I went to church last night and just getting there and soaking in God's presence was a process in and of itself... even before getting the meat of service! God continues to show me ME and how and from what He desires to deliver me from. From self-condemnation to religion, God is unraveling so much in and from me- those grave clothes. While just soaking in God's heavy and sweet presence that was at church, He said "Isa. 48:6" as clear as day. At the sight of His words on the page, I began to weep and thank God for speaking to me- the true living Word: "From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you." It goes on to say that these are things we've never heard before. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. God speaks through His Word. So, like myself, when desiring to hear from the Lord, we must read His Word because that is the ultimate way He will speak to us (of course, we cannot forsake the individuals He can and will use to do the same).
From the last half of chapter 2, here are some points I want to share with you:
1) "... this knowledge [of God] transcends the way we know our acquaintances or friends. It involves a deep and intimate knowledge of God... [it is] the idea of a husband knowing a wife in a marriage relationship" (26).
2) "We were made to feast on God, to get lost in God, to see, to hear, to encounter, to live in the realm of the Spirit" (27).
3) "While we were created by God with appetites for pleasure and fascination, we have completely lost sight of where real, authentic pleasure and fascination are found" (28).
4) "Our eyes were made to see God, our ears to hear God, our hands to touch God, our senses to encounter God... what we open our eyes to is what we open our souls to" (30).
5) In reference to the growing porn industry in America: "It lures our gazes away from God, away from TRUE pleasure. There is a massive battle for our eyes- the lamps to our bodies- and we need to WAKE UP and fight it... 'Englighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death' (Psalms 13:3)" (30).
6) "Where are the eyes of this generation? Where are your ears? Where is your gaze? What are you beholding? What- or who- are you becoming like?" (31)
7) A prayer of David: "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in your way" (Psalm 119:37). "Worthless things are not just things like pornography. They are the things we might consider permissible. So often we secretly congratulate ourselves for not engaging in pornography or some other blatant sin, without understanding that the twenty-five PG movies we watched in a week rob us of God just as effectively. These 'harmless' things don't hurt us as much as sin, but they certainly don't contribute to our life in God. By the time we get around to the things of God in a typical week, we are so stuffed with all the 'good' and 'permissible' things that we have no room for God. So when we do spend time with Him, our experience in the Spiriti is just as hindered as anyone else's [experience]" (32).
8) Prayer: "Oh, for the spirit of revelation to touch us! We need the wonder of God restored, the beauty of God restored, the stunning fascination of encountering God restored, the beholding of God restored" (32).
I love Him
Excerpts from the book Pursuit of the Holy by Corey Russell
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