Skip to main content

Closer

Conference is coming up in about a month.  It surely will be a celebration of 10 years of a growing community.  We have so many reasons to give thanks to Father God who has been extremely good to us.  He has provided and given to each of us more extravagantly than any of us could have imagined. If you can stop and reflect for just one minute and consider the state of your current situation.  Did you ever believe that you would be serving or sitting at the table that you are at?

At times we loose sight of what to be thankful for; we forget how to draw closer and align our hearts with our Father's heart.  It's an opportune time to take this into consideration as we approach the SEALS 2014....Let us reflect on the words to the song Closer by Bethel Music and Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger....

Verse:
Your love has ravished my heart
And taken me over, taken me over
And all I want is to be
With You forever, with You forever

Chorus 1: 
Pull me a little closer 
Take me a little deeper 
I want to know Your heart 
I want to know Your heart 
Cause Your love is so much sweeter 
Than anything I’ve tasted 
I want to know Your heart 
I want to know Your heart

Bridge: 
Ooh, Ooh 
how great your love is for me 
Ooh, Ooh 
how great is your love

Chorus 2: 
Pull me a little closer 
Take me a little deeper 
I want to know Your heart 
I want to know Your heart 
Cause Your love is so much stronger 
Than anything I’ve faced and 
I want to know Your heart 
I want to know Your heart


What does this song mean?  How can we get closer to knowing and aligning our hearts with the Father? Does he ravish your heart?  What does HIs love look like to you?  What adjectives describe His love for you?  Is it strong, is it overwhelming, is it fading, is it heavy, is it fun, is it promising?  If anything, are we learning to remain in His love so that we can continually function in building His Kingdom?

 John 14 Jesus speaks about his relationship with his Father.  The purposes of his closeness and obedience to the Father has led him to the Father's house, under a shelter of His love everlasting.  And not only so, Jesus does it in this way so that the entire world could also experience Father's love.  It all begins with coming into the house of the Father in prayer.  Jesus also begins to give a description of a Helper, a portion of the Father's spirit that will descend upon the earth.  If you are able to get a chance, reflect on John 14 and the meaning of it all before you head into the next season, and reflect on why the Lord would ask us to remain in HIs love, remain in His house, and to believe in His name.  
"Whatever you ask in my name,
this I will do, that the Father may be glorify in the Son. 
John 14:13

"Whoever has my commandments and keeps them,
he it is who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, 
and I will love him and manifest myself to him."  
John 14:21 

"but I do as the Father has commanded me, 
so that the world may know that I love the Father.  
Rise, let us go from here."  
John 14: 31 

 As we draw closer to the Father, we would know our assignments and participate at our best as agents of the Kingdom and executing the prophecies that the Son would be glorified.  We grow more interaction with the Holy Spirit, to know GOD's LOVE and let that love be manifested through us: to heal, to pray, to baptize in the name of Jesus, to walk, to serve, to minister, to teach....We would also see how our Father's covenant relationship still hovers like a banner over the world.  

 All these things are for the world, that they would know that Jesus' works were an expression of how He loves the Father.  Through mankind we do the same, we point out to the world how we love the Father.  And in that, how close can we get to the heart of the Father?  Can we have a better taste of His love, know the strength of His love, and the mercy and grace that flows from HIs love.  

 What posture do you have in remaining under his umbrella of love?   As we approach the next season and for those attending conference may this be our prayer to our Father:  to draw closer, to be able to have an expression of yearning for the Father's heart, Father's breath, Father's touch, Father's movement.  

 Be blessed and know that there are people praying for you as you continue on your journey and servanthood for the glory of Father's Kingdom!

 Blessings!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Words

SEALS 2012 was.... generated by Wordle.net For all who attended SEALS 2012, and to the ones that were not able to attend.  These are the words that influence us today as we have departed one another.  With these words we become a living testimony by Truth Is, and by Spoken Word. For those who have returned home to an avalanche of reality, be courageous.  Our fear is not about our doubt, its about our futility, the feeling of being useless or ineffective.  It's healthy to be doubtful, sad, mournful, heavy-hearted, in pain, broken, stressed; these are feelings that the Father created, emotions that He also feels. He also created compassion, joy, empathy, redemption, surrender so that we would rely on Him as a source. This words collaged above represent how attendees felt leaving SEALS 2012.  Be empowered by these words.  May our words continually be edified and may we continue to be bold in our ministries "Be strong and courageous.  Do no...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Leader Who Had No Title

It's called the LWT, its short for Leader Without a Title.  I think many of us can relate to this.  Often we think to ourselves in our cultural context of being Southeast Asian Americans who function under a cultural constraints, context, "ministry", and or occupation as stuck?  Hurt?   Plateaued, mediocre, with lack of focus, limited??  Some might even still be struggling with self worth and value in their capabilities.  We are approaching SEALS 2014, in a 2 weeks and it is a leadership summit right.  Here is some food for thought: How does this take us to depend on God's love?  How do we REMAIN in him with this though of disintegrating our negative thoughts and behaviors, our past..... The more thought put into choosing to disintegrating negative thoughts, behaviors, and past experiences leads us to consider what it means to deny yourself to take up the cross DAILY, what does being created in His likeness really mean, and how can we funct...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Prayer, Is Prayer.

This prayer journal entry is inspired by teachers, by ministry leaders, and missionaries. -I've heard a few stories that I was just not okay with recently.  It was enough for me to re-evaluate how IS prayer playing a role in my life to be intentional for the people that I see, hear, spend quality time with, serve with, and respond to.  -One was from a teacher in my small group, "  I don't like to think about the current events happening around the nation about guns occurring at schools because I never thought that I was working in an career where I would be putting my life on the line."  It was her way of saying I can go to work because I don't think too much into the fact that I am putting my life on the line.  She was saying if I think about it too much, I wouldn't be a teacher. Then recently I saw a post on my FB wall about a teacher friend of mine where a student brought a gun onto campus. -I saw am seeing more activism for women in ministry, I am ...
Post a Comment
Read more