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Isn't it truly amazing, the unconditional love of God the Father, in how he freely gives to us such wonderful and rich opportunities to really know, and experience Him. Although some of these if not many of them seem to come disguised in a lot of hurt, pain, stretching, confusion, darkness, and a sense of being all alone, but in it all we are free to choose Him and not the lack of experiences or clinging to a plethora of previous and wonderful experiences.
Neither can ever compare to truly knowing Him, so, we plod, we trudge onward. Yeah I know this sounds really sensational, but are we willing to be led out of everything and anything that is competing for this heart to heart connection with our loving Farther that is only possible because, He SAYS SO!
The following is something that deeply touched my heart, it is from a friend I haven’t connected with for a while now and because of her name coming up in a conversation with a mutual friend the other day, I decided to at least email her to see how she was doing. This is in particular is what so genuinely impacted me from her email reply.
With all the books and blog’s I've been reading and pod casts I've been listening to I'm realizing that even though I love what I'm reading and hearing it's all about revelation from the heart of the Father to my heart. I can't get it on my own and no one on this earth can make it real to me. It has to be him.
I thought what Oswald Chambers had to say here fits in nicely with the flavor and aroma of my thoughts.
If you try to dam up the Holy Spirit in you to produce subjective experiences, you will find that He will burst all bounds and take you back again to the historic Christ. Never nourish an experience which has not God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you try to lord it over Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? He must be Lord over you, and you must not pay attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. There comes a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience - I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him. Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is.
Rich
Neither can ever compare to truly knowing Him, so, we plod, we trudge onward. Yeah I know this sounds really sensational, but are we willing to be led out of everything and anything that is competing for this heart to heart connection with our loving Farther that is only possible because, He SAYS SO!
The following is something that deeply touched my heart, it is from a friend I haven’t connected with for a while now and because of her name coming up in a conversation with a mutual friend the other day, I decided to at least email her to see how she was doing. This is in particular is what so genuinely impacted me from her email reply.
With all the books and blog’s I've been reading and pod casts I've been listening to I'm realizing that even though I love what I'm reading and hearing it's all about revelation from the heart of the Father to my heart. I can't get it on my own and no one on this earth can make it real to me. It has to be him.
I thought what Oswald Chambers had to say here fits in nicely with the flavor and aroma of my thoughts.
If you try to dam up the Holy Spirit in you to produce subjective experiences, you will find that He will burst all bounds and take you back again to the historic Christ. Never nourish an experience which has not God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you try to lord it over Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? He must be Lord over you, and you must not pay attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. There comes a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience - I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him. Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is.
Rich
3 comments:
I love this question:
"Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord?"
How many "christians" are out there looking for an experience? Some sensational thing that will utterly prove to them who God is. The very need of such an experience proves that they do not know Him.
And, BTW, I ought to know. I have been one of them.
free spirit,
Yes, I have a real thing about experiences, meaning I have had more than the average believer might experience in 2 life times, and yet so much of my life was like the tail of a dog shaking him, verses the dog shaking his tail.
Meaning no matter how out of this world these experiences were, I was at best goverened out of my soul rather than learning to live out of my union with my Father.
Isn't a marvel thinking on how a whole nation of people, the Jews being led by the Lord for 40 years and experiencing such daily wonders and yet apart from 2 of them, they all perished in the wilderness in unbelief. Wow!
Also, I don't care how real or other worldly any experience is, it will never displace the opportunity and need to walk 'by faith.'
In my opinion it is because all of us are lacking in revelation of what it means to BE a child of the Most High God.
Our Father wants to freely lavish upon us so much more insight to our true/real status of being heirs and joint heirs with our elder Brother the Lord Jesus Christ...what else could possibly be added to this freely bestowed status of no longer having to relate to Him as mere servents or at best 'friends', but NOW, His sons and daughters~wow!
Good thoughts, Rich. "I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him. Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is." - Oh may that be an ever increasing reality for all of us seeking Him!
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