Your perfect plan to send Jesus to the world shows me just who you are. Not some angry thunderer, but our loving Papa who was willing to give all for us, to reconcile us back to yourself and show us the depth of your boundless love. You revealed your perfect oneness with Jesus and invited us into that oneness without regard to our state.

Open arms to both the prodigal and the “faithful” sons. Both with their own unique rebellion, one welcomed home from the depths of debauchery and the other the offended unwitting owner of the whole ranch all along. One free from pride to enjoy the blessings the other trapped in his ungrateful pride.

The reality of your love is demonstrated from the foundation of time and eternity yet you have stepped into our reality out of eternity and set everything right between us. Showing us the perfect relationship we now have with you through Jesus by the way he lived in perfect union with you. He told us that he was the perfect reflection or representation of you Papa. His life of love was the ultimate picture of your true nature.

Knowing you’ll never let go of my hand Papa, has me completely undone. Sitting in your lap is the best place to be. Wrapped in your arms of love and under your sheltering wings is the ultimate refuge. Your all consuming love will never be completely understood. Even eternity is not long enough to decipher the depths of your love for us.

““And I ask not only for these disciples, but also for all those who will one day believe in me through their message. I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one. I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognize that you sent me. For the very glory you have given to me I have given them so that they will be joined together as one and experience the same unity that we enjoy. You live fully in me and now I live fully in them so that they will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that you have sent me, for they will see that you love each one of them with the same passionate love that you have for me. “Father, I ask that you allow everyone that you have given to me to be with me where I am! Then they will see my full glory— the very splendor you have placed upon me because you have loved me even before the beginning of time. “You are my righteous Father, but the unbelieving world has never known you in the perfect way that I know you! And all those who believe in me also know that you have sent me! I have revealed to them who you are and I will continue to make you even more real to them, so that they may experience the same endless love that you have for me, for your love will now live in them, even as I live in them!””

John 17:20-26 TPT

https://www.bible.com/1849/jhn.17.20-26.tpt

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me Gal 2:20 NIV

Jesus said it Himself on the cross, “it is finished”. His work of redemption was accomplished once and for all. Our “part” in salvation is to merely come into agreement with what he accomplished on the cross. It’s more a revelation, an unveiling of the settled truth of the cross than a decision of our will.

Jesus broke through the veil of our religious system by submitting to it on the cross. It wasn’t a requirement to assuage Papa’s wrath against us, it was to show forth the futility of our fear based religion and the triumph of His love.

He could have come down here and tried to correct our foolish religious ideas, but instead He submitted to them and through His demonstration of infinite love on the cross abolished the law of religion forever.

Then just to prove beyond all doubt that He had put an end to religion, he raised up from the grave on the third day. The resurrection set Him apart from every other great prophet or spiritual leader or teacher forever.

“For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-9‬ ‭TPT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/1849/eph.2.8-9.tpt

Miracles have that “something special”, “out of the ordinary” mystique. They “break the rules” and alter reality. Super powers as we know them from fiction are the normal reality for the one who possesses them. In light of the Gospel we can see them as natural outflow of the Trinity’s presence in His vessels.

For believers they display the sons of God and empower them to bring heaven to earth. It’s not about us, but Papa showing the manifestation of his glory today in the earth through His representatives here. Being mature sons of the Most High confers on us the ability walk in all the supernatural power Jesus did. That would equate to far more power than all the fictional superheroes combined.

But how do we transition from the unusual, even rare miracle breakthrough to the common supernatural life of a superhero?Restoring the continual flow of power will come through intimacy with Papa, not some special anointing or gifting. The supernatural will just be part of who we are, not some ginned up work of striving to get them or to “faith them up” out of some formula we’ve heard preached.

We are supposed to be walking in the fullness of the power of the spirit which would make such manifestations of glory commonplace. It is only through being deeply in tune with the heart of Papa that we’ll hear His voice tell us when it is time to release power. Join me in seeking His face and learning to rest in His presence, no agendas, no wish lists, just learning to enjoy Him as much as He enjoys each one of us.

Remember, He was willing to come into our world, down to our level just to reconcile us back to unbroken fellowship. To release us from the prison of our misconceptions and the lies we held so dear. It will be out of that pure intimate fellowship that we’ll see supermen and superwomen appear as the manifest sons and release His power to bring heaven to earth.

Sitting by a river watching it flow by hearing the water in the arpeggios of the piano music.

First I see petals from the blossoms as they drop off giving way to the fruit which is growing out of the bud.

Then the fruit as it floats by beckoning me to pull it out of the flow and eat of it’s cool refreshing sweetness.

Then the leaves begin to fall and flow by getting caught in the rocks and spinning in the whirlpools.

Slowly the water slows and begins to solidify into the glorious designs of ice, even the cascades turn slowly into frozen pictures of their previous flow.

As the warm breath of spring blows on the ice sculptures they begin to release the torrent trapped inside.

As life comes into bloom once again I see the pollen filtering down into the pools and backwashes coloring them golden.

And so the cycle begins again……

Perfect harmony and balance between life and death, beginning and ending but showing forth that death is not the end, just the beginning of a whole new reality.

But a reality that we can enter into now, Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the way for us to walk, as He did, in continual fellowship with Him in our heavenly worship walk.

unquiet or uneasy, perpetually agitated or in motion, unceasingly active, averse to quiet or inaction.

It has been what seems a perpetual state for me for years. Striving to maintain some arbitrary level of activity that is “necessary” to accomplish my goals or fulfill obligations.

In business, having deadlines, milestones, and project plans are the common way of life. The tyranny of endless todos, coupled with the need to accomplish something, anything, leads to discontentment and frustration which can crush the spirit.

So many times in our life in the institutional church we became over committed to “the ministry” and it was to the detriment of our family life and the witness to our children. It was fueled by that sense of urgency to “accomplish something great for the kingdom”

Solomon said it best, “vanity of vanities” pouring out one’s life in pursuit of some goal but never arriving and never reaching that moment of true rest. Sure you collapse at the end of the day or when the project is declared complete. But the next objective is always laid out in our restless minds to consume us again.

The Kingdom of God is not about striving to earn our way into God’s good graces. It is about coming to the realization that Jesus accomplished our redemption and our job simply is to rest in His glorious grace.

So peace and rest be with you and lay aside the restlessness of our own making..

Who is our worship for?

Is it to make us feel good or get a Holy Ghost goosebump? No, a thousand times no, it’s primarily for Papa, to be a pleasing aroma to Him, a fragrant offering of love directed back to him from the overflow of his love for us. It is so easy to feel like we have to perform or follow a certain mode as prescribed by our community. We are programmed into styles and forms of worship by those in our family of faith. Whether it is quietly contemplative or boisterously exuberant, we try to fit in and go with the flow.

It is also very easy to join in the group think and judge those around us as to the quality and even depth of their worship. Being a musician can really make it easy to fall into critical thoughts about the “quality” of whatever is happening musically. Much like becoming offended by someone else’s exuberance or extravagant actions in worship because they make you feel uncomfortable. I believe these are traps to divert our attention away from the papa and derail our blessings.

Our sole focus must be Papa and seeking His good pleasure, He alone is our audience!

Tongues awaken our inner man to the realities of heaven. As the spirit of God speaks through us our spirit comes alive and begins to realize our position in Christ in the heavens. It’s not so much that we “ascend” but that we fully appreciate that we are standing with Him in His presence. Indeed heaven is the place which is where our spirit lives 24/7. We are able to step directly into deep worship at the drop of a hat, there’s no need tow “work it up” that’s thinking with our mind.

Tongues unhinge our mind from the physical world because they disconnect our senses from it. That is one of the reasons they are such a hurdle for many Christians when growing in their faith walk. In fact it’s probably why they are such a stumbling block for whole denominations in the body. So many of the other gifts of the spirit have been co-opted by the new age such with its counterfeit manifestations that the gifts of the spirit have been shelved as being from the devil. Spoiler alert, satan can’t create only mimic and or twist. All good gifts come from the father of lights, you know Papa? THE CREATOR.

So step into the gifts, exercise them on purpose, diligently and regularly.

The passion of our heart; the destination of our desire, the goal of our longings, the focus of our love. How deeply are you enraptured by the love of Yahweh?

The energy of our being; our inner driving force, the lilt in our step, the fire in our belly. How stoked are you about your walk with Jesus?

Every thought; the source of our dreams, the focus of our eyes, the meditation of our heart. How intentionally do you dwell on thoughts of Holy Spirit?

All our strength; the wind in our sails, the oil in our lamp, the endurance in our bones. How much do you hold back from giving your all?

“Jesus answered him, “The most important of all the commandments is this: ‘The Lord Yahweh, our God, is one!’ You are to love the Lord Yahweh, your God, with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, with every thought that is within you, and with all your strength. This is the great and supreme commandment. And the second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself.’ You will never find a greater commandment than these.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:29-31‬ ‭TPT‬‬
https://www.bible.com/1849/mrk.12.29-31.tpt

How are we walking these commandments out? Its not a long involved list but it takes everything in us to accomplish. In fact without the indwelling Holy Spirit it would be impossible. Lean on Him and listen to His voice we can do this!

Loving your neighbor as you love yourself; This one will be in another post….