“And then Jesus cried out once more, loudly, and then He breathed His last breath.  At that instant, the temple curtain was torn in half, from top to bottom. The earth shook; rocks split in two;  tombs burst open, and bodies of many sleeping holy women and men were raised up.” (Matthew 27:50-52 The Voice)

Our Heavenly Father desires relationship.  Mind you, Adam and Eve talked to and walked with God in the cool of the day.  But that divine connection got interrupted when they changed masters in the Garden of Eden.  You see, they did not just disobey what the Lord told them, but they, at the same time, chose to obey the serpent that eventually made them his slaves.

“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” (Romans 6:16 NLT)

But God Who is rich in mercy and abounding in love had His perfect redemptive solution even before the foundation of time.  He loves us too much for Him to leave man as a fallen being and had a glorious plan to restore His own, back to Himself, being seated in Christ at His right hand in the heavenly places where pleasures are forevermore.   How cool our Daddy God is?

The Way?  He sent His only beloved and begotten Son, Jesus Christ and only by His grace and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit can this be made possible.  Apart of these, there is no other way can a man be saved, sanctified and made worthy to be intimately reconciled with Him.  The irreversible and irrevocable restoration that was accomplished by the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross is The Only Way, The One Absolute Way!  No other way!  Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!

When Jesus cried out, breathed His last breath and gave up His Spirit, the veil was torn from top to bottom.  The outcome?  God made Himself and His throne available to those Who believe in Who Jesus is and what He has done.  More so, when He said “It is finished!”, the cleansing, the sanctification and the justification of men whom He called, chosen and sealed to be the temples of His Spirit took place.  Nothing can be more intimate than Him dwelling in us and us IN HIM, living and moving and having our very being IN HIM, walking and talking with HIM in the cool of the day.

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

One day I heard of the passing away of a friend.  She was someone whom I was not really close to.  Prior to her departure, I knew that she went through a series of treatments for her sickness and at that point in time, it was in my mind to visit her but it did not materialize.  The only thing that I kept thinking of, praying and hoping for was for her to be prayed over and ministered to.

The night before my scheduled day to go to the wake,  I had a dream.  She was in it and her face was so peaceful and joyful, and she had a dog with her.  I woke up then relieved and confident that she must have been prayed over.

At the wake, my friend’s 84 year old sister who lives in the US came to me. Her face was glowing brightly. She then casually started a conversation with me that powerfully stirred my heart.  She shared with me her awesome encounters with Jesus, most especially His way of communicating with her and what the Lord has called her to do.  Her testimonies were glorious that made my heart ache for more of HIM.

Sometimes, the Lord ordains our steps to meet people with wondrous divine encounters not to create “envy” in our hearts but to allow us to see what is available for us to partake that Jesus fully paid for and accomplished.  It postures our hearts to pursue and seek Him more, for He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).  Indeed, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).  Testimonies create a hunger and thirst in our hearts for the Lord to “do it again” in the lives of those who heard.

In the course of our conversation, I simply asked her if she had the chance to pray over her sister.  She responded, “Yes, I did.  I called her up on the phone.  Me and my prayer partners prayed over her.”  Praise the Lord!  Oh how He assures and shows us that our prayers are answered.

I came home that night encouraged and joyful.  Who would have thought that I would have a divine connection and an encounter that particular night.  Indeed, our steps are ordered by Him and they are to take us into the journey of discovering more of Him by the experiences of others.

Because I have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord that night, I was moved and is still being moved to pursue His presence, like a deer pants for streams of water.

I long to drink of you, O God,
drinking deeply from the streams of pleasure
flowing from your presence.
My longings overwhelm me for more of you! (Psalm 42:1 TPT)

I woke up the next morning and when I prayed, the Lord’s loving assurance overwhelmed me when He said, “At the cross, the veil was torn.  From then on, there is nothing and no one can separate you from Me.  I opened the door once and for all for you to come boldly into the secret place of My presence and commune with Me.”

Hmmmm … this only means one thing … that forever we will be temples of His Spirit dwelling in us.  Who can separate us from Him and His love?  The heavenly restoration was sealed by the Blood of Jesus and is guaranteed by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in us.

That same morning, I was thinking of my distorted bag handle.  I needed a twilly, a certain cloth twirled around the handle to cover the handle’s imperfection at the same time create a different decorative look.  I wanted a specific shade of brown twilly.  I messaged my friend who sells these and when she replied, she said, “I only have one left and the color is brown.”  She sent me a photo of it and the color was perfect!

Such was the first for the day when the Lord showed me how He really cares even the littlest thing that concerns us.  He reminded me and said, “I am with you always and I care for you always.”  Thank You, Jesus.

A few minutes later, I was looking for my black hair band for it was not in its usual place.  I just took a few steps in my bedroom and there it was on the floor, almost under the bed.

Such was the second for the day.  How He guides us with His eye.

I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you,
instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life.
I will advise you along the way
and lead you forth with My eyes as your guide.  (Psalm 32;8 TPT)

The third of that day was when I got out of the house and into the terrace at sunset.  There were clouds everywhere so I thought I wouldn’t be seeing any colors.  But when I turned towards the South, I surprisingly saw this beautiful orange cloud.

 And when I turned to the West, I saw this pink cotton-candy-like cloud.  I simply whispered under my breath, “Oh Lord, how much YOU showed how mindful YOU are of me today.   Thank YOU, Jesus!”

“What is a man that YOU are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that YOU care for him?” Psalm 8:4 AMPC

There are times when we just need to be still and allow HIM love us.  HE knows your deepest desires and HE always makes a way to show up and show off what HE’s got for us.

“Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and He will provide for you what you desire the most.” (Psalm 37:4 TPT)

It is God’s nature to speak and communicate with us continually, may it be by the glorious sunsets in the sky, a twilly needed for my bag, a gentle touch or a slight whisper in our hearts that will cause our mouths to sing praise to Him Who is worthy. He is the ever-residing Holy Spirit abiding in us forever Who assures us the reward of His presence when we seek Him and see Him in each moment of our lives.

Our joy and our strength are found each time we discover His presence and each time is a glorious reminder of what He has promised … “The veil was torn! Behold, He is with us always.”

🎼 You tore the veil, You made a way, When you said that IT IS DONE!  🎼

We are desired, shaped and created to walk intimately with Him along the paths that are uniquely cut out for each one of us. My friend’s powerful encounters are way too different from mine and may seem more powerful than mine, but the same God Who lives and walks with her is the same God Who lives and walks with me. Our divine encounters are designed according to our purposes and destinies.

We walk in the unforced rhythm of His grace made available to and for us, knowing that our hope and future are rooted in heaven, where no one can rob us of our unimagined divine encounters which are our above and beyond riches in glory of our inheritance in Christ!