Do You Know Him?

The Holy One calls me this morning. Together we are working to rid my heart of any and all unbelief. Actually the unbelief seems to start in my mind with lies by the enemy of my soul and without realizing the toxic nature of the lie, the "evidence" supporting it begins to surface, and it seems like truth.. 

As the "evidence" falls into place, there comes a heart shift, subtle at first, but left unchecked the heart becomes cold, indifferent and resigned to what the enemy wants me to believe. 

People around me are sick and some have died. Compromise in the lives of those who claim to be "Christian" is obvious and yet we are told that grace covers all sin. Doom and gloom prevail with famine and drought, physically and spiritually being experienced by most of us who live on the earth. Yet when Jesus came, He brought such relief to those suffering the same things we experience today.

The Holy One has taken me to the gospels to recall the account of the Centurion who brought the plight of his paralyzed servant to Jesus for a healing "Word". Matt 8:5 begins the account and Matt 8:10 reveals how Jesus felt about this Gentile and his faith in a "Jewish Carpenter". "When Jesus heard this (the Roman's statement of faith) He was astonished and said to those following Him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith". The Centurion's servant was healed at that very moment.

Reading past this account are many other accounts of Jesus confronting a variety of infirmities and physical suffering. All were "healed". All were "cured". Then the Holy One brings me to the encounter between Jesus and a ruler named Jairus, whose daughter had just died. In Matt 9:18 the short version of the story captures my attention. 

What is interesting to me is that, as this Synagogue ruler told Jesus about his daughter he said, "but, come, put Your Hand on her and she will live." This seems to speak of an even greater faith in what Jesus could do. The confidence of the ruler demonstrated by his words was faith in Jesus to resurrect his daughter from the dead.

As I ponder the two accounts, I wonder why this man's faith for a resurrection was not the subject of similar astonishment to Jesus? Knowing my thoughts the Holy One gives understanding. Jairus knew Jesus. By all the Holy writings the Jews had in their hands, they knew and recognized Jesus was the Messiah and knew what Messiah would do when He came. Jairus' faith was expected from one who knew who Jesus was: the promised “Messiah."

Then it hits my mind, the Centurion came out of spiritual ignorance and decided that Jesus was One in whom great authority rested. His faith was based on what he heard or saw Jesus do. "Even if you do not believe in My words at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." John 14:11

Faith from the Jewish ruler was expected for all he knew about the coming Messiah. The Centurion on the other hand took the initial but huge leap of faith to believe in the One standing before Him.

Holiness takes me back to the issue of unbelief. Then comes the hard truth:

"unbelief prevails because you don't really know Me. Doubts arise because you are too busy to come to Me. Fears rule your circumstances because you refuse to trust that I can or will take care of you". 
 
As soon as I start to object, I realize the truth He has just spoken. Until I acknowledge the problem I cannot begin to be healed. Unbelief is like a disease. Unbelief kills hope. Unbelief kills dreams. And unbelief, ultimately, kills the soul. The only cure for unbelief is to really get to know the One I have trusted my eternity to. For those of us who have the Holy writing available, there is no excuse to remain in ignorance and unbelief. 

The Bible embodies the Person of our God. It is a living testimony of our Creator for all who feed on it's Truth. The Gospels tell of the day when God came down from Heaven in a form that humanity could relate to in every sense of the word. Jesus came in flesh form as the exact (copy) representation of God's Being. Heb 1:3. 

When He returned to His place of Glory, after demonstrating His power over death through resurrection, the God of all Glory sent my Counselor called the Holy Spirit to teach me personally about Himself. He is the One who calls me every morning and moves with me throughout every day. And He is the One who enables me to know God in ways that the infamous sheep know their Shepherd.

Familiarity brings trust. Like dealing with a very vulnerable sheep, the Good Shepherd, guards, protects, provides for and loves...me. Even as my penchant is to wander past my boundaries, He always brings me back to safety. At the end of the day, even if I do not grasp all the whys and wherefore's of what life brings through what He allows or what He doesn't, I just must trust in His love.  

I know that changes have to be made. I purpose to spend more time with Him. To know better and trust more completely the One who gave His life for me. He bids me come. When I do, I know the doubts will fade, fears will vanish and unbelief will never find a habitat in my heart ever again. 

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?  

                 

Enter the Secret Place

 The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning.  Headline news is all abut the advance of evil and the subtle deceitful messaging says there is nothing we, as believers can do about it.

I understand the "spoken" words don't actually say, "Hey, Believer, you can't do anything about it", but the enemy called "the Prince of the power of the air", plants seeds of discouragement and whispers into our ear that we and our Lord are no match for the wicked actors running things in this realm.

Yeshua told us, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5), yet He also reminds us "With Yahweh nothing will be impossble". (Luke 1:37)

As I follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and ponder the call to prayer, I wonder "how can I know what to ask?  I am reminded of the "model prayer" Yeshua gave His disciples and left the same for us that includes:

They Kingdom come, 

Thy will be done. 

In earth as it is (being done) in Heaven.

I have discovered in all my early morning thoughts and conversations with The Holy One that He is calling me to intimacy and communications that flow with His wisdom, knowledge, understanding, wise counsel, courage, love for Yahweh, and strength to battle with Him against Heaven's antagonists.

As I ponder the Lord's model prayer that He set before His Disciples then, and for us today, I realize in order for me to know His will, I must enter what I have come to know as "the secret place".  Here is where I leave the generic description of prayer, placing what in my human mind I think is a viable resolution to life's challenges and draw close to my Sovereign Creator God in the Person of the Holy Spirit, to see from His perspective the best resolution and His way of bringing it to bear. 

So much of the time, I find I am to quick to give my Heavenly Counselor, a fast-fix blueprint of how I think He should answer rather than seek His wisdom, His way in the process where we both agree that the goal is to bring resolution to the threat, confusion, harm or pain we, or others we know are suffering in the world we have been commissioned to subdue.  

Heaven's best (Thy Kingdom come), and Yahweh's good will (Thy will be done) is the end game, but in truth we do not know what Yahweh knows, so the need for His perspective outweighs any and all of my human opinions of what's best.  Yielding to that requires trust in Yeshua that is primarily found in the secret place especially if His way is delay. 

Being with our Heavenly Father via the Holy Spirit in the secret place is where, I believe, Yeshua our Messiah, got His marching orders and directives that resulted in the supernatural interventions in what we see and identify as miracles; Yahweh doing what only Yahweh can, by overruling the natural limitations we, as humans, have to change what is. 

Going into "the secret place" enables us to see past the object of our prayer assignments and align with the One who knows all things about that person, or situation, even chaotic world events, from beginning to end, and addressing the most pressing needs our petitions should represent for powerful effective answers. 

Your Will, Your way, has become my personal heartfelt prayer in "the secret place" and in the end,  I realize answers to prayer always come when I know what to ask. 

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?