I was awaken much earlier than usual this morning with thoughts of Jesus Christ - the Son of God and His eternal relationship with and to the Father. The Holy Spirit began to cleanse my mind with the precious thought of the closeness - the interconnectedness that the Father has with His beloved Son. Suddenly, as if rapture to the third heaven, my mind was flooded with the intimacy of oneness shared lovingly between Father & Son. I began to experience the delight that the one had for the other, and my soul was suddenly apprehended by the beauty and splendor of this most holy union of oneness. It was as if I had been invited in to receive bursts of perfect love and unspeakable joy which strenthened my soul. The purity of Love discovered within that moment became my reality, and suddenly I was consciously aware that His love became my love! His everlasting joy became my strength! His surpassing peace became my peace! Everything that I was lacking, had been given to me in that moment. And, though the experience had only last but a second, it seemed timeless - almost as if I had experienced a glimpse of eternity. Then my soul exclaimed, to wit: O' How He Loves Us!
I then turned my attention to Holy Writ: NT John 17, which is the Priestly Prayer that Jesus prayed during the moments before the events which lead to his passion and subsequent death upon the cross. He had given to those of whom He loved so dearly, the Father's words. Words that are life-giving when it is received. Words that cut, cleanse, cloth and lift the lowly into realms of splendor and glorious bliss! The blissful place of true harmony and expressions of love... that sacred dwelling place where Jesus IS - so that we might be... above all sicknesses, dis-ease, doubt, and fear - the secret place - the inner sanctum where our Savior awaits! What a precious and glorious gift in itself because contained within the Word of God are realms of wisdom which can only become life-giving through revelatory knowledge given freely to us by the precious Holy Spirit. Look! The Holy Spirit, whom is distinctive in his person, but is also a giver! How can He, in all of His splendor, not reflect the true essence of our gracious God? Therefore, I have resolved in my soul that the Word of God must be known on several levels - intellectual, experiential and spiritual - for these three, in my opinion, equals the totality of the person!
I then turned my attention to Holy Writ: NT John 17, which is the Priestly Prayer that Jesus prayed during the moments before the events which lead to his passion and subsequent death upon the cross. He had given to those of whom He loved so dearly, the Father's words. Words that are life-giving when it is received. Words that cut, cleanse, cloth and lift the lowly into realms of splendor and glorious bliss! The blissful place of true harmony and expressions of love... that sacred dwelling place where Jesus IS - so that we might be... above all sicknesses, dis-ease, doubt, and fear - the secret place - the inner sanctum where our Savior awaits! What a precious and glorious gift in itself because contained within the Word of God are realms of wisdom which can only become life-giving through revelatory knowledge given freely to us by the precious Holy Spirit. Look! The Holy Spirit, whom is distinctive in his person, but is also a giver! How can He, in all of His splendor, not reflect the true essence of our gracious God? Therefore, I have resolved in my soul that the Word of God must be known on several levels - intellectual, experiential and spiritual - for these three, in my opinion, equals the totality of the person!
In the Gospel of John, Chapter 17, Jesus prayed that we might be one just as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him, so shall we be one with them. He prays that the expressions of our life would be a revelation of the Oneness of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! Three distinctive personalities, but of one essence moving in syncopated rhythm - one with the other!!! Why? So that the world would have known the Father & his beloved Son, Jesus Christ. O' How He Loves Us!
If ever you should experience the supreme oneness of God, you would want to dwell in that place of oneness always. And, to think that Jesus consecrated himself - living a life in holiness always in subjection to the Father and therefore obedient to the Father's will above His own, so that we might see his glory - and not just see with the eye of the spirit, but that his glory might manifest in us and become a reality for the world to see! O' How He Loves Us!
Gracious God - Eternal Father Divine,
Thank you for Christ and his cross; for self-sacrificial love, for the precious life-giving gift found in the Word of God made flesh! There is no other love that fills our every need, but you. May the expressed image of Jesus Christ be manifest in your people so that the world might see - How He Loves Us So!
Thank you for Christ and his cross; for self-sacrificial love, for the precious life-giving gift found in the Word of God made flesh! There is no other love that fills our every need, but you. May the expressed image of Jesus Christ be manifest in your people so that the world might see - How He Loves Us So!
David Crowder - "How He Loves Us" http://youtu.be/GzfPHnoT0-0