The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx–Delos McKown
Ever have one of those days when having a pocket spray that you could 
whip out and give yourself a quick God-pick-me-upper would come in handy?
Look no further!
Everyone needs an easily attainable faith in God*. No fuss, no struggle, psssst, psssst and presto! you believe in God and have access to all the benefits.
Even better, not only can you instantly believe in God with a single faith-enhancing spray, but it’s peppermint flavored to boot!
Wow! What will they think of next!
*This product is real but has not been approved by the FDA. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. This spray is a potentially dangerous weapon. Do not administer to individuals against their will. Forced religious conversions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Kiss me—full on the mouth!
Yes! For your love is better than wine,
headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
No wonder everyone loves to say your name!
Wow! That’s almost embarrassing.
Imagine stumbling on two lovers fully consumed with the presence of the other. You’d feel like you’d broken into a divine moment meant only for them, but you’d withdraw with a sense of envy of such intense emotion.
That’s what worship is. Song of Solomon or Song of Songs, Shir Hash-shirim in Hebrew, serves double duty, describing the intimacy between a man and a woman, but, also between God and his love — us.
Worship is an attitude of the heart; the heart bows down before the Lord. There is no one else present, even in a room with thousands; there are no other thoughts on your mind; you have no petitions; you haven’t come for healing… you’ve come in and for love.
Worship is a time of love.
It sounds so trite. It was beyond me for so long.
…now I long for it insatiably.
Posted in God, Holy Spirit, Jesus
Worship is the vehicle that carries you into the heavenly realms.
Praise doesn’t do that. It isn’t the end, it is the beginning, the “process” of entering in.
One way to describe the difference is to use Palm Sunday when Jesus came to town. Had I been there, before he came, but knowing he was coming, I’d be shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord” dancing and being generally festive. I’d be taking off my jacket and laying it on the road, ripping palm branches off and making a carpet for Messiah to pass over. Laughing, crying, happy, the expectation of Messiah coming would create an atmosphere not unlike that of a child waiting on Christmas morning… exhilarating expectation.
As a cry went up that he was coming, the activity would have intensified, rising towards a powerful crescendo. The awareness of his nearness would have been almost palpitable. Then he entered into sight and oh! the cry that would have gone up.
As he came nearer and nearer, soon the colt would have been in front of me. As he stopped, looked at me and said “I love you,” my response of “I love you” would have changed all my activity. No longer dancing and singing, I would be prostrate before him, tears streaming down my face, proclaiming him my Lord and God. The crowd is still around me, still shouting “Hosanna!” but I’m oblivious to them. The only thing I see is him. No one has to tell me he is Lord.
Praise is the prelude to worship. Worship is moving into the state of being in the presence of the Almighty.
Praise… until the spirit of worship comes.
Worship… until the glory comes.
Then… stand in the glory!
–Ruth Ward Heflin, Glory: Experiencing the Atmosphere of Heaven
Posted in God, Holy Spirit, Jesus
Some folks are connoisseurs of fine wine. Some have developed exquisite tastes in fine cuisine. Still others are aficionados of art or music.
I’ve discovered that I’m enchanted and enthralled by worship.
I don’t mean “going to church,” singing contemporary “worship” songs or any other tinny imitations that are passed off as some sort of glorious manifestation of awe of the Almighty. I’m not referencing fancy musical productions, rock bands blaring their love of Jesus nor timeless hymns purveyed by 100 piece orchestras.
It was reported to King David that God had prospered Obed-Edom and his entire household because of the Chest of God. So David thought, “I’ll get that blessing for myself,” and went and brought up the Chest of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David, celebrating extravagantly all the way, with frequent sacrifices of choice bulls. David, ceremonially dressed in priest’s linen, danced with great abandon before God. The whole country was with him as he accompanied the Chest of God with shouts and trumpet blasts. —Samuel
Wild abandon, grabbing the blessing, extravagantly. Have you ever experienced that? Seriously?
Once you do, there’s no turning back.
David put it this way:
Oh yes, I’ll dance to God‘s glory—more recklessly even than this. And as far as I’m concerned…I’ll gladly look like a fool. —Samuel
Posted in God, Holy Spirit, Jesus
Do you know the difference between anticipation and expectation?
I am anticipating my upcoming trip to Brazil (in one week, in fact) but I am expecting exciting things to happen. They are not the same, though they can be similar.
Last night, I experienced expectancy; expectancy that things are going to happen, to me, in the heavenly realms. I’ve held an anticipation for a long time and have seen it increase in more recent times. But I’ve never experienced this sense of expecting it to happen, a knowing that it is present and simply waiting for me to call it into reality.
I’m not psycho-babbling, though I’m probably not being clear; I probably shouldn’t be posting because I’m still struggling to wrap my mind around what has, and is, occurring.
I can easily say that the ol’ mind isn’t functioning as sharp as it should be; I didn’t get back to my hotel room until close to 1:00 a.m. and I’m now up after a few hours sleep trying to gather my stuff so I can leave. But that isn’t my problem.
I’ve been exposed to, and taken to, what Paul calls the “heavenly realm.” And it is that which is giving me the difficulty in expressing what I’ve experienced.
No trance, no vision, no being whisked away the the third heavens. Rather, I’ve been quite simply, and elegantly, pushed through the curtain and been allowed to take a look at what is actually behind it.
I know most of you won’t watch this, but these give a visual of what I’m trying to explain about expectancy. There are four in this piece, but you can watch any one and get a sense of what it’s about; if you only want to watch a small piece, simply watch the first minute and a half of the fourth video:
Yeah, I’ll be posting more.
Anyone up to giving me a definition of what “God is love” means?
Please, no clichés.
Posted in God
If there really is a God and the Bible really is his written word for us, are you ready to go where that would take you?
Most folks really aren’t.
If just the Jesus thing is true, everything you hold dear, everything you perceive as real, everything that is important in your life would change. There would be no other option.
Seriously.
Assuming its true, He’s God. He offers you a life that is radically different; he offers you the opportunity to live forever; he offers you the ability to live to the fullest imaginable extent, IF you buy into his presentation, assuming he really is who he says he is.
I don’t want to set up a straw man, I’m just asking, what if…
This God thing is really just a farce, isn’t it?
I mean, seriously. Do we really believe all this stuff about a God so big that he really cares about us? Isn’t that illogical. If he really did exist in the way that the Bible says he does, why in the world would he ever want to be involved in the triviality that composes my life?
Funny thing is, we really want to believe that it is true. It’s almost like we’ve been hardwired in some way to think crazy thoughts like that. But something just doesn’t jive. As Francis Chan states it, “we all know something is wrong.”
What if… what if it is true?
I mean really true. Not true like many people who claim to believe it, go to church and struggle not to cuss. Not true like the hypocritical TV evangelists who pump the gospel like Billy Mays used to pump OxyClean. Not true like the lie that if you believe in this so-called “God” that you’ll live happily. Not true like the closed door policy of so many churches…
I mean really true.
Then what do you do?
AI: Religion AlphaInventions AI Feed Cycle
ru·mi·na·tions 