Grace. God freely extending Himself to me. God freely giving Himself away to me. God leaning toward me to share benefit (profit, advantage, gain) with me. God inclining Himself to me because His tendency is to be near me.
God freely giving all of Himself to me. Grace. Jesus.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and
we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace
and truth.
John 1:16 For of His fullness we have all received, and
grace upon grace.
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth
were realized through Jesus Christ.
All that works together for our good because we love Him- grace.
All that God has allowed in our life (the good, the bad and the ugly) to draw us to Him- grace.
Jesus. Full of grace and truth. From Him we receive grace upon grace. Through Him grace and truth were realized.
It's hard to believe but tomorrow will be 8 years. October 3, 2008. I actually started this blog a month later- charting this journey:
And what a journey it has been.
Abiding. Trusting. Resting. Yielding. Surrender. Identity. Whole Gospel.
"There is nothing the nearness of Jesus cannot heal."- Mike Wells
In the beginning it's the learning WHO God is and who I am because of Him. Then the journey continues of- LIVING out this revelation. Through the years I guess the biggest discouragement is this:
"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
And I guess....you can't make him thirsty. That's what it all boils down to. Do you REALLY want to know this God? Intimately? To live in communion with Him? For Him to be your very life? I mean, lots of people just really want to DO for Him. But doing for Him is not intimacy with Him. The true "doing" (where real fruit comes from) FLOWS from this intimacy, communion, fellowship and oneness with Him. Just as obedience flows from love- NOT love FROM obedience.
Every day. Every morning I wake up- I want Jesus. I want filled to overflowing with Jesus. Here's the thing...I AM ALREADY. I just don't always live from this truth.
I want streams of living water, nourishing me and rushing through me.
Don't these words just bloom up inside of you?
John 7:37-39
Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him
come to Me and drink. He who believes in
Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living
water.’” But this He spoke of the
Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not
yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Two things:
1) We now live on the other side of the cross, the other side of Pentecost. If you have believed you have received the Spirit- for He has been given. Jesus has been glorified!
2) "From his innermost being (new inner man! new heart, new spirit Ezekiel 36:26-27 Galatians 2:20, Romans 6) WILL flow RIVERS of living water"
a) Are you thirsty? Do you have the desire to WANT this Jesus- desperately, achingly, fully?
b) Come to "Me" Jesus says. Receive. Yield. Surrender.
c) DRINK Abide. Trust. Rest
d) Living Water (aka the Spirit) Living: fresh, not stagnant, alive, bubbling up, gushing forth, flowing, nourishing, refreshing, cleansing, hydrating, quenching,
When we drink (partake) of Jesus from us- our new self, our new holy and righteous inner man- will flow rivers of living water. What flows out of us is from the Spirit! If you read Galatians 5:22-23 you will see what the fruit of the Spirit is- what is produced FROM the Spirit- Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. These FLOW from us. It's WHO we are because it's WHO HE IS.
Now, we can stop the flow. We can NOT drink from Jesus. We can go back to our old way of living and thinking. But it won't change who we are inside. We are still new creations that choose live like the old self.
When we truly come to the revelation-
I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST
I NO LONGER LIVE
BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME
AND THE LIFE I LIVE IN THE PHYSICAL BODY
I LIVE BY THE FAITH OF THE
SON OF GOD
WHO LOVE ME
AND
GAVE HIMSELF
FOR ME.
-this revelation comes through coming to Jesus. Receive. Yield. Surrender.
Living out this revelation comes through partaking (drinking) of Jesus. Abide. Trust. Rest.
When the deepest part of us have been illuminated then from the deepest part of us (Christ in me) flows living water. All of Him. Galatians 5:22-23
You can lead a person to Living Water but you can't make them drink.
I was thirsty. But now....I am: not stagnant, alive, bubbling up, gushing forth, flowing, nourished/ing, refreshed/ing, cleansed/ing, hydrated/ing, quenched/ing.
Filled to overflowing.
Amen. Still moment by moment. Fixed on Jesus. My Life.
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