"Who Do You Say That I Am?"

"For My People have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewn themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water." -Jeremiah 2:13

When you go before God in prayer and spend time in His presence, do you ever really consider the way that He desires to relate to you? What is the picture of the relationship with you that God Himself has in mind? I admit that I don't typically go throughout my day thinking of the Lord in this way, but truth is, God Himself orchestrated a relationship with man that goes far deeper than most of us realize. 

The Father calls Himself the fountain of living waters in Jeremiah and Jesus calls Himself the Bread of Life and the living waters in the Gospels. God calls Himself the inheritance of Aaron in the Torah.  So why does God speak of Himself in these terms? Why does the Lord not just say, " I am God, follow me and I will show you where to find bread. I will show you where the river is to quench your thirst." 

Two reasons I can see is that 1: it speaks of the intimate union God created us for and 2: this tells us that God never intended for the deepest needs or extravagant desires of man to be met outside of Him. They were never even to be satisfied in anything the Lord would give us. God reserved that honor for Himself. 

This is the God we serve that actually wants to be nearer to us than any earthly relationship we could ever have. God Himself is the sustenance of our innermost being. It's incredible that the God of the universe actually wants us to live off of the very substance of His being!  There can be no doubt that He indeed is a God near and not far off.  My prayer for myself and you is that we all mature to the point that wanting this kind of closeness to God through His Son becomes our greatest motivator for fleeing sin. Jesus is our pattern in this, and He never worried about not doing things because the Father would punish Him. His chief motivation was to see the Father's joy. I know that eventually I must move from the selfishness of doing God's will because it might mean something bad for me if I don't to wanting His will done just because it brings the Father joy. We have to let it sink deep in our hearts that the Father receives joy and pleasure when we find ourselves fully satisfied and sustained by Him. 

As you search out the heart of God now and in the days to come, ask Him to show you what it means for Him to be your living bread, your living waters. Think about that: God wants to be the very reason you come alive! He loves you and I in amazing ways that we can only begin to discover in this life.

TREASURE MAP:

Numbers 18:20; John 6; John 7:37-39, 15:1-12; Rev. 21:5-7; Ez. 47:1-12

"Let Us Whisper Now Together"

But I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there... I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the LORD." -Hosea 2:14, 19-20



The above verses are an incredible picture of the intimacy God wants with us. Right after promising judgment on Israel's unfaithfulness, the amazing heart of God outshines even that to reveal His desire for her. One thing that stands out is the place God intends to show His most intimate side, the wilderness. A place of barrenness, no human interaction or other distractions. 

What does this tell us about our pursuit of His Majesty? It tells us that oftentimes, it is spiritually healthy and vital for us to get away from it all and spend alone time with our Savior. There is a communion and a refreshing and a closeness with God that He only wants us to experience when the things of our world are set aside so that His presence is the only substantial thing we can focus on. There are things on the Father's heart that can be entrusted to us and shared with us if He knows we are passionate enough about Him that we will leave our 'everyday' and chase after Him, even in a dry place. 

There is a park just north of 1604 that is just trails, hills and nature. I go there as often as I can to literally walk with God and pray and worship. This nature park quickly became my favorite place to pray and it is where prayer for me is the most exciting and enriching. I feel His presence, bear my soul, sing His praise, intercede for others and meditate on His wonders in ways I can't even do in church sometimes. There is just something about being out in creation with Christ that is unparalleled by most other experiences with God. After doing this for a long time, it is easy to see why Jesus Himself retreated often to a solitary place to commune with the Father.

Even if you are not the outdoorsy type, you can only benefit from finding that solitary place for yourself, where you can have mini-retreats with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that are deeply personal and awe inspiring. Develop the habit of occasionally getting away from work, school, family, friends and even the Christian environment and allow God to lead you in the desert to the depths of His heart. Let the Lord be tender with you, and if you're like me, you  will come to look forward to these times with expectation and longing. This will be one spiritual discipline that will breathe life into the other disciplines as well as all aspects of your life.

TREASURE MAP:

Mark 1:35-36, Deut. 1:29-31, Deut. 8:2-10, Deut. 32:10-14, Ps. 63:1-6, Is. 43:19, Is. 51:3, Luke 5: 15-16

Treasure Hunters Pt. 2

Hidden In Plain Sight

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things… to put to shame the things which are mighty… so that no one may boast before Him. 1 Cor. 27-29

One day a king went out alone and hid a huge diamond, then hired three servants to find it. Whoever found it would become the King’s closest advisor.  They were given only three locations to look for it but could only choose one.  The first traveled a short distance to a regal palace thinking surely the king would want his treasure here. But after searching throughout the day it was not found. The second servant went to the king’s royal treasury thinking surely the king would keep such a jewel where it ought to be. But alas, while holding the last coin, the servant discovered the diamond was not there either.

The third servant, who often spent time with the king, traveled a day’s length to a small shack at the edge of the king’s domain. After opening the door he came upon an old wooden chest.  As he opened it, the diamond glistened in the sunlight. The servant returned to the king’s chambers, jewel in hand and to the king’s delight, was made chief advisor.

The third servant had two things in his favor that helped him become closest to the king. First he spent time with the king and so knew his heart. He had heard the king speak affectionately of this shack, which is where he first laid eyes on his soon to be queen. The king once hid a ring inside the chest and then proposed to her when she finally found him during a game of hide-n-seek. Second, he had humility that enabled him to see past things that would attract the self-seeking. That same humility gave him wisdom to only value the king’s interests.

Likewise with us, when we are exploring the depths of God, there are things He wants to show us that can’t be found in things that make us look good. For example, the precious jewel called “brotherly love” may not be hidden in your closest friendships, but in learning to deal kindly with that person who irritates you. Such treasure may take longer and be difficult to obtain, but it’s well worth it once you find it. As we grow in intimacy with the Father and learn His ways, we too will see how differently He thinks from human nature. Knowing Him becomes our map to the most valuable riches of our King’s heart.

Treasure Hunters Pt. 1

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Prov.25:2

When you think of a treasure, what words come to mind? Perhaps words like ‘rare’, ‘highly valuable’ or ‘sentimental’ spring up.  These are words that convey to someone that the object in question is above ordinary, maybe even one of a kind.  It isn’t something you treat lightly, or let just anyone handle.  Someone would have to be intimate with you before you even consider allowing them access to something you prize. You may have traveled far and wide to obtain it, or you may have invested a great deal of money to possess it. You don’t keep it lying around ordinary things but in a special place to protect it. And you guard it carefully above everything else you own.

What if that’s how God wants us to approach our relationship with Him? Are there treasures of Christ that we have to patiently and diligently explore Him for that the lukewarm seem blinded to? It appears that the testimony of God in Scripture is that He wants to be pursued and that Christ redeemed us so that we might not only serve Him, but intimately know Him.

This tells me that there is a higher passion we are to possess that equips us to dive into the realms of our Father’s heart and discover the wealth of who He is. 

Perhaps the Christian walk can be thought of as a sacred quest where we have the honor of forsaking the false treasures of this world in order to adventurously explore the depths of the King of Kings. He designed the journey in such a way that we can only discover the deeper things the more fervent and diligent we become.  We gain eyes to see the treasures of God more clearly only as we learn to place the highest value on knowing the Father’s heart.

There is always more to Christ, so let’s keep going higher!