Pleasures forevermore and joy unspeakable

Do we realize what this would really look like?

Maybe we've been without true joy for so long that we would be offended by it when we see it.

It is easier to cling to disbelief. Easier to be a spectator than a participant. Easier to mask my fears with skepticism. Why? Because if we believe in that joy unspeakable, pleasures forevermore, then we have to be vulnerable to that source of joy and pleasures forevermore-Jesus.

I think it is harder to believe He's actually like that.And He's inviting us into that!

But He's encountering me right now in a way where His Words that have remained only as concepts are manifesting as truth and reality in my life.

Thank You Jesus for your grace- please, come to us, Your Body and make us believe again, that we may be one, and that the world would know that the Father sent you.

Interesting Newspiece

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/world/middleeast/14euphrates.html?_r=1

Things learned at night

Since working 2nd shift at SNS (Steak N'Shake- for all the uninformed :)), I have had some insights concerning life:

1.) The Lord never sleeps nor slumbers.

Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121:4

Some of the best moments occur when driving home at 3 am, knowing that I have no one to talk to but Him- and knowing that He is listening. All my thoughts, feelings, and events in the day are exposed before Him, and because He knows my insides better than I do, it's a great time to process.

Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Psalm 139:12

2.) I've started to think about the day, when there will be no more night:

They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
Revelation 22:4

Hmm...

3.)Motivation to keep going when you know everything is fading away.

One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
But the earth abides forever.
The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And hastens to the place where it arose.
Eccl. 1:4-5

Time is fleeting. I wake up the next day at 11 or 12, and once again go to work. It is so easy to fall into the belief that it is all meaningless. The routine and mundane create the optimum context for the human spirit to grow weary. The eternal meaning or signficance of running a restaurant seems a little fuzzy at times.

Jesus knows that. He knows my human frame better than anyone else. He knows what will motivate and captivate the human heart and mind- no matter who you are or what your external circumstances, whether seemingly blessed or cursed.

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ
Colossians 3:23-24

You want to motivate me with a reward?

Yes.

What reward?

The reward of an inheritance.

What inheritance?

My kingdom- oh and that city that I've been building and making- the New Jerusalem. It's going to be a great place.


Paul, when speaking to the church at Corinth, rebukes them in gentleness about them acting like 'mere men.' Why? There is strife, division, and jealousy concerning by which church planter they came into the kindgom.

We too act as mere men, when we allow our current position, popularity, or circumstances control the way we live. He writes,

"Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s."
1 Cor. 3:21-23

Don't you know all things are yours? Don't you know who you are in the Kingdom? Don't you know who you belong to? This is your inheritance! That's why in the text preceding Colossians 3:23 it is written,

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4

Seek the things that are above- eternal joy, seeing the face of God, pleasures forevermore- oh you know, all those things we agree with but have hardly touched as reality . SET. This is intentional. Sometimes we just think we will trip and fall into the fullness of joy or understanding because we accepted Jesus. This is not true. Jesus calls us to SET our minds on things above. WE must be intentional about where we let our thoughts wander and in asking the Lord's grace to keep it on things above.

Why?
Because we died.
Because our life is NOW hidden with Christ.
Beacause when He appears THEN we will appear with Him in glory- this is our inheritance.

Yes, there is a present suffering. Yes, we grow weary. BUT- We should set our mind on where our home is, the culminating of God's story in a wedding and inviting others along the way.

Who are You?

“They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife,
And she goes from him
And becomes another man’s,
May he return to her again?’
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
But you have played the harlot with many lovers;
Yet return to Me,” says the LORD.
Jeremiah 3:1 (NKJV)

I know of such a woman currently. She is dear to my heart and part of my family. I never thought that I would be able to understand this in truth and as a reality outside of the context of my relationship with God.

As I see this woman though, and the wounded individual whom she has left(granted he is not perfect or innocent) and has given her self not only to another man, but to many other men, my heart cries out to her and is broken in two. My relative says that it is impossible for him to return to her because she has already given herself to others.

So what is God saying here?!? Who but a husband and wife could understand the full implications of what the Lord is saying?

I am this harlot of course in many ways. Wandering from here to there almost daily in my relationship with Jesus. Here is His response, "Yet return to Me."

This compels me to return- His response to my unfaithfulness, His great mercy, that while I was a sinner, He laid down His life for me of His own will. I imagine Him saying, "Don't you see that I'm here for you! Don't you see? All that is mine is Yours. I'm waiting for you to return to me here. I have never left you. I will never leave you. You are mine. When you return, you will find that I am here with arms wide open. I will pick up my garments, run to you, embrace you, fall on your neck and kiss you, saying, "My daugher was lost, but now she is found."

Let us not wait to return to the Lord as a pure Bride. Let us return as the harlot and He will purify us.

Will I...?

Will I seek You if You withhold the things I deeply desire?

Will I be Yours when I cannot feel Your presence?

Will I love and trust You when I am disappointed by circumstances?

I'm working my faith muscle today to grow in love in the midst of difficulty.

I am His inheritance and I'm in it for it- to the end.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall[a] on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Psalm 139:7-12

Julia

His Gaze

It is sometimes difficult to keep our heart in the holy place of the fire of GOd's gaze. But... it is the short path to the place of sureness of our truly being the child of God.

:)

I always knew....

I always knew that God is love but I never thought that God is lover.
-Joseph from Onething 08'

At home from IHOP (Prayer, not pancakes :)...

Where has the time gone? In 2 days I will start working at Steak N'Shake as a MIT (Manager-in-Training).

I'm verrryyy excited! I've had some questioning looks,and unspoken concerns that imply the question, "Why would someone with a degree from U of I work at such a place?"

I know that this is where the Lord wants me and I'm only following Him where He wants me to go. I'm finding that I care less and less about the place I'm in as long as I'm with him.

This does not negate the need for a close group of believers wherever you are either. We need other Christians because without them "I" am just a foot, or ear, or eye that is incomplete without the rest of the body parts. We need people who provoke us. I once heard a wise man say that the friend who loves you the most is the one who tells you the most truth.

I like that saying and I desire to be a friend like that.

I've been asking to see my life from the Lord's perspective lately. I complain a good deal less and being to see that everything I do matters to Him. It's funny how much we emphasize that following Jesus is about having a relationship with Him and yet how little time we take to talk with Him. I believe it's because we either think He's upset with us, or He really isn't listening. I know that is certainly true for me.

I make myself as busy as possible and start to realize that I'm not giving Him the one thing He desires: to be apart of everything I do. I'm trying to 'practice His presence.' Oh, Jesus that you would not only be apart of everything I do but that it would be all done as if I was doing it for you.

I feel like I can identify more with Abraham, who knew He was looking for a city that endured, whose builder and Maker is God. I really "can't wait" until He returns.

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." (Rev. 22:17)

Julia