A Storm is Coming – Assessing Our Preparation for Intimacy with Him

With a storm on the way, it is more important than ever to find the center of God will. That place is the safest place. It is the place where chaos turns to adventure; where fear has no place; where our houses will stand as a refuge for others. This is the place we want to be; so how do we find it?

God’s eternal will is for the restoration of the three things that He lost in man’s rebellion: His reign over our hearts, His intimacy with us, and His habitation in us. I believe that our pursuit of His purpose in these three areas will supernaturally propel us into His will for this strategic season.

This article relates to the restoration of our intimacy with God. The articles and assessments for the remainder of this series can be found at the following locations:

Our Preparation as His Habitation

Our Preparation under His Reign

Many in the body of Christ are recognizing the inevitability of the storm. That recognition has created urgency for preparation; and a desire to know how we are doing in that preparation. Assessing our preparation for intimacy with Him is critically important.

Is there a biblical way to assess our preparedness, and receive wisdom and revelation in the ways God would have us strengthen our house? I believe so. In fact, we are encouraged and commanded to do exactly that:

A Storm is Coming – Obeying the New Covenant

I have been reading Jeremiah and I can’t help but think it contains a warning for the American church. Check out chapter 11. We have broken our covenant with the LORD. Given His reaction to Israel and Judah over their disobedience, it is frightening (word chosen carefully) to think about the consequences for us. The New Covenant is so much more than the Old; and to those who have been given much, much is expected.

Jeremiah has been a difficult book to read. The Holy Spirit has not allowed me to read it as an historical account. He has not allowed me to project it on a “them”. He has continually reminded me that it was written not only as a warning to those that would come after, but to me as an individual child of God.

I have been challenged with two initial questions; and I am posing them to you:

1. What is the New Covenant?
2. What does obedience to it look like?

Before you give the quick answer, please consider the following passages (you might also want to read the first twelve chapters of Jeremiah):

And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” Matthew 7:21-23

It feels like I am stating the obvious, but here goes: The deception that has come over the church in America is much greater than we perceive. We, each one of us, need eyes to see, and ears to hear. We need the truth that will make us free. We need courage to confess and reject our idols. We need to renew our vows. We need the prophets. Pray that it is not too late.

Humbly yours and forever His,

Call to Action – Face the Consequences

I know a young man who, having run afoul of the law in a city over four hours from his home, has had to appear before a judge twice; only to be told that the court was postponing his trial date. In the meantime, his life is on hold. He cannot start a job; nor can he start attending college. He has no idea what his punishment will be: Jail time, fines, public service, or a combination of all three. In short, failure to face the consequences of his actions is inhibiting his life.

It occurs to me that the same can be said for many Christians. We have sinned and refused – in one way or another – to face the consequences of our sin. The result? Our failure to face the consequences of our actions is inhibiting our life in Christ. Some would go so far as to say we are giving our enemies the right to deceive and oppress us.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe, as the Good Book says, that Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sin, sins, and the sin. However, this does not change the fact that we reap what we have sown. We do have planks in our eyes that must be dealt with. We must lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of us. We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.