Author: Bob

Do you remember how many spam calls you got last week? If you accidentally answer their call, you soon discover they all have a sales pitch, trying to sell you a desirable product or play on your fear of losing something very important. It is always a scam of some sort. A person I know responded to spam in the last 30 days and it resulted in a loss of well over $100 thousand dollars.

Have you considered the possibility that there are also ‘religious’ spammers? They too have a pitch offering simulations of true worship that sounds Biblical but is really appealing to a god created in man’s image—created to please the soul or flesh of mankind. Their liturgy and teachings appeal to the mind and/or emotion over one’s spirit and are based on ‘cherry picked’ Bible verses. They offer a way to go to God’s Heaven that will include most everyone, no matter the kind of person they are (not were). Most religious spammers are not bad people. Most are good, well-meaning individuals. They simply are not students of the Bible nor apprentices of Jesus and therefore they preach or teach other speakers material.  They were simply spammed by what they heard or have been taught or may not have had much of a personal encounter with the Bible God that changes everything.

How can you know if you attend a spammer led or ‘progressive’ oriented church, or one that subtly deconstructs what you know the Bible does says about God? Unfortunately, far too many attendees don’t personally know what the Bible actually does say about God and His truth because they don’t know how or haven’t taken the time to personally find what it says. Churchgoers come to hear what their pastor tells them the Bible says or their unique spin on what they think He intends to say in His Word. It’s like eating at a fast-food place with unhealthy ingredients you wouldn’t use if you cooked the meal yourself.

Interestingly, the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). He wrote in the previous chapter a cure for avoiding religious spammers.  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV). The original word translated Do your best literally means to be eager, zealous, diligent, make every effort, to do your utmost, to do what? To … present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. It is noteworthy that Paul tells you what to expect when you zealously or diligently study scripture. There are four things it is profitable for; teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Did you notice it is NOT just to soothe your bruises or pump you up? The scripture’s teaching helps you get a clear understanding of truth, reproof points out errors when you read or hear them, correction straightens out the curves or distortions in your life, and instruction is to help you know how to make correct decisions and align your values and ways to those of God’s kingdom.

By handling real currency, you can learn to spot counterfeit money. By consistently studying scripture, God’s truth is stamped in your heart so you will intuitively sense if what you hear or read is spam. How are you positioning yourself so God can imprint His truth in your heart so you can spot spam when you hear or see it? If your plan is anemic, I strongly urge you to take responsibility for protecting yourself and those you love from the prevailing winds of deception.

Heads up! I acknowledge I am in a state of having been blown away by the awe-inspiring infinite capacity of God. I am so blown away I do not understand all I am about to write. So please don’t take what I will write as Bible doctrine. Rather, take this as a deep impression of a person trying to describe the ‘crazy, wonderful’ light that I have been experiencing the last couple days. Try to engage with me in my musings in this cloud of wonder.

Isaiah, a highly regarded prophet, revealed the vast scope of God’s ‘emotional’ ability. I admit up front that I am not able to hold within myself a passionate hatred for the rebellious, audacious sin in someone, while at the same time have an even stronger passion of sacrificial love for those disrespectful rebels. While God was arranging for Jews to be disciplined for their repulsive, evil hearts, He is also working towards how He would show them His incredibly deep love. This brings more depth to God’s words through Isaiah. My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the LORD. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9, NLT2). Anyone who imagines they can give wise counsel to this God does not know Jehovah, God Almighty, and thinks more highly of themselves than they ought!! (Romans 12:3)

His first words to Isaiah after responding to God’s call were Go, and say to this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed (Isaiah 6:9-10, ESV). Interestingly, Jesus quoted this verse when asked why He spoke in parables. They were still rebellious, so Jesus was also doing what God told Isaiah to do.

Isaiah warned these rebellious people, speaking of Jerusalem, … I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. …I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers and destroy it (Isaiah 29:1-3, NLT2) Isaiah later said, … Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt? It was the LORD, against whom we sinned, for the people would not walk in his path, nor would they obey his law.  Therefore, he poured out his fury on them and destroyed them in battle. They were enveloped in flames, but they still refused to understand. They were consumed by fire, but they did not learn their lesson (Isaiah 42:23-25, NLT2).

Contrast His anger with His deep love for them when He told Isaiah to tell them, when you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom… I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. Isaiah 43:2-4 (NLT2). Incredible! He goes on, do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west…north and south… Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them (Isaiah 43:5-7, NLT2). The thought of returning the former rebels leaves me stunned. What does that tell us about the awesome ability of God’s love for you and me? This is beyond my comprehension.

If I earnestly seek God with all my heart, this tells me absolutely nothing can hold back such a formidable God from fulfilling His loving purpose in and through my life. What might that say about His heartbeat for you?

I sometimes wish I were a child again—but only until I consider being pulled through the knothole of life to become an adult all over again!! A child is oblivious to our world’s drama or national political condition, not to mention the messy financial turmoil we are facing. Interestingly, Jesus said truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3, ESV). Jesus didn’t say that to make us feel guilty! He said it to help us avoid the anxiety that plagues so many of us. Paul wrote, do not be anxious about anything… Philippians 4:6a (ESV). Look at it this way. Consider anxiety as being a like red light on a car dashboard that alerts us that something is wrong. It alerts us when we are in a danger zone because we are lacking faith in God. Has your red light started flashing?

I have guided countless individuals through mourning the loss of a spouse or child. I expected that when Connie graduated. But I did not expect the profound feeling of losing my most trusted confidant to share a new revelation of scripture, a life-changing observation, an achievement, or the sting of being hurt by a friend. When she left earth, my feeling of being lost was indescribable.

In the above scripture, Jesus was telling adults to stop thinking like an adult when facing the perils of life. The Greek word translated turn means to have a radical 180-degree change in direction. Simply put, He was saying unless you unlearn your adult, independence or controlling ways, and become as trusting as a child is upon their parent(s), you cannot enter His heaven. That is serious!!

Through the years, I had become very accustomed to managing decisions at home, pastoral work and state-wide superintendency of churches. I had my ladder leaning heavily against my anointing, accumulated skill set, and on Connie, who God gave me to as a helpmeet. When she left, my ‘ladder’ came crashing down. My emotions virtually froze my spirit, so I could only know the feeling of being lost. I had not developed a close mentor to whom I would first go to, so the term ‘lost’ best describes the ‘wave’ that suddenly crashed over me.

I wrote all that to say why Jesus’ words have become so meaningful to me. With her gone, I was being forced to become like a child, trusting solely on God! I know I trusted Him before, just not at this level. Hopefully, with the word picture I have tried to paint, you can better relate to what Jesus was saying to each of us. In that context, who have you had your ‘ladder’ leaning on for support? In my case, I now have been learning a new way of leaning heavily on His gentle nudge or soft whisper for even my minor decisions.

Looking back, I would like to have positioned my “ladder” in a way that depended more on God’s gentle guidance, sparing Connie from carrying such a heavy weight. I’m unsure about the strategy to make that shift, but by knowing what I now know, I would have been more proactive in achieving that mindset. Learn from my mistakes. Take initiative now to establish unwavering trust in God, rather than treating it as a religious cliché. Jesus said all other ground is like sinking sand. Acting now will reduce your stress and anxiety plus allow you to more fully embrace the abundant life Jesus intended for you.

Have you been disappointed in spiritual leaders you have held in high esteem? I’m sure each of us has done so. I know I have and, like you, I don’t like the way it makes me feel and its long-term effect. I repeatedly hear the sad disappointment in the voice of those who share the hurt they have experienced when that happens.

I have seen how scores of people have quoted or otherwise referred to Paul’s recorded experiences or responses as though he was as infallible as Jesus was. Yet, they passively acknowledge he was human, yet subconsciously think if he said or did it, it must be pure and righteous. He even acknowledged some uncertainty about some things he wrote. (1 Cor. 7:6) He for certain is a spiritual hero, but to make him infallible in all cases would be a grave mistake. Just considering that, how might that make you feel to think he made mistakes that are recorded in the Bible? I suspect you would want to push back. I get that. But that is precisely what I’m wanting to put on the table to reflect on. We don’t want to think one of our spiritual leaders being human enough to make mistakes, even though we will say they are human.

My aspirations to be faultless lead me to creating false expectations about myself AND leaders I hold in high esteem. Satan uses those very expectations to discourage, if not defeat, me and crush my respect for those I fantasize are faultless. This happens to all of us. Subsequently, we tend to gradually relax our ambitions and endeavors to become more Christlike. Plus, we go on to rationalize that God is unfair to expect us to become perfect. You see, when we allow ourselves to create false expectations, we only defeat ourselves. A common trap Satan sets for us.

It is recorded that Jesus understood this trap and prepared his humanity to be able to respond properly to it. John records “because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like (John 2:23-25, NLT2). Did you notice that Jesus refused to allow false expectations of people to discourage or defeat Him? Did His humanity experience frustration with people? Certainly! Following His transfiguration, at the bottom of the mountain, his remaining nine disciples had failed to cast out a demon from a boy and out of exasperation He said, O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me (Matthew 17:17, ESV). Remember, Jesus was divine but also fully human, just like the rest of us!

How might you eliminate your defeat and minimize your discouragement by focusing on reality rather than allowing your fantasies to create false expectations of others? It helps me, as it will you, if I remind myself my spiritual maturity is not yet complete. The shift from my thoughts and reactions being driven by my mind, emotions and independent volition (soul) to being driven primarily by my spirit deep within is not yet complete. This is true for all of us. Therefore, we will vary in how often our soul responds to situations before our spirit does. Therefore, we can say or do things that may sound spiritual, but flow more out of our fallen soul. If that happens to us, how can we honestly expect any human alive to never default to their humanity in what they say or do? Being a spiritual authority figure does aid and empower us but does NOT end our fallen soul/humanity. This is why Jesus said, Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven… (Luke 6:37, ESV). Judging others has a way of coming back to bite you.

What I am about to embark on will be a challenge to your thinking, so please try to think with me as I try to expose you to a sobering thought. Realizing how much more can be written about this issue, I will risk oversimplifying it so you can use it to shape your spiritual journey.

As a child, I believed in God because my parents believed in Him. I believed in many ideas I later found were not consistent with what the whole Bible teaches. This didn’t become clear until years later when I came to know Him intimately enough to become His apprentice. There is a time in life when you begin to question your beliefs and so you can know the truth for yourself.

On the other hand, a person can know many facts about God from what they have heard or read, yet not personally believe in Him. However, if they don’t truly believe in Him, they cannot fully trust Him. Not until they have a personal encounter with Him, can they experientially know Him and therefore fully trust Him. Keep in mind, the same Judas that was a disciple of Jesus, intellectually and socially, knew a lot about Jesus. He even went out and worked miracles, as Jesus had done. Nevertheless, he came to betray Him and later committed suicide, having never fully believed Him as the Son of God. Had he more fully known Him, he would have had to repent of his sin to Jesus and been forgiven.

If one fails to confront and resolve their veiled doubts about God, they will be unable to fully trust in Him for their everyday choices. Settling silent suspicions about God is a major achievement in the journey to enjoying a most intimate relationship with Him. Don’t worry about doubts about God if they are honest questions. Asking honest questions is crucial for uncovering sustainable truth. Simply ask Him to help you understand Him more fully.

John, the disciple of Jesus scripture suggests was closest in relationship to Jesus, went on to write this profound statement. So, we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (1 John 4:16, ESV). To know here focuses on the mind or understanding. This is the type of knowing that comes from reading, hearing indoctrination, or logic. To believe here focuses on the heart, to be convinced of, or to trust and rely on. It results in taking more risks to please Him. Such belief comes out of a divine encounter, revelation, or a spiritual traumatic experience and results in boldness and greater risk taking on kingdom principles. Both are critical factors in our spiritual journey.

Unfortunately, I’ve observed the knowing component is the dominating factor in ‘second generation’ Christians. Although, a good percentage of those growing up in the church do move beyond the knowing to the experiential believing, but not all. Ezekiel 36:25-27 describes the tale-tell sign of the experientially believing. It says there will occur a strong God-given desire to be careful to obey His rules. Paul confirms that by writing for God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13, NLT2).

It’s sobering when you consider how easily you can confuse knowledge and belief and end up wrongly assuming knowledge with some belief is sufficient. Here is a clue that might help you discern your condition. If you lack a compelling to carefully do His good pleasure, it’s a serious issue that needs attention. Taking time to reflect prayerfully on that will definitely be worth it.

In the past, the frequently used gravel roads I drove on often had rough and bumpy areas, resembling washboards. When you speak, your teeth vibrate, causing your voice to have an involuntary vibrato. If you did not reduce the speed of the car, it would start to slide sideways, making it impossible to control. It was scary if you were in a hurry. To be candid, my last few weeks have felt like I was driving on gravel, washboard roads. While the bumps weren’t as tightly spaced as on gravel roads, they certainly gave me moments I felt like I might be skidding off course. I did some grocery shopping one of those times and made a fool of myself because I couldn’t keep my thoughts focused. It felt like I was bouncing off the rails.

In the midst of those uncertain, jaw-shaking times, when I would slow down long enough, the Holy Spirit would move me into what I call ‘holy moments’. These are when His presence would become so felt, so healing, so soothing and delightful. Perhaps they might be compared to a warm embrace by God that lifts one’s sense of worth, joy, hope, and confidence. Each occurrence was slightly different in intensity, but all transformed my lostness, instability, and uncertainty into an awareness of closeness, security, confidence, and hope. Just remembering them as I type these words brings tears to my eyes because they have been so sacred to me. Each encounter left me with a healthy sense of well-being.

When Connie was still alive, we enjoyed an exceptional sense of mutual interdependency. We shared such trust that made us feel stronger and more assured, especially when going through a rough patch in circumstances surrounding us. She was my most valued earthly treasure. I told her that many times and I meant it with all my heart. The only one I treasured more was God. It was in that context, as Abraham did with his son Issac, I frequently surrendered my most valued treasure to Him. Now that she has entered her reward, I do not feel lonely, yet I most certainly miss my most valued treasure. I only have gratitude for our years together. To be very candid, I have the foggy sense that God received her, in part, so I could more explicitly excel in treasuring Him in my remaining years. My holy moments are clear expressions of our embrace.

Having written that, I often wonder how God’s heart longs to share that same relationship with you and so many other of His children. I cannot help but believe that is precisely what David had in mind when he wrote May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD (Psalm 104:34, ESV). If you search the book of Psalm for how David used some form of the word ‘meditate’, you will find it was almost a holy, awe-inspiring moment for him, one describing an intimate experience with God. I honestly believe that those experiences can be so energized with His presence that our inner beings are transformed more into Christ’s likeness. There is absolutely NOTHING that compares with these divine encounters. The fruit of them is life-giving and life changing. Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night (Psalm 1:1-2, NLT2). Believe me, you will be able to more easily manage the washboard roads in your life when they lead you to extended holy moments in your life. If I can even begin to stimulate a stronger desire within you to seek such recurring encounters with God, I will have served you well. These are the times that have sustained me through the years, but even more so in these days since Connie went to be face to face with Him. I can only pray that you will take time to savor the holy moments you have with Him.

Can you think of a mystery about God’s ways? One mystery I can find is why are there times when God is silent—at least it seems that way. I was mystified when I knew thousands of righteous people prayed for Connie’s healing. Yet, He remained silent for no reason known to us. All I could do was to speculate about His reason for being silent. God was silent for about 400 years before He sent Jesus to be born on earth. Again, all we can do is speculate based on all He inspired to be written about Him, His words and ways before and after His time of silence. Hopefully, you can relate to these mysterious ways of God.

I suspect He is especially interested in how we respond to His silence or inactivity. Do we turn to our logic, or do we simply leave such mysteries as such and let them help us understand that our trust in Him cannot be based on our logic? It can only be based on who He says He is. He does tell us My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9, NLT2). This forces us to decide whether we will humbly accept that we are human, and He alone is a sovereign God. I, for one, have found great security and sustainable peace when I rest on Him being far wiser than humans and can therefore know and do what only a God is capable of. Perhaps it might be like insects or animals being forced to accept the fact they are not human.

One Bible clue that can relate to this mystery came during one of the times the Jews were in one of their chronic spiritual lows. Isaiah writes in chapter 28 how the priests and prophets had succumbed to the ways of their culture and become alcoholics. It was so repulsive their tables were filled with their vomit. They responded to Isaiah’s warning by arrogantly defending their culturally accepted condition. In this depraved context, Isaiah was inspired to write a couple of profoundly insightful things about God’s values and ways. For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers) (Isaiah 29:10, ESV).

To see what this deep sleep may look like, Jesus explained, this is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah (Is. 6:9-10) is fulfilled that says: You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them (Matthew 13:13-15, ESV). It was like Jesus (and Isaiah) were saying, ‘ok, since you insist on refusing to listen, you can now have it your way!’ Is that kind of silence sobering or what?

Notice His solution to the problem when His disciple asked Him about why He spoke in parables. (Seeking Him for answers gets His attention!) And when his disciples asked him [to explain the parable] he said, To you [those who seek] it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand (Luke 8:9-10, ESV) God gives revelation to those who take time to seriously seek to understand what He says. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart (Psalm 119:2, ESV). He leaves the prideful lethargic to their self-induced blindness. Do you believe God considers you as seeking Him with your whole heart?

All of us are constantly looking to find a faster track. It might be a faster checkout line, way to raise our children correctly, the process of healing our bruises (for me it is grieving the loss of Connie), reading an important book, building wealth, and the list goes on and on. The same search goes for a faster way to become spiritually mature—that being in the full stature of Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:13). I’ve thought many times that I wish I had learned what I now know 50 years earlier. I possibly could have helped more people become stronger and spiritually productive. The reality is the information I have learned wasn’t available 50 years ago. By the same token, I suspect I would not have been open to learning those things earlier. As Solomon wrote, for everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NLT2).

Some things we can learn faster if we know how to position ourselves to be open to what we hear. Let me brief you on how this can happen to you.

Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, was a medical doctor who was fascinated by the work of the Holy Spirit. His words, more than the other gospel writers, were most heavily laced with accounts of the works of the Holy Spirit. He begins the book of Acts with these words, In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-2, NLT2). The words that caught my attention were after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus had promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would guide them after His death. The evening He arose, He appeared to the disciples, breathed on them, and commanded them to receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). Although the Spirit’s infilling would follow (Acts 2), the Spirit opened their minds so they could understand all Jesus had said and was now saying. With this elevated level of supernatural light, they experienced a surge in spiritual maturity.

Through my personal experience, as well as working with hundreds of other people, when the presence of the Holy Spirit is heavy upon a person, they are able to download far more in a short time than is possible otherwise. This dimension of supernatural presence radically changes a person exemplified in Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul described this by writing, so all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT2). When we are in His felt presence, and only then, the Holy Spirit downloads His love and wisdom and all the rest of who He is.

The fast track to spiritual maturity is not experienced in a classroom, listening to podcasts, sermons, conferences or through reading books. For certain, the Holy Spirit uses those great times to enlighten us, but real growth in our inner being happens when He makes what we see, hear or read become dynamically alive in our spirit in a very personal way. It is a form of experiencing God rather than simply hearing about Him. You get on the fast track by positioning yourself to encounter the Spirit of God on a regular basis. I have had multiple holy moments in the last 10 days that have brought me healing and transformation. His presence changes things.

Children amaze me. They are not able to understand abstract concepts, but they can pick up on when mom or dad is sad or otherwise upset about something. They also sense mom and dad’s love for them and when they are proud of them.

When Connie was alive, we had a special connection where we could pick up on each other’s gestures, moods, and emotions. Of course, she was superior to me in that way. Typically, a male’s is like a buffalo, while a female’s is more like a butterfly, which quickly flies away if a raindrop lands nearby. Buffaloes, with their thick hide, are hardly aware of rain or hail.

Have you considered how sensitive our Father God might be? I suspect He is far more sensitive than we might imagine. Recorded in Matthew 13:54-58 and Mark 6:1-6a, on Jesus’ last trip through Galilee, He took the disciples to His hometown, Nazareth. The part that recently stood out to me in this episode was what Matthew and Mark recorded about it. He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58, ESV). Consider this. Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19a, ESV). This means the reason only a few supernatural things were done there was not because of the humanity of Jesus! His Heavenly Father was the decision maker here. We are talking now about God Almighty, or the Holy Spirit, who can supernaturally work regardless of the circumstances. Right? So, the question arises, just how sensitive is God or the Holy Spirit? Is He so sensitive that simple prejudice against a family or logic, something that may not even be verbal or super visible, will restrain His power? Really?? Yes really!! He is very sensitive to our thoughts and motivations and responds to them, as seen in this narrative.

 

If we fast forward to our world today and consider the pervasive lack of the awe of God, the mental questions about Him, even in our churches and even in our very own hearts; could it be that God is so sensitive, especially with those of us claiming to be Christ-followers, that He will allow our lack of deep respect or reverence for Him to inhibit Him from working in our lives or in the world around us? If you examine the passage, the people were blown away by Jesus’ teaching of truth. They had known Him for decades, yet their logic now leaped into action and led them to question Jesus’ authority or authenticity. We expect unbelievers to question Him. However, if each of us believed Him as we say we do, wouldn’t we esteem Him enough to search His Word to find the full truth about His values, righteousness, or how He expects us to live? Are we serious enough to take the time to carefully examine what the Bible says for ourselves rather than depend on a pastor/preacher/teacher to do the study work and make it colorful enough for us to enjoy? I now see that God is considerably more sensitive to our feeble respect and lukewarm passion for Him than I had thought.

God’s sensitivity to unbelief woke me up like a slap in the face. Our familiarity with the truth of the supernatural may make us indifferent, but God remains sensitive to our indifference and simply withdraws His power. Paul’s words speak to me, wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you (Ephesians 5:14b, NIV). God is prompting us to shift our value system towards prioritizing intimacy with Him, rather than indulging in enticing pleasures. Don’t forget, the greatest commandment is to love HIM with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Would others say your daily choices and behavior demonstrate the depth of awe He deserves?

I used to wish I could have been alive and in Israel when Jesus walked on the earth. I imagined that I could have seen and heard Jesus’ miracles and heard His teachings, I would have been a volunteer apprentice even if He would not have picked me as one of the twelve. Now I can see knowledge of Him would not necessarily have meant I would have believed in Him. Thousands saw and heard Jesus yet did not fully believe or trust Him. I suspect I may have been one who walked away when He said, “unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood you have no life in you”. (John 6:54-56) The point is, greater knowledge of God does not equal faith in Him. It can enhance your relationship with Him but can also veil your mind and heart and thereby keep you from a more complete truth.

The grave danger of knowledge, as is the case with giving, serving, or soul winning, is that deeds can become our goal rather than being intimate with our God. Jesus called the twelve to be WITH HIM first and foremost. Notice the sequence in Jesus’ words. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned (John 15:4-6, ESV) Jesus is saying to them make your home in me, as I make my home in you. To be an apprentice of Jesus is to so abide in Him that you become like Him and subsequently live as He lived. This with-ness to Jesus is the baseline of a believer’s entire life.

Brother Lawrence was a dishwasher in a monastery in the 17^th century who passionately loved God. He wrote a very small book called Practicing the Presence of God. He made it his life’s ambition to experience God in the midst of the chaos of the kitchen, with all its noise, distractions, and busyness—sounds like life today! He came to the place that busyness was no different from prayer time or taking communion. The point is that his holiest times were not doing spiritual practices, but constantly communicating with God in the midst of his chaos. The fruit of that transformed him into Jesus’ likeness.

How serious are you about being an apprentice of Jesus—one who will do whatever it takes for the Spirit to form Christlikeness into the fiber of their being? Two self-examination indicators: 1) In what ways have I been learning experiential knowledge of Him by making my daily home with Him and He with me? Keep in mind, we become more loving by experiencing love, not by hearing about it in a lecture or reading about it in a book. And 2) In what unique ways have my experiences in His presence been literally changing me to love and respond to people more as He did?

Be very careful not to confuse head knowledge, tradition, or behavior with faith in Him.