There is no strength or persistent faith-source in that.
There is no lasting joy. Joy is from koinonia with the Spirit of Jesus.
There is no appealing life. Life is knowing God. "Ginosko" is being a close acquiantance.
We are called as sons and lovers. Not servants and workers.
Why do we all have so many moments like the crowds of John 6:66? They departed from Him and no longer walked with Him...
Why?
I can know all the theory of grace and justification and the finished work of Christ on the Cross. I can know deep in my heart that I am saved, but still I find something within me that wants to settle for that - salvation alone.
A bride happy only to have her Husband carry her across the threshold.
We need the potency of the gospel to pierce our hearts daily.
We need Him to ravish us, lest we be ravished by another.
We need a few good friends, who inspire us like Peter at times... "Lord, to whom else can we turn?"
We need to let ourselves off the hook quicker, when we have fluctuated in our intimacy.
We need to be part of a church that centers everything on Jesus, truly. Not firstly His mission or fellowship or meetings or an expanding influence.
We need to beat our bodies and make them our slaves, sometimes.
We need to speak to our souls, and develop honest mindtalk.
We need to find a place for times of meditation. for the busy 21st century worker, that is not always possible every day.
For those of us who "lead and feed", our passion needs to infuse and encourage every saint. For those once or twice a week moments, we need to make them count.
We can also keep people free by more honesty and vulnerability from the pulpit too...
In the presence of the Lord, there is joy and power and hope and clarity. Yes, Jesus dwells within me, but the way of the Spirit still requires that I exercise my faith to fellowship with this gentle God within.
Let's exercise our faith in Jesus together, lest we draw back and faint - and God is not pleased with that. All the great saints of Hebrews 11 did not firstly do great works of faith; they firstly found inner fellowship and held the door of their hearts open, no matter what.
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.”
(Prov 3:3 NIV)
write them on the tablet of your heart.”
(Prov 3:3 NIV)
Lover of my soul, draw me back to you, hold me in Your arms, Lover of my soul.
Bless you
Nick
5 comments:
Hey Nick, I appreciate all your input through your blogs, it keeps on challenging me!
Dear Nick.
Only briefly met you in SA. But sometimes you meet someone briefly and can tell you have met a fellow soldier, lover, fool of Christ.
Thanks for the thoughts - they are awesome.
Send the fire!
Trevor
Hi Nick, thanks for the challenging posts. They are an inspiration and I often use them in our worship team meetings as an encouragement and morivation to all of us.
Dear Nick.
Thank you for the words of encouragement. although i must say that i do believe we are not just called as "sons and Lovers" but we are meant to serve as well. Jesus said he came to serve and not be served, and aren't we meant to be like Him? faith without action/service/works is dead?
i agree that the need for more intamacy rather than monotonous religious loyalty is much more important, but true service in God's Kingdom is also of the utmost importance.
thank you for the challenging thoughts though, keeps me on my toes! we must never become complacent.
chris steyn - potchefstroom SA
Dear Nick,
It is so good to read your passion. I am so stirred in my belly. I agree we are sons and lovers that must be sitting with our Jesus.
Your faith is living example to me of how a son runs to his father.
Even as i am writing to you i feel so touched by God , he helped us through a tough 8 days when our eldest daughter was in hospital in Pretoria. But Jesus kept me close to Him, He helped us through. How sweet is the taste of victory when Jesus carries you over the finishing line.
We must stay close to His ear, i believe He will never forsake us when we truly make Him the center of our universe.
Love to Glenda. we do miss you, thank you that you are such an example to me.
Love
Anton M
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