Independence!

Before I turned off the light last night I re-read a paragraph or two from the book “Signs, Wonders and a Baptist Preacher” by Chad Norris.  The last line or two stuck in my head and revolved in my thoughts and dreams throughout the night.  It read: “As we get to know our Father in the way that Jesus talked about, the supernatural becomes more natural.  It is not about chasing the supernatural; it is about chasing the One who holds the supernatural in His hands.” (p104)

This is an activity that I have had firsthand experience with over the years and a lesson that has been dear to my heart as we have faced the different stages of our journey with the battle of my wife’s health.  It is an intimate reality that I have had to come to personal grips and understanding with.  We have seen those who sought the power of God so strongly that to me, they lost the sensitivity and touch of the love of God that Christ demonstrated in His earth walk.  I guess that’s why I talk about the love of Christ so much in this blog.

I have come to understand that the love of Christ overshadowed and empowered everything that Jesus lived and vividly demonstrated in the four gospels.  Paul understood this truth as he prayed for the early church that they would “know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge… so that you may be completely filled with God.” (Ephesians 3:19 God’s Word ©)  Walking in the intimate experiential love of Christ is that door that we’ve been talking about all week, that opens the way to go in and out with your daily activities and have them successfully accomplished as they are filled with the fullness of God!

As we in the United States remember and celebrate the independence of our country from the oppressive rule of another nation, let us also remember and celebrate the independence that Jesus has provided for us from the oppressive rule of the enemy of our souls.  But as you celebrate and live your freedom today, remember that without His love, we can quickly fall back into the same repressive state that we lived in before.

It is His sensitivity and love abiding and actively working in and through us that makes us truly free!  It is the one commodity that separates us and places us above and beyond the boundaries of the “any knowledge” of the world.  So Happy Birthday America and Happy Birthday to each of you who walk in His love!  Have a great holiday weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom are you expecting today?”