The Walk is a daily writing to inspire you in your own personal intimacy with Abba.

Listen, my radiant one—if you ever lose sight of me, just follow in my footsteps where I lead my lovers. (Song of Songs 1:8)

The Wilderness Place 1/12/24 The Wilderness Place 1/12/24

The Evidence of the Kingdom

(7 minutes)

This is the life-giving message we heard him share and it's still ringing in our ears. We now repeat his words to you: God is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in him. (1 John 1:5)

What is the evidence that appears in our life when we start seeing Abba as pure light, with no trace of darkness in Him?

Yes, we stop protecting ourselves and can start living in the freedom that Abba has for us. But even more, we will be freed to love others like Abba loves us. The evidence of the Kingdom will always appear in relationships because the Kingdom is relational.

Let's dive back into Abraham's story. We've already seen Abraham protecting himself and operating out of a place of fear. Now, let's pay attention to Abraham's next trial and see if His perspective of Yahweh has changed.

Then Abram took his wife and all that he owned, and left Egypt. They returned to the southern desert region, and Lot went with them. Now Abram had become very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. And he journeyed on from place to place as far as the hill country region of Bethel. He returned to the place between Bethel and Ai where he had pitched his tent at the beginning. This was the place he had first built an altar to pray and worship Yahweh. Now Lot, who accompanied Abram, was also rich and had accumulated flocks, herds, family, and servants. Arguments erupted between Abram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen because the land could not support both living together, for their animals and possessions were too numerous. At that time, Canaanites and Perizzites were also in the land. So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not quarrel with each other, or between our herdsmen, since we are relatives. Look at the vast land that is in front of you! Let's settle in different regions. If you choose the land on the left, then I'll go right, and if you want land on the right, then I'll go left." (Genesis 13:1-9)

So Lot chose to settle in the Jordan Valley, which was fertile and well-watered. It looked beautiful, like the garden of Yahweh, or like Egypt. He departed toward the east, and the family split up and separated from each other. (Genesis 13:11-12)

After Lot separated from him, Yahweh spoke to Abram, "Lift up your eyes and look around you to the north, the south, the east, and the west. As far as you can see in every direction is the land that I will give to you forever--to you and your seed. I will multiply them until they are as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth. If anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could also be counted. Now, get up and walk through the land--its length and its breadth. All the land you walk upon will be my gift to you!" (Genesis 13:14-17)

Abraham is put in another situation where his future is hanging in the balance. He could easily let fear whisper to him and fall into the same trap of protecting his own heart. But Abraham responds in a completely different way in this tussle with Lot. This is evidence that Abraham is seeing Yahweh as pure light. He has built some history with Yahweh and when this conflict arises between him and Lot, he doesn't choose to protect his own heart. He chooses to protect Lot's heart and allows him to choose first where he would like to settle with his family. Abraham has clearly gotten closer to Abba in intimacy because he is not responding from fear but from the peace of the Kingdom. He is trusting Yahweh fully in this moment, knowing that no matter where he ends up Yahweh will be with him and for him. Perfect love is casting out all fear in Abraham's heart, freeing him to love Lot the way Abba has loved him.

Are you beginning to see evidence of the Kingdom in your life? That evidence is flowing from your seeing Abba as pure light!

Remember the scripture we read from 1 John 4:

Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love's perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love's perfection. (1 John 4:18)

But what does John the Beloved say after this verse, as he tells us the byproduct of encountering God's love for us?

Our love for others is our grateful response to the love God first demonstrated to us. (1 John 4:19)

John is referring to the Kingdom evidence that appears in our life when we begin to live in the pure light that surrounds Abba. When we encounter the perfect love of Abba, we will be freed to love and honor others. It will be our grateful response, the overflow of having encountered His goodness and our own beloved identity. We will be able to give away to others what we have learned to receive from Abba: love's perfection.

As this Kingdom evidence begins to appear in our lives and we are finally freed to be our authentic selves, we will also begin to walk in a greater measure of trust. This trust in Yahweh will lead us into things that we can't even ask, think, or imagine right now. Infinitely more than our greatest request. Our most unbelievable dreams. Our wildest imagination! He will outdo them all. (Ephesians 3:20)

Once Lot leaves, Yahweh comes to Abram and says, "Look around in every direction! Everything your eyes can see, I'm giving to you and your seed. I am going to multiply all that you are and all that you have." Remember these words from last Sunday: "You are one decision, one moment away, from believing that Abba is good, from possessing it all."

It all begins here.

Do you believe that Abba is pure light? That there's no shadow side to Him at all?

Will you allow His love to wash over you and cast out all fear?

Can you open up your heart and let Him convince you that He is good and that you are beloved?

Beloved, let Him!

The entire cosmos is waiting for you to believe the life-giving message that Jesus came to share with you. Abba is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in Him. Come and live in the light that surrounds Him. Come and share this unbroken fellowship with Yahweh. You can trust Him. He is safe. He is for you. And He's not going anywhere.

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Worship: "Let It Happen" by United Pursuit

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/11/24 The Wilderness Place 1/11/24

Goodbye, Fear!

(8 minutes)

What happens when you begin to see Yahweh as pure light, not having even a trace of darkness in Him?

You stop protecting yourself.

You see, as long as you are suspicious of God, questioning if you're safe in His presence, you will always have your guard up. You'll always be looking over your shoulder. You'll constantly feel the need to protect yourself. This is the darkness that we still believe is in the Father. There is a part of Him that we still see as the punisher. He's the distant, angry dad that religion taught us about. He can't stand sin and can't even look at you when you fall down or make a mess. When you make a mistake, He unleashes His furious wrath upon us that could take the form of a flat tire, an unexpected expense, a hurricane, or a health issue. We really believe that the Father punishes us like this. When something bad happens in our life we anxiously begin to trace it back to some failure on our part that God just can't look over anymore. He tolerated the first and second offense, but grace ran out after that and the third strike means, "You're out!" Let's be honest, how many of us still think that there's a thread of this harsh, uncaring, vengeful nature left in God? This is the "darkness" that John the Beloved is referring to. We still think there's darkness in Him. And what does this belief, even if it's just a small measure or trace amount, produce in us? Fear of punishment. And fear doesn't produce freedom, it produces bondage. It produces sons and daughters that are constantly trying to protect themselves from God. And this drives us out of Abba's presence and further into the hands of religion. Religion is just our best attempt at keeping an angry God in a good mood.

As Abraham walked with Yahweh, there were still moments in his journey when he was desperately trying to protect himself. He was still operating from a place of fear. Let's revisit the story that Pastor Tim walked us through this past Sunday. Not one of Abraham's finest moments, but Abba still showed up.

At that time, a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to travel down to Egypt and live there as a foreigner. When he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I'm worried because I know that you are a beautiful, gorgeous woman. When the Egyptian men take one look at you, they will say, 'She is his wife.' Then they will kill me in order to have you. Just tell them you are my sister so that they will treat me well for your sake and spare my life." When Abram entered Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai's stunning beauty. When Pharaoh's dignitaries spotted her, they went to Pharaoh and raved about her beauty. Then they took Sarai into the palace and made her part of Pharaoh's harem. Because she pleased Pharaoh, Abram got along very well in Egypt and received royal treatment: he was given sheep, cattle, male and female donkeys, camels, and male and female slaves. But Yahweh struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible diseases because he had taken Abram's wife, Sarai. So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, "How could you do this to me? Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? And why did you lie to me by saying, 'She's my sister,' so that I took her as my wife? Now, here's your wife back; take her and begone!" Then Pharaoh gave strict orders to his men to escort them out of Egypt along with everything they had. (Genesis 12:10-20)

A famine, a hardship, strikes the land where Abraham lived, and his faith was tested. And the truth of the matter is this: when storms roll in, whatever is in us comes out. Because of this famine we see a seed of fear, worry, and anxiety come out of Abraham's heart that he may have not even known was there. He allows fear to take the seat of authority and he chooses to protect himself, over his own wife. An Egyptian Pharaoh ends up having more integrity in this story than Abraham.

Why is it so important to see Yahweh as pure light with no trace of darkness?

Pastor Tim gave us the answer to that question when he said, "We don't even realize that the majority of our choices are being made from anxiety, not the peace of the Kingdom. We make choices based on our fears, instead of His goodness. And it all boils down to, 'We don't trust you, Abba.'"

If we don't see Abba as 100% good, we will end up letting fear call all the shots in our life.

Listen to the words of John the Beloved:

And just a couple of verses earlier, John the Beloved declares that "God is love!" Abba continually exists, being love. And when Abba comes close to us, He's not carrying a rod of judgment, wrath, and retribution. Abba, who is love, desires to drive our fear of punishment far from our hearts. And it is only when we allow ourselves to get close to Him in the secret place, in intimacy, that we begin to see Him rightly, as pure light, having no trace of darkness at all. Perfect love casts out all of our fear, suspicion, and anxiety. Our walls of protection are leveled by His goodness. We stop living in the realm of darkness, the place of fear, and begin living in the pure light that surrounds Him. We lose our broken perspective and we begin to see as He sees. This is the place Abba wants us to call home: unbroken fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Any area where fear is still the loudest voice is an area where we are still suspicious of Abba's goodness. It may be hard to face, but fear is evidence that we are still not seeing Abba's love clearly. Or as John says it, "Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love's perfection." But Abba is committed to showing up every single day to convince us of the truth. He will not stop until we see as He sees.

As we take the walk with Abba today, get close to Him and bask in the pure light that surrounds Him. Intimacy with Him is the only thing that will open us up. Vulnerability and tenderness are direct results of getting close to Abba. The consuming fire of His love will melt the hard, calloused parts of our heart like fire melts ice. We just have to get close enough. Fear has been lying to you...Abba can be trusted. He is pure light, and you won't be able to find even a trace of darkness in Him.

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Worship: "I Lose My Ability" by Jonathan David & Melissa Helser

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/10/24 The Wilderness Place 1/10/24

Leaving It All Behind

(5 minutes)

Yahweh is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in him.

We're on a journey with God. He's escorting us out of what we've believed about Him in the past, the beliefs we inherited from a religious lens, and He's ushering us into a place where He can speak tenderly to our hearts and show us who He really is and who we really are. This is how we begin to see Him as pure light. Abba shows up suddenly and says, "Come and see for yourself!"

The first step is always letting go of what we think we already know so we can discover the truth.

This was the first step for Abraham.

Now Yahweh said to Abram: "Leave it all behind---your native land, your people, your father's household, and go to the land that I will show you. Follow me, and I will make you into a great nation. I will exceedingly bless and prosper you, and I will make you famous, so that you will be a tremendous source of blessing for others. I will bless all who bless you and curse all who curse you. And through you all the families of the earth will be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Yahweh calls us out so we can encounter Him face-to-face. He asks us to leave it all behind so we can discover the real God and the real us. We have to leave behind our own will, and our own ideas and opinions about God, in order to find the authentic, true image - the real thing. Are we willing to let go of everything we've learned, to the very foundation, so Abba can rebuild our thoughts and beliefs on what is true? We must remember that Abraham was around 75 years old when Yahweh called him out and don't forget that he had no crutches or constructs at all. In the footnotes of The Passion Translation, Dr. Simmons says, "Abram had no burning bush to inspire him, no tablets of stone to guide him, and no ark of the covenant as a centerpiece of worship. Neither did Abram have a Temple to worship in, a Bible to read, nor a priest to counsel him. Nor did Abram have a pastor to pray for him, nor a prophet to prophesy to him. But Abram had a divine encounter." At 75 years of age, Abraham had a lot to relearn. He had a lot to let go of. But his story tells us that it can be done and that Abba values the tearing down of the old wineskin so we can inherit a better way.

Abba doesn't want us to rely on someone else's intimacy with Him. He wants us to hear His voice and know His heart for ourselves. This is why Abba calls Abram out and it's why He calls us out... to establish this face-to-face, intimate relationship with us. Will we say, "Yes, and I do," to Yahweh's invitation?

So Abram obeyed Yahweh and left; and Lot went with him. (Genesis 12:4)

Here is Abraham's first act of faith. He says yes to Yahweh's invitation. He believes and trusts what Yahweh says. Abraham lets go of life as he knew it. Where others would be asking God some follow-up questions, Abraham steps out of what was familiar (75 years of familiar) and steps into the unknown to walk with Yahweh.

How do we respond when Yahweh shows up and invites us to follow Him? How do we respond when Abba says, "Leave it all behind?" Does our heart respond with a resounding "Yes," because we know that He is pure light and there's not even a trace of darkness in Him? Or is there still a part of us that questions if He is truly good?

Abba has lured us into this wilderness to convince us that He is pure light. His judgment is coming against every suspicion and question that still lingers in our heart concerning His goodness - every mindset, opinion, and idea we have that is hindering our love. Are you committed to this journey of discovering the real Yahweh and the real you? Can you step into the unknown and follow Abba to the land that He will show you?

There is a moment in Song of Songs where the Shulamite Bride, like Abraham, surrenders to taking the journey with the Bridegroom King. She's done resisting the love of the King, and despite some dark perspectives that still remain, she makes this declaration:

I've made up my mind.
Until the darkness disappears and the dawn has fully come,
in spite of shadows and fears,
I will go to the mountaintop with you--
the mountain of suffering love
and the hill of burning incense.
Yes, I will be your bride.
(Song of Songs 4:6)

Abba, until there's no trace of darkness left in my perspective and the pure light that surrounds You has pierced every shadow and fear, I will follow You wherever You go. Yes, I will be Your bride.

Carry this declaration into your walk with Abba today and let His perfect love cast out all the shadows and fears that still remain. Until the darkness disappears and the dawn has fully come.

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Worship: "Learning To Be Loved By You" by Melissa Helser

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/9/24 The Wilderness Place 1/9/24

The Gap Between What We Know and What We Do

(6 minutes)

Yahweh is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in him.

Pastor Tim mentioned on Sunday that this statement strikes us as obvious. He might as well have said, "Water is wet." When we hear that Yahweh is pure light and there's not even a trace of darkness in him, we nod our heads in agreement as if to say, "Of course He is! Tell me something I didn't already know!" Oh, if living by faith in Abba was only as easy as "knowing" something we would all be in good shape. Here's the question we have to ask ourselves when we hear something we think we already know: How many things do I know to be true, but don't live out in my own life? Ah, there we are. So we can't stop at, "Is this true?" We must wade deeper into the water and ask ourselves the question of all questions: Do I believe this in my own heart? And if I do, where is the witness in my own life?

The beliefs we allow to permeate our hearts will always show up in our lives. Wisdom has told us that as a person thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). It's one thing to "know" something is true. It's a completely different thing to "believe" something with the heart. When you believe something in your heart, your life will naturally sync itself with that belief. Your language will begin to change, and soon after that your actions will change, too.

The only way we close the gap between knowing true things and actually allowing those things to affect our lives is to let these truths go deep in us, all the way to the heart. The journey from head to heart is one that must be walked out with Yahweh. His showing up to walk with us today is His being committed to bridging this gap in us, no matter how long it takes. It's Abba saying, "I will show up every day to convince you even more that I am good and you are loved. I am invested in every step you take, until you become the real, authentic you. Come and walk with Me.”

So as we read this scripture again, let something rise up in you that says, "Abba, simply knowing that this is true is not enough. I don't want to just nod my head in agreement. I want my life to be a witness that this truth has captured me. Let it pierce the deepest parts of me until my heart is fully convinced."

We're going to meditate on the life of Abraham, in his pre-ham era when he was only, Abram. Abraham is going to show us how our life changes when we begin to believe Yahweh on the heart level. This is such an incredible testimony for us because Abraham had no church, no law, no religious construct or crutch to help him know God. This is a raw, honest account of a man encountering the presence of Yahweh and being changed by his encounter. And Abraham isn't changed by his rule-keeping, his striving, or his knowledge of scripture. Listen to Paul's words to get a glimpse into how Abram was transformed into Abraham.

Let me use Abraham as an example. It is clear that humanly speaking, he was the founder of Judaism. What was his experience of being made right with God? Was it by his good works of keeping the law? No. For if it was by the things he did, he would have something to boast about, but no one boasts before God. Listen to what the Scriptures say: Because Abraham believed God's words, his faith transferred God's righteousness into his account. (Romans 4:1-3)

Pastor Tim drew our attention to the fact that it wasn't Abraham believing IN God that transformed him, it was Abraham believing God's words. The devil believes IN God but does not believe what He says. It's not just "knowing" about God, it's believing what God says and allowing that to affect our lives. Abraham didn't settle for "knowing about" or "believing in" Yahweh. He went further and said, "I'm going to wholeheartedly believe what Yahweh says and let it change how I live my life."

There are areas of our lives where we still see a gap between what we know and what we do, and we often wonder and question ourselves about that gap. "I know that is true...why am I still doing this?" We wonder why no amount of striving or discipline has helped us to be transformed into who we know Abba has called us to be. We're going to see Yahweh's heart for us as we stand under these truths this week, but I will say this... that gap in us has everything to do with our believing that Yahweh is pure light and that there's not even a trace of darkness in Him. We're going to walk with Abraham and see how it shifted in him, a man that Yahweh lured out into the wilderness.

Here's the beautiful and exciting thing you must remember: no one enters the wilderness with Yahweh and stays the same. They are always transformed into a lover of His presence, a Bride that’s fit for a King.

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Worship: "Head to the Heart" by United Pursuit

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/8/24 The Wilderness Place 1/8/24

The Most Valuable Scripture You’ll Ever Hear

(6 minutes)

We saw him with our very own eyes. We gazed upon him and heard him speak. Our hands actually touched him, the one who was from the beginning, the Living Expression of God. The Life-Giver was made visible and we have seen him. We testify to this truth: the eternal Life-Giver lived face-to-face with the Father and has now dawned upon us. So we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard about this Life-Giver so that we may share and enjoy this life together. For truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Anointed One.

We are writing these things to you because we want to release to you our fullness of joy.

This is the life-giving message we heard him share and it's still ringing in our ears. We now repeat his words to you: God is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in him. (1 John 1:1-5)

"This is the most valuable scripture you will ever hear in your life." This is a huge statement that was made by Pastor Tim at the opening of the message yesterday and if you were at the gathering in person or if you listened via livestream, you know now why he said it.

Most historians believe that John the Beloved penned this letter 50-60 years after the resurrection of Jesus. Why is that important? He's the last of the original twelve apostles left on the planet and the opening lines of this letter reflect what John the Beloved would have deemed the most important news he could share with the church that was already being established on the earth. Of all the things that he could mention and talk about, he chose this. Listen to that statement again. Of ALL the things that he could mention or talk about, he chose this.

Why?

Why is this considered by John the Beloved to be the life-giving message that is of supreme value? Why are these words, of all the things he learned from Yeshua, the ones that are still ringing in his ears? Why?

We're going to descend into this very question this week. We're going to dive deep into these words. Yahweh is pure light. We will never find even a trace of darkness in him.

Pastor Tim gave the short answer to this question at the beginning of the message and it's one we must be convinced of before we go any further.

It's the goodness of Yahweh that leads us to metanoia, the changing of our minds. True repentance begins with an introduction to the goodness of God. (Romans 2:4)

John the Beloved is basically saying that the greatest news he ever heard Jesus share was that Yahweh is totally and completely good, not having any dark side or suspicious shadow in His nature at all. Pure light with not even a trace of darkness. John is inviting us to descend into the goodness of Yahweh because only this will bring transformation to how we think. And according to John at the beginning of his letter, this is what will release us into the fullness of joy.

Do we really believe that Yahweh is pure light, not even possessing a trace of darkness in Him?

Do we really believe that Yahweh is totally and completely good?

Or do we still have some suspicions about His nature?

When the storm rolls in or when we go through difficult things, are we still convinced that He is good and that He calls us "beloved sons and daughters," or do we start believing that maybe it was Him who brought this thing upon us? That it must be His wrath coming to collect on that last bad decision we made?

Abba lures us into the wilderness to purge us of every thought that still paints Him in darkness. He lures us into the wilderness to finally convince us that He is not the angry, retributive Master, but the love-stricken Husband who adores and delights Himself in our presence. He will not have His children walking around unsure about how He feels towards them.

Abba is pure light. You'll never be able to find even a trace of darkness in Him. The only way we discover this for ourselves is through intimacy. We must get close enough to see for ourselves.

I love that John the Beloved starts his letter with these words: We saw him with our very own eyes. We gazed upon him and heard him speak. Our hands actually touched him, the one who was from the beginning, the Living Expression of God.

John's intimacy with Jesus allowed him to see and hear something that the majority of people could not see or hear. Intimacy allowed John to access the most valuable truth that was wrapped up in Jesus. The Father is nothing like you thought He was. He is pure light, perfectly good in every way. You can search Him from every angle, inside and out, over and over again, and still not find even a trace of darkness in Him.

Abba wants to put His goodness on display in your life today. And that goodness will change how you think about everything. Will you get close enough in intimacy to see for yourself?

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Worship: "Jireh" by Elevation Worship & Maverick City

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/5/24 The Wilderness Place 1/5/24

The Lamp That Is Lit

(5 minutes)

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light." (Luke 11:33)

In this new year, our Kingdom family is committed to one thing: being lovers of His presence! And we know that our love for His presence only grows as we descend into the truth that He has always been and will always be a lover of our presence.

What does this mean for us as we venture into 2024?

Let's remember these words from the message on Sunday: "You don't have to worry about where you're going to be; you just have to worry about being lit." Pastor Tim unveiled the heart of all of our plans for this year. This year isn't going to be about striving. We aren't called to worry about gain, increase, or getting ahead in any area of our lives. Jesus has made it clear that the lamp that is lit will be put in the exact place it ought to be, on the lampstand where it will be radiant and provide light for all to see. We simply have to prioritize being lit. Jesus has promised us that if this one thing is taken care of, He will take care of the rest. We only have to focus on being lit.

So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God's kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. (Matthew 6:33)

When you hear "just focus on being lit," you may begin questioning how that is supposed to happen. How do I even do that? Well, the Kingdom is always relational, never transactional. This isn't about finding a formula that works. This is about discovering how to dance in a relationship with our Bridegroom King. Being lit is about constantly chasing a person. Being lit is about making intimacy with Jesus the main thing. Pastor Tim said this on Sunday: "You just stare at the One that's full of light, and He will make you full of light." So don't make this transactional. Don't fall back into that old, religious pattern of law-keeping. That's the old wineskin. This new wineskin is about being joined relationally, being connected in life-union to Jesus, and letting His love nourish our hearts. Rules and laws are useless in this love affair. Pastor Tim said this so well: "Don't believe anybody who tries to tell you that they disciplined themselves into purity. That doesn't work."

The beautiful thing about this Kingdom way of life is that you can finally stop worrying about where you'll end up. When the lamp is lit, it is placed exactly where it should be. So many of us have strived to be in positions that Abba never called us to be in. We climbed ladders He never intended for us to climb. We worried ourselves into situations where we didn't fit. And we wondered why it felt awkward or uncomfortable! We let fear dictate to us where we ought to be. And we did it all without being lit. Can we be honest with Abba and ourselves and admit that it didn't work? We may still be operating in places that Abba hasn't called us to be. Can we let go of how we thought it should be, so we can inherit the position that He has reserved for us once we are burning with love for Him? I can tell you this. What Abba has in store for you is better than anything you could ever ask, think, or imagine. So don't settle for what you can come up with!

As we take the walk with Abba today, let's commit ourselves to being lit in this new year. Let's commit to constantly chasing after our Bridegroom King. Let's let go of the things that we have strived for so we can inherit what Abba has specifically set aside just for us.

If your spirit burns with light, fully illuminated with no trace of darkness, you will be a shining lamp, reflecting rays of truth by the way you live. (Luke 11:36)

This is Abba's heart for us. And He's not saying this to us because it can't happen. He's not saying this to us because it's something we can never achieve this side of heaven. Can you see this happening in 2024? Can you see yourself burning with light, fully illuminated with NO trace of darkness at all? Can you see yourself as a shining lamp, reflecting rays of truth by the way you live? Abba can.

Abba, how could it be? How will this happen?

You just stare at the One that's full of light, and He will make you full of light.

Beloved one, are you ready to shine?

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Worship: "I See Heaven" by Bryan & Katie Torwalt

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/4/24 The Wilderness Place 1/4/24

No Darkness, Not Even A Trace

(5 minutes)

"We have to be flexible with how we're seeing Abba. We have to make sure we're seeing Him correctly." Pastor Tim mentioned on Sunday that this is what all of last year was about for those of us who are planted at The Wilderness Place. "Purging ourselves of a broken image of God."

As we take a walk with Abba today this is what is happening. With every step we take, we're soaking ourselves in the reality of who Abba really is. We're seeing Him rightly, some of us for the very first time even after years of being in church. We're seeing that He is not the distant, angry God that religion said He was. He doesn't throw the fruitless branches away. He shows them a greater measure of care and attention, lifting them and propping them up until they are completely restored. (John 15:1-2 TPT)

Pastor Tim asked a great question this past weekend. "How would it look in our life if we really believed that God was a God that gave us special attention in the areas that we struggle?"

Would we continue to hide from Abba if we really knew that this was how we'd be handled by Him?

There are areas we attempt to hide from Abba because we're still unsure of how we'll be treated if that area were to be exposed. Can you imagine not hiding anything from Abba? Can you imagine being joined to a Kingdom family where everyone is open and vulnerable because nobody fears punishment from Abba anymore? When we see Abba for who He is, we'll start running to Him instead of hiding from Him. And if we don't have to hide from Abba, we'll stop hiding from everyone else.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)

When we encounter the perfect love of Abba, the fear of punishment will be driven far from our hearts. And here it is, right from John the Beloved's pen: We love, because He first loved us. When we are fully convinced of His love for us, that is when we'll begin to overflow with a greater measure of love for Him and the people He's planted in our lives. The revelation of His love for us, what we call "beloved identity," is the key that unlocks our hearts to experience the fullness of Abba's presence.

This is great news. Exposure will not get you thrown away. You don't get thrown away because you mess up. You don't get thrown away because you open up. Religion taught us that it was unsafe to open ourselves up. Religion's delusional view of God had us more closed off than ever because we were always trying to protect ourselves from a vengeful God who was waiting to chop us off and remove us if there wasn't any fruit being produced. Not so! That's not our Abba!

He is not anything like religion told us He was.

You are safe in His hands. There is no need to fear. You are wrapped up in His perfect love. Do you think He endured all that He did just to throw you away? You were valuable and loved when you were as far from Him as you could be. We have to start believing in the unconditional love that we've always said that God possessed. Unconditional means not subject to any conditions. Abba's love is unquestioning, unqualified, unreserved, unlimited, wholehearted, complete, total, and absolutely full all the time. This is the perfect love that is flowing from Abba's heart to you. It's always been flowing and it always will. There's nothing you can do to make Abba love you any more or any less than He does right now. If your behavior could move the needle of His love, it would no longer be unconditional. You must start believing this. You can't mess this up.

You can ignore it. You can reject it. You can even choose to believe a lie about Him instead of the truth. But you can't mess up how Abba feels about you.

Let's ask the question again: How would your life look if you really believed that God was a God who gave you special attention in the areas where you struggle?

Can you throw yourself into the perfect love of Abba today? Can you open up and be vulnerable in His presence? Realize that any hesitation or recoiling is just the lie speaking louder than the truth. When you feel that rising up, just say, "No, that's not my Abba! My Abba is perfect love. My Abba is nothing but goodness. My Abba will never leave me. My Abba doesn't do abandonment. He doesn't do separation. No, that's not my Abba!"

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Worship: "Pieces" by Amanda Cook

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/3/24 The Wilderness Place 1/3/24

A Better Father Than Abba?

(7 minutes)

How we see the Father determines how we will relate to Him. Our perspective of Him shapes how we respond to His presence. Pastor Tim has used this example in John 15 to show us why the lens through which we see God matters.

Look at John 15:1-2 in the New King James Version:

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that is may bear more fruit.

Now, let's read that same verse in The Passion Translation:

I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest.

So, which is it? When we don't bear fruit does the Father "take us away" or does He lift and prop us up, giving us extra attention and care? What kind of Father is He?

Religion has always painted the Father with darkness, but John the Beloved tells us that the life-giving message that Jesus announced to the world was that God is pure light and we will never find even a trace of darkness in Him.

I love how Pastor Tim handled this on Sunday. He said, "When your children mess up, do you throw them away?" The obvious answer is, "No!" So then he asked, "Are you a better father than Abba?"

This is the heart of the matter. We've painted the Father with so much darkness that our parenting is more good and loving than His. We treat our children better than the God treats His. Using the analogy from John 15, it turns out that we're better gardeners, too. A true gardener cares for their plants. I've had the privilege of having some incredible gardeners in my own family and the attention and gentle care they give to these plants is mind-blowing. When a plant is struggling to survive, they don't just yank it out of the ground and throw it away. They give it special care and go to great lengths to ensure that the plant survives and thrives.

Are we better fathers than Abba? Are we better gardeners, too? Or have we inherited a very broken image of God? The only difference between the writers of the New King James Version and The Passion Translation is the way they see God. One is writing with a religious lens that still paints the Father with darkness, and the other writes through the lens of beloved identity that is no longer suspicious and leery of Abba's nature.

It's amazing to me that Abba chose to deliver these scriptures to us using three of the most loose, flexible languages in the world. Here's what I mean by that: the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages that these scriptures were originally written in use words that could have multiple meanings. These are not languages of precision. These are languages where one word could have up to ten different meanings, hence the multitude of translations that now exist for ONE Bible. If the languages were precise, there would be no need for multiple translations. It's almost like Abba preferred this way over the other because this way depends on us knowing His nature to get it right. If the Bible were more precise, we would likely depend on it more than actually knowing Him in intimacy. It takes intimacy with Jesus to read the scriptures with the right lens. These verses from John 15 are the perfect example of that, which is why Pastor Tim uses them often. Pastor Tim doesn't want you to be suspicious of the Bible. He wants you to be so sure and certain of Abba's nature that you can sense for yourself when something doesn't sound like Him because you've been with Him in intimacy and are convinced of His goodness.

Jesus didn't come and go through all that He went through so you could depend on someone else's relationship with God. He died to give you access again to the face-to-face relationship you were designed to have with Yahweh.

And now, because we are united to Christ, we both have equal and direct access in the realm of the Holy Spirit to come before the Father! (Ephesians 2:18)

You are not a foreigner or guest. You are a beloved son and daughter of Yahweh. You don't have to settle for religion's delusional view of the Father. You can see for yourself through intimacy with Jesus that Abba is pure light and there's not even a trace of darkness in Him.

Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, you are safe to be vulnerable with Him. You don't have to be afraid of being fruitless in His presence because He's not a father that will throw you away. He's the Perfect Father and Good Gardener who will give you special attention and care when you're struggling. He will lift and prop you up. When you mess up, He doesn't get farther away; He gets closer. He loves being in your presence. And Jesus is the proof that Abba was unwilling to do life without you.

Are there areas where you are still suspicious of Abba’s nature? Areas where He is still painted with darkness? Forget everything you've been told about God, and stare at Jesus. Gaze into His eyes. Because when you've seen Him, you've seen the Father. And He's so much better than religion told you He was.

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Worship: "Jesus, You're Beautiful" by Bethel Music

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/2/24 The Wilderness Place 1/2/24

Jesus Fixed Our Broken Image of Abba

(5 minutes)

John the Beloved writes his letters to the church many, many years after he walked with Jesus, and of all the things that he could list as important, he finds one thing that trumps them all. He boils down the life-giving message of Jesus in these words: "God is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in him. "

The chief thing that Jesus came to reveal to us all was that the Father is perfectly good and there is no darkness in Him at all. Jesus came to fix our broken image of God. Even though men of faith down through the ages caught glimpses of Abba, we were still confused about Him and how He felt about us. Until Jesus came, we couldn't see Him rightly.

No one has ever gazed upon the fullness of God's splendor except the uniquely beloved Son, who is cherished by the Father and held close to his heart. Now he has unfolded to us the full explanation of who God truly is! (John 1:18)

No one has ever gazed upon God's fullness except the uniquely beloved Son. And He came to reveal the true nature of God as a loving Father, a revelation that people are still struggling to believe is true. Why? Because religion always painted the Father with darkness. Most of us grew up with a vindictive, distant image of God. The best picture that religion could paint was an image of the Father that made our earthly fathers look like saints. Religion hid the truth of God's unconditional love and told us that He was the angry punisher. He wasn't peering into our lives looking for ways to ambush us with love, He was peering into our lives waiting on us to make a mistake so He could unleash the punishment that Jesus was doing His best to protect us from. What a poor picture of Abba.

If we were honest, most of us would say that we are still recovering from this depiction of God. There are still some areas in our lives where we are struggling to see Him rightly, struggling to believe that He is perfect love. The life-giving message that Jesus came to give us: Abba is pure light. We will never find even a trace of darkness in Him.

Do you believe that?

Abba is coming after every area where we are still not fully convinced that He is good. He refuses to allow His own children to walk around confused about how He feels about them. He refuses to let us live with the delusional image that we inherited from religion. The most important thing to Him is that we see Him and ourselves as we truly are - loving and loved. We're looking for things in life to go well and go our way. He's looking for beloved sons and daughters who love being face-to-face with Him because they have no fear or doubts about His love for them.

We will never be as close to Him as we're designed to be if we are still suspicious about His nature. As long as we're hesitant and waiting for the other shoe to drop, we will always withhold a measure of ourselves from His presence, thinking that we're protecting our hearts from rejection and punishment. When He's trying to immerse us in His love, we'll wade out a little ways and then recoil for fear that we'll discover that He's not who He said He is. Parents, can you imagine one of your children living life with this much trepidation and fear? Can you imagine one of your children struggling to get close to you for fear of being rejected and cast out? What would you do to clear that up? How far would you go to fix that broken perspective?

Jesus is Abba's final word that this will not be our future. Jesus is Abba seeing our fear and inability to come close to Him and saying, "No! I will not allow them to live this way. I'll do whatever it takes for them to know who I really am."

As we stare into the face of Jesus, we will see the Father. No one has ever gazed upon the Father except the uniquely beloved Son, but now He has unfolded to us the full explanation of who Abba is! So let's stare at Jesus and let Him convince the unconvinced parts of our hearts that Abba really is good and really does love us with a perfect, unconditional love. There's not even a trace of darkness in Him.

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Worship: "When I Lock Eyes With You / Your Love Is Extravagant" by Harvest & Jon Thurlow

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 1/1/24 The Wilderness Place 1/1/24

We’re Lovers of His Presence

(5 minutes)

Happy New Year to all of our Kingdom family at The Wilderness Place!

As we walk into this new year we have one goal: to be lovers of His presence as we're rooted even deeper in the revelation that Abba has always been a lover of our presence. Isn't it a breath of fresh air not to be weighed down by the heavy burdens and cares of fixing your life and wrestling with the future? You can rest on January 1, 2024, knowing that the only thing you need to pursue in this new year is His face. As He becomes our singular obsession, everything else is put right. In 2024, we just want to be lovers of His presence.

Pastor Tim mentioned such a significant truth yesterday after we worshipped together. The key to becoming a lover of His presence is to descend even deeper into the truth that He is a lover of our presence. Abba loves being with you. He takes great delight in you. There's no place He would rather be than with you. He crossed the greatest divide that has ever existed just to be reunited with you. Religion was fine with you calling yourself a lover of God, but it would never let you be identified as one who was already loved by the Father. Why? Because if you would ever be convinced of that truth you would no longer strive and discipline yourself into a "right" relationship with Him. And religion didn't want you to rest. But Jesus came to fix our broken image of the Father. He came to expose the truth about how Abba feels about us. It turns out that He's been crazy about us the whole time!

To the degree we allow Abba to convince us that He's a lover of our presence, is the degree that we will awaken to our burning desire to be a lover of His presence. The revelation of His love for us will unveil the original design of our life to be a lover of Yahweh. Our love will simply be our grateful response to seeing how much delight He already takes in us.

Are you willing to commit an entire year to being convinced of Abba's love for you? Are you willing to make 2024 the year where you let Him smother you with kisses until you are totally and completely convinced of how He feels about you? Until every doubt in your heart is driven out by His heart for you? Until you can sing "He's a lover of my presence" without any hesitation or holding back?

What if this is the only resolution you need in this new year? What if this one thing would produce all the fruit you've been longing to see in your life?

I am the sprouting vine and you're my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you--but when you live separated from me you are powerless. (John 15:5)

I love each of you with the same love that the Father loves me. You must continually let me love nourish your hearts. (John 15:9)

We must continually let His love nourish our hearts. It is the key that unlocks everything. As you spend time gazing at Jesus in the place of intimacy, He will show you and convince you of the Father's love. He will reveal just how much delight the Father takes in you. Listen to the last line of Jesus' prayer to Abba in John 17:

I have revealed to them who you are and I will continue to make you even more real to them, so that they may experience the same endless love that you have for me, for your love will now live in them, even as I live in them! (John 17:26)

Jesus came to fix our broken image of the Father. And He has promised to make Abba even more real to us. He longs for us to experience the same endless love of Abba that He has always enjoyed. As we come into intimacy and union with Jesus, this love will begin to nourish our hearts. The only thing you need in 2024 is to descend even deeper into this love that you already have.

Yahweh is a lover of your presence!

Let's take these words on the first walk of 2024. Jesus is about to make Abba even more real to you! Let your expectations rise and prepare to be convinced of how He feels about you. His goodness will be the thing that transforms you into a lover of His presence. Rest in His love, beloved.

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Worship: "I'm A Lover of Your Presence" - Bryan and Katie Torwalt

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/29/23 The Wilderness Place 12/29/23

There Are No Inns In Bethlehem

(6 minutes)

During those days, the Roman emperor, Ceasar Augustus, ordered that the first census be taken throughout his empire. (Quirinius was the governor of Syria at that time.) Everyone had to travel to his or her hometown to complete the mandatory census. So Joseph and his fiance, Mary, left Nazareth, a village in Galilee, and journeyed to their hometown in Judea, to the village of Bethlehem, King David's ancient home. They were required to register there, since they were both direct descendants of David. Mary was pregnant and nearly ready to give birth.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son. After wrapping the newborn baby in strips of cloth, they laid him in a feeding trough since there was no available space in any upper room in the village. (Luke 2:1-7)

For so long we've imagined that the innkeeper, ignorant of the depth of the story, lost his chance to house the birth of Jesus, the Seed of Hope. But it wasn't some obscure inn that missed the chance of a lifetime. As Pastor Tim told us this past Sunday, there are no inns in Bethlehem. But there were tons of family members and relatives, as Joseph and Mary were both direct descendants of King David and this was David's ancient home. They had a royal lineage and Bethlehem would have been a place filled with family. The scripture says that there was no available space in any upper room in the village. The upper room would have been the guest room in their family's houses. But they were turned away from every single one.

Here we have Joseph and his fiance, Mary, who was pregnant with a child "come from God." Very few people understood. Even more people criticized. The most likely scenario is that Joseph and Mary were rejected by family because of this unbelievably scandalous story.

The greatest gift ever given to humanity was rejected, turned away, and relegated to stay in a stable with the animals because those closest to Joseph and Mary were unable to make room. The birth of the Savior of the world was an interruption to their life, their reputation, and their plans.

Let's ask ourselves the question that Pastor Tim asked us, "It's easy to visit the King at His house once a week, but are we willing to let Him come into our house and have His way?" Can we make room for Him? Is Jesus doing life on our terms or are we doing life intimately joined to Him? Is He still an interruption? Is He still too scandalous to allow in our life?

This Seed of Hope will change everything, but only where He's given access. Mary and Joseph were not kicking down doors. They would have gladly entered into the home which they were invited into. But no one could honor the seed because of what it looked like in the beginning. This is why it's so important that we ask Abba what His thoughts are concerning the matter. Because we might be rejecting something that's of the Kingdom just because it's in seed form. Honor is the respect, care, and love we show for something that hasn't fully matured. And our honor is the key that will bring that seed into maturity.

Jesus knows what it's like to be turned away. He knows what it's like to be rejected by those closest to you. He knows what it's like to be misunderstood. We must see rejection for what it really is: Abba's unwillingness to give pearls to pigs who won't know how to treat them. Pigs are not bad, they just don't care about precious things. They're driven by their appetite and anything that doesn't serve that, no matter how special it is, gets trampled. When you're carrying something this special and people don't want to be a part of it, rejection becomes divine protection against those who wouldn't know how to handle you. It's just a sign that you haven't found your Kingdom family yet. It's not a sign to stop looking and give up. It's Abba being careful with who gets to be joined to you.

Can we honor the Kingdom seeds that Abba has planted in our lives?

Can we honor the immature expressions before we see any fruit come from that seed?

Can we make room for what the King wants to do in our life?

Let's open ourselves up today as we walk with Abba. Let's open up the doors of our hearts to receive the King. He's ready to come in. He's been knocking. Yes, there are areas where we haven't allowed Him to come in because we're afraid of what it might cost us. But did He leave? Did He abandon you? No, the Seed of Hope stayed in the stable since we weren't ready to receive Him. The birth of Jesus is Abba's final word that He's not leaving us or giving up on us. He's willing to wait for as long as it takes. I'm grateful for His patience, aren't you? He really is Perfect Love.

So wake up, you living gateways, and rejoice! Fling wide, you ageless doors of destiny! Here he comes; the King of Glory is ready to come in. (Psalms 24:9)

Behold, I'm standing at the door, knocking. If your heart is open to hear my voice and you open the door within, I will come in to you and feast with you, and you will feast with me. (Revelation 3:20)

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Worship: "Found" by Amanda Cook

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/28/23 The Wilderness Place 12/28/23

The Environment Where Kingdom Seeds Grow

(4 minutes)

Mary said, "But how could this happen? I am still a virgin!" Gabriel answered, "The Spirit of Holiness will fall upon you and almighty God will spread his shadow of power over you in a cloud of glory! This is why the child born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What's more, your aged aunt, Elizabeth, has also become pregnant with a son. The 'barren one' is now in her sixth month. Not one promise from God is empty of power, for nothing is impossible with God!" (Luke 1:34-37)

Mary has moved beyond her troubled and bewildered thoughts about what it would cost her, and she moves into yielding to Yahweh's favor. She seeks understanding and asks the same question that we all ask when Yahweh is lifting us to an anointed life: how will this happen? And then Mary proceeds to tell an angel why this word would be impossible. Isn't this what we do? As we're receiving the seed of God's word, we sometimes question it and come up with the best reasons why it will be impossible for us. We just can't see it.

Gabriel tells Mary how this word will be carried out and it's the same way every word from Yahweh is birthed. The Holy Spirit will come upon you. Have you received Kingdom seeds in your life and you're wondering how they will be birthed in you and your family? The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The presence of Yahweh that dwells within you will be the power that brings this thing to pass. It won't come from human reasoning or intellect, and you won't be able to manhandle this seed into existence. The only thing that will move it is the presence and power of Yahweh.

Now, why does Gabriel feel the need to bring up Elizabeth's pregnancy?

Pastor Tim answered this question on Sunday with these words, "Sometimes when the things of the Kingdom take place, you need to know where you can run to that's safe. You need to be able to go somewhere where you don't need to explain what you're carrying, and the significance of it. The Kingdom of God causes us to be connected to people who are carrying something just as significant as what we are carrying." He told us that there are pieces of our puzzle that are locked up in other people. Some things don't get stirred in us until we get around the people that we're supposed to do life with. This is a big deal. It's about being planted in family where you're connected to someone aged and already carrying something that you want in your life. It's not a casual connection. It's a decision to be joined to a family.

Are you planted in a Kingdom family that sees the significance of what you're carrying? Spiritual fathers and mothers have a supernatural gift to recognize and honor the seeds that Yahweh has planted in us. They are safe places to grow and mature those Kingdom seeds. We all need a place we can run to where we don't have to explain what we're carrying. Who is this in your life?

This is what Mary needed. It brought Mary so much strength to know that she didn't have to walk alone, but there was another person she could do life with. Listen to Mary's language now.

Then Mary responded, saying, "This is amazing! I will be a mother for the Lord! As his servant, I accept whatever he has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass." And the angel left. (Luke 1:38)

I'll use Pastor Tim's language from the message: what's on hold in your life waiting for you to be planted in the environment? Environment matters. The right environment is essential to the growth of the seed. Did you know that some fruit trees require other fruit trees to be planted around them to produce? It's called cross-pollination. They cannot produce on their own. It isn't until they get around other trees that carry the same thing that they get what they need to produce what they are intended to produce. They will actually stay dormant until they get in the right environment. Kingdom seeds require Kingdom family in order to grow.

You are not alone. A Kingdom family is waiting in the wilderness. Abba has placed something significant in you. You're carrying something special. And as you get planted in a Kingdom family you will notice an awakening in these places where Abba has anointed you. Do not yield to fear. Yahweh's favor is upon you!

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Worship: "Tend" by UPPERROOM

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/27/23 The Wilderness Place 12/27/23

The Favor of Yahweh

(5 minutes)

Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Rejoice, beloved young woman, for the Lord is with you and you are anointed with great favor." Mary was deeply troubled over the words of the angel and bewildered over what this may mean for her. (Luke 1:28-29)

Pastor Tim brought up a great question on Sunday for us to take into our walk with Abba today. It's all about how we look at God's favor. As we are venturing into a new year we'll certainly be hearing all kinds of talk about the upcoming favor that is heading our way, but what do we think about when we hear about God's favor? Do we imagine a more comfortable lifestyle with all the trending amenities? Do we imagine a new car or a cushy bank account? Are we imagining a better version of what we already have and long for?

When Gabriel came to announce Yahweh's favor to Mary it caused her to be deeply troubled. I love that The Passion Translation says, "bewildered over what this may mean for her." The announcement of Yahweh's favor left Mary bewildered over what it was going to cost her. It seems like she had a different perspective of favor than we do. She knew that to be anointed with great favor was going to cost her something. To walk in Yahweh's favor means to abandon the previous picture of what you thought life should look like. Are we willing to trust the goodness of Abba and his favor to that degree? Do we want favor or do we want what's comfortable and familiar?

The immediate effects of Mary hearing about God's favor left her deeply troubled and bewildered. But Gabriel responded to her with words that all of us need to hear.

But the angel reassured her, saying, "Do not yield to your fear, Mary, for the Lord has found delight in you and has chosen to surprise you with a wonderful gift. You will become pregnant with a baby boy, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be supreme and will be known as the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will enthrone him as King on the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign as King of Israel forever, and his reign will have no limit." (Luke 1:30-33)

Do not yield to your fear.
Yahweh has found delight in you.
He's chosen to surprise you with a wonderful gift.

The favor of Yahweh may come as a shock to you because it's not what you were expecting. It may not be what you had in mind. It may feel like you're losing control of the life you were certain of moments ago. But there is no need to yield to fear because you are still the Beloved of the Father and this favor is a wonderful gift that Yahweh has chosen to surprise you with. You can trust Him with your life. You are safe in His hands.

Yahweh's favor is coming to you today to release you from the low perspective you had of your life and lift you to the place He has anointed you to be. You will thrive in this unfamiliar favor of the Lord. But you will not enjoy it and may not even enter into it if you yield to your fear.

So many of us have been mentored by the spirit of fear. We've been taught by religion that fear is our friend and has our best interest in mind. That it will protect us from getting hurt. Religion lied. Fear will only keep you from entering Yahweh's favor. It will keep you from believing that He is truly good. It will keep you from seeing yourself the way that He sees you. Whatever you do, do not yield to your fear.

After Gabriel speaks to Mary's heart, he turns his attention to the child that she will deliver into the world. He draws her eyes to the Seed of Hope that she will carry. Mary, stare at Jesus! Gaze into the eyes of the King. This will drown out every other voice. Get a clear vision of Jesus. The life you thought you wanted can't compete with Him. Your fear will subside when you fix your eyes on the King.

The same question that was before Mary is before us. Will you yield to fear or will you yield to Yahweh's favor? Will you carry the Seed of Hope and honor it into maturity? Or will you abandon this great adventure to keep the life you already have?

Rejoice, beloved son and daughter, for the Lord is with you and you are anointed with great favor. Do you believe it?

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Worship: "Sound Mind" by Melissa Helser

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/25/23 The Wilderness Place 12/25/23

The Seed of Hope

Written by Jarred Rushing

(5 minutes)

Today we celebrate and honor the Seed of Hope, Yeshua the Christ. Abba sent us the gift of His Son that He delights to see us unwrap with joy. The Seed of Hope that the angels declared was for "everyone everywhere!"

For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah. (Luke 2:11)

What an incredible message the shepherds heard that night in the field. A massive angel choir announced the birth of a rescuer, the Messiah, Yahweh Himself. And what would they need to look for to find this Savior? What marvelous sight would be awaiting them as they searched for this newborn King? How would they know that they found Him? It would surely be a royal scene, wouldn't it?

You will recognize him by this miracle sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough! (Luke 2:12)

Not exactly what you would expect to see after witnessing a heavenly army of angels out in the open field. But the Seed of Hope came just like that...a seed. Pastor Tim made a significant statement at the beginning of the message on Sunday: "Everything that comes from the Kingdom comes as a seed." Think about that. Yahweh could have come anyway that He wanted, but He chose to come in seed form, passing through the womb of a virgin girl as a small, vulnerable, helpless baby boy, depending on other people to help Him mature. Our eyes have been trained to look for things that are full grown, but the Kingdom comes in seed form every time. And how we respond to that seed determines everything.

How are we responding to the Kingdom seeds in our lives? Yahweh is still interested in planting seeds. He loves the process of seeing things mature by way of our honor. He is inviting Kingdom men and women to honor the Kingdom seeds until they become fully mature. But it takes the wisdom of Yahweh, His perspective, to honor things that are unseen until they are seen. Mary and Joseph had Yahweh's eyes. They saw a Savior in their baby son. The shepherds inherited Yahweh's perspective as they searched for a King wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough. The wise men leaned into the wisdom of Yahweh as they traveled, spending time and costly resources, to seek out the Messiah who hailed from Heaven who at the time was just a toddler.

When they came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, they were overcome. Falling to the ground at his feet they worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure boxes full of gifts and presented him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

Do we have eyes to see the Kingdom seeds that Yahweh has planted in our lives right now? Can we recognize the seeds of hope even if they are not fully grown? Can we honor them into maturity?

Today we celebrate the Seed of all seeds, Yeshua the Christ. He is the Good Hope given to the sons and daughters of men. He is Emmanuel, which means in Hebrew, "God became one of us." Jesus is Abba's final word to the entire cosmos that He will not leave us alone. He will not settle for separation. Distance will not be our destiny. The King stepped off of His throne because He would not live without the closeness of His children. The Seed of Hope for everyone everywhere.

As you walk with Abba today, ask Him for His eyes. Ask Him for wisdom to honor the unseen until it is seen. Ask Him for His perspective to see the Kingdom seeds that He has already planted all around you. Celebrate the closeness of the King today, for this day is all about His presence which we will never have to live without. This union and unbroken fellowship that we share with Him will have no end. Have a Merry Christmas as you unwrap the gift of Jesus, the Anointed One!

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Worship: "Come and Behold" by Maverick City and UPPERROOM

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/22/23 The Wilderness Place 12/22/23

You Weren’t Thrown Away

Written by Jarred Rushing

(9 minutes)

So once again they summoned the man who was healed of blindness and said to him, "Swear to God to tell us the truth! We know the man who healed you is a sinful man! Do you agree?" The healed man replied, "I have no idea what kind of man he is. All I know is that I was blind and now I can see for the first time in my life!" (John 9:24-25)

Some of the Jewish leaders were enraged and said, "Just who do you think you are to lecture us! You were born a blind, filthy sinner!" So they threw the man out in the street. When Jesus learned they had thrown him out, he went to find him and said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" The man whose blind eyes were healed answered, "Who is he, Master? Tell me so that I can place all my faith in him." Jesus replied, "You're looking right at him. He's speaking with you. It's me, the one in front of you now." Then the man threw himself at his feet and worshiped Jesus and said, "Lord, I believe in you!" (John 9:34-38)

Our intimate encounters with Jesus change everything, especially our vision. With every moment in His presence, our sight is restored and we see Him a little clearer. And don't be fooled, the closer you get to Him, the less appealing you'll become to the religious system. This is what this ex-blind man discovered as he was trying to tell the religious leaders of his day about the encounter he just had with the man called Jesus. They wouldn't hear it. When their heart motives were being pressed by a man who had a significant experience with Yahweh, they resorted to name-calling and then they did what religion typically does when the conversation turns toward the heart; they kicked him out. A healed man was standing before them, trying to convince them that his testimony was true, and they threw him out on the street. Have you ever tried to convince the religious system of your intimate encounter with Jesus only to find yourself thrown away? Don't worry, that's a common testimony in the lives of those who have found themselves lured into the wilderness by Yahweh. Some of us couldn't keep up with religion's endless list of demands and chose to leave, while others of us did everything we could to stay only to be kicked out and thrown into the street. The spirit of religion doesn't tolerate questions of any kind and it certainly doesn't tolerate anyone that tries to address issues of the heart.

With all of that said you need to know something. It was Abba's grace that didn't allow it to work.

Like Pastor Tim said last Sunday, "You weren't thrown away, you were thrown to the feet of Jesus." It was Abba's grace that didn't allow you to succeed in that system. If that system had "worked" for you and had you found any measure of success in it, you never would have found the feet of Jesus. Abba saw you. He saw what your heart was really crying out for. When you tried to find acceptance and purpose in the eyes of religion, He said, "No!" And He used every moment to drive you further into His hands.

You weren't thrown away.
You were thrown to the feet of Jesus, the place you've always longed to be.

Be overwhelmed by Abba's grace that didn't allow it to work.
Be overtaken with gratitude that you weren't allowed to settle in slavery to the law.
It was Abba who lured you out of religion, so you could become a Lover of Jesus.

And now, all you know is that you met Jesus and everything changed. You tried so many other ways, but they all ended in disaster. Again, Abba's grace. Like St. Augustine penned, "Our heart is restless until it rests in you." Thank you, Abba, for not allowing us to find satisfaction in anything other than you! Thank you for using every moment to drive us into Your arms!

After the man healed of blindness throws himself at the feet of Jesus, Jesus lifts his head and utters some profound words:

And Jesus said, "I have come to judge those who think they see and make them blind. And for those who are blind, I have come to make them see." Some of the Pharisees were standing nearby and overheard these words. They interrupted Jesus and said, "You mean to tell us that we are blind?" Jesus told them, "If you would acknowledge your blindness, then your sin would be removed. But now that you claim to see, your sin remains with you!" (John 9:39-41)

I know those are hard words from Jesus, but keep them in mind as we look back at the Kingdom principle that we learned earlier this week. What we just saw in this story of the blind man and the Pharisees is the playing out of the Kingdom principle about revelation-light. Originally we read about this principle in Luke 11:33-36, but did you know Jesus mentions the same principle a couple of chapters earlier in the same Gospel of Luke? I think that highlights the importance of this Kingdom truth. Listen to the variation found in Luke 8:

"No one lights a lamp and then hides it, covering it over or putting it where its light won't be seen. No, the lamp is placed on a lampstand so others are able to benefit from its brightness. Because this revelation lamp now shines within you, nothing will be hidden from you--it will all be revealed. Every secret of the kingdom will be unveiled and out in the open, made known by the revelation-light. So pay careful attention to your hearts as you hear my teaching, for those who have open hearts, even more revelation will be given to them until it overflows. And for those who do not listen with open hearts, what little light they imagine to have will be taken away." (Luke 8:16-18)

Pay careful attention to your heart as you hear from Jesus.

The willing, tender, open heart will receive revelation-light until it overflows out into the world for others to see, shining brightly on a lampstand. But those with hard and closed hearts will lose what little light they imagine they have. The man healed of blindness heard Jesus offensively spitting in the dirt and then listened to his words with an open heart and he allowed that revelation-light to affect him. He heard Jesus' words and trusted Him, stumbling to the pool of Siloam to wash his blindness away forever. And I believe we see him receive even more revelation-light as he discerns the heart of the religious leaders in his conversation with them. And then he receives even more at the feet of Jesus, as he worships. And we see the Pharisees, with hard hearts, losing the light (the sight) that they believed they possessed. They had more physical sight and intellectual knowledge about the Messiah than the blind man, yet they were the ones who were not able to see. The Kingdom principle of revelation-light.

Are you paying careful attention to the words that Abba is speaking over you? Over your family? He's coming to the blind areas of our hearts today with the desire to restore our vision and bring us into a deeper union with Him, but it requires an open heart that is willing to be affected by His words. What are you doing with the words that Jesus is speaking? It's not just about hearing, the Pharisees could hear. It's about having a tender heart that can hear and trust His words enough to allow them to change the direction and focus of your life. When Jesus speaks, does your life become reoriented around what He has said? Reorientation means to adjust, align, or position things again around something else. Jesus' words should be rearranging our lives. All according to the degree that our heart is open and tender.

This is stirring me to revisit some past words that I've heard from Him and be honest about how those words have affected my life. Let's begin by honoring words that we've already heard. He has promised to pour out more and more until we're overflowing, but let's be good stewards and treasure the revelation-light we've already received.

Abba, thank you for your grace that doesn't allow us to stay where we are. Your grace that didn't allow us to thrive in that old, religious system of slavery. Your grace that is constantly rescuing us from the chains we've become comfortable wearing. Your grace that is willing to offend our minds to reveal our hearts, if it means getting us closer to You. Jesus was your final word, that separation and abandonment would not be an option in this love affair. Abba, thank you for coming after everything that was standing between us!

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Worship: "You Walk With Me" by Housefires

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/21/23 The Wilderness Place 12/21/23

The Wrong Questions

Written by Jarred Rushing

(5 minutes)

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do." (John 9:1-3)

When I read this scripture from Sunday in The Message translation today I could feel so much weight on this phrase: "You're asking the wrong question." I don't know about you, but when hard situations arise I'm usually asking the wrong questions, and they typically start with how or why.

How could I not see this coming?
Why did this happen to me?
How can I fix this?
Why did God allow this?
How could they do something like that?
Why am I always dealing with this same issue?

You see, my questions normally begin with how or why. We ask questions like this when we want an explanation. But as someone pointed out to me this week at Linger House, Jesus rarely stops to explain things. Explanations are given to rehash the past, but Abba seems way more interested in where we are going, not where we are coming from.

What if we're asking the wrong questions?

What if Abba is trying to change our perspective as we take the walk with Him today?

What if how we see things could change?

As we get closer to Jesus in intimacy, our perspective will begin to shift. Most of the wrong questions that we ask are rooted in an inaccurate view of God. We just need to get more familiar with His nature, and we do that by staring at Jesus. When the foundation of your theology tells you that God is distant and disapproving, that He's temperamental and falls in and out of love with you depending on your behavior, and that He has no choice but to cast you out of His presence at the first sign of sin, then it gets harder to see difficult situations with the right heart. When fear of punishment rules your inner world, you'll always be looking for who's to blame. Can you ever see things right when you're constantly looking over your shoulder expecting the heavy hand of judgment to come your way? This is why we're so quick to look for who's to blame. Because when Daddy shows up we need to know who to point the finger at. But this is all based on an incorrect view of Abba's nature. When we begin to see Abba's true nature revealed in Jesus, it becomes easier to see the situations of life as they are, in the Light.

If we knew how good Abba truly was we'd never waste time asking the wrong questions! When we see Him right, we'll see everything else right.

What would your questions sound like if you believed wholeheartedly that Abba was good? Where would your curiosity take you if you weren't afraid of being punished or pushed away? If you were completely convinced of the Father's unconditional love for you, what would you ask Him?

Let's read the scripture again in The Passion Translation:

Afterward, as Jesus walked down the street, he noticed a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Teacher, whose sin caused this guy's blindness, his own, or the sin of his parents?" Jesus answered, "Neither. It happened to him so that you could watch him experience God's miracle." (John 9:1-3)

Let's take it one step further: what if we were so convinced of Abba's goodness that we no longer needed to ask questions at all? What if we were so certain that "every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God's perfect plan of bringing good into our lives," that questions became irrelevant? (Romans 8:28) What if the questions faded away and were replaced by Abba's final answer? Every detail is designed so we can witness a miracle that was tailor-made for our ultimate good. That's Abba's final answer.

Too far? Let's just focus on Abba's next footstep in front of us. On your walk today, ask Him to talk to you about how you see things, especially the hard things in life. Open your heart and allow Him to say whatever He wants to say. And know that whatever He highlights in your heart, He also gives you the grace to walk away from, if you are willing to trust Him as unconditionally loving, kind, and good. He will do whatever it takes for you to see Him and yourself rightly. That's the heart of the most perfect Father you will ever know!

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Worship: "When I Lock Eyes With You / Your Love Is Extravagant" by Harvest & Jon Thurlow

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/19/23 The Wilderness Place 12/19/23

Are you willing?

Written by Jarred Rushing

(4 minutes)

"No one would think of lighting a lamp and then hiding it in the basement where no one would benefit. A lamp belongs on a lampstand, where all who enter may see its light. The eyes of your spirit allow revelation-light to enter into your being. When your heart is open the light floods in. But when your heart is hard and closed, the light cannot penetrate and darkness takes its place. Open your heart and consider my words. Watch out that you do not mistake your opinion for revelation-light! If your spirit burns with light, fully illuminated with no trace of darkness, you will be a shining lamp, reflecting rays of truth by the way you live." (Luke 11:33-36)

The openness of our hearts will determine how much of our spirit will burn with revelation-light. Religion always told us it was the amount of things that we could do that would change our lives - read our Bible, pray, serve, tithe, and the list goes on. In religion, these were always a means to an end - a finish line we could never cross. Religion promised us that if we did these things and many more, we would experience true transformation. But it never came. Why? You know, as well as I do, that all of these things can be done with a hard and closed heart. Jesus is telling us in this scripture that revelation-light comes to the heart that is open, vulnerable, and willing to walk away from its own opinion.

Are you willing to give up what you think about yourself for what Abba thinks about you?

Are you willing to walk away from your long-held theological opinions about God to discover the real thing?

The open heart is simply the willing heart. Willing to embrace Abba's perspective over its own.

The walk we take with Abba is not a time to become more certain of our own opinions. It's a time to lay down our thoughts and ideas so we can inherit His.

How do you know if your heart is open or closed?

Well, closed hearts can only hear things from Abba that they already agree with. Closed hearts don't hear thoughts or ideas that they don't already believe. An open heart can hear the truth even if it's foreign to them at first. I guess the plainest way to say it is if Abba is always agreeing with you, then your heart may not be as open as you think it is. Pastor Tim has mentioned an old quote in past services that says, "In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since." Another quote I've heard that gets a similar point across says, "You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out God hates all the same people you do." Does God always seem to like who you like and dislike who you dislike? Is God always agreeing with you and your plans? Does He ever say anything that challenges what you think or believe?

An open heart is willing to hear whatever Yahweh has to say.

A closed heart can only hear what it already believes.

An open heart values Abba's revelation-light.

A closed heart values its own opinion.

As you take the walk with Abba today, allow Him to smother you with kisses. Allow His kindness to lead you to the place of vulnerability. Intimacy with Jesus is the only thing that can open us up. Religion taught us to close our hearts to protect us from being truly known and seen. When you're trying to hide the dirtiest parts of yourself, being open is a threat to your being accepted and embraced. Abba wants you to open up so you can see that He desires to embrace every part of you, even the ugly parts that religion told you to hide from Him. An open heart is a witness that we've truly encountered Perfect Love, because we no longer fear what will happen if we come out of hiding. We've been so convinced of Abba's goodness that we feel no need to protect our hearts or our own opinions. Will you entrust your whole heart to Abba and hold nothing back? He's ready to pour His love out on you, every part of you. You don't have to be afraid of His love. You won't find any rejection in Him. He doesn't do abandonment.

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Worship: "Out of Hiding" by Steffany Gretzinger & Amanda Cook

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/18/23 The Wilderness Place 12/18/23

When Open Hearts Get Flooded

Written by Jarred Rushing

(5 minutes)

Did you know that something exists that the light cannot penetrate? In this scripture, we have Jesus, the Light of the World, telling us that there's something that the light cannot enter into, something it cannot pierce. Revelation-light brings change and transformation, but there is something that it is powerless to access no matter how brilliant and compelling it is.

What does Jesus tell us the light is powerless to invade?

A heart that is hard and closed.

The light cannot penetrate a hard heart. It takes a tender, open heart to receive revelation-light from Yahweh. The tenderness of our hearts can be found in our openness, in our vulnerability. Pastor Tim gave a great explanation of vulnerability when he said, "Transparency is me telling you that I've had a bad day. Vulnerability is me telling you why I've had a bad day." The tender heart is honest. The tender heart can trust someone with the truth instead of hiding.

Jesus goes on to give a warning about the hard heart. He says, "Watch out that you do not mistake your opinion for revelation-light!" If the tender, open heart is ruled by honest truth-telling. The closed, hard heart must be ruled by guarded opinions. The hard heart doesn't value honesty and truth over protecting itself and its long-held ideas.

The tender heart has a willingness to relearn, even if it means the loss of personal opinions. The open heart is flexible and can be reshaped. The hard heart is fixed and immovable.

There are areas of our life that are not shining as brightly as others. Some areas still seem to be hiding under a basket. What if these areas are not waiting on Abba, but you? What if these areas of struggle and striving have more to do with an opinion that you’re holding onto, that if you were to surrender then you would suddenly see revelation-light begin to flood in?

We're designed to be reflecting rays of light by the way we live. If Jesus is telling the truth in this scripture, then those areas where we are not reflecting light are areas that are still being ruled by a guarded, hard, and closed-off heart. We're not waiting on Abba to bring revelation-light. He's waiting for us to trust Him over our own opinion.

Abba wants more for us than we are even capable of thinking, asking, or imagining. He will not be the weak link in this relationship. If it seems like you are in a period of waiting, then Abba's expectation is that you would braid your perspective with His. The Hebrew word for "wait" literally means to be entwined or to braid like hair. Waiting on the Lord is a time of grace for us to give up our ideas and be braided together with His truth. It's a time to let go of the hard heart that is protecting our personal opinions and allow the Spirit to tenderize us again with openness and vulnerability in His presence.

What if the waiting is over only after we've been fully entwined with His perspective?

It's time to come out from under this basket and shine. As you take a walk with Abba today, let the consuming fire of His love melt the hardness away. Let His love tenderize your heart. Be open and vulnerable with Him. He is the safest place you will ever be!

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Worship: "Open Space" by Housefires

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/15/23 The Wilderness Place 12/15/23

What Your Faith Expects

Written by Jarred Rushing

(6 minutes)

As Jesus left the house, two blind men began following him, shouting out over and over, "Son of David, show us mercy and heal us!" And they followed him right into the house where Jesus was staying. So Jesus asked them, "Do you believe that I have the power to restore sight to your eyes?" They replied, "Yes Lord, we believe!" Then Jesus put his hands over their eyes and said, "You will have what your faith expects!" And instantly their eyes opened--they could see! (Matthew 9:27-30)

You will have what your faith expects.

There is a Kingdom principle wrapped up in that tiny phrase that could change our lives. What if, right now, we are only able to receive what our faith expects? In six short sentences, we have two blind men combining their hunger for Jesus with their high, faith-filled expectations, and look what happens. In six short sentences, two ordinary guys go from blindness to restored sight. What would happen if we took our hunger for the feet of Jesus and started marrying that with some real expectancy? These blind men couldn't see, but they had vision. The faith and hope they had allowed them to expect something from the Anointed One that had not been realized yet.

What if the Kingdom principle is as simple as this: you will get what your faith expects every time.

What if this whole day was hinged on what your faith in Yahweh was expecting? What would be in store? Would anything happen at all? Would it be an exciting adventure, filled with miracles and intimate whispers around every corner? Or would it be stale and stagnant? If it was up to your faith to decide, what would we encounter today?

Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. (Hebrews 11:1)

I need to stop for a moment and help us with some definitions because, for a long time, we have been confused when it comes to faith. Faith is not your wishful thinking. Faith is not what you are praying and believing for. Faith is your being convinced that Yahweh is real and that He loves to reward those who passionately seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) Faith is your being convinced that He is not only God, but He is also good. Faith is your deep conviction that He's not just able to do things for you, He desires and finds His greatest delight in lavishing you with love. Faith is not suspicious; it is your restful trust in Abba's love. It's your confidence and assurance that flows from your being intimate with Yahweh and knowing His nature. And when that faith is combined with hope, we start to acquire the things we long for. Hope is our expectations, our deep longings, and what we are excited to see come to pass.

Our faith in Yahweh brings our hopeful expectations into reality.

The marrying of these two things is how we acquire what we long for.

Two blind men received exactly what their faith was expecting.

Pastor Tim mentioned on Sunday that "staring at His goodness will change what we expect." Our being convinced of Abba's nature will transform what we think is possible. Some of us are still detoxing from the image of God that religion sold us. We're still in the process of relearning and letting Yahweh teach us all over again who He is and how He feels about us. And as our faith in Him rises, we'll notice that our hopes and expectations will begin to rise too. It does take time and time is best described as "history with God." Faith comes naturally to us when we have a history with something. I'm pretty confident that none of us go into our homes and inspect the integrity of our chairs before we sit down in them. That's because we have a history with our chairs, and that history has produced faith in us, a restful trust that we can plop down on that chair and it won't betray us. We have more history with religion's distant and disapproving God than we do with the real One we know as Abba. That's why we're still leery around Him, suspecting that the other shoe will soon drop and our worst nightmare will have come true. The old image of God that we inherited from religion has left us suspicious. You know how it feels to sit on an old, decrepit chair. You never give your whole self to it. You're always halfway seated and halfway ready to stand up. This posture is not one of faith. You'll never be truly rested and trusting in that chair, and the same applies if that's your posture with Yahweh. This relationship requires faith, restful trust. When it comes to Abba, you have to throw your whole self into Him and His love. Halfway won't work. You must be seated!

Let's build our history with Yahweh today as we take a walk with Him. Let's stare at His goodness until we can't help but hope for bigger things. A true revelation of His goodness won't allow us to carry ordinary expectations. It definitely won't allow us to carry no expectations at all.

What is my faith expecting?

Take this question on your walk with Abba and let His love introduce you to new expectations. Higher expectations. Hopes and dreams that His goodness will still outdo and outshine every single time.

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Worship: "Come to the River" by Housefires

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Wilderness Place 12/14/23 The Wilderness Place 12/14/23

You Can Have My Heart

Written by Jarred Rushing

(7 minutes)

Why is Jesus always asking, what seems to be, the most insensitive questions? If not insensitive, then definitely the most obvious questions!

These blind men just stammered through a crowded town, tripping over every unseen obstacle in their way and drawing the attention of every onlooker because of their loud, continual shouting. They just barged into someone else's home just because Jesus was in the house. I don't know about you, but doesn't it seem obvious that they believe that Jesus can restore their sight? If I'm one of the disciples, I would probably be turning towards Jesus as He's asking this question with a puzzled face and squinting eyes, thinking to myself, "Jesus, what do you mean? Why would these guys go through everything that they've been through if they didn't believe that you could heal them? Of course, they believe!"

But still, in light of everything that these blind men just endured, Jesus asks the question, "Do you believe that I have the power to restore sight to your eyes?"

Why does Jesus ask this question?

Because the motive of our heart isn’t always clear to us or the world, but it’s always clear to Abba. Yahweh said it plainly to Samuel when picking a new king that "man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

The same acts that flow from love can sometimes look identical to the self-earning that flows from fear. It's the posture and motive of the heart that separates the two. It's possible to read the Bible every day, pray often, and serve in ministry, but do it all from a place of fear, shame, and self-earning. It's also possible to do those same things from a place of intimacy and union. It all comes down to the motive of the heart and Jesus wants our heart. Listen to Jesus' words in Matthew 7:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the realm of heaven's kingdom. It is only those who persist in doing the will of my heavenly Father. On the day of judgment many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, don't you remember us? Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we cast out demons and do many miracles for the sake of your name?' But I will have to say to them, 'Go away from me, you lawless rebels! I've never been joined to you!'" (Matthew 7:21-23)

Jesus makes it abundantly clear to us here that we can be doing some pretty incredible things, but not from a place of life-union and love for Him. We can do all sorts of things in His name, but not from a place of intimate fellowship and being joined to Him. And remember from Hebrews 11:6, it's not these great works that please Abba, but our faith, the restful trust that these works flow from, that pleases Him.

Let me give you another picture of this in family life. Sometimes our kids clean up their room because they don't want to get in trouble. Sometimes our kids clean up their room because they want something. Sometimes our kids clean up their room because they love us and want to partner with us in cleaning our home. A clean room doesn't tell the whole story. The posture of the heart does.

So Jesus bypasses everything these blind men have done and goes straight for the heart, because with the heart man believes. So He asks, "Do you believe that I have the power to restore sight to your eyes? I know everything that you have been through and all that you have done to get to this moment, but is your heart truly convinced that I can do this for you?"

I must be honest with you, the deeper you go in intimacy with Yahweh the more it becomes about your heart.

These blind men push deeper and deeper into the presence of Jesus and are met with a question about their hearts.

We all have something in our lives that we want to be different. And we are pushing deeper and deeper into intimacy with Jesus. And as we get closer we will begin to hear His voice speaking tenderly to...our heart.

Is your heart truly convinced that Jesus can restore sight to your eyes?

Is your heart truly convinced that Jesus can restore your health?

Do you believe that He can restore your marriage or your strained relationship with your children?

Do you believe that He can restore your life to a place of wholeness, innocence, and purity?

Every question that Abba asks is an invitation to sit at His table and enjoy a meal that He has prepared for you. Every question is an invitation to a deeper measure of intimacy. And as you get more acquainted with the goodness of Yahweh, your heart will become fully convinced of what He can and is most willing to do on your behalf. Faith, restful trust, is not just believing that He can, but it's also believing that He wants to. Abba needs you to know that He doesn't just possess the power and ability to perform this thing in your life, but He also possesses the deepest and most extravagant love and desire to do it just for you. When He asks the question, “Do you believe that I can do this?”, He wants your whole heart to respond with confidence, “Yes Abba, I believe!”

God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart.
Examine me through and through;
find out everything that may be hidden within me.
Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.
See if there is any path of pain I'm walking on,
and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting ways--
the path that brings me back to you.
(Psalm 139:23-24)

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Worship: "Have My Heart" by Maverick City Music

Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place

Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!

The Walk is a daily writing to inspire you in your own personal intimacy with Abba.

Listen, my radiant one—if you ever lose sight of me, just follow in my footsteps where I lead my lovers. (Song of Songs 1:8)

208 Pass RoadGulfport, MS 39507

208 Pass Road
Gulfport, MS 39507