The Experiential Love of the Father

How well do you know the love of the Father? I've been wondering that myself lately. As I've pondered this question I found myself in the book of Ephesians. I want to give you a little background to the city of Ephesus before I talk more on the Father's love. 

Ephesus was one of the major cities for commerce and travel in the ancient world. It was situated on the major roads and was a major port city as well. This city loved their entertainment and religious experiences. The Temple of Artemis stood as an epicenter for city life. It was a bank, a vault for special documents such as wills and a center of worship. People came to be healed, to worship and to sacrifice to Artemis. Male and female prostitutes were abundantly provided for the worshipers' pleasure. Statues and temples to other deities such as Nike and Aphrodite filled the streets. Merchants sold everything from exotic cloth and perfume to the meat of the animals sacrificed at the temples. Nearby stood the giant amphitheater used for everything from town meetings to plays and gladiatorial games. This was a people that loved an experience.

This background information sheds light on Ephesians 3:14-19. (I don't know about you but sometimes I have to reread a sentence several times before I can comprehend everything Paul tries to say. This is a really deep section and in typical fashion Paul said all this in one sentence.)

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

I want to focus on the phrase "to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge", particularly the words "know" and "knowledge." In Greek they are two related words but have slightly different meanings. The word we translate as "to know" means "to know something absolutely, to feel deeply and experience intimately." This word is also used as a Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse. The word "knowledge" means to understand something intellectually. 

Paul wanted the Ephesians "to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge." In other words, he wanted them to know by experience the love of Christ that went beyond an intellectual understanding. He wanted them to live the experience and to wear the evidence of that like an expensive perfume. This is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. 

The rest of this section tells us how this happens. Holy Spirit strengthens us with power so Christ can live in us through faith. He makes it possible for faith. Because Jesus lives in us we are rooted and grounded in love. This is the image of a tree. The deeper the roots, the stronger the tree. This means those lies and other bad roots and weeds need to be removed for the health of the tree. The more Holy Spirit strengthens us the more we can experience deeply and intimately the love of the Father that we cannot know on an intellectual level. What an amazing God and Father we have that He wants us to know beyond an intellectual level His love for us!

By converting to Christianity the Ephesians gave up a lot of what their city was known for. Their lifestyle had to change. Paul wanted the believers to know that even though they gave up a lot they gained so much more. Christian life is not boring. We get to experience God's love for us. To truly know something you need to have experienced it. God wants us to be experientially filled with God's love. He wants us to know it inside and out, to be so saturated in it that we, like a sponge, would ooze God's love when squeezed.  

A few questions I've been thinking about lately: What does God's love look like? What does it feel like? Is something standing in the way of you receiving more of His love? Where do you need to experience more of His love? 

Holiness Points

I mentioned yesterday that I came into my weekend with God with an agenda. One of the things I wanted to talk about with Him was my bad pattern of trying to rack up holiness points so I had something to point to in regards to my value and worth. I told God I did not want to be stuck in this anymore and asked what I needed to do to change this. 

He smiled and did that half-laugh thing. “I get to do things for you too. You aren’t the one who gets to change this. You do not need another thing you can point to and say ‘Look what I did. That deserves at least six holy points, right?’” This caught me off guard. I was not expecting that. I was expecting a five step action plan so I could resolve this. 

He reminded me of a couple verses in response to this: Zephaniah 3:15—"The LORD has taken away the judgments against you..." and Isaiah 40:1 (my paraphrase)— "Comfort, comfort my daughter. You are done paying for your sins. Your sin is forgiven."

Hillsong has this great line in their song Anchor—"you gave everything to gain the one you love". Woah. I had the song on repeat for a while but never paid that much attention to what I was singing. I am the one He loves. Jesus thought I was worth leaving heaven for. I was worth his living thirty-three years on Earth. I was worth it to endure betrayal and torture and murder. He wanted to take my place. He saw everything that would happen and still thought I was worth the exchange. I was worth ransoming. He came to trade places with me, not so I could be God, but so I could be with the Father.

So often I forget who the Father is. I come to Him with my list of sins and ask for a payment plan when Jesus already paid the bill. He's a Father not a bookie. I get to live in light of what's already been done for me. I can accept His love instead of trying to buy His love. Every sin was taken care of on the cross. Jesus paid the price for every single person's eternity. He could truly say "It is finished." That means nothing I do can trump the massive obedience of Christ. No sin out-weighs Jesus' redemption. I can stop trying to pay for it myself.

Action plans in the snow

This weekend I got to spend a lot of intentional time just me and God. I came into it with an agenda. I told God if we could do this, that would be great. Anything else you want to throw in is good too. He humored me for part of the weekend but surprised me with a lot more than I expected. 

I asked God how to steward well the different dreams He’s given me and it basically came down to “Just keep your eyes on me. You’re trying to tailor your encounters with me. Just be with me." Oof. 

Not knowing what else to do in that moment I decided to go for a walk. 

It was beautiful. It was lightly snowing and no one was around. I saw a few fallen trees suspended about ten feet in the air and I wanted to climb them. I went through all the reasons why I shouldn't but when I got closer I saw boot prints leaving the path. I was sold. I felt ridiculous trying to hop through the deep snow but because there were already big boot prints I made it to the tree. 

Now came the fun part. I knocked off the twelve inches of snow on the fallen tree, somehow climbed one of the supporting trees and discovered I could still mount a balance beam like I used to. I made it halfway across the tree, held my breath (no idea why) and jumped. 

Now I had no idea how deep the snow was or what was under it but it was so much fun throwing out the rules of how I thought I should act in this place of quiet and solitude. It is a lot of fun trying to run through the snow and face planting. 

So what is the point of this story? Lately God had become a work buddy, someone to dream and vision cast with. I had action plans and To Do lists post-it noted throughout my journal. I knew how to relate to Him as boss but not so much as daughter. I realized I liked keeping God in a box because He is not scary or someone to be afraid of when I can understand Him. It is scary to let go of my sense of control. 

All weekend I kept seeing these pictures of Jesus holding me. I did not know what to do with that. I had a checklist and Jesus had his arms wide open with that look on His face that says "Come on, you know you want to," daring me to jump on Him. Sometimes we just need to give in. Sometimes Jesus wants to snuggle with us and play in the snow instead of coming up with a plan. There is no such thing as wasted time when you're with Him. 

Throw Open Doors

Over the last few months several people have given me permission to go after the dreams in my heart. These people are not in the same circles so the fact that they said the same thing caught my attention even more. 

I was not sure what I should be doing over the next several months and years and was talking with my mentor about this. I wanted to follow God’s direction and did not want to mess it up. She told me to throw open a lot of doors and wait for God to close them.  See what God does. He'll either keep opening them, close some or tell me to wait on others. If they are all open, He may ask you to choose. What do you want to do?

One person asked me what I wanted to do vocationally. He told me to make a list of what I wanted in a job (and was reasonable in a job) then advised me not to settle for the next thing that came along. Hold out for something you will actually enjoy and can make a difference in. 

Another person pointed out 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NLT) —"May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do" (emphasis mine). What are those things you want to do? God does not always tell us what the next stop on the road trip is. I think He wants us to ask and give our opinion on what we want to do as well.   Do you trust God will back you on those dreams? If so, try it. We need to be wise in our decisions but do not use that as an excuse for fear. Bring along wise mentors and friends who will help you and pray with you in this.

All of this culminated in an incredibly freeing experience. It was like I was given permission to chase after those dreams. They could become reality. They are not meant to stay dreams. 

So I am giving you the same advise. 

Make a list of your gifts (spiritual and natural). What are you good at?Make another list of the things you want to do.What are the desires of your heart?  What do you want to do?  Then come up with a plan to do them. As you do this, you will begin to see where you need to grow and where you are already pursuing these areas. It is helpful to find people who are doing this and ask their advice. 

For example, my list of strengths: 

- Writing (or so I'd like to think).

- Teaching.

- Intercessory prayer.

My list of goals: 

- Have books published.

- Teach the Bible in its original context.

- See Europe transformed. Pick up where the Reformation failed.

What I'm doing to grow in these areas: 

- Blogging and writing chapters for my books.

- Teaching the Bible in my discipleship group.

- Looking into further schooling to get further training.

- Part of a prayer team where the leaders help train us up in these things.

- Made a list of questions for church planters about Europe and movements. Now I need to contact church planters to ask these questions. 

Jon Acuff is doing a 30 day challenge with goals (if you aren't following him on Facebook yet, you should. He's hilarious and his blogs are super helpful). Make a goal and then go after it. He suggests cutting your goal in half and adding twice the amount of time you want to accomplish it in. That is super helpful and incredibly challenging because I should be Superwoman, right? I should be able to accomplish great things in small amounts of time. No. I am not invincible. I remember talking about this with my Italy family on a bridge in Venice. The conclusion we came to is that I may not be Superwoman, but I am Wonderwoman. I am stronger than I think. I am capable to chase and achieve dreams because I have the Spirit of God in me who teaches me and directs me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and dreams are as well. 

Wait for the Lord

It is hard to wait for things as I am sure you well know. I cannot tell you how many times I burned my mouth because I did not wait for something delicious to cool. I know what will happen yet  I still bite into that hot, molten-chocolate brownie. There is something to be said for waiting. With brownies, it prevents burns. With God, waiting prevents burn out and misstep. Waiting and rest is a time of renewal and of strengthening and of realignment. 

God wants us to slow down and rest with Him. Isaiah 30 is a great example of this. Israel did not want to hear what God had to say so their 'unhearing' became like a hole in a dam. At any moment the dam would break and the pent up river would destroy the land. However, God promised to restore His people even then. "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength" (Isa 30:15). Even then, Israel did not want to listen. They tried to rely on their own strength. Instead of asking God to fix the dam they chose to run from its consequences. 

"Therefore, the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore, he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him... He will surly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the LORD give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it' when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left" (Isa 30:18, 19-22). 

Slow down and take time to rest with God. He renews our strength as we wait on Him and rest with Him (Isa 40:31). He does not shame us for asking direction and insight but loves talking with us (Isa 49:23). He loves the process. When we are still before the LORD and wait patiently for him, we can better see the desires of our heart (Ps 37). Rest with Him. Know His heartbeat. We do not need to try to run ahead of God's plan. You are not behind. He is right there with you. I do not care if you are eight or eighty, you are not washed up. God opens the way, and He can restore back the years you thought you lost.

Peace and Joy

Yesterday I talked about the words God speaks over us. Today I want to talk about the results. In the first post I mentioned Isaiah 55:10-11 says God's words will accomplish all He intends. Directly after this He tells the result of His words- joy and peace.

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Isaiah 55:12-13

In the Bible the thorn is a symbol of sin. Back in Genesis 3 Adam and Eve are living in perfect relationship with God, but then the two sin. God curses the ground and allows thorns to come into His perfect creation. God never intended to keep thorns in His creation though. He promised redemption and continued to remind His people He was bringing redemption.

God gives a picture to illustrate this. Instead of briars, there will be myrtle trees (flowering trees). 

Instead of thorns there will be cypress trees. Cypress trees are interesting because they easily adapt to the rise and fall of water levels. They can grow in up to four feet of water or on dry land. The roots spread out over forty feet and are predominantly in the top three feet of soil, though in times of drought they dig deep to find water. Unlike other trees, they do not rot in water and are more resistant to other forms of tree rot.

So what is God saying here? God is saying He will redeem the land that was taken over by briars and thorns (aka sin). He will redeem you. We can ask God for forgiveness for our sins and be forgiven. We can forgive others who have sinned against us. It is not worth holding onto the bitterness and hurt. I like how Eugene Peterson summarizes Matthew 11:28-30—

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

God's Words for us

Yesterday I talked about God's words for us. Today I want to talk about what those words are. These are just a few of the things God speaks over us. Take time to go through them. Look at the verses and their context. Let the words sink in. 

You are my precious child (Isa 43:3-5). 

You are always on my mind. "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me" (Psalm 139:17 - 139:18 NLT)

I am jealous for you. I want all of you. I don't want to share you with anything else (Ex 34:14, 1 Co 10:14-22). 

I want you. I have chosen you and not rejected you (Isa 41:9-10). 

You have a place on this earth (Isa 45:18). 

You have purpose and the ability to fulfill it (1 Co 1:4-9, 2 Pe 1:3-4). "The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable" (Ro 11:29). 

Nothing can separate you from my love (Ro 8:31-39). *Sin can affect our fellowship with God but as a true believer, sin cannot affect our standing with God. Once a child, always a child. God will always forgive us our sin when we ask (1 Jn 1:9; Isa 43:24-25, 57:18; Jer 33:8; Lk 11:4). 

You are my witnesses (Isa 43:10). A witness is someone who saw and experienced something. This means that as witnesses of God we get to experience and see God's goodness, His faithfulness, His love and all that He is. 

Ask God how He sees you. What does He love about you? Is He proud of you? It is okay to ask Him why too. Write down what He says. 

Tomorrow we'll talk about the effect of God's words. 

Rain and Snow

I do not know why but whenever water is involved, I love to be in it. I love walking in the light rains and love dancing in the torrential downpours. I like walking through the snow as it silences the world and covers it in blanket of white. Time slows down in those moments. One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 55:10-11. I could probably say that about most of Isaiah, but this one is particularly special to me.

 

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so small my word be that go out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

 

Rain and snow fall from the sky (I know, pretty obvious). The only time I have seen snow go back up toward the sky was when I stood over the grates near the subway stations in Toronto. We would throw snow down there because it kept blowing back up. But it never stayed up for long. It always came back down to the earth. Its job was to water the earth. The earth needs to soak in that moisture.

 

In the same way we need to soak in God’s words. The rain and snow were made to water the earth just as God’s words were made to water our hearts. I had trouble with this for a while. What happens when I do not hear God’s voice? I know that God always speaks. He is not silent (Isa 45:19, 48:16). He does not hide His words from us but wants us to know His heart. So what happens when I do not hear those words? God still speaks them over me. Even though I cannot hear His voice all the time, my spirit still soaks in His words. I may not see the evidence of it right away but that does not mean God is not speaking to me.

 

The more I spend time listening and quieting my heart and mind, the more time I allow my spirit to connect with God. Even when I feel I accomplish nothing during my time spent sitting with God, it is not unfruitful. God still speaks to my heart. It may just take a while for those words to work their way from the depths of my heart.

More on this tomorrow. 

 

The Art of the Face Plant

God has been reworking my perceptions lately. It is very challenging, to say the least. My idea of making a mistake and of calling sin sin is changing. It is hard to admit you are weaker than you want to believe. It is hard to see your Father's expectations of you are not nearly as hard to reach as your expectations of yourself. When it is not okay to make a mistake because that means you are a failure, or worse, there is no rest. It is tiring to try to work for approval, love and acceptance.

In dealing with the lie that I should be stronger (a lie which leaves no room for weakness or mistakes), I saw myself standing on my Daddy’s feet learning to walk. He goes slowly, engaging all the muscles needed to walk and eventually dance. He’s bent over, beaming, holding my hands to steady me as we go. Instead of walking across the room Himself, He takes much smaller steps, bringing me with Him.

Today I asked Him, “What do you expect of me right now?”

I then see myself standing, looking at my Father. I think about taking a step toward Him but instead face plant.

My first thought is Ow...

But then I am afraid to look up. He’s going to look at me with sadness and disappointment. I only thought about taking a step. I never actually did it.

I fearfully steal a glance away from the floorboards and as expected see tears in my Father’s eyes, except instead of sorrow I see joy and pride.

“Why?” I ask. “Why are you proud of me? I fell.”

He picks me up and holds me close. “I am proud of you because you are my daughter and you tried. That is all that matters. It is not about falling; it is about trying, even thinking about trying. I will always pick you up and hold you close. It is not about being stronger than your circumstance. You can be strong because your Daddy is strong and you are on my feet. But it’s not about that either. First and foremost you are my daughter. You were born a daughter. I only expect you to be a daughter.”