God's Favorite Place On Earth

About four years ago I was overwhelmed with a very intense disturbance within my spirit that still rocks my Christian faith. I have struggled to even communicate it with words. It has been the energy behind all I have shared here on my blog. Obviously,if you have read a few of my posts, you find the main thrust of my 'journals' has been to expose how the enemy has been so successful in oppressing the life of Christ in His church. It resonates only from my own particular gifting. Yet there is so much more to it than the mere identification of darkness. This is why we need other giftings in the body of Christ so we can have the whole revelation of what the Spirit is saying to the church.

A few months ago, I came across an author by the name of Frank Viola. What I read from his books pours out so much confirmation in regards to the burdens the Holy Spirit has been working in my heart and of many others as well. God has certainly given Frank the service and gift to beautifully and clearly communicate the healing dimension of this burden. There is no doubt the traditional church is on the precipice of a Spiritual awakening; and God wants His children to be equipped for it.

Without going on further about my own experience, I would like to share a great opportunity for everyone who has been striving for more in their own walk with God. Frank has certainly been called for this...and I thank God for that!

Just click on the link below or copy and paste it to your address bar.

http://frankviola.org/godsfavoriteplace/

PJR

Get Married

"Then some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, 'Is it lawful to divorce a wife for any cause?' He answered, 'Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.' They said to him, 'Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?' Jesus said to them, 'Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts, but from the beginning it was not this way. Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another commits adultery.' The disciples said to him, 'If this is the case of a husband with a wife, it is better not to marry!' He said to them, 'Not everyone can accept this statement, except those to whom it has been given. for there are some eunuchs who were that way from birth, and some who were made eunuchs by others, and some who became eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.'"
(Matthew 19:3-12)

Being a man, I can assure you that the disciples' comment did not imply it is better to live a life of celibacy, but suggested that it would be better to just live with a woman rather than get married. But Jesus response was that unless you are a eunuch, any intimate relationship a man may have with a woman should be based on covenant. He left no room for the children of God to entertain casual, open-ended intimacy. If you desire a woman, then get married.
(1 Corinthians 7:2)

An intimate relationship is blessed by the marriage covenant instituted by God. Loose relations are selfish and uncommitted, affording the man and woman the ease of promiscuity and the convenience of leaving the relationship when things get tough. For the believer, marriage is trust, commitment, and perseverance that gain them the sanctification within the marriage. It is this symbolism that a believer is united to Christ, and without entering into this covenant, mere physically intimate relationships will have little, if any, reflection of the life of Christ in that relationship. Today, this does not appear to be the wisdom that the world is able to accept.

PJR

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Hebrews 13:4)

Husbands, Wives, And The Church

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body." (Ephesians 5:25-30)

Husbands- if you are not intimate with Christ, you are not in the Word. If you are not in the Word, you are not sacrificing yourself for your wife, sanctifying her by the pure life of Christ that would be dwelling in you. It is only by Christ that you are able to truly love your wife; that you may present her without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish...in the same way that Jesus cleanses His bride.

"'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:31-32)

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14) This is a beautiful physical representation of how Jesus left the Father, came down to earth and through His sacrificial death redeemed His bride by conquering sin and death in the world thereby consummating the bride of Christ into the kingdom of our heavenly Father. He has created a new body for Himself, His bride, and He is holding fast to her. He gave himself up for His wife. Husbands are called to leave the source and familiarity of their previous kingdom and hold fast to their wives, thus creating a new body by the intimate fellowship wrought by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Why isn't the woman called to leave her father and mother? Verse 30 is the 'therefore' of verse 31: "For no one ever hated his own flesh...". Because the woman came from man, (1 Corinthians 11:8) she is her husband's own flesh (which is why husbands should love their wives as their own bodies;). She will readily recognize and cling to her husband [as Mary Magdalene attempted to do in the garden, finally recognizing Jesus as her Spiritual bridegroom (John 20:16)]. It was man that was formed from the dirt of this world, but the woman was formed from man. In this way, she knows no one to leave, only the one to cling to; and so the husband is to recognize and embrace this act of the inward knowledge of woman and thus cling to her.

Just as the source of the bride of Christ is Jesus, the church should naturally recognize and cling to Him, because we were in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4); just as Eve was already in Adam before God formed her. (For a life changing revelation, read Frank Viola's book, From Eternity To Here.)

Jesus created physical marriage as an analogy to express the mystery of how He relates to His church, and vice versa. Also, as physical intimacy brings forth offspring, so too by the intimate fellowship of the Spirit are borne others into the body of Christ. This is why marriage can only be between a man and a woman. (Any other union of male/male or female/female is of the devil; a physical perversion of the Spiritual picture of the bride of Christ. Both physically and Spiritually, homosexuality can not reproduce, nor know the true intimacy God designed and intended for marriage.)

"However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." (Ephesians 5:33)

Here is my 'amplified' spiritual paraphrase of the above verse. "However, let each one of you love the body of Christ as his own body, because that's exactly what the body is; the temple of the Holy Spirit (the fellowship of believers, not just the individual); and let the body of Christ see that it respects the Spirit of Christ, not the spirit of the world."

PJR

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready."  (Revelation 19:7)

The Nation Of Christianity

Our Christian life should precede our allegiance to our nationality. We are as sojourners in a strange land, not nationalists connected with a particular faith. While we tread the grounds of our nationality in the flesh, it only affords us our unique customs and traditions in which our bodies can manifest a particular and peculiar dance and song to God; yet in Spirit, there is no disdain, no differences, nor division in relation to other Christians around the world. There is neither Greek nor Jew, man or woman, free or slave; only a unification of individuals, like grains of sand that comprise the terrain. Together in Spirit we are one nation sending up our incense of prayer and worship to our Lord Jesus (Revelation 5:8), to the glory of God and to our ultimate inheritance of the new kingdom as the complete and perfect bride of Christ.

PJR

"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.'" (Revelation 5:9-10)

Point By Point

I was driving to work one morning when this scripture came to mind:

"They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.'" (Mark 9:33-35)

Immediately after pondering this, another scripture came to mind.

"Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.' But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.'" ( Luke 10:38-42)

This seemed to contradict the first scripture. Wasn't the act of serving the focal point of what Jesus just spoke about in the first story?

At this point my attention was diverted to the traffic around me, and I became frustrated with all the inconsiderate drivers on the road; especially those that affected my path.

I struggled to get back into my meditation after that. Then this scripture came to mind:

"Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, 'Lord, who is the one who betrays You?' So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, 'Lord, and what about this man?' Jesus said to him, 'If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!'" (John 21:20-22)

Just then, it was impressed upon me the relevance of these three scenarios. They have one thing in common; worrying about others. When I am consumed with the behavior of others around me, my Spiritual intimacy quickly dissipates and I become very self-absorbed.

Point made. I am humbled.

PJR

"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." (James 3:14-16)

Bread Of Life

Some time ago one morning, on my way to work and feeling weary after yet another sleepless night, I asked God to present an opportunity for me to shine His light at the job-site...to offer hope and encouragement to someone. I was trying to focus on His kingdom, rather than my dire circumstances which preoccupied my thoughts. Obviously, I was the one in need of His presence.

I had been struggling a lot lately. Despite trying not to worry and submitting my requests to God in order to receive the peace that surpasses all understanding; trying to focus on today because tomorrow has enough troubles of its own; casting my cares on Him because He cares for me; being still and knowing he is in control, etc., my frustration increased.

This particular month, my wall calendar contained a quote from Mahatma Gandhi. "There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread." Initially, this sounds very profound. But I have to realize this is the same man who, at best, heralded Jesus as merely another prophet. When people are hungry, and Jesus shows up, He is indeed the bread.

I wondered at the continued presence of frustration as I recited God's promises through my mind. I believe there are times when God actually sends a spirit of frustration to ensure we reach our rope's end. After all, real belief occurs when we begin to trust God regardless of our circumstances; beyond simply claiming His promises while striving to work out the situation ourselves.

When we're so deep into the darkness of our troubles, it can seem like a place of fatal hopelessness. But at just the right time, every now and then, God sends a comforting angel; sometimes in the form of someone we know, but have simply taken for granted. It was just a few days later, this cloud still hanging over my head, that someone I knew sneaked up behind me and gave me a big ol' heavenly hug...out of nowhere! Don't I know God just embraced me! I was so hungry...and He appeared to me in the form of bread I was needing.

The body of Christ brings the presence of Jesus when we need him the most. A burdened heart can glorify God even in the storm, to the credit of those who make themselves available to Him. My prayer is that you would make yourself more available to God, that He may cause you to show up in the form of manna for the hungry people in your life. Let's empty ourselves of ourselves and be led of Him, so that we can shine our light in the darkness; carrying hope to those who feel hopeless, and love to those who feel unloved; and perhaps, should the circumstance dictate, a loaf of bread.

PJR

"Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance."
(Psalm 78:23-25)