Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Oh, the good old younger days- when life was so much simpler and nothing was all that big of a deal- except for when someone: violated your side of the bed, took your toy, changed the channel, said something personally offensive, refused to give you what you had wanted for so long or do something your way, failed to notice and comment on your new stuff, etc. Then, boy howdy, it was time for the storm and battle of the day, with wailing, flailing, accusing, refusing, and general all out severing of relationship in the name of personal right and gratification.

It was time for this — unless— the participants in this interchange had experienced the uncompromising consequences for this kind of response from that aging ‘loved one’ wielding a reason for not acting in that way, you know, something that would actually leave a mark. Then, amazing as it may seem, those actions, reactions and attitudes that just couldn’t be controlled before were replaced with lowered volumes and even embraces (although possibly forced). This would all come by the mere realization that the ‘feared’ ones were able to hear and respond with something that demanded attention much more than merely gratifying the demands of a damaged ego.

While physical and material consequences were initially necessary for these attitude adjustments, as time passed in relationship with parents, love, honor, and respect for them personally became the adjusting element. To violate their trust and do something opposed to their principles would damage this relationship and this was feared much more than failing to get your own way.

(Ok, I know this might just be the way it should have been, not necessarily the way it was all the timeJ )

I love this passage from Ephesians making it clear that fearing and reverencing God isn’t something that takes place alone in the prayer closet. Where true honor, respect, value, and fear of our Redeemer is best represented is in giving up those childish demands of the flesh (that often persist way into adulthood) and actually submitting one to another. Reverence of Him is directly reflected in our human interaction. Where He is acknowledged as being in the room, there is a heightened awareness of his thoughts regarding our actions and where He is truly feared, adjustments will be made with love actions and words replacing those ‘natural’ responses.

It may be that certain things will not go well and there may be consequences that leave a mark on our life when self is elevated above others, but there is a much a greater influence on our attitudes and actions in a heart that is passionate about continual worship of the Holy One. Pleasing Him and demonstrating knowledge of His nature and His love is much more important than raising a ruckus about something done to us. The way those ‘old younger days’ were supposed to be, you know, where nothing was all that big of a deal, can be the here and now in the awareness of His presence that disallows any consideration of a suffered wrong. His love is most amazing when discovered and displayed in those who have claimed their life to be in Him. In sweet submission to that one we can see there is the greatest proclamation of a faith in the One we cannot see.

Galatians 3:24-26 KJV  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  (25)  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.  (26)  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Now, this was completely different. Instead of everything being determined by conduct and test scores according to the strict guidelines of the school administration, there was apparently nothing you could do here to lose favor and that warm embrace.

The many years spent at the boarding school had engrained within them the need for everything to be in place and every task to be completed before there could be acceptance. It seemed that the smallest failure could disqualify and sometimes the punishment would even be isolation where the violator would have to spend extended periods of time alone. While there was definitely an adjustment of behaviors and the forming of acceptable conduct, there was also a great deal of focus upon the importance of perfection as it related to relationship. Though there may have been a strong desire to please the schoolmaster and interact in relationship, there was this continual hovering threat of wrath, loss of privileges and even separation. Periods of success may have brought relief and moments of acceptance, but that feeling was so precarious as being right was obviously much more important than being near. Any relationship that might be developed was subject to removal based upon the ability to perform in a satisfactory manner. The uniforms were the same, the smiles were according to order, the seating was in line with latest test results, and the invitations to the social activities and clubs were determined by approved behaviors. Any relationship and its functions was directly related to performance and conduct, so that this became the means by which others were also accepted or rejected. If everything was acceptable, then smiles, embraces, and service were gladly given. As soon as there was something to deal with in the relationship, however, it was time to seek out a more acceptable prospect, one that might more readily fit within those all important guidelines.

So, this was quite an adjustment to find themselves in this home rather than classroom and in this family rather than in a competition as a numbered participant. It wasn’t that you could just act however you wanted, but somehow there was never the threat of separation or banishment for a simple failure. Here, there is a sense that, no matter how much you mess up, you still have a place at the table. The only time you aren’t at the table is when you choose not to be. Arms are always ready to embrace and words of affirmation and encouragement are continually spoken. There are expected behaviors, but favor and love is always extended without the constant threat of rejection. The only difficulty now with this adjustment?- learning to do the same, and not base relationships upon behavior and compliance, but unending family identity.

We’re all in the same house now. We were once school children in a place where performance determined acceptance. In Christ, though, we’re all now children of a Father who is eternally committed to our favor and embrace way beyond our perfection or the lack thereof. The challenge?- doing the same.

1 John 1:5 And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (ASV)

The enemy has a real problem. We are incapable of defeat, we are more-than-overcomers and we are carriers of the very glory of God. So, what’s he going to do in order to get to us and disable our power? Well, one of his favorite strategies is called, “divide and conquer”, where he comes at his impossible task one segment at a time. If he can just separate us from each other and from the source of our strength, the reality of our invincibility will be completely undermined and he will walk away with spoils that should never have been accessible.

This strategy is one that was used by Hitler so successfully in World War 2 as he separated individual countries from their allies, leaving them vulnerable to his blitzkrieg, where he would invade lightning fast before they had an opportunity to unite against him. Then, when an opposing country did present a resistance, he would use their own captured and wounded soldiers as a diversion from their ability to effectively resist him. (“Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer : Frank Capra : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive,” n.d.) As they were occupied with the ‘important’ duties of doing what seemed necessary to them, they were separated from their greater purpose of resisting their enemy. They became scattered and very defeat able.

This strategy is also one that is used in problem solving. By focusing on individual parts of the problem, it is reduced to many disjointed and easily dealt with entities that become completely trivial and insignificant on their own. They don’t really even have to be acknowledged once they are separated, because they are no longer able to resist or advance in the least. (“divide and conquer,” n.d.) The whole elephant becomes eaten as one bite at a time is cut away from the whole.

So, our only really hope is quite opposite of what we tend to do, separate from each other over the most trivial things. He’ll even make it look like something really significant, you know, like caring for the captured and the wounded. As soon as he can get us to say to our Lord and those He’s called us into fellowship with, “Just go on ahead while I take care of this more important matter”, we’ve been cut into a very eatable segment, and we’ve weakened the rest of the body in the process. It’s interesting that Jesus challenged some of the most seemingly justifiable causes like that of family. He said that being with Him and His cause would have to come before even their father and mother and son and daughter. (Matthew 10:37)

It’s interesting that the defining evidence of truly walking in fellowship with our Father as indicated in 1 John 1:5 isn’t our personal relationship with Him that causes us to glow on our own. Our walk with Him always takes us directly to each other where we are provided with strength against the enemy’s ‘sin-attacks’. As soon as we feel that what we have individually is more important than whatever is going on at the Master’s side in the fold with all the others, we’ve become the sheep that has to be sought after for going astray. Our Shepherd will leave the 99 to go after us, but it’s interesting that He has confidence in leaving the many that are together to go searching for the one. They will be so much stronger than the one separated and on his own. The pride that divides is the means by which the unstoppable force of God’s love is cut into trivial and insignificant segments that don’t really even have to be addressed by the enemy any more. They’ll be consumed on their own.

But, if we are truly walking in the light of His presence, our hearts can’t help but be drawn to the gathering around His. We are made to be a body, where all those other dividing elements in life are given up to follow the Lord in His quest for unity and invincibility. United we stand. Divided we fall. (both personally and corporately)

Matt 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. (KJV)

References

divide and conquer. (n.d.). . Retrieved August 19, 2010, from http://www.itl.nist.gov/div897/sqg/dads  /HTML/divideAndConquer.html

Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer : Frank Capra : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). . Retrieved August 19, 2010, from http://www.archive.org/details/DivideAndConquer

Heb 11:39 And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise, 40 God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

That’s pretty cool. We get to be on the same team as all those Bible-mentioned heroes. It’s our moves that are a direct completion of their perfection. Whenever we set our gaze upon a higher place and make the appropriate choice from a heart of worship, we confirming and affirming the choices they made thousands of years ago, sort of like blocking, setting a pick, or passing the ball.

We had this guy in high school that was a great athlete all four years, but specifically his senior year was honored as the athlete of the year for all of Colorado. Because of his incredible athleticism we were able to win the state championship that year in football and he also went on to win state wrestling and track titles. For him it must have been such an incredible thrill and honor to reach those pinnacles of achievement. When I think back, however, on all that seemed to make him the perfect athlete, both mentally and physically, I think of all those other team members that got to be in more than just the team picture. For every time he ran the ball there was a block made that determined how successful that run would be. Every scrub team member that provided a workout environment for him to sharpen his skills was essential the perfection he portrayed. Many days of outstanding toughness and perseverance were required by him to rise above all other athletes in the sate, but probably many years of devotion and dedication were actually a necessary contribution by those who would never have their name mentioned in any headline.

So our showing up on the practice field, running the drills, and completing the course before us is more than just our little insignificant personal encounter with the Creator of the Universe. It is a movement of faith that completes those movements made even thousands of years ago by those who never got to see just how incredible their perfection would be through us. The connection of God’s team or His body is one that transcends the constraints of eras and life spans to form the image of a completed purpose in Christ. So every holding fast to a confession, every act of service, and every sacrifice of praise is for much more than just the moment and a possible feeling of personal ascendance. There is someone, either past or present whose own walk of faith is dependent upon that step we will make.

While the bonding together in faith with those greats from long ago is so very empowering, encouraging, and inspiring, it is this same bonding that is meant to enable our own perfection and that of those other body members around us from day to day. If a prize is to be attained, if a goal is to be reached, there is a block that needs to be made, a practice dummy held and a drink provided. We are on a quest towards a mark of a higher calling that requires the contribution made by those other members who are equally dependant upon us. We are part of something much greater than our own personal journey, and much of the progress we will make personally is in need of another’s involvement.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Psalms 22:1-3 (KJV)
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
Psalms 22:25-26 (KJV)

Kim and I recently attended a ministry time for pastors at an established and effectively producing church. We got there a little early and had the opportunity to be a part of a prayer time and meet the senior pastor of the church. What made this event particularly significant for me was that several things had occurred on the way to the event that directly challenged our resolve to go on. Because of some very personal and devastating attacks, we were greatly tempted to just turn around and forget the whole thing. There was reason to question the validity of our most precious possession as threats to His presence became magnified, causing a feeling of great solitude and separation. Even with these things heavy upon our minds and hearts, however, we determined to go ahead and make our way to the gathering.

It was the question from the pastor upon our initial greeting that awoke something inside and brought an opening for light once again. He asked us how we were doing. Now, for us at that particular moment, there was a battle of thoughts to determine exactly what a truthful response should be. Right at the front of the mind was a long list of reasons for despair and discouragement, which should have honestly rendered a sorrowful and negative response. Confronted by this question, though, there was this shifting of the mind from those things to the favor side of our circumstances. The question from a brother in Christ brought a return to the answer and provision side of our circumstances. Though we would go on to relate some of our most challenging considerations, there were words of encouragement from him (and from us) that elevated the ever-present solution in Christ above the isolating effect of the fearful thoughts.

We would go on to gain much valuable information from the sessions that would follow, but in that gathering there was something else that took place even though there wasn’t a single song sung or note played- worship. The name of the Lord was raised and His presence was acknowledged above the dominance of circumstances. This was something that took place as a direct result of our coming together with other believers, where we were compelled to abandon the lonely place for the warmth of His loving favor. We weren’t just being hypocrites that were pretending something around others that wasn’t real somewhere else. We were letting what was real in the congregation affect the illusion of defeat the enemy was using to take our victory and make our God seem far away. Together with others He was seen as near once again.

Alone and apart from the body, there will be great opportunities to abandon the vows, to give up on the commitments, and to lose sight of the One who has done so much to be right there next to us and before us. But, in the congregation of those who fear Him, there will be an opportunity for humility to rise with the lifted praise and for the light of His presence to remove the darkness, revealing the good that was there all along. Something that might not have been possible alone will become inevitable in the sanctuary as the song of despair is transformed into the song of triumph and victory.

Psalms 107:31-32 KJV Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! (32) Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

How sweet and how wonderful is the place of intimacy that is our personal refuge in the presence of the Lord. Moses must have valued so highly His moments of personal exposure to the glory of God. The burning bush, the mountain encounter, and each personal communication from Almighty God surely made him to feel the need to pursue this relationship to the exclusion of all others. As precious as each of those moments was for Moses, however, there was a purpose in them that went beyond the personal one on one to how that encounter would affect the people. Moses’ relationship with God found its greatest significance when he took it to the congregation, when what He experienced alone with God was made to impact a nation and a world. His solitude with God, while necessary for personal revelation, was in need of people encounters for its continuance. He understood this so much so that when God was ready to destroy the people for their sinning, Moses spoke passionately about their preservation as if it were necessary for his own. His purpose in God had become directly connected to his purpose in the congregation.

David also seemed to have an understanding that his personal relationship was in need of those times in the congregation. Although he was able to acknowledge the involvement of God from the magnitude of creation to each personal conflict, it was those moments in the congregation that brought gladness to his heart and a joyous response. Though he lived one of the greatest examples of personal nearness to God, his fulfilled purpose was always found in the congregation, honoring, together with others, the faithfulness of His God.

There is a great need for the early morning encounters, even those moments before sleep is completely over. The times alone with God in His Word are essential for a life that will represent Him in holiness and wisdom. For every personal moment of intimacy with God, however, there is a congregational purpose. The heart of the Father is in continual pursuit of all those He’s created, and any pursuit of Him will lead to the place where they gather. For anyone determined to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, there will be a mentor in David, the one whose heart was after God. To follow him would mean a frequent arrival in the congregation where His God was magnified in a way his personal encounters could not replace.

There is a transforming encounter with an incredible God for today. It’s in the secret place where we are preserved, protected, and provided for by the Most High. For every personal exposure to His face and His glory, though, there is a time in the congregation where together with others and their proclaimed victories, Jesus name will be magnified once again. The personal is so precious, but the congregation gives it a purpose of eternal proportions it will never know on its own.

Psalms 111:1 KJV Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

Psalms 149:1 KJV Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

Joshua 22:34 KJV  And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.

Now here’s a name I can pronounce rather safely- I think. Not only did this altar have a nice, short, easy-to-remember name, but there was also a very unique and significant purpose for its existence. While sacrifices would be made upon it, the real reason for its construction as a ‘great altar to see to’ (verse 10) was to witness between them and their brother tribes on the other side of the Jordan, that their God was the same God and their true worship was the same as that presented in the central tabernacle. Rather than allowing the geographic separation to create an independence and rebellion from their people and their God, they purposed to erect an altar that would continually remind and witness to the fact that they were a part of something much greater and more significant than the portion of land they were given as an inheritance. How precious was this affirmation of loyalty and commitment to a cause much bigger than any they could have had on their own? How much of a relief and encouragement it must have been to the leadership of Israel to discover that their fears of a turning away were unfounded. Though God was the God of each tribe itself, there was a need for dependence and unity among all of the tribes for their ultimate strength and purpose to be realized.

There is most certainly the need for an altar in each home where a decision has been made to follow the Lord. Upon this altar should be lifted sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving from hearts that have been offered completely to the God of our worship. There is, though, a greater purpose for this altar. Rather than forming an independence and separation from the body of Christ and a commitment to the worship that takes place in the congregation, this altar should be given the same purpose as the altar called ‘Ed’. It should be a witness to something that is of much greater importance than any personal isolation could ever be. While there may be a proximity issue or time restraints that make it necessary from time to time to miss a gathering in the ‘tabernacle’, any worship that is offered at the altar in the portion of the promised land we’ve been given to occupy, should be a witness between that family and the larger ‘family’ of God. Instead of turning away from the source of strength that is the design and heart of the God we worship, there should be a continual reminder in every occurrence of worship that there is a dependence and requirement of only that which the greater body provides. While Jesus has become a very personal and individual Redeemer and Lord, His heart and His prayer are for unity and the strength that can only be found where another part is supplying any lack in you, while your part is supplying the lack in another. Though independence and separation may seem to be freedom and the ability to escape the constraints of organizational worship, there is something very dangerous in this isolation that can turn the purpose of this potentially great altar into a rebellion against God’s own direction and purpose. The children of Israel actually thought this is what was taking place initially with the children of Gad and Reuben and determined to go to war to prevent it from happening.

May there not be missed in the precious moments of worship that should occupy our every day, the opportunity to witness that our altar is a continually dependent extension of something much more significant in the collective body of Christ. Beginning with the local congregation where corporate sacrifices of praise and worship are lifted, there will be much strength gained and much strength given as there is a continual looking to the Author and the Finisher of our faith and His body. May our personal altar be called ‘Ed’ and given a much greater purpose of witnessing- should be pretty easy to remember.

Hebrews 10:24-25 KJV  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  (25)  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

…ye all are partakers with me of grace.
Phil 1:7 (ASV)

While Paul was the star, the one with the great revelation, and the leader of major think tanks of the early church, there was an understanding that went with him wherever he went, that everything he gained, everything he experienced in the way of grace was not his alone, but directly shared by those who had become a part of his heart. For him to have ‘ascended’ somewhere off by himself would have had much less of an effect both for him and all of us who were and are in such need of what he had to share. He seemed to display this incredible drive to press ever closer to his place by the Father with a purpose of taking as many others there with him.

I was fortunate in high school to play on a state championship football team. There were several elements that enabled us to make it all the way through the season to ultimately triumph in the final game, but there was one individual that really made the difference, that we could not have won without. He was a great all around athlete also dominating in wrestling and track to be chosen as the athlete of the year for the state of Colorado. Because he carried the ball, blocked and dominated on defense we were able to defy size differences and persistent odds. There was something else about him, though, that made victory possible for us as a team. He had an understanding that winning as a football player was not something that could be done on his own, that every personal victory was completely dependent on and shared with each and every other member of the team. I as his backup running back didn’t start but one of the games and definitely wasn’t even noticed beside him, but yet I could claim the same championship status as he, and in actuality, the part I did have to contribute was key to the success he enjoyed.

There is a necessity in the pursuit of the kingdom for there to be an understanding that this is a shared pursuit, that any progress made will be dependent on and shared with those other members of the body we’ve been fortunate enough to encounter. While there may be personal revelations and individual spiritual discoveries, their ultimate impact and significance in the larger kingdom game will have much to do with how they are shared rather than horded. In fact their sharing is what they were really intended for. Also, the contributions of each member or player, is just as significant as any noticed ones with the success and effectiveness of any leadership totally dependent upon the participation of each one who will put on a uniform, go to practice and show up for the game. Each one of us as we partake of the grace that is ours in Christ is doing so together with a body that we need and is in need of our part.

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Eph 4:16 (KJV)

Genesis 5:24 KJV
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Just going for a walk?. Well there’s not really anything ‘just’ about going for a walk. When you go for a walk, and especially on a regular basis, you are about to experience a long list of health benefits that will transform and possibly save your life. Circulation and blood flow are given what they need in the action of walking, while breathing, state of mind, sugar levels, and weight are conditioned and maintained at healthy levels. To take a walk provides a great opportunity for adventure and the nurturing of relationships. Apart from the reclining life of one who is never bound for anywhere, the one who is taking the walk is experiencing so much more of what life has to offer. On a walk is where more than just thoughts and words are manifest, but the actual  motion towards a destination and hope.

While there is detailed mention of how long men lived and who they begat in the Old Testament, it’s interesting that uniquely in the description of Enoch is a reference to walking with God. There was something in walking that completely set him apart from all the other honorable mentions of Bible genealogy. He didn’t just know something about God, accumulated through written and spoken understanding. He didn’t just extend praise and worship in the sanctuary along with a full sanctuary of others. His relationship with God wasn’t confined to the discovery of what good could be personally gained from this association. There was a humility in Enoch and his relationship with God that enabled him to, with regularity, ‘just’ go for a walk with Him. Rather than moving through his life with a sense of independence and self-indulgence, by including God in every step through life there was the loss of his own life in a progression to where he would be completely ‘taken’ by God. By agreeing with, moving with, talking with and working with God on every stride of his life-walk he was lifted from the constraints and restrictions of this life to the endless health benefits and wonders of a heaven–life.

There is for each of us this day an opportunity for an adventure, a health, enhancer, an inspiration, and a victory in taking God with us on our life-walk. Though maybe never to be translated like Enoch, there will be in Christ an opportunity to leave the demands of earth life for the liberation and freedom of heaven– by ’just’ taking our walk with the Almighty God.

Acts 28:27 KJV
(27)  For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

A large volume of verbiage alone does not a healthy relationship make. It’s a bit like food- while it’s essential to living, if it is only ingested in excess without a corresponding amount of expending of its energy, it will only bring obesity, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries. Though there is a great deal being spoken, for every phrase that is heard, but disregarded, there is a distancing of hearts rather than a bonding, and there is a lessening of an ability to act effectively on subsequent impartations.  For understanding to be gained from what is being heard there is a required response and action. Otherwise, although words are coming to the ears, nothing is getting in to where the action really takes place- in the heart.

One of the most frustrating things in a family is when something is being spoken, but there is no response at all, almost as if the ‘hearer’ is deaf. This most frequently takes place when a great deal is being spoken while the attention of the ‘hearer’ is focused intently on something else. Dad is zeroed in on the last two minutes of a March Madness basketball game just when Mom or one of the children approaches him with a story about the day or an important request. It’s not that he doesn’t care about them, but at the moment when response is most necessary, the ears are already full and the capacity for understanding is temporarily disabled. Mom, on the other hand, may be locked into a phone conversation with a long lost friend or just some very ‘interesting’ information that renders her completely incommunicado to the rest of the family. Until ‘goodbye’ is heard, it is quite meaningless to speak any words her direction or especially expect any specific action. It, again, isn’t that there isn’t a heart for her family, it’s just that for those moments her ears are already full. And finally, the children engrossed in their video games, television shows, or Myspace have severely reduced capacity to understand a single word being spoken to them by a concerned and increasingly aggravated parent. Though they may respond with a practiced, ‘yes, I’ll do that’, if there isn’t an immediate performance of that promise, there is just a further ingrained behavior of doing very little with what is being heard (from the parent that is).

It’s not that there isn’t enough being spoken or heard in our relationship with a Father that has so many interesting stories and essential directives, but it might be that there is a sports event, a conversation, or the latest video game that is disabling our needed response. With every Word He’s spoken there is a necessary action, an acknowledgement and honor of Him that is appropriate, otherwise, while it may not be that we don’t care or have a heart for Him, our lack of response is inadvertently a declaration of dishonor and placement of Him below those other focuses in life. With the repetition of this inaction to His words there is a further dulling of the heart to its ability to experience the healing and blessing that requires a lean and active heart.

There is deliverance, exodus, freedom and incredible fellowship for the heart that will turn away from other things for a moment to actually hear and respond to the reality and truth of the Father’s words. In an honored acknowledgement with action, life will be given to faith and great expectation and confidence gained for the salvation that is in His hand. The volume of words being ‘heard’ will only be understood as they are put to use in an obedient response. In an exercised and lean heart will be the joy and strength of fellowship in the presence of the Lord.