see this prayer as one side of a coin, the other side being the importance of being aware of the constantly abiding Holy Spirit.   

If we see ourselves as people who contain a reservoir of living water, we will live with faith and expectancy.  We will be less anxious.  We won’t feel a pressure to perform because we’re already joined to Christ.  We will have a natural boldness like Peter did when he encountered a lame man on his way to a prayer meeting at the temple (Acts 3).  Peter didn’t have to invite the Holy Spirit to come.  He was walking in the Spirit and knew when the time was right to speak a word of faith to the lame man to rise and walk.  

Let’s make this practical  

I encourage you to make a habit of remembering who you are.  You are a reservoir of Holy Spirit.  So, when your anxiety begins to rise, calm yourself and affirm the truth of God’s presence in you.  Say to yourself and God, “I am a temple of the Holy Spirit.”  “I have access to the mind of Christ.”  “I have the prince of peace living in me.”  

We need to be constantly “wading into the waters” of the Holy Spirit.  I love the Passion Translation version of this verse:  “Remain fully immersed in this God-shaped new person from above. You are created in the image and likeness of God.”   Eph 4:24   Mirror Study Bible  

How do you stay immersed?  One way is to pray in tongues, another is to consume a lot of living water through good teaching, another way is to worship.  Worshiping God opens up a door to heaven:  “When I’m near you, my heart and my soul will sing and worship with my joyful songs of you, my true source and spring of life!”   Ps 84:7  

Remember to keep thanking God for the fountain of life that is always flowing through you!

This is episode 2 of GOING DEEP AND HIGH

Who do you think you are?   That’s a very important question.  The more you know God, the more you know yourself.  As we go deep with God, we understand our identity at a deep level. 

If someone asks you “Who do you think you are?”  The first thing that comes to mind is probably – your occupation, married or single, etc.  That’s all good.  Let’s talk about the multi-dimensional you for a minute.  You are a human-being and you are a spirit person.  You exist in the earthly realm and you exist in the spiritual realm.  Those two realms intersect. 

Here are some scriptures on your identity as a spirit-being:  Jesus said to Nicodemus in their discussion on being born again:  “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”   Jesus said to the Samaritan woman he met at the well, “God is Spirit.”  God, who is Spirit, gave birth to you, who are a spirit person.  The eternal part of you is your spirit. 

The writer to the Hebrews says “we have flesh-fathers, but that God is father of our spirits,” in other words our real, eternal selves (Hebrews 12:9).  Paul defines our “self” as spirit when he says, “who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them?” 

There is a joining of two spiritual beings: Christ and you.  Jesus explains it like this:  “I am the vine, you are the branches.”  The vine and the branch is one plant, one organism.  It shares the same properties.  The branch is not exactly the same as the vine, but it’s inseparably connected to the vine and is constantly benefiting from the life that comes through the vine (John 15).  The branch can only bear fruit by receiving constant nourishment from the Vine. 

Another picture of this intertwining of our spirit and the Holy Spirit is in Jesus’ last talk to his disciples before going to the cross:  “On that day [when Jesus is no longer with them] you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”      John 14 

This is a mystical and “fourth-dimension truth!” Don’t try to figure that out with mere human brain power.   That’s another way of describing what Paul says:  “Set your mind on things unseen.”   

So tell me, how far are you from God?  He is there in the center of your chest—in your spirit.  Did you know that “Christian” means Christ-one.  A spiritual son or daughter inherits the characteristics of the Father. 

Not only is he CLOSE to you, He is ONE with you. The eternal God of glory has chosen to join himself with you.  How could you possibly be any more in the inner circle of love than that? 

Just let that reality sink in, slowly for the rest of your life.  You can experience the glory of that reality.  Paul calls it, “Christ in you the hope of glory.”    And it’s not a ‘maybe’ kind of hope, it’s a deep assurance. 

Another way Paul says it is this:  “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Gal, 2:20.  That’s a mystical statement, and it is clearly something Paul has personally EXPERIENCED.  Paul has GONE DEEP AND HIGH with God.  And we see a very LONG and WIDE impact from his life. 

Here’s a practical application of that truth.  How far do you have to reach for him to find him?  You don’t really have to REACH.  Just sit there.  For some people, the language of “turning inward” is helpful.  Do you think it’s too good to be true that God would join himself to you?  If your mind needs more convincing, just read the New Testament. 

Here is another very practical application.  How many times have you heard yourself or someone else say, “I’m just trying to get closer to God.”  There’s nothing wrong with that.  But it implies that God is sometimes far from us. Not true! 

I suggest using language that lines up with reality as we read about it in the Bible.  As you become more and more convinced of this reality (and you will if you are persistent over time), it will change your behavior.  It will make you a more peaceful person.  Because if you are joined to Christ, who can hurt you? 

If you lean into and live into your unity with Christ, you WILL find the strength to listen attentively to that irritating person at your place of work.  You WILL find the patience to pick up your toddlers toys for the fourth time in one day. 

Finally, Christ in you IS your wisdom, your righteousness and your holiness.  So, feel good about yourself.  Accept his acceptance of you. 

The awareness of your oneness with Christ makes you confident.  You’ll be confident in who you are in God, and who you are in all of life.  The awareness of your oneness with Christ makes you courageous.  You will have the courage to attempt things that you know you can’t do in your own strength. 

This is the first of a series called GOING DEEP AND HIGH.  My goal in this series is to impart to others what God has given me in forty-seven years of knowing him.  I thought the first four decades of experiencing God were wonderful, and they were.  The past four years have been remarkable.  

I’ve experienced open access to God and to heavenly realities in a way I’ve never known before.  And I am more settled and secure and content in living the day-to-day Christian life than ever before.  And I continue to mature in my ability to love people.  Paul says, “make love your highest goal.”  The older you get, the more wisdom and experience you have to pass along.  I am very energized about sharing what I’ve learned with anyone who is interested.  

Here are some of the topics I’ll be looking at.   There are two large categories.  The first is Understanding and Experiencing Spiritual Realities and the second is Applying these concepts to the challenges of daily life. 

Spiritual realities such as who God is, who you are, and what heaven is all about are more permanent and enduring realities than your current occupation, your income, or the problems you are facing right now.  When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he said to pray this:  “Let your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  

What’s happening in heaven?  Who is there, and what are they experiencing?  Of course, the Father, son and Holy Spirit are there, and they are everywhere.  But YOU are also there.  You are seated in the heavenly places if you are in Christ.  “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,”  (Ephensians 2:6).  That’s one of those sentences you read in Paul’s writing that you skim over and say, “Mmmm.  Sounds good.”  To really live into that truth is absolutely life-changing.  You are a co-inheritor of all that Christ has inherited.  We are co-heirs with Christ.  This is what Paul teaches.  

So you, as a spirit-being, are in heaven, yet you are here on earth.  So, you are in two places at once.  You might say, you are a multi-dimensional person.  That’s what the Bible teaches.  One of the key spiritual realities we need to understand is that we are first and foremost spirit people.  We are humans, but the eternal part of us, the part of us that has first contact with God is our spirit.  

Here is a quote from Dallas Willard:  “You are a never-ceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God's great universe.  You are spiritual in substance.  You are never going to stop existing -- there's nothing you can do about that so get used to it.”  

So, since you are seated next to Jesus in the heavenly places, how far away is God from you?  In fact, your human spirit is intertwined with the Holy Spirit.  You are one with him!   “Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.”  (1 Cor 6:17)  It’s the same thing Jesus said using different language.  Jesus said “I am the Vine, you are the branches.”  “I make my home in you, and you make your home in me.”  Jn 14 

I believe that by-in-large, the church hasn’t really understood or applied these kinds of truths.  For example, I think most Christians think of God as “out there somewhere” rather than permanently dwelling in themselves.  Since God is inside of you, how hard is it to hear his voice?  He is actually a part of your being.  You are not God, but you do “partake in the divine nature,” as Peter wrote in his letter.  Understanding and living in these deep truths is a lifetime pursuit.  This is the mystery of Christ in us.  

If your spirit is ONE with Christ, how does that make you feel about yourself?  How do you think God sees you?  A major teaching of Jesus and Paul that has enormous implications for moment by moment living is that Christ is our life.  Paul makes the amazing statement  “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20). The old us is dead.  “We” no longer live.  The new “us” is Christ in us.  Christ + us.  Not two, but not one, either.  The new you is you and the Cosmic Christ.  Cosmic simply means universal.  He has existed for eternity-past and he fills the universe.  

Let’s make this practical right away.  If you are sitting in bumper to bumper traffic and you feel your anger start to rise (like I have hundreds of times), what do you do?  I find that it DOES NOT work to say to myself, “Don’t get angry!”  What works for me is (1) surrender, and set your intention on your spirit rather than trying to analyze everything around you and argue with what is happening (2) Recognize who you are.  Who are you?  You are joined to Christ.  Christ is your super-power.  You hitch a ride on his righteous ways.  You are sitting in the back seat.  You remind myself what is true.  You don’t grit my teeth and try to “become good.”  You recognize that you contain the Good One.  The way you see yourself changes the outcome of your behavior.  This is faith in action. 

In summary, because spiritual reality is more powerful and eternal than physical reality, we can access who we are and who God is in the Spirit, and reign over our physical circumstances.  Reigning with God is something that begins now.  Co-reigning with Christ is one of the things we inherit.  We begin by reigning over our emotions and the way we behave towards the people around us, like our own family members.  

It's all very supernatural and very natural at the same time! 

That’s a taste of things to come in my series GOING DEEP AND HIGH.  Going deep and high with God leads to going long and wide—you will have a long, fruitful life as you allow Christ to live his life through you.

At the end of 2021 I was asking God what he wanted to say to me about 2022.  He highlighted some themes from the book of Revelation, chapter 22.   Jesus is presented in that chapter as the light of heaven:  “Night will be no more. They will never need the light of the sun or a lamp, because the Lord God will shine on them.”  We read in 1 John: “God is light.” 

Over the past few years I have thought about the parallels between the light of the sun and God’s light.  From my house I can see a majestic mountain range.  I’m amazed at the vastly different perspectives I see depending on how the light is shining on that mountain range.  The many ways light plays off the white majestic clouds is a glorious thing.  It’s a picture of heaven.  The colors of God in the sky come alive in the light. The combination of many shades of white and grey, piercing blue and the striking pinks, oranges and reds at sunrise and sunset tell the story of a creative God.  He planted in each one of us an appreciation for beauty that is like his own. 

Around once every five years, we get a big dump of snow here in Vancouver that sticks around for awhile.  This is one of those winters.  The brightness of the sun’s light reflecting off the snow is astounding.  On December 30th, as I was pondering this theme of light, I saw an amazing sight.  Long after dark, I could clearly see a purplish-blue sky instead of normal blackness!   The reflective nature of snow opened up my perspective to see color in the heavens.  That’s what God’s light does.   Even when we’re surrounded by darkness, God can open our eyes to see his glory in creation, and to appreciate the good people and things that surround us. 

God’s light to reveal wisdom and knowledge is always available.  But, because of this word I received, I’m expecting an increase of my “seeing ability” this year.  I’m pressing in to see more, learn more and reach for the new things God is opening up. 

Another fascinating application of light in the Bible is that God is not the only light-bearer.  Paul says to his church members, “you are light in the Lord,” and “you are children of the light and children of the day.”  Our nature is now “joined to Christ.”  So it shouldn't surprise us that we…are…light.  (see 1 Cor. 6:17). 

Jesus said, “I am light to the world, and those who embrace me will experience life-giving light, and they will never walk in darkness.”  And he also said to the crowd gathered on a hill, most of whom were hungry and struggling, “You are the light of the world!”  I can picture someone from the crowd hearing what Jesus said, turning to their friend and asking, “Is he talking about us? We are the light of the world?” 

Jesus sees our true nature as being full of spiritual light.  We must train ourselves to see our identity in the same way.  My emotional state goes up and down, especially in the winter when it’s mostly cloudy and wet. So, I declare over myself the truth, “I am a son of light.  I share the nature of Him who is pure light.”  Jesus is THE light, and we are sons and daughters of light.  We are offspring of God and we bear his image.  (1 Thess. 5:5) 

I hope you see new truths and gain much more access to God’s light 2022!

One of the most beautiful God-mysteries is the interwoven life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—The Holy Trinity.  This is the only perfectly functional family!   They live in a continual outpouring of mutual love, trust, honor and friendship.  They support one another and defer to one another. 

Another amazing mystery that mirrors the Trinity is the connectedness of the entire Body of Christ, the church.  We belong to one another.  We participate in the one life of Christ together.  We are not complete without one another.  We grow and mature as we connect to the mystically joined network of believers around us.  God made us to be social-spiritual beings. 

And we are so enriched by connecting to our worldwide family!  Around 3 years ago I wrote the song, We Live in You, which is about our unity with God and one another.  The song had an African feel to it.  As I imagined arranging this song, I heard African drums in my head.  I don’t know many folks in Vancouver that play African drums, so I never played the song! 

Years later, I heard an interview with Edgar King, a Vineyard pastor from Kenya.  Edgar has been a worship leader for many years, beginning as a youth in the Vineyard church pastored by his father.  I asked Edgar to sing on We Live in You and invite some of his team members. Edgar invited Joan Nzuki and George Ochieng’ Oula to sing on the track.  They sound great! 

Edgar is fluent in both English and Swahili, so we recorded the song using both languages.  This bi-lingual song reflects the worship style in Edgar’s multi-ethnic church.  Their congregation is quite diverse, so they sing songs in various languages to make everyone feel welcome and connected. 

This reminds me of my many visits to Latin America, where I have enjoyed singing in Spanish.  I have learned so much from my Latino brothers and sisters.  I have shared my experiences of worship in those countries, but it’s always a mutual give-and-take situation.  My life of worship has been deeply enriched by hanging out with my Latino spiritual family. 

When we venture out beyond our own native culture and share life with people of different nations, we see life, God and ourselves with new eyes. 

Here is the first verse of my song The Power is in the Kiss: 

The power is not in a top down ultimatum 

It’s not in the angry raising of your fist 

The power is not in your well defended position 

Real power, purest power is in the kiss 

In many arenas of society in the past year we have seen a lot of what I describe as the “wrong kind of power” in this first verse:   “top down ultimatums, angry raising of your fist, well defended position… calling down heaven’s fire on the ones we think are lower than ourselves.”  These actions and attitudes flow from a belief that “I am right, I have the power, and I am going to exert my power to get my way, even if it means I will dominate you and show violence in doing so.”  

In his book, “A More Christlike God,” Bradley Jersak describes the way Christ rules:  “…Christ rules through love rather than coercion—through persuasion rather than force—through revelation rather than domination.” 

Jersak goes on to explain that consent rather than coercion is how the Father and the Son relate to one another.  “Consent is the divine act of love between Father and Son.  Some have said that as the Father kisses the Son, the Holy Spirit is the kiss.  The Son shows his love for God the Father by continually consenting—obeying, surrendering, yielding—to his Father’s will (and God’s will is love!).” 

Jesus showed us a very different kind of power than we see in some of our modern-day politics.  He showed us and upside down kind of cruciform power – going to the cross.  He showed is kenotic power – emptying himself of his rights to exercise authority as God (Philippians 2).  Kenosis means to “empty yourself of self will.” 

The kenotic and cruciform power of Jesus is described in the bridge of “The Power is in the Kiss:” 

It’s the power of love reaching across the great divide 

Embracing the lonely ones on the other side 

It’s the power of the peaceful dove   

The power of an open door 

The power of an outstretched hand    

Giving help to the weak and poor 

The power of real surrender, it’s the power of letting go 

It’s the weakness of an earthen vessel, 

Filled with power, purest power from above 

In marriage and in all relationships, surrendering our power, or letting other people have their way is often the right choice.  Another way of saying that is from 1 Cor 13:  “Love is not insisting on your own way.”  This is how I approach my relationship with Linda, my wife.   It’s also the way I try to behave in my interactions with friends, co-workers and strangers in the marketplace. 

Though we don’t automatically allow ourselves to be run over or abused, at the very least we are called to show love and respect at all times to all people.  Paul writes to Titus, “…be peaceable and considerate, and always…gentle toward everyone.”  (Titus 3:2)

I’ve travelled a rich journey of knowing God through the last several decades.  To be exact, it’s 45 years since I started walking with the Lord in my first year of university studies.  I had never imagined that God could be so real, so involved in my life, and so willing to reveal himself to me. 

To celebrate these first 45 years of my walk with Jesus, I am writing a series of 45 Meditations on all sorts of subjects that have been key lessons for me along this road.  Some topics offer advice on how to deal with specific challenging situations of life, and some are big-picture topics that form the spiritual foundations we walk on. 

You can see several episodes of this series on the 45 Meditations page on this website.  All of the Meditations are posted on my Youtube page @ Andy Park.

Abraham is one of my favorite Bible characters.  He walked a very long journey of faith.   God made very great promises to him:  2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing… all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 

As great as those promises were, they were NOT Abraham’s “great reward.”  His great reward was the person of God – walking with and being a friend of God.  Abraham enjoyed many earthly blessings.  He had a beautiful wife (Gen 12:11), many servants and was wealthy: “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold” (Gen. 13:2).  “Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels” (Gen. 12:16). 

Abraham’s life is a very important example for all of us.  God promised him, “descendants … as numerous as the stars in the sky.”  Though God may generously bless us in many ways on the earth, none of those promises are our ultimate treasure.  HE is our ultimate treasure.  

If I get too focussed on the promises of things God is planning for me, I become very disappointed.  Accomplishing goals or attaining possession or even having special relationships will ultimately disappoint us if they are our ultimate treasure.   If we make idols of earthly blessings, in the long run they will fail to satisfy us. 

I encourage you to enjoy friendship with God today and every day.  Don’t forget that God is at your side, in your heart, above you and below you and behind you and before you.  In a way, it’s not so much what you do in life as Who you do it with that counts.

In John 5, we read the story of the man who was sick for 38 years, and was waiting for his healing.  He was lying among the hundreds of sick who were gathered at this pool in Bethesda.  Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well.  He said that he wasn’t able to be the first one into the pool when the angel began to stir the waters.  The first one in always got healed. 

Jesus healed him on the spot.  No angel was necessary, no jumping in the pool was necessary.  The man didn’t even answer Jesus with a strong, “YES, I want to be healed!”   Instead, he brought his lament to Jesus – he wasn’t quick enough to jump in the pool first.  Jesus showed mercy to this man who had been crippled for decades. 

By healing him on the spot, Jesus was saying, “I’m here, and I’m all you need.  You don’t have to wait for an angel.  There is no lack of healing available.  Healing isn’t reserved for the clever and able ones who manage to get into the front of the line.” 

In the past year, God has been “stirring the waters” big time in my life.  Did you know that the average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%?   The natural things speak of the invisible.  Jesus said we would have living water gushing out of us if we come to him and drink.  The river of God never stops flowing. 

I hear so many stories from around the world of God stirring the waters in peoples’ lives.  In the John 5 healing story, no angel was present.  But in these days, angelic visitations are not occasional.  They are constant.

I believe the veil between our earthly existence and stepping into the kingdom of heaven is thinner than ever.  People who persistently push through this veil will experience more and more of God’s love, healing, glory and empowering for daily life. 

The first week of June will mark the beginning of my new video series called The Pool of Healing.  The word translated “healing” in the new Testament is sozo.  This word describes much more than physical healing.  It describes deliverance from evil, salvation of our souls, restoration of our minds, emotions and social relationships.  Sozo brings about a general state of well-being, and it prepares us to be conduits of living water to others. 

My video series will include stories, songs, prophetic words, and sharing what I’ve learned about walking with Jesus over the past four decades.  You can check it out on my youtube channel.

Unlock Love, post #3

Unlocking love can’t happen unless we are seeing God everywhere and acknowledging him with words.  By opening the gates of our eyes, emotions, ears and minds to God-reality, and marvelling at the miracles all around us, we get in flow of his love. 

The writer of Psalm 36 was surround by haters.  He starts by giving a lurid description of rebellious, conceited, evil-doing, self-centered liars. But the transition between verse 1-4 and 5-10 is striking.  He does a 180 degree turn.  He turns his attention to the ‘meteoric’ love of God! 

How does he keep from spiralling down into a pit of negative emotion?  It’s not by repenting with sackcloth and ashes.  How does he get his mind off those who are attacking him?  He thinks about the ‘astronomic’ faithfulness of the Lord.  How does he stay out of self-pity and self-centeredness?  He thinks about God’s tender care and kindness that leaves no one forgotten. 

How does he get out of bemoaning the ubiquitous ‘virus’ of people who ignore God and are constant doing evil?  He marvels at the ‘oceanic’ justice of God.  This is a great example of gratitude and worship DISPLACING all the bad feelings and thoughts.  It’s impossible to be stuck in a “woe-is-me”  mindset if we’re standing in awe of Love Divine. 

If we look at life from our seat in the heavens (Eph 2:6), we see reality from God’s point of view and speak into existence a positive vibe. 

When I go on a walk to pray and sing, I see God everywhere.  I feel him in the fresh, cool wind.  I see his glory in the sun, the trees and blue sky. I see amazing glorious clouds and say, “that’s the glory of God!”  (the spiritual reality behind the physical reality). 

As you go about your daily chores, say things like: 

“O God, how extravagant is your cherishing love!” 

“Your great faithfulness is infinite.” 

“You’re a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light.”

The Coronavirus gets its name from the word ‘corona’ which means crown in Latin and in Spanish.  Coronavirus has a series of crown-like spikes on its surface, which is the reason for the name. 

Names are significant.  In the midst of a lot of panic and fear over the Coronavirus, how can we be encouraged by the biblical symbol of the crown?  The metaphor of the crown is used in many ways in the Bible. 

While most of the uses of “crown” in the Bible refer to the exalted status of God and kings, and the crown worn by every believer who runs the race of faith, there are also negative uses of the word.  Locusts wear crowns (Rev 9), as do the beast and dragon in Revelation (Rev 12, 13).  This speaks of a destructive power.  

The Coronavirus is a bad kind of crown.  But there is good news… The Coronavirus WILL NOT LAST.   It will fade away.  Before we know it, we will be remembering it as a thing of the past… “Remember that crazy virus?” 

The Apostle Paul made a big deal out of difference between temporary and eternal crowns.  He writes about the imperishable crown that goes to the Christian who completes the race in contrast to crowns won by athletes, which will fade with time. The unfading crown of life, joy and righteousness will last forever.  Peter writes: “when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”  1 Peter 5:4 

While we take practical steps to avoid catching or spreading the Coronavirus, we ought to think about the crown that will last.  The crown of glory we receive as we run the race of faith WILL LAST FOREVER. 

But we don’t have to WAIT to wear crowns from God.  In Christ, we are already wearing the crowns of love, compassion, joy and righteousness. 

“To experience the blessing of his character and activity on one's behalf is said to be a crown. So his lovingkindness and mercy can be a crown (Psalm 103:4) as can mere relationship with him (Isaiah 28:5).” (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary). 

I encourage you to enjoy your position as a treasured member of God’s family and rejoice in your lasting crown!

Unlock Love, post #2 

“Love is patient…”  This is the first descriptor of love Paul gives us in the famous “love chapter” from his letter to the Corinthians.  If God is love, and love is patient, then God is patient with you and I.  He is way more patient with us than we are with ourselves.  Sometimes I think, “I can’t believe I’m still struggling in this area of my thought life.”  But God says, “Cheer up!  Just keep going, keep growing, keep letting me love you.” (I guess that must be from the gospel of Andrew). 😉 

Yahweh was always this gracious.  He “passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”  Meditate on this and it will help you have a good day! 

“Love endures all things.”  God happily endures with us through our struggles and failures.  Put those two attributes of love together and you have, “God patiently endures with us.”  God is not against us, he is for us.  He doesn’t want you to go around in a cloud of frustration because you stumbled and made a mistake.  And, it’s not just something he does to us; he endures with us.  He is inside of us, alongside of us, above and below us, and ONE with us.  He empathizes with us when we struggle.  He rejoices with us when we overcome.  He abides with us when we genuinely want to walk in his love-agenda. 

To unlock love in our lives, we must open the gates of our minds and emotions to receive his love!  If we are going to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves,” we have to start by loving ourselves.  Then we’ll be cheerful, feel good about ourselves and be able to live with a buoyant spirit.  We can withstand opposition and a multitude of problems when we know God’s unwavering love. 

Jesus asked the Father, “that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them (1).” The same love the Father has for Jesus is poured out on us! 

Have a love-filled day.

I love this picture of the angel over the city for several reasons.  It depicts angels as being real, powerful, and very concerned about our cities and the people that live in them.  The sweet, fluffy angels you see on Hallmark greeting cards present angels as an endearing Christmas-time myth rather than as powerful emissaries of God.  

Why is there skepticism about angels being real and active on earth?  Because we live in the scientific age, which has programmed us to doubt the existence of other-worldly beings.  Last time I checked, the whole of Christianity is founded on other-worldly stuff! 

A survey of angelic appearances in the Bible show us they function as messengers, guides, comforters and protectors.  There are also warrior angels.  They often show up at times of birth and death, and in moments of danger and crisis.  A few examples:  the angel at the tomb of Jesus who encouraged the two women who came looking for Jesus.  The angel who appeared to Zechariah to tell him his wife would bear a son in her old age.  

How about Cornelieus?  “He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”   Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.  The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”  (Acts 10). 

And of course, the angel who let Peter out of prison (Acts 12):  “Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.”  This one makes me smile because I regularly encounter being zapped with a small electric shock by an angel to wake me up at night.  It’s God’s means of inviting me into a night-watch conversation with him.  (I’m not saying this is what he does with everyone – I have no idea how many people experience electric zaps.  I suspect I’m not the only one).  

The way I see it, you receive what you believe.  If you believe in Jesus, you get salvation.  If you believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they are available to you.  If you believe that angels still function today as they did in Bible times, then you will benefit from their encouragement, presence and guidance.  But if you reject any one of these things, you will not receive the blessing they bring. 

In the past year I have had many encounters with angels.  It is now a regular part of my life.  Prior to that, I would occasionally be aware of the presence of an angel as I was worshiping, and one time I had an open vision of an angel on the platform of Anaheim Vineyard while Todd Hunter was leading a ministry time (somewhere around the year 1990). 

But after listening to some teaching and stories from people who regularly encounter angels, I asked God to bring that into my life if he desired.  In a matter of hours, I received a visitation from an angel. 

It would be ridiculous to worship an angel, but very sensible to treat them as friends.  Many people in the Bible had conversations with angels.  The messages I receive from angels are not unlike hearing directly from God.  It isn’t an audible voice, but a strong impression, and sometimes very specific.  You know that the thoughts you are receiving and not originating in your own mind.  And you are aware of the presence of another being in the room besides yourself. 

The advice I’ve received is to welcome and honor angels.  Just a simple, “I welcome you and honor you.”  It’s not unlike welcoming the Holy Spirit.  Another thing you can try is asking God to introduce you to your personal angel if he so desires.  You can also ask the Lord to reveal the name of the angel that is assigned to you. God dispatches the angels for different purposes in all kinds of times and places.  Don’t worry about getting obsessed with angels.  If you get too angel-happy, they probably will not show up because they don’t like to be worshipped.  They know that kind of honor is reserved only for God.  Just remember they are one means by which God helps and strengthens us (see Bible).   

In my limited experience, it is very clear that there are different types of angels who have different responsibilities, realms of authority and assignments from God.  Angels such as Gabriel are at the top of the angel hierarchy.  They carry a huge amount of power and the scope of their work is global.  But most of the angels that I regularly encounter are the kind that are sent to minister to each one of us on a regular basis. 

I receive great comfort and encouragement from the presence and words of angels.  I know that the beginning of experiencing angels was my repeated prayer, “God I want more of you. Please show me more of yourself and show me what to do.”  I want and need every kind of help God wants to give me because life is challenging!  Why would we refuse an obvious and proven means of God’s blessing such as angelic beings?

Unlock Love  -  Article #1 

This is the beginning of a series of articles I will be posting under the umbrella of “Unlock Love.”  It’s a phrase that God spoke to me, telling me to emphasize that theme.  It’s no surprise that our loves should be permeated with God’s love.  We should always be tapping into the continuous flow of God’s love coming into us, and letting that love flow out of us.    

Jesus quoted the 1st and 2nd commandments, “Love the Lord your God…and love your neighbor as yourself.”  Paul echoes Jesus’ words by writing to the church in Corinth, “Make love your highest goal,” and “do everything in love.” 

There are many pathways of thinking, habits, and spiritual strongholds that block the flow of love.  A few of these are the way we see God, see ourselves, and see other people.  In this series of articles, I will share my experiences of removing the barriers to love. 

Let’s start with our identity as children of Love.  Where did we come from?  We were made in Love’s image.  God IS love.  We were made by love, in love and for love.  We are joined to Jesus, who is love: “But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit” (1 Cor 6:17).  We are one with Love.  That’s our true identity.  There is no separation between the branch and the vine (John 15).  The love that is inherent to the nature of God flows through us as we abide, remain and live into in his love. 

“Children of love” is a re-phrasing of Paul’s words, “you are children of light” and “you are light in the Lord.”  Scripture teaches that God is light.  For Paul to say, “YOU are light” is an amazing statement.  His light is alive in us – the full potential of creative, energetic God-light.  Paul is saying, “this is who you are.” 

So, when we’ve lost our temper or carried a bad attitude for awhile, all it takes is a simple re-alignment to get things right.  We repent and remind ourselves who we really are – ones who are not envious, boastful, or proud.  We are alive in the Spirit because “Christ in us, the hope of glory” is our powerhouse companion! 

I like to pray this type of prayer, and make this declaration, taken from the “love chapter” in 1 Corinthians: “I am joined to Jesus, who is kind, patient, unselfish and believes the best about others.  I am empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in these qualities of love.  I am one with him.  I choose to surrender to his thoughts and impulses, enabling me to freely love as I have been loved. 

It’s hard work becoming a constant conduit of God’s love to others – but it’s not a heavy burden.  If we are struggling under the weight of condemnation, labeling ourselves as dismal failures, we’ll never climb out that depressing hole.  But, if we immerse our mind and spirit in the never ending flow of God’s love, we’ll get in sync with his loving ways.  And we will love our neighbor as we love ourselves! 

Do yourself a favor – love and forgive yourself.  Give yourself as much grace as Jesus does – it’s unending.  It’s a lot easier to love others when you know you are loved unconditionally.

“Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.”  Exodus 4:19-20 

Moses had to go back to the place of his failure.  He had to trust God to protect him.  He had to walk into the environment in which he was almost murdered by the previous Pharaoh, the place from which he fled into the wilderness. 

His staff was a simple piece of wood, a tool he used every day in his daily, menial work of caring for animals.  God directed him to use the tool that was earthly, ready at hand and completely unremarkable.  God turned it into a conduit for revealing his authority, presence and favor. 

What tool is ready at your hand?  A guitar?  A cell phone that you can use to share God-ideas online?  The ability to speak or write or lead or serve?  What skill do you use on almost a daily basis?  Caring for children or adults or needy?  What knowledge do you have from years of experience that God wants to embody and empower to be a tool for revealing his loving encouragement? 

What is the “Egypt” you have to walk back into?  What fears do you face every day as you say a simple ‘yes’ to God’s invitation?   It’s not about your abilities, it’s about “I AM THAT I AM” being with you. 

On a natural level, Moses had plenty of reasons to lack confidence.  He wasn’t an articulate speaker.  He had murdered a man when he was still part of the royal household.  He was a very reluctant leader. 

God called him to do something way beyond his own little world of caring for flocks.  He called him to deliver people out of slavery to a cruel dictator.  It wasn’t about the wow factor of doing miracles.  The miracles were a tool to bring freedom and God’s blessing to an oppressed people.

There have been thousands of “waves” of the Holy Spirit throughout church history.  Here’s one example: in the country of Wales, between 1762 and 1862 there were at least 15 outstanding revivals (see “Revival Comes to Wales” by Eifion Evans). 

I grew up in Southern California, and did some surfing.  I never surfed enough to became a good surfer.  But I did learn some of the fundamentals of the sport.  There are many parallels between catching a wave on a surfboard and catching a wave of the Holy Spirit. 

What do you do when you surf a wave? 

1.  Watch for it.  While we are never without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, it’s good to always be looking for incoming waves.  When you see people being touched and hear stories from near and far about extraordinary things God is doing, you are seeing incoming waves that might reach your own shores.  This raises your faith level, and spurs you on to seek the Lord diligently, to pray and listen and respond to him. 

2.  Get yourself in a position to catch it.  Being in the right place at the right time is supremely important in surfing waves.  You learn it by doing it.  Simply go where there are waves and you pick up the knack for being in the right place.  Things of the Spirit are “more easily caught than taught.”  So hang around people and places that are receiving and giving away the Holy Spirit’s blessings.  Several years ago I was in Hawaii on a ministry trip (poor me, someone has to do it).  I got a couple of brief surfing opportunities with my son, Ben.  While I was paddling to catch a wave, one of the local surfer women shouted out, “go, go, go!”  She could see I needed to pick up the pace to catch the wave.  We need friends around us to cheer us on towards our spiritual goal. 

3.  To catch the wave.  You have to build up speed to catch the wave, which means you have to paddle hard. I relate this to having good spiritual habits.  You learn to pray by praying.  Just as surfers build up strong upper body muscles through lots of paddling, we build up spiritual muscles through frequent practice.  Mother Teresa said, “Prayer is a 2-way conversation.  God speaks, we listen.  We speak, God listens.”  The Holy Spirit is our constant inner teacher.  We tap into what he is saying by maintaining a posture of prayer. It’s not easy to catch a wave in surfing, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.  (I think it’s much easier to receive the Holy Spirit than to catch a beach wave!) 

4.  When you’re on the wave, you move in response to the wave.  You “do what the wave is doing.”  Keep listening.  Abide in him.  Get your instructions from him.  Do what he says.  In Paul’s teaching on discerning spiritual things, he says, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2).  If we have access to the mind of Christ, that means he can potentially be feeding us his thoughts non-stop.  Because we aren’t perfect receptors for his thoughts, we miss a lot of stuff.  Nevertheless, he is always ready to lead and guide. (Every analogy has weaknesses.  In a sense, we are always on a wave of the Holy Spirit because he is connected to our own human spirit.  See 1 Cor. 6:17, 2 Peter 1:4).  In surfing, you “feel” your way along the wave.  Not unlike moving with the Holy Spirit. 

5.  The power comes from the wave, not from us.  If we abide in him, we will bear much fruit by virtue of our connection with his love, wisdom and power.  This is liberating.  We never have to produce the power, and we never take the credit, because he is the source of every blessing.  

Good waves come in sets of 6 or 8, then there’s a lull, then another set rolls in.  Watch and wait for the right times to surf.  If there are no waves, go have a barbeque on the beach!  At all times, love one another, serve the needy, and do the “main and plain” things that every Christian should do. 

6.  Riding a beach wave is unlike any other feeling I’ve had.  It’s definitely a euphoric experience.  I think it’s even more fun than skiing or snowboarding – being smoothly carried along by a very powerful force.  For me, these euphoric feelings in surfing have been few and fleeting.  The Holy Spirit’s presence in us is much more constant and dependable than a beach wave.  He is always with us.  We don’t focus on euphoria, we focus on him, and sometimes he gives us a taste of heaven, and helps us to help others experience the same wonderful freedom. 

7.  Disclaimer.  Maybe the biggest weakness of this analogy between surfing and responding to the Holy Spirit is that surfing is and individual sport and immersion into the Holy Spirit is best done in relationship with others. 

8.  Watch for waves!  Paddle hard!  Trust the wave-Maker.  Be connected to a community of comrade-Holy Spirit-surfers.

Historically, we see that God brings renewal and positive change when people intentionally seek him.  But people don’t usually decide one day all on their own initiative, “I’m going to really go for God.”  Usually, there is a catalytic moment, an eye-opening experience, or a disruption of our contentment with the status quo. 

God brings disruption to light a fire under us. 

God disrupts normal life by his delightful appearance, his penetrating words, and at times through great difficulty.  Through disruptions, we see that what we thought was “normal spirituality” is probably less than all God has for us in our pilgrimage of faith. 

These disruptions are often not specifically sought after or expected. They are often difficult, but they are also heavenly.  God satisfies the hunger in our hearts when we follow his path of disruption.  God-disruptions produce godliness and fruitfulness if we humbly respond, giving God a chance to unwrap his gifts to us.   

Examples of biblical disruptions: 

Jesus encountering Paul on the road to Damascus.  “Is that you, Jesus?!” 
God encountering Moses through the burning bush, “God, you’ve got the wrong guy.” 
The prophet Samuel anointing David as the next king.  Teenager becomes giant-slayer. 
Matthew, sitting in his tax-collectors booth, received an invitation from Jesus: “Follow me.”  Jesus’ radical inclusion of a “scum-of-the-earth” tax collector is scandalous and wonderful. 
The Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost and empowered the disciples, which turned the world upside down. 
Jesus offers the Samaritan woman “Living Water.”  She tells the whole neighborhood this good news. 

We can be disrupted when we: 

Read a book, hear a sermon or a song – God grabs our heart, opens our eyes to a reality we know is right but couldn’t previously see. 
We see a passage of scripture like, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” and decide to take it seriously.  (Col. 4:2) 
We see burning passion for God in someone’s life and it produces the right kind of jealousy in our hearts.  We want the blessings of God that we see in those around us.  We are provoked to follow the path of disruption – to break out of previous habits and really dive into the pursuit of God. 

Jesus said some radical things, like “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.”  (Matt. 10:37) 

Jesus absolutely didn’t want us to stop loving our family, but he calls us to love him with everything we have, everything that’s in us:  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”  Most people would describe that as fanaticism.  For Jesus, and Paul, and hundreds of thousands of disciples through the ages, it’s the normal Christian life.  That’s where real adventure is. 

Don’t hear legalism in what I’m saying.  It’s finding the Pearl of Great Price.  God disrupts our routines and our low expectations in order to begin a new chapter of experiencing his love and giving his love away.

In the Bible, God’s activity among us is sometimes compared to fire. What does the fiery Holy Spirit do?   He purifies, refines, ignites, makes alive, imparts passion and zeal for God, and his coming is accompanied by spiritual gifts and boldness.  John the Baptist said that Jesus would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). 

The Holy Spirit baptizes all of us with fire.  He brings his fiery love into our midst as we worship.  He dwells in us as a burning presence.   When two disciples broke bread with the risen Jesus, they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32). Each one of us is individually a temple of the Holy Spirit, and the collective body of Christ is another kind of temple of the Holy Spirit.  We are exposed to a larger, more powerful fire when we gather as the church. 

How do we steward the presence of the Holy Spirit in all arenas of life? 

1. We respond to him as individuals.  Each of us is joined to him.  “He (or she) who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” (1 Cor 6:17).  His presence in us is a flame that is never extinguished.  We pray and listen to him everyday, and we do our best to respond to his words and his voice inside us in all kinds of practical ways.   

2. We “keep the home fires burning.”  I picture a family hearth in a simple, medieval home.  The fire had many purposes.  It kept the house warm, provided hot water for cleaning, and was used to cook food.  It was also the gathering place for family fellowship.  Most of us don’t gather around literal fires in our homes, but we gather in response to the love-fire of the Holy Spirit in all of us.  We have to be attentive to the “home fire,” continuing to stoke it with fresh fuel to keep the fire alive.  For us, this means fanning the flame of God’s love in our own hearts and being attentive to relationships in our family and with our roommates.  

3. We welcome the fire of the Holy Spirit in our church gatherings.  Much of the time, the Holy Spirit’s effect on us is simply to warm our hearts towards him and towards one another.  At other times, he reveals the holiness of his fire, leading us to repentance (Hebrews 4:28-29).  We give place to the unpredictable move of the Holy Spirit, allowing his fire to kindle and ignite us however he wants. 

4. We gather with Christians from all kinds of other churches.  Throughout church history we see seasons of God’s fiery visitation, which draws together people from all kinds of churches, and those who aren’t churchgoers.  The fire spreads into the community, into every neighborhood and coffee shop where people will welcome his burning love.  The fiery love of God propels us to help and serve people everywhere. 

Will we let him burn in us?

How do we become hungry for God?  I think it’s partly God’s gift, and partly our choice.   Recently God has made it very easy for me to pray because he has visited me with amazing power and regularity.  I am swimming in a sea of revelation.  I see it as mostly God’s doing.  God is taking some big steps towards me these days, and I am trying to keep stepping towards him.  The result is wonderful and also challenging.  He is calling me to make a career of seeking him.  But that’s where the action is.  I feel like this is a season of great opportunity for anyone who will step towards him.

I find that it’s very easy to become satiated and satisfied with all kinds of things and activities that are NOT God.  Many of those things are good.  But if I fill myself up with entertainment, recreation and taking care of my possessions, I have a very shallow life.  So, we have to put aside the good stuff to get the best—God himself. 

I think when Jesus said, “I am the bread of Life, come to me and drink” and “I am the living water, come to me and drink,” it was the real deal.  We can actually get sustenance and the satisfaction of an intimate relationship with the God who is love.  But there are so many inferior substitutes available in this era of great wealth and super advance technology. 

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.  Doing God’s will feeds us.  We know our lives have meaning when we do God’s work.  That is very fulfilling. 

Our hunger can be satisfied with nearness to God, just as the Psalmist who wrote these words: I will praise you as long as I live, 
and in your name I will lift up my hands.  I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;  with singing lips my mouth will praise you (Psalm 63:4,5).

A life-changing conversation between mother and son 

When he was 10 years old, David Eisenhower was vey excited about joining his older brothers to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night.  But his parents wouldn’t let him go.  They thought he was too young.  David threw a terrible temper tantrum.  He begged his parents for the chance to join his brothers.  In a rage, he screamed and cried and beat his hands against a tree. 

His father spanked him and sent him to bed.  Later on, his mother came to comfort her son, taking him into her lap and gently rocking him.  After a time of quiet, she quoted Proverbs 16:32: “He that conquers his own soul is greater than he who takes a city.”  She explained to him how dangerous it was to hold bitterness in your heart towards others.  Hanging onto anger will damage and imprison you. 

Sixty-six years later, when he was seventy-six, Eisenhower wrote, “I have always looked back on that conversation as one of the most valuable moments of my life. To my youthful mind, it seemed to me that she talked for hours, but I suppose the affair was ended in fifteen or twenty minutes. At least she got me to acknowledge that I was wrong and I felt enough ease in my mind to fall off to sleep.”[i] 

Here is another example of foot-washing.  In this case, we see the long lasting impact of sitting quietly with a person and speaking kind words.  Ida Eisenhower was doing what all faithful mothers do.  She was consoling and counseling her young boy.  She couldn’t have known she was shaping the character of a boy who would become President of the United States.   She couldn’t have known that this 20-minute conversation would always be remembered by her son as one of his most life-changing moments.  The slow, steady, humble work of showing compassion to a weeping child has long-term benefits that we can’t see in the moment of crisis.  This was another “secret place” moment of showing love to a hurting child. God sees every kind word, every minute and hour you’ve spent in compassionate caring. God sees that kind of faithfulness and rewards it—even if it takes a long time.  Through the centuries, mothers have had huge influence in shaping the character of their children and students, some of whom become leaders and influencers.  Abraham Lincoln said, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” 

What if David Eisenhower had turned out to have an unproductive, unremarkable life?  What if he had spurned all of Ida’s wisdom and guidance?  Would that have changed the value of Ida’s tender care for him?  No. If you’ve loved, you’ve succeeded.  If you “make love your highest goal,” as the Apostle Paul says, you’ve done well. We can’t control how the recipients of our love will respond.  

[i]   David Brooks, The Road to Character, Random House, New York, 2015, Page 52.

I am inspired to write songs for many reasons.  One way I catch a vision for a new song begins with seeing a need.  I sometimes do music for a dinner outreach to needy people.  It’s one expression of Nightshift, near where l live in Surrey (nightshiftministries.org). 

As we play and sing, looking out over the crowd, you see a lot of abused folks who came from broken homes and have struggled to survive on every level – emotionally, socially, physically and spiritually.  Many of them did not have a safe family of origin.  Home wasn’t a place they wanted to be. 

Seeing this group—a mix of the working poor, wandering teenagers, addicts, sex-trade workers and homeless—inspired me to write, “God is Love.” 

God is Love 

Have you been struck down, have you been bruised 

In danger and so afraid? 

Have you been slandered, hurt and abused 

And you barely have the strength to pray? 

There is a home, there is a shelter, 

There is a hiding place 

Jesus is here, his healing is near you today 

Chorus 

God is love, pouring like a waterfall over you 

Taking all your pain, taking all your bitterness away 

God is love, crashing like a breaker over you 

Darkness and death can no longer hold on to you 

Verse 2 

He’s your defender, he’s your protector, 

Run to the shadow of his wings 

Rest like a baby, in his tender mercy, 

There is healing in his wings 

He is your home, he is your shelter, 

He is your hiding place 

Jesus is here, his healing is near you today 

Bridge 

This is the kingdom, this is the life, 

It’s what you’ve been waiting for 

This is the freedom, this is the love, 

It’s what he has made you for

City of Light is the first track on the Bring Your Healing Love EP.  It’s a reggae tune that I’ve played a lot at Nightshift, a ministry in my city that serves a nightly meal to people in need.  The theme of the song is taken from the book of Revelation, which describes heaven as a shining city:  “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” 

We can experience some the blessings of heaven now – unity among people of all backgrounds, peace, inclusiveness, helping and sharing with one another and celebration.   Seeing a picture of heaven makes us long for the “full meal deal” and it should also make us pray for and work towards bringing heaven now, 

JKA Smith, in his book, You are What You Love,  describes well this concept:   “Christian worship should tell a story that makes us want to set sail for the immense sea that is the Triune God, birthing in us a longing for “a better country—a heavenly one” that is kingdom come (Heb. 11: 16). The biblical vision of shalom—of a world where the Lamb is our light, where swords are beaten into ploughshares, where abundance is enjoyed by all, where people from every tribe and tongue and nation sing the same song of praise, where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an everlasting stream.”