This Weekend

Well Wayne is here with his precious wife Sara, and we are so thrilled to finally meet them both.

We will be gathering together tomorrow evening, for a picnic, and then Wayne will be sharing some of his journey with us.
It wil be thrilling to see all who are coming, many of them we will be meeting for the first time...first times are so cool, and all that goes along with them.

Earlier this afternoon, I was chatting with a good friend Dave, (hi Dave) and I wanted to share a bit of our musings on the depths of Father's love for us.

And really there is only one way to really know Him and that is by experience. Not an experience we acquire by wit or might but by giving our very selves to the One who desires to fill us with Himself. Now that's an experience like no other.

Indeed it is Bro..I loved how Wayne put it, It wasn't an issue of demanding obedience in the Garden with Adam and Eve, but rather an incubating of their hearts, wanting to form within them a capacity to trust Him.

How deep does this rabbit hole really go? I want to go!

Not having just another experience..But experiencing Father Himself.

That's the cry of my heart for our gathering this weekend Bro, that there will be an outlet for those to share in how they are experiencing Him, the Father of their spirit.

Rich

Conversions, Or Conversations

I love how Jesus said, if you have ears to hear, hear what the spirit is saying.

I can’t begin to say enough good things about the book, The Shack by William P Young.
Maybe this quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning speaks of some of the rapture I am experiencing.

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

The unspeakable miracle of His love, yes He is God and King, but I am growing in the knowledge of Him as my Father.

There is so much talk of the kingdom of God and it is a reality, but, there is nothing about that, which endears my heart as far as having an intimate relationship with a Father.

It is becoming an increased reality that as our friendship continues to flourish; He delights in sharing the secret things He has kept in his heart, that simply spill out and into the conversations of mutual lovers.

As I came to the part in the story within the book, The Shack, there was a pivotal turning point where the main character Mack, suddenly realized what was to be the key, in releasing his daughter from a prison of shame, and guilt.

As one brother said, so simply, ‘The heart can so easily grasp what the mind finds hard to believe.’

Prior to this point, Mack’s heart had great difficulty in warming up to God, and it was only through a most painful process that he was being released from the fears that had held him captive all his life, Life-Love displacing fear.
It was out of this budding and incredible new found love, that the Father spoke the freeing words, into his heart on his daughter’s behalf.You’ll have to read the book, to find out what the outcome was, all I can say is, He is good!

Maybe Father is much more into having conversations than conversions.
Maybe Father will entrust those who love as he does, with the secrets that unlock the prison doors…all I know, is this captive is becoming even more captivated in His love.

Rich

Follow Me

I read this quote in the book, The Shack..

Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Bob, why are you resisting me?”I said, “I’m not resisting you!” He said, “You gonna follow me?”
I said, “I’ve never thought about that before!” He said, “When you’re not following me, you’re resisting me.”
Bob Dylan

I have no idea when this was said, but it spoke to me afresh of the ever present need to simply learn how to respond/receive the Father’s love.

Is it possible that God has in recreating us, made us to be the femaleness to His maleness?
It talks about fruit bearing, (in the scriptures) this union we have been brought into...but how often has it been mistakenly seen as us being asked to produce, as if we were the seed giver.
If we abide in Him, He says, we will bear much fruit, not produce it by our strained performing.

The Father, in putting into the womb of our femaleness His seed of Life, maybe very much like a woman being created with a womb, we as well have the where-with-all to bring forth His personality, aka the fruit of the spirit?

Maybe there has been such a disfiguring and defacing of what was and is intended in the above quote, ‘If you’re not following me, you’re resisting me,’ that few have ever truly known or continue to know the liberation found in being loved unconditionally by this loving Father.
Without knowing, I am totally loved and accepted as I am, how, why, would I ever dream of following Him?
Does he need me to look good, or in being loved unconditionally, maybe this is all part of what it means to be His Ambassadors, ministers of reconciliation?

Is it any wonder why there is such rampant malignant insanity amongst all of humanity, when the best that any of us have known being born in sin and shaped in iniquity? There is only one source of unconditional love, and it is found in Him, the God and Father of love.

Is it any wonder that some of the meanest and most vicious people on the earth are those called, ‘Christians?’ Interesting how sticking a label on oneself renders us incapable of displacing a default system that holds us prisoner, until the truth is made known.

This quote from Darin Hufford is not going to be seen as encouraging, but nonetheless, the truth.

‘The heart of God is basically unknown by His people.’ Or, ‘The God we have been feed all our lives, is simply not lovable.’

http://www.darinhufford.com/media/TGHT_Chpt_1-3.pdf

Darin goes on to throw more gas onto an already burning fire…’If you believe In Your Heart that “love” is the opposite of what the bible says, you will inevitably attribute the character and personality of Satan to God. Think about this for a moment and let it sink in. I believe that this is precisely what the vast majority of us believe in our hearts about God. We basically believe He has the character and personality of the Devil.
If Jesus Christ were walking the earth today in human form, I believe that His message would be the same to us as it was to the Pharisees of His time.He would tell us that the Devil is our father. This is precisely the point He was making two thousand years ago.
The Pharisees and religious teachers had painted a picture of God that made Him look like Satan himself. They made it impossible for the people to have a relationship with God simply because they were terrified of Him. We are no different today.’

How are we not different? When tragedy strikes, do we say in our hearts, “God is not fair”? When we are hurt or disappointed in the midst of trusting God for a certain outcome, do we blame God for not caring enough? Do we say, “Where were you, God, when…? Do we ascribe blame to Him for abandoning us? If we do, in our eyes God becomes takes on Satan’s persona of being a malicious liar, capricious, cunning, a conniver, someone who tempts us with a treasure then snatches it away.

We can only know the truth about God’s infinite, all-encompassing love for us to the extent that we ourselves know we are loved.

Rich

If Anything Matters

I am just about through reading for the first time, the book called The Shack, written by William P Young.
I have read more books than I can recall, but nothing like this has moved me so deeply.

I loved this line, an ongoing conversation between God (Poppa) and the main character in the book~Mack...

"Mack, if anything matters, then everything matters. Because you are important, then everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again."

This is but one morsel of why I am left speechless...Continue to speak Father, for your son is listening!

Rich

This Summer With Wayne

Wow, the time has just flown by, and just around the corner is our gathering time with Wayne and Sara Jacobsen, joining us for some wonderful opportunities to get to know a whole bunch of folks for the first time.
I will be posting later some pictures of our gathering time, along with some of the highlights of our time together.

Rich

http://www.aldrichdesign.com/jacobsen_stratford/