Where we begin our thoughts has a great deal to do with where we end in them.
When it comes to intimacy with Jesus and prayer....
Beginning with religion as a foundation for prayer and intimacy can lead us directly into.....
Guilt - it is impossible to disciple ourselves. We try. But the lover of our souls is Alive. He has sent us his Spirit. A wise counselor, close and full of wisdom, to lead us in following Jesus. Prayer is the air of heaven. It is the voice of war in the deepest intimacy with Jesus. When we are working prayer to please God we are missing the powerful grace it carries. We abide as Sons and Daughter in Christ and the inheritance he possess. In His victory by blood there is a resting place, abiding glory, for every member of his Body. Prayer is joy beyond imagination. It's abiding with Jesus.
Today, built on religion, pragmatism, have to's and the lists about "me" it is lost to striving and guilt. Have you experienced a friendship when one person does all the talking, never asks you a question about you and always asks you for things? No wonder God gets quiet sometimes.
Guilt about prayer? Go back and find paths of freedom and Joy then start building your prayer life. Pray by, in and through grace and find the deepest rest known to mankind. Relationships are two way. Worship, give thanks, bless and honor the Lord. Listen. Follow the Spirit in your prayer time. Everything about prayer is informed by the Cross, Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord Jesus. There is nothing negative about his presence or abiding with Jesus. The flesh carries enmity. Prayer is the undiscovered habitation. Ephesians 2:22
"For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength." Isaiah 30:15
Performance - It is a deep trap to perform for God or anyone else. Performing won't increase his love for us. Performing won't make others love you more. Finding the voice of God is key to overcoming performance.
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| Do flowers perform? |
Obedience replaces performance and paves a highway of joy and peace. When a servant receives an assignment from the Father, just as Jesus did in the Cross, the purifying, humbling, grace of God meets us measure for measure, step for step. What flows from walking in the voice of God is immeasurable joy and freedom. The joy of being co-laborers with Jesus. Deepening connection and streams of living water witness to his active grace. As we apply faith to our assignment grace increase and faith thrives.
We receive "a participation" in the love of the Trinity. What true citizen has no share in the advance of the country? And each of us has been given grace from the measure of Jesus' victory to obediently pour out by faith, generosity and love on the world (Eph 4:7). Freely we have received, freely we are to give.
To leave performance behind is to take on the quest. The quest given to us in his grace. (Eph 4:7) It is with our offering and sacrifice of love mixed with faith and obedience that we truely discover the hiding place of prayer and his presence.
A smokey faith filled temple is the desire of God.
Don't rest until you have your assignment identified. Make his call and election sure.
Dry Deserts - starting with religion will always lead you to a dry desert of fatigue. Relying on ourselves, our abilities in the natural, our strength, our mind, and attempting to carry the Kingdom, leads to debilitating fatigue.
When we are abiding in his love, walking in the Spirit and exercising faith in the grace we've received.....constant energy from heaven fills us up.Burning out is a sure sign we are carrying things that don't belong to us. Jesus said, "take my yoke upon you. For my yoke is easy and my burden light." We hear those words but they don't register. Light. Easy. We say it is hard to follow Christ. On the flesh sure its hard. It is death and the end of the flesh. We need to remember that we were rescued from death. The lives we were living were terrible, filled with the reaping of sins harvest. Painful and enslaving, we rejoiced exceedingly at the freedom and forgiveness give in the Gospel and blood of Christ. So now we want to go back to Egypt?
Yes. The world screams at us all day long. Telling us a completely different story from Jesus. Calling us back to "living" and sin. Demanding we follow the flow of the culture in all its fallen focus. It is so important to secure your hope in regular consistent vision of the grace of God and all the benefits in his presence. Ps 73
Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
The enemy has sown a sublte lie that the Christian community has swallowed completely. You hear it everywhere. How hard it is to serve the Lord.
In Spirit and truth it is not hard at all. Our spirit reborn in Christ, set free in his blood and filled with the Holy Spirit breathes the air of heaven with ease. We need to proclaim the truth. The way of the Lord Jesus is the easy way. The way of sin is trouble, difficulty and a deafening lack of peace. The way of Jesus, once we have died with him, is filled with resurrection power and life. Our spirit was made for fellowship with God. Our hearts were made to love him without reservation. The world is dry bones if you search there for living water. Only Jesus can truly satisfy the thirst of the spirit.
This "offense" when rooted leads us out of prayer, away from his presence and into a dry desert. The rivers of living water do not flow freely in the land of offense. The deceptions of the enemy always lead us away from love, zeal for his house, passion and devotion to the presence of God and the will of the Father.
But we make a fatal error leaving behind the commands of Jesus and obedience to the grace he has given us to steward.
"Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” John 14:21
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| Don't let the world carry away your holy things |
1. learn to let the Spirit take your spiritual temperature - ask Him if you require heart help.
2. Let Grace and passion measure your abiding. Being around Jesus is amazing. Nothing can separate you from him..... So don't let anything.
3. Give yourself to First Love and lose track of time. Being with Jesus is reason enough for prayer.
4. Follow the Spirit in a steady walk and never thirst. Closely observe your steps. Are you walking in the Spirit?
5. Explore any lack of hunger, heart problem, or passivity. Jesus is never passive. He avoids nothing. He is courageous and fully present.
You were made for total love and boundless relationship with Jesus.
He spent everything he had to restore you to himself.
He surrendered his divine rights to make a way for you to know the Father.
He became poor so we could be rich.
He took all the brutality of the world and our sins upon himself.
This kind of love leave us speechless in worship.
There are no words that can measure up.
Yet he seems to accepts these kind of words ...
I surrender all to you.
Take my life
Let it be a burning fiery offering of love reflecting your glory, truth and love.
Is this the life you are living?
Through faith in Christ Jesus it is ours.
Catching glimpse of even a small part of it will radically change your life here and now.
2016
Look forward, eyes filled with Abundance, Boundless, Victorious vision in Jesus.
Thanks for Reading!
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Here are some other blogs posts that may interest you.
1.http://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2015/01/7-things-enemy-devil-doesnt-want-you-to.html
With much love in Jesus
You can do this thing! He's got you.
Jeff Reynolds ---
Brother Jeff
www.jeffreynoldsministies.com
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