Month: August 2021

Genesis 5:24 – Enoch walked with God. SeLaH

Very recently, I saw and understood (for the first time) that these words describe oneness with God – God and man (two) becoming one.

The reality of this connection is quite astonishing. Even more so, is the realization that God wants it! The God of ALL creation wants to connect with us – mere earthen vessels (clay).

This might be why David, also dazed by these revelations, asked the question: what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? Psalm 8:4 (NKJV) What a privilege it is to have God come to be one with us 💖 … what a privilege it is to connect, commune, walk, and be one with The Most High God (El Elyon)! Speaking of this touch-point …

Let’s start with the first question …

WHEN does the connection happen?

Answer: When we believe God.

Here’s what started me on the journey that ultimately led to the above truth:

I read the AMPC version of Matthew 21:22 and almost immediately my inclination for words kicked in – Faith versus Belief. Yes, both words can be (and are) used interchangeably – rightfully so. However, in reading the above verse, I picked up on there being a difference between the two. The difference being that Faith (which is the Word of God; Who God is) precedes Belief or believing – I can’t disbelieve or believe (accept as true) what I don’t first encounter.

I hadn’t heard or seen this delineation before. Out of curiosity, I asked my cousin (Lana) what she thought was the difference between Faith and Belief (if any). Here’s a snippet of what she said:

As with almost all my interactions with Lana, I heard God speak to me! Through her response …

Believing God is the first step of intimacy/fellowship with Him. It is the first step toward God …

… it is required for every step thereafter. Believing God is an important aspect of our walk with Him – without it, there is no walk (Amos 3:3).

It is a privilege to believe God –Philippians 1:29(AMPC) … a privilege to touch God, to be intimate with Him, to walk hand-in-HAND with Him. It’s like the holding (together) of hands that happens when we pray – an agreement, a union … a connection … oneness.

HOW does the connection happen?

Answer: Through/By the HolySpirit.

Believing God is possible ONLY by the HolySpirit. It is not by choice – definitely not a self-executed choice. It is not by self-will, determination, or wherewithal, ONLY by the HolySpirit … it’s why He is sent(John 14:16, 16:7).

There’s been times I wanted to believe but wanting to did not auto-translate to actually believing God. Similarly, (in my experience) knowing that believing God is the way to go does not always auto-translate to actually believing Him.

While it seems like the simplest of things, believing God can (sometimes) be a struggle for the desperately wicked heart of man. Nevertheless, we are not without help – the HolySpirit enables and empowers us to believe. It’s His pleasure to do it for us 💖 … it’s why God comes –Exodus 19:9– why God visits (why He comes to connect). This also is why we must ask for the HolySpirit (Luke 11:13)and keep on asking UNTIL we are fully filled and perpetually overflow with Him … UNTIL we believe and keep on believing … UNTIL we connect and keep on connecting (an unbroken walk or companionship with God –Isaiah 30:18AMPC).

WHAT happens when this connection happens?

Answer: A perfect partnership is forged! And, ultimately, we see God glorified!

This place of unison and perfect harmony with God is where the magic greater works happen … where the naturally impossible becomes possible.

Case in point: Joshua 10 … I absolutely 💖 this story!

Quick 30-second background … Five kings gathered forces and went to war against the residents of a place called Gibeon because they had made peace with Israel. The folks at Gibeon called to Joshua for help … Joshua went to fight alongside Gibeon and against the 5 kings.

Fast-forwarding to the juicy parts 😊 …

Another case in point: Mary(Luke 1:30-45)– she believed God, became pregnant in a naturally or humanly impossible way, then gave birth to Jesus, the Glory of God(Hebrews 1:3) in human form – the expression of God’s excellence, the unseen God made seen! Mary believed God’s Word and thus gave birth to God’s Word (Jesus is the Word of God) – she birthed the Word of God that she believed!

Believing God– this place of perfect symphony, harmony, alignment, agreement –is where and how the unseen God is seen.

It matters that we see God … it is a necessity that we see(k) God. Here is WHY: in see(k)ing God, we come to know Him personally and intimately. Knowing God is our greatest reward (Proverbs 2:1-6).

Knowing God is LIFE – Real, Eternal Life (John 17:3B). This Eternal Life is to know (experience) the fullness of God by virtue of being one with Him. A life of utmost satisfaction … in this, God is most glorified!

Genesis 5:24 – Enoch walked with God and he was no more. One way to look at this is that he became one with God. Consequently, there was no telling him apart from God, The Unseen One! We see Him Who is unseen (yet ever-present) when we believe Him … when we are intimate with Him … when we connect with Him. Indeed, blessed are the pure in heart (those who believe – Romans 10:10A) for they shall see God –Matthew 5:8– SeLaH

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Abba, my Abba, thank You for the privilege to come close, to connect, and be one with You exactly as my Lord Jesus is! Let nothing separate me from You.

By Your Spirit, continue to open me up to You – that I may continually (now and through eternity) behold the beauty, sweet attractiveness, and delightful loveliness of Your Glory and Grace. Be everything I am. Be all I see and know.

Thank You HolySpirit for enabling me believe – thank You for doing for me what I inherently can NOT do. Continue to enable me to believe wholeheartedly, unreservedly, and always!

For my birthday this year, I asked God for Ephesians 3:19 💖 – to know the Love of God AND to be a body wholly filled with the fullness of God.

Case in point – my most recent revelation and experience of God’s Love. It started with God’s response to a concern I shared with Him about a dream I had. The summary of the dream was that I was rightly accused of doing something wrong but there was no proof to support the accusation. I knew I was wrong, the accusation was right. The investigation was intense … there were witnesses but no actual evidence.

I woke up from this dream feeling a type of way – definitely not good. So I talked to God about it. I was worried that the dream depicted the possibility of me being found wanting.

In His response, God said to me:

” … they shall surely gather together and stir up strife to attack you, BUT NOT by Me – it is NOT from Me … nothing will come of their attempt … they will show to be in the wrong and will be dismissed as liars … every tongue that rises against you in judgement, you will condemn … you will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. This is your heritage – this peace, this righteousness, this triumph over opposition, is your heritage. This is the righteousness and vindication that you obtain from Me …”

Consciously, I applied God’s response to the relentless aggression of the investigator/investigation in my dream. I took His response to mean I need not worry about what my accuser does because it will be to no avail.

In retrospect, what I did not realize then was that, unconsciously, I utterly discounted the possibility that God was saying “Yes, you were wrong. Nevertheless I annul the rightful accusation of the accuser and declare you righteous”.

Clearly, I didn’t quite get what God was saying to me (at least not in its entirety). Sooooo, He told me again – this time through Zechariah 3:1-4

I wasn’t sure how to handle what I just read/saw. I was literally dumbfounded – my processor (human mind) froze … it could NOT compute!

Serves me right actually, I had no business processing the ways of God with my natural/human mind. Of course, it won’t make sense!

My heart believed (believes) the expression of God’s powerful love as depicted in Zechariah 3:1-4. It was (is) consistent with the things God has been revealing to me about Him. That said, my (conditioned) mind couldn’t quite reconcile this reality – the reality of the rightly accused being vindicated. It probably made a second attempt to dismiss this life-changing truth!

In trying to understand my response, I realized that my mind (very easily) was able to navigate being wrongly accused and vindicated but not being rightly accused and vindicated. It took a couple days and the grace of God for the latter to sink in!

Here’s a step-by-step personalized playback of what I saw in Zechariah 3:1-4:

I was in filthy (nauseatingly vile) garments YETGod let me in His presence. SeLaH – how many people would?

If I’m being honest, I most likely won’t let me in my own presence! Don’t judge me, I’m still a Work-in-Progress. Why do you think the HolySpirit keeps pouring God’s love into my heart Romans 5:5B 😊.

Here’s why God letting me in His presence, in spite of my filthy state, is particularly noteworthy: no one gains access to God except God grants it – John 6:44.

What a joyful privilege!

Playback continued …I was standing before El Roi and right next to me was the accuser. Whether or not he had proof of my wrongdoings was inconsequential. We were in the presence of the all-knowing, all-seeing God; He knew the accusation was right BUT He said to my accuser:I, the LORD, rebuke you. 😮 This right here was the part where it stopped making sense to my human mind!

For better contextual (and personal) understanding, I looked up the word rebuke and replaced the meaning with the word – here’s how it translates:God expressed sharp disapproval of my accuser’s right accusation! God disapproved of what my accuser was there to say/do (accuse me).

Alongside the rebuke, God reiterated and affirmed His stance regarding His choice of me! 💖

“… I choose her now and forever …”

Combining Ephesians 1:4 and Zechariah 3:2, it would read as follows:

“I chose her BEFORE the foundation of the world, I choose her NOW and FOREVER.” 💖

I wholeheartedly believe God affirmed His choice of me so I would hear it first hand and for myself.

He also went on to say:

“Is this not the returned captive, a log snatched and rescued from the fire? I reached in and pulled her out.” AMP, MSG

Dipping one’s hand in fire to pull out anything reflects care and unrelenting commitment (to say the least). In saying this, God expressed His love for me and the lengths He is willing to go for me (again) so that I would hear/know first hand and for myself.

Playback continued … Having done all these, God cleaned me up – replaced my filthy garment of wickedness with rich robes of forgiveness; He clothed and beautified me with priestly clothes – the garment of expressive praise instead of a heavy, burdened, falling, and disheartened spirit. Isaiah 61:3

As I pondered the truth and reality of the Love of God expressed in Zechariah 3:1-4, I saw (in a reinforcing way) that the MERCY of God is an expression of Who God is (LOVE).

Through Zechariah 3:1-4, I heard, saw, and connected with the Love, Mercy, and Peace of God like never before – it’s like I stepped into a whole new world!

A world where the Love of God (Salvation) has the final say. 💖

Being vindicated by a just God makes the vindication righteous, void of error, valid, and irrefutable – nothing and no one can gainsay!

Oh the power, beauty, and salvation of (and that is) the Love of God! 💖

I continue to learn and experience that:

4. The Mercy of God is my Salvation … I need only believe and receive it, no BUTs, no making sense (or trying to make sense) of it – ONLY believe and receive.

5. No matter the wrongdoing … no matter the source of the accusation – within (1 John 3:20) and/or without (Isaiah 54:15, Revelation 12:10), going to God is my best next move. His presence is exactly and always the place to be, particularly when I fall/fail.

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To the ONLY God – my Abba, Savior, and Salvation. The One Who (through my Lord Jesus Christ and by His Spirit) keeps me from stumbling, slipping, or falling … Who keeps me on my feet, standing tall in His bright presence … The One Who (with unspeakable and ecstatic delight) presents me unblemished, blameless, and faultless before and in the presence of His glory – to You be is endless and ALL glory, splendor, majesty, might, dominion, power, strength, authority, and rule from before You created time, now, and for all of eternity. AMEN!

Thank You Abba for the PEACE that stems from Your love, mercy, and salvation – You are my peace, my righteousness, and my vindication. Continue to enable me to receive Your love, mercy, and salvation without hesitation or reservation. Help me to never disregard, take lightly, misuse, or abuse Your love, mercy, salvation, and grace – none of which is an excuse to sin. Thank You for loving me the way You do.

One of my favorite bible verses is Psalm 57:2 (AMPC).

“… God performs ALL things on my behalf and He rewards me for it …”

I’m a living testimony of this truth! God is truly awesome beyond words. He is altogether lovely, altogether wonderful. There is no one like Him – where is the god who can compare with Him?

Using two experiences (Abraham’s and mine), I’ll share how/why I wholeheartedly believe the beautiful truth that God already wants to bless us …

… technically and truthfully, He has 👇

While this blog elaborates on the truth that God already wants to bless us, it is important to keep in mind that He Has. What God has done sometimes translates to us as yet-to-be-done or still in-the-works … think of it as a “time zone” thing 😊.

To avoid any inadvertent confusion, I’ll be sharing mostly from the perspective of our earthly time zone. However, like I said, keep in mind that God has already blessed us.

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First stop … Abraham.

Next Stop … yours truly 😊

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Sooooo … IF

ANSWER #1: My part is to: Come … Receive … and Enjoy!

Coming … Receiving … and Enjoying have one thing in common: BELIEVE.

ANSWER #2: Simply put, I Ask and Pray BECAUSE God said to 🙂.

Matthew 4:4B … true living is possible only by every word out of God’s mouth. God says ask, I ask … He says pray, I pray.

In reading Matthew 6:8B, 32B both of which essentially say “God knows what I need even before I ask”, AND Matthew 7:7 which says “Ask, keep Asking”, I asked the HolySpirit why I still need to ask and pray considering God already knows … His response:

I’ve since learnt that:

Soooo … considering that at least two-third of the Holy Trinity prays, what reasonable reason is there to not pray? You’re right … Nada! 🙂

The truth that God already wants to bless us (and that He has) is not intended to deter or dissuade us from asking and praying. On the contrary, it is fundamentally WHY we should go to God. Also, it shapes HOW we go to God when we ask and pray: rest-assured and ready to receive.

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Love of God, I acknowledge You. Thank you for Your choice of me, thank You for Your choice of Mercy. Thank You for generously blessing me with ALL things pertaining to (and requisite to) life, including all spiritual blessings.

Thank You Jesus for praying for me. Thank you HolySpirit for doing the same and for enabling me to as well.

Abba, I am assured that when Jesus, the HolySpirit, and/or I ask and pray, You hear us because it is done in faith and according to Your will … because You hear and have given what was asked and/or prayed, I have them!

According to Your Word, and coupled with the truth that You want to bless me and have already blessed me, I open my mouth wide … fill me up till I overflow and my cup runs over.

Precious HolySpirit, continue to help me to come, receive, and enjoy all that Abba has given and pours into me.