Look at me Dad

Even as I begin to write these words, I can barely see through the heart brokenness within spilling out through a flood of tears. Not tears of shame or guilt but of a sobering reality of my loving Papa saying to me, “Son, look at ME!”

How many of you that have kids and maybe there all grown up now remember back through their growing up years would reach out to you by saying, “Look at me dad?” Weren’t they wanting to see mirrored back to them through our hearts, eyes and waves, I am valued, I am special, my dad just said SO.

I missed out on mirroring back to my two precious children that total loving affirmation and acceptance of them for who they were and not for what they would be or could DO.
I was a father needing so badly a father to love me, I was alive but dead in not knowing I was totally loved, this prevented me from giving what I did not possess.

In reading more of He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen, I suddenly heard the voice of my heavenly Papa saying, “Son look at me, I’m here for you, I have never taken my eyes off of you, you are and have always been in my heart and thoughts.”
I sensed in a new way Father saying, “keep looking at me son, see mirrored in my heart/eyes, everything you will ever need. Son it is my delight to make known to you in the deepest places of your being, how pleased and proud I am of you, let’s explore together all that is, and yet to be yours.
As you learn to freely drink deep of my love, freely you will have me as your source to liberally give away!"

I feel very much like a small child learning the wonder of crawling, and yet hearing my Papa shout out, “That’s my son, look at him go!”

Rich

The Stability of Christ

In chapter one we were seeing Christ as the foundation and the great factor of stability. It is quite obvious to us all that if there is not real spiritual stability about us, if we are not people of certainty, of assurance, of spiritual confidence who can be relied upon spiritually, counted upon; if we are people who are of more than one mind, up and down and so on, there is something very much wrong with our foundation, our apprehension of Christ, our relationship with Christ. We saw how stability was wrought in Him to perfection; through all the storms, adversities, trials, sufferings; how sure, how steadfast He was, how unwavering. And then that the Spirit of Jesus Christ has come to work that into us progressively, and, while we will not reach final stability in one bound, it ought to be true that there is a very distinctly marked progressiveness in this matter, that whereas at one time we were easily moved, we are not easily moved about that now. Whereas before we could be shaken by certain things, those things do not shake us any longer. We have got past that. We may still have our shakings by new forces and situations which we have not met before and we are going through new experiences where this rooting, this grounding, has still to take place. Nevertheless, we have moved on, and we are no longer the old flabby things that we once were, knocked about and carried about by all those more elementary forces of adversity.

There is much in the New Testament about steadfastness in Christ, being strong in the Lord, always abounding, unmovable, and unless that is true, we are not going to get through at all. All the building that we are putting up on top of that is going to collapse. We may know all about the eternal purpose, the counsels of God from eternity, the church, its great calling and destiny, and the whole thing will collapse like a pack of cards if underneath we are not rooted, grounded, settled, steadfast, unshakable; that is, unless we are in oneness and keeping with the Foundation, the unshakable Rock, and we are taking the rock-like character from Him Who is the rock foundation.

And, while this is a call and a challenge, let it also be an encouragement, for we are going to be put through many mysterious inexplicable adversities and sufferings, things that we cannot explain, things that we cannot explain even from God’s side. We cannot see God in them, we cannot see why God should allow it, how that can be consistent with God. Oh yes, that is not saying a wrong thing, it is true in the experience of many - the mystery of God’s ways, altogether beyond finding out. We are going through things that could shake our very foundation, our faith, cause us to come to a standstill in the grip of an awful question. Now the Lord takes us that way, and the history of stability is the history of a tree which, having been planted, with every successive storm, finds for the moment its roots a bit loosened, things becoming a bit precarious, but its reaction to every such effect of storm is to root down deeper, and the mighty tree which cannot be moved by the greatest gale is simply the history, the sum of many shakings which have sent its roots deeper to lay hold more strongly. That is the way of the Lord with us. Yes, not one of us is beyond being terribly shaken, raising the greatest questions, wondering with the biggest ‘Why?’ But that is the way of being established. Do not, then, be discouraged if you pass through a time where everything for you is an open question after all. Just remember that that is the time in which the Spirit of Christ has His opportunity for bringing that mighty rock-like stability of Christ into fuller expression as the very foundation of your life.

This was taken from Chapter 3 - The Indestructibility of the Life of Christ

I liked this very much. The one consistent expression of the Father’s love for me I am seeing over and over again, is in Him subjecting me to situations that are not just difficult, but in fact impossible to deal with being that I was created to BE dependent upon another for life and living-His!

That was a great line from the movie Mission Impossible~” Mr. Hunt, this isn't mission difficult, it's mission impossible.” This discovery of His ways is only possible to discern by simply turning from self unto Him. I say simply, but you have to realize that this is going to go so against the ingrained lies that have been seemingly cemented within our soul’s history, but is it going to be just settling for the understanding of a word ‘grace’, or experiencing the power hidden within that word? And yes, it is the Word Himself that is bringing us face to face with these impossible situations and circumstances whereby there unfolds within the core of our being a fresh discovery of the I AM!

Rich

Freedom in Being Loved

Over at Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

Especially these couple of posts, and here .

Jim is processing much as he is being processed, and in that process discovering what and who freedom just might be.

It is a wonder to see as His unfolding grace (the unforced rhythms of grace) frees a person from the inside out.

Rich

Spontaneous Combustion

Typically, we think that worship is something we do. We sing hymns, praise and worship songs or we pray. But could it be that worship is not something we do, but rather a moment by moment acknowledgment (discovery) of who God is?
By that I mean, if we can know for a certainty that God is IN all things, and that ALL things work together for our good, then we can thank him no matter what life throws at us.
To me, that is true worship - a spontaneous expression of gratitude to our Lord and Saviour, no matter how trying the circumstance, because we know that through it He is intimately concerned and involved with every single aspect of our lives.

The wide eyed, child like wonder that erupts within our soul in discovering what Father has been actively doing in wanting to fulfill the purpose we have been re-birthed, 'to Know Him'!

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