Totally His - Day 8

"The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things."
 Tozer

It is true. The God who holds the worlds in His hands, who is holy and righteous and rules in perfect wisdom and justice wants to reveal Himself to us. He waits for us to come to Him. He will not force His way into our hearts.

He does, however, require something of us. In order for us to fully know Him, we must have a heart turned totally toward Him. He cannot come fully to a heart crowded with other things.

"Since the fall men have now by nature no peace within their hearts, for God is crowned there no longer, but there in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne."
 Tozer

The usurpers may not necessarily be bad things. In fact, they are often the very gifts God has given us. Subtly, without our meaning it, they take the place reserved for only One. It may be a loved one or a ministry that takes possession of our hearts. Good things, until the gift becomes more important that the Giver.

It sounds so easy - put God first in your heart and you will experience His presence. So why is it so hard?

We'll talk about it tomorrow.

Blessings,
Linda

Near to the Heart of God - Day 7

"There is a place of quiet rest, Near to the heart of God.
  A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God.
  O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
  Hold us who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.

  There is a place of comfort sweet, Near to the heart of God.
  A place where we our Savior meet, Near to the heart of God.
  O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God
  Hold us who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God."
   Cleland B. McAfee



May you find rest near to the heart of the Father this Sabbath.

Blessings,
Linda

His Presence - DAY 6

For the weekend - words from A.W. Tozer's  "The Pursuit of God"

"At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His presence.....
 He waits to show Himself in ravishing fullness to the humble of soul and the pure in heart."

Blessings,
Linda

Picture from my dear friend Patricia. She is writing "31 Days of just ONE thing." You will be blessed.

Going quiet for the weekend. 

Linking to more dear friends: Sandy and Deidra



 

Simple Obedience

We faced each other across the table, sipping coffee and speaking of deep things. We've had this conversation many times before. I always pray it will go differently. It never does.

"I believe in God, but I don't believe He's interested in everything that goes on in our lives. He's just sort of out there and doesn't get involved with what goes on down here."

How I long to convince him otherwise. The truth is, God is very interested in everything about us and is actively involved in our lives and world. He knows each of us intimately, and He wants us to know Him as well.

I often want to complicate the simple. After all, if I don't have to work hard at something how valuable could it be? The Father calls me to the simplicity of faith with the assurance that, although He is far above me in every way, He wants to be known by me. I don't have to jump through a complicated set of hoops. He tells me that He is easily found.

"So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord.
  His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
  And He will come to us like the rain,
  Like the spring rain watering the earth."
  Hosea 6:3

We press into Him, and He promises to come.

In the next several days we'll talk about ways that we can know Him. Nothing complicated or difficult. When I began thinking about this topic I expected to find all the ways it was so hard to truly step into the presence of God. I have found it isn't so.

So....nothing deep. I'll leave that to others. Simple obedience, which in and of itself can be excruciating at times. But nothing His grace cannot carry us through.

Blessings,
Linda

Predestination vs. Free Will

I was just a little girl when I asked Jesus to come into my heart. It was a simple act of faith, and because Jesus always keeps His promises, He came right in. He has never, for one single second since that moment, forsaken me.

According to scripture, God knew before I was born I would make that choice. In fact, Psalm 139 says my whole life, every single day, was recorded in God's book before I was born:

   ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

Could we then conclude that I was predestined to be His child? What then of free will? Did I not have a choice in the matter? One of the most familiar verses in scripture says I did :

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
 John 3:16

It was my choice to believe, and it is one that is available to everyone. No one is forced to accept the gift of salvation. You may choose to reject it. It is a choice made of your own free will. 

Great theological minds have wrestled with this seeming paradox down through the ages. I do not possess a great theological mind. However a Pastor once shared this illustration which has somehow settled this issue of predestination vs. free will for me. 

Picture a door. Over the top of the door there is sign that reads: " Whosoever Will May Come." You decide to open the door. With trembling hand you grab hold of the handle and open it wide. As you step inside and close the door your eyes drift upward - and there, over the door is another sign. It reads: "Chosen Before the Foundation of the World."

"God has secrets known to no one..."  
  Deuteronomy 29:29

Blessings,
Linda

Seekers

^" For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened."
  Luke 11:10

Have you ever been on the outside looking in? It is a lonely, desolate sort of place. Everyone and everything you want to be a part of is just out of reach. Try as you might, no one stops long enough to even notice you standing there - certainly not that one you so admire and would desperately like to call friend. 

There is a place where everything one could ever want or need in the way of true riches is open to anyone who comes seeking. The One who rules over this kingdom is so far above us, we can hardly imagine He would invite us in. He is rich beyond our wildest imaginings, wise beyond our knowing,and more powerful than anyone or anything. He loves lavishly and unconditionally - and He is perfect. 

To our utter astonishment He extends an open invitation to come. Come not only into a place of eternal riches, but come and know Me. "We have all the time in the world to get to know one another," He says. "In fact, we have a life-time and forever." 

There is not one seeker with a true heart who will be left standing on the outside looking in. He is no respecter of persons. He stands with arms open wide longing to draw us in. He waits.

We are only three days into this journey and already we have come smack up against one of those "mysteries" tucked into the pages of scripture. You know - the ones we love to discuss over and over again,  only to walk away without a definitive answer. 

How is it that we are chosen and yet we have the assurance that whoever who seeks finds? Predestined or chosen?
We'll talk a little bit about it tomorrow.

Blessings,
Linda

Chosen

"We pursue God because, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit."
 A.W. Tozer

There is something hidden deep within us, or perhaps it is an emptiness nothing can fill, that causes us to pursue God. It may be that we have chased hard after other things and found them wanting. In desperation we cry out to a God we dimly see.

The miracle, the blessed paradox, is He has been there all along. Without His tender wooing, we would never have begun the search at all. Had He not called us by name, we would be wandering aimlessly looking for some nebulous answer to the emptiness inside.

"Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes."
 Ephesians 1:4

I love the way Tozer puts it:

"The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him: and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand."

By faith we find Him and invite Him in, and then we begin the journey of getting to know Him. We will never fully plumb the depths of all He is this side of heaven. But He invites us to seek and find. You - His chosen child who chose Him.

^" For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will  raise them up."
John 6:44

Blessings,
Linda