Tuesday, June 7, 2011
It was a very busy day today. A few things were there to try to knock me off kilter. Part of it was finding someone to watch the soccer team I coach because the other coach was sick. Then I had to help get the team started in the game and rush over to the church to get there just before 7:00. Speaking with others I was aware of the resistance that was happening in people's lives to what God wanted for this day of the journey.
I opened our time together with John 14:26-27. The Lord left us His peace which is not as the world gives it. It's peace that passes understanding but allows us to understand because anxiety sidetracks understanding (Phil 4:7). I believe today is about peace. Having peace even in the midst of storms. We are half-way through the fast. We have agonized (remember my sermon from this last Sunday - to agonize is to lead one's self through the struggle) our way to this point. God wants us to have His peace and enter into the rest I spoke about yesterday.
While we were singing "Love Came Down" and the line "I am forever Yours" I could hear the echo of God saying, "You ARE forever Mine."
Nathan had a vision of someone needing the touch of the Father. If you will let Him, He will pick you up and set you on His lap.
The verse of the song "I Love Your Presence" struck me as we sang it. The verse goes: "In the glory of your presence; I find rest, for my soul; In the depths of your love; I find peace, makes me whole." We must remain in His presence. Yes, God is present everywhere but that is not the same as us allowing God to have Presence in our lives.
While singing "Your Love is Extravagant," the line, "I find myself moving to the rhythms of Your grace" was emphasized. This is true of our journey together with Him and to Him. There is a rhythm involved. That is why there is so little prayer being offered tonight outside of singing. That rhythm that is graciously moving us as a surfer on a wave is also going to shift our singing and our prayers.
Emily said she saw angels pouring buckets of water down the stage wall and it flowed past Nathan into the sanctuary. She had three Scriptures to go with it. Psalm 36:8 - "They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures." Psalm 46:4-5 - "There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn." Rev 22:1 - "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb."
I prayed and thanked the Lord for His river of life. He loves us so good. He leads us beside still waters & restore our souls. Let us not be happy with ankle deep, knee deep or even waist deep water, where we still have a bit of control. Lord help us abandon ourselves completely to You and Your river. Lord, continue to draw & move us by your grace.
We sang "Show Me Your Glory" and while the chorus repeats that theme, the emphasis was to walk in His Presence like Jesus did.
The closing Scripture I had was Deuteronomy 4:11-13a. The Lord is leading us up His mountain. This is the journey we are on. We have been through the darkness and now are in the cloud where there is a waterfall that the Lord has provided from His river of life. In the darkness there was repentance and the breaking of chains. We have moved beyond that now. We are resting 1/2 way up and while it would be easier to go down, the desire to reach the top overwhelms and compels us. When we transition to the thick darkness He will speak to us from the fire and with words of fire concerning His covenant with us. We should not falter, even though that can be a temptation at the half-way point. We will press on.
I asked Melody to close in prayer. She said we all have expectations of God for this fast that are written on a page and He wants us to surrender our page for His page. The page is mostly unknown and blank to our sight but she sees the word "flourish" on it. In Jeremiah 1, God calls him to be a prophet and to speak His utterances but Jeremiah came up with excuses. God then corrected him and came and touched His lips. This broke the yoke off him in a violent act. God wants to take our "but" off of us so we have no more excuses. The almond branch is a symbol of a new beginning. We are entering a new beginning.
Melody then released the word Flourish over everyone as she closed in prayer.
I added to it the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26 which I forgot ended with "and give you peace."
I look forward to the rest of our journey. We are continuing up the mountain. We will soon pass from the clouds into the thick darkness. While the unknown resides there, it is the unknown of God's presence. We shall flourish. Psalm 92:13-15 says, "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."
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