It is easy to venture forth down a path for the truth and end up using the wrong criteria to validate your relationship with God. When you feel as though you are wandering through a desert season in your life, it is tempting to look around for signs of life that are as intangible as an amoeba. It is there but your senses say otherwise. It is the same with God. Sometimes he keeps us in the dark for purposes that extend past the boundaries of our immediate thinking but nonetheless, this will happen and you may feel as though you have been forsaken. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 1 Corinthians 13:2, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 4:16, 2 Peter 1:5-8, discerning the voice of God, Genesis 1:28, gifts of the Spirit, God, God knowing, how to hear from God, I want to know God, James 3:11, John 14:6, John Eldredge, Judges 16:1-3, Knowing God, Luke 10:17-20, Matthew 7:21-23, prophetic dreams and visions, relationship with God, Revelation 13:13, seeking God, sex in Bible, sexuality, spiritual growth, the discipline of spiritual discernment, Wild at Heart, will of God
There is an esoteric line in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that has always stuck out to me. It is where Lady Montague asks her nephew Benvolio if he has seen the missing Romeo. He responds,
“A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad;
where, underneath the grove of sycamore
that westward rooteth from the city’s side,
so early walking did I see your son…” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ani l'dodi v'dodi li, dampness of the night, experiencing God, God, hearing God, I have taken off my robe— must I put it on again?, I slept but my heart was awake, intimacy with God, Knowing God, lover, lovesick, lovesickness, relationship with God, Romans 2:4, Romeo and Juliet, Song of Solomon, Song of Solomon 5, Song of Songs, Song of Songs 5, Song of Songs 5:2-6, sycamore, walk with God, walking with God
One story that has absolutely captured my fascination over the years as it pertains to a knowing relationship with God is in Matthew 12:1-8: “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 1 Chronicles 21:13, Christian living, experiencing God, find God, hearing God, Hosea 6:6, how to develop a relationship, intimacy with God, King David, Knowing God, knowing God personally, love of God, man after God's own heart, Matthew 12:1-8, personal relationship with God, pharisees, relationship with God, spiritual help, temple, walk with God, walking with God, will of God
In a world where so much advice is given on how to develop an intimate relationship , I thought I would explore this avenue by way of a via negativa of sorts. Instead of shedding a little bit of light on the subject, I thought I would shed a little darkness. After all, isn’t it important to make use of the light when we can first acknowledge that we are actually in the darkness? The following treatise should then be sufficient provision in order to destroy a cherished relationship based upon centuries of these finely tuned inadequacies: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christian discipleship, Christian living, experiencing God, God help, God knowing, hearing God, hearing the voice of God, how to develop a relationship, intimacy with God, know God, Knowing God, love letters, love of God, personal relationship with God, relationship with God, seeking God, spiritual growth, walk with God, walking with God, what is the purpose of life
I once was part of a church that taught that the sinful nature could be totally eradicated; that is, gone, wiped out completely. I find this strangely amusing in light of the fact that pastors often chuckle behind closed doors on the difficulty of their congregations. The jokes tell us something different. In fact, pastors in most denominations lament over the high stress nature of their jobs in which they must satisfy everyone, not to mention the damage that is done to their own wives and children. Read the rest of this entry »
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