Many of us started our walk with God with set of rules to follow.  You do good and get good.  You do bad and get bad.  It was always a quest to reach out to God in and of our own ability to be accepted, embraced and rewarded.  But God Who is rich in mercy and abounding in love had a different plan.  Jesus came, Immanuel, God with us, so that we may have life in Him and have it more abundantly that can only be achieved by accepting His invitation to know Him personally.

Everyone without exception has been issued such invitation, but only those who believe and receive the Gift of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, will experience a glorious life that is beyond comprehension.  Following a set of rules without allowing our hearts to personally encounter Him no longer does the trick.  He gave us a new covenant, the new and living way of living our lives with better promises.

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”  (John 10:10 AMPC)

When Jesus came, the thief was bound and defeated ONCE AND FOR ALL at the Cross.  Jesus deprived it of its power to harm us and have conquered it for us.  He won it all for us.  But the real battle is in our minds.  Do we really believe in this GOOD NEWS, this “too good to be true news” that we can enter in boldly to His throne and be welcomed with arms wide open accepting and loving us lavishly?  When it is unearned, unmerited and undeserved, it somehow tilts our minds all because we have been so programmed to think that nothing can be achieved without effort.

We fight a good fight of faith but our fighting is to convince ourselves that what Jesus has done indeed is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.  The power of His Blood shed at the cross forgave our sin and all the wages that came with it.  The power of the stripes that He bore in His body healed ALL our sickness and diseases.  He was shamed beyond one could ever think of to pay for our shame.  He did it all so no amount of sin, sickness and shame can come between us and His presence.

As we continue to meditate His finished work day and night, every ray of light of His revealed word piercing in our hearts, He invites us to walk in it and experience it.  It is only when we encounter Him that no amount of opposition can talk us out of it, not even our own human intellect can defy it.  Our testimony remains no matter what other people think and say.  When we are fully persuaded Who He is in one encounter, mountains melt like wax and become ground zero before us.  Thus, it is His utmost desire for us to KNOW Him intimately.

I  read this story in a book that I just read and was so captivated by it.

“There’s a true story I love about a house party in one of the big English country houses.  Often after dinner at these parties people give recitations, sing, and use whatever talent they have to entertain the company.  One year a famous actor was among the guests.  When it came his turn to perform, he recited the Twenty-third Psalm.  His rendition was magnificent, and there was much applause.  At the end of the evening someone noticed a little old great aunt dozing in the corner.  She was urged to get up and recite something.  In her quavery old voice she started, “The Lord is my Shepherd … “.  When she had finished there were tears in many eyes.  Later, one of the guests approached the famous actor.  “You recited that psalm absolutely superbly.  It was incomparable.  So why were we so moved by that funny, little old lady?”  He replied, “I know the psalm.  SHE KNOWS THE SHEPHERD.”  (by Madeleine L’Engle)

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You, for lavishing us with so much of Yourself that You came to save, rescue and reconcile us back to Yourself so we can KNOW and continuously KNOW You.  Thank You, Jesus, that You joyfully submitted Yourself to the will of the Father just as so we can experience what it means to intimately walk with You all the days of our lives.  Truly You never desire for anyone to perish.  It is You Who even left the ninety-nine just as so the one lost sheep You can carry in Your arms back into Your kingdom.  Thank You, Holy Spirit, for unveiling our eyes to see beyond the letters of Your word and into the heart of Jesus Who is the Word Himself.  Amen!