FINDING GOD

Acts 17:22-28 (KJV) 

^“22  Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
²³  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
²⁴  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
²⁵  Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
²⁶  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
²⁷  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
²⁸  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

Are we in search of salvation? / Are we in search of a gracious God?

It is in finding the gracious God we find salvation. If we are in search of salvation, we tend to gravitate to the idea of eternity somewhere in the future; we tend to create a righteousness accepted of God. In finding the gracious God, we find eternal life and Christianity becomes a way of life in the world that heals the world, in this, salvation becomes concrete and present in the here and now as we act from being justified in having found the gracious God. Therefore, are we in search of ways to be justified as a means leading to salvation, or, are we justified in finding God.

It is in finding God that we are regenerated and justified, it is as we find God we come to ourselves as the prodigal son came to himself. Coming to ourselves gives us purpose to change. Regeneration, justification, sanctification happens to us as we search for God. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).    

OBSERVATION

Nurses are some of the most amazing people on the planet. As a chaplain I have seen them up close with what they do. Of course, they are human and have character flaws just like any other human. Even with their flaws, they are amazing people inside the work (ministry) they do. And, yes, they have allowed their personalities to take the dark side just like other humans; plain and simple they are human like the rest of us. However, in my view, I have not seen many in this profession who have allowed themselves to be bitter as such. They are also like other humans in this respect, you can see them working towards being better people with better values.

I am overwhelmed and greatly honored to assist them in their work. They seem to be as appreciative of me as I am of them, I have learned so much from them concerning allowing compensation (spirit of hospitality) in how they work with the suffering. In this, I am learning there are not much difference between physical limits and spiritual limits we have as humans. It is in these limitations we need compensation (spirit of hospitality) given to us. It is in this ministry we find a way to heal and recover.

The last three weeks the Lectionary has addressed “hospitality” as a Christian value. We need more believers who nurse people to health; more believers who deeply understand people’s conditions and be willing to compensate for those conditions for the sake of healing and restoration. Ministering to the casualties of human life we can become a casualty ourselves. Nonetheless, becoming a casualty of human casualties for the sake of salvific purposes is worth it; it was for Jesus and it is for us.

THE MOVEMENT FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

Matthew 27:50-54

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the grave after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.”

The vail has been ripped from top to bottom. Close our eyes and sense the movement. Father God sent us Jesus and Jesus brings the Father to us. Home is here in the movement. Lost, has no place here; this is where we are found and where we find home. Empirical evidence comes with embracing this movement. Yes, it happened many years ago. On the other hand, it happened many light years before it took place in the physical. So, no matter what direction we stand in, this place is home to the spirit.

God instructed Moses to construct the curtain (the vail) eighteen inches thick of embroidered fabric, Seraphim’s embroidered into the fabrics pattern. This was a physical expression of spiritual reality. History tells us it would have taken two teams of oxen pulling in opposite directions to rip this fabric. When the vail in the temple ripped from top to bottom, Home spilled out; the place where we are found and where we find home. This is why the Holy Spirit is our earnest gift of the empirical evidence we have of living in this place.

We want His Kingdom to come and to be as free in “this earth” as it is in “heaven” (home). We desire the appearance of King Jesus. Get inside this movement, it can take us there, it will take us there; it will even bring there to here. It brings the two together. This movement is the revival we long for; it starts at the top of who we are and goes all the way to the bottom of who we are. Home spills out and we are no longer lost.  

COMPENSATION/SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY

God saw our condition before we had it; made a commitment to handle it, decided to send us Jesus before we arrived. When we arrived and we made our choices creating our conditions, He remained faithful to His choice, Jesus came and lived, lived among our condition; side by side He lived. His living was as much a sacrifice as His dying.

Inconvenient? He had no snarly puke face reaction; well, only to the prideful religious folk. In fact, it was their snarly puke face reaction to Him sealing the decision to put Him on the cross. Still yet, He found it in His heart to pray, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Jesus came in a spirit of compensation (hospitality). Compensation (hospitality) is something that counterbalances or makes up for and undesirable or unwelcome state of affairs. This is the anointing that breaks the yoke. This is Jesus. "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite' (Psalm 147:5).

Where is the power that breaks the yoke? Understanding working alongside the miserable conditions of humanity. "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old" (Micah 7:18-20). God takes into account our humanity more than us; His understanding is a power that breaks the bars of iron and sets us free. An understanding working alongside our conditions as to bring about transformation. When the Holy Ghost comes upon us, this is the power imparted to us; we become witnesses "unto Him." Once Jesus has tied us into a knot and pulled us through the hole backwards, then we too can possess the spirit of compensation for others.

PRESENCE CARRIERS

Not sure what is happening to me. Been preaching since I was nine years old. Preaching has become complicated for me. Does not mean as much for me to bring out deep truths or ignite the depths of revelation. I have witnessed preachers telling people off more than telling them something that speaks understanding and empathy as to where they are. After I am done preaching anymore and I catch myself being more about something to say than something that heals, delivers, and draws the heart to finding peace; it leaves me not wanting to enter the pulpit anymore. Change is okay and good where it is needed; transformation is more favorable. Changes folks are making leading them to transformation is where my heart is going. Paul said, “I travail in birth until Christ be formed in you.” As I see it, offending people does not bring this forming about. Let’s set and have coffee or a soothing hot drink of sort; let our thoughts be free to find where the pain is, where the emptiness is, where the struggle is. Let us get to where the heart is. Are we doing church, or, are we being the church? People are not as deliberate as some make them out to be. There is a good person deep inside most waiting to be drawn out. Jesus help us find you in what we say and what we do, help us to be an extension of Your presence; help me to be an extension of Your presence. I cannot get away from Gabriel telling Mary that He had come from standing in Your presence. The way I see it, if I am not coming from this place, I cannot take no one there. The WORD before it ever became spoken is the Word I long to hear; the Word in the beginning, the Word with God, the Word that is God.